Japanese Lessons Blogroom

Lesson 18: Renshuu: Practice Makes Perfect - Arimasu

2008-03-01T10:48:00.000+09:00

OK, it's time to take what you've learned in the past several lessons and ... (drum roll, not egg roll) ... apply it! Try some of these examples and see how well you do.

A) Practice changing the sentences around.

If it says, "There is an A there", change it to "The A is there" and vice-versa.
Also, try to write down the meaning of each of the sentences for practice.
You should be able to put it together if you have come this far.

Rei: Asoko ni niwa ga arimasu. --> Niwa wa asoko ni arimasu.

1. Koko ni shii-dii ga arimasu. -->
2. Niwa no ike ni sakana ga imasu. -->
3. Keiko-san wa doko ni imasu ka? -->
4. Heya ni neko wa imasen. -->
5. Sono teeburu ni biiru ga takusan arimasu. -->

B) Produce the following sentences.

Each one will get larger, but they are all complete sentences.

Rei: Arimasu; takusan; okane (money); watashi wa. --> Watashi wa okane ga takusan arimasu.

1. Imasen; amari; tomodachi (friend); imooto (younger sister) -->
2. Arimasu; san-gai (third floor); pooru (pool); anata-tachi no -->
3. Arimasu; takusan; okane; kanojo -->
4. Imasu; oji-san (middle-aged man); futotta; tabako-ya ni wa -->

C) Say the following in Japanese.
Be careful of the use of wa, ga, imasu, arimasu.

1. There are (some) cats here.
2. The tobacco shop is over there.
3. Over there is a fish.
4. Honda-san is over there.
5. There is a pen there.

And...

Take a deep breath

in..........

now......

out ........

You're doing a fantastic job! Now go turn off your computer, and head out into the great outdoors for some refreshing minus ions to help let your brain relax, and absorb what we have been learning about in these lessons!

I'll see you again soon.

- Sensei

P.S. Send me a message when you get this far and are ready for some more lessons. Until I get a few people who have come this far, I plan to give you a break.
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Possible answers to Part C:

1. There are (some) cats here. --> Koko ni neko ga imasu.
2. The tobacco shop is over there. --> Tabako-ya ga asoko ni arimasu.
3. Over there is a fish. --> Asoko ni sakana ga imasu.
4. Honda-san is over there. --> Honda-san wa asoko ni imasu.
5. There is a pen there. --> Asoko ni pen ga arimasu.

Lesson 17: More of a good thing - Plurals

2008-03-01T10:41:00.000+09:00

Unlike English where we put an s at the end of nouns to indicate more than one (in most cases), Japanese does not have singular and plural nouns (in most cases). This would mean that neko could mean cat or cats, depending on the situation. Usually it is understood in the context of the sentence.

However, with pronouns such as I (watashi/boku), you (anata/kimi), he (kare), she (kanojo) we pluralize them by adding -tachi to the end of the noun. 'We' becomes watashi-tachi, you becomes anata-tachi, they becomes kare-tachi or kanojo-tachi.

With kare or kanojo, one could also use the form -ra instead of -tachi to signify the plural (this is more informal). Here are just a few examples for you to look at:

1. Watashi-tachi wa ginko ni ikitai. (We want to go to the bank.)
2. Kanojo-tachi wa Nihon ni imasu. (They are in Japan.)
3. Kare-ra ni wa rippa-na ie ga arimasu. (They have a splendid house.)

But, but but but but but, if you attach the plural -tachi to people's names, it takes on a different meaning:

1. Yamamoto-san-tachi. (Mr./Mrs. Yamamoto and those around them. (often the family)
2. Keiko-chan-tachi. (Keiko and her buddies.)

And if you grab another kind of tachi with two hands and swing it around the room you can do some very serious damage because a tachi is the two-handed long sword of Japanese samurai days. Interesting, yes?

In the next lesson, let's practice.

More to come...

- Sensei

Next Lesson 18: Time for some Renshuu - Practice Makes Perfect.

Lesson 16: More on the verb Arimasu

2008-03-01T10:27:00.000+09:00

The Form, Part B

Sentences can become pretty complicated at this stage. The nice thing about Japanese, though, is that you can often omit a lot of words that you would need to have in English. Whereas English cannot function without a subject (be it a noun or pronoun), the subject in Japanese can be omitted altogether if it is already known. Watch:

1a. Watashi (ni) wa neko ga yon-hiki imasu. (I have four cats - hiki is the counter for small animals)
1b. Ippai imasu, ne. (You certainly do have a lot!) - note, the "you" (anata) is missing in the Japanese.

2a. Imasu. ((I) have (some).)
2b. Takusan imasu. ((I) have a lot.
2c. Kyodai ga takusan imasu. (There are many brothers & sisters/(I) have a lot of brothers & sisters.)
2d. Watashi (ni) wa kyodai ga takusan imasu. ((I) have many brothers & sisters.)

In number (2) if all of the subjects are known, you can simply say, Imasu (2a) to say the same thing as you would say in (2d) and therefore save yourself a lot of time and breath (especially if you are in a really smoky place and the cigarette smoke is killing you). It makes the language really handy, don't you think?

There is one other pattern that you should be aware of and that is ni wa will sometimes be used in place of wa. See the examples below:

1. Otooto ni wa tomodachi ga ippai imasu. (My brother has many friends.)
2. Kono heya ni wa shii-dii pureyaa ga arimasu ka? (Does this room have a CD player?)

One Final Note (+/-):When you change from positive tense to negative tense, you usually switch the ga to wa.

1. Otooto ni wa tomodachi wa amari imasen. (My brother doesn't have many friends.)
2. Kono heya ni wa shii-dii pureyaa wa arimasen ka? (Doesn't this room have a CD player?)

In the next two lessons on this topic we will talk about plurals, and then give you some practice sentences. Then we'll take a "culture pocket break".

- Sensei

Next Lesson 17: More of a good thing - Plurals

Lesson 15: Having & Being Continued

2008-03-01T10:19:00.000+09:00

The Form

Arimasu and imasu can be used to indicate location as well if used in the following pattern:

A wa B ni arimasu/imasu.

... where A is the topic of discussion and B is the place.

In this case you must use ni before arimasu/imasu in order to designate the location.

1. Neko wa soko ni imasu. (There is a cat there.)
2. Sakana no niku wa koko ni arimasu. (There is some fish meat here.)

You could also use the previously-learned pattern of A wa B desu to designate a similar meaning:

1. Neko wa soko desu. (The cat is "that place.")
2. Sakana no niku wa koko desu. (The fish meat is "this place.")

Either pattern is fine, but since today we are focusing on arimasu and imasu, let's stick with that pattern, shall we?

If you have forgotten how to use desu, please refer back to previous lessons.

Now you can switch around the location of the location in the sentence and put it in the beginning. If you wanted to do that, you would say, B ni A ga arimasu/imasu where B is still the location and A is the topic.

