第一課
だいいっか| CHAPTER 1
挨 拶
あいさつと自己紹介
じこしょうかい: Greetings and Self Introductions
Objectives
Students will learn some essential building blocks of Japanese in this chapter, including. the N+ です sentence pattern, referential pronouns, how to form questions, and some of the most important particles. Students will also learn ten kanji, for the numbers 1 to 10.
After successfully completing this chapter, you will be able to introduce yourself and speak simple sentences using ～は～です pattern. The chapter begins with a dialogue where students meet for the first time at university and talk about their year in school, where they are from, and their majors
Part A: 会話
かいわと単語
たんご: Conversation and Vocabulary
I. 会話
かいわ(Conversation)
II. 単語
たんご(Vocabulary)
Part B: Grammar and Practice
I. Copula Verb Expressions: X は Y です
II. Forming Questions, Part I (Yes-No Questions)
III. Suffixes
IV Forming Noun Phrases with Particle の
V. Forming Questions, Part II (Information Questions using Wh-words)
VI. Understanding Particles, Part I: Basics
Part C: 漢字 Kanji
漢字
かんじの 習 得
しゅうとく(Learning kanji)
一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十
Part A: 会話と単語 (Conversation and Vocabulary)
I. 会話かいわ
Dialogue 1A-Dialogue
Mr. Chang and Ms. Wilson meet for the first time at Queens College. ウイルソン はじめまして。ホフストラほ ふ す と らだいがく大 学のウイルソンう い る そ んです。 チェン はじめまして。クイ く い ーンズ ん ず 大 学 だいがく のチェン ち ぇ ん です。よろしく。 二 年 生 にねんせい です。ウイルソンう い る そ んさんは 何 年 生なんねんせいですか。 ウイルソン 三 年 生 さんねんせい です。 専 攻せんこうはアジアあ じ あけんきゅうがく研 究 学です。チェンさんの 専 攻せんこうは 何 なん ですか。 チェン 私 わたし の 専 攻 せんこう もアジア あ じ あ 研 究 学 けんきゅうがく です。 ウイルソン どこから来 き ましたか。 チェン 中 国 ちゅうごく の北京 ぺきん から来 き ました。 中 国 人 ちゅうごくじん です。ウイルソン う い る そ ん さんは？ ウイルソン 私 わたし はカナダ か な だ 人 じん です。（ウイルソン う い る そ ん さん notices someone approaching）あのう、あれは 誰 だれ ですか。 チェン あっ、 大 川 先 生おおかわせんせいですよ。おはようございます、 先 生せんせい。こちらは ウイルソンう い る そ んさんです。ウイルソンう い る そ んさんは 留 学 生りゅうがくせいです。 専 攻 せんこう はアジア あ じ あ 研 究 学 けんきゅうがく です。 ウイルソン 大 川 先 生 おおかわせんせい 、はじめまして。エミリえ み りー・ウイルソンう い る そ んと 申もうします。 ホフストラ ほ ふ す と ら 大 学 だいがく の 三 年 生 さんねんせい です。よろしくお 願 ねが いします。 大川先生 ああ、そうですか。クイく いーンズん ずだいがく大 学の日本語にほんごの 先 生せんせいです。 よろしく。じゃあ、また。 ウイルソン チェン 失 礼 しつれい します。
II. 単語 たんご Vocabulary Nouns 1A-Vocab 1 Country Names 日本 にほん Japan アメリカ あ め り か America カナダ か な だ Canada メキシコめ き し こ Mexico 中 国 ちゅうごく China 韓 国 かんこく South Korea 台 湾 たいわん Taiwan 香 港 ほんこん Hong Kong イギリスい ぎ り す England フランス ふ ら ん す France ドイツど い つ Germany スペインす ぺ い ん Spain オ お
―
ストラリア す と ら り あ Australia レバノン れ ば の ん Lebanon イスラエル い す ら え る Israel エジプトえ じ ぷ と Egypt 1A-Vocab 2 Majors アジアあ じ あけんきゅうがく研 究 学 Asian Studies 経 営 学 けいえいがくManagement, business administration 工 学 こうがく Engineering 文 学 ぶんがく Literature ビジネス び じ ね す 学 がく Business
会 計 学 かいけいがく Accounting 歴 史 学 れきしがく History 医学 いがく Medicine 音 楽 おんがく Music 科学 かがく Science 教 育 学 きょういくがく Education 経 済 学 けいざいがく Economics 国 際 関 係 学 こくさいかんけいがく International relations コンピュこ ん ぴ ゅータたー科学かがく Computer science 社 会 学 しゃかいがく Sociology 情 報 科 学 じょうほうかがく Information technology 人 類 学 じんるいがく Anthropology 数 学 すうがく Mathematics 生 物 学 せいぶつがく Biology 政 治 学 せいじがく Politics 心 理 学 しんりがく Psychology 美 術 学 びじゅつがく Art 物 理 学 ぶつりがく Physics フィルム ふ ぃ る む 学 がく Film studies メディアめ で ぃ あがく学 Media studies 脳 科 学 のうかがく Brain science School Year ～ 年 ねん
