Unit 4 of Pimsleur Japanese 1

Unit 4 of Pimsleur Japanese 1 Notes:

Introduction to asking for directions.

Conversation:

A: sumimasen, anata wa nihon-jin desu ka.

    Excuse me, are you Japanese?

B: hai, watashi wa nihon-jin desu.

    Yes, I am Japanese.

    anata wa. 

    And you?

A: watashi wa amerika-jin desu.

    I am American.

   demo nihongo ga yoku wakarimasu ne.

   But you understand Japanese well, don't you?

B: ee, sukoshi. demo, mada jouzu ja arimasen.

    Yes a little. But, I'm not skilled yet.

A: iie, jouzu desu.

    No, you are skilled

B: arigatou gozaimasu.

   Thank you.

Review:

konnichiwa - Good afternoon!

ja mata - Goodbye / See you!

ohayou gozaimasu - Good morning!

ii otenki desu ne - It's a beautiful day, isn't it?

yana otenki desu ne - It's bad weather, isn't it?

sou desu ne

arigatou gozaimasu - Thank you! (politely)

domo arigatou gozaimasu - Thank you very much!

watashi wa amerika-jin desu - I am American.

demo nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu - But I understand a little Japanese.

anata wa - And you?

iie, mada jouzu ja arimasen - No, I am not very good yet.

eigo ka wakarimasu ka - Do you understand English?

nihongo ga wakarimasen - I don't understand Japanese.

yoku wakarimasu - You understand well.

yoku wakarimasen - I don't understand well.

New Vocabulary:

hanashimasu - To speak

sukoshi hanashimasu - I speak a little.

jouzu ni hanashimasu - You speak well.

jouzu ni - Well or skillfully when referring to speak

jouzu ni hanashimasu ne - You speak well, don't you?

eki - station

Ueno eki - Ueno station

Shinjuku eki - Shinjuku station

doko - Where

desu - is / are

doko desu ka - Where is?

Ueno eki wa doko desu ka - Where is Ueno station?

sumimasen, Ueno eki wa doko desu ka - Excuse me, where is Ueno station?

koko - here

koko desu - It's here.

koen - park

Ueno koen - Ueno park

Ueno koen wa doko desu ka - Where is Ueno park?

Ueno koen wa - And Ueno park?

Shinjuku eki wa doko desu ka - Where is Shinjuku station?

sumimasen, Shinjuku eki wa doko desu ka - Excuse me, where is Shinjuku station?

koko desu ka - Is it here?

hai, koko desu - Yes, it's here.

iie, koko ja arimasen - No, it's not here.

asoko - there / over there

asoko desu - It's over there.

asoko ja arimasen - It's not over there.

Ueno eki wa koko desu - Ueno station is here.

Shinjuku eki wa koko ja arimasen - Shinjuku station is not here.

Japanese Conversation:

A: konnichiwa.

  

B: konnichiwa.

  

A: ii otenki desu ne.

  

B: so desu ne.

A: aa, nihongo ga wakarimase ne.

   

B: sukoshi. hai, sukoshi. demo mada jouzu ja arimasen.

A: iie, jouzu desu. anata wa amerika-jin desu ka.

B: hai, watashiwa amerika-jin desu. anata wa.

A: watashi wa nihon-jin desu.

A: sumimasen, Ueno eki wa doko desu ka.

    Excuse me, where is Ueno station?

B: koko desu.

    It's here.

A: Ueno koen wa.

    And Ueno park?

B: asoko desu.

    It's over there.

    Ueno eki wa asoko ja arimasen. 

    Ueno station is not over there.

   

    Ueno koen wa asoko desu.

    Ueno park is over there.

    demo Ueno eki wa koko desu.

    But, Ueno station is here.

A: doko ka ii restoran o shitte imasu ka.

B: sumimasen, wakarimasen.

    Sorry, I don't understand.

~Cherry-san

Unit 3 of Pimsleur Japanese 1

Unit 3 of Pimsleur Japanese 1 Notes:

Conversation:

ohayou gozaimasu.

