A Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese - 4th Edition by Florence Sakade (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This is an essential study tool for students seeking to learn Japanese and dramatically improve their ability to read and write kanji and kana.

Students have been reading and writing the Japanese language for centuries, and they build their knowledge most successfully when they rely on a trusted resource. Today's most trusted--and readily available--resource is A Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese. This classic, best-selling learning and reference work, trusted by beginning and intermediate students of Japanese is the best way to learn kanji and kana, and is now being offered as a fourth, thoroughly revised and up-to-date edition.

Having a knowledge of the full set of General Use characters is the key to mastering everyday Japanese and will allow students to read and write Japanese up to the level of a typical Japanese newspaper with ease and confidence.

Key features of this revised edition include:

• The most recent changes prescribed by the Japanese Ministry of Education.
• Covers all the 2,136 characters in the 'General Use' / Joyo Kanji set.
• Special codes indicate the kanji required for the JLPT and AP exams.
• Full range of Japanese character readings and English definitions
• Stroke counts, stroke-order diagrams, and compounds.
• Essential Japanese characters are presented according to the new arrangement by grade, based on their frequency of usage rather than their complexity.
• Numerous examples are given of the kanji compounds and derivatives used to form everyday words in Japanese.

From the Back Cover

This book is designed first of all to make the study of written Japanese a much less formidable task for the foreign student than it has traditionally been. Its second major purpose is to enable the student to achieve fluency in reading and writing the language in its everyday style. Essentially, the book reflects the language simplification movement now under way in Japan.

Review Quotes

"Wow! Another amazing book by Tuttle at a price I can afford. As a single mom living under the poverty level, I need to be careful how I spend my money. I want value in need books that will supplement my girls' education and also useful to me as well. A Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese is modern with "the most recent changes to the kanji list prescribed by the Japanese Ministry of Education." Learning each stroke of the 2,136 characters in the general use kanji set in the 1,009 essential characters are a breeze. It includes the full range of character readings and their English definitions. There are plenty of examples and "special codes to indicate the kanji required for the JLPT and AP exams." Learning kanji has never been so easy!" --Goodreads

About the Author

Florence Sakade was a renowned editor and author of numerous books about Japan's language and culture, including the classic Origami: Japanese Paper Folding and Japanese Children's Favorite Stories.

Janet Ikeda is Associate Professor of Japanese at Washington and Lee University in Virginia. She served as president of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, and is currently a Director of the AATJ. Ikeda is currently on the Japanese American Leadership Delegation (JALD).