Stage 2 (Part 5)

Kureru --> くれる

Lets learn "Kureru" which is a very polite way of saying, "He/She gave me...... or to express giving something to the speaker family. In fact "Kureru" is a very common way of expressing one gratitude or to inform the 3rd party that the 2nd party gave a present/object to the 1st party who is the speaker. In Japan, the word "Kureru" is used widely by friends or family members. But do keep in mind that when a junior is talking to a senior, the word "Kudasaru" must be used to show respect to someone with status or in a higher position in the corporate world. I did that mistake once and they gave me a "Who's da boss look". I immediately apologize for my mistake. :) Smart move ehh...

Without further ado, lets start with some simple sentences using the word "Kureru". By the end of this post, you will learn something very useful and very common. 

1) Kare wa atashi no tanjoubi ni kirei na okurimono wo kuremashita.

(He gave me a beautiful gift for my birthday)

The speaker above is clearly a female. If you are a male, you must substitute the "Atashi" with "Watashi or Boku". Notice that Kureru --> Kuremashita is at the end of the sentence? This is because before using "Kureru" an object noun must be at the front of the sentence then "Wo" before "kureru".

2) Enpitsu wo kashite kuremasen ka.

(Can you lend me your pencil please?)

The speaker can also use "Kureru --> Kuremasen" to inform the 2nd party to give or lend an object to him or her. 

3) Boku no tame ni Okasan ga oishii tiramisu keki wo tsukutte kuremashita.

(My mother made a delicious tiramisu cake for me)

Here you can see the "Boku no tame ni"...It means "For my sake or literally translated as For me". Or you can just say "Boku no tame, tiramisu keki wo tsukutte kuremashita" which is a shorter version and it also refers to someone made the cake for me. In Japan people would often miss out the "Boku, Watashi and etc" as they expect the listener to know what or who they are referring to. Sometimes, I would be like "What?"....

4) Ni nen mae sensei ga watashi ni eigo wo oshiete kudasaimashita.

(My lecturer taught me english language 2 years ago)

You must be wondering what is "Kudasaimashita"?.....well, it's "kudasaru" and it's a respectful form of kureru. When speaking to a 2nd party about your lecturer or someone of higher status, try to use Kudasaru as to show your respect.

Vocabulary of the day:

Enpitsu - Pencil

Tsukutte (Tsukuru) - To make

Tanjoubi - Birthday

Okurimono - Gift/Present 

Kureru / Kudasaru - To be given (Something)

I hope this lesson teaches you something new and always use this sentence pattern to express something given to you and it will come naturally to you after some practice. 

I will update more sentence pattern and grammar in the near future. Stay tune and good night Guys and Gals. 

Stage 2 (Part 4)

sentence + nai-form + to ikenai
(ない + といけない)

First of all let me explain how to use this form of sentence to construct a good sentence. It will be short and simple. To add any verb + to ikenai, the verb must be in nai form. If translated directly into English it will sound like a double negative. For example "Nomanai" and "Ikenai" both means do not drink and not permitted to do something. However if both are combined, it will be an equivalent of "Must do something". It is like maths, when a (-) is multiplied to (-) it becomes (+). I am glad I still remember a little bit of maths. :)


Ok here we go with some of the sentence pattern and the usage of nai form (Verb) + to ikenai

1) Boku wa sono niku ryori wo tabenai to ikenai.
(I must eat that meat dish)

2) Kono shinbun wo yomanai to ikenai.
(I must read this newspaper)

3) Kono kusuri wo nomanai to ikenai.
(I must drink this medicine)

4) Ano hito wo korosanai to ikenai.
(I must kill that person)

So all you need to do is to change the plain verb to nai form then add with "To ikenai".


I hope from this lesson, you will be able to construct more sentences using "To ikenai". It is important to emphasize that "I must do something/ do this or that" to be able to better express yourself.

Till then guys and gals. I am off to bed.

:)

Sorry for the long Hiatus

I will be back updating very soon. Sorry for the long break due to Real life problem. I will update it in a day or 2 and will continue with the Japanese lessons. Please stay tune.

Stage 2 (Part 3)

Sorry for the slow update. ok, let me explain a little about kamo shiremasen. When a speaker uses Kamo shiremasen, he or she is not sure about the matter. When facing an uncertainty, kamo shiremasen must be use to express the speaker's uncertainty.

Lets explore more about this sentence pattern.

Sentence + Kamo Shiremasen  かもしれません

(Might be/May be)

1) Kore ga Hayase san no kaban kamo shiremasen.

(This might be Hayase's bag.)

Note: Kamo shiremasen is usually put at the end of a sentence. Its usage is similar to "to itte imasu and to omoimasu".

2) Kanojo wa sushi ga suki kamo shiremasen. 

