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Reviews by Mark Walsh

A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

This book is organized as a reference. The main entries are grammar structures organized alphabetically, so access is very convenient. The main entry examples are in romanji, kanji, and English. The layout is exceptional, and the entry descriptions are very detailed. In addition to the main reference, there is a grammar term explanation section, transitive/intransitive verb pair table, verb conjugation table, and more.

A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar

This is the continuation of DBJG, and covers intermediate grammar. The main entry examples are in kanji, and English only. No romanji. In addition to the main reference there is a section on conversation.

Japanese Verbs and Essentials of Grammar

This is an affordable and helpful book. The main entries are organized by grammar category. For example, the section on verbs explains the conjugations by verb type; dictionary verb, -masu form verb, etc. Although I no longer use mine because I replaced it with DBJG, this book was a better first choice for me when I was a new student because of its simplicity. I would have been overwhelmed with DBJG at the start.

A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters

This book is similar to other Kanji book except that it explains the origin of the different kanji along with interesting suggested mnemonics. However, the stroke order and direction of the kanji are not listed.

13 Secrets for Speaking Fluent Japanese

This book contains some interesting tricks that can be used while learning the Japanese language. Although, I benefited from only about halve of the aids in the book, the price made it worth buying. There is a fun manga which is meant to help with the "if" words, "-tara", "eba", and "to".


For questions, comments, or if you would like to add your review to the above list, please email Ben Bullock <benkasminbullock@gmail.com> or use the discussion group for this web site.