The Best Book for Learning How to Read Japanese

It's i of the most important Japanese learning decisions you'll ever make.

Information technology'll guide your learning for the foreseeable future and dictate your progress (or lack thereof).

What is it?

Just this: Which Japanese textbook should you lot get?

Whether you're a complete beginner to learning Japanese or you've got your sights assault taking the JLPT this year, it'due south crucial that yous find the right textbook for you lot.

A textbook is a big investment. A practiced textbook volition help y'all understand and grow confident in applying new learning. A bad textbook can go out you so unmotivated or confused that yous risk giving upward language learning altogether.

But when it comes to ownership a new textbook, you might be stumped. Do whatever of these problems audio familiar?

• "I'm confused by all the choices and don't know where to commencement!"
• "I'm not sure which level textbook volition arrange me best."
• "I'm overwhelmed by the different books in the large-name series. Practise I need to buy them all?"
• "Textbooks are sometime news! Apps are the way to go. I have a ton on my phone… but they're all educational activity me different things at different speeds."

Let'southward face it: Most bookstores stock very few, if any, Japanese textbooks from the massive range available because most people are too intimidated to take on the challenge—but non you!

Shopping online makes things fifty-fifty more challenging as you tin't leaf through the options and get a good sense of what volition work for you.

Then how exercise you choose a textbook without getting to see it properly? Simply use our handy slap-up guide!

We'll requite yous the within scoop on the all-time Japanese textbooks for all levels, from the perspective of someone who's actually owned and used them.Let'south get started!

Download: This blog post is available every bit a user-friendly and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to become a re-create. (Download)

What Makes a Expert Japanese Textbook?

Whatis a textbook, anyway?

This seems actually obvious! But equally a former academic librarian and electric current language teacher, I'm frequently surprised by how many people refer to reference books equally textbooks.

While both are useful, one type is designed to teach new material and the other to check or look something upward. There's a clear deviation and there are clear features you lot should be looking for.

What's a reference book?

• Examples include dictionaries and encyclopedias (if Wikipedia were produced in print, it'd be considered a reference book).
• It'southward often organized alphabetically or contains many brusque entries that aren't linked.
• It contains multiple examples of typical usage.
• It comprehensively covers even rare rules or uses of language.
• It'due south designed to give definitions of terms and examples of things like exceptions to grammar rules.
• It's great for refreshing your knowledge, translating texts accurately and gaining contextual agreement through seeing many examples of the way a rule is practical.

What's a textbook?

• It's organized into lessons.
• Information technology moves from simpler to more hard material, building upon knowledge covered in previous chapters.
• Its authors often omit more obscure, advanced or complex rules and stay focused on one usage at a time to avert defoliation.
• It includes issues for learners to complete in society to apply and bank check their knowledge and typically has the answers available (though occasionally, these are sold separately).
• It oft covers multiple skills, such as speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Both reference books and textbooks are incredibly useful, but trying to use a reference book to teach yourself Japanese can exist a difficult slog and trying to look something up in a textbook may exit you without the answer you seek.

Look for textbooks every bit your main roadmap and structure and reference books to assistance reinforce learning and make full in specific gaps in your knowledge.

Where to Purchase Japanese Textbooks

While Amazon may be where well-nigh books are purchased these days—and their "expect within" characteristic tin can be really helpful—there's a lot to be said for considering other places to buy. Here are a few options:

Concrete stores

Traditional brick-and-mortar stores can offer a hazard to really look through a volume and compare several side-by-side. If you're lucky plenty to accept admission to a higher campus bookstore, then it could exist well worth your time to take a trip to bank check out their Japanese section.

Flagship stores in larger cities as well take more stock and y'all may observe staff who are really familiar with the linguistic communication sections and tin can assist you.

Online stores

OMG Nihon has a pick of textbooks and reference books that'southward even ameliorate than Amazon'south. They're well organized and very easy to navigate by level, skill or series. The staff are professional, have expertise in this specific area and will help answer your questions.

Of course, Amazon offers free aircraft on many items and stone-lesser prices. The "used books" selection is likewise worth considering if you lot're on a tight budget (especially for reference books, as textbooks may have problems filled in already).

