LESSON 2

Grammar
This chapter will help you make your own sentences. It's arranged alphabetically for ease of navigation. If you can't find the exact phrase remember that with just a little grammar, a few gestures, and a couple of well-chosen words, you'll generally get the message across.

:: Part 1 ::
Adjectives & Adverbs (Describing People/Things - Doing Things)
As in English adjectives come before the noun they describe. There are two types of adjectives: (i adjectives) that end in a vowel or i (い) and (na adjectives) that end in na (な).

We had a nice meal. おいしい食事をしました。(lit: nice meal o did) (Oy-shī sho-ku-ji o shi-mash-ta)

That is a beautiful building. あれはきれいな建物です。(lit: that-over-there wa beautiful building is) (a-re wa ki-rē na ta-te-mo-no des)

Adverbs which describe a verb or an adjective, can be formed by replacing the i (い) ending of (i adjectives) with the ending ku (く). The adjective ha-yai (速い) , for example, becomes the adverb ha-ya-ku (速く).
Many adverbs in Japanese however exist as a word in their own right. For example to-te-mo (とても) very , yuk-ku-ri (ゆっくり) slowly , and Kyō (今日) today to name a few.

:: Part 2 ::
Articles (Naming People/Things)
Japanese does not have words equivalent to the English indefinite and definite articles (a/an) and (the):

It's a/the hotel. ホテルです。(lit: hotel is) (ho-te-ru des)

Words are used without articles and context will tell you whether (a) or (the) is meant.

:: Part 3 ::
Be (Describing People/Things - Making Statements - Pointing Things Out)
The word des (です) roughly corresponds to the English verb (be) and like any verb in Japanese it doesn't change according to who or what it refers to; des can mean (I am) or (she is) or (we are) etc depending on the situation - there's one form only for all subjects. Japanese verbs do change their form when they're expressing the past tense and/or negative. The following table shows how des changes in these cases:

I'm Australian. 私はオーストラリア人です。(lit: I wa Australian is) (wa-ta-shi wa ō-sto-ra-rya-jin des)

I'm not a medical doctor. 私は医者じゃありません。(lit: I wa doctor is-not) (wa-ta-shi wa i-sha ja a-ri-ma-sen)

It was rainy yesterday. きのうは雨でした。(lit: yesterday wa rain was) (ki-nō wa a-me desh-ta)

The person I met last night was not Mr. Takagi. ゆうべ会った人は高木さんじゃありませんでした。(lit: yesterday met person wa Tagaki-Mister not-was) (yū-be at-ta hi-to wa ta-ka-gi-san ja a-ri-ma-sen desh-ta)

Note that you drop the particle of the word that immediately precedes a form of the verb des.

:: Part 4 ::
There is/There are
There are two ways of expressing that something exists in Japanese. For animate objects (people and animals) the verb i-mas (います) is used. For inanimate objects (things) a-ri-mas (あります) is used.

There are many good restaurants in Tokyo. 東京にはいいレストランがたくさんあります。(lit: Tokyo in wa good restaurant ga many there-are-inanimate) (tō-kyō ni wa ī res-to-ran ga ta-ku-san a-ri-mas)

There are four dogs in the garden. 庭に犬が4匹います。(lit: garden in dog ga four there-are-animate) (ni-wa ni i-nu ga yon-hi-ki i-mas)

:: Part 5 ::
Demonstratives (Pointing Things Out - Indicating - Making Statements)
To refer to or point out a person or object, use one of the words in the table below. Note that the element ko (こ) refers to someone or something close to the speaker, so (そ) to someone or something close to the listener and a (あ) to something far from both the speaker and listener.

