Japanese
Japanese (日本語 Nihongo) is a language spoken by over 120 million people in Japan and in Japanese immigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan) language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists.
Japanese is an agglutinative language and a mora-timed language. It has a relatively small sound inventory, and a lexically significant pitch-accent system. It is distinguished by a complex system of honorifics reflecting the nature of Japanese society, with verb forms and particular vocabulary to indicate the relative status of the speaker, the listener, and persons mentioned in conversation. Japanese vowels are pure.
Although Japanese is written using Chinese characters, and has historically imported many words of Chinese origin, the two languages are not considered to have a genealogical relationship.The Japanese language is written with a combination of three scripts: Chinese characters called kanji (漢字?), and two syllabic (or moraic) scripts made of modified Chinese characters, hiragana (ひらがな or 平仮名?) and katakana (カタカナ or 片仮名?). The Latin script, rōmaji (ローマ字?), is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, romanization of Japanese characters, and when entering Japanese text into a computer. Arabic numerals are generally used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also commonplace (see Japanese numerals).
Source: Wikipedia
Course Offerings
JPAN 0103 Spoken Japanese I
JPAN 0105 Spoken Japanese II
JPAN 0760 Japanese for the Professions I
JPAN 0860 Japanese for the Professions II
JPAN 1080/6080 Advanced Japanese for Proficiency I
JPAN 1085 Advanced Japanese for Proficiency II
View course descriptions. Additional Japanese language courses are offered by the Japanese Language Program in the Department of East Asian Languages & Civilizations.
Instructors
Tomoko TakamiCourse Schedule
| Title | Instructors | Location | Time | Description | Cross listings | Fulfills | Registration notes | Syllabus | Syllabus URL | Term | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPAN 0105-680 | Spoken Japanese II | Lewis E Harrington | MW 5:15 PM-7:14 PM | Although some reading/writing instruction is given, the major emphasis is on oral communication skill. | JPAN5105680 | 2025A | ||||||
| JPAN 0860-680 | Japanese for the Professions II | Tomoko Takami | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | An intermediate level course of Japanese language focusing on workplace-related topics. Intended for students who will use Japanese in the professions. Textbook: Powering Up Your Japanese through Case Studies: Intermediate and Advanced Japanese. | JPAN5860680 | 2025A | ||||||
| JPAN 1085-680 | Advanced Japanese for Proficiency II | Nana Takeda Kolb | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | This course is for students with an advanced-low or advanced-mid background in Japanese, aiming to strengthen the four language skills (speaking, reading, writing, and listening) and to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture. The class will use authentic Japanese through media, such as newspapers, television, and articles, regarding Japanese culture and society as well as current news. Students will narrate, describe, and express their opinions with details, examples, and strong reasoning, using sophisticated terms and phrases related such topics. | JPAN6085680 | 2025A | ||||||
| JPAN 5105-680 | Spoken Japanese II | Lewis E Harrington | MW 5:15 PM-7:14 PM | Although some reading/writing instruction is given, the major emphasis is on oral communication skill. | JPAN0105680 | 2025A | ||||||
| JPAN 5860-680 | Japanese for the Professions II | Tomoko Takami | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | An intermediate level course of Japanese language focusing on workplace-related topics. Intended for students who will use Japanese in the professions. Textbook: Powering Up Your Japanese through Case Studies: Intermediate and Advanced Japanese. | JPAN0860680 | 2025A | ||||||
| JPAN 6085-680 | Advanced Japanese for Proficiency II | Nana Takeda Kolb | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | This course is for students with an advanced-low or advanced-mid background in Japanese, aiming to strengthen the four language skills (speaking, reading, writing, and listening) and to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture. The class will use authentic Japanese through media, such as newspapers, television, and articles, regarding Japanese culture and society as well as current news. Students will narrate, describe, and express their opinions with details, examples, and strong reasoning, using sophisticated terms and phrases related such topics. | JPAN1085680 | 2025A | ||||||
| JPAN 0103-680 | Spoken Japanese I | Lewis E Harrington | COHN 204 | MW 5:15 PM-7:14 PM | Intended for students who have no Japanese background. The major emphasis is on oral communication skills, although some reading and writing instructions are given. Japanese pop-culture will also be incorporated. | JPAN5103680 | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202430&c=JPAN0103680 | 2024C | ||||
| JPAN 0760-680 | Japanese for the Professions I | Tomoko Takami | WILL 705 | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | An intermediate level course of Japanese language focusing on workplace-related topics. Intended for students who will use Japanese in the professions. Textbook: Powering Up Your Japanese Through Case Studies: Intermediate and Advanced Japanese. | JPAN5760680 | 2024C | |||||
