HOME | Pronunciation | Contact Me     

Tony : May I come in – Gomen kudasai
Kobayashi : Yes, who is that? – Hai, Dochira sama desu ka?
Tony : I’m Tony – Toni desu.

Kobayashi : Oh, Tony, welcome. Please come in – Maa, Toni-san, irasshaimase. Dōzo oagari kudasai.
Tony : Sorry for disturbing – Hai, ojama shimasu

John : Please (go in first) – Osaki ni dōzo
Tony : Thanks – Dōmo

Tony : Excuse me – Shitsurei shimasu
John : Excuse me – Shitsurei shimasu

Kobayashi : Please take a seat – Dōzo okake kudasai
Tony : Thank you – Hai, arigatō gozaimasu

Tony : This is John from America – Kochira wa amerika kara no Jon-san desu
John : I’m John, nice to meet you. – Hajimemashite. Jon desu
Kobayashi : I’m Kobayashi, nice to meet you. Regards – Kobayashi desu. Hajimemashite. Dōzo yoroshiku.

Meaning : Gomen Kudasai (May I come in), Dochira Sama (Who – polite form), Irrashaimase (Welcome), Oagari (Rise, Come In – polite form), Ojama (Disturb), Osaki (First), Dōzo (Please), Dōmo (Thanks), Shitsurei (Excuse), Okake (Sit Down), Kochira (This), Kochira (This – for human – polite form), Hajimemashite (Nice to meet you), Yoroshiku (This is something like “All the best” or asking someone for a favor)

37 Responses »

Easy to read – (Yomu)Yomiyasui desu
Difficult to read – Yominikui desu

When converting to “~yasui” or “~nikui”, the hiragana at the end of the verb shall be changed to the “second sound (a i u e o). Yomu >> Yomiyasui, Kaku >> Kakiyasui. Special verbs such as Suru >> Shiyasui, Kuru >> Kiyasui, Miru >> Miyasui. For more information on how to change for other verbs that end with different hiragana words, please go to our Verbs Section.

It’s easier to study in a quiet room – Shizuka na heya wa benkyō (suru)shiyasui desu
Tofu is difficult to eat – Tōfu wa (taberu)tabenikui desu
It’s not difficult to watch in old television – Furui terebi wa (miru)minikuku arimasen

When you are using negative expression, as usual remove the “i” and change to “ku” follow by “arimasen”

3 Responses »

Kobayashi : How is it? – Ikaga desu ka?
Tony : Please shorten a little bit more – Mō sukoshi (mijikai)mijikaku shite kudasai.
Kobayashi : How short do you want? – Dono gurai mijikaku shimashō ka?
Tony : Please shorten for about 1 centimeter – Mō 1 senchi gurai mijikaku shite kudasai.
Meaning : Ikaga (How – to what extent), Mō (More, Already), Mijikai (Short), Gurai (About), Senchi (Centimeter)

Kobayashi : How many years have you study Japanese? – Nihongo o benkyō shite kara nan nen ni narimasu ka?
Tony : Already 3 years – Mō 3 nen ni narimashita.
Kobayashi : Is it still difficult? – Mada muzukashii desu ka?
Tony : Yes, very. But, it became gradually fun – Hai, tottemo. Demo dandan (omoshiroi)omoshiroku natte kimashita.
Meaning : Benkyō (Study), Mada (Still), Muzukashii (Difficult), Tottemo (Very), Demo (But, However), Dandan (Gradually), Omoshiroi (Fun)

Kobayashi : Your grandfather has been admitted for a week already, right? – Ojiisan ga nyūin shite kara sorosoro isshūkan ni narimasu ka?
Tony : No, 2 weeks but he is better already – Iie, nishūkan ni narimasu ga, mō yoku narimashita.
Kobayashi : Is it. Still haven’t discharge yet? – Sō desu ka. Mada taiin wa shimasen ka?
Tony : Ya, Still not discharge yet – Ee, mada taiin shimasen.
Meaning : Ojiisan (Grandfather), Nyūin (Admit Hospital), Sorosoro (Soon, Within a short time), Taiin (Discharge from Hospital)

11 Responses »

Sorry, it’s being a while since the last lesson as I was busy helping my wife taking care of my twin babies.

