Introduction to Beginner Japanese

Lesson PackBy Jeremiah Bourque

http://learnoutlive.com/shop/

A Slice Of Life

• These slides are selected from the Japanese for Beginners Downloadable Lesson Pack to serve as an example of the content.

• All lessons feature easy-to-read black text against a shaded background.

• This makes reading 日本語 (nihongo, the Japanese language) easy and convenient.

Japanese Greetings, 1

• おはよう。• Ohayou. (Good morning.)• おはようございます。• Ohayou gozaimasu. (Good morning/ polite• こんいちは。• Konnichi wa. (Good day. Note wa/ “ha”)• こんばんは。• Konban wa. (Good evening.)

Japanese Greetings, 2

• さようなら。• Sayonara. (Usually safely romanized (i.e. tu

rned to “English”) like this, but written “sayounara” in a word processor. But the “u” isn’t really heard, it’s mostly just a longer “yo” sound.)

• おやすみなさい。• Oyasumi nasai. Good night/ sweet dreams.

Japanese Greetings, 3

• ありがとう。• Arigatou. Thank you.• ありがとうございます。• Arigatou gozaimasu. Thank you very much• すみません。• Sumimasen; pardon me. Sorry. Excuse m

e.

1st Person Pronoun: Watashi

• わたし (watashi)• Pretty neutral, plain formal 1st person (“I”)

pronoun.• It’s not that you can go wrong with this, but

don’t use it too much if you’re trying to impersonate a native speaker. Then again, are you really trying to?

The –tachi Suffix

• Before showing more context, I’ll throw in the –tachi suffix here.

• When a noun has –tachi added to it, that noun becomes a plural.

• Let us keep in mind that Japanese verbs do not account for plural or singular. If a noun is thusly marked as plural, it is, grammatically, an afterthought.

Sou Ka

• “Sou ka” ( そうか ) is a general Japanese expression that is best translated literally as, “Is that so?” In practice, however, the nuance can be, “Ah, really,” etc. It merely announces a moment of reflection on the part of the speaker.

Senpai and Kouhai, 1

• せんぱい is often pronounced, and often written, as “sempai” (just like “shinbun” is pronounced “shimbun” by many). こうはい can be romanized as kōhai but may simply be written as “kohai” instead (but as you see, the “u” is in the kana).

• Much ink has been spilled in disputes over the senpai/ kouhai relationship.

Senpai and Kouhai, 2

• A proper senpai/ kouhai relationship is mutual and co-dependent as follows:

• The こうはい is expected to respect his senior and recognize his own junior status and learn from example.

• The せんぱい is expected to take responsibility for his junior(s) and look out for him/ her/ them. This is supposed to be real, not “responsibility in name only.”

Interested in Much, Much More?

• 30 to 40 slides per lesson.• Clear, well paced explanations.• A conscious effort not to overwhelm th

e beginner. • An overview of sentence structure, earl

y grammar, verbs, and so on. • http://learnoutlive.com/shop/japanese

-for-beginner/