(1) greetings good morning. ohayoo-gozaimasu.( to your boss ) ohayoo ( to your friend ) good afternoon. konnichiwa.( no matter who) ya-a / do-mo. ( to your friend ) hello. konnichiwa.( no matter who ) ya-a / do-mo. ( to your friend ) good evening. konbanwa. ( no matter who ) good night. oyasumi-nasai.( to your boss ) oyasumi. ( to your friend) goodbye. shitsurei-shimasu ( to your boss ) sayonara./ jaa-ne ( to your friend) ------------------------------------------------------------------ if, in the afternoon, you happen to run into a co-worker somewhere outside the company, say, < xx-san, doomo > when you return to your office during the day, say < tadaima > as for < sayoonara > do not use this with a superior. < shitsurei-shimasu > is more appropriate. ------------------------------------------------------------------ (2) meeting someone for the first time [english] 1. my name is yamada. 2. this is mr. johnson 3. how do you do? 4. how do you do? ------------------------------------------------------------------ [japanese] 1. (watashi-wa) yamada to moo-shi-masu. 2. kochira-wa jonson-san desu. 3. hajime-mashite. doozo yoroshiku (onegai-shimasu). 4. kochira-koso doozo yoroshiku (onegai-shimasu) ----word---- watashi=i moo-shi-masu=my name is kochira=this is hajime-mashite=first time meet to you doozo=please yoroshiku=i'm pleased to meet yo you. kochira-koso=me too. onegai-shimasu=(a polite manner of speaking) ------------------------------------------------------------------ after saying [haiime-mashite] you give your name. for adults it's customary to say just your last name. the usual practice is to bow your head slightly while saying [hajime-mashite]. at first this may be rather difficult, but with practice you will find yourself getting used to it. businessmen will exchange name cards as they introduce themselves in this way. ------------------------------------------------------------------ (3) thank you [english] 1. thank you for your letter. 2. thank you for calling me. 3. thank you for your reply. 4. thank you for inviting me. 5. thank you for helping me. ------------------------------------------------------------------ [japanese] 1. to your boss = tegami arigatoo-gozaimashita. to your friend = tegami arigatoo. 2. to your boss = denwa arigatoo-gozaimashita. to your friend = denwa arigatoo. 3. to your boss = henji arigatoo-gozaimashita. to your friend = henji arigatoo. 4. to your boss = shootai arigatoo-gozaimashita. to your friend = shootai arigatoo. 5. to your boss = tetsudai arigatoo-gozaimashita. to your friend = tetsudai arigatoo. ----word---- gozaimashita=(a polite manner of speaking) letter=tegami calling=denwa / call=denwa-suru reply=henji /(v) henji-suru inviting=shootai / invite=shootai-suru helping=tetsudai / help=tetsudau ------------------------------------------------------------------ [arigato-gozaimashita] js in the past tense. when you want to show that you are feeling gratitude right now; say [arigato-gozaimasu]. when served coffee at someone's house, some people will say [arigatoo-gozaimasu] and some will say [sumimasen]. [sumimasen] means "i'm sorry". both phrases express gratitude. some foreigners may wonder why japanese, in order to show gratitude, apologize. the reason for this is the feeling that they have made someone take the trouble to do something for their sake. ------------------------------------------------------------------ (4) i like = suki(suki-desu) i like bread. pan-ga suki-desu. l like rice. okome-ga suki-desu. i like fish. sakana-ga suki-desu. i like eggs. tamago-ga suki-desu. i like beef. gyuu-niku-ga suki-desu. i like pork. buta-niku-ga suki-desu. i like chicken. tori-niku-ga suki-desu. i like ham. hamu-ga suki-desu. i like cheese. chiizu-ga suki-desu. i like bacon. bee-kon-ga suki-desu. i like fruits. kuda-mono-ga suki-desu. i like tomatoes. tomato-ga suki-desu. i like apples. ringo-ga suki-desu. i like bananas. banana-ga suki-desu. i like sweets. amai-mono-ga suki-desu. i like cake. kee-ki-ga suki-desu. i like chocolate. chokoreeto-ga suki-desu. i like ice cream. aisu-kurimu-ga suki-desu. ------------------------------------------------------------------ (5) i like = suki(suki-desu) i like beer. biiru-ga suki-desu, i like whiskey. uisukii-ga suki-desu. i like coke. koora-ga suki-desu. i like sake. o-sake(nihonshu)-ga suki-desu. i like green tea. ocha-ga suki-desu. i like coffee. koohii-ga suki-desu. i really like it (them). kore-wa suki-desu. i love this food. kore-wa daisuki-desu. |