All About Particles: A Handbook of Japanese Function Words

Simple and to the point

Before describing the book, a word or two has to be mentioned regarding the publisher, Kodansha International. I don't know if it's because of the policy within Kodansha, or the Japanese culture in general, but you can feel the tidiness, accuracy, and meticulous nature of each author, and the effort expended in order to convey information to the reader the best possible way.When first starting to learn Japanese on my own, I had tried grammar texts and dictionaries from two other publishers. I found out after a couple of months, that they only cause the reader great confusion, lack a lot of important concepts, the print is often ineligible, and the sentences are in Romaji and not in the native alphabet (Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji), which is so necessary in order to learn the language properly. Other Kodansha publications which I found useful for learning Japanese are  Kodanshas Essential Kanji Dictionary (Japanese for Busy People)The Kodansha Kanji Learners Dictionary (Japanese for Busy People)Kodansha's Furigana Japanese Dictionary: Japanese-English English-JapaneseJapanese Verbs at a Glance (Power Japanese Series) (Kodansha's Children's Classics)The Handbook of Japanese Adjectives and Adverbs (Kodansha's Children's Classics) The material is divided into groups of particles. The most common particles are presented first. The description for each particle is divided into sections. Each section discusses a different meaning and use of the particle. The particle "de" for example, means "a place where an action takes place", "the means by which the action is performed", as well as "the reason of the action". Each section includes a heading, which describes the particular meaning associated with the particle, and then follows with three sentences each in Japanese, Romaji, and English, where this particle is used. Where appropriate, a cross reference is given, regarding the use of different particles for the same situation. For example, "ni" indicates the location of a short term action, whereas "de" indicates the location of a long term action. The particles in each Japanese and English sentence are highlighted in bold, making it easier for the reader to pinpoint it. The index is in English. Sometimes the English translation isn't the way it is spoken in the US, but I don't see it as a major drawback.In short, I recommend it for every English speaking Japanese student learning on his or her own, or even as supplementary material at college.Among grammar items of Japanese, particles are the most critical in comprehension of the written text. A few are connotated highly diverse seemigly uncorrelated meanings, which a mere misunderstanding of the meaning at hand, can make the entire statement completely incomprehensible. These are a handful, the most diverse ones, 3 or at most 5. The rest are quite straight forward, and more or less, attributed one or at most four definitions. Noticing the position of the particle in the sentence, is of no less importance. It can make the difference between a notificatory statement and an interrogative one. The only way to get over, as a novice, who is not born as a native, is to try all possible cases for a particle at hand, until the sentence makes sense. This is requires quite hardship, but gradually one can crack down a new sentence more or less without resort to the particle list. The textbook provides the best possible support, to make the task easy to handle. The index for example, though short, is very correct and right to the point. Cross references, furthermore, provided at almost all particles, are an added benefit, a very indispensible one. Most notably, are ample statements to demonstrate the use of the particle in different instances. A Kana statement-Japanese version, is followed by a Ramaji-Transliteration in English, and an English translation of the sentence itself. At the heading of the case, the particle is consicely, accurately described, including general usages, and similar paticles which are used interchangeably. Many are seldom encountered in general daily read, but confronting particles in specialty fields, almost highly remote fields, are ready at hand.

This book Is a good supplementary handbook If you're having trouble grasping the particles in Japanese. With that in mind, you should understand It's best used as a reference instead of a primary source of learning. There are several other facets to learning Japanese, for Kanji I would recommend James W. Hesig's "Remembering the Kanji 1-3", they are very informative books that break the Kanji down to their simplest elements and show you how to build new Kanji with those elements or primitives.I would recommend the Youtube channel "Japanese Ammo with Misa" as either a primary source or a good supplementary source alongside a textbook like Genki. Though this handbook goes over a great deal of information, so whatever route you take to learning the language, this seems like a useful tool to guide you to better understanding simple and complex particles and all of their uses in the language.

