Nihongo no JOSHI 　「ni」 to 「de」 no tsukai-kata How to use particles “ni” & “de.”   Nihon-go  no  joshi  niwa  “wa” “ga” “ni” “e” “to” “de”  nado  ga  ari-masu.  Joshi  wa  shokyuusha  ni  totte  mottomo  muzukashii  bunpoo  koomoku  no  hitotsu  desu.  kyoo  wa  kihonteki  na  “ni”  to  “de”  toiu  futatsu  no  joshi  no  tsukai-kata  o  benkyoo  shimashoo! にほんごのじょしには　「は」「が」「に」「へ」「と」「で」などが　あります。　じょしは　しょきゅうしゃにとって　もっとも　むずかしい　ぶんぽう こうもくの　ひとつです。　きょうは　きほんてきな　「に」と「で」という　ふたつの　じょしの　つかいかたを　べんきょうしましょう！ For beginners, particles are one of the most difficult part about learning Japanese. Today, let’s learn how to use the particles “ni” & “de.”   ■ Joshi “ni” ／ じょし「に」 = Place + Particles “ni”      つかいかた tsukaikata  (usage)   れいぶん　reibun  (example sentences)  ① direction to (place)  watashi  wa  ashita  Hawai  ni  iki-masu.  I will […]

Japanese lessons 12 Nihongo no joshi  “de”  /  Japanese particle “de”   ①　watashi  wa  keiko  desu. ＝ I am Keiko Yamada. →「wa」： Subject marker (“wa” indicates the main topic of a sentence.) ②　watashi  wa  kaban  o  kai-mashita. ＝ I bought a bag. →「o」： Object marker (“o” is placed after a noun and it indicates the noun is the direct object.) ③　watashi  wa  depaato  de  kaban  o  kai-mashita. ＝ I bought a bag at a department store. →「de」：Place marker (“de” indicates the place where an action or an event take place.) ④　watashi  wa  3gatsu  3ka  ni  depaato  de  kaban  o  kai-mashita. ＝ I bought a bag at a department store on March third. […]

Japanese lessons 11 Dooshi no kakokei  /  verb past tense in Japanese     tense  affirmative  negative form   non-past tense  (present / future )  tabe　masu      tabe　masen   past tense  tabe　mashita     tabe 　masendeshita    Nihongo  no  “kakokei (past tense) ” o  tsukuru  no  wa  totemo  kantan  desu. 「masu」o「mashita」ni  kaeru  dake  desu.  shita  no  rei  o  mite-mimashoo!   To make Japanese past tense is very simple. Just change the masu ending to mashita. Look at the examples below. ① watashi  wa  kinoo  raamen  o  tabe-mashita. わたしは　きのう　ラーメンを　たべました。 I ate (had) Ramen yesterday.   Affirmative past tence :  masu →  mashita Negative past tense : masen ＋ deshita = masendeshita.   ② watashi  wa  kinoo  […]

Learn how to use and where to place adverbs of frequency in Japanese!   kaiwa  /  Conversation  「yoku  eiga  o  mi-masu」”How often do you watch movies”   A:  John-san,  yoku  eiga  o  mi-masu  ka? B:   hai,  yoku  mi-masu. horaa  to  komedii  o  yoku  mi-masu.   Yamada-san  wa? A:   iie,  amari   mi-masen. watashi  wa  geemu  no  hoo  ga  suki-desu. B:  watashi  wa  zenzen  geem  o  shimasen. A:  eh?  dooshite?  geemu  wa  omoshiroi  desu  yo.   <translation> A: John, do you often watch movies? B: Yes, I often do.  I often watch horror movies and comedy movies. How about you,  Mr. Yamada? A: No, I don’t often watch (movies). I prefer (playing) games. B: I […]

Japanese verbs /  Basic 10 verbs   Let’s learn Japanese verbs!   Dooshi  verbs  1  たべべます  tabe-masu  to eat  2  のみます  nomi-masu  to drink  3  みます  mi-masu  to look, to watch  4  よみます  yomi-masu  to read  5  ききます  kiki-masu  to listen  6  かきます  kaki-masu  to write  7  かいます  kai-masu  to buy  8  はなします  hanashi-masu  to talk, to speak  9  つくります  tsukuri-masu  to make  10  します  shimasu  to do, to play   ■　Bun no koozoo /  Sentence  Structure   ① Watashi  wa  mainichi  terebi  o  mi-masu.  (I watch TV every day. ) →　Subject + time expression + verb + object   ② Ashita  watashi  wa  tenisu  o  shimasu.     (Tomorrow,  I will (or am going to) […]

Kaiwa  ／　Conversation   A:  Kaigi  wa  nan-ji  ni  hajimari-masu ka? B:  Etto…. 4 ji  ni  hajimari-masu yo. A:  4 ji desu ne.   Soshite, nan-ji  ni  owari-masu  ka? B:  5 ji gurai  ni  owari-masu  yo. A:  Soo desu ka.  doomo.   <Translation> A: What time will the meeting start? B: Let me see…., It will start at 4pm. A: 4pm…. And what time will it end? B: It will end around 5pm. A: Okay, thank you.   ■  Tango  ／　vocabulary 1.  hajimari-masu  (~ start, ~ begin)     2.  owari-masu  (~ to be finished, ~ end) 3. kaigi  (meeting, conference)    4.  etto… ( let me see)      5. ~ ji  gurai  (around ~ o’clock)   6.  ni  (at) […]

Japanese lessons 7   From what time? 「nan ji kara desu ka?」   ■　Kaiwa (conversation)   A:  Sumimasen … Ashita no kaigi wa nan-ji kara desu ka？ B:  Gogo 3ji kara desu yo. A: Soo desu ka. Doo mo.   <translation> A:  Excuse me… What is the starting time for tomorrow’s meeting (conference)? B:  It’s from three pm. A:  Okay, thank you.   ■　Tango (vocabulary) 1. kara　／ from      2. made　／ to, until    3.  gogo／ pm 4. ashita ／ tomorrow    5. kaigi ／ meeting, conference     6. doomo ／ thank you ※ Soo desu ka  (with falling intonation)　／  it has a lot of meaning ; I see, Okay, Uh-huh etc.,   ■　Bunpoo […]

How to say “What time is it?” in Japanese (2)   pun/fun = minutes ;  depending on afre which number it follows.  numbers  minites (fun or pun)  1  ichi  00:01  ip pun  2  ni  00:02  ni fun  3  san  00:03  san pun  4  shi / yon  00:04  yon pun  5  go  00:05  go fun  6  roku  00:06  rop pun  7  shich / nana   00:07  nana fun  8  hachi  00:08  hap pun  9  kyuu  00:09  kyuu fun  10  jyuu  00:10  jyup pun  11  jyuu ichi  00:11  jyuu ip pun      12  jyuu ni  00:12  jyuu ni fun  30  san jyuu  00:30  san jyup pun /  han (= half)   ■ Examples 1.   […]

Japanese lessons 5 Learn how to tell time in Japanese. 1.  “-ji” = o’clock Careful with ★(4 o’clock, 7 o’clock, 9 o’clock)  number  time   (“ji” means “o’clock)   1  ichi  1:00    ichi ji   2  ni  2:00    ni ji   3  san  3:00    san ji   4  shi / yon  4:00  ★yo ji　   5  go  5:00     go ji   6  roku  6:00     roku ji   7  shichi / nana  7:00  ★shichi ji   8  hachi  8:00     hachi ji   9  kyuu  9:00  ★ku ji   10  jyuu  10:00    jyuu ji   11  jyuu ichi  11:00    jyuu ichi ji  12  jyuu ni […]