Here are some characteristics of Japanese grammar.

1. Japanese nouns have no gender (languages such as French or Spanish do) or number (there is
no singular or plural).
 Senshuu watashi wa hon o san-satsu yonda. （先週私は本を三冊読んだ。） --- I read
three books last week.
 Tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu. （机の上に本があります。） --- There is a book on
the table.
 Watashi wa inu o ni-hiki katte imasu. （私は犬を二匹かっています。） --- I have two
dogs.
 Tonari no inu wa yoku hoeru. （隣の犬はよくほえる。） --- The neighbor's dog often
barks.

Verb conjugation is not affected by the gender or number.

 Watashi wa nihon-jin desu. （私は日本人です。） --- I am Japanese.
 Kanojo wa amerika-jin desu. （彼女はアメリカ人です。） --- She is American.
 Kare wa asu nihon ni ikimasu. （彼は明日日本に行きます。） --- He goes to Japan
tomorrow.
 Karera wa asu nihon ni ikimasu. （彼らは明日日本に行きます。） --- They go to
Japan tomorrow.

Japanese verbs have only two tenses: the present and the past.
 Watashi wa maiasa shichi-ji ni okimasu. （私は毎朝七時に起きます。） --- I get up at
seven every morning.
 Otouto wa hachi-ji ni okimashita. （弟は八時に起きました。） --- My brother got up at
eight.

Japanese Writing Systems

The Japanese writing system is totally different from English, because it does not use an
alphabet. It may be the most difficult part of Japanese to learn, but I think it is also fun and
interesting. There are three different types of writing scripts in Japanese.

1. Kanji
2. Hiragana
3. Katakana
One writes Japanese using a combination of all three. Roughly speaking, kanji represents blocks
of meaning (nouns, stems of adjectives and verbs) and hiragana expresses the grammatical
relationship between them (endings of adjectives and verbs, particles). Katakana is used for
foreign names, the names of foreign places and words of foreign origin. My article, "Katakana in
the Matrix" shows you how kanji, hiragana and katakana are used in a sentence.

If you want to learn Japanese writing, start with hiragana and katakana, then kanji. Hiragana and
katakana are simpler than kanji, and have only 46 characters each. It is possible to write an entire
Japanese sentence in hiragana. For example, many children's books are written in hiragana only.
Japanese children start to read and write in hiragana before making an attempt to learn some of
the two thousand kanji commonly used.
Japanese Education System Vocabulary

Here are some words to practice related to the Japanese education system. Click here to read the
article, "The Japanese Education System".

学校 (gakkou) school

幼稚園 (youchien) kindergarten

小学校 (shougakkou) elementary school

中学校 (chuugakkou) junior high school

高校 (koukou) high school

大学 (daigaku) university

学生 (gakusei) student

Besides the three forms of writing (kanji, hiragana, katakana), Japanese is sometimes written in
Romaji. Romaji is primarily used for the convenience of foreigners. With Romaji, one can read
Japanese without knowing any Japanese writing system. Although there are several systems of
Romaji, the most widely used is a modified Hepburn system.

All three types of Japanese characters are designed to be written in vertical lines, from right to
left, but they can be written horizontally as well. Years ago, almost all Japanese writing was
vertical, but the horizontal style has slowly become more popular since it is easier to include
Arabic numerals and passages from other foreign languages. However most newspapers still
retain the vertical style.

Characteristics of the Japanese Language

 Do you still think Japanese is a difficult language to learn? I would say "No!". Of course, it is a
little hard to master all Japanese writing, but for speaking it is not as hard as you think. Here are
some facts.
1. Japanese is easy to pronounce. It has only five vowels.
2. Japanese nouns do not have gender, and rarely, number aspects. With most Japanese nouns,
number is not an issue. The same word is used for one or more than one. For example, "hon"
can mean "a book" or "books" and "kuruma" means "a car" or "cars."
3. Verb conjugation is not affected by the gender or number. The same verb is used no matter
what the subject is.
 私はビデオをよく見ます。(Watashi wa bideo o yoku mimasu.) --- I watch videos often.
 彼はテレビをよく見ます。(Kare wa terebi o yoku mimasu.) --- He watches TV often.
Japanese verbs have only two tenses; the present tense and the past tense. The present tense
refers to habitual action or the future. The past tense is used for actions completed in the past.
It is also equivalent to the English present perfect or past perfect."
Click here to check out the Language Poll, "Do you think Japanese is easier to learn compared
to

