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Fast Track: 100 Grammar Points

Watered-down, understandable, bite-sized grammar lessons. Perhaps by knowing these basic Japanese grammar points, you will be able to communicate in Japanese limited only by vocabulary and guts! Of course this list is a simplif ied grammar, and is meant to be only an introduction to the grammar points presented.

Chapter 1 1. Basic Word Order

T he sentence order is very dif f erent f rom English. In English we use Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), but in Japanese it is usually (but not always!) Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). S English I S Japanese watashi wa V eat O pan o O bread. V tabemasu.

Notice the "extra" words wa & o. T hese are called particles (or grammatical markers) and tell us a lot about the f unction of the word it f ollows. Don't worry! We will get to particles soon enough. You can read more on Japanese Word Order here.

2. , the Copula
is a copula (a word used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate). It shows that something is or isn't something else. It is one of the very f ew irregular f orms in Japanese. can act like the English "to be" (you know; is, am, are...) in the sense that is used to explain who or what something or someone is. It is also used when equating one thing with another. Let's take a look. Romaji: Literal: Natural: zou wa ookii desu. elephants (topic particle) big are Elephants are large.

Romaji: kore wa neko desu.

Literal: Natural:

this (topic particle) cat is T his is a cat.

Most of the time you want to use the "to be" verb you will use . Later we will learn other f orms to show existence. Main Points is, are, am always at the end it doesn't change like its English cousin (is, are, am) in the present tense usually pronounced like "dess"

3. "and" -
T here are several ways to say "and" (connecting words and phrases). Let's look at two of them: (to) - connecting nouns watashi wa nihongo to eigo to furansugo ga hanasemasu. I can speak Japanese and English and French. (soshite) - connecting phrases atarashii hon o kaimashita. soshite kyou kara yomimasu. I bought a new book. And I today I will start to read it. (lit. And f rom today, I'll read.)

4. 2 Basic verb forms - dictionary

T here are many ways to conjugate verbs, but here we will f ocus on two present tense f orms: "dictionary f orm" (also known as "plain f orm") and " ~masu f orm" (also known as "polite f orm") Note Switching between these two verb f orms does not change the meaning of the verb but the dictionary f orm is more casual. T he dictionary form gets its name because it is what is f ound in the dictionary. T he dictionary f orm verbs ends in -u and many end in -ru. T he masu f orm verbs are so called because they always end in -masu in the present tense. Examples Dictionary Form -Masu Form Meaning Both mean "to eat"

tabe ru

tabe masu

 nom u

nomi masu

to drink

hashi ru

hashiri masu

to run

su ru

shi masu

to do (this is one of the 2 irregular verbs)

You will notice some other changes between the two f orms. I would recommend learning about the three verb groups here, but f or our purposes right now, just memorize a f ew examples and try to f ind patterns with other verbs. And remember: Mistake making is memory making! (As long as you correct yourself , of course.)

5. Making Questions -
Making questions in Japanese is easy! -- REALLY! Usually you can change a statement into a question by just adding a ka to the end! amerikajin desu. I am an American. Now add a amerikajin desu ka. Are you an American?

Main points ka is added to the end of statements Word order is not changed as in English. In Japanese (see the example on the right side) the ? (question mark) is not required (optional). Just like in English, the last syllable goes up in intonation. In spoken Japanese sometimes the ka can be dropped if you raise your voice at the end as we do with "You want to eat?". But f or now, let's stick to using the ka. See "Questions and Question Words - 10 minute lesson" f or more on this.

6. Question Words
By mastering these question words, your conversational skills will be much stronger! (itsu) - when itsu kimashita ka? When did you come? [literally "when came?" Notice the "you" is understood.]

 (doko) - where doko kara kimashita ka? Where did you come f rom? [literally "where f rom came?"] (doushite) - why doushite kimashita ka? Why did you come? [literally "why came?"] (naze) - why naze? Why? [used in the same way as doushite] (dare) - who dare ga kimashita ka? Who came? (nani) - what nani o kaimashita ka. What did you buy? You can do a lot more with , see here. Main points Even with the question word a ka is used. (Except in casual spoken Japanese.) T he question word is at the beginning, but af ter the wa if there is one. anata wa dare desu ka? Who are you? (the question word dare is af ter the wa) For more on this please see our "Questions and Question Words" guide.

7. Possessive "s" -
T his is another nice thing about Japanese. To show relationship or possession between two things just put a (no) between them. T he trick is knowing (erm... ing) which goes to the lef t of the no and which goes to the right... T hink of as a 's (apostrophe S)

 watashi no neko My cat [I's cat] nihon no kuruma Japanese car [Japan's car] neko no omocha Cat's toy Also think of ... watashino as "my" anatano as "your"

8. "but" -
But, a small word, but... T here are other "buts" but demo is the most common. Learn this f irst and you can pick the others up later. (demo) - but nihongo ga suki demo furansugo wa kirai desu. I like Japanese, but I hate French.

9. Pronouns
Pronouns are not used nearly as much in Japanese as they are in English. Of ten the pronoun is used once and then af ter (until the topic shif ts to someone else) the pronoun is dropped. Still they are very important! Notes Learn watashi and anata well tachi and ra are endings that indicate plurality! Easy! :) Singular Plural

I - watashi

WE - watashi tachi

YOU - anata

YOU - anata tachi

HE - kare

T HEY - kare ra

SHE - kanojo

IT - IT isn't used but in ITs place sore (that) is of ten used -- Don't worry! Remember to breath! Notes Another meaning of kare (he) is actually "boyf riend" and kanojo is "girlf riend"! When the meaning is obvious, the pronoun is usually dropped. Both of the f ollowing is clear in meaning: watashi wa amerika kara kimashita. I came f rom America. amerika kara kimashita. (I) came f rom America. See the "I, Me, You, T hou..." guide f or more on pronouns.

10. Fillers -
In English, we have our "ah" and "um." In Japanese, they have their "eeto." T his is the sound you make when you can't think of what to say, but want to say something! nan no doubutsu ga suki desu ka? What animal do you like? eeto... neko ga suki. Um... I like cats.

11. Introduction to Particles

Particles may seem a little f oreign to you at f irst, but f or the most part, they aren't too dif f icult to grasp. T hese particles are placed af ter a word (or phrase) and show its relationship (grammatical f unction) to the rest of the sentence. In other words, the particle itself isn't really translatable, but it tells you a lot about the f unction of the word it f ollows. T he best way to learn to use them is to memorize usef ul examples and try them out f or size! wa - overall topic particle shows the main topic of the conversation. It may be helpf ul to think of it as "As f or..." It is a hiragana ha but pronounced as "wa"

anata wa yasashii. You are nice. Makes "you" the main topic: "As f or YOU, you are nice." ga - the subject particle sometimes the dif f erence between wa and ga is hard to tell. Sometimes they can be used interchangeably with only a slight change in meaning. See next entry f or more on this. neko ga hen. T he cat is strange. Makes the "cat" the subject

Comparing and (by Paul_b)

