MODULE 1 | LESSON 1 - JAPANESE LANGUAGE : AN INTRODUCTION

NIHON- Japanese Word for Japan

GO- means “Language of.”
Words to remember:
SENSEI- teacher
KUN- young boy
CHAN- young girl
SAN- Mr. and Ms.

MODULE 1 | LESSON 2 – INTRODUCING ONESELF IN JAPANESE

HAJIMEMASHITE,
WATASHI WA ___ DESU.,
WATASHI WA ___ KARA KIMASU, and
DOUZO YOROSHIKU ONEGAISHIMASU

1.) HAJIMEMASHITE - used to begin the introduction.

(HAJIMARU) - “to begin with”
HAJIMEMASHITE- "I am meeting you for the first time, nice to meet you"

for others it’s "HOW DO YOU DO?"

2.) WATASHI WA ___ DESU – used in saying your name.

(for blank) Replace it with your name.
Ex: Watashi wa Macalalad, Donita Rose desu.
(Always start with surname)
3.) DESU- copula verb/ linking verb (am, is, are) in future tense (will be)
Used to end the sentence (to make it formal)
4.) WATASHI WA ____ KARA KIMASU- used to tell where you come from
Means “FROM” Means “COME”
EX: WATASHI WA NEW DANGLAYAN KARA KIMASU. (I COME FROM NEW DANGLAYAN)
Module 1 | Lesson 3 – Useful Daily Expressions and Greetings
Good Morning Ohayou Gozaimasu
* Used from sunrise until about 10 in the morning
Good Afternoon Konnichiwa
* Used from 10 in the morning until sundown; also means
“hello”
Good evening. Konbanwa.
Good night Oyasumi Nasai.
Thank you very much Doumo Arigatou Gozaimasu.
You are welcome. Dou itashimashite.
How are you? Ogenki desuka.
I’m fine. Genki desu.
Excuse me. Sumimasen.
Please wait for a while. Chotto matte kudasai.
Sorry, I am late. Osoku natte sumimasen.
Congratulations! Omedetou Gozaimasu.
Happy Birthday Otanjoubi Omedetou Gozaimasu.
Goodbye. Sayounara
* used when you will not see the other person for
quite a while
See you again. Mata aimashou.
Take care. Ki wo tsukete.
What is your name? Onamae wa nan desuka.
How old are you? Nansai desuka.
What is it? Nan desuka.
Where is it ? Doko desuka.
Who is it? Dare desuka.
When is it ? Itsu desuka.
Why/Why is it? Doushite desuka.
How is it? Dou desuka.
How much is it? Ikura desuka.
Do you understand? Wakarimasu ka.
I don’t understand. Wakarimasen.
I am sorry. Gomen nasai.
 "sumimasen"- basically means “Excuse me”
(for politeness and courtesy) thank you, I’m sorry, Sorry? (pardon?)

Module 2 | Lesson 1 – Numbers in Japanese

Numbers 1-10

One ichi

Two ni

Three san

Four yon, yo, shi

Five go

Six roku

Seven nana, shichi

Eight hachi

Nine kyuu, ku

Ten juu

Numbers 11-19 juu + second number

11- JUUICHI

12- JUUNI

13- JUUSAN

14- JUUYON

15- JUUGO

16- JUUROKU

17- JUUNANA

18- JUUHATCHI

19- JUUKYUU
 20, 30, 40, 50 etc, first number + juu

20- NIJUU

30- SANJUU

40- YONJUU

50- GOJUU

21 up to 99 (JUST LIKE THIS) first number + juu + second number

21- NIJUUICHI

22- NIJUUNI

23- NIJUUSAN

24- NIJUUYON

25- NIJUUGO

Module 2 | Lesson 2 – Telling One’s Age, Nationality and Profession

1. Subject wa N desu.
 subject of the sentence is a person (noun or pronoun)
 the subject is followed by the subject marker particle “wa”.
 N tells something about the subject it can be subject’s name, age, nationality
or profession.

Example : 1.1 Watashi wa Grace desu. (I am Grace.)

SUBJECT N (name of SUBJECT)

1.2 Satou san wa kenkyuusha desu. (Mr. Satou is a researcher.)

SUBJECT N (profession of SUBJECT)

1.3 Yamada san wa Nihonjin desu.(Ms. Yamada is Japanese. )

SUBJECT N (nationality of SUBJECT)

  JIN – is added after the name of a country means “national of”.

Ex: American -Amerikajin

 SAI- refers to age. It is added after the number that represents the age of a
person.

Ex: 17 years old is JUUNANASAI.

 If one’s age is 8 or ends in 8 (18 years, 28 years old etc), this is an exception.
Instead of saying HACHISAI, 8 years old is HASSAI, 28 years old is NIJUUHASSAI etc.

 “NANSAI DESU KA.” – used to ask one’s age

Example : Anata wa nansai desu ka. (How old are you?)

