It's in the car.

First, there are two different ways of saying something exists. One is for animate things (people and animals) and one is for inanimate things. These are the verbs imasu and arimasu. These both mean "to exist." Imasu is used for animate things and arimasu is used for inanimate things. To ask where a place or inanimate object is, one can use the form: XX wa doko ni arimasu ka. Where is XX? For people and animals, imasu is used instead: XX wa doko ni imasu ka. Where is XX? Note the use of ni. Ni was previously shown in lesson 7; its meaning here is slightly different. Ni in this case means 'at.' Doko ni means 'at what location.' Similarly, koko ni would mean 'at this location.' The above sentences literally translate as 'As for XX, at what location does it exist?' In order to say where something or someone is, just replace the 'doko' with the location.
Examples: Maiku-san wa doko ni imasu ka. Maiku-san wa gakkou ni imasu. Neko wa doko ni imasu ka. Neko wa asoko ni imasu. Watashi no ringo wa doko ni arimasu ka. Koko ni arimasu. Kaban wa doko ni arimasu ka. Kaban wa Arasuka ni arimasu.	Where is Mike? Mike is at school. Where is the cat? The cat is over there. Where is my apple? It's here. Where is the briefcase? The briefcase is in Alaska.
OK, now we can move on to specific locations. Where exactly is the cat? Is it under the desk? Inside of a box? Is the book in the bookshelf or on top of it? We will need some more vocabulary in order to say these things. mae front ushiro back, behind yoko next to, along side ue top, above shita bottom, under naka inside, middle soto outside aida between, interval mukou beyond tonari next door, neighboring hidari gawa left side migi gawa right side Now that we have more location words to work with, we can make more location sentences. Just place the correct location word in the sentence.
Examples: Neko wa doko ni imasu ka. Soto ni imasu. Naka ni imasu.	Where is the cat? It's outside. It's inside.
Now we need to combine the location words with objects to create such locations as 'in the bag' etc. We do this using the particle no. Recall from lesson 2 that no indicates possesion.
Examples: kuruma no ue kuruma no shita kuruma no naka kuruma no soto kuruma no ushiro	on the car under the car in the car outside of the car behind the car
Note that where in English these phrases are indicated with prepositions these are more likepostpositions. OK, now that we have our new locations, we can insert them in our location sentence as before.
Examples: Neko wa doko ni imasu ka. Kuruma no ue ni imasu. Kuruma no shita ni imasu. Kaban wa doko ni arimasu ka. Kuruma no naka ni arimasu.	Where is the cat? It's on the car. It's under the car. Where's the bag? It's in the car.
Vocabulary: arimasu imasu ni no mae ushiro yoko ue shita naka soto aida mukou tonari hidari gawa migi gawa kaban Arasuka kuruma	to exist (for inanimate things) to exist (for animate things) particle meaning at possessive particle front back, behind next to, along side top, above bottom, under inside, middle outside between, interval beyond next door, neighboring left side right side bag, briefcase Alaska car

Let's go.

This lesson is about the "let's" or "mashou" form of verbs. Recall that 'masu' is the polite present ending for verbs. Taking off the masu and replacing it with mashou changes it to "let's --", where the -- is replaced by whatever the verb means. Examples: masu form English mashou form English tabemasu to eat tabemashou let's eat nomimasu to drink nomimashou let's drink yomimasu to read yomimashou let's read kakimasu to write kakimashou let's write ikimasu to go ikimashou let's go kaimasu to buy kaimashou let's buy mimasu to watch/see mimashou let's watch kikimasu to listen/hear kikimashou let's listen
Using the previous lessons and some vocabulary, you should now be able to say all of the following.
Examples: Kouen ni ikimashou. Eiga o mimashou. Ongaku o kikimashou. Tegami o kakimashou. Hon o yomimashou. Tabemashou. Nomimashou. Kuruma o kaimashou. Nihongo o benkyou shimashou.	Let's go to the park. Let's watch a movie. Let's listen to music. Let's write a letter. Let's read a book. Let's eat. Let's drink. Let's buy a car. Let's study Japanese.
The mashou form is also a nice way to ask people if they want to do something with you. Just add the particle ka to the end of the sentence to make it "shall we~?". Examples:
Kouen ni ikimashou ka.	Shall we go to the park?
Nihongo o benkyou shimashou ka.	Shall we study Japanese?
A more formal way to ask if someone will do something with you is to use the masen ka ending. This is more like asking "Won't you do this?"
Examples: Zasshi o yomimasen ka. Gakkou e ikimasen ka.	Won't you read a magazine? Won't you go to school?
Vocabulary: tabemasu nomimasu yomimasu kakimasu kikimasu mimasu kaimasu benkyou shimasu ikimasu -masu -mashou -mashou ka -masen ka eiga hon kouen kuruma ongaku tegami nihongo zasshi	to eat to drink to read to write to listen to watch to buy to study to go present/future positive verb ending "let's" verb ending "shall we" verb ending "won't you" verb ending movie book park car music letter Japanese language magazine

I study every day.

