Go Easy! Expand Your Japanese Vocabulary Through Conversation

会話でひろげる日本語語彙 Go Easy!

Before Reading
ASK0 comments

Say goodbye to boring vocabulary drills — this new Japanese workbook makes learning feel like an adventure!

  • Learn how to mix and match simple words to express yourself in endless new ways.
  • Unlock the hidden second and third meanings of common words to sound more natural in everyday conversation.
  • Dive into story-based lessons that make learning Japanese lively, memorable, and genuinely fun.
Go Easy Japanese Textbook Sample
Go Easy! Expand Your Japanese Vocabulary Through Conversation Book Cover
Level: JLPT Level: N3Language Style: CasualCompanion App: No
Buy Book

Using our links help support this site. All opinions are genuine.

What does Go Easy! Expand Your Japanese Vocabulary Through Conversation cover?

Chapter 1: Expanding Vocabulary from Secondary Meanings of Simple Words

For example, the verb 「かぶる」. Beginners learn it as 「帽子をかぶる」 (to wear a hat), but it's also commonly used in phrases like 「洋服がかぶった」 (your clothes are the same as someone else's) or 「予定がかぶった」 (schedules overlap).

Additional Meanings

Beyond that, knowing secondary or tertiary senses of words like 「大丈夫」 (I'm fine, no need for help) or 「おいしい」 (advantageous or beneficial), makes everyday conversations smoother and richer.

Learning Benefit

These extended usages appear frequently in real-life Japanese, so uncovering them turns basic vocab into practical, nuanced language.

Chapters 2–5: Expanding Vocabulary from Combinations of Simple Words

For example, both 「下」 (down/under) and 「見る」 (to see/look) are beginner-level simple words, but combining them into 「下見」 (preliminary inspection or scouting ahead) creates advanced vocabulary.

Key Examples

  • 「顔 + 広い」 → 「顔が広い」 means "to have many acquaintances or connections."
  • 「目 + ない」 → 「目がない」 means "to be extremely fond of something" (to the point of obsession).

 Student Review

Go Easy is a Japanese language textbook designed for learners who want to sound more natural—or at least more youthful—in Japanese. The book follows a series of conversations between five second-year university students who are all part of the same music club.

As part of this, the book eases you into the tone and style of how the characters speak, showing when it’s appropriate to use less formal Japanese. It introduces informal expressions and then provides their formal equivalents for comparison. For example:

熱い：流行している、人々の中で目を集めている。= Hot, trendy, wildly popular. Of course, most readers using this book would already know 熱い, but not in the sense it’s being used here.

It’s important to note, however, that to use this book effectively, you already need to be thinking in Japanese and have a fairly strong intermediate ability. While the cover states that it includes Chinese, English, and Vietnamese, these translations are extremely minimal. Some of the words and explanations are provided only in Japanese, without English support. There’s also very little furigana, so you’ll need to be comfortable with kanji.

That might sound like a bit of a warning, but it isn’t meant to be. For learners around the N3 level, this is actually a fantastic way to study. It makes the explanations feel less formulaic or robotic and more about natural language “feel”—which, after all, is exactly the point of the book.

Go Easy Japanese Textbook Sample

It’s quite typical for language learners to skip past the introductory chapters in their textbooks. You’re eager to soak up the knowledge you’ve been waiting for. “Where’s chapter one?! I need to learn Japanese and there’s no time to waste!” But with Go Easy, you really should read the introduction—it helps you understand exactly what you’re getting out of this textbook.

The book opens by telling students that they’ll be using all the vocabulary they’ve learned up to this point, but perhaps in ways they don’t expect. Even some familiar N5 words might surprise intermediate learners. In short, you’re being trained not to translate literally, but to think and speak naturally.

There are five chapters in total. The first focuses on vocabulary you probably already know—typically N5 or N4 words—but teaches additional meanings that are rarely covered in standard textbooks.

Chapters two through five introduce how simple words can change meaning when combined, forming idioms or natural collocations. For example, consider 顔が広い. No, it doesn’t mean “someone with a wide face,” but “someone who knows many people” or “is well connected.” Another example would be 何でも屋さん or 上の空. What do you think these could mean?

Do you think you got it right? Click to find the answer! 何でも屋さん = Jack of all trades and 上の空 means absentmindedness.

The recommended way to use this book is with their Spotify playlist and to practice with the sentences in three different ways:

  1. Listen to the audio without looking at the text to test how much you understand unaided.
  2. On your second listen, follow the script and aim to grasp every sound and meaning.
  3. On the third round, try to find an interesting point or topic as if you’re joining the conversation yourself. This helps reinforce the casual speech patterns the book focuses on.

Teacher Review

Before using Go Easy! Expand Your Japanese Vocabulary Through Conversation:

This is probably the toughest book we've reviewed on this website, so ideally you need to be around an N3 or so level.

What to read next?

Try to find a Japanese conversation partner and try out some of your new idioms!

Shadowing Let's Speak Japanese Textbook Cover

Shadowing: Let’s Speak Japanese! Beginner to Intermediate

Review of “New Shadowing: Let’s Speak Japanese!” N5–N2, audio shadowing drills and casual–polite dialogues to boost natural speech.

Read Our ReviewBuy Book
Training in Reading Japanese Pre-Intermediate N3 Cover

Step-By-Step Training in Reading Japanese: Pre-Intermediate

Master JLPT N3 reading with clear, progressive training books that improve kanji, grammar, and comprehension skills.

Read Our ReviewBuy Book
Nihongo Sou Matome N5 Cover

Nihongo Sou Matome N5

Structure your study with Nihongo Sou Matome JLPT N5! Prepare for your exam with 6 weeks of planned grammar, listening, vocab and kanji study.

Read Our ReviewBuy Book