Hiragana - ひらがな

The first step to learning the Japanese language is to learn the alphabet. Or, at least, to
learn the sounds that exist in the language. There are absolutely no "tones" in Japanese
like in many other asian languages and there are only 2 exceptions within the alphabet
which will be explained later. The Japanese alphabet does not contain letters but,
instead, contains characters and, technically, they are not alphabets but character sets.
The characters in the chart below are called Hiragana. Hiragana is the main alphabet or
character set for Japanese. Japanese also consists of two other character sets - Kanji
(Chinese characters), which we will get into later, and another alphabet/character set,
Katakana, which is mainly used for foreign words. Katakana will be covered in Lesson
2. Don't wait to move on until you have all Hiragana characters memorized - learn them
as you continue to go through the other lessons.

There are 5 vowels in Japanese. (a), pronounced "ahh", (i), pronounced like "e" in "eat",
(u), pronounced like "oo" in "soon", (e), pronounced like "e" in "elk", and (o), pronounced
"oh". All Hiragana characters end with one of these vowels, with the exception of (n).
The only "consonant" that does not resemble that of English is the Japanese "r". It is
slightly "rolled" as if it were a combination of a "d", "r", and "l".

Combinations
あ い う え お
a i u e o
きゃ きゅ きょ
か き く け こ kya kyu kyo
ka ki ku ke ko
ぎゃ ぎゅ ぎょ
が ぎ ぐ げ ご gya gyu gyo
ga gi gu ge go
しゃ しゅ しょ
さ し す せ そ sha shu sho
sa shi su se so
じゃ じゅ じょ
ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ ja ju jo
za ji zu ze zo
ちゃ ちゅ ちょ
た ち つ て と cha chu cho
ta chi tsu te to
にゃ にゅ にょ
だ ぢ づ で ど nya nyu nyo
da ji zu de do
ひゃ ひゅ ひょ
な に ぬ ね の hya hyu hyo
na ni nu ne no
びゃ びゅ びょ
は ひ ふ へ ほ bya byu byo
ha hi fu he ho
ぴゃ ぴゅ ぴょ
ば び ぶ べ ぼ pya pyu pyo
ba bi bu be bo
みゃ みゅ みょ
ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ mya myu myo
 pa pi pu pe po りゃ りゅ りょ
ま み む め も rya ryu ryo
ma mi mu me mo
や ゆ よ
ya yu yo
ら り る れ ろ
ra ri ru re ro
わ を ん
wa wo n/m

Katakana - カタカナ
As mentioned in Lesson 1, Katakana (as seen in the chart below) is mainly used for
foreign words such as foreign names and words that have been borrowed from other
languages such as コンピューター (kompyu-ta- = computer). Katakana is the least
frequently used of the three character sets in Japanese. The Japanese language does
not have as many sounds as the English language so, when creating a name in
Katakana, for instance, the name must be sound out to the closest Japanese
equivalent. Katakana, Hiragana, and Furigana (when Hiragana is written small next to a
Kanji character to show how that character is read) are collectively known as Kana.
Don't worry too much about Katakana (beyond maybe learning your name) for now.

There are some special Katakana characters that exist only for foreign names (such as
シェ (she) or ティ (ti)). These special characters are not in the chart below (which
contains only the standard set of Katakana characters) but can be seen in our Names
in Japanese lesson. There are also the characters ヰ (wi) and ヱ (we) which were
deemed obsolete in 1946.

