Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lesson 2
Introductions and Basic Sentences

Before I begin, please note that this lesson assumes you already know Hiragana and Katakana, so from now on I'm going to start cutting back on using Roumaji.

Anyways, it's time to learn how to properly introduce ourselves in Japanese! It's really not all that hard, and it's pretty easy to get the hang of with a little bit of practice.

Also, I -will- be using Kanji in this lesson, which are Chinese characters used in writing Japanese (there are about two thousand of them), but I will put their proper reading in parentheses below it.

Now, the first word Japanese people use when introducing themselves is:

初めまして
(はじめまして)

In Roumaji, this word is written "hajimemashite" and is pronounced:

Hah - Jee - Meh - Mah - Shh - Teh

Copy and paste this into your URL bar to listen to how it sounds. Do NOT click on it; it won't work:

http://japanese.about.com/library/media/audio/hajimemashite.wav

This word literally means "for the first time" and is a polite expression of saying hello to a person you have never met before introducing yourself. It's kind of like saying, "I am meeting you for the first time."

Now, let's learn how to make a basic sentence!

The next word we need to learn is the word 「です」 (Yes, that's desu, and it's more than just some retarded internet joke). です is generally thought of to be a verb, and means "to be." It usually comes at the end of a sentence, and is usually pronounced "Dehss," but sometimes (usually girls) will add a short "u" sound to the end to sound more feminine.

The next thing we need to learn is the particle 「は」, which is actually pronounced Wa rather than Ha. I know, it's a little confusing at first to figure out which way to pronounce it when you're reading Japanese, but eventually you'll be able to tell right away from the context whether it should be read as Wa or Ha.

This particle marks the subject of the sentence, and can roughly be translated as "As for." It comes right after the subject of the sentence, or what you are talking about.

Now, let's piece this all together:

Let's say I want to say "I am Brian." Well, the subject of the sentence is "I" because...well...I'm talking about myself. So, let's start off our sentence like this:

私は・・・

Note that 「私」 is read as 「わたし」 and means "I" or "me." Actually, you should probably memorize this Kanji, so here's how you write it:



Anyways, now let's add in my name:

私はブライアン・・・

And finally, let's put the verb 「です」 at the end, meaning "to be."

私はブライアンです。

This is read as:

Watashi wa Buraian desu.

Literal translation:

As for me, Brian is.

Actual translation:

I am Brian.



Yeah, it's a little tricky at first, but you'll get the hang of it! Let's try some more sentences:

ナルトは馬鹿です。

(なるとはばかです)

Naruto wa baka desu.

Literal translation:

As for Naruto, idiot is.

Actual translation:

Naruto is an idiot.




パイはおいしいです。

Pai wa oishii desu.

Literal translation:

As for pie, delicious is.

Actual translation:

Pie is delicious / Pie is good.



Easy, right?


The next thing we need to learn is the phrase 「どうぞよろしく」. It is pronounced like:

Dohh - Zoh - Yo - Roh- Shh- Ku

Copy and paste this link into your URL bar to hear how it is pronounced. Once again, DO NOT click on it:

http://japanese.about.com/library/media/audio/yoroshiku.wav


This is said after saying your name when introducing yourself, and literally means something along the lines of "Please be kind to me." It is a very humble expression and shows that you would like to get along with the other person, but it is sometimes very roughly translated as "Nice to meet you."

Okay, so, let's introduce ourselves:

初めまして。私はブライアンです。どうぞよろしく。

Hajimemashite! Watashi wa Buraian desu. Douzo yoroshiku.

You may also put in a little something about yourself. Unlike English, however, you do NOT need to use 「私」 again, because it is already implied that you are talking about yourself, so you should just drop the pronoun. Let's try it:

初めまして。私はブライアンです。アメリカ人です。どうぞよろしく。

Hajimemashite! Watashi wa Buraian desu. Amerika jin desu. Douzo yoroshiku.

Hello (for the first time). I am Brian. I'm an American. Please be kind to me / Nice to meet you.

Yeah, it sounds really weird when you translate it into English, but it sounds totally fine to a Japanese speaker.


Now, let's learn some other forms of です. We can use these to change the tense of the sentence:

私は馬鹿です。 - Watashi wa baka desu. - I am an idiot.

私は馬鹿でした。 - Watashi wa baka deshita. - I was an idiot.

私は馬鹿ではありません。 - Watashi wa baka dewa arimasen. - I'm not an idiot.

私は馬鹿ではありませんでした - Watashi wa baka dewa arimasen deshita. - I wasn't an idiot.


I know some of these conjugations are quite a mouthful, but don't worry. There are much shorter, yet less polite versions that you will learn later that are usually used when speaking to friends or family.

Also, please note that でした is pronounced Deh - Shh - Tah, not Deh - Shee - Tah.

Now for some vocabulary (partially review):

私 - わたし - I/Me
あなた - You
お父さん - おとうさん - Father
お母さん - おかあさん - Mother



Okay, now for your homework:


Write out the following words using Roumaji:

私
みじかい
ながい
ぎゅうにゅう
もも
コンピューター
ファイナル・ファンタシー・アドベント・チルドレン
かたな
くない
こわい
ねこ
かわいい
あたらしい

Translate the following sentences into English. Translate them to how the would be said in English rather than translating them literally:

私はりんごです。
(Watashi wa ringo desu)


あなたは馬鹿です。
(Anata wa baka desu)


それはクッキでした。
(Sore wa kukki deshita)

私は馬鹿ではありません。
(Watashi wa baka dewa arimasen)



Translate the following English sentences into Japanese. You may write them out in Roumaji if you wish:

He is a cow.

She's not cute.

Mom is an idiot.


Extra credit:

Zack is a scary cat.