Existential verbs + Particles が (ga), に (ni) and は (wa) + Question words

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こうえんにいぬがいます！

Kounen ni inu ga imasu!

There are dogs at the park!

Existential verbs

Two important verbs in Japanese, they demonstrate the existence of people and things. 

いる (iru) and ある (aru), with their keigo form います (imasu) and あります (arimasu), are used often in Japanese, so this is why it is important to learn them early. At the same time, we will learn our first particles, the particle が (ga), the particle に (ni) and the particle は (wa).

Japanese employs particles, which are often composed of one or two syllables, and their function is different depending on the sentence and meaning. Some verbs may require a certain particle, whereas some designate whether an object or person is the subject or object of a sentence. There are many particles, but do not worry, we will view them in due time!

For now, let's focus on the particle が which is used with these two existential verbs, います and あります, and the particle に, which is used with places and directions. 

The particle は (wa) in this case will be used with いません (imasen) and ありません (arimasen), which are the negative forms.

We can translate the existential verbs as 'there is' or 'there are' in English. います (imasu) is used when the subject we are talking about is an animate object (i.e. a person or an animal.) あります (arimasu), on the other hand, is used when we are talking about an inanimate object (i.e. a book.) 

There is a dog.

いぬがいます。

Inu ga imasu.

There is a book.

ほんがあります。

Hon ga arimasu.

When you want to say that something exists in a place, this is where you will use the particle に.

This is a bit more difficult to construct. に (ni), in this case, is a particle that designates the location of something or someone. 

LOCATION + に + SUBJECT + が + あります

LOCATION + に + SUBJECT + が + います

There is a book on the table.

つくえのうえにほんがあります。

Tsukue no ue (location) ni (particle) hon (object) ga (particle) arimasu.

つくえ (tsukue) is 'desk' and うえ (ue) is 'up' or 'on.' The particle の (no) in between signifies 'on top of the table.' We will see の in more detail soon.

SUBJECT + は + LOCATION + に + あります

SUBJECT + は + LOCATION + に + います

This construction only works if we know what we are talking about.

The particle は (wa) in all cases will be pronounced as 'wa' and not 'ha.' 

It is a topic marker or a subject particle.

The book is on the table.

ほんはつくえのうえにあります。

Hon wa tsukue no ue ni arimasu.

In this sentence, we know what book we are talking about, as in 'the Harry Potter book is on the table.' Thus, we cannot use this sentence construction if we are talking about a book in general. It is the same in English if we say 'the book is on the table' versus 'a book is on the table.'

I am now in Tokyo.

わたしはいまとうきょうにいます。

Watashi wa ima Toukyou ni imasu.

いま (ima) means 'now' or 'right now.' In this case, since you are talking about yourself (thus, we know what or who we are talking about), we cannot use が (ga). We have to use は (wa).

People have a lot of difficulty knowing the difference between the particles 'ga' and 'wa' and how and when to use them when they are learning Japanese, and this is all normal!

It is even difficult to explain the difference.

Do not worry, we will see both of these particles deeper in other lessons. For now, focus on the existential verbs and what we learned today.

あります and います as 'to have'

います and あります can also be used to say that we have something. It can act as the verb 'to have' in a general sense, as in 'I have two dogs' and not as 'I have a book (in my hands right now).'

I have manga at home.

いえにまんががあります。

Ie ni manga ga arimasu.

Meilin, do you have a dog?

めいりんはいぬがいますか？

Meirin wa inu ga imasu ka?

Yes, I have a dog.

はい、いぬがいます。

Hai, inu ga imasu.

Negative form

As mentioned, the negative form of います and あります is いません (imasen) and ありません (arimasen).

Only one catch with this negative form... Instead of using the particle が (ga), we have to use the particle は (wa) for the negation, and this is also the case for all actions verbs in the negative. 

For now, let's just focus on the negative form of あります and います.

Meilin, do you have a dog?

めいりんはいぬがいますか？

Meirin wa inu ga imasu ka?

No, I do not have a dog.

いいえ、いぬはいません。

Iie, inu wa imasen.

So far, we have seen two uses of the particle は (wa). 

In the lesson about how to introduce yourself in Japanese, we saw that は was a topic or subject particle, such as watashi wa, or Reina wa... But here, it is used with verbs in the negative when there is an object, such as hon wa arimasen, inu wa imasen...

This is because, when stating sentences in the negative, we tend to emphasise. So, the particle は will be used to emphasise certain things, which is not the case with the particle が.

We will see that は will also be used for the negative form of action verbs in another lesson.

Something, someone, somewhere

なにか, だれか/どなたか, どこかに

Anything, anyone, anywhere

なにも, だれも/どなたも, どこにも

With なにか (nanika), だれか (dareka) /どなたか (donataka), the use of が (ga) is optional.

With なにも (nanimo), だれも (daremo) /どなたも (donatamo), が (ga) must not be used.

Is there something on the bed?

ベッドの うえになにか（が）ありますか？

Beddo no ue ni nanika (ga) arimasu ka?

No, there is nothing on the bed.

いいえ、ベッドのうえになにもありません。

Iie, beddo no ue ni nanimo arimasen.

Is there someone?

だれか (が) いますか？

Dareka (ga) imasu ka?

There isn't anyone. (There is no one.)

だれもいません。

Daremo imasen.

In building sentences, which part of the sentence do you put first in Japanese? 

