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Lesson 1-1: Pronounciation
I take spanish and a lot of these vowels sound like spanish words, so if you know that language you should have no problem.
I'll start off simple so you can get the hang of it. After when you're done, you can practice your pronunciation by typing
your name in the translater at the bottom of this lesson. I'll try my best to have an activity after each lesson to make you practice!--Sayami
| Vowel |
English Sound |
Example |
| A |
sounds like "ah" as in father |
Ayame [from: Inuyasha] ([AH]-Y[AH]-MAY) |
| I |
sounds like "ee" as in eat |
Usagi [from: Sailor Moon] (OO-SAHG-[EE]) |
| U |
sounds like "oo" as in soon |
Jakotsu [from: Inuyasha] (JAHK-OHT-S[OO]) |
| E |
sounds like "A" as in may |
Kagome [from: Inuyasha] (KAH-GOH-M[A]Y) |
| O |
sounds like "O" as in open |
Ryoko [from: Tenchi Muyo] (REE-OH-K[O]) |
For Fun! Translate Your Name
Lesson 1-2: Suffixes
You may have read a lot of Mangas or fanfiction stories when you see a character's name end with a suffix. Example Sesshoumaru-sama and Rin-chan.
Like in spanish when you talk to an adult or a person of authority, you use "Usted/Ustedes". It's the same with Japanese. The endings show a form or respect
to people you're just meeting or been friends with for a while, kind of like social ranking.
Here are the most used suffixes:
| Suffix |
Meaning |
| -chan |
Used when you indicate affection, but mostly used with children. |
| -kun |
This term is used when you're talking to your male friends or a person you just met. |
| -ko |
This is permanant term used when you talk to someone you have a romantic relationship with. |
| -sama |
Used to dignify someone with high honor, as in Inuyasha, you'd respond any Lord with the ending "-sama" |
| -san |
Used when speaking to someone older than yourself that are aquintances, mostly used with adults. |
Lesson 1-3: Basic Syllables
NEW! These are the basic sounds that are used to form Japanese words. O the left are the vowels and the corresponding row are the sounds that go w/ that vowel. There is no sound in Japanese equivalant to the 'l', 'r' or 'v' in English, and the only consonant that can be written alone is 'n'. A Japanese syllable can be written alone, as a combination consonant + vowel, or consonant + guide + vowel. Below the vowels are double consonants, and they can be used in two ways. One which is used to double consonants other than n and m, and another -n which is used to double the consonants n and m.
| a
| ka
| ga
| sa
| za
| ta
| da
| na
| ha
| pa
| ba
| ma
| ya
| ra
| wa
| n
|
| i
| ki
| gi
| shi
| ji
| chi
|
| ni
| hi
| pi
| bi
| mi
|
| ri
|
| u
| ku
| gu
| su
| zu
| tsu
|
| nu
| fu
| pu
| bu
| mu
| yu
| ru
|
| e
| ke
| ge
| se
| ze
| te
| de
| ne
| he
| pe
| be
| me
|
| re
|
| o
| ko
| go
| so
| zo
| to
| do
| no
| ho
| po
| bo
| mo
| yo
| ro
|
|
| kya
| gya
| sha
| ja
| cha
|
| nya
| hya
| pya
| bya
| mya
|
| rya
|
|
| kyu
| gyu
| shu
| ju
| chu
|
| nyu
| hyu
| pyu
| byu
| myu
|
| ryu
|
|
| kyo
| gyo
| sho
| jo
| cho
|
| nyo
| hyo
| pyo
| byo
| myo
|
| ryo
|
Lesson 2-1: Making Sentences
In Japanese, the structure of the sentences are different than in English. instead of the verb being in the beginnig of the sentence, the verb is at the end.
The subject is in the beginning, instead of the end. For example, when Inuyasha says "Kaze no kizu" it roughly means "Cutting wind", but we all know "kaze" means "wind"
and "kizu" means "to cut." In this case the subject is
kaze and the verb is
kizu , see what I mean?
Lesson 2-2: Singular and Plural
You know when you speak in English you have to add a -s or -es to a word if you're speaking of two or more people? Well, Japanese is much easier. There's nothing to add! You
just leave the word as it is. For example, tomodachi is a way of saying "friend." In English you would say friends, but in Japanese you say friend and the way the sentence is
structured is how you know how many people you're talking about.
Lesson 3-1: Learning Your Numbers and Colours!
Like any language you're going to learn, you have to start from the bottom, so lets pretend we're kindergardeners learning the basics. The good old days...
