に (ni) particle

1) to indicate the goal of a movement

goal に movement = goal of movement

Examples:
たけしさんは銀行に行きます。(Takeshi-san wa ginkou ni ikimasu.)
 Takeshi will go to the bank.

私は今月国に帰りません。(Watashi wa kongetsu kuni ni kaerimasen.)
 I will not go back to my home country this month.

2) to indicate the time at which an event takes place

time に event = time an event happen

Examples:
曜日にチャーチに行きます。(nichi-youbi ni Chaachi ni ikimasu.)
 I will go to Church this Sunday.

ごご十一時に終わります。(gogo juuichi-ji ni owarimasu.)
 It will end at 11PM.

Note: For approximation of time reference, subsitute に (ni) with ごろ (goro) or ごろに (goro ni)

ごご十一時ごろに終わります。(gogo juuichi-ji goro ni owarimasu.)
 It will end around 11PM.

Note: there are several restrictions in using に as a time reference, which we will investigate in later chapters.

を (wo) particle

を (wo) is one of the most commonly used particles in Japanese language.

- indicates a "direct object"
- is pronounced as "o" even though its written as を (wo)
- it describes an action upon an object
- it also describes things that are directly involved or affected by an event

object を event/action

Examples:
日本語を勉強します。(Nihongo o benkyou shimasu.)
I study Japanese.

きものを着ます。(Kimono o kimasu.)
I put on a Kimono.

足音を聞きます。(Ashioto o kikimasu.)
I hear footsteps.

トムさんはお茶を飲みます。(Tomu-san wa ocha o nomimasu.)
Tom drinks tea.

メアリーさんは電話を掛けます。(Mearii-san wa denwa o kakemasu.)
Mary dials a phone.

で (de) particle

There are many uses of で (de) particle, here's some of its functions:

i) Indicate where an action or event described by verb takes place.

place/location で object を verb     => describe place of action

Examples:
喫茶店でコーヒーを飲みます。(kissaten de koohii wo nomimasu)
I drink coffee at the cafe.

明日こうえんでみちこさんを会います。(ashita kouen de Michiko-san wo aimasu)
I will meet Michiko at the park tomorrow.

にわでほんを読みます。(niwa de hon wo yomimasu)
I will read books in the garden.

ii) to describe the means or method or instrument

means/method/instrument で object を verb    => describes by means/method/instrument

Example:
「ありがとう」は英語でThank Youです。("arigatou" wa Eigo de Thank You desu.)
"arigatou" using English language is Thank You.

はしでご飯を食べます。(hashi de gohan wo tabemasu.)
I eat rice with chopsticks.

じてんしゃで駅まで行きました。(jitensha de eki made ikimashita.)
I went to the station by bicycle.

iii) roughly translates into "in", "among" or "within" to describe a scope

scope で description    => indicate scope

Example:
このらラーメンは世界で一番美味しいです。(kono raamen wa sekai de ichiban oishii desu.)
This ramen is the most delicious in the world.

学校でジョギングします。(gakkou de jogingu shimasu.)
I will go jogging within the school.

Present Tense

As mentioned in the earlier post, we now revisit "Present Tense" which could describe:

1) a person's habitual action
2) an action in the future (aka Future Tense in English)

Habitual Action

Let's see some examples to explain:

トムさんはよくメアリーさんと映画を見ます。(Tomu-san wa yoku Mearii-san to eiga wo mimasu.)
 Tom often watches movie with Mary.
よく = often, thus implies a habitual action of 見ます(mimasu) to watch.

私はときどきとしょかんに行きます。(Watashi wa tokidoki toshokan ni ikimasu.)
 Sometimes,I go to the library.
ときどき = sometimes, thus implies a habitual action of 行きます (ikimasu) to go.

みちこさんはぜんぜんビルを飲みません。(Michiko-san wa zenzen biru wo nomimasen.)
 Michiko does not drink beer at all.
ぜんぜん = not at all, never thus implies a habitual action of 飲みません to (not) drink.
Note: we will learn more about habitual frequency + negative verb later on.

