A Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese: Fourth Edition, JLPT All Levels (2,136 Japanese Kanji Characters)

It also provides the primary English meaning of the Kanji. What it does is terrific, for me. It is not a dictionary. Beyond the above, it is not much of a guide to learning how to read and write Japanese either. But it shows the strokes for the most commonly used Kanji and I find that very useful. I would recommend it to English speaking students of Japanese Kanji as a supplement to their other texts.This book is an updated version of the 1959 edition. It has most of the new characters--2136 Kanji. I bought it because I have been using the 1959 edition for years and it is falling apart. Amazon describes this as a paperback but it is a Hard paperback and should give me another 50 years of service..

I was very pleased to find that this book is continuing to be printed--I used it as a student in the 1960's. I found it the best source for learning the kanji in a systematic way--the only book I know that shows the correct stroke order for each of the Toyo kanji. The index makes is easy to locate kanji by their on or kun readings, and sample words are provided for each. I don't know how I would have done without it. I actually bought this edition for a Buddhist teacher who needs to write kanji for her religious ceremonies, and she was delighted with it. I still have my original edition--I would never part with it.

We used this book in my high school japanese class. Although it only has a limited number of kanji in it, it's very useful for learning the basics. Each kanji has instructions for each stroke to make sure you're using proper stroke order, and it gives you both Chinese and Japanese (onyomi and kunyomi) readings though not all of them, for example it doesn't list conjugations of each reading, and it only gives you the most important ones. This book is very straight forward, so it doesn't give you ways to remember each kanji, but it's a good tool for learning meanings and learning the stroke order.

I recommend this book for intermediate Japanese learners who have learned a thier kanas, know some elementary spoken Japanese, and can already recognize a few kanji.Having all of the joyo (general use) kanji in one place, makes this book an excellent resource for those trying to learn the Japanese written language to be able to read Japanese books or manga, and also for those aiming to take the Jlpts (Japanese Language Proficiency Tests) However, the book only gives the stroke order, basic meaning and two or three of the most common compounds for each kanji. It is a bit difficult to retain the more complicated kanji on this this system so I recommend using other resources, and drilling yourself by methods such as flash cards and writing practice.I have used this book to memorize all of the grade one and grade two kanji (240 in all) so it is very useful. You'll just need additional resources to aid in retention, and for learning other facets of the Japanese langugage.

It lists the 1945 Kanji for everyday use, first by teaching stroke order for the 1000 or so Kanji taught in grade school, followed by a glossary of the complete list of Kanji, separated by stroke count from 1 to 23. Each grade school kanji has up to three examples of words for that Kanji. It is a must have for beginner to intermediate Kanji learners. The Kanji are printed such that they are easily legible as compared to other books. Also keep in mind that the Kanji in this book may differ from others. I personally have 3 books total for learning everyday use Kanji including this one, and each has a different count of Kanji, from as few as 1200 to as many as 2230. Versatility is important when learning Kanji. Good luck, Kanji learners! Gambatte ne

Updated to ~1200 Kanji. thorough covering of the characters and their meanings. Reason for withholding the 5th star is tat the characters are a bit small and it's hard to see the more subtle differences.

Great book in all, contains two syllabaries with descriptions. Useful when taking a beginning Japanese class or to brush up on Katakana.

I bought this book after my sister showed me her copy, and I fell in love. I like that it starts easy, then works its way up to the harder ones, and I like that it includes a lot of the general use characters.

alles ok

good book for kanji learning

Presenta un orden conveniente y por grados, además de mostrar de manera concisa información como las lecturas ON y KUN de los kanji así como sus trazos y referencias cruzadas dentro del mismo libro y con otros materiales de la misma editorial, totalmente recomendable.

Very helpful

I'll be honest, this book has been a godsend for me learning Japanese. It's very good and concise, contains the most essential 1000 or so kanji with great examples and all readings. A must have