Instant Japanese Let‟S Learn Japanese Instantly

Instant Japanese Let‟s learn Japanese instantly

Welcome to Instant Japanese! If you‟re going to Japan soon, or want to learn Japanese the quickest way, you‟re in the right place! All grammar and phrases you‟ll find in this course are concise and essential. The best feature of this course is that this comes with audio (mp3) so that you can practice speaking phrases. The secret to language learning is to mimic the way native speakers use it. Japanese is not a tone language, though intonation plays an important role when you speak Japanese. Therefore, please repeat the words and sentences out loud, always out loud.

OK, Are you ready? Let‟s take a short journey learning Japanese before you actually visit there!

Contents

1. Japanese at a Glance ………..p3 2. On the Street………………....p10 3. Shopping………………….…..p11 4. In a Restaurant………….…...p12 5. At the Station…………….…..p13 6. In a Taxi………………….…...p13 7. Counting Days, Weeks, Month and Year…..p14 8. Making Reservations……………………..…..p16 9. At a Hotel…………………………………..…..p17 10. Medical Emergencies…………..………..p18 11. Going Out…………………………………..p19 12. Visiting Someone's House………..……..p20

1. Japanese at a Glance

Pronunciation

Consonants Japanese has 5 vowels Please note the following consonant pronunciations. A : America ch: child I : India f : soft U : cute g : goose E : end j : jam O : oh! tt : (double consonants: when you come across any

double consonants, pause a little while before you say Long vowel them) e.g. chotto matte, Express as double of the same vowel ss: zasshi, pp: kippu, kk: hakkiri, cc: yocchan or with a bar on the top. e.g. kyoo or kyō (Today) ya, yu, yo : Each makes just one beat of sound.

E.g. kya, kyu, kyo, Japanese words are basically either kyandii, kyooto, kyatto, etc. vowel or vowel + consonants (candy) (Kyoto) (cat) e.g. escalator  e su ka ree taa camera  ka me ra cash card  kya sshu kaa do

Numbers 1-1,000,000 1. ichi 11. Juu ichi 21. Ni juu ichi 31 San juu ichi 2. ni 12. Juu ni 22. Ni juu ni 42 Yon juu ni 3. san 13. Juu san 23. Ni juu san 53 Go juu san 4. yon (shi) 14. Juu yon 24. Ni juu yon 64 Roku juu yon 5. go 15. Juu go 25. Ni juu go 75 Nana juu go 6. roku 16. Juu roku 26. Ni juu roku 86 Hachi juu roku 7. nana (shichi) 17. Juu nana 27. Ni juu nana 97 Kyuu juu nana 8. hachi 18. Juu hachi 28. Ni juu hachi 99 Kyuu juu kyuu 9. kyuu (ku) 19. Juu kyuu 29. Ni juu kyuu 100 Hyaku 10. juu 20. Ni juu 30. San juu 0 zero / ree

Telling Time 5:00 go ji 10:00 juu ji 1:00 ichi ji 6:00 roku ji 11:00 juu ichi ji AM: gozen 2:00 ni ji 7:00 shichi ji (not nana ji) 12:00 juu ni ji PM: gogo 3:00 san ji 8:00 hachi ji 3:30 san ji han 7am:gozen shichiji 4:00 yo ji (not yon ji) 9:00 ku ji (not kyuu ji) 9:30 ku ji han 9pm: gogo kuji

100 hyaku 1,000 sen 10,000 ichi man 200 ni hyaku 2000 ni sen 20,000 ni man 300 san byaku 3000 san zen 30,000 san man 400 yon hyaku 4000 yon sen 40,000 yon man 500 go hyaku 5000 go sen 50,000 go man 600 roppyaku 6000 roku sen 60,000 roku man 700 nana hyaku 7000 nana sen 70,000 nana man 800 happyaku 8000 hassen 80,000 hachi man 900 kyuuhyaku 9000 kyuu sen 90,000 kyuu man

1 ichi 10 juu 100 hyaku 1,000 sen 10,000 man (ichi man) ¥ or 円  en 100,000 juu man $  doru 1,000,000 hyaku man million 10,000,000 sen man (issen man) ￠  sento 100,000,000 ichi oku hundred million

Basic words (person) I watashi : (can be used by anyone & formal) boku (by male & polite) ore (by male & sounds a bit rough) You anata: (**Do not address a person with “Anata”. For example, your friends or acquaintance. Especially never use it to address your seniors or teacher as it sounds very rude. When you address others, use her/his name plus “san” instead. Anata is used when you address a stranger.) We watashi tachi: (~ “tachi” refers plural subject)

Mr/Ms/Mrs/Miss. Yamada-san Yamada Yamada-san (adding “san” to someone‟s name shows respect towards the person) My watashi no: “~ no” indicates “ „s”  Mr.Sato‟s : Satoo-san no

Mine watashi no He Kare *watashi no kare = my boyfriend She Kanojo * watashi no kanjo = my girlfriend They kare ra / kanjo ra That person ano hito Those people ano hito tachi

Useful words Yes hai No iie Please (offer help) doozo Please (request) onegai shimasu (when you request stg. to someone) Thank you arigatoo (gozaimasu) / sumimasen You‟re welcome doo itashi-mashite Excuse me sumimasen I‟m sorry sumimasen

Basic greetings  Ohayoo gozaimasu Good morning (no sound for “u” when it comes at the end)  Konnichiwa Good Afternoon  Konbanwa Good evening  Jaa mata / dewa mata Good bye, See you (dewa mata is slightly more formal)  Ogenki desu ka? How are you?  Hai, genki desu. Yes, I‟m fine.

Japanese speech style There are honorific, formal and informal Japanese. What you learn in this book is formal form. This style is the best for foreigners, especially for the first time in Japan as this speech style will not offend anyone. Also, this formal speech style is easier to conjugate. Formal Japanese always ends in ~ desu. (noun & adjective phrase) or ~ masu. (verb phrase).

5 Copyright © Kazue Kaneko and LearnJapanese123.com Particles Particle itself doesn‟t have particular meaning in it, but more it shows the relationship between subject, object and verb. It is something like a preposition or a conjunctive. There are quite a number of particles and some of them have several functions. e.g. wa: Topic marker. Use it like “as for” or “regarding” Watashi wa gakusee desu. (As for I, student.  I‟m a student.) Raamen wa oishii desu. (As for ramen, it is delicious  Ramen is delicious) e : direction marker “to”. Gakkoo e ikimasu. ((I) go to school.)

Word order S O V (Subject, Object, Verb) e.g.  (Watashi wa) gakusee desu. (Noun phrase)  I / student / am S O V  (something like „be-verb‟)  (Watashi wa) Nihongo o benjyoo shimasu. (Verb phrase)  I / Japanese / study S O V * note that “I” (as a subject) and “you” (as an object) are often omitted in conversations if the situation is obvious.

Question sentences  Just add “ka” at the end of the sentence with rising intonation:  ~desu ka. or  ~masu ka. (for formal Japanese) e.g. Satoo-san wa gakusee desu. (Mr. Satoo is a student.)  Satoo san wa gakusee desu ka? (Is Mr. Satoo a student?) Itoo san wa kyoo hataraki masu. (Mr. Ito will work today)  Itoo-san wa kyoo hatarakimasu ka? (Will Mr. Itoo work today?)

1. iki-masu go suupaa e ikimasu : go to the supermarket 2. ki-masu come need particle “e” kaisha e kimasu : come to the office 3. kaeri-masu go (home) uchi e kaerimasu : go home 4. tabe-masu eat 5. nomi-masu drink pan o tabemasu : eat bread 6. kai-masu buy need particle “o” koohii o nomimasu : drink coffee 7. mi-masu watch shattsu o kaimasu : buy a shirt 8. shi-masu do terebi o mimasu : watch a movie e.g. tenisu (o) shimasu play tennis shopping (o) shimasu do shopping benkyoo (o) shimasu study

“e” is a direction marker and “o” is a direct object marker (particles)

Verb Conjugation (masu-form ~formal~) There are only two types of verb tenses: Non-Past or Past tense. For future tense, use Non-past tense.

e.g. tabe-masu (eat) / ashita tabe-masu (I‟ll eat tomorrow) tabe-mashita. (ate) tabe-masen. (I don‟t eat) tabe-masen deshita. (I didn‟t eat)

tabe-mashita ka? (Did you eat?)

*Japanese verbs do not change their form depending on the subject (singular/plural or person). Easy! e.g. watashi wa Tokyo e ikimasu. (I go to Tokyo.) kanojo wa Tokyo e ikimasu. (She goes to Tokyo.)

7 Copyright © Kazue Kaneko and LearnJapanese123.com Invitation  To make an invitation phrase, just replace –masu to –masen ka? e.g. tabe-masu  tabe masen ka? (Would you like to eat?) iki-masu  iki masen ka? (Would you like to go?)

 You may want to add “issho ni”, which means together, before the phrase. e.g. mi-masu  issho ni mimasen ka? (Would you like to watch together?) issho ni eega o mimasen ka? (Would you like to watch a movie together?)

Accepting invitation  When you‟re invited to do something, you may want to reply : iidesu ne, – mashoo. (–masu form change to –mashoo) e.g. issho ni eega o mimasen ka?  iidesu ne, mi mashoo. (Sure, let‟s watch it.)

If you need to decline, you say :  sumimasen, chotto… (literal meaning of “sumimasen, chotto..” is “I‟m sorry, a little bit..” This shows your hesitation, and polite way to decline someone‟s invitation.)

Expressing desire  When you express desire, erase –masu, then add “tai desu.” e.g kai masu  kai tai desu. ((I) want to buy (it))…words in brackets are not included in the Japanese phrase. koohii o nomi masu  koohii o nomi tai desu. ((I) want to drink coffee.)

Expression desire (Negative)  When you express negative desire, erase –masu, then add “taku nai desu.” e.g. iki masu  iki taku nai desu. ((I) don‟t want to go) benkyoo shi masu  benkyoo shi taku nai desu. (I don‟t want to study)

5W: Question words What nani / nan (“nan” comes before a sound of t, d or k and number counting words) When itsu Where doko

Who dare / donata (“donata” sounds more polite)

Why dooshite / naze (formal) / nande (casual) There question word can attach to both a verb phrase and a noun phrase.

Noun phrase  Nan desu ka?  Itsu desu ka?  Doko desu ka?  Dare desu ka? / Donata desu ka?  Dooshite desu ka?

Verb phrase (e.g. tabe-masu)  Nani o tabe-masu ka? What do you eat?  Itsu tabe-masu ka? When do you eat?  Doko de tabe masu ka? Where do you eat at?  Dare to tabe masu ka? Who do you eat with?  Dooshite tabe-masu ka? Why do you eat?

*Particles „de‟- shows location, „to‟ –for “with”  uchi de nomimasu. (drink at home), tomodachi to nomimasu. (drink with (a) friend(s). )

Politeness “o” Some Japanese words begin with “o”, which sounds slightly nicer. However, not all Japanese words can attach “o”. Examples: kane  okane money heya  oheya room sushi  osushi sushi miyage  omiyage souvenir denwa  odenwa telephone

2. On the Street

Common Phrases Suupaa super market Part 1 : asking direction Eki station 1. -- wa doko desu ka? (Where is -- ?) Ginkoo bank 2. Sumimasen, -- wa doko desu ka? Kooban police station 3. Sumimsen, ginkoo wa doko desu ka? Yuubin-kyoku post office

