Japanese language students are incredibly lucky: There’s so much competition for Japanese learning materials that the quality of Japanese textbooks out there are extremely high compared to some other less-pursued languages (even compared to Korean textbooks for example).

In the 12+ years I’ve been studying Japanese, I have bought piles and piles of Japanese language books, always with the idea of looking for the one to rule them all.

In the end, no textbook is perfect: all have their strengths and weaknesses, but there are clearly some that are exceptionally well thought out, and will help you get you the best ‘bang for your buck’ in your Japanese study.

Without further ado, here are the 12 best Japanese textbooks we’ve found for self-study.

The 12 Best Books to Learn Japanese

1. GENKI I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese

If you took Japanese in University, this is probably the textbook you used. And love it or hate it, it’s still probably the best beginners Japanese textbook out there.

Published by the Japan Times, the Genki series is currently in its 3rd edition print run (2020 edition) and has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide.

There are no shortcuts with this textbook — you have to put in the time to learn and absorb the material. If you can work through to the end of this textbook, you’ll the necessary foundations of vocabulary, grammar, hiragana, katakana, and some basic kanji to build on.

The book is divided into 2 sections:

Conversation / Grammar focuses on learning vocabulary, sentence structure and culturally useful expressions via studying dialogues.

Reading / Writing focuses on teaching you kanji and reading comprehension via lessons that correspond to the Conversation part of the book.

Overall, while the Genki series still has some flaws that other textbooks have (for example, it teaches ‘Sayonara’ for ‘goodbye’, which isn’t very commonly used day-to-day in Japan), it’s still the best book out there to start learning Japanese on your own.

Pros:

• Accompanying CD for practicing pronunciation
• Lots of exercises to practice at the end of each chapter
• If you finish this textbook, you’ll have a fairly large vocabulary (about 50 words per chapter)

Cons:

• Unusual standard of romanization: ie. kiree instead of kirei
• Doesn’t include the stroke order for kanji
• Sometimes not 100% logical in its presentation (ie. teaching 5 color words, but then skipping the rest)

Notes:

• If you get Genki, we also recommend you get the workbook too.

2. A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

There’s a reason why this book is known as the “Yellow Book” or “The Bible” among Japan expats. It is probably the best Japanese learning resource I have ever come across. Clearly and thoroughly written with great example sentences. If you are at a more advanced level, check out the “Blue” and “Red” books by the same authors.

Pros:

• Comprehensive and thorough
• Grammar points are explained clearly and with helpful examples
• Learn the difference between similar and often confused grammar points

Cons:

• This book is not a textbook — think of it as a dictionary of grammar (as the title says)

3. Remembering the Kana: A Guide to Reading and Writing the Japanese Syllabaries in 3 Hours Each

In this book James Heisig applies his mnemonics method to learning to read and write the Japanese writing systems of Hiragana and Katakana. I found it really helpful when I was starting out.

Pros:

• Mnemonics that really help to remember each character
• Can teach you how to recognize hiragana and katakana in 3 hours each

Notes:

• If you already know kana, skip this one and jump ahead to Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji book
• If you’ve learned some kana without much difficulty, you may find this book ‘overcomplicates’ the learning

4. Kodansha’s Furigana Japanese Dictionary

This has to be the best Japanese-English dictionary in print form. Kodansha really gave a lot of thought to the layout and functionality of this dictionary — and it shows. This furigana dictionary is a must-have in the library of any serious Japanese learner, from beginner to N1.

Pros:

• Great section on how to conjugate regular and irregular Japanese verbs
• Example sentences to show how words are often used

Cons:

• If anything, it’s not big enough for some more intermediate or advanced users
• No information on intonation

Notes:

• Organized alphabetically by kana, not the roman alphabet
• No romaji, all furigana

5. Remembering the Kanji, Volume 1: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters

Heisig’s Remembering The Kanji is an invaluable book for mastering kanji, and this book should be required reading for all serious learners of Japanese.

My personal anecdote about this book: I struggled terribly with remembering Kanji before I came across this book years ago, and it helped me immensely. Although I’ve forgotten many of the mnemonic ‘stories’ I first learned, I still remember the meanings of most kanji.

Pros:

• Learn the ‘parts’ that make up a kanji
• Teaches you how to remember the meanings of hundreds of characters

Cons:

• Some of the keywords chosen in the book are ambiguous or strange (ie. rarely-used English words instead of its regular-use equivalent)
• You’ll only learn the basic ‘meaning’ of the kanji, so without further study you won’t be able to ‘read’ Japanese kanji or compound words

Notes:

• Some people report not being able to view kanji stroke order on the kindle version. Buyer beware!
• Most people pair this book with Anki flashcard software. I did this and 100% recommend it

6. Kanji in Context

So this is another kanji-related book. Kanji in Context allows you to build a strong vocabulary after using Heisig’s book.

Pros:

• Over 150 lessons that teach kanji within the context of writings

Cons:

• Might be hard to find or expensive outside of Japan

Notes

• Not for beginners — more intermediate to advanced

7. The Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary

This is the best kanji reference dictionary that I’ve come across. The newest edition has the most common 3000 kanji, in a book that almost could fit in your pocket. An invaluable resource.

Pros:

• A visually appealing, well layed-out dictionary
• The ‘SKIP’ method used to look up kanji is quite ingenious
• Up to date, reliable definitions and examples

Notes

• Some people find the lookup method unintuitive (however I think this is rare)

8. JLPT Study Guide: The Comprehensive Guide to the JLPT Level N5 Exam

This JLPT N5 study guide was released in 2019 by Clayton MacKnight of JLPT Bootcamp and published by Tuttle.

If you’re just starting to learn Japanese, and are aiming to take the N5 test (or even if you’re in need of a refresher), I highly recommend this book. It has an easy to follow layout, great illustrations, and covers each topic at a good pace.

