Japanese Language Learning Reviews

3 Kanji Workbooks: Mastering Japanese Kanji, Kanji Power, First 100 Japanese Kanji

Score:
7 / 10
Pros:
space to practice writing each of 200+ characters; stroke-by-stroke demonstration of how to write kanji; kanji readings & meanings for each character; sample words/phrases using each character; Kanji Power & Mastering the Kanji have extra practice exercises, while First and Second 100 Kanji offer larger, better spaces to practice writing each character

Cons:
these three books each have different features – read below to find which best fits your study; no pacing to break down characters into smaller, manageable chunks; little practice understanding how kanji fit into the broader Japanese writing system, or the written language in general; just workbooks – don’t offer too much hand holding for beginners

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This is the first time I’ve taken on multiple books in a single review. These three books actually offer three variations on a theme.

Mastering Japanese Kanji, , and Tuttle’s First and Second 100 Japanese Kanji offer three comparable approaches to picking up your first 200-plus kanji characters. I’ll compare and contrast these workbook/guides, so you can decide which, if any, is ideal for your studies. To learn more about those thousands of kanji characters in the context of learning to write Japanese, read my brief overview of Japanese writing, pronunciation and grammar.

Both Mastering Japanese Kanji and The First/Second 100 Japanese Kanji start with a generic intro to how kanji work. This rough sketch merely feeds you some ideas; you’ll need practice to get any sort of a handle on kanji. After that, all three books present only one character (or, in Kanji Power, two characters) per page. There’s an enlarged version of the character at the top right of the page. Near that, you’ll find the kanji’s meaning and reading (how to pronounce it, which differs depending on context). Then, the books provide sample words or phrases using only that character, with pronunciation and an English translation. Importantly, you’ll find a left-to-right, stroke-by-stroke demonstration of how to write each kanji.

Below this information, it’s your turn to practice. Rows of empty boxes provide opportunity to write each character over and over until you get it.

Now, onto the differences. Kanji Power expects you to know katakana and hiragana (the two Japanese syllabaries), since it gives pronunciation of characters and examples in the kana. It also offers the least practice writing space of the three, and the smallest stroke-by-stroke character print size, with no hints on where to start or end your pen strokes. But it covers more kanji than the other two, offers good example sentences for each kanji, and gives several opportunities to complete helpful review tests.

Mastering the Kanji takes pride in its visual memory cues. Kanji are laid over a drawing that you may relate to the kanji’s meaning, with associative explanations. Unfortunately, these associations aren’t historically accurate with respect to the character’s etymology. There are more musings and explanations of character meaning here. Readings and examples are given in kana and romaji (foreigner-friendly transliteration). There’s also a sample sentence, well analyzed, and a good stroke count of how to write each kanji. Current strokes are presented in gray, the rest of the character in black. The book includes a modest amount of empty grid box space for writing practice – more than Kanji Power, along with some review exercises.

The First 100 Japanese Kanji and Second 100 Japanese Kanji offer the best introductory explanation of what kanji are. Each page includes a modest amount of info – pronunciation, a handful of words using the character (no full sentences or phrases) and a simple definition with no explanations. Pronunciation readings include both kana and romaji. The biggest difference here is that three quarters of each page is dedicated to practice writing space, taken up by generous grid boxes. Characters are written out large and stroke-by-stroke for you, with arrows showing the pen stroke direction and counting the number of strokes. This is the most purely workbook-like of the three kanji workbooks.

These three resources share a lot of common ground and cover many of the same kanji characters. Their approach is similar – characters, examples and space to practice writing. And, if you’re a beginner with little experience writing Japanese characters, that practice is exactly what you need. But I’ll leave it up to you to decide which features you prefer.

Other resources are out there as well. If you’re looking for an entirely different method, perhaps try Remembering the Kanji, which builds on character components rather than asking you to memorize individual character after character.