Kooen park

Gakkoo school

Hoteru hotel

Part 2 : Showing direction Michi road 1. Massugu itte kudasai. Kono michi this road Please go straight. Massugu straight 2. Kono michi o massugu itte kudasai. Shingoo traffic lights Please go straight along this road. Koosaten intersection 3. Massugu itte, migi desu. Migi right Go straight and it‟s on the right. Hidari left 4. Massugu itte, hidari desu. Tsugi no next Go straight and it‟s on the left. Kado corner 5. Tsugi no shingoo no kado desu. Mae in front It‟s at the corner of the next traffic lights. Ushiro behind 6. Tsugi no koosaten no kado desu. iki-masu to go 7. Eki no mae desu. itte, -- to go, then -- It‟s in front of the station. o (を) Object marker 8. Suupaa no ushiro desu. (particle) It‟s behind the supermarket.

3. Shopping

You‟ll hear Takai expensive 1. Irasshai Welcome Yasui cheap 2. Irasshaimase welcome (politer) Totemo very

You‟ll say Kore this 3. Ikura desu ka? How much? Kudasai give me 4. Takai desu ne. That‟s expensive! 5. Chotto takai desu ne. chotto a little bit

It‟s a bit expensive, (isn‟t it?) -- desu ne. sharing the same 6. Yasui desu ne. feeling to someone That‟s cheap! whom you talk to 7. Totemo yasui desu ne. Tsukae-masu be able to use That‟s very cheap 8. Kore o kudasai. Please give me this. = Kore o onegai shimasu. 9. Disukaunto dekimasu ka? Discount please. (*literal meaning: Can you give me a discount?) = Makete kudasai 〃 10. (Kurejitto) kaado ga tsukae-masu ka? Can I use (credit) cards?

4. In a Restaurant

You‟ll hear 1. Irasshai mase Welcome. 2. Gochuumon wa? (go) chuumon order May I take your order? kore This You‟ll say are That 3. --- o kudasai. o Object marker Give me ---, please. (particle) 4. --- o onegai shimasu. kudasai Give me -----, please. 5. Kore o kudasai. Onegai Please Please give me this (by pointing shimasu at the menu) menuu Menu 6. Kore to kore o kudasai. Please give me this and this. okanjoo bill 7. Menuu o kudasai. oaiso bill Give me a menu, please. betsu betsu Dutch treat, separate 8. Okanjoo onegai shimasu. checks Bill please. = Oaiso onegai shimasu. warikan Dutch treat, separate 9. Warikan ni shimashoo. checks Let‟s split the bill. * gyuudon : beef rice bowl 10. Betsu betsu de onegai shimasu. karee raisu : curry rice Separate checks, please.

5. At the Station

You‟ll ask 1. -- made ikura desu ka? made until, up to How much does it cost to go to -- ? dooyatte How to 2. Sumimasen, -- made, ikura desu ka? 3. – e wa dooyatte ikimasu ka? densha train How do I go to -- ? kono densha This train 4. kono densha wa – e ikimasu ka? tsugi next Does this train go to (stop at) --? 5. tsugi no densha wa – e ikimasu ka? iki masu go Does the next train go to --? iki masen (it) doesn‟t go

You‟ll hear 6. Hai, ikimasu. For your reference… Yes, it goes. (there) chikatetsu subway 7. Iie, ikimasen. basu bus No, it doesn‟t go (there). kuruma car takushii taxi

6. In a Taxi

You‟ll hear 1. Dochira made desu ka? Doko Where Where do you want to go? Dochira Where (politer) 2. Okyaku-san, dochira e? Okyaku-san Customer 3. Okyaku-san, dochira made? Customer, where to? e to (direction marker) You‟ll ask made until, up to 4. -- made onegai shimasu. Onegai shimasu. Please Please go to -- . iki-masu To go 5. --- e itte kudasai.

Please go to --- itte kudasai Please go 6. Sumimasen, isoide kudasai. Excuse me, please hurry up.