-year いちねん (one year)
～ 生せい -student いちねんせい (first year student)
大 学 だいがく
大 学 生 だいがくせい
College/ university student 学 部 生 がくぶせい Undergraduate 大 学 院 生 だいがくいんせい Graduate student 小 しょう / 中 ちゅう / 高 こう
・ 校 生こうせい Elementary/ middle/ high -school student
先 生 せんせい Teacher, professor WH-words 何 なに／なん What 誰 だれ Who どこ Where どれ Which Verbs
です Copula verb: (to) be
Suffixes ～ 人 じん nationality of… ～語ご language of… ～ 年 生 ねんせい school year ～ 学がく study of… ～さん Ms./ Mr. ～くん ～ 先 生せんせい Professor/ Mr./ Ms.… Particles は Topic marker も Also の Noun modifier か SFP: Question marker よ SFP: Emphatic marker
ね SFP: Confirmation seeking marker
Expressions 1A-Vocab 3
はい/いいえ Yes/ No
はじめまして Nice to meet you.
（どうぞ）よろしく（お 願 ねが
失 礼 しつれい
します Excuse me.
おはよう（ございます） Good morning.
こんにちは Good day. Hello.
こんばんは Good evening.
さようなら Good bye.
おやすみ（なさい） Good night.
じゃあまた See you again.
あのう… (Hesitation) …well…
～からきました (I) came from ~
がんばって（ください） Good luck!
Supplemental vocabulary: 1A-Vocab 4
Classroom items つくえ Desk いす Chair 本 ほん Book えんぴつ Pencil けしごむ Eraser ペンぺ ん Pen ノ の ート と Notebook マまーカかー Marker ホワイトボ ほ わ い と ぼ ード ど White-board イレ い れ ーザ ざ ー (White-board) eraser 黒 板 こくばん Black-board かばん Bag バックパックば っ く ぱ っ く Backpack バッグ ば っ ぐ Bag アイパッド あ い ぱ っ ど iPad アイフォンあ い ふ ぉ ん iPhone スマ す ま ートフォン と ふ ぉ ん （スマホ す ま ほ ） Smart Phone けいたい（でんわ） Cell Phone
コンピュこ ん ぴ ゅータたー Computer プロジェクタ ぷ ろ じ ぇ く た ー Projector モニタ も に た ー Monitor ドアど あ Door まど Window コこーヒひー Coffee アイスティ あ い す て ぃ ー Iced tea ソそーダだ Soda コ こ ーラ ら Cola お 茶 ちゃ Tea 水 みず Water スニ す に ーカ か ー Sneaker ジャケット じ ゃ け っ と Jacket セせータたー Sweater コ こ ート と Coat T Ｔ -－ シャツし ゃ つ T-shirt くつ Shoes ジじーンズん ず Jeans ブぶーツつ Boots スカ す か ート と Skirt
Part B: Grammar and Practice
I. Copula Verb Expressions: X は Y ですAs we have already discussed, Japanese is an SOV, or verb final language. This means that the predicate comes at the end of the sentence. In English, all predicates are verbs, but in Japanese there are actually three different types of predicates: predicates consisting of verbs, which may be sentences all by themselves; predicates consisting of adjectives; and predicates consisting of a noun plus the copula verb です. We will cover each of these predicate types, but first we will cover the N + です (Noun+です) pattern.
The copula verb です functions like the English verb “to be.” It is used to identify things and people. Since, X は Y です means X is Y (or X is equivalent to Y), the expression これ (this) は パン
ぱ ん
(bread)です means “this is bread”.
Speaking of this, it is bread.
The demonstrative pronoun, これ (this), is followed by a particle, specifically the Topic marker, which indicates the theme or topic of the sentence. Demonstrative pronouns, such as これ (this), それ (that), あれ (that over there) are frequently used when we identify things. These words belong to a class of words called demonstratives (in Japanese they are called こそあど 言葉
ことば
). The first syllable in words in this class reflect relative distance from the speaker: これ is used to point out something immediately near the speaker, それ is used something nearer the listener, and あれ is used to point out something far away from both the speaker and the listener.