Word Order

English is a subject-verb-object language. (so are French, Spanish, etc.) Japanese is a subject-
object-verb language. (so are Korean, Turkish, etc.) Generally the subject comes first, then the
object and the verb comes at the end of the sentence.

subject object verb

Tanaka-san wa ringo o tabemasu.
Mr. Tanaka apple eat.
Tom-san wa terebi o mimashita.
Tom TV watched.
"San" is a title of respect added to a name. (so it can not be used when referring to oneself.)
"Wa" and "o" are particles. They are like English prepositions, but they always come after nouns.
Particles are very important for proper Japanese sentence structure. I will introduce them
gradually later.
Composing questions in Japanese is easy! The word order remains the same, and a sentence
becomes a question by adding the particle "ka" at the end. Question marks are not used in
Japanese.

Tanaka-san wa Does Mr. Tanaka eat apples?

ringo o tabemasu ka.
田中さんはりんごを食べますか。
Tom-san wa terebi o mimashita ka. Did Tom watch TV?
トムさんはテレビを見ましたか。

Here are some very useful and simple expressions.

Sumimasen (すみません）-one can use this in several situations.

(1) Excuse me!

(2) Thank you.

(3) I'm sorry.

(4) Pardon me.

If you have ever had the chance to hear Japanese being spoken, you might notice that they often
use "sumimasen（すみません）". Also, if you have ever hear a Japanese person speaking
English, you might notice they sometimes mix up "excuse me" and "I'm sorry" because the
Japanese use the same word for both expressions.

Douzo and Doumo

When one offers something "douzo（どうぞ）" can be used. A simple reply is

"doumo（どうも）". "Doumo arigatou gozaimasu（どうもありがとうございます）" is a very polite
way of saying, "Thank you very much". A more casual response is either
"arigatou（ありがとう）" or "doumo（どうも）".
Dialogue in Romaji
Namiko: Hajimemashite, Namiko desu.
Douzo yoroshiku.
Paul: Hajimemashite, Paul desu.
Douzo yoroshiku.

Dialogue in Japanese

奈美子: はじめまして、奈美子です。
どうぞよろしく。
ポール: はじめまして、ポールです。
どうぞよろしく。
Wa is a particle which is like English prepositions, but always comes after nouns. Desu（です）
is a topic marker and can be translated as "is" or "are". It also acts as an equal sign.
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 Watashi wa Namiko desu. I am Namiko.
私は奈美子です。
Kore wa hon desu. This is a book.
これは本です。

Japanese often omit the topic when it is obvious to the other person.

When introducing yourself, "watashi wa（私は）" can be omitted. It will sound more natural to
a Japanese person. In a conversation, "watashi（私）" is rarely used. "Anata（あなた)" which
means you is similarly avoided.

"Hajimemashite（はじめまして）" is used when meeting a person for the first time.

"Hajimeru（はじめる）" is the verb which means "to begin". "Douzo
yoroshiku（どうぞよろしく）" is used when you introduce yourself, and other times when you are
asking a favor of someone.

Besides family or close friends, Japanese are rarely addressed by their given names. If you go to
Japan as a student, people will probably address you by your first name, but if you go there on
business, it is better to introduce yourself with your last name. (in this situation, Japanese never
introduce themselves with their first name).

Translation for the Dialogue

Namiko: How do you do? I'm Namiko.
Nice to meet you.
Paul: How do you do? I'm Paul.
Nice to meet you.
Notes

Katakana is used for foreign names, places and words. If you are not Japanese, your name can be
written in katakana.
When introducing yourself, the bow (ojigi) is preferred to a handshake. Ojigi is an essential part
of daily Japanese life. If you live in Japan for a long time, you will begin bowing automatically.
You might even bow when you are talking on the phone (like many Japanese do)!

