The "Best" Books/Resources for Learning Japanese: Beginner to Advanced

"BEGINNERS ------------ (SUPPLEMENT - Beginner) This is the first thing you should learn. Most textbooks don't teach how to write kana. This only requires a few days of memorization and information is available for free online (website with audio: http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/writing), but if you want a book, get this or Let's Learn Hiragana/Let's Learn Katakana."

"(SOFTWARE - Beginner) My favorite for COMPLETE beginners. If you've thought about trying the overpriced Rosetta Stone series, get Human Japanese instead. All-encompassing, it teaches how to write the kana, basic grammar, vocab, culture, and it has audio. humanjapanese.com has a free demo to try.  Mac version is available in the Mac App Store. Also available for smart phones."

"(TEXT - Beginner) One of the best books for COMPLETE beginners. It has a slow pace and teaches how to write the kana. There are 3 books in this series. It has gotten great reviews and seems easy to use.  Each book teaches about 800 words/phrases. Audio available on yesjapan.com. Not as comprehensive as the other textbooks on this list, but the whole series covers a lot of material."

"(TEXT - Beginner) This is a wonderful book that some consider a "classic." Provides a very solid foundation for further study. Doesn't have exercises, audio, or much vocab, it's more of a reference. I wouldn't use it as your main textbook or if you are a complete beginner, but if you want to learn the basics of grammar and have fun, look no further."

"(TEXT - Beginner) This book goes through the basics of Japanese and works well as a supplement/study guide for an official textbook. Covers ~600 words, has varied exercises, geared for self-learners.  No audio. Not as good as Human Japanese and Japanese from Zero for complete beginners. Similar: Japanese Step by Step, Colloquial Japanese."

"(AUDIO - Beginner) - Classroom/lesson format with professor and 2 students. Teaches basic grammar, couple hundred vocab words. Great for complete beginners. There is also an "Advanced" version with more grammar. One student on CDs is slow and can be annoying. (For the new blue-colored course, MTM Total = the old foundation/beginner course, and MTM Perfect = the old advanced course)"

"(TEXT - Beginner to Intermediate) What other textbook series do in 2+ books, this does in 1 for ~$20! Diverse exercises to reinforce vocab/grammar, answers in back, brief grammar explanations, ~2500 vocab, ~500 kanji. Dives right into kana, kanji, and casual/polite speech. Fast-paced and dense, recommended for serious self-studiers or a classroom. Audio tapes hard to find, can get online."

"(TEXT - Beginner to Intermediate) Probably the most popular textbook. ~1700 vocab, ~317 kanji total. 2 books in series, optional workbooks. 2nd ed includes audio (1st ed doesn't). Answer key separate. Follows a student in Japan, so there are more school-related terms than other texts. Slower paced and pretty detailed. Uses mostly polite Japanese. Expensive. Japan Times website has sample."

"(TEST -Beginner to Intermediate) Many consider this a "classic" textbook with detailed explanations for serious learners, but is expensive and doesn't seem to have an answer key. Book 2 is a workbook with numerous exercises to reinforce material (both books required). Exhaustive and dense. No audio. Uses kana and kanji immediately. ~3000 vocab, ~1000 kanji."

"(TEXT - Beginner to Intermediate) 2-book series that has detailed grammar explanations and many exercises. Combines aspects of Genki (slower pace, explanations) and Japanese for Everyone (gradual kanji, examples). Geared towards students, but also good for self-learner. Emphasizes polite speech. Audio CD included. Answer key in teacher's ed. Medium-expensive if you buy everything."

"(TEXT - Beginner to Intermediate) I've heard good things about this 3-book series. More informal/inviting, detailed explanations. Has casual/polite speech actually used in manga. Workbooks necessary; the main texts have few exercises. Designed for self-study (answers in back). Manga was edited for the book because of copyright issues. Relatively inexpensive, but there are many workbooks. No audio."

