Barnes & NobleLearning Japanese Hiragana and Katakana- A Workbook for Self-Study by Kenneth G. Henshall

Learning Hiragana and Katakana is a systematic and comprehensive Japanese workbook that is perfect for self-study or use in a classroom setting. Written Japanese combines three different types of characters- the Chinese characters known as kanji, and two Japanese sets of phonetic letters, hiragana and katakana, known collectively as kana, that must be mastered before the Japanese kanji can be learned. Learning Japanese Hiragana and Katakana provides beginning-level students of Japanese a thorough grounding in the basic hiragana and katakana phonetic symbols or syllabaries. A comprehensive introduction presents their primary function, origin, pronunciation and usage. The main body of the book is devoted to presenting the 92 hira and kata characters along with their variations, giving step-by-step guidelines on how to write each character neatly in the correct stroke order, with generous practice spaces provided for handwriting practice. This Japanese workbook includes- Systematic and comprehensive coverage of the two Japanese kana systems. Ample provision for Japanese kana practice, review, and self-testing at several levelsDetailed reference section explaining the origin and function of kana, and the various kana combinations. Access to online Japanese audio files to aid in correct pronunciation.