Countries and Nationalities

Introductory Japanese Lessons (13)

Dialogue in Romaji

Mike: Ginkou wa doko desu ka.
Yuki: Asoko desu.
Mike: Nan-ji kara desu ka.
Yuki: Ku-ji kara desu.
Mike: Doumo.


Dialogue in Japanese

マイク: 銀行はどこですか。
ゆき­: あそこです。
マイク: 何時からですか。
ゆき­: 九時からです。
マイク: どうも。

Dialogue in English

Mike: Where is the bank?
Yuki­: It is over there.
Mike: What time is the bank open from?
Yuki­: From 9 o'clock.
Mike: Thanks.

Do you remember how to ask someone what country he or she is from? The answer is "Okuni wa dochira desu ka (お国にはどちらですか。)" "Dochira (どちら)" and "doko (どこ)" both mean "where". "Doko" is less formal.

How do you say, "What time is it?" The answer is "Nan-ji desu ka (何時ですか)"

Today's question is "Nan-ji kara desu ka (何時からですか)". "Kara (から)" is a particle and means "from".

Quiz

Translate into Japanese. Check your answers at the end of the lesson.

(1) I'm from Japan.
(2) I'm from England.

Here are some vocabulary for the names of the countries.
 

Nihon
日本
Japan Ingurando
イングランド
England
Amerika
アメリカ
America Itaria
イタリア
Italy
Chuugoku
中国
China Kanada
カナダ
Canada
Doitsu
ドイツ
Germany Mekishiko
メキシコ
Mexico
Furansu
フランス
France Oosutoraria
オーストラリア
Australia


Click here to learn how to write the names of the countries in katakana.

Expressing the nationality is easy. Just put "jin (人)" (which means "person" or "people") after the name of country.
 

Nihon-jin
日本人
Japanese
Amerika-jin
アメリカ人
American
Kanada-jin
カナダ人
Canadian


Answers for the Quiz

(1) Nihon kara desu. 日本からです。
(2) Igirisu kara desu. イギリスからです。

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Your Citation
Abe, Namiko. "Countries and Nationalities." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/countries-and-nationalities-2027971. Abe, Namiko. (2023, April 5). Countries and Nationalities. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/countries-and-nationalities-2027971 Abe, Namiko. "Countries and Nationalities." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/countries-and-nationalities-2027971 (accessed March 19, 2024).