Monday, June 20, 2016

Ogon Bato-Fantoma 黄金バット


私の子供の頃のヒーロー / Watashi no kodomo no koro no hīrō / My childhood hero ...



Japanese opening ...はじめ




Watashi wa kono eiga ga suki / 
私はこの映画が好き




Watashi wa Ogon Batu :-)
Watashi wa Ogon Batu :-) desu


























Tuesday, June 14, 2016

いただきます&ごちそうさま Itadakimasu & Gochisousama




"Itadakimasu" is originally meant to show your appreciation to life, nature, a person who cooks a meal, serves the food or makes money to feed you, etc.
You put both of your hands in front of your chest or put them on your laps and say いただきます」Itadakimasu.”
People with good manners do that every meal when they eat with their family or when they are invited to other people’s houses as well.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

折鶴 Orizuru


折り紙 / "Oru" folding "kami" paper = Origami. These elegant 折鶴 Orizuru - folded cranes - made by my teacher, Miyoko Wheeler, for us students and presented at the end of our final class. What a graceful gesture. The Japanese believe anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes (千羽鶴 Senbazuru) will be granted a wish by the Gods. 貴重なお時間を頂き/さいて頂き有り難うございました。...Thank you for giving us your precious time みよこ

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Kore wa ikura desu ka?

これは いくらですか。...Kore wa ikura desuka?  (How much is this?) Shopping with Japanese toy money last night in (our second last) class :-(  ありがと Miyoko Wheeler San:-)

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Two Mini Dialogues & Telling the Time


















IN A DEPARTMENT STORE

Dale. Chotto Sumimasen

Assistant. Hai

Dale. Shinshi fuku uriba wa doko desu ka?

Assistant. Go-Kai

Dale. Arigato. Erebeta wa doko desu ka?

Assistant. (Pointing) Achira desu. Asoko ni migi ga wa desu.

Dale. Hai. So desu. Domo. Bye, bye.

 


INTRODUCING MYSELF AND MY WIFE

Dale. Watashi wa Dale desu. O namae wa nan desu ka?

Hondo San. Hajimemashite. Hondo Tatsuya to moshimasu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

Dale. Kocchi wa kanai desu. Kanojo no namae wa Lynette desu.

(Mr. Hondo and L. Bow to each other and say konnichiwa)
Hondo San. Doko kara kimashitaka?

Dale. Watashitachi wa Osturaria-jin desu

Hondo San. Aaa! Osturaria! Kangaloo! :-)



TELLING THE TIME IN JAPANESE























(Ima) Nanji desu ka? = What's the time?

Ju ichi ji  = It's one o'clock



























:(Ima) Nanji desu ka?
: Ju ji ju go fun desu

:What's the time?
:It's 10:15

Can also use sugi = "past" or after (optional)

Ju ji ju go fun sugi desu

It's 10:15 (ie. A quarter past 10)

Can also use mae = "to" or before

Ju ji ju go fun mae desu

It's a quarter to 10

Can also use han = "half"

Gozen = AM
Gozo = PM

Use before saying the hour ...

Gozen ku ji desu = It's 9 am
Gogo ju ji desu = It's 10 pm




***

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

外! 福は内! Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!

                                 























My Japanese teacher at #YarravilleCC, Miyoko San, explained #Setsubun to us last night.

Setsubun falls on the day before Spring when evil spirits come out as the season changes.

People throw roasted soybeans at men in demon masks crying out:

 外! 福は内! "Oni wa soto, Fuku wa uchi” (Out with demons! In with fortune).

What fun being a student for a change!

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Shopping しょっぴんぐ


Ebi = Prawn
Ikura = salmon roe
Ika = cuttlefish, squid
Tai = sea bream (snapper?)
Maguro = tuna / Toro = belly of tuna
Kani = crab
Hotate= scallop
Tamago = egg
Sake = salmon
Iwashi = sardine
Kome = rice





IN A RESTAURANT (My Dialogue)


Ueetoresu: Irrashaimasu. Menyuu o dozo.  (Irasshaimase)   (Menyū)

Dale: Domo. Sore wa nan desu ka? Oishi so!