There is another set of demonstrative pronouns, こちら (this), そちら (that) and あちら (that over there). The same ko (near the speaker) so (near the listener) and a (away from both)- distinction holds with this set, but this set is a politer form that is usually used to identify people.
Demonstrative pronoun Item Person This これ こちら That それ そちら Over there あれ あちら Which on どれ どちら
Speaking of this, it is bread.
Noun Topic marker Noun Copula verb
これ は
パン
ぱ ん です。
Noun Topic marker Noun (thing) Copula verb
これ は
パン ぱ ん
Speaking of this, it is Ms. Yoshida.
Notice when Hiragana は is used as Topic marker, it is pronounced [wa] instead of [ha]. We shall come back to discuss about particles in detail later in the chapter.
Unlike true verbs, which can stand alone as a sentence, です is always preceded by a noun or adjective. The expression will have the meaning “it is X,” “they are X,” or similar, depending on context. Most Japanese nouns have the same form whether they are singular or plural. Thus, the sentence これはペンです can be translated either as It is a pen or They are pens. Similarly, the copula verb form also does not conjugate based on person, or number.
Declarative sentence using copula です
1
“This is a pen. / They are pens.”
When you understand from context what is being spoken about, the noun can be replaced with そう. Thus, the sentence そうです means It is (that) way, or It is so.
In order to form a negative sentence, you must change the form of です. There are two ways to make a negative N+です sentence. The two forms, ～じゃありません and ～じゃないです are equivalent, though the second form ~じゃないです is a little less formal. We will focus primarily on the politer form ～じゃありません in class drill for the first semester.
Negative sentence using copula です Negative
Noun Copula verb 先 生
せんせい 〜じゃありません。
〜じゃないです
She isn’t a teacher. / They aren’t teachers.
II. Forming Questions, Part I (Yes-No Questions)
It is very easy to make a N+です declarative statement into a question in Japanese. Simply add the sentence final particle か after the predicate. The word order doesn’t change. You will learn how to make wh-questions (information questions) later this chapter. To answer a y/n question,
1There is also another very formal negation pattern ～ではありません which is commonly used for formal speech
and writing but we will talk more about this our intermediate/advanced level.
Noun Topic marker Noun (person) Copula verb
こちら は 吉田 よしだ さん です。 Declarative Sentence (Statement)
Noun Topic marker Noun Copula verb
simply answer はい、N+です or いいえ、N＋じゃありません。Yes in Japanese can be はい or ええ, which is a little more informal.
Asking question using copula and Sentence Final Particle (SFP) か Question
Noun Copula verb SFP
か 先 生
せんせい です か。
“Is he a teacher? /Are they teachers?”
Responding to Yes/No Question Response to Yes/No question はい、 先 生 せんせい です。 いいえ、 先 生 せんせい 〜じゃありません。 〜じゃないです。 “Yes, he is a teacher.” “No, they aren’t teachers.”
Exercise 1
A. Make N+です sentences using the nouns below.
つくえ、いす、 本ほん、マーカー、ノート
Ex. __________です。 つくえです。
B. Make negative sentences with N ＋じゃありません or N+じゃないです using the nouns below.
本 ほん
、アメリカ人、四 年 生よねんせい、九時く じ、
Ex. __________じゃありません／じゃないです。 ほんじゃありません
C. Make questions with か. Using the following sentences, form questions. 先 生 せんせい です。 一 年 生 いちねんせい じゃありません。アメリカ あ め り か 人 じん です。 専 攻 せんこう は日本語 にほんご です。 Ex. 先 生 せんせい です。 先 生せんせいですか。 III. Suffixes
Many languages use affixes to add or modify the meaning of the word that they attach to. The most common affixes, in both Japanese and English, are prefixes (which attach to the front of the host) and suffixes (which attach to the end of the host). Suffixes usually require a host such as stem of a word, i.e., it cannot stand by itself. For example, the word psychology contains the stem, psycho and the suffix logy.
In this chapter, you will often see that the noun in the N+です pattern contains a suffix to indicate a particular category of word. For example, you can talk about time (o’clock),
nationalities, languages, and years in school using nouns with the appropriate suffix. Here are some common suffixes in Japanese:〜 人
じん nationality, 〜語 ご language, 〜 年 生 ねんせい year in school, 〜時 じ
o’clock. The suffix to indicate hours of the day follows numbers 1 to 12; the suffixes for nationality and language follow country names; and the suffix for year in school follows the numbers 1-12. There are many such suffixes in Japanese, but these are some of the most common ones:
Noun Suffix Copula verb
日本 にほん ～ 人 じん です。 He is Japanese. 日本 にほん ～語
ご じゃありません。 It isn’t the Japanese (language).
