Kryss no Nihongo Benkyou Thread REBORN!!!

[kryss]

a.k.a. クレースの日本語勉強スレッド

Disclaimer:
This is not split into lessons. I present it as is. Do not fool yourslef into thinking you can learn everything here from scratch in a short time. I am not a genius. I will make mistakes. If you spot something or wish to disagree about something then please PM me. DO NOT reply to this thread. There is a thread in the General Discussion part of the forum for asking questions. ~ kryss ~

Contents:

• The Beginning
• Pronunciation Guide
• Getting Started
• Greetings, please and thank you
• Questions part 1
• Verbs
• List of Verb endings
• Basic verb past tense
• Keigo and -masu
• Situations

This will be expanded when more is included.


The Beginning

History tells us that Japan learnt it's written language from China. Like all countries do with a popular import, Japan modified what they learnt and

developed their own two additional alphabet-like syllabaries - Hiragana and Katakana.

Q. So, these are two different languages?
A. No, just two ways of writing the same thing. Katakana is mainly used for foreign words, whereas Hiragana is used for words which originated in

Japan.

Q. Then what are Kanji / Chinese Characters?
A. Kanji are as much a blessing as they are a curse. Most words in Japanese have Kanji which they can be written with. Unlike in Chinese, the

characters used in Japanese can be read many different ways, depending on what's around them.

For example:
生 - nama (fresh)
生 - ki (straight/neat [whiskey/spirit])
生きる - ikiru (live)
生い先 - oisaki (one's future)
生まれる - umareru (be born)
生す - nasu (similar to "umu", give birth)
生涯 - shougai (life)
生える - haeru (grow something)
先生 - sensei (teacher, literally "born first")
(this character holds the record apparently)

Q. I don't think Kanji should be studied by beginners. Don't you think it'll scare people off?
A. If it scares them off then perhaps they should learn a European language instead. Kanji are an intrinsic part of the Japanese language. You

cannot learn it without them. Otherwise, you'll never be able to read anything apart from Pokemon games.


Pronunciation Guide

Here I attempted to represent the majority of syllables in Japanese with the same syllable in English. The first character is Hiragana, the second is

Katakana. Some are browned out, these characters are no longer used in standard Japanese.

Standard Syllables:

あ ア a - (a)llen	か カ ka - (ka)rma	さ サ sa - (sa)nd
い イ i - (e)ven	き キ ki - (ke)ep	し シ shi - fi(sh)
う ウ u - w(oo)d	く ク ku - (co)ol	す ス su - (s)weet
え エ e - (e)llen	け ケ ke - (ke)n	せ セ se - (se)t
お オ o - (o)lympics	こ コ ko - (co)n	そ ソ so - (sa)lt
た タ ta - (ta)rt	な ナ na - n(ice)	は ハ ha - (ha)ppy
ち チ chi - (che)ek	に ニ ni - (ne)ed	ひ ヒ hi - (he)at
つ ツ tsu - shir(ts)	ぬ ヌ nu - (nu)de	ふ フ fu - (fo)ol
て テ te - (te)nt	ね ネ ne - (ne)ck	へ ヘ he - (he)ad
と ト to - (to)p	の ノ no - (no)t	ほ ホ ho - (ho)p
ま マ ma - (ma)p	や ヤ ya - (ya)hoo	ら ra - (ra)t	わ ワ wa - (wha)ck
み ミ mi - (me)	ゐ ヰ yi	り リ ri - (ri)chter
む ム mu - (mo)on	ゆ  yu - (u)nique	る ル ru - (ro)ulette	を ヲ wo - (o)lympics
め メ me - (me)n	ゑ ヱ - ye	れ レ re - (wre)ck
も モ mo - (mo)p	よ ヨ yo - (ya)cht	ろ ロ ro - (wro)ng	ん ン n/m

Skip to the next section

A little easier to read:

あ a - (a)llen　ア
い i - (e)ven　イ
う u - w(oo)d　ウ
え e - (e)llen　エ
お o - (o)lympics　オ

か ka - (ka)rma　カ
き ki - (ke)ep　キ
く ku - (co)ol　ク
け ke - (ke)n　ケ
こ ko - (co)n　コ

さ sa - (sa)nd　サ
し shi - fi(sh)　シ
す su - (s)weet　ス
せ se - (se)t　セ
そ so - (sa)lt　ソ

た ta - (ta)rt　タ
ち chi - (che)ek　チ
つ tsu - shir(ts)　ツ
て te - (te)nt　テ
と to - (to)p　ト

