Lesson 2

2. Pronouns.

  I / me watashi
  you (sing.) anata
  he / him kare
  she / her kanojo
  we / us watashi-tachi
  you (pl.) anata-tachi
  they ano hito-tachi
  this / it kore
  that / it near speaker and not far from hearer sore
  that / it near neither speaker nor hearer are
  here koko, kochira
  there near speaker and not far from hearer soko, sochira
  there near neither speaker nor hearer asoko, achira



3. The particle wa.

  about / as for the... wa
  What about me? watashi wa?
  What about here? koko wa?
  What about this? kore wa?
  What about there? Asoko wa?
  What about the bullet train? Shinkansen wa?
  What about the beer? Bîru wa?



4. Verbs (1).

  is / are / am desu
  is not / are not / am not ja arimasen
  That is the bullet-train. Are wa shinkansen desu.
  I'm not American. Watashi wa Amerikanjin ja arimasen.
  He's businessman. Kare wa sarariman desu.
  They're not students. Ano hitotachi wa gakusei ja arimasen.
  [someone] is Korean Kankokujin desu.



5. Questions - particle ka.

  Is that the bullet-train? Are wa shinkansen desu ka?
  Isn't she Japanese? Kanojo wa Nihonjin ja arimasen ka?
  Is this Kobe or [is it] Osaka? Koko wa Kôbe desu ka Ôsaka desu ka?
  Is she Korean or (is she) Chinese? Kanojo wa Kankokujin desu ka Chûgokujin desu ka?



6. Answering Questions.

  That's right / That's so / I agree sô desu
  That's not so / That's wrong / I disagree chigaimasu
A Is she Korean? Kanojo wa Kankokujin desu ka?
B Yes, that's right. [She] is Korean. Hai, sô desu. Kankokujin desu.
A Is he Japanese? Kare wa Nihonjin desu ka?
B No, [he's] not. [He] is Chinese. Îe, chigaimasu, Chûgokujin desu.
  I'm not sure chotto wakarimasen
A Is she Japanese or Chinese? Kanojo wa Nihonjin desu ka Chûgokujin desu ka?
B I'm not sure. Chotto wakarimasen.
  Ummm... sô desu ne / etto
A Is that the bullet-train? Are wa shinkansen desu ka?
B Ummm... I'm not sure. Sô desu ne, Chotto wakarimasen.
  Is that so? sô desu ka
A She's a housewife Kanojo wa sufu desu.
B Oh, is she? A, sô desu ka?
A He isn't a businessman. Kare wa sararîman ja arimasen.
B Oh, isn't he? A, sô desu ka?



7. Final particles yo and ne.

  you know emphasize the sentence yo
A This isn't Dai Ichi hotel, you know. Koko wa Dai Ichi hoteru ja arimasen yo.
B Oh, isn't it? A, sô desu ka?
A This is the Hilton, you know. Koko wa Hiruton desu yo.
B Oh, isn't it? A, sô desu ka?
  Is it? form a tag question ne
A That's the bullet-train, isn't it? Are wa shinkansen desu ne?
B That's right. Sô desu yo.
A He isn't Japanese, is he? Kare wa Nihonjin ja arimasen ne.
B Yes, That's right [No, he is not]. Hai a, sô desu yo.



8. Possessive - the particle no (1).

  X's no
  Tokyo is Japan's capital. Tôkyô wa Nihon no shuto desu.
  This is a map of Tokyo, isn't it? Kore wa Tôkyô no chizu desu ne.
  [This] is Cheiko [who is] my wife. Kanai no Cheiko deus.
  [What] about the car [which is] over there. Asoko no kuruma wa?
  [This] is Mr Tanaka [who is from] Mitsui. Mitsui no Tanaka-san desu.
  [What] about the cost of living [in] Japan. Nihon no bukka wa?
  [It] is my money, you know. [Sore wa] watashi no o-kane desu yo.
  [That] is his house, isn't it? [Are wa] kore no ie desu ne.
  [What] about mine? Watashi no wa?
  [What] about the one over there? Asoko no wa?
  That isn't Mr Tanaka's, you know. Are wa Tanaka-san no ja arimasen yo.
  Is this real coffee? Hontô no kôhî desu ka?
  Is yours the brown bag? Anata no wa cha-iro no kaban desu ka?
  Yes, my bag is brown. Hai, watashi no kaban wa cha-iro b desu.