Good morning!

ii otenki desu ne.

It's good weather, isn't it?

aa, nihongo ga wakarimasu ne.

Ah, you understand Japanese, don't you?

hai, sukoshi demo mada jouzo ja arimasen.

Yes, a little but I'm not skilled yet.

anata wa amerika-jin desu ka.

Are you American?

hai.

Yes.

demo nihongo ga yoku wakarimasu ne.

But you understand well, don't you?

Review:

nihongo - Japanese language.

nihongo ga wakarimasu - I understand Japanese.

sukoshi - A little.

sukoshi wakarimasu - I understand a little.

nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu - I understand Japanese a little.

jouzo ja arimasen - not skilled

ii otenki desu ne - It's good weather, isn't it?

sou desu ne - It's so, isn't it?

ja mata. - See you / goodbye

nihongo ga wakarimasu ne. - You understand Japanese, don't you?

nihongo - Japanese language.

New Vocabulary:

demo - but

mada - yet

mada jouzo ja arimasen - not skilled yet

demo mada jouzo ja arimasen - But I am not very good at it yet / but I am not skilled yet

yoku - well (in knowledge, in skill, not health)

yoku wakarimasu - I understand well.

yoku wakarimasen - I don't understand well.

yana - bad / unpleasant / distasteful / disagreeable (in the sense of weather)

yana otenki desu ne - It's bad weather, isn't it?

arigatou gozaimasu - Thank you!

domo - very much

domo arigatou gozaimasu - Thank you very much!

sumimasen, yoku wakarimasen - Excuse me, I don't understand well.

konnichiwa - Hello / good afternoon (mid morning until it is dark)

anata wa amerika-jin desu ka - Are you American?

hai, watashi wa amerika-jin desu - Yes, I am American.

anata wa amerika-jin desu - You are American.

nihon - Japan

nihon-jin - Japanese (nationality)

watashi wa nihon-jin desu - I am Japanese.

anata wa nihon-jin desu ka - Are you Japanese?

watashi wa nihon-jin ja arimasen - I am not Japanese.

watashi wa amerika-jin ja arimasen - I am not American.

anata wa nihon-jin desu ka - Are you Japanese?

iie, watashi wa nihon-jin ja arimasen - No, I am not Japanese.

anata wa - You? / And you?

watashi wa amerika-jin desu. anata wa - I am American. And you?

demo nihongo ga wakarimasu - But I understand Japanese.

~ Cherry-san

Unit 2 of Pimsleur Japanese 1

Unit 2 of Pimsleur Japanese 1 Notes:

Conversation:

sumimasen, nihongo ga wakarimasu ka.

Excuse me, do you understand Japanese?

hai, sukoshi.

Yes, a little.

anata wa amerika-jin desu ka.

Are you American?

hai, watashi wa amerika-jin desu.

Yes, I am American.

eigo ga wakarimasu ka.

Do you understand English?

iie, wakarimasen.

No, I don't understand.

Review:

eigo - English language.

nihongo - Japanese language.

wakarimasu - I understand.

nihongo ga wakarimasu - I understand Japanese.

sukoshi - A little / a few.

nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu - I understand Japanese a little.

wakarimasu ka - Do you understand?

nihongo ga wakarimasu ka - Do you understand Japanese?

eigo ga wakarimasu ka - Do you understand English?

iie - No.

wakarimasen - I don't understand.

eigo ga wakarimasen - I don't understand English.

nihongo ga wakarimasen - I don't understand Japanese.

sukoshi wakarimasu - I understand a little.

nihongo ga wakarimasen - I don't understand Japanese.

eigo ga wakarimasu - I understand English.

eigo ga sukoshi wakarimasu - I understand English a little.

anatawa amerika-jin desu ka - Are you American?

hai, watashi wa amerika-jin desu - Yes, I am American.