三 さん
～ 年 生
ねんせい じゃないです。 She isn’t a third-year student.
一 いち
～時じ です。 It’s one o’clock.
Exercise 2
First, practice the numbers 1-12 below:
1—いち 2—に 3—さん 4—よん／よ
5—ご 6—ろく 7—しち／なな 8—はち
9—く／きゅう 10—じゅう 11—じゅういち 12—じゅうに
This is the basic series of numbers. You will learn another number series later on. Note that some numbers have more than one pronunciation. These will be explained as we come to situations where the alternatives are used.
Now practice these numbers again, adding -じ (o’clock). Note that 4 o’clock is pronounced よ じ, 7 o’clock is しちじ and 9 o’clock is くじ. You will learn other counters that can be added to numbers later.
1—いちじ 2—にじ 3—さんじ 4—よん／よじ
5—ごじ 6—ろくじ 7—しちじ／なな 8—はちじ
9—くじ／きゅう 10—じゅうじ 11—じゅういちじ 12—じゅうにじ
Next, study the country names from the vocabulary list at the beginning of the chapter. Then turn country names from the list below into nationalities, by adding the suffix じん.
1. 日本 にほん 2. アメリカ あ め り か 3. スペイン す ぺ い ん 4. 中 国 ちゅうごく 5. カナダ か な だ 6. 韓 国 かんこく 7. フランス ふ ら ん す 8. メキシコ め き し こ Using the same list of countries, now form language names by adding the suffix ご. Note that English is えいご from an archaic pronunciation of England.
The suffix for “year in school” is 〜 年 生ねんせい from 年 ねん
=year and 生 せい
=(student). It is added to the numbers one through twelve. What year in school are you? Practice saying various years in school. The Japanese word for graduate student is 大 学 院 生
だいがくいんせい .
Once you have mastered the vocabulary, make sentences (affirmative and negative, declarative and interrogative) using the N + です pattern.
Structure drill. Answer the following questions, first with an affirmative sentence and then with a negative sentence. 1. 田中 たなか さんはアメリカ人あ め り か じ んですか。 2. これはペン ぺ ん ですか。 3. キム き む さんは二 年 生 にねんせい ですか。 4. それはフランス語 ふ ら ん す ご ですか。 IV. Forming a Noun Phrase (NP) with particle の
The particle の connect nouns and forms a Noun Phrase (NP). The first noun modifies the noun that comes after の, that is, the first noun describes some specificity of the second one.
Because of this reason, the meaning of の has various translations, including possession
(English ‘s or of), location, or belonging (membership) depending on the context, as you can see below. 私 わたし の 名前 なまえ My name 私 わたし の 専 攻 せんこう My major 私 わたし の 先 生 せんせい My teacher 私 わたし の 大 学 だいがく My university 大 学 だいがく の 一 年 生
いちねんせい First year student at university
日本語 にほんご の 本 ほん My book 吉田 よしだ さん の ほん本 Ms. Yoshida’s book 大 学 だいがく の 学 生 がくせい Student of university ニュ に ゅ ーヨ よ ーク く の フラッシング
ふ ら っ し ん ぐ Flushing in New York
クイ く い ーンズ ん ず 大 学 だいがく の 学 生
がくせい Student from Queens College
ニュ に ゅ ーヨ よ ーク く 大 学 だいがく の 留 学 生
りゅうがくせい Foreign student at New York University
日本
にほん の
お 母かあさん Mother who is in Japan 私
わたし
Exercise 3
Complete the dialogues below. Fill in blanks with the requested information in bold type. A: はじめまして。おなまえはなんですか。
How do you do? What is your name?
B: 私 わたし
________________1 はキム き む
です。 ________________ 2です。 My name is Kim. I am a 3rd-year student at college. ________________ 3 は日本語
にほんご
です。
My major is Japanese language.
私 わたし
の___________________ 4 は 大 川 先 生 おおかわせんせい
です。
My Japanese language teacher is professor Ookawa.
____________________ 5 から来 き
ました。
I came from Hempstead in Long Island.
