Learn Japanese Conversation

Building Up Japanese - Lesson 1

はじめまして
スーザン ： はじめまして。スーザンです。どうぞ　よろしく。
たなか ： はじめまして。たなかです。どうぞ　よろしく。
スーザンさんは　がくせいですか。
スーザン ： はい、そうです。
たなか ： おくには　どちらですか。
スーザン ： カナダです。
たなか ： そうですか。
Susan : How do you do? I'm Susan. Nice to meet you.
Tanaka : How do you do? I'm Tanaka. I'm glad to meet you.
Are you a student?
Susan : Yes, I am. (lit. That's right).
Tanaka : Where are you from? (lit. Where is your country?)
Susan : I'm from Canada. (lit. It's Canada.)
Tanaka : I see.

Key Sentences
1. わたしは　スミスです。
I'm Smith.
2. わたしは　かいしゃいんです。
I'm a business person.
3. スーザンさんは　かいしゃいんじゃないです。
Susan is not a business person.
4. かとう ： ないとうさんは　べんごしですか。
ないとう ： ええ、わたしは　べんごしです。
Katoo : Are you a lawyer?
Naitoo : Yes, I'm a lawyer.
5. いけだ ： さとうさんは　せんせいですか。
さとう ： いいえ、わたしは　せんせいじゃないです。
Ikeda : Are you a teacher?
Satoo : No, I'm not a teacher.
6. やまだ ： スーザンさんは　アメリカじんですか。
たなか ： いいえ、スーザンさんは　アメリカじんじゃないです。スーザンさんは　カナダじんです。
Yamada : Is Susan an American?
Tanaka : No, she is not an American. She is a Canadian.

Grammar Note

[A] は [B] です

This means "Noun A is noun B". Wa is a particle and a topic marker.
The noun followed by a particle wa is the topic of a statement or a question. The topic often refers to the same thing as the subject, but not necessarily.

Desu identifies a person or a thing.
It can be translated into "is/are/am" in English. Desu is not affected by gender or number. The negative form and the past tense of desu are as followings respectively: Ja arimasen and ja arimasendeshita are more formal.
Affirmative Negative
Non-past tense
(Present / Future) です じゃないです
じゃ　ありません
Past tense でした じゃなかったです
じゃ　ありませんでした
1. わたしは　クリス　ノーマンです。
I am Chris Norman.
2. さとうさんは　せんせいじゃないです。
(Mr./Ms.) Satoo is not a teacher.
3. きむらさんは　せんせいでした。
(Mr./Ms.) Kimura was a teacher.

Question marker か？

Ka is a question marker.
Ka added to the end of a sentence makes it into a question. The word order does not change.
Hai means "yes" and iie means "no". Ee is also commonly used for "yes" in casual situation.
さとう ： スミスさんは　アメリカじんですか。
スミス　１ ： はい／ええ、わたしは　アメリカじんです。
スミス　２ ： いいえ、わたしは　アメリカじんじゃないです。
Satoo : (Mr. Smith,) Are you an American?
Smith 1 : Yes, I'm an American.
Smith 2 : No, I'm not an American.

Honorific title さん

-san is a honorific title like "Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms.".
This can be added to either a surname or a first name, of a male or a female.
San shows respect to the person, so it should not be used with one's own name and one's family.

How to say "You"

"You" is anata. In English, "you" is commonly used in any situation.
However, in Japanese, Anata is sometimes regarded as a sign of "disagreement", "criticism" or "dissatisfaction".
In Japanese conversation we usually call one's name instead of using anata.
ノーマン ： あなた は　つうやくですか。
ノーマン ： よしださんは　つうやくですか。
よしだ ： はい、わたしは　つうやくです。
Norman : Are you an interpreter?
Yoshida : Yes, I am.

Omission of the subject

In Japanese, the subject is often omitted when it is clearly understood by the speakers from the context of the sentence.
やまだ ： ノーマンさんは　プログラマーですか。
ノーマン ： はい、（わたしは）　プログラマーです。
Yamada : Are you a computer programmer?
Norman : Yes, I'm a computer programmer.

はじめまして "How do you do?"

Hajimemashite "How do you do" and Doozo yoroshiku "It's nice to meet you" are greeting expressions. They are used when meeting someone for the first time.

"Name" is namae. "My name is Smith" is Watashi no namae wa Smith desu, however, this expression is rarely used for greetings.
When you introduce your name, you should say Watashi wa Smith desu "I'm Smith".
かとう ： はじめまして。かとうです。どうぞ　よろしく。
ノーマン ： はじめまして。ＡＢＣの　ノーマンです。どうぞ　よろしく。
Katoo : How do you do? I'm Katoo. It's nice to meet you.
Norman : How do you do? I'm Norman from ABC. I'm glad to meet you.

Particle no in Watashi no namae, ABC no Norman

See the next lesson

How are you?

English speaking people naturally want to know how to say "How are you?" because it is used as a daily greeting in English.

An exact translation is O-genki desu ka? "Are you well?", however, the usage is quite different from the English phrase "How are you?".
O-genki desu ka? is used to inquire about the health of someone you haven't seen in a long time. Therefore it is not used as a general greeting like the English phrase "How are you?".

Japanese people usually say just Ohayoo gozaimasu "good morning", Konnichiwa "good afternoon" or Konbanwa "good evening" to someone they often see.

See Words & Phrases - Greetings

そうです "Yes, it is" vs. そうですか "I see"

Soo desu means "Yes, it is" or "That's right". Soo desu ka with the lower-ending is not a question, but it means "I see".
かとう ： スーザンさんは　がくせいですか。
スーザン ： はい、そうです。
かとう ： おくには　どちらですか。
スーザン ： カナダです。
かとう ： そうですか。
Katoo : Are you a student?
Susan : Yes, I am.
Katoo : Where are you from? (lit. where is your country?)
Susan : I'm from Canada. (lit. It's Canada.)
Katoo : I see.

おくには　どちらですか？ "Where are you from?"

You may be often asked about where you are from by a Japanese. The common phrase for this question is Okuni wa dochira desu ka? which literally means "What is your country?".

Kuni means "country" and o-kuni is the respectful form. Dochira means "which", but this is often used as "where" in formal speech.

One's nationality such as a Japanese or an American is made by adding -jin to a country name.

Vocabulary

アメリカ America
アメリカじんAmerican (person)
あなたyou
べんごしlawyer
ですis, are, am
どちらpolite form of doko, dore, dare; where, which, who
どうぞ よろしくIt's nice to meet you, I'm glad to see you
ええyes
がくせい(school) student
はいyes
はじめましてHow do you do?
いいえno
じゃないですnegative form of desu
じん (-じん)indicates one's nationality
か？question marker
かいしゃcompany, office
かいしゃいんbusiness person, office worker
カナダCanada
カナダじんCanadian (person)
のparticle used between two nouns
おくに (くに)one's home country (respectful)
プログラマー(computer) programmer
さん (-さん)honorific title (Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms.)
せんせいteacher
そうですyes, that's right, yes, it is
そうですかI see
つうやくinterpreter
はparticle indicating a topic or a subject
わたし I