If you notice, ga has replaced wa in this case. Why? Simply, because A wa tends to be stuck at the beginning of a sentence but A ga does not have this restriction.

If you switch A and B around like this you are also changing the importance of A and B in relation to each other (the difference between the and a). You could also look at this as A wa is already understood or noticed while A ga is noticed for the first time.

A wa can also be used when comparing two things, even if one of the two is not actually mentioned (or present) - see example 7. and 8. below.

1. Toire wa asoko ni arimasu. (The toilet is over there.) - does this ring a bell?
2. Asoko ni koban ga arimasu. (There is a police box over there.)
3. Shini-so! Tabako-ya wa soko ni aru no? (I'm dying! The smoke shop is over there?)
4. Shini-so! Soko ni Tabako-ya ga aru no? (I'm dying! There is a smoke shop over there?)
5. Inu wa niwa ni imasu. (The dog is in the garden)
6. Niwa ni inu ga imasu. (There is a dog in the garden.)
7. Sakana wa niwa no ike ni imasu. Neko wa ike no soba ni imasu. (The fish is in the pond in the garden. The cat is beside the pond.)
8. Sakana wa niwa no ike ni imasu. (The fish is in the pond (wherever the cat may be).)

This verb is important to understand, so let's take a breath, think about this, and then head into the next lesson whenever you are ready. Don't rush it, I'll be here when you want to come back.

Rather than put this all in one huge blog-lesson, I prefer to break it up into short "spurts". That way, you don't need to feel overwhelmed by it all.

Take your time. It's worth the effort (although Chinese these days might get you further ahead in the business world than Japanese...)

More to come...

- Sensei

Next Lesson 16: More on the verb arimasu.

Lesson 14: Having & Being

2008-03-01T10:12:00.000+09:00

I want. I need. You have. I don't have. I take. You don't have anymore? Tough. Gimme gimme never gets. Ain't you learned your manners yet?

There are a lot of things in life that we have or need. For example, I have three mountain bikes; three beautiful mountain bikes that love to work their tires off for me on those steep steep climbs up and then spread their wings on the wicked descents back down to civilization. Maybe I don't need three bikes, but I have them.

There is a computer that I have sitting in one of my rooms (if I didn't have a computer you wouldn't have this lesson in front of you right now). It used to be a luxury (want) but has since become a need.

I have spam coming out of the wazoo every morning I get up and check my mail. I don't need that.

I do need you folks to continue enjoying these lessons.

So, for now, I have a following. Or I could say, there is a fairly large group of people who have accessed these lessons are are patiently (impatiently?) awaiting the next lesson which is far too far late in coming.

It is always important to know what is yours and what isn't, if there is something there or if there isn't.

If I said to you, "There is a murderer lurking in that alley." would you venture down it? What if I knew there was a murderer there but couldn't tell you so because I didn't know how? How would I explain to the police when they found your remains that I knew there was danger lurking in the darkness, but did not have the ability to tell the victim? Can you say, "good morning, fellow inmate"? Sure, I knew you could.

So in this lesson we will learn how to say "I have" and "There is" because at times it can be important.

The Lead-in

The verb arimasu (aru) means "there is" and "have" when you are referring to objects. If you are talking about the possession of people (not politically correct these days), living things or the existence of living things, you would use the verb imasu (iru) to express your thoughts.

In a previous lesson we learned that desu means to be but with these two new verbs your conversation strategies expand exponentially.

Arimasu and imasu are the "polite" forms of the verbs aru and iru respectively, which is not to say that aru or iru is "impolite". Rather, they tend to be used in more casual conversations with family and friends, or when writing books, papers, etc. although you could use the more polite version when writing to friends, etc. if you so wish.

Women tend to use the polite version more often than men do, but that is a cultural thing here in Japan. It seems to be acceptable if men act more impolite on a common basis although this too is falling into disfavor with many women who find many young men unmannered these days. As an aside, foreign men are viewed by Japanese women to have much better manners than their Japanese counterpart - just for all you single guys out there.

Here is an example of what it would look like in a simple sentence:

1. Anata no ie ni neko ga imasu. (There is a cat in your house.)
2. Watashi no poketto no naka ni sakana no niku ga aru. (I have some fish meat in my pocket.)
3. Boku no mawari ni neko ga sen-biki iru! Tasukete!! (There are 1000 cats around me! Help!!)

More to come on this very important verb...

- Sensei

Next Lesson 15: Having & Being Continued.

The Culture Pocket: Daily Life in Japan

2008-02-28T23:05:00.000+09:00

We all know how important it is to have a daily schedule in order to feel as if we are in control of our life. This is even more true when one lives in a foreign country for the first time. And it is vital when transplanted to a culture that is so different from one's own.

Japan, on the outside, looks a lot like the west. This is mainly because western goods and services abound. Everywhere you look you can see things from the US. To the "new" foreigner, at first it seems as if Japan is not so different. Everyone lives in a house, apartment, condo, drives a car, goes to work, owns a pet, eats food. It is easy to misinterpret the situation and try to live following the same cultural rules that are familiar back home. This, however will lead to several complications after a short while.

As mentioned earlier, it looks similar on the outside, but looks can be deceiving. Deep down the roots are totally different, fundamentally different. Basic survival can be achieved by practically anyone on their own: after a few months foreigners will be able to move on their own, eat, shop, use the public transportation and other basic services. But some of the people will not have acquired the rules of the Japanese domain correctly.

If, however, the foreigner is guided during the initial stages, adapting to the culture of Japan and the Japanese daily life routine may be near perfect. This will prevent foreigners from the: "why does everyone treat me like a foreigner?" syndrome. To do this it is important to watch the people around you, ask for correction, discuss behavior with Japanese friends and try to immerse yourself in the culture as much as you can. Many acquaintances of mine have lived here in Japan for two to three years in a totally "English environment". They go about their day in a North American way, listen to English music, rent English videos, eat at western restaurants, answer their phone in English, hang out with other native English speakers all the time. And they wonder why Japan always seems so strange and foreign to them. It is simply because they are refusing to try.

Because daily life is more complicated here than many other places it is especially important to make the effort to adapt to the cultural aspects of life. Work hours are longer, there are less holidays, people travel longer distances to work, eat out more, spend more money (save less). I would like to make a few brief comments on various aspects of daily life in Japan, aspects which, if taken into account, should help the newcomer adapt more quickly to his or her new daily life.

Bathing time is important to consider. Most households bathe at night, after the work day is completed. There are showers available in most places but these tend to be mainly for rinsing off before getting into the bath. In the summer months when the heat and humidity is high families tend to take showers but during the cold winter months the bath is important.

People here believe that you will catch a cold if you have a shower and not a bath in the winter because you will not be able to heat your body entirely. Breakfast meals tend to be western-style these days but in some families you will still find the very filling Japanese-style breakfast of rice, miso soup, fish, natto, and a few vegetables. Breakfast is usually not a problem for the foreigner.

