Lesson 3 Engage in Conversation

Lesson 3 Let’s engage in an actual conversation.

We learned basic Japanese sentence structures in the previous lesson, and in this lesson, we are going to learn how to engage in actual conversations.

*Please note that following words can be singular or plural. In Japanese, we normally do not have words for singular and plural.

Otousan: father
おとうさん

Chichi: My father (Formal. This is a formal word for my father”)
ちち

Okaasan: mother
おかあさん

Haha: My mother (Formal.)
はは

Ojiisan: Grandfather (Formal)
おじいさん

Ojiichan: Grandpa (Informal)
おじいちゃん

Obaasan: Grandmother (Formal)
おばあさん

Obaachan: Grandmother (Informal)
おばあちゃん

Oneesan: older sister (Formal)
おねえさん

Ane : My older sister (Formal)
あね

Oneechan : older sister (Informal)
おねえちゃん

Oniisan : older brother (Formal)
おにいさん

Ani : My older brother (Formal)
あに

Oniichan : older brother (Informal)
おにいちゃん

Imouto-younger sister (Formal/Informal)
いもうと

Otouto-younger brother (Informal or Formal)
おとうと

Tomodachi-friend
ともだち

Itoko-Cousin
いとこ

Sensei-Teacher
せんせい

Kyoudai-Sigbling
きょうだい

Ok. Now let’s learn how to create a question sentence in Japanese.
It is actually quite simple. All you need to do is to add “Ka” to “Desu”

For example:

My name is Yumi
Namae wa Yumi Desu.
なまえは、ゆみです。

Is your name Yumi?
なまえは、ゆみですか？
Namae wa Yumi Desu ka?
*Ka is added.

Let’s do another one.

This is a pen.
Kore wa pen desu.
これは、ペンです。

Is this a pen?
Kore wa pen desu ka?
これは、ペンですか。
*As you can see, Ka is added in the end of the sentence.

Now learn a couple of more words.

Namae : Name
なまえ

Anatano: Your
あなたの

Nan: What
なん

Anata no Namae wa, nan desu ka?-What is your name? (Polite)
あなたのなまえは、なんですか。

*But usually we skip “Anatano”because it is understood. In English, Subject is clearly named in sentence, but in Japanese, often times words such as “I”,”You”,”We” are skipped.
New Words.

Nan=what
なん
Literal translation of the above sentence is “as for your name, what is it?”

Please repeat after me.
Namae wa nan desu ka? : What is your name?
なまえは、なんですか。

Asking a question informally to your close friend and family is even more simple. “desuka” is omitted and nan becomes nani.

Instead of “Namae wa nan desu ka”
なまえは、なんですか。
It becomes “Namae wa, nani?”: What is your name? (Informal)
なまえは、なに。

Now let’s ask family members’ name in Japanese!

Otousan no Namae wa, nan desuka? (Formal)
おとうさんのなまえは、なんですか？
What is your father’s name?

A-Otousan no Namae wa, _____ Desu.
おとうさんのなまえは、＿＿＿＿です。
My father’s name is _____.

Okaasan no Namae wa, nani? (Informal)
おとうさんのなまえは、なに。
What is your father’s name?

A-Okaasan no Namae wa, _____.
おとうさんのなまえは、＿＿＿＿です。
My father’s name is______.

Tomodachi no Namae wa, nan desuka? (Formal)
ともだちのなまえは、なんですか。
What is your friend’s name?

A-Tomodachi no Namae wa, ____ Desu.
ともだちのなまえは、＿＿＿＿です。
My friend’s name is ______.

Itoko no namae wa, nani? (Informal)
いとこのなまえは、なに？
What is your cousin’s name?

A-Itoko no namae wa, ______.
いとこのなまえは、＿＿＿＿＿。
My cousin’s name is ___________.