Basics
Class begins in some traditional Japanese schools by the students standing, bowing as one to the teacher, and sitting back down. "Tatte kudasai" means please stand, "Rei" means bow, and "Suwatte kudasai" means please sit down. So basicly the class begins as so:
Teacher: Tatte kudasai.
Class:(stands up)
Teacher: Rei.
Class: (bows) Ohayo gozai mas, sensei. (Good morning, teacher)
Teacher: Suwatte kudasai.
Class: (sits down)
And then class begins.
First I will explain a simple honorific system. There are some basic levels in Japanese culture. Basicly, there are 3- teachers, parents, bosses, and people you don't know are treated with honor. students, people you are familiar with, etc, are treated at the same level as you. animals and things like that are a level below you.
Now we'll deal with suffixes. Ok, -san is the most common one, and is used with people on the level above you. It basicly means the same as Ms., Mrs., and Mr. -kun is another common one. It is used for males on the same level at you. -chan means adorable and is used for small children and between friends. It is usually female. -sensei is used after your teacher's name, so from now on I'll be Cammie-sensei ^_^
Pronounciation
Vowels are the real key to correct pronounciation. They are pronounced as they are in Spanish-
a=ah
e=eh
i=ee
o=oh
u=oo
R is usually pronounced as L.
Sentence Structure. Joy.
Order of sentences- Topic Time Place Object Verb
Remember, the verb is ALWAYS last in the sentence!
Wa is a topic marker. Example: Watashi wa blah blah blah. Wa tells you that Watashi is the topic.
Adding "ka" to the end of a sentence makes it a question. Example- Anata no namea Anna-san desu would usually mean "Your name is Anne." Anata no namae Anna-san desu ka means "Is your name Anne?"
The Fun Stuff(Vocabulary)
Greetings
Ohayo gozai mas- good morning
Konnichi wa- good day
Konban wa- good evening
Oyasumi nasai- good night
Animals
Neko- cat
Uma- horse
Hitsuji- sheep
Saru- monkey
Lion- lion
Zo- elephant
Ushi- cow
Inu- dog
Buta- pig
Sakana- fish
Tori- bird
ookami-wolf
gokiburi-cockroach
kirin-giraffe
yagi-goat
hai/hae-fly(insect)
Nezumi- mouse
People
Gai-jin or gaikoku-jin- foreigners
Watashi- I
Anata- you
Boku- I (male)
Sensei- teacher
Seito- pupil
Onna no ko- girl (onna alone is woman, add no ko and it means girl)
Otoko no ko- boy (otoko alone is man, add no ko and it means boy)
Tomodachi- friend
School Supplies
Kokuban- black board
Empitsu- pencil
Pen- pen
Hon- book
Tsukue- desk
Isu- chair
Parts of the body!
hana-nose
mimi-ears
kuchi-mouth
me-eye
kao-face
atama-head
kata-shoulder
anaka- stomach (abdomen)
te-hand
yubi-fingers
ashi-foot
mune-chest
kubi-neck
kami no ke-hair (on the head)
Conversation
Hajimemashite- It's good to meet you for the first time.
Dozo Yoroshiku- Nice meeting you. (literally Please be favorable to me.)
Ja mata (ne)- See ya!
Ohisashi buri desu ne- Long time no see.
Okage sama de- Thank you for asking
Anata no namae nad desu ka?- What is your name?
Haha no namea wa Susan desu- My mother's name is Susan.
Toire ni itemo ii desu ka- May I go to the toilet?
Kore wa hon desu.- This is a book.
Sore wa anata no hon desu ka?- Is that your book?
Anata wa dare desu ka- Who is that?
Cameron ni kiite kudasai- please ask Cameron.
Taro-san wa hachi ju hachi neko hoshi desu. Taro-san wants 88 cats.
Watashi wa anata no sensei desu- I am your teacher.
Anata no isu sawatte kudasai- Sit in your chair.
Sore wa nad desu ka?- What is that?
Dore desu ka?- Which one?
Chisai desu.- The small one.
Kore wa eraser desu.- This is an eraser.
Watashi no hon doko desu ka- Where is my book?
Wakari mashita- I understood.
Wakari masen deshita- I did not understand.
Anata no empitsu o kudasai- Give me your pencil.
Takusan hata arimasu- There are many flags.
Asoko ni tokei ga arimasu- There is a clock over there.
Ima nan ji desu ka.- What time is it?
Watashi no denwa bango wa 555-(no)555-(no)5555- My phone number is 555-5555.
Anata no denwa banga nande desu ka- What's your phone number?
Otamjobi omedeto gozai masu- Happy Birthday (polite)
Watashi wa Nihon-go sukoshi hanashi- I speak a little Japanese.
Watashi no namae wa Cameron desu- My name is Cameron.
Ogenki desu ka?- Are you healthy?
Hai, genki desu- Yes, I am healthy
Roshia-jin wa vodka suki desu- Russians like vodka.
Anne-san wa kirei no ko desu- Anne is pretty.
Nani jin desu ka?- Where are you from?
Some Other Interesting Things
To- and
Ai shi teru- I love you
Mite kudasai- please look at
Nan de suka- what is it?
Nani- what
Hanashi- speak
Kudasai- give me
Iie, so dewa arimasen- no, it is not so (iie, so ja arimasen- less formal form)
Hai, so des- yes, it is true
Kirei- pretty
Hansumu- handsome
Namae- name
Suki- like
Kirai- dislike
Dai suki- like a lot
Dai kirai- dislike a lot
Sukoshi- a little
Do shi tano- What happened?
Mi mas- I see
Hanashi masen- doesn’t speak
Languages
Adding -go to the end of a nation means that nation's language. For example-
Eigo- English (language)
Nihon go- Japanese (language)
Jin- added to the end of a nation, means person
Example- Nihon-jin- Japanese People
