Module 5 |Lesson 1 – Hiragana

Learning Nihongo is not only about learning new words or phrases and making
use of them to construct sentences. When one decides to learn Japanese, he / she
should be ready to learn a whole new set of characters.
The Japanese have three writing systems : Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.
Among the three, Hiragana is the first to be introduced to Japanese language learners.
This lesson is all about Hiragana.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to :
LO1. Recognize Hiragana characters,
LO2. Write words, phrases, or simple sentences in Hiragana, and
LO3. Read words, phrases or sentences written in Hiragana.

Core Content

The characters in the chart below are called Hiragana. Hiragana is the main
alphabet or character set for Japanese. There are 46 Basic Hiragana characters for 46
different sounds.

Hiragana characters are used for writing “grammatical” elements such as

particles and endings of adjectives and verbs. They are also used to write words that
are of Japanese origin such as OHAYOU and ARIGATOU.

There are 5 vowels in Japanese. (a), pronounced "ahh", (i), pronounced like "e"
in "eat", (u), pronounced like "oo" in "soon", (e), pronounced like "e" in "elk", and (o),
pronounced "oh". All Hiragana characters end with one of these vowels, with the
exception of (n). The only "consonant" that does not resemble that of English is the
Japanese "r". It is slightly "rolled" as if it were a combination of a "d", "r", and "l".
Chart 1 contains the 46 basic Hiragana characters and their sound / reading.
 Two small strokes or dashes called “ten ten” ( ʺ ) when added to twenty (20)
Hiragana characters give the characters voiced sounds. These “dashes” are placed top
right of the character. For example, adding “ten ten” to any of the K characters changes
the K to G.

A maru or small circle is added to . These characters become , read as pa, pi,
pu, pe, and po, respectively.

Chart 2

Additional Hiragana Sounds with Ten Ten or Maru

 Aside from changes created with the use of Ten Ten or Maru, three (3) Hiragana
characters - YA, YU, and YO - may be combined with characters from the i – row except
for the vowel itself. The combination produces additional sounds.

Also, it is important to note that when combined, YA, YU or YO is written smaller

than the other character. For example, KI + YA = KYA .

Chart 3

Contracted Hiragana Chart ( with YA, YU, YO )

HIRAGANA TSU
The small Hiragana tsu is used to create “double consonants”, this means two
non-vowels put together, like tt or kk or pp).
 Let’s take for instance いぷん. In romaji, this would be spelled “ipun.” But, there
is no Japanese word as “ipun”. The correct word is actually “ippun”, a Japanese word
which has two p’s. In order to write said word in Hiragana, you add the small っ right
before the consonant you want to double up. Hence, write “ippun” as いっぷん.

Writing / Drawing the Characters

Just like how we learned writing each of the 26 characters in the English
alphabet, learning Hiragana also necessitates learning the stroke order we should follow
in drawing each character.

Module 6 |Lesson 1 – Katakana

Learning Nihongo is not only about learning new words or phrases and making
use of them to construct sentences. When one decides to learn Japanese, he / she
should be ready to learn a whole new set of characters.
 The Japanese have three writing systems : Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.
Among the three, Hiragana is the first to be introduced to Japanese language learners.
This lesson is all about Katakana.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to :

1. determine the sounds present in your name, and

2. write your name in Katakana using the sounds identified.

Core Content

Another writing system the Japanese make use of is Katakana.

Katakana, which means “fragmentary kana” ,is characterized by short, straight

strokes and angular corners. It is used when writing down names of people, and things
that are not of Japanese origin. That is, if your name is not a Japanese name, use
Katakana.

The Long Vowel Sound

Long vowels have been radically simplified in Katakana. Instead of having to think
about vowel sounds, all long vowel sounds are denoted by a simple dash ( ー ).

1. メール (me-ru) - email

2. ケーキ (ke-ki) - cake

Chart 1.
Basic Katakana and Additional Katakana Sounds
 Chart 2
Contracted Katakana Sounds
Additional Letters

These additional letters are invented in modern era to describe the sound of
foreign languages.

Examples

ファ[fa]　ティ[ti]　ドゥ[du]　ウェ[we]　フォ[fo]

ァ, ィ, ゥ, ェ and ォ(small ア[a]　イ[i]　ウ[u]　エ[e]　オ[o]) are attached after particular

letters.
 Examples

ヴァ[va]　ヴィ[vi]　ヴ[vu]　ヴェ[ve]　ヴォ[vo]

ヴ is used for [v] sound.

Writing / Drawing Katakana Characters

Just like in the Hiragana lesson, learning the stroke order in drawing each
Katakana character is necessary. The chart that follows show you the stroke order
(numbered) .

Module 7 |Lesson 1 – Telling Time in Japanese

 This is the last module for FLANG1. This module is divided into several lessons.
For this particular lesson, we are going to focus on “Telling Time in Japanese”.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to :

1. tell time in Japanese,

2. use time in Japanese sentences

Core Content

To tell time in Japanese, the suffixes “~JI” ( o’clock) , and “~FUN/~PUN”

(minute), are used. “GOZEN” (A.M.) and “GOGO” (P.M.) are placed before the
numbers that tell the time.

