PRELIMINARY MODULE LESSON 8

Telling One's Age, Nationality and Profession

Basic in the study of a foreign language is learning how one tells his / her age,
nationality, and profession.
These topics are the focus of this lesson.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to :
1. Translate vocabulary introduced in the module,
2. Use the correct particles in your sentences, and
3. Construct sentences applying the basic sentence patterns introduced.

Core Content

One cannot write sentences in whatever language if he /she does not have
enough words to use.
Thus, in every Nihongo Grammar Lesson that requires learners to construct /
write sentences, a set of vocabulary shall be introduced. For this module, here is the list
of Japanese words you have to be familiar with.

ENGLISH JAPANESE

I WATASHI

We WATASHITACHI

You ANATA
He, She, That ANO HITO
Person

Teacher SENSEI

Student GAKUSEI

Company KAISHAIN
Employee

Bank Employee GINKOUIN

Medical Doctor ISHA

Researcher KENKYUUSHA

Engineer ENJINIA

University DAIGAKU

Yes HAI

No IIE

USA AMERIKA

UK IGIRISU
 India INDO

Indonesia INDONESHIA

South Korea KANKOKU

Thailand TAI

China CHUUGOKU

Germany DOITSU

Japan NIHON

France FURANSU

Brazil BURAJIRU

Philippines FIRIPIN

Learning Nihongo is made easy because of patterns which you follow. These
patterns are supposed to guide you in order to correctly write your sentences in
Japanese.
In this lesson, the following are the sentence patterns.

1. Subject wa N desu.

§ In this sentence pattern, the subject of the sentence is a person

(noun or pronoun).
§ The subject is followed by the subject marker particle “wa”.
 § “Desu”, the copula, functions as the verb in the sentence and is
equivalent to Am, IS or ARE, depending on the subject of the
sentence. The use of “desu” makes the sentence complete, hence,
polite.
§ N tells something about the subject. In this module, the N may be the
subject’s name, age, nationality or profession.

​
Example : 1.1 Watashi wa Grace desu. (I am Grace.)
SUBJECT N (name of SUBJECT)

1.2 Satou san wa kenkyuusha desu. (Mr. Satou is a

researcher.)
SU BJECT N (profession of SUBJECT)

1.3 Yamada san wa Nihonjin desu. (Ms. Yamada

is Japanese. )
SUBJECT N (nationality of SUBJECT)

Again, ~SAN is equivalent to Mr. or Ms. It is added after a name of a person. Thus,
Mr. Tanaka in English is Tanakasan in Japanese. However, different suffixes are
added when addressing young boys and girls. These suffixes are KUN for boys and
CHAN for girls.

~ JIN is another suffix added after the name of a country to mean “national of”. Thus,
American in English is Amerikajin in Japanese.

~ SAI, also a suffix, refers to age. It is added after the number that represents the
age of a person. Thus, if a person is 17 years old, say 17 in Japanese as previously
learned and add SAI. Seventeen (17) years old in Japanese is thus JUUNANASAI.

If one’s age is 8 or ends in 8 (18 years, 28 years old etc), this is an exception.
Instead of saying HACHISAI, 8 years old is HASSAI, 28 years old is NIJUUHASSAI etc.
Other exceptions in terms of age are : TWENTY YEARS OLD ( HATACHI), ONE YEAR
OLD (or AGES ending in 1), ISSAI.
 To ask for one’s age, “NANSAI DESU KA.” is used.

Example : Anata wa nansai desu ka. (How old are you?)

Watashi wa juunanasai desu. (I am 17 years old.)

2. Subject wa N ja arimasen.

JA ARIMASEN is the present/ future negative form of “desu”. Thus, it is

equivalent to “am not”, “is not”, “are not” and “will not be”.

JA ARIMASEN is the form used in daily conversation. It may be DEWA ARIMASEN in

formal speech or writing.

Example : Watashi wa isha ja arimasen. ( I am not a doctor.)

3. Subject wa N desu ka.

KA is a question marker. It is added at the end of a declarative sentence to

form a question. Thus, KA after Subject wa N desu forms an interrogative statement.

Example : Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu. ( Ms. Yamada is Japanese.)

Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu ka. (Is Ms. Yamada Japanese ? )

“Subject wa N desu ka” is answerable by either a YES (HAI) or a NO (IIE).

Here are several ways of constructing your answer.

Example : Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu ka. (Is Ms. Yamada Japanese?)

Answer : If YES, say ( write ) : Hai, + Subject wa N desu. / Hai, + N

desu.

Hai, Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu. / Hai, Nihonjin

desu.
 *IMPORTANT : Both answers mean “Yes, Ms. Yamada is
Japanese.

If your answer is NO, say (write) : Iie, + Subject wa N ja

arimasen. / Iie, + N ja arimasen.

Iie, Yamadasan wa Nihonjin ja arimasen. / Iie,

Nihonjin ja arimasen.

*IMPORTANT : Both answers mean “No, Ms. Yamada is not

Japanese.

4. The Particle MO

The particle "MO" is added after a topic / subject instead of "WA" when the
statement / predicate about the topic is the same as the predicate in the previous
statement. The particle "MO" is equivalent to “too” or “also”.

Example : Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu. ( Ms. Yamada is Japanese.)

Satousan mo Nihonjin desu. ( Ms. Satou is also Japanese.)

If the particle "MO" is used to ask a question, the following answer patterns are
observed :

Example : Yamadasan wa Nihonjin desu. Satousan mo Nihonjin desu ka.

(Ms. Yamada is Japanese. Is Ms. Satou Japanese too?

If YES : Hai, Satousan mo Nihonjin desu. ( Yes, Ms. Satou is also

Japanese. / Yes, Ms. Satou is Japanese, too.)

If NO : Iie, Satousan wa Nihonjin ja arimasen. ( No, Ms. Satou is not

Japanese.)

5. N1 no N2

"NO" is a particle. It is used to connect two words to form the possessive. Hence,
if “Yamada san” is Mr. or Ms. Yamada, “Yamada san no “ is Mr./Ms. Yamada’s.
 Example : IMC no shain ( employee of IMC or IMC’s employee)

Batangasu Daigaku no gakusei ( student of UB or UB’s student)

PRELIMINARY MODULE LESSON 7

Numbers in Japanese

Numbers are very important in the study of the Japanese language. They are
used not only when you count but also when you tell the time and the date as well as
when you tell one’s age and a product’s price.

Learning Outcomes :

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to :

1. count from 1 to 99 in Japanese.

Core Content

To learn numbers in Japanese, one has to start by learning the numbers one (1)
to ten (10).

One ichi

Two ni

Three san

Four yon, yo, shi

Five go

Six roku

Seven nana, shichi

 Eight hachi

Nine kyuu, ku

Ten juu

Yes, if you want to learn numbers in Japanese, the first thing you have to do is
to familiarize yourself with the numbers one ( 1 ) to ten ( 10 ). So please do
memorize them.

The numbers one (ichi) to ten (juu) are the same numbers you will need to be
able to say in Japanese numbers higher than 10. For this lesson, though, we shall
focus first on the two-digit numbers. That is, the numbers eleven (11) up to
ninety-nine (99). To do that, just follow / do the following techniques :

The numbers 11 to 19 start with a 10 (JUU) and followed by the number at the
right. Hence, 11 is actually a 10 and a 1 (JUUICHI), 12 is a 10 and a 2 (JUUNI) so
forth and so on.

To say in Japanese the numbers 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90, begin with
the first number (that is, the number at the left. In the case of 20, it is 2 while in the
case of 30, it is 3.) After this, add a 10 (JUU). Hence, 20 is a 2 and 10 ( NIJUU ), 30
is a 3 and a 10 ( SANJUU ) etc.

Finally, for two-digit numbers such as 21 to 29, 31 to 39 etc., insert a 10 (JUU)

between the numbers. Hence, 21 is a 2, a 10 and a 1 ( NIJUUICHI), 24 is a 2, a 10
and a 4 (NIJUUYON ) etc.

To review the numbers 1 up to 99 in Japanese, you may click on the YouTube

video link I am sharing here with you :
MIDTERM MODULE LESSON 1

Demonstrative Words in the Japanese Language

Demonstrative words are words used to point at or refer to persons, places or things/ objects.
When used as the subject of the sentence, the demonstrative is a noun. But when it
accompanies a noun, it functions as an adjective.

