Tobira Full Review: How I study with it and is it worth it?

[@CJ-sq7gr]

my japanese professors are the authors of the tobira series, they’re really great people :) I love your videos and they genuinely help my studying so much, thank you so much for your hard work!

[@GermaineJapanese]

Oh wow! Nice! I can’t imagine being taught by the authors of Tobira themselves! Also, thank you so much for supporting the content I produce!

[@mcnz4486]

Wow you're so lucky!

[@VictorNeo]

+1 for Tobira as well! Coming from Minna no Nihongo for N5 and N4, I find the readings way more interesting and more challenging (but lots of new grammar to learn per chapter...).

[@GermaineJapanese]

Yea I really enjoy the readings and how the book features such a variety of topics. I would cry for joy if they ever do an N2 version of the book.

[@laszlodajka5946]

thats what I like about the tobira series. the material just feels so rich not only in the inetmerdiate book. Looking forward to a purely advanced textbook by the authors.

[@eldopereira]

This video is so good. Just wanted to remark this.

[@tonyleiva2532]

You're the freaking best. I laughed so much with the start, really. Come back whenever you can, we're waiting for you

[@salilphadnis4147]

I agree, Tobira is an awesome textbook. Really takes Japanese to the next level. Agree with your recommendation to take it slow at the beginning. I had a hard time at the start going from Genki series. Still nowhere near getting done with Tobira, but your video is a great inspiration to keep moving.

[@GermaineJapanese]

I’m glad you agree! The first chapter is really hard to get through but it gets easier after a while!

[@Ahuatzi]

I used the minna no nihongo books when I was learning the n5 and 4 grammar, now I’m using this textbook and I find the exercises, explanations and contents more enjoyable and clearer than minna no nihongo. The only surprising thing was that minna teaches 4-8 grammar points per lesson and tobira teaches 15-19. But surprisingly if you have already used the minna 2 there’ll be a lot of its grammar points dispersed through all the lessons (for example, tobira lesson 2 teaches 〜場合は, which is taught in minna lesson 45), however the explanation is a bit deeper.

[@amarug]

As someone who has no aim to pass a JLPT and I mostly just learn from language exchange, I must say I LOVE Tobira and I use it just because I like it so much. It is indeed one of the greatest study books I have ever seen. One thing that really stands out to me (and this is of course subjective) but I find the texts really interesting (well politics wasn't my favorite either). The 読み物 are as you say, always about Japanese culture, history, and society, and they are written in a way that I really WANT to read and understand what they say. The 会話文 mostly just make me smile, if you know what I mean. ;) Most textbooks just contain text for the sake of having text. Tobira really stands in it's own league in this respect. 100% worth every penny. Even the paper it's printed is beautiful when you touch it. 😂 Some more comments: - It's really a bit of leap from Genki indeed. Genki is really beginner/some intermediate and Tobira ends somewhere in the N2 territory. But the title kinda "warns" you it does say "Gateway to advanced Japanese", which is surely not a book for beginners. I hear there is a new Tobria "starter" that should replace the Genkis and might close the gap, but I have not looked into it. - I agree that it's outdated, but in a sense I don't mind. I don't want to necessarily read about twitter here, I do that with exchange partners. I like the fact that it's like a mini window into the Japanese world a few years ago. If you read the chapter about technology, you just have to grin all the way through. :D - I would love pitch accents as well, but this is a kind of new trend championed by a few (Dogen, Matt... to name a few) and brought into "mainstream" consciousness quite recently only. It will take time till the books catch up with this, as I think until now for most learners Japanese was more than enough challenge without having to worry about pitch. Although the proponents claim it's essential, lets be honest, from a purely "understanding point of view" it really isn't. In two years of weekly speaking, there has not been a single occasion where I was misunderstood due to a pitch mistake (and I am sure I made many) nor have I mixed up meanings due to not knowing the pitch when listening. Japanese isn't like Chinese, it's just a really nice and fun thing to do if you like to sound more natural. Sorry for all the blabla, I just like the book so much, had to chime in with my nonsense.

[@GermaineJapanese]

Always happy to find a fellow learner who likes genki as much as I do! I like how you commented on so many points haha! You made a great point there, about how it’s like a window into a slightly older Japan. That’s a fascinating thought! Never thought of it that way before!

[@jssmedialangs]

I've been swimming around the N4-N3 realm for a minute and I'm ready to advance to N2, so soon as I saw the name of your channel--I SUBBED. 😄 I've been eyeing this book for awhile (along with N2 JLPT practice book, since I've heard that if you're taking the JLPT that's the book you should practice with). I don't just want to pass the exam; I want to have a higher proficiency in Japanese as well, so hearing that it has lots of different topics is helpful! I really hope that they'll make a more updated version in the future. 😭

[@sei_0122]

This is super helpful! I just finished Genki II and my classes will be moving onto Tobira in a few weeks. I'm nervous because it seems far denser than Genki, but it makes a lot of sense to focus on comprehension of the passage and to use the rest of the chapter materials as context and assistance.

[@mojabaka]

I‘m a second year in Japanology now and I‘m starting a course that uses this book next week. I‘m a bit scared because the book looks very messy and there‘s really a lot of texts to read (at least compared to Genki). On one side I‘m kinda happy that I don‘t have to read about Mary and Takeshi ever again, and this book will prepare me for more serious topics regarding Japan. But on the other side, some former students told me this class is extremely hard due to jump from Genki to Tobira. Hopefully I‘ll be able to make it. Thanks for the video though, I‘ll definitely use some of these tips.