That's a good question and one that is worth studying. Most of the time in Japanese, the topic will come first, so anything that requires the particle は (wa). The subject will come first, obviously, followed by the object and then the verb.

In the cases we have seen, it is more natural to start with the location, followed by the subject, and then the verb. So, we would put, for instance, ベッドのうえに (beddo no ue ni) before なにも (nanimo).

It will take time to understand how to arrange a sentence, but you can always rely on what you have learned to recreate a sentence. Basically, you just follow the examples and replicate what you see. Japanese is pretty straightforward for this.

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Question words

Now that we have learned the verbs 'to be' and 'to exist,' it is time to learn these question words. 

なに / なん (nani/nan) = what

だれ / どなた (dare/donata) = who

どこ (doko) = where

いつ (itsu) = when

どうして / なぜ / なんで (doushite/naze/nande) = why

どうやって (douyatte) = how (as in 'how do we do this')

どう (dou) = how (as in 'how is it')

なに becomes なん in front of です, for pronunciation purposes.

What is it?

なんですか？

Nan desu ka?

どなた is the respectful version of だれ.

Who is it?

だれですか？

Dare desu ka?

Where is the bank?

ぎんこうはどこですか？

Ginkou wa doko desu ka?

When is Tomoya's birthday?

ともやのたんじょうびはいつですか？

Tomoya no tanjoubi wa itsu desu ka?

なぜ is more used by men than women. You will probably hear なんで more often than どうして. Technically speaking, なんで means 'how' but we mostly use it to ask 'why'.

Why?

どうしてですか？

Doushite desu ka?

なんでですか？

Nande desu ka?

If you are unsure, you can view nande as meaning 'how come?' which also means 'why'.

How come you can understand Japanese?

なんでにほんごがわかりますか？

Nande nihongo ga wakarimasu ka?

How do you remember kanji?

どうやってかんじをおぼえますか？

Douyatte kanji o oboemasu ka?

In this sentence, you can put かんじを (kanji o) at the beginning, although it sounds more natural to start with どうやって (douyatte).

How is it?

どうですか？

Dou desu ka?

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Congratulations! You made it to the end of lesson 3! 

Don't forget that I am always here to answer questions if you need any help! Take it step by step and soon, you will be able to understand and express yourself in basic situations!

Next time, we will learn the katakana alphabet and this one will be an entire lesson, as katakana are harder to learn and have more writing rules than hiragana.

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To exist, to be, to have - います/あります (imasu/arimasu)

Book - ほん (hon)

Dictionary - じしょ (jisho)

Library - としょかん (toshokan)

Dog - いぬ (inu)

Cat - ねこ (neko)

Animal - どうぶつ (doubutsu)

Country - くに (kuni)

Town, city - まち (machi)

Village - むら (mura)

Up, on - うえ（に）(ue (ni)

Down, below, under - した（に）(shita (ni)

In front - まえ（に）(mae (ni)

Behind - うしろ（に）(ushiro (ni)

To the left - ひだり（に）(hidari (ni)

To the right - みぎ（に）(migi (ni)

In, centre, middle - なか（に）(naka (ni)

Outside, out of - そと（に）(soto (ni)

House - いえ (ie)

School - がっこう (gakkou)

University - だいがく (daigaku)

Classroom - きょうしつ (kyoushitsu)

Desk - つくえ (tsukue)

Chair - いす (isu)

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You have completed lesson 3!

レッシュン3ができました！

Katakana table

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The dear and lovely katakana... the other Japanese symbols that everyone hates more than anything. Even kanji receive more love than katakana.

But seriously, you cannot not learn the katakana, as they exist to transcribe foreign words.

The problem with them is that they require a lot of writing rules compared to the hiragana.

Are you ready for the rules?

Many students studying Japanese find katakana to be harder than kanji and identifying them can be a challenge for English speakers. They have several writing rules to them, as well as representing foreign words that sometimes can be easy or hard to read. Katakana must be written as how the words sound. For instance, we can write 'apple' in katakana like this, アップル (appuru). Saying it quickly will sound like 'apple.'

As I have mentioned, katakana have more rules when it comes to writing than hiragana. 

One rule, however, is exactly like the one in hiragana and that is the consonant break. In katakana, as you can see with the word アップル, we still see the mini ッ to represent the pause. Otherwise, long vowels are written differently with katakana; we will use ー to write long vowels. This is pretty simple compared to hiragana. Thus, to write 'card', we will write カード (ka-do). Imagine it as a sign stretching the sound.

But the writing rules do not stop there. As we have to write the sound a foreign word makes when we write in katakana, there are some sounds we must take into consideration in order to know how to write a word in katakana. 

It is important to remember that Japanese is a consonant-vowel syllable language, meaning a consonant must be followed by a vowel. As such, when you meet a word in English that you have to write in katakana, you need to 'translate' this word in the Japanese alphabet. Take a word like 'strike' for instance; in Japanese, we must insert a vowel after 's' and 't' (and 'k' as well). The default vowel for such adjustment is 'u'. 

However, if we insert 'u' after 't', the consonant changes. Remember that 't' and 'd' in hiragana are つ (tsu) and づ (dzu) respectively. For 't' and 'd', we will insert an 'o' instead. Thus, 'strike' becomes ストライク (sutoraiku). 'Strike' can be written in two ways, either ストライク (sutoraiku) as in a baseball strike, or ストライキ (sutoraiki), meaning a labour strike.

