Rorudan, Poru Zaivan P.

TELLING THE DATE

Months of the Year
To tell the 12 months of the year in Japanese, simply add the suffix ~GATSU after
the number that represents the month.
Example : January (1st month) ICHIGATSU
February (2nd month) NIGATSU
The months of the year with special reading are :
April SHIGATSU
July SHICHIGATSU
September KUGATSU
Days of the Month
For the days of the month, the suffix ~NICHI is added after the number that tells
what day of the month it is.
Example : 11th day (11 + nichi) JUUICHINICHI
However, for ”special“ days of the month, NICHI is no longer added. These
”special“ days of the month are :
1st day of the month tsuitachi
nd
2 ,2 days futsuka
rd
3 , 3 days mikka
th
4 , 4 days yokka
5th, 5 days itsuka
th
6 , 6 days muika
th
7 , 7 days nanoka
th
8 , 8 days youka
th
9 , 9 days kokonoka
th
10 , 10 days tooka
th
14 , 14 days juuyokka
th
20 , 20 days hatsuka
th
24 , 24 days nijuuyokka

Example : January 1st Ichigatsu tsuitachi

January 11th Ichigatsu juuichinichi
Module 1 | Lesson 2 – Verbs GO, COME, and RETURN HOME

In this lesson, three specific verbs in ~MASU form are introduced. Again, as
explained in Nihongo1, verbs in the ~MASU form are polite verbs. They are known as
~MASU verbs because of the obvious answer : they end in ~MASU.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

o translate vocabulary introduced in the lesson,
o use the correct particles in your sentences, and
o construct sentences applying the patterns discussed.
Core Content:
Just like any other grammar lesson that requires sentence construction, this
lesson also introduces a new set of vocabulary. And just as how I reminded you in
Nihongo1 to memorize the Japanese words and their English translation, I am
reminding you again to do the same for the following.
Go ikimasu
Come kimasu
Go Home, Return kaerimasu
School gakkou
Supermarket su-pa-
Station eki
Airplane hikouki
Ship fune
Electric Train densha
Subway, underground chikatetsu
Bullet train shinkansen
Bus basu
Taxi takushi-
Bicycle jitensha
On foot aruite
Person, people hito
Friend tomodachi
He, boyfriend kare
She, girlfriend kanojo
Family kazoku
Alone, by oneself hitoride
Last week senshuu
 This week konshuu
Next week raishuu
Last month sengetsu
This month kongetsu
Next month raigetsu
Last year kyonen
This year kotoshi
Next year rainen
~th month of the year ~gatsu
What month nangatsu
~ th day of the month, days ~nichi
Which day of the month / nannichi
how many days
When itsu

Let’s start constructing sentences. And for this lesson, the following are your
patterns.

1. Tanjoubi wa itsu desu ka.

 To ask for one’s birthday, the interrogative word ITSU is used.
Example : Tanaka san no tanjoubi wa itsu desu ka. (When is Mr. Tanaka’s
birthday?)
(Feb.3) .. . Tanaka san no tanjoubi wa Nigatsu Mikka desu.

You may also opt to drop, in your response, the "subject wa".

Example : Tanaka san no tanjoubi wa itsu desu ka. (When is Mr. Tanaka’s
birthday?)
(Feb.3) Nigatsu Mikka desu.

2. To ask for the DATE today, tomorrow , or yesterday or the date of an event,
NANGATSU NANNICHI is used. NANGATSU is is WHAT MONTH in English
while NANNICHI is WHAT DAY OF THE MONTH. Hence, a question that uses
NANGATSU NANNICHI is asking for the DATE.
 Example : Kyou wa nangatsu nannichi desu ka. (Whatis the date today?)
(February 3) ... Kyou wa NIGATSU MIKKA desu.

If the date asked is in the past, use DESHITA.

Example : Kinou wa nangatsu nannichi deshita ka.

(February 2) ... Kinou wa NIGATSU FUTSUKA deshita.

3. SUBJECT WA PLACE HE (or NI) VERB.

In this sentence pattern, the VERB is one of the three verbs (IKIMASU,
KIMASU, or KAERIMASU) introduced in the module. The verbs indicate movement
to a certain place. The VERB may be in the present/future-positive, present/future-
negative, past-positive, or past-negative form. Hence, if the verb is the verb “TO GO”,
you can use any of its forms – IKIMASU, IKIMASEN, IKIMASHITA, or IKIMASEN
DESHITA , depending on what you wish stated in your sentence.

PLACE is where the subject goes, comes or returns to. It is marked by a

particle, either HE or NI, which is equivalent to the English preposition TO. PLACE can
be a specific name of a place or a pronoun referring to a place such as KOKO, SOKO,
or ASOKO.

