Talking Katakana Hiragana Chart
You probably know that Japanese is made difficult because of all the characters.
Well, don't worry too much there are some short cuts! One is to just learn
the Katakana alphabet. This is the one that is used for writing foreign
words and also lots of foods. For example, if you can tell that 
reads as "me nyu" or 
reads as "a me ri ka" you can probably figure out they mean
"menu" and "America".
It takes an afternoon to learn katakana (yes that's all!!), you just have
to set the time aside and just plough your way through the 46 symbols.
If you don't get everything the first day, try it again, just set aside
a good 3 or 4 hours and you'll have it cracked.
To get the pronunciation right, I've put up on the site this talking katakana
page, it's not too difficult. There is also a card you can print out with the characters. So first drill all the sounds into
your head with the table below, then cut out the symbols on the printed card and test yourself. Not the most fun activity in the world, but if it means
you can read menus and your name it's well worth it!
Also be sure to check out the talking "Japanese Words" page and my Hints & Tips page.
Recommended Courses
There are loads of great resources out there, and one of the good ones
is the "Pimsleur" series. They have a "Quick & Simple" starter pack and also a full on "Gold Course". They are well recommended if you want to learn Japanese, in January
I used it to learn everyday Spanish in a month!
Click here for more:
Or for slightly cheaper, but one that requires a bit more work, you can have a look at the Living Language series. Although now I would prefer the Pimsleur course above, I actually used
the Living Language series myself when I first learnt Japanese. It's good,
but you have to keep repeating and repeating the same CDs, whereas the
Pimsleur makes you think more, and reviews the language as you go along.
Click for more.
If you teach English in Japan you might be interested in my new Classroom English / Classroom Japanese CD.
All the Japanese on this page is suitable
for either guys or girls, and is pretty normal,
everyday Japanese. This means it's not too
formal, but you'll be fine as long as you
don't say it to anyone too posh!
Also have a look at hints and tips for becoming fluent in Japanese page!
Email me if you have any questions or comments,
