Nihongo So Matome N5 Pdf Download
Vinnie Breidenthal
I do like it, but I got it knowing all of this. I got it as a crash course on N3 grammar before diving deep with the reading comprehension/listening practice books and the Shin Kanzen ones. It did its job, but nobody should ever take the Sou Matome set as their main study set. I had to actually refer to the Shin Kanzen N3 grammar book several times to understand grammar points Sou matome refused to explain.
I also recommend 新完全マスター. In the back of the grammar books they include more in-depth information about certain grammar points. They reading comprehension book I bought included good advice to approach answering the questions. The vocabulary book I purchased contains a lot of good content, which they give you exercises to apply what you learned. After N3, all the books are entirely in Japanese, so if you need hand-holding, be aware that you get thrown in the deep end.
There are 8 chapters. Each chapter contains 7 lessons: 6 lessons introduce new words and have two series of exercises. The seventh and last lesson of each chapter is composed of JLPT questions only. The book allows you to learn around 1400 words.
The last three chapters introduce words that look similar. It is the まとめて覚えましょう approach of So-matome. For example, you will learn all the N2 words that contain the kanji 物, the kanji 日, and so on. You will also learn together words that have a similar meaning or you will learn the different meanings that a single word can have depending on the context.
The exercises that accompany each lesson are okay, but not enough in my opinion. You will only see JLPT questions at the end of a chapter, that is, when you study the seventh lesson. If you want to have a good preparation for the JLPT, you might want to study with a book of vocabulary drills.
While the So-matome has a pleasant layout and is easy to study with, it does not introduce enough words. It does introduce a little of everything (adverbs, onomatopoeia, idiomatic expressions, and so on), but it does not cover all you need to know to pass N2.
I want to stress that you have several serious exercises coming with each lesson (contrary to So-matome which had interesting exercises coming only once per chapter). I think that you will have a solid preparation for the JLPT.
Be careful that the lessons are huge in terms of new words count. Most lessons introduce up to 60 words (twice as many as a lesson of So-matome)! It will also take you some time and energy to go through all the exercises. This is something that you should keep in mind when you are designing your study plan. You will certainly need more time than you think to go through the whole textbook.
First of all, the lack of English translation is annoying when it comes to vocabulary. This means you have to check all the new words in a dictionary which is extremely time consuming.
Each lesson corresponds to a theme, and I think that this is the best point of this method: the authors made a real effort to group the kanji by topics so that you can remember them more easily. Personally, I think that it works.
It is interesting to note that the textbook does not give the core meaning (or any meaning at all) for the kanji. The only thing you get is the translation of the words containing this kanji. It personally suited the way I learn the kanji (exclusively in words, not by themselves), but it might be frustrating if you are used to learning your kanji with its core meaning. In this case, you will have to use extra resources like a kanji dictionary.
Each lesson of new kanji comes with some exercises, but they are not enough to prepare you for the test. The lesson of exercises (the 7th lesson) that comes at the end of each chapters does contain JLPT questions.
The So-matome adopts a light formula, and is perfect if kanji is not your thing. The way kanji are grouped together is great, the illustrations are also useful to remember some words, and overall, it was pleasant to go through the lessons (rather than a list of kanji). I also liked how they focus on introducing the kanji in context, it really suited the way I like to learn the kanji.
The Shin Kanzen textbook for kanji is very peculiar. The main part of the book is composed of exercises only. There are two separate booklets, one with the list of 1046 kanji that you somehow have to learn on your own, and one with the answers to the exercises.
What is great in this textbook is the main part: the exercises. Once you have remembered the kanji of the list, you can test your knowledge with interesting and unique exercises. Each section has a double page of exercises, but they are not, for the most part, JLPT questions.
However, I love the exercises. It feels a little schoolish to be honest, but I think that this is the reason why I like them. I am not sure whether they are the best way to prepare for the JLPT, but they certainly are a good way to test your knowledge of kanji.
To sum up, this textbook is challenging, you have to learn a list of kanji in alphabetical order. The exercises will also ask you to write some of them. It is a good method if you like playing around with kanji and are looking for exercises. If you find it hard to remember the kanji on their own and need more context, then go for the So-matome.
There are 8 chapters, each contains 6 lessons introducing new grammar points and one lesson of JLPT questions. Each lesson introduces 4 grammar points so you will learn around 192 grammatical patterns in total (I think the exact number is 191).
Something worth noting is that the grammar patterns are grouped according to their structure/appearance. Grammar patterns that look similar (but may not have the same meaning) will be grouped together in the same lesson.
For each grammar point, you get two or three example sentences, the translation of the sentences in English and an equivalent in easier or casual Japanese of the grammatical pattern. There is also an indication on how the grammar is used (with which form of the verb or adjective and so on).
Each lesson comes with a double page of exercises that are similar to JLPT typical questions. These questions are often tricky and are an excellent preparation for the JLPT. Same as for vocabulary, I would like to stress that you have a whole set of great exercise coming with each lesson. (So-matome has this kind of exercises only once per chapter).
Following, you have 7 chapters that come back on some of the grammar points you learned but taking a different approach. For example, they will put together the grammar using もの and the ones using こと so that you can be sure you will not mix them up during the test.
Finally, 12 additional lessons will deepen your overall knowledge of Japanese grammar. You will not learn new patterns, but review the things you think you already know. For example, transitive and intransitive verbs, direction (くれるあげる) and the like, the utilisation of こそあ or はが.
In comparison with the So-matome, the Shin Kanzen has more grammar points, more explanations, more example sentences and more exercises. It is way better in every aspect. The only thing that I like more in So-matome is that they give an equivalent in easier Japanese.
My own experience is that I got 60 points at reading when I took the test in July after my preparation with So-matome. And I got 59 points in December after having gone through the Shin Kanzen. No matter which textbook I chose, I got a good mark because I was reading a lot in Japanese outside of my JLPT preparation.
So my conclusion is this: how well you do during the test depends on your usual routine, on the amount of spoken and written Japanese you absorb in your daily life. It does not depend on the textbook you choose.
So a lot of practice on a daily basis + one textbook or practice tests to get used to the JLPT format. But once again, the textbooks are not magic, they cannot make up for a total lack of daily immersion, studying a whole textbook before the test will not guarantee you to pass.
It also takes you by the hand with step by step lessons. First you have some vocabulary or other pieces of information that will be useful to understand the text, then you read a dialogue between two people discussing the topic. And then you have the text in itself with questions. It is a progressive, step by step formula.
In other words, So-matome helps you to learn how to read difficult texts in Japanese. The step-by-step guideline is there to prepare you to read the text (first learn key vocabulary, then read a dialogue about the topic, then read the text). On the contrary, Shin Kanzen helps you to answer the JLPT questions. The step-by-step guideline is here to prepare you to answer the questions (first read the text, then learn how to extract important information). You also have a lot of texts that you must answer on your own.
My personal advice to pass the reading section would be to read a lot of things in Japanese in your daily life (light novels are a perfect choice) and study with the Shin Kanzen to get used to the JLPT format and practice reading argumentative texts.
There are 5 chapters, each contains 5 to 7 lessons. In each chapter, the last lesson is a series of exercises that are not JLPT questions. The 5th chapter is composed of a set of JLPT questions, there are no lessons in this one. The book is very thin, only 70 pages. There is also a supplement of 54 pages for the scripts and answers.
The first chapter starts with the basics. You will start with exercises on how to correctly recognise pronunciation, grammar or spoken expressions. The following lessons are more interesting and start to give you advice for the test. The third chapter in particular has a strategic approach and shows you what kind of dialogues you are likely to find during the JLPT N2.
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