The Complete Guide to Learning Japanese

9/7/2010The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… The Complete Guide to Learning Japanese Disclaimer: This is still a work in progress! What is a complete guide to Japanese? Despite what many are lead to believe, learning Japanese is not significantly more difficult than learning any other language. The truth is mastering any foreign language is quite an endeavor. If you think about it, you are essentially taking everything you've learned in life and re-learning it in a completely different way. Obviously, no single book can really claim to teach you everything about a language including all the vocabulary a fluent adult commonly obtains during her life. So what do I mean by a complete guide to Japanese? Most Japanese textbooks only go over a small subset of what you need to learn Japanese, typically covering a certain amount of grammar and vocabulary with a smattering of dialogues and readings. However, mastering a language requires much more than just learning grammar and vocabulary. What most Japanese textbooks fail to recognize is that they can't possibly hope to cover all the necessary vocabulary and kanji (Chinese characters) to obtain full fluency. This guide fully recognizes that it cannot teach you everything word by word and character by character. Instead, it will give you a solid understanding of the fundamentals with a wide collection of dialogues and examples. In addition, it will go over various techniques and tools to enable you to teach yourself. Essentially, this book is a guide on how you can learn Japanese to complete fluency by actually using Japanese in the areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Another important distinction in the complete guide is that it does not try to hide or avoid more casual but perfectly acceptable aspects of the language. Many textbooks often avoid styles of speech and vocabulary you would normally use regularly with close friends, family, and acquaintances! In this guide, you will be introduced to all aspects of the language based on real-world practicality and usefulness; not on an artificial, filtered version of what others consider to be "proper" Japanese. Resources and Tools There are a large number of useful tools on the web for learning Japanese. Not only are there excellent online dictionaries, which are often better than many print dictionaries, there are also great tools and social networking sites for online collaboration and language study. In order to fully utilize these online resources or if you're reading this book online, you'll need to setup your computer to support Japanese. You can see a full list of these resources and instructions on how to setup your computer at the following link: http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/resources Corrections I'm currently writing this as quickly as possible without a lot of proofreading so there WILL be many typos and mistakes for the first few revisions. Please feel free to point out any mistakes in the comments. I may delete your guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 1/113 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… comment after making the correction to keep the comment sections clean for more in-depth discussion but I do appreciate them very much!! Table of Contents Writing Systems and Pronunciation The Scripts The Japanese writing system is comprised of three main written scripts: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Hiragana is the main phonetic writing system used to represent every distinct sound in Japanese. Because of it's phonetic nature, we will first learn Hiragana to also learn how to pronounce all the sounds in the Japanese language. While Katakana represents the same sounds as Hiragana, it is mainly used to represent words imported from other languages. Kanji, which are Chinese characters adapted for Japanese, are heavily used in writing. There are no spaces in Japanese so Kanji is necessary in order to separate the words within a sentence. Kanji is also useful for distinguishing homophones, which occurs quite often given the limited number of distinct sounds in Japanese. Pronunciation In the next section, we will learn all the characters in Hiragana and how to pronounce them. As we will see, every character in Hiragana (and the Katakana equivalent) corresponds to a specific sound. This makes pronunciation very easy as each letter has exactly one pronunciation. However, because there are relatively few distinct sounds in the Japanese language, you must pay extra attention to proper intonation. Unlike English pronunciation which is based on accents, Japanese pronunciation is based on alterations between a high and low pitch. For example, homophones can have different pitches of low and high tones resulting in a slightly different sound despite sharing the same pronunciation. The largest barrier to proper and natural sounding speech is incorrect intonation. Therefore, as you listen to Japanese and begin to imitate the sounds, it is very important that you pay attention to pitch in order to sound like a native speaker. Hiragana 00:00 The table below represents the entire Hiragana syllabary categorized by the consonant and vowel sounds. With the exception of a few sounds (as shown by the pronunciation in parentheses), most sounds in Japanese are easily represented by a vowel or consonant-vowel. There is also one consonant-only sound: 「ん」. Hiragana - Click for stroke order and sound guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 2/113 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… n w r y m h n t s k ん わ ら や ま は な た (n) り み ひ に さ かあa ち し き い i (chi) (shi) る ゆむ れ ふ つ ぬ す く う u (fu) (tsu) せ け え e そ こ おo め へ ね て を ろ よ も ほ の と (o) To understand how this chart works, let's start by looking at the right-most column, which are all the vowel-only sounds. あ a い i う u え e お o Here are some sample words for reading practice. Example: あい - love (read as "ai") 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. あう - to meet いえ - house おい - nephew うえ - above いう - to say Each additional column represents a consonant sound with each of the five vowel sounds. For example, the "k" column has the following sounds. か ka き ki く ku け ke こ ko 「ん」 is the only character with no vowel sound. It adds an "n" sound as shown in the examples below. きん - gold (read as "kin") おんな - woman; girl (read as "on-na") guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 3/113 It's important to use the correct stroke order. the "r" sounds deserve careful attention for English speakers because there is no equivalent sound in English. hear.org/learn/book/…/2 . It is more similar to the "r" sound in Spanish. and say the characters and sounds in Hiragana. write. If your browser doesn't support audio. as already mentioned. What works for some English speakers (even if it may not be technically correct) is to shape the lips something like the sound that is made for the English "r. We've already learned all the sounds when we learned Hiragana. you can also download them at http://www.org/audio/basic_sounds. There are also other free resources with audio samples.fm has a nice tool for practicing Hiragana recognition at http://smart.zip. is mainly used to represent words imported from other languages. Katakana 00:00 Katakana. Speaking: Practice repeating the sounds. Other Tools Smart.guidetojapanese. All you need to learn is a different way of writing them. I recommend recording yourself to get an accurate idea of what you sound like." but to make the sound with a single trill or flap of the tongue against the front of the palate. Pay careful attention to the "r" sounds! While most of the sounds are pretty straightforward.fm/series/3322.music (read as "on-ga-ku") Here are my recommendations for learning how to read. You can start with a practice sheet with trace lines and work up to a free-form sheet.Click for stroke order and sound n w r y m h n t s k ン ワ ラ ヤ マ ハ ナ タ リ ミ ヒ ニ サ カ ア a チ シ キ イ i (chi) (shi) ルユ ム レ フ ツ ヌ ス ク ウu (fu) (tsu) セ ケエ e 4/113 メ ヘ ネ テ guidetojapanese. Reading: You'll be getting plenty of reading practice with the material in this book. Katakana . Writing: You'll need to develop muscle memory so use regular pen and paper. Hiragana tracing practice sheet Hiragana free-form practice sheet Hearing: You can listen to the pronunciation for each character by clicking on it in the first chart.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… おんがく . They are in fact. 「シ」、「ツ」 「ソ」、and 「ン」. As a result. An important thing to remember is to stay true to the Japanese pronunciation and completely forget how it's really supposed to be pronounced. written pretty much the same way. You should pay careful attention to the stroke order and direction. You may also notice that the Katakana 「ヘ」 is virtually identical to its Hiragana counterpart 「へ」. there are many characters in Katakana that look very similar. Katakana tracing practice sheet Katakana free-form practice sheet English words in Japanese Many words from foreign languages. there are relatively few distinct sounds in Japanese and only five vowel sounds.org/learn/book/…/2 5/113 . here is a short list of foreign words and their Japanese equivalents.fm has a nice tool for practicing Katakana recognition at http://smart.fm/goals/24667. The sheets below should help you get some writing practice. However. In particular. Additional Sounds Though we have covered all the distinct characters in both Hiragana and guidetojapanese. particularly English.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… e ヲ* ロ ヨ モ ホ ノ ト (o) * = rarely used ソ コ オo Due to the straight lines and relatively few strokes. have become part of the Japanese language via Katakana throughout the years. these words usually don't bear much resemblance to their original pronunciations. To give you an idea. Sample Katakana Words English America Russia bus motorcycle French fries アメリカ ロシア バス バイク フライドポテト (fried potato) Japanese Other Tools Smart. There is also a semi-voiced consonant sound "p". Voiced Hiragana Click for Sound p b d z g ぱば だ ざ がa ぴ び ぷぶ ぢ じ ぎ i (ji) (ji) づ ず ぐ u (dzu) ぺべ で ぜ げe ぽぼ ど ぞ ご o Voiced Katakana Click for Sound p b d z g パバ ダ ザ ガa ピ ビ プ ブ ヂ ジ ギ i (ji) (ji) ヅ ズ グu (dzu) ド ゾ ゴ o ペ ベ デ ゼ ゲe ポ ボ Y-vowel sounds A consonant can precede the three y-sounds: 「や」、「ゆ」、 and 「よ」. This is done by attaching a small.org/learn/book/…/2 6/113 .Click for Sound p b j g r m h n c s k ぴゃ びゃ じゃ ぎゃ りゃ みゃ ひゃ にゃ ちゃ しゃ きゃ ya ぴゅ びゅ じゅ ぎゅ りゅ みゅ ひゅ にゅ ちゅ しゅ きゅ yu guidetojapanese. "t". namely the "k". half-size version of the y-sounds to the consonant+i sounds as you can see in the table below. Voiced Consonants Voiced consonants are consonant sounds that require a voice. creating a vibration in your throat. and "h" consonant sounds. "s".9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Katakana. A number of consonant sounds in Hiragana and Katakana can be changed to their voiced counterpart by adding two small dashes to the upper-right corner of the character. All small や、ゆ、and よ combinations in Hiragana . which is created by putting a small circle in the upper-right corner of the "h" characters. there are additional variations and sounds that still remain to be learned. org/learn/book/…/2 7/113 .magazine カップ (kap-pu) . Japanese does have a way to carry over the next consonant sound back with a small 「つ」. t. Other examples would include: 「き → きい」. Here are some more examples. k. s" to create a hard stop.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… ぴょ びょ じょ ぎょ りょ みょ ひょ にょ ちょ しょ きょ yo All small や、ゆ、and よ combinations in Katakana . Try saying 「か」 and 「あ」 separately. 「け → けい」. You'll notice that it's easier to drag out the vowel. 「こ → こう」. This can be used with the consonants "p. 「ひと」 (meaning "person") would be read as "hi-to". Extending Vowel Sounds Vowel Sound Extended by /a/ / i/ e / /u/o / あ い う For example.Click for Sound p b j g r m h n c s k ピャ ビャ ジャ ギャ リャ ミャ ヒャ ニャ チャ シャ キャ ya ピュ ビュ ジュ ギュ リュ ミュ ヒュ ニュ チュ シュ キュ yu ピョ ビョ ジョ ギョ リョ ミョ ヒョ ニョ チョ ショ キョ yo Hard Consonant Sounds While no single letter ends in a consonant sound （except 「ん」）. if you wanted to create an extended vowel sound from 「か」. トラック (to-rak-ku) . It's important to make sure you hold the vowel sound to the full length of both characters because there are many guidetojapanese. You can extend the vowel sound of a character by adding either 「あ」、「い」、or 「う」 depending on the vowel as shown in the following chart. For example.cup The Long Vowel Sound We will now go over the long vowel sound which is simply extending the duration of a vowel sound. 「く → くう」.truck ざっし (zas-shi) . you would add 「あ」 to create 「かあ」. 「さ → さあ」 and so on. The reason for this is quite simple. 「ひっと」 however carries the "t" consonant sound back and is pronounced "hit-to". Then say them in succession as fast as you can. or "fo".check 8/113 guidetojapanese. 4. 3. The following table shows the gaps that were filled using these techniques for Katakana. However. The "v" sounds are also expressed by putting two dashes to the vowel sounds. ケーキ (ke-ki) . However. Additional sounds v w f ch d t j sh シ i ヴァ ワ ファ チャ ダ ヴ ウ タ ジャ シャ a ヴィ ウィ フィ チ ディ ティ ジ フ チュ ドゥ トゥ ジュ シュ u ト ジョ ショ o ヴェ ウェ フェ チェ デ テ ジェ シェ e ヴォ ウォ フォ チョ ド 1. For example.org/learn/book/…/2 . "fi".vodka チェック (chek-ku) . がくせい (ga-ku-se) . it's problem when converting foreign words such as "fork" into Katakana. 5. This problem was solved by using small vowel sounds.cake Additional Katakana Sounds 「ふ」 is the only sound that is pronounced with a "f" sound. That's fine in Japanese because there are no words with other "f" sounds such as "fa".9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… similar words that are only different by the length of the vowel. We'll see example of these words in later sections. ソファ (so-fa) . 3. You simply need to use a dash: 「ー」. 1.sofa ウィンドウズ (win-do-u-zu) .good morning おかあさん (o-ka-san) .mother There are also a small number of exceptions where an "e" vowel sound is extended by adding 「え」 or an "o" vowel sound is extended with 「お」. for example 「ふとん」 (futon) or 「ふじ」 (Fuji). 2. ツアー (tsu-a) 2.email . 4.teacher きょう (kyo) . the small 「ォ」 can be attached to 「フ」 to create 「フォ」 (fo).tour .Windows (as in MS Windows) ウォッカ (wok-ka) .today おはよう (o-ha-yo) . 「ここ」 means "here" while 「こ うこう」 means "High school".student せんせい (sen-se) . There are other gaps that are filled with this technique. For example. 1. Long vowel sounds in Katakana are much easier. Here is a short list of example words with long vowel sounds. 2. The long vowel sound is highlighted. メ ール (me-ru) 3. "v" sounds are rarely used due to the difficulty native Japanese speakers have in pronouncing them. "Fork" then becomes ［フォーク」. Kanji Readings The first Kanji we will learn is the character for 'person. you may have noticed that the character as rendered by the font is not always the same as the hand-written style. One good general rule of thumb is that strokes usually start from the top-left corner toward the bottom-right. what they don't realize is that there are thousands of characters and they are not always meticulously written the way they appear in print. Most words in Japanese are written in Kanji even though they are still pronounced with the Japanese phonetic sounds represented by Hiragana and Katakana. you'll find that it's not difficult to figure out the correct stroke order for most Kanji. which are Chinese characters adapted for Japanese. An effective strategy for mastering Kanji is learning them with new vocabulary within a larger context. we will learn how Kanji works by learning a few common characters and vocabulary. This means that horizontal strokes are generally written from left to right and vertical strokes are written from top to bottom.' It is a simple two-stroke character where each stroke starts at the top. is used to represent actual words. Once you learn the radical stroke order and get used to the patterns. Proper stroke order helps ensure the characters look recognizable even when you write them quickly or use more cursive styles. you should always verify by looking the character up in a Kanji dictionary. In any case. ultimately. In this section. Japanese learners often think that stroke order doesn't matter as long as the end product looks the same. However. it is very important to learn it with the proper stroke order and direction from the beginning in order to avoid developing any bad habits. This way. Definition: person guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 人 9/113 . By clicking the link to the stroke order.000 characters used in modern Japanese so you can imagine that memorizing them one-by-one as you might for syllabaries such as Hiragana does not work very well.9/7/2010 4. So it is important to focus not so much on the characters themselves but the words and vocabulary that include those characters. (chek-ku) . we can associate various contextual information with the character in order to reinforce memory. This is another important reason to check the stroke order. The simpler characters called radicals are often reused as components in larger characters. Stroke Order When learning Kanji. Remember that Kanji. if you're not sure about the stroke order.check The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Kanji The last and most notorious aspect of the Japanese written language is Kanji. Kanji in Vocabulary There are roughly over 2. American (person) フランス人　【ふらんす・じん】 . Kun-yomi is the Japanese reading of the character while on-yomi is based on the original Chinese pronunciation.book 日 本 Definition: sun.teacher guidetojapanese.French (person) While most characters will not have multiple kun-yomi or on-yomi. 日本 【に・ほん】 . 先生 【せん・せい】 . For that reason. Example: 人　【ひと】 . book Stroke Order On-yomi: ホン 1. which often use 2 or more Kanji. Now that you have the general idea. On-yomi. With 「人」. let's learn some more vocabulary and the Kanji used within them. 学生 【がく・せい】 . Kun-yomi is used for words that only use one character. The reading for Kanji is split into two major categories called kun-yomi and on-yomi.9/7/2010 人 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Stroke Order Kun-yomi: ひと On-yomi: ジン Kanji in Japanese can have one or several readings. Learning a reading without a context within vocabulary will only create unnecessary confusion so I do not recommend learning all the readings at once.org/learn/book/…/2 10/113 . Generally. on-yomi is often written in Katakana.student 2. the more common characters such as 「人」 will generally have a lot more readings. The actual word for "person" is one example. is mostly used for words that originate from Chinese. 1. We'll see more examples as we learn more characters. on the other hand.person Kun-yomi is also used for native Japanese words including most adjectives and verbs. Example アメリカ人　【アメリカ・じん】 . I only list the ones that are applicable to the vocabulary we learned. one very useful example of an on-yomi is to attach it to names of countries to describe nationality. day Stroke Order On-yomi: ニ Definition: origin. The stroke order diagrams with red highlights show you where each stroke starts. Here. 本 【ほん】 .Japan 2. high school Definition: tall.big 小学校 【しょう・がっ・こう】 . inside Stroke Order On-yomi: チュウ Definition: large Stroke Order 11/113 guidetojapanese. expensive 高 校 1.middle school 大学 【だい・がく】 .middle school student 大学生 【だい・がく・せい】 .tall.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 学 先 生 Definition: academic Stroke Order On-yomi: ガク Definition: ahead.org/learn/book/…/2 .small 大きい 【おお・きい】 . 6.elementary school 中学校 【ちゅう・がっ・こう】 . university 小学生 【しょう・がく・せい】 . Stroke Order Kun-yomi: たか・い On-yomi: コウ Definition: school Stroke Order On-yomi: コウ 小さい 【ちい・さい】 .school 3. 3. 学校 【がっ・こう】 .college. 2. 5. 7. 4. university student Definition: small 小 中 大 Stroke Order Kun-yomi: ちい・さい On-yomi: ショウ Definition: middle. expensive 2.college. 8.elementary school student 中学生 【ちゅう・がく・せい】 . 高い 【たか・い】 . precedence Stroke Order On-yomi: セン Definition: life Stroke Order On-yomi: セイ 1. 高校 【こう・こう】 . Stroke Order Kun-yomi: くに On-yomi: コク 日本語 【に・ほん・ご】 . you can easily turn it into a valuable tool if you learn it in the context of vocabulary. you never want to write 「大きい」 as 「大い」.French スペイン語 【スペイン・ご】 . Okurigana and changing readings You may have noticed some words that end with Hiragana such as 「高い」 or 「大きい」. 