ぶんぽう：　レッスン　１　　　

Grammar: Lesson 1

あいさつ - Greetingsaisatsu

おはようございます ohayou gozaimasu

• Good Morning

– This is a greeting that is only used in the morning.

– It is the polite way to say “good morning.” Use it with people who are

above you in age or in social status, such as teachers.

– おはよう ohayou is a less formal way of saying “good morning”

that you can use with friends or those who are younger than you.

– When someone greets you with おはようございます simply

repeat the greeting back to them ： おはようございます。

こんにちは konnichiwa

• Hello / Good afternoon

– こんにちは is a greeting that you can use in the afternoon.

– It means “good afternoon”, or “hello.”

– If someone greets you with this phrase, simply respond using

the same phrase.

– Even though it translates to “hello,” do not use this in the

morning or in the evening. This phrase is only to be used during

the afternoon.

こんばんは konbanwa

• Good evening

–こんばんは is a greeting to use during the

evening to greet people and say “good evening.”

– If someone greets you with this phrase, simply

respond using the same phrase.

おやすみなさい oyasumi nasai

• Good night

–おやすみなさい is the polite way to say “good

night” to someone.

– A more casual way to say good night is just simply

saying: おやすみ oyasumi.

はじめまして hajimemashite

• Nice to meet you– Say はじめまして to someone you’re meeting for the first time,

when introducing yourself.

– You would never say “nice to meet you” to someone you’ve already met before, even in English!

– There are a few different ways to respond to はじめまして . You can say:• はじめまして - and return the greeting.

• よろしく　おねがいします yoroshiku onegai shimasu - (polite) treat me kindly.

• どうぞ　よろしく　おねがいします douzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu - (very polite) treat me kindly.

なまえ - Namesnamae

おしろ　だいち　 Oshiro Daichi

• In Japan, last names (or family names) are more important than first

names.

• This is why in Japan, people will introduce themselves with their last name

(or family name) first and their first name (or given name) last.

– For example:• In the video clip, Daichi introduces himself as おしろ　だいち .

• おしろ Oshiro is his last name (or family name)

• だいち Daichi is his first name (or given name)

• If your first name was Chris and your last name was Osborne, you would introduce

yourself as Osborne, Chris.

おしろ　さん　 Oshiro san

• さん san is added after names and means Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms. It

can be used for both males and females.

– To say Mr. Oshiro:• おしろ　さん oshiro san

– To say Ms. Nakamura• なかむら　さん　 nakamura san

• Don’t ever use さん when talking about yourself or your own

family.

• Use さん at the end of a person’s name to be more polite and

formal.

お o – the Honorific Prefix

• Adding the honorific prefix お o to the beginning of words (particularly nouns) &

some phrases makes them more polite and formal.

• Don’t use the honorific お o when talking about yourself. Only use when talking

to or about other people.

Example 1 Example 2

Q: おけんきてすか。 o genki desu ka How are you?

A: けんき　てす。 Genki desu I’m fine.

Q: おなまえ　は。 onamae wa What is your name? A: わたし　は　おしろ　だいち　てす。 watashi wa oshiro daichi desu I am Oshiro Daichi.

Pronouns in Japanese

わたし watashi or わたくし watakushi

• わたし watashi means “I” or “me” and can

be used informally by anyone, male or female.

• わたくし watakushi is a more formal way of

saying “I” or “me.” It is typically used in formal

written documents, such as business letters or

contracts.

ぼく　 boku

• ぼく　 boku also translates to “I” or “me,”

but this pronoun can only be used by males.

Japanese Sentence Structure

てす　 desu• てす desu is the polite form of “is/am/are.” It is normally placed at the end of a sentence.

For example:

• わたし は さくら てす。 • Watashi wa sakura desu• I am Sakura.

• わたし の なまえ は さくら てす。 • Watashi no namae wa sakura desu• My name is Sakura.

• わたし は ちゅうがくせい てす。 • Watashi wa chuugakusei desu• I am a middle school student.

• Pronunciation Note: The “u” sound is usually dropped at the end of す “ su.” So, it usually sounds like you are saying “dess.”

Japanese Sentence Structure Compared to English• English sentences typically follow the structure:

S V O: Subject Verb Object. – For example:

• I am Daichi. • I eat sushi.

• In Japanese, the sentence structure is:S O V: Subject Object Verb

1. Let’s take the English sentences from above and write them in Japanese: 2. わたし　は　だいち　てす。

watashi wa daichi desu(Literally) I Daichi am

3. わたし　は　すし　を　たべます。 watashi wa sushi o tabemasu (Literally) I sushi eat

じょしparticles

In the Japanese language, there are items called “particles.”Particles connect nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in sentences.

English does not have particles as a grammatical feature of the language, but in Japanese you need to have particles in order to connect words. 　

jyoshi

は wa – the Topic Marker

• Rule 1: は wa is used after a noun to mark it as the topic of

a sentence.

• は wa is written with the Hiragana character “ha,” but when

it is used as the topic marker particle it is pronounced “wa.”

– For example:

• わたし は さくら てす。

• Watashi wa sakura desu.

• I am Sakura.

は wa – the Topic Marker (continued)

• Rule 2: When the predicate of a question is clear for both the speaker and the listener, you can use an

abbreviated version of the sentence. は wa still functions as “topic marker particle”, but the rest of the

sentence can be omitted.

• You can use this when you want to repeat the question that was previously asked without actually having to

say it. This form is used mainly in speaking rather than in writing.

Example 1: How about you, Daichi? Example 2: What is your name?

だいち：　さくら さん、 おけんき　てす　か。 Daichi: sakura san, ogenki desu kaDaichi: How are you Sakura?

さくら：　はい、 けんき てす。　だいちさん　は。Sakura: hai, genki desu. Daichisan wa.Sakura: Yes, I’m fine. How about you Daichi?

さくら：　おなまえ　は　なん　てす　か。Sakura: onamae wa nan desu ka.Sakura: What is your name?

だいち：　ぼく　は　たいち　てす。　おなまえ は。 Daichi: boku wa daichi desu. Onamae wa.Daichi: I am Daichi. What is your name?

さくら：　わたし は さくら てす。 Sakura: watashi wa sakura desu.Sakura: I am Sakura.

か ka – the Question Marker• Rule: The particle か ka is used at the end of a sentence to make it a

question. • Its function is similar to the question mark in English.• Therefore, you do not need to add a question mark (?) at the end of

Japanese sentences. – For example:

• おけんき　てす　か。 • Ogenki desu ka• How are you?

• なん　ねんせい　てす　か。 • Nan nensei desu ka• What grade are you in?

おわり

This is the end of the Grammar Notes for this lesson.

You can print these notes for your reference using the link above this slideshow.