Read Japanese today (Paperback)

by Len Welsh (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This concise guide aims to teach the user how to read 300 basic characters through their pictorial representation.

About the Author

Len Walsh has studied and taught Japanese in both the United States and Japan.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details Paperback: 168 pages Publisher: Tuttle Publishing (December 15, 1989) Language: English ISBN-10: 0804804966 ISBN-13: 978-0804804967 Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #657,076 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Citations (learn more)

3 books cite this book:

• Principles of Modern Communications Technology (Artech House Telecommunications Library) by A. Michael Noll on page 206
• Success Secrets to Maximize Business in Japan (Culture Shock! Success Secrets to Maximize Business) by Ken Coates in Back Matter
• Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 (Tut Books. H) by Shoi Nihon in Back Matter

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	78% buy the item featured on this page: Read Japanese today 4.5 out of 5 stars (23) $10.73
	9% buy Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics) 4.7 out of 5 stars (23) $10.88
	5% buy Let's Learn Hiragana: First Book of Basic Japanese Writing (Kodansha's Children's Classics) 4.8 out of 5 stars (24) $9.23
	4% buy A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters (Tuttle language library) 4.0 out of 5 stars (48) $19.77

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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews 5 star:  (16) 4 star:  (5) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 4.5 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 21 of 23 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars terrific, whimsical little guide, February 2, 2002 By  Bruce D. Wilner "Bruce David Wilner" (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I've read and reread this work since buying it many years ago. It came in handy when we traveled to Japan: I actually understood much of what I was looking at--at least on signage--while the overwhelming majority of tourists stared dumfounded. A word of advice: I would look into Chinese first--please check out Diane Wolff's marvelous "Chinese for Beginners"--inasmuch as Japanese writing was built on top of Chinese. You'll get much more out of Walsh if you read Wolff first. Also, don't think for a moment that, just because you recognize a kanji, you know the meaning of the phrase in which it appears. We learned the hard way that the Japanese mind combines characters and components of characters in _very_ peculiar ways--it was often quite a surprise when a native told us what that sign over there actually meant after we told him what we ambitious gaijin thought it meant! Walsh's book cannot possibly equip you in only a couple of hundred pages to understand why "lawful-language" means "French," or why "self-move-concentrate-mind" means "Caution: automatic door"--or why "water" means "Wednesday" on that poster! Also, bear in mind that some of Walsh's explanations for the derivation of various kanji are suspect. That doesn't really matter, of course, if his mnemonic helps you remember it--as long as you're not a philologist. Take it for what it's worth, and enjoy your heart out! 13 of 13 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Absolute must-have! (and cheap, too), February 8, 2000 By A Customer Anyone learning or considering learning Japanese should read this book ASAP, even before looking at the kana or a grammar text (before considering books for these things, search out "The Quick and Dirty Guide to Japanese" and a good free kana drill program, if you want to save yourself time and money). The kanji are easy to memorize, given explanations of what they are supposed to look like. After reading it, kanji won't look like bizarre unreadable symbols, but familiar pictures of common things. Those pictures will make learning spoken vocabulary far easier than trying to learn spoken Japanese without the writing. Once you have it, take a whole day and read it through like a novel - twice if you have time. After that, you will be shocked at how much you retain. The title is not an exaggeration; after one day, you can be reading Japanese (though you'll need to learn the kana; this book has a simple section on that too). 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Get this book!!!!, August 26, 2000 By  Michelle Vetter (Alpharetta, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    If you want to learn to read kanji, there's no faster or easier way to pick up the basics than reading this book. When Walsh promises you'll be able to read basic Japanese after "Read Japanese Today", he's not kidding. And the way it's written, you read it like you would fiction or easy non-ficiton and you pick up the Japanese characters without even realizing it!		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but useless! I enjoyed this book very much and it was very easy to read. But it didn't really teach me much. The "vocabulary" is very limited and information on how to actually read Japanese... Read more Published 18 months ago by Jeremy 5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL INTRODUCTION TO THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE I absolutely love this book. I bought my copy at the Kinokuniya bookstore at Umeda station in Osaka. Read more Published on November 28, 2006 by Heather Ivester 5.0 out of 5 stars Old Japan visitor This book has been in print for over 40 years and yet has not dated one iota. It is THE best introduction to the written language. Read more Published on November 9, 2006 by Y. O. Barton 4.0 out of 5 stars If you're planning on learning the kanji... ...this is the book you'll want to get first. Many people studying the Japanese language, even those who have successfully learned the hiragana and katakana, become filled with... Read more Published on September 23, 2006 by MoogleFan 4.0 out of 5 stars Take it with you to Japan! This book covers many common words encountered in travel, presented with their origins and development, which makes them easy to remember. Read more Published on May 10, 2005 by Eric Justice 1.0 out of 5 stars would not recommend! for a first time learner of the japanese language this book was NOT very helpful. I don't understand why it had such high reviews... Read more Published on November 2, 2004 by Lotus 4.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a story As advertised, this book is a solid introduction to about 300 common kanji. Walsh wrote the book with a flow that allows you to read it like a story. Read more Published on May 28, 2003 by T. Collins 5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic, essential little book for Japanese learners The formidable hieroglyphic writing system used by Japanese is perhaps the most intimidating challenge, among many, for native English speakers. Read more Published on February 2, 2003 by J. W. Ulm 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on Kanji .The book to start . Terrific introduction in a very difficult ,painstaking subject.Don't get fooled by the small size .This book is a gem. Read more Published on April 4, 2002 5.0 out of 5 stars Learn to recognise 200 kanji without really trying As a first kanji book, this is excellent; it got me hooked on learning kanji. It's short but straight to the point, and very easy to read. Read more Published on June 12, 2001 by Bennett McElwee Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing (December 15, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804804966
• ISBN-13: 978-0804804967
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #657,076 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific, whimsical little guide, February 2, 2002

