Being a successful speaker of a given language involves control of the meaning and use of vocabulary items, taking in their lexical content (what phenomena they refer to), combinatorial behaviour (what items they occur with) and situational characteristics (e.g. as colloquial or formal terms). This essential reference book provides clear information on these aspects for around three hundred groups of Japanese near-synonyms, supplemented by a wide range of authentic examples. The result is a clear profile of the meaning and use of each item, highlighting similarities and distinctions among neighbouring terms and expanding learners' lexical range. The book is designed primarily for English-speaking learners, and the selection of groups and items and the overall treatment adopted reflects the author's extensive experience in teaching Japanese to English speakers. Japanese forms and examples appear in both romanisation and Japanese orthography, and the bilingual indexes allow readers to locate synonyms quickly and easily.

Groups together Japanese near-synonyms and provides clear information on their meaning and use, richly illustrated with authentic examples.

This book, first published in 2000, is a guide to Japanese usage for intermediate students approaching the finer nuances of the language.

So you think you learned everything in Japanese class that you needed to know? Guess again. Chances are, your teachers only covered the G-rated side of the language. What about the rest of the vocabulary and phrases you need for this R-rated world? That's where Using Japanese Slang comes in. From college campuses to back-street bars, this book is a vital resource for understanding the phrases you can't learn from your Japanese friends because they'll just smile and say you're better off not knowing anyway. Using Japanese Slang brings you the entertaining and colorful Japanese language as it's used in the real world, offering fascinating etymological explanations as well. It will give you the power to express the thoughts you really want to convey, and deliver them like a native speaker.

This is a clear, simple and compact guide to colloquial, everyday Japanese. Acquire basic proficiency in spoken Japanese. A streamlined, efficient approach. Perfect for self-learners or classroom use. Includes kanji and kana. Essential Japanese Vocabulary teaches all the Japanese grammar you need to speak and understand simple spoken Japanese. It covers only what is essential which provides an efficient way for learners who have limited time to gain basic proficiency and begin to communicate naturally with Japanese language speakers. Intended for both self-study and classroom use the guide offers a practical course in colloquial Japanese, but leaves aside forms that are unnecessary or little used as well as those that are more important for written Japanese. In short chapters, it helps the user understand the logic of Japanese grammar, while its straightforward explanations and clear examples make learning as easy as possible. The book includes a glossary of grammatical terms and an index, as well as appendixes on Japanese pronunciation and verb conjugation. In a focused and convenient approach, Essential Japanese Vocabulary is an indispensable tool for beginners just starting to learn Japanese or a handy aid for more experienced learners who wish to refresh their knowledge.

"A very graceful, erudite job . . . extraordinarily revealing."—The New York Times Thirty years after its first publication, Womansword remains a timely, provocative work on how words reflect female stereotypes in modern Japan. Short, lively essays offer linguistic, sociological, and historical insight into issues central to the lives of women everywhere: identity, girlhood, marriage, motherhood, work, sexuality, and aging. A new introduction shows how things have—and haven't—changed. Kittredge Cherry studied in Japan and has written about the country for Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal. She has a journalism degree from University of Iowa.

A "real manga, real Japanese" study guide and resource for language students and teachers

This book is a valuable contribution to SLA research. Apart from the obvious target of the book, SLA researchers and teachers anywhere in the world, it will be of particular interest to the Japanese community and to Westerners interested in Japanese language and culture. It is not easy to write a book appealing to audiences as disparate as this, but Daulton has managed to do this very well. He writes clearly and lucidly and makes good use of his teaching experience in Japan (Hakan Ringbom, Abo Akademi University). Japan offers a prime example of lexical borrowing which relates to language transfer in second and foreign language learning. The insights gained by examining language borrowing in Japan can be applied wherever language contact has occurred and foreign languages are learned.Many of the most important English vocabulary may already exist in native lexicons. This pioneering book examines Japanese lexical borrowing, clarifies the effect of cognates on foreign language acquisition, assesses Japanese cognates that correspond to high-frequency and academic English, and discusses using this resource in teaching. It includes extensive lists of loanword cognates.

Perfect for students studying Japanese, this newly updated bilingual dictionary features comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of essential current vocabulary. Communicate effectively in Japanese and American English Bilingual, bidirectional dictionary 26,000 entry words and phrases and 27,000 translations Clear, precise definitions deliver the words you need IPA pronunciations and abundant examples of words used in context guide correct usage Special sections include English Irregular Verbs, Japanese Romanization and Pronunciation, and numbers, days, and months in both languages. A perfect translation tool for teachers, travelers, and language learners of all skill levels. Developed in cooperation with Collins.