Basic Lessons
Introducing People (2): At a party
Dialogue
Click here for the dialogue for "Introducing People."
Grammar
(1) Nouns
Japanese nouns have no gender, no singular/plural, and no articles.
("the" and "a" etc.) For example, the word "tomodachi" can be "a friend," "the friend,"
"friends," or "the friends." Usually the context tells
the particular meaning of a word.
(2) ~ desu
"~ desu （～です）" is equivalent to English "am," "are," or
"is." Unlike English, it doesn't change its form according to the
subject. "~ desu" always comes at the end of a sentence.
| Watashi wa gakusei desu. 私は学生です｡ |
I am a student. |
| Kochira wa Yamada-san desu. こちらは山田さんです｡ |
This is Ms. Yamada. |
| Watashitachi wa tomodachi desu. 私達は友達です｡ |
We are friends. |
When it is obvious to the other person what the topic is, it is generally omitted.
| (Watashi wa) Hiroko desu. （私は）ひろ子です｡ |
I am Hiroko. |
| (Watashi wa) gakusei desu. （私は）学生です｡ |
I am a student. |
(4) Negative form
The negative form of "~ desu （～です）" is "~ ja arimasen
（～じゃありません）" or
"~ dewa arimasen （ではありません）." "~ dewa arimasen" is more formal, and
"~ ja arimasen" is
common in casual conversation.
| Gakusei dewa arimasen. 学生ではありません｡ |
I am not a student. |
| Nihon-jin ja arimasen. 日本人じゃありません｡ |
I am not Japanese. |
