Practice

Watashi wa Tanaka desu. : I am Tanaka.
Watashi no namae wa Tanaka desu. : My name is Tanaka.

Kanojo wa Youko desu. : She is Yoko.
Kanojo no namae wa Youko desu. : Her name is Youko.

Kare wa Suzuki san desu. : He is Mr. Suzuki.
Kare no namae wa Suzuki desu. : His name is Suzuki.

Anata no namae wa nan desuka . : What is your name ?
Anata wa nan toiu namae desuka . : What is your name ? (What name do you have?)
Anata wa dare desuka ? : Who are you ?

Kare no namae wa nan desuka. : What is his name?
Kanojo no namae wa nan desuka.: What is her name?

Kare wa dare desuka . : Who is he ?
Kanojo wa dare desuka. : Who is she ?

Kore wa nan desuka . : What is this ?
Are wa nan neduka . : What is that ?
Sore wa nan desuka. : What is it ?

Practice : There is / are . . .

Shounen ga imasu. : There is a boy.
shounen : boy
iru : there is / are...
(i-nai, i-masu, iru, iru-toki , ire-ba, iro ,iyou, ita)

Shoujo ga imasu. : There is a girl.
shoujo : girl

Otokonohito ga imasu : There is a man.
otoko : male
hito : man , human
eg. onnanohito : lady, woman

Niwatori ga imasu. : There is a hen.
niwatori : hen / chicken

Teeburu ga arimasu : There is a table
teeburu : table
aru : there is / are
(nai, ari-masu, aru, aru-toki, are-ba, are, (arou), atta)

Isu ga arimasu. : There is a chair.
isu : chair

Enpitsu ga arimasu : There is a pencil.
enpitsu : pencil

Pen ga arimasu. : There is a pen.
pen : pen (same!)

If you say " There is / are ..." for animals including human, "iru" is used. For "thing", "aru" is used.

Come whenever you like.

Itsudemo anata ga sukina toki ni kinasai. : Come whenever you like.
itsudemo : any time, whenever
anata : you
sukina : favorite
sukina toki : favorite time
toki : time
ni : at, in
kinasai : come (imperative)
Itsudemo anata ga sukina toki ni kinasai : anytime, you, like/favorite, time, at , come : Come whenever you like.

points;
...demo : any...

for example
nandemo : whatever
nan/nani : what, anything

daredemo : whoever
dare : who, anyone

dokodemo : wherever
doko : where, any place

Itsudemo (sentence(subject)+(predicate)) toki : the sentence modifies "toki" and "toki(time)" modifies "itsudemo"

Itsudemo (anata ga(you))+(sukina(like)) toki : any time , you like, time : any time you like.
If you put "ni (at)" at the end of above sentence,
Itsudemo (anata ga(you))+(sukina(like)) toki ni : means " at any time you like".

You can also use this "...demo" sentence like this;
Itsudemo daijoubu desu. : It's OK at anytime.
daijoubu desu : It's OK.

Daredemo daijoubu desu. : Anyone is OK.

Dokodemo daijoubu desu : Any place is OK.

Because I'm hungry.

Onaka ga suita node nanika tabetai. : I want to eat something because I'm hungry.
onaka : stomach, belly, abdomen
suku : become empty (vacant)
onaka ga suku : become hungry
(suka-nai, suki-masu, suku, suku-toki, suke-ba, suke, sukou, suita)
node : so, because
nanika : something
taberu : eat
(tabe-nai, tabe-masu, taberu, taberu-toki, tabere-ba,tabero, tabeyou, tabeta)
suru : do
(shi-nai, shi-masu, suru, suru-toki, sure-ba, shiro, shiyou, shita)
shi-tai : want to do
tabetai : taberu+shitai : want to eat
Onaka ga suita node nanika tabetai. : stomach, became hungry, so, something, want to eat : I want to eat something because I'm hungry.

You should return the money.

Sono okane o kaesubekida. : You should return the money.
sono : that, the
okane : money
kaesu : return
(kaesa-nai, keshi-masu, kaesu, kaesu-toki, kaese-ba, kaese, kaesou, kaeshita)
verb+beki : should verb
Sono okane o kaesubekida. : that(the),money,return should. : You should return the money.

Kono hon o yomubekida. : You should read this book.
kono : this
hon : book
yomu : read
(yoma-nai, yomi-masu, yomu, yomu-toki, yome-ba, yome, yomou, yonda)
yomubeki : should read
Kono hon o yomubekida. : this, book, read should,: You should read this book.

I'm good at speaking Japanese.

Watashi wa Nihongo ga tokuidesu. : I'm good at speaking Japanese.
Nihongo : Japanese(language)
tokui : be good at
...ga tokui : be good at...
Watashi wa Nihongo ga tokui desu.: I, Japanese, good at : I'm good at Japanese.

futokui : be not good at,be bad at
Watashi wa Nihongo ga futokuidesu. : I'm bad at Japanese.

Watashi wa kuruma no unten ga tokuidesu. : I'm good at driving a car.
kuruma : car
unten : driving
kuruma no unten : driving a car
Watashi wa kuruma no unten ga tokui desu. : I, car, driving, good at. : I'm good at driving a car.

Watashi wa tenisu ga tokuidesu. : I'm good at playing tennis.
tenisu : tennis
Watashi wa tenisu ga tokuidesu : I, tennis, good at : I'm good at playing tennis.

Watashi wa Nihongo ga amari tokui dewa arimasen.: I'm not good at Japanese very much.
amari ...arimasen / nai : not...very much
tokui dewa arimasen : not good at
Watashi wa Nihongo ga amari tokui dewa arimasen. : I'm not good at Japanese very much.

There is a book on the desk.

Tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu. : There is a book on the desk.
tsukue : desk
ue : on, above, up
ni : at
...no ue ni : on ...
hon : book
aru : be-verb, exist
(nai, ari-masu, aru, aru-toki, are-ba, are, arou, atta)
Tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu. : desk, on, book, exist : There is a desk on the desk.

Mondai ga arimasu. : There is a problem.
mondai : problem , question,
Mondai ga arimasu. : problem, exist(is) : There is a problem.

Toshokan niwa takusan no hon ga arimasu.: There are many books in a library.
toshokan : library
niwa : at
takusan : many
takusan no hon : many books
Toshokan niwa takusan no hon ga arimasu. : library, at, many, book, exist(are): There are many books in a library.

Eat and drink

Watashi wa paatii de tabetari nondari shimashita.: I ate and drank at the party.
paatii : party
taberu : eat
(tabe-nai, tabe-masu, taberu, taberu-toki, tabere-ba, tabero, tabeyou, tabeta)
nomu : drink
(noma-nai, nomi-masu, nomu, nomu-toki, nome-ba, nome, nomou, nonda)
...dari...dari : (verb) and (verb) , this structure have a nuance that " do this and also do that".
nondari : euphonic change of "nomi" of "-masu pattern" +dari
suru : do
(shi-nai, shi-masu, suru, suru-toki, sure-ba, shiro, shiyou, shita)
shimasu : do (polite) : shi(-masu pattern of "suru")+masu
mashita : past type of "masu"
Watashi wa paatii de tabetari nondari shimashita : I, party, at eat, drink, do: I ate and drank at the party.

kaitari yondari : write and read
kaku : write
(kaka-nai, kaki-masu, kaku, kaku-toki, kake-ba, kake, kakou, kaita)
kaitari : kaki+tari
tari : same with "dari". It depends on the verb whether " dari " or " tari " should be used.
yomu : read
(yoma-nai, yomi-masu, yomu, yomu-toki, yome-ba, yome, yomou, yonda)

naitari warattari : cry and laugh
naku : cry
(naka-nai, naki-masu, naku, naku-toki, nake-ba , nake, nakou, naita)
naitari : "naki" of "naki-masu" with euphonic change + tari
warau : laugh
(warawa-nai, warai-masu, warau, warau-toki, warae-ba, warae, waraou, waratta)
warattari : warai+tari

She looked happy.

Kanojo wa shiawase soudatta.: She looked happy.
kanojo : she
shiawase : happy, happiness
souda : look, it looks, they say
soudatta : looked, it looked, the said

Kanojo wa shiawase soudatta : shi, happy, looked : She looked happy.

Kanojo wa shiawase souda : She looks happy.

Sengetsu kanojo ni attatoki, kanojo wa fushiawase soudatta.:When I saw her last month, she looked unhappy.
sengetsu : last month
ni : to, with
au : see, meet
(awa-nai, ai-masu, au, au-toki,ae-ba,aou,atta)
atta-toki : When (I) saw/met
fushiawase : unhappy
Sengetsu kanojo ni attatoki : last month,her,with,saw when : When (I) saw/met her

Would you mind opening the window?

Mado o aketemo yoroshii desuka. : Would you mind opening the window ?
mado : window
akeru : open
(ake-nai, ake-masu,akeru,akeru-toki,akereba,akero,akeyou,aketa)
yoroshii : good, ok
desuka : ?

mado o akeru : open the window

(verb(-masu pattern))-temo yoroshii. : verb-ing is good
(verb(-masu pattern))-temo yoroshii desuka. : Is it good (OK) verb-ing?

Mado o aketemo yoroshii desuka : window, opening, good , ? : Would you mind opening the window?

Denwa o karitemo yoroshii desuka : telephone, borrow, good,? : Can I use the telephone?
kariru : borrow, use something which is no mine
(kari-nai, kari-masu, kariru,kariru-toki,karre-ba,kariro,kariyou,karita)

okarisuru : very polite word of "kariru"
o : a prefix to make the word polite
suru : do
o+kariru+suru : okarisuru

Denwa o okarishitemo yoroshii desuka : May I use the telephone ?

In spite of "kariru",you can use "tsukau" as "use".
tsukau : use
(tsukawa-nai,tsukai-masu,tsukau,tsukau-toki,tsukae-ba,tsukae,tsukaou,tsukatta)
When "tsukau" is attached with "-temo", euphonic change is needed.

tsukattemo : tsukai-temo

Denwa o tsukattemo yoroshii desuka. : Can I use the telephone ?

suwaru : sit down
(suwara-nai,suwari-masu,suwaru,suwaru-toki,suware-ba,suware,suwarou,suwatta)
Suwattemo yoroshii desuka : Can I sit down?
suwattemo : suwari-temo

tatsu : stand up
(tata-nai,tachi-masu,tatsu,tatsu-toki,tate-ba,tate,tatou,tatta)
Tattemo yoroshii desuka : Can I stand up ?
tattemo : tachi-temo

Where are you from?

Dochira kara desuka . : Where are you from?
dochira : where
kara : from
desuka : is?
Dochira kara desuka : where,from,is? : Where are you from?

Dochira kara kimashitaka: Where did you come from?
kuru : come
(ko-nai,ki-masu,kuru,kuru-toki,kure-ba,koi,koyou,kita)
kimashita : came (past pattern of "ki-masu")
kimashita+ka : "ka" makes the word interrogative.
Dochira kara kimashitaka.: where, from, came? : Where did you come from?

Don't do it.

Suruna : Don't do it.
suru : do
(shi-nai,shi-masu,suru,suru-toki,sure-ba,shiro,shiyou,shita)
suru+na : don't do (imperative)
shi-nai + de : don't do (imperative)

PatternC of verb conjugation + "na" means negative imperative sentence.
And patternA of verb conjugation +"nai"+"de" means same.

Miruna : Don't look.
miru : see, look, watch
(mi-nai,mi-masu,miru,miru-toki,mire-ba,miro,miyou,mita)
miru+na : don't look,don't watch
mi-nai+de : don't look, don't watch

"+na" pattern is very strong phrase.
If you want to say more politely, "kudasai" should be added after "-nai+de" pattern.

Minaide kudasai. : Don't look please.
Shinaide kudasai : Don't do (it) please.

In the case that the object word is needed, the object word is put at top of the sentense.

Watashi o minaide kudasai. : me, don't look ,please : Don't look at me ,please.
Hon o yomanaide kudasai. : book , don't read,please : Don't read a book, please.

conjunction ; but

ga/shikashi / shikashinagara : but
demo / kedo : but

"shikashi" means "but".
In our usual conversation (colloquial),"demo" is usually used istead of "shikashi/ shikashinagara".
"shikashi" is rather offcial.

Tsurai kedo arukanakerebanaranai : It is hard but I have to walk.
Tsurai . Demo arukanakerebanaranai : It is hard. But I have to walk.
Tsurai . Kedo arukanakerebanaranai : It is hard. But I have to walk.
tsurai : hard
aruku : walk
(aruka-nai,aruki-masu,aruku,aruku-toki,aruke-ba,aruke,arukou,aruita)
-shinakerebanaranai : have to , must
arukanakerebanaranai : have to walk, must walk

"demo" is usually put at the begining but middle of the sentence.

"shikashi" and " shikashinagara" should be put at the begining of the sentence not in the middle.
"ga" can be put in the middle.

Watashi wa totemo tsukareteiru.Shikashi hatarakanakerebanaranai. : I'm very tired. But I have to work.
Watashi wa totemo tsukareteiru ga hatarakanakerebanaranai. : I'm very tired but I have to work.
totemo : very
tsukareteiru : be tired
hataraku : work
(hataraka-nai,hataraki-masu,hataraku,hataraku-toki,hatarake-ba,hatarake,hatarakou,hataraita)
hatarakanakerebanaranai: have to work / must work

conjunction ; and, or

We use ,in a sentence, conjunction words to connect word and word, sentence and sentence and so on.

1.noun and noun
to : and
ka / aruiwa: or
koohii to ocha : coffee and tea
koohii : coffee
ocha : tea
anata to watashi : you and I
anata ka watashi : you or I

2.sentence and sentence
soshite / sorede : and
ka / aruiwa : or
Anata ga kita. Soshite watashi wa itta: You came. And I went.
Anata ga itta. Aruiwa kare ga itta. : You went. Or he went.
iku: go
(ika-nai,iki-masu,iku,iku-toki,ike-ba,ike,ikou,itta)

3.verb and verb
In connecting verb and verb, the verb should be conjugated.
Itte miru : Go and see.
iku : go
(ika-nai,iki-masu,iku,iku-toki,ike-ba,ike,ikou,itta)
itte : euphonic change of "iki"(iki-masu)+te : iki -te : go and
Kaite yomu : write and read
kaku : write
(kaka-nai,kaki-masu,kaku,kaku-toki,kake-ba,kake,kakou,kaita)
kaite : euphonic change of "kaki"(kaki-masu)+te : kaki-te : write and

If you forgot to make euphonic change and say " kakite miru", it is not wrong but old Japanese which samurai used.

Totte nageru : Catch and throw
toru : catch
(tora-nai, tori-masu,toru,toru-toki,tore-ba,tore,torou,totta)
totte : tori+te : catch and
nageru : throw
(nage-nai,nage-masu,nageru,nageru-toki,nagere-ba,nagero,nageyou,nageta)

Nagete toru : Throw and catch
nagete : nage-te : catch and
(Above case, there is no euphonic change)

This is not what I ordered.

Kore wa watashi ga chuumonshita mono dewa arimasen. : This is not what I ordered.
kore : this
watashi : I
chuumon : order(noun)
suru : do
(shi-nai,shi-masu,suru,suru-toki,sure-ba,shi-ro,shiyou,shita)
chuumonsuru : order(verb)
mono : thing
arimasu : is / are
arimasen : is not / are not
...dewa arimasen : is not..../ are not....

Watashi ga chuumonshita : I ordered.
watashi ga chuumonshita mono : what I ordered, a thing which I ordered
Kore wa watashi ga chuumonshita mono dewa arimasen. : this,I,ordered,thing,not : This is not what I ordered.

How old are you?

Phrases below are asking your age.

Toshi wa ikutsu desuka.
toshi : year, age
ikutsu : how many, how old
desu : is
ka : makes the sentence interrogative with being attached at the end of the sentence
Toshi wa ikutsu desuka : age, how many, is ? : How old are you ?

Anata wa nansai desuka .
anata : you
nan : what
sai : years old
nansai : how old
Anata wa nansai desuka : you, how old, is ? : How old are you?

Anata no nenrei wa ikutsu desuka .
nenrei : age
Anata no nenrei wa ikutsu desuka. : your age, how many, is? : What is your age?

What is your name ?

In English , there are several phrases to ask your name ,like
What is your name?, May I have your name,please and so on.

All the phrases below are sentences which ask your name.

Anatano namae wa nan desuka ? : your ,name, what,is,? : What is your name?
no : makes possessive case, A no B : A's B
anata : you
anatano : your
namae : name
nan / nani : what
desu : is / are : "desu" makes the sentence end with affirmation.
ka : "?" : "ka" makes the sentence interrogative

Onamae wa ? : Your name?
o- : makes the word polite

Onamae wa nan to osshaimasuka . : May I have your name?
ossharu : say(polite)
(osshara-nai,osshari-masu,ossharu,ossharu-toki,osshareba,(osshare),(ossharou),osshatta)
onamae wa nan to osshaimasuka : name, what,say : May I have your name?

Dochirasama desuka. : Who are you?
dochira : which
sama / san : is usually attached to a name like "Mr" or "Mrs".
eg ; Tanaka sama : Mr/Ms Tanaka

Donata desuka. : Who are you?
donata: who(polite)

Dare desuka. : Who are you?
dare : who

Where are you going to stay?

Dochira ni taizai saremasuka? : Where are you going to stay?
dochira : which
ni : at
taizai : stay
sareru : do (polite and admiring to a person to talk to, "sareru" can not be used for a speaker)
(sare-nai,sare-masu,sareru,sareru-toki,sarere-ba,(sarero),(sareyou),sareta)

"Dochira" literally means "which".
You can think that "no hoteru" is omitted .
Dochira (no hoteru) ni taizai saremasuka?: Which hotel are you going to stay at ?
hoteru : hotel
no : is connecting "dochira" and a noun which comes after it.
dochira no hotel : which hotel

Dochira ni irasshaimasuka ? : Where are you going?
irassharu : go (polite and admiring to a person to talk to)
(irasshara-nai,irasshari-masu,irassharu,irassharu-toki,irasshare-ba,(irasshare),(irassharou),irasshatta)

Dochira ni osumai desuka? : Where are you living?/ Whre do you live?
osumai : to be living, live

"Dochira" used for asking a place is very polite word.

Below are examples in which "dochira" are used as just "which".
Dochira ga yoi desuka ? : Which is good?
yoi : good
Dochira ga suki desuka ? : Which do you like?
suki : like, love

If you could hear the word "dochira" in the conversation, you may know "dochira" is used for a place or just as "which" in the context of the conversation.

How long are you going to stay in Japan?

Donokurai Nippon ni taizai shimasuka . : How long are you going to stay in Japan?
donokurai / dorekurai : how long, how much, how many, how far
dono : literally means "which"
kurai : grade,degree,
Nippon / Nihon : Japan
ni : at, in, to
taizai : stay(noun)
taizai suru : stay (verb)
suru : do
(shi-nai,shi-masu,suru,suru-toki,sure-ba,shiro,shiyou,shita)

"donokurai" is used for asking quantity, distance,degree,grade and so on in an interrogative sentence.
To be precise, some other explanatory word should be added to "donokurai", but in our colloquial that kind of explanatory words are usually omitted.

In above case, "donokurai" is questioning period you stay(days/months / years).
So "Donokurai no nissuu" Nippon ni taizai shimasuka" is also correct.
nissuu : the number of days
no : in terms of
Donokurai (no nissuu) Nippon ni taizai shimasuka : how,in terms of days, Japan, in, stay, do you: How long are you going to stay in Japan?

Koko kara toshin made wa donokurai desuka : How far is it from here to downtown?
koko : hire
kara : from
toshin : downtown
made : to, upto
donokurai : how far, how much

Koko kara toshin made wa donokurai (no jikan) desuka : here, from, downtown, to , how far, is? : How far is it from here to downtown.
jikan : time

Koko kara toshin made wa donokurai (no jikan) kakarimasuka : How long will it take to get downtown from here?
kakaru : take(time)
(kakara-nai,kakari-masu,kakaru,kakaru-toki,kakare-ba,kakare,kakarou,kakatta)
Koko kara toshin made wa donokurai kakarimasuka : here,from,downtown,to,how long,take?: How long will it take to get downtown from here?

"donokurai no jikan " can be substituted for " donokurai jikan ga".
Koko kara toshin made wa donokurai jikan ga kakarimasuka : How long will it take to get downtown from here?

making passive voice

Kono hon wa ookuno hito ni yomareteimasu : This book is read by many people
kono : this
hon : book
ooi :(adjective) many, much,
ookuno: "ooku"is stem,"no" connects the adjective with noun
hito : person, people,human
ookuno hito : many people
ni : by
yomu : read
(yoma-nai,yomi-masu,yomu,yomu-toki,yome-ba,yome,yomou,yonda)
reru/rareru : is attached form a of verb-conjugation and makes it passive voice
yoma+reru : is read

Kono hon wa ookuno hito ni yomareru : this, book, many people, by , is read.:This book is read by many people.

shiteiru : literaly means "is / are doing". Sometimes "shiteiru" describes not only the action but also situation
When "shiteiru" attached to verb, the verb should be form b (-masu form).
And sometimes verb should be with euphonic change.

yomu +shiteiru : yomi+ -teiru : yondeiru : is reading

yomu+rareru+shiteiru : yomareteiru : is been read, is read

and , lastly, "masu" is attached and the sentense becomes polite.

yomareteiru+masu : yomareteimasu. : is read

Kono hon wa ookuno hito ni yomareteimasu : This book is read by many people.

For example, let us try with "miru(see)".

miru: see, look,watch
(mi-nai, mi-masu, miru, miru-toki, mire-ba, miro, miyou,mita)

miru+rareru : mirareru
mirareru+shiteiru : mirareteiru
mirareteiru : mirareteimasu.

Anata wa dareka ni mirareteimasu : You are watched by someone

dareka : someone
ni : by

About "verb conjugation"

A verb consists of a stem and auxiliary verb / particle.
A stem of a verb should be changed depending on its meaning in the sentense.
Basically "verbs" have 6 forms of conjugation.

a : Imperfective form (mizenkei) : to be attached with ,for example, negative auxiliary "nai"
b : Continuative form(ren'youkei) : to be attached with, for example,polite auxiliary " masu"
c : Terminal form (shuushikei) : to be used at the end of the sentense.plain form. dictionary form
d : Attributive form (rentaikei) : to be attached with mainly a noun,for example, "toki"(when)
e : Hypothetical form (kateikei) : to be used for conditional foms with " reba/ eba".
f : Imperative form (meireikei) : to be used to make verbs be commands.

It is not important to know grammatical terms mentioned above, but when you learn a verb, you'd better see all the conjugation forms of the verb.

I give you an instance the case of "kaku"(:write)
form a :kaka(stem): kaka-nai : do not write
form b : kaki(stem):kaki-masu : write (polite)
form c : kaku(stem):kaku :write(plain)
form d : kaku(stem):kaku-toki : write,when : when you write
form e : kake (stem): kake-ba : write,if : if you write
form f : kake(stem): kake : write : (You) Write.

Sometimes we can see additional form g.
form g : kakou : let's write.

Moreover, in the case of past tense, "ta" / "da" / "ita"/"datta" and etc would be attaced to form b,but you should learn them as another form h.

e.g.
kaku :write
(kaka-nai, kaki-masu, kaku,kaku-toki,kake-ba,kake,kakou,kaita)
miru : look, see
(mi-nai,mi-masu,miru,miru-toki,mire-ba,miro,miyou,mita)
yomu : read
(yoma-nai,yomi-masu,yomu,yomu-toki,yome-ba,yome,yomou,yonda)
hashiru : run
(hashira-nai,hashiri-masu,hashiru,hashiru-toki,hashire-ba,hashire,hashirou,hashitta)

I have to go.

Watashi wa ikanakerebanaranai. : I have to go.
watashi : I
iku : go
(ika-nai,iki-masu, iku,iku-toki,ike-ba, ike)
ika-nakerebanaranai : must go, have to go/ has to go
ika-kakerebaikenai : must go, have to go/ has to go

Watashi wa repooto wo kakanakerebanaranai : I have to write a report.
repooto : report
kaku : write
(kaka-nai, kaki-masu,kaku, kaku-toki, ka-keba,kake)
kaka-nakerebanaranai : must write, have to write / has to write
kaka-nakerebaikenai : must write, have to write / has to write

Watashi wa kodomotachi no mendou o minakerebanaranai : I have to take care of children.
kodomo : child
kodomotachi : children
mendou : matter
miru : look, see
(mi-nai, mi-masu, miru, miru-toki, mire-ba, mi-ro)
mendou o miru : take care of
mendou o mi-nakerebanaranai : must/have/has to take care of

Anata wa ni ji madeni shigoto o katazukenakerebanaranai : You must finish your work by 2 o'clock.
anata : you(single)
ni : two
ji : o'clock
madeni : by
shigoto : work, job, assignment,mission
katazukeru : finish
(katazuke-nai, katazuke-masu, katazukeru, katazukeru-toki, katazukere-ba, katazuke-ro)
katazuke-nakerebanaranai : must/have/has to finish
Japanese word order : you,two,o'clock,work,must finish : You must finish your work by two o'clock.

My wallet was stolen!

Watashi no saifu ga nusumareta. : My wallet was stolen.
watashi : I, my, me
watashi no : my
saifu : purse, wallet
nusumu : steal
nusumareta : was stolen

By attaching "-reru" or "-rareru" after a verb with conjugation, you can make a passive voice.

nusumu : steal
nusuma-reru : is stolen
nusuma-reta : was stolen

Many verbs in past tense have "-da" or "ta".
Then we can think like this ;
how to make a past tense sentense : verb+"da" / "ta"
how to make a passive voice : verb + "reru" / "rareru"

nusumu + "reru"+"ta" : nusumareta : was stolen

Basic rules of making a past tense and a passive voice are mentioned above.
In order to know the conjugation rule , you'd better meet actual sentenses as much as possible.

But if you say just "nusumu (ra)reru ta/da" to Japanese people, maybe they can understand what you say.

Don't do that.

Sore wa shinaide kudasai. : Don't do that.
sore : it, that
shinai : don't do, doesn't do
kudasai : give me
shinai de kudasai : don't do please

Here review the conjugation of verbs.
suru : do
shinai : do not
shimasu : do (polite)
suru : do (plain)
surutoki : do when
sureba : do if
shiro : do (imperative)

You can see that the head of the word changes to "su-" or "-shi".
"suru" is a kind of a special word which has strange conjugation pattern.

If you want to make a negative imperative sentense, you can make it by "do not" pattern + de + kudasai.

tataku : beat
(tatakanai, tatakimasu, tataku,tatakutoki,tatakeba, tatake)
Tatakanai de kudasai. : beat not, please : Don't beat.
Watashio tatakanai de kudasai : me, beat not, please : Don't beat me.

miru : look
(minai, mimasu, miru, mirutoki, mireba, miro)

Minai de kudasai : look not, please : Don't look.
Watashi o minai de kudasai. : me, look not, please : Don't look at me.

Show me please.

Misete kudasai. : Show me ,please.
(verb)shite kudasai : (verb), please
miseru : show
miseru+shite kudasai : misete kudasai

Misete kudasai masenka? : Could you show me, please.
Misete. : Show me.
Misete itadaitemo yoroshiidesuka? : Is it OK for you to show me?
Misete itadaitemo kamawanaidesuka ? : Would you mind showing it to me ?

In any case mentioned above, the parts of verb "Misete" are the same.

"kudasai" literaly means " give me, please".
So if you say just "Kudasai", it means you say " Give me please.".

Kore kudasai. Give me this. / I take this./ I want this.

At restaurant, at shops, you can use this phrase " kore kudasai".

Can I use this?

Kore tsukattemo iidesuka? : Can I use this? / May I use this ?
kore : this
tsukau : use
ii / yoi : good
ii desuka : is it good?
tsukattemo : in terms of using , using

kore tsukattemo iidesuka? : this, in terms of using, is it good? : Can I use this? May I use this?

Kono kuruma untenshitemo iidesuka ? : Can I drive this car? / May I drive this car?
kono : this
kuruma : car
untensuru : drive

Ano hon yondemo iidesuka? : Can I read that book ?
ano : that
hon : book
yomu : read

Anata o aishitemo iidesuka? : Can I love you ? / May I love you?
anata : you
aisuru : love

Sometimes " mo " would be omitted.

Anata o aishite iidesuka ? : Can I love you?

Denwa o tsukatte iidesuka ? : Can I use the phone?
denwa : telephone
tsukau : use

When you ask for using a someone's thing, "kariru(borrow)"can be used.

Denwa o karitemo iidesuka ? : Can I use the phone?
kariru : borrow ( in this case, use)

Okane o karitemo iidesuka ? : Can I borrow money?
kariru : borrow

Toire o karitemo iidesuka? : Can I use a bathroom?
toire : toilet, W.C, restroom, bathroom

No one knows.

Dare mo shiranai. : No one knows.
dare : who
dare mo ...nai : no one ....
shiru / shitteiru : know
(conjugation : shiranai, shirimasu, shiru, shirutoki,shireba,shire)
(conjugation : shitteinai, shitteimasu, shitteiru, shitteirutoki, shitteireba, shitteiro)

In above case, " mo " is important. You should better learn it as a phrase.

If " mo " changed to "ga", the meaning would change.

Dare ga shiranai : who, does not know : Who doesn't know?( I think everyone knows it.)

Nani mo shiranai : I know nothing.
nani : what
In this case, "nani" is an objective word.
This sentense should be learnt as one phrase, too.

Dare mo utawanai : No one sings.
Nani mo utawanai : I sing nothing.
utau : sing
(conjugation : utawanai,utaimasu, utau,utautoki,utaeba,utae)

Comparative degree

Kore wa are yori ookii : This is bigger than that.

In English, adjective words will be conjugated when making comparative sentenses, like " big", " bigger","biggest".

But in Japanese, adjective words will not be conjugated but attached some words.

ookii : big
...yori : than...
mottomo : (most) , -est
chiisai : small

Kore wa are yori chiisai : this, that, than, small : This is smaller than that.

sega takai : tall
sega hikui : short
...no nakade : among
karera : they, them

Kare wa karera no nakade mottomo sega takai.: he, them , among, tallest : He is the tallest among them.

Kanojo wa kare yori sega hikui : she, he/him, than, short : She is shorter than he.

Let's go to the park!

Kouen ni ikimashou : Let's go to the park.

kouen : park
ni : to , on, at
iku : go
(ika-nai, iki-masu,iku,iku-toki,ike-ba,ike)
-mashou : let's do

hashiru : run
(hashir-anai,hashiri-masu,hashiru,hashiru-toki,hashir-eba,hashire)
made : upto, to

Kouen made hashirimashou. : the park, upto, let's run: Let's run to the park.

saa : (accost word when tempting someone to do something)
hajimeru : start
(hajime-nai,hajime-masu,hajimeru,hajimeru-toki,hajimer-eba,hajimero)

Saa, hajimemashou.: Hey, let's start.

Somethng to drink

nanika nomumono : something to drink

nanika : some
nomu : drink(plain)
-mono : thing

verb(plain)+mono : thing to verb
When " mono " added behind a verb, the verb changes to a noun.

taberu : eat
nanika taberumono : something to eat

yomu : read
nanika yomumono : something to read

tataku : beat
nanika tatakumono : something to beat

kudasai : please give

Nanika nomumono o kudasai. : something to drink , please give : Please give me something to drink.

I love you.

Watashi wa anata o aishiteimasu. : I , you, be loving : I love you.

aisuru : love(verb)
aishiteiru : be loving
aishiteimasu : be loving (polite)

" verb+-shiteiru" means " be+-ing".
A verb is to explain the action.
The function of "-shiteiru" is to explain the current situation of the "verb".

There exists a little bit diffrence between " verb+-shiteiru" and " be+-ing".

Aishiteimasu : ( I ), be loving : I love you / I'm loving you.

Watashi wa anata o eienni aishimasu. : I, you, forever, love : I love you forever.
In above case, "aishimasu" is right. If "aishiteimasu" is used, the meaning of sentense will chang to " I'll be loving you forever.".

Similar case;
shiru : know
shitteiru : (literaly means " be knowing" ) know

Watashi wa sore o shitteimasu. : I, it, know : I know it.

I don't know.

When you are asked something but don't know the answer, you can use this phrase.

Shirimasen : ( I ), know,not : I don't know

shiru : know
shirimasu : know(polite)
shiranai : know not
shirimasen : know not (polite)

Wakarimasen : ( I ), understan,not : I don't understand.

wakaru : understand
wakarimasu : understand ( polite)
wakaranai : understand not
wakarimasen : understand not ( polite)

"wa" or "ga"

"wa" or " ga" makes a noun a subjective word by being attached in a sentense.

But ,we, Japanese, use them properly case by case.

Then , what is the difference between "wa" and "ga".

One thing Ican say is that "ga" is used in the case where something is specified or emphasized.

For example,
A teacher found that window glass of classroom is broken, and he thought someone of students did it.
Then he asked the students "Who broke the window?" in front of all of the students.

A student stands up and say "I did."

In this case, "Watashi ga yarimashita." (I did) is right , because the speaker emphasizing who did it.

On the contrary, assuming that there is a man whose work is to break glass everyday,
, he would say " Watashi wa garasu o mainichi warimasu."( I break glass everyday)
In this case, he needs not to specify anything.

I think it is better for you to learn "wa" and "ga" by encountering as much as possible.

Who did what?

Dare ga nani o shitanodesuka : who, what , did : Who did what ?

dare : who
nani : what
shita : did
desuka : ( "desuka" added at the end of the sentense make it interrogative.)
no : ( which connect a verb and "desuka". when connecting a noun and "desuka", no need to put "no")

eg.
hashiru : run
hashiru nodesuka : Do you run ?
hashitta : ran
hashitta nodesuka : Did you run?

pen : pen
pen desuka : Is this a pen?

Dare ga nani o shitanodesuka . : Who did what?
Dare ga nani o surunodesuka. : Who does what?
shita : did
suru : do

In the conversation, if you couldn' t catch some words, you can ask by substituting the word you caught for "who" or "what" in the above sentense.

Mr. Tanaka ga nani o shitanodesuka. : Mr. Tanaka did what?/ What Mr.Tnaka did?
Watashi wa nani o surunodesuka. : I do what? / What should I do?

It is very difficult to explain difference between " wa" and "ga" .Next time I will .

I beg your pardon?

If you couldn't catch what someone said to you, you may say " I beg your pardon?" to request him/her to say once again.

In Japanese, "Mou ichido itte kudasai.".

mou : more
ichi do : one time, once
mou ichido : once again
iu : say
itte : (conjugation ) say
kudasai : please

Mou ichido itte kudasai. : once again, say , please, : Say it again please / I beg your pardon.

sumimasen : excuse me

Sumimasen, mou ichido itte kudasai : excuse me, once again, say, please. : Excuse me , please say again.

I can't do that

…dekinai/ …dekimasen ; can not …./ is(/are) not able to …

sore/are : that

Watashi wa sore o dekimasen : I, that, cannot : I can not do that.

Above sentense doesn't include a verb but a object word.

Yesterday, I wrote in this blog about "can.."sentense, and explained that if a verb is included in the sentense, the verb should be conjugated.
The case of "cannot …"sentense is same.

hanasu : speak
hanas-eru : can speak
hanas-enai: can't speak
hanas-emasen : can't speak(polite)

Watashi wa nihongo o hanasemasen. : I, Japanese, can't speak: I can't speak Japanese.

And also explained a easier way to make " can..." sentense with changing a verb into a noun.

hanasu : speak
hanasu koto : speaking, to speak

Watashi wa nihongo o hanasukoto ga dekimasu.: I, Japanese, speaking,can: I can speak Japanese.

A negative sentense is same.

Watashi wa nihongo o hanasukoto ga dekimasen.; I, Japanese, speaking, can't : I can't speak Japanese.

You may already know a basic structure of easy Japanese sentense, then you can try to make sentenses as much as possible for your prctice.

I can do that.

...dekiru : can... , be able to ....

sore, are : that
suru : do
dekiru : can
(conjugation : dekinai,dekimasu,dekiru,dekirutoki,dekireba,dekiro)

Watashi wa sore o dekimasu : I, that, can : I can do that.

hanasu : speak
nihongo : Japanese
-eru : can..., be able to...
-emasu : (polite)can..., beable to...
hanasemasu : hanasu+-emasu : can speak

Watashi wa nihongo o hanasemasu. : I, Japanese, can speak : I can speak Japanese.

if "-eru" or "-reru" is attached to a verb, it means " can...." with verb conjugation.

More easier way to mean " can..." is ;
1. put "-koto" behind the verb(plain) , which makes the verb a noun.
2.put " -ga dekimasu" after the word.

For example,

Watashi wa nihongo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu (hanasemasu).; I, Japanese, speaking, can : I can speak Japanese.

yomu : read
(conjugation : yomanai,yomimasu,yomu,yomutoki,yomeba,yome)

Watashi wa hon o yomu koto ga dekimasu (yomemasu). : I, book, reading, can, : I can read a book.

Conjugaiton of verbs is difficult so you can use this easy way to make "can do " sentense.

Where can I wash my hands?

...wa doko desuka? : Where is ....?

toire : W.C., restroom
doko : where
-wa : (attached after the subject word)
desu : is,are
-ka : (attached at the end of the interrogative sentense)

Toire wa doko desuka ? : restroom, where, is ; Where is the restroom?

denwa : telephone

Denwa wa doko desuka ? : telephone, where, is : Where is a telephone? Where can I make a telephone call?

... wa doko ni arimasuka ? : (same with "...wa doko desuka ?") Where is .....?

Toire wa doko ni arimasuka ? : Where is a restroom?
Denwa wa doko ni arimasuka? : Where is a telephone?

on the phone

Every Japanese people , at the beginning of the telephone conversation, says " moshi-moshi" as an accost word.

"Moshi-moshi. Suzuki to moushimasu ga, Tanakasan ni tsunaide itadakemasuka ."
(Hello, this is Suzuki speaking. May I speak to Mr. Tanaka.)

...to moushimasu : (literaly " I say") I am...
ga : but
-san : Mr. Mrs. Miss. Ms.etc
tsunagu : connect
-te/ -de : (conjunctive particle) this particle connects a verb to another verb.
itadakemasuka : (literaly "Can I have..." , " May I have...") Could you please...

moshi-moshi : (accost) hello
Suzuki to moushimasu ga : Suzuki, I am, but : I am Suzuki
Tsunaide itadakemasuka. : connect, could you please : Could you please connect me to.../ Can I speak to...

Introdece yourself

When you meet someone for the first time, you have to itroduce yourself.

hajimemashite : how do you do (learn it as a phrase)
namae : name
to moushimasu : (literaly means " I say...", but usually means "is")

Hajimemashite; how do you do : How do you do.
Watashino namae wa Suzuki to moushimasu. : my, name , Suzuki, is. : My name is Suzuki.

It si OK to say " Watashino namae wa Suzuki desu(is)."

