A BASIC COURSE IN JAPANESE

2 A BASIC COURSE IN JAPANESE

Compiled by

Mr Busareddy Vijaya Kumar

Ms Rekha P R

Faculty of Japanese Language

Department of English and Foreign Languages

SRM Institute of Science and Technology

 PREFACE
This book is prepared primarily to meet the requirements of engineering students to acquire a
basic knowledge in Japanese language in the course of 30 hours.
The objective of this book is to empower the students to possess good conversational skills in
Japanese language together with the understanding of Japanese culture. However, attempt is
also made to encourage the students to learn the native scripts viz, Hiragana, Katakana and
basic Kanjis, which are Chinese characters that form part of the Japanese language writing
system.
The lessons are prepared in such a manner that basic grammar is introduced right from the
beginning. The lessons are aimed at enabling the students to speak the language that will be
applicable to daily life situations. The main lessons are written in Hiragana script with Romaji
(Roman script) and English side by side for better understanding. The vocabulary and
meanings, grammar and exercises for each lesson is also given at the end of each lesson.
A brief description about Japan, its culture and society is given in the Glossary in English.
Adjectives, verbs and N5 Kanjis and given in the Additional Information section. All this
information has been procured from the internet. A glossary of terms such as greetings, family
relationships, time expression, numbers, etc. is also appended for reference at the end of
every lesson. Hiragana and Katakana practice charts are included to practise the scripts.
We, the faculty members hereby acknowledge that we are highly indebted to our Ryoko Iseda
sensei, who was formerly, the senior Japanese language advisor from the Japan Foundation, New
Delhi for her valuable suggestions and corrections made by her in the preparation of this book. We
also express our sincere thanks to our sensei Ms. Vimala Solomon, Director, Surya Nihongo Gakko,
Madurai, who gave her valuable suggestions towards the preparation of this book. A special
mention about Hideyuki Fujisawa sensei and Ms.Chiho BABA our voluntary teachers from JICA,
Japan for their invaluable contribution in bringing out this book to suit the needs of the learners.
Our sincere thanks to Yuka Kikuoka san, Mika Yamamoto san, Satou Tomoaki san, teachers
from Japan Foundation and Sohrab Azarparand san, a teacher from Iran, who lent their voices
for the audio of the lessons.
Our special thanks to Dr.K.Anbazhagan, Professor and Head, Dept of English and foreign
languages, SRM University, Kattankulathur, for his encouragement in bringing out this book.
We also express our sincere gratitude to the SRM Management, the Director (Engineering
&Technology) for facilitating the department to hold seminars and workshops conducted by
Japan foundation, New Delhi, for improving our teaching methodology in Japanese on couple
of occasions. These seminars prompted us to write a book for the use of our own students of
Japanese language.
Chennai
LESSONS
A BASIC COURSE IN JAPANESE

Lesson 5
Keeki o yattsu kudasai

Preparation for the meeting

田 中 ：ラジャさん あしたは きんようびですね。

とうきょうでんきの ひとたちが きますね。
ラ ジ ャ ： はい、そうですね。かいぎの ために なにが ひつようですか。
田 中 ：ノートが よっつと えんぴつが やっつ ひつようです。
ラ ジ ャ ：はい、わかりました。

While concluding the meeting

田 中 ：それでは コンピューターを
４０だいおねがいします。
わたなべ：はい、ありがとう ございます。
田 中 ：らいしゅうの 金ようび までに
おくって ください。
わたなべ：はい、わかりました。

しょくどうで

ラ ジ ャ ：ケーキと コーヒーを やっつください。

てんいん：はい、かしこまりました。
 A BASIC COURSE IN JAPANESE 101

Tanaka: Raja san, ashita wa kinyoubi desu ne. Tanaka: Mr Raja, tomorrow is Friday isn’t it?
Tokyo denki no hitotachi ga kimasu The people from Tokyo Electric will
ne. be visiting us, right?
Raja: Hai, sou desu ne. Kaigi no tame ni Raja: Yes, that’s right. What do we need
nani ga hitsuyou desu ka. for the meeting?

Tanaka: Nooto ga yottsu to enpitsu ga yattsu Tanaka: We need 4 notepads and 8 pencils.
hitsuyou desu.

Raja: Hai, wakarimashita. Raja: Yes, got it.

--------------------------- ---------------------------
Tanaka: Soredewa konpyuutaa o 40 dai Tanaka: Well then, we need 40 computers.
onegai shimasu.

Watanabe: Hai, arigatou gozaimasu. Watanabe: Yes, thank you.

Tanaka: Raishuu no kinyoubi made ni Tanaka: Please send it by next Friday.

okutte kudasai.
Watanabe: Hai, wakarimashita. Watanabe: Yes, of course.
----------------------------- -----------------------------
Shokudou de At the Cafeteria
Raja: Keeki to koohii o yattsu kudasai. Raja: 8 cakes and 8 cups of coffee please.
Tenin: Hai, kashikomarimashita. Waiter: Yes, certainly.
102 A BASIC COURSE IN JAPANESE

れんしゅう

1. Kodomo ga go nin imasu.

a. Onna no hito, hachi
b. Otoko no hito, ni
c. Amerikajin, yon

2. Ravi san wa yon kai ni imasu.

a. Raja san, ichi
b. Yamada san, san
c. Yukiko san, nana

3. Koohii o mittsu kudasai.

a. Remon juusu, roku
b. koohii, yon
c. ‘Mineral water’, ichi
*when you ask for a cup of water, say “Mizu o ippai kudasai”.

4. Tsukue no shita ni inu ga sanbiki imasu.

a. Ike, naka, sakana, ni
b. Isu, ue, neko, roku
c. hondana, shita, mushi, juu

5. Kaban no naka ni ringo ga muttsu arimasu.

a. isu, shita, keshigomu, ni
b. Tsukue, ue, denwa, ichi
c. Tsukue, ue, keitai denwa, san

6. Kuruma ga nidai to baiku ga ichidai arimasu.

a. nooto, 4; boorupen, 2
b. kutsu, 2; kaban, 4
c. ani, 3; ane 2

7. Q: Kekkon shiki no tame ni nani ga hitsuyou desu ka.

A: (Kekkon shiki no tame ni) keeki ga hitsuyou desu.

a. Kuruma
b. Okane
c. Sarii
 A BASIC COURSE IN JAPANESE 103

Exercises
I) Fill in the blanks

1. Akai ringo ga ___ arimasu. (5)

2. Kutsushita ga ____ arimasu. (3)
3. Terebi wa ___ arimasu ka. (how many)
4. Enpitsu ga ___ arimasu. (6)
5. Ano heya ni hito ga ___ imasu. (2)

II) Rearrange the following sentences

1. nin/ga/ni/gakusei/imasu/sanjuu/kyoushitsu

2. ga/ni/tsukue/ue/no/arimasu/mannenhitsu/muttsu

3. o/kamera/dai/kaimasu/ni

4. wa/aoi/ikutsu/ka/arimasu/ringo

5. niwa/ga/inu/biki/nan/to/neko/ka/imasu/ni

III Translate into Japanese

1. There are 3 dogs on the chair.

2. There are 8 books on the table.

3. How many pencils are there in the bag?

4. There are 4 computers in this room.

5. There is a man and a woman on the second floor.

104 A BASIC COURSE IN JAPANESE

Kono lesson no kotoba

でんき denki light, electricity

コンピューター konpyuutaa computer

テレビ terebi television

（―の） ひとたち hitotachi people

かいぎ kaigi meeting

けっこんしき kekkon shiki wedding

ノート nooto notepad

えんぴつ enpitsu pencil

ボールペン boorupen ballpen

ください kudasai please

わかりました wakarimashita understood

もちろん mochiron of course

ひつよう（な） hitsuyou necessary

きます kimasu to come

grammar

～までに made ni by, not later than

～（の）ために (no) tame ni for the purpose of

と to and (used to connect two nouns)

others

りんご ringo apple

くつした kutsushita socks
ねこ neko cat
むし mushi insect
 A BASIC COURSE IN JAPANESE 105

Grammar notes

Counters are used both in English language and Japanese, but more extensively used in
Japanese. In English when you count uncountable substances such as paper, rice and coffee,
we use words such as three sheets of paper, two scoops of rice, two cups of coffee, etc. These
underlined words are called counters.

In Japanese counters are expressed by suffixes used immediately following the numbers. Thus,
counters are not independent words and cannot be used in isolation. Logically all numbers must
be used with appropriate counters depending upon what is being counted. Counters are
broadly classified based on size and shape of things, people, animals, frequency and so forth.

Japanese has two numerical systems

1) For counting numerals the sino-japanese system is

used. Eg: ichi, ni, san, yon, go, roku, nana, hachi, ku, juu.
2) For counting things based on their shape - Japanese native counting system is used
only from 1-10 numbers. For greater than 10 numbers only the sino-japanese system is
used accompanied by the counter.

