There are three kinds of charactersin fapanese: characters can be seenin a singlesentence.

katakana,and kanii.l All three

TVet
katakana

f,- -* f"

I watchtelevision.

fvii

hir,gggna

Hiragana and katakana,llkethe alphabet, represent sounds.As you can seein the aboveexample,hiraganahas a roundish shapeand is used for conjugationendings,function words, and native )apanese words not coveredby kanji. Katakana,which has rather straightlines,is normally used for writing loanwords and foreign names.For example,the |apanese word for "television"is written in katakanaas 7 V C (terebi),Kanji, or Chinesecharacters, represent not just soundsbut also meanings.Mostly, kanji are used for nouns and the stemsof verbs and adiectives.

@ttirogonq
l. Bosic Hirogono Syllobles
There are forty-six basic hiragana syllables,which are listed below. Once you memorize this chart, you will havethe skill to transcribe all of the |apanese sounds.
*)
4

\\

) u ( ku

ft
e

-t, \ b o

i\
ka

t ki
sm

It
ke

ko

t
sa

tsu
-tsu

rt se

zc
so

t:
ta

t,
cnt

a
te

Y
to

tg
na

t:
ni

&b
nu .).

fr

a
no

ne

It
ha

U
m

f"

he

t1
ho

'

Th.t. is another writing system calledromaji (Roman letters)which is usedfor station names,signs,and so on.

)t*4

>25 Japanese Writing System >>

L
n

't, and .j' are The syllablesL, 6, romanized as shi, chi, tsu, andfu, reto closelyresembleEnglish spectively,

pronunciation. * * is also pronoun ced as"wo'" ?

The romanization is given for generalpronunciation reference.

you can transcribe 23 additional sounds by adding diacritic marks. With a pair of short consonantsg, z' diagonal strokes( " ), the unvoiced consonantsk, s, t, and h becomevoiced ' ( )' circle a small of addition p the with to lr changes The consonant respectively. d, and,b,

Morks Diocriticol 2. Hiroganowith

,r
ga

t' gi
ti
ji

(" gu

rf ge rt ze
?
de .{ be

go

)r"
za

fzu
-j'
zu .)\ bu
\o

zo

fl

.t;
ji (/ bi

da

do

tf

ba

tf bo
.6

rf
Pa

U
pi

.).

pu

pe

tf po

the (jr) and - (zu) arePronounced sameas U (7i) and f (zu), resPectively, and havelimited use.

Sounds Controcted 3. Tronscribing

Small lable.

(i-vowel hiragana,except \ \) , O, and I foilow afer lettersin the secondcolumn a singlesyland are used to transcribecontractedsounds.The contractedsound represents

3r

kyo

3o
ky,

+F
kyo

3'r
gya

3"o
gyu

{r gyo
t-t jo

Lr
sha

La
shu

Lt
trt

[-t
ja

sho

t-o ju

ttr
cha

ttO
chu

cho

l-t
nya

l: o
nyu hy,

l: t
nyo

0r
lt*

hyo

Uo
ljA
myu

(/r
hyo

(/* byo

tj ,t
by,

Cr byo
Ut
Pyo

Cfr
Pya

Ua
Pyu

ljJ
myo

mya

r)r
rya

I)a
ryu

I) J
ryo

4. Tronscribing Double Consononts

Thereis another small letter,l, which is usedwhen transcribingdouble consonants suchas tt andpp. Examples: t'-' t: katta sakka (won) (writer) cf. i,t: kata (shoulder)

t - /' ll - lf t"-L

hap2a (leaf) zasshi (magazine)

Note double consonantz's as in sannen(three years)are written with zL + a hiraganawith an initial r sound (/J, l-, Ye, l.J, and A). Examples: I LfJ L fi, futS r t sannen (threeyears) (guide) annai

5. Other lssues Relotingto Tronscription ond Pronunciotion A. Long Vowels When the samevowel is placed one right after the other, the pronunciation of the vowel becomesabout twice as long as the single vowel. Be sure to hold the sound long enough, because the length of the vowel can changeone word to another.

Japanese Writing System >|>27

aa ii

tj lf /, a l, *j D r 'a /L f? U

obaasan (grandmother) ojiisan sr yii (grandfather) ( number )

cf. 6lI*t

obasan (aunt) ojisan (uncle)

cf. F ti i /,

uu

\ The long eesound is usuallytranscribedby adding an \ to an e-vowelhiragana. '' Therearea few words,however,in which i is usedinsteadof t i I , zrs Bt'ti I L oo ggga (movie) oneesan (bigsister)

transcribedby adding an i to an o-vowel The long oo sound is in most cases hiragana.There are, however,words in which the long vowel is transcribed with an D, for historicalreasons. hooritsu (law) It ) t) (ten) tge Y t'

B. Pronunciation of fu however' L "n" is treated like a full syllable,in terms of length. Its pronunciation varies, speakersare normally not awareof the dependingon the sound that follows it. |apanese differentsound valuesof ,L. Therefore,you do not needto worry too much about its pronunciation.2

to Be Dropped C.Vowels (k,s, f, consonants voiceless between whenplaced dropped u aresometimes i and, vowels The consonants. by voiceless preceded p, andh), or at theendof an utterance
Example: t ! Tt s(u)kides(u) (I like it')

D. Accent in the |apaneseLanguage are pronouncedbasicallyeither in high or low pitch. has pitch accent:all syllables |apanese tend to be pronouncedlonger and syllables Unlike English stressaccentin which stressed louder, in )apanese each syllableis pronounced approximatelyin equal length and stress. vary greatly dependingon the region of the country. Thepitch patternsin |apanese

One variety of the ,L pronunciation merits discussinghere. When it is followed by a vowel or at the end of an utterance,,L indicatesthat the precedingvowel is long and nasalized.(Nasalizedvowels are shown here with a tilde abovevowel letters.you hear nasalizedvowels in French words such as "bon," or the English interjection "uh-uh," asin "no.") ll L ho (book) ex. lL L t>r , rlai (romance) (woman) onna ex. *- Ltt as"n." pronounced Followed by n, t,d, s, and z sounds,.L is (stroll) "m." sampo ex' a Llf as Followed by ^,p,and b sounds,,L is pronounced (comics) "song." mat1ga "ng" ex. in Ltt t as as Followed by k andg sounds,,L is pronounced

