Japanese for Busy People: Notes for Lesson 2

Young children should learn how to tell their own address and phone numbers. That's how we can be sure they don't get lost. That's how important learning numbers is. So let's pretend we're at a Sesame Street age and learn numbers.

You'll want to be very solid in your numbers so I recommend practicing whenever you can. When you practice writing your hiragana or katakana, count the strokes. In Japanese, counting from 0-99 is very easy. We're starting with just 0-20. You'll already see something unusual; there are two words for the numbers: 4, 7 and 9. Actually, you might want to add 0 to this list. The Japanese word for zero is れい。

How do we explain this? In the case of zero, the Japanese have just adopted the English word. For 4, 7 and 9, that has to do with superstitions.

In America, we have superstitions about the 2-dollar bill, so to a certain extent that means 2 is unlucky. Of course, we also think that 13 is an unlucky number and you'll rarely see a 13th floor in a building. In the case of Japan, unlucky numbers are connected with homonyms. The number 4, し (四）, sounds like the word for death し（死). Likewise, seven しち(　七）, sounds like しち　（死地）the word for jaws of death or place of death. The number nine, or く　(九）sounds like く（苦）which mean pain.

When you use numbers to express a phone number, you separate the groups of numbers with a particle or postpositional we already know: の。Use this where you would ordinarily use a dash.

The Japanese numbers you are learning can help you count all the way to 99. If you notice, you just as a number, X, and then add 10 and you get the number that is equivalent to X x 10. So twenty is にじゅう and then thirty is さんじゅうand forty is　よんじゅう. In this respect, Japanese is easier than English.

Also in this chapter, we're going to build on the sentence we already know and learn how to negate it. So X is Y, but now X is not Y. 

X は　Y です。

X は　Y では　ありません。
X は　Y じゃ　ありません。

Remember how sometimes in Japanese we can drop things that are understood? You saw this in Lesson 1.

(X は)　Y です。
（わたし は）たなか　Y です。

In this case, the teacher knows the answer, but will likely as you to complete the sentence.
これ　は　（Y　です。）
This is easy, but really this is being asked as a question.
これ　は　（Y　です　か。）
Originally, Japanese didn't have any punctuation and that includes question marks. So post-positionals were used to show the sentence was a question. This is also true in Chinese as well.

We are also going to shorten other things such as the noun phrase that we saw in the last chapter: Noun の noun.

X は　Y　の　Z　 です。
X は　Y　の（　Z）　 です。

If we use a pronoun such as わたし　or あなた, then we change the word.

わたし の　Z means "my Z."
あなた の　Z means "your Z."

In my class, I like to add other nouns by looking at what your average student will have in their bags:

1. かばん : briefcase, sometimes backpack
2. ハンドバッグ: handbag
3. バックパック: backpack 
4. うでとけい : wristwatch ( とけい actually is less specific and means clock)
5. ほん : book
6. えんぴつ: pencil
7. ペン : pen (also まんねんひつ）
8. めがね: glasses

With these words you can also use the words we learned in the last lesson to make these noun phrases:

1. lawyer's briefcase: べんごしのかばん
2. secretary's handbag：ひしょのハンドバッグ
3. student's backpack：がくせいのパックパック
4. teacher's briefcase：せんせいのかばん
5. Chinese language book：ちゅうごくごのほん
6. Japanese language book：にほんごのほん
7. Japanese person's book：にほんじんのほん
8. English language newspaper：えいごのしんぶん
9. Mr. Tanaka's pen：たなかさんのペン
10. Ms. Tanaka's glasses：たなかさんのめがね

If you want to really work on your language skills, try:

1. Japanese language student's book：にほんご　の　がくせい　の　ほん
2. Chinese language teacher's umbrella：ちゅうごくご　の　せんせい　の　かさ

One thing your teacher should be sure to tell you is how you present your name card to people. Even students have name cards and these are very important. Always present the name card or business card with two hands to the recipient and be sure that the words are right-side up to the recipient.

Another thing that you'll see in Lesson 1 and 2 are words that seem to both mean this.

こちら
これ

"This" is the word that refers to something close to the speaker. "That" is the word for something closer to the listener.

そちら
それ

In English we only have this and that, but in some languages there is a third option: that over there (meaning something distant from both the speaker and the listener).

あちら
あれ

The major difference between これ　and こちら is that you never use これ ( それ and あれ) to refer to a person. That would be considered rude. The Japanese language differentiates between animate and inanimate things. This difference between これ ( それ and あれ) 　and こちら (そちら and あちら) is the first one you'll learn in this text.

The literal meaning of the latter set is:

こちら : this direction
そちら : that direction
あちら : that direction over there.

Also, it is important to know that これ ( それ and あれ) 　and こちら (そちら and あちら) are NOT used in the X の Y noun phrases.

You'll learn why in the next lesson.

Guide to Grammar: 'Japanese for Busy People:' Lesson 1

Now let's move on to Lesson 1 and the kana columns for ta （た、ち、つ、て、と）na (な、に、ぬ、ね、の, ha (は、ひ、ふ、へ、ほ) and no （な、に、ぬ、ね、の).

Review
If we were to put the words in the previous exercises into kana order it would be as follows:

• aoi, akai, aki, ika, ue, eki, ōkī, kao, kaki, kiku, kūki, Keiko, koe,  
• aoi, Akasaka, asa, ashi, eki, ōkī, kagi, kaku, kaze, kiku, kūki, Keiko,  koe, koshi, sake, shio, shiso, sushi, zō 

Now practice writing them in hiragana.

