Fast Track PDF
Fast Track PDF
Fast Track PDF
kuma no pu-san toka doraemon toka kiti chan ga suki desu.
I like things like Winnie the Pooh and Doraemon and Hello Kitty.
And now for nado to wrap things up.
tabemono no naka dewa piza toka furaido poteto nado ga suki desu.
As for foods, I like things like pizza or french fries.
About or
About how much? About how many?
Sometimes the turns into a probably after harder consonants.
okyakusama wa dono kurai kimashita ka?
About how many customers came?
eeto, hyaku nin kurai kimashita.
Let me see, About 100 people.
You can use this with time:
hachi ji gurai
about 8 O'clock
Or counting anything:
ni hiki kurai - about 2 (animals)
juu satsu gurai - about 10 books
Chapter 6
63. "how about ...?" -
64.
65. "please do..." -
66. "please give me..." -
67. on, in, above, behind...
68. "why don't we...?" -
69. Closer look at
70. Closer look at
71. Closer look at
72. Closer look at
73. "if" II -
74. "soft ender" II -
75. The power ender ""
How about ...?
To ask the state of something (how something is doing) use the useful dou
(desu ka).
You can used it with or without the final 'desu ka' in conversation.
saikin wa dou desu ka?
How's it going recently?
ko-hi- wa dou?
How's the coffee? or it could mean How about some coffee?
tenki yohou wa dou?
How's the weather forecast looking?
Of course when the context is understood you can simply say, 'dou' (Like
returning from a doctor's appointment, or after your friend gets off an important
phone call)
This literally means 'to complete, finish' but can (and usually does) involve a
regret over having done something. Also it can be used sarcastically to mean the
speaker really wanted to do something, but gives a halfhearted apology. For
example, I unfortunately ate the last cookie.
Of course there really wasn't anything unfortunate about it.
The construction is usually after the ~te form of any verb
zenbu no okane o tsukatte shimaimashita.
Unfortunately, I spent all my money.
watashi wa kanzen ni nihongo o wasurete shimatta.
Unfortunately, I have completely forgotten J apanese.
Another very useful variation is ~chatta. This is informal and is used by both male
and female speakers. chau is made by combining te shimau ->chau
shiken ni ochichatta.
I flunked the test unfortunately.
or in the present tense
ke-ki o zenbu tabechau.
I will eat all the cake.
An important point by Mukade in the forums:
In the Kansai area, the use of is limited to female speakers.
I learned both in the classroom, of course, since they are standard dialect.
But when I moved here to Osaka, people started asking me if I was gay,
since I kept using all the time.
If I could help prevent someone else from having to go through the same
" hard knocks" learning process that I did, it would make me very happy.
So be careful if you are in the Kansai area! But in most areas it should be fine.
Please do...
Here's how you boss people around. Well, in a nice way...
add kudasai (please) after the ~te form of any verb
yukkuri hanashite kudasai.
Please speak slowly.
motto otona rashiku shite kudasai.
Please act more grown-up.
koko de migi ni magatte kudasai.
Please turn right here.
Please give me...
Another use for kudasai is "please give me..."
sono hon o kudasai.
Please give me that book.
go hyaku en o kudasai.
Please give me 500 yen.
In spoken J apanese, the 'o' is usually dropped.
On, In, Above, Behind
A good knowledge of position particles will help glue everything together. ni -
on
tsukue ni hon ga arimasu. There is a book on the desk.
no ue ni - on top of
tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu. There is a
book on (top of) the desk.
no shita ni - under...
tsukue no shita ni hon ga arimasu. There is a
book under the desk.
no ushiro ni - behind...
tsukue no ushiro ni hon ga arimasu. There is a
book behind the desk.
Why don't we...?
Why don't we study a little more?
dokoka de tabemasen ka?
Why don't we eat somewhere.
nanika nomimasen ka?
Would you like something to drink. or Why don't we have a drink.
The context decides if the meaning should be 'why don't WE' or 'Would YOU.'
A Closer look at
Pronounced o but written in J apanese as wo. Simply put, is the 'direct object
marker or particle' which indicates the previous word is the direct object. There
are cases when the English would not consider it a direct object, though. Learn
some examples and give it a try. This particle is one of the easier ones...
watashi wa ringo o tabemashita.
I ate an apple. (apple is the )
ongaku o kikitai desu.
I want to listen to music. (music is the )
terebi o kau tsumori desu .
