Day #5.2

We moved on to Lesson #4 today; Lesson #4 is all about time and numbers:

• 4 Seasons
• Telephone numbers
• Time Vocabulary
• Asking and telling time

4 SEASONS

The four seasons in Japanese are

1. Spring | haru| はる
2. Summer | natsu | なつ
3. Autumn | aki | あき
4. Winter | fuyu | ふゆ

TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Telephone number is ‘denwa bangou | でんわばんごう’

To ask someone for their number, we say

What’s your phone number? | Denwa bangou wa nan ban desu ka? | でんわばんごうは なんばんですか。

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  96738827. | kyuu roku nana san hachi hachi ni nana desu. | きゅう ろく なな さん はち はち に なな です。

Numbers are rattled off one by one (at least for beginners).

TIME

Time | Jikan | じかん

HOUR:

Hour | Ji | じ

 

 

Reading time by the hour is relatively the same as reading numbers from 1 to 12, with three exceptions, 4 o’clock, 7 o’clock and 9 o’clock. These timings are read as ‘yo ji’, ‘shichi ji’ and ‘ku ji’ respectively.

 

MINUTE:

Minute | Pun | ぷん

Readings in minutes are dichotomized in two groups: one that pronounces ‘fun’ and one that pronounces ‘pun’. The list on the right shows that 2, 5, 7 and 9 are pronounced with a ‘fun’ instead of ‘pun’ at the end. E.g. 2 mins | Nifun | にふん So every 12th minute, 22nd minute and so on are pronounced with a ‘fun’ too. >>> 12 mins | Juu nifun | じゅう にふん

For the list on the left, it is important to take note that only the 3rd and 4th minute don’t have an extra small っ that represents a double letter.

TELLING TIME:

Q:

What is the time now? | Ima nan ji desu ka? | いま なんじ です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  3 o’clock. | Sanji desu. | さんじ です。

Different ways to tell time

*To tell the time 3.30, instead of saying ‘Sanji sanjuppun’, we can say ‘Sanji han’. ‘Han’ is a way of saying “half past three”.

*To tell the time 3.50, instead of saying ‘Sanji gojuppun’, we can say ‘Yoji juppun mae’. ‘Mae’ is used as an English equivalent of saying “10 mins before 4”, or “10 mins to 4”. The structure goes: hour + min + *mae

*Telling a time period like from 3.00 to 5.00, we use the words ‘kara’ which means “from” and ‘made’ which means “to”.

Q:

From what time to what time is the restaurant open? | Resutoran wa nanji kara nanji made desu ka? | レストランは なんじから なんじまで ですか。

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  From 10 o’clock to 4 o’clock. | Juuji kara yoji made desu. | じゅうじ から よじ まで です。

Day #5.1

Today we learnt things related to prices:

1. How to ask for the price of an object
2. How to tell the price of an object

ASKING THE PRICE

‘Ikura desu ka | いくら です か’ roughly translated means “How much is this?”

Q:

How much is this book? | Kono hon wa ikura desu ka? |  この ほん は いくら です か。

TELLING THE PRICE

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  That book is 345 yen. | Sono hon wa 345 en desu. | その ほん は 345えん です。

Prices in dollars and cents are read as ‘doru’ and ‘sento’.

E.G. $10 | Juu doru | じゅう どる

E.G. 30¢ | San juu sento | セント

We also learnt how to speak in a Department Store with regards to an item that we wish to purchase.

At the department store:

1.

Q: Where is this necktie from? | Kore wa doko no nekutai desu ka? | これ は どこ の ねくたい です か。

A: Italy. | Itaria desu. | イタリア です。

Q: How much is it? | Ikura desu ka? | いくら です か。

A: 7,300 yen. | 7,300 en desu. | 7,300 えん です。

2.

Q: Where is this watch from? | Kore wa doko no toke desu ka? | これ は どこ の とけ です か。

A: Switzerland. | Suisu desu. | スイス です。

Q: How much is it? | Ikura desu ka? | いくら です か。

A: 18,800 yen. | 18,800 en desu. | 18,800 えん です。

Besides asking where an item is from and how much it costs, we also add the phrases ‘0 mise te kudasai’ and ‘o kudasai’ which mean “please show me” and “please give me” respectively.