One of the best ways to prepare for the JLPT test is doing actual practice questions, which this book has plenty of. The practice sections include all the different types of questions that you’ll see on the actual test (kanji, grammar, reading and listening), so you’ll know which areas you’re prepared for, and which need more work.

If you’re working towards N5, this is the book for you!

Pros:

• More than 300 JLPT N5 practice questions included
• 3 printable N5 practice tests
• Accompanying audio for listening comprehension
• Printable flash cards for kana and N5 kanji
• Fun illustrations and dialogues

Notes:

• Ideal for students wanting to go from zero to N5 in a short amount of time.

9. How to Sound Intelligent in Japanese: A Vocabulary Builder

This book is aimed at students who already have a good grasp of Japanese and want to be able to sound, well, smarter by building their vocabulary with intelligent sounding words. If you’re looking for words and concepts that would impress a native Japanese with your ability, this is probably the one.

Pros:

• Good structure and categorization
• Fun learning for advanced students

Cons:

• Often vocabulary is quite specialized and difficult to use

Notes

• Recommended for N3 or above (not lower).

10. Read Real Japanese

This is a great book for making the tricky jump from intermediate to advanced Japanese. Of course, you can read “real” Japanese anytime nowadays online but it’s sometimes nice to have explanations for unknown expressions and writing styles you come across. The book contains eight varying and interesting essays by famous Japanese authors such as Haruki Murakami, Seiko Ito and Banana Yoshimoto.

I enjoyed studying with this book except for the author’s inexplicable usage of romaji in the vocabulary explanations. Why would an advanced learner still be using romaji? Anyway, it is an interesting read and you should be able to find it used for cheap on Amazon.

Pros:

• Helpful in making the difficult jump from textbooks to reading “real” Japanese
• Great selection from contemporary writers such as:
  • Seiko Ito
  • Momoko Sakura
  • Ryuichi Sakamoto
  • Banana Yoshimoto

Cons:

• The use of romaji in a book for advanced students is a questionable and unfortunate design choice
• Lack of sentence-by-sentence translation

11. Read Real Japanese Essays: Contemporary Writings by Popular Authors

The follow-up to the original is much improved with an audio CD included and the romaji scrapped! It gets difficult in some places and new kanji readings are only given once so it’s definitely for intermediate learners and up.

Pros:

• Notes that explain cultural contexts and usage
• Narrated CD comes with the book
• Interesting contemporary essays from popular authors including:
  • Murakami Haruki
  • Yoshimoto Banana
  • Hirano Keiichiro

Notes:

• For intermediate students (if you’ve finished the Genki series, you could try this out)

12. Read Real Japanese Fiction

Similar to the last two books but for fiction. I don’t own this one but it has some good reviews so it is probably safe to assume it’s of the same quality as the others in the series.

Pros:

• Excellent selection of stories from well-known, established authors:
  • Kawakami Hiromi
  • Otsuichi
  • Ishii Shinji
  • Yoshimoto Banana
  • Kitamura Kaoru
  • Tawada Yoko
• Helpful notes in the back of the book
• Narrated CD comes with the book

Cons:

• Doesn’t include complete translations of all sentences
• Furigana next to every new kanji (could be a plus, depending on your level)
• Not organized by level of difficulty (the first story is harder than the second for example)

Honorable Mentions That Didn’t Quite Make the List

Nihongo Through Newspaper Articles

A solid offering from the Japan Times for building up your Japanese vocabulary. Each lesson presents a new article with vocabulary and exercises. There’s also two audio CDs included. A lesson a day will quickly improve your reading comprehension.

Pros:

• Comes with 2 CDs
• Great for building vocabulary to eventually read the newspaper

Cons:

• Difficult to find outside of Japan — it’s available to buy, but can be quite expensive! Recommended you search second hand.

Notes:

• For intermediate to advanced

Pimsleur Japanese

Not strictly a book, but it’s a great audio course for starting out in Japanese. Gets a bit too corporate for my liking towards the end of the 3rd series, but you will remember and be able to use what you learn with Pimsleur. You can sample Pimsleur Japanese for free with a Audible 30 day trial. Download the taster course here.

Notes

• A lot of people hate on Pimsleur (Why???), but it’s really good for beginners to get you speaking. Try it out if you’re just starting Japanese!

Making Out in Japanese

Ok, so not really a serious one, but you’ll definitely have a lot of laughs with it!

Pros:

• Fun and entertaining (and possibly useful, if you end up single in Japan!)

Cons:

• You might consider the phrases ‘too lame’ to use in real situations

Notes

• Contains language not suitable for younger readers

Kanji Study Cards

This is not a ‘book’ per say, but flash cards. Kanji study cards that accompany James Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji (above). It is definitely nice having all 2048 kanji with their readings in one set and it saves you the effort of making the cards/notes yourself. If you’re lazy like me it’s a no-brainer!

Pros:

• Very helpful if you’re using Heisig’s method for learning the kanji

Cons:

• Expensive and difficult to find (used to be $100 on Amazon, now difficult to find retail)

Notes:

• Only useful in conjunction with the Remembering the Kanji book
• Cards haven’t been laminated so you can write your own notes on the cards. The downside of this is they can become ‘boro-boro‘ quite easily

So there you have it. There are probably more (I have spent a lot of money on Japanese books over the years) but those are — in my opinion — the best books to learn Japanese. Enjoy!

Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.

While many people think of manga as the comic book art form that gained prominence in the 20th century, it actually dates back to the 19th century in Japan and its development is tied to Japanese drawings that appeared as early as the 12th and 13th centuries. The wildly popular manga comics have now become a billion-dollar industry and include every genre imaginable, from comedy to science fiction to romance. Often confused with anime, manga refers to comics only, whereas anime typically means the animated version of those comics.

Manga is not just for kids, either: people of all ages and all walks of life read these comics, both in Japan and throughout the world. If you’re new to manga and wondering where to start (other than preparing yourself to get used to reading from right to left!), then we have some useful lists to get you started.