な na - n(ice)　ナ
に ni - (ne)ed　ニ
ぬ nu - (nu)de　ヌ
ね ne - (ne)ck　ネ
の no - (no)t　ノ

は ha - (ha)ppy　ハ
ひ hi - (he)at　ヒ
ふ fu - (fo)ol　フ
へ he - (he)ad　ヘ
ほ ho - (ho)p　ホ

ま ma - (ma)p　マ
み mi - (me)　ミ
む mu - (mo)on　ム
め me - (me)n　メ
も mo - (mo)p　モ

や ya - (ya)hoo　ヤ
ゐ yi　ヰ
ゆ yu - (u)nique　ユ
ゑ ye　ヱ
よ yo - (ya)cht　ヨ

ら ra - (ra)t　ラ
り ri - (ri)chter　リ
る ru - (ro)ulette　ル
れ re - (wre)ck　レ
ろ ro - (wro)ng　ロ

わ wa - (wha)ck　ワ
を (w)o - (o)lympics　ヲ
ん n/m　ン



Modified syllables:

が ガ ga - (ga)ng	ざ ザ za - (za)p	だ ダ da - (da)mn
ぎ ギ gi - (gi)t	じ ジ ji - (gy)m	ぢ ヂ ji - (gy)m [rarely used]
ぐ グ gu - (go)od	ず ズ zu - (zo)o	づ ヅ zu - (zo)o [sometimes Romanised as "du" or "dzu", if you see this think "zu"
げ ゲ ge - (ge)t	ぜ ゼ ze - (ze)plin	で デ de - (de)bt
ご ゴ go - (go)t	ぞ ゾ zo - (zo)rg	ど ド do - (do)or
ば バ ba - (ba)nd	ぱ パ pa - (pa)t
び ビ bi - (be)ef	ぴ ピ pi - (pi)t
ぶブ  bu - (bo)ot	ぷ プ pu - (pu)t
べ ベ be - (be)t	ぺ ペ pe - (pe)t
ぼ ボ bo - (bo)t	ぽ ポ po - (po)t

Skip to the next section

が ga - (ga)ng　ガ
ぎ gi - (gi)t　ギ
ぐ gu - (go)od　グ
げ ge - (ge)t　ゲ
ご go - (go)t　ゴ

ざ za - (za)p　ザ
じ ji - (gy)m　ジ
ぞ zu - (zo)o　ゾ
ぜ ze - (ze)plin　ゼ
ぞ zo - (zo)rg　ゾ

だ da - (da)mn　ダ
ぢ ji - (gy)m　ヂ
づ zu - (zo)o　ヅ
で de - (de)bt　デ
ど do - (do)or　ド

ば ba - (ba)nd　バ
び bi - (be)ef　ビ
ぶ bu - (bo)ot　ブ
べ be - (be)t　ベ
ぼ bo - (bo)t　ボ

ぱ pa - (pa)t　パ
ぴ pi - (pi)t　ピ
ぷ pu - (pu)t　プ
ぺ pe - (pe)t　ペ
ぽ po - (po)t　ポ


Characters from the -i sections combine with ya/yu/yo and the -i is dropped. The most common mis-pronunciation of a Japanese city

name is Toukyou - it's NOT Tokiyo. Be sure to pay attention to smaller characters, like ya/yu/yo here.

