Good Morning Ohayou Gozaimasu
* used from sunrise until about 10 in the morning
Good Afternoon Konnichiwa
* used from 10 in the morning until sundown ; also
means “hello”
Good evening Konbanwa.
Good night Oyasumi Nasai.
Thank you very much Doumo Arigatou Gozaimasu.
You are welcome. Dou itashimashite.
How are you? Ogenki desuka.
I’m fine. Genki desu.
Excuse me. Sumimasen.
Please wait for a while. Chotto matte kudasai.
Sorry, I am late. Osoku natte sumimasen.
Congratulations! Omedetou Gozaimasu.
Happy Birthday Otanjoubi Omedetou Gozaimasu.
Goodbye. Sayounara
* used when you will not see the other person
for quite a while
See you again. Mata aimashou.
Take care. Ki wo tsukete.
What is your name? Onamae wa nan desuka.
How old are you? Nansai desuka.
What is it? Nan desuka.
Where is it ? Doko desuka.
Who is it? Dare desuka.
When is it ? Itsu desuka.
Why/Why is it? Doushite desuka.
How is it? Dou desuka.
How much is it? Ikura desuka.
Do you understand? Wakarimasu ka.
I don’t understand. Wakarimasen.
I am sorry. Gomen nasai.
Introduction on 3 Writing Systems:
The Japanese language is unique due to its utilization of three distinct writing systems:
Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Each system serves a specific purpose in written communication.
Hiragana:
Hiragana is a syllabary consisting of 46 basic characters. It is used for writing native Japanese
words, grammatical elements, and particles. Hiragana is the first writing system taught to
Japanese children as it forms the foundation of reading and writing. The characters are
curvaceous and flowing in appearance.
Kanji Writing System:
Kanji, borrowed from Chinese, is a logographic writing system in Japanese. Each character
represents a word, concept, or idea. The complex nature of Kanji allows for conveying nuanced
meanings. Over time, the Japanese developed their own readings for these characters, further
enriching the language. Kanji is used for nouns, verbs, adjectives, and more.
Katakana Writing System:
Katakana, like Hiragana, consists of 46 characters, but it serves a different purpose. It is
primarily used for foreign loanwords, onomatopoeia, technical terms, and names of plants and
animals. Katakana characters are sharper and have a more angular appearance compared to
Hiragana.
104 Hiragana Sounds:
Hiragana may seem complex, but it follows a consistent pattern. The basic 46 characters
represent sounds such as "a," "ka," "sa," etc. By adding diacritics (voiced and unvoiced marks)
to these basic characters and combining them with "ya," "yu," and "yo," the total number of
sounds reaches 104. Practice is crucial for accurate pronunciation and reading.
I WATASHI
We WATASHITACHI
You ANATA
He, She, That Person ANO HITO
Teacher SENSEI
Student GAKUSEI
Company Employee KAISHAIN
Bank Employee GINKOUIN
Medical Doctor ISHA
Researcher KENKYUUSHA
Engineer ENJINIA
University DAIGAKU
Yes HAI
No IIE
USA AMERIKA
UK IGIRISU
India INDO
Indonesia INDONESHIA
South Korea KANKOKU
Thailand TAI
China CHUUGOKU
Germany DOITSU
Japan NIHON
France FURANSU
Brazil BURAJIRU
Philippines FIRIPIN
Core Content
Here is the list of vocabulary you need to be familiar with to go through this lesson :
This (thing here) kore
That (thing near you) sore
That (thing over there) are
Book hon
Dictionary jisho
Magazine zasshi
Newspaper shinbun
Notebook no-to
Pocket Notebook techou
Business Card meishi
Card ka-do
Telephone Card terehon ka-do
Pencil empitsu
Ballpen bo-rupen
Mechanical Pencil sha-pu penshiru
Key kagi
Watch, clock tokei
Umbrella kasa
Bag kaban
Cassette tape kasetto te-pu
Tape recorder te-pu reko-da-
Television terebi
Radio rajio
Camera kamera
Computer kompyu-ta-
Car jidousha
Desk tsukue
Chair isu
Chocolate chokore-to
Coffee ko-hi-
Wallet saifu
What nan
1. Use of KORE, SORE , ARE
Kore , Sore, and Are are demonstrative pronouns. They are used to point at things.
Specifically, KORE is used to refer to a thing near the
speaker, SORE to a thing near the listener and ARE to a thing far from both the speaker and
listener.
Kore, Sore and Are may be used as subjects of sentences.
Thus, in the pattern “Subject wa N desu”, Subject is Kore, Sore or Are while N is the
object referred to.
Example : Kore wa hon desu. ( This is a book.)
Sore wa hon desu. (That is a book.)
Are wa hon desu. (That over there is a book.)
2. Use of KONO, SONO, ANO
Kono, Sono and Ano are also demonstratives ; specifically, they are demonstrative
adjectives.
Unlike Kore, Sore and Are, Kono, Sono and Ano cannot be used alone as subjects of
sentences. When Kono, Sono or Ano is used in the
sentence, it has to be immediately followed by a noun, i.e. the name of the thing or object
referred to.
Example : Kono hon wa watashi no desu. ( This book is mine.)
3. Sou desu / Sou ja arimasen
The word "SOU" may be used to answer a question requiring an affirmative or negative
answer. Thus, "HAI, SOU DESU” is the affirmative
response while "IIE, SOU JA ARIMASEN" is the negative answer.
Example : Kore wa kagi desu ka. (Is this a key?)
…Hai, kagi desu. (Yes, that is a key.)
Or …Hai, sou desu. (Yes, it is so.)
Kore wa bo-rupen desu ka. (Is this a ball pen?)
… Iie, bo-rupen ja arimasen. (No, that is not a ball pen.)
Or … Iie, sou ja arimasen. (No, it is not so.)
