Hiragana - Learn the Japanese Alphabets

The first step in learn japanese language is to learn the japanese alphabets. Alphabets listed below in the table are called hiragana alphabets or hiragana characters. Japanese language also consists of Chinese characters called Kanji, which we will discuss later, and another japanese alphabet set called katakana, which is used for foreign language words. Katakana will be covered in the next lesson.

There are 5 vowels in the Japanese language:

1. [ a ] pronounced as "aa"
2. [ i ] pronounced as "ee" or as "e" in "eat"
3. [ u ] pronounced as "oo" in "soon"
4. [ e ] pronounced as "e" in "elk"
5. [ o ] pronounced as "o" in "more"

All Hiragana characters end with one of these vowels, with the exception of [ n ]. The only "consanent" that does not resemble that of English is the Japanese "r". It is slightly "rolled" as if it were a combination of a "d", "r", and "l".

Hiraganas are divided into three groups. Shown below are three hiragana charts for 3 hiragana groups. Please note that 3rd hiragana group (3rd Hiranaga Chart) is made of combination letters.

Exceptions:
[ha] is pronounced "wa" when it is immediately follows the subject. It is usually only pronounced "ha" when it is a part of a word.
[he] is pronounced "e" when it immediately follows a place or direction. Both of these are very simple to detect.

Hiragana Chart 2

Hiragana Chart 3

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Katakana - Another set of Japanese Alphabets

As we mentioned in Japanese Lesson 1, Katakana alphabets are mainly used for foreign language words such as names and words that have been borrowed from other languages such as "compu-taa" (computer). The Japanese language does not have as many sounds as the English language so, when creating a name in Katakana for instance, the name must be sound out to the closest Japanese equivalent.

All Katakana alphabets are divided into three groups. Shown below are three katakana charts for 3 katakana groups. Please note that 3rd katakana group (i.e. 3rd Katakana Chart) is made of combination letters.

Katakana Chart 2

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Learn Basic Japanese - Greeting and introducing yourself

Ok. So now we will start with learning some basic japanese. Here we will assume that you have learned all hiragana alphabets. If not, please feel free to revise them once again.

Greetings in Japanese
Greetings in japanese language are either 'formal' or 'friendly'. Talking in 'friendly' version of language in formal cases are not considered good. Though the vice versa is not true. Formal japanese can be used in friendly cases. Given below are all formal japanese language.

Greeting in English	Greeting in Romaji	Greeting in Hiragana
Hello	KONNICHIWA
Good Morning	OHAYOUGOZAIMAS
Good Afternoon	KONNICHIWA
Good Evening	KONBANWA
Good Night	OYASUMINASAI
Good Bye	SAYOUNARA
Thank you	ARIGATOUGOZAIMAS
How are you doing?	GENKIDESKA?
I am fine. Thank you.	GENKIDES
I amm hungry	ONAKA GA SUKIMASHITA

Introduction in Japanese

English	Romaji	Hiragana
How do you do?	HAJIMEMASHITE
What is your name?	ONAMAEWA?
My name is Katsumi	WATASHI WA KATSUMI TO IIMAS

Relationship in Japanese

English	Romaji	Hiragana
Wife	TSUMA
Husband	OTTO
Son	MUSUKO
Daughter	MUSUME
Girl-friend / Boy-friend	KOIBITO

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Japanese Vocabulary-Minimal set of Japanese vocabulary to as

start with

This lessons gives you some basic japanese vocabulary with some examples.

Japanese Vocabulary Set 1

Kon'nichi wa.
Hello

Watashi wa Morita Akio desu.
I am Akio Morita

Hajimemashite.
Nice to meet you.

Anata wa Amerika-jin desu ka.
Are you an American?

Nihon-jin desu.
I am Japanese.

Anata wa daigaku-sei desu ka.
Are you a college student?

Watashi wa kookoo-sei desu.
I am a high school student.

