Japanese Cheat Sheet Pack by Nihonshock.com » 2012

Archive for 2012

End of the world sale extension!

The hippie wackos were wrong! The sun did rise on December 22, with an unfazed human civilization waiting to greet it.

And so, as promised, in celebration of the uninterrupted continuation of human life on our planet, Nihonshock is celebrating by extending the “End of the world” sale through December 28! So get your Japanese cheat sheet pack while the opportunity lasts!

Seize the day! Carpe diem! Learn Japanese now before the real apocalypse comes!

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END OF THE WORLD SALE!

The end is nigh!

The Mayan calendar ends on December 21! Will the Earth convulse in a rage of earthquakes and natural disasters? Will aliens come to destroy humanity and colonize our planet? Will our solar system get sucked into a rogue black hole!?

No one can say for sure what will happen on December 21, so order your cheat sheets now, while there’s still time!!!*

* Note: discounted price only available on purchases through Paypal. Regular shipping charges apply (FREE in US/Canada, $7 everywhere else)

* Note #2: should civilization somehow succeed in enduring whatever eschatological trials await us on our fateful day, Nihonshock intends to celebrate by extending the 20% sale through December 28.

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Numbers and Time Digital Version Released!

A digital version of Nihonshock’s “Numbers and Time” Japanese cheat sheet is now available.

This PDF has received the same treatment as last week’s digital overhaul of the Basic Japanese sheet, which was made available last week.

The price is just $2.50 USD. That’s like adding a new resource to your language materials collection for the price of a cup of coffee! So if you’re interested please check it out!

My highly tentative position on future digital releases is that if the Numbers and Time PDF does well and doesn’t negatively impact paper-version sales, I want to release up to 3 more of the sheets from the full pack. I will not be making the entire set available in PDF form.

Also, I am currently working on a completely new sheet that will be released only in digital form. The working title is “Cool Japanese”. 🙂

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Basic Japanese sheet now optimized for digital use

If you have been using the PDF of the Basic Japanese sheet rather than a printed copy, you’ll definitely want to download the new digitally-optimized version of the sheet, which I just uploaded.

What’s different? The content is the same, but the file has been reworked so that it is better for those of you who want to use it on your computer (or computer-like device). Here are the changes:

  • The format is now single-page and wide (like your computer screen) instead of 2 page and tall
  • Text is now selectable
  • Colors have been adjusted to show up better on a computer screen (they’ve been darkened a bit)
  • The file is now totally vector/text based, that means faster loading, smaller file size, and total zoom freedom

 

So what are you waiting for, go download it from the Basic Japanese cheat sheet page!

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Back to school sale!

Until September 1st, I’m discounting the Cheat Sheet Pack by 20%! That means $20 instead of the usual $25.

I absolutely don’t believe in over-pricing products just to be able to offer them for a “discount” like they do in TV commercials, so take advantage of the offer while you can! I’m not going to be running sales on these cheat sheets very often.

Shipping costs remain the same: FREE SHIPPING in North America, +$7 elsewhere.

Also, this sale will apply to Paypal orders only, not orders through Amazon (Sorry!).

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Now Available on Amazon.com!

As of yesterday, Nihonshock’s Japanese Cheat Sheet Pack is now available on Amazon.com! Here’s link to the product page:

Japanese Cheat Sheet Pack by Nihonshock.com

I’m a newbie to selling on Amazon, so I will have to look into various ways to improve the page. Since Nihonshock (not Amazon) packages and ships these sheets there is no “Free super-saver shipping” option available. Sorry. I may look into the “fulfilled by Amazon” program later if I can get sufficient order volume.

Additionally, I’ve little choice but to charge for shipping, in part to make up for the higher fees that Amazon requires compared to Paypal.

Note: Shipping for Paypal orders will remain free (within North America) for the foreseeable future.

Anyway, I would be very grateful to anyone who reviews the cheat sheet and/or adds it to any relevant lists they might have, to help improve the Cheat Sheet Pack’s visibility. 🙂

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Backorder lifted

Good news! The lamination of the cheat sheets finished ahead of schedule and pending orders will be sent out on Friday, July 27th.

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Known Bugs: Furigana

Although I tried my very hardest to make the cheat sheets perfect, there were bound to be a few things that slipped through. Thankfully, the mistakes on the sheets are limited to minor color mis-coordination and a handful of erroneous furigana (the pronunciation guides written above the kanji).

I do not think these errors are detrimental to the value of the set as a whole or else I would not be selling them.

What I am doing to fix this

These errors will be corrected in future print runs, but that could be between 3 months to a year away (depending on how well they sell). Believe me, I want these fixed just as much as you do.

But honestly, I’m deep in the red already and simply cannot afford a re-run right now. So here’s what I’m offering: when the next batch is printed, you may mail back to me the introduction/legend sheet from your 1st-batch print. When I receive it, I will send you an updated set. No charge to you except the postage to send the introduction sheet (and I don’t care if you bend it, either).

Update (November 6, 2012): After several months of selling these I now have a better handle on the money side of things, and I can see that it was reckless and naive of me to think that I could just replace hundreds of cheat sheet sets for free. Therefore, I’m forced to alter this offer: for orders AFTER November 6, 2012 (easy to remember, right? It’s US presidential election day), customers will be able offered a 40% discount ($15 + S&H) on a new set of cheat sheets (when the next batch is run). If you ordered a set ON OR BEFORE November 6, I will replace it for free as previously promised. In either case, it’s still looking like the 2nd batch is a year away.

I will announce the printing of the next batch on this site, also on Facebook and Twitter. I will also notify by email if you request that I do so (message me via the contact form)

Okay, here’s a list of known errors:

Advanced Grammar

  • In “にかけては”, the furigana for 暗算 should be: あんざん
  • In “に限って”, the furigana for 忙 should be: いそが
  • In “か否か”, the furigana for 分 includes か, but should not

Keigo

  • In “~ませ”, the furigana for 越 includes し, but should not
  • In “様 Expressions”, the furigana for 馳走様 includes ご, but should not

Natural Japanese

  • In “TE から vs. TA あと”, the furigana for 食 includes べ, but should not

Beyond Vocabulary

  • In “何 Expressions”, the furigana for 何気 should be: なにげ
  • In “Idiomatic Expressions”, the furigana for 油 should be: あぶら

Please feel free to leave a comment if you notice any that aren’t on this list! Thanks!

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Digital Version

I’ve received quite a few emails and comments since I announced these sheets from people who want a digital version.

First of all I want you to know it’s coming. While I personally think that cheat sheets are most useful as a printed item, I realize that not only are there portability advantages, many people are just more comfortable with digital formats.

However, digital and print are two inherently different mediums, so I want to do more than just a point-blank PDF export of the cheat sheets.

In print medium, we have one tall sheet with two sides. In digital, there is one wide “sheet”, without a second side. Obviously, the layout should reflect this.

Also, in a digital medium, it’s possible to add information and/or extra sheets without worrying about print and lamination and shipping costs, so adding a new sheet to the set is a viable possibility that I will be considering.

As to the question of when a digital version will be available, I can’t say anything with certainty at this point. Currently my priority is getting the print version out of the start-up phase and operating like a real business. After that I’ll be able to pursue the digital version.

I hope to have something for you well before Christmas. 🙂

Please feel free to comment and leave any suggestions you have for the digital version.

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