Writing Letters in Japanese

Can you write a letter in japanese in horizontal format? How about vertical? Know how to address an envelope? A postcard? What opening phrase should you use? If you've ever had to write a thank you letter in Japanese and not known what to say and how to say it, this book is for you. (If you don't give a toss and are content with email then stop reading.) The written word is being superceded by the typed word, but if letter writing is on the endangered species list, Japan seems to be the wildlife preserve.
Writing Letters in Japanese provides a heap of example letters which you can adapt to your own needs. The first half covers the basics of letter writing - social concepts, letter format, seasonal greetings and fixed expressions. The second contains heavily annotated example letters: greetings, requests, thank-you letters, announcements, invitations and replies, apologies, news about yourself, employment queries and sending objects through the mail. WLIJ is easy to use - just find the kind of letter you want to write and adapt the contents (I'd still get a native speaker to check your letter anyway - especially if it is going out to someone important) With three samples seasonal greetings per month you can wow your friends with your detailed knowledge of Japanese customs (nothing to stop you adapting them to email either) The section on style highlights the subtle differences between spoken and written Japanese - follow these guidelines and you'll sound like a native. Note that WLIJ doesn't contain business letters - they constitute a whole subject on their own. An excellent resource, and my only criticism is that I would have liked even more example letters, but that's probably because I'm a lazy bastard.

Comments

[ledi]

love the japanese culture