Japanese from Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Japanese for Students and Professionals

I really like the fact that the book is authored by someone who learned Japanese himself and understands how to explain the grammar to a non-Japanese. The learning is very progressive with an emphasis on daily situations. I use the book together with the fromzero website (for a fee!) which allows me study on the go, and there’s useful (and funny!) videos by George explaining/summarizing the key points.When learning a language, I think it’s important to write by hand and to read on paper rather than on screen, therefore I appreciate the book and the fact that it contains worksheets as well.I speak several languages but since I’m not living in Japan, I feel like I needed more immersion, so for those interested: I’m using also Duolingo (mainly for vocabulary learning as the grammar explanations, the learning progression and the pronunciation are ridiculously bad ); Maru Maru app for hiragana/katakana practice (really great!); and I’ve started private online lessons once a week with a Japanese teacher to challenge myself and to practice talking.

Review of “Easy Japanese Workbook: A Simple Guide for Beginners”If you’re looking for a straightforward and approachable way to start learning Japanese, this workbook is a perfect choice. Designed with beginners in mind, it offers a step-by-step breakdown of the essentials without overwhelming you.The layout is clean and organized, making it easy to follow along. Each chapter introduces a new concept—be it hiragana, katakana, basic vocabulary, or simple grammar structures—with clear explanations and plenty of practice exercises. The exercises are engaging yet not too challenging, allowing you to gradually build confidence and reinforce what you’ve learned.What sets this workbook apart is its simplicity. The explanations are concise and jargon-free, making it ideal for anyone new to the language. Plus, the pace is perfect—you’re never rushed but also never left behind.Overall, if you’re a beginner looking for a low-pressure way to dive into Japanese, this workbook is an excellent resource to start your journey! I will be getting the rest of the workbooks soon!

I love Japanese From Zero!JFZ is a good place to start learning, especially if you have no prior knowledge of Japanese and you cannot read or write any of the language (this includes anyone who is currently using romaji). This first book walks you through learning hiragana. By the time you get done with this book, you will know your hiragana front, back and sideways. You may even dream in hiragana. That's how good it is at reinforcing hiragana for you.The information is NOT presented in an overwhelming manner as it can be in a lot of other text books. The lessons are short, which makes it ideal for learning on your own, and being able to pace yourself. You can learn 1 lesson per week or 1 lesson per day. It's totally up to you. The book presents lessons with usable examples. By the time you complete lesson 5, you will know how to say hello, tell someone things that you like or don't like, be able to count, ask who someone is, what things are, ask someone what something is in English, and tell someone what one you want or don't want. You'll learn colors, some animals, etc. So you can say "I have an orange cat named Garfield." "I like to go shopping" "Japanese food is delicious" "That doesn't taste good" "My car is a purple and white Honda" "Sachiko and Toshiyo are my friends" etc lol And that's not even 1/4 the way into the book!!! They present information in a way that allows you to be able to insert whatever you want, instead of using very rigid sentences that can't be altered much. You begin thinking of all the things that you CAN say, which I think is pretty neat.You, of course, learn more as you progress through the series. It's more of a "what you need to know, when you need to know it" kind of book... They don't go into dipthongs and verb conjugation and all that other stuff that you don't really care about. They just say "this is how you say _______." Why people have a problem with that is beyond me. If you really wanted to study dipthongs and that kind of stuff, Japanese From Zero probably isn't for you. If you have a "I can do it" attitude and want a fun, simple way to learn Japanese, (learn how to read/write AND speak) and you don't really care what a dipthong is, then this is the series for you!As you progress through the book, the vocabulary list gets more & more useful, so you can ask people things and have a basic conversation. Enough to maybe start looking for a penpal and discussing things that you enjoy. I like how the book is set up, in that you get your writing practice, you get lots of vocabulary, and you get to learn how to write words that use the kana that you have just learned that are not in your vocabulary list. You get lots & lots of writing practice. There's even "blank" practice pages that you can copy & get more writing practice.The grammar is presented so that it's not overwhelming and make you think "oh my god I can't do this".. the lessons are short & not bogged down with stuff that you don't really need to know to just be able to talk with people. There are tests after each lesson, which are short, and I think that is great, because you can take your test & check the answers in the back of the book (YAY! No separate answer key to buy!) & see how you have done.. It is a nice confidence booster. Your vocabulary is shown in hiragana, katakana (when applicable, ie: with fruit : furuutsu) and kanji (if applicable).. then the meaning of the word is given.. but as you progress, the romaji gets less and less, so eventually you'll be reading hiragana. For things like "furuutsu" that are written in katakana, it's a good way to learn a little katakana while you're at it!In regards to sounds or having a CD... They have sound files on their website. I'm a member of the website AND I have the book. I like using them both. The website tells you how to say things and you get to hear different people say things at their normal talking speed. The forum has a lot of helpful people in it, and George will answer your questions himself. The website has flash games, online flashcards, and all sorts of resources available. They also have free shows you can watch & listen to people speaking Japanese.. This includes people from YouTube, like applemilk1988, Uminekomiami and Kemushichan. They also have their own shows, like Japanese Topics Mania, The George and Keiko Show, The George and Hisashi Show, George in Japan, George vs Chie, The George & Eri show, The YesJapan! Ask A Teacher Show, You SO Crazy Cooking Show and the 3 Guys In Japan Show.. As well as one that's called "The Super Sexy Sayaka Show." You can also transfer your unused credits from YesJapan to JapanFiles & download Japanese music. JapanFiles has a huge selection of music, everything from pop to metal to electronic stuff to jazz and etc.. They even have visual kei bands and some bands have free music videos you can download. So you get lots of stuff to listen to and watch in Japanese. On top of that stuff, the YesJapan forum has a ton of websites where you can get live streaming television shows, anime and etc from Japan for free, as well as online radio shows, and etc. There's LOTS of resources on that website.If joining the website is not your cup of tea.. The Japanese From Zero books are good companions for Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur's Japanese series, the "Let's Learn Japanese" videos & workbooks, LingQ, or anything else you would like to pair them up with, even other books, ie: Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You or All About Particles: A Handbook of Japanese Function Words.If you get this series, you won't be disappointed. It's simple, fun and really is wonderful!

I’ve been studying this book for a couple months now, alongside the corresponding YouTube videos. They’ve done such a great job in making these concepts, digestible and easy to understand from a beginner’s perspective. The lessons are also engaging and fun, and it’s something that I genuinely look forward to doing. Hopefully, I can report back in the future as a fully fluent speaker.