If you’re learning Japanese, manga offers you a wealth of story choices at different levels, from beginner to advanced. Even one of our favorite language learning hacker Tim Ferris admitted to using Manga to learn Japanese and other languages.

The Best Manga of All Time According to Reddit

Reddit is a popular resource for all things Manga, with users sharing new favorite stories they have discovered as well as commenting on some of the all-time classics. With more than one million members, reddit’s manga community will keep you in the know on the manga you should be reading. Lists such as “The Official Top 100 Manga of all Time”are enough to keep anyone busy for a while!

And if you’re still skeptical that manga will pique your interest or entertain and inform you, consider the breadth of genres covered. Manga includes every storyline imaginable, from those that touch on important historical elements of Japanese culture to those that hit on relevant issues of the times, such as the bullying epidemic, LGBTQ issues, or even devastating natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

The Many Different Genres of Manga

As one recent article pointed out, manga is aging with its population: new stories aimed at older readers account for the fact that these readers want to see themselves in stories, not just as characters on the periphery. Perhaps in time it will be named its own category, but for now the types of manga you should familiarize yourself with as you search its genres are

Shonen: manga targeted to an audience of “tween” boys

Shojo: manga targeted to an audience of “tween” girls

Seinen: manga intended for adult men

Josei: manga intended for adult women

Kodomomuke: manga for younger children

(source: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2018/12/27/beginners-guide-manga)

It should be noted that a serious threat has been posed to manga in recent years in the form of piracy. Unfortunately, the same web-based audience hungry for new manga has the option to effectively steal it. There is an entire industry based on scanning the pages of physical books and making them available, without authorization, online. This has had a serious impact on manga sales, and in turn the bottom line for the authors and publishers who create them. If you truly enjoy this important art form, be sure to purchase it from credible sources, so that the talented artists who create manga will not be forced to give up their craft!

8 Manga Classics

We’ll start with 8 Manga classics that everyone should read, covering a wide range of themes and interests:

1. Naruto, by Masashi Kishimoto

The message in Naruto is a familiar and also appealing one, as it illustrates the dreams of an orphan boy who aspires to be the best ninja. Just as we rooted for Annie to win the heart of Daddy Warbucks, we will cheer for Naruto in his quest!

2. Sailor Moon, by Naoko Tekeuchi

Talk about girl power! Sailor Moon tells the story of Usagi Tsukino, a magical warrior who is charged with protecting the earth from evil powers.

3. Astro Boy, by Osamu Tezuka

This one is a must-read for anyone new to manga: Astro Boy is one of the most popular manga of all time, telling the story of a scientist devastated by the loss of his son, so he replaces him with a robot.

4. Ace of the Diamond, by Yuji Terajima

The American pastime is beloved in Japan, too, and we see this illustrated in a manga about baseball. The main character is Weijun Sawamura, and he is recruited by a high school with quite a baseball legacy. Any sports fans are sure to connect to Manga by starting with this beloved tale!

5. Akira, by Katsuhiro Otomo

Akira is a wildly popular 1980s manga, focused on a biker gang in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo. The title character is shrouded in mystery and the sci-fi action has made this one a fan favorite for generations.

6. Inuyasha, by Rumiko Takahashi

The present meets the past when high schooler Inuyasha falls down a well and time travels to ancient Japan. Fans of both fantasy and history have loved this wildly popular manga series that has generated several feature films.

7. Barefoot Gen, by Keiji Nakazawa

For those with an interest in military history, Barefoot Gen is the perfect manga series. In it a six-year-old boy named Gen lives through the horror of Hiroshima, and its lessons are still as relevant today as they were for the WWII generation.

8. Battle Royale, by Koushun Takami

Before the Hunger Games, there was Battle Royale: a manga thriller focused on a group of students who are forced to kill one another. This one is not for the faint of heart!

The Top Manga Of All Time (an Imperfect Reading List)

1. Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama, Published by Kodansha
   
2. Bad Boys by Hiroshi Tanaka, Published by Shonen Gahosha  
3. Baki the Grappler by Keisuke Itagaki, Published by Akita Shoten  
4. Black Jack by Osamu Tezuka, Published by Akita Shoten  
5. Bleach by Tite Kubo, Published by Shueisha  
6. Boys Over Flowers by Yoko Kamio, Published by Shueisha  
7. Captain Tsubasa by Y?ichi Takahashi, Published by Shueisha  
8. Case Closed by Gosho Aoyama, Published by Shogakukan  
9. City Hunter by Tsukasa Hojo, Published by Shueisha  
10. Crows by Hiroshi Takahashi, Published by Akita Shoten  
11. Devilman by Go Nagai, Published by Kodansha  
12. Dokaben by Shinji Mizushima, Published by Akita Shoten  
13. Doraemon by Fujiko Fujio, Published by Shogakukan  
14. Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama, Published by Shueisha  
15. Dragon Quest: Dai no Daib?ken by Riku Sanjo, Koji Inada, Published by Shueisha  
16. Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima, Published by Kodansha  
17. Fist of the North Star by Buronson, Tetsuo Hara, Published by Shueisha  
18. Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa, Published by Enix (2001–2003)  
19. Gin Tama by Hideaki Sorachi, Published by Shueisha  
20. Glass Mask by Suzue Miuchi, Published by Hakusensha  
21. Golgo 13 by Takao Saito, Published by Shogakukan  
22. Great Teacher Onizuka by Tooru Fujisawa, Published by Kodansha  
23. H2 by Mitsuru Adachi, Published by Shogakukan  
24. Hajime no Ippo by George Morikawa, Published by Kodansha  
25. Hunter × Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi, Published by Shueisha  
26. Initial D by Shuichi Shigeno, Published by Kodansha  
27. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki, Published by Shueisha  
28. Kinnikuman by Yudetamago, Published by Shueisha  
29. KochiKame by Osamu Akimoto, Published by Shueisha  
30. Major by Takuya Mitsuda, Published by Shogakukan  
31. Minami no Teiou by Dai Tennoji, Rikiya Go, Published by Nihon Bungeisha   
32. Oishinbo by Tetsu Kariya, Akira Hanasaki, Published by Shogakukan  
33. One Piece by Eiichiro Oda, Published by Shueisha  
34. Ranma ½ by Rumiko Takahashi, Published by Shogakukan  
35. Rokudenashi Blues by Masanori Morita, Published by Shueisha  
36. Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki, Published by Shueisha  
37. Sangokushi by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Published by Ushio Shuppansha  
38. Sazae-san by Machiko Hasegawa, Published by Kodansha  
39. Shizukanaru Don – Yakuza Side Story by Tatsuo Nitta, Published by Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha  
40. Shoot! by Tsukasa Ooshima, Published by Kodansha  
41. Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue, Published by Shueisha  
42. The Kindaichi Case Files by Yozaburo Kanari, Seimaru Amagi, Fumiya Sato, Published by Kodansha  

