Easy Japanese Chapter 2

Easy Japanese Chapter 2

[Sentences to Memorize]

1. わたしはがくせいです。
Watashi wa gakusei desu.
I am a student.

2. あなたはだいがくせいですか?
Anata wa daigakusei desu ka?
Are you a college student?

3. ほんださんはせんせいですか?
Honda-san wa sensei desu ka?
Is Honda-san a teacher?

- はい、そうです。Hai, sou desu. - Yes he/she is.
- いいえ、ちがいます。Iie, chigaimasu. - No he/she isn't.

4. これわじしょです。
Kore wa jisho desu.
This is a dictionary.

5. それはなんですか?
Sore wa nan desu ka?
What is that?

6. あれはびょういんですか?
Are wa byouin desu ka?
Is that over there a hospital?

7. わたしとあきらくんはともだちです。
Watashi to Akira-kun wa tomodachi desu.
Akira-kun and I are friends.

[Words For This Lesson]

わたし - watashi - I
あなた - anata - You
ほんだ - Honda - Family name
すずき - Suzuki - Family name
けいこ - Keiko - Female name
あきら - Akira - Male name
-さん - san - Attached after person's name to be polite
-くん - kun - Normally attached after boy's name
がくせい - gakusei - Student
だいがくせい - dai gakusei - College student
こうこうせい - koukousei - High school student
せんせい - sensei - Teacher, used after teacher's name (Ex. Suzuki-sensei)
がっこう - gakkou - School
びょういん - byouin - Hospital (Be careful not to mix up with 'biyouin' meaning beauty parlor).
ほん - hon - Book
まんが - manga - Comic, manga
じしょ - jisho - Dictionary
ともだち - tomodachi - Friend
これ - kore - This
それ - sore - That
あれ - are - That over there
は - wa - Focus marker, shows focus of the sentance (When は is used as a marker, then it is pronunced 'wa', not 'ha' like it normally would.
と - to - And, with
か - ka - Marks a question
の - no - show's relation of two objects (Ex. Keiko-san no hon--->Keiko's book)
なに/なん - nani/nan - What (Before 'desu', 'nani' becomes 'nan'.)
はい - hai - Yes
いいえ - iie - No
そう - so - So
ちがいます - chigaimasu - That's wrong, it differs
しつれいですが... - shitsurei desu ga... - Excuse me, but...

1.) Building a Basic Japanese Sentence (A wa B desu or A is B)

A basic Japanese sentence is "A は Bです" or "A is B". "A" represents the focus of the sentence, where as "B" indicates the description of "A". So let's let you wanted to say "I am a student". The focus of the sentence is yourself (watashi) and the description is your being a student (gakusei). So following this structure, that means your sentence would be "わたしはがくせいです. - Watashi wa gakusei desu."

2.) Asking a Question

To turn a sentence into a question, just add ka (か) at the end. So for example, using the "A は Bです" structure, let's say we want ask if an object we're holding is a book. The focus of this sentence is "this" or in Japanese, "kore" and what we are describing is a book (hon). So if you wanted to say "Is this a book?", just add "ka" at the end and you will get "Kore wa hon desu ka? - Is this a book?"

3.) Names + -San (-Kun)

The suffix -san (-さん) is almost always attached after someone's name, last name or full name, unless they are a close friend. The suffix -kun (-くん) is usually only used for young boys. It is sometimes used after a girl's to show affection. Please note that you NEVER use these after YOUR OWN NAME!

4.) This , That and That Over There － Kore, Sore, and Are

These words are used to point to things. Kore (これ) means this. Kore is used from something closest to you or in your hand. Sore (それ) is used to talk about something that is closer , or held by the person you are speaking to. Are (あれ) is used for something that is far away from both of you.

5.) What - Nani

The word for what is nani (なに) . When used before desu (です) it becomes nan (なん).

Ex. これは なんですか。- Kore wa nan desu ka? - What is this?

6.) A to B (to C) or A and B (and C)

The word to (と) means and. It is used only after a noun to connect it to another noun. It's never used at the beginning of a sentence.

Ex. ほんださんとすずきさんはだいがくせいです。- Honda-san to Suzuki-san wa daigakusei desu. - Honda-san and Suzuki-san are college students.

7.) Excuse me, but... - Shitsurei desu ga...

Shitsurei desu ga... (しつれいですが...) is used at the beginning of a sentence the same way you would use "Excuse me" at the beginning of an English sentence. So, if you want to ask someone, "Excuse me, but what is that?" you would say "Shitsurei desu ga, sore wa nan desu ka?" (しつれいですが、それはなんですか。)