---
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title: "Kanji From Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Kanji with Integrated Workbook (Second Edition)"
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# Kanji From Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Kanji with Integrated Workbook (Second Edition)

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desertcart.com: Kanji From Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Kanji with Integrated Workbook (Second Edition): 9780996786317: Trombley, Mr George, Hatanaka, Mrs Kanako, Takenaka, Mrs Yukari, McGowan, Mr Justin: Books

Review: Kanji from Zero is fantastic! - Kanji from Zero I hope you can bear with the length of this review of “Kanji from Zero.” Before I get to the actual review of “Kanji From Zero,” I think it important to tell you how I learn, and what holds me back—how one little thing in a book on language learning can result in me not trusting anything else in the book. See, I have a shelf full of kanji books. Did I finish any of them? No. I’m not lazy, but the authors of all these books think I need no explanation, and I’m to take them at face value. Or they will dump too much information, leaving my head spinning. You can skip down a bit to get to the actual review. A book called “Remembering The Kanji” by James Heisig, came highly recommended. So I bought it. I have to admit, I was pretty excited because I was told it used mnemonics, a method of remembering through a story or visualization. I’m a huge fan of mnemonics. Each kanji comes with a little story to help you remember it. Awesome. Well, not awesome, as it turned out. I found Heisig’s book unbearable, like most of the kanji books on my shelf. To my dismay, it did not give you the Japanese reading of the kanji. Only the English. What? Why? Why add an additional step for the learner? But I tried to give it a real shot. I really did. Even though I found the stories for remembering the kanji worthless, I plodded along. Then I arrived at kanji number 17. The kanji for “I,” as the book says. I knew this was wrong. The kanji for “I, me” is 私 . I think I checked every single Japanese internet dictionary, and never found Heisig’s kanji for “I,” so I can’t show it to you. This triggered my mistrust of the “Remembering the Kanji” book. How many other kanji were wrong? One of my Japanese friends thought it might be a 500 year old version of “I.” A bit like using Shakespeare’s English in today’s world, right? But in the end, my friend wasn’t sure. And if I might quote Heisig for the story of this character, “The key word here should be taken in the general psychological sense of the ‘perceiving subject.’ Now the one place in our bodies that all five senses are concentrated in is the head, which has no less than five mouths: 2 nostrils, 2 ears, and 1 mouth. Hence, five mouths = I.” James Heisig, Remembering the Kanji. OK, are you still with me? Does that mnemonic work for you? I didn’t for me—especially since it isn’t even a commonly used kanji. KANJI FROM ZERO I freakin’ love this book! First, unlike the Heisig book, it gives you the Japanese readings. Wacky, right? I will say, you really do need to know kana (hiragana and katakana). If you’ve bought George Trombley’s other “Japanese from Zero” books, you’ll know kana by the end of book two of the series. Also, if you are a self learner, I can’t recommend these “Japanese From Zero 1, 2, 3, 4,” books series too highly. Book 5 comes out early 2017 according to the author. They are awesome. Each Kanji is broken down in a little box. The box includes kanji stroke order, kanji number & English meaning, stroke count, the official kanji reading (no “5 mouths” BS here!), kanji writing boxes for practice (though I would recommend getting a notebook, and writing them 30 or 40 times each), and my favorite part: kanji words. Though the book says there are 250 basic kanji, the “Kanji Words” section brings that up to about 1500 kanji words. Here’s why I like the “kanji words” section; it combines the