At the wine section in the Department Store:

Q: Excuse me, please show me this bottle of wine. | Sumimasen, sono wain o misete kudasai. | すみません、その ワイン を みせて ください。

A: Here you go. | Hai, dozo. | はい、どぞ。

Q: Is this wine from France? | Sore wa Furansu no wain desu ka? | それ は フランス の ワイン です か。

A: No, it’s from Italy. | Ie, Itaria no wain desu. | いいえ、イタリア の ワイン です。

Q: How much is it? | Ikura desu ka? | いくら です か。

A: 4500 yen. | 4500 en desu. |  4500 えん です。

Q: Then, please give it to me. | Ja, kore o kudasai. | じゃ、これ を ください。

Day #4.2

This segment is a continuation of Lesson #3. It includes:

• Asking “what floor”
• Asking someone about school
• Asking someone about work – what company and what it is (Apple Inc, Computers)
• Asking about the place of origin an object is (i.e. This bag is from Japan)
• Asking about the brand name of an object (Uniqlo t-shirt)

FLOORS/ LEVELS 

Q:

Which level is the Wine section at? | Wain uriba wa nan kai desu ka? | ワイン うりば は なんかい です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  The Wine section is at basement 1. | Wain uriba wa chika ikkai desu. | ワイン うりば は ちかいっかい です。

ASKING SOMEONE ABOUT THEIR SCHOOL

Q:

What school are you from (Where is your school)? | Daigaku wa dochira desu ka? | だいがく は どちら です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  Osaka University. | Oosaka daigaku desu. |  おおさか だいがく です。

ASKING SOMEONE ABOUT THEIR COMPANY

Q:

Which company are you from? | Kaisha wa dochira desu ka? | かいしゃ は どちら です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  Apple. | Appuru. | アップル です。

Q:

What kind of company is it? | Nan no kaisha desu ka? | なんの かいしゃ です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  Computer company. | Konpyuta no kaisha desu. | コンピューター の かいしゃ です。

ASKING ABOUT PLACE OF ORIGIN 

Q:

Where is this bag from? | Sono kaban wa doko desu ka? | その かばん は どこの かばん です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  This bag is from Japan. | Nihon no kaban desu. | にほん の かばん です。

ASKING ABOUT THE BRAND NAME

Q:

What brand is this shirt? | Sore wa doko no shyatsu desu ka? | それ は どこ の シャツ です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  It’s Uniqlo. | Uniqlo no shyatsu desu. | ユニクロ の シャツ です。

Day #4.1

Today’s lesson recapped the six main demonstratives and introduced a more in-depth dialogue on visiting a friend to give a gift. We also started on Lesson #3:

• How to discuss and talk about places
• Locations demonstratives

DEMONSTRATIVES

1. Pertaining to objects:

What kind of book is that? | Sore wa nan no hon desu ka? | それ は なん の ほん です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  A Japanese book. | Nihongo no hon desu. | にほんご の ほん です。

2. Pertaining to possession:

Whose book is that? | Sore wa dare no hon desu ka? | それ は だれ の ほん です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  Yamada’s book. | Yamada no hon desu. | やまだ の ほん です。

DIALOGUE 

Santousu: Konnichiwa. Santousu desu. Korekara osewa ni narimasu. | I’ll be taken care of by you ⇒ I hope for your kind assistance hereafter.

Yamada: Kochira koso yoroshiku. | Same to you.

SOUVENIRS FROM JAPAN

Souvenir | Omiyage

A list of souvenirs will be added in the Vocabulary section. This section will be continued in Day #11.2.

Lesson #3

There are 6 main location demonstratives, grammatically similar to the first 6 possession demonstratives.

• Koko | Here
• Soko | There (near you)
• Asoko | Over there
• Kochira | Here*
• Sochira | There (near you)*
• Achira | Over there*

*polite form of koko, soko and asoko respectively

To ask a question of where, we use the word ‘doko’. Places will be added under the Vocabulary section.

LOCATION DEMONSTRATIVES 

Where is the toilet? | Toire wa doko desu ka? | トイレ は どこ です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  Over there. | Asoko | あそこ です。

Where is your house? | Uchi wa doko desu ka? | うち は どこ です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  Orchard. | Ochaado desu. | オーチャード です。

Day #3.2

Today’s lesson was about possession of objects; simply put, whose object/ thing it is. Besides the three main demonstratives we covered last lesson, there are an additional three to take note of. The lesson also covered how to give and receive gifts from others.