5. the trailing Hiragana. it has become much easier to look up new Kanji thanks to online tools and electronic dictionaries. The thing to watch out for is remembering exactly where the Kanji ends and Hiragana begins. 「学校」 is read as 「がっこう」 and not 「がくこう」. 国 【くに】 . You may have also noticed that the Kanji readings don't always match the reading in a particular word.Chinese (person) Definition: country 国 1. 2.country 2. Ultimately. 中国 【ちゅう・ごく】 . called Okurigana are needed to perform various conjugations without affecting the Kanji. For example. 3.org/learn/book/…/2 12/113 . Because those words are adjectives. Fortunately. 4. you'll want to check the reading for any new words you encounter.English フランス語 【フランス・ご】 . we've managed to learn over 25 words ranging from China to elementary school student! Kanji is usually regarded as a major obstacle but as you can see. For example. 中国人 【ちゅう・ごく・じん】 .China 3.Japanese language 中国語 【ちゅう・ごく・ご】 .Chinese language 英語 【えい・ご】 . You can find a tutorial on how to use these tools at the following link guidetojapanese.Spanish Definition: England Stroke Order On-yomi: エイ Definition: language Stroke Order On-yomi: ゴ 英 語 With only 14 characters. Readings often go through these small transformations to make pronunciation easier.9/7/2010 大 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Kun-yomi: おお・きい On-yomi: ダイ 1. For Japanese. it also allows us to get familiar with some basic and important Kanji. etc. The tens digit is simply the number and ten. In some cases. The more common is in bold. Numerals Kanji 1 2 3 4 四 5 6 7 七 8 八 9 九 10 十 一 二 三 五 六 Reading いち に さん し／よん ご ろく しち／なな はち きゅう じゅう よん なな 11 to 99 As an added bonus. the writer may use a more specialized version for stylistic reasons. while there is generic Kanji that can be used for all situations for a given word. go to the tutorial at the following link: http://www. when used to describe the climate. while the adjective for hot is 「あつい」. Example guidetojapanese. we don't need to learn any more numbers to count up to 99.org/learn/resources/learning_words Basic numbers and age 1 to 10 Learning the first ten numbers is a one good way to get started in learning any language. For example. When you are describing a hot object or person.guidetojapanese. you must write it as 「暑い」. If you want to learn more about learning the different Kanji for a single word and new words in general. two-ten is twenty. We will learn higher numbers past 99 in a later chapter.org/learn/resources/findingkanji Different Kanji for similar words Kanji is often used to make subtle distinctions or give a different shade of meaning for a word.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… http://www.guidetojapanese. you must write it as 「熱い」 instead. For example.org/learn/book/…/2 13/113 . The examples in this book will generally use the generic and usually simpler Kanji. it is very important to remember to use the correct Kanji for the correct situation. One thing to pay attention to is the fact that 4 and 7 have two possible pronunciations. fever Stroke Order On-yomi: あつ・い；ねつ In other cases. 暑 熱 Definition: hot (for climate only) Stroke Order Kun-yomi: あつ・い Definition: heat. three-ten is thirty. 4. we must use counters to count different types of things. Irregular readings 1.70 years old We will learn many more counters in a later chapter. Chapter summary and practice We covered all the sounds in Japanese. and how Kanji works.1 year old 八歳　【はっ・さい】 . In addition. 3. Let's apply what we've learned to come up with a simple self-introduction.11 二十　【に・じゅう】 .21 三十九　【さん・じゅう・きゅう】 . Learning the expressions You only need a couple of fixed expressions for your simple self-introduction. 十一 【じゅう・いち】 .39 四十　【よん・じゅう】 . Because the Kanji is rather difficult. guidetojapanese.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. The counter for counting age is 「～歳」（さい）.20 二十一　【に・じゅう・いち】 . 2. as we saw in the last section. Kanji readings can often go through small changes to aid pronunciation.20 years old Example 1. However.20 years old 二十一歳 【に・じゅう・いっ・さい】 . 4. The best way to learn a language is to regularly interact in that language and the only way to do that is to meet Japanese speakers so a self-introduction is an ideal way to apply what we've learned in this section.21 years old 四十八歳 【よん・じゅう・はっ・さい】 .10 years old 二十歳　【はたち】 . 3. The age 20 is also a completely irregular reading. 5.40 七十四　【なな・じゅう・よん】 . 4. 二十歳　【はたち】 .74 九十九　【きゅう・じゅう・きゅう】 . it is also written as 「才」 (though it's actually a completely different character) Counters are simply attached to the end of the number.48 years old 七十歳 【なな・じゅっ・さい】 . we also learn number up to 99 and how to count age.8 years old 十歳　【じゅっ・さい】 . 6. 一歳　【いっ・さい】 . 3.org/learn/book/…/2 14/113 . The following digits are read slightly differently when used with the age counter.99 Counters and Age Let's use the numbers we just learned to talk about our age. 2. 7. 2. how they are written in Hiragana and Katakana. In Japanese. you need only attach 「です」 to the name. Below is a short list of potentially useful nouns to describe what you are for your self-introduction.org/learn/resources/nameinjapanese To say you are that name. Japanese has a relatively limited set of sounds so it's very likely that your name will need to sound very different from its native pronunciation. However.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. I would recommend asking your teacher or a Japanese speaker for help in converting your name to the Katakana equivalent. 大学生 【だい・がく・せい】 . 社会人　【しゃ・かい・じん】 . You may even want to ask the first person you introduce yourself to.　Don't forget that you need to add 「人」（じん） to the country for nationality. Putting it all together Using the fixed expressions and the vocabulary we learned in the last section. When using the full name. アリス・スミスです。 (I am) Alice Smith. If you want to give it a try on your own (like right now). it can go either way for names from countries where the order is reversed. the last name is given more weight so it is common to just go by your last name especially in a more formal environment such as the classroom or workplace. The pronunciation is usually shortened to just "dess". In Japan.org/learn/book/…/2 15/113 . As we've learned. the last name always comes first for Japanese names. 1. we now have everything we need for our simple self-introduction. Example [name]です。 (I am) [name]. you can try this tutorial on finding your name in Japanese: http://www. 1. よろしくおねがいします There is no easy direct translation but it means something along the lines of "please treat me well" when used at the end of an introduction.working adult guidetojapanese.guidetojapanese. 2. you'll need to decide on what to call yourself in Japanese.college student 2. ブラウンです。 (I am) Brown. はじめまして Shortened form of an expression originally meaning "I meet you for the first time". We will learn more about 「です」 in the next chapter. it's a standard greeting similar in intent to "Nice to meet" or "How do you do?" 2. Telling people your name If you haven't done so already. we used Hiragana.used after finishing a meal (lit: It was a feast) いってきます .Australia フランス . 3. Please treat me well. 韓国　【かん・こく】 . 8. 5. (I'm) American.welcome home Nouns and Adjectives At the end of the last chapter. 9. 5. we will learn more about the state-ofbeing and how to use nouns and adjectives.Mexico はじめまして。アリス・スミスです。アメリカ人です。大学生です。十八歳です。よろしくお ねがいします。 Nice to meet you. the two are described very differently. we used 「です」 to express state-of-being.used as farewell for someone leaving the house (lit: Go and come back) ただいま . (I'm a) college student.Europe ブラジル . The state-of-being is very easy to describe because it is implied within the noun or adjective. In Japanese. 4. a good way to practice pronunciation is to use various expressions for different scenarios. Other expressions In addition to practicing your self-introduction.thank you (polite) すみません . In this chapter.Brazil メキシコ . 10.South Korea カナダ .Canada イギリス . (I'm) 18 years old.sorry (polite) いただきます . Katakana and Kanji to create a simple self-introduction. 4.France スペイン . They'll understand you're hard at work practicing. 6. for example: "He is a student" and "He is at school". the verb "to be" is used to describe what something is or where it is.used when leaving home (lit: I'm going and coming back) いってらっしゃい .Spain ヨーロッパ . There is no need to use a verb nor even a subject to make a complete sentence in Japanese. 6.org/learn/book/…/2 16/113 . The state-of-being we will learn is used to describe only what something is and not where it exists. a casual conversation guidetojapanese. 11.used before eating a meal (lit: I humbly receive) ごちそうさまでした . In the process. 8.England オーストラリア . Take for example. (I am) Alice Smith. State-of-Being In English.used when returning home お帰りなさい　【お・かえ・りなさい】 . 7.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 3. It's ok if nobody around you speaks Japanese. ありがとうございます . 7. 2. 1. Polite State-of-being While the previous dialogue may be fine among close friends.Good Morning (casual) アリス： おはよう。 Alice: Morning.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… among friends asking. How are you? A： 元気ですか？ (Are you) well? B： 元気です。 (I'm) well. We did this in our simple self-introduction in the last section and because it's understood by context that you are talking about yourself. Casual Morning Greeting 1. The 「か」 is a question marker so a question mark is not necessary. there is no need to add a subject. you should use the polite form when speaking to a teacher. Practical Applications Here's an example of a casual morning greeting between two classmates and a polite morning greeting with the teacher.org/learn/book/…/2 17/113 . "How are you?" How are you? (casual) 元気 【げん・き】 . a superior such as your boss. リー： おはよう。 Lee: Morning.healthy. Below is a simple greeting in the polite form. lively ※Used as a greeting to ask whether one is well A： 元気？ (Are you) well? B： 元気。 (I'm) fine. We can ask questions in the polite form by further adding 「か」 to 「です」. guidetojapanese. For nouns and adjectives. おはよう . all that is required for the polite form is to add 「です」 to the end of the sentence. or people you're not very familiar with. お～ . longer and more sophisticated sentences will consist of many words that perform various grammatical roles. You can follow a similar model to practice greeting people in the morning. However. Particles are one or more Hiragana characters that assign a certain grammatical function to the word that comes before it.a honorific prefix used for politeness and never used when referring to oneself 先生： おはようございます。 Teacher: Morning. Polite Morning Greeting 1. what you want to talk about may not always be obvious or you may want to change the topic of the conversation.org/learn/book/…/2 18/113 . the 「は」 topic particle is used to indicate a new topic for the conversation. We'll learn the expressions for afternoon and evening greetings in the next section.this guidetojapanese.Good Morning (polite) 2. Note: The topic particle while written as 「は」. the grammatical role each word plays in a sentence is defined by particles. これ . おはようございます . context is very important in Japanese and is often silently understood by the situation. 「 は 」 Topic Particle As mentioned previously. スミス： おはようございます！ Smith: Good Morning! 先生： お元気ですか？ Teacher: Are (you) well? スミス： 元気です。 Smith: (I'm) well. Example 1. However. is pronounced 「わ」. Topic Particles Context plays a powerful role in Japanese so one word sentences are perfectly fine for simple question and answers. In Japanese. For that purpose. We'll see how this works by first learning the topic particle.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… アリス： 元気？ Alice: (Are you) well? リー： 元気。 Lee: (I'm) good. 7. 映画は、好きですか？ (As for) movie(s).busy 先生： こんにちは。 Teacher: Good day.now ちょっと . 8. The expressions were originally full sentences with a topic meaning.busy 映画 【えい・が】 .pen 今 【いま】 . 6. (it's) a pen. "As for today/tonight. what is (it)? 2. こんにちは . これは、何（なん）ですか？ (As for) this. こんばんは . どう . how is your mood?" but they were eventually shortened to just "As for today" and "As for tonight". それは、ペンです。 (As for) that. (I'm) a little busy.Good day (pronounced 「こんにちわ」) 2. (do you) like? (lit: is likable?) 2. 1. (lit: Is likable. busy? 2. 5. 9. how (is it)? guidetojapanese. スミス： こんにちは。 Smith: Good day. lately 2. 好きです。 (I) like (them). 今は、忙しい？ (As for) now. 先生： 最近は、どうですか？ Teacher: (As for) lately.Good evening (pronounced 「こんばんわ」) How are things lately? 1.that ペン . 忙しい　【いそが・しい】 . 今は、ちょっと忙しい。 (As for) now. 1.movie 好き 【す・き】 .what それ .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 2. 最近　【さい・きん】 .) Greetings The topic particle is also used in the greetings for daytime and evening. 1.org/learn/book/…/2 19/113 .likable (unlike English "like" is an adjective not a verb) 1.how 3.recent.a little (casual) 忙しい 【いそが・しい】 . 3. 何 【なに／なん】 . 4. 5.yes (casual) 本当　【ほんとう】 . It is the polite name-suffix used to refer to your social superiors. (are you) busy? スミス： うん、忙しい。 Smith : Yeah. Suspiciously busy 1. the word "you" is seldom used to refer to a person except in the case of very close relationships.org/learn/book/…/2 20/113 .truth.tomorrow あさって . 今日　【きょう】 . Most of the time. リー： 本当？ Lee: Really?　(lit: Is it true?) Addressing People Addressing other people directly In Japanese. 3. The most common name-suffixes are listed below. (I'm) busy. 「 も」 Inclusive Topic Particle The 「も」 particle is the the same as the 「は」 topic particle but adds a meaning of "as well" or "also". guidetojapanese. リー： あさっては？ Lee: What about the day after tomorrow? スミス： あさっても。 Smith: The day after tomorrow too.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… スミス： 忙しいです。 Smith: Busy.today 明日　【あした】 . リー： 明日は？ Lee: What about tomorrow? スミス： 明日も忙しい。 Smith: Tomorrow is also busy.day after tomorrow うん . or people you are unfamiliar with. 4. elders. you will refer to people using their name (last name is more polite than first) usually followed by a name-suffix. You have probably already heard 「さん」 somewhere at some point. 2. reality リー： 今日は忙しい？ Lee: As for today. polite. 2. 「さん」 with the person's last name is generally the safest option. 私 【わたし】 .but 眠い 【ねむ・い】 .yes (polite) でも . rough time. List of different words meaning me. 5. (are you) well? スミス： はい、元気です。 Smith: Yes. Lee-san is always sleepy.. はい . 3.polite. "As for me.Casual name-suffix (generally for males) ～ちゃん . But (I'm) sleepy.same Kanji as 「わたし」 but this reading is only used in very formal situations 3. Talking about yourself We already saw that it's usually understood implicitly by context when you're talking about yourself. there are times you may still want to refer to yourself as a topic to say.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… ～さん . 7. 私 【わたくし】 .org/learn/book/…/2 21/113 .always 先生： スミスさんは、元気ですか。 Teacher: Smith-san. myself. and I 1.that 大変 【たい・へん】 . There are several options for referring to yourself depending on level of politeness and gender. (are you) well? リー： はい、元気です。でも、眠いです。 Lee: Yes.hardship.sleepy それ . masculine guidetojapanese." or "me too". 先生： リーさんは、元気ですか？ Teacher: Lee-san.Casual name-suffix (generally for females) If you're not sure which to use to address someone. gender-neutral 2.ok いつも . tough 大丈夫 【だい・じょう・ぶ】 .Polite name-suffix (gender-neutral) ～君［くん］ . (I'm) fine. However. 僕 【ぼく】 . 先生： それは、大変ですね。 Teacher: That's tough. (I'm) fine. Always sleepy 1. 4. You can also always ask the person what they prefer to be called by. 6. スミス： 大丈夫です。リーさんはいつも眠いです。 Smith: (It's) ok.. However. The last sentence 「私 は、おいしい」 would be very strange if it meant "I am tasty". you would not use honorifics to refer to your own family members when speaking with people outside your family.rice. Addressing family members We've already encountered the honorific prefix 「お」 in 「お元気」. tasty? リー： ううん。 Lee: No. お金 【お・かね】 .pizza 2.tea The reason we're looking at it here is because of how the honorific prefix is used to refer to family members. because "I" is only a general topic. This short conversation highlights a very important point. we know that Alice is saying that as for her. you should not use them when referring to members of your own family while talking to another member of your family. ご飯 【ご・はん】 . Just like how you should not use 「お元気」 to refer to yourself. However.casual. アリス： 私は、おいしい。 Alice: As for me. おいしい . 俺 【おれ】 .org/learn/book/…/2 22/113 . ピザ . very feminine 5. お茶 【お・ちゃ】 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 4. ううん .tasty 3. The topic only brings up the general topic of the conversation and does not necessarily indicate the subject of any one particular sentence. from the context of the entire conversation.money 2. This would not likely guidetojapanese. the pizza is tasty.no (casual) ジョン： ピザは、おいしい？ John: As for pizza. determining which reading to use is usually not an issue as this Kanji is usually written in Hiragana. However. tasty. あたし .very casual and masculine How's the pizza? 1. meal 3. because honorifics are relative to the person you're speaking to. Definition: honorable 御 Stroke Order Kun-yomi: お On-yomi: ゴ 1. This prefix is used in all sorts of words and comes from a Kanji which can be read as either 「ご」 or 「お」. We'll learn more about honorifics in a much later chapter but the basic idea is to use the honorific prefix to refer to family members of other people outside your own family. Yamada (surname) アジア人 【あじあ・じん】 . 10. 3.American (person) なるほど (exp) . 6. 7. 9.Japanese (person) そう .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… happen unless you had Japanese speakers in your family or you have a Japanese host family. 5.so お父さん 【お・とう・さん】 .(one's own) mother 日本人 【に・ほん・じん】 . are (you) Asian (person)? guidetojapanese. 4.but 母 【はは】 . 山田 【やま・だ】 . 8. 11. 2.(one's own) father アメリカ人 【あめりか・じん】 .org/learn/book/…/2 23/113 .I see 山田： スミスさんは、アジア人ですか？ Yamada: Smith-san.father 父 【ちち】 . Family member chart One's own family Family Parents Mother Father Wife Husband Older Sister Older Brother Younger Sister Younger Brother Son Daughter 家族【か・ぞく】 両親【りょう・しん】 母【はは】 父【ちち】 妻【つま】 夫【おっと】 姉【あね】 兄【あに】 妹【いもうと】 弟【おとうと】 息子【むすこ】 娘【むすめ】 Someone else's family ご家族【ご・か・ぞく】 ご両親【ご・りょう・しん】 お母さん【お・かあ・さん】 お父さん【お・とう・さん】 奥さん【おく・さん】 ご主人【ご・しゅ・じん】 お姉さん【お・ねえ・さん】 お兄さん【お・にい・さん】 妹さん【いもうと・さん】 弟さん【おとうと・さん】 息子さん【むすこ・さん】 娘さん【むすめ・さん】 Smith's parents 1. We will learn more about the concept of inner and outer circle for honorifics in a much later chapter.Asian (person) いいえ .no でも . The list below is by no means complete and only covers the more common words for the primary family members. isn't it?! You look young for a teacher guidetojapanese. 3. isn't it? 2. "you know?".today 暑い 【あつ・い】 .hot (for climate/weather only) 明日 【あした】 . 山田： そうですか。お父さんは？ Yamada: Is that so? As for (your) father? スミス： 父はアメリカ人です。 Smith: (My) father is American. "right?" or "isn't it?". 6.ramen おいしい . 今日は、暑いですね。 As for today. 明日は、忙しいですよ。 As for tomorrow. 「よ」 is used when the speaker wants to point something out or make something aware to the listener. 1. Sentence-Ending Particles Let's add some life to our sentences by using sentence-ending particles. But.busy ラーメン . 今日 【きょう】 . 4.tasty. you know. 3. (my) mother is Japanese.tomorrow 忙しい 【いそが・しい】 .org/learn/book/…/2 24/113 . It adds a tone similar to saying. 2. The two can be used together as 「よね」 Example 1. 「 よ 」 and 「 ね 」 sentence endings 「よ」 and 「ね」 are two of the most frequently used sentence ending particles. 5.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… スミス： いいえ。でも、母は、日本人です。 Smith: No. delicous 1. 2. 3. (it's) hot. 山田： なるほど。 Yamada: I see. These particles are attached at the very end of the sentence to add a different nuance or tone. ラーメンは、おいしいですよね！ As for ramen. (it's) tasty you know. It adds a tone similar to saying. (I'm) busy. 「ね」 is used when the speaker is seeking agreement and confirmation. (I'm) a teacher. In order to do this. 3.how old それ . 3. Examples of i-adjectives All i-adjectives end in 「い」.that 秘密 【ひ・みつ】 . 6. we first have to learn the two different types of adjectives in Japanese.secret スミス： はじめまして。スミスです。 Smith: Nice to meet you.fun 25/113 guidetojapanese. スミス： 田中さんは、学生ですか？ Smith: Tanaka-san. 