~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