More hiragana

You may have noticed something. Long vowels are not always expressed the way you would think. Usually, you can use an kana from the same row as the long vowel and the kana from the "a" (あ）column. For example:

• くうき
• おおきい

A long ō sound can be expressed with a syllabary from the "o" row and an "u" (う）or the syllabary from the "o" row and "o" （お). Examples of this are:

• おおきい
• おはようございます

The other exception would be with the え column.

• せいこ
• ぜいひ
• けいこ

So you take a syllabary from the "e" row and add "i" (い).

Now let's move on to practice with hiragana from あ to ほ. 

Here's more to practice:

• Old words: aoi, Akasaka,  ashi, eki, ōkī, kagi, kaku, kaze, kiku, kūki, Keiko,  koe, koshi, sake, shio, shiso, sushi, zō 
• New words: Asahi, kasa, Hamamoto, Haneda, hebi, mimi, Mikimoto, Momotarō, Nakamura, nanika, nomimono, Ōsaka, roku, Sapporo, sashimi, tadaima, tame, Tanabata, tatemono、tatsukete, tonari

しかしきさみくたみおたにあ

さぎみかけもあろみきなかか

きみぞさあのしうたいばあさ

かきうとしたはあめたたおか

ぜもろなたてねさけだはいお

さとくりすもだひいいまなお

っかくすけのへしこまもかさ

ぽくうしてこびそもしとむか

ろこきさええのきもおおらな

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrMkJAzbWQc

Lesson 1

If you have the kana version of "Japanese for Busy People" you'll see the usage of hiragana and katakana. Think of this as an opportunity to immerse yourself in the language. You may not recognize everything, but by repeated exposure, you'll become familiar with things much like children in Japan. While learning your hiragana, to help you along with katakana, write the corresponding hiragana above the katakana.

You will notice that foreign words are put into katakana such as the names of countries and the names of foreign people. Originally, Japan had Japanese words to express the names of countries and these are still used, especially in abbreviations and in newspapers. 

Remember that previously we discussed that Japanese is an SOV language (subject-object-verb) while English is an SVO (subject-verb-object) language. The basic sentence structure we are looking at for the next few chapters is:

• X は　Y　です。
• X は　Y　ですか。

For the first chapter, we are using a noun for both X and Y. So the basic equation is X=Y. For this we chapter we are going to talk about nationalities and countries as well as occupations or schools.

While it is tempting to translate です as "is" or "to be" remember that in English "is" has various functions. It is used to express existence, a progressive action or a passive voice. Japanese has other verbs for these functions. 

• There is a restaurant around the corner. (existence)
• I am at home. (existence)
• He is reading a book. (progressive)
• In the movie, Lincoln is shot by Booth. (passive voice)

When I am teaching a class with this book,  I usually like to add some words to both lists. See my lists below.

Countries: 

• にほん
• ちゅうごく
• ドイツ
• イギリス
• アメリカ
• オーストラリア
• タイ
• スペイン (Spain)
• メキシコ (Mexico)
• カナダ (Canada)
• フランス (France)
• かんこく(Korea)
• たいわん (Taiwan)

Nationalities: 

• にほんじん
• ちゅうごくじん
• ドイツじん
• イギリスじん
• アメリカじん
• オーストラリアじん
• タイじん
• スペインじん
• メキシコじん
• カナダじん
• フランスじん
• かんこくじん
• たいわんじん

Notice how easy it is to make the word for nationality. You use the country name and then add じん。Be careful that you don't add an "n" sound before じん。

• アメリカじん
• NOT アメリカんじん

Work:

• べんごし
• ひしょ
• がくせい
• エンジニヤ
• かしゃいん
• せんせい (teacher)
• おくさん (housewife)
• いしゃ (medical doctor)
• かがくしゃ (scientist)
• けんきゅうしゃ (researcher)

Kotowaza watch: Fickle or changeable as the autumn weather

Autumn in Japan is beautiful. The humidity of the summer gives way to cool crisp days, but the sting of the dry winter has yet to begin. However, the weather is hard to predict.

The summer rains can take you by surprise and ruin your weekend plans or you can have a wonderful bright and dry day.

So people in Japan will say that autumn weather easily changes.

• 秋の気こうが変わりやすいです。（あきのきこうがかわりやすい　です。）                    The autumn weather is unpredictable. 
• よく変わる秋の天気　（よくかわる　あきの　てんき）often changing autumn weather

You can use the second phrase to compare something or someone. For instance, you can say that someone's opinion easily changes.

• あの人の意見は　よく変わる秋の天気のようです。（あのひと　の　いけんは　よくかわるのあきのてんきのようです。）
• That person's opinion changes like the autumn weather.

単語Time: AA!

Tango time here isn't about dancing and you don't need a partner. Tango time is about increasing your vocabulary and understanding of Japanese.

Today we'll look at a very simple word: ā.

In this case, ā is an exclamatory word or an interjection.

You use it when you want to emphasize what you are saying.

• 花は　きれい　です。(The flower is pretty.)
• ああ、花　は　きれい　です。(Oh, the flower is pretty.)

Remember that originally, Japanese didn't have punctuation like periods or exclamation points. 

A word like this is called 感動詞　[かんどうし] or interjection.