Vocabulary

あのう／あの

say; well; errr

うん

yes (casual)

この

this （abbr. of これの）

間(あいだ)

space (between); time (between); period

ディズニーランド(Di i zu ni i ra n do)

Disney Land

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

すごい i-adj

to a great extent

込む(こ・む) u-verb

to become crowded

何(なに／なん)

what

出来る(で・き・る) ru-verb

to be able to do

今(いま)

now

図書館(と・しょ・かん)

library

何で(なん・で)

why; how

日本語(に・ほん・ご)

Japanese (language)

たくさん

a lot (amount)

勉強(べん・きょう)

study

する exception

to do

まだ

yet

全然(ぜん・ぜん)

not at all (when used with negative)

分かる(わ・かる) u-verb

to understand

大丈夫(だい・じょう・ぶ) u-verb

ok

なる u-verb

to become

いい i-adj

good

今日(きょう)

today

雨(あめ)

rain

降る(ふ・る) u-verb

to precipitate

大学(だい・がく)

college

After the よ and ね, さ and な are the next most commonly used sentence-ending particles.

さ, which is basically a very casual form of よ, is similar to the English “like” in that some people throw it in at the end of almost every single phrase. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a very sophisticated manner of speech but just like using “like” all the time, I cannot deny that it is an easy habit to fall into. In that sense, due to its over-use, it has almost lost any specific meaning. You may overhear a conversation like the following:

Ａ

あのさ・・・

Hey…

Ｂ

うん。

Yeah.

Ａ

この間さ・・・

This one time…

Ｂ

うん。

Yeah.

Ａ

ディズニーランドに行ったんだけどさ、なんかさ、すごい込んでて・・・

I went to Disney Land and it was really crowded…

Ｂ

うん

Uh huh.

Ａ

何もできなくてさ・・・

Couldn’t do anything, you know…

And it goes on like this, sometimes the other person might break in to say something related to the topic.

You can use な in place of ね when it sounds too soft and reserved for what you want to say or for the audience you are speaking to. Its rough sound generally applies to the male gender but is not necessarily restricted to only males.

Example 1

洋介(よう・すけ) Yousuke

今、図書館に行くんだよな。

You are going to the library now huh? (seeking explanation)

智子(とも・こ) Tomoko

うん、なんで？

Yeah, why?

Example 2

ボブ(bo bu) Bob

日本語は、たくさん勉強したけどな。まだ全然わからない。

I studied Japanese a lot, right? But, I still don’t get it at all.

アリス(a ri su) Alice

大丈夫よ。きっとわかるようになるからさ。

No problem. You’ll become able to understand for sure, you know?

ボブ(bo bu) Bob

ならいいけどな。

If so, it would be good.

The な sentence-ending particle is often used with the question marker か to indicate that the speaker is considering something.

1. 今日は雨が降るかな？
   I wonder if it’ll rain today.

2. いい大学に行けるかな？
   I wonder if I can go to a good college.

Vocabulary

おい

hey

どこ

where

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

呼ぶ(よ・ぶ) u-verb

to call

いい i-adj

good

一体(いったい)

forms an emphatic question (e.g. “why on earth?”)

何時(なん・じ)

what time

帰る(かえ・る) u-verb

to go home

つもり

intention, plan

俺(おれ)

me; myself; I (masculine)

土曜日(ど・よう・び)

Saturday

映画(えい・が)

movie

見る(み・る) ru-verb

to see

一緒(いっ・しょ)

together

かい and だい are strongly masculine sentence endings for asking questions. かい is used for yes/no questions while だい is used for open-ended questions.

Vocabulary

もう

already

時間(じ・かん)

time

ある u-verb

to exist (inanimate)

おい

hey

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

これ

this

終わり(お・わり)

end

いい i-adj

good

大学(だい・がく)

college

入る(はい・る) u-verb

to enter

These sentence-ending particles are primarily used just to emphasize something and doesn’t really have a meaning per se. However, they can make your statements sound much stronger and/or very gender-specific. Using わ is just like よ except it will make you sound very feminine (this is a different sound from the わ used in Kansai dialect). かしら is also a very feminine version of かな, which we just went over. ぞ and ぜ are identical to よ except that it makes you sound “cool” and manly, or at least, that is the intent. These examples may not be very helpful without actually hearing what they sound like.

Examples

1. もう時間がないわ。
   There is no more time.

2. おい、行くぞ！
   Hey, we’re going!

3. これで、もう終わりだぜ。
   With this, it’s over already.

4. いい大学に入れるかしら？
   I wonder if I can enter a good college.