Today, I will cover “~ku narimasu” which means “become something”.

Example
Enpitsu ga nagai desu + Mijikaku shimasu = Mijikaku narimashita
Long pencil + Shorten it = Became Shorter

For adjective ends with “i”, “ku narimasu” should be used otherwise “ni narimasu” shall be used. For example :

Byōki >> Genki = Genki ni narimashita
Sick >> Fine / Well = Became well

Fuyu >> Haru = Haru ni narimashita
Winter >> Spring = Became (Changed) to Spring

Other Usage
I have already became 20 years old – Mō 20 sai ni narimashita
Still haven’t reach 20 years old – Mada 20 sai ni wa narimasen

As usual, for negative answer “ni wa” should be used instead of “ni”. For the ~ku narimasu, ~ku arimasen shall be used.

7 Responses »

Conversation 1
Kobayashi : What did you do day before yesterday? – Ototoi wa nani o shite imashita ka?
Tony : Went to Shibuya for shopping, then watch a drama. – Shibuya e itte kaimono o shite kara, shibai o mimashita.
Kobayashi : What did you buy? – Nani o kaimashita ka?
Tony : I saw sofa & table at the department store near the station but couldn’t find any good ones – Eki no soba no depa-to de, sofa- to te-buru o mimashita ga, ii no ga (mitsukaru)mitsukarimasen deshita.
Kobayashi : What kind of sofa & table you wanted? – Donna no ga hoshikatta desu ka?
Tony : I wished to buy big and beautiful sofa and small square table but only small sofa was available. – Ookikute kirei na sofa- to chisakute shikakui te-buru ga kaitakatta desu ga, chisai sofa- shika arimasen deshita.
Kobayashi : So, you didn’t but anything – Jaa, nani mo kaimasen deshita ka?
Tony : No, I didn’t by sofa & table but I bought a doll for my daughter – Iie, sofa- to te-buru wa kaimasen deshita ga, musume ni omocha o katte kaerimashita.
Meaning : Ototoi (Day before yesterday), Kaimono (Shopping), Shibai (Drama), Sofa- (Sofa), Te-buru (Table), Mitsukaru (Discover / Find), Shikaku (Square), Musume (Daughter), Omocha (Doll)

Conversation 2
Kobayashi : Have you already went for tour? – Mō ryokō shimashita ka?
Tony : Yes, I went to Kyoto & Osaka last month – Hai, sengetsu, Kyōto to Osaka e itte kimashita.
Kobayashi : Is it. Then, is there any other place you wish to visit – Sō desu ka. Sorekara, hoka ni doko e ikitai desu ka?
Tony : I wish to go to Hokkaido & Kyushu – Hokkaidō ya Kyūshū nado e ikitai desu
Meaning : Ryokō (Tour), Sengetsu (Last Month), Hoka (Other)

5 Responses »

In my previous lesson, we learned about “hoshii” which means “Want”. “~tai” has a similar meaning but it uses in conjunction with verbs. In other word, it uses as “Want to do something”. The following examples will show you the different usage of “hoshii” and “~tai”.

Usage of “hoshii”
Q : Do you want a new shoe? – Atarashii kutsu ga hoshii desu ka?
A : Yes, I want a new shoe – Hai, Atarashii kutsu ga hoshii desu.

Usage of “~tai”
Q : Do you want / wish to buy a new shoe? – Atarashii kutsu ga/o (kau)kaitai desu ka?
A : Yes, I want / wish to buy a new shoe – Hai, atarashii kutsu ga/o kaitai desu

Can you see the difference? “~tai” is use in conjunction with “kau (buy)” which equaivalent to “kaitai (wish to buy)”. When using “~tai”, you can either use “ga” or “o” for the noun.