田中 【たなか】 .busy 楽しい 【たの・しい】. handsome 忙しい 【いそが・しい】 . you know. スミス： とても若いですね。おいくつですか？ Smith: (You) are very young. Adjectives We've already used some adjectives as the state-of-being but we have yet to describe a noun directly with adjectives.Tanaka (surname) いいえ .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1.cool. 2. 4. 1.very 若い 【わか・い】 . いい . right? How old (are you)? 田中： それは、秘密です。 Tanaka: That's a secret. 7. 5. (are you) a student? 田中： いいえ、先生です Tanaka: No. (I'm) Smith. There are two types of adjectives called i-adjectives and na-adjectives. (I'm) Tanaka.young おいくつ . 4. 2. スミス： 本当ですか？ Smith: Really? 田中： 本当ですよ。 Tanaka: It's true. 田中： はじめまして。田中です。 Tanaka: Nice to meet you.no とても .org/learn/book/…/2 .good かっこいい . きれい . Example 1. pretty 2. 元気 【げん・き】 . 4.game 物 【もの】 . 1.hot 6.cold Examples of na-adjectives All adjectives that do not end in 「い」 are na-adjectives.distasteful Describing nouns directly You can easily describe a noun by placing the adjective directly in front of the noun. there are a small number of na-adjectives that end in 「い」. 好きな物 likable thing You're so-so handsome guidetojapanese. thing 1.quiet Examples of na-adjectives that end in 「 い 」 Though most adjectives that end in 「い」 are i-adjectives.clean.likable 2. For na-adjectives. 暑い 【あつ・い】 . 寒い 【さむ・い】 . healthy person 3. 人 【ひと】 . 2. lively 3. いい人 good person 2.org/learn/book/…/2 26/113 . The examples below are two of the most common na-adjectives that end in 「い」. 嫌い 【きら・い】 . 静か 【しず・か】 . 忙しい時 busy time 5. 楽しいゲーム fun game 6.healthy.object. you first need to add 「な」 before you can attach the adjective to the noun (hence the name). 元気な人 lively. 3.person 時 【とき】 .time ゲーム .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 5. きれいな人 pretty person 4. 好き 【す・き】 . 1. Yamamoto-sensei is so-so handsome too！ 山本： ・・・ありがとうございます。 Yamamoto: . and somewhat masculine tone. good at 3. Declarative 「 だ 」 The declarative 「だ」 is attached to nouns and na-adjectives to give it a more declarative tone and make the state-of-being explicit. confident.Yamamoto (surname) 新しい 【あたら・しい】 (i-adj) . Never to i-adjectives. 山本 【やまもと】 . Of course. Example 1.skillful. which is mostly gender-neutral. 日本語 【に・ほん・ご】 . isn't she? 山本： そうですか？ Yamamoto: Is that so? スミス： あっ、山本先生も、まあまあかっこいいですよ！ Smith: Ah. in particular. 5. it is important to use it before 「ね」 or 「よ」 to avoid sounding too feminine. 上手 【じょう・ず】(na-adj) .thank you (polite) スミス： 田中先生は、新しい先生ですか？ Smith: Is Tanaka-sensei a new teacher? 山本： そうですよ。 Yamamoto: That's right..so-so ありがとうございます .Thank you. casual speech has many constructions that make it sound masculine or feminine to varying degrees. 2. The first example of this is how 「ね」 and 「よ」 are used in casual speech.new とても (adv) .org/learn/book/…/2 27/113 .Japanese language 2. you do not have to be a specific gender to use either masculine or feminine manners of speech but you do need to be aware of the differences and the impression it gives to the listener. we can use it in casual Japanese to give a more definitive. 楽しい 【たの・しい】(i-adj) . This is important in some grammatical forms we will cover later. Note: Only attach 「だ」 to nouns and na-adjectives.. For males. スミス： とてもきれいな人ですね。 Smith: (She's) a very pretty person.fun guidetojapanese.very まあまあ (adv) . Male/Female Speech As opposed to polite speech.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. 4. For now. 3. which one. 4. 5. regardless of gender. aren't you? (masculine) 3. maybe どっち . property or any other description that involves another noun. (it's) fun. (you're) good at it. 日本語は、上手ね。 As for Japanese. 「難しいだよ」 is grammatically incorrect.difficult 簡単 【かん・たん】 (na-adj) . Noun properties The 「の」 particle has many different uses but one of the most basic usages is for describing nouns with other nouns similar to how we described nouns with adjectives. アリス： どっちよ。 Alice: Which is it? Because John is male. aren't you? (feminine) 2. he decides to use 「だ」 with 「よ」 with the na-adjective 「簡単」. 2. However.easy うーん . You don't want to inadvertently say "name's me" when you meant to say "my name". This is usually used to describe ownership. Examples guidetojapanese. (is it) difficult? ジョン： 簡単だよ！ John: It's easy! アリス： 本当？ Alice: Really? ジョン： うーん、多分難しいよ。 John: Umm. 日本語は、上手だね。 As for Japanese.umm 多分 【た・ぶん】 . If you're unsure of the order.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. 6. which way アリス： 宿題は、難しい？。 Alice: As for homework.org/learn/book/…/2 28/113 . (it's) probably difficult.homework 難しい 【むずか・しい】 (i-adj) . I recommend translating 「の」 as "of" and reading it in reverse. you know. 宿題 【しゅく・だい】 (n) . 3. (gender-neutral as 「だ」 cannot be used for i-adjectives) The homework is easy! 1. (you're) good at it. It is important to remember the order the modification takes place. you cannot use 「だ」 with i-adjectives so he says 「難しいよ」. 日本語は、楽しいよ。 As for Japanese. membership.probably. this 車 【くるま】 . 4.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. 12. 2.why え .desk 上 【うえ】 . above かばん .me. リー： アリスちゃんね。 Lee: Alice-chan.first name (lit: bottom name) 何 【なに】 . below 先生 【せん・せい】 . I 名前 【な・まえ】 .pen 机 【つくえ】 . 10. 5.what なんで .up. 7. スミス： ・・・リー君ね。 guidetojapanese. 6. huh? スミス： リーさんの下の名前は？ What is Lee-san's first name? リー： ジェユン Lee: JaeYoon. What's your first name again? 1. かばんは、机の下です。 Bag is below of desk. eh リー： スミスさんの下の名前は、何？ Lee: What is Smith-san's first name? スミス： アリスよ。 Smith: (It's) Alice.bag 下 【した】 .teacher 日本語 【に・ほん・ご】 . 8. 4.Japan ペン . myself.org/learn/book/…/2 29/113 . 2. この車は、日本の車です。 This car is car of Japan (Japanese car).huh. 9.name この . 4. 11. 5. ペンは、机の上です。 Pen is above of desk. 私 【わたし】 .down. 3. 田中先生は、日本語の先生です。 Tanaka-sensei is teacher of Japanese (Japanese teacher).Japanese language 1.car 日本 【に・ほん】 . 2. 3. 下の名前 . 3. 私の名前は、キムです。 Name of me (my name) is Kim. かわいい＋くない＝かわいくない Exceptions: 「いい」 conjugates from 「よい」 1. expressing the negative is a bit different from English. 元気＋じゃない＝元気じゃない 2. Though it is usually pronounced 「いい」 in modern Japanese.red 2.. all conjugations still derive from the original 「よい」 reading.org/learn/book/…/2 30/113 .Lee-kun.. why? Noun replacement The 「の」 particle can also replace the noun entirely when it's understood by the context. かっこいい → かっこよい＋くない＝かっこよくない Note: The negative tense is very similar grammatically to i-adjectives. 赤い 【あか・い】 . きれい＋じゃない＝きれいじゃない For i-adjectives: Drop the 「い」 at the end and replace with 「くない」 Example 1. いい → よい＋くない＝よくない 2. 忙しい＋くない＝忙しくない 2. The noun or adjective are conjugated directly to say that [X is not Y]. There are only two exceptions to the rule for i-adjectives both involving the adjective meaning "good". Similar to i-adjectives. huh? リー： え、なんで？ Lee: Huh. you must never use guidetojapanese. Conjugating nouns and adjectives into the negative tense is done through two simple rules. スミスさんのは、どれですか？ Which one is Smith-san's? Negative State-of-Being Because the state-of-being is implied within nouns and adjectives. You will see similar examples later as we learn different types of conjugations. 赤いのは、好き。 Like the red one. Negative tense for nouns and adjectives For nouns and na-adjectives: Attach 「じゃない」 to the end Example 1. 2. どれ .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Smith: . Examples 1.which 1. The words 「いい」 and 「かっこいい」 (which is a combination of another word 「格好」（かっこう） with 「い い」) originally come from the adjective 「良い」（よい）. 4. この本は、面白くないよ。 As for this book.steak あまり . 6. ステーキ・サラダは、サラダじゃないよ。 As for steak salad.class.good こと (n) .9/7/2010 The Note: The Complete Guide i-adjectives. 2. 3.that いい (i-adj) . (it's) not salad.matter. you know. 7. (it's) interesting. 9.winter 寒い 【さむ・い】(i-adj) .not very (when used with negative tense) この .difficult それ . 4. (it's) not interesting. 8.interesting 今年 【ことし】 .org/learn/book/…/2 31/113 . lecture あまり . event 全然 【ぜん・ぜん】 (adv) . 9. 5. サラダ .not at all (when used with negative tense) ジョン： 山本先生の授業は、あまり面白くない。 John: Yamamoto-sensei's class is not very interesting.not very (when used with negative tense) 面白い 【おも・しろ・い】 (i-adj) . you must never use the declarative 「だ」 with the negative tense. 8. Example 1.book 面白い 【おも・しろ・い】(i-adj) . you know. 3. 6. (it's) not cold.cold 1. is it? That's not a good thing! 1. Similar negative tense is very similar grammatically toto Learning Japane… to i-adjectives. 7. 4. 2. funny でも . 今年の冬は、寒くないね。 As for this year's winter. ジョン： でも、難しくない？ John: But isn't it very difficult? アリス： それは、いいことよ。 Alice: That's a good thing.but 難しい 【むずか・しい】 (i-adj) .interesting. don't like very much. サラダは、あまり好きじゃない。 As for salad. アリス： 私は、面白いよ。 Alice: As for me.this year 冬 【ふゆ】 . 2. 3. guidetojapanese. 授業 【じゅ・ぎょう】 (n) . 5.this 本 【ほん】 .salad ステーキ . 8.what （read as なん when used with です） パソコン .game 好き 【す・き】 (na-adj) . 山本： スポーツは、好きですか？ Yamamoto: Do (you) like sports? リー： いいえ、あまり好きじゃないです。 Lee: No. all that's required for the polite form is to add 「です」 to the end of the sentence.hobby.no (polite) オタク . geek. 5. (I) also like games. リー： オタクじゃないですよ！ Lee: I'm not an otaku！ Identifying the unknown 「 が 」 identifier particle With the 「は」 topic particle.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… ジョン： 全然よくない！ John: It's not good at all! Negative Nouns/Adjectives in Polite Form As before. you have to know what you want to talk about ahead of time. 趣味 【しゅ・み】 (n) . 6. 4. That is what the 「が」 particle is for: to identify or seek to identify an unknown.likable スポーツ . I don't like (it) that much. interest 何 【なに／なん】 .sports いいえ . 2.computer (abbreviation of パーソナル・コンピューター or PC) ゲーム . Lee-san? リー： パソコンです。ゲームも好きです。 Lee: Computers. スミス： リーさんは、オタクです。 Smith: Lee-san is an otaku. For example. guidetojapanese. if you wanted to know what kind of food somebody liked. it would be impossible to ask if each kind was his/her favorite using the topic particle saying "as for this" and "as for that". 3. 7. enthusiast 山本： リーさんの趣味は何ですか？ Yamamoto: What is your hobby.org/learn/book/…/2 32/113 . I'm not an otaku! 1.otaku. Obviously this will not always be the case. why 授業 【じゅ・ぎょう】 . which teacher do (you) like the most? ジョン： 田中先生が好きだね。 John: (I) like Tanaka-sensei. But (she's) second-year teacher.org/learn/book/…/2 33/113 .which 一番 【いち・ばん】 .interesting 難しい 【むずか・しい】 . I like Yamamoto-sensei. the most かわいい (i-adj) . リー： そうだね。かわいいよね。でも、二年生の先生だよね。 Lee: That's so. what is it? 食べ物は、何が好きですか？ As for food. 7.class 面白い 【おも・しろ・い】 . 好きな食べ物は、何ですか？ As for food that (you) like. what is it that you like? (Among all possibilities) However. Which teacher do you like the most? 1. 10.cute 二年生 【に・ねん・せい】 . 2. isn't it? She is cute. 6.number 1. 9. do (you) like it? どんなピザが好きですか？ What kind of pizza do (like)? (Among all possibilities) You can sometimes restructure your sentence to mean the same thing with and without the 「が」 particle. どの . the best.next year 楽しみに 【たの・しみに】 .second year. スミスさんが忙しい。 Smith-san is the one that is busy.difficult リー： ジョンさんは、どの先生が一番好き？ Lee: As for John-san. you know? guidetojapanese. busy. sophomore 来年 【らい・ねん】 . 5.something to look forward to なんで . the identifier particle play a specific role in that it's identifying a particular thing among other possibilities. スミスさんは、忙しい。 As for Smith-san. 4. while the topic particle can only bring up a general topic of conversation.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… ピザは、好きですか？ As for pizza. 8. 3. ジョン： 来年が楽しみだ！ John: Looking forward to next year! アリス： 私は、山本先生が好きよ。 Alice: As for me. While 「でも」 is always used at the beginning of a new sentence.. 「けど」 is fairly casual while 「が」 is slightly more formal and polite. 4. 授業が面白くない？ Isn't his class the thing that is interesting? Conjunctions There are really only two conjunctions in Japanese that can combine two sentences together into a compound sentence: "but" and "because". a simple trick to easily distinguish 「が」 is to translate it as "the one or thing that.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… ジョン： え？なんで？ John: Huh? Why? アリス： 授業が面白くない？ Alice: Isn't (his) class interesting? ジョン： 面白くないよ！難しいよ！ John: It's not interesting! It's difficult! アリス： そう？ Alice: Is that so? The one or thing that. there are two conjunctions that also mean "but" and can be used to combine two sentences together into one compound sentence. guidetojapanese..today 忙しい 【いそが・しい】 . 3. it clearly illustrates the 「が」 particle as identifying a particular thing or person. The two conjunctions are 「けど」 and 「が」.busy 明日 【あした】　.tomorrow 暇 【ひま】 . 田中先生が好き。 Tanaka-sensei is the one that (I) like.org/learn/book/…/2 34/113 . Combining two sentences with "but" You may remember we already used 「でも」 to mean "but" or "however".. 2. However.free　(as in not busy) 今日は忙しいけど、明日は暇。 (I'm) busy but (I'm) free tomorrow. similar to English. Though it doesn't work all the time. (Note that this 「が」 is completely different from the identifier particle we learned in the last section."..) Example 1. This way. there are several versions of each with a slightly different level of politeness. 2. 1. 今日 【きょう】 . 「ので」 is slighter more polite and formal compared to 「から」. Note: Once again. you must add 「だ」 for 「から」. 今日は暇だけど、明日は忙しい。 2. 1. However. 静か 【しず・か】 . ここ .quiet guidetojapanese. 今日は暇ですが、明日は忙しいです。 If the noun or na-adjective is already conjugated to another tense （such as the negative tense 「じゃない」）. you don't need to add 「だ」. Therefore.org/learn/book/…/2 35/113 . 1. ここ . If the first clause ends with a noun or na-adjective without any tense （such as the negative tense 「じゃない」） and you're not using 「です」. it may be beneficial to remember it as meaning "so" rather than "because" to match the order. Note: If the first clause ends with a noun or na-adjective without any tense and you're not using 「です」. (I'm) not free today but (I'm) free tomorrow.here 2. 今日は暇だが、明日は忙しい。 4. ここは、うるさいですので、あまり好きじゃないです。 (It's) noisy here so (I) don't like it very much. Example 1. 今日は暇じゃないが、明日は暇。 Combining two sentences with "so" You can combine two sentences with 「から」 or 「ので」 to show a reason and result but it's important to remember that the reason comes first.noisy ここは、うるさいから、あまり好きじゃない。 (It's) noisy here so (I) don't like it very much. 今日は暇ですけど、明日は忙しいです。 3. you must add 「だ」.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 今日は忙しいですが、明日は暇です。 (I'm) busy but (I'm) free tomorrow. Example (I'm) free today but (I'm) busy tomorrow. for 「ので」 you must add 「な」 instead. Example 1. 今日は暇じゃないけど、明日は暇。 2.here 2. うるさい . you can attach two sentences with 「のに」 to mean "despite" or "in spite of". 12.friend 1. (she has) few male friends. scarce かわいい (i-adj) . 3. (It's) not quiet here so (I) don't like it very much. this only applies to nouns and na-adjectives that are not conjugated to another tense. 1.customer 少ない 【すく・ない】(i-adj) . diligent 男 【おとこ】 . 11.cute 真面目 【ま・じ・め】 (na-adj) . ここは静かじゃないので、あまり好きじゃない。 Combining two sentences with "despite" Similarly.man 友達　【とも・だち】 . 今年は、不景気だから、クリスマスなのに、お客さんが少ない。 This year is recession so despite it being Christmas. Similar to 「ので」. 10. 先生 【せん・せい】 . Leaving parts out You can leave out either side of the conjunction if it's understood by context. ここは静かですので、好きです。 Once again.org/learn/book/…/2 36/113 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… (It's) quiet here so (I) like it. 2. アリスは、かわいいのに、真面目だから、男の友達が少ない。 Although Alice is cute.few. Example 1. 5. 9. Example スミス： ここは、好きじゃない。 guidetojapanese. (she) is very young.serious.young 今年 【こ・とし】 .very 若い 【わか・い】 (i-adj) . 1. because (she's) serious. ここは静かだから、好き。 2.teacher とても . 3.Christmas お客さん 【お・きゃく・さん】 . 4. 2. ここは静かじゃないから、あまり好きじゃない。 2.(economic) recession クリスマス . 田中さんは、先生なのに、とても若いです。 Despite the fact that that Tanaka-san is (a) teacher. you must attach 「な」 when the first clause ends with a plain noun or na-adjective.this year 不景気 【ふ・けい・き】 . 7. ここは静かですから、好きです。 3. 6. customers are few. ここは静かなので、好き。 4. 8. So what? リー： 最近は、忙しいよ。 Lee: I'm busy lately.not very (when used with negative) 好き 【す・き】 . 2. リー： なんで？ Lee: Why? スミス： うるさいから。 Smith: Because it's noisy. ですから、あまり好きじゃないです。 2. huh? スミス：　だから、あまり好きじゃない。 Smith: That's why I don't like (it) very much.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Smith: I don't like (it) here. なので、あまり好きじゃないです。 You can even leave out both parts of the conjunction as seen in the next dialogue. Other options would be the same as it would be with both sentences. you know? スミス： だから？ Smith: So? リー： だから、大変だよ！だけど今日は、やっと暇だから、うれしい！ Lee: So (it's) tough.here あまり . 1. 4.likable りー：　図書館なのに、ここはいつもうるさいよね。 Lee: Despite the fact (it's) library. you still need to add 「です」.library ここ .org/learn/book/…/2 37/113 . or 「な」 just as if the first sentence was there. 3. you know! But (I'm) finally free today so (I'm) happy! スミス： あっ、そう？ Smith: Oh. 「だ」. 図書館 【と・しょ・かん】 . (It's) always noisy here. is that so? Listing multiple nouns 「 と」 complete list particle guidetojapanese. 1. If you leave the first part out. chicken and egg. gross. 8. 7.soy sauce そして .poor. 14. because it's "parent and child bowl".tasty かわいそう (na-adj) . スミス： でも・・・。 Smith: But.child スミス： 親子丼の材料は何ですか？ Smith: What are the ingredients for Oyako-don? 田中： ご飯と玉ねぎとしょうゆです。そして、親子丼だから、もちろん鶏肉と卵です。 Tanaka: Rice.truth. とか」 「 や 」 and 「 とか 」 partial list 「や」 and 「とか」 are also used to list multiple nouns together. 11.parent 子供 【こ・ども】 .rice dish with chicken and egg (parent and child bowl) 材料 【ざい・りょう】 . 親子丼 【おや・こ・どん】 . guidetojapanese.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… The 「と」 particle is used to group multiple nouns together in a complete list. The poor chicken family. 9.. you know? スミス： かわいそうじゃないですか？ Smith: Don't you feel sorry for them? 田中： スミスさんは、面白いですね。本当の親と子供じゃないですから大丈夫ですよ。 Tanaka: Smith-san. 「とか」 is merely a more casual version of 「や」. 17.and then もちろん . 4. スミス： 気持ち悪いですね。 Smith: That's unpleasant.of course 鶏肉 【とり・にく】 . 1... 12. The major difference is that they imply that the list is not complete and is a sample among a larger list.rice. isn't it? 田中： そうですか？でも、おいしいですよ。 Tanaka: Is that so? But it's tasty. (you're) interesting. 6. you know.ok 本当 【ほん・とう】 . onions.chicken 卵 【たまご】 . 15. and soy sauce.. 3. 2.onion しょうゆ . 10. And then. 5. 13.interesting 大丈夫 【だい・じょう・ぶ】 (na-adj) . (It's) not real parent and child so (it's) ok.org/learn/book/…/2 38/113 . pitiful (as in to feel sorry for) 面白い 【おも・しろ・い】 (i-adj) . meal 玉ねぎ 【たま・ねぎ】 . of course. 16. unpleasant おいしい (i-adj) .egg 気持ち悪い 【き・もち・わるい】 (i-adj) .ingredient ご飯 【ご・はん】 .bad feeling. reality 親 【おや】 . 8.natto (fermented soybeans) 嫌い 【きら・い】(na-adj) .sweet 物 【もの】(n) . 9. 山本： 甘い物が好きですね。 Yamamoto: (You) like sweet things.what kind 食べ物 【た・べ・もの】(n) . 5.exam いつ .when 今日 【きょう】 . don't you? スミス： 甘くない物も好きですよ。 Smith: (I) also like things that are not sweet. 「 か 」 possible options 「か」 can be used with multiple nouns to list several possible options. I hate it. 6. 2.candy チーズケーキ　. what kind of food do (you) like? スミス： そうですね。日本のお菓子やチーズケーキやイチゴショートケーキが好きです。 Smith: Let's see. 3. You're just like whatever. 4.thing 納豆 【なっ・とう】(n) . (I) like things like Japanese candy. you know.next week やはり／やっぱり . huh? 1. 2. 4.org/learn/book/…/2 .dislike.tomorrow 絶対 【ぜっ・たい】 . 試験 【し・けん】 .short cake 甘い 【あま・い】(i-adj) .food お菓子 【お・か・し】　. 9.today 明日 【あした】 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… I hate natto 1. 7. for sure じゃ . 10. hate 山本： スミスさんは、どんな食べ物が好きですか？ Yamamoto: As for Smith-san. whatever works 来週 【らい・しゅう】 . 6. cheese cake.then (casual) 適当 【てき・とう】 . 8.strawberry ショートケーキ . essentially meaning "or". 山本： 納豆はどうですか？ Yamamoto: How about natto? スミス： 納豆は、嫌いですね。 Smith: As for natto.definitely. 7. 3.as I thought 39/113 guidetojapanese. and strawberry short cake.haphazard. 5.cheese cake イチゴ　. どんな . org/learn/book/…/2 40/113 . you also need to add 「な」 before 「の」. guidetojapanese. you know.he 2. 彼は、学生？ Is he (a) student? 2. Explanations and expectations In English. ジョン： じゃ、明日。 John: Then. 学生 【がく・せい】 . it gives the impression that the speaker is surprised or considers the fact that he may be a student to be unexpected. アリス： 絶対今日じゃないよ。 Alice: It's not today for sure. アリス： 適当だね。 Alice: (You're) haphazard. Example 1. (it's) tomorrow. So in order to express this kind of biased question or answer. because the person is implicitly seeking an explanation for why he's a student. the latter expresses surprise that the person is in fact a student and is seeking confirmation of that fact. huh? リー： 試験は来週だよ。 Lee: Exam is next week. 彼は、学生なの？ He's a student? (Seeking explanation why he's a student) In the second sentence. changing the order of words in the sentence can often change the tone as well. For nouns and na-adjectives.