きゃ キャ kya	しゃ シャ sha	ちゃ チャ cha
きゅ キュ kyu	しゅ シュ shu	ちゅ チュ chu
きょ キョ kyo	しょ ショ sho	ちょ チョ cho
にゃ ニャ nya	ひゃ ヒャ hya	みゃ ミャ mya
にゅ ニュ nyu	ひゅ ヒュ hyu	みゅ ミュ myu
にょ ニョ nyo	ひょ ヒョ hyo	みょ ミョ myo
りゃ リャ rya	ぎゃ ギャ gya	じゃ ジャ ja
りゅ リュ ryu	ぎゅ ギュ gyu	じゅ ジュ ju
りょ リョ ryo	ぎょ ギョ gyo	じょ ジョ jo
ぢゃ ヂャ ja	びゃ ビャ bya	ぴゃ ピャ pya
ぢゅ ヂュ ju	びゅ ビュ byu	ぴゅ ピュ pyu
ぢょ ヂョ jo	びょ ビョ byo	ぴょ ピョ pyo

Skip to the next section

きゃ kya　キャ
きゅ kyu　キュ
きょ kyo　キョ

しゃ sha　シャ
しゅ shu　シュ
しょ sho　ショ

ちゃ cha　チャ
ちゅ chu　チュ
ちょ cho　チョ

にゃ nya　ニャ
にゅ nyu　ニュ
にょ nyo　ニョ

ひゃ hya　ヒャ
ひゅ hyu　ヒュ
ひょ hyo　ヒョ

みゃ mya　ミャ
みゅ myu　ミュ
みょ myo　ミョ

りゃ rya　リャ
りゅ ryu　リュ
りょ ryo　リョ

ぎゃ gya　ギャ
ぎゅ gyu　ギュ
ぎょ gyo　ギョ

じゃ ja　ジャ
じゅ ju　ジュ
じょ jo　ジョ

ぢゃ ja　ヂャ
ぢゅ ju　ヂュ
ぢょ jo　ヂョ

びゃ bya　ビャ
びゅ byu　ビュ
びょ byo　ビョ

ぴゃ pya　ピャ
ぴゅ pyu　ピュ
ぴょ pyo　ピョ

It's worth noting that the syllables stemming of ぢ・ヂ (ji) are very rarely used.


Getting Started

Introductions first eh?

watashi wa _ desu
私は＿です
I am _.

e.g.
watashi wa kryss desu.
私はクレースです

hajimemashite
はじめまして
We've never met before (literally: first time)

yoroshiku onegai shimasu
よろしくおねがいします・宜しくお願いします
"Nice to meet you" ...kind of, more like "please be nice to me"

Conversation:
1: Hajimemashite, Kryss desu.
2: Doumo, hajimemashite, Tomoko desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.
1: Yoroshiku onegai shimasu

Q. "は" and "wa"...what's wrong with this?
A. Although in a word は is read "ha", in sentences it is read "wa" and it shows what the subject of the sentence is. Though it's

difficult to understand at first, with practice you can see where it is read "wa" easily. Think of "I read a book yesterday" and "I read books often". We

automatically know how to pronounce the word in both sentences.


Greetings, please and thank you

おはようございます
ohayou gozaimasu (or "ohayou" for short)
Good morning

こんにちは
konnichiwa
Hello

こんばんは
konbanwa
Good evening

バイバイ
baibai
bye-bye (seriously, used by school girls)

じゃ、またね
ja, mata ne
Catch you later

さようなら/さよなら
sayounara/sayonara
Goodbye (forever?)


Conversation:
1. クレースさん、こんにちは。
2. 友子ちゃん、こんにちは。

1. kryss-san, konnichiwa.
2. tomoko-chan, konnichiwa.

Notice yet again that "は" is being pronounced "wa" not "ha".

お元気ですか。
ogenki desu ka
Are you okay? (rough equivalent of "how are you?")

元気ですよ。
genki desu yo.
I'm fine.

The concept of being "genki" is an idea that is most closely represented in English by "okay". It's a mixture of how you feel, both physically and

mentally.

お願（ねが）いします
onegai shimasu
Please


どうも
ありがとう
どうもありがとう
ありがとうございます
どうもありがとうございます


            　       cheers > doumo
                　                 arigatou
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　doumo arigatou
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　arigatou gozaimasu
thank you very much > doumo arigatou gozaimasu

Even with ascending order of politeness too.


Questions part 1

As you may have noticed in the previous example, the difference between the question and the answer was only "ka". In Japanese, a question

doesn't need a question mark. In English we have to re-structure our sentence in order to ask a question.

Are you hungry?
onaka ga suita ka.
お腹が空いたか。

I'm hungry.
onaka ga suita.
お腹がすいた。 (though more commonly just お腹空いた - onaka suita)

Do you come here often?
koko ni yoku kuru ka
ここによく来るか。

I come here often.
koko ni yoku kuru.
ここによく来る。

This is the ideal situation. In real life it's much the same as English - we get lazy.