The word for school is gakkou. Teachers are sensei and students are gakusei (or seito). College is daigaku (literally "big school"). A college student is daigakusei. In order to say what grade you are in, or whether you're a freshman-senior, you say "I'm a --year student." Where -- is replaced with the correct year.
ichinensei ninensei sannensei yonensei nen Ninensei desu.	first year student second year student third year student fourth year student year I'm a second year student.
To say "I am a student at the University of ----" you say: ---- daigaku no gakusei desu. or ---- daigaku no seito desu. This also works for other types of schools like high schools, junior highs and elementary schools. Just insert the name of the school in place of ---- and the type of school in place of daigaku. Note that elementary school students are not generally called seito or gakusei, but jidou(children or juveniles). West koukou no seito desu. I'm a West High School student.
Examples: mainichi kinou asatte	every day yesterday the day after tomorrow
Students of course also do a lot of shukudai (homework). To do homework is shukudai o shimasu. The verb "to do" is shimasu. Let's try a few sample sentences now.
Examples: Mainichi, nihongo o renshuu shimasu.	Every day I practice Japanese.
Mainichi, eigo o benkyou shimasu.	I study English every day.
Asatte, nihongo o renshuu shimasu.	I will practice Japanese the day after tomorrow.
Kinou, suugaku o benkyou shimashita.	Yesterday, I studied math.
Asatte, nihongo no shukudai o shimasu.	The day after tomorrow I will do Japanese homework.
Kinou, suugaku no shukudai o shimasen deshita.	I didn't do the math homework yesterday.
Vocabulary: ichinensei ninensei sannensei yonensei daigakusei seito gakusei sensei nen mainichi kinou asatte daigaku koukou suugaku shukudai benkyou shimasu renshuu shimasu	freshman/first year student sophomore/second year student junior/third year student senior/fourth year student university student student student teacher year every day yesterday the day after tomorrow university/college high school math homework to study to practice

I want to drink cola.

In this lesson, you will learn how to tell someone that you want to do something. Recall that present tense verbs have the -masu ending. In order to change these to the 'want to' ending, drop the -masu and replace it with -tai. Examples: masu form English tai form English tabemasu to eat tabetai want to eat nomimasu to drink nomitai want to drink ikimasu to go ikitai want to go kaimasu to buy kaitai want to buy yomimasu to read yomitai want to read kakimasu to write kakitai want to write mimasu to watch/see mitai want to watch/see kikimasu to listen/hear kikitai want to listen/hear
Examples: Kouen ni ikimasu. Kouen ni ikitai. Gakkou ni ikimasu. Gakkou ni ikitai.	I will go to the park. I want to go to the park. I go to school. I want to go to school.
Now for one more twist. When you use tai with verbs that take o, you can also change the o to ga for emphasis if you want.
Examples: Ringo o tabemasu. Ringo o tabetai. Ringo ga tabetai.	I eat apples. I want to eat an apple. I want to eat an apple.
In the above example, the second sentence just means that you want to eat apples. The third sentence means that you want to eat apples as opposed to something else. It's not really that important of a difference so you can stick with just o if you're more comfortable with it.
Vocabulary: ringo tegami hon kouen gakkou koora o ni ga	apple letter book park school cola object marker particle particle meaning 'to' emphatic object marker
-masu	positive present/future verb tense
-tai	'want to' verb ending

I didn't eat meat.

This lesson deals with past and present verb tenses. We have already studied the present and future tense for positive and negative verbs. As a refresher:
-masu -masen	positive present/future negative present/future
Examples: Paati ni ikimasu. Paati ni ikimasen. Koora o nomimasu. Koora o nomimasen. Niku o tabemasu. Niku o tabemasen.	I will go to the party. I won't go to the party. I drink cola. I don't drink cola. I eat meat. I don't eat meat.
Note that desu is an exception to this because the negaive of desu is dewa arimasen or janai desu. To change from present positive to past positive, take off the masu ending and replace it withmashita. To change from a negative present to a negative past, use the masen ending and adddeshita to the end.
Examples: Kouen ni ikimashita. Kouen ni ikimasen deshita.	I went to the park. I didn't go to the park.
Omizu o nomimashita. Omizu o nomimasen deshita.	I drank water. I didn't drink water.
Niku o tabemashita. Niku o tabemasen deshita.	I ate meat. I didn't eat meat.
Hon deshita. Hon dewa arimasen deshita.	It was a book. It wasn't a book.
Note that again desu is an exception. You cannot say janai deshita. This rule will be explained later. Note also the word omizu. Mizu means water. The o is only added to be respectful. Many words often have this 'honorific' o added to the front.
Vocabulary:
-masu -masen -mashita -masen deshita desu dewa arimasen deshita dewa arimasen deshita ikimasu nomimasu tabemasu paati koora niku kouen mizu hon	positive present/future verb tense negative present/future verb tense positive past verb tense negative pase verb tense is isn't was wasn't to go to drink to eat party cola/soda meat park water book

I go to school.