How much does this cost? これはいくらですか？ (lit: this wa how-much is question) (ko-re wa i-ku-ra des ka)

That train is full. その電車は満員です。 (lit: that train wa full is) (so-no den-sha wa man-in des)

:: Part 6 ::
Have (Possessing)
Possession can be shown in various ways in Japanese. The easiest way is to use the possessive particle no (の) after the noun, pronoun or proper noun that indicates who or what possesses something:

My friend 私の友達 (lit: I no friend) (wa-ta-shi no to-mo-da-chi)

It's hers. これは彼女のです。 (lit: this wa she no is) (ko-re wa ka-no-jo no des)

Takashi's hotel たかしのホテル (lit: Takashi no hotel) (ta-ka-shi no ho-te-ru)

An alternative way of expressing possession is to use the verb mot-te i-mas (持っています) (have) or the expression ga a-ri-mas (があります) (there is something to me) :

I have money. (私は)お金を持っています。 (lit: (I wa) (honourable-money o have) (wa-ta-shi wa)(o-ka-ne o mot-te i-mas)

I have a car. 私は自動車があります。 (lit: (I wa)(car there-is) (wa-ta-shi wa)(ji-dō-sha ga a-ri-mas)

:: Part 7 ::
Negatives (Negating)
To make a verb in the present tense negative, replace the ending mas (ます) with ma-sen (ません) :

I smoke. タバコを吸います。 (lit: cigarette o inhale) (ta-ba-ko o su-i-mas)

I don't smoke. タバコを吸いません。 (lit: cigarette o inhale-not) (ta-ba-ko o su-i-ma-sen)

To make a verb in the past tense negative, replace mash-ta (ました) with ma-sen desh-ta (ませんでした) :

I came by train. 電車で来ました。 (lit: train by did-come) (den-sha de ki-mash-ta)

I did not come by train. 電車で来ませんでした。 (lit: train by come did-not) (den-sha de ki-ma-sen desh-ta)

In Japanese adjectives also have a negative form. For (i adjectives) replace the ending i (い) with ku (く) and negate them by adding a-ri-ma-sen (ありません) or nai des (ないです) :

For (na adjectives) keep only the stems of the word (ie drop the ending na (な) ) then negate them by adding ja a-ri-ma-sen (じやありません) or ja nai des (じやないです) :

:: Part 8 ::
Nouns (Naming People/Things - Making Statements)
Japanese nouns have no gender (masculine or feminine) or plural forms: you always use the same form of the noun whether you're referring to a masculine or feminine person, object, place or concept, and whether it's singular or plural.

box/boxes 箱 ha-ko
person/people 人 hi-to
ticket/tickets 切符 kip-pu

Make sure you always use a particle after the nouns when using them in a phrase.

:: Part 9 ::

Counting things

cardinal numbers (基本数字)

The numbers 4, 7 and 9 – and all other numbers containing these numbers – have alternative pronunciations which are completely interchangeable.

一

i·chi

二

三

san

四

shi/yon

五

六

ro·ku

七

shi·chi/na·na

八

ha·chi

九

ku/kyū

十

jū

十一

jū·i·chi

十二

jū·ni

十三

jū·san

十四

jū·shi/jū·yon

十五

jū·go

十六

jū·ro·ku

十七

jū·shi·chi/jū·na·na

十八

jū·ha·chi

十九

jū·ku/jū·kyū

二十

ni·jū

二十一

ni·jū·i·chi

二十二

ni·jū·ni

三十

san·jū

四十

yon·jū

五十

go·jū

六十

ro·ku·jū

七十

na·na·jū

八十

ha·chi·jū

九十

kyū·jū

100

百

hya·ku

200

二百

ni·hya·ku

300

三百

sam·bya·ku

1,000

千

sen

10,000

一万

i·chi·man

1,000,000

百万

hya·ku·man

100,000,000

一億

i·chi·o·ku

Note that Japanese has no unit for 'a million'. Millions are expressed in units of 10 thousand, so one million is 100 ten-thousand units.

ordinal numbers (順番)

To use an ordinal number in Japanese, just add ·ban (番) to the end of the corresponding cardinal number.

1st

一番

i·chi·ban

2nd

二番

ni·ban

3rd

三番

sam·ban

4th

四番

yom·ban

5th

五番

go·ban

fractions (分数)

a quarter

4分の1

yom·bun no i·chi

a third

3分の1

sam·bun no i·chi

a half

半分

ham·bun

three-quarters

4分の3

yom·bun no san

all

全部

zem·bu

none

なし

na·shi

counters (助数詞)

In Japanese, when expressing a certain number of objects, people or animals, the cardinal number is followed by a counter. Counters, also commonly known as 'classifiers', indicate the size, shape and function of things and distinguish between objects, people and animals.