28

Examples: t, f tt*.i /:rJ.t,

a sa mae na ka ta

(morning) (name) (high)

@rqrokqno

7
a

4 i

, u

I
e

/7
ka

+
ki /
snl

7 7

ku su

3
ko ,,/ so

ke

+ v
sa ta

t
se

+
cm
nt

'y
*tsu

te

to

l.

t na
ha

nu

4 ne
he / me

no

L
hi

7 f"

fi

ho

?
ma mi

A
mu

+
3
yo

mo

a
yu

ya

7
ra

t)
rt

)v ru

re

a
TO

wa

v
n

7
o *The syllables -/ , +, '/ , and 7 are romanized as shi, chi, tsu, andfu, respectively,to closely resembleEnglish pronunciation.

Japanese Writing System >>> 29

pa

c pi
{z
kyu
-l-

7"
pu

pe

,t:
po

+ (jr) and ')/' (zu) arepronounced the same as 'z (ji) and A (zu), respectively, and havelimited use.

*t

kyo

*= kyo

ft
/t

gya

f=
/z
ju

gyu

+.' f3 gyo

/+
sha

/z
shu

/3
sho

/3
jo

ja

t+
:t

cha

t=

chu

f=
cho

nya

nvu

nyo

Ht
byo

U=
by,

E=
byo

Lt
hyo

L=
hyu

L,=
hyo \= myo

L"t
Pya

C=
Pyu

C=
Pyo

:f
mya

:a
myu

Ut
rya

t)=
ryu

t)3
rlo

The pronunciation of katakanaand its combinationsare the sameas those of hiragana,except for the following points. (1) The long vowelsarewritten with Examples: ll kaa (car) (ski) (suit)

7+7 -'y

sukii suutsu

tr-+ ,t - /1,

keeki booru

(cake) (ball)

Whenyouwritevertically, the - markneeds to bewrittenvertically also. Example: f:- )V -+ ,t, |

)v

(2) Additional combinations with small vowel letters are used to transcribe foreign sounds which originally did not exist in fapanese. Examples: j't j.
,,ta j.t -Z

It
2t )-

"4 i z4
/r-./ ) t-At'y7 L7

a 47 )v, t -, -

tt 7T 74 7t 7t

(Halloween) harowiin (highway) haiwee mineraruwootaa(mineralwater) (chef) shefu jeemusu (James) (check) chekku

7r'v'/e/ 7 4 t) e > /lz. 7t-7

tf-74-

fasshon firipin kafe fooku paatii Dizuniirando dyuetto

(fashion) (Philippine) (cafe) (fork) (party) (Disneyland) (duet)

7.t f't ?-

f 't A=-, f zry l'

> f'

(3) The sound "v" is sometimeswritten with ?". For example,the word "Venus" is sometimeswritten as C-l 7 or U' I -t 7.

@ronii
Kanji are Chinese characterswhich were introduced to fapan more than 1,500years ago when the fapanese languagedid not have a writing system.Hiragana and katakana evolved later in /apanbasedon the simplifiedChinesecharacters. Kanji represents both meaningsand sounds.Most kanji possess multiple readings, which are divided into two types:on-yomi (Chinesereadings) and kun-yomi (lapanese readings). On-yomi is derivedfrom the pronunciationsusedin China. Somekanji havemore than one on-yomi due to temporal and regional variancesin the ChinesepronunciaJion.Kun-yomi are readings. When peoplestartedto usekanji to write native]apanese fapanese words,Japanese readings(kun-yomi)were addedto kanji. By the time of high schoolgraduation,|apanese are expected to know 2,136kanji (called by the Ministry of Educationas commonly used kanji. A foyo kanji), which are designated total of 1,006kanji are taught at the elementaryschool level, and most of the remainder are taught in junior high school. Thereare roughly four types of kanji basedon their formation.

31 Japanese Writing System >>>

(1) Pictograms Somekanji are madefrom Pictures:

"..> *

/R(t'"'l

(day; sun)

(2) Simpleideograms numbersor abstractconcepts' Somekanji are madeof dots and lines to represent
_-+ a

(1hree)

___, -f t"n)

(3) Compound ideograms Somekaniiaremadefromthecombinationoftwoormorekanji.

(day; sun)*

--+ n (moon) Efi o'isno

/t to..l
---+ {f fto'.'tl

(n"rtott) +

characters (4) Phonetic-ideographic a sound element' Somekanii are madeup of a meaningelementand

Meaning element \ (water) + )

Soundelement

On-Yomi ---) ) rr, (clean)

fi "i(blue)

(day; sun) +

--' sky) rr; (clear ft 'r,(blue) ffi

34>r>*FE-fuf,iffi

bl,)df
Greetin

@ roo"c

9s

+jffl,./glr...

t)t'y ) fr>

:"t"r'* f .

6Llt:

> r r3 5

\ \ - ( b -> L t \ \o

: / ; G \zf{-J.)v

\J

fiHl i. *jlll i :'5r,*-d-" :l,t*6(t" : LlJl,H" ll i ttb. fi \''d- J" (tt J t ,). br) trY)" t > t )t : Y ) t " t " r ' ' * ' d - . tA*tL"
\.\ri_o

\\=(3*-d-"
\\r ( b->L t\\o /:/:t'*.

t'/:tt

I)rt'l_I) (tr J t').

*-d-"

:"t'? i a * (-e'L/.)'
HU&r* L(. J4L ( fCalrr',Lf-d-.

Good morning. Good morning.(polite) Konnichiwa. Good afternoon. Konbanwa. Good evening. Sayoonara. Good-bye. Oyasumi(nasai). Good night. Arigatoo. Thank you. Arigatoo gozaimasu. Thankyou. (polite) Sumimasen. Excuse me.;I'm sorry. lie. No.; Not at all. Ittekimasu. I'll go and comeback. Itterasshai. Please go and comeback. Tadaima. I'm home. Okaeri(nasai). Welcome home. Itadakimasu. Thank you for the meal. (before eating) Cochisoosama(desh ita). Thank you for the meal. (aftereating) Hajimemashite. How do you do? Yorosh iku onegaish imasu. Nice to meetyou.
Ohayoogozaimasu.