This lesson is about direction verbs. For our purposes, a direction verb is one that indicates movement to or from somewhere. In example: I go to the store. In other words, you are moving from somewhere to the store. In order to say "to the store" you have to use the particle ni or e. Ni and e mean 'to' when they come before a direction verb. (Note that the particle e is only pronounced as e; it is spelled with the character he.)
Examples: ikimasu kimasu kaerimasu	to go to come to return home
The sentence pattern for direction verbs is as follows: location e/ni direction verb :=: direction verb to location
Examples: Gakkou ni ikimasu. Mise ni ikimasu. Daidokoro ni ikimasu. Paati ni kimasu. Gakkou ni kimasu ka. Hai gakkou ni ikimasu. Iie, gakkou ni ikimasen.	Go to school. Go to the store. Go to the kitchen. Come to the party. Will you come to school? Yes, I'll go to school. No, I won't go to school.
It should be remembered that the response to "will you come?" should be "I will go." or "I won't go." because the two people speaking are assumed to be in different locations. One can then add time to indicate when one will go or come. This is generally more useful information that "I will go." Recall that the basic Japanese sentence structure is TTOPV. This stands for Topic/Time Object Place Verb. Our sentences will use T/TPV as there is no object in these sentences. Examples: Kyou, watashi wa gakkou ni ikimasu. Today I will go to school. Watashi wa gakkou ni ikimasen. I won't go to school. Ashita, watashi no paati ni kimasu ka. Will you come to my party tomorrow? Hai, ikimasu. Yes, I'll go. Konya, mise ni ikimasu ka. Will you go to the store tonight? Hai, mise ni ikimasu. Yes, I'll go to the store.
Note that the above examples are all in future tense in English. In Japanese, there is no difference between future tense and present tense.
Vocabulary: ikimasu kimasu kaerimasu kyou ashita konya gakkou mise paati daidokoro uchi ni (h)e	to go to come to return home today tomorrow tonight school store/shop party kitchen house particle that means 'to' particle that means 'to'

i don't read books

This lesson is about the Japanese particle wo. Wo is pronounced 'o' and will be spelled 'o' in romanized Japanese but should not be confused with the vowel o. (W)o is only used as a particle. It is used to mark the object of a sentence. The particle comes after the object and before the verb. Basically, you have "noun o action verb" which means: "do/does the action verb to the noun."
nihongo o benkyou shimasu	study Japanese language
hon o yomimasu	read a book
zasshi o yomimasu	read a magazine
niku o tabemasu	eat meat
ringo o tabemasu	eat an apple
terebi o mimasu	watch TV
koora o nomimasu	drink cola
ongaku o kikimasu	listen to music
One can also attach a subject to the sentence to explain who or what is doing the action.
Examples: Watashi wa hon o yomimasu.	I read books.
Annasan wa Nihongo o benkyou shimasu.	Anna studies Japanese.
Yoshisan wa ongaku o kikimasu.	Yoshi listens to music.
Ano neko wa ringo o tabemasu.	That cat over there eats apples.
Well, that's all well and good, but what if you want to say you don't eat meat? or don't drink coffee? Notice that all of the verbs above end in masu. That is called the masu ending. (It's pronounced like the 'moss' that grows on the ground.) That is the positive present (or future) form of the verb in polite form. If you want to use the negative present form of the verb you change the masu to masen. So "I listen", "Watashi wa kikimasu", becomes "I don't listen", "Watashi wa kikimasen."
Examples: Watashi wa hon o yomimasen.	I don't read books.
Meerisan wa ringo o tabemasen.	Mary doesn't eat apples.
Watashi no neko wa banana o tabemasen.	My cat doesn't eat bananas.
Maikusan wa Nihongo o benkyou shimasen.	Mike doesn't study Japanese.
Lesson 6 Vocabulary: (w)o ringo banana terebi koora ongaku benkyou shimasu tabemasu kikimasu yomimasu nomimasu mimasu ~masu ~masen	object marker (particle) apple banana TV cola music to study to eat to hear or listen to read to drink to watch, look, or see present positive verb form present negative verb form