Agenda:

• Possession + Object
• 3 new demonstratives
• Giving and receiving gifts (token of gratitude)

POSSESSION OF OBJECTS

This is my bag. | Kore wa watashi no kaban desu. | これ は わたし の かばん です。

 

 

Q:

Whose bag is that (near you)? | Sore wa dare no kaban desu ka? | それ は だれ の かばん です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  This is my bag. | Kore wa watashi no kaban desu. | これ は わたし の かばん です。

DEMONSTRATIVES

We’ve learnt “kore”, “sore” and “are”. Today, we add “kono”, “sono” and “ano” to the list.

When we use “Kore”, we refer to “this”, but we use “Kono” to refer to “this ~”, ~ being the object. Thus “Kono” is only used when there’s a noun following it. Literally, it would be “This bag is mine”. For “Kore”, it is “This is my bag”.

This bag is mine. | Kono kaban wa watashi no desu. |  この かばん は わたし の です。

Q:

Whose pen is that? | Sono pen wa dare no desu ka? | その ぺん は だれ の です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  This pen is mine. | Kono pen wa watashi no desu. | その ぺん は わたし の です。

GIVING AND RECEIVING GIFTS

Here is a token of my gratitude. | Ano, kore, honno kimochi desu.

Thank you… What is it? | Domo… Nan desu ka?

Coffee. Here. | Kohi desu. Dozo.

Thank you very much. |Domo arigatou gozaimasu.

Day #3.1

Today we continued with numbers till 1000 and we started on Lesson #2. It introduces the idea of demonstratives and a load of Vocabulary to enable one to form simple sentences. The main verbs we learnt were ‘Kore | これ’, ‘Sore | それ’ and ‘Are | あれ’. We asked sentences like “What is this?” and phrased sentences like “This is a book”/ “This is a TV”.

This lesson really focused on building a Vocabulary, adding new words to the bank! 🙂

There’re three main demonstratives to know:

1. This | Kore | これ

2. That (near you) | Sore | それ

3. That (over there) | Are | あれ

Q:

What is that (near you)? | Sore wa nan desu ka? | それ は なん です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  This is a book. | Kore wa hon desu. | これ は ほん です。

(We reply “this” instead of following the speaker because the speaker is asking from his point of view.)

In short, the sentence structure goes like:  Demonstrative + *particle wa + Object

When talking to a friend beside you and referring to an object that is further away, we use the demonstrative ‘Are | あれ’.

Q:

What is that over there? | Are wa nan desu ka? | あれ は なん です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  A computer. | Konpyuta desu. | コンピューター です。

ASKING “THIS OR THAT” 

When posed with two choices, the Japanese language does not have an equivalent to “OR”. The sentence structure is simply “Is this a book? A notebook?”

Is this a book or notebook? | Sore wa hon desu ka? Noto desu ka? | それ は ほん です か。ノート です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  A notebook. | Noto desu. | ノート です。

WHAT KIND OF BOOK [PARTICLE ‘NO | の’]

Q:

What kind of book is that? | Sore wa nan no hon desu ka? | それ は なん の ほん です か。

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  A book about cats. | Neko no hon desu. | ねこ の ほん です。

This is a Japanese Language book. | Kore wa nihongo no hon desu. | これ は にほんご の ほん です。

Day #2.2

Today we learnt how to ask “who is that?” in a polite and informal manner as well as dialogues that introduce one another and where one is from. We also started on Lesson #2, and began learning some simple verbs like “this”, “that” to describe common objects in the later segments of Lesson #2.

ASKING “WHO IS THAT”

There’re two ways of asking who a person is. The informal way:

Who is that person? | Ano hito wa dare desu ka?

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  It’s Johnny | Johnny-san desu

‘Ano hito’ means “that person (over there), and ‘dare’ means “who”. ‘Ano’ actually refers to “that”, and is used before the subject. It would be wrong to say ‘Ano wa hon’ . A corrected sentence would be ‘Ano hon wa…’

The polite manner:

Who is that person? | Ano kata wa donata desu ka?

