My Japanese Lessons

[Kubiatsu]

As I am currently teaching myself to speak Japanese (Nihongo) I thought I would post simple words, greetings, and sentences in Romaji (using the Latin alphabet to write the Japanese language) that I have learnt along the way, so if anyone else wishes to start learning, or if you are just curious, you can give it a go!

Lesson 1: Pronunciation & Word Order (The technical shizzle)

The Japanese language has only 5 vowels: A, I, U, E, O. They are terse vowels, pronounced clearly and sharply.

A - ah
I - ee
U - oo
E - eh
O - oh

If you want to learn how to pronounce the more advanced stuff then check out this link.

Japanese is a SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) language. English is typically SVO (Subject-Verb-Object). In Japanese, the verb usually always appears at the end of clauses and sentences. Japanese parts of speech are usually marked with words called "particles" that follow the word they modify. These particles identify the word's or phrase's function in the sentence; for example, topic, subject, direct/indirect object, location of action, etc.

Here is a sentence demonstrating the SOV differences:

Japanese (Romaji): Watashi wa hako o akemasu.
Gloss (Meaning): I (tpc) box (obj) open.
Parts: Subject Object Verb
English: I open the box.

The markers wa and o are, respectively, topic and object markers for the words that precede them. Technically, the sentence can be translated a number of ways ("a box", "the boxes", etc), but this does not affect the SOV analysis.

Lesson 2: Greetings

Hello - Konnichiwa
Good morning - Ohayou
Good evening - Konbanwa
Good night - Oyasumi
Good bye - Sayounara
See you later - Dewa mata
See you tomorrow - Mata ashita
How do you do - Hajimemashite
I'm glad to see you - Oai-deki-te ureshii-desu
How are you? - Ogenki desu-ka
I'm fine - Genki-desu
And you? - Anata wa?
I'm fine too - Watashi-mo genki-desu
Thank you - Arigatou

Lesson 3: Positive & Negative Replies

Yes - Hai
Yes it is - Hai sou-desu
I understand - Wakari-masita
I know - Wakatte-imasu
I think so - Sou omoi-masu
Sure/Of course - Mochiron-desu
OK - Ii-desu

No - Iie
I don't understand - Wakari-masen
I don't know - Shiri-masen
I didn't know that - Shiri-masen-deshita
I don't think so - Sou omoi-masen

Lesson 4: Situational Phrases

Self Introduction:

Nice to meet you - O-ai deki-te ureshii desu
Let me introduce myself - Jiko-shoukai sase-te kudasai
My name is... - Watashi no namae wa (insert name) desu
I am... years old - Watashi wa (insert age) sai desu
I'm from... - Watashi wa (place) shusshin desu
I live in... - Watashi wa (country) ni sun-de i masu
My hobby is... - Watashi no shumi wa (hobby) desu

Questions For Conversing:

May I ask your name? - O-namae wo kiite-mo iidesu-ka?
What is your name? - O-namae wa nan-desu-ka?
Tell me your name - O namae wo oshie-te kudasai
How old are you? - Nan-sai desu-ka?
What do you do? - O-shigoto wa nan-desu ka?
Where do you live? - Doko-ni sun-de imasu-ka?
Where are you from? - Shusshin wa doko-desuka?
Do you speak English? - Eigo wo hanashi-masu-ka?
What is your hobby? - Shumi wa nan-desu-ka?
Do you like...? - ... wa suki desu-ka?

Lesson 5: Coming Soon

I'm tired and bored of typing, so new lessons will come soon... Oyasumi!

[Remahlól]

Arigatou Sensei !

[Glynbeard]

It's kinda sad, but the only reason I know most of these sayings (and more) already is from Naruto... Does that mean I watch to much? :/

[Kubiatsu]

Haha nope that's good that you're taking it in Quan! Watching anime is a great way to submerge yourself in the language, and if you can watch it without subtitles and still understand what's going on, then well done! ^^

[mag1212]

this is nice

[Kubiatsu]

Thanks mag1212, I will be adding more lessons that go into numbers, objects, and locations soon!

[project anthrax]

haha nice service kubiatsu