Book excerpt: Learn the Japanese you need. Gain the language skills you want. Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Japanese is your trusted companion to your Japanese learning experience. Each chapter focuses on key grammar concepts and essential vocabulary, which are accompanied by helpful, clear examples. With these fundamentals under your belt, you will learn to communicate in authentic Japanese--how to meet new people, engage in small talk, make suggestions and requests, express ideas, and more. You will, of course, get plenty of practice, practice, practice using your new skills. Whether you are learning on your own or taking a beginning Japanese class, Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Japanese will help you build your confidence in communicating in this complex language. Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Japanese includes: Everyday Japanese presented in both Japanese characters (hiragana, katakana, and kanji) and phonetic translation High-frequency vocabulary Grammar basics An introduction to Japanese pronunciation and writing systems Hundreds of exercises in a variety of formats for whatever your learning style