numbers

In this lesson, we will study Japanese numbers. Let's start with one through ten.
1 - 10 rei or zero ichi ni san shi or yon go roku nana or shichi hachi kyuu or ku juu	zero one two three four five six seven eight nine ten
Note that several of the numbers have two pronunciations. Each pronunciation is used in specific situations. Sometimes either pronunciation is acceptable.
11 - 19 The numbers from 11 to 19 are formed by putting the appropriate number after ten. Thus 11 is juu + ichi = juuichi.
juu-ichi juu-ni juu-san juu-shi or juu-yon juu-go juu-roku juu-nana or juu-shichi juu-hachi juu-kyuu or juu-ku	11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 - 90 The numbers from 20 to 90 are formed by putting the appropriate number before ten. Thus 20 is ni + juu = nijuu. Think of it like saying 'two tens.'
ni-juu san-juu yon-juu go-juu roku-juu nana-juu hachi-juu kyuu-juu	twenty thirty fourty (Not shi-juu) fifty sixty seventy eighty ninety (Not ku-juu)
Other numbers can be formed in ways similar to the 1-19 and 20-90 ways. For example, 21 is formed by making twenty, then adding one. 21 = ni + juu + ichi = nijuuichi. Or, 'two tens and one' is twenty one.
Examples: san-juu-ni roku-juu-nana yon-juu-hachi kyuu-juu-ku	32 67 48 99
100 - 900 One hundred is hyaku. The numbers from 200 to 900 are formed like the numbers from 20-90. Be careful as there are some exceptions in pronunciation.
nihyaku sanbyaku yonhyaku gohyaku roppyaku nanahyaku happyaku kyuuhyaku	200 300 * 400 500 600 * 700 800 * 900
Note the exceptions in pronunciation for the numbers with asterisks.
Larger Numbers: sen man juu-man hyaku-man sen-man oku	thousand ten thousand hundred thousand million ten million hundred million

here & there

In this lesson, we will discuss identifying one's general location as well as the location of objects being spoken about. First let's start with some general location vocabulary.
koko soko asoko doko	here, next to me there, next to you over there, away from us where
From here on out 'here' will be koko, 'there' will be soko, and 'over there' will be asoko, but don't forget that the words are in reference to the speaker and who is being spoken to. Now we can instert our location words into the 'X wa Y desu' patterns.
Examples: Hon wa doko desu ka?	Where is the book?
Hon wa koko desu.	The book's here.
Enpitsu wa doko desu ka?	Where is the pencil?
Enpitsu wa asoko desu.	The pencil is over there.
Watashi no pen wa doko desu ka?	Where is my pen.
Koko desu.	It's here.
One can also describe objects given their location. If you want to indicate a pencil you are holding or one near to you 'this pencil' (as opposed to a pen near someone else) you say kono enpitsu. If you are indicating a pencil near the person you are speaking to (and not yourself) you say sono enpitsu. And finally, if you are indicating a pencil away from both of you, you say ano enpitsu. To ask which pencil (out of more than one indicated pencil), you say dono enpitsu. NOTE: Kono, sono, ano, and dono must be followed by a noun that they are describing. They cannot stand alone.
kono sono ano dono	this ___ (next to me) that ___ (next to you) that ___ over there (away from us) which ___
Examples: Kono inu wa watashi no desu.	This dog is mine.
Ano hito wa dare desu ka?	Who is that person over there?
Sono enpitsu wa dare no desu ka?	Whose pencil is that?
Dono hon desu ka?	Which book is it?
If the subject is already understood, one can simply say 'this', 'that,' or 'that over there.' Kore is 'this',sore is 'that', and are is 'that over there.' Dore is 'which' (of several things).
Examples: Kore wa nan desu ka?	What is this?
Sore wa hon desu.	That is a book.
Are wa nan desu ka?	What is that over there?
Dore desu ka?	Which is it?
Vocabulary: koko soko asoko doko kono sono ano dono kore sore are dore hon enpitsu	here (here next to me) there (there next to you) over there (away from us) where this ___ (next to me) that ___ (next to you) that ___ over there (away from us) which ___ this (next to me) that (next to you) that over there (away from us) which book pencil

i am japanese

The word for Japan in Japanese is Nihon. (Or Nippon) Ni means sun and hon means root. So,Nihon means "origin of the sun." Japan is also known as the "Land of the Rising Sun." There are several words for 'person' in Japanese. Hito is the noun 'person.' If you wanted to say "Who is that person?" you would say "Ano hito wa dare desu ka?" Ano means 'that over there.' (This will be discussed more in Lesson 4.) Likewise, one says onna no hito for 'woman' and otoko no hito for 'man.' These mean 'female person' and 'male person' and are much more polite than just sayingonna or otoko which sound insulting alone. The other two ways of indicating people are the suffixes -nin and -jin. Adding the suffix -jin to the name of a country makes the name of the nationality of that country. Nihon-jin means 'Japanese person.' We will discuss the use of -nin later. Similarly, one can add the suffix -go to the end of a country word and it becomes the language of the country. Note that there are exceptions to this as some countries share common languages.
Examples:
Japan	Country Nihon	People Nihonjin	Language Nihongo
The U.S.	Amerika	Amerikajin	Eigo
Germany	Doitsu	Doitsujin	Doitsugo
France	Furansu	Furansujin	Furansugo
Italy	Itaria	Itariajin	Itariago
Australia	Oosutoraria	Oosutorariajin	Eigo
Canada	Kanada	Kanadajin	Eigo/Furansugo
England	Igirisu	Igirisujin	Eigo
Mexico	Mekishiko	Mekishikojin	Supeingo
Spain	Supein	Supeinjin	Supeingo
Portugal	Porutogaru	Porutogarujin	Porutogarugo
Brazil	Burajiru	Burajirujin	Porutogarugo
Korea, S.	Kankoku	Kankokujin	Kankokugo

who is it ?