By	Bruce D. Wilner "Bruce David Wilner" (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've read and reread this work since buying it many years ago. It came in handy when we traveled to Japan: I actually understood much of what I was looking at--at least on signage--while the overwhelming majority of tourists stared dumfounded. A word of advice: I would look into Chinese first--please check out Diane Wolff's marvelous "Chinese for Beginners"--inasmuch as Japanese writing was built on top of Chinese. You'll get much more out of Walsh if you read Wolff first. Also, don't think for a moment that, just because you recognize a kanji, you know the meaning of the phrase in which it appears. We learned the hard way that the Japanese mind combines characters and components of characters in _very_ peculiar ways--it was often quite a surprise when a native told us what that sign over there actually meant after we told him what we ambitious gaijin thought it meant! Walsh's book cannot possibly equip you in only a couple of hundred pages to understand why "lawful-language" means "French," or why "self-move-concentrate-mind" means "Caution: automatic door"--or why "water" means "Wednesday" on that poster! Also, bear in mind that some of Walsh's explanations for the derivation of various kanji are suspect. That doesn't really matter, of course, if his mnemonic helps you remember it--as long as you're not a philologist. Take it for what it's worth, and enjoy your heart out!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolute must-have! (and cheap, too), February 8, 2000

By A Customer

Anyone learning or considering learning Japanese should read this book ASAP, even before looking at the kana or a grammar text (before considering books for these things, search out "The Quick and Dirty Guide to Japanese" and a good free kana drill program, if you want to save yourself time and money). The kanji are easy to memorize, given explanations of what they are supposed to look like. After reading it, kanji won't look like bizarre unreadable symbols, but familiar pictures of common things.

Those pictures will make learning spoken vocabulary far easier than trying to learn spoken Japanese without the writing.

Once you have it, take a whole day and read it through like a novel - twice if you have time. After that, you will be shocked at how much you retain. The title is not an exaggeration; after one day, you can be reading Japanese (though you'll need to learn the kana; this book has a simple section on that too).

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this book!!!!, August 26, 2000

By	Michelle Vetter (Alpharetta, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you want to learn to read kanji, there's no faster or easier way to pick up the basics than reading this book. When Walsh promises you'll be able to read basic Japanese after "Read Japanese Today", he's not kidding. And the way it's written, you read it like you would fiction or easy non-ficiton and you pick up the Japanese characters without even realizing it!