ア イ ウ エ オ Combinations
a i u e o
カ キ ク ケ コ キャ キュ キョ
ka ki ku ke ko kya kyu kyo
ガ ギ グ ゲ ゴ ギャ ギュ ギョ
ga gi gu ge go gya gyu gyo
サ シ ス セ ソ シャ シュ ショ
sa shi su se so sha shu sho
ザ ジ ズ ゼ ゾ ジャ ジュ ジョ
za ji zu ze zo ja ju jo
タ チ ツ テ ト チャ チュ チョ
ta chi tsu te to cha chu cho
ダ ヂ ヅ デ ド ニャ ニュ ニョ
da ji zu de do nya nyu nyo
ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ ヒャ ヒュ ヒョ
na ni nu ne no hya hyu hyo
ハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ ビャ ビュ ビョ
ha hi fu he ho bya byu byo
バ ビ ブ ベ ボ ピャ ピュ ピョ
ba bi bu be bo pya pyu pyo
パ ピ プ ペ ポ ミャ ミュ ミョ
pa pi pu pe po mya myu myo
マ ミ ム メ モ リャ リュ リョ
ma mi mu me mo rya ryu ryo
ヤ ユ ヨ
ya yu yo
ラ リ ル レ ロ
ra ri ru re ro
ワ ヲ ン
wa wo n/m
Vocabulary - 単語
Now that you've at least started learning the Japanese alphabets, let's learn some basic
vocabulary words and simple Japanese phrases. I will list the Kanji, Hiragana, Romaji
(the word sounded out using English letters), and the English meaning for each
Japanese word or phrase. Most Japanese words have Kanji for them but I will only
include the Kanji if that word is typically written that way.

Keep in mind that the Japanese language has different levels of politeness that change
based on who you are talking to. I will refer to these as "ultra-formal", "formal" (or "polite
form"), "normal" (or "plain form"), "informal", and "rude" (we won't be covering too much
of the rude form, however).

ひらがな - Romaji
漢字 - Kanji English Meaning
Hiragana (English Letters)
I
私 わたし watashi (formal for males,
normal for females)
I
僕 ぼく boku
(normal for males)
彼 かれ kare he
彼女 かのじょ kanojo she
you
あなた あなた anata
(singular/normal)
これ これ kore this (noun)
ここ ここ koko here
this
この この kono (descriptive - ex.
this pen)
それ それ sore that (noun)
そこ そこ soko there
that
その その sono (descriptive - ex.
that pen)
人 ひと hito person
犬 いぬ inu dog
猫 ねこ neko cat
家 いえ ie house
ありがとう ありがとう arigatou Thank you. (normal)
 ありがとう ありがとう
arigatou gozaimasu Thank you. (formal)
ございます ございます
You're welcome.
どういたしまして どういたしまして douitashimashite
(normal)
ohayou Good morning.
おはよう おはよう
(sounds like "Ohio") (informal)
Good morning.
おはようございます おはようございます ohayou gozaimasu
(normal and formal)
こんにちは こんにちは konnichiwa Hello. (normal)
Good evening.
こんばんは こんばんは konbanwa
(normal)
さよなら さよなら sayonara Goodbye. (normal)
gambatte kudasai
頑張ってください がんばってください (can also be written Hang in there
"ganbatte kudasai")
ki o tsukete kudasai
Be careful, Take
気をつけてください きをつけてください (can also be written "ki
care
wo tsukete kudasai")

Basic Japanese Grammar - 文法

Japanese grammar is quite simple and straight forward but very different from English
grammar so most English speakers find it rather confusing. For instance, in Japanese
the verb always comes at the end. The best thing you can do when learning Japanese
is to learn it from the bottom up and not compare it to English grammar.

The Japanese language uses what we will refer to as particles to mark the various parts
of the sentence. The main particles are: (These particles will be described in more detail
below)

wa
(as mentioned in Lesson 1, the Hiragana
は topic marker
"ha" is pronounced "wa" when it
immediately follows the topic)
が ga subject marker
wo
を direct object marker
(pronounced "o")
 direction marker,
に ni time marker, indirect
object marker
e
(as mentioned in Lesson 1, the Hiragana
へ direction marker
"he" is pronounced "e" when it
immediately follows a place or direction)

The particles "wa" (は) and "ga" (が): The particle "wa" marks the topic of the
sentence and the particle "ga" marks the subject of the sentence. In the example, "I
know where you live" (watashi wa anata ga doko ni sunde iru ka shitte iru), "I" would be
the topic while "you" would be the subject.