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Basic Japanese Grammar - Minimal set of Japanese grammar

Japanese grammer is very simple but very different from English grammer. In English, simple sentence is:

[Subject] [Verb] [Object]

But in Japanese, verb always comes at the end.

[Subject] [Object] [Verb]

This japanese grammer lesson will give you details Japanese language, and begin to teach how exactly to formulate phrases and sentences to convey more complex ideas.

The main particles in japanese grammer are following:

	wa (Hiragana "ha" is pronounced "wa" if it follows the subject)	Subject Marker
	ga	Topic Marker
	to	and
	mo	too (similar)
	wo (Pronounced as 'o')	Direct Object Marker
	ni	Direction or Time Marker, Indirect Object Marker
	e (Hiragana "he" is pronounced "e" if it follows a place or direction)	Direction Marker

Particles wa and ga:
Particle wa marks the subject of the sentence. Particle ga marks the topic of the sentence. In the example, "I know where you live" (watashi wa anata ga doko ni sunde iru ka shitte iru), "I" would be the subject while "you" would be the topic.

Not all sentences have both a subject and topic and, in many cases, the subject is implied in Japanese (for example, the "I" (watashi wa) would be left out of this sentence because it is implied that since I am talking I am the one that knows where you live). Many Japanese books and teachers teach that "wa" and "ga" are the same thing and it doesn't matter which you use when. This is not the case but I wouldn't worry too much about keeping them straight at first.

Particle to:
to is used for connecting nouns. Nouns combined with 'to' can then be used as a single noun in the sentence.
Example: Noun1 to Noun2

Particle mo:
mo indicates that there is a similar object to Noun.

Particle wo:
The particle "wo" (or "o") marks the direct object of the sentence. In the example, "I'm going to take her home" (watashi wa kanojo wo ie ni okuru), "her" would be the direct object.

Particle ni:
The particle "ni" can be used to mark the direction, time, or the indirect object of a sentence.

An example of a direction marker can be seen in the previous example "I'm going to take her home" (watashi wa kanojo wo ie ni okuru). In this case, the "ni" acts like a "to" - "I'm going to take her 'to' home".

Particle e:
Particle e can be used in this as well but usually implies more of a general direction as opposed to a specific places.

The particle "ni" is also used to mark time in a sentence. For example, "I'm leaving at 3 o'clock" (watashi wa sanji ni hanareru).

The final use for the particle "ni" is that of indirect object marker. In the example, "I was taken home by him" (watashi wa kare ni ie made okurareta), "him" is the indirect object.

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Basic Kanji - Learn some basic kanji

Japanese language contains more than 80,000 kanji symbols. Given below are some of the basic kanji you should learn. In the later chapter we will learn how this kanji is used in place of hiragana words. In later chapters we will also learn some of the more advanced kanji.

Kanji English One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Hundred Thousand Ten Thousand

Kanji English Day Moon Fire Water Tree Gold Earth, Soil Big, Elder Small, Younger Book Person Mouth Rice, Paddy Fields

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To learn japanese and speak it fluently you need to learn some japanese sentences. Given below are the most common japanese sentences to start with.

Konnichi wa.
Hello.

Ohayoo Gozaimasu.
Good morning.

Hajimemashite.
Nice to meet you.

Watashi wa Suzuki Akio desu.
I am Akio Suzuki.

Anata wa Nihon-jin desu ka.
Are you a Japanese?

Kore wa nan desu ka.
What is this?

Sore wa nan desu ka.
What is that?

Kore wa konpyuutaa desu.
This is a computer.

Kono hon wa tomodachi no desu.
This is my friend's book.

Shibaraku desu ne.
It's been a long time.

Anata wa isogashii desu ka.
Are you busy?

Morita San wa nansai desu ka.
Mr. Morita, how old are you?

Otoo-san to okaa-san wa doko desu ka.
Where are your father and mother?