Other examples
Want / Wish to drink coffee – Ko-hi- ga/o (nomu)nomitai desu.
Want / Wish to eat cake – Ke-ki ga/o (taberu)tabetai desu.
Want / Wish to watch western movie – Eiga ga/o (miru)mitai desu
Meaning : Kutsu (Shoe), Eiga (Western Movie)

Enjoy today’s lesson ……

2 Responses »

Today, I will cover the use of “Hoshii” which means “Want or Wish”. The usage is very simple as per examples below :

Q : Do you want today’s newspaper – Kyō no shinbun ga hoshii desu ka?
A : Yes, I want today’s newspaper – Hai, Kyō no shinbun ga hoshii desu.

Yes, I want a cheap stereo – Hai, Yasui sutereo ga hoshii desu.
No, I do not want a cheap stereo – Iie, Yasui sutereo wa hoshiku arimasen.
Meaning : Shinbun (Newspaper), Yasui (Cheap), Sutereo (Stereo)

19 Responses »

My wife and twin babies have finally discharged from hospital. 3 of them are healthy.

All this while in my lessons, I use “ou” for word that represents the long sound. Example : Kinou should be read as Ki No- where the “No-” will be read a bit longer instead of reading it as Ki No U. In Hiragana, it is written as “きのう” (Kinou). That’s why some people here may confuse whether to read it as “Ki No-” or “Ki No U”. In Japan, the romaji they use to identify this type of pronunciation is “ō” which means there’s an “U” at the end of the “O”. This will tell you that you have to read it as “Ki No-” instead of “Ki No U”.

Previously, I did not use “ō” because I didn’t know that this character existed in the font until today, I finally found this character in the font.

So all future lessons related to longer sound that use “ou”, i will put them as “ō”. For example : In hiragana, Tokyo is written as Toukyou which many people don’t even know what is this. So I will use Tōkyō which means you have to read it as To-kyo-.

If anyone having difficulty with this character, please let me know.

Thanks.

2 Responses »

My wife just gave birth (caesarian) to a twin baby girl. Twins in Japanese is “Futago” as this will be today’s lesson :D. There won’t be any lesson in this 2 days as I have to accompany my wife for at least 2 days at the hospital. Hopefully my wife can be discharged on this Sunday. Now I have started to confuse who’s the elder and who’s the younger (1 minute different) as they looked the same. I need to refer to the tag to identify them by looking at the title, “Twin 1″ & “Twin 2″. Many people told me that after a month or so, I will get use to it and can easily identify the difference.

7 Responses »

Akihabara, Tokyo’s world-famous Electric Town where you will find a wide range of comtemporary electric & electronic appliances at far cheaper prices than any where in Japan. If you have plan to go there, Akihara is a place where you shouldn’t miss this place.

More than 250 electrical appliances and electronics shops of all sizes are located in a small area around Chuo-dori Avenue, in the west of Akihabara Station. In recent years, the main trend has shifted from general home electrical appliances toward the new world of the internet.

This town began specializing in electrical equipment in the latter half of the 1940s, when people’s primary source of information was radio. In the beginning, many shops dealing in radio parts gathered under the elevated railroad of JR. Later, these shops began dealing with home electrical appliances, thus developing into the world’s biggest electrical equipment town.

With many service centers and the showrooms of major manufacturers, as well as duty-free shops and various events, the town is attractive in the eyes of visitors. Among these events, the Denki-matsuri Festival, held in summer and winter, is the biggest, a great chance for good shopping that you should never miss. Take the time to fully explore the wonderland.

To go there, the easiest way is to take subway / train (taxi fare is just too high).

Save Cost (1,100 yen – 77 mins)
– From Narita Airport >> Keisei Funabashi (Use Keisei Line Express – 46mins)
– Keisei Funabashi >> Funabashi (Walk – approx. 3 mins)
– Funabashi >> Akihabara (JR Sobu Line – 28 mins)

Save Time (2,070 yen – 64 mins)
– From Narita Airport >> Nippori (Use Keisei Line Express – 56mins)
– Nippori >> Akihabara (JR Yamanote – 8 mins)

One thing good about Japan is that you will never lost as the subway system is just too convenient. At first, it was a little confuse but as time goes, you will use to it.

One Response »