Japanese For Dummies Audio Set

Want to speak Japanese? Don’t have a lot of time? Japanese For Dummies Audio Set is designed to help you learn quickly and easily at home or on the road. From basic greetings and expressions to grammar and conversations, you’ll grasp the essentials and start communicating right away. This completely practical, portable learning system lets you set your own pace and skip around to explore topics that interest. Three one-hour CDs introduce the basics of Japanese, get you familiar with the languages structure, and prepare you to use the language in real-world situations. You can play them on any car or home stereo, copy them to your computer, and load the pre-converted files onto your mp3 to play them wherever and whenever you want. A 96-page compact guide helps you find your way around the CDs and handy Japanese/English dictionary for quick reference on the go. You’ll discover how to: Begin communicating in Japanese on a basic level Handle greetings and introductions Ask questions and understand the answers Build your vocabulary Talk about numbers, time, and the calendar Ask for directions Order a meal at a restaurant Understand Japanese parts of speech Form complete sentences and converse in Japanese If you’re ready to start speaking Japanese, Japanese For Dummies Audio Set is the most effective, convenient, and friendliest tool you can use.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 About This Audio Set 1 Conventions Used in This Audio Set 2 Foolish Assumptions 2 How This Audio Set Is Organized 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Romanization 3 Punctuation 6 Pitch Accents 6 Lesson 1:1: Welcome and Overview of CD1: The Basics 9 Lesson 1:2: Personal Pronouns and Formalities 10 Respectful titles 11 Lesson 1:3: Saying “Hello” and “Goodbye”. 12 Lesson 1:4: Saying and Replying to “How Are You?” 13 Lesson 1:5: Introducing Yourself and Talking about Where You’re From 14 Lesson 1:6: Indispensable Words 15 People 16 Places 16 Emergency 17 Important items 17 Lesson 1:7: Useful Expressions and Phrases 18 Lesson 1:8: Question Words 19 Lesson 1:9: Useful Questions 20 Lesson 1:10: An Overview of Numbers 21 Lesson 1:11: Talking about Time 23 Asking about time 24 Time-related terms 24 Lesson 1:12: The Calendar and Dates 25 The days of the week 25 The months 25 The days of the month 26 Month and date-related questions and answers 27 Lesson 1:13: Directions 28 Lesson 2:1: Introduction and Overview of CD2: The Nitty-Gritty: Language Structure 29 Lesson 2:2: Nouns 30 Things in your room 30 Locations 30 Transportation 31 Animals 31 Foods and beverages 31 Lesson 2:3: Plain and Polite Family Terms. 32 Older family members 32 Younger family members 33 Spouse 33 Extended family members 33 Lesson 2:4: Counters. 35 Lesson 2:5: Demonstratives 37 Lesson 2:6: Adjectives 38 Preference and desire 39 Colors 40 Nationalities 40 Lesson 2:7: Degrees of Adjectives. 41 Lesson 2:8: To Be or Not to Be: A Very Important Verb 42 Lesson 2:9: Verbs. 44 Irregular verbs 45 Ru-verbs 45 U-verbs 45 Desu 46 Lesson 2:10: Verb Tenses. 47 Plain 47 Polite 48 Desu 48 Example sentences 48 Lesson 2:11: Negatives 49 Lesson 2:12: Particles 50 Particles for subjects and direct objects 52 Example sentences 52 Lesson 2:13: Conjunctions. 53 Example phrases and sentences using conjunctions 53 Lesson 2:14: Forming Simple Sentences 54 Lesson 2:15: Introducing More Complete Sentences. 55 Lesson 3:1: Introduction and Overview of CD3: Real-World Situations 57 Lesson 3:2: At the Office 58 People around the office 58 Office activities 58 Example sentences 59 Lesson 3:3: On the Job 60 Occupations 60 Work-related verbs 61 Example sentences 61 Lesson 3:4: Making Small Talk. 62 Lesson 3:5: Making Appointments. 64 Lesson 3:6: Arranging Travel 66 Lesson 3:7: Asking for Directions 67 Lesson 3:8: Asking for and Getting Help. 69 Lesson 3:9: At the Restaurant 71 Lesson 3:10: At the Hotel 72 Lesson 3:11: At the Bank 73 Lesson 3:12: At the Store 74 Mini-Dictionary 75 Japanese-English Mini-Dictionary 75 English-Japanese Mini-Dictionary 82

About the Author :
Eriko Sato, PhD, teaches Japanese in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.