Minna no Nihongo – Best Books to Learn Japanese

Do you know the book Minna no Nihongo? When searching for information about the book, I realized that it is undoubtedly one of the most popular books for learning Japanese, sought by over 10,000 people monthly on dear Google.

In this article, we will talk about each book in the Minna no Nihongo series and recommend places to buy it. If you are looking for it for download, we can help you!

What is the Minna no Nihongo Book?

The book Minna no Nihongo [みんなの日本語] literally means “everyone” in Japanese and is available in 24 languages. The book teaches not only the Japanese language but also the culture and customs of the country.

The first thing you need to know about Minna no Nihongo is that there are several books aimed at beginners and intermediates entirely in the Japanese language. There are versions of the book with notes, grammar, and information in various other languages intended for foreigners.

You need to understand at least the basics of Hiragana and Katakana to benefit from the Minna no Nihongo book series. The book had its first version in 1998 with the aim of teaching Japanese in a practical and detailed way, seriously aiming for fluency and helping beginners understand Japanese through immersion.

In addition to the article, if you are looking for Japanese books, we also recommend watching our video and subscribing to our YouTube channel:

Minna no Nihongo – Shokyuu

The Minna no Nihongo Shokyuu is divided into 2 volumes aimed at beginners. The book teaches over 1980 vocabulary words and more than 518 Japanese ideograms. The Minna no Nihongo Shokyuu book usually teaches 3 points of Japanese grammar per chapter with standard sentence exercises, reading, and comprehension.

The book is also quite illustrated and has a total of 50 chapters, with 25 per volume. There are books, audio CDs, and other extras sold separately to help fully enjoy the book. The information taught is very practical and mainly aimed at group learning.

Minna no Nihongo – Chuukyuu is the intermediate version aimed at students who are more advanced in learning the Japanese language. In this version, the audio CD is included. All these books have a translation and grammar version and also a Workbook that can serve as support for understanding the book and exercises.

Study Method of Minna no Nihongo

[A and B] The efficient method used by Minna no Nihongo consists of learning words by forming short sentences. [C] Practice standard sentences aloud with short and concise dialogues from everyday life and situations that foreigners face in Japan.

At the end of each lesson, there are exercises to verify the content learned. The book recommends training and conversing with people or Japanese about everything you learn throughout your studies. Below you can see a learning flow that the book recommends:

The beginner’s book aims to teach greetings and salutations, shopping, getting around Japan, accepting and making invitations, visiting places, asking questions about everyday life, expressing ideas and wishes, sending letters and products, talking about work, discussing hobbies, expressing feelings, and much more.

Download of the Minna no Nihongo Book

I believe that most people are looking for free downloads of the Minna no Nihongo book. Unfortunately, Suki Desu does not support piracy and strongly recommends using a physical version of the book for a better experience in learning Japanese. Especially if you are a procrastinator like me, who downloads things and never even opens them.

With the book Minna on your desk or bedside table, it will be easier to open and study, as well as to draft and write notes and exercises. We also recommend using the book along with a spaced repetition program and with the RTK method.

The important thing is not to get stuck with just one book; we strongly recommend looking for different study methods, and if you want to use the internet and the computer to study, books are not the best option. You might want to try learning tools like jisho.org and Anki.

Where to Buy the Minna no Nihongo Book

Unfortunately, this book is very difficult to find and buy in Brazil. You might find it available at Sol bookstore, which usually sells books of Japanese origin. We believe that the cheapest way to find these books is through Amazon. 

• See other books to learn Japanese by clicking here.