2.0 Welcome to Japanese-Learning Communities (1)
In this book, our goal is to provide you with the tools and knowledge to actively participate in dynamic language-learning communities.
In ‘Welcome to Japanese-Learning Communities’, you will start a fun journey to learn basic Japanese conversation skills. This chapter will show you how to introduce yourself and help you make friends with your fellow classmates and other members in language-learning communities.
It’s designed to make interactions in Japanese straightforward and enjoyable, whether you’re greeting someone for the first time or stepping into a new cross-cultural sphere.
Learning goals
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Identify additional hiragana characters.
- Use simple greetings to start a friendly conversation in Japanese.
- Understand and apply the fundamental sentence pattern ‘X は (wa) Y です (desu)’ (X is Y) in a self-introduction.
- Learn the Japanese punctuation system to enhance your reading and writing skills.
- Gain insights into various first-person pronouns in Japanese, aside from 私 (わたし: watashi), and how to use them.
Words
| Japanese | Romaji | English | Notes |
| 私（わたし） | watashi | I/me | This is a formal and gender-neutral first-person pronoun. For more information on gender and first-person pronouns, please see Module 6.7. |
| 名前（なまえ） | namae | name | |
| お名前 | onamae | name | The honorific prefix お (o) is used before 名前 (namae) to show politeness. It is typically used to refer to someone else’s name, not your own name. For further details on honorific prefixes, please refer to Module 1.6. |
| 先生（せんせい） | sensei | teacher/professor/doctor/ lawyer/author etc. | This is also an honorific title placed after the family name of the teacher to whom you are referring. |
| 〜さん | san | Mr/Ms/Mrs/any non-binary titles | The honorific さん (san) is a gender-neutral title that is used after someone’s family name or, in slightly more intimate contexts, their given name. |
| 皆（みな）さん | mina-san | everyone | Polite/formal |
| 学生（がくせい） | gakusei | student | This word usually refers to university students. |
| 大学（だいがく） | daigaku | university | |
| モナシュ（もなしゅ） | Monashu | Monash | |
| 自己紹介（じこしょうかい） | jiko-shoukai | self-introduction | 自己 (jiko) means ‘self’. 紹介 (shoukai) means ‘introduction’ or ‘referral’. |
| 日本（にほん） | Nihon | Japan | |
| 日本語（にほんご） | Nihongo | Japanese language | This refers to the Japanese language. The suffix 語 (ご: go) is used to indicate a language, so 日本語 combines 日本 (Japan) with 語, meaning ‘Japanese language’. This structure applies to other languages as well. For example, the term for English is 英語（えいご: Eigo）. Here, 英 (えい: ei) refers to ‘England’ or ‘English’, and 語 (go) again indicates a language, so 英語 means ‘English language’. Similarly, you can use 語 (go) with other countries to refer to their languages: フランス語（ふらんすご: furansugo) — French language: 中国語 (ちゅうごくご: chuugokugo) — Chinese language. |
| 水（みず） | mizu | water |
Expressions and phrases
| Japanese | Romaji | English | Notes |
| じゃあ | jaa | then | Short response |
| あ | a |
oh | Short response |
| ええと | eeto |
well | Short response |
| はい | hai |
yes/okay | Polite; はい (hai) is versatile in Japanese, commonly used as ‘yes’ to affirmatively respond to questions. Beyond just ‘yes’, it can imply ‘okay’, signaling agreement or acknowledgement in a conversation. It’s used to show that the speaker is listening and comprehending what’s being said, often used to maintain the flow of conversation. Conversely, the term for ‘no’ in Japanese is いいえ (iie), which will be introduced in Module 3.0. |
| お願（ねが）いします | onegai shimasu | please | The phrase お願いします can stand alone in requests or . |
| X（を）お願いします | X (o) onegai shimasu | X, please | In the sentence pattern, use a noun for ‘X’ to indicate the object acted upon. The particle を (o) follows this noun, marking it as the direct object in the sentence. In casual conversation, this particle can sometimes be omitted for brevity. For a deeper understanding, please refer to the ‘Key Grammar Points’ section below. |
| はじめまして | hajime mashite | Nice to meet you | Neutral |
| よろしく | yoroshiku | Treat me kindly; Nice to meet you | Informal (also see Module 2.3) |
| よろしくお願いします | yoroshiku onegai shimasu | Please treat me kindly; Nice to meet you | Polite/formal; To learn more about the distinctions between はじめまして and よろしくお願いします, please see Module 2.3. |
| ありがとう | arigatou | Thanks | Informal |
| ありがとうございます | arigatou gozaimasu | Thank you very much | Polite/formal |
| どういたしまして | dou itashi mashite | You’re welcome | Neutral |
| こんにちは | konnichiwa | Hello | Neutral; Note that the hiragana character は is pronounced ‘wa’ rather than ‘ha’ (also see Module 2.3). |
| おはよう | ohayou | Morning [greeting] | Informal |
| おはようございます | ohayou gozaimasu | Good morning | Polite/formal |
| さようなら | sayounara | Bye | Polite/formal |
| すみません | sumimasen | Excuse me/I’m sorry [apology] | Polite/formal (also see Module 2.3) |
| ごめんなさい | gomennasai | I’m sorry [apology] | Polite/less formal (also see Module 2.3) |
| とてもいいですね | totemo ii desu ne | (That’s) really good. | Polite |
Key grammar points
| Japanese | Romaji | English | Notes |
| は | wa | — | Particle; It is pronounced ‘wa’; however, it is written as ‘ha’. This particle is often referred to as a ‘topic marker’, used to indicate the topic of a sentence (also see Module 2.4). |
| です | desu | is, am, are | Copula/linking verb |
| Xは? | X wa? | What about X? | In the given sentence pattern, ‘X’ represents a noun, and the particle は (pronounced ‘wa’ in this context, not ‘ha’) is used to mark the topic of the sentence. This usage highlights the noun ‘X’ as the main topic of discussion. |
| を | o |
— | Particle; It is pronounced ‘o’. This particle is often referred to as a ‘object marker’, used to indicate the object that marks the action of a verb in a sentence (also see Module 2.5). |
Exercise 1
Model dialogue
Lina and Kevin are practising self-introductions in their first Japanese language class at a university in Australia.
