Japanese Alphabets
3 different kinds of Alphabets– ひらがな ( hiragana)
• Used most often
– カタカナ (katakana)• Used for foreign names. Japanese language has many
foreign words.
– 漢字 (kanji)• Chinese characters. Hiragana and Katakana have no meaning by itself
whereas Kanji does.
れいぎ
礼儀 Politeness
Politeness is very important in Japanese language.
There are Verb conjugations and many expressions ( 敬語 – keigo) to show different levels of politeness.
One uses keigo to the elders, bosses, strangers, etc.
Some Other Characteristics
Sentence Structure– Subject + Object + Verb (Subjects are often omitted)
– Particles shows the relationship of a word, phrase or clause. No Articles No strict distinction between plural and singular Masculinity and Femininity are expressed by verb
ending. Onomatopoeias Influence of foreign languages
あいさつGreetings
こんにちは。 - konnichiwa. (Hello.) おはようございます。 - ohayo gozaimasu. (Good morning) こんばんは。 - konbanwa. (Good evening.) さようなら。 - sayonara. (Goodbye.) すみません。 - sumimasen. (Excuse me.) ありがとうございます。 -arigato gozaimasu. (Thank you.) どういたしまして。 - do itashi mashite. (You’re welcome.)
じこしょうかい
自己紹介Introducing Yourself
はじめまして。 Hajimemashite. (Nice to meet you) 私の名前は___ です。 Watasino namae wa ___ desu. ___ と申します。 ___ to moshi masu. (My name is ___.) ___ からきました。 ___ kara kimashita. (I am from___.) よろしくおねがいします。 Yoroshiku onegai
shimasu. (Nice to meet you.)
Traveling in Japan
Most signs have English. Japanese people are not very good at English
but they try to help you. Using public transportations in cities could be
difficult.
Survival Japanese 英語話せますか?
– Eigo hanase masu ka? (Do you speak English/ May I speak English?)
日本語わかりません。 Nihongo wakari masen. (I don’t understand Japanese.)
__はどこですか?– ___ wa doko desu ka? (Where is ___?)
ここはどこですか?– Koko wa doko desu ka? (Where am I?)
だいじょうぶです。– Daijobu desu. (I am fine./OK.)