Basic Japanese

Learn to speak Japanese in 10 easy lessons—with manga illustrations, engaging exercises, and practical conversations!

This bestselling Japanese textbook is a user-friendly guide for beginners designed for use either in a classroom or self-study. With an emphasis on daily communication and acquiring a working knowledge of simple, often-used Japanese sentences, you can attain basic fluency quickly!

This new edition has been thoroughly updated and expanded to reflect the way the language is actually spoken in Japan today, including essential vocabulary and phrases for modern life—like talking about social media and the internet. Engaging manga illustrations are paired with each dialogue, and a bidirectional dictionary is available in the back of the book.

Ten structured lessons each present a simple four-step method for acquiring basic fluency quickly:

• Basic Sentences: Each lesson begins with a few simple sentences encompassing essential vocabulary and phrases
• Communication Notes: A detailed discussion of each sentence follows to assist you in understanding the underlying structure and how to form new sentences based on the same pattern
• Everyday Conversations: Authentic dialogues with manga illustrations audio recordings show you how people communicate naturally in Japan today through simple, everyday interactions
• Engaging Exercises: Several sets of easy exercises help reinforce your understanding of the key points presented in the lesson
• Online audio recordings by native speakers help with listening comprehension and pronunciation