T he topic particle can easily be conf used with the subject particle . T hat is because overrides , in other words, in a sentence something can very easily be both the topic and the subject of that sentence. In such cases the "disappears" and it looks like the is acting as a subject marker. Take this simple sentence. watashi wa kurei desu. I am Clay. "I" (that is the speaker, Clay) is the topic and now this is known, it won't be repeated unless the topic changes. What is the subject of the sentence? T hat's right - "I" watashi is. But because "I" is also the topic only the topic marker is used. Now we'll let Clay continue and say another sentence ... neko ga suki desu. (I) like cats. "cats" is the subject here. "I" is still the topic. He could have said "watashi wa neko ga suki desu." but that is unnecessary because he has already said "watashi wa" establishing the topic in the previous sentence. if both are in a sentence, the wa is f irst. o - T he Direct Object particle hon o yomimashita. (I) read a book. it makes "book" the object. If we were to say "I" it would be watashi wa at the beginning. ni - usually shows movement (to)

nihon ni ikimashou! Let's go to Japan! T here is movement going to Japan or shows time (at) roku ji ni ikimashou! Let's go at 6. de - Shows location (at, in) nihon de asobimashou! Let's play (have f un) in Japan! Notice there is no movement See the "Particles and Conjunctions" guide f or more on this. Do you have an iPhone/iPod Touch? You may be interested in this iPhone App f or mastering Japanese Particles. It is produced by T JP's good f riends over at JapanNewbie.com. It covers the basic particles plus those f ound on the JLPT N5 and N4 tests. Use the Study Mode and Quiz to test yourself . Click here to jump to the iTunes Japanese 101: Particles page

12. "if" -
We will look at a f ew examples that actually contain f airly advanced grammar. In other words, to say "if ..." you must start with moshi-- and this is easy. However, you must also change the verb at the end with a ba, tara, or nara or some other conditional. T hat being said, you should become f amiliar with moshi since it is extremely usef ul. Try to memorize one or two example sentences and then listen or look f or other examples online or with f riends. English If you come. Japanese

moshi anata ga kitara.

If it's sunny.

moshi hare tara.

Special usef ul phrases moshi yokereba... If it is ok with you... [let's do this...] moshi hoshikattara, If you want (it), (when of f ering something to someone)

Chapter 2 13. Using

T he equivalent to Mr. or Mrs. or Miss. is Usage Right after the name. It is used even with f riends. (Even when in English we wouldn't use "Mr.") (kurei san) - Mr. Clay (yamada san) - Mr. (or Mrs...) Yamada Other name titles (used the same way) (sama) - very polite - reserved f or royalty, important people, and customers of stores (chan) - used f or girls and very young boys (kiti-chan = Hello Kitty) (kun) - used f or young boys (sensei) - used f or teachers [ kurei sensei], doctors, and prof essionals For now just use san. As you know f rom watching all the Karate Kid movies, it is the most common. For more on this see our article on keishou, " Name Titles".

Easy Adjectives
T here are 2 types of adjectives:

-i adjectives - adjectives that end in -i -na adjectives - adjectives that add -na when placed before nouns

T he -i adjectives change: atsui - (It's) hot || +i atsukunai - not hot || -i + kunai atsukatta - was hot || -i + katta atsukunakatta - wasn't hot || -i + kunakatta Learn this and you can use all -i adjectives! T he -na adjectives don't change! But when placed bef ore

nouns they add a -na

genki (healthy, active, fine) genki na ko (healthy child)

Past Tense
For now let's stick with the - masu f orm of verbs PAST = MASU MASHITA

tabemasu (to eat) tabemashita (ate) nomimasu (to drink) nomimashita (drank)
PAST NEGATIVE = MASU MASEN DESHITA

tabemasu (to eat) tabemasen deshita (didn't eat) nomimasu (to drink) nomimasen deshita (didn't drink)
T he "- masen" is the negative part

Very
Sometimes mom's cooking isn't just oishii (delicious) it is VERY OISHII! Add totemo bef ore adjectives to say "very"

totemo oishii desu. It's very delicious! totemo ookina ki. A very big tree.

OT HER VERY WORDS: You can ignore this if you like...

hijou ni chou (kind of slang - chou means "super-")

To Want
Saying "I want (something)" is pretty easy. Just say the thing you want and add ga hoshii to it.

 nomimono ga hoshii desu. (I) want a drink.

NOT E: T he desu is optional and is usually dropped. nomimono ga hoshii. is perf ectly f ine in spoken Japanese. Next, let's ask a question. Can you f igure out how to do it? T hat's right add a ka REVIEW HERE

ke-ki ga hoshii desu ka? Do you want cake?

Want to do~
First get the masu f orm of the verb you want to do. T hen drop the masu and add tai. Of course if you want to say "do you want to..." Just add ka

ke-ki o tabetai desu ka? Do you want to eat cake?

T hese 2 particles wa & ga both do what in English is the subject, but wa is greater in scope than ga wa - the main topic particle of the conversation ga - the subject particle of the sentence

watashi wa kurei desu. I am Clay. [Clay is the topic and now this is known, it won't be repeated unless the topic changes] neko ga suki desu. (I) like cats. ["cats" are actually the 'subject' here. Maybe this is easier to see "Cats are liked (by me). Note you could say "watashi wa neko ga suki desu." but it is unnecessary because we have already said "watashi wa" (The overall topic is already known)]

if both are in a sentence, the wa is f irst

the wa is written with a hiragana ha but pronounced as wa

FOR MORE ON T HIS ...

There is / There are

For inanimate objects (objects, plants...), end the sentence with ga arimasu

ki desu. It's a tree. [lit. tree is.] ki ga arimasu. There is a tree(s).

For living things (people and animals) use ga imasu.

neko ga imasu. There is a cat(s).

To show the negative just add - sen to the end

arimasuarimasen Another more casual form of arimasu that you don't have to learn now is... aru nai imasu imasen Another more casual form of imasu that you don't have to learn now is... iru inai

Maybe you know these usef ul phrases:

onegai ga arimasu. I have a favor to ask. mondai nai. No problem! [this is the casual form of arimasen]

To like...
It is easy to like something and to say it! Just add ga suki af ter the object that you like:

neko ga suki desu. I like cats. [note: Nouns don't change in number (no s) so it could mean "a cat". Also note the desu if dropped makes the sentence more casual - "neko ga suki."]

Why/Because
2 ways to say "why" are: 1. naze - why 2. doushite - why

T hey are basically interchangeable and start at the beginning of the sentence and are f ollowed by the question

naze (doushite) watashi no ke-ki o tabemashita ka? Why did you eat my cake? [There isn't a "you" but obviously you wouldn't be asking yourself this question.]

+ reason or excuse + kara

nazenara hara ga hetta kara. Because, (I'm) starving! [lit. because stomach is diminished]

I think
T his goes at the end to show that you believe what you say, but are not 100% sure. It is also used to show one's opinion. If there is a desu change it to da which is the more casual f orm and add to omoimasu 1. T he speaker is not totally sure of the accuracy of his inf o...

kuma no pu-san wa kuma da to omoimasu. Winnie the Pooh is a bear, I think...

Next is an example of showing one's opinion. It is true f or the speaker, but may not be so f or the listener.

nattou wa oishii to omoimasu. I think Natto is delicious.

Basically you can say any sentence and if you want to sof ten it or show you are not sure, or show your opinion add to omoimasu

24. "become" -
To show the state of becoming... something, use ni narimasu. T he ni is placed af ter what something is becoming (or became, or might become... depending on the conjugation used, as the examples illustrate below). T he narimasu means to become. Nouns and -na adjectives use ni narimasu. -i adjectives are dif f erent, but f or now there are enough usef ul nouns to look at: Examples yoru ni narimashita.* It has become night. * ~ mashita shows past tomodachi ni narimashou.* Let's become f riends. * the ~ mashou means "let's" genki ni narimashita. (I) have become f ine / healthy.