Ueetoresu: Dore wa desu ka? Aa ...tonkatsu desu. (Dore desu ka?)

DaleTonkatsu? Sakana desu ka?

Ueetoresu: Iie sakana ja arimasen. Niku desu. Oishi desu yo. (Oishii)

Dale: Kekkou desu. Watashi wa butaniko ga kirai desu. Jaa...kore o onegaishimasu (butaniku)

Later ...

Dale: Okeikai onegaishimasu! (Okaikei or Okanjyō)

Ueetoresu: Hai!

Leaving ...

Dale: Gochisousama deshita

***

Waitress: Welcome. Here is the menu.

Dale: Thanks. What's that? It looks delicious!

Waitress: Which one? Oh ....that is tonkatsu.

Dale: Tonkatsu? Is that fish?

Waitress: No it isn't fish. It's meat. It's delicious.

Dale: No thanks. i don't like pork. So then...I'll have this (instead).

Later ...

Dale: Bill please!

Ueetoresu: Yes

Leaving ...

Dale: Thank you for the meal

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Kore / Sore / Are / Kono / Sono / Ano

       


















   



My sentences
  • 1) Kore wa ikura desu ka = How much is this?
  • 2)  Sore wa ikura desu ka = How much is that?
  • 3) ...to are wa? = ...and that one over there?
  • 4) Dore desu ka? = Which one is it (you are talking about)? 
  • 5) Dore ga anata no hon desu ka = Which one is your book? (Note: can't use particle 'wa' with 'dore' , must use 'ga')
  • 6) Kono sushi wa ikura desu ka = This sushi how much does it cost? (Literal)
  • 7) Sono tokee wa ikura desu ka = That watch how much is it? (Literal) 
  • 8) Ano kaki wa ikura desu ka = That persimmon over there how much is it? (Literal)
  • 9) Dono sushi ga oishii desu ka = Which fish is delicious?
  • 10) Sumimasen, otearai wa doko desu ka = Excuse me, where is the restroom? (Doko for place)
  • 11) (Otearai wa) asoko desu = (The restroom) is over there. (Asoko for place)
  • 12) Kono hon wa dareno desu ka = This book whose is it? (Literal)

               

















Friday, May 6, 2016

Teisei ていせい (Revision)

Revision - Lesson 1

Lesson 1 れっすん  レッスン
I'm Dale = Watashi wa Dale desu わたしのなまえ  
I'm from Australia = Ōsutoraria kara kimashita. わたし は おーすとらりあ オーストラリアから
I'm 52 years old = Go-juu-ni sai desu. わたし  59さい
May I have your name? = O namae wa nan desu ka. あなたのなまえ  なに なん ですか






























   

Speaking / Pronunciation Lesson 1 (Correction)

Ordering at a restaurant




1) Ais(u)kurim(u)
2) Asahi birru

Greeting the teacher
1) Genki
2) Konbanwa

Personal Details
Watashi wa Dale desu (rhythm)
Onamae (should sound like na, not ne) eg. O namae wa nan desu ka?

Lesson 2 - Revision
Anata wa Osutoraria jin desu ka? = Are you Australian?
Doko kara kimashita? = Where are you from?
Nan sai desu ka? = How old are you?
Watashi mo genki desu. = I am fine too.   mo=too, also

:Totemo nemui desu = I'm very tired
: Watashi mo nemui desu = I'm very tired too

Kurasai = please

(Hai,) so desu = (Yes), I am (affirming)
So, ja arimasen = No, I'm not (denying)

So desu ne = I understand / I follow
Ah so deska! = Really!

Pronouns

Examples

Kore wa watashi no hon desu ka? = Is this my book?

Watashi no neko no namae wa Pussy desu = My cat's name is Pussy

Anata no neko no namae wa desu ka? = What's your cat's name?