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… アリス： 試験はいつ？ Alice: Exam is when? ジョン： 今日か明日だよ。 John: Today or tomorrow. asking "Is he a student?" sounds very different from "He's a student?" While the former is a very neutral question simply seeking a yes or no answer. In Japanese. we saw that sentence order is very flexible due to how particles clearly define the grammatical role of each word. アリス： やっぱり。 Alice: As I thought. For example. 彼 【かれ】 . we add 「の」 to the end of the sentence to show that we are seeking or providing an explanation.student 1. 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Health is important too 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. ところで - by the way どうして - why 忙しい 【いそが・しい】 - busy 僕 【ぼく】 - me, myself (polite, masculine) 水泳部 【すい・えい・ぶ】 - swim club え - eh, huh そう - so でも - but 趣味 【しゅ・み】 - hobby; interests パソコン - computer; PC ゲーム - game 健康 【けん・こう】 - health 大事 【だい・じ】 (na-adj) - important なるほど - I see スミス： ところで、リー君はどうして忙しいの？ Smith: By the way, Lee-kun, why are you busy? リー： 僕は水泳部だから。 Lee: Because (I'm in) swim club. スミス： え？そうなの？ Smith: Eh? Is that so? リー： そうだけど？ Lee: That's so but? スミス： でも、趣味はパソコンとゲームじゃないの？ Smith: But isn't (your) hobby computers and games? リー： そうだけど、健康も大事だから。 Lee: That's so but health is also important so. スミス： なるほど。 Smith: I see. Explanation for 「 だ 」 and 「 です 」 です」 When the sentence has additional things following the 「の」 such as 「だ」 or 「です」, the 「の」 is replaced with 「ん」 to make pronunciation easier. While 「の」 can still be used, it is considered to be oldfashioned. What's the problem? 1. あのう - um, er, excuse me guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 41/113 9/7/2010 1. - um, er, excuse me The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 2. いい (i-adj) - good; fine 3. 言葉 【こと・ば】 - word; language スミス： 山本先生、リーさんは、水泳部だから、お宅じゃないですよ！ Smith: Yamamoto-sensei, Lee-san is not an otaku because (he's in) swim club. 山本： あのう、スミスさん、お宅はあまりいい言葉じゃないんですよ。 Yamamoto: Um, Smith-san, Otaku is not a very good word, you know. スミス： そうなんですか？でも、リーさんはお宅じゃないから、いいんじゃないですか？ Smith: Is that so? But Lee-san is not an otaku so isn't it fine? 山本： スミスさん・・・。 Yamamoto: Smith-san... スミス： はい？ Smith: Yes? 山本：　いいえ、いいです。 Yamamoto: No, never　mind (lit: (it's) fine). The phrase 「いいんじゃないですか？」 shows a very important way setting expectations can enhance your abilities to express certain things. By setting the expectation that it should be good and asking the opposite allows you to ask questions like, "isn't it?". You can compare the difference in meaning by looking at the different variations below. This is only to give you the general idea as you'll naturally get the hang of it through the regular course of exposure to the language. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. いいですか？ - Is it good? (neutral yes/no question) よくないですか？ - Is it not good? (neutral yes/no question) いいんですか？ - It's good? (seeking explanation as to why it's good) よくないんですか？ - It's not good? (seeking explanation as to why it's not good) いいんじゃないですか？ - It's good, isn't it? よくないんじゃないですか？ - It's not good, isn't it? Chapter summary and practice In this chapter, we learned how to use nouns and adjectives to describe what something is or isn't. Here is a simple list of examples using the various conjugations we learned in this chapter. Nouns and Adjectives Conjugation Examples Positive Noun 学生 Na-adjective 元気 Exception いい Negative Positive Polite Negative Polite 学生じゃないです 元気じゃないです 忙しくないです よくないです* 42/113 学生じゃない 学生です 元気じゃない 元気です 忙しいです いいです I-adjective 忙しい 忙しくない よくない* guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… * = exceptions Questions using state-of-being Now that we're familiar with the state-of-being, we can already ask and answer many different types of questions that involve what something or someone is. This includes asking simple yes/no questions or by using a question word. Various ways to say yes or no 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. はい - yes (polite) ええ - yes (polite) いいえ - no (polite) うん - yes (casual) ううん - no (casual Various question words 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 何 【なに／なん】 - what 誰 【だれ】 - who いつ - when どう - how どんな - what kind of どうして - why なんで - why (casual) The word for "what" or 「何」 is a bit tricky because it has two readings. When used by itself, it is always pronounced 「なに」. However, as we've already seen, when used with 「です」 it is read as 「なん」. There are other cases when it is read as 「なん」 as we'll see later. As you begin to practice speaking Japanese, you can apply what we've learned in this chapter to ask various icebreaker questions. Sample ice-breaker questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 趣味 【しゅ・み】 - hobby; interests 一番 【いち・ばん】 - number 1; the best; the most 好き 【す・き】 (na-adj) - likable 日本 【に・ほん】 - Japan 食べ物 【た・べ・もの】 - food 英語 【えい・ご】 - English 難しい 【むずか・しい】 (i-adj) - difficult 授業 【じゅ・ぎょう】 - class 楽しい 【たの・しい】 (i-adj) - fun 音楽 【おん・がく】 music 43/113 guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 senior 専攻 【せん・こう】 .high school 大学 【だい・がく】 . 授業は、楽しいですか？ Is class fun? 6. hobbies 読書 【どく・しょ】 . You can either ask a Japanese speaker or use http://lang-8. sophomore 三年生 【さん・ねん・せい】 .org/learn/book/…/2 44/113 . 16. funny 難しい 【むずか・しい】 (i-adj) . 日本の食べ物は好きですか？ Do you like Japanese food? 4. try writing a brief description about yourself. 1. 13.interests. 3. 17. Here's a short list of words that might be useful.middle school 高校 【こう・こう】 . 14. 21. 19.com/. 10.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. どんな音楽が好きですか？ What kind of music do you like? Try to come up with your own questions for your teacher. junior 四年生 【よん・ねん・せい】 .third year. 英語は、難しいですか？ Is English difficult? 5. 4.easy 食べ物 【た・べ・もの】 .very ちょっと . freshman 二年生 【に・ねん・せい】 . 12. 11.elementary school 中学 【ちゅう・がく】 . 趣味は、何ですか？ What is your hobby? 2. 9.a little 面白い 【おも・しろい】 (i-adj) . As always. 15. 7.desirable とても .fourth year.college 一年生 【いち・ねん・せい】 .difficult 簡単 【かん・たん】 (na-adj) .sports 日本語 【に・ほん・ご】 . 6. Writing Practice For writing practice. 一番好きな食べ物は、何ですか？ What is your favorite food? 3. guidetojapanese. make sure to correct your work early to avoid developing any bad habits.name 小学 【しょう・がく】 .reading スポーツ .first year.major 趣味 【しゅ・み】 . 5. classmates.Japanese language 好き 【す・き】 .interesting. 18. or conversation partner. here's a short self description by Alice Smith.food For example.second year. 名前 【な・まえ】 . 20. 8. 2. 6. it could be said that all complete sentences always end with a verb. you know.org/learn/book/…/2 45/113 . The same thing applies for verbs.soccer ちなみに .to eat 大好き 【だい・す・き】 (na-adj) . the verb always comes at the end of the sentence. we learned how to set expectations by seeking or providing explanations with 「の」. (you) eat (it)? スミス： うん、大好きだよ！ Smith: Yes. 2. In fact.economy 経済学 【けい・ざい・がく】 . I love (it)! ジョン： でも、生の魚だよ。 John: But (it's) raw fish.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. Example 1. 5.sushi （「お」 is an optional honorific prefix） 食べる 【たべ・る】 .lovable. おすし . very likable 生 【なま】 . 3.raw 魚 【さかな】 . 6.pizza はじめまして。私の名前は、アリス・スミスです。大学の一年生です。専攻は、経済学で す。趣味は、サッカーと読書です。日本語も好きです。とても面白いですが、ちょっと難 しいですね。ちなみに、好きな食べ物は、てんぷらとピザです。 Verbs Similar to nouns and adjectives.economics サッカー . おすしは、食べるの？ You eat sushi? (seeking explanation why he/she eats sushi as opposed to a neutral question "Do you eat sushi?") I love sushi! 1. 5. 4. 4. guidetojapanese. if you consider the implied state-of-being for nouns and adjectives as a verb.tempura ピザ . 3. At the end of the last chapter.by the way てんぷら (i-adj) . 経済 【けい・ざい】 . 2. おすしは、食べる？ Do you eat sushi? 2.fish すごい (i-adj) .amazing ジョン： おすしは、食べるの？ John: As for sushi. it is pronounced the same as 「お」.letter 書く　【か・く】 (u-verb) .to read 手　【て】 .to eat 本　【ほん】 . 7.rice.g.to write 1. 映画　【えい・が】 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… スミス： だから？ Smith: So? ジョン： すごいね。 John: That's amazing. 映画を見る。 Watch movie 2. 6. e.org/learn/book/…/2 46/113 . 4. 3. 5. we first need to learn some particles that are used to describe how various parts of a sentence interacts with the verb. We can also use the same particle with verbs to express and action that is done together. Particles used with verbs Before we can do much with verbs. 10. Note: While 「を」 is technically a w-consonant sound. Examples 1. 8.book 読む　【よ・む】 (u-verb) . 9.. 「 を 」 Object Particle The 「を」 particle is used to designate the direct object of a verb. 2.hand 紙　【かみ】 . Examples guidetojapanese.to see. meal 食べる　【た・べる】 (ru-verb) . ご飯を食べる。 Eat rice/meal 3.paper 手紙　【てがみ】 . 手紙を書く。 Write letter 「 と」 And/With Particle We learned that we can list multiple nouns in the last chapter with the 「と」 particle. to watch ご飯　【ご・はん】 .movie 見る　【み・る】 (ru-verb) . 本を読む。 Read book 4. salt and pepper. 3.in front 立つ　【た・つ】 (u-verb) . It serves the purpose of many English prepositions such as "at".to meet 1.school 行く　【い・く】 (u-verb) . "in". 3. 8. 9.org/learn/book/…/2 47/113 . 3. 友達に会う。 Meet friend. 4. 人の前に立つ。 Stand in front of people. 2. 2.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. 4. 友達と遊ぶ。 Play with friend. 3. 7. 「 に 」 Target Particle The target particle is used to designate the target of an action whether it's a time or location.to go 明日　【あした】 . バスに乗る Ride on bus. Examples 1.relative 会う　【あ・う】 (u-verb) . 10. 2. 5. 2.to stand 友達　【とも・だち】 . 先生に聞く。 Ask teacher. 学校　【がっ・こう】 . "to". 親戚と会う。 Meet with relative.to ride 聞く　【き・く】 (u-verb) . 6.tomorrow バス . 4. リーさんと話す。 Talk with Lee-san.to meet 1.to talk 親戚 【しん・せき】 .bus 乗る　【の・る】 (u-verb) . 5.to ask 前　【まえ】 . 友達 【とも・だち】 . 明日に映画を見る。 Watch movie tomorrow.friend 会う　【あ・う】 (u-verb) .friend 話す 【はな・す】 . 「 で 」 Context Particle guidetojapanese. 6. 学校に行く。 Go to school. and "on" as long as it indicates a target of an action. Examples 1.) 4. 4.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… The context particle is used to describe the context or the means in which a verb takes place. this particle is pronounced as 「え」 Examples 1.letter 2.restaurant 日本語　【に・ほん・ご】 .Japanese language 話す　【はな・す】 (u-verb) (u-verb) . 5.chopsticks 映画館 【えい・が・かん】 . while the 「に」 particle indicates a target for just about any verb. (Busy by means of work.work 忙しい 【いそが・しい】 . はしで食べる。 Eat with chopsticks. 映画館で映画を見る。 Watch movie at movie theater. However. you wouldn't use the 「に」 particle.) 「 へ 」 Directional Particle The 「へ」 particle is similar in some ways to the 「に」 particle. 手紙 【て・がみ】 . 2. Note: While 「へ」 is normally pronounced as "he". 5. 仕事で忙しい。 Busy with work. 送る 【おく・る】 .to send 1. this particle is not used as often as the other particles. レストランで食べる。 Eat at restaurant. However. 6. 2. Because the 「に」 particle does everything 「へ」 does and more. 手紙を日本へ送る。 Send letter to Japan. Instead.movie theater 仕事 【し・ごと】 . 2. 7. 学校へ行く。 Go to school.to speak はし . you would use the 「で」 particle to describe the restaurant as the context in which eating is taking place. (Speak by means of Japanese.org/learn/book/…/2 48/113 . For example. (Eat by means of chopsticks.) 3. 3. if you're eating at a restaurant. レストラン .busy 1. guidetojapanese. it is still beneficial to be at least familiar with it. since the restaurant is not a direct target for eating. 「へ」 is more specifically used to indicate a direction of motion verbs such as "to go" or "to send". 日本語で話す。 Speak in Japanese. below 右 【みぎ】 . 8. 9. 5. you can use these two verbs to describe the location of anything or anyone. There are two verbs that show existence for animate and inanimate objects. 鍵 【かぎ】 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Existence Verbs With the state-of-being that we learned in the last chapter. 2.there あそこ . ここ .org/learn/book/…/2 . 6. 4.left 前 【まえ】 . 3. 4. アリスちゃんは、どこにいる？ Where is Alice-chan? (lit: Alice-chan exists at where?) 2. 10.time 1.key テーブル . 7. we could only describe what someone or something is. In this section. before 後ろ 【うし・ろ】 .post office 49/113 guidetojapanese.above 下 【した】 . 時間はある？ Do (you) have time? (lit: Is there time?) Location With some additional vocabulary. we'll learn to express whether someone or something exists and where.to exist (animate) Without getting caught up with the details. ある (u-verb) .to exist (inanimate) いる (ru-verb) . どこ .bank 郵便局 【ゆう・びん・きょく】 .where 2. 時間 【じ・かん】 .table 銀行 【ぎん・こう】 . 2.here そこ .right 左 【ひだり】 .front. 3.next to Examples 1. Example 1.behind 隣 【となり】 . 「いる」 is generally used for things that can move of their own volition such as humans or animals while 「ある」 is for inanimate objects and abstract concepts such as time. 1.over there (farther away) 上 【うえ】 . homework 日本人 【に・ほん・じん】 . want to go? (lit: Tomorrow. 10.club 行く 【い・く】 . 16.Japanese person かわいい . 12.me. (lit: As for key. (lit: As for me.cute 女 【おんな】 . exists above of table. 9. just in case やっぱり . 11. 3. you know.) 3. a lot of homework exists so good.child 女の子 【おんな・の・こ】 . 7.for the time being. 14.to go する . ジョン： かわいい女の子はいる？ John: Is there cute girl(s)? アリス： あのう、一応、私も行くけど？ Alice: Um. myself (masculine and very casual) 宿題 【しゅく・だい】 . just in case. exists behind of school.) Any cute girls there? 1.conversation 練習 【れん・しゅう】 .girl あのう . 6.tomorrow クラブ .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. 明日 【あした】 . 4. Japanese club exists but go?) ジョン： 日本語のクラブで何をするの？ John: What do (you) do at Japanese club? アリス： 日本語の会話の練習をするよ。 Alice: (You) do Japanese conversation practice. 2. exist next of post office.to get irritated アリス： 明日、日本語のクラブがあるけど、行く？ Alice: There's Japanese club tomorrow.as expected (casual) ムカつく . 13.practice 俺 【おれ】 .to do 会話 【かい・わ】 .) 2.org/learn/book/…/2 50/113 . excuse me 一応 【いち・おう】 . ジョン： 俺は、宿題がたくさんあるから、いい。 John: I have a lot of homework so (I'm) good. 5. 銀行は、郵便局の隣にあります。 Bank is next to post office. 15. 8.um. アリスは、学校の後ろにいる。 Alice is behind (the) school.woman 子 【こ】 . I'm going too but? guidetojapanese. 17. (lit: As for bank. 鍵は、テーブルの上にある。 Key is above (the) table. (lit: As for Alice.) アリス： 日本人もいるよ。 Alice: Japanese people are also there. However. you can verify which kind it is with most dictionaries.to think 待つ .to come out 買う .to come Examples of different verb types ru-verb u-verb 見る . 1.to see 話す . we first need to learn how verbs are categorized. Examples 1.org/learn/book/…/2 .to come guidetojapanese. to listen 寝る . we'll learn how to conjugate verbs to the negative tense.to swim 起きる . I'm good.to teach.to sleep 泳ぐ .「べ」 is an e-vowel sound so it is a ru-verb 2. before we can learn any verb conjugations.to drink 出る .to exist (animate) 着る .to die 51/113 exception する . With the exception of only two exception verbs. All ru-verbs end in 「る」 while u-verbs can end in a number of u-vowel sounds including 「る」.to eat 聞く . 食べる .to wake. Exceptions There are only two exception verbs that are neither ru-verbs nor u-verbs.to do くる .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… ジョン： そう？やっぱり、俺はいいよ。 John: Is that so? As I thought.to wear ある . Negative Tense Verb Types In this section.to exist (inanimate) 死ぬ .to speak 食べる .to play 考える . する . to inform 飲む . if the vowel sound preceding the 「る」 is an 'i' or 'e' vowel sound. わかる . it will be a u-verb.to do 2. 来る 【く・る】 .　For verbs ending in 「る」. it will be a ru-verb in most cases. to occur 遊ぶ .「か」 is an a-vowel sound so it is an u-verb If you're unsure which category a verb falls in.to wait 教える . all verbs fall into the category of ru-verb or u-verb.to ask. アリス： ムカつく。 Alice: So irritating. Otherwise.to buy いる . TV 番組 【ばん・ぐみ】 . 4. 11.one's own home. 5. family.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Negative Tense We can now learn the rules for conjugating the verb into the negative tense based on the different verb types.org/learn/book/…/2 .how 思う 【おも・う】 (u-verb) . For u-verbs that end in 「 う 」 : Replace 「う」 with 「わ」 and attach 「ない」 Example: 買う + わ + ない = 買わない 3.to see なんで . 6. 10. For all other u-verbs: Replace the u-vowel sound with the a-vowel equivalent and attach 「ない」 Example: 待つ + た = 待たない 4. ※ある → ない Negative tense conjugation examples ru-verb u-verb exception 見る →　見ない 話す →　話さない する →　しない 食べる →　食べない 聞く →　聞かない くる → こない 寝る →　寝ない 泳ぐ →　泳がない ある → ない 起きる →　起きない 遊ぶ →　遊ばない 考える →　考えない 待つ →　待たない 教える →　教えない 飲む →　飲まない 出る →　出ない 買う →　買わない 変える →　変えない 帰る →　帰らない 着る →　着ない 死ぬ →　死なない You don't have a TV? 1. to know 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) .interesting.to understand. Exceptions: 1.why うち . funny 分かる 【わ・かる】 (u-verb) . Be extra careful of 「ある」 which is one extra exception verb for this conjugation only.g. 9.think 全然 【ぜん・ぜん】 . 8. 2. For ru-verbs: Drop the 「る」 and attach 「ない」 Example: 食べる = 食べ + ない 2. TV) どう . or household 52/113 guidetojapanese. する → しない 2.not at all (when used with negative) 面白い 【おも・しろい】 (i-adj) . 3. ね . Negative tense for verbs 1.program (e.hey テレビ . くる → こない 3. 7. I don't watch TV so. As for me. Polite Verbs Verb Stem Before we can learn the conjugation rules for the polite verb form.lie. no way (casual) 13. ジョン：　・・・うそ！ John: .truth. うそ .org/learn/book/…/2 53/113 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 12. you know. we must first learn how to create the verb stem.. huh? アリス： 分からないね。私は、テレビを見ないから。 Alice: (I) don't know. No way! アリス： 本当よ。 Alice: (It's) true. する → し 2. there's no TV. くる → き Verb stem examples guidetojapanese.. how (do you) think? It's not interesting at all. Below are the rules for changing the verb to its stem. as for recent TV shows. ジョン： え？なんで見ないの？ John: Huh? Why don't (you) watch it? アリス： うちは、テレビがないの。 Alice: As for our house. ジョン：　うそ！ John: No way! アリス： 本当。 Alice: (It's) true. Verb stem conjugation rules For ru-verbs: Drop the 「る」 Example: 食べる = 食べ For u-verbs: Replace the u-vowel sound with the i-vowel equivalent Example: 行く + き = 行き Exceptions: 1. reality ジョン：　ね、最近のテレビ番組はどう思う？全然面白くないよね？ John: Hey. The verb stem is used in many different types of verb conjugations including the polite form. 本当 【ほん・とう】 . see. 私に会いに来る。 Coming to meet me.friend 映画 【えい・が】 .to eat 行く 【い・く】 . Polite Negative: Attach 「ません」 to the verb stem Example: 買い + ません = 買いません Verb as a target The verb stem can also be used to make it a target for another verb.movie 見る 【み・る】 . 2.lunch 食べる 【た・べる】 . guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 54/113 . Polite Positive: Attach 「ます」 to the verb stem Example: 食べ + ます = 食べます 2. watch 1. 2. myself 会う 【あ・う】 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… u-verb exception 話す →　話し する →　し 食べる →　食べ 聞く →　聞き くる → き 寝る →　寝 泳ぐ →　泳ぎ 起きる →　起き 遊ぶ →　遊び 考える →　考え 待つ →　待ち 教える →　教え 飲む →　飲み 出る →　出 買う →　買い 変える →　変え 帰る →　帰り 着る →　着 死ぬ →　死に ru-verb 見る →　見 Polite Verb Form Now that we know the rules to create the verb stem.me.to go 私 【わたし】 . 4. it is very easy to conjugate the verb to the polite form for both positive and negative tenses.to come 友達 【とも・だち】 . 3.to meet 来る 【く・る】 . 8. 9. 6. typical a motion verb such as "go" or "come". 7. 昼ご飯 【ひる・ご・はん】 . Polite and polite negative verb conjugation rules 1. 昼ご飯を食べに行く。 Go to eat lunch. 5. Examples 1. This is done by attaching the 「に」 target particle to the verb stem. 8.spring 休み 【やす・み】 . 山本： そうですか。とても大変ですね。 Yamamoto: Is that so? (It's) very tough.so 大変 【たい・へん】 (na-adj) . what will (you) do at this year's spring vacation? リー： 私は、ここでアルバイトをします。 Lee: As for me. 友達と映画を見に行く。 Go to watch movie with friend(s). 9.me. 11. 18.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 3.to go 韓国 【かん・こく】 .charge.org/learn/book/…/2 55/113 . 16. 皆さん 【みな・さん】 . 2.to meet 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) .vacation 何 【なに】 .to go home そう . 4. 山本： ご家族に会いに行きませんか？ Yamamoto: (You) will not go to meet your family? リー：　私の家族は韓国にいますから、飛行機代がとても高いです。なので、今年は韓国に帰りま せん。 Lee: My family is in Korea so the plane ticket is very expensive.airplane ～代 【～だい】 . cost.everybody (polite) 今年 【こ・とし】 .very 高い 【たか・い】 (i-adj) . 5. 7.tough.what する .tall. 15. 12.part-time job 家族 【か・ぞく】 . fare とても .here アルバイト .to do 私 【わたし】 . 20.this year 春 【はる】 . (I) will not go back home to Korea this year. 19. myself ここ . 14. 6. My family is in Korea 1. Therefore. 3. (I) will do part-time job here. rough 山本： 皆さんは、今年の春休みに何をしますか？ Yamamoto: Everybody.South Korea いる 【い・る】 (ru-verb) . isn't it? Desire and Volition guidetojapanese. 17. 13. expensive 帰る 【かえ・る】(u-verb) . 10.family 会う 【あ・う】 (u-verb) . 21.to exist (animate) 飛行機 【ひ・こう・き】 . library 勉強 【べん・きょう】 . 怖い 【こわ・い】 (i-adj) . you can do all the same conjugations on the 「～たい」 form as any other i-adjectives. 2. 4." The rules for changing a verb into the volitional form is below. 3.