Watashi wa juunanasai desu. (I am 17 years old.)

2. Subject wa N ja arimasen.
 JA ARIMASEN is the present/ future negative form of “desu”. It’s equivalent to “am not”, “is not”,
“are not” and “will not be”.
 JA ARIMASEN is used in daily conversation. It may be DEWA ARIMASEN in formal speech or
writing.

Example : Watashi wa isha ja arimasen. (I am not a doctor.)

3. Subject wa N desu ka.

 KA is a question marker. It is added at the end of a sentence to form a question. KA after

Subject wa N desu forms an interrogative statement.

Example : Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu.

(Ms. Yamada is Japanese.)

Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu ka.

(Is Ms. Yamada Japanese ? )

 “Subject wa N desu ka” is a question answerable by YES (HAI) or a NO (IIE).

Example : Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu ka.

(Is Ms. Yamada Japanese?)

Answer : If YES, say ( write ) :

Hai, + Subject wa N desu.

(Hai, Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu.)

Or Hai, + N desu.
 (Hai, Nihonjin desu.)

(Both answers mean “Yes, Ms. Yamada is Japanese.)

If your answer is NO, say (write):

Iie, + Subject wa N ja arimasen.

(Iie, Yamadasan wa Nihonjin ja arimasen.)

Or Iie, + N ja arimasen.

(Iie, Nihonjin ja arimasen.)

(Both answers mean “No, Ms. Yamada is not Japanese.)

4. The Particle MO ( )

 The particle MO ( ) is added after a topic / subject, it is read as “wa” when the
statement (predicate) about the topic is the same as the predicate in the previous statement.
 The particle MO ( ) is equivalent to “too” or “also”.

Example: Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu.

(Ms. Yamada is Japanese.)

Satousan mo ( ) Nihonjin desu.

(Ms. Satou is also Japanese.)

 If the particle MO ( ) is used to ask a question, the following answer patterns are
observed:

Example: Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu.

Satousan mo Nihonjin desu ka.

(Ms. Yamada is Japanese. Is Ms. Satou Japanese too? )

If YES: Hai, Satousan mo Nihonjin desu.

If NO : Iie, Satousan wa Nihonjin ja arimasen.

4. N1 (no) N2

 NO ( ) is a particle used to connect two words to form the possessive.

 “Yamada san” is Mr. or Ms. Yamada,
“Yamada san no “Mr./Ms.
Yamada’s.
 Example : IMC shain ( employee of IMC or IMC’s employee)

Batangasu Daigaku gakusei (student of UB or UB’s student)

Module 3 | Lesson 1 Demonstrative Words in the Japanese Language

Demonstrative words - words used to point at or refer to persons, places or things/ objects.

When used as the subject of the sentence, the demonstrative is a noun. But when it accompanies a
noun, it functions as an adjective.

Demonstrative pronoun- kore, sore, are Subj (It can stand alone)= kore, sore, are

Demonstrative Adjective- kono, sono, ano Subj + noun (It can’t stand alone) kono, sono, ano

This (thing here) kore

That (thing near you) sore

That (thing over there) are

Book hon

Dictionary jisho

Magazine zasshi

Newspaper shinbun

Notebook no-to

Pocket Notebook techou

Business Card meishi

Card ka-do

Telephone Card terehon ka-do

Pencil empitsu

Ballpen bo-rupen

Mechanical Pencil sha-pu penshiru

Key kagi

Watch, clock tokei

Umbrella kasa

Bag kaban

Cassette tape kasetto te-pu

Tape recorder te-pu reko-da-

 Television terebi

Radio rajio

Camera kamera

Computer kompyu-ta-

Car jidousha

Desk tsukue

Chair isu

Chocolate chokore-to

Coffee ko-hi-

Wallet saifu

What nan

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS - used to point at things

KORE - thing near to the speaker

SORE - thing near to the listener

ARE - thing far from speaker and listener

Kore, Sore and Are may be used as subjects of sentences (CAN USED ALONE)

“Subject wa N desu”

KORE, SORE, ARE is the object referred to

Example : Kore wa hon desu. ( This is a book.)

Sore wa hon desu. (That is a book.)

Are wa hon desu. (That over there is a book.)

DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES - cannot be used alone as subjects of sentences,if you use

this it has to be followed by a noun (the name of the thing or object that is being referred to)

KONO - thing near to the speaker

SONO - thing near to the listener

ANO - thing far from speaker and listener

Ex: Kono hon wa watashi no desu. ( This book is mine.)

SOU DESU / SOU JA ARIMASEN

The word "SOU" may be used to answer a question.

 It may be an affirmative or negative answer.

"HAI, SOU DESU” - Affirmative

"IIE, SOU JA ARIMASEN" - Negative

Example : Kore wa kagi desu ka. (Is this a key?)

…Hai, kagi desu. (Yes, that is a key.)

