こんばんは。Today, I decided to take a short break from TextFugu and start my Elementary Japanese book. With being where I’m at in TextFugu, I’m skimming through everything I know. There’s tons of vocab and this post is really super long. I committed myself to finishing the lesson, which made this post /hella/ long.
| Expression | Japanese | Romaji | Notes | Notes |
| Good morning (formal) Good morning (informal) | おはようございます おはよう | ohayōgozaimasu ohayō | ||
| Hi/Hello | こんにちは | Konnichiwa | ||
| Good evening | こんばんは | Konbanwa | ||
| Goodbye | さようなら | Sayōnara | ||
| Goodbye | しつれいします | shitsurei shimasu | translates to “excuse my rudeness” | used when ending my phone conversation |
| See you tomorrow | じゃ、またあした | ja, mata ashita | じゃ – well then また – again あした – tomorrow | |
| Thank you very much | どもありがとうございます | domo arigatō gozaimasu | ||
| You’re welcome | どういたしまして | dōitashimashite | ||
| I’m sorry | すみません | sumimasen | ||
| No | いいえ | īe | ||
| Yes | はい | hai | ||
| Good night | おやすみ（なさい） | oyasumi (deshita) | ||
| What’s your name? | おなまえは？ | onamaewa? | ||
| How do you do? | はじめまして | hajimemashite | ||
| Nice to meet you | どうぞよろしく | dōzoyoroshiki | ||
| What’s your major? (college) | ごせんもんは？ | gosenmonwa | ||
| Before a meal | いただきます | itadakimasu | ||
| After a meal | ごちそうさま（でした） | gochisousama (deshita) | ||
| One more time | もういちど | mouichido | ||
| Do you understand? | わかりましたか | wakarimashitaka | ||
| I understand | はい、わかりました | hai, warkarimashita | ||
| I don’t understand | わかりませんでした | warkarimasendeshita | ||
| Once more, please | もういちどおねがいします | mouichidoonegaishimasu | ||
| I don’t understand | わかりません | wakarimasen |
Vowel Devoicing
The vowels I & u are often devoiced; i.e. you shape your mouth for it but do not pronounce it. Note that while the vowel loses it’s voicing, the syllable retains it’s status of taking up a single mora of pronunciation (page 9, 1g)
| Romaji | Hiragana | Pronounced As |
| ohayogozaimasu | おはようございます | ohayo gozaima[s] |
| [shi]tsurei shimasu | しつれいします | [sh]tsure shima[s] |
| a[shi]ta | あした | a[sh]ta |
| dozo yoro [shiku] | どぞよろしく | dozo yoro[shk] |
Long vowels
In English long vowels do not change the meaning of a word, however, in Japanese if you make the vowel longer or shorter, it could change the word.
- Long あ：Add あ.
- おばさん：Aunt, middle aged woman
- おばあさん：grandmother, elderly woman
- Long い: Add い.
- おじさん: uncle, middle aged man
- おじいさん: grandpa, elderly man
- Long う: Add う.
- すり:pickpocket
- すうり:mathematical principal.
- Long え: Add い.
- えき: train station
- えいき: energy/spirit
- てき: enemy
- ていき : commuter ticket
A few words require an additional え instead of い for ē. These words are authentic Japanese words and were historically pronounced with the ē and not ei.
- onēsan – おねえさん- elder sister
- ē – ええ- yes
- iidesunē – いいですねえ- It’s good, isn’t it?
Long お: In principle, add う
- も
- (mo) also
- もう
- (mō) already
- ほ
- (ho) sail
- ほう
- (hō) law
A small number of words require an additional お , instead of う, Historically the second おin such a word was either wo 「を」or ho「ほ」。
- おおきい – ōkii – big, large
- とおり – tōri – street
- こおり- kōri – ice
- おおさか – ōsaka – Osaka
Long Consonants
Some Japanese words have a long consonant. This is notated by placing a small っ before the consonant that is being repeated. The little っ can sometimes be used with a vowel in an interjection to indicate that the vowel is very short and abruptly terminated. eg. あっ “Oops”, えっ “What?!”
Pitch Accent
Japanese is categorized as a pitch-accent language because some Japanese words are distinguished solely by their pitch-pattern differences.
はし(high-low) chopsticks
はし(low-high) bridge
Pitch dictionaries are available, but it’s suggested to try to talk as much as a native as possible..
Vocab
| ひらがな | Meaning |
| いか | below (quantity) |
| もっと | more |
| いち | one |
| さっさ | thirst for blood |
| かき | persimmon |
| しと | way of using |
| べっき | contempt |
| いっき | riot |
| はかい | destruction |
| にっきゅう | daily wages |
| いっか | one family |
| もと | formerly |
| いっち | agreement |
| さき | ahead |
| かっき | vigor/energy |
| しっと | jealousy |
| べし | must ~ (command) |
| いき | breath |
| はっかい | 8th floor |
| にきゅう | second level |
| おなまえ | name (respectful) |
| がくせい | student |
| ごせんもん | major (respectful) |
| せんせい | teacher |
| せんもん | major |
| なまえ | name |
| にほんご | Japanese language |
| ひらがな | hiragana |
| わたし | I/me |
Kirsten's Japanese Language Log 