Ohayoo.

t _wac.F'
':llffii a!'-r

"

36>>>*FE.lxffi

*IE /-l--.......1
O*lJtu

E>rpression

Notes

Af*<F5/6 Dh\t ) ) Ohayoois used betweenfriends and family members' similarly while ohayoogozaimasuis used betweenless intimate acquaintances, with arigatoo and arigatoo gozaimasa.The rule of thumb is: if you are on the go for the shorter versions.If you would address first-namebasiswith someone, someoneasMr. or Ms., usethe longerversions. Ohayoois the greeting used before noon, but some people use it in casual or cosettingsin the afternoon or even at night when they seetheir classmates workers for the first time that daY' in |apanese, the choice ) There are severalgood-bye expressions tAifi5 Sayoonaraindicatesthat the among which dependson the degreeof separation. speakerdoes not expectto seethe person spokento before she "turns a page in her life"; not until a new day arrives,or until fate brings the two togetheragain. It soundsdramatic and ritualistic, and its daily use is largely restrictedto school children taking leaveof their teachers. D t 6. * /:" Jaa,mata. (between friends,expectingto seeeachother againfairly soon) l-'>ttvrLif. Shitsureeshimasu.

(taking leavefrom a professor's office,for example) Sumimase'? means (1) "Excuseme," to get another person'sattentlltElv) tion, (2) "I'm sorry," to apologizefor the trouble you have caused, or (3) "Thank you," to show appreciationfor what someone has done for you. UIUIZ ) Iie is primarily "No," a negativereply to a question.In the dialogue,it is usedto express the Englishphrase"Don't mention it," or "You're welcome,"with which you point out that one is not required to feel obliged for what you have done for them.

Ll e c 5 z luibul/u\ 2 < t*,t

/ tcfttl t/ED\z

and D a d tl ) I ttekimasu

itterasshaiis a common exchangeused at home when a family member leaves. The person who leavessaysittekimasu, which literally means "I will go and come back." And the family membersrespondwith itterasshai,whichmeans"Please go and come back." Tadaima and okaeri are usedwhen a person comeshome. The person who arrives home saystadaima (I am home right now) to the family members,and they (Welcomehome). respondwith okaerinasai

,g
ti

6V\t)

>>> 37

'lj
I

tl.tvl'W)

! a

situations with yourclassmates. Act out the following

l. You meetyour host family for the first time. Greetthem. 2. It is one o clock in the afternoon.You seeyour neighborMr. Yamada. 3. You cometo class in the morning. Greetyour teacher. Greetyour friends. 4. On a crowdedtrain, you steppedon someonds foot. 5. You droppedyour book. Someone picked it up for you. 6. It is eight o'clock at night. You happen to meet your teacherat the conveniencestore. 7. You are watching TV with your host family. It is time to go to sleep. 8. You areleavinghome. 9. You havecomeback home. 10. You aregoing to start eating. 11. You havefinishedeating.

*dti3"Greetings and Bowing 6u',32t Aisatsu to ojigi

people greet each other by bowing, which has many Japanese other functions, gratitude, suchas expressing respect, or apologies. Therearedifferentwaysof bowing,rangingfrom a smallnod of the headto a 45-degree bend at the waist.Generally, the longerand the deeperyou bow, the more formal and respectful it appears to others. Many Japanese tend to feel uncomfortable with physical contact,althoughhandshaking is quitecommonin business becoming situations, especially thoseinvolving foreigners. When meeting someonein a business situationfor the first time, it is customaryto exchange meeshi(business cards)with a small guideslist a vast numberof rulesand pointers, bow. Etiquette but just rememberthat the importantthing is to clearly your show respectwhen exchangingmeeshi.

'\"""*

38>>'A;fr'*,*tffi-

mlm
/ELl Ll: it

-",r.,"' f ]rl....'.'...".,.""'

bfcaltu
DIU\b D i

.I-bt-5

New Friends

in Japan, talksto a Japanese student. Mary,an international who just arrived student
K0l-01,/02
et e, r) r".

./7t)Mearii

t /"*.t L" t' * t LCf-C-r'"

Sumimasen. lma n a n j id e s uk a .

/:tlL:
Takeshi
dtbt)\\

Uo i t: tlll LTf .
J u u n i jh i a nd e s u .

./7t)
Mearii

t>t)try)
Arigatoo

I't"r.*f"
gozaimasu.

/:tl L :
Takesh i

\r\ri-o
lie.

f2/

)'\a

. ir:1(r#rir'4--j

"a

i:,'

Hl=#r>>39

@
f:ll L
bbt)

@*o'-or/0,
*>o>- t) w ) rr ( 1|t,?f
Ano, ryuugakusee desuka.
b9?tt

/'o

Takeshi

/7t)
Mearii

i^,
Ee,

T t ), / i / j r l r s < A t r ( t t r ' ,T t " Arizonadaigaku no gakusee desu.

f:ll L
I aKesnl etbt)

Z i Ttlr"
Soodesuka. Nihongo desu.

1tl,: i lt t LTtrt,"
wa Senkoo nan desuka.

/7t)
Mearii

l- llL l'?f . \ \ t
lma

l:tJL+\ \("f .
n i n e n s ed ee s u .

Mary: Excuse me.What time is it now? Takeshi: It'shalf pasttwelve. Mary: Thank you. Takeshi: Youte welcome.

Takeshi: Um . . . areyou an internationalstudent? Mary: Yes,I am a studentat the Universityof Arizona. Thkeshi: I see. What is your major? Mary: Japanese. I am a sophomorenow.

I i

\
3 8> > > * 8 6 . { t * f f i

*l+n
tELr Ur? b!

""'I """"""'',""""" Jrl

Friends 6fcatuu'\ t b f-b New

D\U\b D i
in Japan, Mary,an international whojust arrived talksto a Japanese student. student

@ *o'-o'zo,
d, 6 U r\

./7t)Mearii

i/"tjlL"
Sumimasen.

t'*
lma

tLCT.i-i'.
n a n j id e s uk a .