Also
mo means "also" or "too" and like other particles, it is placed af ter the word it modif ies. Let's see some examples: PERSON A : watashi wa neko ga suki. I like cats. PERSON B: watashi wa neko ga suki, soshite inu mo suki. I like cats, and I also like dogs. [to review soshite; the mo af ter inu replaces ga. You can't say "ga mo"] PERSON C: watashi mo neko to inu ga suki. I also like cats and dogs. NOT E: watashi mo by itself means "Me too."

Chapter 3
26. Making the f orm 27. "to do, play" - 28. "more, ~er" - 29. "can" -

30. "~ing" - 31. "f or example" - 32. "this" - 33. "that" - 34. "that over there" - 35. "must do" - 36. "better do..." - 37. "better/worse than" -

Making the form

If you know how to make this f orm, you can do a lot! Later we will look at other grammar points that are based on the te f orm. By itself the te f orm makes a verb a request (or demand) 1. nomu (to drink) nonde (drink) 2. taberu (to eat) tabete (eat) 3. suru (to do) shite (do) T hese are the ways to make the te f orm f or each of the 3 types of verbs. If you are new to the "types of verbs" thing, don't worry. Now I know there are many grammarians out there that would argue against what I am about to say, but here's my advice. Don't worry about learning all the conf using rules about how to make this verb do that (just yet). Just say it as you f eel it should be. Of course you will make many mistakes, but if you keep your ears open and learn f rom your mistakes you will get a f eel f or how the verbs work. Take the te f orm f or an example. If you memorize the 3 examples at the top you should be able to guess what other verbs may change to. Or even if you guess wrong, the correct f orm should be at least f amiliar to you.

To do, play
Suru is a very usef ul verb thingy. It is used where no other verb dares to go! (Foreign words, nouns, and other scary things...) T hink of it as "to do..." jogingu suru - to (do) jogging shoppingu suru - to (do) shopping sain suru - to sign (autograph)

USEFUL JAPANESE + SURU benkyou suru - to study mainichi, nihongo o benkyou shimasu. Everyday, (I) am studying Japanese. T he o is the direct object marker. You will notice it moves around sometimes. Don't worry about this now, just concentrate on suru .

Another usage of -or- is "to play" as in sports or games yakyuu o suru. To play baseball. sumou o suru. To play (do) Sumo. basuketto ba-ru o suru. To play basketball.

 shougi o suru. To play shogi (Japanese chess)

more, ~er
One easy way to say "MORE" or "-er" is to add a motto bef ore the thing you want to emphasis. T his is one of the rare times that the word order is the same with English - or at least with the more part! Relish the moment (while you can) { motto ~ = more ~ }

motto pi-man o tabenasai. Eat more green peppers. [~nasai is like the te f orm in that it gives commands, but it is stronger. ] AND FOR THE: { motto ~ = ~er } motto hayaku itte kudasai. (Next time) please say (it) a little earlier. [Usef ul when someone tells you NOT to cut the yellow wire of the bomb after you have done that...]

Can
T here are a couple of ways to say "I can..." in Japanese. T he easiest is dekimasu. Let's look at how to f orm some sentences. CAN + NOUN [] 1 nihongo ga dekimasu. I can (speak) Japanese. [I can do Japanese.] kanji ga dekimasu. I can (read/write) kanji. [I can do kanji.] sukaidaibingu ga dekimasu. I can skydive.

CAN + VERB [] Actually, the above are all shortened versions without the verb. Let's add the verb. koto means thing, but here it is used to make a verb a noun so it will work with dekimasu. 1 nihongo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu. I can speak Japanese. kanji o yomu koto ga dekimasu. I can read kanji.

Be creative and come up with things you can do!

FOR MORE ON T HIS ...

30. "~ing" -
T his is a very important grammar point. It corresponds to the English "~ing" f orm Construction f orm + or eat eating(now) Use this to describe things happening now. ima anata ni hanashite imasu. I am talking to you now. ima gohan o tabete imasu. I am eating rice (f ood) now. ima sukaidaibingu o shite imasu. I am skydiving now. To make a question just add to the end. (See here f or more on using f or asking questions.) anata wa benkyou shite imasu ka? Are you studying?

For example
Anytime you want to make an illustration or give an example this is the phrase to use.

watashi wa washoku ga suki desu. I like Japanese style food. tatoeba, gohan to misoshiru . For example, rice and miso soup .

You can also ask someone this to get more concrete information.

tatoeba, nani? For example, what?

FOR MORE POWER WORDS...

This
T his and that. Actually Japanese also has one more. T hey also have "that over there" - but we will get at that later. T here are 2 words in Japanese that are translated as "this" in English: kore - When "this" is not connected to a noun - hang on you will get it in a minute

kore wa nan desu ka? What is this? kore wa neko desu. T his is a cat.

HINT To say "T his is" or "is this" the kore will probably be followed by a wa

kono - When you put "this" bef ore a noun, it changes to kono

kono neko wa pochi desu ka? Is this cat, Pochi?. iie kono inu wa pochi desu. No. This dog is Pochi.

HINT It may seem strange at first, but after a while T his and T hat become second nature!

That
T his and that. Now we are on the T HAT part. So this T HAT ref ers to objects near the listener (not the speaker) sore - when "that" is not connected to a noun

sore wa nan desu ka? What is that?

HINT Begin to think of the words starting with K's as "this" and the S's as "that" words

 sore wa neko desu. That is a cat.

sono - When you put "that" before a noun, it changes to sono

sono neko wa pochi desu ka? Is that cat, Pochi?. iie sono tako wa pochi desu. No. That octopus is Pochi.

HINT T his is used in the same way as kono

That over there

T his and that. Now we are on the T HAT OVER T HERE part. So this T HAT ref ers to objects not near the listener or the speaker. are - when "that" is not connected to a noun

are wa nan desu ka? What is that over there? are wa neko desu. That over there is a cat.

HINT And now recognize A's mean T hat over there

ano - When you put "that" before a noun, it changes to ano

ano neko wa pochi desu ka? Is that cat over there, Pochi?. iie ano kujira wa pochi desu. No. That whale over there is Pochi.

HINT Again they ALL are used in the same way.

Must do
T his is a mouthf ul! But it is so usef ul. Learn it well T O MAKE IT: plain negative form - i + kereba narimasen

[Would be for the plain negative form ] pi-man o tabenakereba narimasen. (I) must eat green peppers. (Many Japanese children don't like green peppers)
Say that 5 times fast with your mouth full!

Perhaps the most useful usage is:

The shi is from suru (to do) benkyou shinakereba narimasen. (I) must (have to) study. shinakereba narimasen. (I) must (have to) do (it).

When giving advice this is usef ul. CONST RUCT ION: ta f orm (#3) + hou ga ii

yasunda hou ga ii. It would be better to rest. kiita hou ga ii. It would be better to ask (someone).