Future Action

Let's use examples to illustrate this as well:

私は明日国に帰ります。(Watashi wa ashita kuni ni kaerimasu.)
 I will go back to my home country tomorrow.
明日 = tomorrow implies future action

やまださんは今日がっこうに行きません。(Yamada-san wa kyou gakkou ni ikimasen.)
 Yamada will not be coming to school today.
今日 = today implies future action (in this context)

たけしさんはさらいしゅう来ます。(Takeshi-san wa saraishuu kimasu.)
 Takeshi will come the week after next.
さらいしゅう = the week after next implies future action

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Vocabulary たんご 

映画	えいが	eiga	movie
図書館	としょかん	toshokan	library
	ビル	biru	beer
国	くに	kuni	country, one's home country
再来週	さらいしゅう	saraishuu	the week after next

Verbs Conjugation (ru-verb and u-verb)

Let's look at how to use verbs in Japanese.
Verbs by itself is called the dictionary form.
We can conjugate it to turn it into present affirmative and present negative.
(note: there are still many other forms, which we will look at other time)

All in all, verbs are divided into 3 groups:

1. ru - verbs
2. u - verbs
3. irregular verbs

Other examples of ru-verbs, its present affirmative and negative forms:
to sleep: 寝る (neru) --> 寝ます (nemasu) --> 寝ません (nemasen)

to wake: 起きる(okiru) --> 起きます (okimasu) --> 起きません (okimasen)

to stop: 止める (yameru) --> 止めます (yamemasu) --> 止めません (yamemasen)

to see: 見る(miru) --> 見ます (mimasu) --> 見ません (mimasen)

to run: 逃げる(nigeru) --> 逃げます (nigemasu) ---> 逃げません (nigemasen)

 

Other examples of u-verbs, its present affirmative and negative forms:
to drink: 飲む (nomu) -->　飲みます (nomimasu) -->　飲みません (nomimasen)

to read: 読む (yomu) -->　読みます (yomimasu) -->　読みません (yomimasen)

to speak: 話す (hanasu) -->　話します (hanashimasu) -->　話しません (hanashimasen)

to listen: 聞く (kiku) -->　聞きます (kikimasu) -->　聞きません (kikimasen)

to return: 帰る (kaeru) -->　帰ります (kaerimasu) -->　帰りません (kaerimasen)

There are only 2 irregular verbs in Japanese which is shown above.
する(suru) is usually use to form compound verbs, for example:

勉強 + する = 勉強する (benkyou + suru)
study + to do = to study

It is recommended to memorize each Japanese verbs which group they belongs to (by memorizing in a set: dictionary, present +ve, present -ve). However, there is a pattern:

IF it is "a" or "o" or "u" before final る ==> it is definitely a u-verb

example:
to swim: 泳ぐ (oyogu) -->　泳ぎます (oyogimasu)
to board: 乗る (noru) --> 　乗ります (norimasu)

However, if it is "i" or "e" before final る ==> it can be either ru-verb or u-verb

example:
to return: 帰る (kaeru) --> 帰ります (kaerimasu)  u-verb
to sleep: 寝る (neru) --> 寝ます (nemasu) ru-verb

As you can see from the patterns above, it is slightly unreliable as compare to memorizing the verbs.



Notes:
- dictionary form is also considered a present affirmative form as well. It is just that by adding the "masu", it become a more polite form.
- present tense in Japanese can also be a future tense (we will investigate on this next time)

~ね (ne) and ~よ (yo) particles

So far we have learnt about the は (ha), か(ka), and も(mo) particles. In this post we will see the use of ね (ne) and よ (yo).

sentence + ね (ne)

- ね is a sentence ending particle
- it is use when seeking confirmation
- it is similar to the use of "isn't it?" or "right?" in English

Example:
今日はいい天気ですね。(kyou wa ii tenki desu ne)
 Today is a fine weather, isn't it?

かわいいね。(kawaii ne)
 Cute, right?

トムさんのおかあさんはがいこくじんじゃありませんね。(Tomu-san no okaasan wa gaikokujin ja arimasen ne)
 Tom's mother is not a foreigner, isn't she?

sentence + よ (yo)

- よ is also a sentence ending particle
- to emphasize a command
- to indicate an emphasis
- to get the attention of the listener
- may be similar to the use of an exclamation mark "!" in English

Example:
べんきょうしなさいよ。(benkyou shinasai yo)
 Study!