Pro tip: Intermediate and advanced learners should bank check selections on the (all Japanese) Amazon Japan website, equally they have a far wider choice than almost English speaking countries' local Amazon sites.

Find the book that you want, note the ISBN, then search by typing the ISBN straight into the search bar of your local Amazon site to meet if in that location's a re-create available. Ordering directly from Japanese Amazon is possible, but may accept expensive aircraft.

Tried and Tested: The 10 Best Japanese Textbooks for Learners

"Genki"

Probably the most pop beginner option for learning Japanese, "Genki" books I and II have been around for years and are firm favorites in college "Introduction to Japanese" courses. At that place'south a good reason for the indelible popularity of this series: They're well-written, easy to understand, affordable and comprehensive.

Pros:

• The series is popular, then lots of online posts and user experience has been shared almost them.
• Similarly, there are many digital flashcard decks available on Anki and Memrise.
• Information technology covers 4 language skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening).
• JLPT level N5 is covered in "Genki" I and JLPT level N4 is covered in "Genki" II, and so if you know the vocabulary, grammar and kanji in the books and can practice the listening exercises, information technology'southward likely that yous're examination-ready!
• Information technology uses English to explain grammar points.
• Some extra materials online are free to utilise.
• Workbooks are available and are really useful for helping to consolidate learning without costing an arm and a leg.

Cons:

• "Genki" books are meant to exist taught by a Japanese teacher in class and have many pair-work exercises, so they're not always great for self-study.
• Answers are sold separately in an additional book and are all-Japanese with no translation available, making information technology even more than difficult for beginners to study by themselves.

Recommended level:

Beginner.

In a nutshell:

Slap-up for those taking their first Japanese classes.

"Nihongo Agile Talk"

If your main goal is having conversations and making friends using Japanese, and so "Nihongo Active Talk" may be just the ticket. It covers set phrases and beginner vocabulary and focuses on the awarding and comprehension of unproblematic speaking and listening skills.

Pros:

• Romaji-based teaching makes reading easier.
• Brusk and simple exercises hateful you can speedily move on, keeping motivation upwardly.
• The book focuses on grasping grammar basics and applying them in chat, helping learners report the concepts in context.
• Useful vocabulary lists volition help you selection upwardly new words and review them hands.

Cons:

• Romaji may discourage kana acquisition, which is essential for moving forward in your learning.
• It only focuses on conversational skills and as a result, it's less comprehensive than other textbooks.

Recommended level:

Beginner.

In a nutshell:

Get speaking straight away.

"Minna no Nihongo"

Another major role player for Japanese beginners is "Minna no Nihongo" (translated as "Japanese for Everyone"). This well-established textbook series has a really broad range of offerings.

The books are written by established Japanese language teachers, who are experts in their fields. I specially liked their "25 Topics You Tin Read equally a Beginner" book.

Pros:

• The book introduces kanji from the beginning and although this may be a challenge, information technology pays peachy dividends and makes learning much faster equally you move on.
• Answers to some activities are included in the back of the volume.
• The all-Japanese format ways that you'll take to try harder to power through before checking the translation book, which will help you start thinking in Japanese sooner.
• The series has a very wide range of books, covering many skills similar reading, writing, speaking and listening.
• The range of linguistic communication covered is comprehensive.
• Because there are so many books, there are many opportunities to practise and focus on the skills y'all especially need to principal.

Cons:

• Learners demand to have working use of hiragana and katakana earlier outset this textbook.
• Like "Genki," "Minna no Nihongo" was written to be used in a traditional classroom setting with a Japanese teacher guiding y'all through it and checking some answers along the way.
• An all-Japanese textbook can be overwhelming for beginners learning by themselves and makes it hard for them to check their answers.
• You may demand to buy boosted translation and grammar notes to overcome this event.
• Multiple books for each level mean that buying the whole set up of books tin get quite expensive.

Recommended level:

Beginner to intermediate.

In a nutshell:

An investment and a challenge that reaps big rewards.