| Teacher: じゃあ、みなさん。自己紹介（じこしょうかい）をお願（ねが）いします。 | Jaa, mina-san. Jiko shoukai o onegai shimasu. |
| Lina: あ、はじめまして。私（わたし）は*リナ（りな）です。よろしく。* The non-Japanese name ‘Lina’ is usually written in katakana, but we are providing the hiragana here to help you read it in Japanese. | A, hajime mashite. Watashi wa Rina desu. Yoroshiku. |
| Kevin: Oh, so can we just say よろしく? | Yoroshiku? |
| Lina: Yeah, that’s a shorter and more casual version of yoroshiku onegai shimasu. | Yeah, that’s a shorter and more casual version of yoroshiku onegai shimasu. |
| Kevin: Right. ありがとう、リナさん。 | Arigatou, Rina-san. |
| Lina: ええと、お名前（なまえ）は？ | Eeto, onamae wa? |
| Kevin: ケビン（けびん）です。はじめまして。よろしくお願い… What was that again? | Kebin desu. Hajime mashite. Yoroshiku onegai … What was that again? |
| Lina: よろしく is just fine! | Yoroshiku is just fine! |
| Kevin: よろしく！ | Yoroshiku! |
| Teacher: リナさん、ケビンさん、とてもいいですね！Just quickly, when you’re talking to your teachers or people who are older than you or in more formal contexts, it’s customary to use the longer version of the phrase, ‘yoroshiku onegai shimasu’. | Rina-san, Kebin-san, totemo ii desu ne! Just quickly, when you’re talking to your teachers or people who are older than you or in more formal contexts, it’s customary to use the longer version of the phrase, ‘yoroshiku onegai shimasu’. |
| Lina and Kevin: はい。ありがとうございます！ | Hai, arigatou gozaimasu! |
| Teacher: どういたしまして。 |
Dou itashi mashite. |
English translation
| Teacher: All right, everyone. Please introduce yourselves [literally, ‘Self introductions, please’]. |
| Lina: Oh, nice to meet you. I’m Lina. Treat me kindly. |
| Kevin: Oh, so can we just say yoroshiku? |
| Lina: Yeah, that’s a shorter and more casual version of yoroshiku onegai shimasu. |
| Kevin: Right. Thanks, Lina. |
| Lina: Well, (what’s) your name? |
| Kevin: (I’m) Kevin. Nice to meet you. Yoroshiku onegai … What was that again? |
| Lina: Yoroshiku is just fine! |
| Kevin: Yoroshiku [Treat me kindly]! |
| Teacher: Lina and Kevin, that’s very good! Just quickly, when you’re talking to your teachers or people who are older than you or in more formal contexts, it’s customary to use the longer version of the phrase, yoroshiku onegai shimasu. |
| Lina and Kevin: Okay. Thank you very much! |
| Teacher: You’re welcome. |
Exercise 2
Listen to the following audio files. Each phrase is read twice, first at a slow pace and then at a natural pace. Repeat each phrase after the speaker.
Teacher: じゃあ、みなさん。自己紹介をお願いします。
Lina: あ、はじめまして。私はリナです。よろしく。
Kevin: Oh, so can we just say よろしく?
Kevin: Right. ありがとう、リナさん。
Lina: ええと、お名前は？
Kevin: ケビンです。はじめまして。よろしくお願い … what was that again?
Lina: よろしくis just fine!
Kevin: よろしく！
Teacher: リナさん、ケビンさん、とてもいいですね！
Lina and Kevin: はい。ありがとうございます！
Teacher: どういたしまして。
Discussion points
Let’s share your observations and thoughts on the following points!
- The greeting よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu) might have sounded quite unfamiliar to you at first. How did it make you feel when you heard it for the first time? Is there an expression in your own language that conveys a similar meaning?
- How do the brief expressions あ (a), じゃあ (jaa) and ええと (eeto) function in the conversation? Can you think of specific situations where you might use these phrases? Are you familiar with any other short expressions that facilitate smoother dialogue?
Further resources
The following resource (about 2 minutes long), created by Japan Voices, may help you understand the cultural nuances and connotations of よろしくお願いします. It uses scenes from the Studio Ghibli anime Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbour, Totoro), to illustrate the phrase’s use when the family moves to a new house in a new area:
Figures
1 “Tokyo Sky” (untitled) by Pierre Blaché. Pexels. Licensed under Pexels licence.
2 “Goal Icon” by faisalovers. Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC by 3.0.
3 “Speech Bubble Icon” by Geremy Good. Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC 0.
4 “Lightbulb Icon” by Maxim Kulikov. Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC by 3.0.
References
Japan Voices. “The True Meaning of Yoroshiku onegai shimasu from My Neighbor Totoro (2).” YouTube video, 2:09. December 1, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB9nMSQXFKY.
