Let's Learn Japanese Picture Dictionary

I bought this for my kids before we moved to Japan but I have ended up using it more often. I have started teaching English to Japanese students (both adults and kids) and this picture dictionary comes in very handy. The pictures are great and it includes a lot of different words, grouped by scenario. For example, the first couple of pages show a house and every thing in the house is labeled. Each room, the furniture/appliances in each room, and various decor in each room. The next couple of pages show a kitchen and many different types of foods that can be found in a kitchen are labeled. Some of the different scenes that are covered are outer space, the ocean, make-believe (which includes a castle and related items), and human history (cavemen) - just to name a few. I recommend this picture dictionary for anyone who is looking to expose themselves or their children to the Japanese language, even if you aren't travelling to or moving to Japan.

This book is great for any beginner who is looking to broaden their Japanese vocabulary. It has numerous full page spreads which are interesting and fun to look at. Along the margins are pictures of the objects or people you are learning the Japanese words for along with the romaji and either hiragana, katakana or kanji symbols. My only complaint was that they were not all in simply hiragana or katakana (for reading practice) but were instead in kanji. This is good though considering everything you would read beyond children's level is a combination of the three. Plenty of interesting topics for each layout too, from living room and kitchen to zoo, space and medieval castles! Recommend to any beginner looking to increase their Japanese vocabulary.

I have never seen a "dictionary" laid out this way, but I love it! Every time you turn a page you get a two page spread of a scene from daily life: school, work, home, neighborhood, etc. - kind of "Where's Waldo" style. Within the picture almost everything is labelled in Japanese. It's really a great idea for helping kids (and adults) link the internal concept of a thing or action with the spoken word for that action, rather than trying the translation approach. A really great learning aid!

My mother is a Japanese and I am a Japanese American. She and I will be using this book to teach my son Japanese. The drawings in this book are very friendly. Kids have fun time reading this book. We also use this book to teach adult students Japanese. Like the saying "pictures worth thousand words", the grown-ups also find the classes interesting when using material like this one.One great thing about this book is that Kanji and English are also listed next to each picture. That is a big help for those who are serious about learning how to read and write Japanese...We highly recommand this book.

This book is a necessity for any student of the Japanese language. Hundreds of words each have their own illustrations and most pages have large, beautiful composite drawings great for point 'n' mane practice. The subjects are very diverse and include "The Make-Believe Castle", "The Attic", and "The Mouse Hunt", which list some unusual and fun words. I might just need to say 'fairy princess' while in Japan, or reading manga. The book uses English, romanjij (Japanese words in the Roman alphabet), as well as kana and kanji (Japanese characters) so readers of any skill level can read and use the book. As a beginning student of the language, I found the multiple alphabet format used for each word very helpful. I enjoyed reading and learning from this book very much and I recommend it as an addition to any language student's or child's library.