You're coming.
You're coming?

kuru.
kuru?

The slight questioning tone changes what we mean. In this situation you may see a question mark used in Japanese.

Time for some vocabulary I think...and a spot of grammar...


Verbs - the basics

a??ec? (dou shi) = verb

In Japanese verbs have a basic 辞書形 (ji sho kei = "dictionary form") and end -_u without exception. As you'd expect, there are

many different verb forms just like in English. Verbs in Japanese are divided into two main groups - ichidan and godan.
The difference? Let's look at the names (NB: in reality this is over-simplified, if your Japanese teacher or anyone wants to give you another

explanation the don't disagree).
一段 (ichi dan) means "one step", though it's better to think of it as "one change". These verbs drop the last syllable and then have

whatever is appropriate to the desired tense added. These verbs ALL end -ru.
五段 (go dan) means "five steps/changes". The last syllable is changed, but not dropped. These verbs end -u, -tsu, -su, -mu, -bu,

-nu, -ku, -gu...and also sometimes -ru. Just to be confusing of course.

For each type of verb I'll give you an example and keep using the same verbs throughout.

一段

食べる (ta be ru) eat


五段

買う (ka u) buy
聞く (ki ku) hear
急ぐ (iso gu) hurry
返す (kae su) return [something]
待つ (ma tsu) wait
死ぬ (shi nu) die
学ぶ (mana bu) learn
飲む (no mu) drink
帰る (kae ru) go home


The 辞書形 is both the present and future tense.

Present: I go shopping everyday.
毎日、買い物に行く。
mainichi, kaimono ni iku.

Future: I will go shopping on Tuesday.
火曜日に買い物に行く。
kayoubi ni kaimono ni iku.

There are some slight exceptions to this, it depends on the verb. We'll deal with these as and when.


List of Verb endings
-ru/-u/-tsu/-ku/-gu/-mu/-bu/-su = basic present/future (there is only one verb ending -nu used: shinu)
-ta/-tta/-ita/-ida/-nda/-shita = basic past tense
-te/-tte/-ite/-ide/-nde/-shite = "-te"-form, used with/without "kudasai" for requests, used mid-sentence when describing a sequence of actions

-nai = basic negative
-nakute = basic negative used mid-sentence
-nakatta = basic past negative
-zu = negative, usually followed by "ni" and used mid-sentence to mean "without ____ing"

-nasai = used after the masu-kei (minus "-masu") to request someone to do something depending on the sentence

-yo/-re/-se/-ne/-me/-e/-te/-ke/-ge/-be (depending on verb) = "order" form (meirei kei), stronger than "-te kudasai" and "[masu-kei] nasai"
-you/-rou/-sou/-nou/-mou/-ou/-tou/-kou/-gou/-bou (depending on verb) = yo-form, "let's ____"/"shall we _____", can be used as an invitation if follow

by "ka"

-masu = polite present/future
-mashita = polite past
-mashou = polite you-form
-masen = polite negative
-masen deshita = polite past negative

-ba = conditional (if)
-nakereba = negative conditional (if)
-tara = conditional (if/when), "moshi/tatoe" can be used at the start of the sentence to being the focus on "if" rather than "when"
-nakattara = negative conditional (if/when)

-chau = contraction of "-te shimau" (present/future) when you/someone has done something regrettable
-chatta = contraction of "-te shimatta" (past)
-chatte = contraction of "-te shimatte"
-chaimasu = politer contraction of "-te shimaimasu"
-chaimashita = politer contraction of "-te shimaimashita" (past)
-chimau = masculine contraction of "-te shimau"
-chimae = masculine contraction od "-te shimae" (order form)
-chimatta = masculine contraction of "-te shimatta" (past
-chimatte = masculine contraction of "-te shimatte"
-te yagaru = other masculine version of "-te suru/yaru" do something
-te yagare = other masculine version of "-te suru/yaru" order to do something
-te yagatta = other masculine version of "-te shita/yatta"

-nakya = contraction of "-nakereba", sometimes short for "-nakereba naranai/ikenai" when something has to be done (lit. if you don't ___ something

won't happen)
-nakucha = contraction of "-nakute wa ikenai" when something must be done (lit. not doing it is bad)

-te miru = try ____
-te mite = try ____ (asking someone to)
-te mita = tried _____

more to come.

