Kids Web Japan

Grammar

1. Counting people
   
   Add the word (nin) to the numbers you already know to count people. "One person" and "two people" are a little different, though. You also need to watch out for "four people," where (yon) turns into (yo) - and that goes for "fourteen people" and so on as well.
   

   	hitori	one person
   	futari	two people
   	sannin	three people
   	yonin	four people
   	gonin	five people
   	rokunin	six people
   	shichinin	seven people
   	hachinin	eight people
   	kyuunin	nine people
   	juunin	ten people
   	juuichinin	eleven people
   	juuyonin	fourteen people
   	nijuunin	twenty people
   	nijuuichinin	twenty one people
   	sanjuunin	thirty people
   	yonjuunin	forty people
   	hyakunin	one hundred people

2. Asking how many people
   If you want to ask how many people there are (in someone's family, for instance), just use your old friend (nan) instead of a number. Don't forget to add (desu ka) to make the question complete.
   
   

   Q:	Nannin desu ka?	How many people are there?
   A:	Futari desu.	There are two people.
   Q:	Nannin nihon e ikimasu ka?	How many people will go to Japan?
   A:	Gonin ikimasu.	Five people will go.
   Q:	Yonin ikimasu ka?	Will four people go?
   A:	Iie, yonin dewa arimasen. Gonin desu.	No, not four people. It's five people.


3. Asking "who"
   The word (dare) is used just like (nani) and (itsu), which you have learned to use to ask "what" and "when." Again, use (desu ka) to turn your phrase into a proper question.
   

   Dare desu ka?	Who is it?
   Otoosan desu.	It's my father.
   Ojisan desu ka?	Is it your uncle?
   Iie, ojisan dewa arimasen. Otoosan desu.	No, it is not my uncle. It is my father.

4. Members of a family Some of the names of family members are easy to get confused. Be sure to listen for the longer sound in grandfather and grandmother, and compare it to the shorter sound in uncle and aunt.
   

   	ojiisan	grandfather
   	ojisan	uncle
   	obaasan	grandmother
   	obasan	aunt

   
   In English there are no separate words for "brother" and "sister" that let you know whether they are older or younger. But in Japanese different words are used depending on this age difference. Make sure you use the right ones!
   

   	oneesan	elder sister
   	imooto	younger sister
   	oniisan	elder brother
   	otooto	younger brother