Vowels

When an English word is borrowed, all English vowels must be categorised in one of the 5 Japanese vowels. Even though there are 6 vowels in English (a, e, i, o, u, y), there are more vowels sounds. Some English vowels are longer than the others. Compare 'live' and 'leave'; they have different qualities, but both sound like 'i' for Japanese speakers. Because Japanese make a distinction between short and long vowels, native speakers are particularly sensitive to length differences.

( i ) in 'heal' is perceived by Japanese as a long ( i )

アイスクリーム (aisu kuriimu) - Ice cream

スキー (sukii) - Ski 

スニーカー (suniikaa) - Sneaker 

チーズ (chiizu) - Cheese

( i ) as in 'hill' is perceived as a short ( i )

テレビ (terebi) - Television 

テニス (tenisu) - Tennis

ミルク (miruku) - Milk

ピアノ (piano) - Piano 

( ei ) as in 'hail' is perceived as a long ( e )

 ケーキ (keeki) - Cake

テーブル (teeburu) - Table

エアメール (eameeru) - Airmail

レインコート (reincooto) - Raincoat

( e ) as in 'bell' is perceived as a short ( e )

 ブレッド (bureddo) - Bread

ペン (pen) - Pen

テスト (tesuto) - Test

デスク (desuku) - Desk

( ae ) as in 'hat' is perceived as a short ( a )

 アップル (appuru) - Apple

カメラ (kamera) - Camera

バッグ (Baggu) - Bag 

プラン (puran) - Plan

( o ) as in 'not' is perceived as a short ( o ), or less frequently as a long ( o )

コーヒー (koohii) - Coffee

ポット (potto) - Pot

ロボット (robotto) - Robot

ゴルフ  (gorufu) - Golf

( o ) as in 'old' is perceived as a long ( o )

ノート (notto) - Note

トースト (toosuto) - Toast

ボート (booto) - Boat

ローン (roon) - Loan

( u ) as in 'good' is perceived as a short ( u )

インプット (inputto) - Input

クッキー (kukkii) - Cookie

ブック (bukku) - Book

ブッシュ (busshu) - Bush

( u ) is in 'moon' is perceived as a long ( u )

 プール  (puuru) - Pool

フード (fuudo) - Food

ルーム (ruumu) - Room

ルール (ruuru) - Rule

( a ) as in 'hut' is perceived as a short ( a )

アメリカ (amerika) - America

カップ (kappu) - Cup

コンピューター (konpyuutaa) - Computer

トラック (torakku) - Truck

( ai ) as in 'ice' is perceived as a combination of ( a ) and ( i )

アイスコーヒー (aisukoohii) - Ice coffee

アイデア (aidea) - Idea

ナイフ (naifu) - Knife

 パイ (pai) - Pie

( ao ) as in 'how' is perceived as a combination of ( a ) and ( u )

 タウン (taun) - Town

ダウ (dau) - Dow (Jones)

ハウス (hausu) - House

マウス (mausu) - Mouse

The sequence of vowel and an ( r ) is perceived as the corresponding long vowel. The sounds in English 'bird' and 'bard' are represented by the same symbols in katakana; both would be written and pronounced バード (ba-do).

ガールフレンド (gaarufurendo) - Girlfriend

アパート (apaato) - Apartment

コース (koosu) - Course

サーカス (saakasu) - Circus

F sounds

( f ) by itself or with a ( ou, u ) is perceived as 'hu' and represented as フ, because this has the most f-like sound of the syllables in the series. ( f ) with other vowels is written as フ plus the following vowel in a small letter.

フランス  (furansu) - France

フットボール (futtobooru) - Football

ファミリー (famirii) - Family

ドルフィン (dorufin) - Dolphin

フィルム (firumu) - Film

フェリー (ferii) - Ferry

カリフォルニア (kariforunia) - California

L and R

( l ) and ( r ) are perceived as ( r ).

ボールペン (boorupen) - Ballpen

コーラ (koora) - Cola coke

ステレオ (sutereo) - Stereo

トランペット (toranpetto) - Trumpet

T and D 

In the authentic Japanese sound system, (t + i) becomes チ (chi), (d + i) becomes ジ (ji) and (t + u) becomes ツ (tsu).

 チケット (chiketto) - Ticket

ミュージック (myuujikku) - Music

ラジオ (rajio) - Radio

ツー (tsuu) - Two

However, an increasing number of Japanese speakers pronounce ( ti ) and ( di ) the same way as English speakers do. This new pronunciation can be represented in katakana like ティ and ディ. Some Japanese write ( tu ) as トゥ, but this is not widely used.

ティー (tii) - Tea

パーティー (paatii) - Party

キャンディー (kyandii) - Candy

タトゥー (tatuu) - Tattoo

TH sound

The initial consonants in 'thank' and 'this' are perceived as ( s ) and ( z ), although in a small number of words the voiceless ( th ) is represented as ( t ).

シアター (shiataa) - Theatre

スリー (surii) - Three

マザー (mazaa) - Mother

サンキュー (sankyuu) - Thank you

アロマテラピー (aromaterapii) - Aromatherapy

エステティック (esutetikku) - Aesthetic

She, je, che sounds

The (she, je, che) sounds do not occur in authentic Japanese words, but can be represented in katakana as シェ、ジェ and チェ respectively.