kanji you just learned with kanji combinations to form new words using that kanji. For example, the kanji for 5 is 五, but you will also learn the combinations like 5th day of the month, 五日, or 五分 five minutes, and other combinations. Don’t worry, each kanji has the hiragana above it, so if you don’t know the Japanese word for “5 minutes” you’ll be learning that, too. Awesome! Or let’s say you’ve learned the kanji for “voice.” You’ll also learn combinations using that kanji, like singing voice, large voice, cheering, etc. The next section in each chapter is “Words you can write” with the kanji you just learned. Holy cow, I no longer feel like a 7 year old using only kana. I’m finally writing actual word combinations in real Japanese. Whew. Next is the Kanji meaning match. You’ll get the English word, then write the kanji opposite the word. The next section is “Fill in the kanji,” where you’ll get a Japanese sentence (in kana), and you fill in the blanks with kanji in those sentences. Next is “kanji matching” where you match the kanji with its Japanese word (written in hiragana). Next is a stroke order check where you simply circle the correct stroke order for a kanji. Pretty easy if you’ve written them a lot. Then at the end of the chapter is the answer key for the exercises in that chapter (no flipping to the back of the book! YES!). While I haven’t gotten this far in the book yet, some of the chapters have a “Compound kanji word puzzle.” It’s a bit like a crossword puzzle where two or more kanji make an entirely different word. Pretty cool. The only way to learn a language is to use the language. By the time you finish a chapter, those kanji will be drummed into your brain, with no mnemonics. I promise. To be honest, I originally tried coming up with my own mnemonics for the characters, but found it unnecessary. Also, on a trip to Little Tokyo here in Los Angeles, I started seeing the few kanji I’ve learned everywhere. I guess the kanji in “Kanji from Zero” teach the most commonly used kanji. I certainly didn’t have that experience with Heisig’s book (I mean, really, how often have you read the word “gallbladder?”). The one thing I didn’t quite understand in “Kanji from Zero” is in the introduction section A-6. It states that students are often confused as to whether to use the “Chinese reading” or the “Japanese reading.” I felt that this section needed a lot more explanation. But since the book uses small hiragana above each character, I assume this will clear itself up as I proceed through the book. If you are an absolute beginner in the Japanese language, I’d recommend doing “Japanese From Zero” books one and two, at least, before starting “Kanji from Zero.” It will help a lot.
Review: Accessible kanji learning - I got a copy of Kanji from Zero last week and I have to say that I love this book. I'm taking Japanese classes and find that I'm expected to go at a much faster pace than I learn at, consequently my understanding of kanji and the various readings of them has been suffering whilst I try to cope with new grammar points and vocabulary, also I find my class textbook isn't user friendly and some days it stays unopened. What I was looking for was a user friendly, accessible textbook/workbook to use for self study and Kanji From Zero is perfect for this. Anyone looking to begin self-study Japanese should probably look at the companion Kanji From Zero books although I can only recommend these because I use the Kanji From Zero videos on Youtube where the author explains chapters from the books. I would recommend this book to anyone with knowledge of hiragana and katakana and a grasp of basic grammar. I think a few people may be disappointed that the book has 'only' 240 kanji. Personally I'm happy not to overwhelmed by having a huge number of kanji to learn at once. The author manages to go into detail on these 240 kanji, giving mnemonics, alternative readings, providing relevant vocabulary and discussing the use of radicals. I will happily wait for Book 2, well don't leave it too long though!

