Japanese 101: L.1 Vowel sounds and "Be" verb -- am, is, are

[TheNoNamedOne]

LESSON 1

I know some of you are very busy and would perhaps never buy a Japanese Language book to study or enroll in a language course. I am not fluent in Japanese, but I think I can explain some basics for you in a way that is easy to understand since I at one time was in the starting out position. I am sure there are others here who speak better than me, so if you are one of those persons and see that I have made a terrible blunder, please let me know.

I will continue making threads like this from time to time targeting specific points -- unless I see after a few months that the thread hits are really low.

I will write everything in Romaji i.e. the Eng. alphabet so you can follow it easily (for some reason I can't use Jpn script with this forum version/skin).

I will explain as succinctly as possible.

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Vowels "a,e,i,o,u" are all similar to the Spanish vowels.

amigo
elephant
i as in eat
owe
flute

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In English we use the words (be verb) am, is, and are to denote a state of something, existence and according to the SUBJECT which depends them being singular or plural. In Japanese the SUBJECT is often deleted because it is understood, so for now don't care about that.

There is only one word for "be" in Japanese instead of the three in English.

That word is "desu" -- with the the "u" almost silent at the end -- kind of like pronouncing "desk" without the "k".

So, look here:

I am John = John desu.
You are Sue = Sue desu.
He is Mike = Mike desu.
She is Kate = Kate desu.
We are Americans = America-jin desu.
They are Japanese = Nihon-jin desu.
It is small. = Chisai desu.

"Desu" is formal speech.

More casual day to day language uses a derivative of "desu". That word is "da".

John da.
Sue da.
Mike da.
... and continue on down with the examples previously given above.

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New Vocabulary for today:

Some Nouns

I = watashi or boku or ore
you = anata or Kimi
he = kare
she = kanojo
we = watashi-tachi, boku-tachi, ore-tachi (note: adding "tachi" to nouns specifies them as plural)
they = Karera
it = sore (but usually "it" is not specified, as is also most pronouns as SUBJECTS)
dog = inu
cat = neko
man = otoko
woman = onna
boy = otoko no ko
girl = onna no ko

New Adjectives:

big = ookii
small = chisai
hot = atsui
cold = samui
fun/interesting = omoshiroi

New Verbs
go = ikku
come = kuru
eat = taberu
drink = nomu

Lesson over.

If you have any questions about the above, then please ask in this thread. If not, then check back in a day or two for the next short lesson.

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Note: To those of you who do speak Japanese and find an error in my lesson, for the sake of flow and continuity for the thread, if the error is minor, please hold off on pointing it out, or do so in PM to me -- however, if it is so major, then do go ahead and point it out within the thread. I consider some things like spelling nekko or neko to be minor since in text form, it is really hard to convey that pronounciation difference. But grammar or word mistakes are major.

[Muku]

Pronunciations aside here in Japanese the order is A あ, I　い, U　う, E　え,　and O　お and not the English order as you wrote it.

[DoctorP]

I deleted all off topic posts in this thread. These posts were for the most part petty and did not contribute to the learning of Japanese. If anyone has a problem with it, tough.

I purposely did not split the thread, as we have enough bs fighting threads already. If you want to continue to put each other down, please do so in one of the threads that are already in existence.

Feel free to continue the lesson.

[TheNoNamedOne]

I deleted all off topic posts in this thread. These posts were for the most part petty and did not contribute to the learning of Japanese. If anyone has a problem with it, tough.

I purposely did not split the thread, as we have enough bs fighting threads already. If you want to continue to put each other down, please do so in one of the threads that are already in existence.

Feel free to continue the lesson.

Good call. And to make it more fair, I deleted where it truely began. The OP was virtually ignored.

[TheNoNamedOne]

Those recent posts have been split into their separate thread HERE (http://www.japanupdate.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1271).

[Muku]

if it is so major, then do go ahead and point it out within the thread.

That word is "desu" -- with the the "u" almost silent at the end -- kind of like pronouncing "desk" without the "k".

So, look here:

I am John = John desu.
You are Sue = Sue desu.
He is Mike = Mike desu.
She is Kate = Kate desu.
We are Americans = America-jin desu.
They are Japanese = Nihon-jin desu.
It is small. = Chisai desu.


To correct something here and this is major.....

I am John does not equal John desu, the correct way of saying that same sentence would be Boku wa (male) Watashi wa (female) John desu

Please note that watashi can be used by men as well however boku is more common. Also the word ore for "I" is not used in polite conversation.

You are Sue does not equal Sue desu, the correct way of saying that same sentence would be; Anatawa Sue desu.

He is Mike does not equal Mike desu, the correct way of saying that same sentence would be; Kare wa Mike desu

She is Kate does not equal Kate desu, the correct way of saying that same sentence would be; Kanojyo wa Kate desu

We are Americans does not equal Amerika jin desu, the correct way of saying that same sentence would be Watashtachi wa Amerika jin desu

They are Japanese does not equal Nihon-jin desu, the correct way of saying the same sentence would be Karera wa Nihonjin desu

It is small does not equal Chisai desu, the correct way of saying the same sentence would be Kore wa chisai desu

The mistakes are pointed out in first in red bold face type and the corrections second are in black bold face type.

