日本語の学習
Ch. 6
Here is a list of all the key concepts you need to master in order to ace those exams!
Go through and see where you need to practice some more.
1) 漢字 (Kanji)
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Can you write all these kanji characters? Here are some of the most common words you'll see the characters appear in.
1. 百 ~hundred
1. 二百五十（にひゃくごじゅう）= 250
2. 千~thousand
1. 五千一（ごせんいち）= 5,001
3. 万~ten-thousand
1. 2.4万（にてんよんまん）= 24,000
4. 円 ~circle, yen, round
1. 百円（ひゃくえん）= 100 yen
5. 年~ year, counter for years
1. 一年生（いちねんせい）= 1st year student
2. 一年間（いちねんかん）= A span of 1 year
3. 年賀状（ねんがじょう）= Japanese New Year's card
6. 上~above, up
1. 上（うえ）
7. 下 ~below, down
1. 下（した）= below
2. 下着（したぎ）= underwear
8. 中~inside, middle, center
1. 中（なか）= inside
2. 中学校（ちゅうがっこう）= Middle-school
9. 大~large, big
1. （おおきい）= big (size)
2. 大学（だいがく）= undergraduate college
10. 小~little, small
1. 小さい（ちいさい）= small (size)
2. 少し（すこし）= little (quantity)
3. 小学校（しょうがっこう）
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Note: decimals are read as 『てん』.
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Right now, ¥100 is equivalent to $0.95 (ie. ~$1).
To estimate how much something is, just move the decimal to the left two spaces.
How to count larger numbers in Japanese!
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Counting numbers below ten-thousand are pretty easy. All you have to do is add the digit place holder name after each number.
Example 1: 12,451 would be like saying:
10,000 + 2,000 + 400 + 50+ 1
(one)10 thousand 2 thousand 4 hundred fifty one
--> １まん２せん４ひゃく５じゅう１
Example 2: 23,675 would be like saying:
20,000 + 3,000 + 600 + 70+ 5
(2)10 thousand 3 thousand 6 hundred seventy one
--> ２まん３ぜん６ぴゃく７じゅう５
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If you're used to using an international number system, counting above ten-thousand can become a bit confusing. That's because, in English, we use a new counter name (ie. thousand, million, billion, etc.) after every three decimal points. In Japanese, they use a new counter name after every four decimal points.
1,000 --> 1 thousand 1000 --> せん
10,000 --> 10 thousand 1,0000 --> まん
100,000 --> 100 thousand 10,0000 --> １０まん
1,000,000 --> 1 million 100,0000 -->１００まん
10,000,000 --> 10 million 1000,0000 --> １０００まん
100,000,000 --> 100 million 1,0000,0000 --> おく
1,000,000,000 --> 100 billion 10,0000,0000 --> １０おく
1) Grammar
a) なんという+ Noun (What is the name of X?)
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Can you ask what something is called & tell someone what something is called?
Grammar Structure
Example 1: ＿＿＿なんといいますか？
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"How do you say ____?"
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A go-to expression if you want to ask what a word is in another language.
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"What is this/that called?"
a) "What is 'elephant' called in Japanese?" --> 『' elephant' は日本語でなんといいますか？』
b) " ' elephant ' is called 『ぞう』" --> 『ぞうといいます』
a) 『これはなんといいますか？』
b) 『それはなんといいますか？』
Example 2: ＿＿＿は + なんという + Noun + ですか？
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"What is the name of _____"
a) "What is the name of this store?" --> このみせはなんというなまえですか？
b) "What is the name of that college?" --> その大学はなんというなまえですか？
c) "What is that animal called?" --> それはなんというどうぶつですか？
Example 3: なんという + Noun + を+ Verb？
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Note: You can also shorten it by saying 『なんという + Noun + ですか？』
a) "What book did you read?" --> なんというほんをよみましたか？
b) "What movie did you watch?" --> なんというえいがをみましたか？
Example 5: Name + という + description.
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With this particular grammar structure, you can either add just a noun after 『という』 or any kind of description.
a) "It's an animal known as 'hippos'" --> 『かば』というどうぶつです。
b) "I ate at a really good restaurant called Red Iguana" -->
『 Red Iguanaというすごく美味しいレストランでたべました。』
B) 〜に〜を + Verb
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In all these examples you're doing something directed to someone.
I’m going to write an email to my teacher.
I'm going to call my friend.
I'm going to invite my friend over to my house.
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If the sentence has the word 『しつもん』which
means 'question' you won't ever use the verb "to ask"
because it's considered redundant. Instead, you'll use the
verb "to do."
Example: "Professor, can I ask a question?
『先生、しつもんをしてもいいですか？』
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『について』is a phrase you should definitely remember because it's used all the time when you want to
talk about a topic in a presentation, when you're shifting the topic to something new, etc.
Example: "Today, I will talk about Japanese history" --> 『今日は日本のれきしについてはなします』
c) 〜と（いっしょに）+ action (pg. 122)
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You'll use this expression only if two nouns are doing something together.
Example 1: "I went to the mall with my mom" --> 『ははと（いっしょに）モールへいきました』.
