Plurals

Plurals aren’t really a part of Japanese. In fact, many Japanese people that I have met just can’t seem to grasp the concept of why we need to add an “s” to so many words in English. Of course, I can’t imagine communicating without it (Although I do) !

There is one exception. When indicating a group of people, the suffix 達 (taw chee) can be used. The most common way to use it is for “we.” 私 (waw taw shee), which means “I”, can be changed to “we” by adding 達. Example: 私達 or 私たち. The (taw chee) is often written in hiragana.

In the same way, “they” (both male and female) can be made.

彼達 (kaw ray taw chee) This means: “They” for males only or for mixed groups.

彼女達 (kaw no joe taw chee) This means: “They” for a group of females only.

達 is never used for non living things.

ら raw

ら is another suffix for making plurals. It is more casual and can’t be used the same way as 達.

ら can be used to refer to people of equal or lower status, but not higher.

Another interesting point is that it cannot be used to refer to a group that includes yourself. So 私ら is NOT correct. In that case,達 is the only one that can be used.

But again, my advice is to go with the more polite way. You can never go wrong.

To Be

The verb “to be” is a very important verb in English and many other languages. It has special meaning and in some cases special uses. First, the most important point is that it doesn’t mean quite the same in Japanese as it does in English. Look at the following sentences.

これは本です

(Approximate pronunciation) Ko ray WA hone dess

This means: This is a book.

This would appear to behave just as the verb ‘to be.’ But take a look at this.

踊りたい気分です

(Approximate pronunciation) Odo ree tie kee boon dess

This means: I feel like dancing.

Literally this means, “It is a want to dance feeling.” There is no mention of who wants to dance though. If you add the topic 私は to the sentence, it means,”I want to dance.” In the English sentence though, the verb “to be” isn’t used.

Here’s another example.

私は楽しいです。

(Approximate pronunciation) Watashi WA tano she dess

This means: I’m having fun.

At first glance, this sentence seems to say “I am fun.” But that’s not correct. In order to make it make sense, we have to add quite a bit of creative translation.

As for me, it is fun.

But that’s not even close to a real English sentence.

In Japanese, there are also two other forms of the verb “to be.”

 あります (ah ree moss) and います (ee moss)

あります basically means “there is.” It is used for non living things. This includes plants. (Plants are not considered living things in terms of grammar.)

います is used for people and animals. It can mean “there is” or “I have”, such as if you are explains that you have a brother or sister.

私は弟がいます。

(Approximate pronunciation) Wah taw shee wa o toe toe ga ee moss.

This means: I have a younger brother.

A literal translation would be something like: As for me, there is a younger brother.

問題があります。

(Approximate pronunciation) Mown dye ga are ree moss

This means: There is a problem. It can also mean that I have a problem.

These two verbs あります and います basically describe existence. Their use is closer to the verb “to be” than the verb です. However, their use can be quite different than “to be.”

The structure of Japanese sentences

One of the most difficult parts to learning Japanese for Speakers of European languages is the word order of the sentences. You may hear people say that it’s opposite or backwards. That’s not necessarily true. What is almost always true is that the verb comes at the end of the sentence.

I am American.

私      は          アメリカ      人             です。

I      (Topic)       America     person       is

(Approximate pronunciation) watashi  wa  amedika  jeen  dess

Literal translation:

I  WA(topic marker)  America  person  is.

Notice that “is” comes at the end of the sentence.

I go to school.

私   は   学校   に   行きます

(Approximate pronunciation) Watashi  wa  gakko  nee  eekeemasu

Literal translation:

I WA(topic marker) study exam  to  go.

Again, the verb comes at the end of the sentence.

As I discussed in the last article (particles), the other parts of the sentence can be understood by their grammar particles.

The basic order is this:

Topic Subject (other stuff) Verb

Now, I know that “other stuff” isn’t a technical term, but because of the Japanese use of particles, it is not necessary to put other words in any particular order.

Once you get the hang of the basic structure, it’s easier to understand what’s happening in a sentence.

Particles , the structure of a Japanese sentence.

In English, the structure of a sentence is important. It tells us who is doing what. Where and when also have their separate places. In Japanese, that’s not the case. Particles (single syllable words for grammatical purposes) are used to indicate the grammar in a Japanese sentence. For example, in English, the subject is at or near the beginning of a sentence. In Japanese, it can appear in various places.

In this article I will talk about 5 basic particles in detail. I will explain their basic functions. The specific grammar can be quite complicated, so I will not attempt to explain them fully. Some students spend years trying to understand them perfectly, but I’ve found that the best approach is to learn them like a native speaker does; listen, use, learn.

There are many other particles and I will just list some of them. They have English counterparts, and so are easier to understand.

は     WA(topic)

“Ha” (pronounced “wa”) is the most common particle. It is the topic marker. It usually comes at the beginning of the sentence. It is often mistaken as the subject of the sentence, because it can often be the same as the subject in the English translation. This Japanese grammar doesn’t actually exist in English. It’s function is to tell the listener what you are talking about. If you were to choose the closest direct translation it would be “As for …”. Look at the following example.

私はスーザンです。

(Approximate pronunciation) Watashi wa soozan des.

This means: I am Susan.

The closest direct translation is: As for me, (I) am Susan.

The first phrase, “As for me,” is not necessary in English. When you say, “I am Susan”, everyone understands that you are talking about yourself!

The topic can be simply changed to change who or what you’re talking about.

彼女はスーザンです。

(Approximate pronunciation) Kanojo wa soozan desu.

This means: She is Susan.

Direct translation: As for her, (she) is Susan.

Simply change the topic to talk about another person.

母はスーザンです。

(Approximate pronunciation)  haha wa soozan desu.

This means: My mother is Suzan.

Direct translation: As for my mother, (she) is Susan.

Just remember, the topic is not always the same as the subject in English!

が    GA(subject)

Ga marks the subject of a Japanese sentence. An important point to remember is that a Japanese sentence doesn’t need a subject. Sometimes the topic is sufficient and sometimes neither is used!

It’s also important to know that verbs don’t work the same way in Japanese as they do in English or other languages. So the function of the subject may not be exactly clear. It’s best to remember that the subject has the direct relation to the verb.

音が聞こえる。

(Approximate pronunciation) Oto ga kee ko ā ru).

This means: I (can) hear something.

Direct translation: Sound can be heard.

The English subject, “I”, doesn’t appear in the Japanese sentence. The Japanese subject is “sound”. It has the direct relation to the verb, “can be heard”.

の     NO(possessive)

“No” is the possessive particle. Even though possession is different in English, it’s use is pretty straight forward.

今日の天気

(Approximate pronunciation) kyo no ten ki

This means: Today’s weather

昨日の夜

(Approximate pronunciation) Kee no no yoru

This means: Yesterday’s night

Actual English: Last night

The possessive is fairly easy to understand, just be aware that it is used much more frequently in Japanese than in English. So some sentences may not be readily understandable.

を    O(direct object)

“Wo”, pronounced “O”, is the particle that marks the direct object. The direct object receives the action of the verb. This grammar is easy to understand for English speakers.

腕を離せ！

(Approximate pronunciation) oo day oh haw naw say

This means: Let go of my arm!

The literal translation is, “Arm (to/of) separate (command form). Even though the grammar is a bit different, English speakers can imagine that the arm is being released, therefore it would be the direct object.

Because of the difference with how Japanese verbs work, some instances may be difficult to understand.

席を立つ

(Approximate pronunciation) seh key oh tawt sue

This means: to leave your seat

The direct translation confused me the first time. Literally it means, “Seat (to/of) stand. Leaving your seat makes more sense. The seat is left, making it the receiver of an action.

An important point is that the direct object comes before the verb. In most cases, the verb comes at the end of the sentence in Japanese.

服を買う

(Approximate pronunciation) Foo koo o cow

This means: Buy some clothes

Direct translation and word order: clothes (to/of) buy

映画を見る

(Approximate pronunciation) ā ga o mee rue

This means: See a movie

Direct translation and word order: movie (to/of) see

か    KA(question)

KA is the simplest particle. It simply indicates a question. In traditional Japanese writing, there is no question mark.

There are two other uses. It is used to create pronouns.

何か

(Approximate pronunciation) Naw nee KA

This means: something

どこか

(Approximate pronunciation) Doe ko KA

This means: somewhere

It is also used like “what”, “where”, etc. are used in English phrases.

私が言いたか

(Approximate pronunciation) Wah taw shee GA ee ee taw kaw

This means: What I said

彼がどこに行ったか

(Approximate pronunciation) Kaw ray GA doe koh ni eat taw kaw

This means: where he went

The others

There are over 100 particles. However, not all of them are used that often and some of them are combinations of two particles. Below is a list of the most common ones and some of their English counterparts. In each situation, the English translation will change for the same particle, depending on its use in English. So there is no one direct translation.

