Japanese for the Western Brain

Kim Allen offers this basic look at Japanese grammar. She has written several “chapters” as a series of short articles on topics related to the chapter title. The divisions are not perfect; there is some overlap and some mixing of categories. It is important to note that each chapter phases from basic to advanced material. Hence, the beginning student will understand the beginning of each chapter, not simply the earlier chapters. Read accordingly.

The material is not presented in kana and kanji characters. Examples in Japanese are written in romaji (romanized Japanese).