INTRODUCTION Tomas U. Ganiron Jr Now, I know we just want to jump right into learning, but before we begin, we have to learn a couple basics. First of all, Japanese has three different alphabets: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Hiragana is the native Japanese language and is the one you will probably see most frequently. It will also be the first alphabet you will begin to learn. Katakana is an alphabet specifically for non -Japanese words. Katakana could be compared with Roomaji, or the writing of Japanese words into English. If your name is not Japanese, you would write it in this alphabet. The Roomaji of Katakana is usually written in capital letters, just to distinguish them.The third alphabet, an d the hardest one, is Kanji, which is symbols adopted from the Chinese language. There are over 1,000 Kanji symbols but you only need to know approximately 600 to be able to read any Japanese material. As we move on through the lessons, I will write the ph rases and such in Roomaji. After you familiarize yourself with the different alphabets, you will able to start writing the sentences in Japanese. For now, though, we will use Roomaji HIRAGANA This alphabet will be the first you learn and also will be the one you use most often. Each symbol will be displayed with the Rooma ji below it. The other alphabets will be added in the far later lessons. If I make a mark next to a Roomaji, be sure to read the footnotes. あ a か ka が ga* さ sa ざ
い i き ki ぎ gi* し shi じ
う u く ku ぐ gu* す su ず
え e け ke げ ge* せ se ぜ
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お o こ ko ご go* そ so ぞ
za** た ta だ da+ な na は ha ば ba^ ぱ pa¿ ま ma や ya ら ra? わ wa
ji** ち chi ぢ di+ に ni ひ hi び bi^ ぴ pi¿ み mi
り ri?
zu** つ tsu づ du+ ぬ nu ふ fu++ ぶ bu^ ぷ pu¿ む mu ゆ yu る ru?
ze** て te で de+ ね ne へ he べ be^ ぺ pe¿ め me
れ re?
zo** と to ど do+ の no ほ ho ぼ bo^ ぽ po¿ も mo よ yo ろ ro? を o= ん n
*Ka, ki, ku, ke, ko is the same as ga, gi, gu, ge, go; you only add extra brush strokes to the end to differentiate between the two. **Sa, shi, su, se, so is the same as za, ji, zu, ze, zo, except for the extra brush strokies, similar to the ka/ga issue. +Just like ka/ga and sa/za, the ta, chi, tsu, te, to is the same as da, di, du, de, do except for the extra brush strokes. ++The fu sound is more like a puff of air with the sound of a hu/fu combined. ^Just like the others, ba, bi, bu, be, bo is the same as ha, hi, fu, he, ho except with the extra brush strokes. ¿Pa, pi, pu, pe, po is similar to the oth ers, except the brush stroke is now a small circle that is added to the ha, hi, fu, he, ho. ?Roll your r's, like you would in Spanish. =O was originally wo, but in modern Japan they drop the w in front.
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KATAKANA Katakana is the second alphabet you will be required to know. Katakana is used for words that are not native of Japan and are borrowed from other languages. All names that are not Japanese would be written in Katakana. All Roomaji wri tten in capital letters should be written in Katakana. Please be sure to read the footnotes at the bottom of the chart. ア a カ ka ガ ga* サ sa ザ za** タ ta ダ da+ ナ na ハ ha バ ba^ パ pa¿ マ ma ヤ ya ラ ra? ワ wa
イ i キ ki ギ gi* シ shi ジ ji** チ chi ヂ di+ ニ ni ヒ hi ビ bi^ ピ pi¿ ミ mi
リ ri?
ウ u ク ku グ gu* ス su ズ zu** ツ tsu ヅ du+ ヌ nu フ fu++ ブ bu^ プ pu¿ ム mu ユ yu ル ru?
エ e ケ ke ゲ ge* セ se ゼ ze** テ te デ de+ ネ ne ヘ he ベ be^ ペ pe¿ メ me
レ re?
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オ o コ ko ゴ go* ソ so ゾ zo** ト to ド do+ ノ no ホ ho ボ bo^ ポ po¿ モ mo ヨ yo ロ ro? ヲ o=
ン n *Ka, ki, ku, ke, ko is the same as ga, gi, gu, ge, go; you only add extra brush strokes to the end to differentiate between the two. **Sa, shi, su, se, so is the same as za, ji, zu, ze, zo, except for the extra brush strokies, similar to the ka/ga issue. +Just like ka/ga and sa/za, the ta, chi, tsu, te, to is the same as da, di, du, de, do except for the extra brush strokes. ++The fu sound is more like a puff of air with the sound of a hu/fu combined. ^Just like the others, ba, bi, bu, be, bo is the same as ha, hi, fu, he, ho except with the extra brush strokes. ¿Pa, pi, pu, pe, po is similar to the others, except the brush stroke is now a small circle that is added to the ha, hi, fu, he, ho. ?Roll your r's, like you would in Spanish. =O was originally wo, but in modern Japan they drop the w in front. LESSON 1- Greetings Most Japanese people bow to each other when they first meet. Bow in Japanese is ojigi. The lower the bow, the more you are honoring the person. Friends usually don't bow too deep. Even though bowing is a way to respect one another, it can also be a way to insult the other. If you bow too deep or don't bow enough, it could be considered mocking or insulting them. In the morning, before 10:30 am, you would say Ohayou gozaimasu, which translates to "Good morning". In modern day Japan, you don't pronounce the "u" on the end; you just let it hang on the s. It would sound like "gozaimass". For less formal situations, you can merely say Ohayou. From 10:30 am to 5:00 pm (during the day ) you would say Konnichi wa, which translates to "Good afternoon" or just plain "Hello". After 5:00 pm, you would greet others by saying Konban wa, which translates to "Good evening". Before you go to sleep, you would say to others Oyasumi nasai, which translates to "Sleep well" or "Good night". A more informal way of saying this would just be oyasumi. Another phrase, though it is not much of a greeting, is one you say when you enter a house. You would call out Tadaima, which is basically an "I'm home" type greeting. Anyone in the house would respond to you. It is disrespectful to enter a house and not say tadaima.
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Vocabulary Review
お辞儀 Ojigi- Bow おはようございます Ohayou gozaimasu- Good morning こんにちは Konnichi wa- Good afternoon こんばんは Konban wa- Good evening おやすみなさい Oyasumi nasai- Good night ただいま Tadaima- I'm home LESSON 2- Hello, I am . . . One key word in introducing yourself is desu (don't pronounce the "u" at the end). Desu translates to the verb is/are. Unlike other languages, there is no feminine or masculine forms and there are no pronouns in front of it. They are, we are, I am, you are, etc, are all just desu. In Japanese, the verb is al ways last, so therefore, if you wanted to say who you were, you would say your name and then add desu to the end. For example, if your name was Ayumi, you would say: Ayumi desu. Simple, no? Moving on, say you were talking to your friend, Teru. Let's look at a small conversation between the two: Ayumi: Aa Teru san! Ohayou gozaimasu. Ohisashiburi desu ne! Ogenki desu ka? Teru: Aa Ayumi san! Okage sama de, genki desu. Anata wa? Ayumi: Genki desu. Ah, don't worry... you haven't missed anything. There are several new words and phrases that I have introduced in that small conversation. You already know Ohayou gozaimasu to be "Good morning". The suffix san is basically the English equivalent of "Miss/Mr./ Mrs." etc. You add it onto the end of the name of the person you are talking to. Never add san onto your own name, because that is like telling the person you are better than them. If you were referring toa teacher, you would add sensei. Another small simple phrase would be Aa which is basically "Oh!" Ohisashiburi desu ne is basically "I haven't seen you in ages". It is a polite phrase to say to a friend you haven't seen in a long time. Ogenki desu ka is "How are you?". Genki means fine or well, and if you are referring to someone else you add the honorific "O" on it to show respect. Never use "O" with yourself for the same reason you never use san with yourself. Ka is like a question mark. Since the Japanese language does not use question marks, you add ka on the end of a sentence to make it a question. Okage sama de is "Thanks for asking". If you were to reply Genki
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desu, it is "I am fine", since desu is "is/are" and genki is fine or well. You don't have to worry about Anata wa yet, just know that anata means you, and we will learn about wa more later. Anata wa together basically means "How about you?". In Japan, anata is more used towards your "darling" rather than a friend. It would be disrespectful and odd to refer to another person by saying anata but you don't have to worry about that yet. Just worry about anata wa as a phrase. Here is another sample conversation between a teacher, Mr . Tsubasa, and a student named Ami: Ami: Tsubasa sensei desu ka. Tsubasa: Hai Tsubasa desu. Ami san desu ka. Ami: Ami desu. In this conversation, Ami asks Mr. Tsubasa if he is Mr. Tsubasa. We already know that desu is is/are and adding ka makes it a question, so she is basically saying, "Are you Mr. Tsubasa?". Hai means "Yes", so Mr. Tsubasa is confirming it and replying, "Yes, I am Mr. Tsubasa." Then, in return he says, Ami san desu ka, which, like Ami's phrase, means, "Are you Ami?" Ami then replies with "I am Ami". If you wish, you can do some extra practice by making up small simple conversations like the ones above.
Vocabulary Review
です Desu- Is/are さん San- Mr/Mrs/Miss etc 先生 Sensei- teacher ああ Aa- Oh! お久しぶりですね Ohisashiburi desu ne- I haven't seen you in ages 元気 Genki- fine, well か Ka- question marker おかげさまで Okage sama de- Thanks for asking あなた Anata- You はい Hai- Yes LESSON 3- Is/Are In the previous lesson, you learned that desu is the verb "is/are". The opposite of desu is dewa arimasen, which translates to "is not/are not". Just like desu, dewa arimasen belongs on the end of the setence. Another handy word to go with dewa arimasen is iie, which means "No". If you wanted to ask what something was, you would say nan desu ka, for nan means "what". The phrase would translate to "What is it?". Let's use this in a simple conversation between Utada and Hisashi: Hisashi: Konnichi wa. Ayumi san desu ka.
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Utada: Iie, Ayumi dewa arimasen. Of course, out of respect, Hisashi would never reply with Nan desu ka, for it would be insulting to Utada. Basically, Hisashi asked Utada if she was Ayumi. Ayumi replied, "No, I am not Ayumi". Desu can also be used with objects, if you wanted to say, "It is ___". Say there was a cat. Cat in Japanese is neko. You would say Neko desu. That goes for any other noun too. Just take the noun and add desu to the end of it. Look at this conversation continued between Hisashi and Utada and see if you can follow. Some new words might be introduced. Utada: Neko desu ka. Hisashi: Iie, neko dewa arimasen. Utada: Nan desu ka. Hisashi: Inu desu. Hana desu ka. Utada: Hai. Nan desu ka. Hisashi: Kuruma desu. In this conversation, Utada asks Hisashi if that is a cat. Hisashi replies that no, it is not a cat. Utada then asks, "What is it?" In reply, Hisashi says it is an inu, which means dog. Hisashi then asks in return if that is a hana, or flower in Japanese. She replies that, yes, it is a flower and then asks what another thing is. Hisashi replies it is a kuruma, or car. It is very easy to make a practice convers ation between two people over this small subject. Let's introduce a few more vocabulary words before we move on in this next conversation between Takuro and Minako. We'll make it a little more complicated this time. Takuro: Aa, Minako san! Konban wa. Ohisa shiburi desu ne. Minako: Aa, Takuro san! Konban wa. Ogenki desu ka? Takuro: Okage sama de, genki desu. Anata wa. Minako: Genki desu. Kaban desu ka. Takuro: Hai, kaban desu. Nan desu ka. Minako: Hon desu. Ringo desu ka. Takuro: Iie, ringo dewa arimasen. Enpitsu desu. Minako: Aa. Ki desu ka. Takuro: Hai. Minako: Sayonara, Takuro san. Takuro: Sayonara, Minako san. Alright, let's analyze this conversation. Takuro says good evening to Minako and says he hasn't seen her in ages. Minako replies by saying good evening, how are you? He replies by saying he is fine, thanks her for asking, and then continues to ask how she is in return. She replies that she is fine. She then goes to ask if that is a kaban. Kaban means
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briefcase or bag. He replies that yes, it is a bag. Then he asks, "What is it?" She replies it is a hon or book. She then asks if that is a ringo, or apple. He replies, "No, it is not an apple. It is an enpitsu." Enpitsu means pencil. (Why Minako would mistake Takuro's pencil for an apple is beyond me at this point) Minako then replies, "Oh. Is that a ki?" Ki translates to tree. Takuro replies, "Yes." They then exchange Sayonara, which means good-bye. Some other words you may want to know at this point are uchi which means house (in reference to your own), denwa which means telephone, and yama which means mountain.
Vocabulary Review
ではありません Dewa arimasen- Is not いいえ Iie- No 何 Nan- what 猫 Neko- cat 犬 Inu- dog 花 Hana- flower 車 Kuruma- car 鞄 Kaban- briefcase/bag 本 Hon- book 林檎 Ringo- apple 鉛筆 Enpitsu- pencil 木 Ki- tree 家 Uchi- house 電話 Denwa- telephone 山 Yama- mountain さよなら Sayonara- Good-bye LESSON 4- Who are you? Now that we know how to ask and say what something is, now it's time to learn how to ask someone who they are. The first word you need to know is dare. Dare means "who". So basically, if you were going to ask someone who they were, you would say Dare desu ka. Before we get into a sample conversation, let's introduce two more words. Minasan means "everyone" or "everybody". Seito means "student" or "pupil". Let's pretend we're at a party. At this party are Jiro, Toshiya, and Shinya. Now here's a sample conversation: (we'll incorporate some other things into it too) Toshiya: Konban wa, Shinya san! Ogenki desu ka.
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Shinya: Okage sama de, genki desu. Anata wa. Toshiya: Genki desu. Jiro: Konban wa, minasan! Shinya: Konban wa. Toshiya: Dare desu ka. Jiro: Jiro desu. Toshiya: Sensei desu ka. Jiro: Iie, seito desu. Shinya: Hai. Jiro: Dare desu ka. Toshiya: Toshiya desu. Jiro: Seito desu ka. Toshiya: Hai, seito desu. Since the conversation begins with just Toshiya and Shinya, Toshiya says, "Good evening, Shinya, how are you?" Shinya replies he is fine, thanks for asking, and asks how he is in return. Toshiya replies he is fine as well when Jiro comes in and says, "Good evening everyone!" Shinya replies a good evening before Toshiya asks Jiro, "Who are you?" Jiro replies that he is Jiro, and Toshiya asks if he is a teacher. Jiro replies, "No, I am a student," and Shinya agrees with a hai. Jiro then asks Toshiya who he is, and Toshiya replies. Jiro asks if he is a student and Toshiya replies, "Yes, I am a s tudent."
Vocabulary Review
誰 Dare- who 皆さん Minasan- everyone/everybody 生徒 Seito- student LESSON 5- Excuse me, but who is that person over there? Since we know how to say "who are you", now we have to learn how to ask someone else who someone is. The first thing you should know is Sumimasen. Sumimasen is a very commonly used word, for it simply means "Excuse me". If you add on ga to the end, you get the phrase Sumimasen ga, which means "Excuse me, but..." and then you can go on to ask something. When you add ga on, it is more used for interrupting a conversation to ask a question. Hito is one of the many words for "person" and the word ano means "that" or "over there". Let's see a sample conversation between Kyo and Michiru regarding these words. Kyo: Konnichi wa, Michiru san. Michiru: Konnichi wa, Kyo san. Kyo: Sumimasen ga, ano hito wa dare desu ka. Michiru: Ano hito wa Dai san desu.
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Kyo: Arigatou gozaimasu. In this conversation, it starts off with two simple "Hello"s, before Kyo asks Michiru, "Excuse me, but who is that person over there?". Wa is a particle that signals what you are talking about. So basically, seperate, ano hito is a person over there and dare desu ka is "Who is that?". When you put the particle wa in between them, it is telling you that Kyo wants to know who the person standi ng over there is. Without the wa, the sentence would not make any sense and you wouldn't know who Kyo was talking about. Also, when you write the wa in Hiragana, instead of writing it わ (wa), you would write is as は (ha). Despite this, it is still pronounced as wa. Arigatou gozaimasu means "thank you". It is a very formal way to say thank you, and just like in Ohayou gozaimasu, the "u" is not pronounced at the end. Depending on who you are talking to, you can say "Thank you" in a various array of ways. Informally, it would be merely doumo, which translates to "very much". Polite would be Arigatou, a step higher being Arigatou gozaimasu. If you were to take it a step even further, you could combine the three and say Doumo arigatou gozaimasu. For now, Arigatou is fine.
Vocabulary Review
すみませんが... Sumimasen ga- Excuse me but... 人 Hito- person あの Ano- that (over there) ありがとうございます Arigatou gozaimasu- Thank you どうも Doumo- very much は Wa- particle meaning "talking about..." LESSON 6- What is your name? The Japanese word for "name" is namae. You already learned that you can say your name by saying Jenny desu (let's pretend your name is Jenny), but that doesn't directly translate to "My name is Jenny". It merely means "I am Jenny". If y ou would like to say formally "My name is Jenny", the Japanese would be Watashi no namae wa Jenny desu. Watashi is the Japanese equivalent of "I" or "me". It is how you refer to yourself. No is a particle that indicated possession, similar to the apostrophe and s we use in English. Watashi no is the equivalent of my or mine. You can use this with any other noun to show posesssion. The word the subject possesses comes directly after the no. We already know that wa is a particle that basically marks the subje ct and shows what you're talking about.
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Now, if you wanted to ask someone what their name was, you would use this phrase: O namae wa nan desu ka. It means, "What is your name?". The honorific "O" is used to show the other person respect, just like when you said Ogenki desu ka. Now that you have learned all this, it is very easy to ask many more questions now and form many more conversations. Let's have a conversation between Ryo and Haruko and see if you can follow along. Ryo: Haruko san! Konnichi wa. Haruko: Ryo san, konnichi wa. Ogenki desu ka. Ryo: Okage sama de, genki desu. Anata wa. Haruko: Genki desu. Ano hito no namae wa nan desu ka. Ryo: Ano hito no namae wa Honoku desu. Honoku san! Honoku: Ryo san, konnichi wa. Ryo: Konnichi wa, Honoku san. Haruko: Konnichi wa. LESSON 7- It's Mine Look at this sentence: Watashi no neko desu. This sentence means "It's my cat". If you take out the neko, it simply becomes Watashi no desu, which merely tranlates to "It's mine". Now you can easily tell people which things belong to you. You can also say what things belong to other people. For example, if a pencil belonged to Mamoru, you would say Mamoru san no enpitsu desu. If you wanted to ask who something belonged to (say someone's book), you would say the following: Dare no hon desu ka. It translates to "Whose book is this?" If you wanted to simply ask "Whose is it?" you would just say Dare no desu ka. You can also ask if it is someone's. Say you found a bag and you thought it was Sakura's. You would then say, Sakura san no kaban desu ka or merely Sakura san no desu ka, which is "Is it Sakura's?" If you wanted to ask someone if it was theirs, you would use the word anata, which, if you remember, means "you". Th e sentence would be Anata no desu ka or "Is it yours?" With these sample sentences, you can construct various different sentences. If you want to say something isn't yours, you would use the verb dewa arimasen. Look at this sample dialogue: Kimi: Anata no kasa desu ka. Jon: Iie, watashi no kasa dewa arimasen. Kimi asked Jon if it was his umbrella. Jon replied "No, it's not my umbrella." There are also various ways to ask this. If you wanted to say , "The cat is not mine" the sentence would change to Neko wa watashi no
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dewa arimasen. Similarly, if you wanted to say "The book is mine", you would say Hon wa watashi no desu. Using these sample sentences, you can also create various other sentences as we ll. Let's have another sample conversation, this one between Jodi and Carrie. Jodi: Konnichi wa, Carrie san. Anata no hon desu ka. Carrie: Iie, hon wa watashi no dewa arimasen. Jill san no hon desu. Jodi: Aa, dare no PEN desu ka. Carrie: Watashi no PEN desu. PEN is the Japanese word for "pen", except you would not write this word in Hiragana; it would be written in Katakana since it is a word of English origin. In this conversation, Jodi asked Carrie if it was her book. Carrie replied "No, the book is not mine. It's Jill's book." Jodi then replies, "Oh, whose pen is it?" Carrie replies it is her pen. Try using various vocabulary words and names to practice this more. Once you get the basic sentence structure down, it is easy to remember.
Vocabulary Review ペン PEN- pen
LESSON 8- What's its name? Let's start off this lesson by learning a couple animal names. Uma is the word for horse. Usagi is rabbit and hitsuji is sheep. Ushi is a cow or bull and kuma is a bear. Lastly, a pig is buta. When talking about animals and asking an animals name, you would never use the honorific "O", since you don't give animals the same respect you give people. So when asking the question "What is its name?", you would say Namae wa nan desu ka. You should hardly use that sentence alone, though, for people may not know what you are referring to. To keep it clear, be sure you mention which animal's name you are referring to. For example, if you wanted to know the name of the rabbit, the sentence would be Usagi no namae wa nan desu ka. Adding the animal name with a wa following it helps make your sentence easier to understand and easier for others to answer. Let's have another conversation concerning our new vocabulary words. This one is between a teacher, Mr. Yama, and a student, Umino. Please note how the names come first in the sentences. In Japanese, people believe they will catch a person's attention better by saying the name first instead of last, since the person might only catch their name at the end and not the first part of the sentence. Umino: Yama sensei, ohayou gozaimasu.
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Yama: Umino san, ohayou gozaimasu. Umino: Anata no uma desu ka. Yama: Hai, watashi no uma desu. Umino: Uma no namae wa nan desu ka. Yama: Uma no namae wa Thunder desu. Umino: Anata no ushi desu ka. Yama: Iie, ushi wa watashi no dewa arimasen. Umino: Dare no ushi desu ka. Yama: Yoko san no ushi desu. Umino: Aa, arigatou gozaimasu. In this conversation, after the two exchanged greetings, Umino asked Mr. Yama if the horse was his. Mr. Yama replied "Yes, it's my horse". Umino then asked, "What is the horse's name?". Mr. Yama replied that the horse's name was Thunder. Umino then asked "Is that your cow?". Mr. Yama replied, "No, the cow is not mine". Umino then asked who the cow belonged to and Mr. Yama replied that it was Yoko's cow. Umino then finished by saying "Oh, thank you". You can also ask someone what their pet's name is and you can tell people what your pet's name is. The Japanese word for pet is PETTO and it is written in Katakana. If you wanted to say "My pet is a fish", you would say Watashi no PETTO wa sakana desu. Sakana means fish. Then you can go on to say what the fish's name is: Sakana no namae wa GORUDI desu. (The fish's name is Goldie) To ask someone what their pet's name is, you would say Anata no PETTO wa nan desu ka. Let's put this in another conversation with Yama and Umino. Umino: Watashi no PETTO wa saru desu. Yama: Anata no saru no namae wa nan desu ka. Umino: Saru no namae wa DURU desu. Anata no PETTO wa nan desu ka. Yama: Watashi no PETTO wa buta desu. Buta no namae wa TONI desu. In this conversation, Umino says his pet is a saru, or monkey. Yama asks him what his monkey's name is. Umi no replies "The monkey's name is Drew. What is your pet?" Yama replies "My pet is a pig. The pig's name is Tony." Remember, the words are capitalized because they would be written in Katakana.
Vocabulary Review 馬 兎 羊 牛 熊
Uma- horse Usagi- rabbit Hitsuji- sheep Ushi- cow/bull Kuma- bear
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豚 Buta- pig ペット PETTO- pet 魚 Sakana- fish 猿 Saru- monkey LESSON 9- What is its Japanese name? The word for the country of Japan is Nihon. If you add go onto the end of a country, it means the language of that country. Therefore, the name of the Japanese language would be Nihongo. If you wanted to ask somebody "What is its name in Japanese?", you would say Nihongo no namae wa nan desu ka . For example, if you were asking what the Japanese word for "pig" is, a person would reply Nihongo no namae wa buta desu or they could simply reply Buta desu. In case you need reinforcement, here is a small conversation between Rei and Dan, a foreign exhange student. Dan: Rei san, konnichi wa. Rei: Dan san, konnichi wa. Dan: Nihongo no namae wa nan desu ka. Rei: Nihongo no namae wa hitsuji desu. Dan: Nihongo no namae wa nan desu ka. Rei: Kuma desu. Dan: Arigatou gozaimasu. After an exchange in greetings, Dan asks what the Japanese name of a sheep is. Rei replies "The Japanese name is hitsuji". Dan then asks what the Japanese name of a bear is and Rei replies that it is kuma. This is very handy if you are a foreigner visiting Japan and you want to expand your vocabulary a bit more. It helps if the person you are talking to knows a bit of English so you could refer to the English word to get the Nihongo word.
Vocabulary Review
日本 Nihon- Japan 日本語 Nihongo- Japanese language LESSON 10- Pleased to meet you There are two phrases you need to know when meeting someone for the first time. They are Hajimemashite and Douzo yoroshiku. Hajimemashite means "I am meeting you for the first ti me". It can also be used as a "How do you do?" or "I'm pleased to meet you" but you only say it the first time you meet somebody. Usually you combine it with Douzo yoroshiku unless it's just in reply. Douzo yoroshiku's
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literal meaning is "Please be good to me". It is usually used as a "How do you do?" though. It is up to you whether or not you want to use them seperately or together, but usually the two are combined. The underlying meaning of the phrase is "I hope you will forgive me in advance for anything I may do in the future which may distress or offend you". Here is how you would use it in a conversation. This is one where Hikari first meets Mitsuki. Hikari: Konnichi wa. Dare desu ka. Mitsuki: Konnichi wa. Watashi wa Mitsuki desu. Hikari san desu ka. Hikari: Hai, Hikari desu. Hajimemashite douzo yoroshiku. [bows] Mitsuki: Hajimemashite. [bows] Since this is Hikari's and Mitsuki's first meeting, after saying hello, Hikari asks who Mitsuki is. Mitsuki replies with her name and asks if she is Hikari. Hikari replies yes and says "I am pleased to meet you". Mitsuki replies with just Hajimemashite. When meeting someone, as you know, you always bow.
