Best Books for Beginners

Starting to learn Japanese from zero can be quite intimidating. There are thousands of books, so where do you start? Some books are meant to be used in a classroom setting and some are better for self study. Many books focus on different topics such as grammar, listening, reading, kanji or vocabulary. Some books focus on casual conversation, while others focus on speaking politely. Below are some of our favorite books for beginners and we'll give you all of the information you need to pick the best book for you!

These books are the best of the best in our opinion. Each of these carefully selected books will help you get started learning Japanese from scratch.

Japanese Cheat Sheet Pack

The NihonShock Japanese Cheat Sheet Pack is a comprehensive and concise learning resource for mastering the Japanese language, covering JLPT N5 to N1. It includes nine beautifully organized double-sided laminated sheets with 339 examples, 238 verb forms and grammar sections, 66 lists, and 55 usage points.

The pack covers various aspects of Japanese, such as basic and spoken Japanese, natural language, vocabulary, numbers, advanced grammar, verbs, keigo, and kanji. It's an invaluable tool for learners, offering a clear and compact reference for navigating the complexities of Japanese language learning.

As with the books above these are also great all around books. These books cover all topics such as Grammar, Vocabulary, Listening, Reading and Kanji. If you've already used the above books or if you're looking for additional books, these are highly recommended.

These are our top picks for supplementary books. Understanding Japanese Particles from Their Image, is an easy and fun way to learn japanese particles. Practical Japanese will give you the essential speaking skills for traveling to Japan. Bump Up Your Basics will help you to learn new vocabulary through associations. Try! Start is a fantastic book to test the skills you've learned with tests.

All around books are best to start with, but books within individual focuses like Grammar, Listening, Reading, Vocabulary, and Kanji are essential to growing your Japanese skills.

When first starting to learn Japanese, you may find kanji to be the most difficult part. First, you must master hiragana and katakana. After that, you can start to learn the first 100 kanji. Our best selling White Rabbit Press Kanji Flashcards are the greatest way to do this, but if you prefer books these are our top picks for learning kanji.

Depending on your native language, learning Japanese grammar and be quite difficult. These books provide you with simple methods to help you learn and use proper grammar techniques. You'll need to learn about 40 different grammar rules to be at a beginner level of Japanese. Once you've mastered these grammar rules, you'll be able to properly structure sentences while speaking and writing i

Expanding your vocabulary is an essential part of learning Japanese. There are about 700 vocabulary words that are important in the beginning stages of learning Japanese. Some learnings believe vocabulary is the most important part of learning Japanese and it will allow you to partially understand conversations even if you're unable to follow the grammar in a sentence.

Reading can be very intimidating when you first start learning Japanese. These books are our top picks to ease you into being able to read Japanese. These stories use a limited set of grammar and vocabulary to make the reading seamless. Kanji also has kana next to it in case you come across a character you don't recognize. Not only are these stories easy to read but they're very interesting.