250 Essential Kanji for Everyday Use, Volume 1

by The Kanji Text Research Group University of Tokyo, Akiyo Nishino

This book is indispensable for any non-native speaker trying to make it through a day in Japan. Covering 21 everyday situations, this book deals with a variety of topics ranging from the cordial ("How do you do?") to the crucial (Going to the hospital.) Fully illustrated with line drawings throughout, "250 Essential Kanji for Everyday Use Volume I offers valuable information for learners and visitors alike. As many classroom students can tell you, the kanji taught in most textbooks is not always encountered in everyday situations. To fill this gap, a group of researchers from the prestigious University of Tokyo pooled their talents to create "250 Essential Kanji for Everyday Use Volume I, a workbook that teaches the characters one is most likely to see in the day-to-day world. All entries include the meanings, stroke-orders, common compounds, and derivations of the kanji. Sample materials such as forms and public photos illustrate the actual use of kanji, showing the settings where a traveler or resident may come upon the characters. The quizzes and exercises fortify the lessons, making the text ideal for classroom use of self-study. By the end of the book, you will have learned the 250 most important characters in Japanese and thousands of vocabulary words in which they appear.

Genres: Japanese Literature, Japan, Textbooks

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2004

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book. But the biggest problem for me is that there aren't enough exercises after each lesson (every lesson introduces about ten kanji or more). I ended up re-doing the exercises more than once, which helped a little. And also longer texts would so much more improve the book. I do not regret buying it but I would recommend it as something extra rather than a basic textbook.

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful. Thank you, Kanji Text Research Group. :)