NOT E: T he ta f orm is the same as the past tense. (But obviously it is not past here)

better / worse than

T his has the same hou ga ii as the previous entry. But here we using it to compare things. Also we will introduce yori (less than). ~no hou ga ii (more than) ~yori (less than)

T his is a little conf using if you think too much on this! But I suggest memorizing one or two examples and then you should be able to keep it straight.

watashi wa inu yori, neko no hou ga suki. I like dogs less than cats. (I like cats more than dogs.)

You should spend some time studying the above example to understand how the ordering works. Notice in English we use either "less than" or "more than" and the meaning is understood by the order of "dogs" and "cats" BUT in Japanese this is also ok:

watashi wa neko no hou ga inu, yori suki.

Chapter 4
38. "how..." - 39. "isn't it?" - 40. "said" - 41. Negative verbs 42. Negative adjectives 43. "plan to" - 44. Punctuation 45. "should/must" - 46. "because" part 2 - 47. "although" - 48. Using 49. "easy to..." - 50. "hard to..." -

How...
Here is a very usef ul question word -- dou -- Let's look at ways of using dou. dou desu ka? How is (it)? [Use this f or asking about f ood, or anything that is being done now] dou deshita ka? How was (it)? [Use this to f ind out about past experiences movie, last night's date, molded pizza you just ate...] OT HER WAYS! dou yatte? How do you do it? [Ask this when you are not sure how to do something] dou shimashita ka? What happened? [Ask this if someone looks sad or something has happened]

 dou shiyou What shall (I or we) do? [T his is of ten used when you can't make a decision and want help... doushiyou, ne!] dou suru no? What will you do? [When you want to encourage someone to make a decision -- Well, what will you do?]

Isn't it?
If you want to state your opinion and then encourage someone to agree, use deshou.

? firipin wa atsui deshou? The Philippines is hot, isn't it? [You are expecting a 'yes' answer] itai deshou? It hurts, doesn't it? [You see someone who has just slammed their head in the low doorway]

But usually is used to mean 'probably':

Ame ga furu deshou ne. It will probably rain, don't you think?

And another common usage is meaning 'how about...' or 'what do you think about'

udon wa dou deshou? How about some Udon?

said
Meet the wonderf ul ' to.' Mr. can act as a quotation marker ("). Don't conf use this with the that means 'and.' Very of ten if you are quoting someone or some source. T his is best shown with examples:

ore wa su-paman to iimashita. He said, "I am Superman." ano e wa juu seiki ni tsukutta to kaite arimasu. The book says (it is written) that this painting was made in the 10th century.

It can also be used to mark sound ef f ects of things or animals:

ano inu wa 'wan' to iimashita. That dog barked, "bark"

T here are many other usages f or 'to.' Paying attention to each usage will help you get a good grasp.

Negative adjectives
we say `not red` to show an absence of that color in English. In Japanese as with the verbs, the adjective`s ending is modif ied with a negative ending. You will notice a great similarity with the verbal endings. With `i` adjectives the `i` changes to a `ku` bef ore adding the `nai`... sono ringo wa akakunai. T hat apple isn`t red. `na` adjectives simply drop the `na` (which is really only used bef ore nouns) and add `ja nai` or `ja arimasen` (or dewa nai & dewa arimasen)... watashi wa kirei ja nai. I am not pretty.

To learn more about adjectives click here.

Negative verbs
It isn't a sin to be negative. Interesting I should say that... 'sin' sounds like 'sen' which marks the negative in Japanese in the -masu f orm. (Ok, so I set that one up...) hanasemasu - can speak becomes...

watashi wa nihongo ga hanasemasen. (I) can`t speak Japanese.

wakarimasu - understand becomes...

watashi wa eigoga wakarimasen. (I) don`t understand English.

If you can make the -masu f orm, just drop the and add the You may have noticed there are no `no` words needed to make a negative like in English. You simply modif y the verb`s ending. T o make the negative in the plain, or simple, f orm by taking the basic stem and adding to it. With the `ru` verbs you simply drop the and add as in wasureru (to f orget)...

nihongo o wasurenai. (I) don`t forget Japanese.

And f or the `u` verbs we change the ending `u` sound to a `a` sound as in kaku -> ...

 tegami o kakanai. (I) don`t write letters.

Finally we come to and the other irregular verbs. is in the simple f orm and in the polite f orm

sukaidaibingu o shimasen. (I) don`t do sky diving.

And kuru is konai and kimasen in the f ormal...

gojira ga konai. Godzilla doesn`t come.

To review the 3 types of verbs click here.

Plan to
If you plan on speaking Japanese these two words are very usef ul. yotei and tsumori yotei and are very similar in meaning and usage. conveys more of a `schedule` f eel whereas is more of a `conviction of doing something. All you have to do is to stick either on the end of a verb (simple f orm)... To add or to any verb just f ind the simple f orm... / nihon ni iku tsumori (or yotei) desu. I intend to go to Japan. [if you use tsumori, you `intend` to go one way or another; if you use yotei you already have a hard schedule set to leave at a certain time.] Here is how you add it to a verb / anata to kekkon suru tsumori (or yotei) desu. I intend to marry you. You can also use it with nouns by sticking a bef ore the tsumori and af ter adjectives. But f or now concentrate on the verb usage.

Punctuation
Punctuation is in many ways similar to English. You have a comma, called a and a period at the end of a sentence called a . Let`s quickly go over some common Punctuation thingies: the acts just like our period by ending the sentence. It looks like a ball - maru

the acts like a comma. T his is of ten f ound af ter as in (I, like you) T hese brackets hold quotations and work like our "" marks

and

Should/Must
You should know . It is easy and usef ul, theref ore you have no excuse :) Hazu shows an expectation that something should happen. In other words, you are pretty sure something is true. Let`s see how it works... To add to any adjective just add it...

sono kaban wa, takai hazu desu. That bag must be expensive. [It is expected to be expensive]

Just add it to the simple f orm of any verb

anata wa, gojira o shitteiru hazu desu. You should/must know Godzilla.

Because II
We have looked at some 'becauses' that mainly act as a preposition. comes at the end of the phrase. In English we start the phrase with `because`; in Japanese you of ten say the reason f irst and then the because... Just add it af ter an adjective... sono kaban wa takai node, zutto tsukau tsumori desu. Since that bag was expensive, I plan on using it f or a long time. Just add it to the simple f orm of any verb gojira ga kuru node, toukyou wa kowai tokoro desu. Since Godzilla comes, Tokyo is a scary place. Af ter a noun or a -na adjective add a NA bef ore NODE... watashi wa mada gakusei na node, okane ga nai . Because I am still a student, I don`t have any money.

Although
A close cousin to (above), is . It is of ten used to show disappointment in the current situation.

Just add it af ter an adjective... isshou kenmei benkyou shita noni, tesuto o ochita. Even though I studied really hard, I f lunked the test.

Using
T his is a very usef ul add-on. Use it as a counter: nan nin how many people kuru no wa nan nin desu ka? - How many people are coming? nan nen how many years nan nen amerika ni sunde imashita ka? How many years did you live in America? nan ban what number tsugi wa nan ban desu ka? - What is the next number? nan do what`s the temperature ondo wa nando desu ka? - What is the temperature at? nan you bi what day of the week kyou wa nan youbi desu ka? - What is the day of the week? nan nichi which day pa-ti wa nan nichi? - What day is the party? nan ko how many pieces jeri-bi-n o nanko hoshii desu ka? How many jelly beans do you want?

