Key vocabulary
desu am, is, are
-san Mr., Ms., etc.
-kun suffix for boys
Phrases
- Konnichi-wa Hello
- Hajimemashite How do you do?
- Yoroshiku Pleased to meet you. (Informal)
- Douzo yoroshiku Pleased to meet you. (Formal)
- Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu Pleased to meet you. (Super formal)
- Douzo Here { you go, it is, take this, etc. }
- Doumo Thanks
- Sayounara Goodbye
- Sensei Teacher
Other vocabulary
- Hai Yes
- Iie No
- Meishi Name card, business card
- Roomaji Latin / English alphabet letters
- Irasshai Welcome, come this way
- Irasshaimase Welcome, come this way (Formal)
- Moshi-moshi Hello? (Greeting on the phone.)
- Nihongo Japanese language
- Gairaigo Foreign borrowed words (eg. kamera, orenji juusu)
Expressions
- Itte kudasai Please say (it)
- Mou ichido itte kudasai Please say (it) once more
- Mite kudasai Please look (at ...)
- Kitte kudsai Please listen
- Yonde kudsai Please read (it)
Key vocabulary
- hai yes
- iie no
- sensei teacher
- minasan everyone
Phrases
- onamae wa? Your name?
- ohayou Good morning (informal)
- ouhayou gozaimasu Good morning (polite)
- moshi-moshi Hello? (Phone greeting)
Other words
- aa oh
- eeto um, uh, er...
- ja, jaa well... (eg. "Well, how about this one?")
- ja mata See you. (Said when parting. Informal.)
- ee yes (informal)
- hiragana one of two Japanese syllabaries
Grammar
- -ka? question particle
- -ne? agreement / confirmation particle
Misc
- ao(i) blue
- ii good
- ue up
- ie house
- ai love
- au meet (verb)
- ooi a lot (of something)
(Largely focuses on writing the first row of hiragana.)
Key vocabulary
- Sumimasen. Excuse me.; I'm sorry.
- Doumo. A type of greeting.
Expressions
- Issho-ni kakimashou. Let's write together.
- ~ -o kaite kudasai. Please write ~.
Misc
- gakusei student
Key vocabulary
| Bangou | Also | Eigo |
|---|---|---|
| ichi | one | |
| ni | two | |
| san | three | |
| shi | yon, yo | four |
| go | five | |
| roku | six | |
| shichi | nana | seven |
| hachi | eight | |
| kyuu | ku | nine |
| jyuu | ten |
- shougaku-sei elementary student
- chuugaku-sei middle school student
- koukou-sei high school student
- daigaku-sei college student
- #-nen-sei #th grader, #th year student
Other words
- Sou desu. That's right.
- Kore wo mite kudasai. Please watch/look at this.
- mou ichi-do. One more time, again.
More words
- kurasu class
- kurasumeeto classmate
- kiku (verb) to listen
- kao face
- akai red
Key vocabulary
- Shougakkou elementary school
- Chuugakkou middle school
- Koukou high school
- Daigaku college, university
- Gakkou school
- Gakusei student
- Doko where? which place?
- -wa (or -ha) the particle indicating the topic of the sentence
Phrases and expressions
- Nan nen sei desu ka? What grade are [you,he,she,they] in?
- [person name]-ni kitte kudasai. Ask ~.
More words and expressions
- Deeto date
- Gaarufurendo girlfriend
- Bouifurendo boyfriend
- Dakuten the things that go on hiragana to make ka -> ga, ki -> gi, etc.
More
- Kagi key
- Ugoku (verb) move
- Eiga movie
- Kage shadow
- Kagaku science
- Kaigi conference
- Geki drama
Gairaigo (These are foreign loan words from English. You know what they mean!)
- Suupu
- Tenisu
- Pen
- Hamu
- Sutajio
- Basukettobooru
- Kamera
- Gorufu
- Konpyuuta
- Supootsu
Key vocabulary
- ja nai desu. am not, are not, is not, aren't, isn't
Phrases and expressions
- Wakarimasu. (I) understand, (I) get it
- Wakarimasen. (I) don't understand, (I) don't get it
Other words
- Senpai senior
- Kouhai junior
More
- Kagu furniture
- Kagaku science
- Gaikokugo foreign language
- Koe voice
Key vocabulary
- #-sai # years old
Irregular forms:
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| is-sai | 1 year old |
| has-sai | 8 years old |
| jus-sai | 10 years old |
| hatachi | 20 years old (adulthood) |
(TODO: Add numbers 1-99 table)
Phrases and expressions
- nan-sai how old?
- nan-sai desu ka? How old are you? How old is she/he?
PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE VOCABULARY NOTES IN THE TEXTBOOK! They explain when to use shi, yon, and yo for "4", etc.
Other words
- ichiban - number one (first, first place, best, etc.)
Key vocabulary
watashi I
boku I (used mostly by boys, but also by men in "casual" circumstances)
-no Particle denoting affiliation. Eg. Square-no Garrett is "Square's Garrett".
Other words and phrases
- Ikutsu? How old are you?
- (O-)ikutsu desu ka? How old are you? (The honorific "O-" prefix adds "politeness".)
- Nan-sai desu ka? How old are you?