日常对话
Sample TextIn this dialog, Yota Suzuki and Jason Miller meet for the first time at Jason's house in Tokyo.
Dialogue
Yota: Kon'nichi wa.
Hello.
Jason: Kon'nichi wa.
Hello.
Yota: Watashi wa Suzuki Yota desu. Hajimemashite.
I am Yota Suzuki. Nice to meet you.
Jason: Watashi wa Jeson Miraa desu. Hajimemashite. Doozo yoroshiku.
I am Jason Miller. Nice to meet you.
(May I ask you to be kind to me.)
Yota: Miraa-san, anata wa Amerika-jin desu ka.
Mr. Miller, are you an American?
Jason: Hai, watashi wa Amerika-jin desu. Anata wa.
Yes. I am American. How about you?
Yota: Nihon-jin desu.
I am Japanese.
Jason: Suzuki-san, anata wa daigaku-sei desu ka.
Mr. Suzuki, are you a college student?
Yota: Hai, soo desu. Miraa-san wa.
Yes. How about you, Mr. Miller?
Jason: Watashi wa kookoo-sei desu.
I am a high school student.
Yota: Otomodachi mo kookoo-sei desu ka.
Is your friend also a high school student?
Jason: Hai. Suzuki-san wa nan'nen-sei desu ka.
Yes. Mr. Suzuki, what year are you in college?
Yota: Daigaku ninen-sei desu.
I am a sophomore (second year student).
Vacabulary
kon'nichi wa , hello
watash,i I, me, myself
desu, am, are, is
anata, You
Amerika-jin American (person)
Nihon-jin Japanese (person)
daigaku-sei, college student
kookoo-sei, high school student
otomo-dachi, friend
nan'nen-sei ,what grade level, what year (in school, college)
ninen-sei, second level, second year (in college = sophomore)
Grammar
1. Watashi wa Suzuki Yota desu.
This sentence means "I am Yota Suzuki." It is standard for Japanese to use their family name first followed by their given name. The sentence pattern is "Noun wa noun desu" which translates as "Noun is Noun". The wa is a particle indicating a subject or a topic, while desu is an equivalent to "am", "are", and "is".
Examples: Watashi wa Sumisu desu.
(I am Mr. Smith.)
Watashi wa Tanaka desu.
(I am Mr. Tanaka.)
2. Anata wa Amerika-jin desu ka.
This sentence means "Are you an American?" The word ka is a particle which makes a sentence a question.
Examples: Anata wa Nihon-jin desu ka.
(Are you Japanese?)
Anata wa Suzuki-san desu ka.
(Are you Mr. Suzuki?)
3. Otomo-dachi mo kookoo-sei desu ka.
This sentence means "Is your friend also a high school student?" The word mo is a particle and means "also".
Examples: Sumisu-san mo Amerika-jin desu ka.
(Is Mr. Smith also an American?)
Watashi mo daigaku-sei desu.
(I am also a college student.)
4. Nihon-jin desu.
This sentence means "I am Japanese". The word Nihon-jin is a compound of the two words, Nihon and jin. Nihon means "Japan" and jin means "person". The word jin is added to the end of a country's name to signify a person of that country.
Examples: Gaadana-san wa Igirisu-jin desu.
(Mr. Gardiner is English. [Igirisu=England])
Rozenbawa-san wa Doitsu-jin desu.
(Mr. Rosenbauer is German.[Doitsu=Germany])
5. Watashi wa kookoo-sei desu.
This sentence means "I am a high school student". The word kookoo-sei is a compound of the two words, kookoo and -sei. Kookoo is a shortened form of the word kootoogakkoo which means "high school" and -sei is an ending which means "student".
Examples: Waatamanu-san wa daigakuin-sei desu.
(Mr. Waterman is a graduate student.[daigakuin=graduate school])
Rassoru-san wa daigaku-sei desu.
(Mr. Russell is a college student.)
Exercises:
A. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words.
1. Watashi ( ) Amerika-jin desu.
2. Anata ( ) America-jin desu ( ).
3. Watasi wa kookoosei ( ).
4. Anata ( ) nannen-sei ( ) ( ).
B. Answer the following questions according the question given.
1. Anata wa Amerika-jin desu ka.
(yes)_______________________
2. Yota-san wa Nihon-jin desu ka.
(yes)_______________________
3. Anata wa daigaku-sei desu ka.
(yes)_______________________
4. Anata wa nannen-sei desu ka.
(sophomore)___________________
5. Anata wa kookoo-sei desu ka.
(yes)_______________________
