This book lists approximately 9,000 core Japanese words that can be searched with English equivalents. It’s ideal for learners of Japanese as a second language who want to communicate more effectively and also for learners of English who know Japanese.
Japanese is written with three different scripts: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Typical Japanese words are written with Hiragana and Kanji. Katakana is usually used to write foreign words other than Chinese.
English main entries are in alphabetical order and stressed syllables of them are inboldface type for clear communication in English.
(The contrast between stressed and unstressed syllables is very important because it helps to create the rhythm of English.)
Each main entry is followed by parts of speech label and the entry’s Japanese equivalents. All Japanese equivalent for main entries are written in both Rōmaji (Roman letters) and Japanese writing: Kana and Kanji (Chinese characters) if applicable.
[example]
abbreviate [v.] shōryaku suru 省略する, tanshuku suru 短縮する
Learners can select to learn Chinese characters according to their needs and levels. For those who know Chinese characters, it might be easier to learn Japanese since almost 90% of the language derives from Chinese characters.
Since many Japanese prefer to use foreign words in daily conversation, Japanese pronunciation of foreign words are romanized in this book for better communication with Japanese.
[example]
advice [n.] adobaisu アドバイス, chūkoku 忠告, jogen 助言