And the following are a few of the adverbial usages of nani ka something nanika nomitai - I want something to drink nan demo anything, whatever nandemo ii desu. - Anything is f ine.

nan to how...! nan to subarashii hi. - What a wonderf ul day! nan no tame what f or koko ni kita no wa nan no tame desu ka? - Why did you come here? nantonaku somehow, in some way nantonaku wakaru. - I somehow understand.

Easy to...
It's easy to add "easy to" to verbs! Consider the f ollowing verbs in the masu f orm: tabe masu [to eat] tabe yasui [easy to eat] Did you see that? If you know the - masu f orm of the verb, you can easily drop the - masu and add a yasui. wakari masu [to understand] wakari yasui [easy to understand]

Hard to...
If "easy to" is easy to use (see above) then you would think that "hard to" would be hard to use. Well, they had to go and make it easy as well. Usage is the same as - yasui (easy to) tabe masu [to eat] tabe nikui [hard to eat] If you know the - masu f orm of the verb, you can easily drop the - masu and add a nikui. wakari masu [to understand] wakari nikui [hard to understand]

Chapter 5
51. "looks like" - 52. "I've heard" - 53. "like, as..." - 54. "like, as if " - 55. "let's..." - 56. "won't you...?" - 57. Power ender "" 58. "when, that time" - 59. Using 60. "situation, case" - 61. "etc... and..." - 62. "about" -

Looks like
Looks like we made it - as Barry Manilow would say - at least we made it half way! taif uu ga kuru mitai. It looks like a hurricane. [T his could mean you are looking at storm clouds, OR someone told you a hurricane is coming and you are reporting that possibility] And just stick it af ter a noun kono keshiki wa yume mitai. T his scenery looks like a dream. [Usef ul if visiting Mt. Fuji - or, alternatively, if you have bad dreams, a garbage heap...] ano hito WA nihonjin mitai. T hat person looks like he's [or she's] Japanese. T here is another usage of -mitai where it can mean 'try and see' when added to the f orm of a verb: yatte mitai - I'll give it a shot. tabete mitai - I'll taste and see. T hat is a bit dif f erent f rom the above, but it is also very usef ul!

I've heard
While can convey inf o you have heard as well as what you see, is mainly used f or inf o that originated elsewhere. - I heard... Construction: 1) simple verb + ~sou + desu/da

yuki chan WA niku o tabenai sou DA I heard Yuki doesn't eat meat.

2) -i adjective + ~sou + desu/DA

tanaka san no atarashii pasokon wa totemo takai sou desu. I heard Tanaka's new computer is very expensive. [This info could have come from Tanaka himself, or someone else]

Like, as...
Here is a usef ul tag which means 'just as...' or 'like this...'

Construction: 1) simple verb + ~you ni

watashi ga iu you ni shite. Do as I say.

2) noun + ~ no you ni

anata wa kuma no pu-san no you ni kawaii desu. You are as cute as Winnie the Pooh

like, as if, apparently

T his is similar to ~sou where the speaker is repeating inf o heard f rom another source. T he only dif f erence may be ~rashii may be based on more reliable inf ormation. Construction: 1) simple verb + ~rashii

yamada san wa kaetta rashii desu. It sounds like Mr. Yamada has come home.

2) noun + ~rashii T here are a f ew nouns with rashii that you can remember as a word in itself . T his meaning is slighly dif f erent f rom the above verb construction. Instead of meaning inf o heard elsewhere, when added to a noun it means the speaker thinks something looks like something. Here are a f ew:

otokorashii - manly (like a man) onnarashii - girly (but perhaps onnappoi is used more) inurashii - like a dog (substitute any animal here. This is useful when you see an animal at night and are not sure what it is, but it looks like...) amerikarashii - American-ish (substitute any country)

Another similar construction with nouns is ~ppoi - as seen above with onnappoi. When added to nouns to mean 'looks like...' ~ppoi is the same as ~rashii

Let's...
Maybe this should be bumped up since it is so usef ul. Let`s start... Construction: 1) ~masu verb - masu + mashou Here are a f ew quick and usef ul examples:

 ikimashou. Let's go. asobimashou. Let's play. sensei to hanashimashou. Let's talk to the teacher. nihongo o benkyou shimashou. Let's study Japanese.
This example uses suru. Another example would be:

sukai daibingu shimashou. Let's go sky diving.

T his construction is very easy if you know the masu (f ormal) f orm of the verb. If you are a beginner, you probably want to stick with the ~masu f orm anyway.

Won't you...?
Why don't we study Japanese grammar? ok. Since we have the above construction (using a negative to suggest doing something) in English, this grammar point isn't too dif f icult to grasp. Construction: 1) ~masu verb - masu + mashou

dokoka ikimasen ka. Why don't we go already? [notice I have the English as 'we.' It could be 'you' if you are angry at the person and wish him to leave...] eiga o mimasen ka . Why don't we see a movie. nanika nomimasen ka. Wouldn't you like to drink something? [In this case you are asking someone individually if they would like something to drink. ]

Power ender " "

T his is used at the end of a sentence and contains a variety of meanings. We will look at it as a question tag. As a question tag: don't you... isn't it...

 anata wa ninjin ga kirai desu ne. You don't like carrots, don't you? sono eiga wa totemo ii eiga datta ne. Don't you think that was a good movie? kyou wa atsui desu ne. Today is very hot, isn't it? If you want to use ne as a question tag, it helps to nod your head, or change the inf lection to let the listener know you would like a response. It is usually used when the speaker f eels f airly certain his listeners agree with what was said. A very usef ul phrase f or whenever something good happens is: ii ne. Isn't that great!

When, that time

If you don't know when to say something, you will never say it! Using toki - at the time when... With a noun add a [Looking at a photo] watashi wa gakusei no toki ni wa totemo wakakatta ne. [looking at a photo] When I was a student, I was very young, wasn't I? And with verbs... simple past f urorida ni itta toki ni kore wo kaimashita. When I went to Florida, I bought this. non-past f urorida ni iku toki wa omiyage wo kaimasu. When I go to Florida, I will buy souvenirs. continuing neru toki itsumo f uton de nemasu. When I sleep, I always sleep on a f uton. For more inf ormation on time related words, click here

Using
T his is how you say 'thing' Koto - intangible things

ii koto wa arimasen. There isn't anything good. daiji na koto o oshiemasu. I will tell you an important thing.

kinou no koto wa sumimasen deshita. I am sorry about what happened yesterday. (yesterday's thing)

Mono - tangible things

sono kuroi mono wa neko kanaa. I wonder if that black thing is a cat? oishii mono ga tabetai. I want to eat something good.

One usef ul phrase using koto is:

dou iu koto? What is the meaning of this?

T his phrase is used whenever the listener isn't sure of the motive of the speaker.

situation, case
T his is one that should be learned by usef ul examples

hijou no ba ai wa botan o oshite kudasai. In case of emergency push the button. sono ba ai wa dou sureba ii? In that situation, what should I do? tesuto ga atta ba ai, watashi wa byouki ni narimasu. Should a test be given , I will get sick.

