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Language

Lesson 2: Meeting New Friends

Vocabulary, Grammar

Vocabulary

	Hajimemashite	How do you do?
	watashi	I; me
	namae	name
	sensei	teacher
	tomodachi	friend(s)
	-chan	suffix, attached to given name
	-san	suffix, attached to given or family name
	-kun	suffix, attached to given or family name
	nani	what
	wa	particle; marks a topic
	no	particle; shows possession
	ka	particle; comes at end of sentence to make it a question.
	desu	am; are; is; it is
	Kenta	boy's name
	Sayaka	girl's name
	Tanaka	family name (comes first in Japanese)

Grammar

:

Topic marker. When is used as a topic marker, it is pronounced "wa."

marks whatever comes before it as the subject, or topic, of the sentence.

:

Particle. acts like 's in English - whatever comes after it belongs in some way to whatever comes before it.

tomodachi no namae	friend's name
watashi no sensei	my teacher
nihongo no sensei	a teacher of Japanese

:

Suffix attached to given name. Used informally with names of good friends or young children.

:

Suffix attached to given or family name. Used in more polite situations.

After a teacher's name is used instead.

:

Suffix attached to given or family name of a boy. Somewhat informal.

:

What . Depending on the sound that comes after it,

is sometimes pronounced as

.

:

Appears after nouns and adjectives at the end of a sentence. Used like the verb "to be," or "it is."

:

Appears at the end of a sentence. Turns the sentence into a question.