(She might like to eat sushi) 

Note: Kamo shiremasen can be use in any situation varying from expression thoughts to telling facts. 

3) Marasia wa ima totemo atsui kamo shiremasen.

(Malaysia might be very hot now)

Note: When adding kamo shiremasen, the verbs will retain its dictionary form of verb. 

4) Ano toki kare wa yuumei na hito kamo shiremasen.

(At that time, he might be a famous person.)

I will be updating this a few days from now. Hope today's post will be helpful to all of you.

;) Till then. For further information you may E-mail me at takashiizai@yahoo.co.jp

Ja mata raishuu (See you next week).

Stage 2 (Part 2)

How to count

Sorry for the very slow update. I have been busy with exams and my real life. Hope you guys didn't wait too long for the update. This is Stage 2 but i will teach numbers and how to count as i forgot to include this in stage 1. Today's lesson will be very easy and you will all find it enjoyable. When you know how to say the exact number or to specify the quantity you will find it very useful.

Without further interuption lets begin the lesson for today.

1 = ichi 一                  

2= ni ニ

3 =san 三

4 = shi / yon 四

5 = go 五

6 = roku 六

7 =shichi / nana 七

8 = hachi 八

9 = kyuu 九 

10 = juu 十

To count for machine

Formula = number + dai

1) Ichi dai = 1 machine

2) ni dai = 2 machines

3) san dai = 3 machines

4) yon dai = 4 machines

5) go dai = 5 machines

6) roku dai = 6 machines

7) nan dai = 7 machines

8) hachi dai = 8 machines

9) kyuu dai = 9 machines

10) juu dai = 10 machines

Note: Notice number 4, I use yon instead of shi when refering to object (Even living things). In japanese culture, shi also means "Death = shinu" which is consider a bad omen. To avoid saying that word, "yon" becomes the alternative word to replace "shi". 

How to count for Human

1) hitori = 1 person / alone

2) futari = 2 person

3) san nin = 3 person

4) yo nin = 4 person

5) go nin = 5 person

6) roku nin = 6 person

7) nana nin / shichi nin= 7 person

8) hachi nin = 8 person

9) kyuu nin = 9 person

10) juu nin = 10 person

Note: Only for 1 and 2 person you use hitori and futari. But for 3 and above use "nin" (Human/people). The nin comes from the word ningen (Human / Person). 