If someone is leaving the house before you, walk them to the genkan (entrance) and see them off. As it is a time-honored custom here, to not do so will seem very strange and possibly the foreigner will be thought of as inconsiderate.

When going to and from work or school, many people use public transportation because the roads are always congested (except in the middle of the night - a great time to travel) and parking is at a premium. Public transportation tends to be very crowded during rush hour so don't be surprised to find that there is almost no room to maneuver around. The public transport system here is extremely efficient and runs to most locations with little or no problem at all. Taxis are abundant if not expensive.

Usually people who finish their daily work at a bar with coworkers will take a taxi home late at night when the trains are no longer running. Taxis are reliable and drivers taking roundabout routes to make extra money are extremely rare. The rear left door will open automatically for you while the driver sits in his seat and waits for you to enter. Drivers here tend to be quiet and not converse with passengers unless the passenger begins a conversation.

There are three types of lunches in Japan: single dish, set meal, and elaborate course dinner (does not belong to the normal daily domain). Western food, Chinese and Japanese food tend to be the norm for lunch. Many people will have a bowl of noodles (Chinese ramen or Japanese udon/soba) for lunch or perhaps a bowl of rice with egg or pork on top. Set menus usually consist of a meat, vegetable, salad and a soup of some kind. It is not uncommon to see people dropping into the local McDonalds for a lunch or a quick coffee these days. In fact, young people tend to like the western food more than traditional fare. In restaurants there is a consumption tax (5% in 1998) but nobody tips; which makes for poor service at some places because the part time staff have no incentive to work hard at pleasing the customer.

When asking for directions, choose who you ask with care. It is best to avoid large stores because people working there may not live in the area and only know their route to work. Also, people in the street may not know either as they may be travelers as well. It is best to ask for directions at police boxes (small one or two-man stations found on many corners around town) or gasoline stations. Automobile dealers seem to have a good grip on directions as well. Stay away from convenience stores; they are notorious for "trying to please" by giving directions, any directions to you.

In the big cities, most people do their shopping on the way home from work. But as this may be late and the stores closed, Sundays tend to be very popular shopping times. All retail businesses are open on Sundays for the customers' convenience. Convenience stores (Circle K, Lawson, Family Mart, etc.) are open in the evening if you need to do some emergency staple shopping but the prices are a little higher than supermarkets and the selection is less. Except for electronic stores where you might be able to haggle a better deal, all prices are fixed. There is no bartering here like in many other Asian countries. You pay the price on the tag. People are very honest here and do not usually overcharge so you can be sure that you are not paying overinflated prices. Most shops will be similar in price, but it is always good to shop around.

The main meal is dinner at home for families. They usually try to eat together as much as possible. This may even mean that dinner is not until 10pm because Dad gets home late every night. On average, though, dinner is later here than in North America because the work hours are longer. It is not unusual to begin eating at 9pm. Adults often drink beer or sake with the meal. I drink milk and get funny looks.

All homes and apartments have a bath (unless you are living in a very old rural community, in a very old house in which case there will be a public bath nearby that the locals visit every evening). It is very important to observe bathing rituals so that others can enjoy the bath as well. The water in the bath is heated to a high temperature (often too hot for many foreigners) and is used for soaking and relaxing, not for bathing. Bathing occurs outside the bath and care must be taken not to get any soap into the water. The order is usually rinse, soak, wash and rinse, then get back in and soak again. In most homes the bathing order is hierarchical with the father having the first bath and the mother bathing last.

Many young people sleep on beds these days but it is not uncommon to find futons still. Most older people prefer the futon on the tatami floor to a bed. The quilts that are used are fairly thick and heavy. Western-style sheets are not used so most people sleep with pajamas or a t-shirt on to avoid the draft that tends to seep in around the shoulders. Most pillows in homes (the exception is in hotels where they seem to have gone to the extreme and looked for the softest, most uncomfortable ones in existence) tend to be small and hard. This dates back to when people wore elaborately coiffured hairdos and didn't want to ruin it just by sleeping. Most bedrooms do not have light switches and the light are operated by pulling a cord that attaches to the light itself.

These are just a few common things in daily life that may help the foreigner adjust a little more easily.

- Sensei

Next Lesson 14: Having and Being.

Lesson 13: Renshuu: Practice Makes Perfect - Adjectives

2008-02-28T23:00:00.000+09:00

Now it is time to put it all together and practice what you have learned on adjectives.
Put the following conversation into Japanese:

1. Where is the beauty salon (biyoushitsu)?
2. It's that way.
3. Is it far?
4. No, it's not very far. It's near the station (eki).
5. Is it a clean beauty salon?
6. Yes, it's very clean.

You are in a foul mood. Complain about everything:(the "answers" are examples only. Your answers could vary)

1. the bus you are waiting for
2. the handsome Italian you had a date with
3. the public toilet that you had to use
4. the sound (oto) at the movie theater (eigakan)
5. the "new" computer (pasokon) that is full of used parts

Unscramble the following words and make correct sentences:

1. kissaten, kono, de, wa, arimasen, amari, shizuka, wa
2. desu, wa, Tanaka-san, Nihonjin, hen na
3. suupu (soup), wa, atatakai, kore, desu
4. ka, desu, dochira-sama
5. ooki na, kasa (umbrella), wa, sono, taihen, desu, kasa

Whew, we're done with the adjectives. I hope you enjoyed / survived this lesson.

Let's take a little break with a Culture Pocket on Daily Life in Japan.

- Sensei

Lesson 12: Adjectives continued - Pointing things out

2008-02-28T17:34:00.000+09:00

Words to Indicate People, Places, Things, Locations.

Little by little we learn how to be more specific. Do you remember in way back in primary school when you forgot to bring your pen to class and you had to ask someone to lend you one? If they were having a bad day, the conversation might have gone something like this:

You: Can I borrow a pen?
Him: Which color?
You: Um, blue I guess.
Him: Sorry, I ain't got blue.
You: Can I borrow a black one then?
Him: Sure.
You: .... Well can I have it?
Him: Which one do you want?
You: The black one. I just said so.
Him: I have four black ones.
You: I don't care. Gimme any one.
Him: You choose.
You: (suck in breath) OK. That one.
Him: Which one?
You: That one.
Him: This one? (evil grin creeps on face)
You: No! That one there! (muscles in face tense)
Him: Oh, you mean this one?
You: NO! I said that one right there! The one withh the green cap!
Him: Ohhhh, you want this one right here, right?
You: AAAARRRRGGGGHHH! (pencils and pens fly across the room, nose blood is spilled)Teacher: You two over there! Down to the Principals office, pronto!

Well, if you get your indicators specific the first time, you could avoid this test of your patience.

We talked in a previous lesson about kore (this), sore (that), are (that over there) which relate to things. There are parallel words when you want to relate to places:

koko - (here, this place) - is for places closer to the speaker than the listener
soko - (there, that place) - indicates locations near the listener than the speaker. It also indicates a relational proximity to the listener, not always a physical proximity.
asoko - (over there, that place over there) - is used for places that are at a distance from both the speaker and listener.
doko - (where) - fits into this class as well and is used to ask questions.

