| In this lesson, we will start to learn some vocabulary and put together sentences. |
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| This simplest structure in Japanese is the "...desu." ("...です。" ) structure. Desu is usually pronounced 'dess' as the u becomes silent. Simply put, desu means "It is", "Those are", or "I am." ____ desu. It's ___. Note: In Japanese, cat = neko (ねこ), dog = inu (いぬ). Neko desu. (ねこです) It's a cat. or Those are cats. Inu desu. (いぬです) It's a dog. or Those are dogs. John desu. (ジョンです) I am John. There is usually no difference between plural and singular things in Japanese. To distinguish what is being said, one must rely on context or add an adjective to describe how many dogs or cats or whatevers you have. |
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| To make a sentence a question in Japanese, you add "ka" to the end. Neko desu ka. (ねこですか) Is it a cat? Inu desu ka. (いぬですか) Is it a dog? John-san desu ka. (ジョンさんですか) Are you John? Is it John? Note that the suffix 'san' was added to the end of John when it became a question. This is because you are reffering to someone else, rather than yourself. It is considered polite to add -san to people's names other than your own. Be very carefull not to add it to the end of your own name though, as it is considered very rude and unusual. |
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| To say "It's not a cat." or "I'm not John." you have to use the form dewa arimasen or janai desu. Either form means the same thing, but dewa arimasen is more formal. Neko dewa arimasen. (ねこではありません) It's not a cat. Neko janai desu. (ねこじゃないです) It's not a cat. Inu dewa arimasen. (いぬではありません) It's not a dog. Inu janai desu. (いぬじゃないです) It's not a dog. John-san janai desu. (ジョンさんじゃないです) I'm not John. Note: In the example above, you are not John, therefore refering to him with -san is ok. If someone asks you "Is it a cat?" you can respond with yes (hai) or no (iie). Is it a cat? (ねこですか) Neko desu ka? Yes, it is a cat. (はい、ねこです) Hai, neko desu. No, it's not a cat. (いいえ、ねこじゃないです) Iie, neko dewa arimasen. If you don't know what something is, you can point to it and ask "Nan desu ka?" Nan means 'what', so the sentence means "What is it?" Do not use nan to refer to people. It is very rude. Examples: Nan desu ka? (なんですか) What is it? Inu desu. (いぬです) It's a dog. Nan desu ka? (なんですか) What is it? Neko desu. (ねこです) It's a cat. |
makitokunApr 10, 2013 9:38 PM
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| Lesson 2 Vocabulary: -san (-さん) polite ending for other people's names ... desu. (... です) It's a ... ... janai desu. (... じゃないです) It's not a ... ... dewa arimasen. (... ではありません) It's not a ... hai (はい) Yes iie (いいえ) No nan (なん) What ka (か) particle added to the end of a sentence to make it a question neko (ねこ) Cat inu (いぬ) Dog |
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