LESSON 1

WEEK 1

AISATSU
GREETINGS

GREETINGS

IN THE OFFICE

WHEN LEAVING AND COMING BACK HOME

SORRY

THANK YOU

BEFORE AND AFTER EATING

HOW ARE YOU AND SEE YOU AGAIN

OUTLINE OF JAPANESE GRAMMAR

 

1. Ohayoo gozaimas- good morning
The greeting is used in the morning. And the respond to the greeting
should be , ohayoo gozaimas. Among family members and
their close friends the Japanese will shortened their greeting by saying
ohayoo.
• ohayoo – oo meaning that you have to prolong the pronunciation
• By adding gozaimas at the end of the greeting you are making the greeting more formal/ polite.

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A : Ohayoo gozaimas B : Ohayoo gozaimas

2. Konnichiwa-good afternoon
This greeting is used from noon to sunset. And the respond to the greeting should be , konnichiwa. Among family members the Japanese seldom use konnichiwa to greet each other.

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A : Konnichiwa B : Konnichiwa

3. Konbanwa- Good evening
This greeting is used when meeting someone after sunset. And the respond to the greeting is , konbanwa.

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A: Konbanwa B: Konbanwa

4. Oyasuminasai-Have a good night sleep
The greeting is used during the night before going to bed. And the respond to the greeting is , oyasuminasai.

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A: Oyasuminasai B: Oyasuminasai

5. Sayoonara- Goodbye
When leaving somebody for a very long period of time the Japanese will use the word sayoonara. And the respond is sayoonara. We can add in sayoonara, ogenkide, meaning goodbye and may you always be in a good health. When you leave the office, for example at 5 o’clock it is not appropriate to use sayoonara, but it is more suitable to use ja, mata ashita- I’ll be seeing you tomorrow (this greeting is suitable among friends but not your superior).

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A : Sayoonara B : Sayoonara/ sayoonara,ogenkide

 

6 . Ittekimas- good bye- ( going out from the house )
The expression is used when someone leaves home or goes out for work
for the day. Literally it means `I’ll go and come back`. And the respond
for this greeting is itteirasshai-good bye, literally it means `please go
and come back`.

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A : Ittekimas B : Itteirasshai

 

7. Tadaima- I’m home- ( it’s a greeting used when one reaches home )
This expression is used when someone has just arrived home from school
or the office. Literally it means `Now I am back`. The respond to the
greeting is okaerinasai-literally means `welcome home/back`.

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A : Tadaima B : Okaerinasai

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8. Gomen kudasai-when knocking at one’s door,I’m sorry (is anyone home)
This expression is used when one knocks at someone else door, and if you are in the respond should be hait, doozo meaning please come in.

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A : Gomen kudasai B : Hai, doozo

 

9. Shitsuree shimas- Excuse me (for disturbing you)
This expression is used when someone feels that he is disturbing someone else. This expression is also used when someone is leaving.

10. Doomo sumimasen- I`m sorry
Another ways of saying your are sorry are

Moshi wake arimasen- honorific
Gomen nasai- commonly used among friends, family members and children.

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11. Doomo arigatoo gozaimas- thank you very much
Another way to say thank you:-
(a) doomo
(b) arigatoo
(c) doomo arigatoo

- commonly used to friends, family members and children.

Domo arigatoo gozaimas- it is a polite form of saying thank you.
And the respond to the expression is doo itashimashite-you are most welcome. You could also begin your respond by saying iie, doo itashimashite-which means `no/ not at all`.

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A : Doomo arigatoo gozaimas B : Iie, doo itashimashite

 

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12. Osaki ni shitsureshimas- I’m sorry, but I’d like to excuse myself first
When leaving the office you can greet you friends or your superior by saying osaki ni shitsureshimas. Your friends may respond back by saying otsukare sama deshita-thank you for your hard work. Using the word otsukare sama showing that you and your friends are at the `same level`. Mean while your superior may respond back by saying gokuro sama deshita-thank you for your hard work.By using the word gokuro sama indicated that he/she is at the `higher level` then you are.

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A : Osaki ni shitsureshimas B : Otsukare sama deshita/ gokuro sama deshita

 

13. Itadakimasu- an expression used before one starts a meal or drinking.
literally means `I accept your offer`.Previously the Japanese believed that when they are eating they are also inviting the God to eat with them. Now a days it is simply a saying without any related to religious believes.

After finishing eating or drinking the Japanese will say gochisoosama deshita- `Thank you for you offer of delicious food/ drink`

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14.Ogenki deska? How are you?
Des ka…. should be pronounce as intonation up, at the end of the
sentence ( because you are asking a question ). And the respond to
the question is hai, genkides-yes, I’m ok. And you may add in arigatoo
gozaimas- thank you for asking. To be more polite you may also answer Hai,okagesama de, genki des.

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A: Ogenki deska? B : Hai, genki des. Arigatoo gozaimas/Hai, okagesama de, genki des.

 

15.Mata aimashoo- see you again and to make it more polite expression we can use `mata oai shimashoo`

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16.Daijoobu des ka? Are you ok?
The expression is used when someone is in trouble, or meeting with an
accident. And if you are ok, you should respond by saying hai,
daijoobu des. And if your not ok, you should be saying, iie,daijoobo ja nai.

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A : Daijoobu des ka? B : Hai, daijoobu des/ iie,daijoobo ja nai.

17.Doozo- please

18.Taihen des ne- You’re terribly burdened, aren`t you!
This expression is used to show one’s sympathy to someone who is busy
trying to cope with his work or to someone who is in a troubled position.

19 . Ganbattekudasai-please do your best
This expression is used as a word of encouragement for someone to work
Harder or to put more effort in whatever he’s doing. The respond to
that is, hai, ganbarimas- I’ll will do my best

Let`s Pratice-Renshuu shimashoo A : Ganbattekudasai B : Hai, ganbarimas

* des ka . Ka is a question marker added to the end of a sentence with rising intonation.

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Outline of Japanese Grammar Sentence Structure English sentences are generally arranged as :- Subject Verb Object e.g John ran to school In Japanese the basic structure is:- Subject Object Verb/ adjective John to school ran In Japanese the less important information tends to be at the beginning of the sentence while the most important information are somehow at the end of the sentence. Grammatical Function Within Sentence In Japanese, function within the sentence is indicated by a series of markers attached after the word or phrases and known as “particles”. Some of the “particles” are as below:- " particles" function wa to introduce the topic of the sentence ga subject o direct object ( thing acted upon ) ni -indirect object -location or target toward which the action or motion progress -location in -time -purpose de -by, with -cause, reason or purpose -location at which the action occurs e direction , to, toward kara from ( beginning point in time or place, origin ) made until no possessive to -and -together with ka question mark mo also, too   Styles of Speech Polite speech- is used in a formal situation such in business, classroom situation, addressing the audience, speaking to your superior, shopping and when talking to strangers on the street. Polite speech is characterized by using polite verbal forms such as des and ~mas. Plain speech- is used in informal everyday situation when talking between family members, friends and talking to children. Respect language- further respect beside using the polite speech may be shown by the use of honorific terms when referring to others and humble form when referring to oneself.

Mata raishuu- see you next week

Any questions and comments regarding the lesson, please e-mail to

rasimah.rashid@mmu.edu.my

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