Not all Japanese sentences have both a topic and subject and, in many cases, the topic
is implied in Japanese (for example, the "I" (watashi wa) would be left out of this
sentence because it is implied that since I am talking I am the one that knows where
you live). Many Japanese books and teachers teach that "wa" and "ga" are the same
thing and it doesn't matter which you use when. This is not the case but I wouldn't worry
too much about keeping them straight at first - it will come with time.

The particle "wo" (を): The particle "wo" (or "o") marks the direct object of a Japanese
sentence. In the example, "I'm going to take her home" (watashi wa kanojo wo ie ni
okuru), "her" would be the direct object.

The particle "ni" (に): The particle "ni" can be used to mark the direction, time, or the
indirect object of a Japanese sentence.

An example of a direction marker can be seen in the previous example "I'm going to
take her home" (watashi wa kanojo wo ie ni okuru). In this case, the "ni" acts like a "to" -
"I'm going to take her 'to' home". The particle "e" (へ) can be used in this way as well but
usually implies more of a general direction as opposed to a specific place.

The particle "ni" is also used to mark time in a Japanese sentence. For example, "I'm
leaving at 3 o'clock" (watashi wa sanji ni hanareru).

The final use for the particle "ni" in Japanese grammar is that of indirect object marker.
In the example, "I was taken home by him" (watashi wa kare ni ie made okurareta),
"him" is the indirect object.
Numbers, Time, and Days of the Week
Before we get too much further into Japanese grammar and verb conjugation, I thought
it would be a good idea to teach Japanese numbers, time, days of the week, etc.

Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana English Meaning
(English Letters)
一 いち ichi one
二 に ni two
三 さん san three
四 し、 よん shi (yon after 10) four
五 ご go five
六 ろく roku six
七 しち、 なな shichi (nana after 10) seven
八 はち hachi eight
九 きゅう kyuu nine
十 じゅう juu ten
百 ひゃく hyaku hundred

Numbers after 10 are a piece of cake once you know 1 through 10. 11 is simply ten with
a one after it, 十一 (じゅういち, juuichi), 12 - juuni, 13 - juusan, 14 - juuyon, etc. 20 is
simply 二十 (にじゅう, nijuu), 21 - nijuuichi, and so forth.

Put these numbers in front of the character for time 時 and you've got the time of the
day.

Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana English Meaning
(English Letters)
一時 いちじ ichiji one o'clock
二時 にじ niji two o'clock
二時半 にじはん nijihan two thirty (半 means half)
二時四十五分 にじよんじゅうごふん nijiyonjuugofun 2:45 (分 means minute)
...etc.

Now just put the character for moon 月 after a number and you've got a month.
 Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana English Meaning
(English Letters)
一月 いちがつ ichigatsu January
二月 にがつ nigatsu February
三月 さんがつ sangatsu March
四月 しがつ shigatsu April
...etc.

Japanese days of the week don't follow such an easy pattern but here they are anyway
along with some other time-related words.

Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana English Meaning
(English Letters)
日曜日 にちようび nichiyoubi Sunday (日 - sun/day)
月曜日 げつようび getsuyoubi Monday (月 - moon)
火曜日 かようび kayoubi Tuesday (火 - fire)
水曜日 すいようび suiyoubi Wednesday (水 - water)
Thursday (木 -
木曜日 もくようび mokuyoubi
tree/wood)
金曜日 きんようび kinyoubi Friday (金 - gold)
土曜日 どようび doyoubi Saturday (土 - dirt)
今日 きょう kyou Today
明日 あした ashita Tomorrow
昨日 きのう kinou Yesterday
一昨日 おととい ototoi the day before yesterday
the day after tomorrow (a
明後日 あさって asatte small "tsu" (っ) makes a
double consonant)
今朝 けさ kesa this morning
今晩 こんばん konban this evening
今 いま ima now
Godan Verbs - 五段動詞
Now, before you can start making up sentences of your own, you need to learn how to
conjugate Japanese verbs. Verbs are the most important part of the Japanese
sentence. Often times Japanese people will leave out everything but the verb.