In this lesson, Japanese language learners are introduced to demonstrative pronouns and
adjectives used specifically for referring to things or objects. The demonstrative pronouns are
KORE, SORE, and ARE while the demonstrative adjectives are KONO, SONO, and ANO.

Learning Outcomes :

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to :

1. Translate vocabulary introduced in the module, and

2. Construct sentences that apply the patterns introduced/discussed .

Core Content

Here is the list of vocabulary you need to be familiar with to go through this lesson :

This (thing here) kore

That (thing near you) sore

That (thing over there) are

Book hon

Dictionary jisho

Magazine zasshi

Newspaper shinbun
Notebook no-to

Pocket Notebook techou

Business Card meishi

Card ka-do

Telephone Card terehon ka-do

Pencil empitsu

Ballpen bo-rupen

Mechanical Pencil sha-pu penshiru

Key kagi

Watch, clock tokei

Umbrella kasa

Bag kaban

Cassette tape kasetto te-pu

Tape recorder te-pu reko-da-

Television terebi

Radio rajio

Camera kamera

Computer kompyu-ta-

Car jidousha

Desk tsukue

Chair isu

Chocolate chokore-to
 Coffee ko-hi-

Wallet saifu

What nan

Use of KORE, SORE , ARE

Kore , Sore, and Are are demonstrative pronouns. They are used to point at things. Specifically,
KORE is used to refer to a thing near the speaker, SORE to a thing near the listener and ARE
to a thing far from both the speaker and listener.

Kore, Sore and Are may be used as subjects of sentences.

Thus, in the pattern “Subject wa N desu”, Subject is Kore, Sore or Are while N is the object
referred to.

Example : Kore wa hon desu. ( This is a book.)

Sore wa hon desu. (That is a book.)

Are wa hon desu. (That over there is a book.)

Use of KONO, SONO, ANO

Kono, Sono and Ano are also demonstratives ; specifically, they are demonstrative adjectives.

Unlike Kore, Sore and Are, Kono, Sono and Ano cannot be used alone as subjects of
sentences. When Kono, Sono or Ano is used in the sentence, it has to be immediately followed
by a noun, i.e. the name of the thing or object referred to.

Example : Kono hon wa watashi no desu. ( This book is mine.)

Sou desu / Sou ja arimasen

The word "SOU" may be used to answer a question requiring an affirmative or negative answer.
Thus, "HAI, SOU DESU” is the affirmative response while "IIE, SOU JA ARIMASEN" is the
negative answer.
 Example : Kore wa kagi desu ka. (Is this a key?)

…Hai, kagi desu. (Yes, that is a key.)

Or …Hai, sou desu. (Yes, it is so.)

Kore wa bo-rupen desu ka. (Is this a ball pen?)

… Iie, bo-rupen ja arimasen. (No, that is not a ball pen.)

Or … Iie, sou ja arimasen. (No, it is not so.)​

​
​
​
​
IDTERM MODULE LESSON 2
Interrogative Words

An Interrogative word is a function word which we use to ask a question. In this

lesson, you will be introduced to three Interrogative words : DARE, DOKO, and
DOCHIRA.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to :

1.​ translate vocabulary,

2.​ use the correct interrogative word in questions, and
3.​ answer questions that use interrogative words.

Core Content

​ For this lesson, a new set of vocabulary is introduced.

Here, this place koko

There, that place near you soko
That place over there asoko
Where, what place doko
This way kochira
That way sochira
That way over there achira
Which way dochira
Classroom kyoushitsu
Dining hall, canteen shokudou
Office jimusho
Conference room kaigishitsu
Reception desk uketsuke
Lobby robi-
Room heya
Toilet, Restroom toire(otearai)
Staircase kaidan
Elevator erebe-ta-
Escalator esukare-ta-
Church kyoukai
Country okuni
Company kaisha
House, home uchi
Telephone, telephone call denwa
Shoes kutsu
Necktie nekutai
Wine wain
Tobacco, cigarette tabako
Counter (in a department store) uriba
Basement chika
What floor ~kai(~gai)
Italy Itaria
Switzerland Suisu

1.​ KOKO, SOKO, ASOKO / KOCHIRA, SOCHIRA, ACHIRA

 In this lesson, additional demonstrative words are introduced. These are
KOKO, SOKO, and ASOKO plus KOCHIRA, SOCHIRA, and ACHIRA. Similar to
Kore, Sore and Are, Koko, Soko and Asoko as well as Kochira, and Achira are also
demonstratives. But, unlike Kore, Sore and Are, Koko, Soko and Asoko are used when
referring to places while Kochira, Sochira and Achira are used when referring to
directions.