Vocabulary

加賀(か・が)

Kaga (last name)

先生(せん・せい)

teacher

ちょっと

a little

質問(しつ・もん)

question

聞く(き・く) u-verb

to ask; to listen

いい i-adj

good

はい

yes (polite)

日本語(に・ほん・ご)

Japanese (language)

何(なに／なん)

what

言う(い・う) u-verb

to say

そう

(things are) that way

大体(だい・たい)

mostly

こんにちは

good day

思う(おも・う) u-verb

to think

ただし

however

書く(か・く) u-verb

to write

時(とき)

time

他(ほか)

other

表現(ひょう・げん)

expression

ある u-verb

to exist (inanimate)

これ

this

覚える(おぼ・える) ru-verb

to memorize

朝(あさ)

morning

おはよう

good morning

でも

but

上(うえ)

above

人(ひと)

person

おはよう
ございます

good morning (polite)

分かる(わ・かる) u-verb

to understand

間違える(ま・ちが・える) ru-verb

to make a mistake

勉強(べん・きょう)

study

なる u-verb

to become

洋介(よう・すけ)

Yousuke (first name)

あのう／あの

say; well; errr

英語(えい・ご)

English (language)

教える(おし・える) ru-verb

to teach; to inform

もらう u-verb

to receive

もし

if by any chance

時間(じ・かん)

time

うん

yes (casual)

アメリカ(a me ri ka)

America

留学(りゅう・がく)

study abroad

する exception

to do

去年(きょ・ねん)

last year

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

お金(お・かね)

money

ある u-verb

to exist (inanimate)

いつ

when

欲しい(ほ・しい) i-adj

wanted; desirable

来週(らい・しゅう)

next week

木曜日(もく・よう・び)

Thursday

ありがとう

thank you

怠ける(なま・ける) ru-verb

to neglect, to be lazy about

{来る|く exception・る}

to come

そんな

that sort of

こと

event, matter

We learned quite a lot of things in this section. Let’s try to put it all together by seeing how different kinds of conjugations are used in different combinations. This is of course by no means an exhaustive list but merely an illustration of how we can use what we learned in various combinations to create a lot of useful expressions.

Dialog Example 1

アリス(a ri su) Alice

加賀先生、ちょっと質問を聞いてもいいですか？

(lit) Kaga-sensei, is it ok to ask you a question?

Kaga-sensei, is it ok to ask you a question?

加賀(か・が)先生(せん・せい) Kaga-sensei

はい、いいですよ。

(lit) Yes, it’s ok.

Sure.

アリス(a ri su) Alice

Helloを日本語で何と言えばいいですか。

(lit) If you say what for “hello” in Japanese, is it ok?

How do you say “Hello” in Japanese?

加賀(か・が)先生(せん・せい) Kaga-sensei

そうね。大体、こんにちはと言うと思いますよ。ただし、書く時はこんにちわじゃなくて、こんにちはと書かなくてはなりません。

(lit) Well, mostly, I think people say “konnichiwa”. Only, when you write it, you must write “konnichiha” and not “konnichiwa”.

Well, most of the time, I think people say “konnichiwa”. Only, when you write it, you must write “konnichiha” and not “konnichiwa”.

アリス(a ri su) Alice

そうですか。他に何かいい表現はありますか。

(lit) Is that so? Are there any other good expressions?

Is that so? Are there any other good expressions?

加賀(か・が)先生(せん・せい) Kaga-sensei

これも覚えといてね。朝は、おはようと言うの。でも、上の人にはおはようございますと言ってください。

(lit) Please memorize this too (in preparation for the future). In the morning, everybody says, “ohayou”. But, please say, “ohayou-gozaimasu” to a higher person.

You should know this too. In the morning, everybody says, “ohayou”. But, please say, “ohayou-gozaimasu” to a higher person.

アリス(a ri su) Alice

はい、分かりました。間違えないようにします。いい勉強になりました！

(lit) Yes, I understood. I’ll do in the manner of not making mistake. It became good study!

Ok, I got it. I’ll try not to make that mistake. That was very informative!

Dialog Example 2

洋介(よう・すけ) Yousuke

お！アリスだ。あのね、質問を聞いてもいい？

(lit) Oh! It’s Alice. Hey, is it ok to ask a question?

Oh! It’s Alice. Hey, can I ask you a question?

アリス(a ri su) Alice

何？

(lit) What?

What up?

洋介(よう・すけ) Yousuke

ちょっと英語を教えてもらいたいんだけどさ、もし時間があれば、教えてくれない？

(lit) I want to receive the favor of you teaching English and if, by any chance, you have time, will you give the favor of teaching?

I want to learn English so if you have time, can you teach me?

アリス(a ri su) Alice

え？英語を勉強するの？

(lit) Huh? You are going to study English?

Huh? You’re going to study English?

洋介(よう・すけ) Yousuke

うん、アメリカで留学してみたいなと思ってね。去年も行こうとしたけど、お金がなくて・・・

(lit) Yeah, I was thinking that I want to try studying abroad in America. I tried to make motion toward going last year too but, without money…

Yeah, I was thinking about studying abroad in America. I tried going last year too but I didn’t have the money.

アリス(a ri su) Alice

そうなの？いいよ。いつ教えてほしいの？

(lit) Is that so? It’s good. When do you want me to teach you?

Really? No problem. When do you want me to teach you?

洋介(よう・すけ) Yousuke

いつでもいいよ。

(lit) Anytime is good.

Anytime is fine.

アリス(a ri su) Alice

じゃ、来週の木曜日からはどう？

(lit) Then what about from next week Thursday?

What about from next week Thursday then?

洋介(よう・すけ) Yousuke

うん、いいよ。ありがとう！

(lit) Yeah, ok. Thanks!

OK, thanks!

アリス(a ri su) Alice

勉強を怠けたり、来なかったり、しないでね。

(lit) Don’t do things like shirk on your studies or not come, ok?

You’re not going to shirk on your studies or not come or anything right?

洋介(よう・すけ) Yousuke

そんなことしないよ！

(lit) I won’t do anything like that!

I won’t do anything like that!