They are very big on leaving out the obvious and sometimes not so obvious which can
get confusing at times. There are only 3 types of verbs in the Japanese language and
they each follow a pattern that is very simple and very rarely has any exceptions. Most
Japanese verbs fall into the first group, the Godan (五段) verbs. These verbs always
conjugate the same way with only one exception. These verbs have five changes that
follow the order of the Japanese vowels (i.e. the characters for that section of the
hiragana chart), hence the name Godan (meaning 5 levels or steps), and then the "te"
and "ta" forms that are common to all verbs. The chart below shows how to conjugate
Japanese Godan verbs:

Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana Verb Base
(English Letters)
話す はなす hanasu (to speak)
話さ はなさ hanasa Base 1
話し はなし hanashi Base 2
話す はなす hanasu Base 3
話せ はなせ hanase Base 4
話そう はなそう hanasou Base 5
話して はなして hanashite Base "te"
話した はなした hanashita Base "ta"

Base 1: Base 1 can not be used by itself but becomes the plain form negative simply by
adding -nai. (ex. hanasanai - I won't say anything.) If the verb ends in う (u) then the
end for Base 1 becomes わ (wa). (ex. au (Base 1) -> awa)
(Plain form is what people use when talking to a friend. It would not be proper to use in
a business environment. We will go over the polite form in lesson 8.)

Base 2: Base 2 is, in most cases, a noun when used by itself but is primarily used with
the polite form of the verb.

Base 3: Base 3 is the main form (the one that would be found in the dictionary) and is
also the plain form present/future tense.
Base 4: Base 4 is most often used as "if verb" by adding -ba. (ex. hanaseba - If he'd
just say something.) It can also be used by itself as a command form but it is extremely
rude and I recommend not using it at all.

Base 5: Base 5 is used by itself as the "let's" form. (ex. hanasou - Let's talk.) We will get
into other ways it's used in later lessons.

Base "te": Base "te" can be used by itself as a plain form command. It is not rude but
should only be used with close friends and children. By adding kudasai it becomes the
polite form command. Base "te" can also be used in other ways that we will get into in
later lessons.

Base "ta": Base "ta" is merely Base "te" with an "a" sound on the end instead of an "e"
sound. It is mainly used by itself as the plain form past tense. (ex. hanashita - I talked.)
We will get into other ways it's used in later lessons.

Notice: There is one thing that you'll need to learn in order to conjugate the "te" and "ta"
forms correctly. Basically, for all Godan verbs ending in う (u), つ (tsu), or る (ru); the う
(u), つ (tsu), or る (ru) becomes って (tte) in the "te" form and った (tta) in the "ta" form.
(ex. katsu (to win) -> katte (Win!), katta (We won!))

For all Godan verbs ending in ぶ (bu), む (mu), or ぬ (nu); the ぶ (bu), む (mu), or ぬ
(nu) becomes んで (nde) in the "te" form and んだ (nda) in the "ta" form. (ex. yomu (to
read -> yonde (Read it.), yonda (I read it.))

For all Godan verbs ending in く (ku), the く (ku) becomes いて (ite) in the "te" form
and いた (ita) in the "ta" form. (ex. aruku (to walk) -> aruite (Walk!), aruita (I walked
here.)) The only exception to this rule is for the verb iku (to go) which becomes いって,
いった (itte/itta).

For all Godan verbs ending in ぐ (gu), the ぐ (gu) becomes いで (ide) in the "te" form
and いだ (ida) in the "ta" form. (ex. oyogu (to swim) -> oyoide (Swim!), oyoida (I
swam.))

For all Godan verbs ending in す (su), the す (su) becomes して (shite) in the "te" form
and した (shita) in the "ta" form. (ex. hanasu (to talk) -> hanashite (Say something!),
hanashita (I talked (to him).))