シェフ (shefu) - Chef

ジェット (jetto) - Jet

チェック (chekku) - Check

チェリー (cherii) - Cherry

ゃ, ゅ, ょ 

Some English words are like those represented in hiragana with a small ゃ, ゅ, ょ and are represented the same in katakana.

キャッシュ (kyasshu) - Cash

シャワー (shawaa) - Shower

チューリップ (chuurippu) - Tulip

チャーチ (chaachi) - Church

V sound

( v ) does not exist in Japanese, but it is pronounced and written as a ( b ). 

アイビー (aibii) - Ivy

ベジタブル (bejitaburu) - Vegetable

バイオリン (baiorin) - Violin

YE sound

Both in hiragana and katakana, ( y ) occurs only with (a, u, o). The syllable ( ye ) can be written イェ.

 イェーツ (ieetsu) - Yates

イェール (ieeru) - Yale

イェルサレム (ierusaremu) - Jerusalem

イェロー (ieroo) - Yellow

W sound

In hiragana, ( w ) can only occur with ( a ), but in katakana, other combinations are possible; ( w ) is represented as ウ and the following vowel in a small letter. 

ウィーク (uiiku) - Week

ウェスト (uesuto) - West

スクウェア (sukuuea) - Square

ウォーター (uootaa) - Water

Consonant break

Like in hiragana, long consonants (or double consonants) are represented with a small ッ in katakana.

 エッグ  (eggu) - Egg

キャッシュ (kyasshu) - Cash

フロッピー (furoppi) - Floppy

ベッド (beddo) - Bed

*Be mindful that most of these words have a word in Japanese, they are not always anglicised!

The reading and writing rules for katakana is what makes them so hard for students to learn. Unfortunately for them, they appear in everyday Japanese texts, so we cannot jump over them and not learn them. More and more Japanese borrow words from English and other languages, thus the use of katakana takes more and more space. 

Now that you have learned the katakana, you can spell your name! If your name is not Japanese, you can write it in katakana. My mother’s name for example; ソニア (Sonia – Sonya). 

Or the name of your pets! My cat’s name for example; ムーン (Mu-n – Moon).

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Congratulations! You passed the katakana!

おめでとう!!!

Now that you know the katakana, you can almost read everything in Japanese! 

Kanji is just the final step. If you want to dive into kanji right away, I have a good book to recommend all my students to buy if they want to study kanji.

Kanji Look and Learn: 512 kanji with illustrations and mnemonic hints

イメージで覚える「げんき」な漢字512

By Eri Banno, Yoko Ikeda, Chikako Shinagawa, Kaori Tajima and Kyoko Takashiki

I won't make a list of words to learn this time, since you have a bunch up there already.

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You have completed lesson 4!

レッシュン4ができました！

Demonstratives + Particles の (no), も (mo), と (to) and よ (yo) + Name suffixes

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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

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！

Tell time + Future vs. habitual actions 〜 ます (〜 masu) vs. Present time 〜ています (〜teimasu) + Particle を (wo)

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はちじにおしごとにいきます！

Hachi ji ni oshigoto ni ikimasu!

I go to work at 8 o'clock!

Telling time

We will now learn how to tell time in Japanese. We will also review the numbers.

In Japanese, 'time' is じかん (jikan).

You can now tell people that you do or don't have time!

じかんがあります！

Jikan ga arimasu!

or...

じかんはありません。。。

Jikan wa arimasen...

Let's start with hours: 'hour' is じ (ji).

*よじ and くじ are irregular. Thus, we don't say よんじ or きゅうじ.

We don't tell time like in French in Japanese, so you will never hear 'thirteen o'clock, twenty o'clock...' We will tell the difference between morning and afternoon with these two words: ごぜん (gozen) (a.m) and ごご (gogo) (p.m). We will place them before the time.

It is 9 a.m.

ごぜんくじです。

Gozen kuji desu.

It is now 8 p.m.

いまはごごはちじです。

Ima wa gogo hachi ji desu.

'Minute' is ふん (fun) in Japanese.

Some numbers will be irregular, so be careful.

You might have noticed that there are two ways of saying 'four' (よん or し) and 'seven' (しち and なな). There are no way to really know which one to use. I would personally just remember which one is used for which words.

To say 'half', as in '10:30 a.m', you can say ごぜんじゅうじはん (gozen juu ji han). はん (han) is 'half'. 

There is no way to say 'quarter' really, so we will say the number 15 + minutes.

With that in mind, let's learn the verb 'to meet' in order to practice telling time.

'To meet' is あいます（あう）(aimasu) (au) and this verb requires the use of the particle に at all times.

I meet Reina at 5:30 p.m.

ごごごじはんにれいなにあいます。

Gogo go ji han ni Reina ni aimasu.

Yes, I will meet with Watanabe-san at 6 o'clock here.

はい、ろくじにここにわたなべさんにあいます。

Hai, roku ji ni koko ni Watanabe-san ni aimasu.

To ask what time it is, simply say なんじですか？(Nan ji desu ka?)

To ask at what time, like 'at what time are you meeting up with Reina?' you can use the question word いつ (itsu), which means 'when'.

When do you meet Reina?

いつれいなにあいますか？

Itsu Reina ni aimasu ka?

I meet her at 4 o'clock.

よじにあいます。

Yo ji ni aimasu.