/:ll L .
Takeshi b e, r) r\

U'oil:UllLT'f.
J u u n i jh i a nd e s u .

./Tt)Mearii

t >r )t r y j
Arigatoo

gozaimasu.

:"t'r', * f "

/:ll L :
Takeshi

\,\ri.o
lie.

fz
!-,r

.5

i*

.ii .* ,*
.. ?( '? ;q

fctuC
:*
:f

KOI-05

.,is

,.f*

'.r'! *t

s
$

i'"u.

rf

t>a r,* ir,:' ii

ano ima eego ee gakusee

um... now English (language) yes student . . . l a n g u a g ee x .l : 1 1 / , l (nihongo) language fapanese high school
P.M. A.M.

{. 4 s ( { r r *

...8o kookoo gogo gozen ...sai ...san ...ji . . .jin senkoo sensee soodesu soodesuka daigaku denwa tomodachi namae nan/nani Nihon . . . nensee hai han

_?_? :':'

:'{f l,
-J\t

-tr0

-u

.. . years old Mr./Ms... .

o clock ex. \ \ 6 C (ichiji)onedclock . . . p e o p l e e x .1 3 l 1 LCL (nihonjin) )apanes e people major teacher;Professor... That'sright. I see.; Is that so? college;university telephone friend name what |apan ...yearstudent ex.\ r6 *lLltv (ichinen see)fi rst-yearstudent yes half ex. ll U lt L (niji han)half pasttwo

-VL

+L=)
+t,Ltt,
*

" ))? ? Tti t '

TLh

( * /jr rzJs

v +, t:t,
tt*,i * tt L,/ttt=
rt 'F

l: l1 /L
-11/u$t,t

Itt ' * ltL lIl,:'?

*.)O rrs(1|\\ ht:L

bangoo number ryuugakusee internationalstudent watashi I

41 ffi1--=&>>>

VOCABULARY ADDITIONAL
Gountries T/t)/l Amerika lgirisu Oosutoraria Kankoku Suweeden Chuugoku U.S.A. Britain Australia Korea Sweden China

K0r-06

n'L: <
7A t-f

z | , t )T tt ; t ;'fLc:t)bt
'/

+t) 7 4 r'3t1 3-

6btlh,

t'a)J1
Moiors i'7tr < 7i7ttL!a)
6VA

fazi</.

kagaku ajia kenkyuu keezai kankee kokusai konpyuutaa j i n r ui g a k u seeji bijinesu bungaku rekishi

science Asian studies economics international relations computer anthropology politics business literature history

[]r I J"1r

: ( a1r/.l,lf 1'' 3>Vt-7J-L$h)l.t)

CL4\\zr{( tl'U

E) +z
( ,i:/Lrs *L! L
Occupotions L :"L r',Lt f.r'Lt\\L
Lf D itr 'l-

shigoto isha kaishain kookoosee shufu daigakuinsee daigakusee bengoshi

job;work; occupation doctor office worker high school student housewife graduatestudent collegestudent rawyer
I

:i:)tu L o.i.
/jnzJi(rrl,{rr

flr lrs ( ttr,

^1, r" L
Fomily E r t ' * > !L EY ) ! L i;nft a L fil-r',tI r,t i L EY ) Y

oKaasan otoosan oneesan o ni i s a n imooto otooto

mother father older sister older brother younger sister younger brother

f.r

,3itutdf G
el xraycs
"It is 12:30." "I am a studentl' "My major is the fapanese language." Thesesentences will all be translatedinto |apanese using an appropriatenoun and the word desu.

-e9"

Itis-..
(It) is half past twelve. (I) am a student. (My major) is thelapaneselanguage.

tioit:UllLT.i'"
J u u n i jh i a nd e s u .

,r(t\\?f.
G a k u s ed ee s u .

t.ft L:"?f .
Nihongo desu.

Note that none of thesesentences hasa "subjectj'likethe "iti'"I;'and "my majorl'found in their English counterparts.Sentences without subjectsare very common in |apanese; Iapanesespeakers actually tend to omit subjectswheneverthey think it is clear to the listener what or who they are referringto. What are we to do, then, when it is not clear what is being talked about?To make explicit what we are talking about, we can say:

ti t: Il L:" rf " wa n i h o n g od e s u .
Where

is thelapaneselanguage.

standsfor the thing that is talked about,or the "topic,"which is later in the sentence identified as nihongo. For example,

- t fL : ? l l t : t t L : " r f
S e n k o ow a n i h o n g od e s u .

(A4y)major is theJapanese language.

Similarly,one can usethe patternX wa Y desrz to identify a personor a thing X as item Y.

Xl*YCd.

XisYA . sforX, it isY.

ht:Llt

7-'+AT'f

t)

5c

W a t a s hw i a S u uK i m uo e s u .

I am SueKim.

H1ffi'>' 43

{'* L f:I LIt jdL]d\\f-d-.

sanwa Yamashita Sensee oesu.
tt d) t) 1)'

Mr. Yamashita is a teacher. Mary is an American.

M e a r i is a n w a

T ./ t) /7 C Lf-d-" i+,:i-.,orr a m e r i k a j id ne s u .

of words called"particles." So is the word,no,which we will turn Wa is a memberof the class to phrasesand indicate how the phrases to later in this lesson.Particlesattach themselves relateto the rest of the sentence. andsensee Note alsothat nouns like gakusee in the aboveexamples stand alone,unlike their "student" and "teacher," Englishtranslations which are precededby "a."In Japanese, there is to "ai' nor is there any item that corresponds no item that corresponds to the plural "-s,,at the end of a noun' Without backgroundsituations,a sentencelikegakusee desuis therefore ambiguousbetweenthe singular and the plural interpretations;it may mean "We arelyou areltheyarestudents," aswell as "I amlyou arelsheis a student."

Gl,,,,QoestionSentences
It is very easyto form questions in Japanese. Basically, all you needto do is add ka at the end of a statement.