Usually, "you" or " I " as a subject is omitted, then, you can say like this ;
Suzuki to moushimasu. : Suzuki, is : ( I am ) Suzuki. / (My name) Suzuki.

Remember that there are many cases in which a subject of the sentense is omitted.
You should concentrate on listening ordinary nouns and proper nouns but " watashi ( I )" as a subject. Personal pronouns are not so important in our conversation because you can imagine them.

vocabulary : family

otousan , chichi : father
okaasan , haha : mother
ojiisan, sofu : grand father
obaasan , sobo: grand mother
oniisan , ani: elder brother
otouto : younger brother
oneesan , ane : elder sister
imouto : younger sister
ojisan , oji : uncle
obasan , oba : aunt
itoko : cousin
musuko : son
musume : daughter
kodomo : child
oya : parents
mago : grandchild
akachan : baby
kazoku : family

A no B : A's B, B of A

sumu : live

sumanai : live not
sumimasu : live(polite)
sumu : live
sumutoki : live when
sumeba : live if
sume : live (imperative)

sunda : lived
sundeiru : be living
sundeimasu : be living (polite)

"sumu" is usually used in progressive form.
ima : now
amerika : america, united states

Watashi no imouto wa ima amerika ni sundeimasu. : my younger sister, now,america in , is living :
My sister is living in US now.

Oji no musuko wa itoko desu. : son of uncle, cousin, is : Son of uncle is cousin.

kekkon : marriage
kekkonsuru : marry, get married
A noun "kekkon" plus a verb "suru" becomes a verb "kekkonsuru" .
mou : already

Watashi no imouto wa mou kekkonshimashita . My younger sister, already, got married.: My sister has already got married.

shinu : die
shinanai : die not
shinimasu : die (polite)
shinu : die
shinutoki : die when
shineba : die if
shine : die (imperative)

shinda : died, was/were dead

If you have to say something about someone's death, you should better use more polite word in spite of using "shinu".
That is " nakunaru".

nakunaru : die
nakunaranai : die not
nakunarimasu : die (polite)
nakunaru : die
nakunarutoki : die when
nakunareba : die if
nakunare : die (imperative)

nakunatta : died
nakunarimashita : died, was/were dead (polite)

Watashino ojiisan wa mou nakunarimashita. : my grandfather, alread, died. : My grandfather is dead.

umareru : be born
umarenai : be born not
umaremasu : be born(polite)
umareru : be born
umarerutoki : be born when
umarereba : be born if
umarero : be born(imperative)

umareta : was/were born

umare : birth , being born(noun)

Akachan ga umareta : a baby, was born. : A baby was born.

Watashi wa ku gatsu umare desu. : I, September, being born, is : I was born in September.

On the taxi

Many Japanese taxi drivers are not good at speaking English.
This may be top level in the world.

But once they got your destination, you will be satisfied with their driving tequnique.

When you get on a taxi, the most important thing is to make a taxi driver understand where to go.

iku : go
shitai : want
ikitai : want to go
no desuga : literaly means "....,but..". When you ask for something, these words are added at the end of the sentense in many cases.

Tokyo ni ikitai no desuga : Tokyo to, want to go, (I mean),: I want to go to Tokyo.
Hotel ni ikitai no desuga : Hotel to, want to go,: I want to go to the hotel.

or

...made : to..., up to ...
onegaishimasu : please

Tokyo made onegaishimasu.: Tokyo to, please. : Please go to Tokyo.
Shinjuku made onegaishimasu. : Shinjuku to , please : Please go to Shinjuku.

"onegaishimasu" is very useful word which means requesting something.

At a shop;
Kore onegaishimasu. : this, please : I want this.

At a station counter;
Shinjuku made onegaishimasu. : Shinjuku to , please : I want a ticket for shinjuku.

At a movie theater ;
otona : adult
ichi : one
mai : when you count thin thing , "mai" would be added after numbers

Otona ichi mai onegaishimasu. : adult, 1, please : I want 1 adult ticket.

At a restaurant;
mizu : water
hanbaagu : humburg
Mizu o onegaishimasu. : water, please : I want a glass of water.
Hanbaagu o onegaishimasu. : humburg, please : I want a humburg.

sentense-final particles

Japanese language sentenses consists of many kinds of particles.
It is no exaggeration to say that you mastered Japanese if you've got full understanding of Japnese particles.

Some particles are very important to make a sentense have a meaning, but some are not in our conversation.
For example, "sentense-final particle" are not so important for non-native speakers, especially bigginers, I think.

It is not a main purpose to explain grammar of Japanese on this blog, but I want to say that Japanese language has that kind of structural character.

I hope you to feel the meaning of sentense-final particles when you meet it.

okane : money
otosu :
yo : (sentense-final particle)

Okane o otoshimashita yo. : money, dropped : (Hey) you dropped money.
Okane o otoshimashita ne. : money, dropped : You dropped money(, didn't you).
Okane o otoshita nosa. : money, dropped : (Ya,) I dropped money.


otosu : drop
otosanai : drop not
otoshimasu : drop(polite)
otosu : drop (plain)
otosutoki : drop when
otoseba : drop if
otose : drop (imperative)
otoshita : dropped
otoshimashita : dropped(polite)

Conjunction words

A conjunction words like " and ", " but ", " or " and etc are to connect a word and a word , a sentense and a sentense.

to, soshite : and
demo, shikashi : but
ka, aruiwa : or
(da)kara, nanode, ...(da)kara , ...no seide, ...no okagede , ..de : because,because of

anata to watashi : you and me
anata ka watashi : you or me

hare : fine(weather)(noun)
hareteiru : be fine
samui : cold

Kyou wa hareteiru demo samui : today, fine,but, cold : It is fine today but cold.

ame : rain

Kyou wa ame nanode samui : today, rain because, cold : It is cold today because of rain.

kaze : a cold (flu)
yasumu : be absent

Kaze de gakkou o yasunda : a cold because of , school, absent : Because of a cold, I was absent from school.
(The subject word is omitted)

yasui : cheap
kau : buy

Yasui kara sore o katta.: cheap because, it , bought. : Because it is cheap, I bought it.

Conjunction words widen your conversation.

today's conjugation;

yasumu : be absent
yasumanai : be absent not
yasumimasu : be absent (polite)
yasumu : be absent (polite)
yasumutoki : be absent when
yasumeba : be absent if
yasume : be absent(imperative)

yasunda : was/were absent
yasundeiru : being absent

kau : buy
kawanai : buy not
kaimasu : buy (polite)
kau : buy (plain)
kautoki : buy when
kaeba : buy if
kae : buy(imperative)

katta : bought

Passive voice

When you say a paasive voice in Englis, you use past participle.

eg. You write a letter. : A letter is writen by you.

In Japanese , " reru " or " rareru " is used.

tegami : letter
kaku : write
kakareru : is/are writen
ni (yotte ): by

Kono tegami wa watashi ni yotte kakareru.: this , letter, me by, be writen.: This letter is writen by me.

tataku : beat
tatakareru : is/are beaten
tatakareta : was/were beaten

Watashi wa kare ni tatakareta : I, him by, was beaten : I was beaten by him.

tazuneru : ask
michi : way , road, street
eki : station
e : to
no : on, in
...e no michi : a way to...

Watashi wa eki e no michi o tazunerareta.: I,station, a way to ,was asked. : I was asked a way to a station.

To turn a sentense into a passive voice,the basic points are;
1.The object word is changed to a subject.
2.The verb is attached with "reru" or "rareru".
3.The verb is conjugated.

You can have it.

ageru : give

conjugation
age-nai : give not
age-masu : give (polite)
ageru : give (plain)
ageru -toki : give when
ager-eba : give if
ager-o : give(imperative)

ageru darou : will give
ageta : gave

anata : you
ni :to
kore : this

Anata ni kore o agemasu. : (the subject "watashi wa" omitted) ,you to, this, give.: I give you this.

When the recipient is "me", "kureru" should be used in spite of "ageru".

Anata wa watashi ni kore o kuremasu. : you, me to, this, give.: You give me this.

kare : he , his, him
kanojo : she, her, her

Kare wa kanojo ni kore o ageta. : he, her to, this, gave : He gave her this.
Anata wa kare ni kore o ageta. : you , him to, this, gave : You gave him this.
Kare wa watashi ni kore o kureta. : he, me to, this, gave : He gave me this.

kureru : give

conjugation
kure-nai : give not
kure-masu : give (polite)
kureru : give (plain)
kureru-toki : give when
kurer-eba : give if
kure : give (imperative)

kureru darou : will give
kureta : gave

Kore o kanojo ni agero : this, her to, give(imperative).:Give her this.
Kore o watashi ni kure : this, me to, give. : Give me this.

When the recipient and "me"(the first person) is in the same group like family, "kureru" can be used.

omocha : toy
musuko : son
watashi no : my

Kare wa watashi no musuko ni omocha o kureta. : he, my son to, toy,gave : He gave a toy to my son.

We can say that "ageru" has a nuance of "going out", "kureru" has "coming in".

Excuse me.

sumimasen / sumimasen ga : excuse me

"sumimasen" is very useful word, you can catch it anytime,anywhere.