かわいいよ。(kawaii yo)
 Cute!

このとんかつはすごくうまいよ。(kono tonkatsu wa sugoku umai yo)
 This tonkatsu is really tasty!

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Vocabulary たんご 

良い	いい	ii	good
天気	てんき	tenki	weather
お母さん	おかあさん	okaasan	mother
勉強	べんきょう	benkyou	to study
	すごく	sugoku	really, immensely, very
美味い	うまい	umai	tasty, delicious

じゃありません (ja arimasen)

noun (Y) + じゃありません= it is not Y

X　は　Y　です。        X is Y.
X　は　Y　じゃありません。    X is not Y.

- じゃありません (ja arimasen) can ONLY be used with a noun.
- じゃありません (ja arimasen) is a contraction of でわありません (dewa arimasen)

Example:
トムさんはがいこくじんです。 (Tomu-san wa gaikoku-jin desu)
Tom is a foreigner.
トムさんはがいこくじんじゃありません。 (Tomu-san wa gaikoku-jin ja arimasen)
Tom is not a foreigner.

それはざっしです。 (sore wa zasshi desu)
That is a magazine.
ぞれはざっしじゃありません。 (sore wa zasshi ja arimasen)
That is not a magazine.


BUT take this for example:

このとんかつはおいしいです。 (kono tonkatsu wa oishii desu)
This pork cutlet is delicious.

このとんかつはおいしいじゃありません。 (kono tonkatsu wa oishii ja arimasen)
>> This sentence is grammatically wrong, because おいしい (oishii) is not a noun but an adjective.
>> It should be このとんかつはおいしくない。(oshikunai) or おいしくありません。(oishiku arimasen). We will review this later.

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Vocabulary たんご 

外国人	がいこくじん	gaikokujin	foreigner
雑誌	ざっし	zasshi	maganize
	とんかつ	tonkatsu	pork cutlet

Time 時間 (Jikan)

Tell the time in Japanese. Using the number post and combine it with 時 (ji) and 分 (fun/pun), we can easily tell the time.

Hours じ (ji)

The kanji for hours is written as 時.

number + じ = hour

いちじ
ichi-ji

にじ
 ni-ji

さんじ
san-ji

よじ
yo-ji (note: 4 is "yon", but when used with hour its "yo")

ごじ
go-ji

ろくじ
roku-ji

しちじ
shichi-ji (note: 7 is "nana" but "shichi" is preferred when used with hour)

はちじ
hachi-ji

くじ
ku-ji (note: 9 is "kyuu", but when used with hour its "ku")

じゅうじ
juu-ji

じゅういちじ
juuichi-ji





じゅうにじ
juuni-ji

Minutes ふん/ぷん (fun/pun)

The kanji for hours is written as 分. "fun" or "pun" is used depending on the minute it is, no choice but to memorize it.

number + ふん/ぷん = minute

1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 uses ふん
2, 5, 7, 9 uses ぷん

1 - いっぷん(ip-pun)
2 - にふん (ni-fun)
3 - さんぷん (san-pun)
4 - よんぷん (yon-pun)
5 - ごふん (go-fun)
6 - ろっぷん (rop-pun)
7 - ななふん (nana-fun)
8 - はっぷん (hap-pun) or はちふん (hachi-fun)
9 - きゅうふん (kyuu-fun)
10 - じゅっぷん (jup-pun)
11 - じゅういっぷん (juuip-pun)
30 - さんじゅっぷん (sanjup-pun) or はん (han) note: はん means half. (E.g: san-ji han = 03:30)

A.M. ごぜん (gozen) & P.M. ごご (gogo)

A.M. - 午前 (gozen)
P.M. - 午後 (gogo)

"gozen" and "gogo" is said before the time.


Examples:
いまはなんじですか。(ima wa nan-ji desu ka)
What is the time now?
ごぜんはちじにじゅっぷんです。(gozen hachi-ji nijup-pun desu)
It is 08:20AM.

東京はいまなんじですか。(Toukyou wa ima nanji desu ka)
What is the time now in Tokyo?
ごごくじはんです。(gogo ku-ji han desu)
It is 09:30PM.