The following generic counters can be used to count most objects, but not to count people or animals:

一つ

hi·to·tsu

二つ

fu·ta·tsu

三つ

mit·tsu

四つ

yot·tsu

五つ

i·tsu·tsu

六つ

mut·tsu

七つ

na·na·tsu

八つ

yat·tsu

九つ

ko·ko·no·tsu

十

tō

numbers higher than 10

…個

…·ko

Note that apart from the last generic counter mentioned in the list above, there's no need to add the cardinal number before the counter as this already makes part of the counter. Eg, the phrase 'Give me an apple, please.' is rin·go o hi·to·tsu ku·da·sai (りんごを一つください), literally 'apple-o one please', not rin·go o i·chi hi·to·tsu ku·da·sai (りんごを一一つください), literally 'apple-o one one please'.

Here are also some basic specific counters frequently used in everyday speech, including the ones for people and animals:

age

…歳

…·sai

animals*

…匹

…·hi·ki/pi·ki/bi·ki

books

…冊

…·sa·tsu

bottles, pens (long objects)*

…本

…·hon/pon/bon

floors (of buildings)

…階

…·kai

objects (small)

…個

…·ko

people

…人

…·nin

scoops, glasses, cups

…杯

…·hai/pai/bai

sheets (paper, sliced objects)

…枚

…·mai

time

…時

…·ji

vehicles

…台

…·dai

Note that the pronunciation of these three counters changes according to the preceding number. For these, generally use the first option (·hiki, ·hon, ·hai) but change to ·piki, ·pon, ·pai after the numbers 1, 6 and 10, and to ·biki, ·bon and ·bai after the number 3. Don't forget to add the cardinal number before each of the specific counters listed above!

useful amounts (よく使う分量)

How much?

どのくらい?

do·no ku·rai

How many?

いくつ?

i·ku·tsu

Please give me …

…ください。

… ku·da·sai

(100) grams

(100)グラム

(hya·ku)·gu·ra·mu

half a kilo

500グラム

o·hya·ku·gu·ra·mu

a kilo

1キロ

i·chi·ki·ro

a bottle

ビン1本

bin ip·pon

a jar

ジャー1個

jā ik·ko

a packet

1パック

hi·to·pak·ku

a slice

1枚

i·chi·mai

a tin

1缶

hi·to·kan

less

もっと少ない量

mot·to su·ku·nai ryō

(just) a little

(ほんの)ちょっと

(hon·no) chot·to

a lot

たくさん

ta·ku·san

もっと

mot·to

some

いくらか

i·ku·ra ka

:: Part 10 ::

Future

Future tense is expressed by using the same forms as for the present tense – in Japanese it's most often understood from context that the future is concerned. If you'd like to make it crystal clear that you're talking about the future, you can also use a word or expression of time such as a·shi·ta (明日) 'tomorrow', rai·ge·tsu (来月) 'next month' or su·gi ni (すぐに) 'soon' in your sentence.

:: Part 11 ::

More than one

Japanese nouns are the same whether they refer to one or more persons, objects, places or concepts. If you want to count or express a particular number of items you'll have to add a classifier (also called counter) to the noun.

:: Part 12 ::

My & your

To indicate possession, use a pronoun (see pronouns), noun or proper noun followed by the particle no (の):

This is my book.

これは私の本です｡

ko·re wa wa·ta·shi no hon des

(lit: this wa I no book is)

Mr Kamimura's suitcase

上村さんのスーツケース

ka·mi·mu·ra·san no sūts·kēs

(lit: Kamimura-Mister no suitcase)

schoolteacher

学校の先生

gak·kō no sen·sē

(lit: school no teacher)

:: Part 13 ::

Particles

A Japanese noun or pronoun is almost always followed by a particle. Particles are short words that display the function of the preceding word in the sentence. They show, for example, whether the preceding word is the subject (who or what is doing something) or the object (the person or thing that's affected by the action expressed by the verb) of the sentence. Sometimes particles act as prepositions, eg like the English 'to' or 'in'. You'll often come across the following particles in Japanese:

ga (が) subject particle

The particle ga (が) indicates the subject of the sentence when this is not omitted from the sentence as often happens in Japanese:

This is my address.