When you want to ask someone to do something for you, "sumimasen" is a starting word of conversation.

vocabulary : Months

It is very easy to say a montsh in Japanese.
Number plus "gatsu", that's all.

ichi-gatsu : January
ni-gatsu : February
san-gatsu : March
shi-gatsu : April
go-gatsu : May
roku-gatsu : June
shichi-gatsu : July
hachi-gatsu : August
ku-gatsu : September
juu-gatsu : October
juuichi-gatsu : November
juuni-gatsu : December

In case of date of the month, basicaly number+"nichi".But there are some exceptions.
nichi : day

tsuitachi : 1st(first day of the month)
futsuka : 2nd
mikka : 3rd
yokka : 4th
itsuka : 5th
muika : 6th
nanoka : 7th
youka : 8th
kokonoka : 9th
touka : 10th

Word above are specialized to use for days of month.

juuichi-nichi : 11th
juuni-nichi : 12th
juusan-nichi :13th
.
.
.

kyou : today
Kyou wa roku-gatsu futsuka desu.: today, June,2nd, is : It is June 2nd today.

vocabulary : day of the week

nichi-youbi : Sunday
getsu-youbi : Monday
ka-youbi : Tuesday
sui-youbi : Wednesday
moku-youbi : Thursday
kin-youbi : Friday
do-youbi : Saturday

hataraku : work(verb)
...kara : from
...made : to,up to

Watashi wa getsu-youbi kara kin-youbi made hatarakimasu.:I,Monday from,Friday to,work.: I work from Monday to Friday.

conjugation
hatarakanai : work not
hatarakimasu : work(polite)
hataraku : work(plain)
hatarakutoki : work when
hatarakeba : work if
hatarake : work(imperative)

tense
hataraku darou : will work
hataraita : worked

vocabulary : colors

iro : color
kuro : black(noun)
aka : red(noun)
ao : blue(noun)
kiiro : yellow(noun)
midori : green(noun)
chairo : brown(noun)
shiro : white(noun)

when " -i" added,then adjective.

kuroi : black(adjective)
akai : red (adjective)
aoi : blue(adjective)

Kono iro wa kuro desu.: this, color , black, is : This color is black.
Kore wa kuroi desu. : this, black, is : This is black.

I drive a car.

unten : driving (noun)
suru : do
untensuru : drive (verb)
kuruma : car

Watashi wa kuruma o unten suru.: I , car , drive : I drive a car.

Sometimes "noun+suru" becomes a verb.

hakken : discovery
hakken suru : discover

The conjugation of "suru" is below;

shinai : do + not
shimasu : do (polite)
suru : do (plain)
suru toki : do+when
sureba : do+if
shiro : do (imperative)

Watashi wa unten shinai : I, drive, not : I don't drive.
Watashi ga unten shimasu : I, drive, do : I drive.

The difference between "wa" and "ga" .

In order to make a noun a verb, " wa " or " ga " is attached to a noun.
Generally "wa" would be attached to a noun and make it a subject.

But "ga" is attached , the subject word is emphasized.

"Watashi ga unten shimasu " means " I drive" , but the nuance is " It's me to drive".

When there are some people and someone should drive a car, you say " I drive a car".
In Japanese, "Watashi ga unten shimasu" is right.

When you are asked " Do you drive a car?", "Watashi wa unten shimasu" is good.

And the difference of "wa" and "ga" is sometimes explained as a difference between " a" and " the " in English.

inu : dog

Are wa inu desu. : that, dog, is : That is a dog.
Are ga inu desu. : that, dog, is : That is the dog.

It can be explained that " ga " specifys the subject.

Thank you.

arigatou : thank you, thanks
doumo arigatou : thank you very much

As a phrase to express your gratitude, just learn it as a phrase.

Doumo arigatou. : Thank you very much.
Doumo arigatou gozaimasu : Thank you very much.(polite)

When "gozaimasu" is attached at the end of the phrase, the sentense would be very polite.

It is fine today.

We use "it" to describe the weather.
But in Japanese we don't have any word functioning "it" in above sentense.

tenki : weather
yoi / ii : good, fine
kyou : today

Kyou wa tenki ga ii. : today , weather, good. : It is fine today.

"wa" of "kyou wa" is meaning " in terms of " or " regarding", not "wa" which is attached after the subject.
Literaly meaning is " Regarding today, weather is good.".

ashita : tomorrow
ame : rain(noun)
ame ga furu : rain(verb)
furu : fall, drop

Ashita wa ame ga furu darou. : Tomorrow, rain, fall, will : It will rain tomorrow.

Hints for conversation:imagination

When you have a conversation, you have to talk and to listen.

Although you can say something to someone, a conversation would not be established if you can't catch what he/she says.

But if you know what he/she will say , it is easier to catch what they said.

In our conversation, it would be important to imagine word which will be said.

Imagine the situation when you ask the way to someone.
If you ask " How do I get to .....", you would meet various kind of answers.
But if you ask " Is this a way to .....", answer is very simple and you may catch it.

To communicate with the other person , it is a one of the ways to lead your conversation to the one which includes imaginable words as much as possible.

Mentioned above is just an example, but it is a fact that we are repeating imaginations in our conversation.

Try to make a sentense.

When you would like to convey to someone your intention , feeling and etc, you have to express what to say.
In order to do it, you have to say some sentenses.

For making Japanese sentenses, you'd better think what to say in Enlish first but in Japanese word order.

For example,

"This is a pen" should be changed to " This , a pen , is " which is in Japanese word order.
Then translate each word into Japanese.

this: kore
pen : pen
is : desu

"This , a pen , is " : kore pen desu.

Then you put "wa" after the subject word, in this case, "This" is a subject.
And delete an article because we don't have any article in Japanese.

Kore wa pen desu.

When you make a sentense with an object word, "o" should be added to the end of the object word.

kau : buy

I buy a pen. : I , a pen, buy : Watashi wa pen o kau.

You already know how to make an easy Japanese sentense.
I hope you can try to make easy sentenses as much as possible.

walk

aruku : walk

arukanai : walk not
arukimasu : walk (polite)
aruku : walk (plain)
arukutoki : walk+when
arukeba : walk + if
aruke : walk (imperative)

arukita : walked
aruiteiru : be+walking
aruku darou : will walk

made : to, up to,
eki : station

Watashi wa eki made aruita. : I, station to, walked. : I walked to the station.

ima : now

Watashi wa ima aruiteiru. : I, now, walking. : I'm walking now.

"...teiru" is explained as a progressive form like "be+...ing".

But sometimes "...teiru" means a custom of doing something.

maiasa : every morning
kouen : park
o : at , in

Watashi wa maiasa kouen o aruiteiru. : I, every morning, park in, walking. : I walk in the park every morning.

shimbun : newspaper
yomu : read

Watashi wa maiasa shimbun o yondeiru. : I , every morning, newspaper, reading. : I read newspaper everymorning.

the Japanese Syllabary

Japanese language has 3 types of characters, hiragana, katakana and kanji.
For conversation , we need not to learn characters.
But to learn on the web , you'd bette know how to pronounce the characters.

On this weblog, Romaji are used inspite of Japanese characters.

Japanese children learn "hiragana" first.
"Hiragana" consists of 5 vowels and many syllables.
Each synable consists of 1 voiced consonant and 1 vowel.

In English , if you find "a" in a word, sometimes it is pronounced " ei ", sometimes "a".
But in Japanese " a " is "a". Pronounciation never change.

take : bamboo.( not "teik"but "ta-ke")
asoko : there . (not " eisoko" but " a-soko")


For example,
"a" is always "a" not depending on the word nor spell.
"ta" is always pronounced "ta".

the Japanese syllabary

5 vowels: a , i , u, e, o

Other syllables :
ka, ki, ku, ke,ko
sa, si, su,se, so
ta, chi, tsu, te,to
na, ni, nu, ne, no
ha, hi, fu,he, ho
ma, mi, mu, me, mo
ya, yu, yo
ra, ri, ru, re, ro,
wa, n

ga, gi, gu, ge, go
za, ji, zu, ze, zo
da,di, du, de, do
ba, bi, bu, be, bo
pa, pi, pu, pe, po

gya, gyu, gyo
ja, ju, jo
cha, chu, cho
nya, nyu, nyo
hya, hyu, hyo

Pronounciation of Japanese is not so difficult . The number of consonants and vowels are not so many compared to English.

Stand

I show Japanese verbs as much as possible everyday.

tatsu : stand

tatanai : stand+not
tachimasu : (polite)
tatsu : (plain)
tatsutoki : stand+when
tateba : stand+ if
tate : (imperative)

tatsu darou : will stand
tatteiru : be+standing
tatta : stood

ni : on, to , in
michi : street, road, way

Watashi wa michi ni tatteiru. : I, street on, standing : I'm standing on the street.

I will go.

When describing the future, in English , " will " is used in a sentense.
In Japanese " darou " is attached to the verb with no verb conjugation.

iku : go
iku darou : will go
e/ni : to
gakkou : school
ashita : tomorrow

Watashi wa ashita gakkou ni iku darou. : I , tomorrow, school to , go , will,: I will go to the school tomorrow.

Review the verb conjugation

6basic patterns
-nai : not
-masu : (polite)
-:(plain)
-toki : when
-eba : if
-e/o : (imperativ)

And other patterns categorised by tense

-ta : (past)
- : (plain, present)
- darou :(future, no verb conjugation)

utau : sing
uta: song

Watashi wa uta o utau : I, song, sing ,: I sing a song.
Watashi wa uta o utatta: I , song, sang : I sang a song.
Watashi wa uta o utau darou : I, song, sing, will : I will sing a song.

hanasu : speak

Watashi wa hanasu. : I, speak, : I speak.
Watashi wa hanashita : I , spoke : I spoke.
Watashi wa hanasu darou : I, speak, will : I will speak.

You already know all the Japanese verb patterns.

Don't hesitate to make mistakes, and try to make Japanese sentenses.

I'm running.

"be-verb+ ...ing" is so called a progressive form.

"...shiteiru" in Japanese is almost equals with a progressive form in English.

When "...shiteiru" is attached to a verb, the verb should be conjugated.

hashiru : run
hashitteiru : be running

Watashi wa hashitteiru. : I'm running.
Watashi wa hashitteimasu : I'm running.(polite)

taberu : eat
tabeteiru : be eating
tabeteimasu : be eating(polite)
nomu : drink
nondeiru : be drinking
nondeimasu : be drinking(polite)
yomu : read
yondeiru : be reading
yondeimasu : be reading (polite)
miru : see, watch, look
miteiru : be watching
miteimasu : be watching (polite)

There is a little bit of difference of nuance between " ...shiteiru" and " be ...ing".
But that is not a big problem.

