Sunday, June 4, 2006

hear you go
hear are some terms you should no heheh-^.^-
gakkou
学校 school
shougakkou
小学校 elementary school
chuugakkou
中学校 junior high school
koutougakkou (koukou)
高等学校（高校） high school
daigaku
大学 university
gakusei
学生 student Watashi wa bideo o yoku mimasu.
私はビデオをよく見ます。 I watch videos often.
Kare wa terebi o yoku mimasu.
彼はテレビをよく見ます。 He watches TV often. subject object verb
Tanaka-san wa
Mr. Tanaka ringo o
apple tabemasu.
eat.
Tom-san wa
Tom terebi o
TV mimashita.
watched. http://japanese.about.com/blank11.htm
Introductory Japanese Lessons - Word Order Tanaka-san wa
ringo o tabemasu ka.
田中さんはりんごを食べますか。 Does Mr. Tanaka eat apples?
Tom-san wa terebi o mimashita ka.
トムさんはテレビを見ましたか。 Did Tom watch TV? 1) Ohayou gozaimasu. 　おはようございます。　(Good morning.)
One can also say just "Ohayou（おはよう）". This is casual, and should not be used with one's boss.



(2) Konnichiwa. 　こんにちは。　(Hello/Good afternoon.)


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Introductory Japanese Lessons (8)

Greetings and Daily Expressions

(1) Ohayou gozaimasu. 　おはようございます。　(Good morning.)
One can also say just "Ohayou（おはよう）". This is casual, and should not be used with one's boss.



(2) Konnichiwa. 　こんにちは。　(Hello/Good afternoon.)

(3) Konbanwa. 　こんばんは。　(Good evening.)

(4) Oyasuminasai. 　おやすみなさい。　(Good night.)
Unlike English, it is mostly used before going to bed.

(5) Sayonara. 　さよなら。　(Good-bye.)


"Sayounara（さようなら)" can be also used instead of "sayonara（さよなら)." People do not say "sayonara（さよなら）" when leaving their own home. "Ittekimasu（いってきます）" is normally used. The response to "Ittekimasu（いってきます）" is "Itterasshai（いってらっしゃい）". "Dewa mata（ではまた）" is also often used as "see you later", similar to the English expression.

How about "See you tomorrow"? "Tomorrow" is "ashita（明日）" in Japanese. I think you can guess what the the answer is: "Mata ashita（また明日）".

I hope you can practice these greetings. I am going to tell you one more phrase, "Mata raishuu（また来週）". This means "See you next week". Lessons (9)
Here are some very useful and simple expressions.

Sumimasen　(すみません） - one can use this in several situations.

(a) Excuse me!

(b) Thank you.

(c) I'm sorry.


(d) Pardon me.

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

Douzo and Doumo

When one offers something "douzo（どうぞ）" can be used. A simple reply is "doumo（どうも）". "Doumo arigatou gozaimasu（どうもありがとうございます）" is a very polite way of saying, "Thank you very much". A more casual response is either "arigatou（ありがとう）" or "doumo（どうも）".

First Meetings/ Introductions (1)

Dialogue in Romaji

Namiko: Hajimemashite, Namiko desu.
Douzo yoroshiku.
Paul: Hajimemashite, Paul desu.
Douzo yoroshiku.

Dialogue in Japanese

奈美子: はじめまして、奈美子です。
どうぞよろしく。
ポール: はじめまして、ポールです。
どうぞよろしく。

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

Watashi wa Namiko desu.
私は奈美子です。 I am Namiko.
Kore wa hon desu.
これは本です。 This is a book.

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

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

"Hajimemashite（はじめまして）" is used when meeting a person for the first time. "Hajimeru（はじめる）" is the verb which means "to begin". "Douzo yoroshiku（どうぞよろしく）" is used when you introduce yourself, and other times when you are asking a favor of someone.

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



Translation for the Dialogue

Namiko: How do you do? I'm Namiko.
Nice to meet you.
Paul: How do you do? I'm Paul.
Nice to meet you.

Notes

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

* When introducing yourself, the bow (ojigi) is preferred to a handshake. Ojigi is an essential part of daily Japanese life. If you live in Japan for a long time, you will begin bowing automatically. You might even bow when you are talking on the phone (like many Japanese do)!
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Japanese Language
Introductory Japanese Lessons (11)

First Meetings/ Introductions (2)

Dialogue in Romaji

Namiko: Yamada san, konnichiwa. Kochira wa Paul-san desu.
Paul: Hajimemashite, Paul desu. Douzo yoroshiku.
Yamada: Hajimemashite, Yamada desu. O-kuni wa dochira desu ka.
Paul: Kanada desu.

Dialogue in Japanese

奈美子: 山田さん、こんにちは。こちらはポールさんです。
ポール: はじめまして、ポールです。どうぞよろしく。
山田: はじめまして、山田です。 お国はどちらですか。
ポール: カナダです。

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

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

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

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

Let's try!

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

O-namae wa nan desu ka
お名前は何ですか。 What is your name?
O-shigoto wa nan desu ka.
お仕事は何ですか。 What is your job?

Here are the phrases to answer these questions.

Namiko (your name) desu.
奈美子　(your name)　です。 I am Namiko.
Gakusei (your occupation) desu.
学生　(your occupation)　です。　 I am a student.

