Introductory Japanese Lessons

Introductory Japanese Lessons (1)

Japanese Pronunciation

The Japanese language has only 5 vowels: A, I, U, E, O. They are terse vowels, pronounced clearly and sharply. If one pronounces the vowels in the following sentence one will have their approximate sounds. Please note: the "U" is pronounced with no forward movement of the lips.

Ah (a), we (i) soon (u) get (e) old (o).

Here are some characteristics of Japanese grammar.

1. Japanese nouns have no gender and number.
2. Verb conjugation is not affected by the gender or number.
3. Japanese verbs have only two tenses: the present and the past.

The Japanese writing system is totally different from English, because it does not use an alphabet. It may be the most difficult part of Japanese to learn, but I think it is also fun and interesting. There are three different types of writing scripts in Japanese.

1. Kanji
2. Hiragana
3. Katakana

One writes Japanese using a combination of all three. 

Education System Vocabulary

Here are some words to practice related to the Japanese education system.

Japanese Writing System

Besides the three forms of writing (kanji, hiragana, katakana), Japanese is sometimes written in romaji. Romaji is primarily used for the convenience of foreigners. With romaji, one can read Japanese without knowing any Japanese writing system. Although there are several systems of romaji, the most widely used is a modified Hepburn system. 

All three types of Japanese characters are designed to be written in vertical lines, from right to left, but they can be written horizontally as well. Years ago, almost all Japanese writing was vertical, but the horizontal style 545h715f has slowly become more popular since it is easier to include Arabic numerals and passages from other foreign languages. However most newspapers still retain the vertical style. 

Characteristics of Japanese

Do you still think Japanese is a difficult language to learn? I would say "No!". Of course, it is a little hard to master all Japanese writing, but for speaking it is not as hard as you think.

Here are some facts.

(1) Japanese is easy to pronounce. It has only five vowels.

(2) Japanese nouns do not have gender, and rarely, number aspects. With most Japanese nouns, number is not an issue. The same word is used for one or more than one.

 hon = a book or books
 kuruma = a car or cars

(3) Verb conjugation is not affected by the gender or number. The same verb is used no matter what the subject is.

(4) Japanese verbs have only two tenses; the present tense and the past tense. The present tense refers to habitual action or the future. The past tense is used for actions completed in the past. It is also equivalent to the English present perfect or past perfect.

Word Order

English is a subject-verb-object language. (so are French, Spanish, etc.) Japanese is a subject-object-verb language. (so are Korean, Turkish, etc.) Generally the subject comes first, then the object and the verb comes at the end of the sentence.

"San" is a title of respect added to a name. (so it can not be used when referring to oneself.)
"Wa" and "o" are particles. They are like English prepositions, but they always come after nouns. Particles are very important for proper Japanese sentence structure. I will introduce them gradually later.

Composing questions in Japanese is easy! The word order remains the same, and a sentence becomes a question by adding the particle "ka" at the end. Question marks are not used in Japanese.

Greetings and Daily Expressions

Ohayoo gozaimasu. (Good morning.)
One can also say just "Ohayoo". This is casual, and should not be used with one's boss. 

Konnichiwa. (Hello/Good afternoon.)

Konbanwa. (Good evening.)

Oyasuminasai. (Good night.) 
Unlike English, it is mostly used before going to bed.

Sayonara. (Good-bye.)

People do not say "sayonara" when leaving their own home. "Itte kimasu" is normally used. The response to "Itte kimasu" is "Itterasshai". "Dewa mata" is also often used as "see you later", similar to the English expression.
 
How about "See you tomorrow"? "Tomorrow" is "ashita" in Japanese. I think you  can guess what the answer is: "Mata ashita".

I hope you can practice these greetings. I am going to tell you one more phrase, "Mata raishuu". This means "See you next week". 

Here are some very useful and simple expressions.

Sumimasen one can use this in several situations.

(a) Excuse me!

(b) Thank you.

(c) I'm sorry.

(d) Pardon me.

If you have ever had the chance to hear Japanese being spoken, you might notice that they often use "sumimasen". Also, if you have ever hear a Japanese person speaking English, you might notice they sometimes mix up "excuse me" and "I'm sorry" because the Japanese use the same word for both expressions.

Doozo and Doomo

When one offers something "doozo" can be used. A simple reply is "doomo".  "Doomo arigato gozaimasu" is a very polite way of saying, "Thank you very much".  A more casual response is either "arigatoo" or "doomo".

First Meetings/ Introductions (1)

Dialogue

Wa is a particle which is like English prepositions, but always comes after nouns. Desu is a topic marker and can be translated as "is" or "are".  It also acts as an equal sign.