I)a)/{(tt\\?f.
Ryuugakusee desu.

Ryuugakusee desuka.

t) a ) rr ( t\ ',r-d-r..r

(I am) an international student.

(Areyou) an international student?

The abovesentence, Ryuugakusee desuka, is a "yes/no" question.Question sentences may also contain a "questionword" like nan2 (what). In this lesson,we learn how to ask, and answer'questionsusing the following questionwords: nanji (what time), nansai(how old), nannensee (what yearin school).

rtl,t i ll tLTti'"
Senkoo wa ian des, *u.

@ L: i H) i r't"?'d-.
(Senkoowa) eego desu.

What isyour major?

(My major) is English.

It is not customary to write a question mark at the end of a question sentencein fapanese. 'Th" ;upu,t.r. question word for "what" has two pronunciation s: nan and nani. Nanis used immediately before

desuor beforea'tounter" likejl (o'clock). The other form, nani,is usedbeforea particle. Nani isalsousedin the combinationnanijin (personof what nationality).

r
44>>>a;8.{;*ffi

\\*
lma

ttLC.Ttt'"
n a n j id e s uk a .

(r'*)
(lma)

( D?-d-.
k u j id e s u .

What time is it now?

' It is nine oblock.

/7t) -aL1J *rLtrrTti,.

Meariisanwa nansai desuka.

y)a*t)t,\

How old Areyou, Mary?

desu. Juukyuusai yearsold. I'm nineteen

UoiS'litt'T-i,"

t LttLtt,Tf'rl,"
Nannensee desuka.

f:ra,Lt\,7'f"
N i n e n s ed ee s u .

Whatyear areyou in college?

I'm a sophomore.

T L+r ll'1, :" ) It t LT-f /t'"

Denwabangoo wa nandesuka.

86 A nB Ti.
lchi hachiroku no nanasanyon sandesu.

What isyour telephone number?

It is 186-7343.

nounl @ noun,
No is a particle that connectstwo nouns. The phraseSakuradaigaku no gakusee means "a student at Sakura University."The second noun gakuseeprovides the main idea3 (being a student) and the first one Sakuradaigakumakes it more specific(not a high school,but a collegestudent).No is very versatile. In the first examplebelow it actslike the possessive (""'s") in English,but that is not the only role no can play.Seehow it connectstwo nouns in the following examples.

Li

t3 La T Lb tf l,:"'7
denwabangoo

Takeshi\ ohonenumber professor a college a student of the lapaneselanguage a college in lapan

Takeshi sanno daigaku no

/: r,/. ( dt ti,Lttr,
sensee

t:ltL:a
nihongono

4s({r,..
gakusee

l:(lLA
N i h o nn o

/: t ,/r (
daigaku

Observethat in the first two examples, the English and ]apanese words are arrangedin the sameorder,while in the last two, they are in the oppositeorder.|apanese seemsto be more consistent in arrangingideashere; the main idea alwayscomesat the end, with any further descriptionplacedbeforeit.
3 Here is what we mean by the "main idea."In the phrase Takeshi san no denwabangoo(Takeshisphone number), the noun denwabangoo(phone number) is the main idea, in the sensethat if somethingis Takeshi's phone number, it is a phone number. The other noun Takeshi san is not the main idea,because Takeshit phone number is not Takeshi.

H] E*r>>45

:' '::t,
:o

i?i

nounl o

.; :t
r:5

tr
I
I

noun2 mainidea

furtherrestriction

A phraseof the form "noun L no notJn2"acts more or lesslike one big noun. you can put it whereveryou can put a noun, as in the following example:
tj

ld

:?:jatlttr,
kookoono sensee oesu.

Tf"

mother ts a high schoolteacher Takeshi\

l:l*A,u^/v0) rf ii Nihoniin no
namae

Names Japanese

WhenJapanese givetheir name,they saytheir familynamefirstand given namelast(middle namesdo not exist). When introducingthemselves, they often sayonly their family name. HerearesometypicalJapanese names. Given name

Family name

Men dti -f-f3 t';h'lt U

/c/i h'

Women

Satoo Suzuki Takahashi Tanaka Itoo

/--<p
t-:.)tc

Tokuya Shoota lchiroo Hiroshi Masohiro

zr) h,
6ut tJ*;a

Erika Ai Noomi Yuuko Misoki

r\54 4
U4l-

t9az a r d8

r\L i

* du4

MostJapanese namesare written in kanji.For example, Tanaka is usually written as E*, which means"middleof the ricefield."Familynamesare often relatedto nature geoor graphical features. Because many kanjisharethe samereading, nameswith the samepronunciation may be written with differentkanji,suchas fAT and IE"Afor the femininename Yuuko.

46'>'A;E.tt*ffi

*IE /-;
OJ lJtv

Ex'pression

Notes

6a) Ano indicatesthat you have some reservations about sayingwhat you are going to saynext. You may be worried about interrupting somethingsomeone is currently doing, or sounding rude and impolite for askingpersonalquestions, for example. l*v\/zz)Both hai and ee means"yes" in response to yes-noquestions. compared to hai, ee is more conversational and relaxed.In more informal situations. trz is used. Hai is also used to respondto a knock at the door or to the calling of one,s name' meaning "Here," as follows. (Ee cannot be replacedin this case.)

Teacher: i i i a /- ?
Sumisu san?

Mr. Smith?
Here.

Student: il ! \o
Hai.

ziTth\)soo desu ka acknowledges that you have understoodwhat was just said."Is that so?"or "I see." Pronunciation of l* >The particlefl is pronounced."wA,', not,,ha.',Itshouldbe written with fl. All other instances "wa,, arewritten with b.

b l :L a

Watashino denwabangoowa

1 cA ,b tIL:"i it 37- 8667r ' f.

san nanano hachiroku roku nanadesu.