"(TEXT - Beginner to Intermediate) 4-book series (2 beginner, 2 intermed) with optional workbooks. Some people really like it and others don't. If want comprehensive and serious, might work for you. Textbook is all in Japanese, English guide explains instructions/grammar. Practical dialogues, vocab, and exercises. Audio & teacher's guide with answers sold separately. Expensive."

"(TEXT - Beginner to Intermediate) Popular textbook. This 3-book series focuses on business vocab. Some people think it could use more detailed explanations; relies more on memorizing over understanding. Exercises are mostly fill-in-the-blank. Get the "kana" version to learn Japanese writing. There are workbooks too. Audio CD included, answers in back. Inexpensive. KANJI ----------"

"(KANJI) Kanji broken into components associated with a keyword. Make stories with keywords to remember kanji. Kanji listed in a logical order. You learn how to write/recognize kanji before reading them (this can be modified). More efficient than traditional methods. Kanji Koohii website has sample and is good resource. Skip Vol2 and learn words in context."

"(KANJI) Alternative to Heisig. Same order Japanese children learn kanji. Relies on memorization, but is organized well. Lacks stroke order, but gives interesting info about kanji and tips for remembering. Combine with web resources to supplement stroke order. Learn the radicals first (web or Let's Learn Kanji). Use Anki to review. Similar: Essential Kanji."

"(KANJI) This wonderful 4-book series is another option for Kanji. It groups Kanji into categories for easier learning. Very complete, has meaning, reading, stroke order, examples, exercises to LEARN not memorize. Buying all is expensive (check out The Japan Shop or buy used). Series only covers 1000 Kanji (others have 2000). Use Anki to review."

"(KANJI) Orders kanji so they build on each other. Has stroke order, basic meanings, readings, a couple of example words. Has some brief tips for remembering. Would be nice if this was combined with Henshall's book, as they fill in each other's weaknesses."

"(KANJI) This goes along with the Japanese in Mangaland textbooks, but can be used on its own. Has stroke order, sounds, meaning, tips for remembering, manga examples, exercises. There will be 3 books, book 3 is not out yet, but when this series is finished it will cover ~2000 kanji."

"(KANJI - Beginner to Advanced) If you don't want to use flashcard software to review Kanji (I recommend Anki), you can use these cards. They are really good! (Don't get the Tuttle ones, they pale in comparison, though these are more expensive). This company also makes great kana cards."

"SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKS - BEGINNER TO INTERMEDIATE ---------------------------------------------- (SUPPLEMENT - Beginner to Intermediate) If particles confuse you then buy this book! Probably one of the best supplemental books! The sequel, How to Tell the Difference between Japanese Particles, is more of a workbook. I like this one because it's easy to look up a particle when I encounter it."

"(SUPPLEMENT - Beginner to Advanced) One of the best resources for grammar! I recommend this as a supplement to ANY textbook series because none of them are perfect at explaining grammar. There are also Intermediate and Advanced grammar dictionaries. The Japan Times "bookclub" website has samples."

"(SUPPLEMENT - Beginner to Intermediate) If something confuses you about Japanese, this book might have the answer. Cheap and immensely useful! I recommend you have some understanding of Japanese before picking this up. Probably one of the best supplemental books!"

"(SUPPLEMENT - Beginner to Intermediate) Part of the Power Japanese series (Kodansha), which is good in general. Others: Japanese Core Words and Phrases, Basic Connections, The Handbook of Japanese Verbs, Building Word Power in Japanese: Using Kanji Prefixes and Suffixes, The Handbook of Japanese Adjectives and Adverbs, etc. INTERMEDIATE TEXTBOOKS ---------------------"

"(TEXT - Intermediate) Unofficial sequel to Genki. Supposed to be pretty good for self-study, but doesn't have many exercises in the textbook (there's a workbook too, but no answer key). Topics are mainly school/study-abroad related. The Japan Times "bookclub" website has a sample. Audio included."