Let's do some self practice:
1) 02:00AM
2) 07:03AM
3) 10:45PM
4) 12:30AM
5) 12:30PM
6) 05:11AM
7) 08:08PM
8) 01:59AM

も (mo)

A　は　X　です。    A is X.
B　も　X　です。    B too is X.

- も (mo) is literally translated as "too".
- use when 2 different nouns (A & B) has the same property
- but NOT when 1 noun contains 2 different properties.

Example:

やまださんはみちこさんが大好きです。 (Yamada-san wa Michiko-san ga daisuki desu)
 Yamada loves Michiko.
たけしさんもみちこさんがだいすきです。(Takeshi-san mo Michiko-san ga daisuki desu)
 Takeshi too loves Michiko.

このかばんは８０００円です。(kono kaban wa 8000 en desu)
 This bag is 8000 yen.
そのとけいも８０００円です。(sono tokei mo 8000 en desu)


 This watch too is 8000 yen.

せんしゅうはジムでうんどうしました。(senshuu wa gimu de endou shimashita.)
 I exercised at the gym last week.
今日もジムでうんどうします。(kyou mo gimu de endou shimasu.)
 I exercise at the gym today as well.

The examples aboves describe 2 different noun having the same properties.
But these examples below descibes a noun with 2 different properties, which is wrong when using も

みちこさんはかわいいです。(Michiko-san wa kawaii desu)
 Michiko is cute.
みちこさんもやさしいです。(Michiko-san mo yasashii desu)    (X - this is wrong)
 Michiko is kind-hearted.

Note: The 2nd sentence is wrong, because by just reading the 2nd sentence itself - it would imply someone besides Michiko is also kind-hearted. Instead, it should be said as みちこさんはやさしいでもあります。(Michiko-san wa yasashii de mo arimasu)

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Vocabulary たんご 

鞄	かばん	kaban	bag
時計	とけい	tokei	watch, clock
先週	せんしゅう	senshuu	last week
	ギム	gimu	gym
運動する	うんどうする	undou suru	to exercise
可愛い	かわいい	kawaii	cute
優しい	やさしい	yasashii	kind-hearted

だれ (dare) and だれの (dareno)

だれ (dare) - who

Remember だれ (dare) is a question word and must not use は (wa) but instead followed by が (ga)

Example:
だれがきのうのパーティーに行きましたか。(dare ga kinou no paatii ni ikimashita ka)
Who went to yesterday's party?

ブラッド・ピットはだれですか。(Buratto Pitto wa dare desu ka)
Who is Brad Pitt?

あのきょうしつにだれがいますか。(Ano kyoushitsu ni dare ga imasu ka)
Who is in that classroom?

この女はだれですか。(kono onna wa dare desu ka)
Who is that woman?

だれの (dareno) + noun = whose

Example:
これはだれのぼうしですか。(kore wa dareno boushi desu ka)
Whose cap is this?

これはだれのえんぴつですか。(kore wa dareno enpitsu desu ka)
Whose pencil is this?

メリーさんはだれの彼女ですか。(Merii-san wa dareno kanojo desu ka)
Mary is whose girlfriend?

この人はだれのせんせいですか。(kono hito wa dareno sensei desu ka)
That person is whose teacher?

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Vocabulary たんご 

昨日	きのう	kinou	Yesterday
教室	きょうしつ	kyoushitsu	Classroom
女	おんな	onna	Woman
帽子	ぼうし	boushi	Cap, hat
鉛筆	えんぴつ	enpitsu	Pencil

Ko-So-A-Do （こそあど）

Kosoado （こそあど） is actually a mnemonic for this topic.
I have also include this drawing to represent the Kosoado, hopefully you find it useful.

これ ・ それ ・ あれ ・ どれ (kore - sore - are - dore)

>> We use these when talking/referring to an item which name we are not sure of.

kosoado + re （こそあど ＋れ）

これ (kore) - this, close to you (speaker)
それ (sore) - that, close to listener
あれ (are) - that over there (far from both)
どれ (dore) - which?

Example:
これはいくらですか。(kore wa ikura desu ka)
 How much is this?

それは三千円です。(sore wa sanzen en desu)
 That is 3000 yen.