Vocabulary Review
はじめまして Hajimemashite- for the first time, pleased to meet you どうぞよろしく Douzo yoroshiku- Pleased to meet you LESSON 11- Goodbye and Thank You There are three different ways you can say goodbye: Sayonara, Sayounara, and Ja mata. Sayanora is used when you feel you won't see the other person for a long period of time. You shouldn't use it on family members unless you don't plan on seeing them again. Sayounara is used to your school principal or on a formal occasion. Ja mata is just like us saying "See you later". Ja means "Well then" or "In that case" and mata means "again". You already know that Arigatou gozaimasu is a way to say thank you. Doumo is the more informal way of saying "Thanks", more used between friends.
Vocabulary Review
さよなら Sayonara- Goodbye さようなら Sayounara- Goodbye (formal) じゃ Ja- Well then/In that case また Mata- again じゃまた Ja mata- See you later
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LESSON 12- What nationality are you? Of course, if you are a traveler abroad, it is handy to be able t o say what nationality you are. You've learned that the word hito means person, but there are three more ways to say it: jin, nin, and kata, which is a very polite way to say it. When talking abo ut nationality, you use jin. When saying a nationality, first you say the country, then you add jin onto it. (Remember, the countries have Japanese pronunciations) The word for the United States in Japanese is AMERIKA, so if you wanted to say American, you would write AMERIKAjin. (A more complete list of countries will be listed in the Vocabulary Review) If you wanted to say "I am an American", you would say AMERIKAjin desu, or if you wanted to say you aren't American, you would say AMERIKAjin dewa arimasen. If you wanted to ask "Are you American?", you would say AMERIKAjin desu ka. A more formal way of asking nationality is Doko no kata desu ka. The word doko means "where". It basically means "Wha t is your nationality?" or "Where are you from?". Remember, kata is the polite way to say "person". One more way of asking is Nanjin desu ka. Nanjin means "what person". The literal translations is "What person are you?" but it is taken as "What nationality are you?" Let's try a conversation. Emily, who is Italian, is meeting Hans, who is German, for the first time. Emily: Konnichi wa. Watashi wa EMURI desu. Hans: Konnichi wa, EMURI san. Watashi no namae wa HANSU desu. Doko no kata desu ka. Emily: ITARIAjin desu. Nanjin desu ka. OOSUTORARIAjin desu ka. Hans: Iie, OOSUTORARIAjin dewa arimasen. DOITSUjin desu. Emily: Aa, hajimemashite douzo yoroshiku. [bows] Hans: Hajimemashite. [bows] In the beginning, Emily says "Hello. I am Emily." Hans replies "Hello, Emily. My name is Hans. Where are you from?" Emily replies "I am Italian. What is your nationality? Are you Australian?" ( ITARIA is the Japanese for Italy and OOSUTORARIA is Japanese for Australia) Hans replies "No, I am not Australian. I am Germn." ( DOITSU is Japanese for Germany. It may not sound like "Germany" because it comes from the word "Deutsche".) Emily then says nice to meet you and Hans says
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it in reply. Another thing you may want to make note of is that when you add go onto the end of a country, it means their language. Therefore, FURANSUgo (FURANSU means France) would be "French". This doesn't work for all countries though, like America. We speak English and therefore cannot say AMERIKAgo. The word for "English" is Eigo. This applies to other coun tries as well, like Mexico, England, and some South American countries.
Vocabulary Review
人 Jin- person 人 Nin- person 人 Kata- person (very polite) 何人 Nanjin- what person 何処 Doko- where アメリカ AMERIKA- America オーストラリア OOSUTORARIA- Australia カナダ KANADA- Canada 中国 Chuugoku- China 韓国 Kankoku- Korea イギリス IGIRISU- England ドイツ DOITSU- Germany フランス FURANSU- France オランダ ORANDA- Holland インド INDO- India イタリア ITARIA- Italy ニュージーランド NYUUJIIRANDO- New Zealand ロシア ROSHIA- Russia メキシコ MEKISHIKO- Mexico スペイン SUPEIN- Spain LESSON 13- Japanese Schools Now that we know most of the basics, now it's time to learn about the Japanese school system and other things relating to education. To someone not in school, this topic may seem unimportant but it is good to at least brush on the topic. Japanese school can be quite different from American schools, especially since they end in March and begin in April, with a spring break in between. They also get a summer break and a winter break like we do, but the Japanese believe schools should start in spring, when everything is anew. Japanese children begin school at the age of six. Most children go to preschool or kindergarten, which is called youchien, before the age of
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six. Even in kindergarten, the children wear uniforms. At age six, they enter shougakkou, or the primary school. They spend the next six years in shougakkou learning hiragana, katakana, and the basic 800 kanji as well as the same subjects you would see in American schools. Most children are already taking English lessons when they end shougakkou. After shougakkou is chuugakkou, which is like our middle school or junior high school. Students are allowed to legally leave school after chuugakkou, but most decide to go on to the next school at age fifteen to koutougakkou or high school. After high school, 37% of Japanese students go on to daigaku or the university. This is a very important time in a student's life. Once you reach daigaku, the pressure of school is lessened and you are allowed to enjoy life more. Before you enter the daigaku, school is very tough and Japanese students are under a lot of pressure. Their parents give them high expectations, so they strive to always do well. Because of this, cram schools called juku are scattered around Japan to study more. In addition to school and juku, Japanese students still have to do a couple hours of homework. Their schedule makes many students tired. Because of the large class sizes in Japanese schools, there is not much "hands on" work. For example, in science class, a teacher would perform the experiment in front of the students instead of letting the students do it themselves. Students also never leave the classroom; the teachers come and go. All classes are performed in the same classroom as well as lunch. Now that you know about the schools, we will move onto the objects of the classroom.
Vocabulary Review
幼稚園 Youchien- kindergarten 小学校 Shougakkou- primary school 中学校 Chuugakkou- middle school/junior high school 高等学校 Koutougakkou- high school 大学 Daigaku- university 塾 Juku- cram school LESSON 14- The Classroom Since students are considered peers, they speak less formally around each other. You know the verb dewa arimasen to be "is not". In the classroom, students usually say janai desu. It means the same as dewa arimasen, except is used in informal situations. This verb comes up a lot in the classroom between students. For example, if Heero wanted to say to Wufei "It is not my desk", he would say
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Watashi no tsukue janai desu. Tsukue is the Japanese word for "desk". Using this new verb, let's have a conversation between Makoto and Setsuna. Setsuna: Makoto san, ohayou. Ogenki desu ka. Makoto: Setsuna san, ohayou. Okage sama de, genki desu. Anata wa. Setsuna: Genki desu. Nan desu ka. Makoto: BOORUPEN desu. Setsuna: Doumo. Makoto: E desu ka. Setsuna: Iie, e janai desu. Chizu desu. Makoto: Aa, doumo. Anata no kami desu ka. Setsuna: Hai, watashi no desu. Makoto: Setsuna san, ja mata. Setsuna: Ja mata. In this conversation, Setsuna and Makoto greet each other with a simple ohayou instead of ohayou gozaimasu, since they are peers and it is informal. Setsuna then asks what something is. Makoto replies that it is a BOORUPEN, or a ballpoint pen. Setsuna says thank you, and then Makoto asks if it is an e (remember, pronounced EH not ee), or a picture. Setsuna replies, "No, is is not a picture, it is a map." Chizu means "map". Makoto says thank you and then asks, "Is that your paper?" Paper is kami. Setsuna replies, "Yes, it's mine." Makoto then says "See you later" and Setsuna replies. There are also some more vocabulary you should know. Hako means "box" while isu means "chair". Kokuban means blackboard and kyoushitsu means classroom. Lastly, NOOTO means "notebook". Now it is easy to ask for classroom objects or even just everyday objects.
Vocabulary Review
じゃないです Janai desu- is not/are not 机 Tsukue- desk ボールペン BOORUPEN- ballpoint pen 絵 E- picture 地図 Chizu- map 紙 Kami- paper 箱 Hako- box 椅子 Isu- chair 黒板 Kokuban- blackboard 教室 Kyoushitsu- classroom ノート NOOTO- notebookLESSON 15- This, That, Which
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There are four different pronouns (with adjective forms) that mean this, that, that over there, and which. The first is kore, which means this. You use kore alone as a noun, while you use its adjective form, kono, with another noun. You use kore when you are referring to something near yourself. For example, if you wanted to say "This is a dog", you would say Kore wa inu desu, while if you wanted to say "This dog's name is Buddy", you would say Kono inu no namae wa BUDDI desu. The next pronoun is sore, which means that. You use sore when referring to an object near the person you are talking to. The word sore is used alone as a noun while its adjective form, sono, must be used with another noun. To get the idea, we'll have a few examples: to say "That is not a classroom", you would say Sore wa kyoushitsu janai desu, while to say "That classroom is the teacher's", it would be Sono kyoushitsu wa sensei no desu . You already know part of the next pronoun are, which has the adjective form ano (used in previous lessons). Are means "that over there" and is used to refer to an object that isn't near you or the person you are conversing with. If you were to say "That over there is a map" it would be Are wa chizu desu while to ask "Who is that person over there?", it would be Ano hito wa dare desu ka. The last pronoun is dore which means "which", not to be confused with dare, which is "who". While dore stands alone as a noun, dono is the adjective form you would use with another noun. For example, to ask "Which one is it?", you would say Dore desu ka, while to ask "Which dog is it?", you would say Dono inu desu ka. Let's have a sample conversation between Taisuke and Kazuhiro. Taisuke: Konnichi wa, Kazu san. Kazuhiro: Konnichi wa, Tai san. Taisuke: Ogenki desu ka. Kazuhiro: Okage sama de, genki desu. Anata wa. Taisuke: Genki janai desu. Sore wa manga desu ka. Kazuhiro: Iie, kore wa zasshi desu. Ano seito no namae wa nan desu ka. Taisuke: Ano seito no namae wa Daniko desu. Kazuhiro: Doumo. Ja mata, Tai san. Taisuke: Ja mata. In this conversation, Taisuke and Kazuhiro address each other with informal nicknames. Kazuhiro says he is fine, while Taisuke replies he is not fine. Taisuke then asks if that is a magazine, or zasshi. Kazuhiro replies, "No, that is a comic book. ( Manga means comic book) What is that student over there's name?" Taisuke replies the
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student's name is Daniko. Kazuhiro thanks him and says "See you later", Taisuke saying the same. While we're on the topic of magazines and such, the word for newspaper is shinbun.
Vocabulary Review
これ/この Kore/kono- this それ/その Sore/sono- that あれ/あの Are/ano- that over there どれ/どの Dore/Dono- which 雑誌 Zasshi- magazine 漫画 Manga- comic book 新聞 Shinbun- newspaper LESSON 16- Please stand When giving commands, it is always polite to say please. Please is kudasai. You always attach kudasai to the end of a sentence in order to say it politely. In order to give a simple command, add a verb before it. You will learn several new verbs in this lesson that you can attach kudasai onto in order to give commands. The first one is tatte kudasai, which means "please stand" and the opposite suwatte kudasai, which means "please sit". Next we have "please listen", which is kiite kudasai, and "please look", which is mite kudasai. The next two are yonde kudasai or "please read", and "please write" is kaite kudasai. Kite kudasai (not to be confused with kiite) means "please come". Shimete kudasai means "please close" while akete kudasai means "please open". The next one is a bit confusing. It is itte kudasai. Itte kudasai can mean either "please go" or "please say", depending on the particle before it. If it has the particle o written before it, it means "please say" but if it has the ni particle, it means "please go". You did not learn the o and ni particles yet, but you will soon, so just re member that for future reference. Please note that you cannot use kudasai alone to say please; it only works with a verb. To say please, you would say onegai shimasu, but that will be covered more later.
Vocabulary Review
立ってください Tatte kudasai- please stand 座ってください Suwatte kudasai- please sit 聞いてください Kiite kudasai- please listen 見てください Mite kudasai- please look 呼んでください Yonde kudasai- please read 書いてください Kaite kudasai- please write
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来てください Kite kudasai- please come 閉めてください Shimete kudasai- please close 明けてください Akete kudasai- please open 行ってください Itte kudasai- please go/please say 下さい Kudasai- (when attached to verb) please お願いします Onegai shimasu- please LESSON 17- Please give me this You have already learned the four pronouns kore, sore, are, and dore, and you have also learned various commands with kudasai on the end. Now we will learn one more command. To say "Please give me this", you would say Kore o kudasai. The particle o identifies the direct object. You may replace kore with any pronoun or noun of your choice to ask for something. Be aware, th ough, that o kudasai cannot be used alone; it would make no sense. You need a direct object in order to use that phrase. You can also use the o particle with other commands. For example, if you wanted to say "Open the door", it would be DOA o akete kudasai. Other examples are Namae o kaite kudasai (Please write your name), Hon o yonde kudasai (Please read the book), and Hako o shimete kudasai (Please close the box), just to say a few. Try out several different variations of these to get different commands.
Vocabulary Review
を O- direct object particle LESSON 18- School Life In Japan, school is in session five and a half days a week. (Five during the week, only in the morning on Saturdays) School begins at around 8:30 AM and goes until 3:30 PM or 4:00 PM. After school it is mandatory to join a compulsory club activity, like: ikebana, the art of flowering arranging; shodou, calligraphy; and martial arts like juudou, kendou, and karate. Schools are very formal and have to follow a government framework. They only have formal testing twice a term. The average class has about forty-five students in it. Since there are so many, there is little time for individual attention during class, so some teachers spend time after school counseling and coaching students. Also, through a senpai-kouhai system (senpai meaning an older student and kouhai being the younger), older students can help younger students with their studies. The senpai the kouhai meet usually become their lifelong friends and they keep contact throughout
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their lives. Classmates, called doukyuusei, are also close. Schools hold many class reunions throughout the rest of the students' lives.
Vocabulary Review
生け花 Ikebana- flower arranging 衝動 Shodou- calligraphy 柔道,剣道,空手 Juudou, kendou, karate- martial arts 先輩 Senpai- older student 後輩 Kouhai- younger student 同級生 Doukyuusei- classmatesLESSON 19- I study There is a common verb that means "do" called shimasu. Just like desu, it can mean various things: "I study", "The y study", "We study", "He studies", etc etc. The shi part of the verb, which means "do" literally, is called the stem. The second part, masu, which is the future or habitual tense, is the tense of the verb. In order to say you "do" something, you would put in what you do, add the direct object particle and add shimasu. For example, if I wanted to say "I do judo", you would say Juudou o shimasu. In addition, if you want to ask, "What are you doing?" you would replace the object with nani (a form of "what") and add ka to the end, making it Nani o shimasu ka. To say "I study", you would say benkyou shimasu. Literally it would mean "do study", but it is translated just as study. Renshuu shimasu is the verb for "practice". Another handy verb is hanashimasu, which means "to speak" when referring to languages. Something else to keep in mind is a polite way to tell someone they are wrong: chigaimasu. Let's have a sample conversation between Taisho and Chieko. Chieko: Konnichi wa, Taisho san. Nani o shimasu ka. Taisho: Aa, Chieko san, konnichi wa. Benkyou shimasu. Chieko: Sou desu ka. Taisho: Hai, sou desu. Anata wa nani o shimasu ka. Chieko: Renshuu shimasu. Taisho: Sou desu ka. Ja mata, Chieko san. In this simple coversation, after the greetings, Chieko asks "What are you doing?" Taisho replies he is studying. Chieko then says Sou desu ka, which is like saying "Is that so?" or "Really?" Taisho repl ies Hai, sou desu, which is like saying "Yes, I am" or "Yes, that is so". Taisho then asks what she is doing. Chieko replies that she is practicing. Taisho says, "Really? See you later." Now let's work with hanashimasu. If you speak more than one language, you can use ya as and. So therefore, if you wanted to say "I speak French, English, German, Chinese, and Japanese", you would say FURANSUgo ya eigo ya DOITSUgo ya chuugokugo ya nihongo o hanashimasu. To ask what language they speak, reaplace before the
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o, nanigo. Nanigo translates to "What language". To ask someone what language they speak, you would say Nanigo o hanashimasu ka. You can also use nanigo to ask what languages a student may study in school. The question for that would be Nanigo o benkyou shimasu, or "What language do you study?" A good response to that would be SUPEINgo ya eigo o benkyou shimasu, or "I study Spanish and English". Let's use these in a conversation between Kimi and Aniki. Kimi: Aniki san, konnichi wa. Aniki: Konnichi wa, Kimi san. Kimi: Nanigo o hanashimasu ka. Aniki: Nihongo ya eigo ya kankokugo o hanashimasu. Kimi: Sou desu ka. Aniki: Hai, sou desu. Anata wa. Kimi: Nihongo ya chuugokugo o hanashimasu. Aniki: Sou desu ka. Nanigo o benkyou shimasu ka. Kimi: Eigo o benkyou shimasu. Aniki: Sou desu ka. Kimi: Sou desu. In this conversation, Kimi asked Aniki "What language do you speak?" Aniki replies that he speaks Japanese, English, and Korean. Kimi says "Really?" and Aniki replies, "Yes, I do. What about you?" Kimi replies that she knows Japanese and Chinese. Aniki then says, "Really? What language do you study?" Kimi replies, "I study English." Aniki says "Really?" and Kimi replies, "Really."
Vocabulary Review
します Shimasu- do 勉強します Benkyou shimasu- study 練習します Renshuu shimasu- practice 話します Hanashimasu- speak 違います Chigaimasu- you're wrong (polite) そうですか Sou desu ka- Really? / Is that so? そうです Sou desu- That is so / Yes, I do / Really 何語 Nanigo- what language や Ya- and (in a list) LESSON 20- I'm going to practice piano In the previous lessons, you learned how to say that you study and practice. Now we're going to find out how to say what you are studying and practicing. Practicing is used when you are talking abou t an instrument of some sort and can be used when talking about sports as well. A few useful instruments to know, all written in Japlish, are PIANO (piano), GITAA (guitar), BAIORIN (violin), and FURUUTO
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(flute). With studying, here are the basic subjects: kagaku (science), chiri (geography), ongaku (music), rekishi (history), shakai (social studies), suugaku (math), and taiiku (physical education). You may also use a language as an area of study if you are indeed studying that language. Let's use a sample conversation between Yuu and Gara about what they study and practice. Gara: Konnichi wa, Yuu kun. Yuu: Konnichi wa, Gara kun. Nani o shimasu ka. Gara: Benkyou shimasu. Yuu: Nani o benkyou shimasu ka. Gara: Rekishi ya suugaku ya kagaku o benkyou shimasu. Yuu: Sou desu ka. Gara: Hai. Nani o shimasu ka. Yuu: Renshuu shimasu. Gara: Nani o renshuu shimasu ka. Yuu: GITAA to PIANO o renshuu shimasu. Gara: Sou desu ka. Ja mata. Yuu: Ja mata, Gara kun. I introduced two new little words in this conversation. The suffix kun is similar to san, except it is used only by males and among friends. It is informal. Another one is to, which is similar to ya, as it means "and". The difference is that ya is an "and" used when the list can go on, but you end it. For example, if someone says Chiri ya shakai o benkyoo shimasu, they are really saying, "I study geography and shakai among other things." To is used when it is a definite list with nothing else that could be with it. For example, if someone said Chiri to shakai o benkyou shimasu, it is almost like saying, "I only study geography and social studies." Basically, in the conversation, after saying hello, Yuu asks Gara what he is doing. Gara replies he is studying so Yuu inquires what he is studying. Gara replies that he studies history, m ath, and science among other things. Gara asks in return what Yuu is doing and Yuu replies that he is practicing. When asked what he was practicing, he replied "I am practicing the piano and guitar".
Vocabulary Review
ピアノ PIANO- piano ギター GITAA- guitar バイオリン BAIORIN- violin フルート FURUUTO- flute 科学 Kagaku- science 地理 Chiri- geography
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音楽 Ongaku- music 歴史 Rekishi- history 社会 Shakai- social studies 数学 Suugaku- math 体育 Taiiku- physical education くん Kun- pal/friend, used by males only と To- "and" in a definite list LESSON 21- Do you play tennis? When speaking about sports, you never say you "play" a sport. Instead of using the verb "play", they use the verb "do", or shimasu. So therefore, if you wanted to ask "Do you play tenni s?", you would ask TENISU o shimasu ka, with TENISU meaning "tennis". To say sports, simply say SUPOOTSU. Some other sports are BAREEBOORU (volleyball), FUTTOBOORU (football), SAKKAA (soccer), and BASUKETTOBOORU (basketball). Let's have another small conversation. Mana: Konnichi wa. Nani o shimasu ka. Tetsu: Konnichi wa. BASUKETTOBOORU to SAKKAA o shimasu. SAKKA o shimasu ka. Mana: Iie. BAREEBOORU o shimasu. Tetsu: Sou desu ka. Mana: Sou desu. In this very simple conversation. Mana asks what Testu does. Tetsu replies that he does basketball and soccer. He then asks, "Do you play soccer?" Mana replies no, he plays volleyball. Please note that music and sports are taken too serious to only say you "play" them. Therefore, it is more proper to say you "do" them.
Vocabulary Review
テニス TENISU- tennis スポーツ SUPOOTSU- sports バレーボール BAREEBOORU- volleyball フットボール FUTTOBOORU- football サッカー SAKKAA- soccer バスケットボール BASUKETTOBOORU- basketball LESSON 22- What do you like? A new particle you will partly learn about now is ga. Ga is used with emotions and isused as a subject marker, similar to wa, except you can have a wa and a ga in the same sentence. In order to say I like . .. let's say, apples, you would say Ringo ga suki desu, with suki desu
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being like. To say you hate, replace suki desu with kirai desu, and to merely say dislike, you would say suki janai desu or suki dewa arimasen. Let's have a sample conversation between Jun and Andi. Jun: Konban wa, Andi kun. Andi: Konban wa, Jun kun. Ogenki desu ka. Jun: Okage sama de, genki desu. Anata wa. Andi: Genki desu. Nani ga suki desu ka. Jun: Neko ga suki desu. Andi: Sou desu ka. Inu ga suki desu. Neko ga kirai desu. Jun: Neko ga kirai desu ka. Inu ga suki janai desu. In this conversation, Andi asks Jun what he likes. Jun replies that he likes cats. Andi then says, "Really? I like dogs. I hate cats." Jun then replies, "Do you hate cats? I dislike dogs."
Vocabulary Review
...が好きです ... ga suki desu- I like... ...が嫌いです ... ga kirai desu- I hate... ...が好きじゃないです/...が好きではありません ... ga suki janai desu/ga suki dewa arimasen- I dislike... LESSON 23- I don't play basketball In Lesson 19, you learned that the tense masu is the future or habitual tense. The next tense, masen, is the negative of masu. Since shimasu is "to do", then shimasen would be "will not do". You can use that with the three other verbs you learned with this two: renshuu shimasen (won't practice), benkyou shimasen (won't study), and hanashimasen (don't speak). Now let's introduce two more verbs: to read and to listen. To listen is kikimasu, while won't listen is kikimasen. To read is yomimasu and won't read is yomimasen. Now that you know these, you can say even more things. For example, to say "I will read a newspaper", you would say Shinbun o yomimasu. If you wanted to say "I will not read the magazine", you would say Zasshi o yomimasen. Some new words to learn in relation to listening are a few Japlish words: REKOODO, which means records but isn't used too often anymore; RAJIO, which means radio; and KASETTO TEEPU, which means cassette tape. So for example, if you wanted to say, "I will not listen to records. I will listen to cassette tapes," you would say REKOODO o kikimasen. KASETTO TEEPU o kikimasu. Let's have a sample dialogue between two people. We'll use two
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friends: Tetsu and Kenichi. Tetsu: Kenichi kun, ohayou. Kenichi: Ohayou, Tetsu kun. Nani o kikimasu ka. Tetsu: RAJIO o kikimasu. Kenichi: Sou desu ka. Watashi wa RAJIO o k ikimasen. Tetsu: Sou desu ka. Nani o kikumasu ka. Kenichi: REKOODO o kikimasu. Tetsu: Aa. Hon o yomimasu ka. Kenichi: Hai, anata wa hon o yomimasen ka. Tetsu: Iie, shimasen. Kenichi: Sou desu ka. Tetsu: Hai, sou desu. Ja mata. Kenichi: Ja mata, Tetsu kun. In this conversation, after exchanging greetings. Kenichi asks Tetsu what he listens to. Tetsu replies that he listen to the radio. Kenichi says, "Really? I don't listen to the radio." Tetsu then askes, "Really? What do you listen to?" Kenichi replies that he listens to records. Tetsu then asks if he reads books. Tetsu replies, "No, I don't." The negative masen can be used with any verb that ends in a masu tense.