Bunpou

Counters

Objects Counter Examples

General/irregular objects ~tsu Fruits, marbles, erasers
People ~nin Man, Woman, child
General animals ~hiki Dogs, cats, insects, small animals
Machinery ~dai Cars, computers, sewing machine, automobiles
Floors/times ~kai 1st floor, 3rd floor, 5th floor / 3 times, 5 times
106 A BASIC COURSE IN JAPANESE

Number ~tsu ~nin ~hiki ~dai ~kai

1 hitotsu hitori ippiki ichidai ikkai
2 futatsu futari nihiki nidai nikai
3 mittsu sannin sanbiki sandai sankai/sangai*
4 yottsu yonin yonhiki yondai yonkai
5 itsutsu gonin gohiki godai gokai
6 muttsu rokunin roppiki rokudai rokkai
7 nanatsu shichinin nanahiki nanadai nanakai
8 yattsu hachinin happiki hachidai hakkai
9 kokonotsu kyuunin kyuuhiki kyuudai kyuukai
10 too juunin juppiki juudai jukkai

how many ikutsu nan nin nan biki nan dai nankai/nangai*

* sankai – three times, sangai – 3rd floor

 A BASIC COURSE IN JAPANESE 107

かぞく KAZOKU ごかぞく GOKAZOKU FAMILY

ちち chichi おとうさん otousan father

はは haha おかあさん okaasan mother
あに ani おにいさん oniisan elder brother
あね ane おねえさん oneesan elder sister
おとうと otouto おとうとさん otoutosan younger brother
いもうと imouto いもうとさん imoutosan younger sister
そふ sofu おじいさん ojiisan grandfather
そぼ sobo おばあさん obaasan grandmother
おじ oji おじさん ojisan uncle
おば oba おばさん obasan aunt
いとこ itoko いとこ itoko cousin
116 A BASIC COURSE IN JAPANESE

COMMON EXPRESSIONS
Family greeting
いってきます itte kimasu will be back
いってらっしゃい itte rasshai see you
ただいま tadaima I am back home
おかえりなさい okaerinasai welcome back
At a meal
いただきます itadakimasu a greeting used
before eating a
ごちそうさまでした gochisousama deshita greeting used
after eating

In an organization
おつかれさまでした otsukaresama deshita compliment given to
someone working for you
おさきにしつれいします osakini shitsurei shimasu sorry for leaving (before you)
だいじょうぶですか daijoubu desuka is it okay?
おだいじに odaijini take care/get well soon

BODY PARTS

あたま atama head

め me eye
みみ mimi ear
はな hana nose
くち kuchi mouth
くび kubi neck
むね mune chest
せなか senaka back

おなか onaka stomach

うで ude arm
て te hand
あし ashi leg, foot
 5. JAPANESE HOUSE AND LIVING STYLE
Japan has both modern and traditional styles of
housing. The traditional Japanese house is a beautiful sight
to behold. Made of wood and paper, it has an organic feel
and look that can hardly be found anywhere else. Individual
houses in Japan are either single or two storeys. The interior
design is what really sets the traditional Japanese house
apart from European or American designs. With the
exception of the entry way (genkan), the kitchen
(daidokoro), the bathing room (ofuro) and the toilet
(otearai), the rooms in a traditional Japanese house does
not have a designated use.
A room can easily be a living area, a bedroom, a dining room or any combination. Large rooms
are partitioned by sliding doors (fusuma) made of wood and thick paper. These sliding doors can
be removed whenever a larger space is needed. Windows are made of wood and shoji paper,
which is thin enough to let the light shine through.
Even modern Japanese houses tend to have one traditional Japanese room, called a washitsu.
This room is sparsely if at all furnished and has tatami mats on the floor. In a traditional Japanese
house, this style may be reflected throughout the home. Tatami are thick straw mats covered
with stitched, woven rushes. Tatami are smooth and firm enough to walk on and are also useful
for an afternoon nap.
The genkan is usually a step below the level of the rest of
the house. When people enter the home, they leave their
shoes in the genkan, pointed toward the door so they
only need to slip them on when they are ready to go out.
Indoor slippers are often worn inside the house, of
course, except in the Japanese style room (washitsu).
The bathing room contains a tub and is often waterproof.
An adjacent area is available for showering. The Japanese
re-use bathwater, either for other bathers or for washing
laundry, so it is important not to dirty the water with soap
and dirt. Dirty portions of the body can be washed before
stepping into the bath. This is very important especially in a public bath.

Buddhism is practiced in Japan, as it is in many other Asian countries. In Japan, though,

indigenous gods have been worshipped alongside the Buddha in homes since long ago. Buddhist
altars (butsudan) are shaped like a cabinet with doors at the front that swing open. The altar for
Japanese gods (kamidana) is shaped like a small shrine and is kept on a shelf near the ceiling. It
contains a paper or wooden tablet (ofuda) with prayers on it.