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… To want to do In order to describe what someone or something wants to do.scary 1.definitely. This is because it's no longer an actual action but a description of what one wants to do. 5. This is done by simply attaching 「たい」 to the verb stem.g. we can simply consider the volitional form to mean "let's" or "shall we" e.to do つまらない . For u-verbs: Replace the u-vowel sound with the o-vowel equivalent and 「う」 Example: 行く + こ + う = 行こう 3. Therefore. カニ . 3. Example 1. we must conjugate the verb into the 「〜たい」 form. 6. 日本に行きたいです。 (I) want to go to Japan.ok 絶対 【ぜっ・たい】 .crab 2. dull じゃ . 8. Volitional form conjugation rules 1.then (casual) 大丈夫 【だい・じょう・ぶ】 (na-adj) .org/learn/book/…/2 . Exceptions: 「する」 becomes 「しよう」 「くる」 becomes 「こよう」 I'm bored 1. カニを食べたい。 (I) want to eat crab. One important thing to note is that this conjugation changes the verb into essentially an i-adjective. "Let's go watch a movie..study する .boring. 7. For ru-verbs: Drop the 「る」 and add 「よう」 Example: 食べる = 食べ＋よう = 食べよう 2. Volitional Form We'll learn more about different uses of the volitional form later on but for now. 2. for sure 56/113 guidetojapanese. 怖い映画は、見たくないよ。 (I) don't want to watch (a) scary movie.a more casual and masculine version of ～ね 図書館 【と・しょ・かん】 . ～な (sentence-ending particle) . 2. Polite volitional form conjugation rules For all verbs: Attach 「ましょう」 to the verb stem Examples 食べ＋ましょう = 食べましょう (let's eat) 行き＋ましょう = 行きましょう (let's go) し＋ましょう = しましょう (let's do) It's a good idea! 1. アリス： じゃ、何をしたいの？ Alice: Then. (it's) ok. (lit: Lately. レッスン .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… ジョン： 最近は、暇だな。 John: I have nothing to do lately. 7. 4.weather 授業 【じゅ・ぎょう】 .well then 57/113 guidetojapanese. what do you want to do? ジョン：　映画を見に行こうかな？ John: Shall (I) go to watch a movie maybe? アリス： 勉強は大丈夫なの？ Alice: Are (your) studies ok? ジョン： うん、大丈夫。 John: Yeah.org/learn/book/…/2 .lesson 始める 【はじ・める】 (ru-verb) . 5. アリス： 絶対大丈夫じゃないよ。 Alice: (It's) definitely not ok.) アリス：　図書館で日本語を勉強しようか？ Alice: Shall we study Japanese at the library? ジョン： それは、つまらないよ。 John: That's boring. Polite Volitional Form The conjugation rules for polite version of the volition form is simple and only requires adding 「ましょう」 to the verb stem.idea それじゃ . you know.to begin 天気 【てん・き】 .class 外 【そと】 . 6.outside 考え 【かんが・え】 . 3. I'm free. we simply need to use the counters for hours and minutes. because the weather is good today. 何時 【なん・じ】 . we'll need to know how to describe time. 4. military time is used more often in Japan. let's do the class outside! 山本：いい考えですね。それじゃ、外に行きましょうか？ Yamamoto: That's a good thought. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 8. 3.org/learn/book/…/2 .minute counter Once again. Hour reading variations Hour 4 o'clock 7 o'clock 9 o'clock Kanji Reading 四時 よ・じ 七時 しち・じ 九時 く・じ Minute reading variations Minutes How many minutes Kanji Reading 何分 なん・ぷん 1 min 一分 3 min 三分 4 min 四分 6 min 六分 8 min 八分 10 min 十分 いっ・ぷん さん・ぷん よん・ぷん ろっ・ぷん はっ・ぷん じゅっ・ぷん Examples Though there are words for AM and PM. what time 午前 【ご・ぜん】 . 2. These readings are listed below. Shall (we) go outside? 皆：はい！ Everybody: Yes! Telling Time Time In order to effectively describe when we want to do certain things and make plans. ～時 【～じ】 . スミス：先生、今日は天気がいいですから、授業を外でしましょう！ Smith: Teacher.half 58/113 guidetojapanese. Similar to the age counter we learned in the very first chapter.PM 半 【はん】 .what hour.AM 午後 【ご・ご】 . there are a number of reading variations to pay careful attention to. 1.to go 山本：今日のレッスンを始めましょう。 Yamamoto: Let's begin today's lesson.hour counter ～分 【～ふん】 . Friday 土曜日 【ど・よう・び】 . 7.1:01 午後４時４４分 【ご・ご・よ・じ・よん・じゅう・よん・ぷん】 . Days of the week Below is a vocabulary list pertaining to days of the week.evening ちょっと .What day of week 月曜日 【げつ・よう・び】 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1.org/learn/book/…/2 . 6. 8.18:25 (6:25 PM) Example 1. 14. 8.Monday 火曜日 【か・よう・び】 .weekday 週末 【しゅう・まつ】 .next week 毎週 【まい・しゅう】 .every week 平日 【へい・じつ】 . 12. 3. 11.10:30 AM １８時２５分 【じゅう・はち・じ・に・じゅう・ご・ふん】 . 4.Thursday 金曜日 【きん・よう・び】 . 6.everyday 寝る 【ね・る】 .everybody レストラン .Tuesday 水曜日 【すい・よう・び】 . what time 今は、何時ですか？ What time is it now? ２時半です。 (It's) 2:30. 何曜日 【なん・よう・び】 . 2.Saturday 日曜日 【にち・よう・び】 . 4. 9. 7. 10. 3. 5. 4. 5.late 毎日 【まい・にち】 . 3.a little (casual) 遅い 【おそ・い】 (i-adj) .last week 今週 【こん・しゅう】 .restaurant 何時 【なん・じ】 .to be different 59/113 guidetojapanese. 2. １時１分 【いち・じ・いっ・ぷん】 . We will learn how to express complete calendar dates in a later chapter. 何時 【なん・じ】 . 2.what time 夜 【よる】 .to sleep 違う 【ちが・う】 (u-verb) . 1. 13.Wednesday 木曜日 【もく・よう・び】 . 皆 【みんな】 . Combined with time.4:44 PM 午前１０時半 【ご・ぜん・じゅう・じ・はん】 . this should be adequate for making plans in the near future.this week 来週 【らい・しゅう】 .Sunday 先週 【せん・しゅう】 .weekend Is it really late? 1. 9.what hour. 6. 授業は何時から始まるの？ guidetojapanese. 5.aerobics クラス . 10. isn't it? リー： それは、アリスちゃんが毎日十時に寝るからだよ。 Lee: That's because Alice-chan (you) sleep at 10:00 every day.org/learn/book/…/2 60/113 .to begin この .ok リー： 来週の金曜日に皆で日本のレストランに食べに行くけど、アリスちゃんも行きたい？ Lee: Everybody is going to eat at (a) Japanese restaurant next Friday. エアロビクスクラスは、毎週火曜日と金曜日の１８時から１９時までです。 Aerobic class is every Tuesday and Friday from 6:00 until 7:00pm. 2.company 働く 【はたら・く】 (u-verb) . アリス： ちょっと遅いね。 Alice: (It's) a little late.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 10.to work 両親 【りょう・しん】 . 9. 4.contact 1. 7.until ～ エアロビクス .parents 連絡 【れん・らく】 .this 会社 【かい・しゃ】 . 11. (do you) Alice-chan want to also go? アリス： 何時に行くの？ Alice: What time are (you) going? リー： 夜の八時半。 Lee: 8:30 night. 2. Example 1. 8. 大丈夫 【だい・じょう・ぶ】 . 3. ～から (particle) . アリス： 違うよ！ Alice: That's not so! リー： じゃ、八時半で大丈夫だよね。 Lee: Then it's fine as 8:30 right? アリス： いいよ！八時半で！ Alice: Fine! 8:30. From and until Two particles that often go together especially with time expressions are "from" （から） and "until" （まで）.class 始まる 【はじ・まる】(u-verb) .from ～ ～まで (particle) .class 授業 【じゅ・ぎょう】 . everything 全然　【ぜん・ぜん】 . And 「いつも」 always means "always" for both positive and negative tenses. 10. 2.everybody 皆さん 【みな・さん】 .no matter what どちらも . Other words can be used instead to express similar concepts.everywhere or nowhere when used with negative tense どうしても . 11.absolutely.how どうして .why (casual) なぜ . 1.what どこ .why (formal) いつ .how much 「 も」 with question words The following question words can be used with 「も」 to include and/or exclude everything. 5. 2. 誰 【だれ】 . 9. 7.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… From what time is class start? 3.not at all (when used with negative tense) 絶対 【ぜっ・たい】 .which way どれ .where どう .nothing when used with negative tense どこも . unconditionally or never when used with negative tense 61/113 guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 . 3. 1.why どちら . 2.how many いくら . 3. 4.everybody (polite) 全部 【ぜん・ぶ】 . 4. 6. 1. 「何も」 is usually not used to mean "everything". 5.) Question words and particles Particles can be used with some question words to form other useful vocabulary. 12.when いくつ .both ways いつも . 5. 皆 【みんな】 .everybody or nobody when used with negative tense 何も 【なに・も】 . (lit: Contact comes from parents every weekend. Let's first learn or review all the various questions words.which なんで .always Things aren't as consistent as one would hope however. 6. For example. 毎週末に両親から連絡がくる。 (I) hear from (my) parents on every weekend. いつまでこの会社で働きたいですか？ Until when do (you) want to work at this company? 4. 3. 8.who 何 【なに／なん】 . 4. 誰も 【だれ・も】 . 5.for some reason なんでか .anything じゃ .strange 62/113 guidetojapanese. 4. 1. you guys are too weird 1. 1. 6. 6.org/learn/book/…/2 .who 皆 【みんな】. 6.for some reason (casual) なぜか . 10. myself (polite. 11.sometime いくつか .for some reason (formal) いつか . 4.obvious 誰 【だれ】 . ね／ねえ . 4.then (casual) おいしい (i-adj) .hey (casual) 今日 【きょう】 .some number of things いくらか . 7. 2. 12.anything どこでも .as usual. 8.me. 3. 誰か 【だれ・か】 .any amount 「 か 」 with question words The question marker can also be used with some question words to indicate "some". 5.any number of things いくらでも . 9. 8. 11. 7.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… でも」 「 でも 」 with question words The combination of two particles 「でも」 can be used with question words to indicate "any". 2.today 昼ご飯 【ひる・ご・はん】 . without change 変 【へん】 (na-adj) . 9.lunch どこか . 7.anyhow どちらでも . 14.somehow どちらか .any way いつでも .one way (of the two) どうしてか .anywhere どうでも .physical object 当たり前 【あ・たり・まえ】 .somewhere どうか .somebody 何か 【なに・か】 .somewhere 僕 【ぼく】 . 2.anybody 何でも 【なん・でも】 . 誰でも 【だれ・でも】 .something どこか .some amount Never mind. 5. 10. 3.everybody (casual) 相変わらず 【あい・かわ・らず】. 3.tasty 物 【もの】 . 8.any time いくつでも . 13. masculine) 何でも 【なん・でも】 . usually 時々 【とき・どき】 . 9. huh? The cafeteria is fine for today as well. 5.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 15.rarely 全然 【ぜん・ぜん】 . 4. アリス： じゃ、何かおいしい物を食べたくない？ Alice: Then. 8.cafeteria アリス： ねえ、今日の昼ご飯は、どこかに食べに行こうよ。 Alice: Hey. ジョン： じゃ、今日はおいしくない物にチャレンジしよう！ John: Then. don't (you) want to eat something tasty? ジョン： それは当たり前だ。誰がおいしくない物を食べたいんだ？ John: That's obvious. 6. What shall we eat? リー： 僕は、何でもいいよ。 Lee: I'm fine with anything.org/learn/book/…/2 63/113 . 2. いつも . Useful adverbs 1.always よく . let's challenge (ourselves) today with something not tasty! アリス： 皆、相変わらず変ね。今日も食堂でいいよ。 Alice: Everybody is strange as usual.often たいてい . some of which we've already seen. 7. Who wants to eat a thing not tasty? リー： 僕は、何でもいいよ。 Lee: I'm fine with anything. ジョン： そうだね。何を食べようか？ John: Right.a lot (amount) 少し 【すこ・し】 . 3.not at all (when used with negative tense) 多分 【た・ぶん】 . Below is a list of common and useful adverbs. as for today's lunch.a little (amount) Creating adverbs from adjectives guidetojapanese. let's go somewhere to eat.probably.sometimes たまに . Adverbs We've already been using adverbs extensively without really paying much attention to them because they are easy to use. They don't require any particles and they can appear almost anywhere in the sentence. 食堂 【しょく・どう】. maybe たくさん . 6. 3. 部屋をきれいにする。 Make room clean (lit: Do room cleanly).voice actor/actress わざと (adv) .exam 今夜 【こん・や】 . 静かに 2. 11. 5. This is where the adverb we just learned for "often" （よく） comes from. 4. 9. 明日、大事な試験があるから、今夜は早く寝る。 Tomorrow.cute 話す 【はな・す】 (u-verb) . clean 女性 【じょ・せい】 .tonight 早い 【はや・い】 (i-adj) . 来年、本当に日本に行くの？ (Are you) really going to Japan next year? guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 64/113 .early 寝る 【ね・る】 (ru-verb) . 3. Rules for changing adjectives into adverbs For na-adjectives: Attach 「に」 to the end Examples 1. As usual.to sleep 1. 2. 2. This is similar to how "ly" is added to many words in English to make them into adverbs such as "quickly" or "slowly". 10. 「いい」 becomes 「よく」 2.room きれい (na-adj) . 日本の女性声優は、よくわざとかわいく話す。 Japanese female voice actresses often speak cutely on purpose. 7. 「いい」 is conjugated from the original 「よい」 pronunciation.tomorrow 大事 【だい・じ】 .pretty. 12. 8.important 試験 【し・けん】 . going to sleep early tonight 4. かわいい + く = かわいく Exceptions: 1. 「かっこいい」 becomes 「かっこよく」 Examples 1. because there's an important test.to speak 明日 【あした】 . 13.on purpose かわいい .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… There are many words that are not adverbs by themselves but are made into adverbs from other adjectives. 早い + く = 早く 2. きれいに 3.female 声優 【せい・ゆう】 . 部屋 【へや】 . 本当に For i-adjectives: Replace the 「い」 with 「く」 Examples 1. The rules for changing an adjective into an adverb is given below. gentle 1. 形 【かたち】 . 3. 11. 果物 【くだ・もの】 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Verb clauses Now that we are familiar with both state-of-being and verbs. huh? 4. 5. This sentence can also be used as a clause as a part of a larger sentence. As we have learned. For na-adjectives. As for nouns.read 頭 【あたま】 . ご飯を食べる時は、テレビを見ない。 When eating a meal.pretty. Verb clauses as adjectives A verb clauses can be used to describe a noun just like an adjective.shape. 1.height すてき (na-adj) . 性格が優しくない人は、あまり好きじゃない。 Don't like people whose personality is not gentle. 7. The highlighted areas show the clause that is a smaller sentence used in the larger sentence.television 本 【ほん】 . mind 背 【せ】 . 本を読まない人、頭がよくない。 People that does not read books are not smart. 10.book 読む 【よ・む】 (u-verb) . Except for nouns and na-adjectives that is not conjugated to another tense.tall 性格 【せい・かく】 . 背が高い人は、すてきだね。 Tall people are lovely. 8. 2. Remember also that the polite form only goes at the end of a complete sentence so a verb clause used within a sentence must be in the plan form.personality 優しい 【やさ・しい】 . 9. 2. form 2. as always we need to use 「な」 to attach it to a noun. we can begin to look at how to use verb clauses to construct more complicated sentences. don't watch TV.org/learn/book/…/2 65/113 . Examples 1. きれい (na-adj) .rice. clean 3. there is no need to use a clause to modify a noun with another noun as the 「の」 particle allows us to chain any number of nouns.head.lovely 高い 【たか・い】 (i-adj) . nothing is required except to put the clause directly in front of the noun. a complete sentence must end either in a real verb or state-of-being.time テレビ . 6.fruit guidetojapanese. ご飯 【ご・はん】 . 3. meal 時 【とき】 . 4. luck is good. 9.explanation. Example 1. 山本： いいですね。私もメキシコに行きたいですね。 Yamamoto: That's nice. 4. 料理 【りょう・り】 . 5.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 4.this year 春休み 【はる・やすみ】 . 今年 【こ・とし】 . The difference is 「こと」 is a more general statement while 「の」 is specific to the context of the sentence.together 訳 【わけ】 . do (you) have some (kind of) plan this spring vacation? 田中：　ええ、観光にメキシコに予定です。 Tanaka: Yes.Mexico 一人 【ひとり】 . 二年生の日本語の学生は、運がいい。 As for second year Japanese students. 田中： 私は、一人で行くつもりですが・・・ Tanaka: I intend to by myself. alone つもり . 3.plan(s) 観光 【かん・こう】 . 8.org/learn/book/…/2 66/113 . All we need to treat verb clauses as a noun is by attaching a generic noun to the clause: 「こと」（事） 「の」 can also be used as a noun replacement. we just learned that verb clauses can act as an adjectives.spring vacation 予定 【よ・てい】 . 山本：　いいえ、私は田中さんと一緒に行きたい訳じゃないですから！ Yamamoto: No. 2.event.cooking guidetojapanese. it's not the case that I want to go together with you in particular! Verb clauses as nouns Verbs clauses are different from nouns and are limited in many ways because you cannot attach any particles to them. matter. 運 【うん】 .one person. 6. 形がとてもきれいな果物は、おいしい。 Fruit that has very pretty form is tasty. reasoning 山本： 田中さんは、今年の春休みに何か予定ありますか？ Yamamoto: Tanaka-san. (I) plan to go sightseeing to Mexico.sightseeing メキシコ . 7. However.intention 一緒 【いっ・しょ】 . I'm going alone 1. 2. I want to go to Mexico too. 事 【こと】 . generic happening 2.luck 1... to occur. to awake 苦手 【にが・て】 (na-adj) . スミス： やっぱり・・・。 Smith: As I thought. myself (masculine.particular 本屋 【ほん・や】 . 2. 8. hard 朝 【あさ】 .this week 特 【とく】 . 料理をするのが好き。 (I) like cooking. 3. meal 難しい 【むずか・しい】 (i-adj) .bothersome 俺 【おれ】 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 3. guidetojapanese. 7. 9. What do you like to do when you're free? 1.chopsticks ご飯 【ご・はん】 . 3. 4. 朝、早く起きるのは、苦手。 Not good at waking up early in the morning.morning 早い 【はや・い】 . 今週末 【こん・しゅう・まつ】 .org/learn/book/…/2 67/113 . casual 暇 【ひま】 (na-adj) . as expected スミス： 今週末は、何か予定ある？ Smith: Do you have some kind of plan this weekend? ジョン： 特にないけど？ John: Not particularly but? スミス: 皆で、日本の本屋さんに行くのは、どう？ Smith: How about going to Japanese bookstore with everybody? ジョン： めんどくさいから、俺はいい。 John: It's too bothersome so I'm fine. 5. 6.early 起きる 【お・きる】 .as I thought. お箸 【お・はし】 . 6. お箸でご飯を食べることは、難しい。 It is difficult to eat rice by way of chopsticks. 7. 2. 4.poor/weak at 1. 5.bookstore めんどくさい (i-adj) .difficult. スミス： 暇な時に何をするのが好きなの？ Smith: What do you like to do when you're free? ジョン： 何もしないのが好きだね。 John: I like not doing anything.me.free (as in not busy) やはり／やっぱり .rice. 5. 昨日 【きのう】 .tomorrow 毎日 【まい・にち】 . 3. With the grammar we learned in this chapter. Here is a long list of vocabulary describing various times in addition to the ones we already learned for days of the week.this morning 68/113 guidetojapanese.last month 今月 【こん・げつ】 .every month 去年 【きょ・ねん】 . We also learned how to make or suggest plans by using the 「～たい」 and volitional form. 6. by themselves.last year 今年 【こ・とし】 . 4.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Chapter summary and practice In this chapter. Here is a short list of examples using the various conjugations we learned in this chapter. 9. we now know how to make plans with other people and talk about what the kinds of things we do on a regular basis. Verb Conjugation Examples Plain Ru-verb U-verb Exception Exception Exception * = exceptions 食べる 飲む ある する Negative Polite Negative Polite 食べない 食べます 食べません 飲まない 飲みます 飲みません 買わない* 買います 買いません Verbs ending in 「 う 」 買う ない* しない* あります します* ありません しません* くる（来る） こない* き ません* きません* Future plans and routine activities In this chapter. 10. we learned how to use describe common activities using verbs.this year 来年 【らい・ねん】 . 8.morning 今朝 【け・さ】 .org/learn/book/…/2 . 11.every day 先月 【せん・げつ】 . 2. Though the vocabulary list is rather long. 13. Finally.today 明日 【あした】 . do not have a specific tense so they can be used to describe activities in the future or an unspecified time.yesterday 今日 【きょう】 . 1. The verbs.next month 毎月 【まい・つき】 . we learned how to use verbs to talk about things we do or do not do.next year 毎年 【まい・とし】 . 14. 7.every year 朝 【あさ】 . we learned the concept of verb clauses and how to use them to create more complicated sentences. 12.this month 来月 【らい・げつ】 . you'll notice that it's mostly different combinations of the same Kanji such as 「日」 for day. rice. you can talk about the kinds of things you do and activities you enjoy.afternoon 夜 【よる】 .breakfast 昼ご飯 【ひる・ご・はん】 .tonight 今晩 【こん・ばん】 . -est 69/113 guidetojapanese.every night ご飯 【ご・はん】 . great! Next time you're making plans either in an email or face-to-face. here is a short self-description of John Brown talking about the things he likes do or (or not).org/learn/book/…/2 . 2. 19.to sleep 一番 【いち・ばん】 . 来週末に映画を見に行くのは、どう？ How (about) going to watch movie next weekend? 7. 17. I like sleeping the most 1. vacation 1.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 15.every morning 昼 【ひる】 . 趣味 【しゅ・み】 . Otherwise. 25.summer 秋 【あき】 .hobby 特に 【とく・に】 .particularly 寝る 【ね・る】(ru-verb) . 昼ご飯は、何を食べましょうか？ What shall we eat for lunch? 4. 20. the best. 暇な時に何をするのが好きですか？ What do (you) like to do when (you're) free? Writing Practice If you have friends who speak Japanese. for your diary on paper or on Lang-8. 今日は、何をしようか？ What shall (we) do today? 2. 毎朝 【まい・あさ】 . 29.tonight 毎晩 【まい・ばん】 . 今年の冬休みに何か予定ありますか？ Do (you) have some kind of plan this winter vacation? 6.spring 夏 【なつ】 . 21. 16.dinner 春 【はる】 .autumn 冬 【ふゆ】 . 3. 24. surprise your friend by using Japanese. どんな食べ物を食べたい？ What kind of food do (you) want to eat? 3.lunch 晩ご飯 【ばん・ご・はん】 . For example. 18. 26. 4.#1. 27.winter 休み 【やす・み】 . 23. meal 朝ご飯 【あさ・ご・はん】 .rest.evening 今夜 【こん・や】 . 22. 28. 週末にたいてい何をするの？ What do (you) usually due on weekends? 5. Progressive Tense The progressive tense in most cases indicate an action that is ongoing. The te-form The conjugation rule for ru-verbs and the exception verbs are fairly easy as you simply need to append 「て」 to the stem. As for (my) hobbies.a lot 働く 【はたら・く】 . As for in the future.Kanji 発音 【はつ・おん】 .what one should do (lit: how do) 時 【とき】 . Verb tenses and clauses At the end of the last chapter. (I) want to go when (I'm) a student. 宿題 【しゅく・だい】 .as much as possible 楽 【らく】(na-adj) . Some simple examples of the progressive tense is "I am watching a movie" or "I am eating". we will learn more ways to utilize the verb clause along with the progressive and past tense.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 5.time はじめまして。私の名前は、ジョン・ブラウンです。趣味は、特に何もありませんが、寝るのが一番 好きです。宿題や勉強をするのは、あまり好きじゃないです。でも、日本語で話すのは、好きです よ。漢字とか発音が面白いですから。いつか日本に行きたいです。将来には、なるべく楽な仕事が したいですが、日本では皆がたくさん働くから、どうしましょう？やはり、学生の時に行きたいです ね。 Nice to meet you. In this chapter.future なるべく . we must first learn the te-form. 11. 16. To change ru-verbs into the te-form guidetojapanese.to speak 漢字 【かん・じ】 .to work どうする . 7. My name is John Brown. a very useful verb form that we will use in many different types of grammar. (I) want to do a relaxing job as much as possible but everybody in Japanese works a lot so what should (I) do? As expected. 9. there aren't any particularly but (I) like sleeping the best.homework 勉強 【べん・きょう】 . 10. 15. 17. job たくさん . 8. The same tense is also used to described an ongoing state resulting from the action such as. comfortable 仕事 【し・ごと】 .studies 話す 【はな・す】(u-verb) . 14. In order to learn the conjugation rule for this construction.work. you know. But (I) like speaking in Japanese. "I am married".with ease. 13. 