Wow ...

Thanks alot for all this lesson ... hehehe ...

*Suddenly I have the thoughts of hijacking your lesson to EE*

can someone teach me how do I say what time it is now?

For example, "It's 9.00am now" ...

Hmm, I forgot. You can say, Ima wa kyu .... desu. Means, I dont remember the exact thing there.

topic pinned. please make good use of it.

it's 9 now,
今九時です。(ima ku ji desu)
note : when stating time kyuu (nine) is said as ku

as for 9.30, half past nine u say,
今九時半です。(ima ku ji han desu) where 半 is the half

asking time,
今何時ですか？(ima nan ji desu ka?)

Lol it's in the next lesson actually.

W00t pinned! Do i win anything? XD

LESSON 7 - Practise
1. How do you say these birthday dates in Japanese? The first one is done for you as an example. Remember the pronounciation for the special dates marked with *.

a. Anne, February 18th
An-san no tanjōbi wa nigatsu jūhachi-nichi desu.

b. Scott, May 11th


c. Tani, August 21st


d. Heidi, November 20th*


e. Takeshi, January 14th*


2. These are the family trees of Scott, Tani and Mr Yamaguchi. Take the place of these characters and describe 'your' family tree as it is given below. The first one is done for you as an example.

a. Mother, father, older sister, younger sister, Anne.
Kazoku wa gonin desu. Haha to chichi to ane to imōto to watashi desu.

b. Mother, father, younger brother, Scott.


c. Mother, older brother, Tani.


d. Mr. Yamaguchi, wife, daughter, son.


This post has been edited by jhcj: Dec 12 2005, 10:51 AM

LESSON 8: Ima nanji desu ka = What time is it?

Introduction
In this lesson you will learn:
- how to tell the time.
- some useful shopping phrases.
- saying this and that.
- opening and closing times.

In previous lessons you learnt that nan is attached to words to make questions e.g. nansai desu ka (how old (what age) are you?). Similarly, when you attach nan to ji you form the question nanji desu ka (what time is it?). To answer, you replace nan with a number, for example goji desu means it is 5 o'clock.

You are also going to use a new word, kudasai which means may I (have). For example, hon o kudasai (may I have the book?).

Vocabulary list
... o kudasai = may i have ... (or '... please')
... o misete kudasai = please may i see ...
kore = this one/these ones
kono = this/these
sore = that one/those ones
sono = that/those
are = that one over there/those ones over there
ano = that over there/those over there
dore = which one(s)
dono = which
ōkii = big
chiisai = small
chōdo ii = just right
chotto = a little, a bit
motto = more
motto chiisai = smaller
irasshaimase = welcome! (said by shop assistants and traders)
shōshō omachi kudasai = please wait a moment (very formal)
dewa (sometimes shortened to ja) = right! (when you've made up your mind)
kara = from
made = until
depāto = department store
sūpā = supermarket
menyū = menu

Sample conversation
Reiko has taken Anne and Emi shopping in a Tokyo department store. Anne needs a new watch.
Assistant: Irasshaimase!
Anne: (points to display in front of assistant) Sono tokei o misete kudasai.
Assistant: Hai, dōzo.
Anne: (tries on watch) Chotto ōkii desu. (points to the window display) Ano tokei mo misete kudasai.
Assistant: Shōshō omachi kudasai. (returns with watch) Dōzo. (Anne tries on watch)
Emi: Sore wa chiisai desu ka.
Anne: Iie, chōdo ii desu.
Emi: Sono tokei wa suteki desu ne.
Anne: So desu ne. Dewa, kore o kudasai.
Assistant: Hai, arigatō gozaimasu.

Later they are having lunch in a coffee shop.
Reiko: An-san, nihongo no kurasu wa nanji desu ka.
Anne: Ni-ji kara desu.
Emi: Ima nanji desu ka.
Anne: (looks proudly at watch) Ichi-ji han desu... Are! Kurasu wa mō sugu desu.
Reiko: An-san! Hayaku!

