Gengo Japanese Lesson #1 - Where did you learn to speak Japanese like that?!

今、四時です。
Ima, yo-ji desu.
"Right now, it's 4:00."

In this lesson, you will:
● Learn how to make simple [ AisB ] sentences
● Learn how to make simple [ Is A B? ] questions
● Learn how to respond to questions with "yes" and "no"
● Learn how to correctly address people with name suffixes such as san (さん)

[ A is B ] - Affirmative sentences

Simple [ Ais B ] sentences follow the pattern of [ AwaBdesu ]. Wa (は) is a particle that comes after the topic that the speaker is going to talk about, which is why wa (は) is often called the topic marking particle.The copula desu (です) roughly corresponds to the English verb "to be" and can mean "I am," "you are," "it is," and so on, depending on context.

Construction:

[ A is B ] = [ A wa B desu ]

Examples:

Japanese / Romaji / "English"
ケンはパイロットです。 / Ken wa pairotto desu. / "Ken is a pilot."
ケンはダンサーです。 / Ken wa dansā desu. / "Ken is a dancer."
しゅっぱつはきょうです。 / Shuppatsu wa kyō desu. / "My departure is today." ("I leave today.")
しゅっぱつはあしたです。 / Shuppatsu wa ashita desu. / "My departure is tomorrow." ("I leave tomorrow.")

● Note that when we already understand the topic from context, we can leave it out of the sentence completely. We saw this example in the dialog, where Ashley leaves the shuppatsu wa ("departure") part off of her answer because it's already understood:

  1. 本田大介:出発は明日ですか。
    Honda Daisuke:Shuppatsu wa ashita desu ka?
    Daisuke Honda: "Is your departure tomorrow?"
  2. アシュリー:いいえ。今日です。
    Ashurī:Iie. Kyō desu.
    Ashley: "No, it's today."

[ Is A B? ] - Yes/No Questions

Adding ka (か) to the end of an affirmative sentence turns it into a question. The word order does not change as it does in English.

Construction:

[ Is A B? ]=[ A wa Bdesu ka? ]

Examples:

Japanese / Romaji / English
しゅっぱつはきょうですか。 / Shuppatsu wa kyō desu ka. / "Is your departure today?" ("Are you leaving today?")
しゅっぱつはあしたですか。 / Shuppatsu wa ashita desu ka. / "Is your departure tomorrow?" ("Are you leaving tomorrow?")

Responding with "Yes" and "No"

In the dialogue, we heard the words hai (はい) for "yes" and iie (いいえ) for "no."

Japanese / Romaji / English
はい / Hai / "Yes"
いいえ / Iie / "No"

Along with the meaning of "yes," hai (はい) also has the meanings of "okay" and "right." We also use it to show that we are listening to or that we understand what someone is saying. It does not always mean that you are giving an affirmative answer. For more information on this, please see All About Japanese Lesson #5 (Top 5 Must Know Japanese Phrases).

Vocabulary Usage: Have a nice trip! and See you later!

★じゃ、よい旅を。[Ja, yoi tabi o.] "Have a nice trip!"
Let's look at the components of this phrase. Ja (じゃ) means "well then", yoi (よい) means "good", and tabi (旅) means "trip or travel". Yoi tabi o (よい旅を) is a set phrase that means "have a good trip", so Ja, yoi tabi o (じゃ、よい旅を) can be translated as "Well then... have a good trip!"

★じゃ、また、後で。[Ja, mata, ato de.] "Okay. Well, see you later!"
Let's look at the components of this phrase. Mata (また) means "again", and ato de (後で) means "later" . This phrase literally means "Well then...later again", with the "see you" part inferred. This phrase can also be shortened to Ja mata (じゃまた) or Ja ato de (じゃあとで), or even just Ja (じゃ) by itself, which can mean "See ya" or "Bye".

In the Appendix

In this lesson, we saw some numbers being used when Ashley and Daisuke talked about time. For more detailed information on numbers and how to tell time, please check the following Appendix lessons: Numbers (Appendix #1) and Times: Hours/Minutes (Appendix #2).

Addressing People with Name Suffixes
In the dialog, we heard two different name suffixes used when addressing people: -san and -kun. Let's take a look at these and other name suffixes used to address people in Japanese. We can use these suffixes after first names, last names, or full names.

Suffix / Romaji / Explanation / Examples
-さん / -san / Similar to "Mr." or "Mrs." or "Ms." in English. (formal) / "Ashley-san"
"Peter-san"
-くん / -kun / Usually used after the names of boys or young men that the speaker is close with. Never used towards one's superiors. / "Honda-kun"
-ちゃん / -chan / Usually used after the names of girls and young children. (informal) / "Ashley-chan"
-せんせい / -sensei / Used after the names of teachers, doctors, and other authority figures. Can also be used on its own. (formal) / "Naomi-sensei"
-さま / -sama / Similar to san, but much more polite. Often used towards customers. (very formal) / "Ashley-sama"
(as a customer)