Japanese Mobile Tips

Welcome!
'''こんにちは！- Hello! (konnichiwa)'''

Did you know? There are more than 120 million speakers of Japanese! You can tell just by looking that it's a pretty different language from English, but don't worry. We'll get started with the basics and help you through the tricky sports. Welcome to the Japanese course!

What is hiragana?
Japanese is actually written with three different scripts. Let's start with the one called hiragana!

In English, each letter usually represents one sound, like k or s. But hiragana characters each represent a syllable - (a word or part of a word that contains one vowel sound. For example, "cat" has one syllable, but "banana" and "pineapple" have three.

There are a few exceptions. The vowels can appear by themselves, like with い (i). There's also a singular consonant, ん (n). Also, keep in mind that ch and sh count as one consonant sound, even though they're spelled with two letters in English!

Numbers
The next time you walk up a flight of stairs, practice a Japanese number with each step!

Hiragana
Japanese has just five vowels! You can even group hiragana together based on their starting consonant. Like this:

There are a few exceptions, of course. For example, in the s group, you see ' shi ' instead of 'si '. But you can still use these groups of five to help you practice and learn this new writing system!

Japanese Sounds
Let's go over the pronunciation of those five Japanese vowels.

a: あか (a-ka) = red, あまい (a-ma-i) = sweet, やさい (ya-sa-i) = vegetables i: いち (i-chi) = one, はい (ha-i) = yes, すし (su-shi) = sushi u: よむ (yo-mu) = read, よる (yo-ru) = night, のむ (no-mu) = drink (similar to 'food', but with unrounded lips) e: おさけ (o-sa-ke) = alcohol, てりやき (te-ri-ya-ki) = teriyaki, せかい (se-ka-i) = world o: ほしい (ho-shi-i) = want, あお (a-o) = blue, のむ (no-mu) = drink
 * ('a' as in 'father')
 * (as in "see")
 * When you say 'food', your lips make a rounded shape for the oo sound. The Japanese u is similar, but the lips are more relaxed.
 * (as in "pet")
 * as in "open"

Say hello!
To say Hello! in Japanese, just say こんにちは！(ko-n-ni-chi-wa). Note that は doesn't always sound like ha. In this word, it's pronounced like wa!

こんにちは！ - Konnichiwa! - Hello!

Hiragana
Congrats! After this skill, you'll have encountered all the basic hiragana characters.

Remember, most hiragana can be separated into groups of five, based on the beginning consonant and vowels a, i, u, e, and o. Let's take a look!

There are also a couple groups where the beginning sound changes a bit, but they're still grouped together.

Japanese Sounds
Let's go over a couple sounds that might be new to you!

ru: ひる (hi-ru) = day, とり (to-ri) = bird, さよなら (sa-yo-na-ra) = goodbye Say the worlds wedding, buddy, or ready. Notice how the d sound is fairly quick, and not too heavy? Try saying the Japanese r with that sound in mind!
 * like a very light d, as in "ready"

fu: ふゆ (fu-yu) = winter, ふろ (fu-ro) = bath, ふく (fu-ku) = clothes When we say an f in English, the upper teeth touch the bottom lip. But in Japanese, you only use your lips to say f, like blowing out a tiny candle.
 * f sound just with the lips

tsu: なつ (na-tsu) = summer, えんぴつ (e-n-pi-tsu) = pencil, つき (tsu-ki) = moon If you're not careful, it can be easy to say this syllable like su, but remember to put that hard t sound at the beginning!
 * as in "rats"

Hiragana
You've already seen all the basic hiragana, but there are also marks which modify the pronunciation.

For example, you might see two lines like this ﾞon the top right corner of the hiragana. That mark changes k into g, s into z, and so on. Remember to watch out for the hiragana with a different beginning sound!

There's also the small circle ﾟ, which only appeas with the h group of hiragana, changing the sound to p!

Japanese Sounds
You can combine a consonant with the ya, yu, or yo sounds by adding the small form of ゃ (ya), ゅ (yu), ょ(yo) after a hiragana character. Try out these ones!

kyu: きゅう (kyu-u) = nine

kyo: きょう (kyo-u) = today

cha: おちゃ (o-cha) = tea

Remember to pronounce these as single syllables. For example, it's kyo, not ki-yo. And notice that cha is a bit of an exception, since it doesn't include the y!

The character つ (tsu) that we saw before also has a small form, っ. When you see this, it means you have to hold the next consonant longer than normal, like it's its own syllable. Take a listen!

kippu: きっぷ (ki-ppu) = ticket

gakkō: がっこう (ga-kko-u) = school

Flexible Phrases
These Japanese phrases can have a couple different variations and meanings, so let's go over a few of them! It's fairly casual though, so you can use おねがいします (o-ne-ga-i-shi-ma-su) to be more polite. At its core, the phrase is often used when someone will do something for you. When you first meet a person, you're asking for them to treat you well! Even just おねがいします (o-ne-ga-i-shi-ma-su) by itself is also often used when making a polite request!
 * First off, よろしく (yo-ro-shi-ku) can mean Nice to meet you!
 * よろしくおねがいします (yo-ro-shi-ku-o-ne-ga-i-shi-ma-su) = nice to meet you (very formal and polite)
 * おねがいします (o-ne-ga-i-shi-ma-su) = please

Apologies
If you need to apologise for something you did, use the phrase ごめんなさい (go-me-n-na-sa-i). すみません (su-mi-ma-se-n) can be used to apologse as well, especially in formal situations. It also works to get someone's attention, like excuse me in English. You can also add どうも (do-u-mo) which adds emphasis, and say どうもすみません (do-u-mo-su-mi-ma-se-n)
 * ごめんなさい (go-me-n-na-sa-i) = sorry
 * すみません (su-mi-ma-se-n) = excuse me
 * どうもすみません (do-u-mo-su-mi-ma-se-n) = please excuse me

Thanks
There's lots of ways to give thanks in Japanese! These are a coupl more informal ones that you might use with friends and family. In daily life, ありがとう (a-ri-ga-to-u) is probably the most common of those three! But for strangers, teachers, or your boss, you can add ございます (go-za-i-ma-su) for some extra formality.
 * どうも！(do-u-mo) = thanks!
 * ありがとう！(a-ri-ga-to-u) = thank you!
 * どうもありがとう！(do-u-mo-a-ri-ga-to-u) = thank you very much!
 * ありがとうございます！(a-ri-ga-to-u-go-za-i-ma-su) = thank you!

Katakana 1
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What's your name?
Let's talk about some differences between Japanese and English!

In English, we would say I am Maria or He is an American, but Japanese speakers often leave our words like I and he. It's usually understood from context!

Another difference is that the verb comes at the end of the sentence in Japanese. Plus, it doesn't change depending on the person you're talking about. In English, we have I am and She is, but in Japanese, there's just です (de-su)! Another way to introduce yourself is to say ... といいます (to-i-i-ma-su), which means My name is...! It's a verb, so remember to put it at the end.
 * はじめまして、マリアです. (ha-ji-me-ma-shi-te, ma-ri-a de-su) = Nice to meet you, (I) am Maria.
 * こんにちは！マリアといいます. (ko-n-ni-chi-wa! ma-ri-a to-i-i-ma-su) = Hello! My name is Maria

- (literally: Hello! (I) am called Maria.

Showing Respect
If you want to talk about someone else, be sure to put さん (sa-n) after their name. It's a sign of respect! It's similar to titles like Mr. or Ms. in English but さん (sa-n) is much more commonly used. It can also be combined with someone's first name, not just their last name. If you want to say John is American or Maria is Japanese, put は after John or Maria to show that it's the topic of your sentence! Notice that when it's a topic marker, は sounds like wa, not ha.
 * ジョンさんです. (jo-n sa-n  de-su) = (He) is John.
 * ジョンさんはアメリカ人です. (jo-n sa-n  wa  A-me-ri-ka-jin  de-su) = John is American

Japanese Writing
Along with hiragana, there are two other writing systems. Katakana is a script just like hiragana. For every hiragana letter, there's a matching katakana one! Sometimes you'll even see ones with similar shapes.