New Vocabulary:

ohayou gozaimasu - Good morning! (politely e.g. business associates)

ohayou - Good morning! (casual e.g. to family members)

gozaimasu - added to ohayou for politeness

ii - nice / good

otenki - weather

ii otenki - good weather

ii otenki desu - It's good weather.

ne - Don't you / Isn't it / Aren't you / Don't you think / Spoken exclamation point

ii otenki desu ne - It's good weather, isn't it?

sou - It's so

sou desu ne - It's so, isn't it? (in agreement)

ja mata - See you / Goodbye (when leaving)

arigatou - Thanks / Thank you (casual)

arigatou gozaimasu - Thanks / Thank you (politely)

watashi wa - I

watashi wa nihongo ga wakarimasu - I understand Japanese.

watashi wa nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu - I understand Japanese a little.

jouzu - very good / skilled (good at)

jouzu ja arimasen - I am not very good / not skilled

jouzu desu - You are very good. / You are skilled

jouzu desu ne - You are skilled, aren't you?

nihongo ga jouzu desu ne - You are skilled in Japanese, aren't you?

eigo ga jouzo desu ne - You are skilled in English, aren't you?

Conversation 2:

ohayou gozaimasu.

Good morning!

ohayou gozaimasu.

Good morning!

ii otenki desu ne.

It's good weather, isn't it?

sou desu ne.

It's so, isn't it?

anata wa amerika-jin desu ka.

Are you American?

hai, watashi wa amerika-jin desu.

Yes, I am American.

nihongo ga wakarimasu ka.

Do you understand Japanese?

sukoshi. nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu.

A little. I understand Nihongo a little.

~ Cherry-san 

Unit 1 of Pimsleur Japanese 1

In Japanese there are four different writing systems: Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji and Romaji.

Hiragana - Japanese alphabet characters used for Japanese words and particles.

Katakana - Japanese alphabet characters used for foreign words, animals and sounds.

Kanji - Chinese characters used for whole words, or parts of words.

Romaji - This is English characters used to show the pronunciation of Japanese words.

If you wish to become proficient in reading and writing Japanese, you need to learn kanji. However, if you are a beginner (like me), you should learn hiragana and katakana first then kanji.

For the majority of readers of this course, I will use romaji to update my blog. If there are mistakes or errors, please post a correction! Thank you!

Unit 1 of Pimsleur Japanese 1 Notes:

Conversation:

sumimasen, eigo ga wakarimasu ka.

Excuse me, do you understand English?

iie, wakarimasen. nihongo ga wakarimasu ka.

No, I don't understand. Do you understand Japanese?

hai, sukoshi wakarimasu.

Yes, I understand a little.

anata wa amerika-jin desu ka.

Are you American?

hai, watashi wa amerika-jin desu.

Yes, I am American

New Vocabulary:

sumimasen - Excuse me.

eigo - English language.

eigo ga - English used in a sentence.

wakarimasu - To understand / I understand.

ka - Used at the end of the sentence to form a question / spoken question mark.

wakarimasu ka - Do you understand?

eigo ga wakarimasu ka - Do you understand English?

iie - No.

eigo ga wakarimasu - I understand English.

wakarimasen - I don't understand.

eigo ga wakarimasen - I don't understand English.

iie, wakarimasen - No, I don't understand.

nihongo - Japanese language.

nihongo ga - Japanese used in a sentence. 

nihongo ga wakarimasu - I understand Japanese.

nihongo ga wakarimasen - I don't understand Japanese.

nihongo ga wakarimasu ka - Do you understand Japanese?

sukoshi - A little / a few.

sukoshi wakarimasu - I understand a little.

nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu - I understand Japanese a little.

amerika-jin - American (nationality).

anata wa - You (when used in a sentence).

anata wa - You are

desu - Am / are

anata wa amerika-jin desu - You are American.

anata wa amerika-jin desu ka - Are you American?

watashi wa - I (when used in a sentence).

watashi wa - I am

anata wa amerika-jin desu - You are American.

watashi wa amerika-jin desu - I am American.

anata wa amerika-jin desu ka - Are you American?

hai - Yes.

hai, sukoshi - Yes, a little.

* In this lesson, you noticed that the Japanese word order is very different from what you are accustomed to in English.

~ Cherry-san