"(TEXT - Intermediate) This has more grammar than An Integrated Approach to Intermed Jap, but fewer exercises (some extra online).  The topics are more varied & interesting (pop culture, food, sports, history, nature, politics). Multimedia approach. Audio/video included. Other options: Aozora, Minna No Nihongo Chuukyuu I, or Nihongo Chuukyuu J301. Look at samples to see which one is best for you."

"(TEXT - Beginner to Advanced) If you are in a technical field, this textbook series may be helpful to you. Other books in the series: Intermediate Technical Japanese Vols 1 & 2, Kanji for Understanding Technical Japanese, Comprehending Technical Japanese. They also have specific books for biotech, solid-state physics, polymer science, etc."

"(SUPPLEMENT - Intermediate) Start reading real Japanese! Includes definitions of difficult words and English translation. There's also "Exploring Japanese Literature," which is the sequel and a bit more difficult. I have listed more Japanese readers in the Fun section below."

"(SUPPLEMENT - Intermediate) If you are going to interact with customers, check out this book to learn relevant business vocab, politeness levels, and how to handle situations you may encounter."

"(SUPPLEMENT - Intermediate) Learn how to read Japanese more quickly and scan articles to get the gist. Lots of reading practice! ADVANCED ----------"

"(TEXT - Advanced) One of the only advanced textbooks that I've seen. At this stage I'd probably just read real Japanese books/manga, etc. Sequel to An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese. It's an advanced reader with articles and grammar notes. Try The Japan Shop or Japan Times websites if you can't find them anywhere. Another option is Nihongo ChuuKyuu J501."

"(SUPPLEMENT - Advanced) If you are preparing for the JLPT, try out the Kanzen Master series, Nihongo Soumatome, Unicom's workbooks, or Tanki Master. Available on The Japan Shop website or White Rabbit Press. Short grammar explanations, so it's more for review/practice. Useful website: http://www.tanos.co.uk/jlpt/ FOR FUN ----------"

"(FUN - Beginner to Intermediate) Contains 5 stories and CD narrating them. One of the only readers for beginners.  Wonderful but expensive, could resell. 5 levels (0 to 4). Buy from White Rabbit Press. Similar: 10-pun de Yomeru Ohanashi (grades 1-6), chokochoko.wordpress.com/the-great-library, language.tiu.ac.jp/index_e.html, botsan.com"

"(FUN - Upper Beginner to Intermediate) About a cute cat that is adopted by a family. Full of practical vocabulary. One of the easiest mangas to read for beginners. This links to the English version, make sure to buy the Japanese language version elsewhere. There is also an anime that would be good for listening practice."

"(FUN - Upper Beginner to Intermediate). About a young girl who moves to a new town. Full of practical vocabulary. One of the easiest mangas. Try YesAsia.com or White Rabbit Press. Other options: Doraemon (a classic), Crayon Shinchan (funny), and Aria (a gondolier on Mars)."

"(FUN - Intermediate) Read real Japanese! Includes definitions of difficult words and English translation. There's also "Read Real Japanese Essays" which is just as good, but the layout is a bit different. Unfortunately, both have quite a bit of furigana above the kanji. Free options: http://english.franklang.ru, http://hukumusume.com/douwa/betu/index.html"

"(FUN - Upper Beginner to Intermediate) The title is a bit misleading, as it requires some knowledge of Japanese. You'll learn the true meaning behind common and culturally significant words/phrases that are often not explained well in textbooks."

"(FUN - Intermediate) Has a translation in English, definitions, explanation of tough grammar. (New edition of Strange But True reader). Other good options (possibly out-of-print): Living Japanese: A Modern Reader, and Japan As It Is: A Bilingual Guide. Buy used or older edition or look around at Kinokuniya."

"(FUN - Intermediate) A reader with 60 short newspaper articles. Definitions, translation, comprehension exercises, and audio included (doesn't match written article word-for-word, it's in "TV/radio style" with the same content). Available from White Rabbit Press and The Japan Shop. Sample on Japan Times bookclub website. ALC's Intermediate Japanese Reading Skill Builder is another option."