Pronounce Japanese Without Guessing - Level N4.1 (Paperback)

Step Into N4 — Read Your First Kanji Without Guessing

日本の毎日: Pronounce Japanese Without Guessing — Level N4.1 takes you beyond the JLPT N5 foundation and into practical everyday Japanese. Follow Emma through life in Tokyo as she works at a café, manages her apartment, shops, makes plans, visits a restaurant and doctor, and enjoys a weekend outing.

The method stays simple: read the easy English pronunciation above each Japanese chunk, check the meaning below, then reread the same story in clean Japanese. No IPA. No audio files. No complicated pronunciation lectures.

Your First Kanji — With Support on Every Page

Books 1a and 1b used hiragana and katakana only. In Book 2a, kanji arrives gently, a few characters at a time. Every kanji includes its kana reading in parentheses, so you are never blocked:

毎日（まいにち） — mah-ee-nee-chee — every day
食（た）べます — tah-beh-mahs — eat
東京（とうきょう） — tohh-kyohh — Tokyo

What Is New in Level N4.1?

• First kanji: introduced gradually, always with kana readings.
• The connecting て-form: link actions smoothly into natural sentences.
• Ongoing actions: describe what someone is doing with ～ています.
• Requests and permission: use ～てください and ～てもいいですか.
• Wants and invitations: practise ～たい, ～ませんか, and ～ましょう.

Read, Understand, Repeat

Each chapter follows the same four-step rhythm:

1. Read with pronunciation and meaning. Easy English phonetics show how to say each chunk; the paired meaning line shows what it means.
2. Read clean Japanese. Revisit the same story without pronunciation support and build fluency.
3. Review key vocabulary. See the Japanese word, kana reading, pronunciation, and concise English meaning.
4. Practise and self-check. Complete comprehension, pronunciation-writing, and read-aloud exercises with answer keys.

11 Practical Chapters for Everyday Japanese

Build confidence through stories about daily routines, work, apartment life, furniture, home appliances, shopping, prices, counters, appointments, restaurants, health, fashion, and weekend plans.

You will read your first 50-plus kanji and practise approximately 260+ Japanese words and phrases. Together with Books 1a and 1b, the series carries you past 600 words and phrases and into the JLPT N4 level.

Pronunciation Without Technical Theory

Instead of explaining sounds with specialist terminology, this book shows you how Japanese sounds in familiar English letters. Long vowels, the little っ, particle readings, natural shortened vowels, and the Japanese r are presented through examples and repeated reading.

Who Is This Book For?

• Learners who completed Book 1b or have an equivalent JLPT N5 foundation.
• Upper beginners ready to enter N4 and read their first kanji.
• Visual learners who prefer reading and interlinear support.
• Learners preparing for the JLPT N4, J-Test, travel, life, or work in Japan.
• Anyone who wants to speak and read without waiting for perfect kana or kanji mastery.

No Guessing. No Dictionary. Just Reading Aloud.

Read each paragraph with pronunciation, check the meaning, reread in clean Japanese, review key words, and practise aloud. Every chapter stands on its own, so you can study in order or choose the topics that interest you most.

Fifteen focused minutes a day can take you far. Speak out loud, accept small imperfections, and keep moving forward.

Are you ready to begin everyday life in Japan?
Go turn the page, meet Emma again, and take your first confident steps into kanji and JLPT N4.