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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Cards|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this flash card set because I learned the Hiragana two years ago, and recently find myself struggling to remember some symbols. I found these flash cards refreshed my memory in no time.
Notably, I did NOT learn Katakana previously, and using these cards I found I learned them all within a mere 4 or 5 passes of the cards. I shuffled the cards between passes to ensure that I was not merely learning a sequence (although I would have been just as impressed if I had learned a sequence of 46 symbols, haha).
Everything is in card form. What's in the box?
- 46 Hiragana flash cards (burgundy),
- 46 Katakana flash cards (teal),
- One double-sided Hiragana/Katakana chart,
- Youon (contraction) charts across two cards,
- 4-sided introduction to Kana and Japanese writing,
- 3 or more recommend-a-friend cards,
- A couple of cards about White Rabbit.
The cards and even the box they come in have been designed to be both appealing and informative. There is little clutter and simple design in combination with a controlled colour palette means the information is easy to digest.
The Kana cards are well-designed. Moving down the card and from left to right, you have:
- The kana symbol itself,
- A grid showing several ways in which it may be seen written or printed,
- The card number (1-46),
- A list of in-context examples of the kana being used,
- The strokes required to draw the kana.
Flip the card over and you have...
- The Roman reading of the character,
- The kana written next to a pictorial mnemonic,
- A mnemonic phrase to go with the picture,
- The list of in-context examples again, this time in Roman form with translations.
As another reviewer mentioned, a handful of the pronunciations are a bit odd in that the mnemonic phrase gives an Americanised lilt to the reading. This is BAD because the pronunciation must be as it is read in Japanese if it is to be of any use. I recommend using the cards in conjunction with a free language resource site such as Livemocha, where you can learn with small audio clips which are recorded by native speakers.
However I would definitely recommend this set for anyone who wants to learn the Kana, and for anyone who has previously learned them but exercises them so infrequently that they find it all slipping away. This set is very portable (although you may wish to get hold of some elastic bands - you'll see what I mean) and can be kept in a bag, glove box, etc.
This set is a great starting platform for anyone who wishes to progress to the Kanji. Also check out White Rabbit's Japanese Kanji Flashcards, for levels 3 and 4 of the JLPT (also reviewed).
Notably, I did NOT learn Katakana previously, and using these cards I found I learned them all within a mere 4 or 5 passes of the cards. I shuffled the cards between passes to ensure that I was not merely learning a sequence (although I would have been just as impressed if I had learned a sequence of 46 symbols, haha).
Everything is in card form. What's in the box?
- 46 Hiragana flash cards (burgundy),
- 46 Katakana flash cards (teal),
- One double-sided Hiragana/Katakana chart,
- Youon (contraction) charts across two cards,
- 4-sided introduction to Kana and Japanese writing,
- 3 or more recommend-a-friend cards,
- A couple of cards about White Rabbit.
The cards and even the box they come in have been designed to be both appealing and informative. There is little clutter and simple design in combination with a controlled colour palette means the information is easy to digest.
The Kana cards are well-designed. Moving down the card and from left to right, you have:
- The kana symbol itself,
- A grid showing several ways in which it may be seen written or printed,
- The card number (1-46),
- A list of in-context examples of the kana being used,
- The strokes required to draw the kana.
Flip the card over and you have...
- The Roman reading of the character,
- The kana written next to a pictorial mnemonic,
- A mnemonic phrase to go with the picture,
- The list of in-context examples again, this time in Roman form with translations.
As another reviewer mentioned, a handful of the pronunciations are a bit odd in that the mnemonic phrase gives an Americanised lilt to the reading. This is BAD because the pronunciation must be as it is read in Japanese if it is to be of any use. I recommend using the cards in conjunction with a free language resource site such as Livemocha, where you can learn with small audio clips which are recorded by native speakers.
However I would definitely recommend this set for anyone who wants to learn the Kana, and for anyone who has previously learned them but exercises them so infrequently that they find it all slipping away. This set is very portable (although you may wish to get hold of some elastic bands - you'll see what I mean) and can be kept in a bag, glove box, etc.
This set is a great starting platform for anyone who wishes to progress to the Kanji. Also check out White Rabbit's Japanese Kanji Flashcards, for levels 3 and 4 of the JLPT (also reviewed).
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Cards
I like these a lot. I've done a term and a half of evening classes so far and am teaching myself Katakana so I can keep up with my Kana textbook. My teacher also recommends them.
The cards are well designed, clearly laid-out and include examples as well as showing stroke order and visual/verbal mnemonics.
My only reservation is that some of the mnemonics assume you have american pronunciation. For example, the Katakana card for "ta" shows a picture based on the ' character, which supposedly shows someone "Tossing a Tomahawk". Which when I say it sounds like "To" ('), and not once but twice!!
This happens in maybe 5 or 6 cases with Katakana and I've had to make up my own alternatives. Other than this, these are great value for money and actually much faster and simpler to use than any software I've yet tried.
The cards are well designed, clearly laid-out and include examples as well as showing stroke order and visual/verbal mnemonics.
My only reservation is that some of the mnemonics assume you have american pronunciation. For example, the Katakana card for "ta" shows a picture based on the ' character, which supposedly shows someone "Tossing a Tomahawk". Which when I say it sounds like "To" ('), and not once but twice!!
This happens in maybe 5 or 6 cases with Katakana and I've had to make up my own alternatives. Other than this, these are great value for money and actually much faster and simpler to use than any software I've yet tried.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Cards
These cards arrived on Friday and it is now Wednesday morning and I have already managed to learn the 46 main Hiragana characters, having only spent about an hour each day learning.
Enough said :)
This product coupled with a good SRS such as Anki will have you remembering the Kana in no time (although I'd reccomend an additional text book to teach you about grammer and pronunciation)
Enough said :)
This product coupled with a good SRS such as Anki will have you remembering the Kana in no time (although I'd reccomend an additional text book to teach you about grammer and pronunciation)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Awesome study tool
I am a flashcard learner so this is the method for me. These do exactly what they say, they have a (mostly) useful picture to relate the kana to for extra recall. Read more
Published 4 months ago by RachelRoo
These are really great for visual learners!
As I really wanted to understand how to read Hiragana and Katakana so I can play more imported games, I decided to spend the money on these. What.a.buy. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Aaron Conroy
Excellent
Very pleased with the Kana Flashcards, I find them extremely useful to learn Hiragana and Katakana. You can flick them while you're on the bus/public transport, or anywhere,... Read more
Published 16 months ago by bertah
Really cool product
Excellent product for learning Kana. Nicely made, the only improvement would be to remove the number sequence from the top right of the card, they can spoil/distract you when your... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr. PJ Schofield
excellent
Awesome Awesome Awesome, the best and quickest way to learn kana. I just wish amazon sold all the kanji series also.
Published 20 months ago by kurothecat
platinum study aid
These flashcards teach both Hiragana and Katakana which are two of the essential alphabets of japanese. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Harlequin
Does what it says on the box!
Thanks to this product I Learnt all the kana in just 3 days on the bus! I now love buying Japanese food so I can proudly read the packaging. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Jenny
Perfect for honing your kana recognition
This set is a fantastic tool to quickly learn the kana, and also learn a few Japanese words at the same time. Read more
Published on 8 Sep 2009 by A. Stevenson
Great Product
White Rabbit flashcards are of the best quality for the Memorisation of Kana and Kanji. This set is for the Memorisation of Kana (Hiragana and Katakana). Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2009 by Mr. E. K. Murray
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