Vocabulary Review
しません Shimasen- don't do 練習しません Renshuu shimasen- don't practice 勉強しません Benkyou shimasen- don't study 話しません Hanashimasen- don't speak 聞きます Kikimasu- listen 聞きません Kikimasen- don't listen 読みます Yomimasu- read 読みません Yomimasen- don't read レコード REKOODO- records カセットテープ KASETTO TEEPU- cassette tape ラジオ RAJIO- radio LESSON 24- What number is it? The Japanese number system is very easy to master once you know the basic ten numbers. The word for number is ban, so therefore, to say "what number", the word would be nanban. If you wanted to ask "What number is it?" you would say Nanban desu ka. Let's look at the numbers: 例/ゼロ rei/ZERO- one 一 ichi- 1 二 ni- 2
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三 san- 3 四 yon/shi- 4 五 go- 5 六 roku- 6 七 nana/shichi- 7 八 hachi- 8 九 kyuu/ku- 9 十 juu- 10 十一 juuichi- 11 十二 juuni- 12 十三 juusan- 13 十四 juuyon- 14 十五 juugo- 15 十六 juuroku- 16 十七 juunana- 17 十八 juuhachi- 18 十九 juukyuu/juuku- 19 二十 nijuu- 20 二十一 nijuuichi- 21 三十 sanjuu- 30 四十 yonjuu- 40 五十 gojuu- 50 百 hyaku- 100 百一 hyakuichi- 101 百十一 hyakujuuichi- 111 百二十 hyuakunijuu- 120 百二十一 hyakunijuuichi- 121 Of course, I didn't completely giving you all the numbers. The Japanese number system follows a pattern. Once you get to nijuuichi, you merely replace the ichi with the other remaining numbers until you get to nijuukyuu, when you switch to sanjuu. It doesn't take long to master this pattern. You may wonder about the numbers with two names. Shi (4) is associated with death, so people prefer saying yon to shi. For 7, you would use shichi when referring to the time and the month of July. Nana is used with a counter, which will be explained later. Kyuu and ku (9) are used in different situations, but you will learn how to distinguish them later. Japanese addition is a simple pattern. The word for "added to" is tasu. So if you were doing an equation, such as "3 + 7 = 10", you would say San tasu nana wa juu desu, which would directly translate to "3 added to 7 is 10". Try doing some simple math exercises to help with your memorization of the numbers.
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Vocabulary Review
the numbers- see above 何番 Nanban- what number 足す Tasu- added to LESSON 25- What is your telephone number? The Japanese word for telephone number is denwa bangou. To ask someone for their telephone number, you would say Anata no denwa bangou wa nan desu ka. The way to say phone number is very simple. Say someone's phone number was 221-4894. You would say it Ni ni ichi no yon hachi kyuu yon. The no is used as the dash, for it is saying that the last four digits belong to that area. Let's have a conversation between a male and a female who had just met each other. Let's call them Michiru and Yaten. Michiru: Anata no denwa bangou wa nan desu ka. Yaten: Watashi no denwa bangou wa san san kyuu no ichi go roku roku. Anata wa. Michiru: Kyuu ichi nana no nana roku san ni. Yaten: Doumo. Michiru: Dou itashimashite. Ja mata. Yaten: Ja mata, Michiru san. In this dialogue, Michiru asks Yaten for his phone number. Yaten replies that his phone number is 339 -1566. He then asks for hers as well. She replies that hers is 917-7632. Yaten replies "Thank you" and she replies Dou itashimashite, which means "Don't mention it". It is similar to the way we say you're welcome. Please note that the difference between Anata no denwa bangou and just saying Denwa bangou is that the first means your telephone number and the second means the telelphone number.
Vocabulary Review
電話番号 Denwa bangou- telephone number どういたしまして Dou itashimashite- Don't mention it LESSON 26- What day is it? The Japanese calender has days of the week, just as the Roman calender does. To ask what day is it, you would ask Nanyoubi desu ka, with nanyoubi meaning "what day". The days of the week may seem hard to remember at first but they are not as hard as they seem. Monday, the first day of the week, is getsuyoubi. It is called "moon day", since getsu means moon. Tuesday, the second day, is kayoubi,
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which means "fire day". Ka is a word for fire. Wednesday, the third, is called suiyoubi and is the "water day", for sui is a word for water. Mokuyoubi is Thursday, the fourth day, is called "wood day", for moku is a word for wood. The fifth day, kinyoubi, is Friday, and is called the "metal day" since kin also means metal. The sixth day, doyoubi, is Saturday and means "earth day", since do means "earth". The last and seventh day, nichiyoubi, is Sunday and it actually means "sun day", for nichi means sun. Now we will introduce a new particle. Ni is a particle meaning "to" or "at". It is always used after the wa particle but before the o particle. You can now use these with the days of the week. For example, if you wanted to say "Joe practices his violin on Wednesday", you would say JO san wa suiyoobi ni BAIORIN o renshuu shimasu . If you remember that sentence pattern, then sentences will be easier to form. Let us do another sample dialogue. Teru and Jiro are friends. Teru: Ohayou, Jiro kun. Jiro: Aa, Teru kun, ohayou. Nanyoubi desu ka. Teru: Kinyoubi desu. Jiro: Sou desu ka. Watashi wa kinyoubi ni watashi no GITAA o renshuu shimasu. Teru: Watashi wa doyoubi ni GITAA o renshuu shimasu. Jiro: Sou desu ka. Ja mata, Teru kun. Teru: Hai. Ja mata. In this conversation, Jiro asks Teru what day it is. Teru replies that it is Friday. Jiro then says, "Really? I practice my guitar on Friday." Teru says as well, "I practice the guitar on Saturday." Say if you were in school and wanted to say "Wednesday there is math", you could say Suiyoobi suugaku desu. You can use this with other things as well.
Vocabulary Review
何曜日 Nanyoubi- what day 月曜日 Getsuyoubi- Monday 火曜日 Kayoubi- Tuesday 水曜日 Suiyoubi- Wednesday 木曜日 Mokuyoubi- Thursday 金曜日 Kinyoubi- Friday 土曜日 Doyoubi- Saturday 日曜日 Nichiyoubi- Sunday に Ni- particle meaning "to/at" LESSON 27- General Time Words and Times
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The word for today is kyou. Since kyou is a time word, you would think you would use it with the ni particle. Actually, since kyou is a general time word, it does not need a ni at all. You would use it in the same place, though, just minus the particle. For example, if you wanted to say "Today I will study German", you would say Watashi wa kyou DOITSUgo o benkyou shimasu . Some other general time words are ashita (tomorrow), itsumo (always), konshuu (this week), mainichi (everyday), raishuu (next week), and maishuu (every week). If you wanted to ask "When will you play tennis?" you would ask Itsu TENISU o shimasu ka, for itsu means "when". The phrase Ima nanji desu ka means "What time is it now?". Ima means "now" and is another general time word. Time is very easy to learn. You basically take the number and add ji to the end of it. The only exceptions are kuji (9 'o clock) and yoji (4 'o clock). Also, remember that since there are two forms of seven, you use shichi with time, making it shichiji. Also, han means half hour, and is used after the ji. You always use a ni with times because they are specific time words. Now that you know two different time words and can use them at the same time, now you will learn how to combine them. For example, if you wanted to say "I study math everyday at 4:30", you would say Mainichi no yojihan ni suugaku o benkyou shimasu . The no is used to combine time words, from the most general time word to the most specific. Let's have a sample conversation between Yusuke and Hea. Hea: Yusu san, konnichi wa. Yusuke: Aa, konnichi wa, Hea san. Ogenki desu ka. Hea: Genki desu, anata wa. Yusuke: Genki desu. Kyou nani o shimasu ka. Hea: Kyou nihongo o benkyou shimasu. Yusuke: Kyou eigo o benkyou shimasen ka. Hea: Iie, ashita eigo o benkyou shimasu. Yusuke: Sou desu ka. Hea: Ee. Ima nanji desu ka. Yusuke: Ima kujihan desu. Hea: Maishuu no doyoubi no kujihan ni SUPOOTSU o shimasu. Yusuke: Kyou kinyoubi desu. Hea: Ima bangohan no jikan desu. Yusuke: Sou desu ka. Ja mata, Hea san. Hea: Ja mata. In this conversation, after exchanging greetings, Yusuke asks Hea "What are you doing today?" Hea replies she is studying Japanese
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today. Yusuke then asks, "Aren't you going to study English today?" Hea replies, "No, tomorrow I will study English." Yusuke says "Really?" and Hea replies Ee, which is an informal way of saying "Yes" for girls, instead of hai. Hea then asks, "What time is it now?" Yusuke replies that it is 9:30. Hea says "Every Saturday at 9:30 I play sports". Yusuke replies, "Today is Friday." Then Hea says "Now it is dinner time." (Bangohan no jikan is dinner time) Then they say their good -bye's and leave.
Vocabulary Review
今日 Kyou- today 明日 Ashita- tomorrow いつも Itsumo- always 今週 Konshuu- this week 毎日 Mainichi- everyday 来週 Raishuu- next week 毎週 Maishuu- every week いつ Itsu- when 今 Ima- now 時 -ji- (number) 'o clock 四時 Yoji- 4 'o clock 九時 Kuji- 9 'o clock 半 Han- half hour ええ Ee- informal yes for girls 晩御飯の時間 Bangohan no jikan- dinner time LESSON 28- What time will you go? In the previous lessons, you learned that the particle ni is used when using a time word. You also learned how to combine several time words together with no. Ni can also be used when talking about a place, though you would not attach it to a time word with no. This means there can be two nis in a sentence: one for the time and one for the place. For example, let's look at a sentence: Raishuu no doyoubi no hachiji ni mise ni ikimasu. This sentence says "I will go to the shop next Saturday at 8 'o clock." Please notice the new verb at the end: ikimasu. Ikimasu means "to go". Also, mise is the place, which means shop. The place always goes after the time. Let's learn some other places that would be useful. You already know that your own home is uchi but to talk about someone else's home, you would use ie. Eki means station and gakkou means school. If you wanted to ask "Where are you going?" you would say Doko ni ikimasu ka, since you already know from a previous lesson that doko
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means where. Since you learned one verb, ikimasu, there are a couple others you should learn. Kimasu means "to come" and kaerimasu means "to return home". The next verb, mimasu, means to look. Remember, since looking is an action, whatever you are looking at should b e marked with o, the direct object marker, not ni. Let's practice with a dialogue between Hisato and Yu. Hisato: Konnichi wa, Yu kun. Yu: Konnichi wa, Hisa kun. Ashita doko ni ikimasu ka. Hisato: Ashita Kyohei kun no ie ni ikimasu. Anata wa. Yu: Eki ni ikimasu. Kinyoobi ni gakkou ni kite kudasai. Hisato: Jikan ga arimasen. Shichiji ni kaerimasu. Yu: Sou desu ka. Ja mata, Hisa kun. In this conversation, Yu asks Hisato "Where are you going tomorrow?" Hisato replies he is going to Kyohei's house and asks "You? " Yu replies he is going to the station. He then says "Please come to school on Friday". Hisato replies Jikan ga arimasen, which means "I don't have time". (Alternatively, you can say Jikan ga arimasu for "I have time") He says he must return home at 7 'o clock. Yu says, "Really? See you later, Hisa." Do not get the time words and places mixed up. For now, we can only say where we will go. Later on you will learn de, which will show where you do something. For example, the ni would be used in a sentence like "I am going to school" while de would be used saying "I did homework at school". You do not have to worry about de yet, though.
Vocabulary Review
行きます Ikimasu- go 来ます Kimasu- come 帰ります Kaerimasu- return home 見ます Mimasu- look/see/watch 店 Mise- shop 家 Ie- someone else's house 駅 Eki- station 学校 Gakkou- school 何処 Doko- where 時間があります/ありません Jikan ga arimasu/arimasen- I do/don't have time LESSON 29- Verb Tenses for "Masu" Ending So far, in all the verbs you have learned, the ending was either masu for present/simple future or masen for present/simple future negative.
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Japanese verbs have six tenses in all: present/simple future, present/simple future negative, past, past negative, "Let's", and "Shall". To make a verb past tense, simply change the masu ending to mashita. Simple, no? To make the verb past negative, keep the masen at the end of the present negative tense and simply add deshita to the end, making the whole ending masen deshita. Now, the "Let's" and "Shall" are a little awkward, since we do not have this in English. To say something like "Let's go" you would take the verb ikimasu (go) and change the masu to mashou. Do this with any verb to change it to "Let's ___". "Shall we __?" is almost like the mashou, except you add ka to the end of mashou to make it a question. The only awkward verb we have learned so far that doesn't go by this pattern is desu. We know the present negative is dewa arimasen or janai desu. The past is deshita while the past negative is dewa arimasen deshita. There is no "Let's" or "Shall" form of desu. No other verb follows the pattern of desu so you'll have to learn it seperately. Let's take a couple of verbs that we've learned so far and put them in their tenses: Shi (to do)- shimasu (do), shimasen (do not do), shimashita (did), shimasen deshita (did not do), shimashou (let's do), shimashou ka (shall we do) Hana (to speak)- hanashimasu (speak), hanashimasen (do not speak), hanashimashita (spoke), hanashimasen deshita (did not speak), hanashimashou (let's speak), hanashimashou ka (shall we speak) Renshuu (to practice)- renshuu shimasu (practice), renshuu shimasen (do not practice), renshuu shimashita (practiced), renshuu shimasen deshita (did not practice), renshuu shimashou (let's practice), renshuu shimashou ka (shall we practice) Mi (to look)- mimasu (look), mimasen (do not look), mimashita (looked), mimasen deshita (did not look), mimashou (let's look), mimashou ka (shall we look) Verb tenses are easy one you master their concept.
Vocabulary Review
-ました -mashita- past tense -ませんでした -masen deshita- past negative tense -ましょう -mashou- "let's" tense -ましょうか -mashou ka- "shall" tense -でした deshita- was ではありませんでした dewa arimasen deshita- was not
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LESSON 30- What did you do yesterday? Now that you can speak in past tense, you can start talking about wha t you did in the past. Kinou means "yesterday" and is a general time word, along with senshuu, which means "last week". Sakuban means "last night", even though it is more common to say kinou no yoru or "yesterday's night". Yoru means "in the evening" and alternatively, you can say asa, which means "in the morning". To say, "What did you do yesterday?" you would say Kinou nani o shimashita ka. Let's learn a few more nouns before we start getting into more dialogues. First, a couple of Japlish: BIDEO GEEMU means video games, HAIKINGU means hiking, HONORURU means Honolulu, ROSANZERUSU means Los Angeles, NYUUYOOKU means New York, PIKUNIKKU means picnic, PUURU means swimming pool, PAATII means party, TEREBI means television, and DANSU means dance. (Phew, that was long!) Now back to more Japanese-like words. Eiga means movies, kouen means park, machi means town, toshokan means library, umi means the seaside/sea/beach, shukudai means homework, and yakyuu means baseball. Since baseball is the national sport of Japan, it was given a Japanese name instead of a Japlish one. Let's get into a dialogue now between Kenichi and Suoh. Kenichi: Konban wa, Suo kun. Suo: Konban wa, Ken kun. Kenichi: Kinou nani o shimashita ka. Suo: Kinou shukudai o shimashita. Kenichi: Senshuu shukudai o shimashita ka. Suo: Iie, shimasen deshita. Kenichi: Raishuu no nichiyoubi ni umi ni ikimashou. Suoh: Hai, ikimashou. In this dialogue, Kenichi asks Suoh what he did yesterday. Suoh replies he was doing homework. Kenichi asks "Did you do your homework last week?" Suoh replies, "No, I didn't." Kenichi then says, "Next Sunday, let's go to the beach." Suoh says, "Yes, let's go."
Vocabulary Review
昨日 Kinou- yesterday 先週 Senshuu- last week
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昨晩 Sakuban- last night 夜 Yoru- in the evening 朝 Asa- in the morning ビデオゲーム BIDEO GEEMU- video games ハイキング HAIKINGU- hiking ホノルル HONORURU- Honolulu ロセンゼルス ROSANZERUSU- Los Angeles ニューヨーク NYUUYOOKU- New York ピクニック PIKUNIKKU- picnic プール PUURU- swimming pool パーティー PAATII- party ダンス DANSU- dance テレビ TEREBI- television 映画 Eiga- movies 公園 Kouen- park 町 Machi- town 図書館 Toshokan- library 海 Umi- sea/seaside/beach 宿題 Shukudai- homework 野球 Yakyuu- baseball LESSON 31- Weather Weather is very important in Japanese culture. It is so important that when talking about the weather, they use the honorific o when saying it. The word for weather is otenki. Weather is an important topic to learn about, for in most Japanese conversations, comments about the weather will be mentioned. Their year also contains the four seasons: haru (spring), natsu (summer), aki (autumn), and fuyu (winter). During the summer, there may be a rainy season called tsuyu or baiu. In this lesson you will learn some of your first adjectives. All adjectives end with i, but adjective endings will be talked about in the next lesson. (Yes, adjectives have endings just like verbs) For now, we will just learn some basic adjectives about the weather. The word for hot is atsui. Warm is a slightly longer word: atatakai. Mushi atsui is humid, literally meaning "hot steam". Cold is samui, with cool being suzushii. To say good is merely ii while the opposite, bad, is warui. Two more helpful words are ame, which is rainy or rain (not really an adjective) and ne, which when used on the end of the sentence can be like "isn't it?". To use these words is very easy. You can either use it with a noun or use it with desu. For instance, to say "it is good weather", you would say Ii otenki desu, while to say "it is hot" you would say Atsui desu. Never use deshita or any other form of desu with only an adjective.
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It will be explained in the next lesson. Let's have a tiny sample conversation with Chiyo and Masako. Chiyo: Ohayou, Masa-chan. Ii otenki desu ne. Masako: Ohayou! Hai, ii otenki desu. Ashita ame desu. Chiyo: Sou desu ka. Ashita warui desu ne. Masako: Hai. In this small dialogue, Chiyo says, "Good morning, Masako! It is good weather, isn't it?" Masako replies, "Yes, it is good weather. Tomorrow it will rain." Chiyo replies, "Really? Tomorrow will be bad weather, won't it?" Masako merely replies, "Yes."
Vocabulary Review
お天気 Otenki- weather 春 Haru- spring 夏 Natsu- summer 秋 Aki- autumn 冬 Fuyu- winter 梅雨 Tsuyu/baiu- rainy season 厚い Atsui- hot 暖かい Atatakai- warm 蒸し暑い Mushi atsui- humid 寒い Samui- cold 涼しい Suzushii- cool 良い Ii- good 悪い Warui- bad 雨 Ame- rainy ね Ne- isn't it? LESSON 32- Adjective Endings Just like verbs, adjectives have their own ending. When adjectives stand alone without a noun to modify it, the verb is always desu. In order to change the tense, you must change the adjective's ending. In order to do so, merely drop the i at the end and add the proper ending. There are only four endings. If you keep the i, it is present/simple future tense. For example, Samui desu is "It is/will be cold". To change it to "It is not/will not be cold", drop the i of samui and add kunai, making it Samukunai desu. In order to say "It was cold", drop the i again and add katta this time, making it Samukatta desu. Lastly, to say "It was not cold", you would add kunakatta to the end, making it Samukunakatta desu. These may be a tongue twister at times, especially with adjectives like atatakai, which when chaged to past negative turns into atatakakunakatta desu. Such a mouthful to
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say "It was not warm", no? Before we get into a dialogue, let me point out that ii (good) is an exception. For present tense, such as "Today is good," you would keep it as ii and say Kyou wa ii desu. But, when you change it into any other tense, such as negative, past, or past negative, you must use the old Japanese word for good instead: yoi. You drop the i just like the other verbs and add the tenses. So a list of the good adjectives would be: ii (is good), yokunai (is not good), yokatta (was good), and yokunakatta (was not good). Let's have some practice. Let's call back Chiyo and Masako for more talk about the weather. Chiyo: Konban wa, Masa-chan. Masako: Konban wa, Chi-chan. Konban wa yokunai desu. Chiyo: Hai, warui desu. Senshuu no kayoubi wa suzu shikatta desu. Masako: Iie, suzushikunakatta desu! Atatakakatta desu. Chiyo: Aa, gomen ne. Here, Masako comments, "Tonight is not good." Chiyo replies, "Yes, it is bad. Last Tuesday it was cool." Masako corrects, "No, it wasn't cool. It was warm!" Chiyo then apologizes for her mistake.
Vocabulary Review
今晩 Konban- tonight -い -i- present/simple future tense -くない -kunai- present/simple future negative tense -かった -katta- past tense -くなかった -kunakatta- past negative tense 良い Yoi- old Japanese for good LESSON 33- It will probably be cold When talking about weather, you can replace desu with deshou to change the sentence to probably. For example, if you wanted to say "It will probably be humid", you would say Mushi atsui deshou. For now, though, deshou can only be used with weather. You will learn of other situations later. You can also change it to "Do you think it will be humid?" by saying Mushi atsui deshou ka. Another word to know is why. Why is naze. It can be said as Naze desu ka to formally ask why, but you can also just say Naze? in the same way you say Nani?. When asking why you did something, simply put naze in the beginning of the sentence. For example, when asking, "Why didn't you do your Japanese homework?" you would ask Naze anata no nihongo no shukudai o shimasen deshita ka.
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One more word you will learn is kara, which means because. Now, kara is pretty tricky. While we usually say "I will go home because I am cold", with the reason coming last, the reason always comes first in a Japanese sentence and is ended with kara. For example, if I were to say Watashi ga samui desu kara kaerimasu , I would be saying "Because I am cold, I will go home." The reason is always first and is always marked by kara, which is tough to learn at first. Let's have Chiyo and Masako have ano ther conversation. Chiyo: Konnichi wa, Masa-chan! Masako: Konnichi wa, Chi-chan. Naze kinou TENISU o shimasen deshita ka. Chiyo: Ame desu kara TENISU o shimasen deshita. Masako: Aa, sou desu ne. Ashita samui deshou ka. Chiyo: Iie, suzushii deshou. Here, Masako asks, "Why didn't you play tennis yesterday?" Chiyo replies, "Because it was raining, I did not play tennis." Masako replies Sou desu ne, which is like an informal way of saying sou desu ka. Masako then asks if she thinks it will be cold tomorrow. Chi yo replies it will probably be cool. Two more little words you might want to add to your vocabulary list are SHIKAGO, Japlish for Chicago, and BOSUTON, the Japlish for Boston.
Vocabulary Review
でしょう Deshou- probably なぜ Naze- why から Kara- because シカゴ SHIKAGO- Chicago ボストン BOSUTON- Boston LESSON 34- I'll meet Kyo The verb aimasu means "to meet". Of course, like most verbs you have learned, you will probably think first that you mark the object by o, right? Wrong. The person you are meeting is actually an indirect object, not a direct. Therefore, it is marked by a ni instead of an o. For example, if you want to say "I'll meet Kyo", you would say Kyo san ni aimasu. The verb aimasu gets the same verb endings as the rest of the masu verbs, but you just have to remember to use it with ni. Let's add some new words to our vocabulary. Snow is yuki and is not an adjective-- it is used like ame. Kiri is fog, shimo is frost, kaze is wind, and kaminari is thunder. The only new adjective is akarui,
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which is bright. Since this topic is fairly easy, a sample conversation is not needed.
Vocabulary Review
会いますAimasu- to meet 雪Yuki- snow 霧Kiri- fog 霜Shimo- frost 風Kaze- wind 雷Kaminari- thunder 明るいAkarui- bright LESSON 35- How old are you? Sai is the counter for age. To ask "How old are you?", you would ask Nansai desu ka, nansai literally meaning "how many years". A more formal way to ask this is Oikutsu desu ka, but this is very formal and rarely in modern Japan. There are a few modifications in the first ten numbers, so please note them for they won't change as you get into the higher numbers. The are some of the ages between one and twenty-two are: 一歳 Issai- one year old 二歳 Nisai- two years old 三歳 Sansai- three years old 四歳 Yonsai- four years old 五歳 Gosai- five years old 六歳 Rokusai- six years old 七歳 Nanasai- seven years old 八歳 Hassai- eight years old 九歳 Kyuusai- nine years old 十歳 Jussai- ten years old 十一歳 Juuissai- eleven years old 十二歳 Juunisai- twelve years old 十三歳 Juusansai- thirteen years old 十八歳 Juuhassai- eighteen years old 二十歳 Hatachi- twenty years old 二十一歳 Nijuuissai- twenty-one years old 二十二歳 Nijuunisai- twenty-two years old Hatachi is the only exception, since the age of twenty is the age you officially become an adult in Japan. Just use this with desu to make a complete sentence. The word tomodachi means friend. In order to say "My friend Yumiko," you would say Watashi no tomodachi no Yumiko chan. Normally you would not expect this, but that is the pattern. The suffix
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-chan is used between close girl friends. Also, when introducing your tomodachi, you can be very formal and use the word kochira, which is "this is". So if you wanted to say "This is my friend Yumiko", you would say Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi no Yumiko chan desu. Let's try having a small sample conversation between Toshiki and Kito, and Toshiki's friend Amane. Toshiki: Kito chan, konban wa. Ogenki desu ka. Kito: Aa, Toshi kun, konban wa! Genki desu, anata wa. Toshiki: Genki desu. Kochira wa watashi no tomodachi no Amane kun desu. Amane: Konban wa, Kito san. Kito: Konban wa! Watashi wa Kito desu. Hajimemashite douzo yoroshiku. Amane: Hajimemashite. Nansai desu ka. Kito: Juunanasai desu. Amane san wa. Amane: Nijuuyonsai desu. In this dialogue, after they greet each other, Toshiki says, "This is my friend Amane." Amane says good evening and Kito repl ied, "Good evening! I'm Kito. It's nice to meet you." Amane replies, "It's nice to meet you. How old are you?" Kito replies that she is 17 and asks for his age in return. He replies that he is 24.