Barnes & Noble Recommendations

Once you make your way through this list, take a look at what our friends at Barnes & Noble are recommending in 2019:

January Manga picks from Barnes & Noble

February Manga picks from Barnes & Noble

March Manga picks from Barnes & Noble

April Manga picks from Barnes & Noble

May Manga picks from Barnes & Noble

Recommend reading

https://iexaminer.org/two-books-to-read-that-will-change-ones-perception-of-manga/

https://www.widewalls.ch/japanese-manga-comics-history/

McCarthy, Helen. A Brief History of Manga. Ilex Gift, 2014.

Editorial Team

Our Editorial Team is a group of language learning enthusiasts who are passionate about testing new apps and finding the best ways to learn a language.

Be warned, this book is aimed at intermediate learners and above! It’s not for beginners. As for the layout, it’s a parallel translation style work with English on the left and Japanese on the right. Some notes are given at the end of each chapter but for the most part you are on your own.

There are also no romaji provided, which is a plus in our humble opinion. If you are going to attempt reading Japanese literature then you should hopefully know the kana by now! The relevant furigana are given once only as is the norm in published Japanese works.

The Stories

Here are the stories included in the book.

“Concerning the Sound of a Train Whistle in the Night or On the Efficacy of Fiction” – Murakami Haruki
“A Little Darkness” – Yoshimoto Banana
“Genjitsu House” – Koike Masayo
“The Silent Traders” – Tsushima Yuuko
“Mogera Wogura” – Kawakami Hiromi
“The Maiden in the Manger” – Abe Kazushige
“Where the Bowling Pins Stand” – Ishii Shinji
“Love Suicide at Kamaara” – Yoshida Sueko

Cautionary note: Some of the material is adult in nature so avoid this book if that could offend you.

The good

– Great resource for Japanese reading practice. It will take some effort to get through each story, especially if you are on the lower side of intermediate, but it will be worth it. This is the kind of material that helps you to become comfortable with reading the “real thing” over time. You will later reap the dividends of your hard work.

– The stories are varied, challenging and entertaining all at the same time. They are also of a relatively modern nature, providing you with fairly recent examples of Japanese in use. Rest assured, there’s no Genji to be seen here, although that certainly has its place too!

– It’s nice to be able to read contemporary stories by Japanese authors such as Haruki Murakami.

The bad

– The notes provided in this book are on the sparse side. The author could have been a little bit more helpful with some of his explanations of Japanese expressions. Although you can always use a dictionary, it would have been more convenient if things were explained better.

– As we previously discussed here, listening to the audio along with the Japanese text is a great way of learning the language. A matching audio CD would have been nice for consolidating on what has been learned.

Conclusion: A solid companion on your path to Japanese literacy

If you already have a reasonable base in Japanese then Short Stories in Japanese is a logical next step in your quest for Japanese literacy. Even if you aren’t yet proficient in reading Japanese, you can always enjoy the English translations while trying to make out some of the words that you know in Japanese. Reading this book will also enrich you culturally and give you a deeper understanding of the Japanese psyche. We highly recommend it. You can buy it on Amazon.

Rohan

Rohan has spent years studying Japanese, Chinese and Korean, and currently lives in Japan. He created the perapera pop-up dictionary plugins to help other learners of Chinese and Japanese.

The good

– Fluent Forever is a fantastic guide to mastering the sounds of any language. This is where the author’s opera background really shines. He teaches you to train your ears to the new and bizarre sounds you will often encounter when starting out. In addition, there is plenty of value here for intermediate students and above. Contrary to popular belief about the “critical period” being the only time when people can learn new sounds, it’s encouraging to know that adults can improve their pronunciation in a systematic way. For more details, check out the book.

– The book offer a science-based strategy to improve memory recall of vocabulary items. The author’s system is so clever that I wish I’d had his idea first! I won’t attempt to describe it here, but the strategy involves the creation of multiple neural links that make use of sound, image-association and personalization. I tried the method with Korean vocabulary items and can confirm that it works.

– Incorporation of frequency lists. This is a principle we have followed for a long time. Why would anyone ever learn the Chinese equivalent for “pencil sharpener” before “go”? The vocabulary contained in many academic textbooks is often illogical. Frequency lists are your saviour. Understanding the most frequently occurring vocabulary serves as a massive boost to your comprehension.

– The author’s endorsement of flashcards and spaced repetition software (SRS) is right on the mark.

– Makes effective use of internet tools such as Google Images. Yes, I was skeptical too, but it’s a novel approach that actually works!

– The appendix contains tons of valuable information and links to free online resources.

The bad

– It’s too long. At times it feels like there is more filler content than necessary. If you patiently read through, there is plenty of value to be found but several chapters probably shouldn’t have made the cut.

– At times it can be confusing how and when you are supposed to incorporate the various strategies. I think that a “90 day plan” or something similar would have been useful for beginners looking to start out in a completely new foreign tongue.