Basic verb past tense

For 一段 you simply remove the last syllable (always a??/"ru")and replace it with "-ta", hence why it is known as

た形 (ta kei, or "ta-form")
食べた (ta be ta) ate

For 五段 you again remove the last syllable but what you do then varies with the syllable you removed.

For 五段 ending with う・つ・る (u/tsu/ru) you add った (tta):
買った (ka tta) bought
待った (ma tta) waited
帰った (kae tta) went home

In English a double consonant is still pronounced as a single one, but this isn't true in Japanese. For example, "konnichiwa" is NOT said

"konichiwa" it's "kon-nichiwa". The same is true for ALL double consonants in Japanese. So here we have "kat-ta" meaning bought.

For 五段 ending く(ku) you add いた (ita)
聞いた (ki ita) heard

For 五段 ending ぐ (gu) you add いだ (ida)
急いだ (iso ida) hurried

For 五段 ending す (su) you add した (shita)
返した (kae shita) returned [something]

For 五段 ending ぬ・ぶ・む (nu/bu/mu) you add んだ (nda)
死んだ (shi nda) died
学んだ (mana nda) learnt
飲んだ (no nda) drank

There are verbs that do not conform to these rules. The most common are:
する (su ru) do => した(shi ta) did
来る (ku ru) come => 来た (ki ta) came
行く (i ku) go => 行った (i tta) went

Try this with these verbs (it'll be useful later):
過ぎる (sugi ru) exceed

会う (a u) meet
開く (hira ku) open
注ぐ (soso gu) pour
話す (hana su) talk
持つ (mo tsu) hold/have
遊ぶ (aso bu) play
読む (yo mu) read
知る (shi ru) know

Q. How do you know when if a verb ending -ru is an ichidan or a godan verb?
A. All ichidan verbs end -eru/-iru, but not all verbs ending -eru/-iru are ichidan verbs. That's the most straightfoward explanation I can give you. It's

just a matter of remembering. Sorry.

Example sentences:

昨日、動物園に行った。
kinou, doubutsuen ni itta.
yesterday, I went to the Zoo.

今朝、ビールを飲んだ。
kesa, biiru o nonda.
this morning, i drank beer.

長い時間に待った。
nagai jikan ni matta.
i waited a long time.


敬語 (kei go) Respectful Language

There are several ways of showing respect towards the person you're talking to in Japanese:
尊敬語 (son kei go) using politer words when talking about/to the other person
謙譲語 (ken jou go) using humbler words when talking about yourself
丁寧語 (tei nei go) modifying normal verbs/etc. to make them more politer

As for English, learning the perfect time to say what when you're talking to whoever takes a long time (and some still can't do it). I can't teach you

this - it has to be picked up from observation. I can give you some of the words and phrases that you'll hear though.
The first thing that many people learn when studying Japanese is that verbs seem to end "-masu" a lot of the time. This isn't really true, it depends

on who is saying what, to who and when.
The -masu" ending of verbs is part of 丁寧語. Let's look at this.

ます形 (ma su kei) - the "-masu" form.
We've talked about verbs enough that we should be familiar-ish with them. Making the "masu" form (the politer form of the verb) is pretty easy.


As is the case for every tense change which is applied to 一段 verbs, the last syllable is dropped, and "-masu" is added.
食べる (ta be ru)
-る (-ru)
食べ＋ます (tabe+masu)
食べます (tabemasu)

You try:
過ぎる (su gi ru)

For all 五段 verbs you simply swap the last syllable for it's "-i" equivalent and add "-masu".
e.g.
買・う (ka u)
う->い (u -> i)
買い＋ます(kai+masu
買います (kaimasu)

聞く (ki ku) -> 聞きます (kikimasu)
急ぐ (iso gu) -> 急ぎます (isogimasu)
返す (kae su) -> 返します (kaeshimasu)
待つ (ma tsu) -> 待ちます (machimasu)
死ぬ (shi nu) -> 死にます (shinimasu)
学ぶ (mana bu) -> 学びます (manabimasu)
飲む (no mu) -> 飲みます (nomimasu)
帰る (kae ru) -> 帰ります (kaerimasu)

NB: These are examples only, actual usage may be different.
"masu" is actually pronounced more like "mass".