Extras
suteki = smart, fashionable
mō sugu = soon
hayaku = quick, hurry up

Explanations
1. Irasshaimase Welcome! (May I help you?)
Japanese shop assistants will use very formal phrases when dealing with customers, as seen in the passage above i.e. irasshaimase and shōshō omachi kudasai. You dont have to use these phrases, but you may hear them if you go to Japan.

2. Sono tokei That watch
You will notice two main points about saying this and that in Japanese. Firstly, there are two sets of words. For example, both kore and kono mean this. Think of kore as meaning this one. Anne says Dewa, kore o kudasai (Right! I'll have this (one) please). Kono, on the other hand, is followed directly by the item it describes: kono tokei o kudasai means may i have this watch please. Similarly, sore means that (one) and sono means that. Here are some examples to further illustrate these subtle differences:

- Sore o misete kudasai = Please show me that (one)
Sono hon o misete kudasai = Please show me that book

Also note:
- Are o kudasai = I'll have that (one) over there
Ano tokei o kudasai = I'll have that watch over there

This last example takes us on to the second point. Whereas in English we have two words, this and that, in Japanese there is a third - are (or ano), meaning that one over there. For example: in English you would use this when you are holding onto something, but that when you are pointing towards something which is near you. When using are (or ano), the item in this case is at a distance from the person speaking and the person being spoken to.

To ask which one (which watch?) you say dore (dono tokei)? and this is the same for all three positions.

3. ... o kudasai/... o misete kudasai May I have/may I see ...
These are two useful and easy-to-use Japanese phrases for shopping (and for other situations too). You simply put the object at the beginning of the phrase:
- kōhī o kudasai = may i have some coffee?
- eigo no shimbun o kudasai = may i have an English newspaper?
- shashin o misete kudasai = may i see the photo please?

4. Ima nanji desu ka What time is it (now)?
The times of the day are pronounced as follows:
- ichiji = 1 o'clock
- niji = 2 o'clock
- sanji = 3 o'clock
- yoji = 4 o'clock (note that you use yo, not yon or shi)
- goji = 5 o'clock
- rokuji = 6 o'clock
- shichiji = 7 o'clock (use shichi not nana)
- hachiji = 8 o'clock
- kuji = 9 o'clock (use ku not kyū)
- jūji = 10 o'clock
- jūichiji = 11 o'clock
- jūniji = 12 o'clock

5. Ichiji han desu It's half-past one
Saying half-past is straightforward too; just add han (half-past) after ji. For example: 2:30 = niji han desu, 4:30 = yoji han desu.

6. Niji kara desu (It's) from 2 o'clock
Kara means from (you met this in previous lessons) and made means to/until. They can take on the meaning of starts/opens at and finishes/closes at. For example:
- nihongo no kurasu wa niji kara goji made desu = the japanese class is from 2 o'clock until 5 o'clock.
- depāto wa kuji kara rokuji made desu = the department store opens at 9 and closes at 6.

Kara and made are not just used with the time of day. For example, you can say:
- nigatsu kara rokugatsu made = from February to June (time of year)
- Igirisu kara Nihon made = from England to Japan (place)

7. Gozen/gogo a.m./p.m.
If you want to distinguish between a.m. and p.m. when saying the time, use gozen (a.m.) and gogo (p.m.). These are spoken before the time:
- ima gozen hachiji desu = it's now 8 a.m.
- shigoto wa gogo goji han made desu = my work finishes at 5.30 p.m.

Finally, gogo also means afternoon (after midday):
- Nihongo no kurasu wa gogo desu = the Japanese class is in the afternoon.

--------------------------------------------

LESSON 8 PRACTISE - click me!

This post has been edited by jhcj: Dec 13 2005, 03:39 PM

oops, hope u dont mind, sorry

Nah...it's alright. However, there's a mistake in your explanation though. You don't need a question mark after the word ka (か).

So instead of:
今何時ですか？(ima nan ji desu ka?),

it should just be:
asking time,
今何時ですか(ima nan ji desu ka)

This post has been edited by jhcj: Dec 12 2005, 01:48 PM

LESSON 8 - PRACTISE

1. Say the following times in Japanese:
a. 6pm


b. 8am


c. 10am


d. 11 o'clock


e. 7.30


f. 4.30


2. Look at the timetable below and say what time each class starts and finishes. Example: Rekishi wa kuji kara jūji made desu.