What's the difference then? Well in general, hiragana is mostly used for native Japanese words, and katakana is used with foreign words. Many words are also written with kanji, a script that uses Chinese characters. Kanji characters don't represent sounds, but words and ideas! The pronunciations and maning can also change based on the word they're in. For example, 中 is different in the name 田中 (ta-naka), and in the country 中国 (chuu-goku). With kanji, just focus on learning each new vocabulary term as a whole, and pick up patterns along the wayy.
 * アメリカ (a-me-ri-ka) = America
 * 中国 (chuu-goku) = China (チュウゴク /  ちゅうごく)

These three scripts are mixed together when writing Japanese!
 * アメリカ人です. (a-me-ri-ka ji-n  de-su) = (We) are American. Lit: (We) are American people.

Katakana 2
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Verbs
In English, we'd say I am not a student, but to say that you're not something in Japanese, you change the verb です (de-su) to ではありません (de-wa-a-ri-ma-se-n).


 * お元気ですか？(o-gen-ki de-su-ka) = Are (you) well?


 * いいえ、元気ではありません. (i-i-e, gen-ki de-wa-a-ri-ma-se-n) = No, (I) am not well.

What's that お (o) in the question, by the way? It's just something for adding a little extra politeness!

Asking Questions
Asking questions in Japanese is easy! Just add か (ka) to the end of a normal sentence, after the verb! If you want to ask something like What is your name? in Japanese, it's more like Your name is what? And don't forget to use か (ka)!
 * お名前は何ですか？(o-na-mae-wa nan de-su-ka?) = What is (your) name?

Languages
Remember how you use は (wa) after a noun to show what the subject is? The word が (ga) is very smilar. The difference between the two is a bit complicated. We'll learn more along the way. But for now, when talking about what languages you speak, just remember that you usually use が in statements, and は in questions!
 * ジョンさんはアメリカ人です.
 * jo-n sa-n  wa  a-me-ri-ka  ji-n  de-su
 * John is American

Katakana 3
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What are you eating?
You do something to a noun, like when you eat something or drink something, you put を (wo) after the thing that receives the action.

Also, you may notice that verbs in Japanese often end with -ます (-masu). Notice that -ます (-masu) verbs can refer to either the present or the future, depending on the context. It's like wehn we say I'm eating now or I'm eating dinner later in English!


 * 野菜を食べます.
 * ya-sai o  ta-be  ma-su  =  (I) eat vegetables.


 * どれを飲みますか？
 * do-re o  no-mi  ma-su-ka?  =  Which one will you drink?

You can also use を (o) when asking for something! Just put it after the thing you want, then add please!


 * これをください
 * ko-re o  ku-da-sa-i  =  This one, please.

You might see that the pronunciation of を is often written as wo. But when it's used in a sentence this way, the sound is closer to just o!

Verbs
To say something like "I do not eat" or "I do not drink", just change -ます (masu) to -ません (-ma-se-n)! Like with questions, it's common to use は (wa) in the negative sentences, instead of を (o).

By the way, even though ご飯 (go-han) means rice, it's also often used to mean meal.

それ vs. あれ
それ (so-re) and あれ (a-re) both mean that, so what's the difference?

それ (so-re) is used to talk about things near the listener. (As opposed to これ (ko-re), which referers to things near the speaker.) あれ (a-re) referers to something that isn't near the speaker of the listerner!
 * それは何でか？(so-re wa  nan de-su-ka?) = What is that?
 * あれは何でか？(a-re wa  nan de-su-ka?) = What is that (over there)?

Let's eat!
Japanese people usually say these phrases before and after eating. It's simply good etiquette to do so!

