Japanese Language and Vocabulary Review

Japanese Vocabulary: Week 2 and Week 3 Word Lists

• Where: どこ (Doko)

• And: そして (Soshite)

• To live in: すんでいます (Sunde imasu)

• Town: まち (Machi)

• Station: えき (Eki)

• Department store: デパート (Depaato)

• To exist/be (things/inanimate): あります (Arimasu)

• To exist/be (people, animals/animate): います (Imasu)

• Shrine: じんじゃ (Jinja)

• Temple: おてら (Otera)

• Park: こうえん (Kouen)

• Castle: おしろ (Oshiro)

• Big: おおきい (Ookii)

• Small: ちいさい (Chiisai)

• Old: ふるい (Furui)

• New: あたらしい (Atarashii)

• Beautiful / Pretty / Clean: きれい (Kirei)

• Wide / Spacious: ひろい (Hiroi)

• Population: じんこう (Jinkou)

• Festival: おまつり (Omatsuri)

• A lot: たくさん (Takusan)

• Island: しま (Shima)

• Souvenir: おみやげ (Omiyage)

• Famous: ゆうめい (Yuumei)

• Quiet: しずか (Shizuka)

• Convenient: べんり (Benri)

• Busy (Town): にぎやか (Nigiyaka)

• Built: たてられました (Tateraremashita)

Specific Locations (Proper Nouns)

• Tokyo: 東京 (とうきょう)

• Kyoto: 京都 (きょうと)

• Hiroshima: 広島 (ひろしま)

Describing Places and Adjectives

Places (ところ - Tokoro)

• School: がっこう (Gakkou)

• Home: うち (Uchi)

• Friend's house: ともだちのうち (Tomodachi no uchi)

• Town: まち (Machi)

• Park: こうえん (Kouen)

• Beach: うみ (Umi)

• Lake: みずうみ (Mizuumi)

• Library: としょかん (Toshokan)

• Movie theatre: えいがかん (Eigakan)

• Shopping centre: ショッピングセンター (Shoppingu sentaa)

• Department store: デパート (Depaato)

Adjectives (けいようし - Keiyoushi)

• Interesting: おもしろい (Omoshiroi)

• Fun: たのしい (Tanoshii)

• Boring: つまらない (Tsumaranai)

• Lively: にぎやか (Nigiyaka)

• Quiet: しずか (Shizuka)

• Noisy: うるさい (Urusai)

• Traditional: でんとうてき (Dentouteki)

• Pretty/Clean: きれい (Kirei)

• Spacious/Big: ひろい (Hiroi)

• Narrow/Small: せまい (Semai)

• Old: ふるい (Furui)

• New: あたらしい (Atarashii)

Activity Sentence Structures and Translations

Sentences follow the structure: Place DE [Activity] GA dekimasu, which translates as "You can do [Activity] at [Place]."

• Shopping: Shoppingu sentaa de kaimono ga dekimasu. (You can go shopping at the shopping centre.)

• Reading: Uchi de dokusho ga dekimasu. (You can read at home.)

• Studying: Gakkou de benkyou ga dekimasu. (You can study at school.)

• Jogging: Umi de joggingu ga dekimasu. (You can go jogging at the beach.)

• Walk: Mizuumi de sanpo ga dekimasu. (You can go for a walk at the lake.)

• Watch a movie: Eigakan de eiga wo mirukoto ga dekimasu. (You can watch movies at the movie theatre.)

• Picnic: Kouen de pikkunikku ga dekimasu. (You can have a picnic at the park.)

• Play games: Tomodachi no uchi de geemu ga dekimasu. (You can play games at my friend's house.)

• Swimming: Umi de suiei ga dekimasu. (You can go swimming at the beach.)

Additional Vocabulary

• Kankou: Sightseeing.

• To: Used between nouns to mean "and" (as well as more); similar to English usage.

Verbs and Daily Actions

• Brushing Teeth: はみがきます (Ha o migakimasu)

• Praying: おいのりします (Oinori shimasu)

• Showering: シャワーをあびます (Shiyawaa o abimasu)

• Eating: ごはんをたべます (Gohan o tabemasu)

• Drinking: ミルクをのみます (Miruku o nomimasu)

• Jogging: ジョギングします (Joggingu shimasu)

• Reading: しんぶんをよみます (Shinbun o yomimasu)

• Going to school: がっこうへいきます (Gakkou e ikimasu)

• Cooking: りょうりをします (Ryouri o shimasu)

• Watching: テレビをみます (Terebi o mimasu)

• Cleaning: そうじします (Souji shimasu)

• Studying: べんきょうします (Benkyou shimasu)

• Homework: しゅくだいをします (Shukudai o shimasu)

• Sleeping: ねます (Nemasu)

• Uki Uki / Wuki Wuki: Really excited.