Example : Tanaka san wa ginkou he ikimasu. (Mr. Tanaka goes / will go to

the bank.)
SUBJECT PLACE VERB

Kinou, Tanaka san wa ginkou he ikimashita. (Yesterday, Mr. Tanaka went

to the bank.)
SUBJECT PLACE VERB

4.SUBJECT WA DOKO HE (or NI) VERB KA.

This is a question pattern which uses the interrogative word DOKO or in English,
WHERE. To answer the question, replace DOKO with a PLACE.

Example : Ashita, anata wa doko he ikimasu ka. (Where will you go

tomorrow?)
Ashita, watashi wa gakkou he ikimasu. (Tomorrow, I will
go to school.)
 If you do not, did not or will not go anywhere, do not drop DOKO. Instead, use
MO after DOKO and make your verb negative.

Example : Ashita, anata wa doko he ikimasu ka. ( Where will you go

tomorrow?)
... Ashita, watashi wa DOKO MO IKIMASEN. (Tomorrow, I
will not go anywhere.)

5. SUBJECT WA N DE PLACE HE/NI VERB.

In this pattern, VERB is again one of the three verbs introduced in the module
while PLACE can be a specific name of a place or a pronoun referring to
a place. The additional part in this part is the
N, which is actually a means of transportation. N is followed by the
particle DE which is equivalent to the English preposition “BY”.

Example : Tanaka san wa jidousha de gakkou he ikimasu. (Mr.

Tanaka goes / will go to school by car.)
SUBJECT N PLACE VERB

If the subject goes, comes or returns to a place “on foot” , ARUITE is used. The
particle DE is no longer needed.

Example : Watashi wa aruite gakkou he ikimasu. ( I go/ will go to

school on foot.)

6. SUBJECT WA NAN DE PLACE HE/NI VERB KA.

In this question pattern, the interrogative word NAN is used. Yes, NAN means
what but in this pattern, NAN is followed by the particle DE ; hence, we will interpret
the question as “by what means” (of transportation). Another way of putting it is, “How
does the subject go, come or return to a place?”
To answer the question, simply drop NAN and replace it with a means of
transporation.
 Example : Anata wa nan de gakkou he ikimasu ka. (By what means
do you go to school? Or How do you go to school?”
. . . Watashi wa jidousha de gakkou he ikimasu. (I go to
school by car.)

7. SUBJECT WA PERSON TO PLACE HE/NI VERB .

In this sentence pattern, the verb is one of the three verbs introduced in the
module.
The new part introduced here is PERSON, which can be a specific name (like
Yamada san) of a person. It can also be a common noun (such as GAKUSEI) pertaining
to person or a pronoun referring to a person including WATASHI or ANATA. PERSON
is followed by the particle TO which is equivalent to the English preposition WITH.

Example : Tanaka san wa tomodachi to gakkou he ikimasu. (Mr.

Tanaka goes to school with a friend.)
SUBJECT PERSON PLACE VERB

If the subject goes, comes or returns to a place ALONE , HITORIDE is used. The
particle TO is no longer needed.

Example : Watashi wa hitoride gakkou he ikimasu. (I go to school by

myself. )

8. SUBJECT WA DARE TO PLACE HE/NI VERB KA.

In this question In this pattern, the interrogative word DARE, which means
WHO, is used. To answer the question, replace DARE with a person
(noun or pronoun).

Example : Ashita, anata wa dare to kyoukai he ikimasu ka. (Who will you
go to church with tomorrow?)
. . . Ashita, watashi wa KAZOKU to kyoukai he ikimasu. ( I will go to
church with the family tomorrow.)
 9. NANJI ( what time) and ITSU (when)
The interrogative words NANJI and ITSU may also be used together with the
verbs IKIMASU, KIMASU and KAERIMASU. In that case, using NANJI or ITSU allows
us to ask WHAT time or WHEN a subject goes, comes or returns to a place. The
specific time or the specific date which answers NANJI or ITSU is marked by the
particle NI.

Example : Ashita, anata wa NANJI ni kyoukai he ikimasu ka.

( What time will you to church tomorrow?)
. . . Ashita, watashi wa GOZEN SHICHIJI HAN ni kyoukai he
ikimasu. (I will go to church at 7 : 30 A.M. tomorrow.)

Tanaka san wa ITSU Firipin he kimashita ka.

( When did Mr. Tanaka come to the Philippines?
. . . Tanaka san wa NIGATSU MIKKA ni Firipin he kimashita.
(Mr. Tanaka came to the Philippines on February 3.)