V. Forming questions, Part 2 (information questions, using Wh-words)
As we discussed in Section I, it is easy to form Yes/No questions in Japanese. All you do is add the SFP か to the end of the sentence. You don’t need to change the word order as in English. In addition to Yes/No questions, there are so called “information questions.” These have a question word (in English a “wh-word,” like “who,” “what”, “when,” etc.) in the question. Here the person asking the question is seeking a particular piece of information that answers for the wh-word used. To form an information question in Japanese, simply use a question wh-word such as
何 なに
(what), どこ(where) and 誰 だれ
(who) in the position where the information appears in the response, then add the Sentence Final Particle (SFP) か at the end to form a question. Once again, there is no need to change the word order.
Asking the name using なん
Question
Wh-word SFP か
先 生 せんせい
のなまえは なん何 です か。
What is the professor’s name?
Declarative
name 先 生
せんせい
のなまえは おおかわせんせい大 川 先 生 です。
The professor’s name is Dr. Ookawa.
Question
Wh-word SFP か
せんこうは
何
なん です か。
What is (your) major?
Declarative
major Suffix
せんこうは しんり
学
がく です。
(My major) is psychology.
Asking the school year using なん＋suffix ねんせい Question Wh-word Suffix SFP か 吉田 よしだ さんは 何 なん 年 生 ねんせい です か。
What is Ms. Yoshida’s school year?
Declarative number Suffix 吉田 よしだ さんは 一 いち 年 生 ねんせい です。
Ms. Yoshida is a first year student.
Asking about nationality using なに＋suffix じん Question
Wh-word suffix SFP か
吉田 よしだ
さんは なに何 じん人 です か。
What is Ms. Yoshida’s nationality?
Declarative country suffix 吉田 よしだ さんは 日本にほん じん人 です。 Ms. Yoshida is Japanese.
Asking about a person using だれ Question Wh-word SFP か あれは だれ です か。 Who is that? Declarative person あれは ウイルソンさん です。 That is Ms. Wilson.
Asking about locations using どこ
The question word どこ means where. If you want to ask where someone is from/came from, use the formation どこからきましたか。For now use this as a fixed expression, but から is another particle, which means from, and きました is the past tense of the verb きます
(Dictionary form くる), which means “come.” LOCATION + からきました expresses the origin of place. If you replace the location with the question word どこ you can ask about locations. For now, however, let’s just practice it as a fixed expression.
Question
Wh-word SFP か
吉田 よしだ
さんは どこ から きました か。
Where did Ms. Yoshida come from?
Declarative location 吉田 よしだ さんは 日本 にほん から きました。
Ms. Yoshida came from Japan.
Notes
The Wh-word 何 (what) is pronounced both なに ‘nani’ and なん ‘nan.’ Although なに is the default pronunciation, the なん pronunciation occurs frequently. Look at the sound that directly follows 何; when a suffix, counter (see chapter 7) or the consonant [t], [d] or [n] follows the Wh-word 何, it is typically pronounced なん.
Exercise 4
Complete the following dialogues by filling in the blanks. A: あのう、すみません。 B: おなまえは_____1ですか。 A: ウイルソンです。どうぞよろしく。 B: ぼくのなまえはキムです。こちらこそよろしく。 A: キムさんの 大 学 だいがく は_____2ですか。 B: ホフストラ 大 学 だいがく です。ウイルソンさんは_____3ですか。 A: 二 年 生 にねんせい です。キムさんの 専 攻 せんこう は_____4ですか。 B: 医学 いがく です。ウイルソンさんは_____5からきましたか。 A: モントリオールからきました。 B: ああ、そうですか。_____6人 じん ですか。 A: カナダ 人 じん ですよ。
VI. Understanding particles, Part 1: Basics
Particles
As mentioned briefly in the introduction, words in formal Japanese are marked with particles to identify their grammatical functions. There are about two dozen commonly used particles and over a hundred infrequently used ones. (These may be found in very formal speech and writing.) Particles can attach not only to nouns but also to adjectives and verbs. Study the sentence below. All the underlined elements in the sentence are considered particles.
Kono inu-ga asa-kara ban-made risu-shika oikakenai hi-wa nai-yo.
this dog-subject morning-from night-until squirrel-only chase-negation day-topic not-exist -emphasis
There is no day that this dog does not chase only squirrels from day until night.
No wonder many think learning particles is very challenging! But don’t get overwhelmed; they will make much sense more once you understand the mechanism and this textbook will guide you through the process. We will start out with the most basic ones first, then continue with more advanced discussions of particles in later chapters as we get more familiar with them.