どれが田中さんのけいたいでんわですか。(dore ga Nakata-san no keitai denwa desu ka)
 Which is Nakata's cellphone?

あれです。 (are desu)
 It is that (one).

Note: As どれ (dore) is a question word, it CANNOT be followed by は (wa), so instead it uses が (ga). You may notice the same happened with なに(nani) back in the previous post

この ・ その ・ あの ・ どの (kono - sono - ano - dono)

>> To be more specific than kore, sore, are and dore; we can use the following with a noun.

kosoado + no （こそあど ＋の） + NOUN

この... (kono) - this... , close to you (speaker)
その... (sono) - that... , close to listener
あの... (ano) - that... over there, (far from both)
どの... (dono) - which...?

Example:

このかさはいくらですか。(kono kasa wa ikura desu ka)
 How much is this umbrella?

そのかさは三千円です。(sono kasa wa sanzen en desu)
 That umbrella is 3000 yen.

あのときはほんとうにうれしかったです。(ano toki wa hontouni ureshikatta desu)
 (I) was really happy that time.

どのかさが三千円ですか。(dono kasa ga sanzen en desu ka)
 Which umbrella is 3000 yen?

Note: The same happens to どの (doko) which is also a question word, and as such its followed by が (ga).

ここ ・ そこ ・ あそこ ・ どこ (koko - soko - asoko - doko)

>> The following are used when referring to place/location

kosoado + ko （こそあど ＋こ）

ここ (koko) - here , close to you (speaker)
そこ (soko) - there , close to listener
あそこ (asoko) - over there, (far from both)
どこ (doko) - where?
  
Note:There is a small exception for asoko which is instead of ako

Example:
私はここにいる。(watashi wa koko ni iru)
 I am here.

そこはさむいです。(soko wa samui desu)
 It is cold there.

すみません、上野駅はどこですか。(sumimasen, Ueno-eki wa doko desu ka)
 Excuse me, where is Ueno Station?

あそこです。(asoko desu)
 It is over there.


This topic covers on 3 uses with kosoado, however there are still a few other uses of kosoado which will be covered in later posts.

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Vocabulary たんご 

	いくら	ikura	How much?
けいたい電話	けいたいでんわ	keitai denwa	Cellphone
傘	かさ	kasa	Umbrella
本当に	ほんとうに	hontouni	Really
車	くるま	kuruma	Car
嬉しい	うれしい	ureshii	Happy
駅	えき	eki	Train station

Numbers すうじ (Suuji)

Today, lets do something different from the regular grammar. Let's learn about counting numbers in Japanese.

Counting 1 to 10 is as simple as... well, memorizing the below.
Most numbers in Japanese have multiple pronunciation which are use in different situation (e.g when used with time, month, age, counters). We will look at these at later posts.
But to count from 1 to 10, just follow the first pronunciation in the table below.

0		れい (rei)、ゼロ (zero)
1	一	いち (ichi)
2	二	に (ni)
3	三	さん (san)
4	四	よん (yon)、し (shi)、よ (yo)
5	五	ご (go)
6	六	ろく (roku)
7	七	なな (nana)、しち (shichi)
8	八	はち (hachi)
9	九	きゅう (kyuu)、く (ku)
10	十	じゅう (juu)

Counting beyond from 10 to 19 is also easy.
For example 11 is by adding 10 + 1 literally. じゅう + いち = じゅういち.

11	十一	じゅういち (juu ichi)
12	十二	じゅうに (juu ni)

Then the 20, 30, 40 and so on are easy as well.
For example 20 is like saying "two tens" or maybe 2 x 10. に x じゅう = にじゅう
So if we want to say 31, its (3 x 10) + 1.  さん x じゅう + いち = さんじゅういち

20	二十	にじゅう (ni juu)
30	三十	さんじゅう (san juu)
31	三十一	さんじゅういち (san juu ichi)
32	三十二	さんじゅうに (san juu ni)

Now lets do the big numbers. The rules are still the same.
For example: 5241 will be (5 x 1000) + (2 x 100) + (4 x 10) + 1, and thus 五千二百四十一

100	百	ひゃく (hyaku)
1,000	千	せん (sen)
10,000	万	まん (man)
100,000,000	億	おく (oku)
1,000,000,000,000	兆	ちょう (chou)

Note: When saying 10,000 its いちまん (ichiman) unlike 100 and 1000 which is just ひゃく (hyaku) and せん (sen).

