I was watching a YouTube video and it recommended a couple of them but the one that stuck out to me was a book called Genki however I don’t know where to look for them. I’ve seen them on Amazon and other book store websites but they don’t look like the one she had in the video. Can someone please help?
Edit: if there are other text books as well please tell me which ones to get.
4 comments
abebooks.com is a great source for books, and they have genki. Looks like about $10 for the first one.
Despite some people having strong opinions on “the best” beginner textbook, the reality is they all teach the same things. Read a few reviews, look at a few sample pages online, then choose the one you think you will most enjoy working with: [https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/beginner-japanese-textbook/](https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/beginner-japanese-textbook/)
If you are located in Europe, this is a good option and often the cheapest one I have found: [https://verasia.eu/](https://verasia.eu/)
What they’ve said.
There are a lot books that serve the needs of a beginner well.
Genki is just so commonly used that it’s got a lot of useful resources and lesson reviews from people who’ve used it extensively.
It’s like having a tutor if you go through it and watch YouTube breakdowns.
For example, in regards to how common it is.
In high-school we complete Genki 1 and 2 in two years. Class was twice a week and only an hour long. Then I went to college.
I was surprised to find that the first year or so of Japanese largely relied on genki 1 and 2 again.
After that it was nice to finally move on to more advanced books.
But between genki 1 and 2 and YouTube you can probably hit n4 fairly easily and quickly if you’re driven.
I recently was recommended duolingo for my children who are learning.
It isn’t the most complex app, but as a supplementary resource for a new learning it’s actually excellent for remembering the early sentence structures and more common words.
I wish I had it in high-school. 15mins a day before or after homework would have helped with remembering the more basic vocabulary and grammar from genki 1 and 2 for sure.
Genki is a common textbook for beginners. You may have seen a different edition to the latest (edition 3 is the latest). I’ve never used it myself, but I believe it is better suited to classroom learning (but usable for self study). I’ve also heard good things about the ‘[Tokini Andy](https://youtu.be/GaQBL4XHuSo)’ YouTube channel where he covers Genki in some detail.
Personally, I’m a cheapskate, so I didn’t bother buying any text books. I got [everything I needed](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/s5mtva/comment/ht1lo0x/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) off the internet for free (barring one resource which I paid for).