First, we should establish who you are. If you want to say "I am Sally." You would say: Watashi wa Sally desu. Watashi means 'I.' Wa is a particle which marks the subject of a sentence. It roughly means 'as for' so, the sentence translates to "As for me, I'm Sally." You can also just say "Sally desu." which just means 'I am Sally.' Men and boys can also use the form "Boku wa ___ desu." Boku also means I, but is used by males only.The word 'you' in Japanese is anata, but be careful not to use it unless you're very familiar with someone as it is slightly personal. It's better to just use the person's name when referring to them.
Watashi wa Hana desu. Watashi wa Smith desu. Hana desu. Smith desu. Watashi wa John desu. Boku wa John desu.	I am Hana. I am Mr./Ms Smith. I am Hana. I am Mr./Ms Smith. I am John. I am John.
If you want to ask someone's name, you say "Onamae wa nan desu ka?" Namae means 'name'. The 'o' is added to make it honorific (used only for other people, not yourself). Remember from lesson one that 'nan desu ka 'means what is it?' So the sentence literally means "As for your honorific name, what is it?" To tellsomeone your name, you can use the above replies or you can say 'Namae wa Hana desu.' or 'Watashi no namae wa hana desu.' The shorter form is usually used in less formal situations. The particle 'no' in this case is similar to the English " 's ". It indicates ownership. Watashi no namae means "my name". Anata no namae would be 'your name.'
Examples: Onamae wa nan desu ka? Watashi no namae wa Heather desu. Namae wa John desu. Inu no namae wa nan desu ka? Inu no namae wa Spike desu.	What's your name? My name is Heather. My name is John. What is the dog's name? The dog's name is Spike.
To ask "Who is it?" you say "Dare desu ka?" Dare means 'who.' To ask "Whose is it?" you say "Dare no desu ka?"
Dare desu ka? Dare no desu ka?	Who is it? Whose is it?
To indicate ownership of an object, the possessive 'no' particle is used.
Examples: Dare no inu desu ka? Watashi no inu desu. Dare no neko desu ka? Watashi no desu. Dare no neko desu ka? Susan-san no neko desu. Anata no desu ka? Iie, Mike-san no desu.	Whose dog is it? It's my dog. Whose cat is it? It's mine. Whose cat is it? It's Susan's cat. Is this yours? No, it's Mike's.

time

The suffix for hours or o'clock is -ji. Note that 4 o'clock is pronounced as yoji, not yonji.

1 o'clock ichiji
2 o'clock niji
3 o'clock sanji
4 o'clock yoji *
5 o'clock goji
6 o'clock rokuji
7 o'clock shichiji
8 o'clock hachiji
9 o'clock kuji
10 o'clock juuji
11 o'clock juuichiji
12 o'clock juuniji

For minutes attach -fun to the standard set of numbers.

:01	ippun	:16	juuroppun	:31	sanjuuippun	:46	yonjuuroppun
:02	nifun	:17	juunanafun	:32	sanjuunifun	:47	yonjuunanafun
:03	sanpun	:18	juuhappun	:33	sanjuusanpun	:48	yonjuuhappun
:04	yonpun	:19	juukyuufun	:34	sanjuuyonpun	:49	yonjuukyuufun
:05	gofun	:20	nijuppun	:35	sanjuugofun	:50	gojuppun
:06	roppun	:21	nijuuippun	:36	sanjuuroppun	:51	gojuuippun
:07	nanafun	:22	nijuunifun	:37	sanjuunanafun	:52	gojuunifun
:08	happun	:23	nijuusanpun	:38	sanjuuhappun	:53	gojuusanpun
:09	kyuufun	:24	nijuuyonpun	:39	sanjuukyuufun	:54	gojuuyonpun
:10	juppun	:25	nijuugofun	:40	yonjuppun	:55	gojuugofun
:11	juuippun	:26	nijuuroppun	:41	yonjuuippun	:56	gojuuroppun
:12	juunifun	:27	nijuunanafun	:42	yonjuunifun	:57	gojuunanafun
:13	juusanpun	:28	nijuuhappun	:43	yonjuusanpun	:58	gojuuhappun
:14	juuyonpun	:29	nijuukyuufun	:44	yonjuuyonpun	:59	gojuukyuufun
:15	juugofun	:30	sanjuppun	:45	yonjuugofun

To make a time of day combine the hour from above with the minute.

Examples:

yoji sanjunifun - 4:32
goji gojuuhappun - 5:58

One can also use the term han for half past the hour. Han literally means half.

Example:

hachiji han - 8:30

To distinguish between A.M. and P.M. use the terms gozen and gogo. A.M. is gozen and P.M. is gogo. Note that gozen and gogo should appear before the time, not after.

Examples:

gogo sanji - 3 P.M.
gozen niji juuippun - 2:11 A.M.

To ask what time it is now, the phrase Ima, nanji desu ka. can be used.