Since we can now tell time, we should also learn the days of the week and the months. We should also be able to say what day it is and what month it is.

The days of the week in Japanese all have a meaning and the week typically start on Monday and not Sunday.

げつようび (Getsuyoubi) - Monday (day of the moon)

かようび (kayoubi) - Tuesday (day of the fire)

すいようび (suiyoubi) - Wednesday (day of the water)

もくようび (mokuyoubi) - Thursday (day of the tree)

きんようび (kin'youbi) - Friday (day of the gold)

どようび (doyoubi) - Saturday (day of the earth)

にちようび (nichiyoubi) - Sunday (day of the sun)

The months are relatively easy. 

いちがつ (ichigatsu) - January

にがつ (nigatsu) - February

さんがつ (sangatsu) - March

しがつ (shigatsu) - April

ごがつ (gogatsu) - May

ろくがつ (rokugatsu) - June

しちがつ (shichigatsu) - July

はちがつ (hachigatsu) - August

くがつ (kugatsu) - September

じゅうがつ (juugatsu) - October

じゅういちがつ (juuichigatsu) - November

じゅうにがつ (juunigatsu) - December

Yes, you read that right. Months use the numbers + the word for months... how original! That makes it easy to learn, but maybe a bit hard since you need to know that March is the third month, August the 8th month, etc..

Now, I won't really teach you how to say the 9th day of the month, because this is a bit complicated and I think with this lesson, you will have enough for a while.

One more thing...

きょう (kyou) - today

あした (ashita) - tomorrow

あさって (asatte) - the day after tomorrow

きのう (kinou) - yesterday

おととい (ototoi) - the day before yesterday

あさ (asa) - morning

けさ (kesa) - this morning

ひる (hiru) - afternoon

こんばん (konban) - this evening

よる (yoru) - night

こんや (kon'ya) - this night

ゆうべ (yuube) - last night

こんしゅう (konshuu) - this week

せんしゅう (senshuu) - last week

らいしゅう (raishuu) - next week

しゅうまつ (shuumatsu) - weekend

こんげつ (kongetsu) - this month

せんがつ (sengatsu) - last month

らいがつ (raigatsu) - next month

ことし (kotoshi) - this year

きょねん (kyonen) - last year

らいねん (rainen) - next year

さき (saki) - previous

つぎ (tsugi) - next

In October of next year, I am going to Japan.

らいねんのじゅうがつににほんにいきます。

Rainen no juugatsu ni nihon ni ikimasu.

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Future, habitual actions and present tense

A lot of people, when they first learn Japanese, they get a bit confused with the ending 〜ます (〜masu) when it comes to verbs. A lot make the mistake of thinking that this verb ending represents the present tense, but it doesn't. 

There are two meanings to this verb ending: it can represent the future or a habitual action.

Future use

Take the examples we did with the verb 'to meet' あいます: in all examples, we were talking in the future tense. This tells you it is in the future because of the time markers. This verb cannot really be in the present tense anyway. 

It is the same for です (desu), あります (arimasu) and います (imasu). These are state verbs, thus, they are automatically in the present tense and cannot be in the future tense.

If you want to say 'I will be in Japan in 2 months', you will need to say 'I will be going to Japan in two months.' We cannot use the verb です in this situation.

I'm going to Japan.

にほんにいきます。

Nihon ni ikimasu.

I will meet Reina.

れいなにあいます。

Reina ni aimasu.

I will eat an apple.

りんごをたべます。

Ringo o tabemasu.

Habitual action use

The ending 〜ます can also represent a habitual action.

I read the newspaper every morning.

まいあさ、しんぶんをよみます。

Maiasa, shinbun o yomimasu.

In this case, it tells us that you do a repeated action. You are used to read the newspaper every morning.

*まいあさ is 'every morning', しんぶん is 'newspaper' and よみます is 'to read'.

I go to work everyday.

まいにち、おしごとにいきます。

Mainichi, oshigoto ni ikimasu.

いきます（いく）is 'to go'.

Like in English, to say that you are doing something right now will be another tense.

Present tense

If you want to use the present, as in 'I am doing something right now', we will have 

to use the 〜て (〜te) form of verbs, 〜ています (〜te-imasu).

I am reading a book right now.

いま、ほんをよんでいます。

Ima, hon o yondeimasu.

よみます will become よんでいます in this form. You will notice that the 〜て form will change a little bit depending on the verb endings at the infinitive. Thus, since よむ (yomu) is a verb ending in 'mu' at the infinitive, it will be よんでいます and not よています.

We will see all verb endings in due time.

I am eating an apple.

りんごをたべています。

Ringo o tabeteimasu.

Thus, 〜ます form of verbs represents either the future or a habitual action.

For the present tense, we use the 〜て form of verbs.

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Particle を

We saw a little bit of this particle. Now, it is time to explain it.

The particle を is an object marker. It will be used mostly with action verbs such as 'to read', 'to eat', 'to take (something)', 'to drink', 'to look', 'to see', etc.

We write it を, but we pronounce it 'o' and not 'wo'.

I read the newspaper.

しんぶんをよみます。

Shinbun o yomimasu.

I eat an apple.

りんごをたべます。

Ringo o tabemasu.

I take a picture.

しゃしんをとります。

Shashin o torimasu.

I drink tea.

おちゃをのみます。

Ocha o nomimasu.

