or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
32 used & new from $10.50

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

or

Get a $4.55 Amazon.com Gift Card
 
   
The Handbook of Japanese Verbs
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

The Handbook of Japanese Verbs (Paperback)

~ Taeko Kamiya (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

List Price: $19.00
Price: $12.92 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $6.08 (32%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Only 4 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Tuesday, March 23? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
20 new from $11.37 12 used from $10.50

Frequently Bought Together

The Handbook of Japanese Verbs + The Handbook of Japanese Adjectives and Adverbs (Kodansha's Children's Classics) + All About Particles: A Handbook of Japanese Function Words (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics)
Total List Price: $60.00
Price For All Three: $40.30

Show availability and shipping details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From the very earliest stages of study until far into the intermediate level, students of the Japanese language are continually scratching their heads over the usage of verbs. It is no wonder that they should feel the need for a solid reference book, one they can continually turn to throughout their studying careers. The Handbook of Japanese Verbs is just that book.

The Introduction takes the first step toward comprehension by pointing out the features of Japanese verbs that stand in contrast to their English counterparts, such as tense, politeness level, auxiliaries, and transitive and intransitive forms.

Part 1 shows through tables and concise commentary how Japanese verbs are categorized, conjugated, and combined with auxiliaries. Each form is followed by a short exercise, reinforcing the points just made.

Part 2 takes up the forms described in the first part and shows how they function in full-fledged sentences. Each discussion is followed by examples and exercises, ensuring that the student has understood the forms under discussion.

In the appendices, the student is offered a number of look-up methods, including an English-Japanese verb dictionary. This completes the apparatus necessary for a solid handbook on Japanese verbs, a book students can rely on for many years to come.

About the Author

Taeko Kamiya received a BA for Doshisha Women's College (Kyoto) and MAs from the University of San Francisco in education and from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in linguistics. She taught Japanese for twenty-five years at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. Among her publications are Speak Japanese Today (1989), Japanese for Fun: Make Your Stay in Japan More Enjoyable (1990), Tuttle New Dictionary on Loanwords in Japanese (1994), Subject-Grouped 1016 Kanji in Context (1997), Japanese Particle Workbook (1998), and The Handbook of Japanese Adjectives and Adverbs (2002).

Product Details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Kodansha International; 1st edition (July 15, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 4770026838
  • ISBN-13: 978-4770026835
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,579 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #14 in  Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Japanese
    #17 in  Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Japanese
    #17 in  Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Japanese

More About the Author

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

Visit Amazon's Taeko Kamiya Page

Look Inside This Book



Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

17 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Verbs and nothing else, but..., June 27, 2001
By "nfinlay" (Lawrenceville, GA USA) - See all my reviews
This is a wonderful little book. You need to be at a point in your Japanese studies where working with verbs is a problem before you even bother. And you need to know the hiragana to make best use of the handbook. (Everything is written in romaji in addition to kanji though.)

Now if you know a fair amount of Japanese and if you know your kana, you might think you aren't going to need a book that deals only with verbs. Unlike a (proper) English sentence, a Japanese sentence can comprise nothing but verbs (although some of them might be acting like nouns). If you know why you say kawanai, but kaimasu, then you don't need this book. If you know the difference between sumitai and sumitagaru, then you don't need this book.

But if verbs are giving you a problem or if you are moving from a purely auditory learning system to the written language, then you will want this book. I found the "pattern" treatment of Type I or u-dropping verbs particularly helpful. (I learned it in about half an hour.) Also, since I am working with written Japanese more than spoken Japanese, I am finding the comprehensive list of patterns (over 150) extremely useful. But if I were concentrating on the spoken language I would still need to know which form goes with which auxiliary. And it's all here, presented systematically for easy digestion.

