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Basic Japanese Course 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Lesson 2: Useful Expressions

Read this page briefly and spend most of your t ime on the drill exercise for quick memorizat ion.

Expressions | Basic Rules | Communication Tips | Drill Exercise

Expressions

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How are you?

Are you well? Ogenki desuka?

Yes, I'm well. Hai, genki desu.

No, I'm not well. Iie, genki dewa (ja) arimasen..

Yes, I'm very well. Hai, totemo genki desu.

So so. Māmā desu.

genki: well"o" in front of genki is a prefix which makes the word more polite.Genki desu.: I'm well.Genki dewa (ja) arimasen.: I'm not well."ja arimasen" sounds more casual, and is used more in daily conversat ion.Informal: Genki?

Understand?

Do you understand? Wakari masuka?

Yes, I understand. Hai, wakari masu.

No, I don't understand. Iie, wakari masen.

I understand a lit t le. Sukoshi wakari masu.

Do you understand Japanese? Nihongo ga wakari masuka?

Do you understand English? Eigo ga wakari masuka?

wakaru: to understand, to knowWakari masu.: I understand.Wakari masen.: I don't understand.Wakari mashita.: I understood. (I got it . All right.)[Nihongo] ga wakari masu.: I understand [Japanese].ga: Part icle which comes after the object. Used w ith the verb "wakaru".

Please. (to request)

Please. Onegaishimasu.

One more t ime, please. Mōichido onegaishimasu.

Slow ly please. Yukkuri onegaishimasu.

Menu please. Menyū o onegaishimasu.

Used to ask some favor.[Menyū] o onegaishimasu.: [Menu] please.o: Part icle which comes after the object.

Please. (to offer)

Please. Dōzo.

Used to offer something. (Here you are. After you. etc.)

Wait!

One moment, please. Chotto matte kudasai.

chotto: a lit t lematte kudasai: Please wait .Informal: Chotto matte.

あの日見た花の名前をあの日見た花の名前を僕達はまだ知らない。僕達はまだ知らない。

The FlowerWe Saw That Day

(Animation)

あの日見た花の名前を僕達はあの日見た花の名前を僕達はまだ知らない。まだ知らない。 [ano hi mitahana no namae o bokutachiwa mada shiranai. ] is ananimation series started from2011.

Very touching story. Enjoyableeven for adults who do notwatch animes.

Emotions of characters arevividly depicted in facialexpressions, gestures andspeeches.

Helpful in deepening yourunderstanding of the Japanesementality.

TV Series Trailer

Ending

Movie Trailer

Theatrical movie was released

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What?

What is it? Nan desuka?

What's this? (in speaker's hand) Kore wa nan desuka?

What is it? (in the listener'shand)

Sore wa nan desuka?

What's that? (in the sky) Are wa nan desuka?

[Kore] wa nan desuka?: What is [this]?wa: Part icle which comes after the subject.kore: this (something close to you - the speaker)sore: it (close to the person you are talking to - the listener)are: that (some distance away from the both)nan (nani): whatYou w ill learn more in the lesson 3.

What time?

What t ime is it? Nanji desuka?

What t ime is the departure? Shuppatsu wa nanji desuka?

What t ime is the arrival? Tōchaku wa nanji desuka?

[Shuppatsu] wa nanji desuka?: What t ime is [the departure]?You w ill learn more in the lesson 4.

Where?

Where is it? Doko desuka?

Where is the toilet? Toire wa doko desuka?

[Toire] wa doko desuka?: Where is [the toilet]?You w ill learn more in the lesson 5.

Is there...?

Do you have? Is there? Ari masuka?

Do you have vegetarian dishes? Bejitarian ryōri wa ari masuka?

Is there an internet cafe? Intānetto kafe wa ari masuka?

[Bejitarian ryōri] wa ari masuka?: Do you have [vegetarian dishes]?[Intānetto kafe] wa ari masuka?: Is there [an internet cafe]?You w ill learn more in the lesson 6.

How much?

How much is it? Ikura desuka?

How much is a double room? Daburu rūmu wa ikura desuka?