Different types of particles
Japanese grammarians agree that particles are not fully independent words, that they follow various words, and that they do not conjugate. However, some grammarians analyze particles differently, even going so far as to refer to them in slightly different terms. So, you may find different terminology when you read different websites or Japanese textbooks. What follows is the categorization of basic particles used in this textbook.
Particles can be used to indicate grammatical function in a variety of ways. There are three primary types of particles in Japanese, as follows, depending upon how they function within an utterance:
a. Sentence Final Particles (SFPs) b. Phrase particles
c. Clause particles
Of the three types of particles, sentence final particles are the most straightforward in terms of both placement and semantic function. They appear at the end of the sentence and change the meaning of the sentence that precedes it in a variety of ways. Phrase particles are the real building blocks of Japanese grammar. They follow nouns and indicate how they relate (grammatically) to elements that follow. Clause particles are best considered as conjunctive particles in that they link two longer utterances to make more complex sentences.
In this introduction to the particle basics, we will cover sentence final particles (SFPs), and some of the most essential phrase particles.
a. Sentence Final Particles (SFPs)
To repeat, SFPs are the most straightforward in terms of placement and sematic function. They appear at the end of the sentence and change the meaning of the sentence that precedes it in a variety of ways.
In English, we raise our voice, change intonation or add a phrase to express a speaker’s emotions in conversation. In Japanese, SFPs are attached at the end of the sentence to serve the same effect. There are three sentence final particles commonly used in modern Japanese.
Sentence Final Particle (SFP) Host Functions か (question)
よ (emphasis, assertion, weak exclamation point) ね and ねえ (confirmation-seeking particle)
Sentence itself or at the end of the sentence
Attaches at the end of sentences to indicate emotions such as question, emphasis and seeking confirmation 吉田 よしだ さんは 学 生がくせいです。 Ms. Yoshida is a student.
Adding か to the end of a sentence changes a declarative sentence into a yes-no question; it can also be used in sentences with wh-words to form information questions. There is no need to change word order.
吉田 よしだ
さんは 学 生がくせいですか。
Is Ms. Yoshida a student?
ね and ねえ are found at the end of sentences when a speaker wishes to solicit agreement or confirmation. In this respect, they are a little like English tag questions. The two particles differ in that short ね is closer to a real question, “right?,” while the elongated ねえ is used primarily when the speaker wishes to solicit agreement with respect to an assertion:
吉田 よしだ
さんは 学 生がくせいですね。 Ms. Yoshida is a student, right?
A: あついですねえ (It’s hot, isn’t it.) B: そうですねえ (It is, isn’t it.)
In the first example above, the speaker is checking whether Ms. Yoshida is in fact a student. (The speaker does tend to think this.) The elongated ねえ in the second example indicates that the two speakers are in agreement about the weather in (2d).
The particle よ is used when a speaker wishes to assert somewhat strongly what they just said. It’s not nearly as strong as an English exclamation point.
吉田 よしだ
さんは 学 生がくせいですよ。
Ms. Yoshida is a student, I tell you.
Since SFPs express a speaker’s emotions, you should consider them as conversational markers, i.e., they are not commonly used in writing, except in dialogue. Also beginners of Japanese tend to overuse SFPs, especially ね and よ, so use them in moderation.
b. Phrase particles (part 1)
Phrase particles Host Functions
と (N and N)
の (in N1 の N2 format, N1 modifies N2)
N and NP
Connects nouns to form noun phrase
As we discussed earlier in this chapter, the particle の is a noun connector and it forms an NP. 田中さんの ともだちはキムさんです。
Mr. Tanaka ’s friend Mr. Kim is
Mr. Tanaka’s friend is Mr. Kim.
In addition, the particle と connects nouns to form an NP. と is the equivalent of English “and” and lists items. For example, you can list names, places, times and etc.
吉田 よしだ
さんと ハリソンさん と キムさんは ともだちです。 Ms. Yoshida and Ms. Harrison and Mr. Kim -topic friends are
Ms. Yoshida and Ms. Harrison and Mr. Kim are friends.
Since と is a noun connector, you cannot use it to connect adjectives, adverbs or verbs. That is, for example, と should not be used if you want to say “Mr. Tanaka is cute and tall” in Japanese. We will learn how to link adjectives in Chapter 5.
c. Phrase particles (part 2)
Phrase particles follow nouns and NPs indicating how they relate (grammatically) to elements that follow. There are two kinds of phrase particles, case markers and post-positions. Since we will not discuss many specific phrase particles in this chapter, you should read this section for background knowledge.