How to count days

1) ichi nichi = 1 day / 1st day of the month

2) futsuka = 2 days / 2nd day of the month

3) mikka = 3 days / 3rd day of the month

4) yokka = 4 days / 4th day of the month

5) itsuka = 5 days / 5th day of the month

6) muika = 6 days / 6th day of the month

7) nanoka = 7 days / 7th day of the month

8) youka = 8 days / 8th day of the month

9) kokonoka = 9 days / 9th day of the month

10) touka = 10 days / 10th day of the month

Note: You have to memorize this by heart. ;-) well there is no easy way out sometimes. 

~~~**More coming soon**~~

Stage 2 (Part 1)

Today, we will be constructing sentences with [to omoimasu] and I bet today will be an easy lesson for all of you. To omoimasu means think/think that. You can only use it when you are expressing your opinion or feelings. If it is expressing thoughts or ideas, you have to use kangaeru which I will cover later on other parts of this stage.

Formula 1): Noun/-na adjectives +  da to omoimasu [と 思います]

Formula 2): -i adjectives + to omoimasu [と 思います]

1)Kono kanojo wa totemo kirei desu. ---> Kono kanojo wa totemo kirei to omoimasu.
This girl is very pretty. --> I think this girl is very pretty.


Note:  It is a very simple and straight forward sentence pattern. When an adjective ends with an [i] the da will be removed.


2)Mondai wa arimasen --> Mondai wa nai to omoimasu.
It is not a problem --> I think it is not a problem.

Note: Notice the "arimasen"? It was change to "nai" instead. The reason behind this is because when adding [To Omoimasu] all the longer words must be change to a shorter words. For example, "ariamasen = nai" "desu = da" "Kimasen = Konai".


3)Kotoko san wa kimasen --> Kotoko san wa konai to omoimasu
Ms Kotoko isn't coming. --> I think Ms Kotoko isn't coming.

Note: Note that the kimasen is change to konai before adding the "to omoimasu".


4)Kyou no testo wa muzukashii desu. --> Kyou no testo wa muzukashii to omoimasu.
Today's test is hard/difficult. --> I think today's test is hard/difficult.

Note: This is the same as the first sentence.


5)Kenzo san wa nihon no ryori wa zenzen oishikunai to omotte imasu.
Mr Kenzo thinks that the Japanese food is not delicious at all.

Note: Notice [To omotte]? The reason i use this was because Mr Kenzo is currently thinking about the japanese food. Thus the -te form is being applied here. However, when you want to say "I think...." it is always safe to use [To omoimasu]. Lastly, notice why are there 2 "wa" particles? This is because, both Mr Kenzo and the japanese food are the topic marker of this sentence.


6)Kare wa ii hito desu --> Kare wa ii hito da to omotta noni.
He is a good guy. --> I thought he was a good guy.

Note: Notice the [To omotta]?........It is the past tense for to omou/omoimasu. Most verb that ends with -ta are past tense. For example taberu = tabeta, nomu=nonda, yobu=yonda which are all past tense. On top of that, I just simply add "noni". It does not change the sentence much if you prefer to exclude the "noni".

7) Kyo wa hima da to omoimasu --> I think I am free today.

Note: The "Hima" is a -na adjective. When a -na adjective is present, the "da" will be added.

I will be stopping here for today and until I make a new post, i hope you can benefit from this one. As we move on, it will surely get harder however, with passion for japanese language, you will gain a lot from it and will be able to master it within a short period of time.

:-) Till we meet the next time, I wish you all a happy day.

Stage 1 (Part 6)

Nice timing, we are back on track again.

Lets proceed onto stage 1 (Part 6). This will be the last part for stage 1 and by today, you should be able to write and talk basic japanese. Don't be surprise, thus far until part 6, we have covered many weeks of lectures in the regular japanese classes.

Now, lets proceed to our next sentence pattern. Today I will teach you about "mada atte nai" = Not yet.

Sounds foreign right? But no worries, I will give you many examples of sentences and elaborated explanation. Sit tight and here we go !!

Te-Form
Before we go into the sentence pattern, let me show you some examples of the [te form].


Taberu 食べる= Tabete (Eat)
Suru 為る= Shite (To do)
Kuru 来る= Kite (To Come)
Hairu 入る= Haite (To enter)
Wakaru 分かる= Wakatte (Understand/To know)
Omou 思う= Omotte (To feel/To think)
Iku 行く= Itte (To go)
Tsukau 使う= Tsukatte (To use/To handle)
Aru 在る= Atte (To have/exist)
Nomu 飲む= Nonde (To drink)

Even after you change the original (-ru form/Dictionary form) to Te form, it remains as present tense.

Example:
Mite Kudasai = Please take a look.
Haite Kudasai = Please enter.
Imouto wa totemo tanoshikatta to itte = Sister says that she was very happy.




"Mada atte nai" 未だ あってない = Not Yet

Formula: mada + te form + inai/imasen (The imasen is from arimasen)

(Use this "te form + inai/imasen" to describe something that has not happen yet)


1) Asa gohan wa mada tabete imasen.
(I have not taken my breakfast yet).

2) Kohi wa mada nonde imasen.
(I have not drink my coffee yet).

3) Daigakusei wa kurasu ni mada haite imasen/inai ne.
(The college students have not yet enter the class).

4) Watashi/boku/atashi no ototo wa ie/uchi ni mada kite imasen.
(My brother has not come home yet)

Note: The "ie" (House/home) is more commonly use compared to uchi (House/home). So I would say it is best to use "ie" each time you refer to your own house or others. Also "Atashi" is for female way of addressing ownself.


Now comes the combination of"sentence particles" + "desu kedo" with "Masu form" and "Te form"

Example:
Kobayashi san ni mada denwa shite inain kedo, kore kara denwa shimasu. Ato de dou surun no?

(I haven't call Mr kobayashi yet but I will call him now. After that what do you plan/want to do?)


Explanation:

Notice the "Ni"....It is to refer to the intended target. In this case the target is Mr Kobayashi so the "Ni" will be place after Kobayashi san. "Mada denwa shite" means haven't make a call yet. The "inai" had been change to "inain" because this is a dialogue. In japanese way of conversation, they prefer to put the "n". "Shimasu" = Doing....Notice why there isn't a desu at the end of the sentence? This is because of the masu form. In Stage 1 Part 5, I have stated that when there is a "masu form" the desu will not appear at the end of the sentence. "Ato de", the reason the "De" is place there to signify an action is taking or going to take place. "Dou surun no?" The suru is change to surun because this is a conversational dialogue. On top of that the "no" means "mono". It doesn't mean much but it is another variation to ending the sentence beside "desu ka".



Extra vocabularies:

Daigakusei = College/university student

Kurasu = Class

Asa gohan = Breakfast

Hiru gohan = Lunch

Ban gohan = Dinner

Denwa = telephone

Denwa suru = To make a call

I will see you in the 2nd stage a few days from now. I hope you have benefited from my blog and have the burning desire to learn more.

See you and thanks for coming by my educational blog.