[@GermaineJapanese]

I agree that it is a big jump. Try not to be too overwhelmed by the first chapter. Take it slow. If you can get through the book, it will be a big boost to your Japanese!

[@fakamine]

Wow! That was another very usefull video for me! I wasn't sure whether to buy Tobira or not (it's a bit expensive to get it here in Brazil). Thank you very much!

[@GermaineJapanese]

Thanks for watching and I’m glad it was useful! You can check out reviews on Amazon too if you want to get a balanced view. I saw that one person said he didn’t find it useful but most of the other buyers had good things to say about the book!

[@g0mium]

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll give it a try.

[@GermaineJapanese]

You’re welcome! ☺️

[@starplatinum9677]

Awesome video! Thanks Germaine!

[@norbjd2300]

Nice thumbnail haha, you are becoming a real KZbinr ! 😂 And nice video 👍 makes me wanna try とびら

[@GermaineJapanese]

Haha I just thought I should try presenting what I want to say in a more entertaining way. I really like tobira. It’s not perfect, but for a textbook, I think it’s really good value.

[@Elythia]

I think they should also provide new audio files. They static noise is really annoying if you want to listen to it a lot. (Especially the first lesson.)

[@andresb1640]

I did Minna no nihongo intermediate I and II which were by far the hardest textbooks and readings I’ve ever done. Even now that I read native material, those Intermeadiate minna no nihongo books were no joke. After minna, I did Tobira and it was a breeze compared to minna. You might need a little inbetween book between genki and Tobira because there is a slight jump, but you should be able to survive if you don’t get a inbetween book.

[@MicroValley]

Great video!! I gave up on Tobira a few months ago but your video convinced me to give it a second chance 😂 question, what do you do with the 本文を読む前に section? I don’t find it helpful since there’s I don’t know anything going into it… Do you just skip it? Lol

[@laszlodajka5946]

That part is where you have to write your own answers to questions right? No wonder if that feels like a big question mark. I mean producing our own texts is always more difficult especially if a topic is just not our cup of tea.

[@laszlodajka5946]

I oredered the beginner level volume 1 and 2 for classes. And I must stay from the first glance of the second volume they kept the quality of the intermediate to advanced level tome.

[@fenn_nathan]

great video thank you :)

[@italkijapaneseteacherhaman6984]

I am an italki Japanese teacher. I used Tobira for a year because one of my students requested me to use it. I think the Japanese level is N1 or N2, never N3. It is impossible to move on to it from Genki 2. Especially, self-study. Studying Tobira can be painful and boring, although it has lots of grammar explanation.

[@ramirosandoval41]

I just came from genki 2 and I am STRUGGLING haha

[@SabinaQuvvatova-f6w]

do you have this book's mp3 audios

[@deborahturner8777]

Thank you from New Zealand. I like Japan and Singapore.

[@GermaineJapanese]

Aww, thanks! I’m happy to hear that!

[@johnnacke4134]

I have been studying Japanese for 9 months using Genki 1. Starting to lose interest; not quite happy with the way Genki lays out the material. So I decided to switch to the new Tobira Japanese for Beginners , and workbook 1. Hope I get excited again.

[@imnobodywhoareyouu]

4:21 quite the opposite! Loved the content ❤

[@Peanuts76]

Wait, i watch this out of randomness, but thank you

[@DANI-nx2ey]

Hi! Would you recommend getting the workbook of Tobira or textbook is fine??? Also... is the audio free? 😅 I have genki but the audios aren't free and the lay out isn't interesring to me. I kinda wanna buy Tobira. Hope you see this 🥹🥹🥹🥹 (oh wait, I didnt realize you posted the intermediate one) they have 2 beginner japanese tobiras now with pitch and stuff! My questions were for those 🥹 hoping you checked those out!!!

[@languagelover3343]

Useful video, thanks! What is your opinion on Quartet?

[@GermaineJapanese]

I’ve heard about it but never got the chance to try it! Have you used it before?

[@languagelover3343]

@@GermaineJapanese Nope, not yet... I have passed N3 and now I would like to focus on output instead of rushing into N2. I was wondering whether Tobira or Quartet was the better option for this purpose.

[@keeritidutta8673]

Where I get pdf copy of this book

[@flojapanese2801]

How many hours would you say it takes to get through the book? I'm considering working through it with an iTalki tutor and I'm curious what to expect (how many classes will it take). Also, do you use Anki in combination with the book? For example by creating cards for vocabulary or example sentences.

[@GermaineJapanese]

Oh wow, I’m not sure if I’d be able to say! It does take quite a while to go through the book. I think if you do one hour a day, I’d say a year? Faster if you spend more time? Also, “getting through” the book and really internalizing everything can be rather different :)

[@raulcanuti7586]

Seems to be an interesting book. Everithings is written in Japanese, I suppose. I don't like any text with English explanations because I'm not English mothertongue. For this reason, I have to study, to read and try to understand two foreign languages in the meantime, getting everything through my own language to fix the concept, and at the end I finish to make just a great confusion! 😁

[@GermaineJapanese]

Haha, that's interesting. But then you get to improve in 2 languages at a time! Tobira has a little bit of English for the grammar part but I think it's less than 5 percent.

[@Rationalific]

Funny skits!

[@GermaineJapanese]

🤪

[@matthewpublikum3114]

棚の本を紹介します下さい

[@GermaineJapanese]

でもつまらない本しかもっていないな〜