Japanese Step 01

Grammar Notes

This structure is called Wa-Desu structure. This simply means [Noun A] is [Noun B].

Kore means “this”.

Keitai means “mobile phone”.

Watashi means “I”.

-san is a honorific title like “Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms.” This can be added to either a family name or a first name, of a male or a female. When we talk with another person face to face, we do not use Anata “You”. We omit the subject “You” or we call his/her name with -san.

Kanada means “Canada”. One’s nationality such as a Japanese or an American is made by adding -jin to a country name. Kanada-jin means “a Canadian person”.

Wa is a particle and follows the subject of a sentence. The particle wa has various roles in a sentence. You should learn it step by step.

Put simply, Desu corresponds to the English, “is/are/am.”

Although some words have plural form, Japanese nouns generally do not have plural form. Kore wa keitai desu can be “This is a mobile phone” or “These are mobile phones”.

Practice 1

Let’s practice the following words.

	keitai	mobile phone
	jisho	dictionary
	chizu	map
	koohii	(a cup of) coffee
	gakusei	(school) student

Practice 2

	Nihon	Japan			Nihon-jin	a Japanese
	Amerika	America, USA			Amerika-jin	an American
	Kanada	Canada			Kanada-jin	a Canadian
	Furansu	France			Furansu-jin	a French

Practice 3

Let’s make sentences and speak it.

	Kore wa jisho desu.
	This is a dictionary.
	Kore wa chizu desu.
	This is a map.
	Kore wa koohii desu.
	This is (a cup of) coffee.

Practice 4

Let’s make sentences and speak it.

	Greg-san wa Kanada-jin desu.
	Greg-san is a Canadian.
	Tanaka-san wa Nihon-jin desu.
	Tanaka-san is a Japanese.
	Smith-san wa Amerika-jin desu.
	Smith-san is an American.
	Susan-san wa gakusei desu.
	Susan-san is a student.