Sumisu-san to Tanaka-san wa sensei desu.
Mr. Smith and Mr. Tanaka are teachers.

Kaimono ni ikimasu.
I'm going shopping.

Nani o kaimasu ka.
What will you buy?

Ganbatte kudasai.
Good luck.

Tookyoo e ikimashita.
I went to Tokyo.

Kondo no shuumatsu tookyoo e ikimasu.
I am going to Tokyo this weekend.

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Introduction in Japanese - Introducing somebody in a party

This chapter describes how to introduce one of your friends to other in a party.

Japanese Version

English Version

Tanaka:	Hello.
Kimura:	Hello.
Tanaka:	Mr. Kimura, this is my friend. This is Hiroko Yamada.
Yamada:	How do you do? I'm Hiroko Yamada. Nice to meet you.
Kimura:	I'm Ichirou Kimura. Nice to meet you.
Yamada:	Are you a student?
Kimura:	Yes, I am.
Yamada:	What is your specialization?
Kimura:	Economics. Are you a student, too?
Yamada:	No, I'm a secretary.
Kimura:	I see.

Note: The Japanese mention the family name first when using full names. For example, with the name Kimura Ichirou, Ichirou is the given name and Kimura is the family name. The Japanese do not have middle names. Everyone knows that people in Western countries put the given name first, so you can introduce yourself without reversing your name. Outside their families or circle of closest friends, Japanese adults are rarely addressed by their given names, even by neighbors or co-workers.

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Japanese at Restaurant - How to speak japanese in a restaurant

This chapter gives information on what and how to speak in japanese in restaurants.

Japanese Version

A:	Sumimasen.
B:	Hai.
A:	Kono chikaku ni denwa ga arimasu ka.
B:	Denwa nara kono biru no nikai ni arimasu.
	Shokudou no mae desu kara sugu wakarimasu yo.
A:	Doomo.
B:	Iie.
C:	Ano, sumimasen.
D:	Hai.
C:	Toshokan wa doko deshou ka.
D:	Asoko ni ookii biru ga arimasu ne.
	Toshokan wa ano biru no tonari desu.
	Gofun gurai desu yo.
C:	Doomo arigatou gozaimashita.
D:	Doo itashimashite.

English Version

A:	Excuse me.
B:	Yes.
A:	Is there a telephone nearby?
B:	The telephone is on the second floor of this building.
	It is in front of the cafeteria , you won't miss it.
A:	Thanks.
B:	Not at all.
C:	Excuse me.
D:	Yes.
C:	Could you tell me where the library is?
D:	There is a big building over there, you see?
	The library is next to that building.
	It takes about five minutes.
C:	Thank you very much.
D:	You are welcome.

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Asking Directions in Japanese - What words to use while asking directions in japans

This chapter will show you how should you ask for directions in japanese.

Japanese Version

A:	Sumimasen.
B:	Hai.
A:	Kono chikaku ni denwa ga arimasu ka.
B:	Denwa nara kono biru no nikai ni arimasu.
	Shokudou no mae desu kara sugu wakarimasu yo.
A:	Doomo.
B:	Iie.
C:	Ano, sumimasen.
D:	Hai.
C:	Toshokan wa doko deshou ka.
D:	Asoko ni ookii biru ga arimasu ne.
	Toshokan wa ano biru no tonari desu.
	Gofun gurai desu yo.
C:	Doomo arigatou gozaimashita.
D:	Doo itashimashite.

English Version

A:	Excuse me.
B:	Yes.
A:	Is there a telephone nearby?
B:	The telephone is on the second floor of this building.
	It is in front of the cafeteria , you won't miss it.
A:	Thanks.
B:	Not at all.
C:	Excuse me.
D:	Yes.
C:	Could you tell me where the library is?
D:	There is a big building over there, you see?
	The library is next to that building.
	It takes about five minutes.
C:	Thank you very much.
D:	You are welcome.

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