Colours
| English |
Japanese |
| red |
aka |
| yellow |
kiiro |
| blue |
ao |
| green |
midori |
| orange |
daidaiiro |
| purple |
murasaki |
| black |
kuro (or kuroi) |
| grey |
haiiro |
| brown |
chairo |
| pink |
momoiro |
| white |
shiro |
Numbers
| English |
Japanese |
Japanese (traditional) |
| one |
ichi |
hitotsu |
| two |
ni |
futatsu |
| three |
san |
mittsu |
| four |
shi or yon |
yottsu |
| five |
go |
itsutsu |
| six |
roku |
muttsu |
| seven |
shichi or nana |
nanatsu |
| eight |
hachi |
yattsu |
| nine |
ku or kyu |
kokonotsu |
ten |
jyu |
toh |
| one hundred |
hyaku |
momo |
| one thousand |
sen |
chi |
Lesson 3-2: Periods In Time
Time
| English |
Japanese |
| one o'clock |
ichiji |
| two o'clock |
niji |
| three o'clock |
sanji |
| four o'clock |
yoji |
| five o'clock |
goji |
| six o'clock |
rokuji |
| seven o'clock |
shichiji |
| eight o'clock |
hachiji |
| nine o'clock |
kuji |
| ten o'clock |
juji |
| eleven o' clock |
juichiji |
| twelve o'clock |
juniji |
| second |
byo |
| minute |
fun |
| hour |
ji |
Days of the Week
| English |
Japanese |
| Monday |
getsuyo-bi |
| Tuesday |
kayo-bi |
| Wednesday |
suiyo-bi |
| Thursday |
mokuyo-bi |
| Friday |
kinyo-bi |
| Saturday |
doyo-bi |
| Sunday |
nichiyo-bi |
Months
| English |
Japanese |
Japanese (ancient) |
Meaning |
| January |
itigatu |
mutuki |
The month of friendship |
February |
nigatu |
kisaragi |
The month of the rebirth of plants |
March |
sangatu |
yayoi |
The month of growing plants |
April |
sigatu |
uzuki |
The month of the rabbit |
May |
gogatu |
satuki |
The month of rice sprouts |
June |
rokugatu |
minazuki |
The month of water |
July |
itigatu |
sitigatu |
The month of letters |
August |
itigatu |
hatigatu |
The month of leaves |
September |
itigatu |
kugatu |
The month of long nights |
October |
zyûgatu |
kannazuki |
The month of gods |
November |
zyûitigatu |
simotuki |
The month of frost |
December |
zyûnigatu |
siwasu |
The month of busy people |
Lesson 4-1: Basic Grammer
Alright people, unlike other websites, I'm not listing a few words and saying that you're learning Japanese. Oh no, this is the real deal, and this is where it starts
to get harder.
Topics
When you're speaking to a friend, it's normal to ask things like "What movie did you see over the weekend?"
Every language has a topic and a focus, and in this case what is the focus because you want to know what exactly your
friend saw over the weekend. The topic is over the weekend because you already know it happened over the weekend, it's nothing new. Do you get it?
Heh, sorry if this is confusing, I don't explain things well. So, you know how in English you have who, what, where, when, why, and how? Well, there's
something similar to it in Japanese. They are what we like to call 'postpositions.'
The subject is always followed by the postposition "wa," unless it's a focus. Like we learned, topics and focuses are two different things.
Let's see how I should explain it to you... ok got it!
Like English, each postposition are used for something different, each has a different meaning:
-Topic-
Case Of Subject-- wa
Direct Object-- wa
Indirect Object-- niwa
Location-- dewa
Describing Direction Away From Something-- karawa
-Non-Topic-
Case Of Subject-- ga
Direct Object-- o
Indirect Object-- ni
Location-- de
Describing Direction Away From Something-- kara
If you asked a friend "Who drew that?" who is the focus, making the postposition a "non-topic" postposition. Example
Gaka wa e o kaita.
Gaka is the artist, which is the subject! and what do we put after a subject? A postposition! So,
wa would be the postposition! e (Don't have a picture of the Kanji) means picture.
o is the direct object and kaita means drew. So, the sentence basically says
Artist picture drew, which in English is, The artist drew the picture. Like I said earlier, the verb comes after the subject.
Verbs
Here you'll learn your basic, everyday verbs! In Japanese, there's two groups of verbs, the Godan and Ichidan verbs. Godan verbs are consanant verbs
and Ichidan verbs are vowel verbs. All verbs end with -u, but the Ichidan verbs end with -eru or -iru. -u is used for either for present or future tense.
But don't be fooled, not all Godan verbs end with -u and via with Ichidan verbs.
-Godan Verbs-
| English Verb |
Japanese Verb |
| to read |
yumu |
| to die |
sinu |
| to speak |
hanasu |
| to listen to |
kiku |
| to chat |
syaberu |
| to enter |
hairu |
-Ichidan Verbs-
| English Verb |
Japanese Verb |
| to sleep |
neru |
| to chat |
syaberu |
As you know, Japanese people are very formal and you have to show respect to others, so that's why we also have a suffix you add. It's known as
-masu. All you do is add it at the verb at the end of the sentence. If the stem of the verb (a verb without its -u, -iru, or -eru ending) ends with a consonant,
it changes to -imasu instead. I will go more in depth later, but I just wanted to give you an overview. =)
Ouick Tip!
In Japan, you
have to show respect to people you aren't familiar with, that's why we have so many suffixes that go at the end of words,
it shows your status in a relationship with someone. You can talk in a plain, normal fashion when you speak to close friends and family.
Lesson 4-2: Adjectives
Okay, so you know in English how most adj. end in -ly? Well, in Japanese it ends in -i! To make the adjective past tense, you add
-katta instend. For example:
| Present Adjective |
In English |
Past Adjective |
In English |
| atui |
is hot |
atukatta |
was hot |
| uresii |
is glad |
uresikatta |
was glad |
Again, like the verbs, we add a suffix to make it "polite." For adjectives, the suffix is -desu. For Example:
Susi wa oisiidesu.
Susi(Sushi) is the noun, wa is the direct object, and oisiidesu is a polite
way of saying "is tasty." So this sentence is saying "sushi is tasty," but politely because it has that -desu suffix. ;)