Etc... and...
Sometimes you have to say more than one thing. Whoever invented 'etc.' was a genius. Let's see how to do this in Japanese... First a f ew ways to list multiple items: ya - and, and so f orth

pi-man ya hourensou ga kirai desu. I don't like green peppers, spinach and the like.

 toka - or, and, and so f orth

kuma no pu-san toka doraemon toka kiti chan ga suki desu. I like things like Winnie the Pooh and Doraemon and Hello Kitty.

And now f or nado to wrap things up.

tabemono no naka dewa piza toka furaido poteto nado ga suki desu. As for foods, I like things like pizza or french fries.

About or
About how much? About how many? Sometimes the turns into a probably af ter harder consonants.

okyakusama wa dono kurai kimashita ka? About how many customers came? eeto, hyaku nin kurai kimashita. Let me see, About 100 people.

You can use this with time:

hachi ji gurai about 8 O'clock

Or counting anything: ni hiki kurai - about 2 (animals) juu satsu gurai - about 10 books

Chapter 6
63. "how about ...?" - 64. 65. "please do..." - 66. "please give me..." - 67. on, in, above, behind... 68. "why don't we...?" - 69. Closer look at

70. Closer look at 71. Closer look at 72. Closer look at 73. "if " II - 74. "sof t ender" II - 75. T he power ender ""

How about ...?

T o ask the state of something (how something is doing) use the usef ul dou (desu ka). You can used it with or without the f inal 'desu ka' in conversation.

saikin wa dou desu ka? How's it going recently? ko-hi- wa dou? How's the coffee? or it could mean How about some coffee? tenki yohou wa dou? How's the weather forecast looking?

Of course when the context is understood you can simply say, 'dou' (Like returning f rom a doctor's appointment, or af ter your f riend gets of f an important phone call)

T his literally means 'to complete, f inish' but can (and usually does) involve a regret over having done something. Also it can be used sarcastically to mean the speaker really wanted to do something, but gives a half hearted apology. For example, I unf ortunately ate the last cookie. Of course there really wasn't anything unf ortunate about it. T he construction is usually af ter the ~te f orm of any verb

zenbu no okane o tsukatte shimaimashita. Unfortunately, I spent all my money. watashi wa kanzen ni nihongo o wasurete shimatta. Unfortunately, I have completely forgotten Japanese.

Another very usef ul variation is ~chatta. T his is inf ormal and is used by both male and f emale speakers. chau is made by combining te shimau -> chau

shiken ni ochichatta.

I flunked the test unfortunately.

or in the present tense

ke-ki o zenbu tabechau. I will eat all the cake.

An important point by Mukade in the forums: In the Kansai area, the use of is limited to female speakers. I learned both in the classroom, of course, since they are standard dialect. But when I moved here to Osaka, people started asking me if I was gay, since I kept using all the time. If I could help prevent someone else from having to go through the same "hard knocks" learning process that I did, it would make me very happy.

So be caref ul if you are in the Kansai area! But in most areas it should be f ine.

Please do...
Here's how you boss people around. Well, in a nice way... add kudasai (please) af ter the ~te f orm of any verb

yukkuri hanashite kudasai. Please speak slowly. motto otona rashiku shite kudasai. Please act more grown-up. koko de migi ni magatte kudasai. Please turn right here.

Please give me...

Another use f or kudasai is "please give me..."

sono hon o kudasai. Please give me that book. go hyaku en o kudasai. Please give me 500 yen.

In spoken Japanese, the 'o' is usually dropped.

On, In, Above, Behind

A good knowledge of position particles will help glue everything together. ni - on tsukue ni hon ga arimasu. T here is a book on the desk. no ue ni - on top of tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu. T here is a book on (top of ) the desk. no shita ni - under... tsukue no shita ni hon ga arimasu. T here is a book under the desk. no ushiro ni - behind... tsukue no ushiro ni hon ga arimasu. T here is a book behind the desk.

Why don't we...?

Why don't we study a little more?

dokoka de tabemasen ka? Why don't we eat somewhere. nanika nomimasen ka? Would you like something to drink. or Why don't we have a drink.

T he context decides if the meaning should be 'why don't WE' or 'Would YOU.'

A Closer look at
Pronounced o but written in Japanese as wo. Simply put, is the 'direct object marker or particle' which indicates the previous word is the direct object. T here are cases when the English would not consider it a direct object, though. Learn some examples and give it a try. T his particle is one of the easier ones...

watashi wa ringo o tabemashita. I ate an apple. (apple is the ) ongaku o kikitai desu. I want to listen to music. (music is the ) terebi o kau tsumori desu . I intend to buy a TV. (tsumori means'intend to'; TV is the )

A Closer look at
In most cases the particle can be used interchangeably with . But has a wider application so f or now just stick with

Showing movement toward... Like 'to'

nihon ni ikitai. I want to go to Japan. (direction TO Japan) doko ni ikitai desu ka. Where do you want to go?

Meaning 'on' or 'in'

kami ni e o kakimashita. I drew a picture on a piece of paper.

In time - 'at'

roku ji ni aimashou. Let's meet at 6.

A Closer look at
T his is used mainly f or location. Used f or location of where something happens

depa-to de boushi o kaimashita. I bought a hat at the Department store. nihon de nani o shimashita ka. In Japan, what did you do?

Observe the dif f erence between and :

makudonarudo ni ikitai. I want to go to McDonalds. makudonarudo de tabetai. I want to eat at McDonalds.

A Closer look at

T his is the 'subject marker / particle'.

ame ga futteimasu. It's raining.

T here is a subtile dif f erence between WA and GA and I don't pretend to try to completely explain it. Years f rom now, you will still make WA/GA mistakes. Still, in general you can say WA is the main T OPIC and GA is the more specif ic SUBJECT at hand. In the above example we say it is raining. T he topic isn't about rain. We are simply stating the circumstances at the moment and the subject of that particular sentence is rain. If we were to talk all about rain, we would probably start with WA as in:

ame wa sora kara futte kuru mizu desu. As for rain, it is water that falls from the sky. (You may go on to say more about the overall topic of rain.)

Used with SUKI

watashi wa neko ga suki. I like cats.

Question words always use GA

nani ga oishii? What tastes good? dare ga kimashita? Who came?

doko ga ichi ban ii tokoro desu ka? Where is the best place?

If II
A while back we f ound as the word that means 'if '. is added to the end of verbs to give the meaning of 'if this is done, then this will happen' It is f ormed by f inding the simple past f orm and adding a

anata ga kitara kare wa kaeru If you are coming, he will go home.

T he simple past f orm of is .T he 2nd phrase is conditional on the phrase.

gojira ni attara doushiyou. What should I do if I meet Godzilla?

You can also use it with nouns by using the simple past f orm of desu:

okanemochi da tara ookina ie ga kaeru noni. If only I were rich, I could buy a large house.

Softener
Many years ago I f ound an example in a book of how Japanese can be direct or politely indirect. For example you can say: 1) koi or 2) both mean 'come here' but #2 is much more polite being cushioned by many sof t, indirect words. One of these words is . means 'little' or 'small amount' but it is of ten used to sof ten an otherwise painf ul 'no' or 'your request is impossible; live with it'

chotto muzukashi desu ga. That's a little difficult. (this may be said when the request is impossible) chotto dekinai desu. It can't be done. chotto wakaranai desu. I'm not really sure.

I have been told the sound 'chotto' is a bad word in Korean. If that is the case, chotto may not be that sof t of a word...