"Guide to Japanese Grammar"

This textbook was written by Tae Kim, an English speaker who's mastered Japanese. It turns the idea of a Japanese textbook on its caput, ditching the "get-go with piece of cake phrases and teach grammar later," and dives head-first into Japanese grammer concepts.

If you really desire to understand the foundation of the linguistic communication from the very commencement (instead of memorizing words and phrases), this book might be right for you.

Pros:

• This entire book is bachelor for gratuitous online by the author and you can even download a PDF for gratis, too. You can besides search for a physical version on Amazon if you adopt your Japanese textbooks to be tangible.
• Bang-up for checking grammer rules, this textbook tin be used every bit a beginner reference guide equally well as a textbook to work through from outset to finish.
• Topics are organized in a logical manner.
• There's lots of English support and examples for explanations.
• The textbook is designed for independent learners and it'southward pop with people pedagogy themselves Japanese, so salubrious online communities be around this book to respond questions and provide support.

Cons:

• There are no listening exercises or sound support.
• Some practice exercises require a chat partner, so those sections aren't the best for solo learners.
• Practice exercises are open-ended questions, then they require someone with meliorate Japanese than you to check for errors.
• The grammar focus of the volume may not adjust anybody and makes this resource less comprehensive than those of a similar level, such as "Genki" or "Minna no Nihongo."

Recommended level:

Beginner to intermediate.

In a nutshell:

Get to grips with grammer.

"Japanese from Zero!"

Offering anunintimidating entry point to educational activity yourself Japanese, this series has become really popular since its first publication in 2006.

Dissimilar nearly textbooks, no teacher is required and an active online customs awaits those who desire a more than interactive arroyo.

Pros:

• The books are designed for self-study, which is a massive advantage over many other textbooks if you want to teach yourself.
• The interface of the books and web materials is intuitive and visually appealing.
• The series was written by a native English language speaker and a native Japanese speaker, which means that different ways of thinking about language acquisition are considered.
• It'due south suitable for younger learners.
• Supplementary materials are available to registered users on the YesJapan site.
• The toll point is significantly lower than a lot of alternatives.

Cons:

• No audio is included in the textbook, though there's some in the supplementary materials you can view online.
• The books were self-published and while this shows smashing entrepreneurship, other textbooks have teams of adept teachers and editors on paw to assure quality and put the noesis gained through classroom instruction into their texts.
• Y'all take to pay extra to access some spider web content.
• The slower pace may frustrate decorated adult learners with limited fourth dimension.
• It's less comprehensive than some of its counterparts.

Recommended level:

Beginner to intermediate.

In a nutshell:

A practiced place to starting time and find out if learning Japanese is for yous.

"Shadowing: Permit's Speak Japanese!"

As the proper name implies, this resource uses the shadowing technique to teach Japanese, which consists of speaking forth with a native speaker and trying to match the speed, pitch and pronunciation.

These books' master strength lies in their practicality: The example sentences independent in both are actually useful in daily life. They're great resources for perfecting pronunciation and learning to automatically speak mutual phrases in a natural manner.

It's especially difficult to find skillful speaking resource at an advanced level because they're predominantly resources aimed at native speakers, who most never need to actively right their pronunciation or rhythm in spoken language.

In that location are ii chief books available, covering beginner to intermediate and intermediate to advanced. In addition, a specialist book for job interviews is also available. If you're interested in this technique and desire more options, then bank check out an culling on OMG Japan.

Pros:

• The books are skilful quality, well organized and include native speaker audio.
• The system promotes natural speed, rhythm, intonation and pronunciation.
• You'll start speaking from day one.
• To a large extent, they can help supervene upon a teacher for speaking practice in a way other techniques simply tin't friction match.
• The technique employed yields excellent results compared to other speaking practice methods.
• They're well-organized and easy to use.
• A smaller book size makes them far more portable than traditional textbooks.
• They allow you lot to acquire set phrases and oral communication in a natural way in just 10 minutes a day, making them great for those with limited time who desire to get started immediately.

