Introductory Phrases
Learning the basics and finding a good study routine.
If you haven’t read it yet, my blog on Why I Decided To Learn Japanese talks about why I’ve decided to learn another language and why the chosen language was Japanese.
So, what am I doing?
Throughout my time in education, mostly in college and university, I’ve found that I really enjoy writing blogs.
Writing blogs helps me solidify knowledge and take good notes which I can look back on when I’m stuck, or when I want to reflect on my old work, so as they’ve worked for me in previous years, I’ve decided that I will blog my journey through learning Japanese!
How am I going to approach this?
As these blogs will be notes for myself, I’ve decided to set up a structure to how I’ll write these, here is how I’ll be writing:
English
English Romaji
ひらがな かたかな
And I will also be including voice clips so I can practice my speaking skills:
What am I using to learn?
I’m using a few different things to help me learn Japanese, my main resources are a Japanese Tutor and Duolingo.
The notes which I’m writing on the blogs will be study notes.
Study routine
My routine for studying Japanese is to do it as often as possible!
I use Duolingo every day and I book a tutoring lesson once a week. This isn’t set in stone, but for now it’s working great for me!
As writing blogs also really helps me with studying and solidifying knowledge, I’ve decided that I will be trying to publish 1 Japanese blog a week with my weeks learning!
Study Notes
Introductory Phrases
One of the first things I've learned are introductory phrases, and what some of the words used within them are.
How are you?
Ogeneki desuka?
O – gen – kee des-ka
おげんき ですか ?
In a casual conversation, you can ask how someone is by just saying:
Genki?
げんき？
And you would reply to either of those by saying…
If you’re doing good:
I’m good/okay/fine!
Genki Desu!
Gen-kee des
げんき です！
Or in a casual conversation, you would just reply:
Genki!
げんき！
If you’re doing really good, you can add the word "Totemo":
Very good/well
Totemo genki desu!
To-te-mo gen-kee des
とても げんき です！
Or you could reply with a simple "yes":
Yes
Hai
はい
"Desu" is used at the end of a sentence, and it’s a polite linking verb that means “to be” or “is”.
Here are some more examples:
This is a pen
Kore wa pen desu
This pen is blue
Kono pen wa aoi desu
"Genki" means “good”, “healthy” or “fine” but doesn’t directly translate to English, so when we say “Genki desuka?” it’s close to how we would say “how are you?” but it actually translates to “Are you fine/energetic/feeling healthy?”.
When "Ka" is added to something, that makes it into a question.
Asking for a name and how to reply
Asking people for their names and knowing how to reply to this is very important!
What is your name?
Anata no namae wa nan desuka?
a-na-ta no na-ma-e wa nan des-ka
あなた の なまえ わ なに ですか？
"No" means “of”
"Namae" means “name”
"Nan"/"nani" means “what”
Similar patterns are seen when you’re asking what something is…
What is this?
Kore wa nan desuka?
Ko-re wa nan des-ka?
これ わ なに ですか？
From this you can see the words “nan desuka?” be repeated between the two questions. – this is asking “What is?”
And you would reply to a question like this by saying
This is ____!
____ desu!
____です！
Back to asking about names now, if you’re asked for your name in Japanese, you can reply:
My name is ___
Watashi no namae wa ___ desu
Wa-ta-shi no na-ma-e wa ___ des
わたし の なまえ わ ___ でし
Or a simpler reply would be:
I am ___
Watashi wa ___ desu
Wa-ta-shi wa ___ des
わたし わ ___ です
"Watashi" means “I”
"Anata" means “You”
Once you’ve told someone your name, you might want to know theirs, and you ask this by saying:
How about you? Are You? / Asking back
Anata wa?
a-na-ta wa?
あなた わ？
Where are you from?
If you’re traveling in Japan, someone might want to know where you’re from! This can be asked by saying:
Where are you from?
Anata wa doko kara kimashita ka?
a-na-ta wa do-ku ka-ra ki-ma-shi-ta ka?
あなた わ どこ から きました か？
"Doko" means “where”
"Kara" means “from”
"Kuru" means “come”
"Kita" means “came”
"Kimashita" means “came” but is polite
You would reply to this by saying:
I am from ___
Watashi wa ___ kara kimashita
Wa-ta-shi wa ___ ka-ra ki-ma-shi-ta
わたし わ ___ から きました
If I wanted to say I am from "England", I can just add:
England
Igirisu
I-gi-ri-su
いぎりす
Another reply would be:
I am a British/English/Uk person
Watashi wa igirisu jin desu
Wa-ta-shi wa i-gi-ri-su jin des
わたし わ いぎりす 人 です
"Jin" means “people/person”
Thank you
Saying thank you is a very important thing!
Thank you
Arigato
A-ri-gat-o
ありがと
But you can emphasize your thanks more by adding “very much” to the end.
Thank you very much
Arigato gozaimashita
a-ri-gat-o go-zai-ma-shi-ta
ありがと ございました
amy.elliott2002@yahoo.co.uk
Portsmouth, United Kingdom