Here are some Godan verbs. Try conjugating them on a piece of paper using what you
have just learned. Click here for the answers.
 Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana English Meaning
(English Letters)
会う あう au to meet
勝つ かつ katsu to win
売る うる uru to sell
遊ぶ あそぶ asobu to play
飲む のむ nomu to drink
死ぬ しぬ shinu to die
歩く あるく aruku to walk
泳ぐ およぐ oyogu to swim
消す けす kesu to erase, turn off
to go
(Remember the
行く いく iku
exception for Bases
"te"and "ta")

Ichidan Verbs - 一段動詞

The second group of Japanese verbs are called Ichidan (一段) verbs. It is usually an
Ichidan verb if it ends with the sound "iru" or "eru". Some well used Japanese verbs
which appear to be Ichidan but are really Godan are listed here. Ichidan verbs also
follow a simple conjugation pattern that is somewhat similar to that of the Godan verbs.
Below is a verb conjugation chart for Japanese Ichidan verbs:

Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana Verb Base
(English Letters)
食べる たべる taberu (to eat)
食べ たべ tabe Base 1
食べ たべ tabe Base 2
食べる たべる taberu Base 3
食べれ たべれ tabere Base 4
 食べよう たべよう tabeyou Base 5
食べて たべて tabete Base "te"
食べた たべた tabeta Base "ta"

Base 1 and Base 2: As you can see, Base 1 and 2 are the same. Just like with the
Godan verbs, a negative can be made by adding -nai (ex. tabenai - I will not eat.) and
this base, or root form, is also used for the formal form of the verb.

Base 3: Base 3 is the same as with Godan verbs.

Base 4: Base 4, however, can not be used by itself like with Godan verbs. It is only
used for "if verb" by adding -ba. (ex. tabereba - If I eat it...) It is not the low command
form for Ichidan verbs. The low command form for Ichidan verbs is Base 1 + ろ (ro).

Base 5: Base 5 is the same as with Godan verbs.

Base "te" and Base "ta": The Base "te" and "ta" forms for Ichidan verbs are a lot
easier than with Godan verbs. Simply take off the "ru" and add a "te" for Base "te" and a
"ta" for Base "ta". These have the same functions as with Godan verbs.

Here are some Ichidan verbs. Try conjugating them on a piece of paper using what you
have just learned. Click here for the answers.

Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana English Meaning
(English Letters)
to exist (animate), to be
いる いる iru
somewhere
見る みる miru to see
寝る ねる neru to sleep
着る きる kiru to wear, put on
出来る できる dekiru can do
覚える おぼえる oboeru to remember

Irregular Verbs
The last type of verbs are the Irregular verbs but there are only 2 of them in the entire
language so just memorize their charts below. The first one is suru (to do something).
Many nouns can be used as a verb simply by putting "suru" right after them. It is
probably the most used of all Japanese verbs. The second Irregular verb is kuru (to
come).
 Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana Verb Base
(English Letters)
する する suru (to do)
し し shi Base 1
し し shi Base 2
する する suru Base 3
すれ すれ sure Base 4
しよう しよう shiyou Base 5
して して shite Base "te"
した した shita Base "ta"

The functions for these bases are the same as for the Godan verbs except that Base 4
can only be used as the "if verb".
The rude command form is "Shiro".

Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana Verb Base
(English Letters)
来る くる kuru (to come)
来 こ ko Base 1
来 き ki Base 2
来る くる kuru Base 3
来れ くれ kure Base 4
来よう こよう koyou Base 5
来て きて kite Base "te"
来た きた kita Base "ta"

The functions for these bases are the same as for the Godan verbs except that Base 4
can only be used as the "if verb".
The rude command form is "Koi" and really should only be used on animals.

Using Verb Bases

Now that you know about 30 Japanese verbs and can conjugate them, I'll show you
what you can do with those verb bases. You may want to regularly refer to Lesson
6 andLesson 7 while learning these. The following chart applies to all Japanese verbs
unless otherwise noted.

