How to Sound Intelligent in Japanese: A Vocabulary Builder (Kodansha's Children's Classics) (Paperback)

by Charles De Wolf (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
" ... an easy, interesting way of learning new words." -- The Nikkei Weekly

"... an inviting read through the inclusion of interesting etymologies and, sometimes, jocular example sentences." -- John Benedict, Asahi Evening News

"... this small book offers a wealth of difficult vocabulary presented in an accessible, interesting format." -- Leza Lowitz, The Japan Times

"A highly recommended reference work for the serious student." -- Tokyo Today

"The author's explanations of usage solve long-standing mysteries." -- The Daily Yomiuri

Review

"... this small book offers a wealth of difficult vocabulary presented in an accessible, interesting format." -The Japan Times
"The author's explanations of usage solve long-standing mysteries." -The Daily Yomiuri
" ... an easy, interesting way of learning new words." -The Nikkei Weekly
"A highly recommended reference work for the serious student." -Tokyo Today
"... an inviting read through the inclusion of interesting etymologies and, sometimes, jocular example sentences." -Asahi Evening News


See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha International (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770028598
• ISBN-13: 978-4770028594
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #168,525 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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

  #82 in	Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Japanese
  #98 in	Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Japanese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprised at some comment..., March 8, 2005

By	Steven Kempton (Auckland, New Zealand) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: How to Sound Intelligent in Japanese: A Vocabulary Builder (Power Japanese) (Paperback)

I am a little surprised at some of the other reviews of this book. It's title I feel can be a little misleading and there is no way this book will make you sound "pedantic or insincere". It really is a Vocabulary Builder and is meant to be a quick and concise way to build specialist vocabulary across many topics. I am quick to add though, that this is not specialist vocabulary in your native language, in fact if you could not speak on the topics and using the words described in English in this book you would most probably be considered ignorant. Too many people live in Japan, learn a little Japanese and then think that the Japanese don't talk about politics, business, science, religon etc in everyday ilfe. The sad fact may be they don't talk to you about it because they don't think you could talk about it.

This book is a great way to learn a lot of vocab. Chapters are split into topics with an excellent background and etymology for most chapters and also excellent examples in both romaji and kanji, so you can increase your kana and spoken comprehension at the same time. If you are already a fairly strong reader and speaker of japanese this book can help you reach into new topics.

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For professional users of Japanese, May 5, 2004

By	Edward P. Trimnell "edwardtrimnell.com" (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a longtime student and translator of the Japanese language, I would like to see more books like this on the market, in contrast to the sea of books that focus on Japanese slang, foreign loanwords, and profanity. Japanese academics and professionals who operate in an English-speaking environment don't expect to get a free pass on difficult English vocabulary. "How to Sound Intelligent in Japanese" seems to be based on the premise that foreign speakers of Japanese should also be able to handle advanced terminology.

Historically, native Japanese speakers have been amazed at a foreigner who can manage even a passable sentence or two in their language. Ten years ago, it was not uncommon for Japanese to heap praise on an American visitor to Tokyo for correctly ordering lunch without resorting to English. Americans were even complimented for knowing how to say "konnichiwa" and "ohayoo gozaimasu."

Today, the bar has been raised substantially, and a reasonable comprehension of professional and academic terminology is needed in order to be taken seriously as a foreign speaker of Japanese. This is especially true if you intend to rely on your Japanese skills in a professional context. "How to Sound Intelligent in Japanese" can help the intermediate student to polish her skills to the point where Japanese speakers will regard her as an adult speaker of their language.

The book is laid out in a convenient thematic format, so you can focus on the areas which are most relevant to your own needs and interests (science, law, etc.) There are enough example sentences to give you a sense of the context in which the specialized vocabulary items are used. Nonetheless, this book does assume an intermediate to advanced grasp of Japanese, so it may be a bit too much for first-year students; and the book doesn't offer much in the way of grammatical instruction.

However, this is an extremely valuable resource for intermediate students who want to ease into more complex subject matters in Japanese. After working diligently through this book, the student will have the appetite and confidence necessary to tackle the publications that Japanese professionals themselves read.

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful, January 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Sound Intelligent in Japanese: A Vocabulary Builder (Power Japanese) (Paperback)

I have studied Japanese for quite some time, and managed to get a good grasp of basic vocabulary and most sentence patterns, but was at a loss for words when the conversation became the least bit intellectual. This book filled in the gap in my Japanese quite nicely. Most textbooks are geared at least in part for the tourist, presenting practical, but simplistic conversations. If you know that you are going to need to discuss anything beyond the weather and your health in Japanese, I would strongly recommend this book.