Learning Japanese Hiragana and Katakana: Workbook and Practice Sheets

Absolutely love this book! Here is why: 1). They add practice words for each set of hiragana and katakana you learn. This is very helpful for getting used to the way it is written and read. 2). They include free audio with a link that can be found in the book! Super helpful for people to use 3). They include many examples and explanations. 4). Lots of writing space for each letter! 5). They include Dakuten ! This is super important when it comes to pronunciation and reading. My only suggestion is to practice both the hiragana and katakana sets at once. They have a chapter for hiragana and one for katakana, and they separate them into small sections, like the first two columns, the vowels and k line. I find it best to learn the same hiragana and katakana lines at once. For example, I find it best to learn the hiragana vowels and katakana vowels at once. However, either way you chose will work with practice! I also think it’s important to realize you won’t become fluent with this one book! I recently started kanji, and it is a completely different matter, and it will take a while to become fluent, however, this will definitely help you become able to sound out words and help you learn how to begin writing! This book alone won’t completely teach someone hiragana and katakana, active recall and repetition are very important to memorize the writing system, and kanji will take a while to learn, but this is a very helpful resource, and I 100 percent recommend this!

I was looking for some easy to use practice books to start learning hiragana/katakana and I decided to buy this one (along with a couple others.) I've primarily been using this one, and it makes the learning process seem so easy and seamless! I love that it gives you little reviews in between learning the kana because it's like a little break but you're also enforcing what you've already learned. I especially love the Part 3 - Final Review section (Part 1 is Hiragana and Part 2 is Katakana) because it combines a bunch of different exercises that feel more fun that strenuous in nature! Things like crossword puzzles, matching games and other simpler exercises. I would 100% recommend this for a new learner to get their toes wet into the script writing and reading process! Love it!

I've been using the "Learning Japanese Hiragana and Katakana: A Workbook for Self-Study" alongside my Duolingo sessions, and I must say, it’s a game changer! While the workbook is fantastic on its own, combining it with Duolingo really brings out its strengths. This guide nails it when it comes to teaching the writing and characters of Japanese. It offers that extra bit of practice that I was craving. If you're diving into learning Japanese and want a solid grasp of Hiragana and Katakana, this workbook is your go-to. It complements digital learning tools beautifully by reinforcing sentence structure and continuous practice. Would I recommend it? Absolutely, especially if you're pairing it with an app like Duolingo to keep the momentum going. For anyone serious about learning Japanese, this combo is a powerhouse!

Pretty good book. The audio on the website only seems to work sometimes for me, which is a little frustrating. But, it’s great when it does work. Sometimes the “practice” syllable will look different than the one showing the stroke order (like the first picture I showed), So Im not sure if that’s just allowing for differences in handwriting? Like does either way work just fine? It just seems a little inconsistent to me, personally. Overall, a helpful book.

I am reviewing this as someone who is completely brand new to the language (I had TOTALLY no idea about the Japanese language prior to this book). I feel like this makes a difference with this book as other reviewers may have some degree of familiarity with the language. It's definitely an excellent introductory resource but to truly master the writing systems, this one may be not enough on its own and you may have to seek or create additional resources. PROS: -Great introduction/background about the two kana systems in the beginning of the book. -Great explanation about the distinctive differences in pronunciations between English/Japanese for certain characters -Clear explanations of stroke orders for each character -Provides interesting "history" of how each character evolved and came to be -Ample sized boxes to practice each character (some resources I have seen have pretty narrow, small boxes and aren't enough to practice some characters that have more intricate strokes involved) -Helpful review sections every few characters that introduce you to Japanese words with the characters you have just learned and provide further writing practice. These were really helpful in setting a "pace" for me to study. There is also extensive review towards the end where you practice everything you have learned. -Great price! CONS (these may be more of a concern for those who are unfamiliar with the language): -Although there are ample sized boxes, the number of boxes provided simply may not be enough to "drill" the characters into memory. More practice is definitely needed on your own. I should note that the book also provides additional photocopiable grid paper at the end where you can practice further. -Section for half-voiced sounds, etc. seems rushed. Although it is understandably based on things discussed earlier in the book, the sections dedicated to it are quite small. Flashcards, etc. may be needed. -There are great English "equivalents" provided of how the characters are pronounced. However, there is no way for you to remember what sounds each makes (I used tofugu.com quirky mnemonic chart to help me remember). -As other reviewers have mentioned, the binding does it make it a bit difficult to write in the book at times. Overall, I give it five stars as it is a phenomenal resource even for someone like me who did not have a single clue about the language. I am almost done with the book and now I can pick out characters in Japanese texts and sound out some of them even though I still have quite a bit of to learn.

There are other books, of a similar vein, which will do. But I picked this one, and it works. I disagree with how they suggest certain things be pronounced, such as "f", and the "r"s, which they write as "r" sounding, when really they are either a d, t, or l sound. However, and in their defense, almost every other manual I have reviewed does the same thing; they provide audio which does correct for that (probably, haven't listened to their audio, but use others and would guess they offer similar); and they do write about the sounding being as I suggest... in spite of spelling it as I complain regarding. Learn this, before going forward, or enjoy a world of pain as you keep catching up by failing. There is a reason they teach their children this way from the start, and not through kanji first, or even really grammar or vocabulary, save through this learning. I studied how their children learn to decide how I would learn. This is the start. Good luck.

I still use this study book even though I bought it years ago!!

Decided to pick up another language while on "break" from work during the pandemic. I learned both Hiragana & Katakana within a few days of practicing with this book. I basically wrote over and over in a kids composition book until I memorized both of these. I suggest this book to quickly learn how to write in kana and sound out the words written in kana. I have not learned how to grammatically write sentences or to know what very many words mean--but the book never promised that! I've actually look online for words in Japanese and made my own flash cards. Once I have a good amount of words memorized I'll look into another book on how to write/speak in grammatically correct sentences. This book definitely helps to baby-step your way into becoming familiar with Japanese writing.