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  A Professor at NYU | NYU no Sensei desu

DIALOGUE | Kaiwa 

Kimura: Ohayo gozaimasu. Kimura desu. Hajimemashite.

Sumi: Sumi desu. Hajimemashite. Ano hito wa dare desu ka?

Kimura: Mira desu.

*  *  *  *

Kimura: Sumi-san, kochira wa Mira desu.

Mira: Ohayo gozaimasu. Mira desu. Amerika kara kimashita. Dozo yoroshiku.

Sumi: Dozo yoroshiku.

‘Kara kimashita’ translates literally to “come from”. Thus, ‘Amerika kara kimashita’ means “I come from America”. It is another way of saying ‘Amerika jin desu’.

LESSON #2 

THIS.THAT | これ.それ.あれ

   This

  That (near you)

  That (over there)

Putting them into sentences: (verb + *particle wa + object)

This is a dictionary | Kore wa jisho desu

This is a book | Kore wa hon desu

That is a pencil | Sore wa shapupenshiru desu

That is a pen | Sore wa pen desu

That is a TV | Are wa terebi desu

Day #1.2

Today we learnt numbers (0-10), how to introduce someone else, asking others questions like what school they’re from and how old they are.

A conversation between two people might go like this:

I am a student. | (Watashi wa) gakuse desu.

I’m a Waseda University student. | Waseda Daigaku no gakuse desu.

My major is English Literature. | Senko wa Ebun Bungaku desu.

ASKING ONE’S NATIONALITY 

The word ‘ka | か’ is added at the end of a sentence to turn the statement into a question.

Are you Japanese? | Nihon jin desu ka?

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  Yes, I am. | Hai, Nihon jin desu.

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  No, I’m Singaporean.| Ie, Shingaporu jin desu.

ASKING ONE’S AGE

There’re two ways of asking someone’s age. ‘Oikutsu’ is a more polite way of asking.

(I don’t mean to be rude, but) how old are you? | (Shitsure desu ga), oikutsu desu ka?

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  23-sai desu. | I’m 23 years old.

ASKING ONE’S YEAR OF STUDY 

The word ‘Nan’ means “What”.

What year are you in ? | Nan nense desu ka?

–  –  –  –  –  –  –  –  Ichi-nense desu. | I’m in the first year.

* To say “I’m also in the first year”, the particle ‘mo’ is used instead of ‘wa’.

I’m also in the first year. | Watashi mo ichi-nense desu.

NUMBERS

0  | Cero

1  | Ichi

2  | Ni

3  | San

4  | Yon

5  | Go

6  | Roku

7  | Nana

8  | Hachi

9  | Kyu

10 | Juu

 

Lesson #1.1

Today marks the start of learning Japanese! 🙂 Posts are titled “Lesson #~” in the order of week and lesson number. I learnt simple introductions like greetings, introducing oneself to others and basic sentences. I also started learning Hiragana, a fundamental Japanese writing system. There’re 3 writing systems in Japan; Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji, the oldest form of Japanese writing imported from China. The wordings in Kanji are Chinese characters, only pronounced differently. I hope I’ll have no problem with that! Katakana is used for words with foreign origins, like “hamburger | ハンバーガー”.

INTRODUCTIONS

Introducing yourself to someone for the first time:

Hajimemashite | はじめまして

Telling someone your name:

My name is Natasha. | Watashi wa Natasha desu. | わたし は ナターシャ です。

After meeting someone:

Pleased to meet you. | Dozo Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu. | どぞう よろしく おねがいします。

‘Wa’ is a particle. Particles are used to link sentences in Japanese, like prepositions in English. It is used after nouns, such as ‘I am | Watashi wa’. In Japanese, ‘Watashi wa’ is not always needed in a sentence because it is obvious the person speaking is referring to himself. ‘Desu’ is a topic marker.

Expressing your nationality:

I’m Japanese. | Nihon jin desu. | にほんじん です。

The word ‘jin | 人’ means person, so a literal translation would be a Japanese person.

ASKING QUESTIONS

When asking questions, a full stop is used at the end of the sentence.

Asking someone’s name:

What is your name? | O namae wa? | お なまえ わ。

Asking what a person does/ occupation:

O shigoto wa? | お なまえ わ。

‘O’ is a polite prefix.

We also learnt some greetings, these will be added in the Vocabulary section under Lesson #1. 🙂