Specifically, to tell the hour, just say in Japanese the number that tells the hour
and add JI.

Example : 1:00 A.M. gozen ichiji

10:00 P.M. gogo juuji

Hour with special readings are :

4 o’clock yoji
7 o’clock shichiji

● o’clock kuji

To tell the minute hand, the suffix FUN or PUN is used. Specifically, FUN ( ) is
used if the minute hand ends in 2,5,7 or 9.
 Example : 1 : 02 A.M. gozen ichiji nifun

1: 15 P.M. gogo ichiji juugofun

The minute hand is read as PUN () if it ends in 1,3,4,6,8 or 10. However, the
reading will be as follows :

1 ippun
3 sanpun (read as SAMPUN)
4 yonpun (read as YOMPUN)
6 roppun
8 happun
10 juppun

Example : 1 : 01 A.M. gozen ichiji ippun

1 : 13 P.M. gogo ichiji juusanpun
1: 20 A.M. gozen ichiji nijuppun

Finally, 30 minutes or half an hour is HAN.

Example : 1 : 30 P.M. gogo ichiji han

Now that you know how to tell time in Japanese, let us use time in our sentences.
To ask for the time, the interrogative word “NANJI” which is “WHAT TIME” in
English, is used. To answer, just drop “NANJI” and replace with TIME.

Example : Ima, nanji desu ka. (What time is it now?)

. . . Ima, gogo shichiji juugofun desu. (It is 7 :15 pm now.)

Chuugoku wa ima nanji desu ka. (What time is it in China now?)

. . .Chuugoku wa ima gogo kuji han desu. (It is 9 P.M. in China now.)
Module 7 |Lesson 2 – Telling the Day of the Week in Japanese

This is Lesson 2 of this last module. Here, you will learn how to say in Japanese
the seven days of the week.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to :

1. Say in Japanese the days of the week,

2. Use the days of the week in sentences

Core Content

To get through this lesson, you need to familiarize yourself with the days of the
week in Japanese.

Monday Getsuyoubi
Tuesday Kayoubi
Wednesday Suiyoubi
Thursday Mokuyoubi
Friday Kinyoubi
Saturday Doyoubi
Sunday Nichiyoubi

To ask what day of the week it is, the interrogative word “NANYOUBI” is used.
And to answer, drop “NANYOUBI” and replace with the day of the week.

Example : Kyou wa nanyoubi desu ka.(Today is what day/ What day is it today?)

. . .KYou wa Getsuyoubi desu. (Today is Monday.)

To ask for a day of the week in the past, use DESHITA instead of DESU. Deshita,
the past-positive form of DESU is equivalent to was or were.

Module 7 |Lesson 3 – Verb ~MASU

Verbs not only make sentences complete but also polite. Without them, the ideas
conveyed by sentences will not be understood.

So far, you have used the copula verb DESU or its negative form JA

ARIMASEN . In this last lesson, you shall be introduced to verbs in the ~MASU form.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to

1. translate vocabulary introduced,

2. conjugate verbs ,
3. construct sentences that apply patterns discussed.

Core Content

For this last lesson, the following are the new vocabulary you need to be familiar
with .

Get up, wake up okimasu

Sleep, go to bed nemasu

Work hatarakimasu
Take a rest yasumimasu
Study benkyoushimasu
Finish owarimasu
Department Store depa-to
Bank ginkou
Post Office yuubinkyoku
Library toshokan
Art museum bijutsukan
Now ima
Morning asa
Daytime, noon hiru
 Night, Evening ban (yoru)
Day before yesterday ototoi
Yesterday kinou
Today kyou
Tomorrow ashita
Day after tomorrow asatte
This morning kesa
This evening, tonight konban
Rest, holiday yasumi
Lunchtime hiruyasumi
Every morning maiasa
Every night maiban
Everyday mainichi
Number bangou
What number nanban
From ~ ~kara
Up to~, until~ ~made
And ~ to ~

This last lesson introduces you to six new verbs : OKIMASU, NEMASU,

HATARAKIMASU, YASUMIMASU, BENKYOUSHIMASU, and OWARIMASU. These

six verbs are examples of ~MASU verbs and the reason for such is very obvious – they

all end in ~MASU.

Just like in English, verbs in the Japanese language also take different tense and

Form, or they also CONJUGATE .That is, verbs in the Japanese language may be in
present, past or future tense and may be either in the positive form or in the negative

form. It is important to note that the form of the verb in the present and in the future is
the

SAME.

Th
 To conjugate verbs in the Japanese language, drop ~MASU and change with
~MASEN (present-negative form), ~MASHITA (past-positive form) or
~MASENDESHITA (past-negative form).

