Hi! I’m Hannah from Japanesejoshi.com! And welcome to the first of my Japanese language tutorials! Today I’m going to teach you the simplest and most useful sentence structure in Japanese.
AはBです
A wa B desu
If you’ve already learned hiragana, then you’ll notice that the は(wa), is spelt with the hiragana character for は(ha) but in this case it actually reads as わ(wa). So! Back to the sentence structure!
AはBです
A wa B desu
People tend to think of this as the Japanese equivalent of:
A is B.
Here’s an example of how it’s used:
私はじゃが芋です。
watashi wa jagaimo desu.
私は(watashi wa) – I am
じゃが芋です(jagaimo desu) – a potato
私はじゃが芋です(watashi wa jagaimo desu) – I am a potato.
Although I translated it as “I am“…that’s not literally what it means. However, it does basically mean the same thing, so if you find it easier to remember that way then it’s probably a good idea to just think of it like that for now.
But if you’re interested in its actual use…
は(wa) does not mean ‘is’ and certainly isn’t a verb. は(wa) is a particle. Particles are attached to words or phrases to specify their relation to the rest of the sentence. The particle は(wa) is often referred to as a topic marker. It’s used to indicate that the wordbefore it is the topic of the sentence. です(desu) doesn’t have a meaning, all it does is make the sentence more polite.
So! Now you know the basics, let’s have a look at the example sentence again.
私(watashi) – I/me
は(wa) – [topic marker]
じゃが芋(jagaimo) – potato
です(desu) – [politeness]
私はじゃが芋です(watashi wa jagaimo desu) – I am a potato.
嘘です(uso desu) – That’s a lie.
With any luck you noticed that there was no は(wa) to indicate the topic in my last sentence. All I said was 嘘(uso) – lie and です(desu) to make it polite. This is because a lot of Japanese is implied. Since it’s obvious that the lie was that I am a potato, there’s no need to say ‘The fact that I am a potato is a lie’. You can just say ‘lie’. Of course, we don’t really talk like that in English though…
I am a potato.
LIE!
In English we tend to explain every single aspect of a situation so that even stupid people will understand what we’re on about. So you might find it hard to get used to this at first but don’t worry too much about it ’cause you’ll eventually get the hang of it.
If you’re intelligent enough…
You can also ignore は(wa) when you’ve already said the topic. Since it’s already been established that that is the topic, there’s no need to keep repeating it over and over again. So, unlike English where you say I all the time, it’s best to avoid saying 私(watashi) too much. Mainly because it makes you sound like a small child…or a foreigner who doesn’t know that much about Japanese.
So! Now you know all the basics, you can introduce yourself in Japanese!
If you don’t understand the vocabulary, then click here for extra information.
はじめまして hajimemashite – Nice to meet you.
ガブリエルです gaburieru desu – I am Gabrielle.
フランス人です furansu jin desu – I am French.
１９歳です juu kyuu sai desu – I am 19 years old.
趣味は料理です shumi wa ryouri desu – My hobby is cooking.
よろしくお願いします yoroshiku onegaishimasu – Please treat me kindly.
はじめまして hajimemashite – Nice to meet you.
アレクサンドラです arekusandora desu – I am Alexandra.
ロシア人です roshia jin desu – I am Russian.
２１歳です ni juu issai desu – I am 21 years old.
趣味はバレエです shumi wa baree desu – My hobby is ballet.
よろしくお願いします yoroshiku onegaishimasu – Please treat me kindly.
はじめまして hajimemashite – Nice to meet you.
アンバーです anbaa desu – I am Amber.
アメリカ人です amerika jin desu – I am American.
２０歳です hatachi desu – I am 20 years old.
趣味はピアノです shumi wa piano desu – My hobby is piano.
よろしくお願いします yoroshiku onegaishimasu – Please treat me kindly.
はじめまして hajimemashite – Nice to meet you.
ハンターです hantaa desu – I am Hunter.
カナダ人です kanada jin desu – I am Canadian.
２５歳です ni juu go sai desu – I am 25 years old.
趣味はハンティングです shumi wa hantingu desu – My hobby is hunting.
よろしくお願いします yoroshiku onegaishimasu – Please treat me kindly.
はじめまして hajimemashite – Nice to meet you.
カイリーです kairii desu – I am Kylie.
オーストラリア人です oosutoraria jin desu – I am Australian.
２３歳です ni juu san sai desu – I am 23 years old.
趣味は音楽です shumi wa ongaku desu – My hobby is music.
よろしくお願いします yoroshiku onegaishimasu – Please treat me kindly.
はじめまして hajimemashite – Nice to meet you.
クルトです kuruto desu – I am Kurt.
ドイツ人です doitsu jin desu – I am German.
１８歳です juu hassai desu – I am 18 years old.
趣味はゲームです shumi wa geemu desu – My hobby is (computer) games.
よろしくお願いします yoroshiku onegaishimasu – Please treat me kindly.
はじめまして hajimemashite – Nice to meet you.
キュードンです kyuu don desu – I am Kyu Dong.
韓国人です kankoku jin desu – I am Korean.
２４歳です ni juu san sai desu – I am 24 years old.
趣味は読書です shumi wa dokusho desu – My hobby is reading.
よろしくお願いします yoroshiku onegaishimasu – Please treat me kindly.
はじめまして hajimemashite – Nice to meet you.
ハナです hana desu – I’m Hannah.
イギリス人です igirisu jin desu – I’m British.
２２歳です ni juu ni sai desu – I’m 22 years old.
趣味はプランキングです shumi wa purankingu desu – My hobby is planking.
よろしくお願いします yoroshiku onegaishimasu – Please treat me kindly.
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