I intend to buy a TV. (tsumori means'intend to'; TV is the )
A Closer look at
In most cases the particle can be used interchangeably with . But has a
wider application so for now just stick with
Showing movement toward... Like 'to'
nihon ni ikitai.
I want to go to J apan. (direction TO J apan)
doko ni ikitai desu ka.
Where do you want to go?
Meaning 'on' or 'in'
kami ni e o kakimashita.
I drew a picture on a piece of paper.
In time - 'at'
roku ji ni aimashou.
Let's meet at 6.
A Closer look at
This is used mainly for location.
Used for location of where something happens
depa-to de boushi o kaimashita.
I bought a hat at the Department store.
nihon de nani o shimashita ka.
In J apan, what did you do?
Observe the difference between and :
makudonarudo ni ikitai.
I want to go to McDonalds.
makudonarudo de tabetai.
I want to eat at McDonalds.
A Closer look at
This is the 'subject marker / particle'.
ame ga futteimasu.
It's raining.
There is a subtile difference between WA and GA and I don't pretend to try to
completely explain it. Years from now, you will still make WA/GA mistakes. Still,
in general you can say WA is the main TOPIC and GA is the more specific
SUBJ ECT at hand. In the above example we say it is raining. The topic isn't
about rain. We are simply stating the circumstances at the moment and the
subject of that particular sentence is rain. If we were to talk all about rain, we
would probably start with WA as in:
ame wa sora kara futte kuru mizu desu.
As for rain, it is water that falls from the sky. (You may go on to say more about
the overall topic of rain.)
Used with SUKI
watashi wa neko ga suki.
I like cats.
Question words always use GA
nani ga oishii?
What tastes good?
dare ga kimashita?
Who came?
doko ga ichi ban ii tokoro desu ka?
Where is the best place?
If II
A while back we found as the word that means 'if'. is added to the
end of verbs to give the meaning of 'if this is done, then this will happen'
It is formed by finding the simple past form and adding a
anata ga kitara kare wa kaeru
If you are coming, he will go home.
The simple past form of is .The 2nd phrase is conditional on the
phrase.
gojira ni attara doushiyou.
What should I do if I meet Godzilla?
You can also use it with nouns by using the simple past form of desu:
okanemochi da tara ookina ie ga kaeru noni.
If only I were rich, I could buy a large house.
Softener
Many years ago I found an example in a book of how J apanese can be direct or
politely indirect. For example you can say:
1) koi
or
2)
both mean 'come here' but #2 is much more polite being cushioned by many
soft, indirect words. One of these words is .
means 'little' or 'small amount' but it is often used to soften an
otherwise painful 'no' or 'your request is impossible; live with it'
chotto muzukashi desu ga.
That's a little difficult. (this may be said when the request is impossible)
chotto dekinai desu.
It can't be done.
chotto wakaranai desu.
I'm not really sure.
I have been told the sound 'chotto' is a bad word in Korean. If that is the
case, chotto may not be that soft of a word...
The power ender ""
When you want to impress upon your listener the importance or truth of what
you are saying stick a at the end of the sentence.
hontou desu yo. It's the truth, I tell ya! (Perhaps the
speaker suspects the listener doesn't believe what he just said)
fururida no 12
gatsu wa atsui desu ka? Is December in Florida is pretty hot?
kekkou samui desu yo. Actually, it is pretty
cold.
It is very useful for rumors or explaining a truth you know someone may not
swallow at first:
suzuki san wa uchuujin
desu yo. Suzuki is an alien, you know.
Chapter 7
76. The non-but "even if" -
77. "the best, ~est" -
78. "about..." -
79. "can't, not allowed" -
80. Easy kanji prefixes
81. Easy counters
82. The Explanatory
83. as a pronoun
84. "how to..." -
85. "please don't" -
86. "have done..." -
87. "to decide to have..." -
The non-but / Even ifalthough
We have studied which means 'also'. When added after the form of a
verb or adjective it brings on the meaning of 'even if'. Let's investigate:
joudan wo ittemo, kare wa waraimasen.
Even if you tell a joke, he won't laugh.
And an adjective:
tsumetakutemo taberaremasu.
Even if it is cold, I can eat it.
And just stick it after a noun
su-paman demo sonna koto wa dekinai yo.
Even Superman can't do that!
The best, -est
While it means #1, it is also used as a superlative- most or -est
tabemono no naka wa nani ga ichiban suki desu ka?
Out of all foods, what do you like the best?
fujisan wa sekai de ichiban takai yama ja nai.
Mt. Fuji isn't the tallest mountain in the world.
About...