6. (I) want to go to Japan sometime. Because things like Kanji and pronunciation are interesting. (I) don't like doing things like homework and studying very much. we learned about the concept of the verb clause.pronunciation 将来 【しょう・らい】 . 12.org/learn/book/…/2 70/113 . This is the ru-verb 「いる」 used to express existence of an animate object. 2. 7. 見る → 見て Conjugating a u-verb to the te-form is a bit more complex because we must break up u-verbs into four additional categories. 6. 食べる → 食べて 2. 10.org/learn/book/…/2 71/113 .to speak 書く 【か・く】(u-verb) . 3. In this case.to die 切る 【き・る】(u-verb) . Te-form す く ぐ む ぶ ぬ る う つ 話す 書く 泳ぐ 飲む 遊ぶ 死ぬ 切る 買う 持つ す → して く → いて ぐ → いで む → んで ぶ → んで ぬ → んで る → って う → って つ → って 話して 書いて 泳いで 飲んで 遊んで 死んで 切って 買って 持って Exception Verbs Non-Past Te-form する 来る 行く して きて 行って* * exceptions particular to this conjugation Progressive Tense In order to change a verb to the progressive tense..to hold 行く 【い・く】(u-verb) . 5. 1. The list below has an example of a common verb with each different ending.to buy 持つ 【も・つ】(u-verb) . There is also one additional exception for this conjugation: 「行く」 Te-form conjugations for u-verbs Ending Non-Past changes to. we simply need to attach a verb we already learned to the teform.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Drop the 「る」 part of the ru-verb (same as the stem) and add 「て」 Examples 1.to go The table below illustrated the four different categories and the conjugation rules for each using the list above.to cut 買う 【か・う】(u-verb) .to swim 飲む 【の・む】(u-verb) . 話す 【はな・す】(u-verb) .to play 死ぬ 【し・ぬ】(u-verb) .to drink 遊ぶ 【あそ・ぶ】(u-verb) .. it is used simply guidetojapanese. 8.to write 泳ぐ 【およ・ぐ】(u-verb) . 4. These four categories depend on the last character of the verb. 9. 5. ペンを持っている？ Do (you) have (a) pen? (lit: In state of holding (owning) pen?) 3. それは、もう知っているよ。 (I) know that already. This also applies to the past tense.already 知る 【し・る】(u-verb) .to get fat 痩せる 【や・せる】(ru-verb) .) 2.to get skinny 1. 9. which we will learn later. 4. 7. 2.marriage 犬　【いぬ】 . 8. Using 「～ている」 for progressive tense To describe a continuing action. to raise (pets in particular) 太る 【ふと・る】(u-verb) .org/learn/book/…/2 72/113 . それ . (lit: In state of having acquired that knowledge already. any additional conjugations are the same as any other ru-verb.pen 持つ 【も・つ】(u-verb) . Examples 1.to keep.cat 飼う 【か・う】(u-verb) .that もう . 11.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… as a grammatical construct to express the progressive tense and has little to do with the original verb. 3.to hold 結婚 【けっ・こん】 . 6. 10. first conjugate the verb to the te-form and then attach the ru-verb 「い る」. 何もしていません。 guidetojapanese.to acquire knowledge ペン .dog 猫　【ねこ】 . Progressive Conjugation Examples Positive Ru-verb 見ている U-verb 読んでいる Exception している* Exception 行っている* * = exceptions Negative 見ていない Positive Polite Negative Polite 見ています きています しています 見ていません きていません していません 読んでいない 読んでいます 読んでいません していない Exception きています（来る）* きていない 行っていない 行っています 行っていません Example 1. 食べる → 食べて → 食べている 2. including the polite form. 読む → 読んで → 読んでいる The beauty and simplicity of this construction is because it ends in the ru-verb 「いる」. 結婚していますか？ Are (you) married? (lit: In state of being married?) 4. 13.org/learn/book/…/2 73/113 .far 一年生 【いち・ねん・せい】 . 8. Not doing anything. アリス：　どうしてそんなに遠い所に住んでいるの？ Alice: Why are you living in such a far place? リー：　一年生だから、住む所を選ぶのが一番遅い。 Lee: (I'm) a freshman so (we're) the latest to select a place to live. 2.for a long time or distance 東 【ひがし】 .to reside at 寮 【りょう】 .east 方 【ほう】 . Shortened progressive form The 「い」 from 「いる」 can be dropped in more casual situations. 7. 犬を飼っている。 Raising a dog.) Where do you live? 1.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 5.to happen to see ずっと .to choose 一番 【いち・ばん】 .place そんなに . 4. 猫は、太っている。 (The) cat is fat. freshman 選ぶ 【えら・ぶ】(u-verb) . where are you residing at now? リー： 寮に住んでいるよ。 Lee: (I'm) living in the dorm.#1. dorm of where? リー：　ずっと東の方にある所。 Lee: The place that's at the far east direction. (lit: Cat is in state of having gotten fat. 12. 住む 【す・む】(u-verb) . 8.direction 所 【ところ】 . 猫は、飼っていない。 Not raising a cat. 7.late アリス： リー君は、今どこに住んでいるの？ Alice: Lee-kun.first year. 9. 10. 5. (lit: Dog is in state of having gotten skinny.dormitory 見かける 【み・かける】(ru-verb) . 3.) 犬は、痩せている。 (The) dog is skinny. 11. 6. アリス： そうなの？あまり見かけないけど、どこの寮？ Alice: Is that so? (I) don't see (you) every much. the best.that much 遠い 【とお・い】(i-adj) . guidetojapanese. -est 遅い 【おそ・い】(i-adj) . 6. 飲む → 飲んで → 飲んだ drink → drank 3. Plain past verb tense conjugation rules Past tense: Conjugate to the te-form and replace 「て」 with 「た」 and 「で」 with 「だ」 Examples 1.org/learn/book/…/2 74/113 . This means you can use the same rules as any other ru-verbs to easily change the progressive tense to the past progressive or negative past progressive. Remember that the progressive tense always end in the ru-verb: 「いる」. This is because the plain past tense conjugation rules are almost identical to the rules for the te-form. 何をしてるの？ What are (you) doing? 2. 4. The past-negative conjugation rule should also be familiar to you as it's identical to the past-tense conjugation rules for both i-adjectives and negative state-of-being. 何を読んでるの？ What are (you) reading? 3. 飲む → 飲まない → 飲まなかった drink → not drink → did not drink 3. 食べる → 食べない → 食べなかった eat → not eat →　did not eat 2. 食べている → 食べていて → 食べていた eating → was eating Negative past tense: Conjugate to the negative tense and replace the last 「い」 with 「かった」 Examples 1. 食べる → 食べて → 食べた eat → ate 2. 犬は、飼ってない。 Don't own a dog.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Example 1. 食べている → 食べていない → 食べていなかった eating → not eating → was not eating guidetojapanese. The only difference is to use 「た」 and 「だ」 in the place of 「て」 and 「で」 respectively. ペンを持ってる？ Do (you) have (a) pen? Past Verb Tense Plain past tense verbs The conjugation rules for the plain past tense are quite simple now that we've already learn the rules for the teform. 2. 4. 10. アリス： 何か分からなかった時は、ちゃんと伝えるべきよ。 Alice: (You) should properly convey when you didn't understand something.to teach.I wonder ごめん (casual) .should はあ . 17. ジョン： 分かった。 guidetojapanese. 3. 13.to know おかしい (i-adj) .sorry 用事 【よう・じ】 . 知る 【し・る】 . (I) was little late due to an errand. to inform 分かる 【わ・かる】(ru-verb) .to say 教える 【おし・える】(ru-verb) . 6. 16. 8. 18. アリス：　おかしいね。ここで一緒に勉強するはずだけど、どこに行ったかな？ Alice: That's odd.phone 言う 【い・う】 .(one's own) mother 急 【きゅう】 . funny 一緒 【いっ・しょ】 .to understand ちゃんと . I didn't understand the thing (you) were saying so (I) didn't say anything to Alice-chan.sigh アリス： リー君はどこ？ Alice: Where is Lee-kun? ジョン： 知らない。 John: Don't know. 14.sudden 電話 【でん・わ】 . strange. 19. casual) . 7. didn't (he) tell you? ジョン： ごめん、言っていることが分からなかったから、アリスちゃんに何も言わなかった。 John: Sorry.expected to be かな (sentence-ending particle. 15.to study はず . you should say so 1. sorry.to be late 母 【はは】 .odd.org/learn/book/…/2 75/113 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… When you don't understand. (We) are supposed to study here together but (I) wonder where (he) went? リー： アリスちゃん、ごめん。用事でちょっと遅れた。 Lee: Alice-chan. 5. 11. 12.properly 伝える 【つた・える】 . アリス：　何をしていたの？ Alice: What were you doing? リー： 母から急に電話が来たの。ジョンに言ったけど、教えなかったの？ Lee: A phone call came suddenly from (my) mother. 9.errand 遅れる 【おく・れる】(ru-verb) .together 勉強する 【べん・きょう】 . you know. I told John.to convey べき . .. リー： 本当に分かったの？ Lee: Did (you) really understand? ジョン： あんまり。 John: Not really. Polite past verb tense conjugation rules Past tense: Attach 「ました」 to the verb stem Examples 1. good afternoon. 飲む → 飲み → 飲みました Negative past tense: Attach 「ませんでした」 to the verb stem Examples 1.go Negative 行きません . 食べる → 食べませんでした 2. Spring vacation really ended quickly.didn't go Spring vacation is already over スミス： 山本先生、こんにちは！ Smith: Yamamoto-sensei.don't go 行き ました . 飲む → 飲み → 飲みませんでした Summary of 「～ます」 tenses Positive Non-Past Past 行きます . hasn't it? スミス： そうですね。春休みは、本当に早く終わりました。 Smith: That's so. good afternoon! 山本： スミスさん、こんにちは。もうすっかり春になりましたね。 Yamamoto: Smith-san. Polite past verbs The rules for the polite past tense is similar to the other polite tenses and are all based on the verb stem. 山本： そうですか。春休みに何をしましたか。 Yamamoto: Is that so? What did (you) do in spring vacation? guidetojapanese. アリス： はあ・・・。 Alice: Sigh.went 行き ませんでした . 食べる → 食べました 2.org/learn/book/…/2 76/113 . isn't it.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… John: (I) understood. It already became thoroughly spring. 「いい」 and 「かっこいい」 conjugations start from the original 「よい」 pronunciation. かっこいい → かっこよい＋かった = かっこよかった Summary of plain nouns/na-adjective tenses guidetojapanese. かわいくない + かった = かわいくなかった 3. 暇だった For i-adjectives/negative tenses: Replace the 「い」 with 「かった」 Examples 1.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… スミス： のんびり休みましたので、特に何もしませんでした。 Smith: (I) rested taking it easy so (I) didn't do anything in particular. As usual. 山本： それもいいですね。ちゃんと休みを取るのも大事ですから。 Yamamoto: That is good as well. スミス： 休みをちゃんと取るのは大事ですよ。 Smith: (It's) important to properly take rest. 学生じゃない + かった = 学生じゃなかった 4. (It's) also important to properly take rest so. The rule is also the same for i-adjectives and negative tenses as they both end in 「い」. 山本： 本当ですね。 Yamomoto: That's right. what did (you) do for vacation? 山本： 授業の準備で色々していましたよ。 Yamamoto: (I) was doing various things with class preparation.org/learn/book/…/2 77/113 . いい → よい＋かった = よかった 2. you know. 暇じゃない + かった = 暇じゃなかった 5. 学生だった 2. スミス： 山本先生は、休みに何をしましたか。 Smith: Yamamoto-sensei. 行きたくない + かった = 行きたくなかった Exceptions: 「いい」 conjugates from 「よい」 1. State-of-Being Past Tense Plain past nouns and adjectives The conjugation rules for nouns and na-adjectives are identical once again for the past tense. 行きたい + かった = 行きたかった 6. かわいい + かった = かわいかった 2. Plain past state-of-being conjugation rules For nouns/na-adjectives: Attach 「だった」 to the end Examples 1. real 色々 【いろ・いろ】 (na-adjective) .finally 本当 【ほん・とう】 .is not student 学生だった . 10. sophomore なる .org/learn/book/…/2 78/113 . 8.not at all (when used with negative) 聞く 【き・く】 . リー： そして、二年生になるんだね。 guidetojapanese.second-year. sure 二年生 【に・ねん・せい】 . Cause it was really tough for various (things).was tall 高くなかった . 7.to listen アリス： 春学期はもうすぐ終わるよね。 Alice: Spring term will also end soon. 18. 20.soon 終わる 【お・わる】 .look forward to 確か 【たし・か】 .pluralizing suffix 喜ぶ 【よろこ・ぶ】 . Looking forward to summer vacation! アリス： 確かに大変だったけど、楽しかったよ。 Alice: It was rough sure but it was fun. 17. huh? ジョン： やっとだ。今年、本当に色々大変だったからね。夏休みが楽しみ！ John: Finally. 4.is not tall Non-Past Past 高い .vacation 楽しみ 【たの・しみ】 .already.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Positive Non-Past Past 学生 .summer 休み 【やす・み】 . 春 【はる】 .to be pleased 授業 【じゅ・ぎょう】 . 15. 14. 6. 11. 2. 9.various 夏 【なつ】 . 5.was student 学生じゃなかった . more すぐ . 13. 16.a more casual and masculine version of ～ね 全然 【ぜん・ぜん】 .(is) tall 高かった .more ～な (sentence-ending particle) . 3.(is) student Negative 学生じゃない .school term もう . 19.certain.was not tall Looking forward to next year 1. 21. 12.spring 学期 【がっ・き】 .class もっと .to end やっと .to become ～達 【たち】 .was not student Summary of plain i-adjective tense Positive Negative 高くない . Polite past nouns and adjectives The polite form for past nouns and adjectives is similar to the plain past conjugation rules.was student 学生じゃなかったです . For i-adjectives/negative tenses: Add 「です」 to the plain past tense Examples 1. かわいくない + かった＋です = かわいくなかったです 3.was not student Summary of polite i-adjective tense guidetojapanese. リー： 田中先生はかわいいよね。 Lee: Tanaka-sensei is cute. いい → よい＋かった＋です = よかったです 2. 暇でした 2. we'll become second-year students. you now. 学生じゃない + かった＋です = 学生じゃなかったです 4.. huh! アリス： 全然聞いていない・・・。 Alice: Not listening at all. huh? ジョン： そう！そして、田中先生が私達の先生になる。 Jonn: That's right! And then. Tanaka-sensei will become our teacher. 行きたくない + かった＋です → 行きたくなかったです 3.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Lee: And then. Past state-of-being conjugation rules 1. かっこいい → かっこよい＋かった＋です = かっこよかったです Summary of polite nouns/na-adjective tenses Positive Non-Past Past 学生です . For nouns/na-adjectives: Attach 「でした」 to the end Examples 1. 学生でした 2. かわいいい + かった＋です = かわいかったです 2. アリス： 何を喜んでいるの？田中先生の授業はもっと難しいよ。 Alice: What are you getting happy (about)? Tanaka-sensei's class is much more difficult.org/learn/book/…/2 79/113 . huh? ジョン： かわいいよな！ John: (She's) cute. 暇じゃない + かった＋です = 暇じゃなかったです 5.is not student 学生でした ..(is) student Negative 学生じゃないです . 行きたい + かった＋です → 行きたかったです 6. Exceptions: Add 「です」 to the plain past tense 1. (is) tall Negative 高くないです . 5.Mexico 旅行 【りょ・こう】 . guidetojapanese. nouns. Yamamoto-sensei also wanted to go. for example 「いいでした」 but it is incorrect! How was your vacation? 1.that much 遠い 【とお・い】(i-adj) . right? 山本： ええ。でも家族もいますから、そんなに遠い所に行くのはなかなか難しいです。 Yamamoto: Yes. However.trip 家族 【か・ぞく】 . and the negative tense can also be conjugated to the te-form. Verb sequences In this section. 4. Various (things) were interesting.fairly しばらく . how was the trip of Mexico? 田中： とてもよかったですよ。色々面白かったです。山本先生も行きたかったですよね。 Tanaka: It was very good.was tall 高くなかったです . 3. To describe clauses that happen sequentially.family そんなに . But because (I have) family.is not tall 高かったです . we must first learn all the te-form conjugation rules.org/learn/book/…/2 80/113 .was not tall Note that 「でした」 only applies to nouns and na-adjectives.place なかなか . and at the same time as another verb. 6. before.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Positive Non-Past Past 高いです . it's fairly difficult to go to such a far place. adjectives.little while 山本： 田中先生、メキシコの旅行はどうでしたか。 Yamamoto: Tanaka-sensei. we'll learn how to describe verbs that happen after. 山本： ですから、田中先生と一緒に行くつもりは全然ありませんでしたよ。 Yamamoto: That's why (for reasons I already said). Te-form conjugation rules For the progressive tense. (I) didn't have intention of going together with (you) Tanakasensei at all. メキシコ . 田中： 私はもう行きましたから、しばらくは行きませんよ。 Tanaka: I already went so (I) won't go for a while.far 所 【ところ】 . 8. 2. 7. Japanese learners have a tendency to do the same for i-adjectives. we only needed to learn the conjugation rules for plain verbs. ate breakfast. Then (I) ate breakfast.drinking party 1.gentle 頭 【あたま】 . 暇+で = 暇で 3. Plain nouns and na-adjectives: Attach 「で」 to the noun or na-adjective. 朝、起きて、朝ご飯を食べて、学校に行った。 Morning.what should one do (lit: how do) 飲み会 【の・み・かい】 . 1. the te-form alone is used to express a sequence of actions that happen one after another. Examples 1. 3. Examples 1. Then. 2. 2. and smart. きれい+で = きれいで 2. separate sentences that are often too short. 4.org/learn/book/…/2 81/113 . gentle. Exceptions: As usual 「いい」 conjugates from 「よい」 1. 飲み会は、今日じゃなくて、明日です。 guidetojapanese. (I) woke up. 学生じゃない+くて = 学生じゃなくて 3. 優しい 【やさ・しい】(i-adj) . 食べない+くて = 食べなくて 3. Example 1. 彼女は、きれいで、優しくて、頭もいいから、皆に人気がある。 Because she is pretty.to get up. 学生+で = 学生で 2. to happen そして . 4. In fact. 宿題をしなくて、どうするんだよ？ (You) don't do homework and what are you going to do? 3.head 人気 【にん・き】 .morning 起きる 【お・きる】(ru-verb) .popularity どうする . This will make your conversations smoother as it allows you to connect multiple sentences instead of having many smaller. (she's) popular with everybody.and then 朝ご飯 【やさ・ご・はん】. 朝 【あさ】. かっこいい → かっこよい+くて = かっこよくて Sequence of actions The te-form we learned at the beginning of this chapter is very versatile and has many uses. いい → よい+くて = よくて 2.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Te-form conjugation rules 1. 3. 2. 5. (I) went to school. and went to school. I-adjectives and negative tense: Replace the last 「い」 with 「くて」.breakfast 朝、起きた。そして、朝ご飯を食べた。そして、学校に行った。 Morning. かわいい+くて = かわいくて 2. (I) woke up. bath 入る 【はい・る】(u-verb) . before 2.front. 8. 7. 5.to sleep 風呂 【ふ・ろ】 . 14. 12. 6. 13.after Example 1. 10.org/learn/book/…/2 82/113 . 3. Note: Be careful of the tense of the verb that comes before 「前」 and 「後」. 2. 食べた後、泳ぐのは危ないです。 Swim after eating is dangerous. Before and after You can use 「前」 and 「後」 to describe an action as happening before or after another action. 昼ご飯を食べた後、宿題をした。 Did homework after eating lunch.to do 昼 【ひる】 . While similar to 「後」. 11.afternoon ご飯 【ご・はん】 . 寝る 【ね・る】(ru-verb) . 前 【まえ】 . 「前」 is non-past while 「後」 is always past tense. ここに来る前に、ちゃんと連絡したよ。 (I) properly contacted (you) before (I) came here. Example 1.lunch 食べる 【た・べる】(ru-verb) .rice. often used for situations where the previous action needs to be completed for the next action to start. 「～てから」 conveys a stronger and more immediate relation between the two events.to eat 宿題 【しゅく・だい】 .to swim 危ない 【あぶ・ない】(i-adj) .dangerous 1. 4. meal 昼ご飯 【ひる・ご・はん】 .to enter ここ .dinner guidetojapanese. 9.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Drinking party is not today. 4. 3. 1. Another way to describe an action is to use the te-form with 「から」. it's tomorrow. 後 【あと】 . 晩ご飯 【ばん・ご・はん】 . 2.here 来る 【く・る】(exception) . 寝る前に、お風呂に入る。 Take a bath before going to sleep.to come ちゃんと .contact する 【す・る】(exception) .properly 連絡 【れん・らく】 .homework 泳ぐ 【およ・ぐ】(u-verb) . 15. bad 辞書 【じ・しょ】 . we must use another construction described below.org/learn/book/…/2 83/113 . we now know how to list multiple verb clauses similar to 「と」. guidetojapanese. 2. The tense is determined by the main verb at the end. 5.to go through. 晩ご飯を食べてから、宿題をするよ。 (I'll) do homework after (I) eat dinner. in order to create a partial list of verbs similar to 「や」 and 「とか」.to learn 3.good 1. 6. 食べながら話すのは行儀が悪い。 (It's) bad manners to speak while eating. 辞書を使いながら、日本語の文章を書いたけど、全然通じなかった。 Wrote Japanese text while using dictionary but (it) didn't get across at all.to write 通じる 【つう・じる】(ru-verb) . to get across 1. we learned how to list multiple nouns using 「と」、「や」、and 「とか」. 3. 話す 【はな・す】 . 3.sentence 書く 【か・く】(u-verb) .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 2.dictionary 使う 【つか・う】(u-verb) . 4. (it) is good to learn after learning Hiragana Two simultaneous actions You can express two actions that are taking place simultaneously by attaching 「ながら」 to the end of the stem of the first verb.to use 文章 【ぶん・しょう】 . 7. Using the te-form. 8. 習う 【なら・う】(u-verb) . いい (i-adj) .manners 悪い 【わる・い】(i-adj) . カタカナは、ひらがなを習ってから習うのがいい。 As for Katakana. 食べる → 食べ+ながら → 食べながら 2.to speak 行儀 【ぎょう・ぎ】 . 遊ぶ → 遊び+ながら → 遊びながら Example 1. Change the first verb to the stem and append 「ながら」 1. Listing multiple verbs Partial list of verbs In the second chapter. テレビを見ながら、宿題をする。 Do homework while watching TV. 2. However. Using 「ながら」 for concurrent actions 1. 2. 暑い 【あつ・い】(i-adj) . 食べたり飲んだりする。 Do things like eating and drinking.to sleep ビール . we can add 「し」 to the end of each verb clause. (she's) popular with everybody. add 「する」 at the end.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Rule for creating partial list of verbs Conjugate all the verbs to the past tense and attach 「り」 to each verb. Examples 1.org/learn/book/…/2 84/113 . 寝る 【ね・る】(ru-verb) . 2. 3. 4.sleepy 1. 寝たり、本を読んだりするのが好き。 Like to do things like sleeping and reading book(s). 5. Once again. 2.walk. gentle. 彼女は、きれいで、優しくて、頭もいいから、皆に人気がある。 Because she is pretty. (she's) popular with everybody. 食べる → 食べた＋り → 食べたり 2.class プール . 彼女は、きれいだし、優しいし、頭もいいから、皆に人気がある。 Because she is pretty. stroll 1. スポーツをしたり、散歩をしたりしますか。 Do (you) do things like sports and strolls? Partial list of reasons There may be more than one reason for something but 「から」 and 「ので」 can only connect two sentences.to get tired 眠い 【ねむ・い】(i-adj) . we can use the te-form to list multiple verbs for one reason. ビールを飲んだり、テレビを見たりしました。 (I) did things like drink beer and watch tv. 1. 3.hot (for climate/weather only) 授業 【じゅ・ぎょう】 .sports 散歩 【さん・ぽ】 . 4.pool 疲れる 【つか・れる】(ru-verb) . and smart (among other reasons). Example 1. 3. 飲む → 飲んだ＋り → 飲んだり 3. 2. if we want to imply that the list is only several among a larger list of potential reasons. Note:: You must add 「だ」 for plain nouns and na-adjectives. Finally. However. 今日は暑いし、授業もないから、プールに行こう。 guidetojapanese.beer スポーツ . gentle. and smart. A verb clause can be phrased by adding 「と」 to the end of the clause.he 3. ジョン： うそ！ John: No way! アリス： どうするの？ Alice: What are you going to do? ジョン： 大丈夫。授業を聞きながらするから。 John: (It's) ok. 彼 【かれ】 . (I) was doing that. you know. 同じ 【おな・じ】 .same アリス： 昨日は、何をしていたの？ Alice: What were you doing yesterday? ジョン： 宿題はなかったし、暇だったから、テレビを見たり、音楽を聞いたりしていたよ。アリスちゃ んは？ John: There was no homework and (I) was free (among other reasons) so (I) watched TV and listened to music (among other things). Just hanging out again 1. (I'll) do it while listening to class. we must add 「だ」.org/learn/book/…/2 85/113 . 