However, there are some special exceptions on the pronunciation for some of the special numbers. Here's a list of them:

• 300 is さんびゃく (sanbyaku) and not sanhyaku
• 600 is ろっぴゃく (roppyaku) and not rokuhyaku
• 800 is はっぴゃく (happyaku) and not hachihyaku
• 3000 is さんぜん (sanzen) and not sansen
• 8000 is はっせん (hassen) and not hachisen
• 1,000,000,000,000 is いっちょう (icchou) and not ichichou

Here's a fast way to remember the pronunciation for numbers:

• counters that start with "h" (e.g hyaku)
  - 3 will become びゃく (byaku) e.g さんびゃく (san-byaku)
  - 6 will become ぴゃく (pyaku) e.g ろっぴゃく (rop-pyaku)
  - 9 will become ぴゃく (pyaku) e.g はっぴゃく (hap-pyaku)
• counters that start with "s" (e.g sen)
  - 3 will become ぜん (zen) e.g さんぜん (san-zen)
  - 8 will become ぜん (sen) e.g はっせん (has-sen)

Let's do some self practice. Write or read the numbers below in Japanese.

i) 24
ii) 66
iii) 349
iv) 608
v) 1030
vi) 3333
vii) 10000
viii) 98601

noun1 の noun2

Today's topic is another easy one, the particle の (no). It is one of the most basic and common particle.

noun1 の noun2

- connects two nouns
- acts like a possessive in English ('s)
- main idea is always express at the back (noun2) while the noun1 acts more like a description.
- の (no) can also be used multiple times in a sentence

Let's see some examples to understand:

Example:
やましたせんせいのくるま。（Yamashita-sensei no kuruma)
 Professor Yamashita's car / A car of Professor Yamashita.
>> Here の (no) acts like a possessive. A car belonging to Professor Yamashita.

日本のだいがく。(Nihon no daigaku)
 A college in Japan.
>> The main idea is always placed at the back. "College" is the main idea, while Japan acts as a description for the college.

日本のじょせい。(Nihon no josei)
 A Japanese woman.
>> Similar with last example, the main idea is about the woman. 
Note: that in English the main idea can be either in front or back while in Japanese it's consistently at the back.

わたしのせんせいのなまえ。(Watashi no sensei no namae)
 My teacher's name.
>> In this example, の (no) is used multiple times. The main idea here is "name" which is at the back.

トムさんのかのじょはわたしのせんぱいです。(Tomu-san no kanojo wa watashi no senpai desu)
 Tom's girlfriend is my senior.
>> Here noun1 の noun2 actually acts like a big noun itself.


Note: What is "Main idea"?
Take for example やまださんのへや (Yamada-san no heya) which means "Yamada's room".
Yamada-san no heya
   : is a room (so its the main idea)
   : is NOT Yamada (thus Yamada is not the main idea)

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Vocabulary たんご 

車	くるま	kuruma	car
女性	じょせい	josei	woman, female
名前	なまえ	namae	name
先輩	せんぱい	senpai	honorific senior, superior
部屋	へや	heya	room

Open & Close Questions

Like most languages, Japanese has open and close questions as well.

i) Closed Questions

regular sentence + か =  CLOSED question sentence

• Closed questions are answered with either YES or NO answer.

What we have seen in the last blog post are examples of closed questions.

Example:
ロバートさんはアメリカじんですか。(Robaato-san wa Amerika-jin desu ka)
 Is Robert an American?
はい/いいえ。 (Hai/Iie)
 Yes/No

ii) Opened Questions

• Opened questions are mainly "What","Why", "Where", "Why" and "How".
• We will concentrate on "What" for now. This involve using なに (nani) and なん (nan)

 

a) なに (nani)

> > Use before a particle

Example:
なにが好きですか。(Nani ga suki desu ka)
 What do you like?

なにがだいきらいですか。 (Nani ga daikirai desu ka)
 What do you hate the most?