Before the meal, say いただきます (i-ta-da-ki-ma-su). People often put their hands together (like in prayer) while saying it to show their gratitude. The phrase comes from Japan's roots in Buddhism, which teaches respect for all living things. This includes the plants, the animals, and all the peopl who made your meal possible! Afterwards, show your thanks again with:
 * いただきます! (i-ta-da-ki-ma-su!) = Let's eat!
 * ごちそうさまでした.  (go-chi-so-u-sa-ma-de-shi-ta.) = Thank you for the meal.

What time is it?
To ask What time is it? in Japanese, say 何時ですか (nan-ji de-su-ka). To give an answer, just say the number and add 時 (ji).
 * 何時ですか？(nan-ji de-su-ka?) = What time is (it)?


 * 二時です. (ni-ji de-su.) = (It) is two o'clock.

時 (ji) literally means hour, so you're really asking What hour is it?

Numbers
Many words in Japanese can be written in either hiragana or kanji (though depending on the word, one way is often more common than the other). Let's revisit some numbers, but with kanji this time!

The first three are pretty easy to recognise. Just count the lines!

Keep in mind, numbers sometimes change pronunciations a bit, like with 一分 (i-ppun). Depending on the context, 四 can be read as yon or shi, 七 can be nana or shichi, and 九 can be ku or kyuu

Zero, on the other hand, is written in katanaka because the word comes from a foreign language!

Combining Numbers
In Japanese, you just combine the numbers above to make bigger numbers. Take a look!

If you want to say 18, it's ten plus eight.

40 is four tens!

So for 48, it's four tens, plus eight!

Counting Minutes
For a more precise time including minutes, you follow the same pattern you do with hours. So 1:01 would be one hour one minute. Notice the pronunciation changes a little bit, depending on the number!
 * 今は三時十五分です
 * (ima-wa-san-ji juu-go-fun  de-su)
 * (It) is 3:15 right now.

Pronunciation
This table will show you the pronunciation changes you need to know for saying what time it is!

Since the numbers from 11 - 99 are all made with those first ten numbers, they use the same pronunciation changes!

So what time is it?

When and Where?
If you want to say when something happens, put に (ni) after the time! You can also put に (ni) after a location to show where you're going! Similarly, you can also use へ (e) after a location to show where you're going! Notice that in this situation, へ is pronounced e, not he! What's the difference? Well, に (ni) focuses on the journey and the destination of going somewhere, but へ (e) focuses more on the process of going. But don't stress too much here. In daily life, they're basically interchangeable.
 * 七時に起きます.
 * (shi-chi ji  ni  o-ki ma-su.)
 * (I) wake up at 7 o'clock.
 * 会社に行きません.
 * (kai-sha ni  i-ki-ma-se-n.)
 * (I) am not going to work.
 * 八時に学校へ行きます.
 * (ha-chi ji  ni  gak-kou  e  i-ki-ma-su.)
 * (I) go to school at 8 o'clock.

Learning Kanji
We've mentioned before that kanji characters represent meaning, You can usually see those meanings from the words they appear in. Take a look at the kanji 学. Words with 学 always have something to do with learning! The words a.m. and p.m. are also made up of two kanji. Thes words break down pretty straightforwardly. Take a look!

Talking Time
In English, we refer to midnight as 12 a.m''. In Japanese, you'd say it's 0 a.m'', which makes sense if you think about how it comes before 1 a.m! When talking about time, people usually use the word 零 (rei) instead of ゼロ (ze-ro)!
 * 午前零時
 * go-zen rei ji
 * twelve o'clock a..m.
 * Litreral: zero o'clock a.m.

There's a dog!
In English, we'd say "There is a table" or "There are tables". In Japanese, you can use the verb あります (a-ri-ma-su = "there is/are")! Keep in mind, nouns in Japanese have the same form, whether you're talking about one thing o many things. In a conversation, you can tell based on context, or it's just not important.

Introduce yourself!
Where do you live? In nglish, we'd say "I live in...". In Japanese, you end your sentence with the phrase... 住んでいます (su-n-de-i-ma-su = "live/lives")! Remember to use に (ni) after the location.