This is added to mean 'this sentence is ABOUT the previous word'. Simply stick
it after the noun you want to talk about.
bangumi ni tsuite no oshirase desu.
This is an annoucement about the program (TV for example).
ano eiga ni tsuite dou omou?
What do you think about that movie?
Can't, not allowed /
This is how to say something is forbidden to do. Perhaps easiest way to us this
is to stick it after the form of a verb and (wa - topic particle).
shiranai hito to hanashite wa ikemasen.
Don't speak to strangers.
Often in casual speech, the becomes (or ) as in:
sono eiga o micha ikemasen yo.
You are not allowed to watch this movie - or You shouldn't watch this movie.
You can also use for a similar effect: watashi no
hon o yonja dame. You can't read my book!
Easy kanji prefixes
There are a number of fairly easy kanji that will help dramatically increase your
vocabulary. These kanji have specific meanings that when added to other kanji
or words, it changes the whole meaning in a logical way.
- dai, oo - big
suki
to like
dai suki
to really like, love
kirai
to dislike
daikirai
to really dislike,
hate
ji shin
earthquake
dai jishin
a huge earthquake
ame
rain
oo ame
heavy rain
Another similar word is: (small)
- mai - every (attached to time words)
asa
morning
mai asa
every morning
toshi
year
mai toshi
every year
ban
evening
mai ban
every evening
- kai - to meet (a suffix)
ongaku
music
ongaku kai
concert/recital
un dou
exercise, sports
undou kai
athletic meet
Easy Counters
In English, we just take a number (1,2,3...) add a noun and an "s" to count
items. But in Japanese different types of objects have different counters. Plus
some numbers change pronunciation slightly when added with their counter.
Don't worry too much about the pronunciation changes since you will be
understood. And even if you mess up and count with the wrong counter, you
should be understood, but just a tip... don't count people with "pikki" (used with
animals!)
First, there are 2 ways to count numbers - the 'native' and the 'Chinese' way.
Actually the 'native' counting system only goes up to 10 and is pretty much only
used for counting up to two people and for counting general things. If you are
feeling lazy, just learn the "Chinese" numbers for now.
If you haven't studied numbers yet, go to this page to learn all about them
before proceeding: How to Count
Here is a quick review::
Native
Chinese
Note the two red alternate readings on the "Chinese" side. These are
pronunciations based on the "native" readings but are often used in conjunction
when counting other "Chinese" numbers.
Ok, now for counters.
Let's go through some common counters one by one and then I will give a list of
many other counters:
Counter: nin | Usage: people [pay attention to the red lines.]
1 person [irregular]
2 people [irregular]
3 people [now we simply add the Chinese numbers to
]
[ is NOT used. Probably because means death...
Also notice the dropped from ; hihlordjp from the discussion forums on
this site brought up an interesting but obscure (I think) pronunciation -
or . It is in the dictionaries although I had never heard it. ]
OR [It seems is used more often,
but is also used]
or )
etc...
Counter: hiki | Usage: most animals
[notice the H changes to a P]
[notice the H changes to a B this time.]
[notice the H changes to a P AND the becomes a small
]
or [probably is most used]
or
[notice the small - this occurs when there is a soft
sound after like H]
Counter: hon | Usage: long, slender objects like pencils, bottles, arms...
or
Other Counters:
satsu
books and magazines
fun
minutes
hai
cups of liquids, drinks
mai
sheets of paper; flat
objects
one book
or
or
or *
one minute
or *
one cup
or *
one piece
* notice this can be pronounced as instead of . This is to make it
clearer and is often used in broadcasting. You may also encounter this with hon
and hiki. For now, you can just say, ...
The Explanatory ""
You may have heard this quite a lot and wondered what it's all about! It is most
often used, informally, when:
1) To explain something
2) To show emphasis
is short for ; Informal usage;
plain form verb +
nani o shite iru n desu ka .
Whatcha doing?
terebi o mite iru n desu.
Watching TV.
-i Adjective +
kono eiga wa omoshiroi n desu.
This movie was great!
And it can be used as a way to stress a point
pa-ti ni ikanai deshou
You won't be able to make it to the party, right?
iie, boku wa iku n desu.
No, I'm going!
ittai, doushita n desu ka.
J ust what exactly happened (to you)!!!?
as a Pronoun
can be used in place of a noun (indefinite pronoun) to mean "one" or "some."
Construction:
Use in place of noun
aoi no.
The blue one.
yasui no ga hoshii.
I want the cheap one.
