Spread the wisdom

*Credits to pikey for correcting a few careless mistakes =p*

Do you agree that knowledge is meant to be shared?

Remember the time when I said I was learning japanese?
Learning to live is living to learn

Today's post will be about what I've learnt!!

Who knows? You might find it useful... =)


Lets start with simple words:
Ohayou gozaimasu (o-ha-yo go-za-i-mas)
Good morning.

Konnichiwa (kon-ni-chi-wa)
Hello. (usually during mid-day)

Konbanwa (kon-ban-wa)
Good evening.

Sayonara (sa-yo-na-ra)
Goodbye.

Hajimemashite (Ha-ji-me-mash-te)
How do you do? (First meeting with a person)

Douzo yorushiku (do-zo yo-ru-shi-ku)
Nice to meet you. (to end an introduction)

Arigatou gozaimasu (a-ri-ga-to go-za-i-mas)
Thank you.

('gozaimasu' is for formal reasons. For informal, just remove it)

Sumimasen (su-mi-ma-sen)
Sorry.

Chotto Matte (chot-to mat-te)
Wait/Hold on.

Onaji Desu (o-na-ji des)
It's the same.

ii desu (i-des)
Good / Fine

Dame desu (da-me-des)
Not good / Bad

Mou ichido (mo i-chi-do)
One more time.

1 - ichi
2 - ni
3 - san
4 - yon / shi (formal/informal)
5 - go
6 - roku
7 - nana / shichi (formal/informal)
8 - hachi
9 - kyu / ku (formal/informal)
10 - ju
100 - hyaku

e.g.
13 - ju san (10 +3)
20 - ni-ju (2X10)
38 - san-ju hachi (3X10 +8)
81 - hachi-ju ichi (8X10 +1)
105 - hyaku go (100 +5)
140 - hyaku yon-ju (100 +4X10)
183 - hyaku hachi-ju san (100 +8X10 +3)
256 - ni-hyaku go-ju roku (2X100 +5X10 +6)
999 - kyu-hyaku kyu-ju kyu (9X100 +9X10 +9)

Now, lets move on to sentences:
Q: O namae wa?
Your name is?
A: Watashi wa (name) desu.
My name is (name).

e.g.
Watashi wa Sze Wei desu.

Namae (na-ma-e) = Name
(desu is normally read as 'des' and not 'des-su')

Q: Nan-sai desu ka?
Your age is?
A1: Watashi wa hatachi desu.
A2: Watashi wa ni-jussai desu.
I am 20 years old.

Sai = Age
Nan-sai = How old (used when asking age)
('hatachi' is a special word for 20yrs old)
(ni-ju is 20. But when stating age, 'ju sai' becomes 'jussai')

Q: O shigoto wa?
Your occupation is?
A: Watashi wa gakusei desu.
I'm a student.

Shigoto = occupation
Gakusen (ga-ku-sei) = student
Kekan = police
Kangofu (kang-go-hu) = nurse
Isha = doctor
Shufu (shu-hu) = housewife

Q: Otaku wa dochira desu ka?
Where do you live?
A: Uchi wa TTDI desu.
I live in TTDI.

('ka' is used to end a question)
Otaku = Uchi = Home

Q: O kuni wa dochira desu ka?
Which country are you from?
A: Kuni wa Malaysia desu.
I'm from Malaysia.

Kuni = Country

Q: Inaka wa dochira desu ka?
Where is your hometown?
A: Inaka wa KL desu.
My hometown is in KL.

Inaka = hometown/kampung

Q: Wakarimasu ka?
Do you understand?
A1: Hai, wakarimasu!
Yes, I understand.
A2: Ie, wakarimasen.
No, I don't understand.
A3: Wakata.
Understood (more informal)

Wakarimasu (wa-ka-ri-mas) = understand
Wakarimasen (wa-ka-ri-ma-sen) = don't understand
Ie (i-e) = No
('Ie' is used for many occasions but here it means 'no')

Scenario:
A is a friend of B and C. B and C just met through A.

Conversation:
A to B: B-san, kochira wa C-san. B, this is C.
A to C: C-san, kochira wa B-san. C, this is B.

B to C: Hajimemashite, watashi wa B desu. Dozo yorushiku.
How are you doing? My name is B. Nice to meet you.
C to B: Hajimemashite, watashi wa C desu. Dozo yorushiku.
How are you doing? My name is C. Nice to meet you.

(-san is used after a person's name for Mr./Ms.)


Well so far so good, I don't want to confuse you guys with the more complicated scenarios...

So, that's all for today folks! Sayonara! =D

P/S: I did not refer to any book/paper when I typed this. I only put whatever I truely understand. That means that I didn't put anything which I do not fully understand.

Edit: The time reads 5.55pm!! My favourite number is 5 (^_^)