1. Toire wa koko de wa arimasen. (The toilet is not here.)
2. Hachi wa soko desu yo! (The wasp is right there, by you!)
3. Keisatsu-kan wa asoko desu ka? (Is the police station over there?
4. Toire wa doko desu ka? (Where is the toilet?)

You can make your Japanese a little more formal by replacing koko, soko, asoko and doko with kochira, sochira, achira and dochira. And you can make your Japanese even more informal by replacing koko, soko, asoko, doko with kocchi, socchi, acchi, docchi.

If you were in the Honolulu Hilton, you might hear:
O-tearai wa kochira desu. (The restroom is this way.)

But if you were in the Hanoi Hilton (if they spoke Japanese at all), it would probably be more like:
Benjo wa kocchi. Omae no neru tokoro. (The pit is here; where you sleep.)

When you pick up the phone, usually you would ask:
Dochira sama desu ka? (Who is calling, please?)
(we put -sama at the end of people's names to give them respect.)

Kore, sore, are can stand alone as a pronoun but the words kono, sono, ano which have a similar meaning must be in front of the nouns they modify:

1. Kono jamu wa mazui desu. (This jam is terrible.)
2. Sono hyaku doru shihei wa boku no desu. (That hundred dollar bill by you is mine.)
3. Ano hito wa baka desu. (That person over there is stupid.)

There are a few words which indicate position. These actually act as nouns and are used differently from English. In English we might say next to X, but in Japanese we would say X no tonari. Here is a list of a few other position words.

chikaku - nearby
mae - in front
naka - inside
ushiro - back, behind (people, buildings, etc. opposite of mae)
ura - reverse/other side, behind (rear side, buildings, etc. but not people)
ue - on top, above
shita - underneath

Time for a few examples. I hope this lesson isn't putting you to sleep yet...

1. Toire wa asoko no ginko no chikaku desu. (The toilet is near that bank.)
2. Same wa saafaa no ushiro desu. (The shark is behind the surfer.)
3. Honya-san wa soko no kissaten no ura desu. (The bookstore is behind that coffee shop.)
4. Kaijuu wa ano beddo no shita desu. (The monster is under that bed.)

Next Lesson: Lesson 13: Renshu makes perfect - adjectives

Lesson 11: Questions & Adjectives

2008-02-28T17:12:00.000+09:00

Where would we get in life without questions and answers? Ever since you were a little grasshopper you had an insatiable curiosity, yes? And as you got older your quest for knowledge grew and grew. No, you say? Well, then why are you here? If you have no desire to learn, you should be off drinking beer and belching while watching reruns of the latest Lakers game (no offense to you Lakers fans out there). Some of the questions in your life that you asked you probably wished you hadn't, and there are probably a whole lot more questions that you wish you had asked but never had the courage to do so.

Fear not for your chance to renew your desire to quest for the unknown is closer than you think. Work with us through this lesson and you will be able to broaden your horizons beyond your wildest dreams. Who would have thought that you would be asking detailed questions in Japanese? Do you know what makes this lesson so great? Since you are conversing in a foreign tongue, the inibitions and barriers of culture and of your youth will be torn down and a clean road will be paved just for you. There is a saying in Japanese, Tabi no haji wa kaki sute which means, "The shame you create while away from the home is easily sloughed off and forgotten". Japanese people do this all the time and now you too, with your newfound love of Japanese, can do things the Japanese way! So in this lesson, let's start to ask slightly more detailed questions, ones that may have a little more relevance to your life (as opposed to, "Is this a pen?")

The Question

To review, the basic sentence structure in Japanese is, A wa B desu. This pattern is essential to remember as we progress through the various patterns. Just as in English when we first formally learn the verb, to be, we should keep in mind this pattern as well.We then learned how to form a simple question by adding ka to the end of the sentence to make it a question. A wa B desu ka. Gramatically speaking there is no question mark at the end of Japanese questions, but as everything in Japan that has taken on a western taste to it, many people add the question mark to the end. You wouldn't be penalized for it in a letter to a loved one, I don't think. You are probably a pro by now with this simple question pattern so I don't really want to dwell on it. Enough said, let's move on.

Making Your Speech more "Colorful": The Adjective

Adjectives, like in English, can be placed usually before or after the noun they are modifying. Remember that if you add the ka to the end of the statements they become questions. Here are a few examples of how you would place the adjective before the noun:

1. Kore wa oishii chiizu desu. (This is delicious cheese.)
2. Sore wa hen na hito desu ka. (Is that a strange person?)
3. Ano akai kuruma wa watashi no desu. (That red car is mine.)
4. Chiisai hito wa kirai desu ka? (Do you dislike small people?)
5. Takai hoteru wa ii hoteru desu. (Expensive hotels are good hotels.)

There are basically two kinds of adjectives, one that ends in -i when placed before nouns and another that ends in na before nouns. The na adjectives are usually words of chinese origin (just a tidbit of culture to store away in your ever-questing mind).

Here is a list of adjectives that you can use to spice up your daily conversations. Remember, a pen is just a pen, but a red pen is so much more!

Common -i Adjectives
atsui - hot
samui - cold
atatakai - warm
tsumetai - cool
ookii * - big
chiisai * - small
chikai - near
tooi - far
wakai - young (people etc.)
atarashii - new (things)
furui - old (things)
hayai - quick, early, fast
osoi - slow, late
oishii - tasty, delicious
mazui - awful, yucky

Common na Adjectives
benri na - convenient, useful
fuben na - inconvenient
shizuka na - quiet, peaceful
shinsetsu na - kind
yuumei na - famous
kirei na - pretty, clean, neat
taisetsu na - important
hontoo na - true
taihen na - serious, awful
hansamu na - handsome
ereganto na - elegant
shikku na - chic
rippa na - splendid
hen na - strange
shizuka na - quiet, silent

*The adjectives ookii and chiisai also have alternate na forms which are ooki na and chiisa na so you could say ookii hito or ooki na hito (big person).

Now let's take a look at adjectives when they come after the noun they modify:

We can use the same adjectives as noted above whether before or after the noun but there are a few subtle differences to remember. While the -i adjective stays the same, the na adjective drops the na altogether. Look at the example:

1. Watashi no kokoro wa wakai desu. (My mind is young.)
2. Watashi no shujin wa hansamu desu. (My husband is handsome.)

The Negative Adjective

It turns out that when you want to change your sentence from positive to negative, and the adjective is at the end, the form actually changes a little bit, but not that much that you can't remember. Japanese is not like English; the rules are rules and do not change. Remember it once and you will remember it forever.