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #534,234 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #59 in Japanese Language Instruction (Books) #2,684 in Language Study & Reference (Books) |
| Book 1 of 2  | Kanji From Zero! |
| Customer Reviews | 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (985) |
| Dimensions  | 7.44 x 0.97 x 9.69 inches |
| ISBN-10  | 0996786317 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0996786317 |
| Item Weight  | 1.93 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 430 pages |
| Publication date  | November 23, 2016 |
| Publisher  | Learn From Zero |

## Images

![Kanji From Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Kanji with Integrated Workbook (Second Edition) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61o-Mf58B4L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Kanji from Zero is fantastic!
*by D***H on November 29, 2016*

Kanji from Zero I hope you can bear with the length of this review of “Kanji from Zero.” Before I get to the actual review of “Kanji From Zero,” I think it important to tell you how I learn, and what holds me back—how one little thing in a book on language learning can result in me not trusting anything else in the book. See, I have a shelf full of kanji books. Did I finish any of them? No. I’m not lazy, but the authors of all these books think I need no explanation, and I’m to take them at face value. Or they will dump too much information, leaving my head spinning. You can skip down a bit to get to the actual review. A book called “Remembering The Kanji” by James Heisig, came highly recommended. So I bought it. I have to admit, I was pretty excited because I was told it used mnemonics, a method of remembering through a story or visualization. I’m a huge fan of mnemonics. Each kanji comes with a little story to help you remember it. Awesome. Well, not awesome, as it turned out. I found Heisig’s book unbearable, like most of the kanji books on my shelf. To my dismay, it did not give you the Japanese reading of the kanji. Only the English. What? Why? Why add an additional step for the learner? But I tried to give it a real shot. I really did. Even though I found the stories for remembering the kanji worthless, I plodded along. Then I arrived at kanji number 17. The kanji for “I,” as the book says. I knew this was wrong. The kanji for “I, me” is 私 . I think I checked every single Japanese internet dictionary, and never found Heisig’s kanji for “I,” so I can’t show it to you. This triggered my mistrust of the “Remembering the Kanji” book. How many other kanji were wrong? One of my Japanese friends thought it might be a 500 year old version of “I.” A bit like using Shakespeare’s English in today’s world, right? But in the end, my friend wasn’t sure. And if I might quote Heisig for the story of this character, “The key word here should be taken in the general psychological sense of the ‘perceiving subject.’ Now the one place in our bodies that all five senses are concentrated in is the head, which has no less than five mouths: 2 nostrils, 2 ears, and 1 mouth. Hence, five mouths = I.” James Heisig, Remembering the Kanji. OK, are you still with me? Does that mnemonic work for you? I didn’t for me—especially since it isn’t even a commonly used kanji. KANJI FROM ZERO I freakin’ love this book! First, unlike the Heisig book, it gives you the Japanese readings. Wacky, right? I will say, you really do need to know kana (hiragana and katakana). If you’ve bought George Trombley’s other “Japanese from Zero” books, you’ll know kana by the end of book two of the series. Also, if you are a self learner, I can’t recommend these “Japanese From Zero 1, 2, 3, 4,” books series too highly. Book 5 comes out early 2017 according to the author. They are awesome. Each Kanji is broken down in a little box. The box includes kanji stroke order, kanji number & English meaning, stroke count, the official kanji reading (no “5 mouths” BS here!), kanji writing boxes for practice (though I would recommend getting a notebook, and writing them 30 or 40 times each), and my favorite part: kanji words. Though the book says there are 250 basic kanji, the “Kanji Words” section brings that up to about 1500 kanji words. Here’s why I like the “kanji words” section; it combines the kanji you just learned with kanji combinations to form new words using that kanji. For example, the kanji for 5 is 五, but you will also learn the combinations like 5th day of the month, 五日, or 五分 five minutes, and other combinations. Don’t worry, each kanji has the hiragana above it, so if you don’t know the Japanese word for “5 minutes” you’ll be learning that, too. Awesome! Or let’s say you’ve learned the kanji for “voice.” You’ll also learn combinations using that kanji, like singing voice, large voice, cheering, etc. The next section in each chapter is “Words you can write” with the kanji you just learned. Holy cow, I no longer feel like a 7 year old using only kana. I’m finally writing actual word combinations in real Japanese. Whew. Next is the Kanji meaning match. You’ll get the English word, then write the kanji opposite the word. The next section is “Fill in the kanji,” where you’ll get a Japanese sentence (in kana), and you fill in the blanks with kanji in those sentences. Next is “kanji matching” where you match the kanji with its Japanese word (written in hiragana). Next is a stroke order check where you simply circle the correct stroke order for a kanji. Pretty easy if you’ve written them a lot. Then at the end of the chapter is the answer key for the exercises in that chapter (no flipping to the back of the book! YES!). While I haven’t gotten this far in the book yet, some of the chapters have a “Compound kanji word puzzle.” It’s a bit like a crossword puzzle where two or more kanji make an entirely different word. Pretty cool. The only way to learn a language is to use the language. By the time you finish a chapter, those kanji will be drummed into your brain, with no mnemonics. I promise. To be honest, I originally tried coming up with my own mnemonics for the characters, but found it unnecessary. Also, on a trip to Little Tokyo here in Los Angeles, I started seeing the few kanji I’ve learned everywhere. I guess the kanji in “Kanji from Zero” teach the most commonly used kanji. I certainly didn’t have that experience with Heisig’s book (I mean, really, how often have you read the word “gallbladder?”). The one thing I didn’t quite understand in “Kanji from Zero” is in the introduction section A-6. It states that students are often confused as to whether to use the “Chinese reading” or the “Japanese reading.” I felt that this section needed a lot more explanation. But since the book uses small hiragana above each character, I assume this will clear itself up as I proceed through the book. If you are an absolute beginner in the Japanese language, I’d recommend doing “Japanese From Zero” books one and two, at least, before starting “Kanji from Zero.” It will help a lot.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Accessible kanji learning
*by P***S on April 13, 2019*

I got a copy of Kanji from Zero last week and I have to say that I love this book. I'm taking Japanese classes and find that I'm expected to go at a much faster pace than I learn at, consequently my understanding of kanji and the various readings of them has been suffering whilst I try to cope with new grammar points and vocabulary, also I find my class textbook isn't user friendly and some days it stays unopened. What I was looking for was a user friendly, accessible textbook/workbook to use for self study and Kanji From Zero is perfect for this. Anyone looking to begin self-study Japanese should probably look at the companion Kanji From Zero books although I can only recommend these because I use the Kanji From Zero videos on Youtube where the author explains chapters from the books. I would recommend this book to anyone with knowledge of hiragana and katakana and a grasp of basic grammar. I think a few people may be disappointed that the book has 'only' 240 kanji. Personally I'm happy not to overwhelmed by having a huge number of kanji to learn at once. The author manages to go into detail on these 240 kanji, giving mnemonics, alternative readings, providing relevant vocabulary and discussing the use of radicals. I will happily wait for Book 2, well don't leave it too long though!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Best Book to Learn Kanji!
*by S***S on January 28, 2018*

Kanji From Zero is a truly great book for learning kanji. The 240 kanji it teaches are divided up into 39 lessons, each lesson covering 5-7 kanji. I really like that each lesson is not an overwhelming number of kanji, and that the kanji are taught together in logical groupings, rather than the random order a lot of other books use. For example, you learn numbers, or colors, or direction words together. Each lesson begins by introducing the new kanji for that lesson. For each kanji you are given it's kanji number and what it means in English, the proper stroke order, how many strokes it is, how to read it, a section to practice writing it, and several words that use every reading of that kanji. This is followed by a section for kanji usage which gives a lot of detailed information on how the kanji are used. There are also several exercises including practice writing words that use the kanji, fill in the blanks, matching kanji to their meaning, matching kanji to their reading, and checking stroke order. The final part of each lesson is an answer key for that lesson's exercises. I'm sure there's someone out there might ask "why buy this book when it only teaches 240 kanji?" The answer to that is simple. Sure you can buy other books that have 2000 kanji in them, but they will not give you even a fraction of the knowledge of each of those kanji as this book will. Sure with those books you might be able to recognize what 2000 kanji mean, but you won't be able to read or speak Japanese, so big deal. Also Kanji From Zero 1 is just the first book of what will be a 5 book series.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Kanji From Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Kanji with Integrated Workbook (Second Edition)
- Japanese from Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Japanese for Students and Professionals
- Kanji From Zero! 2: Master Kanji with Proven Techniques and Integrated Workbook

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*Last updated: 2026-02-27*