Let’s play a little game to see if we can figure the differences between case markers and post-positions here. Please look at the sentence below. Suppose the words スターバックス means “Starbucks”, トミー “Tommy”, べッキー “Becky,” and 会った “met”. Can you translate the sentence and provide English equivalents of で, が and に?
スターバックスで ベッキーに トミーが 会った。
You probably figured out that the English equivalent of でis “at” but nothing is readily applicable for が and を. That is exactly the difference between post-positions and case markers. Case markers are particles that attach to nouns to indicate abstract grammatical functions such as subject and object. You couldn’t find the semantic English equivalents because English language does not have them. Instead, in English, the grammatical functions are determined largely by word location since English word order is rigid. Word location is not as rigid in
Japanese; in particular, nouns may move freely (as long as they are not at the final position), so case markers are needed to indicate the grammatical function of the words they follow. The translation of (5a) is “At a Starbucks, Tommy met Becky.” since the subject marker が attaches to “Tommy” and the object marker に attaches to “Becky”.
We will refer to the particles that have English equivalents as Post-positions in this textbook. Post-positions resemble English prepositions, such as “in” and “to” in the phrases “in the office” and “to the library” which attach in front of N or NP to indicate locations or time.
Post-position Host Functions
に (to, at) で (at, by) から (from)
N and NP Serve similar role as English prepositions. Attaches to nouns to indicate specifies things like locations and time
まで (to)
Case markers are particles that do not have English equivalents. They follow nouns and NPs to indicate grammatical relations to elements that follow.
Topic marker は(wa) is a particle to mark the topic of a sentence. It is a puzzling particle for English speakers because it often overlaps with the subject of a sentence. The phrase with topic marker is always located at the initial position of sentence and establishes the topic of
conversation or conveys emphasis. Commonly the phrase marked with topic marker is translated as “As for…” or “Speaking of…”
Topic marker Host Functions
は N and NP Indicating the theme or topic of
conversation
すしは まぐろが おいしい。
sushi-topic tuna-subject delicious As for sushi, tuna is delicious.
Category Host Functions
Case marker が (subject) を (object)
に (in direct object)
N and NP Marks grammatical cases: subject, object and indirect object
The particle も can occupy the same position where the particle は appears. When the preceding predicate coincides with the following one, も is used to expresses the meaning of “also”.
Category Host Functions
Sematic marker は (topic) も (also)
N and NP Indicating the theme or topic of sentence or conversation 吉田 よしだ さん は 一 年 生 いちねんせい です。 -topic
Ms. Yoshida is a first-year student.
キムき むさん も 一 年 生いちねんせいです。
-also
Mr. Kim is also a first-year student.
Particle は has additional usages which we will cover in later chapters.
Insert appropriate particles in each blank. Use X when no particle is possible. あのう、すみません、お名前 なまえ _____1 何 なに です_____ 2？ 私 わたし の名前なまえ_____3 エミリ え み り ーです。 えっ？あのう、もういちどいってください。 エミリ え み り ーです_____ 4！ 私 わたし _____ 5 専 攻 せんこう _____6 経 済 学 けいざいがく です。エミリーえ み り ーさんは？ 私 わたし _____ 7 専 攻 せんこう _____ 8 経 済 学 けいざいがく です。 どこ_____9 きました_____ 10？ ニューヨークに ゅ ー よ ー く_____ 11きました。 エミリーさんの日本語 にほんご _____ 12 先 生 せんせい はだれです_____ 13？ 大 川 おおかわ 先 生 せんせい _____14 野村 のむら 先 生 せんせい です。 大 川 おおかわ 先 生 せんせい _____ 15 日 本 人 にほんじん ですね。 はい、そうです_____16 よ。
Part C: 漢字 Kanji
漢字かんじ
の 習 得しゅうとく Learning Kanji
Kanji (Chinese characters) are an important element in the Japanese writing system, with over 2100 kanji approved for general use. We take kanji in stages, and introduce strategies to help you “power-up” your mastery. Each chapter contains approximately 15 characters to memorize (reading and writing) based on frequency. Additional kanji are introduced passively; these will have furigana indicating their reading.
Kanji are ideograms. Many are pictographs that graphically represent an object. Here are examples of kanji pictographs: some numbers 一 二 三, the kanji for river 川, mountain 山, moon, 月, sun 日, tree 木, and forest 森. Simply by looking at these characters, you can understand the relationship between the graph and the semantic concept. Unfortunately, not all characters are recognizable pictographs, but each character is or contains component parts (radicals), which will provide useful information about meaning or pronunciation.