To make an -i adjective negative you replace the final -i with -ku and then add arimasen (polite) or nai desu (informal). To make a -na adjective negative you put the verb desu into the negative: de wa arimasen (polite) or ja arimasen (informal). Ja is a contraction of de wa just like isn't is a contraction of is not. When we speak quickly our words tend to slur and as humans are lazy animals, it is easier not to move the lips much if we don't need to (especially if you hail from the Great White North where the winters are too cold to move the lips anyway). To add to this, you can make your speech even a little less formal by using nai in place of arimasen. Here are a few examples:

1a. Nihon no biiru wa oishii desu. (Japanese beer is delicious.)
1b. Kanada no biiru wa oishiku arimasen. (Canadian beer is not delicious.)

2a. Aki no happa wa akai desu. (Autumn leaves are red.)
2b. Watashi no hada wa akaku nai desu. (My skin is not red.)

3a. Indo karee wa karai desu. (Indian curry is hot.)
3b. Nihon no karee wa karaku nai. (Japanese curry is not hot.)

4a. Brad Pitt wa hansamu desu. (Brad Pitt is handsome.)
4b. Mick Jagger wa hansamu de wa arimasen. (Mick Jagger in not handsome.)

5a. Boku no heya wa kirei desu. (My room is clean.)
5b. Otooto no heya wa kirei ja arimasen. (My brother's room is not clean.)

6a. Keitai denwa wa benri desu. (Cellular phones are handy.)
6b. Botton benjo wa benri ja nai. (Outhouses are not handy.)

Stressing the Adjectives: Very and Not Very

It is quite simple to add a little more stress to describing an adjective. All you have to do is add totemo or taihen before the adjective you wish to modify.

1. Kono hito wa totemo ookii desu. (This person is very big.)
2. Furansu no wain wa taihen oishii desu. (French wine is very delicious.)

If you want to say it in the negative, just add amari before the adjective you wish to modify.

1. Jooji Baanzu wa amari wakaku arimasen. (George Burns is not very young.)
2. Kore wa amari benri ja nai. (This isn't very useful.)

- Sensei

Next Lesson: More on Adjectives - Pointing things out.

Lesson 10: Anata & Kimi (you & you)

2005-11-30T10:36:00.000+09:00

A fellow long-term resident in Japan recently contacted me and told me that I should not use any reference to the word "anata" (you). It is not used in Japan like the English use of the word. Rather it is used by women to call their husbands or lovers, or used in a derrogatory sense. In a way, this is true. People tend to use the names instead of the pronouns when talking to a person.

However I do know some people that use it in regular ways, and there is no bad feeling meant at all. Also, I feel that even though it may not be a commonly-used word in the Japanese vocabulary, it is, nonetheless important to learn the basics. ANATA does exist. Some people DO use it. Some in good ways, some in not so good ways.

The choice is entirely up to you, how you wish to use the word. The person who contacted me did have a very valid, understandable and logical reason for his comment on this topic and I thank him for it.

Another interesting point is that about six years ago as of this writing, when I first met my partner from Hong Kong (she is Hong Kong Chinese and her name is Mikie, pronounced by her as "Micky Mouse no Micky"), I discovered that she did not like the term "kimi". She is fluent in Japanese as well, having lived and worked in Osaka for 7 years. She learned that kimi was a term for "you" that was used by men to "look down on subordinates".

Since she and I are equals, she felt it inappropriate for me to use. Again, there is truth to this. Bosses often use it to men when they are giving them orders and so forth. It is not usually used when referring directly to women. Coming from a native-English background, I find it difficult to always call the person I am talking to by their name. We use the pronoun "you" in English. Therefore in Japanese I also prefer to use it.

I acquiesed to her wish and no longer call her kimi. I still use it with others because they do not mind me calling them kimi at all (both men and women) and they know that I am not using it to look down on them in any way, but rather in a very close, friendly way. This is good for us all.

The times have changed and Japanese is a living language. Young women (i.e. teenagers) often call boys or other girls kimi in ordinary conversation. They also call themselves "boku" (I, me) which would have been unheard of in a half-generation past! How times and language change. Watashi (sometimes atashi to make it even softer) is used by older women in their 30s as well as people working in a more formal situation. Only the teenagers really use boku/kimi indiscriminately, but that is par for the course in any culture I believe. Teenagers are a race of their own!

- Sensei

Next Lesson: Lesson 11: Is the toilet really far? (Questions & Adjectives)

Lesson Nine: Some Vocabulary

2005-11-30T10:31:00.000+09:00

Here is a brief list of words that you can try putting together in various different combinations and come up with several different sentences.

Feel free to use the vocabulary in the previous examples as well:

watashi /boku - I
anata/kimi - you
kare - he
kanojo - she
watashitachi - we
sensei - teacher
okusan - wife
shujin - husband
tomodachi - friend
oniisan - elder brother
oneesan - elder sister
otooto - young brother
imooto - younger sister
itoko - cousin
inu - dog
neko - cat
itachi - weasel
atsui - hot
samui - cold
ii - good
Kanadajin - Canadian
Igirisujin - British
mono - thing
pen - pen
enpitsu - pencil (note you could write this "empitsu" with an "m" if you prefer)
kami - paper
okane - money
kasa - umbrella
shinbun - newspaper (note you could write it as "shimbun" with an "m" if you wish)
jitensha - bicycle
okanemochi - rich
tabemono - food
nomimono - drink
biiru - beer
sake - sake
suteeki - steak
sushi - sushi
kyou - today
ashita - tomorrow
kinou - yesterday

Now try to make the following sentences. Practice saying them so that you get a feel for how Japanese is supposed to sound off the tongue. If you are not sure how to pronounce the sounds, return to Lesson One for revision.

1. This is a dog.
2. This is a cat steak.
3. Mrs. Clinton is not a weasel.
4. You are an idiot!
5. He is not a German teacher.
6. Is your cousin from Italy? (Is your sister Italian?)
- No, she isn't. She's from Australia.
7. Whose sushi is this?
- Not mine!
8. Are you single?
-Yes, I am.
9. This is my beer.
10. It is hot today, isn't it?
- Yes, it is. Tomorrow will be hot, too!
11. This sake is delicious.
- Yes, and the steak is too, isn't it.

If you have finished with these, why don't you try making a few sentences up on your own for practice? It can't hurt. You obviously haven't stuck around this far just for the heck of it.

- Sensei

Next Lesson: Lesson Ten - "Anata" and "Kimi"

Lesson Eight: How To Make Something Possessive

2005-11-30T10:26:00.000+09:00

A wa B no C desu.

By adding the word no between two words it becomes possessive, relational.
In the sentence,

Kore wa Kyan no tsukue desu. (This is Cam's desk.)

you can see what has happened. No allows nouns (people) to act as a possessive adjective and is similar to the 's in English. If no is found after a noun that is a place, it denotes the place of origin of the second noun.

Sore wa Furansu no Jamu desu. (That is French Jam)

If the first noun is any other kind of noun, it will be used to describe the makeup of the second noun.

Nihongo no sensei. (A Japanese teacher)
Are wa Eigo no shimbun, ka na? (I wonder if that is an English newspaper?)

