Learn Japanese language
First of all, in order to see the Japanese on the following pages Windows users will need to download either the Unionway AsianSuite Standard Pack (3.2 MB) here or Kanjikit (2.04 MB) here (Windows 95 & 98 users) or here (Windows NT users). Both of these are limited time demos so keep the setup program available for when it runs out. You can use the same product ID over and over again too so make a note of it. Mac users will either need to have the Japanese language kit (which is a waste of money for someone just starting out) or use Internet Explorer 5 or later (which will display Japanese for either platform). For more information on displaying Japanese please visit here.
The first step is to learn the alphabet. Or, at least, the sounds that exist in the Japanese language. There are absolutely no "tones" like in Chinese, Thai, etc. and there are only 2 exeptions which will be explained later. The characters listed below are called Hiragana. It is the main alphabet for Japanese. The Japanese language also consists of Chinese characters (Kanji), which we will get into later, and another alphabet, Katakana, which is mainly used for foreign words. The Katakana chart is farther below for those that are interested.
There are 5 vowels in the Japanese language. (a), pronounced "ahh", (i), pronounced like "e" in "eat", (u), pronounced like "oo" in "soon", (e), pronounced like "e" in "elk", and (o), pronounced "ohh". All Hiragana characters end with one of these vowels, with the exeption of (n). The only "consanent" 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".
Note: Netscape users will not be able to see the Hiragana "a" unless the "Encoding" setting is set to Japanese. You may need to increase the font size slightly with this setting so do so until the characters are legible.
ひらがな - Hiragana
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Exeptions:
1. は (ha) is pronounced "wa"
when it immediately follows the subject. It is usually only pronounced "ha" when
it is part of a word.
2. へ (he) is pronounced "e" when
it immediately follows a place or direction.
Both of these are very simple to
detect.
You probably noticed that there are 2 "zu" and 2 "ji". づ (zu) and ぢ (ji) are very rarely used.
づ (zu) only occurs when there is a つ
(tsu) in front of it like in つづく (tsuzuku - to continue) or
when a Kanji (Chinese character) that starts with つ (tsu)
is paired at the end with another character changing the つ
(tsu) to a づ (zu). The same applies for ぢ (ji). Since they are used so rarely I wouldn't worry about them
too much. I will let you know whenever we come upon a word in which they are
used.
カタカナ - Katakana
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The next step is to learn the basic rules of Japanese grammar, which is quite simple, and some basic words and greetings.
The grammar of a basic Japanese sentence:
Subject は (wa - the subject marker) Direct Object を (wo - normally pronounced "o", the d.o. marker) Indirect Object に (ni - usually indicates direction, like "to") Verb.
For example . . .
わたしはそれをもらう。
(Watashi (I) wa sore (that) o morau (to receive))
かれはそこにいく。 (Kare (he) wa soko (there) ni iku (to go))
We'll go more into the grammar as the lessons progress, but
first, you need to learn some basic words so you can make sentences when we get
there.
I'll include the Kanji (Chinese character) also so you can start to
get familiar with them.
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(very rarely written in Kanji) |
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(never written in Kanji) |
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(very rarely written in Kanji) |
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(never written in Kanji) |
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Now for some time words. Today, tomorrow, March, Monday, etc. These follow a fairly simple patern so they should be pretty easy to memorize.
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For time, just replace the 月 (gatsu) with 時 (ji)
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Now, before you can start making up sentences of your own, you need to learn how to conjugate 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 with only one exception that I can think of. These verbs have five changes that follow the order of the Japanese vowels, hence the name Godan (meaning 5 levels or steps), and then the "te" and "ta" forms that are common to all verbs. Here's an example:
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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)
Base 2 is, in most cases, a noun but is primarily used with the polite form.
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 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 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" 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" 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.
There is one thing that you'll need to learn in order to
conjugate the "te" and "ta" forms correctly, however. 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 I know of is
for iku (to go) which becomes いって, い っ た (itte/itta). I have no idea
why.)
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..
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(Remember the exception for Bases "te"and "ta") |
The second group of 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 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. Here's an example:
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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 polite form.
Base 3
is also the same as with Godan verbs.
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 is also the
same as with Godan verbs.
The Base "te" and "ta" forms for Ichidan verbs is a
lot easier than with Godan verbs. Simply take of the "ru" and add a "te" for
Base "te" and a "ta" for Base "ta". These also have the same function as with
Godan verbs.
Here are some Ichidan verbs.
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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 it. It is probably the most used of all Japanese verbs. The second is kuru (to come).
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The function 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".
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The function 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 should only be used on animals.
Now that you know about 30 verbs and can conjugate them, I'll show you what you can do with those bases. The following chart applies to all verbs unless otherwise noted.
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(verb now becomes an Ichidan verb) |
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(this suru is the same verb learned in lesson 4 (to do something)) |
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(hoshii is an adjective which will covered in the next lesson) |
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(this iru is the same verb learned in lesson 4 (to exist (animate)) |
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(this suru is also the same verb learned in lesson 4 (to do something)) |
There are two different types of words that can be used to modify nouns and verbs. One group is much like what we would call an adjective but they can also modify verbs as well. We will refer to these as "dv". 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". All words in the "dv" group always end with い (i). No exceptions. This is placed in front of a noun in order to modify it. For example:
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These words can be conjugated to form different tenses, modify verbs, etc. Here is how that is done:
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(naru is the verb "to become") |
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(This one might take a little practice saying.) |
It's not as easy to recognize a "dn" but I will tell you that's what they are 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 envionment) And by adding a に (ni) to the end of these words they can be used to modify a verb. (ex. shizen ni aruku -> to walk naturally)
Here's a list of some "dv" and "dn"
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The polite form for any "dv" or "dn" can be created by simply adding a で す (desu) to the end. で す is the polite form equivalent of the verb で あ る (de aru - to be). It is the most used verb in the Japanese language. Here are how the two are conjugated:
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Here's some sentences to help you get started:
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The next few lessons are going to be all 単 語 (tango - vocabulary). Enjoy!
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(honorable handwashing place) |
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(ex. by next Thursday) |
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More 単 語. Enjoy!
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(when conjugated "yoi" is always used.) (ex. yokunai -> not good) |
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