[Kore] wa ikura desuka?: How much is [this]?You w ill learn more in the lesson 7.

Why?

Why is it? Naze desuka?

Informal: Naze? Dōshite? Nande?You w ill learn more in the lesson 9.

OK?

Are you all right? Daijōbu desuka?

Yes, I'm all right. Hai, daijōbu desu.

Informal: Daijōbu?You w ill learn more in the lesson 10.

Basic Rules

The following rules are very simplified. Please note that there are some exceptions.

Word Order

Usually, the subject is placed at the beginning, and the verb at the end of the sentence.

Watashi wa Nihongo ga wakarimasu. I / Japanese / understand

The subject (sometimes the object too) of the sentence is usually omitted when it can be clearly known from thecontext.

(Anata wa) eigo ga wakari masuka? Do (you) understand English?

on 31st Aug. 2013.

Filming Site Video

The filming site of thisanimation is Chichibu city,Saitama prefecture.

Pilgrimage Map (PDF)

Visiting anime filming sites is avery popular activity and iscalled アニメ聖地巡礼アニメ聖地巡礼 [animeseichi junrei | Anime Holy LandPilgrimage].

Official SiteW ikipedia

MISIA(Singer)

MISIA is one of the mosttalented singers in Japan. Herfive-octave-range voice is trulyamazing.

We do believe that her voicewill reach your heartpenetrating the languagebareer.

Please enjoy Japan's VERYspecial treasure!

逢いたくていま[aitakute ima ]

忘れない日々[wasurenai hibi ]

GREAT Live performance!!

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Particles (joshi)

Particles (joshi in Japanese) are usually attached after a word to indicate the function of that word.

For example, "wa" in the following sentence indicates that "watashi (I)" is a subject, and "ga" indicates that "Nihongo(Japanese)" is an object of the verb "wakarimasu (understand)".

Particles

Watashi wa Nihongo ga wakarimasu. I understand Japanese.

Each particle has different functions and meanings. And some are used with the particular verbs.

When you are not sure which particle should be used, you can try to say without it like "Watashi, Nihongo,Wakarimasu.". In most cases, people will understand if the word order is correct.

Sentence Forms

You can easily make different forms by changing the end of the sentence. Word order stays the same.

Affirmative

Affirmative sentences normally end with "desu" or "masu".

You can assume that the sentences with the verb "be" (am, is, are...) end with "desu". And the sentences with otherverbs end with "masu".

Genki desu. I am well.

Wakari masu. I understand.

Negative

Change "desu" into "dewa arimasen" or "ja arimasen". "ja" sounds more casual, and is used more often in dailyconversation.

Change "masu" into "masen".

Genki dewa (ja) arimasen. I am not well.

Wakari masen. I don't understand.

Question (Interrogative)

To make a question sentence, add "ka" at the end of the sentence.

This "ka" is pronounced with a rising intonation.

(O) Genki desuka? Are you well?

Genki dewa (ja) arimasenka? Aren't you well?

Wakari masuka? Do you understand?

Wakari masenka? Don't you understand?

Communication Tips

You would probably be shocked when you come to Japan and realize that the most people don't speak English.

The main reason is that what they learn in school is mostly grammatical rules and they are not trained to use it for theactual communication.

If your Japanese doesn't work, you can try to speak in English simply and slowly. Or people would understand more ifyou write it down on a paper.

The good news is that many nouns especially for the name of foods or drinks are English (with a bit differentpronunciation). The basic rules you learn in this course plus some extra vocabulary should work pretty well.

Drill Exercise

MAWARE MAWAREfrom 2010 FIFA World Cup

Official Album

心ひとつ[kokoro hitotsu ]

Official SiteW ikipediaYouTube Official ChanneliTunes

千の風になって(A Thousand Winds)by Masafumi Akikawa

Learn Japanese by singing!

Music video of the songLyrics in Rōmaji & HiraganaWord by word translat ion

JapaneseVocabulary

japanesepod101.com/…

Fun JapaneseVocabulary Lessons.Over 200,000,000Lessons Delivered!

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