If you add no after watashi, you get "my".
Anata + no will give you "your" while kare + no = "his"
Kanojo + no = "her".
Watatashitachi no means "our".

1. Kore wa watashi no pen desu.
(This is my pen.)
2. Anata no okane desu ka?
(Is this your money?)
3. Are wa kanojo no kodomo desu.
(That is her child.)

You can use no in conjunction with dare (who), doko (where) nan (what) to make dare no (whose), doko no (from where) ,and nan no (of what) to make even more complex sentences.

1. Kore wa dare no kuruma desu ka? (Whose car is this?)
- Watashi no. (Mine).
2. Anata wa doko no hito desu ka? (Where are you from?)
- Boku wa Doitsujin desu. (I am German.)
3. Yamada-san wa nan no sensei desu ka? (What kind of teacher is she?)
- Rika no sensei desu. (She is a Social Studies teacher.)

You are probably getting the hang of it now, right?

- Sensei

Next Lesson: Lesson Nine - Some vocabulary

Lesson Seven: How To Point Something (or Someone) Out

2005-11-30T10:24:00.000+09:00

Kore wa pen desu.

The words kore, sore, are are used to point out objects (sometimes people) in different locations in reference to the speakers. Kore is used for items closer to the speaker than the listener: this. Sore is used for items closer to the listener than the speaker: that. Are is used for items at a distance from both the speaker and the listener: that over there.

If you want to talk about the walking stick in your hand you would say:
Kore wa sutekki desu. (This is a walking stick.)

And when you want to refer to the pistol that someone is holding to your face, you would say:
Sore wa honto no juu desu ka? (Is that a real gun?)

And when you want to inform your assailant that the policeman over there is pointing a shotgun at both of you, you would say:
Are wa sandanjuu desu yo! (That is a shotgun!)

Don't forget this. It could come in handy especially since drugs and crime are increasing dramatically in Japan.

- Sensei

Next Lesson: Lesson Eight - How to make something possessive.

Lesson Six: How To Make Something Equal to Something Else

2005-11-30T10:21:00.000+09:00

A mo B desu.

If A is B and A is also C you use the word mo. This means too, or also.
Look at the examples below:

1. Suzuki-san wa sensei desu. Watashi mo sensei desu.
(Mrs. Suzuki is a teacher. I am a teacher, too.)
2. Kyo wa ame desu ne. Ashita mo so.
(It is rainy today, isn't it? Tomorrow, too.)
3. Kore wa ame desu. Sore mo.
(This is candy. That is too.)

Look at how you might answer Yes to the following question:

Suzuki-san mo sensei desu ka. (Is Mrs. Suzuki a teacher, too?)
- Hai, (Suzuki-san mo) sensei desu.- Hai, (Suzuki-san mo) so desu.

You can omit the subject and mo if you wish. But if you answer No to the same question you omit mo all together and replace it with wa.

Suzuki-san mo sensei desu ka. (Is Mrs. Suzuki a teacher, too?)
- Iie, Suzuki-san wa sensei de wa arimasen.- Iie, so de wa arimasen.

Does that make sense?

- Sensei

Next Lesson: Lesson Seven - How to point something (or someone) out

Lesson Five: How To Make An Imperative Statement

2005-11-30T10:17:00.000+09:00

... and then How to Soften it

A) Imperative: A wa B desu yo.

Japanese does not use exclamation points, but there is a structure that shows stress and imperative in a sentence. Simply adding yo at the end of a statement makes it similar to an exclamatory sentence. The intonation is usually falling to emphasize the point being made. Look at number 4 in the previous examples (see below) to see what I mean. Now on your own, take the previous five sentences, transcribed below for you, and practice saying them in the imperative. The first one is done for you:

1. Kore wa juu de wa arimasen. - Kore wa juu da yo!!!! (as if you thought it was a boquet of flowers he was shoving in your face)
2. Iie, watashi wa dokushin ja nai. - Hai! Watashi wa dokushin desu yo! (A desperate person approaching "christmas cake" age).
3. Kanojo wa Kanadajin ja arimasen. - Kanojo wa Kanadajin da yo!
4. Boku wa baka ja nai yo! - (already done. Say it anyway just to reassure yourself that you are not really baka)
(I'm not an idiot!)
5. Iie, Bush-san wa neko de wa arimasen. Itachi desu. - Kare wa yappari itachi da yo ne!
(No, Mr. Bush is not a cat. As we thought, he IS a weasel.)

B) Softer or Agreeable: A wa B desu ne.

In Japanese we try to be as unimposing as possible (hard for a 6'5" monster here to pull off, but we do our best). It is important to try to agree with the speaker in order to maintain smooth relations and so as not to be offensive. To soften your speech so it doesn't seem quite so forceful, or to agree with what the speaker has said (not necessarily what they mean) just add ne to the end of the sentences. It is a little like adding, isn't it to the end of a sentence in English. Women use this quite frequently at the end of their sentences because it is demure, sweet, and non-imposing, therefore "feminine". The intonation is slightly rising.

Look at the example below:

1. Goshujin wa dorobo de wa arimasen ne.
(Your husband isn't a thief, is he.)
2. So desu ne.
(Yes, that's true, isn't it.)

Hang in there. You'll get this yet.

- Sensei

Next Lesson: Lesson Six - How to make something equal to something else

Lesson Four: How To Make A Negative Statement

2005-11-30T10:14:00.000+09:00

A wa B de wa arimasen.

Now that you know how to say A is B it would probably be helpful to know how to say that A is not B. Again, it is actually very simple. All you have to do is take the A wa B desu, and replace desu with de wa arimasen (or de wa nai in the more informal situations and ja arimasen or ja nai in a contracted format) to get the negative. How is that for straight forward? Couldn't be easier, now could it? Are you remembering all this? Good. I knew you could.

Usually it is also good to know how to say Yes, and No. I am sure every single person on the face of this earth already knows, through TV and the movies that Hai means Yes. But did you know that Iie means No? I bet you didn't. Well now you do. If someone asks you a question, you can answer by putting Hai or Iie at the front of the sentence.

So here are similar examples in the negative:

1. Kore wa juu de wa arimasen.
(This is not a gun.)
2. Iie, watashi wa dokushin ja nai.
(No, I'm not single.)
3. Kanojo wa Kanadajin ja arimasen.
(She isn't Canadian.)
4. Boku wa baka ja nai yo.
(I'm not an idiot!)
5. Iie, Kurinton-san wa neko de wa arimasen. Itachi desu.
(No, Mr. Clinton is not a cat. He is a weasel.)

Moving right along....

- Sensei

Next Lesson: Lesson Five - How To Make An Imperative Statement, and then How to Soften it

Lesson Three: How to Make a Question

2005-11-30T09:54:00.000+09:00

A wa B desu ka?

This is even simpler than the first pattern and it is extremely easy and a great relief for learners of Japanese to know that once you know the basic sentence structure, all you have to do is put a ka? at the end of the sentence to make it a question.

