|
|
|
Average Customer Review
Share your thoughts with other customers
|
|
|
The most helpful favorable review
The most helpful critical review
51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
Japanese Picture Dictionary
This book is a necessity for any student of the Japanese language. Hundreds of words each have their own illustrations and most pages have large, beautiful composite drawings great for point 'n' mane practice. The subjects are very diverse and include "The Make-Believe Castle", "The Attic", and "The Mouse Hunt", which list some unusual...
Published on April 8, 2000 by E. Martinez
|
› See more 5 star, 4 star reviews |
 |
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Not what I expected.
This is actually a very well written and illustrated book. The problem is that I am a beginner. This book has hiragana, katakana, and kanji all mixed on the same pages. I am not quite ready for kanji. If you are, the book is perfect. For the true beginner, you may wish to hold off on this book until you learn hiragana and katakana in complete detail!
Published on May 20, 2001 by Mark Rogers
|
› See more 3 star, 2 star, 1 star reviews |
|
|
51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
Japanese Picture Dictionary, April 8, 2000
This book is a necessity for any student of the Japanese language. Hundreds of words each have their own illustrations and most pages have large, beautiful composite drawings great for point 'n' mane practice. The subjects are very diverse and include "The Make-Believe Castle", "The Attic", and "The Mouse Hunt", which list some unusual and fun words. I might just need to say 'fairy princess' while in Japan, or reading manga. The book uses English, romanjij (Japanese words in the Roman alphabet), as well as kana and kanji (Japanese characters) so readers of any skill level can read and use the book. As a beginning student of the language, I found the multiple alphabet format used for each word very helpful. I enjoyed reading and learning from this book very much and I recommend it as an addition to any language student's or child's library.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Not what I expected., May 20, 2001
This is actually a very well written and illustrated book. The problem is that I am a beginner. This book has hiragana, katakana, and kanji all mixed on the same pages. I am not quite ready for kanji. If you are, the book is perfect. For the true beginner, you may wish to hold off on this book until you learn hiragana and katakana in complete detail!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
My First Japanese Dictionary. It Is Fantastic!, April 16, 2002
By A Customer
My mother is a Japanese and I am a Japanese American. She and I will be using this book to teach my son Japanese. The drawings in this book are very friendly. Kids have fun time reading this book. We also use this book to teach adult students Japanese. Like the saying "pictures worth thousand words", the grown-ups also find the classes interesting when using material like this one. One great thing about this book is that Kanji and English are also listed next to each picture. That is a big help for those who are serious about learning how to read and write Japanese... We highly recommand this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
a nice book, with a helpful way to learn some Japanese words, September 21, 2007
This review is from: Let's Learn Japanese Picture Dictionary (Hardcover)
I bought this book in a bookstore before we moved to Japan; I was so excited to see a Japanese picture book that my daughter may enjoy that I bought it immediately. In reading through it before our move here, it was interesting, although a bit dense with information since I initially bought it for my preschool-aged daughter. This may be more useful for adults or school-age kids who want to learn Japanese words in a context beyond just memorizing the words and their meanings, but rather associating pictures with the Japanese words and how they are pronounced. The pictures are good, and my daughter enjoys looking at them for a little while; however, they really are geared more toward adults or school-age children (i.e. they are not the fun and happy pictures to which preschoolers or that age group are typically drawn). I do still go over it in limited doses with my 3-year old to help her learn Japanese words, but this is not a book she will pull off the shelf and look through on her own (she does do that with most of her other books).