The Japanese sentence particles easily devolve into alphabet soup for me. This book has been very helpful to sort them back out. I'm currently in college Japanese 101 and this book has proven very useful.

Romaji was super annoying but overall the book was pretty good at explaining stuff and giving examples

I have not started using this booklet yet, however I overlook at it and it looks like it's going to be a good guide for me so I can understand and learn how to use the Japanese particles. (The reason why I gave 4 starts instead of 4, it's because the booklet didn't come in good shape, I mean it does looks new, but the cover came wrinkled, it seems that they were not careful enough while packaging it)

I purchased a couple of books on Japanese particles, and this is my favorite. The other two books have a smaller size and thinner font. Plus, the ink is light. I can easily read this book, unlike the others. The content is good and the print is good. I find this particularly important as the book is small.

this book has served me well so far. in my studies of japanese, i often come across particles i'm not familiar with, and this book explains them. (my studies include breaking down japanese song lyrics and reading manga in japanese, the only thing i can read in japanese. three cheers for kanji.)before i purchased this book, i read some of the reviews about it, and i have a comment on one of them. this comment complained that this book doesn't seem to have any order to the particles. had that reviewer read the preface, they would have learned that the particles are put in order of frequency. that reader should also have explored the entirety of this book, including the alphabetical index at the back.inside this great reference book, you'll find 69 particles defined. many particles have multiple uses, which are explained. each explanation i've looked at includes at least two examples. you'll find no exercises, though. if you want exercises for particles, you'll just have to come up with your own sentences, which is what you do when you speak a language anyway.

I speak Japanese and teach it in Japan.It is impossible to speak Japanese without understanding 'mode particles'.This book is very good, though in some instances it could be considered overwhelming. No matter, keep with the programme and success will happen.Much is made of 'Acquiring Language' in preference to 'Learning Grammar' by USA professors looking for a pay rise. Trust me, or not; as the case may be, if you wish to learn how to speak Japanese, then you have to learn the 'mode particles'. as they form an essential part of basic grammar rules.

This is a good book however the explanations are a bit of a grind though hence 4 stars only! :) "Indicates a muted question in cases when there is information shared with an interlocutor that the speaker is trying to recall" Really? Come on! Hehe! BUT get past that and this book is definitely one to dip into in small doses... or read if you have a bout of insomnia (joke!) However for explaining particle use it is very useful none the less. I study with iKnow so I dig this book out when learning their sentences in order to try and understand how the particles are being used in the sentence. This is definitely one book that has to be in the learning cabinet (alongside "Barrons Japanese Grammar" and "Japanese Core Words and Phrases: Things you can't find in a dictionary" :)

The basic purpose of the book is to provide detailed descriptions of 53 noun particles and 16 sentence particles, and it does a very good job of that: each particle is accompanied by several example sentences ('ni' even got 44 of them), both in romaji and kana/kanji. But that's not all! Since these sentences are intended to demonstrate the use of particles, they are high on kana and low on kanji, and I found them a pleasant way to get more acquainted with both, especially since the romaji is right below.

I've got the older version of the edition but I expect there are rather minor changes. This book is a very good reference source for Japanese particles or can be used just to familiarise yourself if you are starting out. It gives good definitions of what each particle is for and examples in both formal and informal tenses. I would recommend this to late-beginner or intermediate stage learners.

This is the book I was looking for to help with my grammar. I am an upper beginner and have a decent grasp of the language, but I often come across particles that change the meaning in a way I am not familar with. I felt this book would be a great way to get some more basics down by learning more rules. There is a lot of content here, it's not just your bog standard particles such as に、と、が etc, but also connecting 'words' such as　ばかり、ところで、だけ。しか etc. Very useful to have it all in one place to look at when you forget how the meanings change when reading these words. It goes into just about every way to use each with example sentences too - very useful for trying to nail the differences between は and が, or に and で.Highly recommended.