09:00 - 10:00 = History (rekishi)
10:00 - 11:00 = Japanese
11.30 - 12.30 = French
01.30 - 02:30 = English
03:00 - 04:00 = Tennis club (tenisu kurabu)



3. How would you say in Japanese...
a. May I see the menu please?


b. May I have this please?


c. Please show me that watch.


d. May I see that watch over there?


e. Which one?

LESSON 9: Ikura desu ka = How much is it?

Introduction
In this lesson you will learn:
- how to count in units of 100 and 1,000
- how to ask about and say prices of things
- ways of counting objects
- how to ask for something in a shop
- shop names

In this unit you will learn to count in 100s (hyaku) and 1,000s (sen). For example, 400 is yonhyaku and 5,000 is gosen.

Vocabulary list
Take note that some of the numbers may be pronounced slightly differently from what you are used to up till now. For example: 300 = sambyaku not san.

100 = hyaku
200 = nihyaku
300 = sambyaku
400 = yonhyaku
500 = gohyaku
600 = roppyaku
700 = nanahyaku
800 = happyaku
900 = kyūhyaku

1,000 = sen
2,000 = nisen
3,000 = sanzen
4,000 = yonsen
5,000 = gosen
6,000 = rokusen
7,000 = nanasen
8,000 = hassen
9,000 = kyūsen

en = yen (Japanese currency)
ikura desu ka = how much is it?
... ga arimasu ka = do you have ... ?
hon ga arimasu ka = do you have a book?

kyokuin = postmaster/assistant
hagaki = postcard
kitte = stamp(s)
tegami = letter
mai = counter for flat items
hon (pon/bon) = counter for cylindrical items
jū-mai = ten (stamps, tickets, etc.)
ni-hon = two (bottles, pens, etc.)
koko = here (this place)
soko = there (that place)
asoko = over there (that place over there)
kippu = ticket

Sample conversation
Anne has gone to the local post office (yūbinkyoku) to post some letters home.
Anne: Sumimasen, kono tegami wa Igirisu made ikura desu ka.
Kyokuin: (weighs the letter) Nihyaku jū-en desu.
Anne: Ano... hagaki wa Igirisu made ikura desu ka.
Kyokuin: Nanajū go-en desu.
Anne: Ja, nanajū go-en kitte o jū-mai kudasai.
Kyokuin: Hai. Ijō de yoroshii desu ka.
Anne: Ē to, hagaki ga arimasu ka.
Kyokuin: Ē, soko desu...Ichi-mai gojū-en desu.
Anne: Ja, kono hagaki o jū-mai kudasai.
Kyokuin: Arigatō gozaimasu. Zembu de... (he works it out on his abacus) sen yonhyaku rokujū-en desu.

Extras
yūbinkyoku = post office
ijō de yoroshii desu ka = is that all?

Explanations
1. Counting above 100
As you may have noticed, some numbers are pronounced differently when combined with hyaku (100) or sen (1,000):
- 300 (sambyaku)
- 600 (roppyaku)
- 800 (happyaku)
- 3,000 (san zen)
- 8,000 (hassen)

(Note that issen = 1,000 whereas sen = a 1,000 - you can use either.)

There is a further category of number once you reach 10,000. Whereas in English we count in 1,000s until we reach 1 million, the Japanese have another unit called man used for counting in 10,000s. You add the numbers ichi, ni, san, etc. to the word man. For example: ichiman = 10,000 (1 x 10,000) and niman = 20,000 (2 x 10,000). Utilising this category of numbers, the following numbers will be pronounced as:
- 45,000 = yonman, gosen
- 56,500 = goman, rokusen, gohyaku
- 82,450 = hachiman, nisen, yonhyaku, gojū

2. O-kane Money
The yen is the Japanese unit of currency. Here is the range of coins and notes:

coins: ichi-en (1 yen), go-en (5 yen), jū-en (10 yen), gojū-en (50 yen), hyaku-en (100 yen), gohyaku-en (500 yen).
notes: sen-en (1,000 yen), nisen-en (2,000 yen), gosen-en (5,000 yen), ichiman-en (10,000 yen).