Vocabulary Review
-歳 -sai- age counter 何歳 Nansai- what age お幾つですか Oikutsu desu ka- formal way of asking a person's age 一歳 Issai- one year old 二歳 Nisai- two years old 三歳 Sansai- three years old 四歳 Yonsai- four years old 五歳 Gosai- five years old 六歳 Rokusai- six years old 七歳 Nanasai- seven years old 八歳 Hassai- eight years old 九歳 Kyuusai- nine years old 十歳 Jussai- ten years old 十一歳 Juuissai- eleven years old 十二歳 Juunisai- twelve years old 十三歳 Juusansai- thirteen years old 十八歳 Juuhassai- eighteen years old 二十歳 Hatachi- twenty years old 二十一歳 Nijuuissai- twenty-one years old 二十二歳 Nijuunisai- twenty-two years old
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友達 Tomodachi- friend こちら Kochira- This is.. -ちゃん -chan- suffix used with girl friends
LESSON 36- Are you a new student? The word for "new" is atarashii. This word is used as a typical adjective (so remember your adjective endings!) and can be used with basically any noun, just as we use it in English. One thing you can use it for is students. As you recall, the word for student or pupil is seito. If you want to be more specific, you could specify what year in school they are in: ichinensei (first year student), ninensei (second year student), sannensei (third year student), yonnensei (fourth year student), and et cetera. But, they don't not count their grades 1 - 12. They count it was "fifth year elementary student" or "second year junior high school student" or "third year high school student". Therefore, you must recall how to say the three levels of school: shougakkou (elementary), chuugakkou (middle school), and koutougakkou (high school). To say something like "first year high school student", you would say kootoogakkoo no ichinensei Let's use these little tidbits in a conversation between Toshi and Hisaki. Toshi: Ohayou. Onamae wa. Hisaki: Boku wa Hisaki desu. Anata wa. Toshi: Toshi desu. Hajimemashite. Hisaki: Hajimemashite. Nansai desu ka. Toshi: Juurokusai desu. Koutougakkou no sannensei desu. Hisaki: Sou desu ne. Boku wa atarashii seito desu. Juunanasai desu. Yonnensei desu. Toshi: Aa . . . Doko ni sunde imasu ka. Hisaki: Tokyo ni sunde imasu. Toshi: Sou desu ne . . . sorosoro shitsurei shimasu. Mata aimashou ka. Hisaki: Hai. Ja mata ne. Let's observe this dialogue. Toshi greets Hisaki and says "Good morning. What is your name?" (Saying just Onamae wa is an informal way of asking a person's name). Hisaki replies that his name is Hisaki. (Remember that the male term for "I/me" is boku). Toshi replies with his name and they say "Nice to meet you." Hisaki then asks Toshi's age. Toshi replies that he is 16 and a third year student of high school.
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Hisaki replies, "I see. I'm a new student. I'm 17. I'm a fourth year high school student." In response to this, Toshi asks "Where do you live?" The verb sunde imasu means "to live". Hisaki replies that he lives in Tokyo. Toshi then says Sorosoro shitsurei shimasu which means, "Sorry but I must be going". He then asks, "Shall we meet again?" The word mata means again. Hisaki replies, "Yes. See you again."
Vocabulary Review
新しい Atarashii- new 一年生 Ichinensei- first year student 二年生 Ninensei- second year student 三年生 Sannensei- third year student 四年生 Yonnensei- fourth year student そろそろ失礼します Sorosoro shitsurei shimasu- Sorry but I must be going 住んでいます Sunde imasu- to live また Mata- again LESSON 37- Months and Dates You may remember from past lessons that the word PAATII means "party". The word tanjoubi means "birthday". Therefore, to say "birthday party" you would say tanjoubi no PAATII. Birthdays are very important; therefore, when asking about another's birthday, always put the honorific o in front and say otanjoubi. To ask "When is your birthday?" you would s ay Otanjoubi wa itsu desu ka. Of course, since this question was asked, you must learn how to say when your birthday is. At first, we will start with months, which is a very easy concept, since most of them are just based on the normal number system. Here is a list. 一月 Ichigastu- January 二月 Nigatsu- February 三月 Sangatsu- March 四月 Shigatsu- April (notice how they use shi instead of yon) 五月 Gogatsu- May 六月 Rokugatsu- June 七月 Shichigatsu- July (remember you use shichi with dates and times instead of nana) 八月 Hachigatsu- August 九月 Kugatsu- September (you use ku instead of kyuu) 十月 Juugatsu- October 十一月 Juuichigatsu- November 十二月 Juunigatsu- December Simple, no? The word "what month" is nangatsu, so to ask "What
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month is your birthday?" you would ask Otanjoubi wa nangatsu desu ka. Unfortunately, the days of the month aren't so easy. Days 1 - 10 are completely different from the normal numver system, so you must memorize them separately. Just for reference, I will write down numbers 1 - 31, since those are all the ones you ne ed to know for dates. 一日 Tsuitachi- 1st 二日 Futsuka- 2nd 三日 Mikka- 3rd 四日 Yokka- 4th 五日 Itsuka- 5th 六日 Muika- 6th 七日 Nanoka- 7th 八日 Youka- 8th 九日 Kokonoka- 9th 十日 Tooka- 10th 十一日 Juuichinichi- 11th 十二日 Juuninichi- 12th 十三日 Juusannichi- 13th 十四日 Juuyokka- 14th 十五日 Juugonichi- 15th 十六日 Juurokunichi- 16th 十七日 Juushichinichi- 17th 十八日 Juuhachinichi- 18th 十九日 Juukunichi- 19th 二十日 Hatsuka- 20th 二十一日 Nijuuichinichi- 21st 二十二日 Nijuuninichi- 22nd 二十三日 Nijuusannichi- 23rd 二十四日 Nijuuyokka- 24th 二十五日 Nijuugonichi- 25th 二十六日 Nijuurokunichi- 26th 二十七日 Nijuushichinichi- 27th 二十八日 Nijuuhachinichi- 28th 二十九日 Nijuukunichi- 29th 三十日 Sanjuunichi- 30th 三十一日 Sanjuuichinichi- 31st If you didn't notice, Japanese is very repetitive! After tooka it almost goes back to the normal counting system. Nichi is the obvious counter for dates. Please note that juuyokka (14th), nijuuyokka (24th), and hatsuka (20th) are different. To ask "what day" say nannichi. On someone's birthday, don't forget to say Otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu. Omedetou gozaimasu is "Congratulations" so that is
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like saying "Congratulations on your birthday". It is equal to our "Happy Birthday".
Vocabulary Review
the months- see above the days of a month- see above 誕生日 Tanjoubi- birthday 何月 Nangatsu- what month 何日 Nannichi- what day お誕生日おめでとうございます Otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu - Happy Birthday LESSON 38- The particle "mo" It can be hard to understand the particle mo at first, but once you get the concept, it becomes easy. The particle mo is almost like a "super particle"; that is, it can replace any other particle and stand for it's meaning. The only difference it makes though, is that it adds too, also, or as well to the sentence. For example, if someone said they were 17 and you wanted to say you were 17 as well, you would say Watashi mo juunanasai desu. The mo replaced the wa and changed the sentence to "I, too, am 17 years old." Another way to use mo is with the particles o and ni. Say you said Watashi wa hon to zasshi o yomimasu or "I read books and magazines". Now you want to say that you also read the newspaper along with magazines and books. You would say Shinbun mo yomimasu or "I read newspapers also." With ni, say someone told you that they were going to the pool and the park on Monday. They would say Getsuyoobi ni PUURU to kouen ni ikimasu . Then, they forgot that they were also going to a shop. So they continued Mise mo ikimasu or "I am also going to a shop." You can also change the meaning if you use two mo. Say you asked Dare wa neko ga suki desu ka or "Who likes cats?" Someone said in reply TOM san mo BONNI san mo neko ga suki desu . This sentence would translate to "Both Tom and Bonnie like cats". If you use a double mo, it changes it from being "too" to "both". Keep in mind, the previous examples only apply to sentences with positive verbs. If the verb is negative, the meaning changes. For example, if someone says "I am not a new student" or Atarashii seito dewa arimasen, and you respond Watashi mo atarashii seito dewa arimasen, you are now saying "I am not a new student either". When using the double mo, it changes from being "both" to "neither". So if you said Hiroki kun mo Ken kun mo inu ga kirai d esu, you
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are now saying "Neither Hiroki nor Ken like dogs". Let's use a small sample dialogue between our friends Hiroki and Ken. Hiroki: Konnichi wa, Ken kun. Ogenki desu ka. Ken: Okage sama de! Kyou wa watashi no tanjoubi desu kara genki desu. Hiroki: Sou desu ka. Watashi mo! Ken: Otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu! Hiroki: Otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu. Saa, kyou wa nani o shimasu ka. Ken: Machi ni ikimasu. Eiga mo ikimasu. Anata wa. Hiroki: Watashi mo machi ni ikimasu. Ken: Sou desu ne. Ja mata ne. Hiroki: Ja mata, Ken kun. In this conversation, Hiroki says, "Hi Ken, how are you?" Ken replies, "Thanks for asking! Because today is my birthday, I am well." Hiroki replies, "Is that so? Me too!" They exchange a quick "Happy Birthday" before Hiroki inquires "Well, what are you doing today?" Saa is an untterance meaning "well then" or "now". Ken replies he is going to town. He then adds that he is also going to the movies. Hiroki replies he is also going to town. Then they say good -bye. Even though mo is hard, with practice, it'll be easier to understand. A little tidbit for this lesson: the phrase yoku dekimashita means "Well Done!"
Vocabulary Review
も Mo- too/also/as well さあ Saa- Well then/Now よくできました Yoku dekimashita- Well done! LESSON 39- Colors Colors are not that hard to memorize. The only tricky part about them is that some of them are adjectives while some aren't, and some of them are even Japlish, to be written in Katakana. The actual word for color is iro. We will start with the primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. Akai is red, and is an adjective. Kiiroi is yellow and aoi is blue. The next three colors, the secondary colors of orange, green, and purple, aren't adjectives. ORENJI, a Japlish word, is the word for orange. Midori (or sometimes you might see it midoriiro) is the word for green and the last is murasaki or purple. For these, you cannot put it directly in front of a noun. You have to modify it with no. For example, if you wanted to say "purple flower", you'd have to say murasaki no hana. The word for brown is chairo and grey is the Japlish word of GUREI.
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Pink is PINKU. All these are no adjective. White and black, though, are. Kuroi is black and shiroi is white. In the next lesson, you will use some colors to describe things about people.
Vocabulary Review
色 Iro- color 赤い Akai- red 黄色い Kiiroi- yellow 青い Aoi- blue オレンジ ORENJI- orange 緑 Midori- green 紫 Murasaki- purple 茶色 Chairo- brown グレイ GUREI- gray インク PINKU- pink 黒い Kuroi- black 白い Shiroi- white LESSON 40- I am tall Now we will learn how to describe things about people. We wil l start with height. The word for height can either be se or sei, but for now, we will just use se. To say something like "I am tall" you would say Se ga takai desu. Takai is the adjective for tall or high. Why do we use ga? Because we are talking about yourself, but the thing you want to stress about yourself is your height. You would not say watashi no se. Also, you cannot just say Watashi wa takai desu, for takai also means expensive. If you don't specify that you're talking about your height, people will think you are saying you are expensive instead. Conversely, you can say you're short or low by replacing takai with hikui. Two more adjectives to learn that will be handy are nagai (long) and mijikai (short). The word for hair is kami no ke. Literally it means "fur of the gods". The word for the eyes is me, the legs/feet are ashi, the arms/hands are te, your nose is hana (remember, hana also means flower, so be clear about what you're talking about!) , your mouth is kuchi, the ears are mimi, your head is atama, and your stomach is onaka. Your chest would be mune, the neck is kubi, and your back is senaka. Another handy thing to know is gender. Boy is otoko no ko while girl is onna no ko. The words otoko and onna mean "male" and "female"
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respectively, and ko is short for kodomo, or child, so therefore, each literally means "male child" and "female child". Also, if you wanted to say "I wear glasses" you would say Megane o kakemasu or if you don't, you could say Megane o kakemasen. The verb kakemasu means "to hang" and megane means glasses, so the phrase literally means "I hang glasses". A few little bonuses for this lesson. To say students of various different levels of school, you would say shougakusei (elementary school student), chuugakusei (middle school student), and koukousei (high school student). The time word ichinichijuu means "all day long" and the verb souji shimasu means "to clean". Let's describe someone, shall we? Here we have Eiko Carol from the video game Final Fantasy IX. We asked our good friend Vivi, the Black Mage, to describe Eiko in Japanese for us. Of course, being the nice little guy he is, he gave us a good description. Eiko chan wa onna no ko desu. Se ga hikui desu. Kami no ke ga murasaki desu. Mijikai desu. Me ga midori desu. Megane o kakemasen. Ashi mo te mo mijikai desu. Put into English, that would say "Eiko is a girl. She is short. Her hair is purple. It is short. Her eyes are green. She doesn't wear glasses. Both her arms and legs are short." Didn't Vivi do a good job?
Vocabulary Review
背 Se/sei- height 高い Takai- tall/high/expensive 低い Hikui- short/low 長い Nagai- long 短い Mijikai- short 髪の毛 Kami no ke- hair 目 Me- eyes 足 Ashi- legs/feet 手 Te- arms/hands 鼻 Hana- nose 口 Kuchi- mouth 耳 Mimi- ears 頭 Atama- head 御腹 Onaka- stomach 畝 Mune- chest 首 Kubi- neck 背中 Senaka- back 男 Otoko- male
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女 Onna- female 子供 Kodomo- child 男の子 Otoko no ko- boy 女の子 Onna no ko- girl 目がね Megane- glasses 掛けます Kakemasu- to hang 掃除します Souji shimasu- to clean 小学生 Shougakusei- elementary school student 中学生 Chuugakusei- middle school student 高校生 Koukousei- high school student 一日中 Ichinichijuu- all day long LESSON 41- This is my family Families are very important in Japanese culture. The word for family is kazoku. Father is otousan and mother is okaasan. However, when you are speaking about your own parents to others, father would be chichi and mother would be haha. Your own older brother would be ani, your younger brother being otouto. Your older sister would be called ane, and you would call your younger sister imouto. Grandmother is obaasan, while aunt is merely obasan. Conversely, grandfather is ojiisan and uncle is ojisan. Let's have a small conversation where Akihide shows his family to Yoko. Akihide: Kore wa boku no kazoku desu. Kore wa boku desu. Yoko: Sou desu ne. Dare desu ka. Akihide: Haha desu. Haha no namae wa Shuuki desu. Kore wa chichi desu. Yoko: Otousan wa nansai desu ka. Akihide: Yonjuunanasai desu. Namae wa Yura desu. Kore wa imooto desu. Imouto no namae wa Kaede desu. Yoko: Sou desu ka. Akihide: Kore wa ani desu. Ani no namae wa Kenichi desu. Yoko: Dare desu ka. Akihide: Obaasan desu. Obaasan wa hachijuuissai desu. Kore wa ane desu. Ane wa hatachi desu. Yoko: Namae wa nan desu ka. Akihide: Meiko desu. Kore wa otouto desu. Otouto no namae wa Genji desu. Yoko: Nansai desu ka. Akihide: Juunisai desu. Yoko: Ookii kazoku desu ne. Akihide: Iie, chiisai kazoku desu. In this conversation, Akihide starts off by saying, "This is my family.
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This is me." Yoko then asks who someone is. Akihide replies it is his mother, and her name is Shuuki. He then introduces his father. Yoko asks for his father's age. Akihide replies, "He is 47 years old. His name is Yura. This is my younger sister. Her name is Kaede." Akihide continues to introduce his older brother named Kenichi. Yoko then asks who another person is. Akihide replies, "It is my grandmothe r. My grandmother is 81 years old. This is my older sister. She is 20 years old." Yoko asks for her name and Akihide replies it is Meiko. He introduces his younger brother, Genji. Yoko asks his age and Akihide replies that he is 12 years old. Yoko then sa ys, "You have a big family, don't you." The word ookii means big. Akihide replies, "No, my family is small." Chiisai means small. Please note that when you talk about your own family, you never use san with their names. No suffix is neccessary. Also, you d o not call your parents haha or chichi. You only say that when talking to someone else about them. Also, do not confuse obaasan/obasan and ojiisan/ojisan.
Vocabulary Review
家族 Kazoku- family お父さん Otousan- father お母さん Okaasan- mother 父 Chichi- Dad (own) 母 Haha- Mom (own) 兄 Ani- older brother (own) 弟 Otouto- younger brother (own) 姉 Ane- older sister (own) 妹 Imouto- younger sister (own) おばあさん Obaasan- grandmother おばさん Obasan- aunt おじいさん Ojiisan- grandfather おじさん Ojisan- uncle 大きい Ookii- big 小さい Chiisai- small LESSON 42- How many people are in your family? The verb imasu means, literally, to exist. Used in everyday speech, such as saying Neko ga imasu, it means "The cat is here." It can also be used with people, saying something like Kumiko san wa imasen, or "Kumiko is not here." Also, when speaking about your family, it can be used to say how many members of your family exists. For example, you can say Imouto ga imasu. That would mean "I have a younger
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sister." There are several different ways to use imasu; most of it is just context. A note when using imasu: instead of using wa, you would use ga, since you are emphasizing the thing that exists. However, with a negative verb, you always use wa. The counter for people is nin. Though most follow the format "number + nin", the word for "one person" and "two people" are different. Hitori means "one person" and futari means "two people". From there on, counting in order, we have sannin, yonin, gonin, rokunin, shichinin, hachinin, kyuunin, and juunin, et cetera. If you were to ask a person how many people were in their family, you would ask Gokazoku wa nannin imasu ka . The word gokazoku is used for another person's family, while you use kazoku in reference to your own. Nannin means "how many people". When talking about another person's family, for younger sister and bro ther you would just add san onto imouto and otouto, while for their older brother and sister, you would say oniisan for another's older brother and oneesan for another's older sister. Kyoudai means siblings. If you wanted to respond, "My family has 5 people" you would say Watashi no kazoku wa gonin imasu. If you wanted to be more specific and say you had two older sisters, you could say Ane ga futari imasu. A few nice adjectives to learn: chiisai means small and ookii means big. The word for pretty is kirei and handsome is the Japlish HANSAMU, but these cannot be used with adjective endings; the are more like adjectives acting as nouns. You must change the verb instead of the adjective ending. Let's have a sample conversation between Tamahome and Miaka. Miaka: Tama-kun, gokazoku wa nannin imasu ka. Tamahome: Kazoku wa rokunin imasu. Miaka: Sou desu ka. Ookii desu ne. Tamahome: Iie, chiisai desu. Ani ga futari imasu. Ane ga hitori imasu. Miaka: Imoutosan wa imasu ka. Tamahome: Iie, imouto wa imasen. Otouto mo imasen. Miaka: Okaasan ga imasu ka. Tamahome: Hai, haha ga imasu. Chichi mo imasu. Miaka: Sou desu ne. Kazoku wa yonin imasu. Tamahome: Sou desu ka. Kyoudai ga imasu ka. Miaka: Hai. Otouto ga hitori imasu. Haha mo chichi mo imasu. Kazoku wa chiisai desu ne. Tamahome: Hai, chiisai desu. In this conversation, Miaka asks Tamahome how many people are in his family. Tamahome replies there are 6 people in this family. Miaka comments, "Is that so? Your family is big, isn't it?" Tamahome
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modestly replies, "No, it is small. I have two older brothers. I have one older sister." Miaka then asks if he has a younger sister. He replies, "No, I don't have a younger sister. I don't have a younger brother, either." She then asks if he has a mother. He replies, "Yes, I have a mother. I also have a father." She replies, "Is that so? My family has four people." Tamahome asks if she has siblings. She replies, "Yes. I have one younger brother. I have both a mother and a father. My family is small, isn't it?" Tamahome agrees.
Vocabulary Review
います Imasu- to exist/to have 人 Nin- counter for people 一人 Hitori- one person 二人 Futari- two people 三人 Sannin- three people 四人 Yonin- four people 五人 Gonin- five people 六人 Rokunin- six people 七人 Shichinin- seven people 八人 Hachinin- eight people 九人 Kyuunin- nine people 十人 Juunin- ten people 何人 Nannin- how many people ご家族 Gokazoku- another person's family 妹さん Imoutosan- another's younger sister 弟さん Otoutosan- another's younger brother お兄さん Oniisan- another's older brother お姉さん Oneesan- another's older sister 小さい Chiisai- small 大きい Ookii- big 綺麗 Kirei- pretty ハンサム HANSAMU- handsome LESSON 43- Jobs Of course, when talking about your family or yourself, one might be interested in your occupation. Here are a few basic jobs you can learn the names of. These are just general term s; if you wish to find more specific jobs, feel free to look them up in a dictionary, for there are so many that I can't list here. The word for your job, or work, is shigoto. To ask someone about their job, merely ask, Anata no shigoto wa nan desu ka. You can replace anata with whoever's job you want to ask about. The job of a nurse has the name kangofu. A doctor would be oisha
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while a dentist is haisha. A lawyer is bengoshi. A housewife would merely be called shufu while an office worker is kaishain. A shop assistant, or store clerk, would be called mise no hito, or taken more literally, "person of the store". An engineer is the Japlish word ENJINIA while a carpenter is daiku. A driver would be called untenshu and a station worker is ekiin. As you already know, a teacher is sensei. Let's have a conversation between Keita and Akira. Keita: Ohayou, Akira-kun. Akira: Ohayou! Doko ni ikimasu ka. Keita: Mise ni ikimasu. Akira: Naze? Keita: Boku wa mise no hito desu. Akira: Sou desu ka. Keita: Hai! Anata no shigoto wa nan desu ka. Akira: Boku wa kaishain desu. Keita: Sou desu ka?! Sugoi ne! Akira: Iie. This is a very simple and cute little dialogue between the two. Keita begins with a greeting and Akira asks, "Where are you going?" Keita replies that he is going to the shop and Akira questions why. Keita says, "I am a shop clerk." Akira asks if this is so and Keita replies, "Yes! What is your job?" Akira replise, "I am an office worker." Keita then says sugoi, which is a small phrase for saying "wonderful" or "great". Akira modestly replies, "No.."
Vocabulary Review
仕事 Shigoto- job/work 看護婦 Kangofu- nurse お医者 Oisha- doctor 歯医者 Haisha- dentist 弁護士 Bengoshi- lawyer 主婦 Shufu- housewife 会社員 Kaishain- office worker 店の人 Mise no hito- shop clerk エンジニア ENJINIA- engineer 大工 Daiku- carpenter 運転手 Untenshu- driver 駅員 Ekiin- station worker すごい Sugoi- wonderful/great LESSON 44- Your home
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As you know, your own house is called uchi. Now we will learn how to talk about your place. If you don't live in a house but an apartment, you would call it an APAATO. While you can say your home is either ookii or chiisai, you can also say it is hiroi (spacious/wide) or semai (narrow/cramped). In the past lessons, you have learned that kara can be used to say "because". You can also use it to say "from". For example, you could say SARA san wa Tokyo kara kimasu. That translates to "Sara will come from Tokyo." Another small phrase to learn is to issho ni. This means "together with". You might say Boku wa haha to issho ni kouen ni ikimashita . This means "I went to the park together with my mother." You have also learned about the verb imasu, which is to exist. You learned that it can be used to say someone is there or you have something. You can also say Sara san wa kyoushitsu ni imasu or "Sara is in the classroom". That, along with the number of people (ex hitori, futari, etc) are the three ways to use imasu. With all that said, let's get into a nice conversation between Katana and Hajiki. Katana: Ohayou, Hajiki-kun. Are wa anata no uchi desu ka. Hajiki: Hai! Boku no desu. Chiisai desu ne. APAATO desu. Katana: Semai desu ka. Hajiki: Sou desu. Doko ni sunde imasu ka. Katana: Chiba ni sunde imasu. Uchi wa ookii desu. Hiroi desu ne. Hajiki: Sou desu ne. Raishuu anata no uchi ni ikimasu. Katana: Iie! Boku no tomodachi no Ryuu kun wa Hokkaidou kara kimasu. Soshite ani ni kimasu. Hajiki: Sou desu ne... gomen ne. Okaasan wa uchi ni imasu ka. Katana: Hai. Chichi mo uchi ni imasu. Hajiki: Soo desu... ja mata ne. Katana: Ja mata! This conversation is fairly simple. Katana asks "Is that your house?" Hajiki replies, "Yes, it is small, isn't it? It's an apartment." Katana then asks if it is cramped. Hajiki replies that it is and asks where Katana lives. Katana replies, "I live in Chiba. My house is big. It is spacious, isn't it?" Hajiki then says, "Is that so? Next week I will go to your house." Katana then interjects, "No! My friend Ryuu is coming from Hokkaido." Soshite means "and then", so next he says "And then my older brother is coming." Hajiki apologizes and asks if his mother is in his house. Katana replies, "Yes. My father is also at my house." They then exchange farewells.
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Vocabulary Review
アパート APAATO- apartment 広い Hiroi- spacious/wide 狭い Semai- cramped/narrow から Kara- from と一緒に To issho ni- together with そして Soshite- and then
LESSON 45- Inside your house There are many different kinds of Japanese houses, just like anywhere, but all the houses have elements similar to one another. As you know, aparments, or APAATO, are widely popular in Japan, and these APAATO are put together in large complexes called danchi that almost serve as small communities for the residents. In the suburb s, though, it is common to just find normal, two -story houses. The entrance to a home is called a genkan. Inside the genkan, it is custom to take off your shoes and put on a pair of slippers, called SURIPPA. To invite someone in, you would say O agari kudasai, which literally means "Step up please". Inside, the floors are usually covered in mats called tatami. These tatami mats are usually used to measure apartment sizes, and you might see advertisements for a 6 tatami mat room or maybe a smaller 4.5 mat room. The ima, or living room, is usually covered in these mats and in the middle of the ima you might find a kotatsu, which is a table covered with a blanket that has a heater underneath. Also here, you will find the usual television and such, but there is also an alcove called a tokonoma where a kakejiku (wall scroll), flower arrangements, and a butsudan (Buddhist altar) may be found. The bedroom is called the shinshitsu. Though many bedrooms are now adopting Western furniture, like BEDDO (beds), many people still use a futon, which is like a rolled out mattress, to sleep on at night along with pillows called makura. The futon is stored in a cupboard called a todana. Also, sometimes the ima might double as a bedroom to save space in smaller houses. The kitchen, called daidokoro, is typically small and cluttered. Inside there is a small reizouko, or refrigerator, and usually a rice cooker, stove, and other essentials. Since the reizouko is so small, women find they have to shop for food everyday. Moving on, the bathroom is called ofuroba and is also small as well.