Or …Hai, sou desu. (Yes, it is so.)

Kore wa bo-rupen desu ka. (Is this a ball pen?)

… Iie, bo-rupen ja arimasen. (No, that is not a ball pen.)

Or … Iie, sou ja arimasen (No, it is not so.)

Module 4 |Lesson 1 – Interrogative Words

An Interrogative word is a function word which we use to ask a question.

DARE

DOKO

DOCHIRA

Vocabulary:

Here, this place koko

There, that place near you soko

That place over there asoko

Where, what place doko

This way kochira

That way sochira

That way over there achira

Which way dochira

Classroom kyoushitsu

Dining hall, canteen shokudou

Office jimusho

Conference room kaigishitsu

Reception desk uketsuke

Lobby robi-

Room heya

Toilet, Restroom toire(otearai)

Staircase kaidan

Elevator erebe-ta-

Escalator esukare-ta-

Church kyoukai

Country okuni

Company kaisha

House, home uchi

Telephone, telephone call denwa

Shoes kutsu

Necktie nekutai

Wine wain

Tobacco, cigarette tabako

Counter (in a department store) uriba

Basement chika

What floor ~kai(~gai)

Italy Itaria

Switzerland Suisu

ADDITIONAL DEMONSTRATIVE:

KOKO, SOKO, ASOKO - used when referring to places

KOKO – this place (near to the speaker)

SOKO – that place (near to the listener)

ASOKO – that place over there (far from speaker and listener)

KOCHIRA, SOCHIRA AND ACHIRA- used when referring to directions

KOCHIRA - this way (near to the speaker)

SOCHIRA - that way (near to the listener)

 ACHIRA - that way over there (far from speaker and listener)

Example: Koko wa kyoushitsu desu. (This is the classroom.)

Kyoushitsu wa koko desu. (The classroom is this place.)

Erebe-ta wa sochira desu. (The elevator is that way.)

Koko, Soko and Asoko may also be used to tell where a person or an object is.

Example : Tanaka san wa asoko desu. (Mr. Tanaka is over there.)

“Subject wa N desu.”, the subject may be a person or object while the N tells where the subject is.

Example : Tanaka san wa kyoushitsu desu, (Mr. Tanaka is in the classroom.)

Denwa wa jimusho desu. (The telephone is in the office.)

The Interrogative Word “DARE”

“DARE” is an interrogative word means “WHO”

“DARE” - drop it and replace with your answer

When “DARE” is followed by the particle “NO”, it becomes “WHOSE”.

Example : Kore wa dare no hon desu ka. (Whose book is this?)

Kore wa Yamada san no hon desu. (This is Mr. Yamada’s book.)

The word “DARE” is being replaced by YAMADA SAN.

The Interrogative Word “NAN”

“NAN” – equivalent to WHAT.

“Subject wa nan no N desu ka.” (sectence pattern)

• the subject may be KORE, SORE, or ARE

• N is an object

• “nan no” is “WHAT KIND OF~” in English

To answer: drop NAN and replace it with your answer

Question: “KORE WA NAN NO HON DESU KA.” (“WHAT KIND OF BOOK IS THIS?”)

“KORE WA NIHONGO NO HON DESU.” (THIS IS A JAPANESE/ JAPANESE

LANGUAGE BOOK)

The Interrogative Word “DOKO” and “DOCHIRA”

 DOKO - WHERE

DOCHIRA – WHICH DIRECTION

To answer : “drop DOKO or DOCHIRA and replace your answer, can be the specific name
of a place or a demonstrative pronoun referring to a place or direction..

Example : Otearai wa doko desu ka. (Where is the restroom?)

Otearai wa asoko desu. (The restroom is over there.)

Erebe-ta- wa dochira desu ka. (Which way to the elevator?)

Erebe-ta- wa achira desu. (The elevator is that way over there.)

“DOKO” or “DOCHIRA is also used to ask the name of a country, company,

school or any place or organization a person belongs to. “NAN” (what) cannot be used.

Example : Anata no gakkou wa doko desu ka. (What is the name of your school?)

Watashi no gakkou wa Batangasu Daigaku desu. (My school is University of

Batangas.)

Okuni wa dochira desu ka. (What country are you from?)

Okuni wa Firipin desu. (My country is Philippines.)

“Subject wa doko no N desu ka.” - the question uses DOKO (where) , it is followed by
the particle NO plus an N (an object or a product)

Subject wa doko no N desu ka.” – in this pattern we would like to find our WHERE the N
(object/product) is manufactured or made

To answer: drop the DOKO and replace it with the name of the place (country, most of the time)
where the N (object/product) is made.

Reminder: Aside from the name of the place, the name of the company and even brand name
may be used to answer the question.

For our example:

To ask say (write):

“Kore wa doko no kaban desu ka.” (Where is the bag made from?)

Answer:

“Kore wa AMERIKA no kaban desu.” (The bag is made from America)