Japanese Learning Books I Own: Ranked Honestly (Vocabulary, Grammar, Listening & Kanji)
Hey guys, it’s Fumito Emi! In this post, I will show you all my Japanese language learning books. Some books didn’t really help me a lot, and some books I really ate up. I divided them into vocabulary books, grammar books, listening books, and kanji books, so let’s get started.
If you are still choosing your first materials, you can also check our JLPT N5 preparation checklist and the complete Japanese learning resources on reading-japanese.com.
Vocabulary Books
Least Favorite Books
1. The Nihongo collocation book “for beginners”
For me, this is not really a beginner type of book. I don’t remember anything from it, honestly.
2. The JapaneseβEnglish dictionary
I really wanted to learn the traditional way, thinking maybe that is easier, so I bought a JapaneseβEnglish dictionary. Don’t do that.
3. The Filipino (my mother tongue) to Japanese book
This one was given by my mom. It didn’t really help me much, and I didn’t memorize any word from this book. Avoid that.
Books I Recommend
Genki
Of course, are we going to talk about Japanese language learning books without talking about this infamous book, Genki? Do I recommend it? Absolutely, if you are a from-scratch beginner. When I bought this book I was already a little ahead of it. What I like is that when you are a beginner and still can’t read hiragana and katakana, this is a good one for you. But I highly recommend that you learn hiragana and katakana first, because that is your foundation in Japanese. Start here: 100 hiragana words and the full katakana guide.
Minna no Nihongo (Translation & Grammatical Notes)
The beginner editions have the same color as the ones in my pile. What I really love about these books is that they show you how to use every word you learned. With the grammatical notes book, you really know how to use those words in real-life conversation. It improves your storytelling when you are talking with a Japanese-speaking human being. It really makes you remember the vocabulary you just learned. The intermediate level books are here too. As long as it is Minna no Nihongo, you are in good hands. That’s just what I think.
Tango book from Ask Publishing
You might think I would recommend this one, but it is just okay. If I rate it, I give it 3 stars. You can read it and remember for a period of time, but when you try to review, it goes over my head.
A book I kind of recommend, and kind of not
This is not for beginners. If you are learning from scratch, I do not recommend it. But if you are in the middle of your Japanese learning journey, this book is good for you, especially if you are a visual learner.
π Best Vocabulary Book: The “Vocabulary Builder”
The best book for vocabulary is this one. It lives up to its name, trust me. It has mini stories that use a lot of vocabulary words, and you just understand it naturally. You can learn kanji with it too, because it has a little kanji undertone. If you pay attention to the kanji, it is so easy to remember. I don’t know why, but this book is just great. If you are taking the JLPT, especially N5 and N4, this is the main one.
Grammar Books
On the grammar side, I only have three books.
Least favorite (didn’t help me much)
This one is controversial, because a lot of people actually like it. It is a good book, don’t get me wrong. It is the colors that set me off. It would have been okay if there was a different color for the highlight part, but it is all green and not visually appealing. It is just me, it’s my problem.
The ones I ate up
These I really ate up, because they are so fast-paced. I still remember what is in these books, and the grammar structures are still in my head. I just study them every day for 10 to 15 minutes.
Need more help with grammar? See our lesson series on particles, verb forms and sentence patterns.
Listening Books
Actually, I don’t hate any of the listening books I own, because I only own two: the Shadowing books.
- Book 1: beginner to intermediate. I am halfway through this one now.
- Book 2: intermediate to advanced. I am about to read this next.
You read them with the audio file playing, so you become familiar with the pronunciation and the usage of words. These are just the things I need for listening. I won’t be buying any more listening books. So what more can you ask for, right?
Kanji Books
Least favorite (again)
Again, this Nihongo book is maybe not for me, but maybe it is for you. I just don’t get the kanji in this one. It is too monochromatic green, which distracts my eyes.
The second-grade kanji book (bought for the stickers!)
This one is actually a second-grade kanji book for elementary students. I bought it just because of the stickers. Once you finish a page or two, you gain a sticker, like an achievement badge or whatever.
π Best Kanji Book
The best kanji book to have is this one. It is also good if you are a visual learner like me, because the book is packed with valuable information. This is for my N3. I practice the kanji every now and then, and I can’t wait to finish this book and buy the next one, because it is fun to learn kanji with it. It explains everything so well.
Want more kanji help? Read our guides on kanji radicals, Joyo kanji, and the best kanji learning apps.
JLPT Practice Books (Not Ranked)
The next batch of books I won’t rank. These are used to test your knowledge of how much you learned from the other books. I think they help in their unique ways, but we have a love-hate relationship. It’s too much for me, you know what I mean?
- N4βN5 test book: it has test questions divided into three parts: kanji, vocabulary, and grammar. It is good, and I recommend it.
- JLPT practice test book: I recommend this one too. Do you really need it? No. But it is a good book, because it refreshes you on grammar structures and gives some reading practice.
Preparing for the exam? Use our JLPT N5 preparation checklist together with these practice books.
Quick Summary
| Category | Least Favorite | Best / Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Vocabulary | Collocation book, dictionary, FilipinoβJapanese book | Vocabulary Builder (best), Minna no Nihongo, Genki |
| Grammar | The green-colored one | The fast-paced 10β15 minute books |
| Listening | None | Shadowing (both books) |
| Kanji | The monochromatic green one | The N3 kanji book (best) |
| JLPT Practice | Not ranked | N4βN5 test book, JLPT practice test book |
Final Thoughts
That is every book I own for now! I am currently aiming for JLPT N3. My friend said it is going to be so easy, but I don’t want to take chances. Besides, I am really aiming for a high score. Even though sometimes I get lazy to study, sometimes I am eager and study for hours and hours in a day.
Thank you for reading! If you are new here, subscribe to our newsletter at reading-japanese.com for more Japanese learning tips, and see you in my next post. Bye!
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