My telephone number is 37-g667. There are few exceptions,such as konnichiwa (good afternoon) and konbanwa (goodevening). Theyare usuallywritten with r. A,t:r, t*and i /-d /-tt. Numbers)Many number words havemore than one pronunciation. Referto the tableat the end of this book for a generalpicture. 0 '; and itt,r areboth commonlyused. 1 V\6, but pronounced as Vr-> in lz\a,!./, (oneminute)and V.-: E V. (oneyearold). tr? all the time. when you are readingout eachdigit separately, aswhen you give your phone number, it may be pronouncedwith a long vower, as tl llr. 3 5 A, all the time. The part that follows it may changeshape,as in 3 d ..!i,L, insteadof 3 /-.}./-. 2

___-

H1-:.f-rrr47

Expression

Notes

I /- is the most basic,but fourth-year student is I ia&rll,r and four o'clock is I D. In some combinationsthat we will later learn, it is read as L (as in Lrt;">, April). The part that follows this number may

changeshapetoo, as in J /-l:/-. it may be pronouncedwith a 5 I' all the time. When read out separately, long vowel,as I'i . as b'> in b o 3\A'. 6 b <, but pronounced lgtg z is the most basic,but seveno'clock is L 6 D. as llz in il: .8fu and llc 8 it6, but usuallypronounced g 3 rp i is the most basic,but nine o'clock is ( D. andD@zEvt/Dc3vt. Giving one's telephone number>The particle ro is usuallyplacedin between the local exchange code and the last four digits. Therefore,the number 012-3456789is zero ichi ni, sln yon go no, roku nana hachi kyuu. )The word sensee for describingsomebodyelse's is usuallyreserved occupation. Watashi wa sensee desu makessense, but may sound slightly arrogant, because the word sensee actuallymeansan "honorablemaster."If you (or a memUfuUtl ber of your family) are a teacher,and if you want to be really modest,you can use the word kyooshiinstead. t lvr. San is placedafter a name as a generictitle. It goesboth with a given name and a family name. Children are referred to as chan (and boys in particular as and doctorsare usuallyreferredto with the title kun), rather than san. Professors sensee. to oneself. San and other title words are neverusedin reference Referring to the person you are talking to )The word for "ydu," anata, is not very commonly used in Japanese. Instead,we use the name and a title like san like "Ms. andsensee to refer to the personyou are talking to. Therefore, a sentence Hart, are you Swedish?" should be:

3 v..

10 Dor,butpronouncedas Dt9z or l)c in Dv9.z.l3A,/D.>l,A'

,\3 1E^,ri;i ;:+i t.A,:.tn'"

Haatosanwa suweedenjin desuka.

instead or ,,\3 i 3 a,. hre,,lL.),i;.:+

laato san, anatawa

9 C./-r|rj,,

suweedeniin desuka.

\:
48>>)*=#.g;*ffi

t].fulu.W)Procti
Og:U
tb

CE

(Numbers)

@ *ot-ot

ts/*tr,t
zetQ ree

1 r'6
ichi

11 Uoir'6
juuichi

30 t,ftioi
sanjuu

2 l:
ni

LZ tjoiljuuni

40 ll,Uo)
yonjuu

3 tl,
san

L3 tj,oit,f
juusan

50 l'tjoi
gojuu

yon

JL,/L/(J)
shi

(yo)

14 tio)tL/DorL
juuyon
juugo

juushi

60 4(Vo)
rokujuu

5 :"
go

15 tioil'

70 *r*eUor
nanajuu

6 4<
.

roku shichi

16 Ca)41
juuroku

80 tt4Doi
hachijuu juushichi

7 tttt,lLt,
nana hachi

L7 tioitt./Ca)Lt,
juunana

90 toitip)
kyuujuu

8 116 9 !o),2(
kyuu ku

18 tioilt6
juuhachi

100 (/r(
hyaku

19 tioi!a),zCa)1
juukyuu nijuu

juuku

10 tjoi
juu

20 l:Urrj

A. Read thefollowing numbers. @ Kor-oB

( a )5 (f) 8

(b)9 (g)2

( c )7 (h) 6

(d) I (i) 4

( e )1 o (j) 3

B. Read the followingnumbers.@ Kor-oe ( a )4 5 (f) 100

(b)83 (g)38

(c) 19 ( h) 61

(d) 76 (i) 24

( e )5 2

(j) et

C . Whatarethe answers? @Jror-ro

( a ) 5 + 3 ( b ) 9 + 1 ( c ) 3 + 4 ( d ) 6 - 6 ( e )1 0+ 9 ( f ) 8 - 7

(g 40-25

49 ffil-#.>>>

@Vn't" fl-ime)

@ *o'-r,

r,6 U
i ichi.f

4<C
rokuji

L6U
shichiji

Ir6 U
hachiji

Doi ti
juu ji

tiorr'6U
juuichiji

tio)t:U
juuniji

\,6 tilt,L
i c h i j ih a n

A. Lookat the following pictures andanswer the questions. l$Jror.rz

Example: Q : t,',1 tt LVTtt,.
lma nanjidesuka.

Ex.
(

A:r,6UttLTt"

\L/

/'\

O w G
\_-/
/2\

rD

(2)

/-D\
\/

\<-__/)

/-D\

\n )

50>>>a;fr.gttffi

r
F i
: I

B. Answerthe questions. l{Jror rr Example: Q : _Li 3 t i lt l' * lma lookyoo wa

tt LLTt/t'"
nanjidesuka.

A: r"{f't aLu?f.
Cozen sanjidesu.

1.London 6:00p.rr.r. 2. Stockholm 7:00p.ivt. 4. New Delhi D 1l:30p.r'r.

Ex.Tokyo e.ivt. 3:00

c=rs

7. New York
l:00 eU.

:-....-5.Bangkok \= l:oo l.u. 8. Rio de Ianeiro 3:00p.tvt.

Numbers) @en nl$fuCf f|-elephone

people's A. Read the following telephone numbers. @ror-ra
Example: f*L/:
Yamashita

+ 283-9547 95r-0326 362-4519

l:ll6ILA
n i h a c h is a nn o
J.

t o i l'l,L*rrr
Kyuu8o yon nana

t. /j t'ds (
daigaku

./7t)Mearii

020-6921-4236 030-8522-1032

tlLttr,
sensee

4.

/:tl L
Takeshi

B. PairWork-Readthe dialogue belowwithyourpartner. [$j ror-rs

: T LbILL I'i lt t LTI rJ,"

Denwabangoo wa nan desuka.

