The essence of Japanese language from Futaba

BASIC JAPANESE PHRASES 　初級の日本語

Basic Japanese Phrases: Here are some Japanese phrases that you could find very helpful on your travels to Japan.

These are very easy to learn basic Japanese phrases. For a more detailed list of Japanese phrases see our Japanese Phrase Book.

Hello.
こんにちは。　Konnichiwa. (kon-nee-chee-WAH)

How are you?
お元気ですか。　O-genki desu ka? (oh-GEN-kee dess-KAH?)

Fine, thank you.
元気です。　Genki desu. (GEN-kee dess)

What is your name?
お名前は何ですか。 O-namae wa nan desu ka?　(oh-NAH-mah-eh wah NAHN dess-KAH?)

My name is ____ .
私の名前は ____ です。 Watashi no namae wa ____ desu. (wah-TAH-shee no nah-mah-eh wa ____ dess)

Nice to meet you.
始めまして。　Hajimemash*te. (hah-jee-meh-MOSH-teh)

Please. (request)
お願いします。　Onegai shimasu. (oh-neh-gigh shee-moss)

Please. (offer)
どうぞ。 Dōzo. (DOH-zo)

Thank you.
どうもありがとう。 Dōmo arigatō. (doh-moh ah-ree-GAH-toh)

You're welcome.
どういたしまして。 Dō itashi mash*te. (doh EE-tah-shee mosh-teh)

はい。 Hai. (HIGH)
No.
いいえ。 Iie. (EE-eh)

Japanese business class. Do you know 'meishikoukan'?
Let's learn japanese business etiquette with us:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NniiQwyGwYk&feature=feedlik

Attention please! We will have a BBQ party and we would like you to join! ()

BBQ Party, October 15: Please join us and have a fun! Let's have some barbecues, drink, play sports, make lots of Japanese friends and speak Japanese!

October 15, 13:00 - 22:00 (You can leave anytime.)
Admissions - Men: 2500 yen / Women: 2000 yen

Please contact us if you can join us!

Subjective point of view and Objective point of view
~「だけ (just)」and「しか～ありません（ない）(There's only)

Let's say, there is a beer in a fridge. If we want to express the situation as it is, we will say "冷蔵庫に　ビールが　一本あります (We have a beer in the fridge)"。If we want to emphasize how many beers we have, we will say "冷蔵庫に　ビールが　一本だけあります。(We have just one beer in the fridge).

A. 冷蔵庫に　ビールが　一本あります。(We have a beer in the fridge.)
B. 冷蔵庫に　ビールが　一本だけあります (We have just one beer in the fridge.)

If you want to drink more beers and you don't feel good about having only one beer left in the fridge, you will say,

C. 冷蔵庫に　ビールが　一本しか　ありません（ない）。」(We only have one beer left in the fridge.)

Sentence A and B show the fact (objective point of view) and Sentence C shows the speaker's emotion (subjective point of view).

As the mater of fact, I don't like beers, so I would use Sentence A or B, not Sentence C!

There is a courtesy to align your shoes in Japan.
"Illumination from Our Feet"
Arraging our shoes neatly, we bring harmony to our minds,
When our minds are harmonious, we arrange shoes neatly.
If we arrange shoes neatly when we take them off,
..Our minds won't be disturbed when we put them on.
If someone leaves shoes in disarray,
Let us silently set them to order.
Such an act surely will bring harmony
To the minds of people around the world.

July②: Japanese Onomatopoeic Words
Ex. (4) 擬情語 (Mimesis words that express the psychological conditions of a person.)
「料理が　出てこないので、いらいらしました。」 (I find it irritating when my food doesn't come.)
In this sentence, "Irritating (=いらいらする)" is a mimesis word.

July②: Japanese Onomatopoeic Words
Ex. (3) 擬態語 (Mimetic words that express the state of a person or thing.)
「昨日　ぐっすり寝ました。」(Slept well yesterday.)
In this sentence, "well (=ぐっすり)" is a mimetic word.

July②: Japanese Onomatopoeic words
Ex. (2) 擬声語 (Words that imitate sounds of animals or people.)　
「犬が　わんわん鳴いています。」 (A dog barks “wan-wan”.)
In Japanese, you can express the sound of a barking dog with an onomatopoeia "わんわん (wan-wan = bow-wow = the bark of a dog).

July②: Japanese Onomatopoeic words
Ex. (1) 擬音語 (Words that imitate the sounds)
「ばたんと　ドアが　閉まりました。」(A door slammed shut.)
In Japanese, you can express a slammed door with an onomatopoeia "ぱたん (patan = door closing)". This onomatopoeia tells that it isn't an angry person who is slamming the door. It gives a gentle expression and we can tell that a gentle draft or a cat or something like that is slamming the door.

July Part ①. Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji
When we read Japanese, we can get some impressions from the written shapes of Japanese scripts.

The Japanese writing system uses three main scripts:
Hiragana - a pair of syllabaries used for native Japanese word. A character itself doesn't express specific meanings.
Katakana - a pair of syllabaries used for foreign words and names.
Kanji - ideographs from Chinese characters and used to express specific meanings.

Let's compare the nuances of each script. Most of the time, Katakana is used for foreign words and names, like phrases like "Toilet（トイレ）" or "Banana（バナナ）."

When we, native Japanese speakers, see many strokes in written Japanese letters, we get stronger impressions from the letters compared to letters with a few strokes.

The impressions that we get from Katakana are a little bit stronger than letters written in Hiragana.

Hiragana letters give soft impressions for these letters have a few corners and their shapes are round. If there are many corners in a letter, the letter shows a strong impression.

Therefore, the types of letters written for the packages of merchandises and advertisements are chosen according to the age groups or genders of targeted purchasers.

What type of letters are most fitting to describe what you want to say?? Hiragana?? Katakana?? Or Kanji??

Ex. ばら、バラ、薔薇