ひらがな - Romaji
English Meaning
Hiragana (English Letters)
Base 1 + ない Base 1 + nai plain form negative (will not verb)
Base 1 + なかった Base 1 + nakatta plain form past negative (did not verb)
Base 2 + ます Base 2 + masu polite form present/future tense
Base 2 + ました Base 2 + mashita polite form past tense
Base 2 + ません Base 2 + masen polite form negative (will not verb)
Base 2 + Base 2 + masen
polite form past negative (did not verb)
ませんでした deshita
Base 2 + たい Base 2 + tai want to verb (add です (desu) to make it polite)
Base 3 Base 3 plain form present/future tense
Base 4 + ば Base 4 + ba if verb
plain form can verb (Godan verbs only)
Base 4 + る Base 4 + ru
(verb now becomes an Ichidan verb)
polite form can verb (can be changed like
Base 4 + ます Base 4 + masu
above)
try to verb
Base 5 + とする Base 5 + to suru (this suru is the same verb learned in lesson 7
(to do something))
want someone else to verb
Base "te" + 欲しい Base "te" + hoshii (hoshii is an adjective which will be covered in
the next lesson)
Base "te" Base "te" plain form command
Base "te" +
Base "te" + 下さい polite form command
kudasai
plain form presently verbing
Base "te" + いる Base "te" + iru (this iru is the same verb learned in lesson 7 (to
exist (animate))
polite form presently verbing (can be changed
Base "te" + います Base "te" + imasu
like above)
Base "ta" Base "ta" plain form past tense
Base "ta" + ら Base "ta" + ra if and when I verb (similar to Base 4 + ba)
do such things as...
Base "ta" + りする Base "ta" + ri suru (this suru is also the same verb learned in
lesson 7 (to do something))
Adjectives and Adverbs
There are two different types of Japanese words that can be used to modify nouns
(adjectives) and verbs (adverbs). One group is much like what we would call an
adjective but they can also be conjugated to modify verbs as well. We will refer to these
as "dv" (for "descriptive verb"). These are often referred to as "true adjectives" or "i-
adjectives". The other group can, in most cases, stand alone like a noun but can also be
used to modify nouns and verbs. We will refer to these as "dn" (for "descriptive noun").
These are often referred to as "quasi adjectives" or "na-adjectives".

All adjectives in the "dv" group always end with い (i). No exceptions. These are placed
in front of a noun in order to modify it. For example:

Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana English Meaning
(English Letters)
赤い車 あかいくるま akai kuruma red car

These adjectives can be conjugated to form different tenses, turned into adverbs
(modify verbs), etc. The conjugation rules for "true" Japanese adjectives are as follows:

Romaji
ひらがな - Hiragana English Meaning
(English Letters)
modifies a verb (adverb form)
drop the い drop the "i"
(akaku natta -> became red)
and add く and add "ku"
(naru is the verb "to become")
present tense negative
drop the い drop the "i"
(akakunai -> is not red)
and add くない and add "kunai"
(becomes a new "dv")
drop the い drop the "i" past tense
and add かった and add "katta" (akakatta -> was red)
past tense negative
drop the い drop the "i"
(akakunakatta -> was not red)
and add くなかった and add "kunakatta" (This one might take a little practice saying.)

It's not as easy to recognize "dn" adjectives but I will point them out in the vocabulary
lists. Sometimes you'll even find a "dn" that ends in い (i) (ex. kirei - pretty). As
mentioned before, these words can, in most cases, be used by themselves like a noun
(ex. shizen - nature). By adding a な (na) to the end of these words they can be used to
modify a noun (ex. shizen na kankyou -> a natural environment). And by adding a に
(ni) to the end of these words they can be used to modify a verb as an adverb (ex.
shizen ni aruku -> to walk naturally).

Here's a list of some commonly used "dv" and "dn" adjectives:

Romaji
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana English Meaning
(English Letters)
赤い あかい akai (dv) red
黄色い きいろい kiiroi (dv) yellow
青い あおい aoi (dv) blue
黒い くろい kuroi (dv) black
白い しろい shiroi (dv) white
面白い おもしろい omoshiroi (dv) interesting, funny
暑い あつい atsui (dv) hot
寒い さむい samui (dv) cold
大きい おおきい ookii (dv) big
小さい ちいさい chiisai (dv) small
自然 しぜん shizen (dn) nature
綺麗 きれい kirei (dn) pretty, clean
失礼 しつれい shitsurei (dn) rude
静か しずか shizuka (dn) quiet
特別 とくべつ tokubetsu (dn) special
元気 げんき genki (dn) in good spirits
変 へん hen (dn) weird, strange
上手 じょうず jouzu (dn) skillful
親切 しんせつ shinsetsu (dn) kind, nice
素敵 すてき suteki (dn) "cool", good looking
Meeting Someone New
We are often asked by our students learning Japanese how to introduce yourself to a
Japanese person. This interaction is normally very formal and filled with a few bows.
Below is a typical Japanese conversation/introduction between two people meeting for
the first time:

Japanese
English Meaning
(In Kanji, Hiragana, and Romaji)
こんにちは。始めまして。
Person Hello. Nice to meet
1: こんにちは。はじめまして。 you.
Konnichi wa. Hajimemashite.
始めまして。お元気ですか。
Person Nice to meet you.
2: はじめまして。おげんきですか。 How are you?
Hajimemashite. O-genki desu ka?
はい、元気です。
Person
はい、げんきです。 I am fine.
1:
Hai, genki desu.
私は______と申します。あなたのお名前は？
わたしは______ともうします。あなたのおなまえは
Person My name is ______.
1: ？ What is your name?
Watashi wa ______ to moushimasu. Anata no o-
namae wa?
私は______と言います。宜しくお願いします。
わたしは______といいます。よろしくおねがいしま My name is ______.
Person
す。 Pleased to make your
2:
Watashi wa ______ to iimasu. Yoroshiku o-negai acquaintance.
shimasu.
宜しくお願いします。
Person Pleased to make your
1: よろしくおねがいします。 acquaintance.
Yoroshiku o-negai shimasu.

Explanation: "Hajimemashite" literally means "it is a beginning" but would be the

equivalent of "Nice to meet you" in English. It would only be used the first time meeting
someone. As learned in Lesson 9, "genki" means "in good spirits". "O-genki desu ka" is
literally asking "Are you in good spirits?". This is the most common way of asking "How
are you?" in Japanese. The other person responds "Yes, I am in good spirits". "Mousu"
is the ultra polite form of the verb "iu" (to say). Both people are literally saying "I am
said/called _____". "Namae" is the word for "name". An "o" is added in front of it (and
other words throughout this exchange) to show respect. This is not done when talking
about yourself. "Yoroshii" means "good/fine" and "negai" is a wish or request.
"Yoroshiku o-negai shimasu" literally means "I request/wish kindly of you". It is basically
like saying "Please treat me well". It can be used in other situations as well - such as
when asking for a favor.

Other Common Japanese Phrases

We are often asked how to say "I love you" in Japanese. This would be "Anata o ai shite
imasu" BUT be advised that the Japanese typically don't use the word for love (愛 - あい
- ai) when talking about their feelings for someone else (not even a boyfriend, girlfriend,
spouse, child, parent, etc.). They would typically say "Anata no koto ga suki desu" or
"Anata ga daisuki desu". "Suki" is Japanese for "like" and "daisuki" means "favorite".
This may seem strange but this is just what they say for "I love you".

Romaji
English
漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana (English
Meaning
Letters)
tanjoubi
誕生日おめでとうございま たんじょうびおめでとうござ Happy
omedetou
す います gozaimasu
Birthday!

akemashite
明けましておめでとうござ あけましておめでとうござい Happy New
omedetou
います ます gozaimasu
Year!

omedetou Congratulatio
おめでとうございます おめでとうございます
gozaimasu ns!
Good night.
oyasumina (used when
お休みなさい おやすみなさい
sai someone is
going to bed)
gomennas
御免なさい ごめんなさい I'm sorry.
ai
すみません すみません sumimasen Excuse me.
toire wa
Where is the
トイレは何処ですか トイレはどこですか doko desu
bathroom?
ka
I am hungry.
onaka ga
お腹が空いています おなかがすいています ("My stomach
suite imasu
is empty.")

See Lesson 3 for other common Japanese phrases.