7. Counting Days, Weeks, Months and Years

Month---gatsu Year --- nen

January Ichi-gatsu 1984 sen kyuuhyaku hachijuu yo nen

February Ni-gatsu 1995 sen kyuuhyaku kyuujuu go nen

2003 nisen san nen March San-gatsu 2010 nisen juu nen April Shi-gatsu

May Go-gatsu Day of the Week --- yoobi June Roku-gatsu Mon Getsu yoobi

July Shichi-gatsu Tue Ka yoobi

August Hachi-gatsu Wed Sui yoobi September Ku-gatsu Thu Moku yoobi Fri Kin yoobi October Juu-gatsu Sat Do yoobi November Juu ichi-gatsu Sun Nichi yoobi December Juu ni-gatsu

Calendar 1 tsuitachi 2 futsuka M T W T F S S 3 mikka 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 4 yokka 14 juu yokka 24 nijuu yokka 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 5 itsuka 6 muika 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 7 nanoka 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 8 yooka 9 kokonoka 29 30 31 10 tooka 20 hatsuka

11 juu ichi nichi 18 juu hachi nichi 26 ni juu roku nichi 12 juu ni nichi 19 juu ku nichi 27 ni juu shichi nichi 13 juu san nichi 21 nijuu ichi nichi 28 ni juu hachi nichi 15 juu go nichi 22 nijuu ni nichi 29 ni juu ku nichi 16 juu roku nichi 23 nijuu san nichi 30 san juu nichi 17 juu shichi nichi 25 nijuu go nichi 31 san juu ichi nichi

Past Future

ototoi kinoo kyoo ashita asatte

sen-sen shuu senshuu konshuu raishuu saraishuu Week

sen-sen sengetsu kongetsu raigetsu saraigetsu Month getsu

ototoshi kyonen kotoshi rainen sarainen Year

Question Words What year: nan-nen What month: nan-gatsu What day: nan-nichi What day of the week: nan-yoobi

Q: Kyoo wa nan-nen, nan-gatsu, nan-nichi, nan-yoobi desu ka? (Is what year/month/day/day of the week/ today?)

A: Kyoo wa 2010-nen, ni-gatsu 23-nichi ka-yoobi desu. (Today is, Tuesday, 23 Feb, 2010.)

For abbreviation written form, 12/23  Feb 23rd. 12/10  Dec 10th .

8. Making Reservation (for accommodation)

1. Ippaku ikura desu ka? ippaku one night How much for one night? ni-haku two nights 2. Shinguru ruumu wa arimasu ka? san-paku three nights Do you have a single room? Singuru ruumu wa ikura desuka? yon-haku four nights How much for a single room? konban tonight 3. Konban heya wa arimasu ka? (o)heya room Are there any available rooms tonight? shinguru single 4. Chekku-auto wa nanji desu ka? daburu double What time is check-out? tsuin twin 5. Chekku-in wa nanji kara desu ka? chekku auto check-out From what time can we check-in? chooshoku Breakfast 6. Chooshoku komi desu ka? yoyaku reservation Is it inclusive of breakfast? basu bath 7. 2haku onegai shimasu. toire toilet For two nights, please. -- tsuki attached --- 8. Yoyaku dekimasu ka? Can I make a reservation? chooshoku tsuki 9. Konban ippaku onegai shimasu. or with breakfast chooshoku komi I‟d like to book a room for tonight. 10. Basu, toire tsuki desu ka? Are the bath and toilet ensuite? *single room  shinguru ruumu ×singuru heya