Family

English	Japanese
(polite) family	gokazoku
family	kazoku
(polite) mother	okaasan
mother	haha
(polite) father	otousan
father	chichi
(polite) older sister	oneesan
older sister	ane
(polite) older brother	oniisan
older brother	ani
(polite) younger sister	imoutosan
younger sister	imouto
(polite) younger brother	otoutosan
younger brother	otouto
daughter	musume
son	musuko
aunt	obasan
uncle	ojisan
niece	meisan
nephew	oisan
cousin	itoko
grandmother	obaasan
grandfather	ojiisan
granchild	mago
siblings	kyoudai

Notice that the first set of words has both a polite and a regular form. (The polite form is marked with (polite).) The polite form should be used when referring to others' families or when speaking to people in your own family. The other form should be used when referring to your family to members outside your family.

Basic Japanese Phrases

Start using the following short Japanese phrases at home. You may need your family's cooperation, but if you make it a habit, you'll be amazed at how quickly you pick up a bit of Japanese.

Domo (dohh-moh; Thank you or Hi!) le (eee-eh; No or Don't mention it.) Hai (hah-ee; Yes) Wakarimasen (wah-kah-ree-mah-sen; I don't understand.) Shiriiriasen (she-ree-mah-sen; I don't know the answer to that question.) Zenzen (zehn-zehn; Not at all or It was nothing.) Ii desu ne (ee-ee deh-soo neh; That's a great idea!) Yatta(yaht-tah; Yahoo! I did it.) Gambatte(gahm-baht-teh; Go for it! or Try your best!) Omedeto (oh-meh-deh-tohh; Congratulations!) Yokoso (yohh-koh-soh; Welcome!) Shinpai shinaide (sheen-pah-ee shee-nah-ee-deh; Don't worry!) Makasete (mah-kahTseh-teh; Count on me!) So, so (sohh, sohh; You're right, you're right!) Used when you agree with someone's statement. This phrase is similar to what you mean when you say "yeah" in the middle of an English conversation just to let the other person know that you're listening. Dame (dah-meh; You're not allowed to do that or That's bad!) Used when you want to stop someone from doing something or when you want to say that something is bad or impermissible. You'd never say this phrase to a superior or to someone older than you. You can say it to children, siblings, or very close friends. Enryo shinaide (Don't be shy) Japanese guests often refuse food or drink offers at least once. If you're the host, say enryo shinaide (ehn-ryoh shee-nah-ee-deh). Mottainai (What a Waste/It's too qood) Say mottainai (moht-tah-ee-nah-ee) to object to waste. You can also say it if someone lacks a true appreciation for something valuable. Osakini (Pardon me, but I'm ieavinq now) When you have to leave a gathering early, say osakini (oh-sah-kee-nee; literally means earlier) to display your thoughtfulness for others. Sasuga (I'm impressed by you, as usual) Sasuga (sah-soo-gah) literally means "as might have been expected," but it's commonly used as a compliment. If a friend wins a competition, say pasuga. Gambatte (Try your best!) The Japanese believe that the effort is more important than the result. If a friend's going to take an important exam, say gambatte (gahm-baht-teh) to her. Shoganai (There's no choice/There's nothing that can be done) When you're in a jam and none of the possible solutions will work well, choose one and say shoganai (shohh-gah-nah-ee), which shows that you've resigned yourself to the situation. Okage-sama de (Luckily/Thanks to you) If someone asks ogenki desu ka (oh-gehn-kee deh-soo kah; How are you?), answer with the modest okage-sama de (oh-kah-geh-sah-mah de) rather than genki desu (gehn-kee deh-soo; I'm fine). The original meaning is that your well-being is due to God and others, including the person you're talking to. Gokuro-sama (Thank you for your trouble) If you're the boss, say gokur5-sama (goh-koo-rohh-sah-mah) to each of your workers when they say good-bye to you at the end of the day. yoroshiku (Pleased to meet you/1 appreciate your helping me) You can say yoroshiku (yoh-roh-shee-koo) when you first meet someone, as in you're pleased to meet him. You can also say it after asking a favor of someone, in which case it means "I appreciate your helping me." Taihen desu ne (That's tough) Use this phrase to show sympathy, such as when your friend tells you about her difficulties.

Exploring Fun Places

I bet your town is full of opportunities for fun. Read the shinbun (sheen-boon; newspaper), pick up a few zasshi (zahs-shee; magazines), or surf the Intanetto (een-tahh-neht-toh; Internet) to find out what's going on. Visiting museums and galleries

Museums and galleries are great places to soak up culture. Here are some common museum-related words: hakubutsukan (hah-koo-boo-tsoo-kahn; museum) bijutsukan (bee-joo-tsoo-kahn; art museum) garo (gah-rohh; gallery) gejutsuhin (gehh-joo-tsoo-heen; work of art) You may want to ask these questions in a museum or gallery: Hakubutsukan wa nan-ji ni akimasu ka. (hah-koo-boo-tsoo-kahn wah nahn-jee nee ah-kee-mah-soo kah; What time does the museum open?) Nan-ji ni shimarimasu ka. (nahn-jee nee shee-mah-ree-mah-soo kah; What time does it close?) Nichiyobi wa oyasumi desu ka. (nee-chee-yohh-bee wah oh-yah-soo-mee deh-soo kah; Is it closed on Sundays?)