3. Hagaki wa Igirisu made ikura desu ka How much is a postcard to England?
You ask how much something is using the phrase ... wa ikura desu ka. For example:
- kitte wa ikura desu ka = how much is a stamp?
- kippu wa ikura desu ka = how much is a ticket?

If you want to state the destination, put made (to) (you met this in the previous lesson) after the name of the city or country. For example:
- kono tegami wa Amerika made ikura desu ka = how much is this letter to the USA?
- kippu wa Kyōto made ikura desu ka = how much is a ticket to Kyoto?

4. Hagaki ga arimasu ka Do you have any postcards?
If you want to enquire whether a shop or person has the thing you are looking for, use the phrase ... ga arimasu ka. For example:
- eigo no shimbun ga arimasu ka = do you have any English newspapers?
- kitte ga arimasu ka = do you have any stamps?

If you want to say that you have or possess something, use ... ga arimasu. For example:
- uchi ga arimasu = i own a house
- o-kane ga arimasu = i have money
- shimbun ga arimasu = i've got a newspaper

5. More about numbers
In the following examples you will notice that two different words are used to say one, and also that it is not enough in Japanese simply to say ichi when talking about numbers of items.

- ichi-mai hyaku-en desu = one (postcard) is 100 yen
- hitotsu sambyaku-en desu = one (coffee, etc.) is 300 yen

There are actually two different ways in Japanese of counting. They shall be referred to as System A and System B from now on.

System A
You have already learnt to count using ichi, ni, san, etc. When you talk about numbers of items you need to attach a special word - called a counter - after the number. In Bahasa Melayu, this is equivalent to a penjodoh bilangan e.g. sekuntum bunga, sebaris orang, etc. In English, the examples of counters that are sometimes used are for example, a loaf of bread, two slices of bread, etc.

In this unit you will learn two counters (out of many others) which are used with ichi, ni, san, etc. Now look at these examples below:
@ mai is a counter for flat objects - stamps, tickets, paper, cards, etc.
- 1 = ichi-mai
- 2 = ni-mai,
- 3 = san-mai, etc.

@ hon (pon, bon) is a counter for long or cylindrical objects - bottles, pens, umbrella, etc.
- 1 = ippon
- 2 = nihon
- 3 = sambon

There are many more special counters in Japanese for counting different groups of items, for example, birds, animals, books, machines. However, the two examples given now is enough at this stage.

System B
The second set of numbers is used for the many items which don't have a special counter. You could use this system for counting any object, even those which have a special 'System A' counter. Although in some cases you might sound a little childish to a Japanese listener, you will be able to make yourself understood.

1 = hitotsu
2 = futatsu
3 = mittsu
4 = yottsu
5 = itsutsu
6 = muttsu
7 = nanatsu
8 = yattsu
9 = kokonotsu
10 = tō

After tō you use jūichi (11), jūni (12), etc., just as you learnt to count in previous lessons.

6. Kitte o jūmai kudasai May I have ten stamps, please?
We learnt ... o kudasai (may i have ...) in the previous lesson. When you want to say an amount you put the number (plus counter if necessary) between o and kudasai. For example:
- kōhī o futatsu kudasai = may i have two coffees, please? (System B)
- bīru o ippon kudasai = may i have a (bottle of) beer, please? (System A)
- bīru o hitotsu kudasai = may i have a beer, please? (System B)
- kitte o gomai kudasai = may i have five stamps, please? (System A)

You could also say:
- kitte o isutsu kudasai = may i have five stamps, please? (System B),

but gomai sounds more sophisticated, as explained in explanation number 5.

7. Nanajūgo-en no kitte o jūmai kudasai May I have 10 x 75 yen stamps, please?
You can add information about the price, using no. You were introduced to the word no before. It is used to show a relationship between two items/people. For example, sensei no hon means the teacher's book. In the examples below, you could think of no as meaning priced, for example:
- hyaku-en no kitte = a 100 yen priced stamp
- nihyaku-en no pen o nihon kudasai = may i have 2 x 200 yen priced pens, please?
- sambyaku-en no aisukuriimu o mittsu kudasai = may i have 3 x 300 yen priced ice-creams, please?