Kore wa nan desu ka? = What is this one? (nan = what)
Sore wa nan desu ka? = What is that one?
Are wa nan desu ka? = What is that one (over there)?

Personal Pronouns













Possessive Pronouns



Demonstrative





Monday, April 25, 2016

Biiru futatsu onegaishimasu!





















go-juu-ni sai desu = I am 52 years old

助数詞 josūshi

"Counters" in Japanese ...

...are distinct from cardinal numbers. For example, when ordering items in a restaurant we use the Native Japanese system (hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu, etc.)

Biiru futatsu onegaishimasu 
= Two beers please

Ramen itsutsu to isekream hitotsu to biiru yottsu onegaishimasu 
= 5 ramen, one icecream and 4 beers please

use to (pronunciation "toe") = ...and...

NumeralSino-JapaneseNative JapaneseOrdinal
0零 (rei)
〇 (zero)
〇 (nuru)
零番目 (reibanme)
〇番目 (zerobanme)
〇番目 (nurubanme)
1一 (ichi)一つ (hitotsu)一つ目 (hitotsume)
一番目 (ichibanme)
2二 (ni)二つ (futatsu)二つ目 (futatsume)
二番目 (nibanme)
3三 (san)三つ (mittsu)三番目 (sanbanme)
三つ目 (mittsume)
4四 (shi/yon)四つ (yottsu)四番目 (yonbanme)
四つ目 (yottsume)
5五 (go)五つ (itsutsu)五番目 (gobanme)
五つ目 (itsutsume)
6六 (roku)六つ (muttsu)六番目 (rokubanme)
六つ目 (muttsume)
7七 (shichi/nana)七つ (nanatsu)七番目 (nanabanme)
七つ目 (nanatsume)
8八 (hachi)八つ (yattsu)八番目 (hachibanme)
八つ目 (yattsume)
9九 (kyū/ku)九つ (kokonotsu)九番目 (kyūbanme)
九つ目 (kokonotsume)
10十 (jū)十 (tō)十番目 (jūbanme)

Ordering in a restaurant



My Dialogue



Me (to waiter) : Sumimasen!

Waiter: Hai!

Me: Menu onegaishimasu

Waiter: Hai! (Comes back to table)

Me: Ramen futatsu to biira Asahi hitotsu to ocha hitotsu onegaishimasu

Waiter: Hai!

(Later) 

Me: Sumimasen! Okanjyo onegaishimasu


Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Hajimemashite

Lesson 1

Greeting the teacher ...

 


Student : Konbawa Wheeler San. O genki desu ka?

Teacher : Hai. Genki desu. Anata wa?

Student : Watashi mo genki desu


Polite (General situation)

Dale :

Ha / ji / me / mash i / te                How do you do?

Wa / tash i wa Dale des(u)            My name is Dale

Yoroshiku onegai shimas(u)         Nice to meet you (I look forward to  getting to know you)




Casual (Friends)

Hajimemashite, Dale desu. Yoroshiku

Respectful (Very Formal)
Hajimemashite, Dale to moushimasu

Douzo yoroshiku onegai itashimasu    (I look forward to working with you)

(accompany this with a bow)

OTHER GREETINGS

Ohayoo (gozaimasu) (polite) = Good morning (polite)
Konnichiwa = Good afternoon
Konbanwa = Good evening
Oyasuminasai = Good night

Doozo Yoroshiku = Nice to meet you

Click here for a link to others (in English and Japanese script)























Questions / Answers to practice


O namae wa nan desu ka  = What's your name?

OR

O na ma e wa? (Still polite - note the "O" prefix particle for politeness as well as "desu")

Shitsurei desu ga ...nan sai desu ka? = How old are you?

Doko kara kimashita ka? = Where are you from?



Q. O namae wa nan desu ka?

A. Watashi wa Dale desu

Q. Nan sai desu ka?

A. Go-juu-ni (52) sai desu

Q. Doko kara kimashitaka?

A. Osutoraria kara kimashita