See

miru: see, look, watch

minai : see + not
mimasu : see (polite)
miru : see
mirutoki : see+when
mireba : see + if
miro : see(imperative)

Basic 6 patterns of verb conjugation.
-nai
-masu
-(base)
-toki
-eba
-o/e etc

okuru : send

okura-nai : send + not
okuri-masu : send (polite)
okuru : send
okuru-toki : send + when
okur-eba : send + if
okure : send (imperative)

kau : buy

kawa-nai : buy + not
kai-masu : buy(polite)
kau : buy
kau-toki : buy+when
ka-eba : buy + if
kae : buy (imperative)

uru : sell

ura-nai : sell + not
uri-masu : sell (polite)
uru : sell
uru-toki : sell + when
ur-eba : sell + if
ure : sell (imperative)

-nai, -masu, original , -toki , eba , o,e should be learnt by speaking repeatedly like an incantation.
When those words (-nai, -masu,...) are attached to verbs, verbs should be conjugated.
But it is not a big problem to make an mistake in conjugating verbs in our conversation.

terebi : TV
Watashi wa terebi o minai. : I, TV, watch not : I don't watch TV.

If you say "Watashi wa terebi o miru nai.", Japanese people understand you don't watch TV.

Hints for conversation

Although you could express what you feel or what you want to say, if you don't understand what someone said to you, it would not be a conversation.

Here are some hints for listening Japanese conversation.

1.A proper noun is very important.
Many proper nouns are not in a dictionary. But almost conversation includes proper nouns. So, if you have a chance to visit Japan, first, you learn proper nouns like name of town, name of place and etc.

2.Vocabulary is important, disregard grammar.
If you don't know Japanese grammar but know many Japanese word, you will be able to have a conversation.
But on the contrary, you know Japanese grammar but no word, you will never have a conversation.
If you enumerate just only words with disregarding grammar, Japanese people may understand.

3.Therefore you should concentrate on lestening nouns , next verbs in the conversation.
If you could listen just "......hon.......yom..", maybe you would understand someone reads a book.
In the conversation, though you couldn't catch well, you maybe know who is the subject.

4.Numbers.
When you ask someone about something, the conversation may includes prices, distance, time and etc.
The answers may includes numbers.

Do you understand?
Basic points of Japanese conversation are same with other foreign languages.

You had better learn much more vocabulary of nouns, verbs, numbers and proper nouns.
Then concentrating to listen nouns in the conversation and imagine what they say.
After all , imagination is important concept.

conversation at Narita airport

Because all staff working at the airport can speak English, you need not to speak Japanese at the airport.
So you should better try using Japanese as a kind of a practice.

At Limousine bus counter;

You: Shinjuku iki no basu ni noritai no desuga.
Clerk: Tsugi no basu wa juuji juugofunn desu.
Y: Sono basu de onegaishimasu.
C:San zen en ni narimasu.

Shinjuku : (name of town)
iki : bound for (noun of "iku"(go))
no: (connecting word between noun and noun)
desuga : (literaly " ...is. but ".) I mean
tsugi : next
basu : bus
juu : (number) ten
ji : hour
juugo : (number) fifteen
fun : minute
sono : that , it
onegaishimasu: please
san : (number) three
zen : =sen , thousand
en : yen
ni narimasu: (literaly means " become...". ) is

Shinjuku iki no basu ni noritai no desuga: Shinjuku, bound for, bus, on, get on , want ,I mean: I want to get on a bus bound for Shinjuku.
Tsugi no basu wa juuji juugo fun desu.: next, bus, ten, hour, fifteen, minute : Next bus is 10:15.
Sono basu de onegaishimasu.: That, bus, please : I get on that bus.
San zen en desu.: three, thousand, yen, is.: 3,000yen.

Adjective

"beautiful", "ugry", "blue"and "red" are adjectives.
An adjective word describes a noun.

At the end of Japanese adjective word must be "-i".

kirei : beautiful, clean
utsukushii : beautiful
minikui : ugry
aoi : blue
akai : red

hana : flower

Kono hana wa utsukushii. : this, flower , beautiful : This flower is beautiful.

utsukushikatta : utsukushii + katta(past) : was/were beautiful

Kono hana wa utsukushikatta.:This flower was beautiful.

Japanese adjective is put in front of a noun like in English.
And adjective itself can make a role of a complement as well.

boushi : hat/cap
bara : rose

aoi boushi : blue cap
akai bara : red rose

Kore wa aoi boushi desu. : this, blue, cap, is : This is a blue cap.
Kono boushi wa aoi. : this, cap , blue : This cap is blue.

Patterns of verb conjugation

Japanese verbs have various patterns of conjugation.
You had better learn 6basic patterns of verb conjugation.

iku : go

ikanai : go+not eg. Watashi-wa ikanai ; I don't go
ikimasu: go(polite) eg. Watashi-wa ikimasu ; I go.
iku : go(plain) eg. Watashi-wa iku. ; I go
ikutoki : go+when eg. Watashi-ga ikutoki ; When I go
ikeba : go+if eg. Watashi-ga ikeba ; If I go
ike : go (imperative) eg. Ike. ; Go.

Conjugation of verbs is very difficult grammar to learn.
The more you meet many verbs, then the more you understand them deeply.

taberu : eat

tabenai : eat+not
tabemasu : eat (polite)
taberu : eat (plain)
taberutoki : eat+when
tabereba : eat+if
tabero: eat (imperative)

okiru : wake up

okinai : wake up+not
okimasu : wake up (polite)
okiru : wake up (plain)
okirutoki : wake up+when
okireba : wake up + if
okiro : wake up (imperative)

nomu : drink

nomanai : drink + not
nomimasu : drink (polite)
nomu : drink (plain)
nomutoki : drink + when
nomeba : drink + if
nome : drink (imperative)

miru : watch, look, see

minai : watch + not
mimasu : watch (polite)
miru : watch (plain)
mirutoki : miru+when
mireba : miru+if
miro : watch (imperative)

yomu : read

yomanai : read+not
yomimasu: read (polite)
yomu : read (plain)
yomutoki : read + when
yomeba : read + if
yome : read (imperative)

maiasa : every morning
shimbun : newspaper

Watashi-wa maiasa shimbun o yomu.: I, every morning, newspaper, read. : I read newspaper every morning.

Watashi-wa shimbun o yomanai.: I, newspaper, read not.: I don't read news paper.
Watashi-wa shimbun o yomimasu. : I, newspaper, read. : I read newspaper.
Watashi-wa shimbun o yomu. : I, newspaper, read. : I read newspaper.
Watashi-ga shimbun o yomutoki....: I, newspaper, read when, : When I read newspaper,....
Watashi-ga shimbun o yomeba....: I, newspaper, read if, : If I read news paper,....
Shimbun o yome. : newspaper, read(imperative) : Read newspaper.

Excuse me.

sumimasen: excuse me
iku: go
ikeba: go (subjunctive mood)
ii : good
donoyouni : how
dou : how
eki : station
...niwa : in order to... / for
suru: do
shitara: do (subjunctive mood)

Sumimasen: Excuse me.
Eki ni ikuniha dou shitara ii desuka?: station to, go for, how, do, good , is : How do I get to the station?

In Japanese, sometimes the subject is ommitted.

massugu: straight
michi: road, way
kono: this

Kono michi o massugu ikeba ii desu.: this, road, straight, go, good,is: Go straight this way.

conversation

hajimemashite: How do you do
gokigen ikaga desuka: How are you
watashi-no: my
namae: name

Suzuki: Kon'nichiwa.: Good afternoon.
Tanaka: Kon'nichiwa.: Good afternoon.
S: Hajimemashite.Watashi-wa Suzuki desu.: How do you do. I'm Suzuki.
T: Hajimemashite. Watashi-no namae wa Tanaka desu.: My, name, Tanaka, is: How do you do. My name is Tanaka.

"Hajimemashite" consists of several word, but you'd better know it as a phrase.

Please do it.

douka... kudasai. : please...
yomu: read
yonde: read (imperative mood)
ni : to
hon: book

Douka watashi ni hon o yonde kudasai. Pleas, me, to, book,read: Please read me a book.

Sometimes "douka" is omitted.

tsureteiku: take
hoteru: hotel

Watashi o hoteru ni tsureteitte kudasai.: me, hotel to,take, please: Please take me to the hotel

iku : go
itte : go (imperative mood)

Hoteru ni itte kudasai.: hotel to, go , please : Please go to the hotel.

Convey what you want to someone is important in our conversation.
If you met an emergency situation in Japan, you should say what you want.

saifu: wallet
nakusu: loose
nakushita: lost
keisatsu: police

Watashi wa saifu o nakushimashita: I, wallet , lost: I lost (my) wallet.
Watashi wa keisatsu ni ikitai desu.: I , police to, go, want: I want to go to the police.
Watashi o keisatsu ni tsureteitte kudasai.: me, police to, take , please: Please take me to the police.

Conjugation of verbs are very difficult, but just feel it. Almost Japanese people can't explain how verbs conjugate.

More sample sentence you meet, you will understand.

Importance of particles

aishiteimasu: love

Watashi-wa anata o aishiteimasu. : I ,you,love: I love you.

"wa"and "o" in the above sentence are called "particles" in terms of Japanese grammar.
In Japanese, particles are more important than the word order in the sentence.

In English, if you make an error in the arrangement of words, the meanings of the sentence may change.
I love you.
You love me.

But in Japanese, if only you put particles in right position, the meaning of the sentence never change.

