Japanese Language Lecture Notes

Addressing People

• Anata: Less common, more polite to use names.
• Nihon / Nippon: Refers to Japan.

Nationality Indicators

• Hong Jin: Japanese person
• American: American person
• Chinese: Chinese person
• British: British person
• Indojin: Indian person
• Indonesian: Indonesian person
• Thai: Thai person
• German: German person
• Brazilian: Brazilian person
• Korean: Korean person

Titles for Professionals

• Sensei: Teacher; use "Sensei" to address.
• Kyoshi: Also means teacher; not for direct address.
• Kaisha: Company or office worker.
• Shine: Employee, often used with company name (e.g., Google employee).
• Issa: Doctor.
• Aku: University student.

Age and Greeting Expressions

• Sai: Years old.
• Donata: Who.
• Nani: What.
• Hi: Yes; more casual.
• Um: No; more casual.
• Ohayou gozaimasu: Good morning.
• Hajimemashite: Nice to meet you (literally means "I'm meeting you for the first time").

Grammar Overview

• N1 wa N2 desu: Structure for stating things about nouns.
  • Example: "I am Takashi." becomes "Watashi wa Takashi desu."
  • "I am 22 years old." becomes "Watashi wa nijusai desu."
  • "That person is an American." becomes "Ano hito wa amerikajin desu."

Negative and Question Forms

• N1 wa N2 ja nai desu: For negative statements.
  • Example: "I am not an American." becomes "Watashi wa amerikajin ja nai desu."
• Particle: Used at sentence end for questions.
  • Example: "Are you a student?" becomes "Anata wa gakusei desu ka?"
• Omitting Watashi: Common to omit the pronoun for self-references in casual speech.

Asking Questions

• To inquire about someone's identity: Replace known info with question word.
  • Example: "Who is that person?" becomes "Ano hito wa dare desu ka?"
  • For age: "How old is Harry Styles?" becomes "Harry Styles wa nansai desu ka?"

Additional Grammar Points

• N1 mo N2 desu: Means "N1 is also N2".
  • Example: "I am a university student." becomes "Watashi wa daigakusei desu."
• N2 is the main item, while N1 is extra info.
  • Example: "Shine wa Google no employee desu." (Google employee).

Review

• Always remember the order: N2 (main item) followed by N1 (extra information).

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• End of video.