(computer, car, book, anything)
How to...
Attach to the stem of verbs to change it into a noun to mean: Way or
Manner of doing or how to do...
Construction:
Take the ~ form of a verb minus the and then add .
kanji no yomi kata
How/Way to read (a) kanji
kanji no kaki kata
How/Way to write (a) kanji
NOTE: Since it becomes a noun phrase, you should use as above.
Let's ask, "Please teach me how to use chopsticks correctly."
hashi no tadashii tsukai kata o oshiete kudasai.
Please teach me how to use chopsticks correctly
Please don't
Sometimes you have to tell/ask people to not do something.
Construction:
Take the form of a verb and drop the
Add
ke-ki o tabe naide kudasai.
Please don't eat the cake.
sukaidaibingu o shinaide kudasai.
Please don't go skydiving.
Have Done
This is a very useful construction. Simply add it after a simple past form of a verb:
Construction:
Take the simple past form of a verb
Add
amerika ni itta koto ga arimasu ka?
Have you been to America?
nattou o tabeta koto ga arimasu.
(I) have eaten natto before.
I'll Have...
To decide to have...
Very often this phrase is used to say, "I'll have (some food or drink)." Next time
you go to a J apanese restaurant, give this a try.
nani ni shimasu ka?
What will you have?
watashi wa tenpura ni shimasu
I'll have tempura.
Chapter 8
88. "about" - ~
89. "even if" -
90. "and, and, etc" -
91. "while" -
92. "may I...?" -
93. "not much" -
94. The power
95. Polite Japanese -
96. Polite II -
97. Giving/receiving -
98. Level/degree of something -
99. "just did..." -
100. "can" II -
About ~
To say 'about' as in "about a week" or to show an approximate degree of
something, use ~
isshuu kan hodo
About a week
eki wa jukkiro hodo saki desu.
The train station is about 10 kilometers ahead.
kore wa go sen en hodo de kaemasu.
This can be bought for about 5000 yen.
Even if
Sometimes you need to sound poetic. This construction fits perfectly into that
mood.
Construction: VERBS
+
Take the form of a verb
Add
tatoe sekai ga owattemo
Even if the world ends...
tatoe shippai shitemo mata ganbarimashou..
Even if we fail, let's keep at it.
Make the negative form of the verb with :
tatoe nido to aenaku temo wasuremasen.
Even if we shall never meet again, I won't forget.
And and
Doing this; Doing that
Construction:
Take the form of a verb (simple past)
Add
tattari suwatari
Standing and sitting
doru ga agattari sagattari
The dollar is rising and falling.
kyou wa kaimono o shitari resutoran de tabetari shite takusan no okane o
tsukatta.
Today I went shopping and at at a restaurant, etc; I used a lot of money.
While
While doing this I also did this...
Construction:
Take the form of a verb and drop the (the stem)
Add
ongaku o kiki nagara benkyou o shimashita.
While studying, I listened to music.
hon o yomi nagara gohan o tabemasu.
While eating a meal, I read a book.
One useful set phrase is zan nen nagara and means, "That's too bad"
or "I regreat (to say)" or "Unfortunately"
May I?
Asking permission and Being polite go hand in hand. Here is how you do both in
J apanese.
Construction:
Take the form of a verb
Add
denwa o tsukattemo ii desu ka?
May I use the phone?
yasundemo ii desu ka?
May I take a break? (from work, from studying, etc)
chotto hanashitemo ii desu ka?
May I say something? (I'd like to speak a little)
Not much
Not much; not really--Followed by a negative verb
Construction:
Used in a negative sentence
nihongo ga amari jouzu ja nai
I'm not really good at J apanese.
amari yokunai
(That's) not really good.
odori wa amari umaku nai
I'm not really good dancing.
okane wa amari nai
I don't have much money.
The power ""
, for our purposes today, means, "That's right" or "That's so" (the latter being
an easy way to remember)
Construction:
This useful word is used in various idiomatic ways. It is best to learn each as
an example by heart.
sou desu
Yes, that is right.
sou desu ka?
Is that so?; Really?; You don't say?
sou ieba
Now that you mention it; Speaking of that...
sou kangaeru to
Seen from that light; Thinking like that; From that point of view
sou shitara
If you do it that way...; if done that way...
sou shinai to
If you don't do it that way...
And there are many more you will come across! Listen to how is used in
conversation.
Polite Japanese
There are three basic types of honorifics for verbs. It depends on your social rank
as to which form to use.