> > Use in combination with other words

Example: 
なにいろが好きですか。(Nani iro ga suki desu ka)
 What colour do you like?

ロバートさんはなにじんですか。(Robaato-san wa nanijin desu ka)
 What is Robert's nationality?
Note:  なにじん (nanijin) is often used to ask the nationality of a person.

b) なん (nan)

>> Immediately before です(desu)

Example:
せんもんはなんですか。(Senmon wa nan desu ka)
 What is your major?

これはなんですか。(Kore wa nan desu ka)
 What is this?

>> Before the particulars の (no) and で (de)
Note: we will explore further on these particle in the coming blog post. But for now, just read on.

Example:
今日はなんの日ですか。(Kyou wa nan no hi desu ka)
 What day is today?

なんで日本語をべんきょうしますか。 (Nan de nihongo wo benkyou shimasu ka)
How do you study Japanese language?

>> Before a counter

Example:
今はなんじですか。(Ima wa nan-ji desu ka)
 What time is it now?

あなたはなんさいですか。(Anata wa nansai desu ka)
 What is your age?

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Vocabulary たんご 

はい		hai	yes
いいえ		iie	no
アメリカ		Amerika	United States of America
好き	すき	suki	like
嫌い	きらい	kirai	hate
色	いろ	iro	colour
専門	せんもん	senmon	major, specialty
日本語	にほんご	nihongo	Japanese language
勉強	べんきょう	benkyou	to study
あなた		anata	you
～歳	～さい	~sai	~years old, age

～か (ka)

This is one of the easiest Japanese grammar I have learned.

• Just by adding a か to the end of any sentence will make it into a question sentence.
• And there is no need for a question mark (?) after か

regular sentence + か = question sentence

Examples:
トムさんは大学生です。(Tomu-san wa daigakusei desu)
 Tom is a high school student.
トムさんは大学生ですか。(Tomu-san wa daigakusei desu ka)
 (Is) Tom a high school student?

あしたはやすみです。(ashita wa yasumi desu)
 Tomorrow is a holiday.
あしたはやすみですか。(ashita wa yasumi desu ka)
 (Is) Tomorrow a holiday?

メリーはトムさんのかのじょです。(Merii-san wa Tomu-san no kanojo desu)
 Mary is Tom's girlfriend.
メリーはトムさんのかのじょですか。(Merii-san wa Tomu-san no kanojo desu ka)
 (Is) Mary Tom's girlfriend?

８００円です。(800en desu)
 It is 800 yen.
８００円ですか。(800en desu ka)
 (Is) it 800 yen?

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Vocabulary たんご 

大学	だいがく	daigaku	university or college
大学生	だいがくせい	daigakusei	university or college student
明日	あした	ashita	tomorrow
彼女	かのじょ	kanojo	her, she, girlfriend
休み	やすみ	yasumi	recess, rest, holiday, vacation

X はY です (X wa Y desu)

This is the very basic form of Japanese sentence.

• to identify a subject (X) as noun (Y)
• the subject (X) may often be omitted (we will look into this below)
• the noun (Y) does not have plural or singular. It can be either.
• take note that the particle は (ha) is actually pronounced as "wa" in this context.

Examples:
私はトムです。(watashi wa Tomu desu)
 I am Tom.

せんせいは日本人です。(sensei wa nihonjin desu)
 Teacher is a Japanese person.

きょうはいい天気です。 (kyou wa ii tenki desu)
 As for today, it is a fine weather.

これはにもつです。(kore wa nimotsu desu)
 This is a luggage.

• The subject (X) is often omitted and it is very common among Japanese. 
• It is omitted when it is obvious to the listener what or who they are referring to.

Example:
がくせいです。(gakusei desu)
 (I) am a student.

８００円です。(800en desu)
 (It /The watch) is 800 yen.

たのしいです。(tanoshii desu)
 (It) is fun.

おもしろいです。(omoshiroi desu)
 (The Japanese class) is fun.

• Also take note that the subject (Y) can be either plural or singular.
• Thus with a sentence like 日本人です(nihonjin desu) it can mean any of these:

We are Japanese people.
You are a Japanese person.
They are Japanese people.
I am a Japanese.
She is a Japanese.
Tom is a Japanese.