Hints for mastering kanji:
Stroke order is important. Write kanji strokes from left to right, and from top to bottom; horizontal lines typically precede vertical line (unless it’s a center vertical), and enclosures (boxes) are written as three lines. Correct stroke order is important for writing legible kanji and for looking them up.
Kanji have more than one reading (pronunciation): Onyomi (音読おんよみ) are based on the original Chinese pronunciation. Kunyomi (訓読み) represent the original Japanese
pronunciation. In the character 大 below, the onyomi is だい and is found in compound words, as in: 大 学
だいがく
or 大 学 生 だいがくせい
. The kunyomi is (おお)きい as in the word big: 大 おお
きい. The character covers the first two sounds, followed by the trailing okurigana. Okurigana are typically elements of a word that conjugate.
Radicals matter. Radicals can help you master kanji. The third character in 日本語にほんご has the radical 言, the “speaking” radical. It’s in words like 言いう(speak or say) 詩し (poem), and
話 はな
Part C: 漢字 Kanji
(handwritten) (printed style)
一
Meaning: One, every Stroke/Radical: 1/一 イチ ひと（つ） 一年生 いちねんせいfirst year student 一時い ち じ one o’clock 一日
いちにち
one day 一月いちがつ January (first month) 一 日 中
いちにちちゅう
all day
(handwritten) (printed style)
二
Meaning: two Stroke/Radical: 2/二 ニ ふた（つ） ふた〜二時に じ two o’clock 二月に が つ February 二年生
に ね ん せ い
second year student 本
ほん
が二冊に さ つです。ペンが二本に ほ んあります。
(handwritten (printed style)
三
Meaning: three Stroke/Radical: 3/一 サン みっ（つ）三時さ ん じ three o’clock 三月さんがつ March 三年生さんねんせいthird year student 三日み っ か third day of month; 3 days
猫
ねこ
が三匹さんひきいます。
(handwritten) (printed style)
四
Meaning: four Stroke/Radical: 5/口 シ よん よ よっ（つ） 四時よ じ 4 o’clock 四月よんがつApril 四年生 よんねんせいFourth year student 四本よんほん four long cylindrical objects 四日間
よ ん か か ん
a period of four days. 私
わたし
はホフストラ大学だいがくの四年生よんねんせいです。
(handwritten) (printed style)
五
Meaning: five Stroke/Radical: 4/二 ゴ いつ（つ） いつ〜五月ご が つ May 五分ご ふ ん five minutes 五つい つ つ five 五日い つ かfifth day of the month; five days
(handwritten) (printed style)
六
Meaning: six Strokes/Radical: 4/入 ロク ロッ むっ（つ） む 六月 ろくがつJune 六日む い か sixth day of the month; six days 六時ろ く じ six o’clock
(handwritten) (printed style)
七
Meaning: seven Strokes/Radical: 2/一 シチ なな（つ） なな〜 七月 なながつJuly 七日な の か 7 days; seventh day of the month 七時な な じ三分さんぷん 7:03
(handwritten) (printed style)
八
Meaning: eight Strokes/Radical: 2/入 ハチ ハッ やっ（つ） や〜 八月 はちがつAugust 八時は ち じ Eight o’clock 八日よ う かeight day of the the month; 8 days
(handwritten) (printed style)
九
Meaning: nine Strokes/Radical: 2/⼄ キュウ ク ここの（つ） ここの〜九月く が つ September 九日ここのか Ninth day of the month, nine days 九時く じ nine o’clock 九時四十九分 くじよんじゅうきゅうふん 9:49 九 州 きゅうしゅう
Kyūshū (one of the main islands of Japan)
(handwritten) (printed style)
十
Meaning: ten Strokes/Radical: 2/十 ジュウ ジュッ とお 十 月 じゅうがつOctober 十時じゅうじ ten o’clock 十 分じゅっぷん 10 minutes 十日と お か tenth day of the month, ten days 十 分じゅうぶんな completely
Using worksheets, practice writing the kanji until you remember them; pay attention to stroke order, and how strokes end.
練習
Read the following words. Furigana is provided for kanji you don’t know.
一 月がつ、 二 月がつ、三 月がつ 、四 月がつ、五 月がつ、六 月がつ、七 月がつ、八 月がつ、九 月がつ、十 月がつ、十一 月がつ、 十二 月 がつ 、一時 じ 、二時 じ 、三時 じ 、四時 じ 、五時 じ 、六時 じ 、七時 じ 、八時 じ 、九時 じ 、十時 じ 、十一時 じ 、十二時 じ 九 州しゅう 、一 日にち、一 日 中にちじゅう、四 匹ひき
