Kodansha's Effective Japanese Usage Dictionary: A Concise Explanation of Frequently Confused Words and Phrases

Kodansha's Effective Japanese Usage Dictionary: A Concise Explanation of Frequently Confused Words and Phrases by Shoji, Kakuko. paperback edition. ISBN: 9784770028501.

One of the principal reasons for the difficulty foreign students have in mastering Japanese is the languages extensive use of words that seem similar in meaning, but are used very differently in practice. This 768-page dictionary both explains the differences between hundreds of words and provides examples of how they are used in conversational Japanese. Explanations are given in Japanese with English translations; sample sentences are written in Japanese and Roman characters, with accompanying English translations. To further aid understanding, the book includes 27 short narratives or dialogues that indicate how word usage is affected by context, helping students to distinguish some of the languages subtleties. With its clarification of often confused vocabulary, this book is an essential tool for serious students of Japanese. o 768-page dictionary includes 302 comparisons of 708 synonymous terms. o Explains words and phrases that seem similar, but have very different uses. o Sample sentences in romanized and standard Japanese script with furigana, followed by the English translation. o Three easy-to-use indexes in romanized alphabetical order, Japanese order, and by category.