So to look at the same examples as above we see:

1. Kore wa pen desu ka?
(Is this a pen?)
2. Anata wa dokushin desu ka?
(Are you single?)
3. Kanojo wa Kanadajin desu ka?
(Is she Canadian?)
4. Sono pasokon wa baka desu ka?
(Is that computer stupid?)
5. Kurinton-san wa neko desu ka?
(Is Mr. Clinton a cat?)

Very, very simple, don't you think?

More to follow....

- Sensei

Next Lesson: Lesson Four - How to make a negative statement

Lesson Two: This is a pen. Is this a pen?

2005-11-30T09:35:00.000+09:00

(or This isn't a pen. This is a pen for God's sake!!!)

Now that we have a little bit better idea of how to pronounce some Japanese, let's jump right in and start to learn some of the grammar so that we can start to say some simple, yet very important phrases.

In the real world we are always asking questions and looking for information so it might be beneficial to learn how to make a question or two as well. And where would we end up if we always said "yes" to every proposition we were offered? Perhaps the vice president's chair but more likely we would end up either in jail, some deserted back lane or heaven forbid, a cemetery. So as Nancy Reagan once said it, "Just Say No." Was that Nancy? I'm sorry but I don't recall saying that ...

As an aside, rather than have a long vocabulary list at the end of each lesson, I prefer to use the vocabulary that is in the examples. If I decide to make questions using unfamiliar words, I will put those in a table at the end. Otherwise, just consider the lesson as having the vocabulary directly in it. After all, who wants to memorize lists of words, anyway, right?

The Basic Sentence Structure: A wa B desu.

Japanese has a very straightforward sentence structure as you see above. We do not invert, rotate, or otherwise do funny things with it like we do in English (how many exceptions to the rules are there again?). The basic pattern is A wa B desu. This essentially means "A is B." The verb to be in this sentence is, as you might guess, desu. This is the polite form of the verb. There is also a "dictionary" or ordinary form as well and it is da. The wa in the sentence is a particle that marks the thing or person by means of B. It doesn't change; very simple. Very simple indeed.

Let's look at a few examples, shall we?

1. Kore wa pen desu.
(This is a pen.)
2. Watashi wa dokushin desu.
(I am single.)
3. Kanojo wa Kanadajin desu.
(She is Canadian.)
4. Kono pasokon wa baka desu.
(This computer is stupid.)
5. Buutsu wa neko desu.
(Boots is a cat.)

As you can see, the pattern is exactly the same throughout all of the examples. The only thing that changes is the vocabulary. Once you have mastered several useful words in Japanese, you can say very rudimentary statements regarding the existence of things.

Another very easy thing about Japanese is how you describe nationalities. In English we have so many different ways of doing it (American, Canadian, New Zealander, etc.) but in Japanese all you have to do is add jin to the end of a country and you have a native of that location (Amerika-jin, Kanada-jin, NyuuJiirando-jin).

More to follow...

- Sensei

Next Lesson: Lesson Three - How to make a question

Lesson One: Pronunciation in Japanese

2005-10-19T05:50:00.000+09:00

Maybe you have a phrase translated for you with the corresponding pronunciation written in roman characters. But how do you pronounce it so it sounds close to natural? Fear not for help is on the way! In this lesson you will learn a bit about the history of the language and how the language sounds. So sit back, take out your notebook and enjoy the first lesson Japanese Lesson series.

Have you ever watched an old Japanese samurai movie on the late show? Chances are you thought that everyone was always angry at everyone else and spent a lot of time yelling in monotonous staccato tones. I felt the same way. It was all unintelligible blabber, not a real language. Well, guess what? It is actually possible to make some sense out of the nonsensical language that you hear on Japanese movies, etc. With a little understanding of how the language works, you will be on your way to sounding just like those yelling, sword-swinging samurai of yore. Let's get down to business.

Stress

In Japanese there is no clear stress on syllables in words as there is in English. A non-Japanese speaker would pronounce the city of Yokohama as "Yoko-HAA-ma" and the family name Yoshida as "Yo-SHEE-da". In English, stress tends to be placed on the second last syllable of longer words. Not so in Japanese. All syllables are spoken with equal strength and length. A Japanese speaker would say "Yo-ko-ha-ma" and "Yo-shi-da" without stressing any parts.

Try saying the following words without putting any extra strength or stress on any of the syllables:

1. Yokohama 2. Kawasaki 3. Nagasaki 4. Hiroshima 5. Amerika
6. Osutoraria 7. koohii 8. Nippon 9. beesubooru 10. koppu

Syllable Length

Some texts say that there are long and short syllables in the Japanese language. I disagree. In most cases the longer sound of a syllable is due simply to an extra vowel placed after the previous syllable. For example Tokyo is actually pronounced like To-u-kyo-u and Kyoto is Kyo-u-to (note here that the final to in Kyoto sounds shorter than the middle to but it is just because it lacks the additional u which makes the sound appear to be longer. Pronounced carefully, the "long" syllable takes twice as long to pronounce as the "short" syllable.

Practice these sounds:
1. biiru 2. biru 3. konpyuuta 4. konpyuutaa 5. koka koora
6. Toukyou 7. Kyouto 8. suteeki 9. ginkou 10. waapuro

Vowels and Consonants

There are five vowels in the Japanese language: A, I, U, E, O. These vowels have one sound apiece. Unlike the English "a" which can have the sounds found in cat, crawl, cape, the Japanese A sounds like the vowel found in the word cup. And as a matter of fact, all of the syllables in Japanese are very short and clipped (Suzuki sounds more like S'z'ki). Remember that whenever you see a vowel in a Japanese word it will always have the following sound:

Vowel: a i u e o
Sound: up heat soup left slope

Most consonants sound as they do in English with a few exceptions worth noting: K, G, S, Z, D, T, P, B do not have the puff of air that is associated with same consonants in English. The N is also a very unusual sound as it can actually take on four different sounds, depending on where it is found in the word.

If it precedes a vowel (as in no) it has the normal N sound found in English. Before t, ts, d, n, ch, j it also posses the normal n sound.

If it is found before p, b, m it takes on an m sound.

If it is found before k and g it sounds like ng as in finger.

If it is found at the end of a word, or before all other sounds, it has a nasal sound, similar to the French n as in pain (bread).

There is one other sound that we need to discuss. It is the most difficult sound for foreigners to pronounce correctly. It is the R sound. This sound is not found in the English language. It is a somewhere between the English L, D, R and is a rather short, chopped sound. In this case the tongue quickly flicks the roof of the mouth just in front of the soft upper pallette. This sound takes a lot of practice to get right and in order to pronounce it correctly you need to hear it to be able to reproduce it.

Syllable Structure

The following chart shows all the possible combinations of consonants and vowels in the Japanese Language. Note that in almost every case (except for n by itself) all consonants are followed by a vowel. This makes the language very easy to pronounce.