First Meetings/ Introductions (2)

Dialogue in Romaji
Namiko: Yamada san, konnichiwa. Kochira wa Paul-san desu.
Paul: Hajimemashite, Paul desu. Douzo yoroshiku.
Yamada: Hajimemashite, Yamada desu. O-kuni wa dochira desu ka.
Paul: Kanada desu.

Dialogue in Japanese

奈美子: 山田さん、こんにちは。こちらはポールさんです。
ポール: はじめまして、ポールです。どうぞよろしく。
山田: はじめまして、山田です。 お国はどちらですか。
ポール: カナダです。
Do you remember what to say for the first meeting? If not click here.

We have learned basic structure: A wa B desu. = A is B.

"Kochira（こちら）" means "this person". When addressing people, "san（さん）" (Mr./ Mrs./
Miss etc.) can be attached. "San" may be used with both female and male names, and either
family name or first name. It can not be used after your name when referring to yourself.
"Kuni（国）" means "country". "O" is a prefix used to make nouns honorific. "O" can not
be used when referring to yourself. "Dochira（どちら）" is a less direct and more polite way of
asking "where". "Doko（どこ）" is a casual way of asking the same question. "Ka" is asentence
ending particle and makes a sentence into a question.

Let's try!

Once you know the structure above, you can make more questions with a little change.
 O-namae wa nan desu ka What is your name?
お名前は何ですか。
O-shigoto wa nan desu ka. What is your job?
お仕事は何ですか。

Here are the phrases to answer these questions.

Namiko (your name) desu. I am Namiko.

奈美子 (your name) です。
Gakusei (your occupation) desu. I am a student.
学生 (your occupation) です。

Translation for the Dialogue

Namiko: Hello, Mr. Yamada. This is Paul.
Paul: How do you do? I am Paul. Nice to meet you.
Yamada: How do you do? I am Yamada.
Where are you from? (Literally means, what is your country?)
Paul: I am from Canada.

Telling Time

Dialogue in Romaji
Paul: Sumimasen. Ima nan-ji desu ka.
Otoko no hito: San-ji juugo fun desu.
Paul: Doumo arigatou.
Otoko no hito: Dou itashimashite.

Dialogue in Japanese

ポール: すみません。 今何時ですか。

男の人: 三時十五分です。
ポール: どうもありがとう。
男の人: どういたしまして。
Do you remember the expression "Sumimasen（すみません）"? This is a very useful phrase.
You can use it in various situations. In this case it means "Excuse me."
"Ima nan-ji desu ka（今何時ですか）" means "What time is it now?"

I'll show you how to count in Japanese so that you can tell the time.
 1 ichi （一） 2 ni （二）
3 san （三） 4 yon/shi （四）
5 go （五） 6 roku （六）
7 nana/shichi （七） 8 hachi （八）
9 kyuu/ku （九） 10 juu （十）
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Once you memorize 1~10, the rest of the numbers are easy.

11 juuichi (10+1) 20 nijuu (2X10) 30 sanjuu (3X10)

12 juuni (10+2) 21 nijuuichi (2X10+1) 31 sanjuuichi (3X10+1)
13 juusan (10+3) 22 nijuuni (2X10+2) 32 sanjuuni (3X10+2)
Click here for more numbers with the sound files.

Quiz (1)

Read the following numbers. Answers below this page.

(a) 45
(b) 78
(c) 93

"Ji（時）" means "o'clock." "Fun/pun（分）" means "minutes." To express the time, say the
hours first, then the minutes, then add "desu（です）". There is no special word for quarter
hours. "Han（半）" means half, as in half past the hour. The hours are quite simple, but you
need to watch out for four, seven and nine.

4 o' clock yo-ji (not yon-ji)

7 o' clock shichi-ji (not nana-ji)
9 o'clock ku-ji (not kyuu-ji)
Click here for the time expressions with the sound files.

Quiz (2)

Read the following times. Answers below this page.

(a) 1:15
(b) 4:30
(c) 8:42
Translation for the Dialogue
Paul: Excuse me. What time is it now?
Man: It is 3:15.
Paul: Thank you.
Man: You are welcome.