A) Humble ( kenjougo) - This is when referring to oneself or one's family
members and (usually) speaking to someone higher up in social rank, position or
some other criteria for determining status. However even some people with high
positions may choose to use the humble form with those under him/her.
B) ~masu - As mentioned above ~masu / desu is actually teineigo or
polite language, but I'm using the familiar ~masu form for an easy comparison to
the the kenjougo and sonkeigo forms.
C) Respectful ( sonkeigo) - This is what you say to your boss or those
higher up when speaking to them. If you are speaking about yourself, you will
use the humble form.
Humble
(speaking to your boss about
yourself)
Normal
(speaking to your friends)
Respectful
(speaking to your boss about
your boss)
haiken shimasu
mimasu
to see
goran ni narimasu
moushimasu
You know this from "name to
moushimasu"
iimasu
to say
osshaimasu
itadakimasu
tabemasu
to eat
meshi agarimasu
mairimasu
This is the humble form for
both to come and go!
kimasu
to come
ikimasu
to go
irasshaimasu
This is the respectful form for
both to come and go!
itashimasu
shimasu
to do
nasaimasu
For a more detailed explanation and many more examples see here.
Polite Part II
+ stem + This makes a 'normal' verb honorific (exalted) [You are
speaking to or about someone with a higher status than you (your boss)]
shachou to hanashimashita ka?
Company president - with - talk - ?
Did you speak with the boss? (normal)
shachou to o hanashi ni narimashita ka?
Did you speak with the boss? (polite)
nanika nomimasen ka?
something - won't drink - question
Won't you drink something? (normal)
nanika o nomi ni narimasen ka?
Won't you drink something? (polite)
+ stem + This also makes a 'normal' verb exalted; it is used when
asking things - 'please give me'
utte kudasai.
Please sell (me this). (normal)
o uri kudasai.
Please sell (me this) (honorific)
tabete kudasai,
Please eat. (normal)
o tabe kudasai.
Please eat. (polite)
For a more detailed explanation and many more examples see here.
Giving and Receiving
These three verbs are easy to mix up, but they aren't too difficult if you spend
some time learning each word's function. It is of course more complex than this
page allows, but this should give you a fairly good understanding.
The Word:
When you, the speaker, give something to someone, use
kore o anata ni agemasu.
I will give you this.
NOTE: The receiver is the one with the particle ( to you).
The Word:
This is also usually translated as 'give' but it is from the receiver's point of
view.
tanaka san ga kore o watashi ni kuremashita.
Tanaka gave this to me.
NOTE: Again, the receiver is the one with the particle. ( to me)
The Word:
is used from the perspective of the receiver.
watashi ga tomodachi kara ke-ki o moraimashita.
I received a cake from a friend. (My, the receiver, point of view)
NOTE: If is used, the meaning should be pretty clear ( from a
freind), but you can also use to show who is doing the action as in:
watashi ga tomodachi ni ke-ki o moraimashita.
I received a cake from a friend.
NOTE: The use of with can seem confusing considering is used to
mean the receiver in the other two cases
Level / degree of something
Add to adjectives to express a degree or amount
Construction: -i adjectives:
Remove the trailing and add
zou san no takasa wa nan desu ka?
What is the height of an elephant
NOTE: The shows a degree; this can be a higher, lower, wider, thinner, etc
amount. (we could be asking the height of an ant)
Construction: -na adjectives:
J ust add the without the
kono kuruma no shizukasa wa odoroku beki desu.
This car's quietness is amazing.
NOTE: The finished product (adjective +) becomes a noun phrase and is
treated as a noun grammatically.
Just Did...
Showing a completed action: just...
Construction:
Add after the simple past of a verb
tabeta bakari desu.
I just ate.
tateta bakari no ie.
A newly built house.
ima kita bakari desu.
I just arrived.
Can II
Can II
Potential form of Verbs.
Before starting this lesson, you may want to review the groups of the verbs.
Construction: The ~u Group (group 1 verbs)
Verb Root +eru
kaku to write kak (verb root) kakeru able to write
kanji ga kakemasu ka?
Can you write kanji?
[NOTE: use with the potential form]
Construction: The ~ru Group (group 2 verbs)
Verb Root +rareru
taberu to eat tabe (verb root) taberareru able to eat
pi-man ga taberaremasu ka?
Can you eat green peppers?
Construction: The irregular Group (group 3 verbs)
The two irregular verbs should be memorized:
pa-ti ni koraremasu ka?.
Can you come to the party?
NOTE: You can also easy do this with any Simple Past Verb +
More...