へ (ê) – to, toward

に (nee) – to, at, by

で  (deh) – at, by, in

も (mow) – also

と (tow) – and, if, when, with (used for quoting)

から (kara) – from, because, out of, through, after, since

ね (neh) – (used for emphasis), (used to solicit agreement)

よ (yo) – emphasis (should be used sparingly until you understand when it’s appropriate to use)

Writing systems

In Japanese, there are three writing systems. Thousands of years ago, the Japanese brought writing from China, along with other things such as Buddhism. Unfortunately, the Chinese and Japanese languages have absolutely nothing in common. In fact, sentence structure of Chinese is almost identical to English, which makes it almost the complete opposite of Japanese!

Kanji (Chinese characters) 漢字

Kanji is what the Japanese call the system of writing that they brought back from China. In fact, many basic words still are the same in Chinese and Japanese. Although both countries have simplified the characters through the years. Hong Kong and Taiwan still use the traditional characters, though.

Kanji are complex characters that can take years to master, both for reading and writing. The thing that makes them more difficult in Japanese is that most characters have multiple readings. The reading can vary greatly depending on what word the character is in.

Hiragana ひらがな

a Syllabary
 

This system of writing is probably the most commonly used in modern times. It is one of the two syllabaries. Each character is made up of two sounds, a consonant and a vowel. There is only one exception, the “N” sound. It’s pronunciation is a mixture of “m” and “n” that’s cut off abruptly.

Hiragana can be used to write every word in the Japanese language. Although it’s main modern function is to make words grammatically correct. Kanji are used to write the root words and hiragana is used to add the Japanese endings, such as for past tense.

買いました

(Approximate pronunciation) Kai mawsh taw

This means: Bought

The first character is the kanji. The characters that follow are the hiragana which make the verb polite form and past tense.

Another point in modern Japanese is that when it is unnecessary (meaning no ambiguity in what the writer means) or too much of a pain to use the kanji, the words are often written in hiragana. So, over the years, many kanji have fallen out of use and are now mostly written in hiragana.

Katakana カタカナ

the other syllabary
 

Katakana is another syllabary. It’s modern use it mostly to write the words that have been borrowed from other languages. It’s pronunciation is exactly the same, although the arrangement of syllables are being manipulated more and more to represent foreign ways of pronunciation. For example, the sound “tea” can’t be written in regular Japanese. Traditionally the “Ti” combination doesn’t exist. So, it is written as “chi.” Which can also mean “pee.” Ewwwwww! It’s funny to hear an older person order iced tea, because it sounds like they want “iced pee. ”

Nowadays though, the arrangement of the characters are being used to accommodate more foreign pronunciations. So “tea” would be テ (te) (pronounced teh) with a small イ (i) (pronounced ee.) the new combination ティ (pronounced tea.) Now you can order アイスティー (ai sue tea)

What books are good?

Many times I have been asked how I learned to speak Japanese and what books I used. Many times people are surprised that I seem to have learned so quickly or that I seem to be able to say what I want. I’m always flattered, but I think I still have a ways to go! But I will say this, it wasn’t difficult for me, because I did the the things I wanted to do.

 They’re rich for a reason

The foreign language learning industry is world wide and it’s huge. You can go to a bookstore and see all kinds of books for many different languages. There is one interesting point that I realised years ago; they are almost all beginner books.

People often ask me for my recommendation on good text books. After all, there are many different kinds. When I was in college, our textbook was a business oriented one. It wasn’t very useful to me because, well, I was a college student in America, not a foreign business man working in Japan. So it’s important to get a book that fits your situation. If you’re simply going to travel to Japan, then a phrase book for travellers might come in handy.

But the most important point is to get one that is interesting to you. Why’s that? Going back to my point that almost all books for learning foreign languages are beginner books, there is a reason for that. Most people give up. And most people give up rather quickly! I know many people (and I’m one of them) who have spent a lot of money on books, only to have them end up collecting dust on the bookshelf.

 Others

Reference books of course aren’t going to be fun, but you don’t sit and read those cover to cover. However, the textbook that you choose should be one that’s interesting. If you have fun looking though it and reading its information, you will spend much more time using it.

As for reference books, there are a few dictionaries out there that will do. Anything that you’d find at a bookstore will be good. Just remember to buy a good one, not just a cheap one. As for grammar, there is an excellent set of books called, “A Dictionary of Beginning Grammar.” They also have one for intermediate and advanced grammar. The examples are excellent and there are many example sentences and explanations.

But remember, if any book is going to bore you or be a pain to use, skip it.