Belongs on the bookshelf of every language student

I’m certainly no newcomer to studying foreign languages, but Fluent Forever was a revelation. It offers solid information on building long-term foreign language proficiency. I can honestly say that I learned a lot from this guide.

To sum up, Fluent Forever is a highly actionable book that deserves to be on the bookshelf of any semi-serious language learner. You can buy it here from Amazon. If you are in a rut and looking for inspiration, I recommend Barry Farber’s excellent “How to Learn Any Language” (see our book review).

Have you already read Fluent Forever? What were your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!

Rohan

Rohan has spent years studying Japanese, Chinese and Korean, and currently lives in Japan. He created the perapera pop-up dictionary plugins to help other learners of Chinese and Japanese.

Good Points

Great index for looking up verbs in a rush

The index at the back of the book is very easy to use. You can look up Korean verbs by their romanized or hangul form as well as their English meaning.

Free audio content is an added bonus

The publisher includes the corresponding audio files for the dictionary form of each verb and for all of the example sentences. I tend to learn better with audio, so I found this to be a helpful addition. Pronunciation of all of the conjugations would have been even better, but I suppose that would make for a very long CD!

Sample sentences are a welcome addition

The sample sentences are great for mastering the various verb forms and picking up new vocabulary. Combining these sentences with the audio would be a good way of consolidating your knowledge.

Bad Points

Unnecessary romanization

A book covering various advanced verb forms, including causative and honorific usages, should safely assume that learners have mastered the hangul by now. It’s a minor point, but this book would be considerably easier to read without the distraction of romanization for every verb form.

Conclusion

500 Basic Korean Verbs is an essential book for your Korean studies. Whether for learning vocabulary or writing out emails, it will come in handy. You can pick up the Kindle version of this book here.

Full disclosure: We received a free review copy of 500 Basic Korean Verbs from Tuttle Publishing. Have you also used this book for your Korean studies? If so, we would be interested to hear your opinion about it. Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

We are planning several updates for the site in the near future. Like us on Facebook to stay in touch with what we are doing!

Rohan

Rohan has spent years studying Japanese, Chinese and Korean, and currently lives in Japan. He created the perapera pop-up dictionary plugins to help other learners of Chinese and Japanese.

What We Liked About Chinese For Beginners

Easy-to-follow structure

The book is split into 16 chapters with a couple of dialogues for each. The situations given are typical for a beginner course, ranging from greeting a new person in Chinese to eating in a restaurant.

Full of interesting cultural information

I really liked how the book is packed with cultural details. It’s a nice touch that gives you some background knowledge about Chinese culture. Indeed, I was impressed to see Chinese poems from the Tang dynasty appearing at the end of most chapters! The below is a famous example from chapter 1 of the book:

Thoughts for a Quiet Night – Li Bai

The bright beams shine

across my coverlet,

Reminding me of frost

covering the ground.

I gaze up at the bright moon,

then bow my head,

And suddenly think of home.

Of course, the book includes the Chinese for the poem. The audio for is also included on the attached CD. Very cool.

Basic grammar notes

There are also some notes explaining new language points, but I thought these could have been a little more detailed. It’s a little bit curious that while the cultural sections are packed with information, the authors are relatively silent regarding explanations of the various linguistic patterns. That said, this may be a positive point for newbies who are easily overwhelmed by technical explanations and who would prefer a simpler book.

CD / Audio Files Included

Chinese for Beginners retails at $12 on Amazon and comes with a CD with 190 audio files included – very reasonable as language books go. Interestingly, there is also a Kindle version available with the audio available for download online. Up until now, not many publishers of language resources have gone the e-book route, but perhaps this is a sign of more to come. My long-suffering bookshelf certainly hopes so.

Conclusion: Great Intro Level Textbook

All in all, I found Chinese for Beginners to be a gradual but useful introduction to the Chinese language. It’s not going to take you to an advanced level, but it’s a good start for learners who like to take things a little more slowly and would like a glimpse into Chinese culture.

If you want something a little more challenging, I recommend picking up the excellent Assimil Chinese course. That’s all for now. Watch this space for more reviews of Chinese learning materials in future!

Full disclosure: We received a free review copy of Chinese for Beginners from Tuttle Publishing. If you have also used this resource, why not leave your review in the comments below? We’d love to hear your opinions!

Also check out our other recommendations for Chinese textbooks.

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Rohan

Rohan has spent years studying Japanese, Chinese and Korean, and currently lives in Japan. He created the perapera pop-up dictionary plugins to help other learners of Chinese and Japanese.

What We Liked About ‘Learning Japanese Kanji’

Mnemonics are cool

Kanji characters are a totally abstract concept to the uninitiated westerner, so you need a helping hand to attach meaning to them. The Japanese mostly learn the kanji through a combination of daily exposure and grueling repetition at school, which mostly involves writing out the characters over and over again. Only by the end of high school is full proficiency achieved. Do you have that much time to burn? Didn’t think so. You need a better solution, which is where this book comes in.

A central part of the method for Learning Japanese Kanji lies in the usage of mnemonics to break down each kanji and make it more memorable. I am of the opinion that stories and mnemonics are the best way to learn the kanji. Why? Because they put sense into the seemingly nonsensical world of kanji characters. Grant uses a variety of funny and memorable mnemonics that should greatly aid you in your learning mission.

Learning by frequency makes a lot of sense

Learning Japanese Kanji focuses on the 520 most commonly occurring kanji characters. Although there are more than 2,000 characters included in the regular use list produced by the Japanese Ministry of Education, the truth is that you will function just fine with a lot less. Learning the 2,000+ list will make you fully literate, but tackling the most common 520 first makes sense to me. From this perspective, I think that the author took the correct approach with this book.

Extra details are appreciated

The inclusion of ON and KUN readings, relevant vocabulary and sample sentences for each character is a nice touch. I personally find example sentences to be one of the keys to learning Japanese.