Example: ​ Koko wa kyoushitsu desu. (This is the classroom.)

Kyoushitsu wa koko desu. (The classroom is this

place.)

Erebe-ta wa sochira desu. (The elevator is that way.)

Koko, Soko and Asoko may also be used to tell where a person or an
object is.

Example : ​ Tanaka san wa asoko desu. (Mr. Tanaka is over

there.)

In the sentence pattern, “Subject wa N desu.”, the subject may be a

person or object while the N tells where the subject is.

Example : ​ Tanaka san wa kyoushitsu desu, (Mr. Tanaka is in the

classroom.)

Denwa wa jimusho desu. (The telephone is in the

office.)

2. The Interrogative Word “DARE”

 “DARE” is a Japanese word that translates in English to WHO, thus,
“DARE” is an interrogative word. When a question uses “DARE”, the basic thing you
do is to drop it and replace with your answer which, in this case, is a person. “DARE” is
followed by the particle “NO”, it becomes equivalent to WHOSE.

Example : Kore wa dare no hon desu ka. (Whose book is this?)

​​ … Kore wa Yamada san no hon desu. (This is Mr. Yamada’s

book.)

Take note that in the above example, I replaced “DARE” with YAMADA
SAN.

3. The Interrogative Word “NAN”

In the previous module, you encountered the interrogative word “NAN”

(WHAT). In this lesson, we again use “NAN” in the question pattern , “Subject wa
nan no N desu ka.” Let me explain the parts of this question. In the question pattern,
“Subject wa nan no N desu ka.” :

■​ the subject may be KORE, SORE, or ARE

■​ N is an object
■​ “nan no” is “WHAT KIND OF~” in English

To answer the question, drop NAN and replace it with your answer which,
in this case, is the KIND of N.

For our example, please consider the picture :

 Now, let’s ask the question, “KORE WA NAN NO HON DESU KA.” This
translates in English to, “WHAT KIND OF BOOK IS THIS?” Very obvious, our answer
in English would be ,”THIS IS A JAPANESE/ JAPANESE LANGUAGE BOOK. Let’s
translate our answer to Nihongo : “KORE WA NIHONGO NO HON DESU.”

4.​ The Interrogative Word “DOKO” and “DOCHIRA”

“DOKO” and “DOCHIRA” are both interrogative words. “DOKO” means

“where” while “DOCHIRA” means “which direction”. However,
“DOCHIRA” can also mean “where” thus, it is more polite than
“DOKO” .

​ To answer a question that uses “DOKO” or “DOCHIRA”, simply drop it

and replace with your answer which, in this case, can be the specific name of a place or
a demonstrative pronoun referring to a place or direction.

Example : ​ Otearai wa doko desu ka. (Where is the restroom?)

. . . Otearai wa asoko desu. (The restroom is over there.)

Erebe-ta- wa dochira desu ka. (Which way to the elevator?)

. . . Erebe-ta- wa achira desu. (The elevator is that way over
there.)

“DOKO” or “DOCHIRA is also used to ask the name of a country,

company, school or any place or organization a person belongs to.
“NAN” (what) cannot be used.

Example : Anata no gakkou wa doko desu ka. (What is the name of

your school?)

. . . Watashi no gakkou wa Batangasu Daigaku desu. (My

school is University of Batangas.)
 Okuni wa dochira desu ka. (What country are you from?)

. . . Okuni wa Firipin desu. (My country is Philippines.)

​ “Subject wa doko no N desu ka.” is our last pattern for this lesson. Notice
that the question uses DOKO (where) but is followed by the particle NO plus an N. The
N is an object or a product.