疲れたし、眠いし、今日はどこに行きたくないよ。 (I'm) tired and sleepy (among other reasons). 音楽 【おん・がく】 . 2.to say 2. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) . What about (you) Alice-chan. For verb clauses that end in an plain noun or na-adjective. アリス： 宿題はあったよ。それをしていたよ。 Alice: There was homework. no way 3. girlfriend guidetojapanese.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Because today is hot (among other reasons) and there's also no class so let's go to the pool. (I) don't want to go anywhere today. アリス： いつもと同じね。 Alice: Same as always. huh? Phrasing verb clauses Quoting a phrase The most straight-forward reason to phrase a verb clause to quote somebody. Examples 1. 彼女 【かの・じょ】 -she.music 2. うそ .lie. A direct quote would use the Japanese version of double-quotes: 「」 but you can also paraphrase. conversation 練習 【れん・しゅう】 . 13.normal スミス： ブラウンさん、トイレはどこですか？ Smith: Brown-san. 5. 山本： ブラウンさん、日本語では、トイレはお手洗いと同じ意味ですよ。 Yamamoto: Brown-san. 3. noun) .inside 意味 【い・み】 .meaning それでは . toilet has the same meaning as bathroom.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. in that case 違い 【ちが・い】 . 彼女は、来週暇だと言った。 She said (he/she) is free next week. 3. 2.of course お手洗い 【お・て・あら・い】 .class 会話 【かい・わ】 . 4. 授業 【じゅ・ぎょう】 .bathroom 中 【なか】 .context 例えば 【たと・えば】.stupid 普通 【ふ・つう】 . 12. 2.toilet. 授業で会話を練習している している時 授業 で 会話 を練習 している時 This grammar is also very useful for defining things and asking how one would say something. スミスさんは、「今日は、来ない」と言った。 Smith-san said "he/she is not coming today". 17. 15.that kind of.org/learn/book/…/2 86/113 . 7. 10.to understand 大体 【だい・たい】 . 1. ブラウン： それでは、「toilet」は日本語でなんと言いますか？ Brown: Then. it's in the bathroom. 16. 8.practice トイレ . bathroom もちろん .for example そんな .well then. such バカ (na-adj. in Japanese.mostly コンテキスト . what do you say in Japanese for "toilet"? 山本： 「toilet」も「トイレ」と言いますよ。 Yamamoto: (You) also say 「トイレ」 for "toilet". ブラウン：　違いはどう分かります？ Brown: How do (you) understand the difference? guidetojapanese. 6.difference 分かる 【わ・かる】(u-verb) . 9. where is the bathroom? ブラウン： もちろんお手洗いの中にありますよ。 Brown: Of course. 11. 14. 彼は、いつも忙しいと言う。 He always says (he/she) is busy. org/learn/book/…/2 87/113 .study abroad 決める 【き・める】(ru-verb) . 9.to think 学校 【がっ・こう】 .cafeteria おいしい (i-adj) . 1. (you) understand by context. 学校までこの電車が一番早いと聞いたけど、全然早くない。 (I) heard that this train is the fasted to school but (it's) not fast at all. to smoke 約束 【やく・そく】 . 10. 7.train 早い 【はや・い】(i-adj) . 14. 大学の食堂はおいしいと思いますか？ Do (you) think the college cafeteria is tasty? 2. 大学 【だい・がく】 . 5.promise 留学 【りゅう・がく】 . 5. fast 遅れる 【おく・れる】(ru-verb) . 12.to decide 1. 16.tasty 思う 【おも・う】(u-verb) . 15. 来年、日本に留学しに行くと決めた。 Decided to go do study abroad to Japan next year.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 山本： 大体、コンテキストで分かりますよ。 Yamamoto: In most cases.email 送る 【おく・る】(u-verb) . 3.until ～ この . 11. タバコは吸わないと約束した。 Promised not to smoke cigarettes. (you) don't say such a stupid thing.to be late メール .early. 明日は遅れるとメールで送ったよ! (I) sent by mail that I'm going to be late tomorrow! 4. 2.to breathe in. this grammar also gives us another way to do introductions. 8.cigarette 吸う 【す・う】 . 3. guidetojapanese. 13. ブラウン： 例えば、「sit on the bathroom」は、日本語でどう言いますか？ Brown: For example.to send タバコ .this 電車 【でん・しゃ】 . 4. 17. Other verbs for phrasing thoughts There are many other verbs that can be used with a phrased verb clause as you can see in the following examples.college. do would (you) say "sit on the bathroom" in Japanese? スミス： そんなバカなことは、普通に言わないよ。 Smith: Normally. university 食堂 【しょく・どう】 .school ～まで (particle) . 日本語でメールを書 日本語 でメールを書 くスミス でメールを In addition. 6. 6. 5. other party 探す 【さが・す】(u-verb) .to find たくさん . 2. 8.to get studying done.bulletin board. 5.partner. masculine) 違う 【ちが・う】 .a lot 一緒 【いっ・しょ】 . 9. huh? リー： 勉強で忙しいから、今日は来ないって。 Lee: (She's) busy with study so (she) said (she's) not coming today. 2. online forum 英語 【えい・ご】 .to play 遅い 【おそ・い】(i-adj) . 6. 3.late よっぽど . 真理子 【ま・り・こ】.textbook 俺 【おれ】. It was written in the forum that you are looking for a partner to practice English so I'm sending you this email.me. I'm currently studying Japanese at an American university and thinking that I want to practice Japanese a lot.properly 教科書 【きょう・か・しょ】 . 7.Mariko (female first name) 掲示板 【けい・じ・ばん】 . myself (slang.together 真理子さん、 はじめまして。私はアリス・スミスと言います。掲示板に、英語の練習相手探していると書いていまし たので、メールを送ります。私は、アメリカの大学で日本語を勉強しているので、日本語をたくさん練 習したいと思っています。一緒に勉強するのは、どうですか？ スミス・アリス Mariko-san. casual version of 「 という 」 The phrase 「という」 is used so often and in so many ways that there is a shortened casual version: 「って」.to a greater degree 勉強になる .practice 相手 【あい・て】 . to be different ジョン： アリスちゃんは遅いね。 John: Alice-chan is late. 4. 遊ぶ 【あそ・ぶ】(u-verb) .to differ. guidetojapanese.rarely しっかり . to become informed (lit: become study) たまに . I'm Alice Smith.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. んで勉強 になる？ 勉強になる 遊 んで 勉強 になる ？ 1. Nice to meet you. 4.English 練習 【れん・しゅう】 . 7. 3. How about studying together? Smith Alice という」 Short.org/learn/book/…/2 88/113 . 8. ) 日本に ったことはありますか？ 日本 に 行 ったことはありますか ？ スミスさん、 メール、ありがとうございます。英語を練習したいと書きましたが、まだ自信があまりないので、返事 を日本語で書きます。私は、東京の北にある川口市という所に住んでいます。東京に行ったことはあ りますか？人がいっぱいで、とても忙しい所です。それで、おいしいレストランがたくさんあります。お 好み焼きやもんじゃ焼きを食べたことはありますか？もんじゃ焼きは東京で有名ですよ。 スミスさんは、アメリカに住んでいますか？私は、まだアメリカに行ったことはありませんが、いつか ニューヨークやLA（エル・エー）で観光したいと思っています。だから、英語を勉強していますが、な かなか難しくてまだ分からないことがいっぱいあります。 一緒に頑張って勉強しましょう！ 真理子 guidetojapanese.) 3.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… ジョン： いつも勉強してどうするんだよ。皆で遊びながら日本語を練習するのがよっぽど勉強になると 言うのに。 John: What are (you) going to do. Examples 1. お好み焼きは、食べたことがなかったけど、日本に行った時にやっと食べました。 (I) had never eaten okonomiyaki but (I) finally ate (it) when (I) went to Japan. リー：　そうだね。でも、たまには、しっかり教科書を使って勉強するのもいいと思うよ。 Lee: I guess so.org/learn/book/…/2 89/113 . But. ジョン： って、俺は全然勉強していないと言いたいの？ John: By saying that. 日本に行ったことはある？ Have you ever gone to Japan? (lit: Is there an event (where you) went to Japan?) 2. you want to say (I) don't study at all? リー： 違うよ！ Lee: That's not it! Experiences "Have you ever done [X]?". カラオケで歌を歌ったことはない。 (I) have never sung song at Karaoke. (lit: There is no event (where I) sang song at Karaoke. (lit: There was no event (where I) ate okonomiyaki but finally ate when went to Japan. I think it's good to use textbook and study properly once in a while. you can ask a question of this nature quite literally by using the noun for a generic event: 「こと」（事） and 「ある」. studying all the time? Despite the fact that (It's) said that you'll get a lot more studying by practicing Japanese while playing with everybody. to leave to enter to be opened to be closed to be attached to disappear to be extracted to put to an end 終わる 【お・わる】(u-verb) to drop to take out to insert to open to close to attach to erase to extract 落ちる 【お・ちる】(ru-verb) 出る 【で・る】(ru-verb) 入る 【はい・る】(u-verb) 開く 【あ・く】(u-verb) 閉まる 【し・まる】(u-verb) つく (u-verb) 消える 【き・える】(ru-verb) 抜ける 【ぬ・ける】(ru-verb) Example guidetojapanese. Let's work hard together and study! Mariko Transitive and Intransitive A transitive verb is one that requires an agent to complete the verb while an intransitive verb is complete in itself and doesn't require a direct object. I have net yet been to America but I'm thinking I want to go sight-seeing to places like New York an LA.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Smith-san. That's why I'm studying English but it's pretty difficult and there's still a lot of things I don't understand. it is important to distinguish between these two types of verbs because intransitive verbs cannot take a direct object (the 「を」 particle). And then. Below is a sample list of common transitive and intransitive verbs and examples of how the particles change depending on which type of verb is used. As for Smith-san. I live in a place called Kawaguchi-shi north of Tokyo. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs Transitive 始める 【は・じめる】(ruverb) 終える 【お・える】(ru-verb) 落とす 【お・とす】(u-verb) 出す 【だ・す】(u-verb) 入れる 【い・れる】(ru-verb) 開ける 【あ・ける】(ru-verb) 閉める 【し・める】 つける (ru-verb) 消す 【け・す】(u-verb) 抜く 【ぬ・く】(u-verb) to start Intransitive 始まる 【は・じまる】(u-verb) to begin to come to an end to fall to come out. there are lots of tasty restaurants. In Japanese. Have you ever eaten things like Okonomiyaki and Monjayaki? Monjayaki is famous in Tokyo. I wrote that I wanted to practice English but I don't have much self-confidence yet so I will write the reply in Japanese. are you living in America? As for me. Thank you for the email. Have you ever gone to Tokyo? There are a lot of people and it's a very busy place.org/learn/book/…/2 90/113 . 映画がすぐ始まる。 Movie begins soon.org/learn/book/…/2 . What happened? 田中： 何があったんですか？ Tanaka: What happened? (lit: What is it that existed?) 鈴木： このコップが落ちました。 Suzuki: This cup fell. 4. 2. 知らない人と会話を始める。 Start conversation with a person (you) don't know. (I) saw Suzuki-san (you) dropping that cup. 田中： 鈴木さんが落としたんじゃないですか？ Tanaka: It isn't that Suzuki-san (you) dropped it? 鈴木： いいえ、私は何もしませんでしたよ。 Suzuki: No. やっと宿題を終えた。 Finally finished homework. やっと宿題が終わった。 Homework finally ended. you know. is it that this cup fell by itself? 鈴木： 私がここに来る前にもう落ちていましたから、分かりません。 Suzuki: It was already fallen before I came here so (I) don't know. 田中： じゃ、このコップは、自分で落ちたんですか？ Tanaka: Then. We also learned the te-form for the progressive tense as well a number of other uses. Te-form Conjugation Examples Plain Noun/na-adjective 好き I-adjective Exception 大きい いい Te-form Negative Te-form 好きで 好きじゃなくて 大きくて 大きくなくて よくて* よくなくて* 91/113 guidetojapanese. 田中： いいえ、鈴木さんがそのコップを落としているのを見ましたよ。 Tanaka: No. Chapter summary and practice In this chapter. Here is a list of examples using the various conjugations we learned in this chapter. 3. you know.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. I didn't do anything. we learned the progressive and past tense for both positive and negative verbs. 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Ru-verb す -ending く -ending ぐ -ending む -ending ぶ -ending ぬ -ending う -ending つ -ending Exception Exception Exception * = exceptions 食べる 話す 書く 泳ぐ 飲む 遊ぶ 死ぬ 買う 持つ 行く する 食べて 食べなくて 話して 話さなくて 書いて 書かなくて 泳いで 泳がなくて 飲んで 飲まなくて 遊んで 遊ばなくて 死んで 死ななくて 切って 買って 持って 切らなくて 買わなくて 持たなくて しなくて* こなくて* る -ending (u-verb) 切る 行って* 行かなくて して* くる（来る） きて* Past Conjugation Examples Plain Noun/naadjective I-adjective Exception Ru-verb す -ending く-ending ぐ -ending む -ending ぶ -ending ぬ -ending る -ending (uverb) う -ending つ -ending Exception Exception Exception 好き 大きい いい 食べる 話す 書く 泳ぐ 飲む 遊ぶ 死ぬ 切る 買う 持つ 行く する くる（来 る） Past Negative Past Polite Past Polite Negative Past 好きじゃなかったです 好きだった 好きじゃなかった 好きでした 大きかった 大きくなかった よかった* よくなかった* 食べた 話した 書いた 泳いだ 飲んだ 遊んだ 死んだ 切った 買った 持った 行った* 食べなかった 話さなかった 書かなかった 泳がなかった 飲まなかった 遊ばなかった 死ななかった 切らなかった 買わなかった 持たなかった 行かなかった しなかった* こなかった* 大きかったです 大きくなかったです よかったです* よくなかったです* 食べました 話しました 書きました 泳ぎました 飲みました 遊びました 死にました 切りました 買いました 持ちました 行きました しました* きました* 食べませんでした 話しませんでした 書きませんでした 泳ぎませんでした 飲みませんでした 遊びませんでした 死にませんでした 切りませんでした 買いませんでした 持ちませんでした 行きませんでした しませんでした* き ませんでした* 92/113 した* きた* guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 . The important thing is to focus your cards on areas you are weak at and to make sure you are comfortable with conjugating any word in any tense at a moment's notice. 1.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… * = exceptions Conjugation practice We learned many conjugation rules in this chapter which you'll need to practice until they are almost instinctive both for speaking and listening. you should use at least these common verbs.to buy 買いたい 買いたかった 買いたくない 買いたくなかった To get a good representation. 先生 【せん・せい】 .teacher guidetojapanese. I recommend using flash cards to practice conjugation rules using a mix of every type of verb.to buy 買った 買わない 買わなかった Back side かう】 買 う 【 かう 】 .to buy want to buy wanted to buy not want to buy didn't want to buy Back side かう】 買 う 【 かう 】 .to buy buying was buying not buying wasn't buying Front side かう】 買 う 【 かう 】 . adjective. nouns.to buy 買います 買いました 買いません 買いませんでした Back side かう】 買 う 【 かう 】 . Here are some suggestions and examples of how you might want to make your own cards. and adjectives. and nouns.to buy past negative negative-past Front side かう】 買 う 【 かう 】 .to buy polite polite past polite negative polite negative-past Front side かう】 買 う 【 かう 】 .student 2.org/learn/book/…/2 93/113 . 学生 【がく・せい】 .to buy 買っている 買っていた 買っていない 買っていなかった Back side かう】 買 う 【 かう 】 . Front side かう】 買 う 【 かう 】 . to occur.small いい (i-adj) .to cut いる (ru-verb) . handsome 見る 【み・る】(ru-verb) . 6. 18.to see 食べる 【たべ・る】(ru-verb) .healthy.to exist (inanimate) 話す 【はな・す】(u-verb) . to awake 面白い 【おも・しろ・い】 (i-adj) . 11. こと .to talk 書く 【か・く】(u-verb) . 26. somebody you've recently met.to drink 遊ぶ 【あそ・ぶ】(u-verb) . 5. 15. 10.cool. The . 16.to swim 飲む 【の・む】(u-verb) . 13. 19.likable 嫌い 【きらい】(na-adj) .to go 泳ぐ 【およ・ぐ】(u-verb) . 3. 17.to die 使う 【つか・う】(u-verb) . 6.matter.future 94/113 guidetojapanese.reason 将来 【しょう・らい】 . 5.to wear 切る 【き・る】(u-verb) . 25.interesting 日本語 【に・ほん・ご】 .recent.big 小さい 【ちい・さい】(i-adj) .to do Telling stories Conversation is often made up of narratives whether it's about events happening around us or what people think and feel. 12. 8. we've learned many grammatical structures that allow us to talk about what's happening and what people are thinking and saying.to come する (exception) . 10.teacher Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 元気 【げん・き】(na-adj) .study 理由 【り・ゆう】 . Below is a very small list of things you can write and talk about. 1. event 自分 【じ・ぶん】 . 21. lately 起きる 【お・きる】 (ru-verb) . In this chapter.to eat 着る 【き・る】(ru-verb) . 9.clean.to use 来る 【く・る】(exception) . 2.Japanese (language) 勉強 【べん・きょう】 . 23. 24.9/7/2010 2. 4. 14.to write 行く 【い・く】(u-verb) . 7.to think 感じる 【かん・じる】 (ru-verb) . 8.org/learn/book/…/2 . 4.to play 死ぬ 【し・ぬ】(u-verb) . lively 好き 【す・き】(na-adj) . 11.to exist (animate) ある (u-verb) . or what your plans are for the future.oneself 思う 【おも・う】 (u-verb) . 22.to feel 最近 【さい・きん】 .good かっこいい (i-adj) .distasteful きれい (na-adj) . pretty 大きい 【おお・きい】(i-adj) . 20. 3. 9. 7. A good way to practice what you learned in this chapter is to talk or write about anything on your mind whether it's something interesting that happened recently. 000. If you need a quick review. The chart below outlines the numbers that are pronounced slightly differently. 将来にしたいこと。 Thing(s) (you) want to do in the future.org/learn/book/…/2 95/113 . For example. 10^16 and so on. Numbers and amounts We've been using numbers here and there but we've yet to comprehensively cover how to count or tell the date and time.to do 1.0000.000 until you get to 100. In other words. 4. you need to add a one: 「一万」. する (exception) .000. The Numeric System Numbers starting from 100 We already learned all the numbers up to 99 in the first chapter. You'll need to pay careful attention to reading changes for some sound combinations.0000. numbers are organized as 1. the same units get repeated once you get past 10. 3.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 12. Numerals Kanji 1 2 3 4 四 5 6 7 七 8 八 9 九 10 十 一 二 三 五 六 Reading いち に さん し／よん ご ろく しち／なな はち きゅう じゅう よん なな Here are the additional units for numbers starting from 100. guidetojapanese.000 10. 最近起きた面白いこと。 Interesting thing(s) that happened recently. 2. Numerals 100 1. Because the Japanese numeral system is based on units of four not three. 10^12. 自分が思っていることや感じたこと。 Thing(s) oneself is thinking and feeling lately (among other things). here are the first 10 numbers.000 Kanji 百 千 一万 10^8 一億 10^12 一兆 Reading ひゃく せん いちまん いちおく いっちょう Note: Units larger than 「千」 require another preceding number and cannot be used by themselves. We will do that here in addition to learning how to express different amounts and make comparisons. We will now learn the numbers 100 up to 10 quadrillion. 1.0000.000. 「万」 does not mean 10. 日本語を勉強したいと思った理由。 Reason why (you) thought (you) want to study Japanese. 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Numerals Kanji Reading 300 600 800 3000 8000 10^12 三百 さんびゃく 六百 ろっぴゃく 八百 はっぴゃく 三千 さんぜん 八千 はっせん 一兆 いっちょう Example Large numbers are rarely written in all Kanji as you can imagine something like 「二百三十万九千四百三十 一」 would be difficult to read. You will usually see a combination of numbers and Kanji or just numerals altogether. 1. 1,234 【せん・に・ひゃく・さん・じゅう・よん】 - 1,234 2. ５万３千 【ご・まん・さん・ぜん】 - 53,000 Other numbers Several ways to say zero and other types of numbers are listed below. 「まる」 meaning "circle" is similar to how we use "O" (the letter) in things like phone numbers, room numbers, and addresses. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 零　【れい】 - zero ゼロ - zero まる - circle; zero ～号室　【～ごう・しつ】 - suffix for room numbers マイナスX - negative X 点 【てん】 - period; dot; decimal point X.Y 「X・てん・Y」 - X.Y X分のY - Y/X (Y of X parts) Example 1. 2. 3. 4. ２０３号室 【に・まる・さん・ごう・しつ】 - room 203 23.5 【に・じゅう・さん・てん・ご】 - twenty three point five 四分の一 【よん・ぶん・の・いち】　- fourth (1/4) マイナス５ - negative five It's so confusing! ジョン：あ、もう！日本語の数って全然分かんない！ John: Oh already! (I) don't understand Japanese numbers at all! アリス：確かに難しいよね。日本語では、四単位で数えるから、私は、四を足して、三で割って、英 guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 96/113 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 語の数字に変えるよ。例えば、百万は、二足す四で六だから、1 millionになる。 Alice: It's certainly difficult, isn't it? Because in Japanese (you) count by units of four, I just add four, divide by three, and change (it) into (the) English number. For example, ひゃくまん is 2 plus 4 and (it's) six so it becomes 1 million. ジョン：いや、全然分かんない！リー君は難しくないの？ John: No, (I) don't understand at all! Lee-kun, it isn't difficult? リー：韓国語は日本語と同じだから、簡単だよ。 Lee: Korean is the same as Japanese so (it's) easy, you know. ジョン：ずるいね！ John: That's cheating, isn't it? Counting and counters Counters Unfortunately, counting discrete items isn't as straight-forward as just using the numbers we just learned in the last section. We must use various counters depending on the type of object we're counting. We already learned the counter for age in the very first chapter. Below are a list of more common counters and when to use them. Counter 人 本 枚 冊 匹 歳／才 個 回 ヶ所（箇所） When to Use To count number of people To count long, cylindrical objects such as bottles or chopsticks To count thin objects such as paper or shirts To count bound objects usually books To count small animals like cats or dogs To count the age of a living creatures such as people or animals To count small (often round) objects To count number of times To count number of locations As usual, the reading may change depending on what makes pronunciation easier as well as a couple of exceptions for 「人」. Fortunately, counters are always attached to the end of the number, so we need only worry about the readings for the first 10 numbers. The higher digits are read the same as any other number. Below, you can see a list of readings for all these counters. The variations are indicated in bold. Counting with variations 人 本 枚 冊 匹 歳／才 なんさ guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 97/113 個 回 ヶ 所（箇 所） 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 何 なんにん なんぼん なんまい なんさつ なんびき 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 なんさ い なんこ なんかい なんかしょ ひとり ふたり いっぽん いちまい いっさつ いっぴき にほん にまい さんまい にさつ さんさつ にひき いっさ い にさい よんさ い ごさい ななさ い いっこ にこ いっかい にかい さんかい よんかい ごかい いっかしょ にかしょ さんかしょ よんかしょ ごかしょ さんにん さんぼん よにん ごにん ろくにん さんびき さんさい さんこ よんこ ごこ よんほん よんまい よんさつ よんひき ごほん ごまい ろくまい ごさつ ろくさつ ごひき ろっぽん ろっぴき ろくさい ろっこ ななこ ろっかい ななかい はちかい ろっかしょ ななかしょ しちにん ななほん ななまい ななさつ ななひき 8 はちにん はちほん はちまい はっさつ はっぴき 9 きゅうに ん きゅうほ ん はっさ い はっこ はっかしょ きゅうま きゅうさ きゅうさつ きゅうひき きゅうこ きゅうかい きゅうかしょ い い 10 じゅうにん 20 じゅっさ じゅっぽ じゅうまい じゅっさつ じゅっぴき じゅっこ じゅっかい じゅっかしょ い ん はたち にじゅっ にじゅっか にじゅっか こ い しょ にじゅうに にじゅっ にじゅうま にじゅっさ にじゅっ ん ぽん い つ ぴき There is also a generic counter for when none of the more specific counter applies. This counter goes up to ten Generic Counter Numeral How many Kanji Reading 幾つ いくつ 1 一つ 2 二つ 3 三つ 4 四つ 5 五つ 6 六つ 7 七つ 8 八つ 9 九つ 10 十 ひとつ ふたつ みっつ よっつ いつつ むっつ ななつ やっつ ここのつ とお You may encounter many other types of counters in your studies. In fact, 「一番」, which we have already seen used as a superlative, is yet another counter meaning #1 where #2 is 「二番」, #3 is 「三番」 and so forth. Other useful counting vocab There are some additional vocabulary that are useful for counting in certain ways. 1. ～目 【～め】 - attaches to a counter to indicate order 2. ～ずつ 【～ずつ】 - attaches to a counter to indicate each 3. ～おきに - attaches to a counter to indicate repeated intervals Example guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 98/113 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1.day counter guidetojapanese. 