Watashi-wa anata o aishiteimasu.: I ,you, love: I love you.
Anata o watashi wa aishiteimasu.: You, I, love: I love you.

ageru : give
ni: to

Watashi wa anata ni hon o ageru.: I, you, to, book, give: I give you a book./ I give a book to you.
Watashi wa hon o anata ni ageru.:I, book, you , to ,give: (same )
Hon o watashi wa anata ni ageru.: book, I , you, to ,give:(same)
Anata ni watashi wa hon o ageru.: You, to , I , book, give:(same)

I can speak Japanese.

dekiru: can, be able to
hanasu: speak, talk
nihon: Japan
go: language
nihon-go: Japanese

Watashi-wa nihon-go o hanasemasu.; I , Japanese ,can speak.: I can speak Japanese.

"can+verb" should be expressed by conjugating the verb in Japanese.
Or by changing the verb to a noun , we can say the phrase " someone can do..."

hanasu+koto: speaking(noun)
ga: "ga" will be added to an objective word.In some sense, "ga" is same with"o" after an objective word.

Watashi-wa nihon-go o hanasukoto ga dekiru.:I ,Japanese, speaking, can.
Watashi-wa nihon-go o hanasukoto o dekiru.: Japanese people understand this sentense, but "o"had not better use twice in one sentense.

In colloquial, "hanaseru" is much more used than "hanasukoto ga dekiru".

yomu: read
yomeru: can read

Anata wa hon wo yomeru. : you, book , can read,: You can read a book.

kaku: write
kakeru: can write

Kare-wa nihon-go o kakeru.: he,Japanese,can write: He can write Japanese.

iku: go
ikeru: can go
eki: station
ni: to

Watashi-wa eki ni ikeru.: I,station,can go, :I can go to the station.

Numbers

How to read figures.
1 ; ichi
2; ni
3; san
4; yon
5; go
6; roku
7; nana
8; hachi
9; kyuu
10; juu(not mention "ichi")
100; hyaku(not mention "ichi")
1,000; sen(not mention "ichi")
10,000 ; ichi-man
100,000,000; ichi-oku

Almost of figures can be read by using the combination of pronunciation listed above.

20; ni+juu=nijuu
22; ni+juu+ni=nijuuni
1,035; sen +san+juu+go=sen sanjuu go
16,256; ichi+man+roku+sen+ni+hyaku+go+juu+roku=ichiman rokusen nihyaku gojuu roku

en ; yen
harau ; pay

Watashi-wa hyaku-en o harau; I , 100yen , pay →I pay 100yen.
Watashi-wa hyaku-en o haraimasu.(more polite); I pay 100 yen.

ikura; how much

Kore-wa ikura desuka?; this, how much, is→ How much is this?
Hyaku-en desu.; 100yen, is→This is 100yen.

I want to go to the airport.

kuukou ; airport
...shitai ; want to do...

Watashi-wa kuukou e ikitaidesu. ;(I, the airport to, go , want )→ I want to go to the airport.

"...shitai" means "want to do...".
"...shitai" should be added behind the verb,then the verb will be conjugated and "shitai" will be changed as well.
In many cases, "shi" of "shitai" will be erased.

iku(go)+shitai = iki-tai (want to go)
taberu(eat)+shitai=tabe-tai (want to eat)
yomu(read)+shitai=yomi-tai(want to read)
utau(sing)+shitai=utai-tai(want to sing)

But if you say "iku shitai" to Japanese people, all japanese must understand what you mean.

noru; get on , take
takushii; taxi
basu; bus
ni; on
noru+shitai=noritai

Watashi-wa takushii ni noritai. ; I, taxi on, take, want) → I want to take a taxi.
Watashi-wa takushii ni noritai desu. I want to take a taxi. (more polite)

Watashi-wa basu ni noritaidesu.; I ,a bus,on , get on, want.→I want to get on a bus.

What is this ?

nan / nani ; what
dare ; who
itsu ; when

Kore-wa hon desu. ; This is a book.
Kore-wa hon desuka? ; Is this a book?
Kore-wa nan desuka? ; What is this ?

You may understand how to make a " what " interrogative sentence.
A noun should be substituted by "nan".

are; that
sore; it
Are-wa nan desuka?; What is that?
Sore-wa nan desuka? ; What is it?

kare; he
san; Mr./Ms
dare ; who

Kare-wa Suzuki-san desu. ; He is Mr.Suzuki.
Kare-wa Suzuki-san desuka? ; Is he Mr.Suzuki?
Kare-wa dare desuka? ; Who is he?

getsuyoubi ; Monday
ni ; on

Anata-wa getsuyoubi ni gakkou e ikimasu. ; You, Monday on ,school to ,go→You go to school on Monday.
Anata-wa getsuyoubi ni gakkou e ikimasuka? ; Do you go to school on Monday?
Anata-wa itsu gakkou ni ikimasuka? ; When do you go to school?

Interrogative

It is easy to make an interrogative sentence.
Basicaly, "-ka?" at the end of the sentence makes the sentence interrogative.

Kore-wa hon desu. ; This is a book.
Kore-wa hon desuka? ; Is this a book?

kuruma; car

Kore-wa kuruma desu. ; This is a car
Kore-wa kuruma desuka? ; Is this a car?

anata ; you
iku ; go
ikimasu; go (more polite than "iku")
e ; to
gakkou ; school

Anata-wa gakkou e ikimasu. ; You go to school.
Anata-wa gakkou e ikimasuka? ; Do you go to school?
Kare-wa gakkou e ikimasu.; He goes to school.
Kare-wa gakkou e ikimasuka? ; Does he go to school?

Imperative

Imperative phrase should be expressed by conjugating the verb.

yomu; read

Kono hon o yome.; Read this book.

Kono hon o yondekudasai.; Please read this book.
"-kudasai" makes the imperative phrase more polite.

okiru; wake up

Okiro! ; Wake up!
Okitekudasai.; Please wake up.

tsureteiku; take
hoteru; hotel

Watashi-wa anata o hoteru e tsureteiku. ; I take you to the hotel.
Watashi o hoteru e tsureteittekudasai.; Please take me to the hotel.

This is a pen.

pen; pen
kore; this
are; that
sore; it
korera; these
arera; those
desu; be(is , are)

Kore-wa pen desu.; This is a pen.
Are-wa pen desu; That is a pen.
Sore-wa pen desu.; It is a pen.

Korera-wa pen desu.; These are pens.
Arera-wa pen desu.; Those are prens.

No plural in Japanese noun.
Sometimes "-ra" which is added just behind a noun means plural.

shounen; boy

Kare-wa shounen desu.; He is a boy.
Karera-wa shounen desu.; They are boys.

I sing a song

utau: sing
uta; song

Watashi-wa uta o utau.; I sing a song

Watashi-wa uta o utaimasu.; I sing a song.
With "masu" at the end, it is more polite.

Watashi-wa uta o utatta.; I sang a song.
Watashi-wa uta o utaudarou.; I will sing a song
Anata-wa uta o utau.; You sing a song.
Anata-wa uta o utatta.; You sang a song.
Kare-wa uta o utau.; He sings a song.
Kare-wa uta o utatta.; He sang a song.

I go to school

watashi; I, my, me
watashi-wa;I
watashi-no;my
watashi-o;me
gakkou; school
e; to
ni;to

Watashi-wa gakkou e (ni) ikimasu.; I go to school.
Watashi-wa gakkou e ikimasen.; I don't go to school.
Watashi-wa gakkou e ikudarou; I will go to school.
Watashi-wa gakkou e itta; I went to school.

In English verbs should be conjugated depend on the subject in the sentence.
But Japanese verbs are not be conjugated depend on the subject.

kare; he
kanojo; she

Kare-wa gakkou e ikimasu.; He goes to school.
Kanojo-wa gakkou e ikimasu.; She goes to school.

Conjugation

Japanese verb conjugates in various ways.
Rules of the conjugation are very difficult to learn, but there are several basic points.
First of all, you had better to meet various verbs as many as possible.

vocabulary
watashi;I,my,me
watashi-wa(or -ga);I
watashi-no;my
watashi-o;me
yomu;read
hon;book
In Japanese, we don't have article and definite/indefinite article.

Watashi-wa hon o yomu. ; I read a book.
"o" should be added the end of an object word then the noun will change to an object in a sentence.

Watashi-wa hon o yomanai. : I don' t read a book.
"nai" means denial word.

Watashi-wa hon o yomu darou.; I will read a book.
"darou" =will

Watashi-wa hon o yonda. ; I read a book.(past tense)

Grammar

Basic structure of English sentence is " subject+verb+object"(SVO structure). As for the Japanese, an object comes just after the subject, and a verb comes at the end of the sentence.So Japanese sentence is "subject+object+verb"(SOV structure).

Good by

Sayounara;Good by,bye-bye
Sayounara is a phrase to use when you part from a person/people. It is the last word to use last in conversation. There is not any conversation after having said Sayounara.
Bai-bai is also used in usual situation, but not in formal.

Thank you!

Arigatou-gozaimasu; Thank you

When you want to express your gratitude feelings to some people, you may say " Thank you".

"Arigatou-gozaimasu" just equals "Thank you".

Phrases of thanking expressions in Japanese are very various as well as in English.
But "Arigatou-gozaimasu" just equals the phrase " Thank you".

People doesn't feel bad when they are thanked by some people.

Gratitude phrase is one of the most important phrases in our world.

Hello!

Usual greeting phrase is differrent form time of the day like in English.

In the morning,"Ohayou-gozaimasu"; Good morning
In the afternoon,"Kon-nichiwa";Good afternoon
In the evening,"Konbanwa";Good evening

Whenever you meet Japanese people, if you say"Kon-nichiwa",every Japanese people understands that you are saying a kind of a salutation phrase. And then,he or she says "Kon-nichiwa", back to yoo too.

Salutation words/phrases are the beginning of the conversation with people.
This is not a special feature of Japanese language world but common costom in the world.
Japanese people are not eccentric people.

Ohayou means "early".
But Japanese people are not sure the meanings of the phrase when they say it.Just knowing it as a phrase in the morning.

Think when you say "Good morning" to some people, are you consious that "It is good morning today!"?

The most typical phrase is a salutation phrase. Don't think, just feel. Fundamentals of the human is not so different among the people in the world.