The power ender " "

When you want to impress upon your listener the importance or truth of what you are saying stick a at the end of the sentence. hontou desu yo. It's the truth, I tell ya! (Perhaps the speaker suspects the listener doesn't believe what he just said)

fururida no 12 gatsu wa atsui desu ka? Is December in Florida is pretty hot? kekkou samui desu yo. Actually, it is pretty cold. It is very usef ul f or rumors or explaining a truth you know someone may not swallow at f irst: suzuki san wa uchuujin desu yo. Suzuki is an alien, you know.

Chapter 7
76. T he non-but "even if " - 77. "the best, ~est" - 78. "about..." - 79. "can't, not allowed" - 80. Easy kanji pref ixes 81. Easy counters 82. T he Explanatory 83. as a pronoun 84. "how to..." - 85. "please don't" - 86. "have done..." - 87. "to decide to have..." -

The non-but / Even if although

We have studied which means 'also'. When added af ter the f orm of a verb or adjective it brings on the meaning of 'even if '. Let's investigate:

joudan wo ittemo, kare wa waraimasen. Even if you tell a joke, he won't laugh.

And an adjective:

tsumetakutemo taberaremasu. Even if it is cold, I can eat it.

And just stick it af ter a noun

su-paman demosonna koto wa dekinai yo. Even Superman can't do that!

The best, -est

While it means #1, it is also used as a superlative- most or -est

tabemono no naka wa nani ga ichiban suki desu ka? Out of all foods, what do you like the best? fujisan wa sekai de ichiban takai yama ja nai. Mt. Fuji isn't the tallest mountain in the world.

About...
T his is added to mean 'this sentence is ABOUT the previous word'. Simply stick it af ter the noun you want to talk about.

bangumi ni tsuite no oshirase desu. This is an annoucement about the program (TV for example). ano eiga ni tsuite dou omou? What do you think about that movie?

Can't, not allowed /

T his is how to say something is f orbidden to do. Perhaps easiest way to us this is to stick it af ter the f orm of a verb and (wa - topic particle).

shiranai hito to hanashite wa ikemasen. Don't speak to strangers.

Of ten in casual speech, the becomes (or ) as in:

sono eiga o micha ikemasen yo. You are not allowed to watch this movie - or You shouldn't watch this movie.

You can also use f or a similar ef f ect: watashi no hon o yonja dame. You can't read my book!

Easy kanji prefixes

T here are a number of f airly easy kanji that will help dramatically increase your vocabulary. T hese kanji have specif ic meanings that when added to other kanji or words, it changes the whole meaning in a logical way. - dai, oo - big

 suki to like

dai suki to really like, love

kirai to dislike

daikirai to really dislike, hate oo ame heavy rain

ji shin earthquake

dai jishin a huge earthquake

ame rain

Another similar word is: (small) - mai - every (attached to time words) asa morning mai asa every morning toshi year mai toshi every year

ban evening

mai ban every evening

- kai - to meet (a suf f ix) ongaku music ongaku kai concert/recital un dou exercise, sports undou kai athletic meet

Easy Counters
In English, we just take a number (1,2,3...) add a noun and an "s" to count items. But in Japanese dif f erent types of objects have dif f erent counters. Plus some numbers change pronunciation slightly when added with their counter. Don't worry too much about the pronunciation changes since you will be understood. And even if you mess up and count with the wrong counter, you should be understood, but just a tip... don't count people with "pikki" (used with animals!) First, there are 2 ways to count numbers - the 'native' and the 'Chinese' way. Actually the 'native' counting system only goes up to 10 and is pretty much only used f or counting up to two people and f or counting

general things. If you are f eeling lazy, just learn the "Chinese" numbers f or now. If you haven't studied numbers yet, go to this page to learn all about them bef ore proceeding: How to Count Here is a quick review:: Native Chinese

Note the two red alternate readings on the "Chinese" side. T hese are pronunciations based on the "native" readings but are of ten used in conjunction when counting other "Chinese" numbers. Ok, now f or counters. Let's go through some common counters one by one and then I will give a list of many other counters: Counter: nin | Usage : people [pay attention to the red lines.] 1 person [irregular] 2 people [irregular] 3 people [now we simply add the Chinese numbers to ] [ is NOT used. Probably because means death... Also notice the dropped f rom ; hihlordjp f rom the discussion f orums on this site brought up an interesting but obscure (I think) pronunciation - or . It is in the dictionaries although I had never heard it. ] OR [It seems is used more of ten, but is also used] or ) etc... Counter: hiki | Usage : most animals [notice the H changes to a P] [notice the H changes to a B this time.] [notice the H changes to a P AND the becomes a small] or [probably is most used] or [notice the small - this occurs when there is a sof t sound af ter like H] Counter: hon | Usage : long, slender objects like pencils, bottles, arms...

 or Other Counters: satsu books and magazines fun minutes hai cups of liquids, drinks mai sheets of paper; f lat objects one piece

one book or or or *

one minute or *

one cup or *

* notice this can be pronounced as instead of . T his is to make it clearer and is of ten used in broadcasting. You may also encounter this with hon and hiki. For now, you can just say, ...

The Explanatory " "

You may have heard this quite a lot and wondered what it's all about! It is most of ten used, inf ormally, when:

1) To explain something 2) To show emphasis

is short f or ; Inf ormal usage; plain f orm verb +

nani o shite iru n desu ka . Whatcha doing? terebi o mite iru n desu. Watching TV.

-i Adjective +

 kono eiga wa omoshiroi n desu. This movie was great!

And it can be used as a way to stress a point

pa-ti ni ikanai deshou You won't be able to make it to the party, right? iie, boku wa iku n desu. No, I'm going! ittai, doushita n desu ka. Just what exactly happened (to you)!!!?

as a Pronoun
can be used in place of a noun (indef inite pronoun) to mean "one" or "some." Construction: Use in place of noun

aoi no. T he blue one.

yasui no ga hoshii. I want the cheap one. (computer, car, book, anything)

How to...
Attach to the stem of verbs to change it into a noun to mean: Way or Manner of doing or how to do... Construction: Take the ~ f orm of a verb minus the and then add . kanji no yomi kata How/Way to read (a) kanji kanji no kaki kata

How/Way to write (a) kanji NOT E: Since it becomes a noun phrase, you should use as above. Let's ask, "Please teach me how to use chopsticks correctly." hashi no tadashii tsukai kata o oshiete kudasai. Please teach me how to use chopsticks correctly

Please don't
Sometimes you have to tell/ask people to not do something. Construction: Take the f orm of a verb and drop the Add

ke-ki o tabe naide kudasai. Please don't eat the cake. sukaidaibingu o shinaide kudasai. Please don't go skydiving.

Have Done
T his is a very usef ul construction. Simply add it af ter a simple past f orm of a verb: Construction: Take the simple past f orm of a verb Add

amerika ni itta koto ga arimasu ka? Have you been to America? nattou o tabeta koto ga arimasu. (I) have eaten natto before.

I'll Have...
To decide to have... Very of ten this phrase is used to say, "I'll have (some f ood or drink)." Next time you go to a Japanese restaurant, give this a try.

nani ni shimasu ka? What will you have?

 watashi wa tenpura ni shimasu I'll have tempura.

