This is especially true for Minna no Nihongo, whose main textbook only features Japanese (the translation comes in a separate workbook). Although both books have a section dedicated to Hiragana and Katakana in their introduction, those two syllabaries should have been mastered before tackling the content of the lessons itself. First and foremost, it is important to specify you should at least have learned some basic Japanese before using both books.
Now that we have reviewed all of the components for both series, we are left with our initial question: which one is the best for self-studying?
MINNA NO NIHONGO BOOK SERIES
For those worrying about Kanji character study, there is an appendix at the end of both main textbooks that focus on Kanji.Īgain, Genki is more concise while the Minna no Nihongo series offers you a whole variety of materials to study, practice, and specialize. On the other hand, Genki features only one workbook per textbook and one Answer Key volume for both textbooks. The Minna No Nihongo 9 book complete set (Save 15%) The Minna No Nihongo 5 book essential set (Save 10%) We have two versions discounted bundles of Minna No Nihongo books: There are up to 8 different workbooks for Minna no Nihongo and an additional textbook focusing on Kanji characters only. And that's where the biggest difference lies between the two series. We recommend Genki if you're planning to self-study, but Minna No Nihongo is a more thorough book and works well in a classroom settingĮven though the textbooks feature numerous practical exercises, buying the workbooks is necessary for both series to study efficiently. In that sense, Genki is more adapted to beginners who want to self-study while Minna no Nihongo is more immersive from the start and requires more from the learners. Genki also tends to feature more images in its textbook compared to Minna no Nihongo. Both textbooks are about the same size, but across their 2 volumes for beginner level, Genki is composed of 23 lessons while Minna no Nihongo features 50 lessons.Īlthough the overall structure is very similar for both series, one of the main differences for the textbooks is that the instructions are given in English for Genki while there is no English featured in the main textbook for Minna no Nihongo (the translation can be found in a separate workbook). They're not just Japanese grammar books: each lesson features a situation with a dialogue that makes you go through new grammar points, vocabulary, and kanji while practicing reading and listening comprehension and doing some writing as well. In Minna no Nihongo, Miller-san works for a Japanese company (and is featured in its own dedicated novel) while in Genki, Mary is a university exchange student. The structure of the textbook is fairly similar for both series: we follow the adventures of a foreigner learning Japanese in Japan. Textbooksīoth series feature a main textbook ( Honsatsu, 本冊) with lessons and a workbook(s).
We will focus on the Shokyu level for both series in this review. A third volume in the series for the Chukyu (Intermediate) level goes by the name An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese without bearing the name Genki. Subtitled 'An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese', it is published by The Japan Times and features 2 volumes for their Shokyu (Beginner) level. It is also widely used in university courses and Japanese language schools. Genki is the other Japanese language book series that makes every student doubt which one they should go with. Each level is then divided into two further sub-levels with their associated textbooks and workbooks, Shokyu 1 & Shokyu 2 and Chukyu 1 & Chukyu 2. The series is divided into two levels, Shokyu (Beginner) and Chukyu (Intermediate). If you study in a language school in Japan, you will very likely be using this series, and for good reason. It is published by Three A Network (which also publishes the New Kanzen Master book series among others) and it is widely used in Japanese language schools here in Japan. Minna no Nihongo is one of the most famous Japanese language book series. We are going to compare two very popular series: Minna no Nihongo and Genki. The choice of the textbook you are going to use is crucial, especially if you are self-studying. If you're asking yourself this question, you're very likely studying by yourself because no series has been imposed on you. It's the question on every Japanese Language student's mind: what is the best Japanese language textbook for me? There are plenty of Japanese school books out there.
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