It is a great study tool for passionate people dedicated to learn and improve, especially with all the different workbooks available for people craving for more. The series also features both an app and online resources for self-studying so thats another big plus here. This is especially true for Minna no Nihongo, whose main textbook only features Japanese (the translation comes in a separate workbook). We recommend Genki if youre planning to self-study, but Minna No Nihongo is a more thorough book and works well in a classroom setting.Īnd thats where the biggest difference lies between the two series.Īlthough 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. Genki also tends to feature more images in its textbook compared to Minna no Nihongo. Theyre 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.īoth 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. 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. It is also widely used in university courses and Japanese language schools. If you study in a language school in Japan, you will very likely be using this series, and for good reason.Įach level is then divided into two further sub-levels with their associated textbooks and workbooks, Shokyu 1 Shokyu 2 and Chukyu 1 Chukyu 2. 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. The choice of the textbook you are going to use is crucial, especially if you are self-studying. If youre asking yourself this question, youre very likely studying by yourself because no series has been imposed on you. The university I attended used this series, and I can confirm it will help with all areas of Japanese.

Minna no nihongo ebooks