Thus, in the question pattern ,“Subject wa doko no N desu ka.”, we would like to
find our WHERE the N (object/product) is manufactured or made. And to answer the
question, just drop the DOKO and replace it with the name of the place (country, most
of the time) where the N (object/product) is made. Aside from the name of the place,
the name of the company (manufacturer) and even brand name may be used to answer
the question.

For our example, consider this picture :

To ask where the bag is made in Nihongo, we say (write),

“Kore wa doko no kaban desu ka.”

And to answer, we simply drop the DOKO and replace it with the place
(company/brand) . Let's assume our answer is "The bag is made in America". In
Nihongo, that would be “Kore wa AMERIKA no kaban desu.”
MIDTERM MODULE LESSON 3

Numbers Higher than 99

Another essential topic in the study of Nihongo is telling prices. In this lesson,
that is our focus. But, before we discuss how to ask for and tell prices, let's first learn
numbers. Since we have alsready discussed numbers 1-99, this lesson shall focus on
numbers higher than 99. Ready ?

Learning Outcomes :

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to :

1. tell in Japanese numbers higher than 99,

Content

Before we go to sentence construction on asking for and telling prices, let us first
learn how to say numbers higher than 99.

For the numbers one hundred (100) up to nine hundred ninety-nine (999), add ~
HYAKU after saying in Japanese the number that occupies the hundred place. ~HYAKU
is a suffix equivalent to HUNDRED

Example : 200 ( 2 + hundred) NIHYAKU

202 ( 2 + hundred + 2) NIHYAKU NI

222 ( 2 + hundred + 22) NIHYAKU NIJUUNI

However, the technique previously explained does not apply to all. There are
certain exceptions to which no explanation was given. You just need to memorize what
these exceptions are. Take note, exceptions are to be observed both in the written and
in the spoken Japanese.

100 HYAKU
300 SANBYAKU ( pronounced SAMBYAKU)
 600 ROPPYAKU
800 HAPPYAKU

For the next set of numbers , one thousand (1,000) up to nine thousand nine
hundred ninety-nine (9,999), add ~ SEN after saying in Japanese the number
that occupies the one thousand place. ~SEN is a suffix equivalent to
THOUSAND

Example : 2,000 ( 2 + thousand) NISEN

2,200 ( 2 + thousand + 2 + hundred) NISEN NIHYAKU
2,222 ( 2 + thousand + 2 + hundred + 22) NISEN NIHYAKU
NIJUUNI

Just like in the hundred place, there are also exceptions for the second set.
Again, you need to memorize what these exceptions are.

1, 000 sen

3, 000 sanzen

8,000 hassen

Third set are the numbers ten thousand (10,000) up to ninety-nine thousand nine
hundred ninety-nine (99,999). To say these numbers in Nihongo, add ~MAN after
saying in Japanese the number that occupies the ten thousand place. ~MAN is a
suffix that refers to the ten thousand place. NO EXCEPTIONS for this set.

Rei : 20, 000 NIMAN

22,222 NIMAN NISEN NIHYAKU NIJUUNI
 Finally, what about the numbers one hundred thousand (100,000) up to nine
hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine (999,999) ? To say these
in Nihongo, add ~MAN after saying in Japanese the TWO-DIGIT number
occupying the Hundred thousand and ten thousand places. Thus, 200, 000 is
actually 20 + MAN

200,000 NIJUUMAN

MIDTERM MODULE LESSON 4

Asking for and Telling Prices in Japanese

Now that you know how to say numbers higher than 99, let us then construct sentences that ask
for and tell prices.

Learning Outcomes :

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to :

ask for the price of a product in Japanese,

tell the price of a product in Japanese.

Content :

These are your sentence patterns for Module 5 Lesson 2.

To ask for the price, “Subject wa ikura desu ka.”

Just like “DOKO”, “DARE” ,and “NAN”, “IKURA” is also an interrogative word. In
English, “IKURA” is HOW MUCH. To answer a question that uses IKURA, simply drop “IKURA”
and replace it with the PRICE of the subject. To tell the price, again, just say (write) in Japanese
the number that tells the price and add the currency (EN for Japanese currency, DORU for
dollars, and PESO for pesos.
Example : Enpitsu wa ikura desu ka. (How much is the pencil?)

Enpitsu wa gojuu en desu. (The pencil is 50 yen.)