Chapter 8
88. "about" - ~ 89. "even if " - 90. "and, and, etc" - 91. "while" - 92. "may I...?" - 93. "not much" - 94. T he power 95. Polite Japanese - 96. Polite II - 97. Giving/receiving - 98. Level/degree of something - 99. "just did..." - 100. "can" II -

About ~
To say 'about' as in "about a week" or to show an approximate degree of something, use ~

isshuu kan hodo About a week eki wa jukkiro hodo saki desu. The train station is about 10 kilometers ahead. kore wa go sen en hodo de kaemasu. This can be bought for about 5000 yen.

Even if
Sometimes you need to sound poetic. T his construction f its perf ectly into that mood. Construction:VERBS + Take the f orm of a verb Add

tatoe sekai ga owattemo Even if the world ends...

 tatoe shippai shitemo mata ganbarimashou.. Even if we fail, let's keep at it.
Make the negative form of the verb with :

tatoe nido to aenaku temo wasuremasen. Even if we shall never meet again, I won't forget.

And and
Doing this; Doing that Construction: Take the f orm of a verb (simple past) Add

tattari suwatari Standing and sitting doru ga agattari sagattari The dollar is rising and falling. kyou wa kaimono o shitari resutoran de tabetari shite takusan no okane o tsukatta. Today I went shopping and
at at a restaurant, etc; I used a lot of money.

While
While doing this I also did this... Construction: Take the f orm of a verb and drop the (the stem) Add

ongaku o kiki nagara benkyou o shimashita. While studying, I listened to music. hon o yomi nagara gohan o tabemasu. While eating a meal, I read a book.

One usef ul set phrase is zan nen nagara and means, "T hat's too bad" or "I regreat (to say)" or "Unf ortunately"

May I?

Asking permission and Being polite go hand in hand. Here is how you do both in Japanese. Construction: Take the f orm of a verb Add

denwa o tsukattemo ii desu ka? May I use the phone? yasundemo ii desu ka? May I take a break? (from work, from studying, etc) chotto hanashitemo ii desu ka? May I say something? (I'd like to speak a little)

Not much
Not much; not really--Followed by a negative verb Construction: Used in a negative sentence

nihongo ga amari jouzu ja nai I'm not really good at Japanese. amari yokunai (That's) not really good. odori wa amari umaku nai I'm not really good dancing. okane wa amari nai I don't have much money.

The power " "

, f or our purposes today, means, "T hat's right" or "T hat's so" (the latter being an easy way to remember) Construction: T his usef ul word is used in various idiomatic ways. It is best to learn each as an example by heart.

sou desu Yes, that is right.

 sou desu ka?

Is that so?; Really?; You don't say?

sou ieba
Now that you mention it; Speaking of that...

sou kangaeru to Seen from that

light; Thinking like that; From that point of view

sou shitara If you do it that way...; if done that way... sou shinai to If you don't do it that way...

And there are many more you will come across! Listen to how is used in conversation.

Polite Japanese
T here are three basic types of honorif ics f or verbs. It depends on your social rank as to which f orm to use. A) Humble ( kenjougo) - T his is when ref erring to oneself or one's f amily members and (usually) speaking to someone higher up in social rank, position or some other criteria f or determining status. However even some people with high positions may choose to use the humble f orm with those under him/her. B) ~masu - As mentioned above ~masu / desu is actually teineigo or polite language, but I'm using the f amiliar ~ masu f orm f or an easy comparison to the the kenjougo and sonkeigo f orms. C) Respectful ( sonkeigo) - T his is what you say to your boss or those higher up when speaking to them. If you are speaking about yourself , you will use the humble f orm. Humble (speaking to your boss about yourself) haiken shimasu Normal (speaking to your friends) Respectf ul (speaking to your boss about your boss) goran ni narimasu

mimasu to see iimasu to say

moushimasu You know this f rom "name to moushimasu" itadakimasu

osshaimasu

tabemasu to eat

meshi agarimasu

 mairimasu T his is the humble f orm f or both to come and go!

kimasu to come ikimasu to go shimasu to do

irasshaimasu T his is the respectf ul f orm f or both to come and go!

itashimasu

nasaimasu

For a more detailed explanation and many more examples see here.

Polite Part II
+ stem + T his makes a 'normal' verb honorif ic (exalted) [You are speaking to or about someone with a higher status than you (your boss)] shachou to hanashimashita ka? Company president - with - talk - ? Did you speak with the boss? (normal) nanika nomimasen ka? something - won't drink - question Won't you drink something? (normal) shachou to o hanashi ni narimashita ka? Did you speak with the boss? (polite)

nanika o nomi ni narimasen ka? Won't you drink something? (polite)

+ stem + This also makes a 'normal' verb exalted; it is used when asking things 'please give me'

utte kudasai. Please sell (me this). (normal) tabete kudasai, Please eat. (normal)

o uri kudasai. Please sell (me this) (honorif ic) o tabe kudasai. Please eat. (polite)

For a more detailed explanation and many more examples see here.

Giving and Receiving

T hese three verbs are easy to mix up, but they aren't too dif f icult if you spend some time learning each word's f unction. It is of course more complex than this page allows, but this should give you a f airly good understanding. T he Word:

When you, the speaker, give something to someone, use

kore o anata ni agemasu. I will give you this.

NOTE: The receiver is the one with the particle ( to you).

T he Word: T his is also usually translated as 'give' but it is f rom the receiver's point of view.

tanaka san ga kore o watashi ni kuremashita. Tanaka gave this to me.

NOTE: Again, the receiver is the one with the particle. ( to me)

T he Word: is used f rom the perspective of the receiver.

watashi ga tomodachi kara ke-ki o moraimashita. I received

a cake from a friend. (My, the receiver, point of view) NOTE: If is used, the meaning should be pretty clear ( from a freind), but you can also use to show who is doing the action as in:

watashi ga tomodachi ni ke-ki o moraimashita. I received a cake from a friend.

NOTE: The use of with can seem confusing considering is used to mean the receiver in the other two cases

Level / degree of something

Add to adjectives to express a degree or amount Construction:-i adjectives: Remove the trailing and add

zou san no takasa wa nan desu ka? What is the height of an elephant
NOTE: The shows a degree; this can be a higher, lower, wider, thinner, etc amount. (we could be asking the height of an ant)

Construction:-na adjectives: Just add the without the

kono kuruma no shizukasa wa odoroku beki desu. This car's quietness is amazing.
NOTE: The finished product (adjective + ) becomes a noun phrase and is treated as a noun grammatically.

Just Did...
Showing a completed action: just... Construction: Add af ter the simple past of a verb

tabeta bakari desu. I just ate. tateta bakari no ie. A newly built house. ima kita bakari desu. I just arrived.

Can II
Can II Potential f orm of Verbs. Bef ore starting this lesson, you may want to review the groups of the verbs. Construction:T he ~u Group (group 1 verbs) Verb Root + eru

kaku to write kak (verb root) kakeru able to write kanji ga kakemasu ka? Can you write kanji?
[NOTE: use with the potential form]

Construction:T he ~ru Group (group 2 verbs) Verb Root + rareru

taberu to eat tabe (verb root) taberareru able to eat

 pi-man ga taberaremasu ka? Can you eat green peppers?

Construction:T he irregular Group (group 3 verbs) T he two irregular verbs should be memorized:

pa-ti ni koraremasu ka?. Can you come to the party?

NOT E: You can also easy do this with any Simple Past Verb + More...