9. At a Hotel

Making complaints 1. Mizu ga demasen Mizu water Water doesn‟t come out. Oyu hot water 2. Oyu ga demasen De-masu come out Hot water doesn‟t come out. 3. Toire ga nagaremasen De-masen doesn‟t come out The toilet doesn‟t flush. Nagashi sink 4. Nagashi no mizu ga nagaremasen nagare-masu flush The water in the sink doesn‟t drain. nagare-masen doesn‟t flush (a sink is clogged) 5. Terebi ga kowarete imasu. Terebi TV The TV is broken. Kowarete-imasu is broken Reezooko fridge Making requests Taoru towel 6. Taoru o kaete kudasai. Kaete kudasai please change Please change the towels. 7. Motto ookii heya wa arimasu ka? Heya bangoo room number Do you have a larger room? Kagi key 8. Eakon o yowaku shite kudasai. Heya no kagi room key Please turn down the air-con. eakon air conditioning 9. Reeboo o kitte kudasai. Please switch off the air-con (cooler). reeboo 〃 , cooler 10. Moofu o moo ichimai onegai shimasu. moofu blanket Please give me another blanket. sooji cleaning 11. Heya o sooji shite kudasai. Please clean up my room. 12. Takushii o yonde kudasai. Please call me a taxi. 13. Mooning kooru o onegai shimasu. Please give me a wake-up call. 14. 7ji ni onegai shimasu. At 7 o‟clock, please. 15. Moo ippaku onegai shimasu. One more night, please. (to extend the stay)

16. Sumisu desu. Yoyaku shite arimasu. My name is Smith. I have a reservation.

10. Medical Emergencies

1. – ga itai desu. itai painful I have pain in --- . 2. Atama ga itai desu. atama head I have a headache. onaka lower belly, stomach 3. Onaka ga itai desu. senaka back I have a stomach pain. 4. Nodo ga itai desu. koshi lower back, loin I have a sore throat. nodo throat 5. Kibun ga warui desu. kubi neck I‟m not feeling well. 6. Kaze desu. kata shoulders It‟s a common cold kibun feeling 7. Netsu ga arimasu. warui bad, not well I have a fever.. kaze common cold 8. kusuri o kudasai. Please give me medicine. netsu fever 9. byooin e iki-tai desu. kusuri medicine I want to go to the hospital/clinic. byooin hospital, clinic 10. kyuu-kyuu-sha o yonde kudasai. Please call an ambulance. kyuu-kyuu-sha ambulance

11. Going Out

1. ~ e ikimasen ka? Would you like to go ~ 2. Onaka ga sukimashita ne. tabe masu to eat I‟m hungry. Aren‟t you hungry too? nomi masu to drink 3. Nodo ga kawakimashita ne. ~ masen ka? Would you like to do~ I‟m thirsty. Aren‟t you thirsty too? (invitation) 4. Nani ka tabetai desu ne. iki masen ka? Would you like to go? I want to eat something. onaka ga I‟m hungry. Don‟t you want to eat something too? sukimashita 5. Nani ka tabemasen ka? nodo ga I‟m thirsty. Would you like to eat something? kawakimashita 6. Resutoran e ikimasen ka? ~ tai desu I want to do ~ Would you like to go to a restaurant? nani ka something /anything 7. Pabu e ikimasen ka? ~ mashoo. Let‟s do~ Would you like to go to a pub? 8. --ji ni (location) de aimasen ka? pabu pub e.g. 6ji ni eki de aimasen ka? kissaten Coffee shop Would you like to meet at the station at 6? 9. 7ji ni aimashoo. Let‟s meet at 7 o‟clock. 10. eki de aimashoo. Let‟s meet at the station.

12. Visiting Someone‟s House

You‟ll hear 1. Irasshai / Yookoso okoshi kudasai mashita (formal) Welcome! 2. Doozo oagari kudasai Please come in. 3. Mata kite kudasai. Please come again. = Mata irasshatte kudasai (politer) You‟ll say 4. Ojamashimasu (greeting before you enter someone‟s house) 5. Doozo okamainaku Please don‟t bother. (I‟m fine) 6. A, soo desu ka.. jaa. Really? Ok, well, then… 7. Arigatoo gozaimasu. Thank you. 8. Onegai shimasu. Please. 9. Itadakimasu. (greeting before meals) 10. Oishii desu ne. It‟s delicious. 11. Suteki na kappu desu ne. It‟s a nice cup. 12. Gochisoo sama deshita. Thank you for the food. (greeting after meals) 13. Soro soro shitsuree shimasu. It‟s about time to go (leave).