Do not think of this particle as being 'a' or 'an' in English! Some of my students made this mistake, because in some verb cases, you would use 'a' or 'an' in English, but not 'o' in Japanese. There is no articles in Japanese, as such the particle 'o' shouldn't replace 'a' or 'an' in English. 

As we saw in the lesson about existential verbs, when we use action verbs that require the use of the object particle in the negative, then we will use the particle は (wa) instead of を (o).

The negative form of the verb ending 〜ます is 〜ません.

I do not read newspapers.

しんぶんはよみません。

Shinbun wa yomimasen.

I do not eat apples.

りんごはたべません。

Ringo wa tabemasen.

I do not take pictures.

しゃしんはとりません。

Shashin wa torimasen.

I do not drink tea.

おちゃはのみません。

Ocha wa nomimasen.

Again, this is a matter of putting an emphasis on the negative. Technically speaking, we can use the particle を with the negative, but we will often need something else.

Look at these examples:

I do not drink tea everyday.

まいあさ、おちゃはのみません。

Maiasa, ocha wa nomimasen.

まいあさは、おちゃをのみません。

Maiasa wa, ocha o nomimasen.

They both mean the same thing, but the emphasis will change.

In the first example, we put the emphasis on 'ocha'. In the second example, we put the emphasis on 'maiasa'. Which means that in the first example, we do not drink tea every morning, but we could be drinking something else in the morning.

In the second example, we could be drinking tea, but not every morning, which means we do not have the habit of drinking something every morning.

Keep in mind that different verbs will require different particles. But don't panic! It isn't witchcraft to know which particle goes with which verb.

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You have completed lesson 6!

レッシュン6ができました！

With or by oneself + Particles で (de), へ (e) and に (ni) + Let's or shall we do... 〜ましょう(〜mashou) + Particle ね (ne)

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いっしょににほんごをべんきょうしましょう！

Issho ni nihongo o benkyou shimashou!

Let's study Japanese together!

With or by oneself

In the lesson on the particle と, we learned about how it can either mean 'and' as in 'Reina and Chiharu', but it can also mean 'with', such as 'I am going to France with Reina'. We will learn more about it and the expression 'by oneself'.

The best way to say 'with someone' is to use the expression '.... といっしょに (... to issho ni). 

いっしょ（に）means 'together', so we say 'together with Reina'.

I am going to France with Reina.

れいなといっしょにフランスにいきます。

Reina to issho ni Furansu ni ikimasu.

If we are talking to our friend, for instance, we can drop the name and と.

Let's play together!

いっしょにあそびましょう!

Issho ni asobimashou!

To express that we do things by ourselves, we will use the expression ひとりで (hitori de). ひとり is one person, and で is roughly translated as 'by' in this case. 'By one person' means 'by oneself'.

I am going to Japan by myself.

ひとりでにほんにいきます。

Hitori de nihon ni ikimasu.

I will draw by myself (alone).

ひとりでえをかきます。

Hitori de e o kakimasu.

え is 'drawing' or 'painting' and かきます（かく）means 'to write'. Together, えをかきます means 'to draw'.

If you want to say, for instance, that your friend is going to England by themselves, simply use this construction.

Reina is going to England by herself.

れいなはひとりでイギリスにいきます。

Reina wa hitori de igirisu ni ikimasu.

This expression is not limited to only ourselves. We can use it for other people.

We can also use this expression: じぶんで (jibun de). It roughly mean 'by myself' as well.

I am going to school by myself.

じぶんでがっこうにいきます。

Jibun de gakkou ni ikimasu.

'Jibun' actually means 'myself' or 'oneself' as opposed to 'hitori' which has more of a meaning of being alone. In fact, ひとりぼっち (hitoribocchi) means 'alone'. 

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Particle で

This construction brings me now to explain the particle で. In this case, we will see it as meaning 'by the means of'. This particle is used a lot with actions verbs and is called the instrumental particle.

I eat sushi with chopsticks.

はしですしをたべます。

Hashi de sushi o tabemasu.

はし is 'chopsticks'. In this sentence, we say 'I eat by the means of chopsticks'. 

We can also say:

I am going by train.

でんしゃでいきます。

Densha de ikimasu.

でんしゃ is 'train'. This sentence would roughly be translated to 'I go by the means of train'.

It is essentially explaining the method you took to do something. This is why you shouldn't be mixing と and で, as they can both mean 'with'. と means 'with' as in 'in the presence of' and で means 'with' as a way to accomplish something. 

Think about it as the means or method or way of doing something. How do you eat rice? With chopsticks. How did you go to school? By train.

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Particles へ and に

We have seen the verb 'to go' in Japanese, いきます（いく）. Now, it is the time to see the two particles of movement.

We already saw that に has many uses as a particle. We saw it with locations, with the verb あいます (aimasu), and now we will see it with more verbs that express movement. 

Technically speaking, へ designates the departure (going toward) and に designates the arrival (to be somewhere). In theory, with the verb いきます, we should be using the particle へ, but almost everyone uses the particle に. In perfect grammar, however, に would only be used with the verb 'to go' in the past, since we already reached our destination by that point.

I will go to Japan next year.

らいねん、にほんへいきます。

Rainen, nihon e ikimasu.

Last year, I went to Japan.

きょねん、にほんにいきました。

Kyonen, nihon ni ikimashita.