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Inside the ofuroba is an ofuro, or a hot tub type bath. There is a separate room for the otearai, or the toilet. Inside the ofuroba, you usually shower, called the SHAWAA before you soak yourself in the hot tub. After you shower and get clean, you would wear a cotton robe called a yukata. The word for just a plain room is heya. As you can see, Japanese homes are very similar to Western homes. The biggest difference is probably the customs from country to country.
Vocabulary Review
団地 Danchi- apartment complexes 玄関 Genkan- entrance way スリッパ SURIPPA- slippers お上がりください O agari kudasai- Step up please (Please come in) たたみ Tatami- mats 居間 Ima- living room 火燵 Kotatsu- heated table 床の間 Tokonoma- alcove 掛け軸 Kakejiku- wall scroll 仏壇 Butsudan- Buddhist altar 寝室 Shinshitsu- bedroom ベッド BEDDO- bed 布団 Futon- mattress 枕 Makura- pillows 戸棚 Todana- cupboards 台所 Daidokoro- kitchen 冷蔵区 Reizouko- refrigerator お風呂場 Ofuroba- bathroom お手洗い Otearai- toilet お風呂 Ofuro- bath シャワー SHAWAA- shower 浴衣 Yukata- cotton robe 部屋 Heya- room LESSON 46- I cook in the kitchen In this lesson, you will learn two new particles: de and ni wa. The particle de is almost like "in" or "at" and shows the location of an activity. For example, you could say Boku wa daidokoro de ryouri o shimasu to say "I cook in the kitchen". Ryouri o shimasu is to cook. De is a very easy particle to use. A harder one, ni wa talks about something in a room. For example, if you said Shinshitsu ni wa
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BEDDO ga arimasu. Arimasu means to exist, just like imasu, but it is used for inanimate objects. Now that we learned this two new particles, let's launch into a conversation between Yuki and Nobuki. Nobuki: Yuki-kun, konnichi wa. Kore wa uchi desu ka. Yuki: Hai! Boku no uchi desu yo. O agari kudasai ne. Nobuki: Hai... hiroi desu ne. Yuki: Iie... taihen semai desu. Kore wa ima desu. Ima de nemasu. Nobuki: Ima ni wa futon ga arimasu ka. Yuki: Hai. Oya wa shinshitsu de nemasu. Shinshitsu ni wa BEDDO ga arimasu. Nobuki: Omoshiroi ne. Itsumo ima de nemasu ka. Yuki: Futsuu ima de nemasu. Nobuki: Ima de nani mo shimasu ka. Yuki: TEREBI o mimasu. Daidokoro de bangohan o tabemasu. Daidokoro wa gochagocha desu ne. Nobuki: Sou desu ne. Daidokoro ni wa reizouko ga arimasu ka. Yuki: Hai. Benri desu ne. Nobuki: Sou. Daidokoro ni wa nani ga arimasu ka. Yuki: Daidokoro ni wa sara to NAIFU to FOOKU to chawan to takusan no mono ga arimasu. Nobuki: Sou desu ne. Ima ni wa honbako ga arimasu ka. Yuki: Eeto... iie. Imouto no shinshitsu ni wa honbako ga arimasu. Ningyou mo arimasu ne. Nobuki: Omoshiroi. Ja, yoru desu. Ja mata ne. Yuki: Hai! Ja mata, Nobuki-kun. Let's look at this. Nobuki asks Yuki if this is his house. Yuki replies that it is, and invites him inside. Nobuki comments that it is spacious but Yuki replies, "No, it is very cramped. This is the living room. I sleep in the living room." Nobuki asks him if he has a futon and Yuki replies that he does. He says his parents, or oya, sleep in a bedroom. Nemasu is to lie down or go to bed. He says that in their bedroom, there is a bed. Nobuki comments that it is interesting, or omoshiroi. He then asks if he always sleeps in the living room. Yuki says he usually, or futsuu, sleeps there. Nobuki then asks what else he does in the living room. Yuki replies, "I watch TV. In the kitchen, I eat dinner." Bangohan is dinner. Alternately, asagohan is breakfast and hirugohan is lunch. He then continues to say that his kitchen is gochagocha, or messy. Nobuki asks if there is a refrigerator in there. Yuki replies, "Yes. It's convenient, isn't it?" Benri is convenient. Nobuki asks what else is in his kitchen. Yuki replies, "In the kitchen,
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there are plates (sara), knives (NAIFU), forks (FOOKU), and many other things (takusan no mono)." Nobuki asks if there is a bookcase, or honbako, in the living room. Yuki replies, "No, the bookcase is in my younger sister's bedroom. There is also a doll." Ningyou is doll. Nobuki replies, "Interesting. Well, it's night. I'll see you agan." A few extra things to learn. POSUTAA is poster and daisuki is "like a lot". Conversely, daikirai is "hate a lot". Sou shimashou is a way of saying, "Let's do that". Lastly, youfuku is Western clothes. The verb araimasu means to wash (not to clean, which is souji shimasu).
Vocabulary Review
でDe- particle for showing the location of an ac tivity にはNi wa- particle using to show what's in a location 料理をしますRyouri o shimasu- to cook ありますArimasu- to exist (inanimate objects) 親Oya- parents 寝ますNemasu- to lie down/go to bed 面白いOmoshiroi- interesting 普通Futsuu- usually 晩ご飯Bangohan- dinner 朝ご飯Asagohan- breakfast 昼ご飯Hirugohan- lunch ごちゃごちゃGochagocha- messy 便利Benri- convenient 皿Sara- plates ナイフNAIFU- knives フォークFOOKU- forks たくさんのものTakusan no mono- lots of things 本箱Honbako- bookcase 人形Ningyou- doll ポスターPOSUTAA- poster 大好きDaisuki- like a lot 大嫌いDaikirai- hate a lot そうしましょうSou shimashou- Let's do that 洋服Youfuku- Western clothes 洗いますAraimasu- to wash LESSON 47- Is it here? In the previous lesson, you learned about the particle ni wa. While you can use it to say the location of objects, you can also use ni for that. For example, the sentence Shinshitsu ni wa neko ga imasu
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means "There is a cat in the bedroom" while the sentence Neko wa shinshitsu ni imasu means "The cat is in the bedroom." Learn these two sentence patterns and be able to differentiate between the two! If you don't, you will be very confused. A long time ago, you learned the word doko, meaning where. Now, recall the pronouns kore, sore, are, and dore. Doko is part of a new line of nouns very similar to these four pronouns. Koko means here, soko means there, and asoko means over there. These words can be used just like any other place you have learned thus far. Let's use a little sample conversation. This one is between Tatsuya and Tomo. Tatsuya: Tomo kun, konban wa. Tomo: Konban wa. Boku no hon o mimashita ka. Tatsuya: Iie, gomen ne. Doko de mimashita ka. Tomo: Ima de mimashita. Shinshitsu mo mimashita. Tatsuya: Sou desu ka. Tomo: Doko ni arimasu ka. Tatsuya: Soko ni arimasu ka. Tomo: Iie... soko mo mimashita. Tatsuya: Aa! Koko ni arimasu! Tomo: Sou desu ka. Arigatou gozaimasu, Tatsuya kun. Tatsuya: Iie! Sore dewa, itte mairimasu. Tomo: Itte irasshai. Tatsuya and Tomo begin by greeting each other and Tomo asks, "Did you see my book?" Tatsuya replies, "No, sorry. Where did you look?" Tomo says, "I looked in the living room. I also looked in the bedroom." Tomo then asks Tatsuya, "Where is it?" Tatsuya suggests, "Is it there?" Tomo replies he looked there, too. Tatsuya then says, "Oh! It's here!" Tomo thanks Tatsuya, and his friend says Itte mairimasu, which is a phrase meaning "I'm leaving now". Tomo replies with Itte irasshai or "Go and come home safely."
Vocabulary Review
ここ Koko- here そこ Soko- there あそこ Asoko- over there 行ってまいります Itte mairimasu- I'm leaving now 行っていらっしゃい Itte irasshai- Go and come home safely LESSON 48- Sometimes
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Time to learn another time word!! The word tokidoki means sometimes. (Isn't it fun to say?) Now, we don't need much more learning on that. This lesson will be mostly new vocabulary, so pay attention as Ayu and Taiji talk! Ayu: Taiji kun, konnichi wa. Taiji: Ayu chan, ohisashiburi desu ne. Ayu: Hai! Kyou wa nani o shimashita ka. Taiji: Ja, asa wa SHAWAA o abimashita. Ayu: Sou desu ne. Mainichi SHAWAA o abimasen ka. Taiji: Iie. Tokidoki SHAWAA o abimasu. Ayu: Yokunai desu ne! Nanji ni okimasu ka. Taiji: Juuji ni okimasu. Yoru no juuichiji ni nemasu. Tokidoki yasumimasu. Ayu: Sou desu ka. Nanji ni tabemasu ka. Taiji: Juuichiji ni asagohan o tabemasu. Niji han ni hirugohan o tabemasu. Rokuji ni bangohan o tabemasu. Ayu: Omoshiroi ne! Taiji: Sou desu. Juuniji ni shigoto ni tsukimasu. Ayu: Asobimasu ka. Taiji: Iie. Niwa ga arimasen. Ayu: Sou desu ne. Tokidoki MAKUDONARUDO de tabemasu. Oishii ne. Taiji: Hai. HANBAAGAA ga suki desu. SANDOITCHI mo suki desu. Ayu: Watashi mo. JUUSU ga suki desu. Itsumo JUUSU o nomimasu. Taiji: Mise de JUUSU o kaimasu. Ayu: Sou desu ka. Mise ni ikimashou ka. Taiji: Hai, ikimashou. Now let's look at all the new vocab we learned! After exchanging greetings, Ayu asks Taiji what he did today. Taiji replies, "Well, in the morning I took a shower." SHAWAA means, obviously, shower, and abimasu means to bathe or shower. Ayu inquires, "Don't you tak e a shower everyday?" Taiji replies, "No. Sometimes I take showers." Ayu says, "That's not good! What time do you wake up?" Okimasu means to wake up. Taiji replies that he wakes up at 10 and goes to sleep at 11 at night. He continues to say he sometimes re sts. Nemasu means to lie down or go to sleep, and yasumimasu means to rest. Ayu asks what time he eats (tabemasu means to eat) and he replies< "I eat breakfast at 11. I eat lunch at 2:30. I eat dinner at 6." Asagohan is breakfast, hirugohan is lunch, and bangohan is dinner. Ayu replies that it is interesting and Taiji continues to say "I arrive at work at 12." Tsukimasu is to arrive. Ayu asks if he ever plays. Asobimasu means to play, but not meaning sports. Taiji replies that he can't because he doesn't have a niwa, or garden. Ayu says "Sometimes I eat at
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McDonalds. It's tasty." MAKUDONARUDO is McDonalds (what a mouthful!) and oishii is tasty. Taiji replies, "Yes. I like hamburgers. I also like sandwiches." HANBAAGAA is hamburger and SANDOITCHI is sandwich. Ayu says, "Me too. I like juice. I always drink juice." JUUSU is juice and nomimasu is to drink. Taiji says he buys juice in a store. Kaimasu is to buy. Ayu then suggests, "Shall we go to the store?" Taiji says, "Yes, let's go."
Vocabulary Review
ときどき Tokidoki- sometimes シャワー SHAWAA- shower 浴びます Abimasu- to bathe 起きます Okimasu- to wake up 寝ます Nemasu- to go to sleep 休みます Yasumimasu- to rest 食べます Tabemasu- to eat 朝ご飯 Asagohan- breakfast 昼ご飯 Hirugohan- lunch 晩ご飯 Bangohan- dinner 着きます Tsukimasu- to arrive 遊びます Asobimasu- to play 庭 Niwa- garden マクドナルド MAKUDONARUDO- McDonald's おいしい Oishii- tasty ハンバーガー HANBAAGAA- hamburger サンドイッチ SANDOITCHI- sandwich ジュース JUUSU- juice 飲みます Nomimasu- to drink 買います Kaimasu- to buy LESSON 49- I go to school by bus You have learned that the particle de shows where an activity is taking place. De also has a different purpose -- to show the means of transportation. The means of transportation always go in front of the verb. For example, in the sentence "I go to school by bus", you would say Gakkou ni BASU de ikimasu. (BASU means bus). This is a very easy concept to go buy, so now let's take some time to learn some transportation words. TAKUSHII means taxi. You already know kuruma is car, and jitensha is bicycle. SUKEETO are skates and conversely, SUKEETO BOODO is skateboard. Densha is train, chikatetsu is the subway, hikouki is an airplane, and fune is a boat or ship. Let's have a small talk between Ami and Junji.
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Ami: Junji kun, koko ni nan de kimashita ka. Junji: TAKUSHII de kimashita. Takakatta desu ne. Ami: Hai, totemo takai. Watashi wa jitensha de kimashita. Benri deshita. Junji: Sou desu ka. Senshuu chuugoku ni hikouki de ikimashita. Ami: Watashi wa chuugoku kara fune de kimashita. Junji: Nara ni chikatetsu de ikimasu. Ami: Watashi mo. In here, Ami asks "Junji, how did you come here?" Junji replies that he came by taxi and that it was expensive. Ami replies it is very expensive. She says "I came by bicycle. It was convenient." Junji says "Last week I went to China on a plane." Ami replies that she came from China by boat. Junji says that he goes to Nara on the subway and Ami replies that she does too.
Vocabulary Review
バス BASU- bus タクシー TAKUSHII- taxi 自転車 Jitensha- bicycle スケート SUKEETO- skates スケートボード SUKEETO BOODO- skateboard 電車 Densha- train 地下鉄 Chikatetsu- subway 飛行機 Hikouki- airplane 船 Fune- boat LESSON 50- What's the matter? In the past, you have learned a lot of body part names. Now, you will learn how to say they hurt. The adjective for painful is itai. You can use this to describe just about anything that hurts you. Byouki means illness, but you only use this when you really feel bad and have a fever, called netsu. If you just feel under the weather, you would say Guai wa chotto warui desu. Guai is sort of like your condition, and chotto means little, so you're basically saying, "My condition is a little bad." Healthy, which you already know, is genki. The phrase Sore wa ikemasen ne basically means "That's unfortunate." To ask, what's wrong, you would ask dou shimashita ka. The word for your throat is nodo. If you wanted to say you were thirsty, you would say Nodo ga kawakimashita or "My throat has dried up." Alternatively, you can say Nodo ga kawaite imasen, which means your not thirsty. For hunger, onaka ga suikimashita is "My stomach has emptied" or I am hungry, but to say you aren't, you would say Onaka ga suite imasen. Don't worry about the grammar
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too much now. Let's have a small conversation between Takeo and Yasuo. Takeo: Yasuo kun, dou shimashita ka. Yasuo: Byouki desu. Netsu ga arimasu. Atama ga itai desu. Nodo mo itai desu. Takeo: Sore wa ikemasen ne.Watashi wa genki janai desu. Yasuo: Dou shimashita ka. Takeo: Guai wa chotto warui desu. Karada ga itai desu. Yasuo: Ureshii desu ka. Takeo: Hai. Tsumaranai desu ka. Yasuo: Hai, totemo tsumaranai desu. Here, Takeo asks Yasuo what's wrong. Yasuo replies, "I am si ck. I have a fever. My head hurts. My throat hurts too." Takeo says, "That's unfortunate. I am not healthy." Yasuo then asks him what's wrong. Takeo says, "I don't feel well. My body hurts." Yas uo asks him if he is happy, or ureshii. Takeo replies yes, and asks him if he is bored, or tsumaranai. Yasuo says he is very bored.
Vocabulary Review
痛い Itai- painful 病気 Byouki- sick 元気 Genki- healthy 熱 Netsu- fever 具合はちょっと悪いです Guai wa chotto warui desu- I don't feel well それはいけませんね Sore wa ikemasen ne- That's unfortunate どうしましたか Dou shimashita ka- What's wrong? 喉が乾きました Nodo ga kawakimashita- I am thirsty 御腹が空きました Onaka ga sukimashita- I am hungry うれしい Ureshii- happy つまらない Tsumaranai- bored LESSON 51- Shopping As you know, the verb "to buy" is kaimasu. Similarly, the word for "shopping" is kaimono. Shops in Japan are usually open six days a week, including Saturday and Sunday, and are closed on one weekday. Most shops in the same area sell similar items, and even close on the same days. DEPAATO (department stores) are very popular, and Japan has some of the world's largest. Twice a year these department stores have a BAAGAN SEERU or a bargain sale. Shop clerks (called either mise no hito or ten'in) are very polite, too, and greet every okyakusan (customer) with Irasshaimase (Welcome) and say Masido arigatou gozaimashita (Thanks for shopping here) to every
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one that leaves. Vending machines are also widely popular, and you can find a different assortment of goods in them, including things like batteries, books, shampoo, toys, and even rice. The Japanese currency is en, or we like to say yen. Depending on how the economy is, 100 yen is a little less than the American dollar. Usually it varies between 80 to 90 cents. Coins come in 500, 100, 50, 10, 5, and 1 yen. Bank nots, or satsu, come in 10,000, 5,000, and 1,000 yen. The most useful coin is usually the 100 yen coin, beca use it is most useful for pay phones and vending machines. Most vending machines will give you change for bank notes, though. Change is called otsuri. The Japanese have a different counting system. You already know how to count up to 100. But as we would write a number like 71,296,531 in groups of three, they would write it as 7129,6531, in groups of four. They count in 10,000's. Let's have a quick rundown of numbers over 100: 百 Hyaku- 100 二百 Nihyaku- 200 三百 Sanbyaku- 300 四百 Yonhyaku- 400 五百 Gohyaku- 500 六百 Roppyaku- 600 七百 Nanahyaku- 700 八百 Happyaku- 800 九百 Kyuuhyaku- 900 千 Sen- 1,000 二千 Nisen- 2,000 三千 Sanzen- 3,000 四千 Yonsen- 4,000 五千 Gosen- 5,000 六千 Rokusen- 6,000 七千 Nanasen- 7,000 八千 Hassen- 8,000 休戦 Kyuusen- 9,000 万/一万 Man/ichiman- 10,000 Now that we know that, let's take a look at the number 71296531. We would say it "seventy one million, two hundred ninety six thousand, five hundred thirty one". They would say nanasen hyaku nijuu kyuuman, rokusen gohyaku sanjuu ichi. That may seem confusing at first, but after a while, you will get used to it. Let's jump into a conversation between Kyohei, the customer, and Yuu, the shopkeeper. Yuu: Irasshaimase!
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Kyohei: Konnichi wa. Tokei ga arimasu ka. Yuu: Hai! Tokei wa koko desu. Kyohei: Sore o misete kudasai. Yuu: Hai! Douzo. Kyohei: Eto . . . ikura desu ka. Yuu: Ichiman en desu. Kyohei: Ichiman en? Takai desu. Yuu: Demo, kyou wa BAAGEN SEERU desu. Sore dewa, ikura wa ima yonsen roppyaku yonjuu en desu. Kyohei: Kore wa yasui desu ne. Watashi wa gosen en ga arimasu. Douzo. Yuu: Arigatou gozaimasu! Otsuri wa sanbyaku rokujuu en desu. Douzo. Kyohei: Arigatou gozaimasu. Yuu: Maido arigatou gozaimashita! Kyohei: Sayonara. First, Yuu says "Welcome" to Kyohei and Kyohei asks if they have a tokei, or a watch. Yuu replies that they do and says "The watch is here". Kyohei says, "Please show that to me." Yuu shows it to him and Kyohei asks Ikura desu ka or "How much is it?" Yuu replies it is 10000 yen. Kyohei remarks that it is takai, or expensive. Yuu says, "But, today is a bargain sale. So, now the price is 4640 yen." Kyohei says that is yasui, or cheap. He says he has 5000 yen and gives it to him. Yuu gives him back his change, which is 360 yen. Kyohei says thank you, Yuu thanks him for shopping there, and Kyohei leaves.
Vocabulary Review
買いもの Kaimono- shopping デパート DEPAATO- department store バーゲンセール BAAGEN SEERU- bargain sale 店の人/店員 Mise no hito/ten'in- shop clerk お客さん Okyakusan- customer いらっしゃいませ Irasshaimase- welcome 毎度ありがとうございました Maido arigatou gozaimashita- Thanks for shopping here 円 En- yen 札 Satsu- bank notes お釣 Otsuri- change 百 Hyaku- 100 二百 Nihyaku- 200 三百 Sanbyaku- 300 四百 Yonhyaku- 400 五百 Gohyaku- 500 六百 Roppyaku- 600
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七百 Nanahyaku- 700 八百 Happyaku- 800 九百 Kyuuhyaku- 900 千 Sen- 1,000 二千 Nisen- 2,000 三千 Sanzen- 3,000 四千 Yonsen- 4,000 五千 Gosen- 5,000 六千 Rokusen- 6,000 七千 Nanasen- 7,000 八千 Hassen- 8,000 休戦 Kyuusen- 9,000 万/一万 Man/ichiman- 10,000 時計 Tokei- watch/clock いくら Ikura- cost/price 高い Takai- expensive 安い Yasui- cheap LESSON 52- Where did you buy it? The name of shops are a very easy to thing to remember, as long as you know what they sell. For example, a you know a flower is hana. Well, a flower shop is hanaya. Usually, you just take what they sell and add a ya on the end. For example, a fish market would be sakanaya. The word for meat is niku, so a butcher shop would be called nikuya. Kutsu are shoes, so kutsuya is a shoe store. Kudamono is fruit, so a kudamonoya would be a fruit stand. However, there are excepts. Take yaoya, a vegetable shop. Yasai is the word for vegetables, but it was changed when the ya was added. Even though this is common, not all stores are like this. There is also the universal SUUPAA MAAKETTO, or the supermarket, which sells many of these things, and may even just be called SUUPAA. In the past, you have learned that the word kara can mean "because". Now we will learn another meaning-- from. With this meaning, it is usually used with the word made, which means "until". Here is a few examples of how you would use this: Ani wa kinou no yoru ni chuugoku kara kankoku made hikouki de ikimashita. (My brother went from China to Korea by plane last night.) Gakkou wa shichiji kara sanji made desu. (School is from 7:00 to 3:00.) Helen san wa DOITSU kara desu. (Helen is from Germany.) Toshokan wa hachiji made desu. (The library is opened until 8:00.) Let's get into a conversation between Akira and Hiroki.
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Hiroki: Tadaima! Akira: Hiroki-kun, okaeri! Itsu koko ni kimashita ka. Hiroki: Boku wa kesa BAIKU de kimashita. Daigaku kara kimashita. Akira: BAIKU ga arimasu ka. Hiroki: Hai. Demo, furui desu. Okane ga arimasen deshita. Sengetsu kaimashita. Akira: Sou desu ka. Hayai desu ka. Hiroki: Un, totemo hayai desu! Sugoi desu ne. Akira: Sou desu. Doko ni kaimashita ka. Hiroki: Machi de kaimashita. Akira: Watashi wa Hiroki-kun to raigetsu daigaku ni ikimasu ka. Hiroki: Hai! Kongetsu mo ikimasu ne. Akira: Sou desu! Let's see what they said. Hiroki said "I'm home!" and Akira said, "Welcome home! When did you come here?" Hiroki replies, "I came this morning on my motorbike. I came from the university." Akira says, "You have a motorbike?" Hiroki replies, "Yes. But, it is old. I didn't have money. I bought it last month." ( Sengetsu is last month and furui is old) Akira asks if it is hayai or fast, and Hiroki replies is it very fast, and "Isn't it awesome?" Akira agrees and asks where he bought it. Hiroki replies he bought it in town. Then Akira asks, "Next month, will I go to the university with you?" Hiroki replies, "Yes. This month you will go too, won't you?" Akira replies he will.
Vocabulay Review
花屋Hanaya- flower shop 肉Niku- meat 肉屋Nikuya- butcher shop 靴Kutsu- shoes 靴屋Kutsuya- shoe store 果ものKudamono- fruit 果もの屋Kudamonoya- fruit stand 野菜Yasai- vegetables 八百屋Yaoya- vegetable shop スーパーマーケットSUUPAA MAAKETTO- super market からKara- from までMade- until 今朝Kesa- this morning バイクBAIKU- motorbike 古いFurui- old お金Okane- money 先月Sengetsu- last month 早いHayai- fast
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来月Raigetsu- next month 今月Kongetsu- this month LESSON 53- Is there anything you want? The adjective for "want" is hoshii. Hoshii mono would be a thing, or things, you want, since mono means "thing". In English, the word "want" may be used as a verb, but in Japan, it is said differently. Instead of wanting something, a thing would be something that is wanted or desired. Also, nanika means "something". So if you wanted to ask if there was something you wanted, you would ask Nanika hoshii mono ga arimasu ka. Please note that you never use a particle with nanika. Since this concept is fairly simple, let's launch into a conversation between Keita and Shinya. Shinya: Keita-kun, kyou wa kaimono o ikimasu. Issho ni ikimashou ka. Keita: Gomen nasai, Shinya-kun. Jikan ga arimasen. Shinya: Sou desu ka. Watashi wa SUUPAA ni ikimasu. Nanika hoshii mono ga arimasu ka. Keita: Hai. Yasai ga hoshii desu. ASUPIRIN mo hoshii desu. Shinya: ASUPIRIN? Naze? Keita: Atama ga itai desu. Shinya: Sore wa ikemasen ne... Keita: Hai. Shinya: Ja, ima ikimasu ne. Keita: Arigatou, Shinya-kum. Ja mata. In this conversation, Shinya says, "Keita, today I'm going shopping. Shall we go together?" Keita replies, "Sorry, Shinya, I don't have time." Shinya replies, "Is that so? I'm going to the super market. Is there anything you want?" Keita replies, "Yes. I want vegetables. I also want asprin." Shinya asks why and Keita replies his head hurts. Shinya says that is unfortunate and says that he will go now. Keita says thank you and says "See you later."