Now that I am living in Japan and learning the language and having to use it in everyday life, I find myself reading this book more than my daughter, where it is useful as a tool to increase my vocabulary. There is also a nice index in the back of the book with both the english as well as romaji text for the Japanese words. I wouldn't use this book by itself to learn Japanese, but do not think that was ever its intention anyway. This is a nice book in that it does include the kanji/hiragana/katakana text for the words as well as how it is pronounced. The actual Japanese script for the words is great because it can help you identify it on packaging or other times you need to learn the written word. For a real beginner, having the romaji pronunciation help there is a plus, since learning all of the kanji scripts and their respective pronunciations can be more than a little overwhelming (at least there are more limited numbers of hiragana and katakana scripts to learn). For those of us learning Japanese and needing to use it in everyday life, having the romaji pronunciation there is a big help, vs. a more academic approach of strictly learning all of the Japanese script (kanji, hiragana, katakana) for the words.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Love the layout of this book!, January 10, 2007
This review is from: Let's Learn Japanese Picture Dictionary (Hardcover)
I have never seen a "dictionary" laid out this way, but I love it! Every time you turn a page you get a two page spread of a scene from daily life: school, work, home, neighborhood, etc. - kind of "Where's Waldo" style. Within the picture almost everything is labelled in Japanese. It's really a great idea for helping kids (and adults) link the internal concept of a thing or action with the spoken word for that action, rather than trying the translation approach. A really great learning aid!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Good book, would have preferred no romaji, March 17, 2006
This review is from: Let's Learn Japanese Picture Dictionary (Hardcover)
Children's book or no, I was hoping this picture dictionary would be very useful. Unfortunately its usefulness is abated by the use of romaji. Do not be mistaken, kana and kanji are used -- each word/image is broken up into English, romaji, and its proper kana or kanji. However, I would very much have prefered that it just be English, kana, and kanji with furigana/rubi where required.
As it stands, the romaji becomes a crutch. Not to mention it is the only way of learning the pronunciation of the kanji, something I very much dislike.
If you don't mind this issue, then it is otherwise a very good book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Best foreign language picture dictionary for visual learners, February 8, 2009
This review is from: Let's Learn Japanese Picture Dictionary (Hardcover)
I bought this for my kids before we moved to Japan but I have ended up using it more often. I have started teaching English to Japanese students (both adults and kids) and this picture dictionary comes in very handy. The pictures are great and it includes a lot of different words, grouped by scenario. For example, the first couple of pages show a house and every thing in the house is labeled. Each room, the furniture/appliances in each room, and various decor in each room. The next couple of pages show a kitchen and many different types of foods that can be found in a kitchen are labeled. Some of the different scenes that are covered are outer space, the ocean, make-believe (which includes a castle and related items), and human history (cavemen) - just to name a few. I recommend this picture dictionary for anyone who is looking to expose themselves or their children to the Japanese language, even if you aren't travelling to or moving to Japan.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Japanese Picture Dictionary, June 23, 2008
This review is from: Let's Learn Japanese Picture Dictionary (Hardcover)
This book is great for any beginner who is looking to broaden their Japanese vocabulary. It has numerous full page spreads which are interesting and fun to look at. Along the margins are pictures of the objects or people you are learning the Japanese words for along with the romaji and either hiragana, katakana or kanji symbols. My only complaint was that they were not all in simply hiragana or katakana (for reading practice) but were instead in kanji. This is good though considering everything you would read beyond children's level is a combination of the three. Plenty of interesting topics for each layout too, from living room and kitchen to zoo, space and medieval castles! Recommend to any beginner looking to increase their Japanese vocabulary.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pretty good, some Japanese words are a bit old., April 20, 2010
This review is from: Let's Learn Japanese Picture Dictionary (Hardcover)
Overall good product to play with if you got a young kid. In my case I've been sitting with my 3 year old looking at the pictures and get a fun time out of it. For serious study, this book may not be the best material. Maybe use as reference when you need to look up something. My wife also mentioned that the book has some old Japanese that she don't think anyone is using them anymore. 4 out of 5.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nice book, February 7, 2010
This review is from: Let's Learn Japanese Picture Dictionary (Hardcover)
Rather than just an illustrated dictionary, this book consists of double-page spreads with a large picture, and much smaller pictures of the individual items (with the words) on the side. You can look at the words on the side and learn them, then (I suppose) cover them up and look at the main picture and try to identify things from memory. All items are listed in English, Romaji, and Japanese. Please note the Japanese uses kanji with no furigana, so you'll have to use the romaji if you don't know the kanji (which I doubt you would know, otherwise you wouldn't be using this book). Unfortunately the book appears to have been translated to Japanese, that is the pictures show American scenes rather than Japanese scenes. So, the food in the restaurant is all American-type food, no Japanese food. The furniture in the house is Western style, not Japanese style. The mailbox is American, not Japanese (I'd like to know what a Japanese mailbox looks like). The landscapes have no volcanoes ... you get the idea. Otherwise it's a decent book with a large vocabulary. It's just a shame the illustrations couldn't have been customized for Japan, rather than just a Japanese translation of whatever words were already in the book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