This is the right way to say it, but many Japanese will still use に in both examples.

Also, small hint: the particle へ is written 'he' but is pronounced 'e', just like how the particle は is pronounced 'wa' and not 'ha', and the particle を is pronounced 'o' and not 'wo'.

Also, be mindful that even though in Japanese the use of commas is minimal, I will use them to make it easier for you to read. Commas work differently in Japanese and are not used that much, compared to English.

We will use the particle へ in other occasions, such as 'welcome to my home' 

わたしのいえへようこそ (watashi no ie e youkoso).

に will also be used with more movement verbs, such as のぼる (noboru) (to climb) and のる (noru) (to ride).

I will climb Mount Fuji.

ふじさんにのぼります。

Fuji san ni noborimasu.

That's okay, I will ride (take) a taxi.

だいじょうぶ、タクシーにのります。

Daijoubu, takushii ni norimasu.

I ride the train every morning.

まいあさ、でんしゃにのります。

Maiasa, densha ni norimasu.

So, to review, the particle へ designates the departure (going towards a place) and the particle に designates the arrival and works with certain movement verbs (like のぼる and のる).

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Let's do or shall we do?

The ending 〜ましょう (〜mashou) is the equivalent of 'let's...' in English. 

To use it, simply replace 〜ます with 〜ましょう and you get the 'let's' form.

Let's drink!

のみましょう！

Nomimashou!

Let's eat Okonomiyaki!

おこのみやきをたべましょう！

Okonomiyaki o tabemashou!

To invite someone to do something, we use the negative form of verbs instead. You will see that asking questions in the negative form is more polite in Japanese.

Why don't we drink beer?

ビールをのみませんか？

Biiru o nomimasen ka?

Yes, let's drink!

はい、のみましょう！

Hai, nomimashou!

Why don't we go eat?

たべにいきませんか？

Tabeni ikimasen ka?

Yes, let's go eat!

はい、たべにいきましょう！

Hai, tabeni ikimashou!

In this construction, we use the stems of verbs + にいきます to say 'to go do something'.

You can do this for almost all verbs.

To go drink

のみにいきます

Nomini ikimasu

To go eat

たべにいきます

Tabeni ikimasu

To go play

あそびにいきます

Asobini ikimasu

It doesn't imply the future in this case, it only implies that we actually go somewhere to do these actions. Do not confuse this construction with the future tense! Only the 〜ます form here indicates the future.

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Particle ね

I am sure you've heard this particle many times in anime!

This particle is also an end-of-sentence particle, much like よ, but it has a different meaning.

We can translate this particle as 'isn't it?'

Today is a good day (temperature), isn't it?

きょうはいいてんきですね。

Kyou wa ii tenki desu ne.

This grilled chicken is delicious, right?

このやきとりはおいしいですね。

Kono yakitori wa oishii desu ne.

We don't need to use '?' when using ね.

In some cases, you can use よ and ね together.

Today is a good day, isn't it?

きょうはいいてんきですよね。

Kyou wa ii tenki desu yo ne.

That's nice, isn't it?

いいですよね！

Ii desu yo ne!

Again, よ will bring more emphasis on the fact that today is a good day. 

We always put よ before ね, never the reverse.

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くるま - car

でんしゃ - train

タクシー - taxi

じてんしゃ - bicycle

ちかてつ - subway, underground

あるいて - by walk, by foot

のります - to ride

あるきます - to walk

はしります - to run

さんぽします - to take a walk

いきます - to go

のみます - to drink

よみます - to read

たべます - to eat

あいます - to meet

いっしょ - together

なるほど - I see... as in 'ah, I see...'

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You have completed lesson 7!

レッシュン7ができました！

Past tense 〜ました (〜mashita) and negative form + Particles から (kara) and まで (made) + ... but

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おしごとからいえまであるきました。

Oshigoto kara ie made arukimashita.

I walked from work to home.

Past tense

We saw the form  〜ます of verbs, which was the future or a habitual action, in earlier lessons. We also said that 〜ません was the negative ending of verbs in the 〜ます form. 

It is now time to learn the past tense with 〜ました. To do so, we just replace 〜ます with 〜ました.

In December, I went to Canada.

じゅうにがつにカナダにいきました。

Juunigatsu ni Kanada ni ikimashita.

What did you eat?

なにをたべましたか？

Nani o tabemashita?

I ate poutine.

プーティンをたべました。

Puutin o tabemashita.

Japanese does not make a distinction between simple past and past perfect. In English, these sentences 'I went to Mexico' and 'I have gone to Mexico' are different, but in Japanese, there is no such thing.

We can, however, turn the past to past continuous with the 〜て form of verbs, 〜ていました.

Look at this sentence, for instance:

When my mother came home, I was studying.

ははがかえってきたとき、わたしはべんきょうしていました。

Haha ga kaette kita toki, watashi wa benkyou shiteimashita.

We can't use the simple past here. Think of this tense as 'was ...ing'.

To say that we have already done something in the past, such as 'I have been to Mexico before', we will use a different construction in Japanese. This construction will emphasise our experience of having done something before. We will see this construction later.

In the case of the verb です, the past form is でした.

It was a black cat.

くろいねこでした。

Kuroi neko deshita.

To put the past in the negative, change 〜ません to 〜ませんでした. 

I did not go to Canada in December.