Conversation 2a: Introductions

At the airport, Mr Brown introduces to his wife Chieko and his son David his friend Proffessor Emura.
Brown: Chieko, kochira 1 wa Tôkyô Daigaku no Emura-sensei desu. Emura-sensei, kanai no Chieko desu.
Chieko:Hajimemashite. Dôzo yoroshiku o-negai shimasu.
Brown: kanai wa Eigo no sensei desu.
Emura: A, sô desu ka. Dôzo yoroshiku.
Brown: Sensei, kore 1 wa musuko no Dêbiddo desu. Dêbiddo wa shôgakusei desu.
Emura:A, sô desu ka. Hajimemashite.
David:Hajimemashite.



Conversation 2b: Are you American?

A young Japanese businessman starts a conversatio with a foreign student.
businessman: Sumimasen, Amerikanjin desu ka 2 3 ?
student: Iê, chigaimasu, Igirisujin desu.
businessman: A, sô desu ka, Gakusei desu ka?
student: Hai, sô desu. Rondon daigaku no Nihon gakubu no gakusei desu.
businessman: Naruhodo 4. Watashi wa kaishain desu yo. Shitsurei desu ga 5, o-namae 6 wa?
student: Maiku desu.
businessman: Ya, Maiku-san desu ka. Watashi wa Kunio desu. Satô Kunio 7. Dôzo yoroshiku.
student: Dôzo yoroshiku.



Conversation 2c: A meeting

Mr Brown has arranged to meet Mr Ikeda from the Mitsui company in the lobby of the Dai Ichi hotel in Tokyo. He first inquires of a passer-by if he's at the right hotel.
Brown: Sumimasen, Koko wa Dai Ichi hoteru desu ka?
Passer-by: Îe, chigaimasu yo. Dai Ichi wa asoko no hoteru desu yo.
Brown: A, asoko desu ka. Arigatô gozaimasu.
Passer-by: Dô itashimashite.
Mr Brown enters the lobby of the hotel :
Ikeda: Shitsurei desu ga, ICI (ai-shi-ai) no Buraun-san de irasshaimasu 8 ka?
Brown: Hai, sô desu.
Ikeda: Hajimemashite. Mitsui no Ikeda to môshimasu. Dôzo yoroshiku.
Brown: Dôzo yoroshiku.
Ikeda: Watashi no meishi desu.
Brown: A, Dômo arigatô gozaimasu. Watashi no mo 9 dôzo.

Notes:

a. Be careful! The japanese use Yes (Hai) to mean What you say is correct. «

b. No is used with these adjectives only before they come before a noun. «

1. kochira wa vs kore wa : kochira wa is more respectful than kore, hence the former is used for Prof. Emura and the latter for members of Brow's family. « «

2. Amerikanjin desu ka : the Japanese tend to avoid using the pronoun YOU as much as possible. (The context makes clear who isbeing referred to here). «

3. Amerikajin : -jin placed after the name of a country gives a national of that country.
America Amerika
an Americna Amerikajin
England Igirisu
an English person Igirisujin
Japan Nihon
a Japanese Nihonjin
«

4. Naruhodo : I see «

5. shitsurei desu ga : 'Excuse me for asking but...' «

6. O-namae : (What about your name?); the o- is honorific.o- may be attached to certain nouns out of respect for the listener. O- is also attached to certain nouns as a matter of course with no particular respect involved. e.g. o-mizu=drinking water; o-tearai=the toilet; o-cha=Japanese tea. «

7. Satô Kunio : In Japan, family names come first and first names second. «

8. de irasshaimasu : the 'honorific' equivalent of desu; it is never used of oneself, only of others to whom one wishes to show respect for whatever reason (e.g. strangersof similar or superior status; acquaintance of superior status). «

9. watashi no mo : 'here's mine too'.
He's a businessman too. Kore mo sararîman desu.
Both he and she are students. Kore mo Konojo mo gakusei desu.
Neither he nor I are businessmen. Kore mo watashi mo sararîman ja arimasen.
«




Back to top