Nichiyobi wa oyasumi desu ka. (nee-chee-yohh-bee wah oh-yah-soo-mee deh-soo kah; Is it closed on Sundays?)

Conjugate the u-verbs aku (ah-koo; to open) and shi-maru (shee-mah-roo; to close).

Form	Pronunciation
aku	ah-koo
akanai	ah-kah-nah-ee
aki	ah-kee
aite	ah-ee-teh
shimaru	shee-mah-roo
shimaranai	shee-mah-rah-nah-ee
shimari	shee-mah-ree
shimatte	shee-maht-teh

Going to the theater Visiting gekijo (geh-kee-johh; theaters) really lets you feel the passion of the performers.

• gekijo (geh-kee-johh; theater)
• o-shibai (oh-shee-bah-ee; play)
• is eigakan (ehh-gah-kahn; movie theater)
• eiga (ehh-gah; movie)
• konsato (kohn-sahh-toh)

To see a movie or play, you have to buy a chiketto (chee-keht-toh; ticket). These phrases should cover your ticket-buying needs:

• Sumimasen. Konban no o-shibai wa nan-ji kara desu ka. (soo-mee-mah-sehn. kohn-bahn noh oh-shee-bah-ee wah nahn-jee kah-rah deh-soo kah; Excuse me. What time does today's play start?)
• Mada ii seki wa arimasu ka. (mah-dah eee seh-kee wah ah-ree-mah-soo kah; Do you still have good seats?)
• Ichiman-en no seki o ni-mai onegaishimasu.(ee-chee-mahn-ehn noh seh-kee oh nee-mah-ee h-neh-gah-ee-shee-mah-soo; Two for the 10,000-yen seats, please.)
• Otona futari onegaishimasu. (oh-toh-nah foo-tah-ree oh-neh-gah-ee-shee-mah-soo; Two adults, please.)
• Otona futari to kodomo hitori onegaishimasu.(oh-toh-nah foo-tah-ree toh koh-doh-moh hee-toh-ree oh-neh-gah-ee-shee-mah-soo; Two adults and one child, please.)
• Shinia hitori onegaishimasu. (shee-nee-ah hee-toh-ree oh-neh-gah-ee-shee-mah-soo; One senior citizen, please).

Words to Know
konban	kohn-bahn	tonight
chiketto	chee-keht-toh	ticket
otona	oh-toh-nah	adult
seki	seh-kee	seat

Going to bars and dubs

Where do you nomu (noh-moo; drink)? Having a drink at home is usually a lot cheaper than going to a bar, but sometimes going to these places for a drink in a festive or fancy atmosphere is fun:

• ba (bahh; bar)
• izakaya (ee-zah-kah-yah; casual Japanese-style bar)
• naitokurabu (nah-ee-toh-koo-rah-boo; nightclub)

O-sake (oh-sah-keh) refers to both Japanese rice wine and alcoholic beverages in general. Take a walk over to the bar and order your favorite o-sake:

• atsukan (ah-tsoo-kahn; hot Japanese rice wine) is biru (beee-roo; beer)
• burande (boo-rahn-dehh; brandy)
• chuhai (chooo-hah-ee; shochu and tonic)
• hiya (hee-yah; cold sake)
• jin Qeen; gin)
• kakuteru (kah-koo-teh-roo; cocktail)
• mizuwari (mee-zoo-wah-ree; whiskey and water)
• onzarokku (ohn-zah-rohk-koo; whiskey on the rocks)
• ramushu (rah-moo-shoo; rum)
• shochu (shohh-chooo; a Japanese liquor)
• sutoreto (soo-toh-rehh-toh; whiskey straight)
• uisuki (oo-ee-soo-keee; whiskey)
• wokka (wohk-kah; vodka)
• wain (wah-een; wine)

At a bar, these phrases come in handy:

• Nani nomu. (nah-nee noh-moo; What will you drink?)
• Kyo wa nani ga oishii. (kyohh wah nah-nee gah oh-ee-sheee; What's good today?)
• Ja, sore. (jahh soh-reh; Then I'll have that.)

Singing, like a star at a karaoke bar

Karaoke (kah-rah-oh-keh) started in Japan as a form of after-work entertainment. It was viewed as a great way of releasing the daily sutoresu (soo-toh-reh-soo; stress) related to shigoto (shee-goh-toh; work). Today, karaoke is a popular shumi (shoo-mee; hobby) with everyone - men and women, young and old.

