Zakennayo!: The Real Japanese You Were Never Taught in School [Mass Market Paperback]

Philip J. Cunningham (Author), Kim Wilson Brandt (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1995

The Japanese are known for their polite discourse and deferential demeanor, but there's another side to the language of the land of the rising sun--and every one of its biting curses, scathing slanders, and frustration-venting expressions is captured here in this priceless repertoire of "colorful" Japanese expressions. 16 line drawings.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Plume (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452275067
• ISBN-13: 978-0452275065
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,240,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An informative but a little out-dated book, August 23, 2000

By 

"kp142" (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zakennayo!: The Real Japanese You Were Never Taught in School (Mass Market Paperback)

Every language has its own "dirty words," whether you like it or not. If you want to REALLY understand Japanese people and their culture, this book can be a help. This book is loaded with slangish terms and expressions, (by the way, the title "Zakennayo" is a "correct" phrase,) but even to me(30+ Japanese) many of them seemed either "might've been cool a decade ago," "my parents might say that," or "only for mafias." Anyways, read this book to understand Japan, but don't use the phrases unless you don't mind being labelled as a crazy, dangerous foreigner by Japanese people.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Austin Powers goes to Japan, September 26, 2000

By 

Michael Meyer (51 Bedford Street, Quincy, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zakennayo!: The Real Japanese You Were Never Taught in School (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is for English speakers struggling with learning Japanese and want a comic book to stimulate some interest in continued learning. The slang is out dated and mostly likely used a few decades ago. The converse would be a Japanese coming to the USA speaking like Austin Powers, "Groovy Baby!" Naturally proper etiquette requires you would not speak such words in civilized company. As in the USA using out of date slang is most likely going to result in you getting laughed at, beat up or a combination of both. I say buy the book for a few good laughs and encourage yourself to learn more Japanese. I recommend Barrons CD set although it too is a little dated and when the Japanese women narrators speak they are almost inaudible.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Zakennayo!, December 28, 2001

By 

"the_shinigumi" (WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zakennayo!: The Real Japanese You Were Never Taught in School (Mass Market Paperback)

I found this book pretty useful- but would have liked it more if it had some way to easily find a word you're looking for, or an index in back so you can look up what page a word is on.