[TheNoNamedOne]

In daily Japanese most subjects of sentences are understood and therefore deleted. Very few Japanese will insert pronouns in sentences where the subject is understood. There is no reason for the beginner to do so either if you are able to get over the sometimes hurdle of accepting that subjects are often deleted.

Therefore, the more natural way to speak (unless you want to sound like a text book) on the examples above are clearly and correcly stated in the OP.

If you can't accept from the beginnig of learning Japanese that subjects can and are for the most part deleted in sentences where they are understood, then use the examples Uchi has given you. But, it will save you time if you can accept that from the beginning and start speaking in a more natural way.

Besides, shorter sentences are easier for the beginner. I recommend using the best short cuts from the beginning to get out and about to start communicating.

Good luck and choose which is best for you.

[Muku]

In daily Japanese most subjects of sentences are understood and therefore deleted. Very few Japanese will insert pronouns in sentences where the subject is understood. There is no reason for the beginner to do so either if you are able to get over the sometimes hurdle of accepting that subjects are often deleted.

Therefore, the more natural way to speak (unless you want to sound like a text book) on the examples above are clearly and correcly stated in the OP.

If you can't accept from the beginnig of learning Japanese that subjects can and are for the most part deleted in sentences where they are understood, then use the examples Uchi has given you. But, it will save you time if you can accept that from the beginning and start speaking in a more natural way.

Besides, shorter sentences are easier for the beginner. I recommend using the best short cuts from the beginning to get out and about to start communicating.

Good luck and choose which is best for you.

In response here I will add this, in over 20 years of actually learning and using the language here on a daily basis having the correct knowledge of how to use the language properly is a plus and never a minus.

Learning the language in this manner a person will pick up serious bad habits that will be difficult to break.

However if a learner only cares about a few words or phrases then by all means use this method. Be prepared however for possible misunderstanding from the person that you are speaking with.

I would highly recommend getting a phrase book instead of starting off by learning in this manner. That is if the goal is just to learn some handy Japanese for daily use.

I highly recommend hitting the link below in my signature for more helpful information about learning Japanese.:D

[TheNoNamedOne]

For those of you who are interested in getting a deeper understanding of Japanese and hope to attain a high level of proficiency, other than just some daily conversation, then AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE, I encourage you to get textbooks and phrase books. If, however, you do not have the time or the desore to go that route, WHICH IS WHAT I HAVE STATED THESE SHORT LESSONS WERE FOR, then rest assured you will not be misunderstood when you delete pronouns when the sentence subject is understood.

There is nothing lazy about it or that you will develope bad habits from it -- it is quite natural speak and not text bookish speak which I have imparted above.

Find what is best for you, what you want, and what your goals are -- be them either short or long term.

[DoctorP]

Uchinamuku...please feel free to start your own thread discussing the Japanese language as you see fit. TP started this thread and has his own idea for direction of this thread. That is his perogotive.

If you feel on getting more in depth you are more than welcome to start over in a new thread. Everyone play nice, or get out of the pool! (gene pool that is)

[Mad Hatter]

yeahhhhhh!!!! I'm learning!!!!

[ja_Patriot]

TP,

Anymore more lessons? Your short and casual version should be ok, with the subject (pronoun) understood and the avoiding the classroom and more formal imasu form in favor of iru, eru, suru and kuru used in actual conversations.

Give it another lesson and see how it goes!

[TheNoNamedOne]

I don't think so, Ja_patriot. It's all been farmed out/directed to other sites. No reason to keep members or traffic here for it. Some have a hard time understanding OPs as well on the point, so I am not going to hit a brick wall on that.

No biggy.

[Oxmix]

Deleting the subject must raise a lot of confusion.
Example.
My wife is Korean and the subject must also be deleted at times in the Korean language. She will say something to me and I will respond that I don't know what she is trying to tell me without a subject.
When I was on Okinawa I got the impression that they used too many words to get the point across. A conversation might be, It's over there. Response, What's over there? Response, The car is over there.

Regards

Ox

[Bones]

As posted by "oxmyx":

Deleting the subject must raise a lot of confusion.

You've hit the nail on the head!!!!:cursing:

If there is one thing that I hate, it's when someone is continuing a conversation that they've had with someone else, and out of nowhere, start their conversation with:

"What do you think?"

It happened again this afternoon, when the wife and daughter came home from shopping. I was watching a mystery show on tv, so my response was:

"I'd like to see her N A K E D!!!!:D:D:D

Have you ever been slapped in the head? In Stereo? :eek::eek::eek:

Should have taken the time to learn the language a long time ago, rather than being lazy. :(

NBTP