If you go to Japan, visit a karaoke ba (bahh; bar) at least once. Check the index of kyoku (kyoh-koo; musical pieces) and ask for the song you want to utau (oo-tah-oo; sing). When it's your ban (bahn; turn), sing into the maiku (mah-ee-koo; microphone) as you watch the kashi (kah-shee; lyrics) scroll across the gamen (gah-mehn; monitor). Sing like a suta (soo-tahh; star), even if you're onchi (ohn-chee; tone deaf).

Forming Japanese Sentences

The basic word order in English is subject-verb-object. In Japanese, it's subject-object-verb. Instead of saying "I watched TV," for example, you say "I TV watched." Instead of saying "I ate sushi," you say "I sushi ate." Repeat after me: Put the verb at the end! Verb end!

Introducing particles

Subject-object-verb is the basic word order in Japanese, but object-subject-verb is also okay. As long as the verb is at the end of the sentence, Japanese grammar teachers are happy. For example, ii Mary invited John, you can say either "Mary John invited" or "John Mary invited" in Japanese.

A smart person like you may say, "Wait a minute! How do you know who invited whom?" The secret is that Japanese uses a tag called a particle after each noun phrase. The particle for the action performer (the subject) is ga (gah), and the particle for the action receiver (the direct object) is o (oh). So both the following sentences mean "Mary invited John".

• Mari ga Jon o sasotta. (mah-reee gah John oh sah-soht-tah)
• Jon o Mari ga sasotta. (John oh mah-reee gah sah-soht-tah)

Other Japanese particles include kara (kah-rah), made (mah-deh), ni (nee), de (deh), to (toh), and ka (kah).English words iike from, until, to, with, by, at, in, on, and, and or. But each particle is translated differently depending on the context. For example, the particle de corresponds to in, by, or with in English:

• Bosuton de benkyo sum. (boh-soo-tohn deh behn-kyohh soo-roo; I'll study in Boston.)
• TakushI de iku. (tah-koo-sheee deh ee-koo; I'll go by taxi.)
• Foku de taberu. (fohh-koo deh tah-beh-roo; I eat with a fork.)

Particles

Particle	Translation	General Function	Example
ga(gah)	No English equivalent	Specifies the subject of the sentence	Jon ga kita.(John gah kee-tah; John came.)
o(oh)	No English equivalent	Specifies the direct object of thesentence	Mari ga Jon o sasotta. (mah-reee gah John oh sah-soht-tah; Mary invited John.)
kara (kah-rah)	from	Specifies the starting point of the action	Ku-ji kara benkyo shita. (koo-jee kah-rah behn-kyohh shee-tah; I studied from 9:00.)
made (mah-deh)	until	Specifies the ending point of the action	San-ji made benkyo shita. (sahn-jee mah-deh behn-kyohh shee-tah; I studied until 3:00.)
ni (nee)	to, on, at	Specifies the target of the action	Nihon ni itta. (nee-hohn nee eet-tah; I went to Japan.) Tokyo ni tsuita. (tohh-kyohh nee tsoo-ee-tah; I arrived at Tokyo.)
ni(nee)	to, on, at	Specifies the time of the event San-ji ni tsuita.	(sahn-jee nee tsoo-ee-tah; I arrived at 3:00.)
e (eh)	to, toward	Specifies the direction of the action	Tokyo e itta. (tohh-kyohh eh eet-tah; 1 wentto Tokyo.)
de (deh)	in, by, with, at	Specifies how the action takes place; indicates the location,manner, or background condition of the action	Bosuton de benkyo shita. (boh-soo-tohn de behn-kyohh shee-tah; I studied in Boston.) TakushT de itta. (tah-koo sheee deh eet-tah; I wentthere by taxi.) Foku de tabeta. (fohh-koo deh tah-beh-tah; I ate with a fork.)
no(noh)	's	Creates a possessive phrase or modifier phrase	Marl no hon (mah-reee noh hohn; Mary's book) Nihongo no hon (nee-hon-goh noh hohn; A Japanese language book)
to (toh)	and	Lists items	Sushi to sashimi o tabeta. (soo-shee toh sah-shee-mee oh tah-beh-tah; 1 ate sushi and sashimi.)
to (toh)	with	Specifies an item with the same status as the subject	Jon ga Marl to utatta. (John gah mah-reee toh oo-taht-tah; John sang with Mary.)
ka(kah)	or	Lists choices	Sushi ka sashimi otaberu. (soo-shee kahsah-shee-mee oh tah-beh-roo; I will eat sushi or sashimi.)

You can have a bunch of particles in a sentence, as in these examples:

• Mari ga kuruma de Tokyo e itta. (mah-reee gah koo-roo-mah deh tohh-kyohh eh eet-tah; Mary went to Tokyo by car.)
• Jon no otosan kara biru to osake to wain o moratta. (john noh oh-tohh-sahn kah-rah beee-roo toh oh-sah-keh toh wah-een oh moh-raht-tah; I received beer, sake, and wine from John's dad.)

Japanese nouns need these particles, but they don't need articles like a and the in English. Furthermore, you don't need to specify singular or plural. Tamago (tah-mah-goh) means either "an egg" or "eggs."