2 - Introduction of Pronouns

Content: Introduction of Pronouns, Writing Practice Hiragana

sounds (A,I, U, E, O)
Aim: How do we say who we are in Japanese?
New Vocabulary: (We will cover the hiraganas in ( ) in later
chapters.)
Japanese

Romaji

English (Spanish)

watashi

I for formal and I for

female

boku

I for informal for

male

watashi tachi

we

nata

anata

you

natatachi

anata tachi

you - plural
(vosotros)

kare

he

kare ra

they males or
mixed gender group
(ellos)

kanojo

she

kanojo tachi

they females
(ellas)

gakuse / se to
/

Gakusei / seito

student

sense

sensei

teacher

I. Lesson Point:

In Japanese, nouns are made plural by the use of plural

compounds used with pronouns, by using counters or adverbs, or by
the context of the sentence. There is essentially no plural form for
nouns, everything is singular. In the example above the word for
student is the same whether it refers to one student or one hundred
students it is still the same.
Sample Sentences:
Watashi wa gakusei desu. (I am a student)
Watashi tachi wa gakusei desu. (We are students)
Kare wa gakusei desu. (He is a student)
Karera wa gakusei desu. (They males- are students)
Kanojo wa gakusei desu. (She is a student)
nata wa sensei desu (You are a teacher)
Kanojo wa sensei desu. (She is a teacher)
Kanojo tachi wa sensei desu. (They females are teachers)
S-2-1
I. Mini-Quiz: (Test your knowledge)
Part A: Write the English word in the spaces provided.
Watashi _________________________
Boku _________________________
Watashi tachi _________________________
Anata _________________________
Anata tachi _________________________
Kare _________________________
Kare ra _________________________
Part B: Fill in the blanks
a. _______ wa gakusei desu. (they males- are students)
b. _______ wa _______ desu. (she is a student)
c. ________ wa gakusei desu (we are students)
Quiz Answers:

Part A: I (female), I (male), we, you, you (plural), he, they (male
plural)
Part B: a. karera, b. kanojo, gakusei, c.watashitachi
Fun Fact:
You may have heard that Japanese people use the word San
after a persons last name when they are speaking to another
person in the formal sense. However did you know that there
are different suffixes that people use after a persons name to
address them based on the level of the relationship? Here are
the most common examples:
1. Tanaka sama sama is used after someones last name in a
very formal setting.
2. Tanaka san or Kaori san san is used after someones last or
first name in a formal or working environment. Especially when the
person you are speaking to is older than you or of a higher rank than
you.
3. Kaori chan chan is a term of endearment that is used to
address a female who is younger than you or someone who is very
close to you.
4. Keiji kun kun is used in the same way as chan but is only for
males.
Writing Practice: Hiragana (A, I, U, E, O)

Practice writing the following words in Hiragana

Blue - Ao - ___________________
House Ie - __________________
3. Love Ai - ____________________
4. Up Ue - ______________________