Audio CD and example sentences

Learning that involves multiple senses has been shown to be more effective (see John Medina’s Brain Rules for reference). Reading and listening together are better than just reading. The audio CD is therefore a nice bonus, allowing you to listen to the character readings and example sentences to drill them into long-term memory.

What We Didn’t Like About ‘Learning Japanese Kanji’

Romaji transliteration is unnecessary

Romaji are a crutch that hold back learners from reading Japanese. If someone is learning the kanji, one might safely assume that this person has already mastered the hiragana/katakana by that stage. If they haven’t yet done so, then the kanji should not be attempted yet. This book would be better without the roman characters, but I suppose nothing is perfect.

Grant or Heisig?

As you may well know, another popular method for learning the kanji is the James Heisig approach. Choosing between Grant or Heisig is a tough call. I think it depends on your goals.

Looking back, our main issue with Heisig’s method was the irrelevance of some of the characters you learn early on. A rare kanji might be introduced on page 6, whereas an incredibly common kanji only comes into play on page 354. This is unavoidable really, as Heisig bases his method on building up a knowledge bank of the radicals which you then later combine to master more complicated characters.

So, if you are the obsessive (and slightly masochistic) type with time on your hands who wants to tackle all 2,000+ kanji in a grueling study campaign then Heisig’s method might be for you. We at Perapera probably fall into this first group.

Grant’s book is a little less ambitious, but, if used correctly, should achieve its aim of getting you a base knowledge of the kanji. If you are practical-minded and see the advantage of learning by frequency order then Learning Japanese Kanji might be a solid choice for you. This book may also be helpful for highly visual learners.

One thing is for certain. You definitely don’t want to use the two kanji methods at the same time. That would be confusing to the extreme, so choose one and stick to it.

Conclusion: Enjoy it!

Last of all, don’t forget to enjoy the process. I truly envy those of you who are just starting out with tackling the kanji. Even now I still find the kanji characters somewhat magical to behold, but nothing compares to those first few months of discovery. Happy learning!

Full disclosure: We received a free review copy of Learning Japanese Kanji from the guys at Tuttle Publishing.

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Rohan

Rohan has spent years studying Japanese, Chinese and Korean, and currently lives in Japan. He created the perapera pop-up dictionary plugins to help other learners of Chinese and Japanese.

Until recently, Korean was a rare language for Westerners to learn. But thanks to the rapid economic development of South Korea, and increasing interest in Korean culture in recent years seems to have led to more Korean learning materials being made available (I’m lookin’ at you, Korean Dramas and K-Pop).

Unfortunately, there are still less high-quality learning resources than you can find for learning Japanese or Chinese. That said, we did find some super useful books that helped us to get started with this challenging but beautiful language.

It’s true that textbooks are no substitute for immersion into the language via culture (movies, dramas, podcasts, music), not to mention practice speaking with native speakers. However, a good textbook gives you the foundations to work with, by teaching you grammar, how to construct sentences, pronunciation rules, and how to read.

Here are 10 of the best textbooks that we’ve come across for learning Korean.

The 10 Best Textbooks for Learning Korean

1. Elementary Korean (Second Edition)

Elementary Korean is the gold standard for learning Korean by self study. It is the most thorough and all-round introduction to Korean that I know of, and the logical structure makes it easy to follow.

One thing that might turn you off is that it ‘feels’ a bit like a university textbook, in terms of the writing tone and level. All that said: this book will give you a comprehensive base in Korean. If you only buy one textbook for Korean, get this one. You get 384 pages of material and tons of practice exercises to boot.

As a companion exercise book, there’s the Elementary Korean Workbook, which is really good for putting things into practice. (Note: The reviews on Amazon for this one are a little skewed because of some people complaining that their audio doesn’t work on their device, but I never had any problems.)

The higher levels in the series, Continuing Korean and Advanced Korean are also highly recommended.

Pros:

• Lessons and grammar notes are clearly presented and in a logical structure
• You’re essentially forced to learn to read Hangul (it’s not that hard!), as the roman readings aren’t given from the fifth lesson onwards
• The pronunciation guide is better and easier to understand than other textbooks

Cons:

• There aren’t a lot of pictures to break up the content so it can be a bit heavy reading
• Some people have trouble getting the CD or Audio to work

2. Korean for Beginners: Mastering Conversational Korean

With its tricky pronunciation, complex grammar and elaborate honorific forms, the Korean language can present a daunting prospect. This was the first book I used when I started. It’s a nice option if you prefer a gentle introduction to Korean. It’s also entertaining with plenty of cultural information packed in. The $11 price (on Kindle) is quite reasonable when you consider that audio downloads are provided too.

Side note: this must be the first textbook I have seen that makes use of emoticons. The times they are a-changin’! ^_^

Pros:

• Slower pace than Elementary Korean; good for learners that need more time to
• Lots of cultural information within the text
• The Authors focus on making the learning fun and interesting

Cons:

• The slower pace might be frustrating to quicker learners
• Despite the title, the focus is more on learning grammar/structure than on speaking
• Not enough practice dialogues

3. Integrated Korean Series

This is another university-style textbook, developed by the University of Hawaii for its students studying Korean. It’s a very good textbook for a university classroom, which doesn’t always translate 100% to self-study, but this one does a pretty good job. It’s more of an academic approach, which might appeal to some people over the more ‘conversational’ textbooks above.

Pros:

• Lots of examples of grammar points
• Some good cultural context and authentic materials within lessons
• Has 10 volumes, so if you like this style, you can follow it all the way to advanced.

Cons:

• Can feel a bit too ‘academic’ or stuffy
• Outdated in places (older expressions)

Notes:

• Avoid the Kindle edition! (missing pages and complaints)
• Some copies being sold don’t come with the audio

4. Talk to Me in Korean Series

If you started studying Korean using online resources, you’ve probably come across the website Talk to Me in Korean — a site that’s been around since 2009. The team that run this website created this series of textbooks, and they’ve used their years of student feedback to get it right in textbook form.