| JPAN 1080-680 | Advanced Japanese for Proficiency I | Nana Takeda Kolb | WILL 202 | MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | This course is for students with an advanced background in Japanese, who are interested in taking at least the Level 2 Japanese Proficiency Test. Solid grammar, an extensive vocabulary, and the knowledge of at least 800-900 Chinese characters is required. This course is not continuous with any existing intermediate or advanced-level Japanese course; therefore, your grade from any of those courses does not qualify you to take this class. Eligibility will be determined through an interview and placement test taken in the first meeting. All students who take this course are required to take the Japanese Proficiency Test in December. Since the JLPT is administered in December every year, if you wish to fully prepare for the test, the instructor strongly recommends that you take Advanced Proficiency II in the same calendar year. For example, if you plan to take the test in December, take Advanced Proficiency II the prior spring and take Advanced Proficiency I in the fall. Different from other courses, this full-year course begins in the spring and ends in the fall, because the test is given in December. However, participation in 482 is optional. | JPAN6080680 | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202430&c=JPAN1080680 | 2024C | ||||
| JPAN 5103-680 | Spoken Japanese I | Lewis E Harrington | COHN 204 | MW 5:15 PM-7:14 PM | Intended for students who have no Japanese background. The major emphasis is on oral communication skills, although some reading and writing instructions are given. Japanese pop-culture will also be incorporated. | JPAN0103680 | 2024C | |||||
| JPAN 5760-680 | Japanese for the Professions I | Tomoko Takami | WILL 705 | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | An intermediate level course of Japanese language focusing on workplace-related topics. Intended for students who will use Japanese in the professions. Textbook: Powering Up Your Japanese Through Case Studies: Intermediate and Advanced Japanese. | JPAN0760680 | 2024C | |||||
| JPAN 6080-680 | Advanced Japanese for Proficiency I | Nana Takeda Kolb | WILL 202 | MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | This course is for students with an advanced background in Japanese, who are interested in taking at least the Level 2 Japanese Proficiency Test. Solid grammar, an extensive vocabulary, and the knowledge of at least 800-900 Chinese characters is required. This course is not continuous with any existing intermediate or advanced-level Japanese course; therefore, your grade from any of those courses does not qualify you to take this class. Eligibility will be determined through an interview and placement test taken in the first meeting. All students who take this course are required to take the Japanese Proficiency Test in December. Since the JLPT is administered in December every year, if you wish to fully prepare for the test, the instructor strongly recommends that you take Advanced Proficiency II in the same calendar year. For example, if you plan to take the test in December, take Advanced Proficiency II the prior spring and take Advanced Proficiency I in the fall. Different from other courses, this full-year course begins in the spring and ends in the fall, because the test is given in December. However, participation in 482 is optional. | JPAN1080680 | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202430&c=JPAN6080680 | 2024C | ||||
| JPAN 0105-680 | Spoken Japanese II | Lewis E Harrington | PSYL C41 | MW 1:45 PM-3:44 PM | Although some reading/writing instruction is given, the major emphasis is on oral communication skill. | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202410&c=JPAN0105680 | 2024A | |||||
| JPAN 0860-680 | Japanese for the Professions II | Tomoko Takami | WILL 421 | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | An intermediate level course of Japanese language focusing on workplace-related topics. Intended for students who will use Japanese in the professions. Textbook: Powering Up Your Japanese through Case Studies: Intermediate and Advanced Japanese. | 2024A | ||||||
| JPAN 1085-680 | Advanced Japanese for Proficiency II | Nana Takeda Kolb | BENN 406 | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | This course is for students with an advanced-low or advanced-mid background in Japanese, aiming to strengthen the four language skills (speaking, reading, writing, and listening) and to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture. The class will use authentic Japanese through media, such as newspapers, television, and articles, regarding Japanese culture and society as well as current news. Students will narrate, describe, and express their opinions with details, examples, and strong reasoning, using sophisticated terms and phrases related such topics. | JPAN6085680 | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202410&c=JPAN1085680 | 2024A | ||||
| JPAN 6085-680 | Advanced Japanese for Proficiency II | Nana Takeda Kolb | BENN 406 | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | This course is for students with an advanced-low or advanced-mid background in Japanese, aiming to strengthen the four language skills (speaking, reading, writing, and listening) and to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture. The class will use authentic Japanese through media, such as newspapers, television, and articles, regarding Japanese culture and society as well as current news. Students will narrate, describe, and express their opinions with details, examples, and strong reasoning, using sophisticated terms and phrases related such topics. | JPAN1085680 | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202410&c=JPAN6085680 | 2024A | ||||