じゅうにがつにカナダにいきませんでした。

Juunigatsu ni Kanada ni ikimasen deshita.

We use the verb でした to make the past negative. This maybe sounds weird for English people. It is because です in reality is a versatile verb and will not only mean 'to be', but it will also work with other constructions that have nothing to do with the verb 'to be'.

It is the same way for the verb 'to be' in the past negative form.

It is not a black cat.

くろいねこじゃありません。

Kuroi neko ja arimasen.

It was not a black cat.

くろいねこじゃありませんでした。

Kuroi neko ja arimasen deshita.

Do not confuse this sentence as being affirmative just because there is でした. The ending 〜ません always represents the negative. でした will only tell you that it is in the past.

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Particles から and まで

These particles means 'from A to B'. から means 'from' and まで means 'to' or 'until'.

I walked from the company to the bank.

かいしゃからぎんこうまであるきました。

Kaisha kara ginkou made arukimashita.

I will play games until my birthday.

おたんじょうびまでゲームをします。

Otanjoubi made geemu o shimasu.

I will walk from the Ikebukuro Station.

いけぶくろのえきからあるきます。

Ikebukuro no eki kara arukimasu.

They are not always together as you can see.

From March to May, you can see the cherry blossoms in Japan.

にほんにはさんがつからごがつまでさくらをみえます。

Nihon ni wa sangatsu kara gogatsu made sakura o miemasu.

から can also be used to say where we are from.

I come from the United States.

アメリカからきました。

Amerika kara kimashita.

The verb きました means 'to have come' and in this case, it is always used in the past when we say where we are from.

I come from Australia. I am Australian.

オーストラリアからきました。オーストラリアじんです。

Oosutoraria kara kimashita. Oosutoraria jin desu.

To say you are of one ethnicity, the word じん (jin) which means 'person' is used.

にほんじん (nihonjin) - Japanese

カナダじん (Kanadajin) - Canadian

アメリカじん - Amerikajin) - American

ちゅうごくじん - Chuugokujin) - Chinese

かんこくじん (Kankokujin) - Korean

インディアじん - Indiajin) - Indian

ドイツじん (Doitsujin) - German

イギリスじん (Igirisujin) - British

This construction is not used a lot, however. Normally, to state where you are from, even though we do say 'Amerika kara kimashita', we will be more inclined to say 'Amerika shusshin desu'. 'Shusshin' is like 'the state of' or 'the country of'.

から can also mean 'from' as in 'from someone', if you receive a gift.

I received chocolate from my mother!

ははからチョコレートをもらいました！

Haha kara chokoreeto o moraimashita!

To say 'to' as in 'to someone', we can say に.

I gave chocolate to my father.

ちちにチョコレートをあげました。

Chichi ni chokoreeto o agemashita.

In a letter, we will mostly address the addressee with へ and end it with より.

To Sakura....

.... from Tomoyo

さくらへ。。。

。。。ともよより

Sakura he....

..... Tomoyo yori

Don't forget that the particle へ is pronounced 'e' and not 'he'. 

This construction is only used in letters or messages (i.e. emails).

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Conjunction が

We saw が as a particle, but が can also act as the conjunction 'but'. There are other ways to say 'but', but this one is the standard one. It will be used in more polite setting.

I am a little bit sleepy, but I am okay.

ちょっとねむいですが、だいじょうぶです。

Chotto nemui desu ga, daijoubu desu.

ちょっと means 'a little bit' and ねむい means 'sleepy'. 

As you can see, が is attached to the first sentence as opposed to the second one like in English.

This pizza in this restaurant is expensive, but delicious.

このレストランでのピザはたかいですが、おいしいです。

Kono resutoran de no piza wa takai desu ga, oishii desu.

Uuh, sorry to be rude, but I have a question.

あの、しつれいですが、しつもんがあります。

Ano, shitsurei desu ga, shitsumon ga arimasu.

あの in this sentence means something like a 'uuhh' or a hesitation.

I eat with chopstick, but I am not very good at it.

はしでたべますが、ちょっとへたです。

Hashi de tabemasu ga, chotto heta desu.

Be careful with が as it can be a particle or a conjunction. Most of the time, the context itself will be obvious, so you shouldn't confuse them.

There is another word we can use for 'but' and it is けど (kedo). In fact, you may have heard this one more often in anime. It works the same way as が.

I am a little bit sleepy, but I am okay.

ちょっとねむいですけど、だいじょうぶです。

Chotto nemui desu kedo, daijoubu desu.

I would say that が is really formal, whereas けど is more conversational. Both work with the keigo form, so you won't sound rude to someone if you decide to use けど. が is not really used in casual speech, since it is so formal.

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とにかく - Anyway

それに - Beside

ちなみに - By the way (on a side note)

そして - Also, furthermore

しかし - However

ちらずに - In no time

かならず - Always

ずっと - All the time

きっと - Surely

やっぱり - On second thoughts, now that I think about it...

ぜひ - Be sure to..., please

まずは - First of, firstly

つまり - In other words

ばっかり - All the time

ばかり - Just, approximately

いつも - Always

ときどき - Sometimes

でも - But

ちょっと - A little bit

あまり - Not really

とても - Very

すごく - Very

よく - Often

ほんとう - Really

ほとんど - Nearly, largely, almost

さいごに - Lastly

そうですか？ - Ah, really?

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You have completed lesson 8!

レッシュン8ができました！