As the title suggests, the focus is on speaking right away, with minimal focus on grammar or learning to read. There’s tons of accompanying audio for you to speak along with.

In this same series, there are also additional levels and a workbook with more exercises for each level.

Pros:

• Made for absolute beginners
• Designed to get you speaking Korean fast
• Lots of audio you can use for shadowing and quizzing yourself

Cons:

• Possibly too basic if you already know some Korean (it starts with greetings like ‘hello’ and goodbye’)
• Focuses on speaking, not so much on reading or grammar

Notes:

• If you prefer learning online, you can access the same material without buying the book on their website

5. Korean Grammar in Use

This book is the next logical step after Korean for Beginners. It goes into the grammar in more depth but still in a digestible form.

I picked this book up in Seoul so I thought it might be tricky to buy online (update: I found it for sale on Amazon).

Pros:

• Probably the best Korean grammar textbook out there
• Focuses on understanding the structures and constructing your own
• Most people like the structure of the book (look up things on a need-to-know basis)

Cons:

• Not for beginners — you’ll need a decent foundation of Korean before this will be useful
• You should know how to read Hangul before using this book

6. Korean Grammar for International Learners

This is the most comprehensive Korean grammar book we could find. It includes all the grammatical forms in plenty of detail. The book is also based on the official grammar textbook that is used in schools to teach grammar in South Korea, so you can rest easy knowing that you’re getting the correct answer when you’re looking up a point.

One of the best points of this book is that each grammar point is packed with example sentences. Reading the examples really helps the reader to understand the point and see how it’s used.

Pros

• Comprehensive, and covers most grammar points you’ll need
• Not bogged down with too much technical language; instead uses multiple examples to demonstrate

Cons

• No romanized writing (you’ll need to learn Hangul first)
• Not for beginners of Korean
• If you don’t know English grammar to start, this might be difficult

7. 500 Basic Korean Verbs

If you studied French or Spanish in High School, you probably have experience with this style of verb conjugation book (and maybe not a pleasant experience…). 500 Basic Korean Verbs is an incredibly useful book for students of the Korean language.

You can check out our full review of the book here but here are the bullet points…

Pros:

• Romanization is provided
• Example sentences to demonstrate verbs
• Smart layout and organization

Cons:

• You probably won’t find the high-level verbs used in your favorite Korean Drama
• Unnecessary romanization (if you already know Hangul, it can be distracting)
• Example sentences difficult for true beginners

8. Klear: Korean Reader for Chinese Characters

While it’s not for the beginning student (you don’t really need Chinese Characters until later), this book is a solid introduction to the Chinese characters (hanja) used in Korean.

This book teaches you the most common 500 hanja by frequency of usage in modern Korean. It’s a good choice if you want to learn to read Korean literature or you’re simply curious about the Korean hanja like I was.

Notes:

• Not for the average beginner
• Stroke orders included in the appendix
• Reading selections to demonstrate the hanja
• Covers mnemonics to learn the different characters

9. Spoken World: Korean

Living Language have always made top notch course materials, and Spoken World — their latest offering for Korean — is no exception. The focus in on learning conversational Korean in a comprehensive way, via listening and repeating, as well as the text.

There are six CDs included with a separate course book. The dialogues are easy to understand and introduced in a logical order. You won’t get much grammar from this one but it’s a nice little audio course. Highly recommended.

Notes:

• Made for absolute beginners
• Good for listening while in transit
• Conversations feel natural and useful

10. Pimsleur Korean

This one might be a bit controversial (why so much hate on Pimsleur??), but here goes…

A lot of people find Korean a difficult language to pronounce correctly. The sounds are “different”, which can make listening quite challenging. In this respect, it was certainly much harder for me to get started than Japanese or even Chinese.

In this Pimsleur audio course, the Korean speakers break down every syllable of each word which helps train your ear. Keep with this course and you will be speaking and understanding whole Korean sentences within a few days.

You can try out Pimsleur Korean for free with an Audible 30 day trial. Download a taster course here.

Side note: Audible is AMAZING for learning anything, not just languages. I listen to audiobooks probably 30% of my day, when I don’t need to be 100% focused: when I’m on the train, doing the dishes, etc.

So there you have it. Those are the 10 best books we have found so far for learning Korean. Do you know of any other quality resources? Leave a comment below!

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Michael

Michael has lived in Japan on and off for almost 10 years. He loves studying Japanese, and is currently working on going from N2 to N1 on the JLPT.

“To have another language is to possess a second soul.” 

– Charlemagne

Learning another language can be a lonely and frustrating process. Sometimes we need a gentle push to give us a break and boost our motivation. In this post, I am going to introduce a couple of books that serve as inspirational and practical resources for those who want to forgo expensive and ineffective language classes and go it alone in learning any language.

How to Learn Any Language – Barry Farber

If you must get a book on language learning, get this one. I have mentioned it before on this blog, but Barry Farber’s How to Learn Any Language Quickly, Easily and On Your Own has positively impacted my life in a huge way. I was lucky enough to read the book as a teenager. Without a doubt, my international exploits were made possible by Farber’s wise words. In all likelihood, I would never have gone to live in Italy, let alone Japan without reading this book. It is a classic take on how to study a language on your own.

I rarely read physical books these days (no room in my tiny Tokyo apartment!), so I was pleased to see a Kindle version had recently been released and promptly bought a copy. So why would I own two versions of this book? In short, because this book is inspiring and my other copy was getting pretty worn. Like other classic books, it is something you can return to again and again when you need encouragement.

The first part of the book is auto-biographical and details the author’s early life. Farber accounts how falling behind in Latin grammar class at school led him to learn Chinese. You get this comical image of a little American boy trying to speak Chinese with sailors stationed in Miami Beach during World War II. What started out as escapism from a class he detested eventually turned into a lifelong pursuit of Chinese and many other languages. Now in his 80s, Farber is said to have a working knowledge of more than 25 languages.