Dialogue in Romaji
Paul: Ginkou wa doko desu ka.
Namiko: Asoko desu.
Paul: Nan-ji kara desu ka.
Namiko: Ku-ji kara desu.
Paul: Doumo.

Dialogue in Japanese

ポール: 銀行はどこですか。
奈美子: あそこです。
ポール: 何時からですか。
奈美子: 九時からです。
ポール: どうも。
Do you remember how to ask someone what country he or she is from? The answer is "Okuni wa
dochira desu ka（お国はどちらですか）." "Dochira（どちら）" and "doko（どこ）" both mean
"where". "Doko" is less formal.
How do you say, "What time is it?" The answer is "Nan-ji desu ka（何時ですか）."
Today's question is "Nan-ji kara desu ka（何時からですか）". "Kara（から）" is a particle and
means "from".

Quiz

Translate into Japanese. Check your answers at the end of the lesson.

(1) I'm from Japan.

(2) I'm from England.

Here are some vocabulary for the names of the countries.

Nihon Japan Ingurando England

 日本 イングランド
Amerika America Itaria Italy
アメリカ イタリア
Chuugoku China Kanada Canada
中国 カナダ
Doitsu Germany Mekishiko Mexico
ドイツ メキシコ
Furansu France Oosutoraria Australia
フランス オーストラリア
Click here to learn how to write the names of the countries in katakana.
Expressing the nationality is easy. Just put "jin(人)" (which means "person" or "people") after
the name of country.

Nihon-jin Japanese
日本人
Amerika-jin American
アメリカ人
Kanada-jin Canadian
カナダ人

Translation for the Dialogue

Paul: Where is the bank?
Namiko: It is over there.
Paul: What time is the bank open from?
Namiko: From 9:00.
Paul: Thanks.

Shopping

Dialogue in Romaji
Tenin: Irasshaimase.
Paul: Kore wa nan desu ka.
Tenin: Sore wa obi desu.
Paul: Ikura desu ka.
Tenin: Gosen en desu.
Paul: Sore wa ikura desu ka.
Tenin: Nisen gohyaku en desu.
Paul: Ja, sore o kudasai.

Dialogue in Japanese

店員: いらっしゃいませ。
ポール: これは何ですか。
店員: それは帯です。
ポール: いくらですか。
店員: 五千円です。
ポール: それはいくらですか。
店員: 二千五百円です。
ポール: じゃ、それをください。

"Irasshaimase(いらっしゃいませ)" is a greeting to customers in stores or restaurants. It literally

means "welcome." You are not expected to answer this greeting.

"Kore（これ）" means "this." "Sore（それ）" means "that." English has only "this" and "that."
Japanese has three separate indicators. "Are（あれ）" means "that over there." Click here to
learn more about "kore," "sore" and "are".

kore something near the speaker

これ
sore something near the person spoken to
それ
are something not near either person
あれ

To reply to a "what" question, simply substitute the answer for "nan(何)". Just remember to
change "kore（これ）," "sore（それ）" or "are（あれ）" depending on where the object is in
relation to you. Don't forget to take the "ka（か）" (question marker) off.

Q. Kore wa nan desu ka. (これは何ですか。)

A. Sore wa obi desu. (それは帯です。)
"Ikura（いくら）" means "how much."

You have already learned some Japanese numbers. Here are the hundreds and thousands.

100 hyaku 1000 sen

百 千
200 nihyaku 2000 nisen
二百 二千
300 sanbyaku 3000 sanzen
三百 三千
400 yonhyaku 4000 yonsen
四百 四千
500 gohyaku 5000 gosen
五百 五千
600 roppyaku 6000 rokusen
六百 六千
700 nanahyaku 7000 nanasen
七百 七千
800 happyaku 8000 hassen
八百 八千
900 kyuuhyaku 9000 kyuusen
九百 九千
Click here for more numbers with the sound files. vocabulary
"Kudasai（ください）" means "please give me". This follows the particle "o" (object marker).

Translation for the Dialogue

Store Clark: May I help you.
Paul: What is this?
Store Clark: That is an obi.
Paul: How much is it?
Store Clark: It is 5000 yen.
Paul: How much is that?
Store Clark: It is 2500 yen.
Paul: Well then, please give me that one.