Japan Times Genki 1 Third Edition: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese 1

GENKI is an excellent textbook for anyone starting Japanese. It combines grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, and exercises in a clear, structured way, making it very beginner-friendly. The explanations are easy to understand, and the examples help apply concepts in real-life situations. It’s also packed with exercises that reinforce learning, and the cultural notes provide helpful context for language usage. Whether you’re self-studying or supplementing classroom lessons, GENKI is a reliable resource to build a strong foundation in Japanese.

I thought this Genki Textbook together with the workbook would be a nice combination, but it is not really. The method is far too complicated and there seems to be no structure. In the textbook things are explained in really short ways, with very strangely build up exercises to learn. not very much examples with new grammar as well. Then there is the workbook which seems to have 2 parts and it is never clear to me when to use which. But the most frustrating of the Genki books I feel, is the fact that they are trying to teach you far too much at once. When you've finally mastered the hiragana and katagana in just a few pages....they actually expect you to start reading everyting in them. So when there is a vocabulary list where you can memorise words, the words will be written in Hirgana or even Kanji! Wherease I just want to start learn in how to say "Bank" "postoffice" "school". Now I first have to decypher the Hiragana or Katagana signs, before I know the word. Same goes for grammar explanation. If you want to explain to people how the "ni" , "de" and "o" particles work, the exercies in the workbook shoudl NOT be written in hiragana/Katagana or Kanji. I have a hard enough time trying to find the right ways to build a sentence, without having to decypher and then translate everything. This is actually really slowing me down as it would be so much better to just learn grammar in English and do the exercices in romaji. I find explanations on the internet also far better than the rather short and complicated ones in Genki.

Das Buch ist in einwandfreiem Zustand angekommen und genau wie beschrieben. Genki I ist ideal für den Einstieg ins Japanischlernen - logisch aufgebaut und gut erklärt. Besonders positiv: Der Verkäufer hat sich persönlich gemeldet, um nachzufragen, ob alles angekommen ist. Sehr freundlich - klare Empfehlung!

Love it. It is easy to learn Japanese in this way. The instructions are clear. Learned a lot in a very short amount of time. Worth the purchase if you want to learn fast and structured.

I took Japanese at University, where we used Marugoto. Marugoto is good for practice, mainly by providing lots of vocabulary (kanji+) and online resources. However, the textbook doesn't explain grammar well (what you're doing and why). I find Genki so much easier to follow and remember grammar structures. It starts from the basics and slowly builds upon the previously established systems. I got my book promptly. It's also nice that it comes with a code for the apps (you still have to pay for them). I look forward to finishing with Genki 1 and moving on to my Genki 2 textbook.