これが私の住所です。

ko·re ga wa·ta·shi no jū·sho des

(lit: this ga I no address is)

wa (は) topic particle

The particle wa (は) marks the topic or the focal point of the sentence. It's often used when clarifying or stressing a particular point.

I'm a teacher.

私は教師です。

wa·ta·shi wa kyō·shi des

(lit: I wa teacher is)

When the subject of the sentence is stressed or contrasted, it's also the topic of the sentence, in which case the form ga will appear.

o (を) object particle

The particle o (を) marks the object of the sentence.

I ate sushi.

すしを食べました｡

su·shi o ta·be·mash·ta

(lit: sushi o eat-did)

no (の) possessive particle

The particle no (の) shows that something belongs to someone/something (also see have):

Miyuki's house

みゆきさんの家

mi·yu·ki·san no i·e

(lit: Miyuki-Miss no house)

ni (に) particle

The particle ni (に) can be used in four different ways:

e (へ) particle (direction)

The particle e (へ) indicates direction and is very similar to the destination function of ni (see above).

I'm going to Ginza.

銀座へ行きます｡

gin·za e i·ki·mas

(lit: Ginza e go)

de (で) particle

The de (で) particle indicates location – it has a similar function as the location function of ni (に). It can also express the means of doing something:

at the entrance

入口で

i·ri·gu·chi de

(lit: entrance de)

I'm going by train.

電車で行きます｡

den·sha de i·ki·mas

(lit: train de go)

ka (か) interrogative particle

The particle ka (か) is added to the end of a statement to turn this into a question.

I speak English.

英語が話せます｡

ē·go ga ha·na·se·mas

(lit: English ga speak)

Do you speak English?

英語が話せますか?

ē·go ga ha·na·se·mas ka

(lit: English ga speak ka)

:: Part 14 ::

Past

There are only two basic tenses in Japanese: present tense, which is also used to express the future, and past tense. To form the past tense, simply replace the ending ·mas (します) with the ending ·mash·ta (しました).

I study at university.

大学で勉強します｡

dai·ga·ku de ben·kyō shi·mas

(lit: university de study do)

I've studied marketing.

マーケティングを勉強しました｡

mā·ke·tin·gu o ben·kyō shi·mash·ta

(lit: marketing o study did)

As with the present tense, Japanese verbs in the past tense don't change according to the subject (ie whether the subject is I, you, he/she/it, we, you (pl) or they).

:: Part 15 ::

Polite forms

Japanese shows different forms of formality by choosing particular words and often changing the forms of the verbs. This phrasebook uses standard polite ·mas (ます) forms which will be suitable for most situations you encounter. To keep this safe middle ground, also avoid the use of second person pronouns, as they might sound too direct. You'll also notice that the Japanese often add the prefixes o· (お) and go· (ご) to certain nouns to indicate politeness or reverence:

sake

お酒

o·sa·ke

rice/meal

ごはん

go·han

I'll introduce you.

ご紹介します。

go·shō·kai shi·mas

(lit: honourable-introduction do)

Sometimes these prefixes mean 'your honourable …'. Only use these when talking about or to others, never when talking about yourself or your situation.

your husband

ご主人

go·shu·jin

(lit: your-honourable-husband)

my husband

主人

shu·jin

(lit: husband)

How are you?

お元気ですか?

o·gen·ki des ka

(lit: your-honourable-healthy is ka)

I'm fine.

元気です｡

gen·ki des

(lit: healthy is)

:: Part 16 ::

Prepositions

English prepositions are often rendered by particles such as ni (に), e (へ) and de (で) in Japanese.

:: Part 17 ::

Pronouns

Subject pronouns are often omitted in Japanese when the person is obvious from context. Japanese pronouns vary based on the level of formality – in this phrasebook we have used an appropriate pronoun for each phrase.

Note that there are no different pronouns for subjects (eg I, she), objects (eg me, her) and possessives (eg my, her). The difference between these is indicated by the particle that follows the pronouns in the sentence: wa (は) for the topic, ga (が) for the subject, o (を) for the object and no (の) for the possessive (for more details see particles):

I saw her.

私が彼女を見ました｡

wa·ta·shi ga ka·no·jo o mi·mash·ta

(lit: I ga she o see-did)

She saw me.

彼女が私を見ました｡

ka·no·jo ga wa·ta·shi o mi·mash·ta

(lit: she ga I o see-did)

It's hers.

それは彼女のです｡

so·re wa ka·no·jo no des

(lit: that wa she no is)

Note that often it's better to avoid using second person pronouns altogether, as this might seem to direct.

:: Part 18 ::

Questions

To ask a yes/no question, just add ka (か) to the end of a statement and raise your intonation towards the end of the sentence as you would in English.

This is the tourist office.

これは観光案内所です。

ko·re wa kan·kō·an·nai·jo des

(lit: this wa tourist-office is)

Is this the tourist office?

これは観光案内所ですか?

ko·re wa kan·kō·an·nai·jo des ka

(lit: this wa tourist-office is ka)

To ask more specific questions, you can use the Japanese equivalents of 'who', 'where', 'what', 'how', 'why' etc. Note that often they tend to come towards the end of the sentence (see question words).

:: Part 19 ::

Question words

:: Part 20 ::

Verbs

Verbs are pretty straightforward in Japanese. First of all, they don't change according to the person. The form shi·mas (します) can mean 'I do', 'you do', 'they do' etc. Secondly, Japanese only has two basic tenses, present and past. The present tense is also used to express the future (see future).

In Japanese dictionaries, verbs will usually be listed in their 'plain form'. This form is not appropriate for most conversations though. In this phrasebook, we have chosen the polite ·mas (ます) form for most phrases, and for ease of use we have also listed the verbs in the dictionary in the ·mas (ます) form.

There are some contexts, however, in which the verb forms change. This is the case, for example, in negative phrases (for more details on this, see negatives), when making a request, or when using the verbs with other verbs such as 'can' and 'must'. These more complex cases have not been included in this phrasebuilder, however, as you can make yourself easily understood without knowing the ins and outs of these constructions.

Remember that the verb goes at the end of the sentence.

:: Part 21 ::

Word order

Unlike English where word order is typically subject–verb–object the order of a Japanese sentence is typically subject–object–verb. The subject is often omitted from the sentence if it's clear from context.

I bought a ticket to Hiroshima.

(私は)広島までのチケットを買いました｡

(wa·ta·shi wa) hi·ro·shi·ma ma·de no chi·ket·to o kai·mash·ta

(lit: (I wa) Hiroshima to no ticket o bought)

When building Japanese phrases it's important to keep each particle (see particles) straight after the word it belongs to – no other element should come between a word and its particle. These 'building blocks' – ie words and their particles – can be moved around in a sentence, as long as the basic subject–object–verb order is respected and the verb goes at the end of the sentence. Compare the phrases on the next page in which the building blocks have been underlined.

I write a postcard in Japanese.

(私は)日本語ではがきを書きます｡

(wa·ta·shi wa) ni·hon·go de ha·ga·ki o ka·ki·mas

(lit: (I wa) Japanese de postcard o write)

(私は)はがきを日本語で書きます｡

(wa·ta·shi wa) ha·ga·ki o ni·hon·go de ka·ki·mas

(lit: (I wa) postcard o Japanese de write)

:: Part 22 ::

Yes/no

yes

はい

hai

いいえ

ī·e

Do you understand?

わかりましたか?

wa·ka·ri·mash·ta ka

(lit: understand-did ka)

Yes, I do (understand).

はい､わかりました。

hai wa·ka·ri·mash·ta

(lit: yes understand did)

No, I don't (understand).

いいえ､わかりません。

ī·e wa·ka·ri·ma·sen

(lit: no understand-did-not)

Note that the complete verb is often repeated after 'yes' or 'no' in Japanese.

(Complete)