One downside of the book is that it was written in the pre-internet era. There is no mention of some of the great online resources that have cropped up in recent years. However, concepts like making the little moments count, using mnemonics and the multiple-track attack (using many resources at a time to attack the language from different angles) all hold true to this day. Another great insight is that if you are self-studying, you are free to buy as many books and resources as you need! The reason? It is still going to be cheaper and more effective than taking classes. I couldn’t recommend a book more highly.

The Way of the Linguist – Steve Kaufmann

Another helpful guide to learning languages via self-study is Steve Kaufmann’s The Way of the Linguist.

Kaufmann speaks 10 languages fluently. Some may think he is naturally gifted, but he is certainly no linguistic “genius” and makes no claims to be. Despite how that might sound, I mean that as a compliment. He has learned languages through a combination of hard work and lifestyle choice. Kaufmann has lived in various countries throughout an illustrious business career which he admits “would not have been possible” without learning languages.

On Amazon, there are a couple of negative reviews that seem to suggest that Kaufmann’s book is all about self-marketing. It didn’t strike me that way. I got a lot of practical value from it as I do from reading his language blog. He is much more realistic than certain others out there who make claims of reaching “fluency” in a matter of months, all with the goal of selling their latest eBook.

In a nutshell, Kaufmann’s learning approach focuses on getting as much input as possible by listening and reading content you’re interested in. I like this philosophy. Like detective novels? Pick one up in Chinese. Prefer tennis? Watch the latest Grand Slam on Japanese TV. Want to become an entrepreneur? Read stories of successful businessmen in Korean.

Some learners who wouldn’t usually watch the news in English somehow think they “should” when they study a foreign language.They are making the language into a chore.. Kaufmann encourages learners to do what they feel like doing. Find stuff you like and the language will follow. I agree. This is 2013! There are a wealth of resources out there, so follow your interests and find some content that you will enjoy.

What I like about Kaufmann is his willingness to air his views and speak on camera, in whatever language. Of course, anonymous users on YouTube sometimes pick at his grammatical mistakes or intonation. It is much easier to be a critic than to truly put yourself out there.

Like Barry Farber, Kaufmann is a strong advocate of self-study. He also laments the damaging status quo that exists in second language education. Despite the woeful results, schools continue to use the same methods to “teach” languages. Languages are learned, not taught. How tragic that negative classroom experiences are discouraging people from taking up foreign languages. It’s a lonely battle, but I admire Kaufmann’s personal crusade against the establishment. Every little helps.

I am not going to break down his language ability here (that is for native speakers of the respective languages) but I can personally attest that his French is excellent. You can get the Kindle version of his book here.

Rohan

Rohan has spent years studying Japanese, Chinese and Korean, and currently lives in Japan. He created the perapera pop-up dictionary plugins to help other learners of Chinese and Japanese.

Happy New Year everyone! I don’t know about you, but the New Year has got me motivated to get back to studying languages and reading more Japanese. I also plan to take the N1 this summer. I will touch on that in future posts. Another of my long-term goals is to become more literate in Japanese and to read books that Japanese people read.

I like reading Japanese news and blogs like Itai News on my PC and iPad but I have always wanted to read more Japanese content offline. It’s more relaxing with a book and looking at a screen all day makes my eyes sore. However, I hate looking up kanji and new vocabulary manually. It takes a lot of time and distracts me from the book I am reading. This and a lack of space in my tiny Japanese apartment has meant that, over the years, I haven’t bought that many books in Japanese. Up until now, there haven’t been many Japanese e-books available either. Well, I have finally found my solution.

Amazon’s answer to e-books in Japan

As you may well know, Amazon released the Kindle Paperwhite in Japan at the end of last year. I preordered mine and have been pleased with it so far. It’s a beautiful product and much lighter and easier to use than the previous models (My Kindle 2 looks like it came from a different century!). You get a Japanese-Japanese dictionary with it as standard which really lightens the load of looking up new words. Granted, the lookup function is not quite as good as Perapera (a tricky feat to be fair :)) but it’s much better than trying to work out the readings and manually inputting words into an electronic dictionary.

One big downside at the moment is the Kindle Store in Japan. Amazon have apparently struggled winning over Japanese publishers who are hesitant to embrace e-books and see their cosy business model crumble. The lack of publishers definitely shows. Compared to the Amazon.com Kindle store, the selection of books is woefully lacking. Hopefully this improves in the future (knowing Amazon it probably will!). That said, according to Amazon there are already more than 10,000 free e-books available which should keep Japanese learners busy for a while.

Also, as far as I am aware, the Kindle Store for Japan is only available for people in Japan with a Japanese IP. I haven’t been able to find much information on this, but it would be good if someone could provide some more information on this. Anyone?

What am I reading?

So far, I have been reading the following free books:

Kokoro

I admit that I have not read a lot of Japanese fiction. I’m usually more of a non-fiction guy but figured I’d give this one a short as one of my colleagues highly recommended it.

Botchan

Another famous novel by Natsume Soseki that most Japanese seem to have read.

The Japanese Constitution

I downloaded this because I fancied reading the post-war original in Japanese but unsurprisingly, it is boring as hell.

I have also bought one paid book, Michi Wo Hiraku (The Path) which is a Japanese business classic that I have always wanted to read. The author, Konosuke Matsushita, founded Panasonic so I guess he knew what he was talking about.

So all in all, there are some negatives but I can still recommend the Kindle Paperwhite as a great tool for intermediate and advanced learners of Japanese. As I progress I will update you on what I am reading. I will also share in another post how I am using my Kindle to learn and review new vocabulary.

Rohan

Rohan has spent years studying Japanese, Chinese and Korean, and currently lives in Japan. He created the perapera pop-up dictionary plugins to help other learners of Chinese and Japanese.