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このレッシュンはかんたんです！
Kono resshun wa kantan desu!
This lesson is simple!
Demonstratives
Demonstrative pronouns, like 'this' or 'that', work the same in Japanese as in English.
There are three demonstrative pronouns in Japanese.
Preceding a noun: この、その、あの (this, that, that over there)
Preceding a particle: これ、それ、あれ
Preceding a particle: これ、それ、あれ
This cat is cute.
このねこはかわいいです。
Kono neko wa kawaii desu.
'Neko' is a noun meaning 'cat'. Thus, 'this cat' will be 'kono neko' and not 'kore neko'.
That story is interesting.
あのものがたりはおもしろいです。
Ano monogatari wa omoshiroi desu.
What is this?
これはなんですか？
Kore wa nan desu ka?
'Wa' is a particle. Thus, it will be 'kore wa' and not 'kono wa'.
This is a cat.
これはねこです。
Kore wa neko desu.
For their location counterparts, they look almost the same.
ここ、そこ、あそこ
Here, there, over there
Where is my cat?
わたしのねこはどこですか？
Watashi no neko wa doko desu ka?
Your cat is over there.
あなたのねこはあそこです。
Anata no neko wa asoko desu.
Where are you?
あなたはどこですか？
Anata wa doko desu ka?
I am here!
わたしはここです！
Watashi wa koko desu!
Like English, この/これ/ここ (kono/kore/koko) is close to both speaker and listener; その/それ/そこ (sono/sore/soko) is far from the speaker, but close to the listener; and あの/あれ/あそこ (ano/are/asoko) is far from both.
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Particle の
We will see a bunch of particles today!
First off, the particle の (no), which expresses the possessive or the origin of something, is rather easy to use.
の will act as the apostrophe in English to express the possession marker.
Reina's cat
れいなのねこ
Reina no neko
The cat's tail
ねこのしっぽ
Neko no shippo
Sayumi's room
さゆみのへや
Sayumi no heya
の can also tell the origin of an object.
A Japanese camera (a camera from Japan)
にほんのカメラ
Nihon no kamera
Korean food (food from Korea)
かんこくのたべもの
Kankoku no tabemono
For the possessive pronouns 'my', 'your', 'his/her', 'our' and 'their', you only need to use the pronouns + the particle の.
わたしの (watashi no) - My
あなたの (anata no) - Your (singular)
かれの (kare no) - His
かのじょの (kanojo no) - Her
わたしたちの (watashitachi no) - Our
あなたたちの (anatatachi no) - Your (plural)
かれらの (karera no) - Their (masculine)
かのじょらの (kanojora no) - Their (feminine)
This is my work.
わたしのしごとです。
Watashi no shigoto desu.
What is the name of the dog?
いぬのなまえはなんですか？
Inu no namae wa nan desu ka?
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Particle も
The も particle is also fairly easy to use. It can be translated as 'too, also, as well' in English.
Reina is a university student. Yukito is also a university student.
れいなはだいがくせいです。ゆきともだいがくせいです。
Reina wa daigakusei desu. Yukito mo daigakusei desu.
In this case, you replace the second particle は (wa) with も.
も will always follow a noun or a group noun. It cannot be placed at the end of a sentence or following a verb. In English, we can say 'Yukito is a student as well.' 'As well' is placed at the end of the sentence. But in Japanese, も will be placed after the name Yukito.
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Particle と
The particle と is also very easy to use. It has more than one use, but in this lesson, we will see it as meaning 'and' as in 'the cat and the dog.' It cannot be used for verbs, as in 'I sing and dance'. Chains of actions are more complicated in Japanese and we will see how to say them in future lessons.
Sakura and the magic book
さくらとまほうのほん
Sakura to mahou no hon
Reina and Yukito are university students.
れいなとゆきとはだいがくせいです。
Reina to Yukito wa daigakusei desu.
We can also use と as 'with'. This particle will often be used with the expression いっしょに (issho ni), which mean 'together.'