Interrogatives

• Where: どこ (Doko)

• What do you do: なにをしますか (Nani o shimasuka)

Expressing Likes and Dislikes

Levels of affinity used in sentences:

• Love: 大好き (Daisuki)

• Like: 好き (Suki)

• Okay: まあまあ (Maamaa)

• Don't like much: あんまり好きじゃない (Anmari suki janai)

Practice Vocabulary

• Calligraphy: しょどう (Shodou)

• Music: おんがく (Ongaku)

• Sport: スポーツ (Supootsu)

• Shopping: かいもの (Kaimono)

• Movies: えいが (Eiga)

• School: がっこう (Gakkou)

• Mondays: 月よう日 (Getsuyoubi)

• Quiet towns: しずかなまち (Shizukana machi)

• Baseball: やきゅう (Yakyuu)

• Comics: マンガほん (Manga hon)

• Books: 本 (Hon)

• Saturdays: 土よう日 (Doyoubi)

Sentence Examples

• Jon-kun wa supootsu ga anmari suki janai desu. (Jon does not like sports very much.)

• Jon-kun wa ongaku ga daisuki desu. (Jon loves music.)

• Jon-kun wa kyanpingu ga suki desu. (Jon likes camping.)

• Jon-kun wa kaimono mo suki desu. (Jon also likes shopping.)

• Mia-san wa shodou ga daisuki desu. (Mia loves calligraphy.)

Japanese Particles and Sentence Structure

Core Particles

• No (の): Shows ownership/possession.

• To (と): With/and/companion.

• Ka (か): Indicates a question (sentence final).

• Wa (は): Marks the Topic. Somewhat similar to the Subject; usually at the start of the sentence.

• Mo (も): Also/Too.

• O (を): Mark the Object of a verb (something directly affected by the verb).

• De (で): Indicates place of action (where something is done).

• Ni (に): Indicates specific time or direction/destination.

• E (へ): Place where it is to (direction).

Master Sentence Template

Topic (wa) — Time (ni) — Companion (to) — Place (de) — Object (o) — Verb.

Examples:

• Ken-san wa kazoku to uchi de nihongo o hanashimasu. (Ken speaks Japanese at home with his family.)

• Chichi wa haha no tanjoubi ni eki no chikaku de kirei na bara o kaimashita. (My dad bought beautiful roses near the station for my mum's birthday.)

• Watashi wa shichiji ni kanojo to taimuzu sukuea de gaadians obu za gyarakushii o mimashita. (I watched Guardians of the Galaxy at Time Square with her at $7$ o'clock.)

Date Markers: Days and Months

Days of the Week

Months of the Year

• January: 一月 (Ichigatsu)

• February: 二月 (Nigatsu)

• March: 三月 (Sangatsu)

• April: 四月 (Shigatsu)

• May: 五月 (Gogatsu)

• June: 六月 (Rokugatsu)

• July: 七月 (Shichigatsu)

• August: 八月 (Hachigatsu)

• September: 九月 (Kugatsu)

• October: 十月 (Juugatsu)

• November: 十一月 (Juuichigatsu)

• December: 十二月 (Juunigatsu)

Existence and Location Practices

Describing Existence

Use あります (Arimasu) for inanimate things and います (Imasu) for living things (people/animals).

• Umi ni biichi booru ga arimasu. (There is a beachball at the beach.)

• Resutoran ni sarada to suteeki ga arimasu. (There are salad and steaks at the restaurant.)

• Puuru ni shawaa ga arimasu. (There are showers at the pool.)

• Eki ni erebeetaa ga arimasu. (There is an elevator at the train station.)

• Tomodachi no uchi ni bideogeemu ga arimasu. (There are video games at my friend's house.)

• Eigakan ni poppukoon ga arimasu. (There is popcorn at the cinema.)

• Kouen ni tori to usagi ga imasu. (There are birds and rabbits at the park.)

• Umi ni inu ga imasu. (There is a dog at the beach.)

• Gakkou ni tomodachi ga takusan imasu. (I have many friends at school.)

• Resutoran ni sensei ga takusan imasu. (There are many teachers at the restaurant.)

• Mizuumi ni sakana ga imasu. (There are fish in the lake.)

Destination Questions

• Where are you going? どこに行きますか。(Doko ni ikimasuka)

• Pattern 1: [PLACE] に行きます。(Place ni ikimasu.)

• Pattern 2: [PERSON] ha [PLACE] ni ikimasu.

• Pattern 3: [DAY] ni [PERSON] ha [PLACE] ni ikimasu.

Questions & Discussion

Practice Dialogue: Hanako and Mary

Hanako: メリーさん、どんなスポーツが好きですか。(Meri-san, donna supootsu ga suki desuka - Mary, what kind of sports do you like?) Mary: バスケットボールが好きです。(Basukettobooru ga suki desu - I like basketball.) Hanako: テニスも好きですか。(Tenisu mo suki desuka - Do you also like tennis?) Mary: はい、大好きです。(Hai, daisuki desu - Yes, I love it.) Hanako: おんがくが好きですか。(Ongaku ga suki desuka - Do you like music?) Mary: おんがくはあんまり… (Ongaku wa anmari… - As for music, not much…) Hanako: ああそうですか。わたしはヒップホップが大好きです。(Aa sou desu ka. Watashi wa hippuhoppu ga daisuki desu - Oh, is that so? I love hip-hop.)