Japanese often omit the topic when it is obvious to the other person.

When introducing yourself, "watashi wa" can be omitted. It will sound more natural to a Japanese person. In a conversation, "watashi" is rarely used. "Anata (you)" is similarly avoided.

"Hajimemashite" is used when meeting  a person for the first time. "Hajimeru" is the verb which means "to begin". "Doozo yoroshiku" is used when you introduce yourself, and other times when you are asking a favor of someone.

Besides family or close friends, Japanese are rarely addressed by their given names. If you go to Japan as a student, people will probably address you by your first name, but if you go their on business, it is better to introduce yourself with your last name. (in this situation, Japanese never introduce themselves with their first name).

Translation for the Dialogue

Notes

Katakana is used for foreign names, places and words. If you are not Japanese, your name can be written in katakana.

When introducing yourself, the bow (ojigi) is preferred to a handshake. Ojigi is an essential part of daily Japanese life. If you live in Japan for a long time, you will begin bowing automatically. You might even bow when you are talking on the phone (like many Japanese do)!

First Meetings/ Introductions

Dialogue

Do you remember what to say for the first meeting? If not click here.

We have learned basic structure: A wa B desu.  =  A is B. 

"Kochira" means "this person".  When addressing people, "san" (Mr./ Mrs./ Miss etc.) can be attached. "San" may be used with both female and male names, and either family name or first name. It can not be used after your name when referring to yourself.

"Kuni" means "country". "O" is a prefix used to make nouns honorific. "O" can not be used when referring to yourself. "Dochira" is a less direct and more polite way of asking "where".  "Doko" is a casual way of asking the same question. "Ka" is a sentence ending particle and makes a sentence into a question.

Let's try!

Once you know the structure above, you can make more questions with a little change.

Here are the phrases to answer these questions.

Translation for the Dialogue

Telling Time

Dialogue

Do you remember the expression "Sumimasen"? This is a very useful phrase. You can use it in various situations. In this case it means "Excuse me."

"Ima nan-ji desu ka" means "What time is it now?"

I'll show you how to count in Japanese so that you can tell the time.

Once you memorize 1~10, the rest of the numbers are easy.

Quiz (1)

Read the following numbers. Answers below this page. (a) 45
(b) 78
(c) 93

"Ji" means "o'clock." "Fun (pun)" means "minutes." To express the time, say the hours first, then the minutes, then add "desu". There is no special word for quarter hours. "Han" means half, as in half past the hour. The hours are quite simple, but you need to watch out for four, seven and nine.

Quiz (2)

Read the following times. Answers below this page. (a) 1:15
(b) 4:30
(c) 8:42

Translation for the Dialogue

Answers for Quiz

Quiz (1)
(a) yonjuu-go
(b) nanajuu-hachi
(c) kyuujuu-san

Quiz (2)
(a) ichi-ji juu-go fun
(b) yo-ji han (yo-ji sanjuppun)
(c) hachi-ji yonjuu-ni fun

Dialogue

Do you remember how to ask someone what country he or she is from? The answer is "Okuni wa dochira desu ka " "Dochira" and "doko" both mean "where". "Doko" is less formal.

How do you say, "What time is it?" The answer is "Nan-ji desu ka"

Today's question is "Nan-ji kara desu ka". "Kara" is a particle and means "from". 

Quiz 

Translate into Japanese. Check your answers at the end of the lesson.

(1) I'm from Japan.
(2) I'm from England.

Here are some vocabulary for the names of the countries.

Click here to learn how to write the names of the countries in katakana.

Expressing the nationality is easy. Just put "jin" (which means "person" or "people") after the name of country.

Translation for the Dialogue

Answers for the Quiz

(1) Nihon kara desu
(2) Igirisu kara desu.

Shopping

Dialogue

"Irasshaimase" is a greeting to customers in stores or restaurants. It literally means "welcome." You are not expected to answer this greeting.

"Kore" means "this." "Sore" means "that." English has only "this" and "that." Japanese has three separate indicators. "Are" means "that over there."

To reply to a "what" question, simply substitute the answer for "nan". Just remember to change "kore," "sore" or "are" depending on where the object is in relation to you. Don't forget to take the "ka" (question marker) off.

Q. Kore wa nan desu ka.
A. Sore wa obi desu.

"Ikura" means "how much."

You have already learned some Japanese numbers.  Here are the hundreds and thousands.

"Kudasai" means "please give me". This follows the particle "o" (object marker). 

Translation for the Dialogue