Lesson 2-How to Introduce Yourself

In this lesson, we are going to learn how to introduce yourself in Japanese.

 

Watashi– I, me, myself (Informal/Formal)

わたし

Anata-You (used by women and men)

あなた

*This is often omitted. In Japanese, we often assume our conversational partner understands who we are referring to. Thus we often skip the subjects, “Watashi”, “Anata” because we assume that it’s understood.

 San-Mr/Ms (Formal)

さん

*This is similar to Ms or Mr. Typically you use “san” for someone you are not close to.

Kun (Informal)

くん*You can use “Kun” to address men who are younger than you or the same age as you.

Chan-Ms or Ms. (Informal)

ちゃん

*You can use “Chan” to address both boys and girls who are younger than you, or the same age as you. This is a term of endearment, so you can use this if you are close to that person.

Now let’s review particles.

-Particles-

Particles connect words in a sentence. They show the relationship between words, so sentences make sense. Without particles, a sentence does not flow. Japanese particles have multiple functions, which will be covered repeatedly in this course.

Watashi wa Nihonjin Desu: this means “I am Japanese”

わたしは、にほんじんです。

Basic sentence structure:

 Subject + wa + Noun + Desu.

Here, “wa” is the particle. The closest transation is “as for” in English, and this is added to the subject to show what you are going to talk about. This particle introduces your topic.

Desu is a formal expression and is always at the end of a sentence.

When you remove “Desu”, this sentence becomes informal.

Informal expression would be : Watashi wa Nihonjin.

Now let’s go over how to introduce your name to others.

Watashi no Namae wa Kenji Desu.:

わたしのなまえは、けんじです。

My name is Kenji.

Namae means “Name”

“Wa” particle is used here again.

Watashi no-My or Mine

わたしの

No:Particle, ~’s, or of. No particle is also used to show your possession.

So Watashi no means my or mine.

Kanako san no-Ms Kanako’s

かなこさんの

Now please repeat after me.

Watashi no Namae wa, Tanaka Hiroko Desu.

わたしのなまえは、たなかひろこです。
My name is Hiroko Tanaka.

*Please note that we say last name first and then first name
* Watashi no Namae is the subject of this sentence, so “wa” is added.
*Desu is at the end of sentence as polite expression.

In a informal conversation, you can simply say:
Watashi no Namae wa, Tanaka Hiroko. (skip desu)
*A lot of times, “watashi no” is skipped because it’s understood.

So you can simply say “Namae wa Tanaka Hiroko desu”

 We learned these useful expressions in lesson 1. Let’s review these expressions again.

Hajimemashite-How do you do?
はじめまして

Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu:Nice to meet you, I humbly ask you to be kind to me.

よろしくおねがいします

Let’s Introduce yourself in Japanese!

Watashino Namae wa, ________Desu. (Polite) (My name is..)
わたしのなまえは、＿＿＿＿です。

Namae wa, ______________Desu. (Polite) (Name is….)

なまえは、＿＿＿＿＿です。

*Watashino is understood, which is often skipped.

Namae wa, _____________. (Casual) (My name is…)

なまえは、＿＿＿＿＿。

New Vocabularies

Kore: This one

これ

 Are: That one (over there)

あれ

 Sore: That one (right there)

それ

＊ Sore is between Kore and Are, so Sore is closer to the speaker than “Are”.

 Pen-Pen
ペン

Enpitsu:Pencil

えんぴつ

Kaban:Bag

かばん

Saifu:Wallet

さいふ

Hon:Book

ほん

Nooto:Notebook

ノート
　
Jisho:Dictionary

じしょ

Kasa:Umbrella

かさ

Jitensha:Bicycle

じてんしゃ

Fuku:Clothes

ふく

Sukaato:Skirt

スカート

Kutsu:Shoes

くつ

Boushi:Hat or Cap
ぼうし

Zubon:Pants

ずぼん

Jiinzu:Jeans
ジーンズ

Tsukue:Desk

つくえ

Teeburu:Table

テーブル

Isu:Chair

いす

Konpuutaa:Computer
コンピューター

Basic Grammar

This is my pen.
Kore wa, watashi no Pen desu.

これは、わたしのペンです。

What is the difference between Kore and Kono?

*Well, Kore means “this one” and Kono means “this ” in English. So “Kono” needs to be followed by a noun. So this pen is “kono pen” and this bag is “kono kaban”

 It is the same as “ano” and “sono”

Ano pen means “that pen” and sono pen also means “that pen.”

 Please repeat after me.

 This pen is mine.
Kono pen wa watashi no (desu)

このペンは、わたしの（です）。

That pen is Ken’s.
Ano pen wa Ken no (desu)
あのペンは、けんの（です）。