Your turn:

会う (a u) meet
開く (hira ku) open
注ぐ (soso gu) pour
話す (hana su) talk
持つ (mo tsu) hold/have
遊ぶ (aso bu) play
読む (yo mu) read
知る (shi ru) know

The ます形 is still both present and future tense.
Again, する (suru) and 来る (kuru) do not obey these rules.
する (su ru) -> します (shi ma su)
来る (ku ru) -> 来ます (ki ma su)


And the past...

For EVERY ます形 you can change it to the past tense by swapping す (su) for した (shita).
過ぎます (sugimasu) 過ぎました (sugimashita)

買います (kaimasu) 買いました (kaimashita)
聞きます (kikimasu) 聞きました (kikimashita)
急ぎます (isogimasu) 急ぎました (isogimashita)
返します (kaeshimasu) 返しました (kaeshimashita)
待ちます (machimasu) a?…a?!a??a??a?? (machimashita)
死にます (shinimasu) a-≫a?≪a??a??a?? (shinimashita)
学びます (manabimasu) a-|a?3a??a??a?? (manabimashita)
飲みます (nomimasu) 飲みました (nomimashita)
帰ります (kaerimasu) 帰りました (kaerimashita)

します (shimasu) しました (shimashita)
来ます (kimasu) 来ました (kimashita)

Wow. Boring eh?

~to be continued...~


Situations

• Coffee shop

I'm sat in Tully's Coffee in Shinmatsudo right now so this seems like as good a place as any to start.

In a Coffee Shop

ご注文はよろしいですか。
go-chuumon wa yoroshii desu ka
Can I take your order?

お決まりですか。
o-kimari desu ka
Have you decided what you want? (lit. "is there a decision?")

お決まりでしたらどうぞ。
o-kimari deshitara douzo
If you've decided, go ahead.

"desho(u)" is sometimes used instead of "desu". This adds a little uncertainty to the sentence and makes it a little politer.
"deshitara" is the conditional version of "desu" and can be "if/when".

はい、エムサイズの本日のコーヒーを二つ下さい。
hai, M saizu no honjitsu no ko-hi- o futatsu kudasai.
Two medium-size coffees please.

__ saizu no ______ o ______ kudasai.
S　　　　　　　ko-hi-　　hitotsu
M　　　　　　kokoa　　　futatsu
L　　　　　miruku tii　　　mittsu

Despite what self-study books teach you, when ordering you should always use the standard generic counter -tsu
一つ・1つ hitotsu
二つ・2つ futatsu
三つ・3つ mittsu
四つ・4つ yottsu

"kudasai" is a kind of "please" we can use when asking for things.

以上でよろしいですか。
ijou de yoroshii desu ka
Is that everything?

はい、以上です。
hai, ijou desu.
Yes, that's all. (though just "hai" is fine, you actually see many Japanese people just nod or grunt in response)

他のご注文がありますか。
hoka no go-chuumon ga arimasu ka
Do you want anything else? (only pizza hut use this one on me)

ちょっと待って下さい。
chotto matte kudasai
Please wait a moment.

店内で召し上がりますか・お持ち帰りますか
tennai de meshiagarimasu ka / omochikaerimasu ka
Are you eating/drinking in the shop? / Are you taking away?

お待たせしました。
omatase shimashita.
Sorry to keep you waiting (lit. i made you wait)

お会計は三百八十円です。
o-kaikei wa san byaku hachi juu en desu.
That's 380 yen please.

hyaku 百 means a hundred, though it can be tricky because the pronunciation changes according the number preceeding it. The same is true for

many counters.
300 san-byaku 三百
600 rop-pyaku 六百
800 hap-pyaku 八百

￥ you know as yen but do you know 円 "en" is what is actually said and used in Japan.

砂糖やミルクは？
satou ya miruku wa?
Sugar or milk?

ありがとうございました。
arigatou gozaimashita
Thank you very much.

ご来店にお待ちしております。
go-raiten ni omachi shite orimasu
We're waiting for you to come back to our shop.