Cart
|
|
my account
|
wish list
|
help
|
800-878-7323
Hello, |
Login
MENU
Browse
New Arrivals
Bestsellers
Featured Preorders
Award Winners
Audio Books
See All Subjects
Used
Staff Picks
Staff Picks
Picks of the Month
Bookseller Displays
50 Books for 50 Years
25 Best 21st Century Sci-Fi & Fantasy
25 PNW Books to Read Before You Die
25 Books From the 21st Century
25 Memoirs to Read Before You Die
25 Global Books to Read Before You Die
25 Women to Read Before You Die
25 Books to Read Before You Die
Gifts
Gift Cards & eGift Cards
Powell's Souvenirs
Journals and Notebooks
socks
Games
Sell Books
Blog
Events
Find A Store
Don't Miss
Big Mood Sale
Teen Dream Sale
Powell's Author Events
Oregon Battle of the Books
Audio Books
Get the Powell's newsletter
Visit Our Stores
Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
(0 comment)
Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
Read More
»
Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
(0 comment)
Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
(0 comment)
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
Customer Comments
Tony Horowitz has commented on (2) products
Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters
by
Kenneth G Henshall
Tony Horowitz
, December 08, 2009
This book introduces the 2000 or so jouyou (general use) kanji ordered by grade level (the grades in which they are taught to Japanese students). For each kanji there are readings (onyomi and kunyomi), words cotaining the kanji illustrating the various readings, the general range of meanings of the kanji, and the number of strokes. Most kanji reference books have all of this information. What sets this book apart are the discussions of the history of each kanji; how the various pieces of it were put together, and the origin of each piece, which is known from earlier forms of the kanji. Kanji sometimes get their meanings from the meanings of their parts, but quite often, a part with unrelated meaning was included mainly for its sound value; that is, a kanji was borrowed from another word with a similar sound. (This usually happened early in the history of the kanji as characters used in Chinese, or hanzi.) The historical discussions are brief, but quite illuminating. There are some surprises here-- long-accepted stories, such as 東, meaning "east," being a picture of the rising sun seen through the branches of a tree, are shown to be historically false. Out of the meanings of the individual parts, Henshall crafts a mnemonic phrase for each kanji. The idea is that by associating the phrase with the kanji, one both remembers what the kanji means when reading it, and what pieces to write when writing it. I have to confess that these mnemonics don't work very well for me, but many people say they are invaluable.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Japanese For Everyone A Functional App
by
Gakken
Tony Horowitz
, January 13, 2009
There are several good texts available now which use the functional approach; this is the one I have liked best so far. It is a demanding text-- there is a lot of information packed into each lesson-- but it is well explained, and the exercises are quite helpful. The sound files are also very helpful, but they are expensive. Like most texts of this sort, each lesson starts with a couple of dialogues. These are written in fairly natural Japanese-- not the extremely simplified sort of conversations you find in a text like Japanese for Busy People. The remainder of each lesson describes grammar in terms of what one is trying to accomplish with what one is saying (that is, functionally); for example, how one makes a polite request or suggestion, how one expresses a preference, etc. There are also some cultural notes. The lessons start with both roomaji (Roman letters) and kana, but quickly switch to kana only (although roomaji transcriptions are given for reference). Kanji are introduced gradually, with furigana (small kana indicating the pronunciations) the first few times they appear. This seems to me a balanced approach to leading the user towards the ability to read written Japanese. On the whole, I have found this to be an excellent learning resource.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment