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Power Japanese
How to Sound Intelligent in Japanese: A Vocabulary Builder
For every student, a time eventually comes when basic grammar is no longer the problem. You can say a few words about the weather, or the fact that, yes, you are feeling hungry, or explain that you are going out for the day - and actually be understood. Beyond that, however, the going gets
tough. You cannot make pertinent comments about philosophy, politics, art, science, law, or business - simply because you lack the necessary vocabulary. In fact, you may not be able to say that you are interested in "philosophy" at all, because you don't know the Japanese word for it. How do you go
about acquiring this specialized vocabulary (most of which consists of kanji compounds)? Usually by spending hundreds of hours reading Japanese books or picking through a dictionary.
This book is an attempt to shorten that process by collecting a good number of the more commonly used key words from crucial areas of human endeavor. Now, without spending years mastering the written language, you can occasionally come up with the right word at the right moment in a conversation
that is striving toward comprehensibility. This can even be done by students who do not have a strong grasp of kanji, for they can learn the words as sounds.
The areas covered in the book are ideas and theories; philosophy and religion; politics and government; the fine arts, humanities, and social sciences; science and technology; law and justice; and business and economics. This division allows the student to go the category where vocabulary is needed
and learn the key words given there, rather than floundering around in a dictionary and hoping one has found what is needed. A further advantage of this arrangement is that certain kanji tend to be repeated over and over in certain for example, the kanji read "gaku" in the science
section of the book. This type of repetition allows the student to get a feeling for certain kanji and usages.
Beginning students can pick up individual words and put them in sentences of their own making, no matter how simple, and advanced students can get a better understanding of context by reading the sample sentences in the book. Since no one, even in their native tongue, can hope to be proficient in
every field, advance students can quickly pick up key words in areas they are unfamiliar with.
Previously published in the Power Japanese series under the same title.
tough. You cannot make pertinent comments about philosophy, politics, art, science, law, or business - simply because you lack the necessary vocabulary. In fact, you may not be able to say that you are interested in "philosophy" at all, because you don't know the Japanese word for it. How do you go
about acquiring this specialized vocabulary (most of which consists of kanji compounds)? Usually by spending hundreds of hours reading Japanese books or picking through a dictionary.
This book is an attempt to shorten that process by collecting a good number of the more commonly used key words from crucial areas of human endeavor. Now, without spending years mastering the written language, you can occasionally come up with the right word at the right moment in a conversation
that is striving toward comprehensibility. This can even be done by students who do not have a strong grasp of kanji, for they can learn the words as sounds.
The areas covered in the book are ideas and theories; philosophy and religion; politics and government; the fine arts, humanities, and social sciences; science and technology; law and justice; and business and economics. This division allows the student to go the category where vocabulary is needed
and learn the key words given there, rather than floundering around in a dictionary and hoping one has found what is needed. A further advantage of this arrangement is that certain kanji tend to be repeated over and over in certain for example, the kanji read "gaku" in the science
section of the book. This type of repetition allows the student to get a feeling for certain kanji and usages.
Beginning students can pick up individual words and put them in sentences of their own making, no matter how simple, and advanced students can get a better understanding of context by reading the sample sentences in the book. Since no one, even in their native tongue, can hope to be proficient in
every field, advance students can quickly pick up key words in areas they are unfamiliar with.
Previously published in the Power Japanese series under the same title.
160 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1993
9 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 19, 2021
A perfect companion for someone that has the basics of the Japanese language under control.
This book really added more nuances to the daily and more advanced conversations.
Personally, the literature and historical terms was most convinient! This has also been an amazing book when writing essays. A lot of the academic terms is compacted here with their kanjis and all!
In other words, great book!
This book really added more nuances to the daily and more advanced conversations.
Personally, the literature and historical terms was most convinient! This has also been an amazing book when writing essays. A lot of the academic terms is compacted here with their kanjis and all!
In other words, great book!
June 17, 2010
Extremely important vocabulary builder who anyone who likes to talk about anything more advanced than the weather.
Linguistics, physics, chemistry, politics, music, geography, business, economics, etc. Very necessary.
Linguistics, physics, chemistry, politics, music, geography, business, economics, etc. Very necessary.
June 23, 2009
This is a great book for anyone looking to expand their knowledge into different areas of Japanese.
July 4, 2020
I absolutely love this book.
December 29, 2010
so this book really just played with kanji a lot like 理論 and 論理. I think it's helpful for more advanced language learners, but it would kind of overwhelm a beginner (speaking from experience here). I was a novice japaneser when I picked this little jewel up and it really made no sense to me at the time.
April 5, 2016
It covers a goo amount of vocabulary in a variety of fields, such as politics, economy, science.
I think it would be very useful to intermediate to advanced learners.
If you can make an Anki deck to review all the vocabulary in the book it would be a great plus.
I think it would be very useful to intermediate to advanced learners.
If you can make an Anki deck to review all the vocabulary in the book it would be a great plus.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews