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Part 1 Taro is a salesperson
If you want to say someone's occupation, social status, nationality, or
any other position, we say like this.
Examples:
statement |
Japanese |
pronunciation |
Taro is a salesperson. |
太郎さんはセールスマンです。
(たろうさんは せーるすまんです)
|
taro-san wa seerusuman desu. |
Hanako is a teacher. |
花子さんは先生です。
(はなこさんは せんせいです)
|
hanako-san wa sensei desu. |
Tooru is a doctor. |
徹さんは医者です。
(とおるさんは いしゃです)
|
tooru-san wa isha desu. |
Masako is a nurse |
昌子さんは看護士です。
(まさこさんは かんごしです)
|
masako-san wa kangoshi desu. |
Teruo is a student. |
輝雄さんは学生です。
(てるおさんは がくせいです)
|
teruo-san wa gakusei desu. |
Do you see common features among the five examples? Why, yes, They all
have "wa" and "desu" ! Let's extract a basic pattern from them when you say " A is B " in Japanese.
Note; " san ( meaning Mr. or Ms.) " should be added after someone's name, either
first name or last name.
PATTERN (1)
.・・・は・・・です |
< someone > wa < occuption, status, position etc. > desu |
Remember that Japanese has no articles corresponding "the" or
"a". Let's practice using those words which suggest someone and
those words which suggest occupation, etc.
TABLE 1
someone |
Japanese |
pronunciation |
pronoun |
I |
私
(わたし)
|
watashi |
you |
あなた |
anata |
he |
彼
(かれ)
|
kare |
she |
彼女
(かのじょ)
|
kanojo |
human relation |
my mother |
母
(はは)
|
haha |
someone's mother |
お母さん
(おかあさん)
|
okaa-san |
my father |
父
(ちち)
|
chichi |
someone's father |
お父さん
(おとうさん)
|
otoo-san |
a friend of mine |
友だち
(ともだち)
|
tomodachi |
Note; " watash wa, anataha wa, kare wa, kanojo wa " are often omitted when both parties know who it is.
TABLE 2
English |
Japanese |
pronunciation |
occupation |
driver |
運転手
(うんてんしゅ)
|
untenshu |
policeman |
警官
(けいかん)
|
keikan |
salaried man |
サラリーマン
(サラリーマン)
|
sararii-man |
dentist |
歯医者
(はいしゃ)
|
ha-isha |
cook |
コック
(こっく)
|
kokku |
waitress |
ウェイトレス
(うぇいとれす)
|
ueitoresu |
nationality |
a Japanese |
日本人
(にほんじん)
|
nihon-jin |
an American |
アメリカ人
(あめりかじん)
|
amerika-jin |
a Chinese |
中国人
(ちゅうごくじん)
|
chuugoku-jin |
a Korean |
韓国人
(かんこくじん)
|
kankoku-jin |
last name |
- |
鈴木(すずき) |
suzuki |
- |
山田(やまだ) |
yamada |
- |
渡辺(わたなべ) |
watanabe |
- |
高橋(たかはし) |
takahashi |
- |
佐藤(さとう) |
satoo |
first name |
|
昇
(のぼる)
|
|
|
太郎
(たろう)
|
|
|
仁
(ひとし)
|
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Part 2 Who is he ?
Making questions is very simple...just putting " ka " at the end of the sentence. If you want to ask someone what his
name is, you can make a question, " Who is he ? " Let's make
some other questions and answers in " yes " and " no ".
Examples:
conversations |
Japanese |
pronunciation |
Who is he ?
He is Noboru.
|
誰ですか。
(だれですか。)
昇です。
(のぼるです。)
|
( kare wa ) dare desuka ?
( kare wa ) noboru desu.
|
Is he Taroo ?
Yes, he is.
|
太郎さんですか。
(たろうさんですか。)
はい、太郎さんです。
(はい、たろうさんです。)
|
( kare wa ) taroo-san desuka ?
hai, taroo-san desu.
|
Is he HItoshi ?
No, he is not.
|
仁さんですか。
(ひとしさんですか。)
いいえ、仁さんじゃありません。
(いいえ、ひとしさんじゃありません。)
|
( kare wa ) hitoshi-san desuka ?
iie, ( kare wa ) hitoshi-san jya arimasen.
|
When you make questions such as " Who are you ?, Who is he ?, Who
is she ?, Who are they? ", you simply say as;
PATTERN (2)
だれですか。 |
dare desuka |
Note; You are not necessarily supposed to put question marks at the end of the
question. When you ask " donata desuka " instead of " dare desuka", it sounds much more courteous.
When you make questions asking yes or no, and you answer in the affirmative or negative, you simply say like this;
PATTERN (3)
・・・ですか。 |
something or someone > desuka |
***
PATTERN (4)
はい、・・・です。 |
hai, < something or someone > desu |
***
PATTERN (5)
いいえ、・・・じゃありません。 |
iie, < something or someone > jya arimasen |
Let's paractice using words from TABLE 1and 2.
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Part 3 She is Kai from China
When you want to tell someone about where they belong ( nationality, club,
corporation, school, etc. ), we say like this;
Examples:
statement |
Japanese |
pronunciation |
She is Kai from China |
中国のカイさんです。
(ちゅうごくの かいさんです)
|
chuugoku no kai-san desu |
He is Mike, who belongs to a soccur club. |
マイクさんです。サッカークラブのマイクさんです。
(まいくさんです。さっかーくらぶの まいくさんです)
|
maiku-san desu. sakkaa kurabu no maiku-san desu. |
He is Tooru, who works for Matsuyama electrtonics. |
徹さんです。松山電気の徹さんです。
(とおるさんです。まつやまでんきの とおるさんです)
|
tooru-san desu. matsuyama-denki no tooru-san desu. |
Masako is a student.
She is a student of Hokusan university.
|
昌子さんは学生です。北山大学の学生です。
(まさこさんは がくせいです。ほくさんだいがくの がくせいです)
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masako-san wa gakusei desu. hokusan-daigaku no gakusei desu. |
Jane is a teacher.
She teaches at Kita elementary school.
|
ジェーンさんは先生です。北小学校の先生です。
(じぇーんさんは せんせいです。きたしょうがっこうの せんせいです)
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jeen-san wa sensei desu. kita-shoo-gakkoo no sensei desu. |
" no " is a very convenient and versatile word. As you see these five
examples, you simply put " no " just behind the words, which
suggest a group or an organaization to which someone belongs.
PATTERN (6)
・・・の・・・です |
< organization, goup, etc. > no < someone or their status > desu |
Notes; There are many other ways of using " no ". I will tell you later.
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