田中：何を飲んでいますか？ Tanaka: What are (you) drinking? 山本：生ビールです。 Yamamoto: Draft beer. 田中：ビールはすぐ太りますよ。これは、何本目ですか？ Tanaka: As for beer. 紙、二枚ずつをホッチキスで留める。 Staple 2 sheets of paper each. Beer is fattening 田中：遅れて、すみません。 Tanaka: Sorry I'm late. 山本：大丈夫ですよ。 Yamamoto: It's ok. 一日おきに運動をしています。 Exercising every other day (spaced 1 day in between). one each for year. 2. ～年 【～ねん】 . and day.month counter ～日 【～にち】 . (you) get fat soon.org/learn/book/…/2 99/113 . 田中：ビールは、もう飲まないと言わなかったんですか。 Tanaka: Didn't (you) say (you) would not drink beer anymore? 山本：一本は、たまにいいと思いますけど。 Yamamoto: (I) think one bottle every once in a while is fine.year counter ～月 【～がつ】 . Dates and Time Dates Dates are similar to using counters. Which number bottle is this? 山本：たまには、二本も大丈夫なんじゃないですか？ Yamamoto: Isn't two bottles ok every once in a while as well? 田中：大丈夫じゃないと思います。 Tanaka: (I) think it's not ok. 店に入った三番目の人は、誰ですか。 Who is the 3rd person that entered the store? 3. month. 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… The year counter is pretty straight-forward. Special readings or variations are appropriately marked.org/learn/book/…/2 . However. Months of the year Month January February March April May June July August September October Kanji 一月 二月 三月 四月 五月 六月 七月 八月 九月 十月 Reading なん・がつ いち・がつ に・がつ さん・がつ What month 何月 し・がつ ご・がつ ろく・がつ しち・がつ はち・がつ く・がつ じゅう・がつ November 十一月 じゅう・いち・がつ December 十二月 じゅう・に・がつ Days of the month Day What day 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th Kanji 何日 一日 二日 三日 四日 五日 六日 七日 八日 九日 十日 十一日 十二日 十三日 十四日 Reading なん・にち ついたち ふつ・か みっ・か よっ・か いつ・か むい・か なの・か よう・か ここの・か とお・か じゅう・いち・にち じゅう・に・にち じゅう・さん・にち じゅう・よっ・か 100/113 guidetojapanese. The two lists below show all the months in a year and the days of the month. there are variations for months and a whole bunch of exceptions for days of the month. as there are no reading variations. Below are the eras going back about 100 years. 5. 1.Friday 土曜日 【ど・よう・び】 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21th 22th 23th 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31th 十五日 十六日 十七日 十八日 十九日 二十日 二十二日 二十四日 二十五日 じゅう・ご・にち じゅう・ろく・にち じゅう・しち・にち じゅう・はち・にち じゅう・く・にち はつ・か に・じゅう・に・にち 二十一日 に・じゅう・いち・にち 二十三日 に・じゅう・さん・にち に・じゅう・よっ・か に・じゅう・ご・にち 二十六日 に・じゅう・ろく・にち 二十七日 に・じゅう・しち・にち 二十八日 に・じゅう・はち・にち 二十九日 三十日 に・じゅう・く・にち さん・じゅう・にち 三十一日 さん・じゅう・いち・にち For completeness. therefore.What day of week 月曜日 【げつ・よう・び】 . You may encounter another calendar native to Japan based on the reign of each emperor when filling out public documents. guidetojapanese.Thursday 金曜日 【きん・よう・び】 . it would be beneficial to remember the current year and your birthday in the Japanese calendar. the year starts over from 1 （called 元年【がん・ねん】） at the beginning of each new reign along with the name of the era.Monday 火曜日 【か・よう・び】 . month. 2. it is common to use numerals to make it easier to read. For example. the year 2009 would be 平成２１年. 8. If you live in Japan. 7. 何曜日 【なん・よう・び】 .Tuesday 水曜日 【すい・よう・び】 .org/learn/book/…/2 101/113 .Wednesday 木曜日 【もく・よう・び】 . here are all the days in the week. 3. 4. Once again. day in that order. the 「平成」 era began in 1989.Sunday Date formats The date format employed in Japan is the same international date format used in many other parts of the word: year. Basically.Saturday 日曜日 【にち・よう・び】 . You can also search online for convenient converters or charts with each year. 6. 3.Heisei era (1989/1/8-) 昭和 【しょう・わ】 .4:44 PM 3. 平成 【へい・せい】 . April 1st 3. ２０１０年４月１日（木曜日） 【に・せん・じゅう・ねん・し・がつ・ついたち（もく・よう・び）】 Thursday December 10.AM 午後 【ご・ご】 .minute counter 午前 【ご・ぜん】 . 4. 2.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 1. 午後４時４４分 【ご・ご・よ・じ・よん・じゅう・よん・ぷん】 . ２００９年１２月２４日【に・せん・きゅう・ねん・じゅう・に・がつ・に・じゅう・よっ・か】 2009/12/24 2.1:01 2. ～時 【～じ】 .hour counter ～分 【～ふん】 . 2. 平成元年９月９日【へい・せい・がん・ねん・く・がつ・ここのか】 1989/9/9 Time We already covered how to tell time in a previous chapter so here's a brief review.The first year of an era until the end of that year (12/31) Example 1. 1.Showa era (1926/12/25-1989/1/7) 大正 【たい・しょう】 .1926/12/25) 元年 【がん・ねん】 . 昭和５６年１１月３０日【しょうわ・ご・じゅう・ろく・ねん・じゅう・いち・がつ・さん・じゅう・にち】 1981/11/30 4.10:30 AM Time spans guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 102/113 . 5.half Hour reading variations Hour 4 o'clock 7 o'clock 9 o'clock Kanji Reading 四時 よ・じ 七時 しち・じ 九時 く・じ Minute reading variations Minutes How many minutes Kanji Reading 何分 なん・ぷん 1 min 一分 3 min 三分 4 min 四分 6 min 六分 8 min 八分 10 min 十分 いっ・ぷん さん・ぷん よん・ぷん ろっ・ぷん はっ・ぷん じゅっ・ぷん Example 1. 3.Taishou era (1912/7/30 . 午前１０時半 【ご・ぜん・じゅう・じ・はん】 . 4.PM 半 【はん】 . １時１分 【いち・じ・いっ・ぷん】 . 1.that much あんなに . In particular. Most amounts can be expressed with just vocabulary.1st of the month 一日 【いち・にち】 .span of one day 一週間 【いっ・しゅう・かん】 .many まだ . more もう少し 【もう・すこ・し】 .not yet もう . 6.few 多い　【おお・い】 (i-adj) .a little ちょっと . Below is a list of just some of the vocabulary used to describe various amounts. 三週間 【さん・しゅう・かん】 .span of two months Various amounts Now that we learned how to use numbers and express date and time. 5. ～間 【～かん】 .span of two days 2. 2. many of which we've already seen.a span of month(s) While these counters are pretty straight-forward. 7. 10. 一日 【ついたち】 . it can also mean a span of one day when read as 「いちにち」. 14. it would be a good time to review how to express various amounts. 11.a span of week(s) ～ヶ月 【か・げつ】 . 8.org/learn/book/…/2 103/113 . 9.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… We need to learn a couple more counters to express a span of time versus a fixed date or time.a long time こんなに . 二ヶ月 【に・か・げつ】.span of one month 十ヶ月 【じゅっ・か・げつ】 . 少し　.about ～ Expectation of more guidetojapanese.a little (casual) たくさん . there are a number of reading variations.that much (over there) ～くらい／～ぐらい .a lot 少ない 【すく・ない】 (i-adj) . This counter is attached to a date or time to express a length of that time.a little more もっと . 12.already.a lot more ずっと . while 【一日】 usually means the first of the month and read as 「ついたち」.span of one week 一ヶ月 【いっ・か・げつ】 . 3. 13.span of three weeks 3.span of time ～週間 【～しゅう・かん】 . 4. 二日間 【ふつ・か・かん】 .span of ten months Example 1.this much そんなに . org/learn/book/…/2 104/113 . 2. 食べる＋すぎる ＝ 食べすぎる 2. As 「すぎる」 is a regular ru-verb. The primary difference with 「しか」 is that it must be used with the negative and emphasizes the lack of something. 大きい＋すぎる ＝ 大きすぎる 2. 肉だけ食べる。 Eat only meat. Too much of something An excess of something is expressed with the ru-verb 「過ぎる」（す・ぎる） which means. (lit: As for tonight. 「いい」 conjugates from 「よい」 Examples 1. 今夜は、二人だけで行きましょう。 Let's go just the two of us tonight. 肉しか食べない。 Not eat anything but meat. Using 「すぎる」 to indicate it's too much Verbs: Change the verb to the stem and attach 「すぎる」 Examples 1. 面白くない → 面白くなさ＋すぎる ＝ 面白くなさすぎる guidetojapanese. Just like every other particle. 肉 【にく】 .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… There are two particles that are used to express the word "only": 「だけ」 and 「しか」.) 4. ５００円しか持っていません。 (I) have only 500 yen. 太る → 太り＋すぎる ＝ 太りすぎる Na-adjectives: Attach 「すぎる」 Examples 1. 今夜 【こん・や】 . There are several rules for attaching this verb to adjectives and other verbs. all subsequent conjugations are the same as any other ru-verb. 食べない → 食べなさ＋すぎる ＝ 食べなさすぎる 2. "to pass" or "to exceed".tonight 1. きれい＋すぎる ＝ きれいすぎる I-adjectives: Remove the last 「い」 and attach 「すぎる」 As always. いい → よい＋すぎる ＝ よすぎる Negative verbs and adjectives: Replace the last 「い」 from 「ない」 with 「さ」 and then attach 「すぎる」 Examples 1. 3. Example 1. let's go by way of only two people. 静か＋すぎる ＝ 静かすぎる 2.meat 2. 高い＋すぎる ＝ 高すぎる 3. these particles attach to the end of the word that they apply to. 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Example 1. (I) ate too much dinner so (I'm) on a diet. ジョン：いつまでダイエットをするつもり？ John: (You) intend to be on a diet until when? アリス：もうダメ。明日からやめる。 Alice: (It's) no good already. 量が多すぎるから、もっと小さいサイズを頼んだ。 The amount is too much so (I) ordered a much smaller size. アリス：今日は、朝ご飯しか食べてないの。 Alice: (I) didn't eat anything but breakfast today. ジョン：なんで昼ご飯を食べなかったの？ John: Why didn't (you) eat lunch? アリス：昨日の夜、晩ご飯を食べ過ぎたから、ダイエットをしているの。 Alice: Last night. (I) will quit from tomorrow. you know. アリス：だから、痩せないのかな？ guidetojapanese.hangover 頭 【あたま】 .head 痛い 【いた・い】(i-adj) . 昨日 【き・のう】 . 5.yesterday 飲む 【の・む】(u-verb) . 3. (you) don't say you're on a diet after you ate a lot yesterday. ダイエットはいいけど、食べなさすぎているよ。 Diet is fine but (you're) not eating too much (too much of not eating). ジョン：昨日たくさん食べて、ダイエットをしていると普通言わないよ。 John: Normally. 2. 4. アリス：だから、今日始めたよ。 Alice: That's why I just started. On a diet アリス：お腹空いたよ。 Alice: (I'm) hungry. 3.painful 1. 2. ジョン：一日だけのダイエットは、聞いたことない。 John: (I've) never heard of a one day only diet.org/learn/book/…/2 105/113 .to drink 二日酔い 【ふつ・か・よい】 . (lit: stomach has emptied) ジョン：なんで？まだ２時だよ。 John: Why? It's still 2 o'clock. 昨日は飲みすぎて、二日酔いで頭が痛いです。 (I) drank too much yesterday and (my) head hurts with hangover. (lit: Hate the side of dog rather than cat. 猫は、犬ほど好きじゃない。 Don't like cat as much as dog. Another particle often used in making comparisons is 「ほど」. which side is the one (you like?) 2.) 4. which describes the extent of something.org/learn/book/…/2 106/113 . (lit: Don't like cat to extent of dog. 4. side ～より (particle) . 「方」 defines the direction the comparison is leaning toward while 「より」 defines the side it's leaning away from. 犬の方が猫より嫌い。 Hate dog more than cat.dog 猫 【ねこ】 .which way 犬 【いぬ】 . you have to define either side of the comparison using 「方」（ほう） and/or 「より」. 犬の方が猫より好き。 Like dog more than cat.direction. 6. 3. 方 【ほう】 . (lit: Like the side of dog rather than cat.) Chapter summary and practice In this chapter. Comparisons In order to make a comparison. we learned how to work with numbers and amounts. 明日は何月何日ですか。 What month. 5. 今日の日付は何ですか？ What is today's date? 2. 誕生日はいつですか。 When is (your) birthday? 4. dates. 2.extent of ～ どちら . Numbers. what day is tomorrow? 3. The important thing to remember is that 「方」 is a noun while 「より」 is a particle. Example 1. dog or cat? (lit: Dog and cat.rather than ～ ～ほど (particle) .9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Alice: (I) wonder if that's why (I) don't lose weight? ジョン：当たり前だ。 John: Obviously. 1. 犬と猫、どちらの方が好き？ Which do (you) like more.) 3.cat 1. おいくつですか。 guidetojapanese. and counting is a fairly tricky thing to master with all the various readings and exceptions so it's something that will require quite a bit of practice to master. Here is a list of simple questions you can ask or answer to practice various dates and numbers. 今、何時ですか。 What time is it now? 6.9/7/2010 4. the Japanese currency. The counter for yen （円） is actually pronounced 「えん」 ("en"). The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… How old (are you)? 5.Japanese currency counter アリス：この電子辞書は、いくらですか？ Alice: How much is this electronic dictionary? 店員： 3万円です。 Store clerk: (It's) 30. is roughly equivalent to a penny so 100 yen is around one US dollar. アリス： 日本語を勉強するためには、どちらの方がいいと思いますか？ Alice: For the purpose of studying Japanese. Shopping 1. ご家族は何人ですか。 As for (your) family. and generally getting around.000 yen. isn't it? Is there (one) that is a little more cheap? 店員： こちらのモデルは、2万5千円です。 Store clerk: This model is 25. and compare amounts will come in handy when dealing with money in Japan.dictionary いくら . If you are planning to visit Japan. dining. アリス： ちょっと高すぎますね。もう少し安いのは、ありますか？ Alice: (It's a) little too expensive. 4. Yen.electronic 辞書【じ・しょ】 .org/learn/book/…/2 107/113 . count. アリス： これとどう違いますか？ Alice: How is (it) different with this? 店員： 中国語を勉強していますか？それは、中国語も入っていますから、もう少し高いです。 Store clerk: (Are you) studying Chinese? That also has Chinese (in it) so (it's a) little more expensive.how much? 円【えん】 .000 yen. you'll be able to get a lot of practice for this chapter by shopping. 電子【でん・し】 . which (do you) think is better? 店員： そうですね。こちらのモデルは、英語しかありませんが、そのモデルより例文や単語数が多 いですから、こちらの方がいいと思います。 guidetojapanese. 3. how many people? Shopping and other activities involving amounts All the work we did in this chapter to learn how to use numbers. 店は、何時から何時まで開いていますか。 From what time to what time is (the) store open? 7. 2. Rules for creating potential form guidetojapanese.org/learn/book/…/2 108/113 . probable. Japanese people tend to only be assertive when they're absolutely sure of something. and conditional. In this chapter. Expressing potential Potential Form The potential form describes the feasibility of the action.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Store clerk: Let's see. Traveling りー：成田空港までの切符は、いくらですか？ 駅の人：成田エクスプレスは、３千円です。 りー：もう少し安いのは、ありませんか。 駅の人：普通の電車の切符は１５００円です。 りー：どちらの方が早いですか？ 駅の人：もちろん、エクスプレスの方が早いです。 りー：どれぐらい早いですか？ 駅の人：３０分ぐらい早いですね。 りー：・・・学生割引はありますか？ 駅の人：残念ですが、ありません。 りー：じゃ、普通の電車にします。 Potential and uncertainty Culturally. アリス： そうですか。じゃ、これにします。 Alice: Is that so? Then (I) will go with this one. Japanese has many ways to express various degrees of certainty. The rules for changing a verb into the potential form is given below. All verbs in the potential form become ru-verb. In order to accurately convey how sure one is of something. we will learn how to express how sure we are by talking about things that are possible. This model has only English but (there's) more example sentences and words so (I) think this model is better. we will learn how to describe what things appears to be based on our own and other people's observations. However.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… For ru-verbs: Replace the 「る」 with 「られる」 Examples 1. Appearances and hearsay We often make deductions based on appearances and observations.org/learn/book/…/2 109/113 . くる → こられる You can also drop the 「ら」 from 「られる」 for ru-verbs. 「だろう」 is another more masculine version of the casual usage of 「でしょう」. 食べる＋られる = 食べられる 2. Various degrees of certainty There are a number of sentence endings that indicate various degrees of certainty to a statement. For example. you should start practicing with the full conjugation first as the shorter form is more casual. it is also used to seek agreement similar to 「ね」 when expressed with a rising intonation. 飲む＋め＋る = 飲める 2. Indicating a fair amount of certainty You will often hear 「でしょう」 at the very end of the sentence during. a weather forecast. 持つ＋て＋る = 持てる Exceptions: 1. Both 「でしょう」 and 「だろう」 are attached at the end of sentence. 見る＋られる = 見られる For u-verbs: Replace the u-vowel sound with the e-vowel equivalent and attach 「る」. 「食べる」 becomes 「食べれ る」 instead of 「食べられる」. guidetojapanese. It is used to express a fair amount of certainty when used with a flat intonation. Typically. However. Examples 1. It is simply the 「か」 and 「も」 particle combined with the potential negative form of 「知る」. In this section. する → 出来る【で・き・る】 2. for instance. while 「ね」 is used for what the speaker believes to be generally agreeable. In casual situations. Indicating a possibility 「かもしれない」 is another sentence ending that expresses a neutral possibility with about 50% level of confidence. This means that it conjugates just like any other negative ru-verb. 「でしょう」 can be more assertive and opinionated. the polite form is not used with these sentence endings (excluding 「でしょうか」 which we'll see in a much later section). the key difference is that while all verbs in the 「～たい」 form such as 「見たい」 conjugate as an i-adjective.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… Appearance or manner The noun 「よう」（様） is the most generic word used to describe an appearance or manner of a state or action. 降る＋り→降り＋そう＝降りそう 雨が降りそう . this is expressed by appending 「そう」 to the verb or adjective with the following rules.org/learn/book/…/2 110/113 . You could even say it has a similar meaning as an outward appearance is how one wants to see something. "seems like" or "looks like" is also used to guess an outcome or what something is based on one's observations and deductions. おいしい＋そう＝おいしそう Looks tasty. It can be used in various ways the same as any other noun. 暇＋そう＝暇そう I-adjectives: Drop the last 「い」 and append 「そう」 Example 1. 2. The resulting word becomes a na-adjective. Example Outward appearance 「よう」 can be substituted by 「みたい」 in more casual situations when describing an outward appearance or what someone or something looks like.Looks like cup is about to fall) 2. Rules for guessing outcome using 「そう」 Verbs: Conjugate to the stem and append 「そう」 Example 1. 楽しい＋そう＝楽しそう Looks fun. Example Guessing from observation In English. guidetojapanese. 「みたい」 at first glance.Looks like it's going to rain Na-adjectives: Append 「そう」 1. こない＋さそう＝こなさそう Looks like (he/she) will not come. this 「みたい」 acts like a na-adjective. 落ちる＋そう = 落ちそう カップが落ちそう . looks identical to 「見たい」 meaning "want to see". However. In Japanese. Negative tenses: Drop the last 「い」 and append 「さそう」 Example 1. making an attempt at something.org/learn/book/…/2 111/113 . 2. For this expression. 3. and trying something out to see what happens. Striving for a goal In order to express "try" as striving toward a goal. Making an attempt The volitional form can also be used to describe an attempt to do a single action. Example Experimenting Conditional Phrasing questions guidetojapanese. タバコを吸わないようにする。 Try not to smoke cigarettes (lit: Do toward manner of not smoking).9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… 2. おいしくない＋さそう＝おしくなさそう Looks not tasty. we use the volitional form followed by 「と」 and the verb "to do" （する）. もっと運動をするようにしていたけど、すぐあきらめた。 Was trying to exercise a lot more but soon gave up (lit: Was doing toward manner of doing more exercise but soon gave up). In this case. 甘い物を食べないようにしている。 Trying not to eat sweet things (lit: Doing toward manner of not eating sweet things). Expressing hearsay Appearance from hearsay or behavior Trying There are several different ways to try something in Japanese including making an effort toward something. we use the same 「よう」 we learned in the last section to describe the manner or appearance of the way we want to act. Examples 1. we use the verb "to do" and the 「に」 target particle to do toward the manner or appearance of the verb clause. the same idea is expressed more literally with the te-form and the 「も」 inclusive particle. Consequences The expression "even if" is used when something happens regardless of another action. 来年、日本に留学しに行くかどうか、悩んでいる。 (I'm) agonizing whether I should go to Japan next year for study abroad or not.org/learn/book/…/2 112/113 . and the various command forms. you can append an optional 「どうか」　to represent the other choice. 田中さんは、明日来るかどうか、分かりますか。 Do (you) know whether Tanaka-san is coming tomorrow or not? 2. 田中さんはいつ来るか、分かりますか。 Do (you) know when Tanaka-san is coming? 2. 留学 【りゅう・がく】 . we can treat the sentence as a phrase by using the 「か」 question marker. Examples 1. 日本に行きたいかどうか、分かりません。 Whether (I) want to go to Japan or not. In Japanese. 3.9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… When we want to talk about a question in a larger sentence.to be troubled over something. making requests and suggestions. we will learn how to talk about things that one may or may not have to do. 来年、日本に留学しに行くか、悩んでいる。 (I'm) agonizing whether I should go to Japan next year for study abroad. When it's a yes/no question. Asking for permission In Japanese.study abroad 1. we can ask and grant permission by saying it's ok or fine even if we do a certain action using the guidetojapanese. 悩む 【なや・む】 . to agonize over a decision 2. (I) don't know. Example 1. Chapter summary and practice Optional and required In this chapter. This includes asking for favors. Example 1. 9/7/2010 The Complete Guide to Learning Japane… same 「～ても／～でも」 grammar. for the negative tense. Examples 1. (lit: (It's) good even if (you) do nothing. 何もしなくてもいい。 Don't have to do anything. Examples 1. it's fine until next week. 身分証は、学生証でも大丈夫ですか。 As for identification. 遅くても来週までは大丈夫だ。 Even if it's late. お姉さんが、食べてもいいと言ったよ！ (You) older-sister said it's fine to eat (it)! 3. トイレに行ってもいいですか。 Is it fine even if (I) go to the toilet? 2. it means we don't have to do it.org/learn/book/…/2 113/113 .) Unintended consequences Sometimes our actions have unintentional consequences that wasn't intended to happen. it is ok even if it's (a) student id? Things we don't have to do Similarly. Required actions Asking for favors Making requests Making suggestions Command Forms Chapter summary and practice guidetojapanese. if it's ok or fine even if we don't do a certain action. 4.