Vocabulary Review
ほしい Hoshii- want もの Mono- thing なにか Nanika- something アスピリン ASUPIRIN- asprin LESSON 54- Please come and watch
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You have learned in the past that using ga between two setences adds a "but", but now we will cover how to form compound sentences. When looking at a sentence that has two verbs, the first verb is always in the te form. The second verb is what dictates the tense of both verbs. For example: Machi ni itte, hana o kaimashita , which means "I went to town and bought flowers." It is possible to add soshite in between the two sentences, and it would translate to nearly the same thing. Let's jump right into a practice conversation between Hideo and Mitsuki. Hideo: Mitsuki-chan! Kyou wa nani o shimasu ka. Mitsuki: Hajime ni obaasan no uchi ni itte, soshite oya to eiga o mimasu. Hideo: Sou desu ne. Eiga wa taisetsu desu ka. Mitsuki: Mochiron! Taisetsu na eiga desu. Naze desu ka. Hideo: Ano ... boku to kouen ni ikimasen ka. Mitsuki: Dame desu ne. Jikan ga arimasen. Gomen nasa i. Hideo: Daijoubu desu. Eiga no ato de, kouen ni ikimashou ka. Mitsuki: Hai! Ii desu. BASUtei ni aimashou ka. Hideo: Aimashou. In this conversation, Hideo begins by asking Mitsuki what she will do today. Mitsuki replies, "First, I will go to my grandmothe r's house and then I will watch a movie with my parents." Hajime ni is a way of saying "First.." and obaasan is grandmother. Hideo then asks if the movie is important, or taisetsu. Mitsuki says Mochiron or "of course!" and says it is an important movie. She asks why. Hideo says, "Um... won't you go to the park with me?" Mitsuki replies, Dame desu ne or "It's no good, no?" She then says she has no time and apologizes. Hideo then says, "It's alright . After the movie, shall we go to the park?" Mitsuki replies that is good, and shall they meet at the BASUtei or "bus stop". Hideo replies they should. Taisetsu (important) and dame (no good) are two new qualitative adjectives. If you remember from before, you cannot just use them in front of a noun by themselves; you need to put na after them, just like Mitsuki says-- Taisetsu na eiga desu.
Vocabulary Review
はじめに Hajime ni- first おばあさん Obaasan- grandmother 大切 Taisetsu- important もちろん Mochiron- of course だめ Dame- no good バス停 BASUtei- bus stop 後 Ato- after
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LESSON 54- Please come and watch You have learned in the past that using ga between two setences adds a "but", but now we will cover how to form compound sentences. When looking at a sentence that has two verbs, the first verb is always in the te form. The second verb is what dictates the tense of both verbs. For example: Machi ni itte, hana o kaimashita , which means "I went to town and bought flowers." It is possible to add soshite in between the two sentences, and it would translate to nearly the same thing. Let's jump right into a practice conversation between Hideo and Mitsuki. Hideo: Mitsuki-chan! Kyou wa nani o shimasu ka. Mitsuki: Hajime ni obaasan no uchi ni itte, soshite oya to eiga o mimasu. Hideo: Sou desu ne. Eiga wa taisetsu desu ka. Mitsuki: Mochiron! Taisetsu na eiga desu. Naze desu ka. Hideo: Ano ... boku to kouen ni ikimasen ka. Mitsuki: Dame desu ne. Jikan ga arimasen. Gomen nasai. Hideo: Daijoubu desu. Eiga no ato de, kouen ni ikimashou ka. Mitsuki: Hai! Ii desu. BASUtei ni aimashou ka. Hideo: Aimashou. In this conversation, Hideo begins by asking Mitsuki what she will do today. Mitsuki replies, "First, I will go to my grandmother's house and then I will watch a movie with my parents." Hajime ni is a way of saying "First.." and obaasan is grandmother. Hideo then asks if the movie is important, or taisetsu. Mitsuki says Mochiron or "of course!" and says it is an important movie. She asks why. Hideo says, "Um... won't you go to the park with me?" Mitsuki r eplies, Dame desu ne or "It's no good, no?" She then says she has no time and apologizes. Hideo then says, "It's alright. After the movie, shall we go to the park?" Mitsuki replies that is good, and shall they meet at the BASUtei or "bus stop". Hideo replies they should. Taisetsu (important) and dame (no good) are two new qualitative adjectives. If you remember from before, you cannot just use them in front of a noun by themselves; you need to put na after them, just like Mitsuki says-- Taisetsu na eiga desu.
Vocabulary Review
はじめに Hajime ni- first おばあさん Obaasan- grandmother 大切 Taisetsu- important もちろん Mochiron- of course だめ Dame- no good
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バス停 BASUtei- bus stop 後 Ato- after LESSON 55- I will meet you at 8:13 You already learned how to tell time just by the ho urs and halves, but now you will learn how to count the minutes. The counter for minute is either pun or fun depending on which number. The basic first ten minutes are: 一分 Ippun- one minute 二分 Nifun- two minutes 三分 Sanpun- three minutes 四分 Yonpun- four minutes 五分 Gofun- five minutes 六分 Roppun- six minutes 七分 Nanafun- seven minutes 八分 Happun- eight minutes 九分 Kyuufun- nine minutes 十分 Juppun- ten minutes To go higher than that, count normally except with these numbers on the end. For example, to say 8:13, you would say hachiji juusanpun. A time like 11:45 would be juuichiji yonjuugofun. Alternatively, you could also say Juuniji juugofun mae desu. Mae means before, so the translation would be "15 minutes before 12:00". Let's talk between Brian and John. Brian: Ima nanji desu ka. John: Eeto... goji sanjuusanpun desu. Brian: Dame desu! Eiga wa goji ni hajimarimashita. John: Iie, chigaimasu. Eiga wa rokuji ni hajimarimasu. Brian: Sou desu ka? Yokatta desu! John: Eiga no mae ni RESUTORAN ni ikimashou. Brian: Ikimashou! Brian begins by asking, "What time is it now?" John replies, "Um... it is 5:33." Brian says, "That's no good! The movie began at 5:00." Hajimarimasu means "to begin". John replies Iie, chigaimasu, which means, "No, you're wrong." He then says the movie begins at 6:00. Brian says, "Is that so? I'm relieved." Even though yokatta is "was good", it can also show relief, like "Thank goodness." John suggests, "Let's go to the restaurant before the movie." Brian replies, "Let's go!"
Vocabulary Review
一分 Ippun- one minute 二分 Nifun- two minutes
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三分 Sanpun- three minutes 四分 Yonpun- four minutes 五分 Gofun- five minutes 六分 Roppun- six minutes 七分 Nanafun- seven minutes 八分 Happun- eight minutes 九分 Kyuufun- nine minutes 十分 Juppun- ten minutes 前 Mae- before/in front of 始まります Hajimarimasu- to begin 違います Chigaimasu- to be wrong
LESSON 56- Where is the school? Saying directions in Japanese isn't as hard as it originally looks. The first words you should learn are migi, which is right, and hidari, which is left. Simply add -gawa to the end to make it either "left hand side" or "right hand side". Michi means road, hashi means bridge, kado is corner, shingou is traffic lights, and kousaten is intersection. Massugu means straight ahead, watarimasu is to cross over, arukimasu is to walk, and magarimasu is to turn. Wakarimasu means to understand and kakarimasu means to take (as in time). Miemasu is to be able to see. Let's look at a small paragraph giving directions to a school and let's see how much we can understand. Hajime ni eki kara massugu itte kudasai. DEEPATO no kado o hidari ni magatte, massugu itte kudasai. Hashi o watatte, migi ni magatte kudasai. Koko kara yuubinkyoku o miemasu. Kousaten o hidari ni magatte, massugu itte kudasai. Gakkou wa migigawa desu. Juugofun gurai kakarimasu. Wakarimasu ka. It translates to: First, go straight from the station. At the department store corner, turn left and go straight. Cross over the bridge an turn right. From here, you can see the post office. Turn left at the intersection and go straight. The school is on the right hand side. It takes about fifteen minutes. Do you understand? It may be complicated at first, but all it takes is practice. A useful phrase to know is Dono gurai kakarimasu ka, or "About how long will it take?" Useful words are kochira (this way), sochira (that way), achira (that way over there), and dochira (which way). Dochira could be used in the phrase Dochira e ikimasu ka or "Which way do
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I go?" except it is very formal. E is particle that is equal to ni, but it means "to". Just to have more practice, let's launch into another conversation, this one between Adam and Eve. Adam: Eve-san, doko ni ikimasu ka. Eve: Hanaya ni ikimasu. Hana ga arimasen. Adam: Sore wa ikimasen ne. Hanaya wa chikai desu ka. Eve: Iie, tooi desu. Gojuppun gurai kakarimasu. Adam: Arukimasu ka. Eve: Iie! Densha de ikimasu. Adam: Sou desu ne. Eve: Adam-san wa dochira e ikimasu ka. Adam: Sochira e ikimasu. Eve-san wa kochira e ikimasu ka. Eve: Hai... demo, hajime ni ginkou ni ikimasu. Adam: Sou desu ne. Issho ni arukimashou ka. Eve: Ee. Adam begins by saying, "Eve, where will you go?" Eve replies, "I will go to the flower shop. I don't have flowers." Adam says, "That's unfortunate. Is the flower shop near?" Eve replies, "No, it is far. It takes about 50 minutes." Chikai means near and tooi means far. Adam asks if she will walk. Eve replies she will take the train. She then asks which way he is going. Adam replies, "I will go that way. Will you go this way?" Eve replies, "Yes, but fierst I will go to the bank." Adam says, "Is that so? Shall we walk together?" Even agrees to.
Vocabulary Review
右 Migi- right 右側 Migigawa- right hand side 左 Hidari- left 左側 Hidarigawa- left hand side 道 Michi- road 橋 Hashi- bridge 過度 Kado- corner 信号 Shingou- traffic lights 交差点 Kousaten- intersection 真直ぐ Massugu- straight ahead 渡ります Watarimasu- to cross over 歩きます Arukimasu- to walk 曲がります Magarimasu- to turn 分かります Wakarimasu- to understand かかります Kakarimasu- to take (as in amount of time) 見えます Miemasu- to be able to see 郵便局 Yuubinkyoku- post office こちら Kochira- this way
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そちら Sochira- that way あちら Achira- that way over there どちら Dochira- which way へ E- particle meaning "to" 近い Chikai- close 遠い Tooi- far LESSON 57- The pen is under the desk You have already learned one position word-- mae. This means before when speaking of time, but when talking about location, it means "in front of". There are several position words that tell the location of objects, such as shita (under), ue (above), ushiro (behind), naka (inside), soto (outside), and soba (beside). To use these, here is an example: Hon wa honbako no ushiro ni arimasu , which means "The book is behind the bookcase." Ushiro modifies honbako, not hon. Another example is Mado no soto ni wa kodomo ga imasu, or "Outside the window, there is a child". Memorize these words, for you will hear them frequently. You could also use chikai for a position word when used with motto. Motto means "more" and modifies any adjective. For example, if you said motto chikai, it would mean "closer". Motto takai would be "more expensive". Let's dive into a conversation, shall we? Here we have Joan and Hanako. Joan: Watashi no kaban wa doko desu ka? Hanako: Kaban wa tsukue no shita ni arimasu ka. Joan: Iie. Mimashita. Hanako: Eeto... hako no naka ni arimasu ka. Joan: Iie! Hako no naka mo mimashita. Hanako: Isu no ue de mimashita ka. Joan: Iie... ima mimasu. [looks] Aa! Kaban ga arimasu! Hanako: Yokatta desu! Doko ni ikimasu ka. Joan: Okane ga irimasu kara ginkou ni ikimasu. Hanako: Ii kangae desu ne. Ato de watashi to eigakan ni ikimasen ka. Joan: Hai! Doko de aimasu ka. Hanako: Eigakan no soto wa daijoubu desu ka. Joan: Hai, daijoubu. Watashi wa asoko de machimasu. Hanako: Ja ne! Joan: Ja mata! Let's translate this. Joan says, "Where is my bag?" Hanako asks, "Is the bag under the desk?" Joan replies, "No, I looked." Hanako asks, "Um... is it inside the box?" Joan replies no, she looked there too.
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Hanako then asks, "Did you look on top of the chair?" Joan replies, "No, I will look now." Then, after looking, says, "Ah! There is my bag!" Hanako says, "Thank goodness! Where will you go?" Joan replies, "Because I need money, I will go to the bank." Irimasu means to need. Hanako says, "That's a good idea. After, won't you go to the movies with me?" Kangae means thought or idea. Joan asks where should they meet. Hanako asks if outside the thearter is alright. Joan replies, "Yes, it's alright. I will wait over there." Machimasu is to wait. They then say good-bye.
Vocabulary Review
下 Shita- under 上 Ue- above 後 Ushiro- behind 中 Naka- inside 外 Soto- outside 傍 Soba- beside もっと Motto- more 要ります Irimasu- to need 考え Kangae- thought/idea 待ちます Machimasu- to wait LESSON 58- I am going to town In order to get the present progressive tense of a verb, or a verb happening at this very moment, you would use a te imasu ending. For example, if you wanted to say "I am going to town", you would say Machi ni itte imasu. You could also say Machi ni itte imasen for "I am not going to town". Expanding eve n further on it, Machi ni itte imashita would be "I was going to town" and Machi ni itte imasen deshita would be "I was not going to town". For this ending, make sure you review the te endings for each verb. Another concept to grasp now is donna, konna, sonna, and anna. Donna means "what kind of", so something like Donna machi desu ka would be "What kind of town is it?" Konna would be this kind, sonna that kind and anna that kind as well. They modify nouns, and you could think of them as qualitative adjecti ves. Since these concepts are fairly simple, let's launch into a conversation. Souji: Ohayou, Toshi-san! Doko ni itte imasu ka. Toshi: Ohayou gozaimasu, Souji-san. Machi ni itte imasu. Souji: Sou desu ne. Donna machi desu ka. Toshi: Chiisai machi desu. Takusan no noujou ga arimasu. Noujou ni wa ushi ya hitsuji ya uma ga imasu. Machi no naka ni wa ookii mizuumi ga arimasu.
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Souji: Yoku soko ni ikimasu ka. Toshi: Hai. Mainichi no shuumatsu ni ikimasu. Tsuri o shimasu. Souji: Suiei o shimasu ka. Toshi: Iie! Mizu ga kirai desu. Souji: Sore wa ikemasen ne! Souji begins by saying, "Good morning, Toshi! Where are you going?" Toshi replies, "Good morning. I'm going to town." Souji replies, "Is that so. What kind of town is it?" Toshi replies, "It is a small town. It has many farms. There are cows, sheep, and horses in the farms. There is a big lake in the middle of town." Noujou is farm and mizuumi is lake. Souji asks if he goes there often. Yoku is often or well. Toshi replies, "Yes, I got every weekend. I go fishing ." Shuumatsu is weekend and tsuri is fishing. Souji asks if he swims. Suiei is swimming. Toshi replies no, he hates the water. Souji replies that is unfortunate.
Vocabulary Review
どんなDonna- what kind こんなKonna- this kind そんなSonna- that kind あんなAnna- that kind 農場Noujou- farm 湖Mizuumi- lake 良くYoku- often/well 週末Shuumatsu- weekend 釣Tsuri- fishing 水泳Suiei- swimming LESSON 59- Would you like some coffee? Ikaga means something like "Would you like..." Take KOOHII wa ikaga desu ka for example. KOOHII is coffee, and the whole sentence means, "Would you like some coffee?" This is a way you would offer some sort of food or beverage to someone. If you would like it, you would reply yes, but if you don't, you would say Kekkou desu, which is "No thank you." In the next few units, you will be learning about food and Japanese cus toms regarding them. Before Japanese begin a meal, they say Itadakimasu, which is sort of like "Thank you for this meal". At the end, they say Gochisou sama deshita, which is another saying of thanks. A popular food are soba noodles, which are are wheat noodles served in soup. Sushi is also very popular, but there are many different forms besides just raw fish. Bentou are popular packed lunches that students take to school or workers to their jobs. RAAMEN are popular noodles, though you would
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be surprised to find out they did not originate in Japan, but in Sweden. Lastly, another popular treat are onigiri, which are rice cakes. As you know, Japanese eat with ohashi, or chopsticks. To say you are hungry, you would say Onaka ga sukimashita, which more literally translates to "My stomach has emptied." Alternatively, Nodo ga kawakimashita is "I am thirsty", or more literally, "My throat has dried". Most Japanese drink ocha or tea, but they do have a variety of drinks, from KOKAKOORA (Coca Cola) to MIRUKU (milk) to MIRUKUSEEKI (milkshakes). Let's go into a conversation, where we'll introduce a ton of new vocabulary. So read Tetsunosuke's and Saya's conversation carefully! Tetsunosuke: Saya-chan, konnichi wa! Ohisashiburi desu ne. Boku o oboete imasu ka. Saya: Konnichi wa, Testu-kun! Mochiron oboete imasu. Ogenki desu ka. Tetsunosuke: Genki desu. Daigaku ni hairimasu ka. Saya: Hai! Tetsu-kun wa? Tetsunosuke: Boku mo! Demo, kono goro hima desu. Saya: Sou desu ne. Ja, RESUTORAN ni ikimashou ka. Testunosuke: Hai, ikimashou. Later... Both: Itadakimasu! Tetsunosuke: Sushi wa oishii desu ne. Saya: Ee, sushi ga daisuki desu. Tetsunosuke: Boku no gohan wa ikaga desu ka. Saya: Iie, kekko desu. Ato de, AISUKURIIMU ga hoshii desu! Tetsunosuke: Boku mo! Mada onaka ga kawakimashita. Saya: Hai... gochisou sama deshita. Tetsunosuke: Gochisou sama deshita. Whew! That was a lot of new vocab. First we have Tetsunosu ke saying, "Saya, hello! It's been a long time. Do you remember me?" Saya says, "Hello, Tetsu! Of course I remember you. How are you?" Tetsunosuke says, "I'm fine. Did you enter the university?" Saya replies yes, and what about him. Tetsu replies, "Me too! But, these days are free time." Saya replies, "Is that so. Well, shall we go to the restaurant?" Tetsu replies sure. At the restaurant, they say thanks and Tetsu remarks, "Sushi is delicious, isn't it?" Saya replies, "Yes, I like sushi a lot." Tetsu asks, "Would you like my rice?" Saya replies, "No thank you. Afterwards, I want ice cream!" Tetsunosuke replies, "Me too! I'm still hungry." Then they both say thanks again.
Vocabulary Review
如何 Ikaga- would you like... コーヒー KOOHII- coffee
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けっこう Kekkou- no thank you いただきます Itadakimasu- thanks before a meal ご馳走様でした Gochisou sama deshita- thanks after a meal そば Soba- wheat noodles すし Sushi- raw fish rolls 弁当 Bentou- packed lunches ラーメン RAAMEN- noodles おにぎり Onigiri- rice cakes お箸 Ohashi- chopsticks 御腹が空きました Onaka ga sukimashita- I'm hungry 喉が渇きました Nodo ga kawakimashita- I'm thirsty お茶 Ocha- tea ミルク MIRUKU- milk ミルクセーキ MIRUKUSEEKI- milkshake 覚えます Oboemasu- to remember 入ります Hairimasu- to enter このごろ Kono goro- these days 暇 Hima- free time ご飯 Gohan- rice アイスクリーム AISUKURIIMU- ice cream まだ Mada- still LESSON 60- Three coffees please Prepare yourself, because you're about to learn a new counter! The generic counter for things is tsu, though it isn't as easy as it s eems. Here is the list from one to ten: ひとつ Hitotsu- one thing 二つ Futatsu- two things 三つ Mittsu- three things 四つ Yottsu- four things 五つ Itsutsu- five things 六つ Muttsu- six things 七つ Nanatsu- seven things 八つ Yattsu- eight things 九つ Kokonotsu- nine things 十 Too- ten things If you think this looks familiar, you may remember it is similar to the dates of a month, like tsuitachi, futsuka, mikka, yokka, etc. When ordering food, you would say something like KOOHII o mittsu kudasai, or "Three coffees please." Know that the counters always go in front of the verb. Let's listen to a woman ordering food. Clerk: Irasshaimase.
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Woman: Konnichi wa. HANBAAGA o hitotsu kudasai. HOTTO DOGGU o mittsu kudasai. KOKAKOORA o yottsu kudasai. Clerk: Hai. Soshite? Woman: Eeto ... KEEKI ga arimasu ka. Clerk: Gomen nasai, KEEKI ga arimasen. Woman: Daijoubu desu. Dewa, CHOKOREETO MIRUKUSEEKI o hitotsu kudasai. Clerk: Hai, shoushou omachi kudasai. [Moments later] Omatase shimashita! Douzo. Woman: Arigatou gozaimasu. Let's look at what the woman ordered. The clerk began by welcoming her, and the woman said, "Hello. Please give me one hamburger, three hot dogs, and four cokes." The clerk asks if there's anything more, and the woman says, "Um ... do you have cake?" The clerk replies, "Sorry, we have no cake." The woman replies, "That's alright. Then I'll have one chocolate milkshake." The clerk says, Shoushou omachi kudasai or Please wait a minute. Then he says Omatase shimashita, or Sorry to keep you waiting. He gives her the food and she thanks him. If you check the vocabulary review, I added a few extra words j ust for fun.
Vocabulary Review
ひとつ Hitotsu- one thing 二つ Futatsu- two things 三つ Mittsu- three things 四つ Yottsu- four things 五つ Itsutsu- five things 六つ Muttsu- six things 七つ Nanatsu- seven things 八つ Yattsu- eight things 九つ Kokonotsu- nine things 十 Too- ten things ハンバーガー HANBAAGA- hamburger ホットドッグ HOTTO DOGGU- hot dog ケーキ KEEKI- cake チョコレート CHOKOREETO- chocolate 少々お待ちください Shoushou omachi kudasai- Please wait a moment お待たせしました Omatase shimashita- Sorry to keep you waiting 苺 Ichigo- strawberry バニラ BANIRA- vanilla オレンジ ORENJI- orange マクドナルド MAKUDONARUDO- McDonalds
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LESSON 61- What are you eating? Now we are going to learn a new tense. To put a verb in its present progressive form (as in an action you are doing at that momet), you turn the verb into it's te form and add imasu to the end. For those of you who are wondering what the te form exactly is, you may recall we used some of it in Lesson 16 when working with commands. Now I will take this chance to explain the te form and how we make it. The way the verb goes into its te form all relies on its own ending syllable. There is a very simple chart that can be used to determine how to convert. Simply take off the ending and replace it with the proper te ending. -emasu to -ete (for example, tabemasu to tabete) -chimasu to -tte (for example, machimasu to matte) -rimasu to -tte (for example, shirimasu to shitte) -kimasu to -ite (for example, arukimasu to aruite) -shimasu to -shite (for example, hanashimasu to hanashite) -gimasu to -ide (for example, oyogimasu to oyoide) -bimasu to -nde (for example, asobimasu to asonde) -imasu to -tte (for example, kaimasu to katte) -mimasu to -nde (for example, yomimasu to yonde) However, there are some exceptions to these rules, for there are two different types of Japanese verbs. One exception that can be thought of is mimasu, which simply gets changed to mite. For the time being, though, this chart should be sufficient. Getting back to the present progressive form, to say something like "is eating", you would say tabete imasu. You can also change the imasu into different tenses to change the tense of the entire verb. For example, tabete imashita would be "was eating". Tabete imasen would be "is not eating" and tabete imasen deshita would be "was not eating". Pretty simple, no? Let's move on and see a conversation between Jun and Chika. Jun: Chika-chan, nani o shite imasu ka? Chika: Sukiyaki no ryouri o shite imasu! Ikaga desu ka? Jun: Mazui desu ka? Chika: Chigaimasu! Totemo oishii desu. Kore o tabete kudasai. Jun: Nani o iremashita ka? Chika: Eeto ne . . . yasai to niku to gohan to nori . . . Jun: Nori? Nori ga suki janai desu! Chika: Demo karada ni ii desu! Jun: Sore o tabemasen. Gomen nasai. Chika: Aa, daijoubu . . . watashi wa tabemasu. Nomimono wa ikaga desu ka? Jun: Hai! Tsumetai mizu ga hoshii desu.
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Chika: Douzo! Jun: Doumo . . . kore wa oishii desu. Looking at this simple conversation, Jun first asks Chika what she is doing. Chika replies, "I am cooking sukiyaki. Would you like it?" Jun asks if it is mazui or disgusting. Chika replies, "You're wrong! It's very delicious. Please eat this." Jun asks "What did you put in it?" Iremasu is to put in. Chika replies that she put in vegetables, meat, rice, and baked seaweed. Jun replies, "Baked seaweed? I don't like baked seaweed!" Chika replies, "But it's good for you!" Jun says, "I won't eat that. Sorry." Chika says, "It's alright. I will eat it. Would you like a drink?" Nomimono is drink. (Alternatively, tabemono is food) Jun replies that he wants cold water. Tsumetai is cold to the touch or taste. Chika gives it to him and Jun replies, "Thanks . . . this is delicious."