8. Asoko desu It's over there
In previous lessons you learnt the words kore, sore and are for this one, that one, and that one over there (also kono, sono and ano). Similarly, here/this place, there/that place, and over there/that place over there also follow the same pattern using the words koko, soko and asoko. For example:
- koko wa Tōkyō desu = this place is Tokyo
- hagaki wa asoko desu = the postcards are over there

The question word is doko (where) and you will meet this in the coming lessons.

9. Shop names
Ya in Japanese means shop/store, and you add this to the end of words to make shop names. For example:
- hana (flower) + ya = hanaya (florist's)

--------------------------------------------

LESSON 9 PRACTISE - click me!

This post has been edited by jhcj: Dec 21 2005, 09:35 AM

I've noticed that vowels with the macron sign (-) will not appear when it's type out with the [code] tag. >.<''''

Therefore I removed this tag in lesson 7 and 9 so that you can actually read the words.

Funny how no one mentioned about it cause lesson 7's been out for quite some time.

i got a question for lesson 5:
"nan (sometimes nani) = what?"
is this the same as when saying "nanika=something"?

another question:
"watashi no(?) tokoro de" = at my house
is "no" the correct word for the romanji?

watashi mo(?) = me too
is it "mo" or "mok"?

1. Yes. You can use Nan desu ka? or anything related.
2. Yes
3. It's mo.

Nan means what in English, so I'm assuming that if you combine that with the question word ka, you'll end up with Nani ka which means What is it?.

No (の) is a possesive particle, and it is used to show that something belongs to someone/something. So yes, watashi no tokoro de (at my house) is correct.

Mo is correct. It means also in English.

"nan/nani = what", since "what" is already a question, can we still put "ka"?

according to my learning guide, "nanika = something"
it is used for such as: "nanika tabemas = i want/going to eat something"
"nanika tabemasen ka? = won't you eat something?"

so it seem nanika is not nan/nani since it got different meaning, or is it?

Hmm...actually, I dont know.

I think what you meant is nani ga which means something. What is it should be nan ka.

[edited]

This post has been edited by jhcj: Dec 19 2005, 10:43 AM

I'm no expert but you can use nan in a lot of conditions.

Nandato?! - wtf?!
Nan da yo~ - oh! why~

LESSON 9 - PRACTISE

1. Below are some examples of prices of journeys from Tokyo by Japan Railways. Say the destination and prices in Japanese. The first one has been done as an example:
a. Yohohama = 440 yen
Tōkyō kara Yokohama made yonhyaku yonjū-en desu.

b. Narita = 2,890 yen


c. Kyoto = 12,970 yen


d. Nagasaki = 23,510 yen


e. Sapporo = 21,380 yen


2. Ask for the items below as in the example. The counter system to use is in the brackets.
a. Two cups of coffee
Kōhī o futatsu kudasai

b. Three postcards (mai)

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Hagaki o sanmai kudasai.

c. One bottle of beer (hon)

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Bīru o ippon kudasai.

d. Two glasses of milk (miruku) (System B)

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

e. Six pens (hon)

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Pen o roppon kudasai.

f. Three x 200 yen cakes (System B)

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Nihyaku-en no kēki o mittsu kudasai.

g. Two x 1,000 yen tickets (mai)

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Sen-en no kippu o nimai kudasai.

3. How do you say "How much is it to Shinjuku" in Japanese?

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Shinjuku made ikura desu ka.

4. How do you say "Do you have any English newspapers" in Japanese?

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Eigo no shimbun ga arimasu ka.

5. From question 4, if you do have an English newspaper, what do you reply?

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Eigo no shimbun ga arimasu.

6. If you dont have the newspaper, what do you say?


This post has been edited by jhcj: Dec 21 2005, 09:36 AM

The first part of the lessons have already concluded. Before you guys proceed to the next lessons, please make sure that you've really had a decent grasp of what's been covered up to this point.

I suggest that you guys re-read what's been posted up till this point to refresh your memories.

Next lesson will be posted up later today.