I am going (together) with Reina
れいなといっしょにいきます。
Reina to issho ni ikimasu.
*Be mindful that と is only used in this case. To say 'I eat with chopsticks', for instance, will require another particle (the instrumental particle) that we will see in due time.
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Particle よ
This particle is a fun one. For those of you who watch anime, you've probably heard it a lot before. This particle is a end-of-sentence particle. It cannot really be translated in English, but it is a sort of way to put more enthusiasm in what you say.
Compare these sentences:
Japanese is simple.
にほんごはかんたんです。
Nihongo wa kantan desu.
にほんごはかんたんですよ。
Nihongo wa kantan desu yo.
In the first sentence, it seems like I am stating a fact. In the second sentence, it sounds as if I am being reassuring that Japanese is a simple language. There is no better way to say this sentence, both are correct, but よ will somewhat bring something else to the sentence.
It is a little hard to explain exactly what this particle feels like, I apologise, but this is the best I can describe it. You will get the hang of this particle with time. There is no rule per say to use this particle, except that it is always at the end of sentences.
This person is Reina-chan.
あのひとはれいなちゃんですよ。
Ano hito wa Reina-chan desu yo.
What is magical about this particle too is that you can use it in both polite and casual Japanese.
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Name suffixes
The example I showed earlier 'あのひとはれいなちゃんですよ' has a name suffix in it. Japanese use those a lot, and I thought it would be a good idea to learn them early on.
ちゃん (chan), like in the example, is one of them. These suffixes are attached to names and, again, you've probably heard them a lot in anime.
さん (san) is used to express politeness. It is used like 'mister' or 'miss' in English.
Mr. Tanaka is my teacher.
たなかさんはわたしのせんせいです。
Tanaka-san wa watashi no sensei desu.
Miss Watanabe is next to me.
わたなべさんはわたしのとなりです。
Watanabe-san wa watashi no tonari desu.
You cannot really know which gender a person is when you use 'san', unlike in English. Only if you know the person will you know.
'San' can be used with both first and last names.
ちゃん (chan) is used often for young girls. It has a cute sound to it, so you will most likely use it for children or someone young. People are still using it for me, probably because I look really young... You can use it amongst friends as well, even if you are 30+!
Sakura-chan is an energetic girl.
さくらちゃんはげんきなおんなのこです。
Sakura-chan wa genkina onna no ko desu.
*おんなのこ means a female child.*
ちゃん can only be used with first names. It just sounds weird to use it with last names, because if you are using 'chan', chances are you are friends with someone or are talking to someone younger, and in this case, you wouldn't be using their last name anymore.
くん (kun) is the counterpart of ちゃん. It is often used for boys.
Satoshi, here, look!
さとしくん、ほら、みて！
Satoshi-kun, hora, mite!
くん can be used for both first and last names, unlike 'chan'.
せんぱい (senpai) refers to someone who is older than you. It is mostly used in a learning environment (so, students who are older than you, for example) or in a work environment (employees who are older than you in a department.)
Tsukishiro-senpai is nice.
つきしろせんぱいはやさしいです。
Tsukishiro-senpai wa yasashii desu.
'Senpai' can be used with both first and last names.
せんせい (sensei) can refer to a teacher or a doctor. It can also be used on its own.
Tanaka-sensei is nice.
たなかせんせいはやさしいです。
Tanaka-sensei wa yasashii desu.
Only the context will determine what profession Tanaka is doing.
'Sensei' is an interesting one, because you can generally use it for professions in which someone can teach someone else. In the case of a doctor, they are the ones who will 'teach' you about your health and your conditions, if you are diagnosed with something. However, 'sensei' has been so much used for teachers that, standing on its own, people will automatically know you are talking about a teacher.
It may be confusing, so I would say to only use it for teachers in a learning environment.
Finally, さま (sama) means 'master.' This suffix is not used nowadays, except maybe in karate when students call their teacher. It can also be used in some.... private situations, if you know what I mean...
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You have completed lesson 5!
レッシュン5ができました！
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