My only complaint is that the practices give too much help with the auxiliaries. It really needs two levels of practice -- one that reinforces verb endings and one that reinforces verb ending + auxiliaries.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Subarashi!, February 28, 2002
By Michael Callaghan (Jersey City, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)   
This very friendly little book is a fantastic tutorial in the proper use of Japanese verb forms in nearly all their conjugations and uses. Sample sentences are throughout, most of them quite useful and suitable for memorization verbatim, and workbook style drills accompany every section of every chapter.

This is, however, more of a workbook than a reference; for the latter, look no further than Naoko Chino's "Japanese Verbs at a Glance". For a workbook, however, this has (in my experience) no peer.

"Language learning is overlearning", and with that in mind, Kamiya offers lots of practice and sample bunkei which, when worked through, will offer a truly impressive insight into the mechanics of Japanese verb USAGE (not just academic conjugation).

My last class (I'm a second year student at the Geos School in NYC) taught me the '-nagara' verb ending. By using Kamiya's book at home these past few days I feel confident in my usage of what amounted to no more than a footnote in "Japanese For Busy People II" textbook. Excellent. Now I can tell my girlfriend not to talk with her mouth full!

A fun, fine, and ultimately indespensible book for any (that means all) verb-challenged intermediate students. Kamiya is one of the best teachers I've studied - try to get a copy of her "Japanese Particle Workbook" - another five star title on a stubbornly difficult subject.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A grammar text, November 25, 2002
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This is not a "user friendly" book for the casual learner of Japanese. This is nothing more or less than a small, pocket-book sized grammar text for using Japanese verbs. "Te" forms, "tara" forms, "hoshii" forms are all covered, along with pretty much every other possible conjugation. This is no dictionary, however, so do not expect to learn any new words. Just expect to make better use of the verbs you already know.

The sections are broken down well, and there are very small practice sections at the end of each chapter. For what it is, it is an excellent resource. I would recommend this book to serious, college level learners of Japanese.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice little book
The Handbook of Japanese Verbs by Taeko Kamiya is aimed at beginning and intermediate students who want to learn a lot of Japanese verbal patterns in one place. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Lens Fortwright

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book.
This is a very useful book on Japanese verbs. It follows the familiar classroom preview-content-review-quiz-test format, but it does not mindlessly repeat information to the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by S. McDonald

5.0 out of 5 stars very informative
This is a terrific book for anyone who wants to have a more firm understanding of the nature of Japanese verbs. Highly recommended.

Ivan Rorick
Published 7 months ago by Ivan Rorick

5.0 out of 5 stars In thy most need to go by thy side
Excellent grammar handbook. The field of "verbology" in Japanese seems at first sight a jungle (especially for those - like me- who do not master yet Japanese writing -especially... Read more
Published 22 months ago by LONGHI

5.0 out of 5 stars Dull but vital
Like all of Taeko Kamiya's books, this one is simultaneously dull and vital. You get no gimmicks, no shiny drawings, no funky catchphrases or adorable characters. Read more
Published on October 28, 2007 by F. Toro

5.0 out of 5 stars Need Help with Verbs...Get this book
I have been studying Japanese for almost 2 years now in a classroom with Japanese for busy people. Although these are good books they lack detail in certain aspects such as verbs... Read more
Published on July 18, 2007 by Spydamans

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for learning Japanese
Verbs are a major part of any language. This books shows conjugations and grammar points related to verbs. It's truly one of my favorite books for learning. Read more
Published on January 18, 2007 by R. L. McDonald

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended
I recommend this book to everyone who is studying Japanese. It's a compact, well organized, easy to understand grammatical reference text about verbs. Read more
Published on November 25, 2006 by Yamada-san

5.0 out of 5 stars Great overview material
This little book will be quite handy as an overview -- after you read your primary Japanese textbook/self-study book, look through examples and try to get all the answers right. Read more
Published on April 4, 2006 by EMax999

5.0 out of 5 stars Great learning book.
This is a very good book for begginers, but you still have to sit down and practice the basics with it... it's very good.
Published on March 10, 2005 by Wiver

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.