Japanese · JLPT Band 1 (N5) · Chapter 3
わたしは がくせいですI'm a student
The first grammar! With "N wa N desu" you can introduce yourself. は is read "wa" — the most common reading mistake. も means "also". You also learn the や, ら, わ rows and ん.
Dialogue
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はじめまして— Nice to Meet You
- Yukiはじめまして。わたしはゆきです。Nice to meet you. I'm Yuki.
- Mikeはじめまして。わたしはマイクです。Nice to meet you. I'm Mike.
- Yukiマイクさん、どうも!Mike, hi!
Dialogue
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わたしも— Me Too
- Kenわたしはけんです。あなたは?I'm Ken. And you?
- Mikeわたしはマイクです。I'm Mike.
- Kenマイクさんもともだちです。Mike is a friend too.
- Mikeわたしも!ともだちです。Me too! We're friends.
Vocabulary
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- わたし
pronounI, me
- あなた
pronounyou
- なまえ
nounname
- です
cop.to be (copula)
- は
particle(topic particle, read "wa")
- ひと
nounperson
- ともだち
nounfriend
- さん
suf.Mr./Ms. (name suffix)
- はじめまして
phr.nice to meet you
- なに
pronounwhat
- も
particlealso, too
Grammar
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N wa N desu (+ mo)
Explanation
"A wa B desu" = "A is B". は (written "ha", read "wa") marks the topic; です is the polite copula, always at the end. も replaces は to mean "also": A mo B desu = "A is also B". Japanese is SOV — the verb comes last.
Examples
- わたしは ゆきです。I'm Yuki.
- ゆきさんは ともだちです。Yuki is a friend.
- マイクさんもともだちです。Mike is also a friend. (も = also)
- わたしは がくせいです。I'm a student. (がくせい = student, detailed in ch4)
Kana
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ひらがな: や・ら・わ ぎょうと は="wa"— Hiragana: や/ら/わ Rows and は = "wa"
The remaining rows. を is a particle ("o"), used in Book 2. ん is the only consonant-only kana.
- や ゆ よya yu yoや-row — only three
- ら り る れ ろra ri ru re roら-row — a light tap, between r and l
- わ を んwa wo nを = particle "o" (Book 2); ん = final "n"
は is normally "ha", but ONLY as the topic particle it is "wa". Likewise へ (particle = "e") and を (particle = "o"). For now, just remember は.
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