Learn to speak Japanese

Japanese language enrollment is up by 27.5 percent since 2006, making it the sixth most popular language studied on college campuses. Whether studying for school, business, or travel, Japanese For Dummies provides complete coverage of all Japanese language essentials including grammar, usage, and vocabulary.

Complete with free conversational audio tracks online, this handy book offers everything you need to learn the Japanese language to get ahead in class or on a trip to Japan. In no time, you'll make sense of the language well enough to communicate with native speakers!

* Includes expanded coverage of grammar, verb conjugations, and pronunciations

* Provides a refreshed mini-dictionary with even more essential vocabulary

* Offers useful exercises and practice opportunities

* Helps you learn to speak conversational Japanese with ease

Whether for work, school, or fun, Japanese For Dummies is the fast and easy way to add this language to your skillset!

Hiroko Chiba is professor of Japanese at DePauw University, where she teaches all levels of Japanese language and directs the Japanese language program. Eriko Sato, PhD, teaches Japanese at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She authored the previous editions of Japanese For Dummies and Japanese Phrases For Dummies.

Klappentext

• Speak conversational Japanese with ease
• Master basic grammar, vocab, and pronunciations
• Find FREE conversational audio tracks online

Get to know the Japanese language!

There's something special about Japanese language and culture. To get started unlocking the secrets, you don't need to spend hours memorizing vocab or copying out Japanese script. With this book, it's fun and easy to start speaking and reading Japanese! Whether you have your passport in hand for your adventure to Japan or you want to connect with a Japanese-speaking coworker, this book will help you jump into basic conversational Japanese in no time!

Inside...

• Japanese grammar basics
• Pronunciation guides
• "Talkin' the Talk" dialogues
• Fun games and activities
• Common, real-life phrases
• Beginner mistakes to avoid
• Tips for learning quickly
• Free online audio tracks

Learn to speak Japanese

Japanese language enrollment is up by 27.5 percent since 2006, making it the sixth most popular language studied on college campuses. Whether studying for school, business, or travel, Japanese For Dummies provides complete coverage of all Japanese language essentials including grammar, usage, and vocabulary.

Complete with free conversational audio tracks online, this handy book offers everything you need to learn the Japanese language to get ahead in class or on a trip to Japan. In no time, you'll make sense of the language well enough to communicate with native speakers!

• Includes expanded coverage of grammar, verb conjugations, and pronunciations
• Provides a refreshed mini-dictionary with even more essential vocabulary
• Offers useful exercises and practice opportunities
• Helps you learn to speak conversational Japanese with ease

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 4

Icons Used in This Book 4

Beyond the Book 5

Where to Go from Here 5

Part 1: Getting Started with Japanese 7

Chapter 1: Japanese in a Nutshell 9

Discovering Basic Japanese Sounds and Script 9

Getting a Grip on Basic Grammar 10

Counting on Numbers 10

Speaking Japanese around the House 11

Using Japanese in Social Scenarios 12

Beginning (and ending) conversations 12

Getting to know you 12

Asking for directions 13

Making sense of money 13

Going shopping 13

Dining out and exploring entertainment opportunities 14

Doing business and using technology 14

Tackling Travel-Related Topics 15

Preparing for a trip 15

Getting around with local transportation 15

Securing a place to stay 16

Taking action during emergencies 16

Chapter 2: Checking Out the Japanese Sounds and Scripts 17

Pronouncing Basic Japanese Sounds 17

Vowels 18

Consonants 19

Sounding Fluent 20

Don't stress 20

Watch out for pitch and intonation 20

Get in rhythm 21

Keep your speed up 22

Introducing the Japanese Scripts 23

Kana 23

Kanji 27

Chapter 3: Warming Up with Japanese Grammar Basics 33

Using Appropriate Speech Styles 33

Forming Sentences 35

Ordering the words correctly 35

Marking nouns with particles 35

Telling the topic 39

Dropping understood words 39

Asking Questions 40

Yes/no questions 40

Content questions 41

Getting a Handle on Pronouns 42

Demonstrative pronouns 43

Personal pronouns 44

Working with Verbs 45

Understanding basic verb forms 46

Doing the conjugation thing 48

Speaking politely with masu 51

Introducing the Verb Desu, to Be 52

Describing People and Things with Adjectives 54

Using Adverbs to Describe Your Actions 57

Creating adverbs from adjectives 57

Perusing pure adverbs 58

Turning to sentence-like adverbs 58

Spicing Up Your Japanese with Onomatopoeia 59

Expressing Moods and Attitudes 60

Chapter 4: Getting Your Numbers, Times, and Measurements Straight 63

Ichi, Ni, San: Counting in Japanese 64

Numbers from 1 to 10 64

Numbers from 11 to 99 65

Numbers from 100 to 9,999 65

Numbers from 10,000 to 99,999 66

Numbers over 100,000 66

Expressing amount or quantity with counters 67

Indicating ordinal numbers with -me 70

Telling Time 70

Noting hours and minutes 71

Talking about time 73

It's a Date! Delving into the Calendar 74

Talking about the days of the week 74

Naming the months and counting them up 75

Counting the days 76

Counting the weeks 79

Reeling off the years 79

Specifying dates and times 79

Familiarizing Yourself with the Metric System 84

Chapter 5: Speaking Japanese at Home 87

Taking a Tour of Your Home 87

The kitchen 88

The dining room 89

The living room 90

The bedroom 91

The bathroom 91

The laundry room 92

The storage room 93

Home Is Where the Food Is 95

Getting cooking 96

Using two verbs at the table 96

Considering proper table manners 97

Enjoying foods of all kinds 97

Talking about foods you like and dislike 100