("-c-" :283-9s47
Ni hachisanno kyuugo yon nanadesu.

: 283-9547 Tt

*J:

(* trt= right?)

Ni hachisanno kyuugo yon nanadesune.

I l t r , . z cj T t " Hai, soo desu.

5t Hl i* >r>

aboveand askthreeclasssmates Work-Usethe dialogue their Group numbers. telephone

name telephonenumber

ca bi(tfur @t;txn
phrases the following intoJapanese usingA @Q.@ro'-'o Translate
language + Example: student of |apanese l. my teacher 2. my telephonenumber 3.myname 4. Takashi's major
b6DUl6$Db\

l=llL:A
nihongo no

4s({r,r
gakusee

5. Mary's friend 6. student of the University of London 7. teacherof the |apanese language 8. high school teacher

@/7U-dtult V><UhUlveg
A. Lookat the charton the next pageand describe eachpersonusingthe cues in (a)through (e).

r. t:tl L t l,
Takeshi san

2. ^ _ I L
Suusan

t)

bttbL

3.r:rr-F:rL
Robaato san

4. t*

L/:tf,Ltft'

Yamashita sensee

(a) Nationality @ror-tt DAUr. Example: /7t)-tL

Mearii san

n)bt)t,\

./7t)-t/Llt
Meariisanwa

7/t)ljCLTt"
amerikajin desu.

(b) Year in school@ror-re

b&>r)t,

E x a m p l e :. / 7 t ) - l r 0
Meariisan

&)aur'

/Tt)-tl,lt
Mearii sanwa

l.*t Lt r , ?-f .
ninensee desu.

(c) Age @ror-re

e) b

t)

t"\

./Tt)-aL
Meariisan

./T t)-a rlt

Meariisanwa

et:4,\\'

juukyuusaidesu.

ti o ) ! a ) tr,t-f.

52>>>a;E.qt*ffi

?
I

g
t) t\\

(d) School @Jrorzo

t) b

Example: ./ T t) - t l,
Meariisan

--,

d>

./7t)-i&ti
Meariisanwa

t)

t"t

bt)<tr

Tt)'///.r,rj{(a>
Arizonadaigakuno

,r(t\\Tf.
gakusee desu.

i i

i I r

f I

(e) Major@*0,_r,

Example: ./ 7 t)-

d> &> t)

u'

t l,

---+ / 7 t ) - I L a
Mearii san no

bbt)r'

Meariisan

tt,0: i ll t=ftL t"?f " senkoo wa nihongo desu.

ffi4
Hart,Mary
Nationality American Year Age SchooI 2ndyear 19

ffifr1
3t't, /:tlL
Kimura Takeshi

Kim, Sue Korean

Smith, Robert f * L / : t l , t r , British

Yamashita sensee

Japanese 4thyear

.5rrt(t'L: ( u,t) ur + t)7cL) kankokujin igirisujin

|apanese

3rd year

4thyear

22

20
SeoulUniv. computer
(=yYz-/-) konpyuutaa
.a t"u b ) t:t,

22
U. ofLondon business

47 SakuraUniv. (Japanese teacher)

U. of Arizona SakuraUniv. history

reki shi

Major

Japanese

(/rt L)

E) +z)
bijinesu

UUiaf

B. Ask andanswer questions using the given cues, @*0,-r,

bbt)7t' ./Tt) -!L,/T/t)fiCL bbt)'"\

./Tt)-al,ll
M e a r i i s a nw a

bbu

7 / t ) l t CL T t i , "
amerikajin desuka.

A:i^.
Fp

?)Tt"
soo desu.

H1ifl >>> 53
bbt) \'

,/!Lttlttr', ExamPle2: / 7 t ) -s!aL sannensee Mearii n

---) Q :

. / 7 t )- a L t t ! L t t , L t f r ' , r f , . "
Meariisanwa sannensee desuka.
lie, ninensee desu.

b&rt)Ll

A : \\\\i_. l-a,Ltturf"

-r L/+ l r+rr,dr(o rs(rh\ \ i? !) Arizonadaigaku no gakusee san

Mearii

i?i'l-_IL,zvt,tr,Lrlp
ichinensee

3, f:llLa L,/l:llLCL
sia n Takesh nihonlin

4. 5.

san Takeshi

t:ll L ! L,/ l-ltL/jr'rs <a t: ( ttr,

Nihondaigaku no gakusee juukyuusai

t:llLIL,/tioitoitt'
sia n Takesh 'tai)iZ<L Suusan -fa

Z-tL,zZjt-f>CL
suweedenjin
7

X_i
4t{b

LA
t

t L:
senkoo

),/lltr{r
keezai

r (economics)
dDiaf

Suusanno

8.

Eui-l.aLo
Robaato sanno
4t!&)L

]tL: j,zv)+z
senkoo yonensee niiuuissai nihonjin
it i2 t'

biiinesu

i9. rzu
1 0 .E z i 1 1 ., P *

Robaato san
4li&rL.

F I L,/ I CaLtl'

| ! L,/ l- U D ) r r 2 { r',

R o b a a ts oa n Yamashita sensee Yamashita sensee

L t:]+Lt\\/l:llLCL
Hawaidaiqaku no sensee

y * L/:+L1f\,\,/),V4 fir\tr<A tLttr,, 12.

@at:dfult

b\u\tytru\tued

A. Look at the chart about Mary's host family and describe each person with regardto (a)and (b).

l. *ir.ba L
oKaasan

2. trl-\\t/L
oniisan

3.\\t, i L
imooto

(a) Occupation/School @Jror_zs

Example:

BY ) tr0
otoosan

- - - +t ; Y ) a / | l t
wa Otoosan

7}.r.Lr\\LTt"
kaishain desu.

54>>r*Ff;.t)*ffi

(b) Age @*o'-r, E x a m p l e :I ; Y ) I L

otoosan

-*) *;Y ) aLlt

wa Otoosan

l,L UrD i lt- iuTf.

yonjuuhassai desu.