Vocabulary Review
不味い Mazui- disgusting 入れます Iremasu- to put in 海苔 Nori- baked seaweed ご飯 Gohan- rice 飲みもの Nomimono- drink 食べもの Tabemono- food 冷たい Tsumetai- cold to taste or touch LESSON 62- May I go to the movies? You remember the te forms from the previous lesson, right? Well, now we are going to apply them to a different situation. If you add on the ending te mo ii desu ka, it's like asking for permission. For example, Eiga ni itte mo ii desu ka would be "May I go to the movies?" A reply to it would be Eiga ni itte mo ii desu, or "You may go to the movies". Alternatively, you can say, Eiga ni itte mo yokunai desu, which is "You may not go to the movies ". Since this concept is relatively easy, let's hop into a conversation and get a lot of new vocabulary under our belts. Let's see this conversation between Natsuo and Yuki, his mother, and later his father, Kenji. Natsuo: Okaasan, shukudai ga owarimashita. Eiga ni itte mo ii desu ka? Yuki: Misete kudasai. Aa, yoku dekimashita. Eigakan wa dono gurai desu ka? Natsuo: Juugofun gurai kakarimasu. Yuki: Otousan ni kiite kudasai. Natsuo: Naze desu ka? Yuki: Watashi wa tsukaremasu. Atama ga itai desu.
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Natsuo: Wakarimashita . . . nee, otousan! Eiga ni itte mo ii desu ka? Kenji: Itte mo yokunai desu. Natsuo wa kinou ikimashita. Natsuo: Nani?! Demo, kore wa taisetsu desu! Kenji: Gakkou to shukudai wa motto taisetsu desu. Motto benkyou shite kudasai. Ato de, eiga ni it te mo ii desu. Natsuo: Itsu ikimasu ka? Kenji: Sugu ikimasu. Ashita shiken ga arimasu kara benkyou shite kudasai. Natsuo: Hontou ni? Demo, shukudai ga kirai desu. Kenji: Hitsuyou desu! Rainen daigaku ni hairimasu. Soshite yasumimasu. Kotoshi benkyou shimas u. Natsuo: Wakarimashita. Maitsuki benkyou shimasu. Kenji: Ii desu ne. Let's see what this little family said. Natsuo begins by saying, "Mother, I finished my homework. May I go to the movies?" Owarimasu is to finish. Yuki replies, "Show it to me. Oh, good job. About how far is the movie theater?" Natsuo replies it takes about fifteen minutes. Yuki says to ask his father. (A little note , when using o with kikimasu, it means to listen, but if you use ni, it means to ask) When Natsuo asks why, Yuki replies, "I am tired. My head hurts." Tsukaremasu means to be tired. Natsuo replies, "I understand... hey, father! May I go to the movies?" Kenji replies, "You may not go. You went yesterday." Natsuo replies, "What?! But this is important!" Taisetsu means important, and it is a qualitative noun (meaning you use it with na). Kenji replies, "School and homework is more important. Please study more. Afterwards, you may go to the movies." Ato means after. Natsuo asks when he will go. Kenji replies, "You will go soon. Because you have an exam tomorrow, please study." Sugu means soon and shiken means exam. Natuso replies, "Really? But I hate homework." Hontou means honestly or truthfully, and is usually used with a ni. Kenji replies, "It is necessary! Next year you will enter the university. Then you will rest. This year you will study." Hitsuyou is necessary and kotoshi is this year. Natuso replies, "I understand. I will study every month." Maitsuki is every month. Kenji replies that is good.
Vocabulary Review
終わります Owarimasu- to finish 疲れます Tsukaremasu- to be tired 大切 Taisetsu- important 後 Ato- after すぐ Sugu- soon
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試験 本当 必要 今年 毎月
Shiken- examination Hontou- honestly/truthfully Hitsuyou- necessary Kotoshi- this year Maitsuki- every month
LESSON 63- What is your hobby? The Japanese word for hobby is shumi. There are many, many different hobbies we could list here, but for now, we'll just list the basics. Some typical Japanese hobbies could be karate, judou, kendou, akidou, kyuudou, and yabusame, which are all martial arts, shodou (calligraphy), ikebana (flower arranging), bonsai (caring for small trees), KARAOKE (singing), origami (paper folding), and card games such as irohaKARUTA, hanafuda, and hyakunin isshu. Since we're just trying to learn a lot of new vocabulary here, let's launch into a conversation and go from there. Here we will talk to Hisashi and Jiro about their hobbies. Hisashi: Jiro-san no shumi wa nan desu ka? Jiro: PURAMODERU o tsukurimasu. Ryouri o shimasu. Hisashi san wa? Hisashi: Mushi to kitte o atsumemasu. KONPYUUTA GEEMU o shimasu. Jiro: Donna mushi o atsumemasu ka? Hisashi: Chouchou o atsumemasu. Donna PURAMODERU o tsukurimasu ka? Jiro: Hikouki ya densha ya kuruma ya fune nado o tsukurimasu. Omoshiroi desu. PURAMODERU o rokunenkan tsukutte imasu. Hisashi: Sou desu ka? Manga o yomimasu ka? Jiro: Manga wa anmari yomimasen. Demo dokusho ga suki desu. Hon dake yomimasu. Hisashi: Boku wa manga ga daisuki desu. Jiro-san no hon o motte ikimasu ka? Jiro: Hai. Misemasu. Hisashi: Hima na hi ni nani o shimasu ka? Jiro: Boku wa inu to issho ni sanpo ni ikimasu. Hisashi: PETTO o katte imasu ka? Jiro: Hai. Inu no namae wa PUUKI desu. Hisashi: Kawaii desu ne. Inu ga hoshii desu. Jiro: Tokidoki kaimono o sukoshi shimasu. Hisashi: Boku mo. Hima na hi ni SUTEREO o kikimasu. Jiro: Ongaku ga suki desu ka? Hisashi: Hai! Senshuu KONSAATO ni ikimashita. Subarashikatta
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desu. Jiro: Sou desu ka? Omoshiroi desu! Hisashi: Raigetsu KONSAATO ga arimasu. Issho ni ikimashou ka? Jiro: Hai! Ikimashou! Alright, let's see what these two boys said. Hisashi begins by asking, "What is your hobby?" Jiro replies, "I make plastic models. I cook. You?" PURAMODERU is plastic models and tsukurimasu is to make. Hisashi says, "I collect insects and stamps. I play video games." Mushi is insects, kitte is stamps, atsumemasu is to collect, and KONPYUUTA GEEMU is computer games. Jiro asks what kind of insects he collects. Hisashi replies he collects butt erflies and asks what kind of plastic models Jiro makes. Chouchou is butterfly. Jiro replies, "I make airplanes, trains, cars, boats, as well as other things. It is interesting. I've been making plastic models for six years." Nado is sort of like saying et cetera, and nenkan is the counter for how many years you do something. Just for interest, the counter for years is nen, the counter for months is kagetsu, and the counter for weeks is shuukan. Hisashi then asks if he reads comic books. Jiro replies, "I d on't read many comics. But I like reading. I only read books." Anmari is not many or not much (only used with a negative verb), dokusho is reading, and dake is only. (Note that it replaces a particle, while nado doesn't) Hisashi replies, "I like comic books a lot. Will you bring your books?" Mochimasu means to have or hold, but when used with ikimasu, it becomes to bring. Jiro replies that he will show him. Hisashi then asks, "What do you do on free days?" Hima is free time, and is a qualitative noun. Jiro replies that he takes a walk with his dog. Sanpo is walk. Hisashi then asks, "You have a pet?" Katte imasu means to have, as in a pet. Jiro replies, "Yes. My dog's name is Pookie." Hisashi replies that is cute and he wants a dog. Jiro then says, "Sometimes I do a little shopping." Sukoshi means a little or a bit. Hisashi replies, "Me too. On free days, I listen to my stereo." Jiro asks if he likes music and Hisashi replies, "Yes! Last week I went to a concert. It was wonderful." KONSAATO means concert and subarashii means wonderful or marvelous. Jiro then says, "Is that so? Interesting!" Hisashi says, "Next month there is a concert. Shall we go together?" Jiro replies, "Yea! Let's go!"
Vocabulary Review
趣味 Shumi- hobby 空手、受動、剣道、あきどう、弓道、流鏑馬 Karate, judou, kendou, akidou, kyuudou, yabusame- martial arts 書道 Shodou- calligraphy
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生け花 Ikebana- flower arranging 盆栽 Bonsai- caring for small trees カラオケ KARAOKE- singing with music 折り紙 Origami- paper folding 伊呂波カルタ、花札、百人一首 irohaKARUTA, hanafuda, hyakunin isshu- card games プラモデル PURAMODERU- plastic models 作ります Tsukurimasu- to make 虫 Mushi- insects 切手 Kitte- stamps 集めます Atsumemasu- to collect コンピュータゲーム KONPYUUTA GEEMU- computer games 町長 Chouchou- butterfly など Nado- et cetera 年間 -Nenkan- counter for how many years 年 -Nen- counter for years ヶ月 -Kagetsu- counter for months 週間 -Shuukan- counter for weeks あんまり Anmari- not many/not much 読書 Dokusho- reading だけ Dake- only 持ちます Mochimasu- to have/hold 持って来ます Motte kimasu- to bring 持って行きます Motte ikimasu- to take 暇 Hima- free time 散歩 Sanpo- a walk 飼っています Katte imasu- to have a pet 少し Sukoshi- a little/a bit コンサート KONSAATO- concert すばらしい Subarashii- wonderful/marvelous LESSON 64- I want to go Get ready to learn another verb ending! The tai ending turns the verb into a wanting verb. For example, ikimasu would turn into ikitai, meaning "want to go". To change a verb into its tai ending, simply take off the masu and replace it with tai. Simple, no? However, to be formal, you'd always add desu on the end, though with more informal speaking, it's alright to use it alone. Also, to change tenses, you would use the same form as adjectives. For example, ikitakatta would be "wanted to go", ikitakunai would be "do not want to go" and ikitakunakatta would be "did not want to go". Now that we know this, let's hop into another conversation to see how it works and also to learn some new vocabulary. Let's see what Takuro
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and Teru have to say. Teru: Ashita gakkou ni ikitakunai desu. Takuro: Boku mo. Naratakunai desu. Teru: Boku mo! Naraimasen. Takuro: SUPOOTSU ga motto suki desu. Teru: Donna SUPOOTSU ga dekimasu ka? Takuro: Eeto ... SAKKAA ya yakyuu nado ga dekimasu. Teru: SUPOOTSU ga dekimasen. Naratai desu. Oshiete kudasai. Takuro: Ii kangae desu. Nani o shimasu ka? Teru: Uta o utaimasu. POPPU to ROKKU ongaku ga suki desu. Takuro: Sou desu ka? KURASHIKKU ongaku ga suki desu. BAIORIN o hikimasu. Teru: BAIORIN ga dekimasen. Takuro: Yasashii desu. Teru: Hontou ni? Takuro: Hontou! Aa, atama ga ii desu. Teru: Dou shimashita ka? Takuro: Kaze o hikimasu. Teru: Sore wa ikemasen ne! Yasumimasu ka? Takuro: Sugu yasumimasu. Teru begins by saying, "I don't want to go to school tomorrow." Takuro replies, "Me too. I don't want to learn." Naraimasu mean to learn. Teru replies, "Me too! I don't learn." Takuro says, "I like sports more." Teru asks, "What kind of sports can you play?" Dekimasu means "to be able to do". Takuro replies, "Um... I can play soccer and baseball, as well as other things." Teru says, "I can't do sports. I want to learn. Please teach me." Oshiemasu is to teach. Takuro says, "Good idea. What do you do?" Kangae is idea or thought. Teru replies, "I sing songs. I like pop and rock music." Uta is song, utaimasu is to sing, POPPU is pop music, and ROKKU is rock music. Takuro says, "Is that so? I like classical music. I play the violin." KURASHIKKU is classical and hikimasu means to pluck or to play a stringed instrument. (Piano counts too!) Teru says he can't play the violin, and Takuro replies that it is easy. Teru asks, "Really?" and Takuro replies, "Really! Oh, my head hurts." Teru asks, "What happened?" Takuro replies, "I caught a cold." Though his phrase literally I means, "I plucked a wind", that is how the Japanese say they caught a cold. Teru says that is unfor tunate and asks if he will rest. Takuro replies he will rest soon.
Vocabulary Review
習います Naraimasu- to learn できます Dekimasu- to be able to do 教えます Oshiemasu- to teach 考え Kangae- idea/thought
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歌 Uta- song 歌います Utaimasu- to sing ポップ POPPU- pop music ロック ROKKU- rock music クラシック KURASHIKKU- classical music 引きます Hikimasu- to pluck/play a stringed instrument LESSON 65- Did you already see the movie? You already learned in past lessons that mada means "still/not yet" and is used with a negative verb. To say the opposite, you would use a positive verb and say mou, which means "already". It is gene rally used after the subject. For example, to ask "Did you already see the movie?", you would say Mou eiga o mimashita ka? In response, you would either say Mou mimashita or Mada desu. Since this concept is fairly simple, let's hop right into a conversat ion between Susumu and Yuki. Yuki: Susumu-kun! Mou Michiru-chan o denwa shimashita ka? Susumu: Aa, gomen nasai. Mada desu. Denwa bangou o shirimasen. Yuki: Hontou ni? Watashi wa shitte imasu. Chotto matte kudasai ... aa, denwa bangou wa ichi kyuu ichi no g o go roku hachi desu. Susumu: Arigatou. Wasuremashita. Yuki: Sou desu ka? Watashi wa itsumo oboemasu. Susumu: Sou desu ne. Michiru-chan wa konshuu no shuumatsu ni nani o shimasu ka? Yuki: Shirimasen. Susumu-kun wa? Susumu: Boku wa? Yama ni nobori ni ikimasu. Yuki: Abunai deshou ne! Yamanobori ga suki janai desu. Susumu: Naze desu ka? Yuki-chan wa tanoshikunai desu. In this conversation, Yuki says, "Susumu! Did you call Michiru already?" Susumu replies, "Oh, sorry. Not yet. I don't know her phone number." Shirimasu means "to know". But note, if you currently know something, say Shitte imasu, because knowing is an ongoing activity. Yuki replies, "Really? I know it. Hold on ... oh, the phone number is 191-5568." Susumu says, "Thanks. I forgot." Wasuremasu is "to forget". Yuki replies that she always remembers. Oboemasu is "to remember". Susumu then asks, "What will Michiru do this weekend?" Yuki replies, "I don't know. What about you?" Susumu replies, "Me? I will go to the mountain to climb." Noborimasu is "to climb". Yuki
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replies, "That sounds dangerous! I don't like mountain climbing." Abunai is "dangerous" and yamanobori is "mountain climbing". Susumu replies, "Why? You're not fun." Please take note of the sentence Yama ni nobori ni ikimasu. This is a new sentence pattern for you to learn. Let's look at another sentence: Tomodachi no uchi ni atarashii kuruma o mi ni ikimasu. This means "I will go to my friend's house to see the new car." Mi ni ikimasu is "go to see". In order to say what you are going for, you merely drop the -masu ending off a verb and put it before the ni ikimasu. Another example is RESUTORAN ni bangohan o tabe ni ikimasu, or "I will go to the restuarant to eat dinner". Remember this sentence pattern for future lessons! It becomes very handy.
Vocabulary Review
もう Mou- already 知ります Shirimasu- to know 忘れます Wasuremasu- to forget 覚えます Oboemasu- to remember 登ります Noborimasu- to climb 危ない Abunai- dangerous 山登り Yamanobori- mountain climbing LESSON 66- What will you wear? Now you will learn how to talk about clothing and wearing things. Unlike English, where everything is mostly "wear", there are two main verbs you use in Japanese: kimasu, hakimasu. Kimasu is used with any clothing that hangs from the shoulders, while hakimasu is used with anything on from the waist down, including shoes. There is also kaburimasu, which is used with hats. Shimasu is used with accessories, minus earrings, which is used with kakemasu, or "to hang" if you remember from previous lessons. Most words for clothing are Japlish, with the exception of kimono (a traditional Japanese outfit) and seifuku (school uniform). A few kimasu words would be BURAUSU (blouse), TII SHATSU (T-shirt), SEETAA (sweater), SHATSU (shirt), WAISHATSU (white collared shirt), KOOTO (coat), JAKETTO (jacket), and DORESU (dress). Meanwhile, some hakimasu words would be SUKAATO (skirt), ZUBON (trousers), PANTSU (pants), JIINZU (jeans), and SHOOTSU (shorts). Lastly, boushi (hat) would be used with kaburimasu and accessories like NEKUTAI (necktie), BERUTO (belt), NEKKURESU (necklace), BURESURETTO (bracelet), and IYARINGU (earrings), to name a few. Since this topic is mostly new vocabulary, let's just hop into a
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conversation between Sumiko and Kimi. Sumiko: Aa, Kimi-chan no NEKKURESU wa kirei desu! Doko de kaimashita ka? Kimi: DEPAATO de kaimashita. Shitai desu ka? Sumiko: Arigatou! Kimi: Itsumo NEKKURESU o shimasu. BURESURETTO mo shite, IYARINGU mo kakemasu. Sumiko: Sou desu ka? Watashi wa itsumo boushi o kaburimasu. Kimi: Sou desu ne. Ashita boushi o kaburimasu ka? Ame deshou ne. Sumiko: Hontou ni? Samui deshou ka? Kimi: Shirimasen. TEREBI de otenki no NYUUSU o mimashou ka? Sumiko: Hai. [turns on TV] Aa! Ame desu. Kimi: Sorekara samui desu. PANTSU o hakimasu. Sumiko: Watashi mo. SUKAATO o hakimasen. Kimi: SEETAA o kimasu ka BURAUSU o kimasu ka ? Sumiko: Eeto ... SEETAA o mochimasen. BURASU o kimasu. Kimi: Sou desu ka? Watashi no SEETAA o kitai desu ka? Sumiko: Kimi-chan no SEETAA o kite mo ii desu ka? Kimi: Mochiron! Sumiko: Arigatou! Kimi-chan wa ichiban suki na tomodachi desu. Demo, nani o kimasu ka? Kimi: Watashi no aoi BURAUSU o kimasu. Let's look at this friendly conversation. Sumiko starts by saying, "Ah, your necklace is pretty! Where did you buy it?" Kimi replies that she bought it in the department store and asks if she wants to wear it. Sumiko says thank you and Kimi continues, "I always wear a necklace. I also wear a bracelet and earrings." Sumiko replise, "Is that so? I always wear a hat." Kimi replies, "You do. Will you wear a hat tomorrow? It will probably rain." Sumiko asks if it mi ght be cold. Kimi replies, "I don't know. Shall we watch the weather report on the television?" Sumiko replies, "Yes. Oh! It will rain." Kimi adds in, "And then it will be cold. I will wear pants." Sumiko replies that she will too and won't wear a skirt. Kimi asks, "Will you wear a sweater or will you wear a blouse?" Sumiko replies, "Um ... I don't have a sweater. I will wear a blouse." Kimi replies, "Is that so? Do you want to wear my sweater?" Sumiko asks, "Is it all right to wear your sweater?" Kimi replies of course and Sumiko continued, "Thank you! You are my favorite friend. But, what will you wear?" Kimi says she will wear her blue blouse.
Vocabulary Review
着ます Kimasu- to wear (upper body) 履きます Hakimasu- to wear (lower body)
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被ります Kaburimasu- to wear (head) 着物 Kimono- traditional Japanese dress 制服 Seifuku- school uniform ブラウス BURAUSU- blouse ティーシャツ TII SHATSU- T-shirt シャツ SHATSU- shirt ワイシャツ WAISHATSU- white collared shirt セーター SEETAA- sweater コート KOOTO- coat ジャケット JAKETTO- jacket ドレス DORESU- dress スカート SUKAATO- skirt ズボン ZUBON- trousers パンツ PANTSU- pants ジーンズ JIINZU- jeans ショーツ SHOOTSU- shorts 帽子 Boushi- hat ネクタイ NEKUTAI- necktie ベルト BERUTO- belt ネックレス NEKKURESU- necklace ブレスレット BURESURETTO- bracelet イヤリング IYARINGU- earrings LESSON 67- I arrived at the airport Since most people learn Japanese because they are one day planning to go to Japan, I figured we'd spend the next few lessons on some travel vocabulary. Since we won't be learning much new grammar, please pay attention to all the new vocabulary inside the dialogues. Our first dialogue will be a phone conversation between Matsuo and Miyuu. Matsuo: Moshi moshi? Miyuu: Konnichi wa! Matsuo-san desu ka? Matsuo: Hai, Matsuo desu. Miyuu: Watashi wa Miyuu desu! Matsuo: Miyuu! Hikouki wa dou deshita ka? Miyuu: Totemo nagakatta desu! Gojikan kakarimashita. Matsuo: Nagakatta desu ne. Itsu kuukoo ni tsukimashita ka? Asa hayaku tsukimashita ka yoru osoku tsukimashita ka? Miyuu: Yoru osoku tsukimashita. Kuukoo wa konde imashita! Matsuo: Sou desu ka? Demo, yoru deshita! Miyuu: Hen deshita. Shinpai shimashita. Matsuo: Isogashikatta desu ka? Miyuu: Hai! Kuukoo mo urusakatta desu.
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Matsuo: Yuuto-san wa deguchi de matte imashita ka? Miyuu: Iie! Mise no iriguchi de matte imashita! TII SHATSU o kaitakatta desu. Matsuo: Hontou ni! Dame na Yuuto-san desu ne! Miyuu: Sou desu. Sorekara TAANTEEBURU de machimashita ga nimotsu o mimasen deshita. Matsuo: Naze desu ka? Miyuu: Nimotsu wa saigo deshita! Matsuo: Aa, dame deshita ne. Miyuu: Sou ... nimotsu mo omokatta desu. Takusan mono o motte kimashita. Matsuo: PASUPOOTO o motte kimashita ka? Miyuu: Mochiron! Matsuo: Hai, hai ... mou Yuuton-san o mimashita ka? Miyuu: Mada deshita! Watashi no tonari ni omoi nimotsu o oite, machimashita. Tsugi ni Yuuto-san o mimashita. TII SHATSU o motte imashita. Matsuo: Kuukou o demashita ka? Miyuu: Ee... kousokudouro ni ikimashita. Kuruma de Yuuto -san no uchi ni ikimashita. Matsuo: Hi wa omoshirokatta deshou ne. Miyuu: Sou desu. Watashi wa tsukaremasu. Matsuo: Nemasu ka? Miyuu: Hai ... demo, hajime ni okaasan ni denwa o shimasu. Oyasumi nasai. Matsuo: Oyasumi. Now let's see what they said. Matuso begins by answering the phone and Miyuu says, "Hello! Is this Matsuo?" Matsu o says it is and Miyuu says it's her. Matsuo says, "Miyuu! How was the plane?" Miyuu replies, "It was very long. It took 5 hours." Matsuo goes, "That's long, sin't it? When did you arrive at the airport? Did you arrive early in the morning or late at night ?" Miyuu replies, "I arrived late at night. The airport was crowded!" Matsuo says, "Was it? But it was night!" Miyuu replies that it was strange and she was worried. Matsuo asks if it was busy and Miyuu says it was also noisy. Matsuo asks, "Was Yuuto waiting at the exit?" Miyuu says, "Mp! He was waiting in the story entrance! He wanted to buy a T -shirt." Mtsuo replies, "Really? Bad Yuuto!" Miyuu replies, "Yes, he is. Then I waited at the luggage carousel, but I did not see my luggage." Matsuo asks why and she continuyes, "My luggage was last!" Matsuo replies that is bad and Miyuu says, "Yes... my luggage was also heavy. I brought a lot of things." Matsuo asks if she brought her passport and she says of course. Matsuo says, "OK, OK... did you already see Yuut o?" She replies, "Not yet! I put my heavy luggage next to me and waited. Next I saw Yuuto. He was holding a T-shirt." Matsuo asks if they left the
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airport and she says, "Yes... we went to the expressway. We went to Yuuto's house by car." Matsuo says, "The day sounded busy, no?" She agrees and says she is tired. He asks if she will go to sleep and she replies, "Yes... but first I will call my mother. Good night." He says good night as well.
Vocabulary Review
空港 Kuukou- aiport 混みます Komimasu- to be crowded 心配します Shinpai shimasu- to be worried 忙しい Isogashii- busy うるさい Urusai- noisy 出口 Deguchi- exit 入り口 Iriguchi- entrance ターンテーブル TAANTEEBURU- luggage carousel 荷物 Nimotsu- luggage 重い Omoi- heavy パスポート PASUPOOTO- passport 隣 Tonari- next to 置きます Okimasu- to put 構想区道路 Kousokudouro- expressway/freeway 次 Tsugi- next LESSON 68- He said, "I'm sorry" For this topic, we will learn a new verb and a new form to go with it-iimasu, which means to say and can be used with dialogue. For example, Kare wa "Gomen nasai" to iimashita would be he said, "I'm sorry". It is a relatively easy concept and you can put wh atever you desire into the quotations. Let's learn some new vocabulary while we apply this new sentence. Now we are going to have Miyuu calling her mother. Miyuu: Okaasan! Miyuu desu. Okaasan: Miyuu-chan! Yuuto-san no uchi ni imasu ka? Miyuu: Ee... kono uchi wa hiroi desu! Okaasan: Sou desu ka? Miyuu: Nikai ni wa takusan no shinshitsu ga arimasu. Ikkai ni wa ima ya daidokoro ya ofuroba ga arimasu. Okaasan: Kirei desu ka? Miyuu: Taihan kirei desu. Okaasan: Sore dewa, nani o shimashita ka? Miyuu: Eeto ... Kinou uchi ni tsuite, kuruma o orimashita. Yuuto san wa "Kore wa boku no uchi desu!" to iimashita. Haitte, kaidan ni ikimashita. Watashi no heya wa nikai ni arimasu.