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Vocabulary たんご 

先生	せんせい	sensei	honorific for teacher, professor, doctor
今日	きょう	kyou	today
私	わたし	watashi	I
日本人	にほんじん	nihonjin	Japanese person
天気	てんき	tenki	weather
荷物	にもつ	nimotsu	luggage
学生	がくせい	gakusei	student
円	えん	en	Yen, Japanese currency
楽しい	たのしい	tanoshii	fun, enjoyable (i-adjective)
面白い	おもしろい	omoshiroi	interesting (i-adjective)

Common Greetings - あいさつ (aisatsu)

Here are some of the most common greetings that Japanese use in their daily conversations.


おはようございます (ohayou gozaimasu)
Good morning.

こんにちは (konnichiwa)
Good day. Hello. It is actually more of a daytime greeting rather than a direct meaning of "Good afternoon". Take note that its pronounce as "konnichiwa" although it is written as "konnichiha".

こんばんは (konbanwa)
Good evening. Similar to konnichiwa, its is pronounced as "konbanwa" although the hiragana is "konbanha".

おやすみなさい (oyasuminasai)
Good night.


ありがとうございます (arigatou gozaimasu)
Thank you.

すみません (sumimasen)
It can mean "Excuse me" when you are trying to get the waiter's attention or when you are barging through a crowded street.
It can also mean "Sorry" when apologizing for the trouble caused
It can also mean "Thank you" when you show your appreciation to someone.

ごめんなさい (gomen nasai)
It means sorry as well, but at a more casual level than sumimasen. Gomennasai may be more common when apologizing among peers, whilst sumimasen when apologizing to someone more senior.

しつれします (shitsure shimasu)
It is more formal than sumimasen and often used with superiors. Like for example, you would like to excuse yourself from a room with a professor.

もうしわけありません (moushiwake arimasen)
This is a very formal expression for apology.


いらっしゃいませ (irasshaimase)
Welcome! as in when welcoming guest into your business premises.

ようこそ (youkoso)
Welcome as in "Welcome to Japan"

いってきます (ittekimasu)
Literally means "I will go and come back". Often use when one is going out from home for school, work, etc. It is a combination of the words "いく" which means to go and "くる" which means to come.


いってらっしゃい (itterasshai）
This is a response to ittekimasu that can literally mean "Please go and come back". It is often wished by family members or friends that the someone will have a safe journey and comes home safely.

ただいま (tadaima)
I'm home. Use when you reached home.


おかえりなさい (okaerinasai)
Welcome home. It is a response to tadaima.

いただきます (itadakimasu)
Literally means "Thank you for the food". It is an expression of gratitude before a meal. It is often uttered while holding both of your palms together while clasping the chopstick between your thumbs and 2nd finger together.

ごちそうさま (gochisousama)
Again it means "Thank you for the food" but it is uttered after the meal. Often when in a restaurant setting, it is to acknowledge to the chef that you have thoroughly enjoy his cooking.

おつかれさま (otsukaresama)
Thank you for your hard work. Used amongst colleagues when you leave for home. Or it can also be a sign of gratitude for a job well done by someone.

おじゃまします (ojamashimasu)
Sorry for disturbing. An expression used when entering someone's home.

おまたせしました (omataseshimashita)
I am sorry for keeping you waiting.


さようなら (sayounara)
Farewell. Goodbye.
Note: Normally, sayounara is used when parting for a very long time or in other words "So long, till fate meets us again".
If you are parting with your friend at the end of the day and expecting to see them again very soon, you should say じゃあ、また。(Jaa, mata) or じゃ、ね。(Jaa, ne) which both means "See you soon"


はじめまして (hajimemashite)
Nice to meet you. A common greeting when you meet some one for the first time. hajimemashite comes from the root word hajimeru which means "to begin/start"

どうぞよろしくおねがいします (douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu)
It is difficult to have a direct translation for this. But it is often used at the end of an introduction. It means something along the line of "Please take care of me", "I am in your debt", "Please be kind to me" and "Pleased to meet you"
 e.g: はじめまして。トムです。どうぞよろしくおねがいします。
Nice to meet you. I am Tom. Please take care of me.