Mary's hostfamily

BY ) ! L
otoosan (father)

t;t,t> a L
okaasan

*il:t'aL
oniisan

\\g ? L
imooto

(mother)

(elderbrother)

(younger sister)

zJ.l,Lt\\/L
Occupation/ School
kaishain

I
I

(worksfor a company) 48

shufu (housewife)

L o.i'

ilr'd*(rrl,.[rr
daigakuinsee

:i:irt\.'
kookoosee

(graduate student)

(highschool student) I6

Age

45

23

questions B. Answer the. usingthe chartabove. @ *ot.r,

l.

t ; Y ) a / 0 l l d ' 1, L t \ \ / L T t t ' "

Otoosan wa kaishain desuka.

2. E Y ) t / 0 l t
Otoosanwa Okaasan wa

ttL!\\?fr'.
nansaidesuka. sensee desuka. nansai desuka. kaishain desuka.

3. B t t ' b t L l t + L t \ \ T f d ' o
4. 5.

I)fi'b a /,,ll tt L! \ \?f ,'.

wa Okaasan Oniisanwa Oniisanwa lmooto wa

*jf:r,a Llt /.r, L r\ \LTtrt,"

\ \("f z}."
nansai desuka. daigakusee desuka.

6. }.r l:r,,t /Llt tt LI

7. \ \ L ) t l t / j r , , 1 s ( t l r , T t i , .

\,t, jLll
lmooto wa

+tLI\\?fr."
nansaidesu ka.

i 1

:
ffli*>>>55

Exercises) @te&)O ttlvt-ro) (Review

questions aridfind in the chartbelow. A. ClassActivity-Askfiveclassmates
E>e>t)!'ttbZ

Q : f, tt *, i lt ? ffhat is yourname?)
wa? Onamae

A: /7t)
Arizonadesu. Cakusee desu.

.-l'?f.

A: Q : l' L a - L /rlt ? (wheredoyoucomefrom?)

wa? Coshusshin

T t)'/t rf .

MeariiHaatodesu. &rUft

Q : tj L l'U li ? (whatisyouroccupation?)
wa? Oshigoto

A: ,s({t\\?f. A: l:ttL+t\ \?f .

N i n e n s ed ee s u .

Q : / JL ) A L + r , , ? f / . o
desuka. Nannensee

Q :/J,Ltrr?fzl."
Nansai desuka.

A: tjoj!a)tr,("f"
J u u k y u u sd ae i su.

Q : {t L: ) lt rrLTttr"
wa Senkoo nandesuka.

A : t: lt L:" rf .
Nihongodesu.

Name

Nationality/ Hometown

Occupation/ School

Age

Major, etc.

yourself to the class. B. Self-introduction-lntroduce

Example:

I t U & t * L ( " ) t T t ) - . / \ - l ' .T - f " MeariiHaatodesu. Hajimemashite. trI)?tr T t) ./t /j rlrs I A> t'( ttu Tid-.
no Arizonadaigaku gakusee desu.

d)bt)r,tt6L

\ \ * l-ttLtc\ \?f " t L: i lt I,ltL l?f . nihongo desu. wa Senkoo ninensee desu. lma
l,ioi !a)
Juukyuusd ae i su.

tr,Tf"

J4L

( *ilazft'L*-C-"

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

Y
s6>>>A;E't)*ffi

C. ClassActivity-Ask your classmates what theirmajorsare,and find someone who hasthe following major. Example:Q : ]tfu : ? lt rt LTt
Senkoo wa

/t,"

nan desuka.

A:l:lIl,:"?f.
Nihongo desu.

l. /apanese 2. economics 3. English 4. history 5. business

D' RolePlay-UsingDialogue as a model,makeskitsin the following situations.

l. You don't have a watch with you, but you need to know what time it is.

2' You',ve just met a Japanese personand

want to get to know the person.

.tl, uD\fu
Time
r.6 ti
ichiji

Useful Expressions

/ Age
Minutes

\ \ z.ill,
ippun nifun

11

UOf\\z.iirC juuippun
juunifun

l:U
niji

2 l:.i./L 3 a l,.i:/v
sanpun

T2 U o r l : . i . / L 1 3 U o i i,L.i:I,
juusanpun

tl,u
sanji

4 J,0.i:,L
yonpun
.). Ay

JU
yoji

I4 tj roi J,L.j:/,
juuyonpun

JU
80ji

gofun roppun

1 5 ti o i l.i.l,
juugofun

6 4 -,ilL 7 *r'*r.i.'L
nanafun

16 tiroi 4-.i1L
juuroppun

4<V
rokuji

t 7 V a ) lrrr.i.,L
juunanafun juuhappun

L6ti
shichiji

8 It. ,ii L./

happun

,;iL,/ 1 8 tl o r lt ->
juuhachifun

8 ti6 u
hachiji

It 6.i./,,
hachifun

Uo i l t 6 . i . , L

(u
tuji

9 t r oi . i . , 0
kyuufun

t9 tiroitoi.i.,f
juukyuufun nijuppun nijippun

10 Uo -,iiL,/
juppun jippun

20 f : U o - , i i L , /
l: u c.ii,L

10 tioiti
juuji

U- . i : / .

1 1 Uo)\\6U
juuichiji
juuniji

30 t / v U o - . i i L , /
sanjuppun

t2 U o i t : t :
Age *erLt \\Ttt'.,/
Nansaidesuka.

t /v U - .ii/,
sanjippun

Br , ( oTti,"
Oikutsudesuka.

(Howold areyou?)

Thecountersuffix - t t, ( . . . sai)is usedto indicate". . . yearsold."

1r-{1r issai nisai

5 :"t r,
gosai

9 t o r tt'
kyuusai

2 l:t\\ 3 tl,tt,
sansai

6 5 ( tt" 7

rokusai fa./4 ! r r nanasai hassai

1 0 U O " ,! t ' , / U - t u
jussai jissai

11

tjOilr-l1r juuissai hatachi

4 ll,tt,

yonsai

8 It-tt,

20 It /: 6*
(nijussai/nrlissai) canbeused.

*For20yearsold"ltt:t>(hatachi)isusuallyused,although l: U r, a a \ \/t: U - !rt