Counting
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My family!
Saying words like my and your is easy in Japanese! Just add の (no) to words like "I" and "you"!

Numbers
In English, the next biggest number word after thousand is million. In Japanese, the next step up is ten thousand.

The past is in the past!
In English, when we talk about something in the past, we often add -ed (for example, "I walk" and "I walked"). In Japanese, you'd change the -ます (ma-su) in the verb to -ました (ma-shi-ta).

A Fresh Look
Heads up! Starting with this skill, the transcriptions for the Japanese characters and sentences won't be on screen anymore. But don't worry! You can still just tap the words to se how they'e pronounced and translaed whenever you want to.

Vacation 1
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A Letter Home
It's nice to be nice to other people! When doing something for someone else, you can use に after the person.

Family 2
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All aboard!
When talking about using mode of transportation, put に after the vehicle and end with 乗ります (no-ri-ma-su = to ride/take). Remember, the verb comes at the end of the sentence in Japanese!

Wearing Me Out
There are multiple words for to wear in Japanese. You can choose which word to use, based on where the clothing is on your body.

Kanji time!
We've mentioned before that kanji represent words. The kanji 週 (shuu = week) and 月 (getsu = month) can combine with other words to make different time phrases!

Isn't this fun?
In Japanese, we can change the whole meaning of a sentence just by changing how it ends!

Not At All
No everything can be what we want it to be. We can use the phrases 全く (matta-ku = at all) or 全然 (zen-zen = at all) with -くない or -ません words to mean not at all.

Neither here nor there!
To say where things are, you can use casual words like こっち (ko-cchi = here), or make them more polite by saying こちら (ko-chi-ra = here)

Food 3
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It's a date!
If you want to ask someone out to dinner in Japanese, you need to know how to say the date! Fo months, say the number of the month (for exampl, October is the 10th month) followed by 月 (getsu = month). Then for the day, say the number followed by 日 (nichi = day)!

The gift that keeps on giving!
It's nice to give people things! In Japanese, you put に after the person you've giving something to.

The wrong person!
Be careful with the length of the vowel sounds in your words - it can change the meaning!

て Form
In Japanese, there's a verb form that ends with て or で. You can use the て form with ください to give requests!

If a vrb has an e sound before -ます, remove -ます and add -て.

What were you doing?
Remember, you can use the て form in the phrases like 食べて います  to talk about something you're doing. To talk about something you were doing, you'd say 食べて いました  instead!

Are we there yet?
To ask or say if something has already happened, you use the word もう.

Konbini
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Please don't do that!
When you ask someone to not do something in Japanese, you combine the plain form verb with ない and    でください.

It was fun!
To describe how something was in Japanese, just replace the final -い of the adjective with -かった.

Only in Japan
To say that things happen in specific countries, you can put 日本では or アメリカでは at the beginning of the sentence

て Form
The て form of a verb is very useful!

Mine is better!
To say you like cats more than dogs, you'd say...

Clothes 2
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Plain Form
There is another verb form in Japanese called plain form. Plain form is what you see in dictionaries, and it's often used when talking casually with friends. Here are some common examples!

Please don't do that!
When you ask someone to not do something in Japanese, you can combine the plain form verb with ない and でください.

痛い!
You need to be prepared for the unexpected!

Have you ever!?
To tell someone what you've done before, use the た verb from (the one that ends in た or だ!), plus ことが    あります.

Post Off.
No mobile notes as of 1st April 2020

Games
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Fashionable Tokyo
原宿 (hara-juku) and 渋谷 (shi-buya) are two areas of Tokyo that are famous for

Olympics
Just keep swimming!

In Japanese, there are two ways to talk about swimming. 水泳 is the noun and 泳ぎます is the verb!
 * 水泳はいい運動です. = Swimming is good exercise


 * 毎日泳ぎます. = (I) swim everyday

Judo Chop!
柔道is a Japanese martial art that

Ability
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Favors
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