VERB POSITIVE
NEGATIVE FORM
TENSE FORM

PRESENT /
hatarakiMASU hatarakiMASEN
FUTURE

hatarakiMASHIT hatarakiMASENDES
PAST
A HITA

For the copula DESU, its different forms are :

POSITIVE NEGATIVE
VERB TENSE
FORM FORM

PRESENT /
Desu ja arimasen
FUTURE
 ja arimasen
PAST Deshita
deshita

For our sentence patterns :

1. Subject wa Verb.
● In this declarative sentence pattern, the subject is a person
(noun or pronoun). The verb, on the other hand, is one of the six
verbs introduced in the lesson.
● In this sentence pattern, you will be able to tell what the subject
does, did or will do.

Example : 1.1 Mainichi, Yamada san wa hatarakimasu.

(Every day, Ms. Yamada works.)
1.2Ashita, Yamada san wa hatarakimasu.
(Tomorrow, Ms. Yamada will work.)
1.3Yamada san wa hatarakimasen.
(Ms. Yamada does not or will not work.)
1.4 Kinou, Yamada san wa hatarakimashita.
( Yesterday. Ms. Yamada worked.)
1.5 Kinou, Yamada san wa hatarakimasendeshita.
(Yesterday. Ms. Yamada did not work.)
1. Subject wa Verb ka.
● When added with the particle KA, the first sentence pattern
becomes a question. Specifically, the question pattern ”Subject wa
Verb ka“ is answerable either by a yes (Hai) or a no (Iie).
● The answer patterns are
○ (If yes) – Hai, subject wa Verb-positive
form.
 ○ (If no) – Iie, subject wa Verb-negative
form.

Example : 2.1 Mainichi, Yamada san wa hatarakimasu ka.

(Does Ms. Yamada work everyday?)

If YES ... Hai, mainichi Yamada san wa hatarakimasu.

(Yes, Ms. Yamada works everyday.)

If NO ... Iie, maininchi Yamada san wa hatarakimasen.

(No, Ms. Yamada does not work everyday.)

2.2. Kinou, Yamada san wa hatarakimashita ka.

(Did Ms. Yamada work yesterday?)

If YES . . . Hai, Kinou Yamada san wa hatarakimashita.

(Yes, MS. Yamada worked yesterday.)

If NO ... Iie, Yamada san wa hatarakimasendeshita.

(No, Ms. Yamada didnot work yesterday.)

1. Subject wa nanji ni verb ka.

● This is another question. Again, we know it’s a question because
of the particle KA at the end of the sentence.
● This question uses the interrogative word NANJI which in English
is “What time“.
● Take note that after nanji, the particle NI is used.
● To answer, replace NANJI with the specific time a particular
action happens, happened or will happen.
 Example : 3.1 Anata wa nanji ni okimasu ka.

(What time do you get up / wake up?)

. . . Watashi wa gozen goji ni okimasu.

(I get up/wake up at 5 a.m.)

3.2 Kinou no ban, anata wa nanji ni nemashita ka.

(Last night, what time did you go to bed?)

. . . Kinou no ban, watashi wa gogo juuji ni nemashita.

(Last night, I went to bed at 10p.m.)

● Take note, that after the specific time which answers

NANJI, the particle NI is also used.
1. Subject wa nanji (or nanyoubi) kara nanji (or nanyoubi) made Verb
ka.
● In this question pattern, NANJI is used twice. Each NANJI is
followed by a different particle, KARA (from) follows the first while
MADE (up to / until ) follows the second.
● In this question, we ask FROM WHAT TIME UNTIL
WHAT TIME (or FROM WHAT DAY UNTIL WHAT DAY if
NANYOUBI is used) an action takes place, took place or will
take place.

Example : Anata wa nanji kara nanji made benkyoushimasu ka.

(From what time until what time do you / will you study?)

● To answer the question, just replace NANJI with time.

Example : Watashi wa gogo shichiji kara gogo kuji made benkyoushimasu.

 ( I study /will study from 7P.M. until 9 P.M. )

● ”Nanji kara nanji made“ may also be used combined with the
copula DESU while the subject is a place or a establishment. In that
case, the hours of operation of the subject is asked for.

Example : De-pato wa nanji kara nanji made desu ka.

(From what time until what time is the department store open?)

. . .De-pato wa gozen juuji kara gogo kuji made desu.

(The department store is (open) from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. )

● KARA and MADE do not always go together.

Example : Konban, anata wa nanji kara benkyoushimasu ka.

(Tonight, from what time will you study?)

. . . Konban, watashi wa gogo hachiji kara benkyoushimasu.

(I will study from 8 p.m. tonight.)

● Aside from NANJI, we may also use NANYOUBI (what day of the
week) in this question pattern. In that case, the day of the week will
replace NANYOUBI.

Example : Anata wa nanyoubi kara nanyoubi made hatarakimasu ka.

(From what day until what day do you work?)

. . . Watashi wa Getsuyoubi kara Doyoubi made hatarakimasu.

 (I work from Monday until Saturday.)

1. The particle TO
● The particle TO is equivalent to ”and“. It is used to
connect words.

Example : Yamada san no yasumi wa Kayoubi to Suiyobi

desu.

(Ms. Yamada’s rest days are Tuesday and Wednesday.)