Example 2: "A -san and B-san went to the cafe" --> 『AさんとBさんが（いっしょに）カフェでたべました』.
d) と vs. とか vs. や (The "Ands")
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と = and
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Only works if you have two nouns. For example, "There were teachers and students at the gathering".
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や= and
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Only works if you're listing two or more nouns as examples. For example, "I like things such as Japanese food, Indian food, and Vietnamese food."
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とか = an informal version of や
E) Purpose (verb stem) に (pg. 224)
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Are you able to tell someone you're going someplace to do something?
I'm going to Japan to study Japanese.
Yesterday, my friend came over to watch a movie.
I went to the mall to buy presents.
I want to go out to eat sushi with my friend.
F) Connecting Adjectives (pg. 234-234)
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Can you connect adjectives using the て form? Can you tell when order matters and when you can reverse adjectives?
a) い-adjective
おいしい --> おいしくて
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Drop い and add くて
b) な-adjective
にぎやか にぎやかで
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Just add で
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The best way to figure out which order to place the adjectives is based on context and which order sounds better in English. For example, if you see a house you like you may say, "Oh, this house is small and pretty!" 『このうちは、小さくてきれいだね！』 but in other cases, it may feel more natural to say something like, "My house is small but pretty" 『私のうちは小さいですが、きれいです。
G) Extending an Invitation with 〜ませんか (pg. 237-238)
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Can you politely ask someone to do something with or for you?
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Always attatch 『〜ませんか』to the last verb in the sentence. The verb should be conjugated into the 『ます』form without the 『ます』.
いく --> いきます --> いきませんか？
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Can/do you want to go?
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〜てください。 (Sounds more like a command)
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〜てくれませんか？ (Sounds more like you're asking someone to do you a favor)
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〜てくださいませんか？ (Most polite way of asking someone to do you favor)
H) RESPONDING TO いつがいいですか (ie. when is a good day/time?)
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If you're scheduling something with someone and they're asking you what's a good time and day, do you know how to respond? Here are some of the most common responses people use all the time.
Affirmative responses
1) 〜はどうですか？
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"How is (insert day or time)?"
2) 〜がいいです。
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"(insert day or time) is best."
Use this sentence structure when you're giving a time that works for you.
Example:
Person A 『なんじがいいですか？』
Person B 『いちじがいいです』
3) 〜でいいです。
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" (insert day or time) is good."
Use this sentence structure when someone offers a time and you're just confirming that it's good.
Example:
Person A 『いちじはどうですか？』
Person B 『いちじでいいです』
4) 〜でもいいです。
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"(insert day or time) is also fine."
5) いつでもいいです。
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"Whenever's fine."
6) なんじでもいいです。
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"Any time is fine."
Negative responses
1) 〜はだめです。
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"(Insert day or time) doesn't work for me."
2) 〜はようじがあって. . .
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" I have something I need to do on (Insert day or time)."
3) 〜はつごうがわるくて. . .
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" (Insert day or time) is a bit inconvenient."
4) 〜はちょっと . . .
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" (Insert day or time) is a little. . ."
5) 〜はちょっとむりです。
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" (Insert day or time) isn't going to be possible."
I) Verb + ことです
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As soon as you slap on『こと』, you can turn any verb into a noun.
For example, if you say『 しゅみはしゃしんをとるです』it sounds weird in Japanese because it would translate as "My hobby is take photos." In English, we add -ing to a verb that can turn it into a noun. For example, "Learning to ride."
『こと』functions in the same way so if you want to say "My hobby is taking photos" you would need to say
『しゅみはしゃしんをとることです。』
J) Giving & Receiving （あげる、くれる、もらう）
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"Uchi" = people within your inner circle
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"Soto" = people you're not that close to
Sentence structure for 『あげる』(to give)
Example 1: Giver + は/が + Recipient + に + Object + を + あげる
Smith-san gave Tanaka-san a book.
Example 2: Recipient + に + Object + を + あげる
(I) gave kids candy.
Example 3: Special occasion + に + Example 1 or Example 2
For Halloween, (I) gave kids candy.
Sentence structure for 『くれる』(to give me )
Example 1: Giver + は/が + me/someone I'm close to + に + Object + を + くれる
Tanaka-san gave my sister a book.
Example 2: Giver + が + Object + を + くれる
Smith-san gave (me) a book.
Example 3: Special occasion + に + Example 1 or Example 2
For my birthday, Smith-san gave (me) a book.
Sentence structure for 『もらう』(to receive)
Example 1: Giver + から + Object + を + もらう
(I) received a blanket from my friends.
Example 2: Recipient+ は/が + Giver + に + Object + を + もらう
My friend received a card from me.
Example 3: Special occasion + に + Example 1 or Example 2
For Christmas, (I) received a blanket from my friends.
Example 3: Special occasion + に + Object + を + もらう
For Christmas, (I) received headphones.
Extra Resources (Language Assistant Presentations)
１１月２８日２０２０年
(ねんがじょう)
１１月３０日２０２０年
(Practice with you 〜てくださいませんか and 〜てください)
Lecture Slide
Answer Sheet for Activity 2 & 4