Cons:

• Information technology's difficult to sympathise the technique without a video demonstration which explains the difference between simple repetition and shadowing.
• The books would also really benefit from some kind of method for checking your own progress.
• Y'all need to speak out loud, so it's non the best for studying in public.
• These textbooks are simply good for speaking and listening—the texts don't support whatsoever reading or writing practice.
• You demand to use audio the whole fourth dimension yous use this book.
• They merely assistance with listening to a certain extent, as they don't monitor comprehension or place phrases in the context of longer speech.
• Some English explanations are included simply not enough to really master any grammar indicate, so these books are all-time used as supplementary resources.
• At that place are no quizzes or review exercises.

Recommended level:

Beginner to advanced.

In a nutshell:

Sound like a native speaker and learn by doing.

"Tobira"

Until "Tobira" was published in 2009 there hadn't been a significant new textbook for intermediate learners for 15 years. The writers and publishers clearly worked hard to make a resource that was comprehensive, challenging and that supported learners trying to overcome the dreaded intermediate plateau.

"Tobira" requires an investment of both effort and time to work through only information technology yields splendid results and its spot as a favorite in many university classes speaks to the quality of its contents.

Pros:

• Highly recommended by users for bridging the gap between low intermediate and avant-garde Japanese, this textbook will push learners to overcome the intermediate plateau.
• It'southward comprehensive and logical in terms of contents and learning society.
• All skills are covered together, including speaking and listening.
• Interactive resources, such as the "online language partner" feature, videos and quizzes are available on the accompanying website.
• It's designed for classroom usage but works well for independent learning, too.

Cons:

• The books are dense and it's easy to get overwhelmed by the pace at which new kanji are introduced, especially when studying independently.
• You'll need boosted grammar and kanji books to really get the full feel, so the serial gets expensive quickly.
• Large, heavy books make studying on the get impractical.

Recommended level:

Intermediate to advanced.

In a nutshell:

Perfect for bridging the gap between intermediate and avant-garde Japanese.

"New Nihongo Keigo Training"

Keigo , or honorific Japanese, is used to show respect and to indicate 1's place in a hierarchy. It's an essential feature of Japanese and mastering keigo tin mean the difference between beingness able to work using your Japanese and upsetting a client or failing an interview.

There aren't many resource specifically dedicated to the topic of keigo, and then "New Nihongo Keigo Training" was a welcome edition when it was published in 2014.

Pros:

• This textbook focuses on the practical usage of a trickier aspect of avant-garde Japanese.
• Natural conversations and functional thematic topics are covered, such as declining an invitation and using keigo in emails.
• Furigana throughout means that even if your kanji knowledge isn't the best, you can even so learn to communicate politely.
• It'south succinct—this book gets straight downward to business!
• There'south a CD included and an audio download is bachelor on the publisher's page.

Cons:

• The minimal English explanations hateful this book may not be advisable for those totally unfamiliar with keigo.
• At that place'due south limited assistance for speaking, which may exist a disadvantage to those who primarily want to improve their conversational politeness.
• Open-ended practice exercises may arrive difficult to assess the accuracy of your own answers.
• Pair work activities aren't well-suited for solo learners.

Recommended level:

Intermediate to advanced.

In a nutshell:

Master honorific Japanese to have your language to the adjacent level.

"Endeavor!" JLPT series

If you plan to go certification in Japanese then yous've probably encountered the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Put simply, the multiple-selection examination covers reading, listening, kanji, vocabulary and grammer ability from N5 level (beginners) upwards to N1 (advanced).

N2 is considered "business organisation level" and is a requirement for many jobs and for entry to university for foreign students within Nihon. N1 level is equivalent to a Japanese high school graduate with the knowledge of around 10,000 kanji and is mostly required for translators or specialist professionals working in all-Japanese environments.

Many textbooks cover fabric that appears on the JLPT. For instance:

• "Genki I" covers approximately N5 level.
• "Genki II" covers approximately N4 level.
• "Tobira" covers both N3 and N2, though boosted vocabulary report may be necessary at N2 level.

For N1, most examinees use a dedicated JLPT textbook and all-Japanese resource such as newspapers, novels, movies and and so on.