Translation for the Dialogue

Namiko: Hello, Mr. Yamada. This is Paul.
Paul: How do you do? I am Paul. Nice to meet you.
Yamada: How do you do? I am Yamada.
Where are you from? (Literally means, what is your country?)
Paul: I am from Canada.Telling Time

Dialogue in Romaji

Paul: Sumimasen. Ima nan-ji desu ka.
Otoko no hito: San-ji juugo fun desu.
Paul: Doumo arigatou.
Otoko no hito: Dou itashimashite.

Dialogue in Japanese

ポール: すみません。 今何時ですか。
男の人: 三時十五分です。
ポール: どうもありがとう。
男の人: どういたしまして。

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

"Ima nan-ji desu ka（今何時ですか）" means "What time is it now?"

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

1 ichi 2 ni
3 san 4 yon/shi
5 go 6 roku
7 nana/shichi 8 hachi
9 kyuu/ku 10 juu

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

11 juuichi (10+1) 20 nijuu (2X10) 30 sanjuu (3X10)
12 juuni (10+2) 21 nijuuichi (2X10+1) 31 sanjuuichi (3X10+1)
13 juusan (10+3) 22 nijuuni (2X10+2) 32 sanjuuni (3X10+2)

Click here for more numbers with the sound files.

Quiz (1)

Read the following numbers. Answers below this page.

(a) 45
(b) 78
(c) 93

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

4 o' clock yo-ji (not yon-ji)
7 o' clock shichi-ji (not nana-ji)
9 o'clock ku-ji (not kyuu-ji)

Click here for the time expressions with the sound files.

Quiz (2)

Read the following times. Answers below this page.

(a) 1:15
(b) 4:30
(c) 8:42

Translation for the Dialogue

Paul: Excuse me. What time is it now?
Man: It is 3:15.
Paul: Thank you.
Man: You are welcome.Lessons (13)

Dialogue in Romaji
Paul: Ginkou wa doko desu ka.
Namiko: Asoko desu.
Paul: Nan-ji kara desu ka.
Namiko: Ku-ji kara desu.
Paul: Doumo.

Dialogue in Japanese
ポール: 銀行はどこですか。
奈美子: あそこです。
ポール: 何時からですか。
奈美子: 九時からです。
ポール: どうも。

Do you remember how to ask someone what country he or she is from? The answer is "Okuni wa dochira desu ka（お国はどちらですか）." "Dochira（どちら）" and "doko（どこ）" both mean "where". "Doko" is less formal.

How do you say, "What time is it?" The answer is "Nan-ji desu ka（何時ですか）."

Today's question is "Nan-ji kara desu ka（何時からですか）". "Kara（から）" is a particle and means "from".

Quiz

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

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

Here are some vocabulary for the names of the countries.

Nihon
日本 Japan Igirisu
イギリス England
Amerika
アメリカ America Italia
イタリア Italy
Chuugoku
中国 China Kanada
カナダ Canada
Doitsu
ドイツ Germany Mekishiko
メキシコ Mexico
Furansu
フランス France Oosutoraria
オーストラリア Australia

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

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

Nihon-jin
日本人 Japanese
Amerika-jin
アメリカ人 American
Kanada-jin
カナダ人 Canadian

Translation for the Dialogue

Paul: Where is the bank?
Namiko: It is over there.
Paul: What time is the bank open from?
Namiko: From 9:00.
Paul: Thanks.Shopping

Dialogue in Romaji

Tenin: Irasshaimase.
Paul: Kore wa nan desu ka.
Tenin: Sore wa obi desu.
Paul: Ikura desu ka.
Tenin: Gosen en desu.
Paul: Sore wa ikura desu ka.
Tenin: Nisen gohyaku en desu.
Paul: Ja, sore o kudasai.

Dialogue in Japanese

店員: いらっしゃいませ。
ポール: これは何ですか。
店員: それは帯です。
ポール: いくらですか。
店員: 五千円です。
ポール: それはいくらですか。
店員: 二千五百円です。
ポール: じゃ、それをください。

"Irasshaimase(いらっしゃいませ)" is a greeting to customers in stores or restaurants. It literally means "welcome." You are not expected to answer this greeting.

"Kore（これ）" means "this." "Sore（それ）" means "that." English has only "this" and "that." Japanese has three separate indicators. "Are（あれ）" means "that over there."

kore
これ something near the speaker
sore
それ something near the person spoken to
are
あれ something not near either person

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

Q. Kore wa nan desu ka.　(これは何ですか。)
A. Sore wa obi desu.　(それは帯です。)

"Ikura（いくら）" means "how much."

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

100 hyaku
百 1000 sen
千
200 nihyaku
二百 2000 nisen
二千
300 sanbyaku
三百 3000 sanzen
三千
400 yonhyaku
四百 4000 yonsen
四千
500 gohyaku
五百 5000 gosen
五千
600 roppyaku
六百 6000 rokusen
六千
700 nanahyaku
七百 7000 nanasen
七千
800 happyaku
八百 8000 hassen
八千
900 kyuuhyaku
九百 9000 kyuusen
九千

Click here for more numbers with the sound files.

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

Translation for the Dialogue


Store Clark: May I help you.
Paul: What is this?
Store Clark: That is an obi (kimono sash).
Paul: How much is it?
Store Clark: It is 5000 yen.
Paul: How much is that?
Store Clark: It is 2500 yen.
Paul: Well then, please give me that one.
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