Main Sounds

a ka sa ta na ha ma ya ra wa wo n
i ki shi chi ni hi mi - ri - - -
u ku su tsu nu fu mu yu ru - -
e ke se te ne he me - re - - -
o ko so to no ho mo yo ro - - -

There are some other sounds which are not quite as common, but are actually a slight variation of the main sounds.

They are the Secondary Sounds :
ga za da ba pa
gi ji - bi pi
gu zu - bu pu
ge ze de be pe
go zo do bo po

There are situations where two consonants are together with a vowel.

They produce the following Tertiary Sounds:
kya gya sha ja cha nya hya pya bya mya rya
kyu gyu shu ju chu nyu hyu pyu byu myu ryu
kyo gyo sho jo cho nyo hyo pyo byo myo ryo

Now that you are armed with the correct sounds for the language, why don't you pull out your Japanese Name or Phrase and give the pronunciation a try? with a bit of practice you should be able to get the sounds just right.

One last thing to mention that I found really helps with getting the pronunciation right. Almost all of the sounds can be said without the use of the lips. Think of yourself as a ventriloquist, speaking from a puppet. Don't move your lips, and keep them relaxed. It should help. And practice.

Here are a few simple sentences that you can use for pronunciation practice and begin to memorize for your future use:

Practice Sentences

1. Watashi no namae wa Ken desu. (My name is Ken.)
2. Kono biiru wa ikura desu ka? (How much is this beer?)
3. Toire wa doko desuka? (Where is the toilet?)
4. Mata ne! (See you later!)
5. Ohisashiburi desu ne. (Long time no see.)
6. Ohayou gozaimasu. (Good morning.)
7. Konnichi wa. (Hello.)
8. Konban wa. (Good evening.)
9. Oyasumi nasai. (Good night.)
10. Koko wa doko desu ka? (Where am I now?)

The Culture Pocket: A Brief History of the Japanese Written Language

Most scholars believe that prior to the introduction of Kanji from China, there was no formal written language. No one is certain when the script first came to the islands but some believe that it could have been around the first century AD. In the early third century, artifacts have been recovered that depict some form of writing.

Kanji was first used as a system of writing sometime in the late 5th century or early 6th century. It is difficult to set an exact date because of the writings being based on the Chinese calendar which is difficult to interpret. More than likely, Chinese or Koreans who came to the islands to live began using the characters.

In the beginning kanji was more than likely used to represent sounds (phonetics) for loan words from other cultures. Also, the introduction of Buddhism into China and eventually Japan prompted translations of the scripts using the script. Buddhism probably had the greatest influence on the development of the language due to the huge influx of people from the mainland to build temples, translate documents, make statues, tiles, copy sutras, etc.

Around the seventh century it seems that the Japanese people began mastering the language themselves and started to do some work of their own. The language began to make some changes as it took on more than just a phonetic reproduction of foreign words (KUN reading). Eventually it began to be used to represent ideas and concepts.

Chinese and Japanese are completely different. In terms of structure, Chinese is actually closer to English than it is to Japanese. And yet, the Japanese, in their amazing ability to adapt things to their own ideas, were able to take the Chinese and add marks so that it would conform to the Japanese word order. Then the kanji began to take on a second reading, known as the ON reading, as mentioned above. It may be that the Korean language had influenced the development of the Japanese language as both have similar word orders and also use honorific auxiliaries.

In the Nara period (710-784) there was an explosion of Japanese literature. It seems that much of the oral tradition of passing on history was translated into script for the future generations. The language began to become more and more complex.

Hiragana began to be developed around the Nara period as well. It has its roots in the simplification of a cursive-style of writing kanji. This cursive style was mainly used privately among individuals to make notes, letters and other personal documents. For about 1400 years the hiragana had a very large set of letters. In 1900 it was standardized in brushwritten and woodblock-printed forms, mainly for artistic purposes. Because of this, hiragana tends to have a roundish, flowing style and shape.

Officials and scholars continued to use classical Chinese for their work for many hundred years. As the language developed, it became necessary to add notes next to the text to aid in the reading of the texts. This began in the Heian period (794-1192). Because space was limited, scholars began using a shorthand version of the kanji used for pronunciation. This was the beginning of Katakana. In the beginning it was not entirely different from hiragana but over time developed a more square appearance, more scholarly. Eventually the katakana script evolved such that it began to be used solely for writing foreign loan words, or concepts that did not exist in the native Japanese language.

Reference: Japanese Correspondence Course for JET Participants, 1993

- Sensei

Next Lesson: Lesson Two: This is a pen. Is this a pen? (or Thi...

Welcome to the Free! Japanese Lessons

2005-09-14T20:00:00.000+09:00

If you are interested in learning spoken Japanese then this is may be the blog for you. This will have to be an ongoing project because I run a "one-man show" in Japan that keeps me working 24/7. It may take some time to get a number of lessons developed. It isn't like a website where I can put up two or three pages. That would make people run away screaming I think. Have patience and hang in there. I'll do my best to make it fun (I have some experience with this).

What I would like to do is provide you with a basic understanding of the Japanese language. It is not meant to replace formal study at an institute of higher learning. Not everything can be covered, but I will do my best to provide language tips that will help you develop your Japanese language skills.

I will not be teaching reading or writing; it will be mainly "conversational" in nature; something that you can use right away in certain situations. I may put up the odd japanese character that could be of benefit to you should you make a trip to Japan.

Of course in order to truly become fluent in any foreign language it is always desirable, if at all possible, to immerse oneself in the language and culture (like what I did - threw away a life in biotechnology for a brave new world). Coming to Japan will do wonders for your language ability if you ever have the chance. I understand that this is not feasible for most people, so I will strive to do my best to provide you with current lessons and examples for study. When I find the time I will work on these lessons and then post them here.

So bookmark my Japanese Lessons Blogroom and pop in from time to time to see if a new lesson is available. Since I have this also set up for RSS readers, if you added it to your news feeds or your my.whatever.com page whenever I post a new one, you should see it pop up there. Give it a try!

As in any "classroom setting" the most productive is the interactive type. If I'm just typing away here like a boring lecturer drones on, I don't think I'll be doing it for long. What I am looking for is a two-way discussion. Or better yet, a 20-way discussion with all of you working with each other to discuss what is going on, to share ideas, help each other out.

As an aside, I sell used kimono if anybody wants to buy one. I have about 100 of them in my home at this current time. Some are 100 years old. Some have stains from tea that got spilled on them 70 years ago when the woman was serving a meal to a special guest. Things that make them really interesting. Prices are very cheap and there is a huge variety. If you are interested, let me know. (Oh, by the way, most of the "Japanese kimono" you see on E-bay are not Japanese. They are chinese silk dresses. That really burns me up). Just let me know.

That's all for now. I'm looking forward to meeting with you and hope the following will expand. Let's make this Japanese Blogroom a class worth attending, shall we? De wa, mata.

- Sensei

Next Lesson: Lesson One: Pronunciation in Japanese Maybe you h...