Some textbooks are specifically focused on students who intend to take the exam. The "Effort!" series and the following textbook on this list are among the all-time of these.

The "Try!" series strikes a good residue between instruction, awarding and review of grammar and new vocabulary. I found their grammer explanations to exist sufficient without being and so circuitous that I had trouble memorizing the main points. The series worked well during lessons, equally well as when I studied independently.

Pros:

• The fast "a to b" style is perfect for the JLPT, covering the basics in a succinct fashion.
• The books contain good, simple grammer explanations with some examples equally well as exercises and listening quizzes.
• The answers are included for easy self-cess.
• The books come with accompanying CDs.
• They piece of work well for classroom or independent study.

Cons:

• You may need further examples to go a sense of how to utilize grammar that doesn't take an equivalent in English.
• The series takes the fastest route to roofing the major grammar, vocabulary and kanji needed to pass your desired JLPT test and is less thorough than books similar "Tobira."

Recommended level:

Beginner to advanced.

In a nutshell:

Ace the JLPT with a direct route to success. This author's favorite textbook range!

"Nihongo So Matome"

"Nihongo So Matome" is frequently misused every bit a principal textbook for those studying for the JLPT, especially for N3 or N2. 纏める（まとめる, matomeru) means "to consolidate" and for that purpose, these books are excellent. Nonetheless, they lack the depth and explanations necessary in a chief textbook for learning.

The series has v slim books at each level that cover reading, listening, grammer, vocabulary and kanji.

Pros:

• The books have a cute, appealing design.
• The size of the books makes them not bad to utilize on the get, unlike weightier tomes such every bit "Tobira."
• Content is cleaved into manageable sections, with answers on the post-obit page, making checking a breeze.
• All questions are multiple-pick, like the real JLPT exams.
• Information technology helps you review the JLPT topics chop-chop and effectively.
• Recommended study days are noted, helping you work through the book in a few weeks and making information technology ideal for the final calendar month or two before your big exam.

Cons:

• The major con of this series is that people purchase it expecting information technology to teach them JLPT topics, rather than to consolidate existing learning. Used accordingly, this isn't a drawback at all.
• Five books for each level (grammer, listening, vocabulary, kanji and reading) gets expensive!
• The series uses some question types and vocabulary not found on JLPT exams then it may embrace some extra material while missing some that could exist on your test.

Recommended level:

Beginner to advanced.

In a nutshell:

Revise and review before your JLPT test.

Bonus: A Textbook That'southward Always in Your Pocket!

Finally, I'd similar you to consider the advantages of using a digital resource. And I don't hateful downloading 20 unlike apps that'll have you dislocated within the first 5 minutes. I mean signing up for FluentU.

How FluentU is different:

Because the programme is tailored to each learner'south private level, FluentU can be your ane-end-shop for all your language learning needs. The sleek interface means y'all can seamlessly switch between desktop and mobile devices and the software learns well-nigh your level, targeting lessons specifically to assist you achieve your learning goals.

Integrated spaced repetition software (SRS) means that FluentU will test you on new content at exactly the best time to strengthen your learning, making your language learning procedure quicker, more efficient and more rewarding.

FluentU's advantages over newspaper books:

• Interactive content like quizzes and SRS ways each study session is tailored to your learning needs.
• Many authentic options on various topics mean you tin can choose content that y'all're really interested in.
• Information technology's weightless and portable! Perfect for studying on the get.
• Constant updates mean there'southward always something fresh to study.
• It has born audio, because who owns a CD actor these days?
• Videos come from native resource, exposing you to truly natural language.

Recommended level:

Beginner to advanced.

In a nutshell:

The all-in-ane-resource for Japanese learners.

No thing which resource you cull, remember to think nigh your personal learning goals. Whatever your motivation for learning is, i of these superlative 10 all-time Japanese textbooks will get you at that place!

Download: This blog post is available as a user-friendly and portable PDF that yous tin take anywhere. Click here to become a copy. (Download)

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Source: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/japanese/best-japanese-textbooks/

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