Basic Lessons (Japanese)

Ohayou.	Good morning.
Konnichiwa.	Good afternoon.
Konbanwa.	Good evening.
Nanika atta?	What's up?
Dou shiteru?	How's everything?
Kawatta koto aru?	What's new?
Tadaima.	I'm back (home).
Ittekimasu.	I'm leaving.

 Japanese Numbers

0	zero/rei	零
1	ichi	一
2	ni	二
3	san	三
4	shi/yon	四
5	go	五
6	roku	六
7	shichi/nana	七
8	hachi	八
9	kyuu/ku	九
10	juu	十
11	juuichi	十一
12	juuni	十二
13	juusan	十三
14	juushi	十四
15	juugo	十五
16	juuroku	十六
17	juushichi	十七
18	juuhachi	十八
19	juuku	十九
20	nijuu	二十
21	nijuuichi	二十一
22	nijuuni	二十一
etc
30	sanjuu	三十
31	sanjuuichi	三十一
32	sanjuuni	三十二
etc
40	yonjuu	四十
50	gojuu	五十
60	rokujuu	六十
70	nanajuu	七十
80	hachijuu	八十
90	kyuujuu	九十
100	hyaku	百
150	hyakugojuu	百五十
200	nihyaku	二百
300	sanbyaku	三百
1000	sen	千
1500	sengohyaku	千五百
2000	nisen	二千
10,000	ichiman	一万
100,000	juuman	十万
1,000,000	hyakuman	百万
10,000,000	senman	千万
100,000,000	ichioku	一億

 (1) Short Questions

When asking information about someone's name or country etc., a shortened form of a question is often used. This leaves just the topic, which is said with rising intonation.

O-namae wa (nan desu ka). お名前は（何ですか）。	(What is) your name?
O-kuni wa (dochira desu ka). お国は(どちらですか)。	(Where is) your country?
Go-senmon wa (nan desu ka). ご専門は(何ですか)。	(What is) your field of study?

(2) How to end a conversation

Dewa mata. ではまた。	See you later.
Ja mata. じゃまた。	See you later. (less formal)
Mata ashita. また明日。	See you tomorrow.
Sayonara. さよなら。	Good-bye.
Shitsurei shimasu. 失礼します。	I am going to leave. (very formal)

"Sayonara （さよなら）" is not normally used when leaving one's own homes or places of temporary residence unless one is leaving for a very long time. If you know that you will see a  person again soon, expressions like "Ja mata （じゃまた）" or "Mata ashita (また明日)" are used.

"Shitsurei shimasu(失礼します)" is a formal expression used when announcing that you are leaving someone's presence or when you are leaving before someone else (in this case, it is often said as "Osakini shitsurei shimasu(お先に失礼します).") It is also used when entering a house or room, passing in front of someone or leaving in the middle of a gathering.

(1) Formal Introductions

In Japanese there are several levels of formality. Here is the expression, "Nice to meet you" on various formal levels.

Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu. どうぞよろしくお願いします。	very formal expression used to a higher
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. よろしくお願いします。	to a higher
Douzo yoroshiku. どうぞよろしく。	to an equal
Yoroshiku. よろしく。	to a lower

The honorific "o （お）" or "go （ご）" can be attached to the front of some nouns as a formal way of saying "your." It is very polite.

o-kuni お国	someone else's country
o-namae お名前	someone else's name
o-shigoto お仕事	someone else's job
go-senmon ご専門	someone else's field of study

There are some cases "o" or "go" does not mean "your." In this case they make the word more polite. Click here to learn more about "o" and "go".

o-cha お茶	tea (Japanese tea)
o-tearai お手洗い	toilet

(2) Addressing People

The title "san (Mr./Mrs./Miss etc.)" is used for both male and female names, and either the family name or the given name. It is a respectful title, so you can not attach it your own name or to the name of one of your family members.

(1) Particles

A particle is a word that shows the relationship of a word, a phrase or a clause to the rest of the sentence. Particles are an important part of Japanese sentence structure. They resemble English prepositions in the way they connect words, but unlike English prepositions, which come before nouns, Japanese particles always come after nouns. Often these particles can not be translated. Click here to learn more about particles.
Wa (topic marker)

The particle "wa" has no English equivalent. It tells you that the noun in front of it is the topic of the sentence. What comes after "wa" is the comment. Literally, "wa" means "as for."

Watashi wa gakusei desu. 私は学生です。

I am a student.

Mo (also)

The particle "mo" means "also," "too," or "as well." It is used in both affirmative and negative sentences.

Anata mo gakusei desu ka. あなたも学生ですか。

Are you a student, too?

No (possessive marker)

The particle "no" indicates possession or attribution and comes after the noun it modifies. It is like the English apostrophe ('s). E.g. Karen's.

Watashi no tomodachi 私の友達	My friend
Kimura-san no senmon 木村さんの専門	Mr. Kimura's field of study

(2) Questions

The particle "ka" is a question marker. The formation of a question in Japanese is easy. Put the particle "ka" at the end of a sentence and it becomes a question. The word order does not change.

Kimura-san wa gakusei desu. 木村さんは学生です。	Mr. Kimura is a student.
Kimura-san wa gakusei desu ka.  木村さんは学生ですか。	Is Mr. Kimura a student?

(1) Nouns 

Japanese nouns have no gender, no singular/plural, and no articles. ("the" and "a" etc.) For example, the word "tomodachi" can be "a friend," "the friend," "friends," or "the friends." Usually the context tells the particular meaning of a word.

(2) ~ desu

"~ desu （～です）" is equivalent to English "am," "are," or "is." Unlike English, it doesn't change its form according to the subject. "~ desu" always comes at the end of a sentence.

Watashi wa gakusei desu. 私は学生です｡	I am a student.
Kochira wa Yamada-san desu. こちらは山田さんです｡	This is Ms. Yamada.
Watashitachi wa tomodachi desu. 私達は友達です｡	We are friends.