Homework: Week One

Practice

The following should be practiced between classes:

Numbers 1-100: For twenty and above, take the number and add the next number to it. It's more of a mathematical approach. Example: 21 is nijuu (20) plus ichi (1)= nijuuichi. That's all there is to it.


Time: Partner work is best for this one. A asks "ima nanji desu ka", and B answers with "ima (time) desu". You can work your way through the clock. If you're feeling adventurous, you can use the following minutes; 1: ippun, 2: nifun, 3: sanpun, 4: yonpun, 5: gofun, 6: roppun, 7: nanafun, 8: happun, 9: kyufun, 10 juppun, 11: juuippun, 12: jiinifun, 13: juusanpun, 14: juuyonppun, 15: juugofun, 16: juuroppun, 17: juunanafun, 18: juuhappun, 19: juukyuufun, 20: nijuppun, 30: sanjuppun.


Using no:


Find several phone numbers from your own contacts or the phonebook. Practice using no as you recite them to each other.


Translate these phrases into Japanese. The vocabulary is in the dialogue or in the vocabulary post.


My teacher; my name; my telephone number (denwa bangou); Tanaka's mother; teacher of the Japanese language.

Week One Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Note: All notes, quotes and references come from Genki: An integrated Course in Japanese and An Introduction to Modern Japanese, both published by The Japan Times.

It should be noted that this is additional vocabulary not found in the dialogue.

Eego: English language.      Koukou: high school
Gogo: P.M.                            Gozen: A.M.
~sai: ...years old.                    ~san: Mr./Mrs./Ms....
~jin: people                            Sensei: teacher; Professor...
example: nihonjin (Japanese people).
Denwa: telephone             Tomodachi: friend
Namae: name                   Hai: yes
Bangou: number                Watashi: I


Amerika: America             Igirisu: Britain
Oosutoraria: Australia           Kankoku: Korea
Sueeden: Sweden                Chuugoku: China
Kanada: Canada


shigoto: occupation, job, work             isha: doctor
kaishain: office worker                   koukousei: high school student
shufu: housewife                            daigakusee: college student
bengoshi: lawyer


okaasan: mother               otousan: father
oneesan: older sister              oniisan: older brother
imouto: younger sister              otouto: younger brother

Extra Notes of Interest

Extra Notes of Interest

Note: All notes, quotes and references come from Genki: An integrated Course in Japanese and An Introduction to Modern Japanese, both published by The Japan Times.

Ano: This is an expression of reservation about your next statement. You say this if you're worried about interrupting someone doing something at the moment, or if you think you're sounding rude or impolite for asking a personal question, as an example.


Hai/Ee: They both mean “yes” to “yes/no” questions. Hai is the formal way, and ee is a more relaxed form. You can also use hai as the equivalent of “come in” when someone knocks on your door, or as “here” when a teacher calls your name.


Sou desu ka: Use this to show you understand what the speaker just said. “I see” or “is that so?”


Handing out your phone number: You usually put no between the local exchange code and the last four numbers. Example: 780-361-4447 is shichi hachi zero san roku ichi *no* yon yon yon shichi.


Sensei: “Honourable master”. It's used to describe someone else's occupation, and you never refer to yourself as sensei, unless you want to sound arrogant. If you or a member of your family are a teacher, you may call yourself by the more modest title of kyoushi.


San: A generic title. Kids are call chan if they're a girl, and kun if they're a boy. Everyone else is called san. Doctors and professors are called sensei. As with sensei, san, and other titles, you don't use them when you talk about yourself.


Referring to the person you're talking to: is their name and san or sensei, rather than using the direct word anata (you). Example: “Noella, are you Canadian?” is Noera san, anata wa kanadajin desu ka.


Japanese names: The Japanese state their family (last) name first, and their given (first) name last. They don't have middle names, and often they simply introduce themselves by their family name.

January 11th Summary

Week One

Note: All notes, quotes and references come from Genki: An integrated Course in Japanese and An Introduction to Modern Japanese, both published by The Japan Times.

Lesson Summary:


~desu: It is...


Gakusei desu. ( I ) am a student.


Juujihan desu. ( It ) is half past twelve.


Note that none of these sentences has a “subject”, like “it” and “I” in the English translation. This is very common in Japanese; speakers tend to leave out subjects whenever they think the listener knows who or what they're talking about.  When it isn't clear, you can make it obvious by using;


X wa Y desu: X is Y.


*Watashi wa* gakusei desu. *I* am a student.


*Tanaka san wa* ryuugakusei desu. *Mr. Tanaka* is an exchange student


Wa and no (used later on) are particles. They attach themselves to phrases and show how the phrases relate to the rest of the sentence.


Nouns like gakusei and ryuugakusei stand alone, unlike the English version “student” and “exchange student”, which have to have “a” and “an”. There are no such words in Japanese. “-s” also isn't used at the end of nouns. Sentences like gakusei desu could mean anything without a subject; “they/we/you are students” or “I am/you are/she is a student.”


Questions:


Forming a question in Japanese is easy; simply add ka to the end of the sentence.


Tanaka san wa nihonjin desu. Mr. Tanaka is Japanese.


Tanaka san wa nihonjin desu ka. Is Mr. Tanaka Japanese?


The sentences can be answered with “yes/no”. Some question sentences will have the question word nan (what).


nan ji (what time?) Ima nanji desu ka. What time is it now?


nan sai (how old?) Maiku san wa nansai desu ka. How old are you, Mike?


nan desu (what is?) Kore wa nan desu ka. What is this?


Using no:


This particle connects two nouns, and is very versatile.


Watashi no denwa bangou. My phone number.


Eego no gakusei. A student of the English language.


Kanada no daigaku. A college in Canada.


The word order of the first two sentences match in both English and Japanese, whereas the last sentence has it in reverse. *The main idea comes at the end and the description comes before it.* Think of it as describing the noun.


Noun 1 (description) no Noun 2 (subject)


The entire phrase itself is just one big noun.