| JPAN 0103-680 | Spoken Japanese I | Lewis E Harrington | WILL 305 | MW 1:45 PM-3:44 PM | Intended for students who have no Japanese background. The major emphasis is on oral communication skills, although some reading and writing instructions are given. Japanese pop-culture will also be incorporated. | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=JPAN0103680 | 2023C | |||||
| JPAN 0760-680 | Japanese for the Professions I | Tomoko Takami | WILL 214 | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | An intermediate level course of Japanese language focusing on workplace-related topics. Intended for students who will use Japanese in the professions. Textbook: Powering Up Your Japanese Through Case Studies: Intermediate and Advanced Japanese. | 2023C | ||||||
| JPAN 1080-680 | Advanced Japanese for Proficiency I | Nana Takeda Kolb | WILL 25 | MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | This course is for students with an advanced background in Japanese, who are interested in taking at least the Level 2 Japanese Proficiency Test. Solid grammar, an extensive vocabulary, and the knowledge of at least 800-900 Chinese characters is required. This course is not continuous with any existing intermediate or advanced-level Japanese course; therefore, your grade from any of those courses does not qualify you to take this class. Eligibility will be determined through an interview and placement test taken in the first meeting. All students who take this course are required to take the Japanese Proficiency Test in December. Since the JLPT is administered in December every year, if you wish to fully prepare for the test, the instructor strongly recommends that you take Advanced Proficiency II in the same calendar year. For example, if you plan to take the test in December, take Advanced Proficiency II the prior spring and take Advanced Proficiency I in the fall. Different from other courses, this full-year course begins in the spring and ends in the fall, because the test is given in December. However, participation in 482 is optional. | JPAN6080680 | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=JPAN1080680 | 2023C | ||||
| JPAN 6080-680 | Advanced Japanese for Proficiency I | Nana Takeda Kolb | WILL 25 | MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM | This course is for students with an advanced background in Japanese, who are interested in taking at least the Level 2 Japanese Proficiency Test. Solid grammar, an extensive vocabulary, and the knowledge of at least 800-900 Chinese characters is required. This course is not continuous with any existing intermediate or advanced-level Japanese course; therefore, your grade from any of those courses does not qualify you to take this class. Eligibility will be determined through an interview and placement test taken in the first meeting. All students who take this course are required to take the Japanese Proficiency Test in December. Since the JLPT is administered in December every year, if you wish to fully prepare for the test, the instructor strongly recommends that you take Advanced Proficiency II in the same calendar year. For example, if you plan to take the test in December, take Advanced Proficiency II the prior spring and take Advanced Proficiency I in the fall. Different from other courses, this full-year course begins in the spring and ends in the fall, because the test is given in December. However, participation in 482 is optional. | JPAN1080680 | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202330&c=JPAN6080680 | 2023C | ||||
| JPAN 0105-680 | Spoken Japanese II | Ryo Nakayama | WILL 723 | TR 5:15 PM-7:14 PM | Although some reading/writing instruction is given, the major emphasis is on oral communication skill. | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202310&c=JPAN0105680 | 2023A | |||||
| JPAN 0760-680 | Japanese for the Professions I | Tomoko Takami | CANCELED | An intermediate level course of Japanese language focusing on workplace-related topics. Intended for students who will use Japanese in the professions. Textbook: Powering Up Your Japanese Through Case Studies: Intermediate and Advanced Japanese. | 2023A | |||||||
| JPAN 0860-680 | Japanese for the Professions II | Tomoko Takami | CANCELED | An intermediate level course of Japanese language focusing on workplace-related topics. Intended for students who will use Japanese in the professions. Textbook: Powering Up Your Japanese through Case Studies: Intermediate and Advanced Japanese. | 2023A | |||||||
| JPAN 1085-680 | Advanced Japanese for Proficiency II | Nana Takeda Kolb | WILL 25 | MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM | This course is for students with an advanced-low or advanced-mid background in Japanese, aiming to strengthen the four language skills (speaking, reading, writing, and listening) and to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture. The class will use authentic Japanese through media, such as newspapers, television, and articles, regarding Japanese culture and society as well as current news. Students will narrate, describe, and express their opinions with details, examples, and strong reasoning, using sophisticated terms and phrases related such topics. | https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202310&c=JPAN1085680 | 2023A |