JapanesePod101.com Blog

As you learn more about Japanese culture, we are sure that you will want to learn even more Japanese words and phrases! The way to experience Japan at its fullest is being able to communicate and make the best of your stay in this fascinating country. But sometimes we feel that time is short! However, did you know that you can use Japanese to learn more Japanese?  of course, you can ask for help, in Japanese!
Remember to be polite at all times and use:

すみません。 (  Sumimasen  )
“excuse me.”

We often use it to try to politely get someone’s attention if we are about to say something or ask a question.

「 word 」 は日本語で何ですか。 (  [ word ] wa Nihon-go de nan desu ka? )
“How do you say (word) in Japanese?”

You can use this phrase when you don’t know what something is called in Japanese.
If you wish, in the blank you can point and say kore wa (これは, “this”). don’t hesitate to use the ‘pointing system’, as it will help you until you have increased your vocabulary.
If someone uses a Japanese word you dont know, you can ask:
英語で何ですか。 (  Eigo de nan desu ka? )
“what is it in English?”

お 願いします。 (  Onegai shimasu. )
“Please.”

Onegai shimasu is a phrase that means “please.” You can use this phrase when you are asking for something or asking someone to do something for you.

Also, you can pair the following two phrases with onegai shimasu to ask aomeone to repeat something.

もう一度  (  Mo ichi-do  )
“one more time”

as well as:
ゆっ くり   (  Yukkuri  )
“Slowly”

Use Japanese to learn more Japanese words as well getting used to communicating in Japanese as much as possible. Remember that practice is fundamental as you learn, and it will Help you create not only fun memories, but maybe might start the beginning of an awesome friendship!

You may have noticed that Japanese sentences’ word order are different from English. Yet, although it may sound odd to say “I Marge am”, don’t be discouraged about it, it is just a matter of learning Japanese sentence structure and soon it will become second nature. Remember that to Nihon-jin our word order for “My name is Marge” must be strange too!

What is Nihon-jin? Nihon-jin is the way to say “Japanese person”.
in Japanese, to express nationality, you add the word for person, jin （ 人 ）to the name of a country. Let’s take a look at some examples.

日本 (Nihon)  +  人 (jin )= 日本人  “Japanese person”

in the same way:

ア メリカ (Amerika) +  人 (jin )=  アメリカ人 (Amerika-jin)  “American person”

イギリス (Igirisu)  + 人 (jin )=  イギリス人  (Igirisu-jin)   “English person”

in total, you can say:
（私は）アメリカ人です。
 (Watashi wa) amerika-jin desu.
 I’m American.

Note that when talking about yourself, it is not necessary to say “watashi wa”, as it is implied that you are talking about your own nationality in this case.

Easy enough? Talking Japanese step by step you will realize that although the grammar and structure might seem different, it makes sense in its own way.  now that you know some basic introduction and important ice-breaking introductions, go ahead and take that trip confidently! It only gets more interesting from here!