![]() Today, for this reason, most Kanji (Chinese characters) have an onyomi (Chinese prounciation) and a kunyomi (Japanese pronuncation) that are elicited depending on the use of the character in a word. ![]() Nonetheless, Kango, which are words of Chinese origin do underpin roughly 60% of dictionary entries today, despite not driving active use. ![]() | Source: Unsplash - Marek PiwnickiĪs you can probably recognise from the Japanese characters and alphabet*, there is similarity to Mandarin due to its origins in China, but Japanese is actually closer to Korean in vocabulary, grammar, and function. Beyond initial Chinese influence, little is known about the origins of the Japanese language. What is exciting about the Japanese language is that it's a relative mystery before the 8th century AD. NB: To get to grips with the use and frequency of casual, polite, and formal word forms that you will use every day, such as kudasai and onegaishimasu (varying forms of please), see our other article to find out about basic level greeting and daily use words that people constantly utilise, in order to train your Japanese before travelling to Tokyo or elsewhere. Thanks to this, you will be able to tell how casual, polite, or formal you need to be when you reply to an email, order a meal, excuse yourself, or when to reply to a greeting with arigatou gozaimasu (thank you very much). Superprof is here to talk you through some good phrases to know in Japanese and some ways you can train these while you learn, and also seeks to give some background to help you understand why the Japanese language functions the way it does. Likewise, before you start to download lengthy texts or try to send an email in Japanese, even if you feel you have spent a good amount of time learning about its nuances in your free time, it will be well worth your while to get some help from someone who is familiar with both the English language and the Japanese language in order to understand how the grammar and word order can influence the nuance of the language, and likewise how phrases should be used. Key words and phrases are the first steps towards conversation in Japan. We have brought your attention to this first and foremost so that you don't miss the meaning of a phrase for its syntax, and you will be able to become more well acquainted with more of the language if you only possess a basic level and are wanting to come to grips with some everyday phrases.ĭay to day, you will find that people will acknowledge your learning in Japanese but it can take time to really start to understand everything that you read, let alone engage in deep conversation with others. The verb that you can see in each example above is " desu", which does not conjugate except for in the past, and is the equivalent of English " be/am/is/are".Īs soon as you start to speak, read, write, engage in conversation and social interactions in Japan, it will become obvious how such particles indicate how casual, polite, or formal you want to be and may indicate how you understand and craft your reply as you travel around Tokyo or other parts of Japan ( どこに旅行したいですか?- Doko ni ryokou shitai desu ka? - see the verb and particle in the previous sentence.) Typically the verb is the last thing in the sentence, but do pay attention to where the particles go throughout. ![]() This is quite rigid and requires the verb to go at the end of the phrase or clause which terminates with a particle ( か in the above question word phrases) which often qualifies meaning yet has strict grammatical qualities. Probably the first grammar point you will learn in beginner level or basic Japanese is word order in the sentence. ![]() Some key Japanese phrases that would be good for you to know, speak, write and understand in their own right when in Japan, but can you identify where the verb is in each phrase? 私はXです - Watashi wa X desu - I am X (my name is X) トイレはどこですか - Toire wa doko desu ka? - Where is the toilet? これは何ですか - Kore wa nan desu ka? - What is this? ![]()
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