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Okaasan: Heya wa ii desu ka? Miyuu: Ee. Ookii BEDDO ga arimasu. Yuuto -san wa "Asagohan wa kujihan desu. Hayaku okite kudasai!" to iimashita. Heya o demashita. Watashi wa ofuroba ni itte, nuide, ofuro ni hairmashita. Atatakakatta desu. Soshite, nemashita. Okaasan: Tsukaremashita ka? Miyuu: Hai, taihen tsukaremashita. Tsugi no asa ni Yuuto -san no kazoku to asagohan o tabemashita. SARADA ya tamago ya TOOSUTO o tabemasu. Oishikatta desu! Yuuto -san no okaasan wa "Suki desu ka?" to iimashita. Watashi wa "Hai! Daisuki desu." to iimashita. Okaasan: SARADA wa ii deshou. Miyuu: Ato de, Yuuto-san to TEREBI de NYUUSU o mimashita. Demo, hito wa hayaku hanashimashita! Zenzen wakarimasen deshita. Okaasan: Dame desu ne. Miyuu: Hai. Soshite, Yuuto san wa "Kaimono ni ikitai desu ka?" to iimashita. Watashi wa "Hai!" to iimashita. Okaasan: Ikimashita ka? Miyuu: Iie ... watashi no okane o wasurete kimashita. Sagashimashita ga arimasen deshita. Okaasan: Hontou ni! Dame desu! Miyuu: Yuuto-san wa "Okane o oboemasen deshita? Daijoubu desu! Soredewa ikimasen." to iimashita. Okaasan: Yuuto-san wa ii otoko no ko desu ne. Miyuu: Sou desu. Sorekara motto TEREBI o mite, KOOHII o nomimashita. Satou to gyuunyuu o iremashita. Oishikatta desu. Okaasan: Tanoshikatta desu ka? Miyuu: Hai. Okaasan: Yokatta desu. Let's get into the translation. Miyuu calls up her mother and she asks, "Are you in Yuuto's house?" Miyuu replies, "Yes.. this house is spacious!" Her mother says really and Miyuu continues, "On the second floor there are many bedrooms. On the first floor, there is a living room, kitchen, and a bathroom." Her mom asks if it is pretty and Miyuu replies it is very pretty. Her mother asks what she did and Miyuu replies, "Well... yesterday we arrived at the house and got out of the car. Yuuto said 'This is my house!' We entered and went to the stairway. My room is on the second floor." Her mother asks if her room was nice and Miyuu replies, "Yes. I have a big bed. Yuuto said, 'Breakfast is at 9:30. Please wake up early !' He left my room. I went to the bathroom, undressed, and entered the bath. It was warm. Then I went to sleep." Her mother asks if she was tired and Miyuu says, "Yes, I was very tired. The next morning I ate breakfast with Yuuto's family.
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We ate salad, eggs, and toast. It was delicious! Yuuto's mother said, 'Do you like it?' I said, 'Yes! I really like it.'" Her mother says salad sounds good. Miyuu replies, "Afterwards, I watched the news on the TV with Yuuto. But, the person was talking quickly! I didn't understand at all." Her mother comments that is not good. Miyuu continues, "Yes. Then Yuuto said, 'Do you want to go shopping?' I said, 'Yes!'" Her mother asked if she went but she says, "No... I forgot to take my money. I searched for it, but it was not t here." Her mother says, "Really? That's bad!" Miyuu continues, "Yuuto said, 'You did not remember money? That's all right! Then we won't go.'" Mother comments that Yuuto is a nice boy and Miyuu agrees. She continues to say, "Then we watched more TV and drank coffee. We put in sugar and milk. It was delicious." Her mother asks if it was fun, and when Miyuu says yes, she says, "I'm relieved."
Vocabulary Review
言います Iimasu- to say 折ります Orimasu- to get off/get out of 二回 Nikai- second floor 一回 Ikkai- first floor 会談 Kaidan- stairway 脱ぎます Nugimasu- to undress/take off サラダ SARADA- salad 卵 Tamago- egg トースト TOOSUTO- toast ぜんぜん Zenzen- not at all 忘れます Wasuremasu- to forget 探します Sagashimasu- to search 覚えます Oboemasu- to remember 佐藤 Satou- sugar 牛乳 Gyuunyuu- milk 入れます Iremasu- to put in LESSON 69- Adverbs You may have already learned a few adverbs already and not even known it. In past lessons, you have learned yoku, meaning often or well, hayaku, meaning early or quickly, and osoku, meaning late or slowly. All three of these words are adverbs, and if you notice, they all correspond with an adjective. These, for example, correspond with ii, hayai, and osoi. That is because adverbs are adjectives that are just changed. For
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adjectives ending with i, you merely drop the i like you would if you were changing the tense, and add ku on the end. For na adjectives, such as kirei and benri, you would merely change the na to a ni. All adjectives always go in front of the ver b, because that is what it modifies. Adverbs can also modify adjectives as well, such as the adverb sugoku, which comes from the adjective sugoi, or awesome. When sugoku and an adjective are put together, you form something like sugoku takai, which would translate to "awfully expensive" or "really expensive". Let's go right into a conversation between Sariko and Kenji so you get the feel of how adverbs are used. Sariko: Kenji kun no atarashii uchi o mite mo ii desu ka? Kenji: Hai. Uchi wa machi no mukou ga arimasu. Sariko: Sugoku tooi desu ne. Kenji: Sou desu yo. Dakara densha de ikimasu. Sariko: Watashi wa densha ni yoku norimasen. Kenji: Naze desu ka? Hayai desu. Sariko: Taitei arukimasu. Ashi ga joubu o narimasu. Kenji: Omoshiroi desu ne. Sariko: Arukimashou ka?,br> Kenji: Hai, arukimashou. Aa, mite! Sono tori wa takaku tonde imasu ne. Sariko: Tori ga suki desu. Kenji: Suki janai desu. Uchi no chikaku no tori wa urusai desu. Sariko: Sou desu ka? Shou ga nai. Aa! Ano hito wa PURAMODERU o tsukutte imasu. Kenji: Hikouki o tsukutte imasu. Joubu ni dekite imasu. Sariko: Watashi wa kaitai desu. Kenji: Demo sore wa takai desu. Okane ga arimasen. Sariko: Sou ... Kenji: Genki dashite kudasai. Boku wa kaimasu. Sariko: Arigatou! So let's see what they've said. Sariko begins with, "May I see your new house?" Kenji replies yes, but it is beyond town. Sariko says, "That's awfully far, no?" Kenji replies, "Yes, it is. So let's go by train." Dakara means "so" or "therefore". Sariko replies, "I don't ride the train often." Kenji asks, "Why? It's fast." Sariko replies, "I usually walk. My legs become strong." Taitei is usually, joubu is strong, and narimasu is to become. Kenji replies that is interesting an they agree to walk. Kenji says, "Oh, look! That bird is flying high, isn't it?" Tobimasu means to fly. Sariko replies that she likes birds, and Kenji continues with, "I don't like them. The birds near my house are noisy." Sariko replies, "Really? It can't be helped. Oh! That person over there is making plastic models." Shou ga nai is a phrase that means "It can't be helped" or "That's life". Kenji replies, "He's making planes. They're
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strongly built." You've learned dekimasu as "can do" but when it's put as dekite imasu, it means to be done, be ready, or to be finished. Sariko says she wants to buy one and Kenji says, "But that's expensive. You don't have money." Sariko agrees sadly, so Kenji says, "Cheer up. I will buy it." Dashimasu means to bring out or come out, so Genki dashite means to basically "Cheer up". Sariko thanks him happily.
Vocabulary Review
すごく Sugoku- awfully 早く Hayaku- early/quickly 遅く Osoku- late/slowly よく Yoku- often/well 無効 Mukou- beyond だから Dakara- therefore 大抵 Taitei- usually 丈夫 Joubu- strong なります Narimasu- to become 飛びます Tobimasu- to fly/jump/hop しょうがない Shou ga nai- It can't be helped できています Dekite imasu- to be done 出します Dashimasu- to come out/bring out LESSON 70- Informal verbs Throughout the lessons, you have learned the polite level of speaking. However, now it is time to finally learn the informal way of speaking. They are not that different from the polite form. Let's take the verb ikimasu and look at it in its simple forms. Simple present/future- iku Simple negative- ikanai Simple past- itta Simple past negative- ikanakatta To change ikimasu to iku, you merely drop the -masu ending and change ki to ku. To show more examples, tsukurimasu would turn into tsukuru and kaimasu would turn into kau. To go from ikimasen to ikanai, you have to look back to iku. Change ku to ka and add nai to the end. To use the two examples from before, tsukurimasen would become tsukuranai and kaimasen would be kawanai. To get itta from ikimashita, simply look at the te form of ikimasu, which is itte. Simple change the e at the end to an a to get the simple past. Tsukurimashita would become tsukutta and kaimashita would become katta.
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Lastly, to get ikanakatta from ikimasen deshita, you would refer back to ikanai and merely change the nai to nakatta, just as if it were an adjective ending. So tsukurimasen deshita would be tsukuranakatta and kaimasen deshita would turn into kawanakatta. However, not all verbs are treated like ikimasu, because there are actually three different types of Japanese verbs. Ikimasu would fall into type 1, but a verb like demasu, mimasu, or nemasu would fall into type 2. That is because when thes e verbs are put into their simple forms, they are different. Let's look at these verbs and put them in the four endings. Simple present/future- deru, miru, neru Simple negative- denai, minai, nenai Simple past- deta, mita, neta Simple past negative- denakatta, minakatta, nenakatta As you can see, the type 2 verbs are a lot easier, because in order to get the base, you justy drop the -masu and add the endings and you don't have to convert it into anything special. The last type of verbs are the irregular ve rbs, and they are shimasu and kimasu. Let's find out just why by looking at their various endings. Simple present/future- suru, kuru Simple negative- shinai, kinai Simple past- shita, kita Simpe past negative- shinakatta, kinakatta The only thing that is so irregular about them is their simple form -suru and kuru, because they have to change completely for the endings. But if you were to compare them to the two other types, they are treated more like type 2 verbs than type 1. Instead of launching into a conversation, I'm going to give you a chart to help you convert verbs from their simple present to all the other forms of it. You should keep it for future reference until you get comfortable with the conversions. Usually, the informal way of speaking is not recommended when you are visiting the country, unless you are talking to a close friend. Strangers would find that disrespectful. Speaking the polite way is the way to go for now. Plain -eru -iru -ru -tsu
Polite -emasu -imasu -rimasu -chimasu
Te -ete -ite -tte -tte
Past -eta -ita -tta -tta 98
Negative -enai -inai -ranai -tanai
Past Neg -enakatta -inakatta -ranakatta -tanakatta
-u -bu -mu -gu -ku -su
-imasu -bimasu -mimasu -gimasu -kimasu -shimasu
-tte -nde -nde -ide -ite -shite
-tta -nda -nda -ida -ita -shita
-wanai -banai -manai -ganai -kanai -shinai
-wanakatta -banakatta -manakatta -ganakatta -kanakatta -shinakatta
LESSON 71- Don't read lying down You've learned how to give someone a command, but now we will learn how to give someone a negative command. As you already know, to tell someone how to stand up is tatte kudasai. To tell them not to stand up, you would say tatanai de kudasai. A negative command is the simple negative plus de. Another example would be isoganai de kudasai, which is "please don't hurry", from the verb isogimasu, to hurry. Another way to tell someone not to do something is to tell them they must not do it. To tell someone "You must not stand", you would say tatte wa ikemasen. As you can see, it is merely the te form a verb with wa ikemasen added on. However, this way is more of a scolding than a request, and children may hear this when they disbehave. You can also use the negative command with another verb to tell someone to do something without doing something else. For example, to tell someone not to read while lying down, you would say Nete yomanai de kudasai. It is formed similar to a compound sente nce. Let's look at a conversation between Daisuke and his mother, Sumiko. Sumiko: Daisuke kun wa yonde imasu ka? Daisuke: Hai! Sumiko: Yonde BEDDO o nenai de kudasai. Suwatte kudasai. Daisuke: Demo, netai desu. Sumiko: Nete wa ikemasen. Daisuke: Hai, okaasan. Sumiko: TEREBI o tsukemashita ka? Daisuke: Hai. Boku wa shukudai o shite atarashii bangumi o 99
mimashita. Sumiko: Shukudai o shite TEREBI o minai de kudasai. Daisuke: Demo, bangumi wa omoshirokatta desu! Sumiko: Shukudai no ato de bangumi o mite mo ii de su. Daisuke: Bangumi wa owarimasu! Boku wa isogimasu. Sumiko: Isoide wa ikemasen. Osoku shite kudasai. Daisuke: Hai, okaasan. Sumiko begins by asking, "Daisuke, are you reading?" Daisuke replies he is and Sumiko says, "Don't lie down while reading. Please sit up." Daisuke replies that he wants to lie down, but Sumiko says, "You must not lie down." She then asks, "Did you turn on the television?" Tsukemasu is to turn something on, while keshimasu is to turn something off. Daisuke replies, "Yes. I watched a new program while doing homework." Bangumi is a program. Sumiko says, "Don't watch television while doing homework." Daisuke says, "But it was an interesting program!" but his mother replies, "You may watch the program after your homework." Daisuke replies, "The program will be over! I will hurry." Sumikoe says, "You must not hurry. Do it slowly." Daisuke reluctantly agrees.
Vocabulary Review
急ぎます Isogimasu- to hurry 点けます Tsukemasu- to turn on 消します Keshimasu- to turn off 番組 Bangumi- program LESSON 72- Go and close the window When you tell someone to do something, you usually tell them to "go" and do it. However, in Japan, they won't tell you to "go" and do something; they'd say do something and "come" back. In essence, these two phrases mean the same thing, but just they way they are formed is different. For example, to say "Go and close the window", you would say mado o shimete kite kudasai. Kimasu is actually a very versatile verb and is used quite often in Japanese with a variety of different words. In English, it is quite hard to understand just what they are saying, and a lot of it has to be liberally understood instead of literally translated. For example, a Japanese person might say RAAMEN o tabete kimashita. It would mean "I came having eaten ramen". A sentence like aruite kimashita would be "I came walking" or just "I walked", with the coming part being understood. It can get quite complex at times, and to a foreign speaker, it might be a hard concept to grasp at first.
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Let's hop right into a conversation to make it a bit easier to understand. Let's see what Sumire and Takeshi have to say to each other. Sumire: Takeshi kun, mado o shimete kite kudasai. Samui desu ne. Takeshi: Hai! Hasumi san wa kaette kimashita ka? Sumire: Mada desu. ... aa! Nani o shite imashita k a? Soko kara orite kite kudasai! Takeshi: Iie! Sumire chan wa koko ni agatte kite kudasai! Sumire: Baka ... bangohan o tabete kimashita ka? Takeshi: Iie. Wasurete kimashita. Onaka ga suite imasu! Ryouri o shite kite kudasai. Sumire: Hajime ni orite kite kudasai. Takeshi: Hai! Sumire: Nani o tabetai desu ka? Takeshi: Sushi ga hoshii desu. Sumire: Sou desu ka? Soshite, chotto matte kudasai. Sugu ryouri o shimasu. Daidokoro no denki o tsukete kite kudasai. Takeshi: Wakarimashita! Iya... denki ga kowaremasu. Sumire: Nani?! Takeshi kun wa kowashimasu ka? Takeshi: Chigaimasu! Aa... komarimashita ne. Sumire begins by saying, "Takeshi, go and close the window. It's cold, isn't it?" Takeshi replies, "OK! Did Hasumi come back?" Sumire replies, "Not yet.... oh! What are you doing? Come down from there!" Orimasu is to come down. Takeshi says playfully, "No! You come up here!" Agarimasu is to come up. Sumire remarks, "Stupid... did you come having eaten dinner?" Takeshi replies, "No. I forgot. I'm hungry! Go and cook." Sumire says, "First come down." When he agrees, she continues, "What do you want to eat?" He says he wants sushi and she says, "is that so? Then hold on a little. I'll cook soon. Go and turn on the kitchen lights." Denki is lights or lamps. Takeshi replies, "Alright! Uh-oh... the lights are broken." Kowaremasu is to be broken. Sumire says, "What?! Did you break it?" Kowashimasu is to break. (Don't be confused by the two!) Takeshi replies, "I didn't! Oh... I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
Vocabulary Review
下ります Orimasu- to get down/get out 上がります Agarimasu- to come up/go up 電気 Denki- lights/lamp 壊れます Kowaremasu- to be broken 壊します Kowashimasu- to break 困ります Komarimasu- to be in trouble/be in a mess
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LESSON 73- Try a little sushi You know that mimasu means to see, but when combined with other verbs, it can also mean to try. For example, if you wanted to say "Try a little sushi", you would say Chotto sushi o tabete mite kudasai. Please note that the mimasu always comes at the end of the sentence. This can be used in a variety of different ways, but be careful of the context, for you can just as easily say Soto ni itte sora o mimashita and it would be "I went outside and saw the sky". You have to learn to differentiate between when it means to see and when it means to try. Let's look at a conversation between Youko and Jirou to see how it can be used. Youko: Kinou kaimono ni ikimashita. Jirou: Sou desu ka? Nani o kaimashita ka? Youko: Nani mo kaimashita. Demo, aoi BURAUSU o kite mimashita. Hen deshita. Jirou: Atarashii kutsu o kaimasen deshita ka? Youko: Iie. Kakkoii kutsu o haite mimashita ga takakatta desu! Motto okane ga irimashita. Jirou: Daijoubu desu yo. Youko chan wa mou kutsu ga takusan arimasu. Youko: Sou desu ne. Ano... ima nanji desu ka? Jirou: Sanji goro desu. Naze desu ka? Youko: Oneechan wa sugu kaette kimasu. Soto ni kite mite kudasai. Jirou: Hai. Chotto matte. ....Oneesan ga imasen. Youko: Wakarimashita. Ja, bangohan o hajimemasu. Jirou: Ryouri o yoku shimasu ka? Youko: Mada desu. Chotto tabete mite kudasai. Jirou: Hai.... iya, mazui desu ne. Renshuu shite ne. Youko: Wakarimashita. Motto renshuu shimasu! Youko begins by saying she went shoppin g the day before. Jirou asks what she bought and she replies, "I bought nothing. But I tried on a blue blouse. It was strange." Jirou asks, "You didn't buy new shoes?" She replies, "No. I tried on cool shoes but they were expensive! I needed more money." Jirou remarks, "That's all right. You already have many." Youko agrees and then asks what time it is. Jirou says, "It's about 3 'o clock. Why?" She replied, "My older sister will come back soon. Please go outside and look for her." Jirou says, "OK. Wait a little ... your sister isn't there." Youko replies, "Alright. Then I'll be gin dinner." Hajimemasu means to begin. Jirou asks if she cookes well and she replies, "Not yet. Please try a little of this." Jirou says, "OK. ...
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ew, this is horrible. Practice, alright?" She replies, "Alright. I'll practice more!"
Vocabulary Review
始めます Hajimemasu- to begin LESSON 74- I finished all the rice Shimaimasu means to finish completely, and is used frequently with other Japanese verbs and words like minna (everyone) and zenbu (all). For example, you can say Gohan o tabete shimaimashita, which means "I finished all the rice." You can also say something like Kanji o zenbu wasurete shimaimashita or "I forgot all the kanji". Instead of just saying you forgot it, you're saying you completely forgot it, which adds a lot more emphasis to your sent ence. It's good to use when you want to get your point across. Since this is a relatively easy new concept, let's hop right into a conversation. Let's see what Eriko and Junji have to say. Eriko: Shukudai o wasurete shimaimashita! Junji: Ee? Sakuban shimasen deshita ka? Eriko: Iie ... KONPYUUTA ga kowarete shimaimashita. Junji: Komarimashita ne. Eriko: Junji kun wa mou atarashii KONPYUUTA o kaimashita ka? Junji: Iie. Okane ga zenbu tsukutte shimaimashita. Eriko: Nani o kaimashita ka? Junji: Jitensha o kaimashita. Ii desu ne. Eriko: Jitensha ga takusan arimasu! Junji: Wakarimashita ... demo, daisuki desu yo. Eriko: JUUSU o nonde shimaimashita ka? Junji: Iie. Ikaga desu ka? Eriko: Ee, nodo ga kawakimashita. Junji: Douzo. Eriko: Doumo! Eriko begins by saying, "I completely forgot my homework!" Junji remarks, "Huh? You didn't do it last night?" She replies, "No ... my computer completely broke down." Junjin remarks that she's in trouvle and Eriko asks, "Did you already buy a new computer?" He replies, "No. I used up all my money." Eriko asks what he bought and he says, "I bought a bicycle. It's nice." Eriko remarks, "You have a lot of bicycles!" He replies, "I know ... but I really like them." Eriko then asks, "Did you finish all the juice?" He replise, "No. Would you like some?" She says, "Yes, I'm thirsty." He gives it to her and she happily thanks him.
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Vocabulary Review
仕舞います Shimaimasu- to finish/complete LESSON 73- Try a little sushi You know that mimasu means to see, but when combined with other verbs, it can also mean to try. For example, if you wanted to say "Try a little sushi", you would say Chotto sushi o tabete mite kudasai. Please note that the mimasu always comes at the end of the sentence. This can be used in a variety of different ways, but be careful of the context, for you can just as easily say Soto ni itte sora o mimashita and it would be "I went outside and saw the sky". You have to learn to differentiate between when it means to see and when it means to try.
Let's look at a conversation between Youko and Jirou to see how it can be used. Youko: Kinou kaimono ni ikimashita. Jirou: Sou desu ka? Nani o kaimashita ka? Youko: Nani mo kaimashita. Demo, aoi BURAUSU o kite mimashita. Hen deshita. Jirou: Atarashii kutsu o kaimasen deshita ka? Youko: Iie. Kakkoii kutsu o haite mimashita ga takakatta desu! Motto okane ga irimashita. Jirou: Daijoubu desu yo. Youko chan wa mou kutsu ga takusan arimasu. Youko: Sou desu ne. Ano... ima nanji desu ka? Jirou: Sanji goro desu. Naze desu ka? Youko: Oneechan wa sugu kaette kimasu. Soto ni kite mite kudasai. Jirou: Hai. Chotto matte. ....Oneesan ga imasen. Youko: Wakarimashita. Ja, bangohan o hajimemasu. Jirou: Ryouri o yoku shimasu ka? Youko: Mada desu. Chotto tabete mite kudasai. Jirou: Hai.... iya, mazui desu ne. Renshuu shite ne. Youko: Wakarimashita. Motto renshuu shimasu! Youko begins by saying she went shopping the day before. Jirou asks what she bought and she replies, "I bought nothing. But I tried on a blue blouse. It was strange." Jirou asks, "You didn't buy new shoes?" She replies, "No. I tried on cool shoes but they were expensive! I needed more money." Jirou remarks, "That's all right. You already
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have many." Youko agrees and then asks what time it is. Jirou says, "It's about 3 'o clock. Why?" She replied, "My older sister will come back soon. Please go outside and look for her." Jirou says, "OK. Wait a little ... your sister isn't there." Youko replies, "Alright. Then I'll begin dinner." Hajimemasu means to begin. Jirou asks if she cookes well and she replies, "Not yet. Please try a little of this." Jirou says, "OK. ... ew, this is horrible. Practice, alright?" She replies, "Alr ight. I'll practice more!"
Vocabulary Review
始めます Hajimemasu- to begin
LESSON 74- I finished all the rice Shimaimasu means to finish completely, and is used frequently with other Japanese verbs and words like minna (everyone) and zenbu (all). For example, you can say Gohan o tabete shimaimashita, which means "I finished all the rice." You can also say something like Kanji o zenbu wasurete shimaimashita or "I forgot all the kanji". Instead of just saying you forgot it, you're saying you completely forgot it, which adds a lot more emphasis to your se ntence. It's good to use when you want to get your point across. Since this is a relatively easy new concept, let's hop right into a conversation. Let's see what Eriko and Junji have to say. Eriko: Shukudai o wasurete shimaimashita! Junji: Ee? Sakuban shimasen deshita ka? Eriko: Iie ... KONPYUUTA ga kowarete shimaimashita. Junji: Komarimashita ne. Eriko: Junji kun wa mou atarashii KONPYUUTA o kaimashita ka? Junji: Iie. Okane ga zenbu tsukutte shimaimashita. Eriko: Nani o kaimashita ka? Junji: Jitensha o kaimashita. Ii desu ne. Eriko: Jitensha ga takusan arimasu! Junji: Wakarimashita ... demo, daisuki desu yo. Eriko: JUUSU o nonde shimaimashita ka? Junji: Iie. Ikaga desu ka? Eriko: Ee, nodo ga kawakimashita. Junji: Douzo.
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Eriko: Doumo! Eriko begins by saying, "I completely forgot my homework!" Junji remarks, "Huh? You didn't do it last night?" She replies, "No ... my computer completely broke down." Junjin remarks that she's in trouvle and Eriko asks, "Did you already buy a new computer?" He replies, "No. I used up all my money." Eriko asks what he bought and he says, "I bought a bicycle. It's nice." Eriko remarks, "You have a lot of bicycles!" He replies, "I know ... but I really like them." Eriko then asks, "Did you finish all the juice?" He replise, "No. Would you like some?" She says, "Yes, I'm thirsty." He gives it to her and she happily thanks him.
Vocabulary Review
仕舞います Shimaimasu- to finish/complete
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