Basic Japanese Phrases with 'Kudasai'

Mite kudasai --- Look please. Kaite kudasai ---Write please. Yonde kudasai --- Read please. Shizukani shite kudasai --- Be quiet please. Suwatte kudasai --- Sit down please. Tatte kudasai --- Stand up please. Narande kudasai --- Line up please. Itte kudasai --- Speak please. Yamete kudasai --- Please stop doing that. Hon o akete kudasai --- open your books. 16 peji o akete kudasai --- Turn to page 16. Tsugi no peji o akete kudasai --- Turn to the next page. Kite kudasai --- Come here please.

Tip For Surviving in the Classroom...

Note: to avoid sounding robotic you can change all of these basic Japanese phrases from ending in
"kudasai" to ending in "ne." So, you can say "kaite ne" to mean something like "won't you write (it)?" It's softer or more gentle than the direct request with "kudasai." More on using "ne" here. Can You Make it Simpler?...

We can try. You can also just completely drop "kudasai" and use the conjunctive form of the verb.
More here. So you would be saying simply "kite" to mean "come here." Again without "kudasai," it's gentler.

Here are some more phrases based on the above. These will help you in drilling language targets,
doing games etc. "Kudasai" is in parenthesis meaning it can be left off. If you choose to include it, understand that you're making a direct request.

Mo ikkai ---- Once more. Mo ikkai itte ne --- Wont you say it once more? Hayaku itte (kudasai) --- Say it fast. Motto hayaku itte (kudasai) --- Say it even faster. kono kado o mite (kudasai) --- Look at the card Hayaku go kai itte (kudasai) --- Say it 5 times fast.

Basic Japanese Phrases With 'Masho' "Masho" parallels "let's" in English. So as you might have guessed it's a very popular pattern and can used in countless basic Japanese phrases. Avoiding confrontation is big in Japan - but I digress...

X o utai masho --- Let's sing X. (Whatever X is). Hon o akemasho --- Let's open (our) books. Tachimasho --- Let's stand up.

Gemu o shimasho --- Let's play a game. Utai masho --- Let's sing. Odori masho --- Let's dance. Fukusyu shimasho --- Let's review.

Basic Japanese Phrases and Playing Games

Dono gemu ga shitai? --- What game do you want to play? (Direct style). 3 retsu ni natte (kudasai) --- Let's make 3 rows. Sensei no mane o shite (kudasai) --- Do as the teacher does. Maru ni natte suwatte (kudasai) --- Sit in a circle. Senshu no fukusyu o shimasyo --- Let's review last weeks lesson. Te o tsunaide utaimasyo --- Join hands and let's sing. (Tonari no hito to) te o tsunaide --- Join hands with the person next to you.

Basic Japanese Phrases To Use With Giving Tests Kyo tesuto o shimasu --- Today we have a test. Tesuto no mae ni fukushu o shimasu --- Let's review before the test. Atteru kotae ni maru o kaite (kudasai) --- Circle the correct answer. Hatsuon shita oto ni sen o hiite --- Draw a line to the sound I say. Hatsuon shita oto ni maru o kaite (kudasai) --- Circle the sound I say. Hon o katazukete (kudasai) --- Please put your books away. Tepu o kiite (kudasai) --- Please listen to the tape. Tepu o kikitotte kaite (kudasai) --- Write down what you hear on the tape.

panese English Ohayo gozaimasu Good morning Konichiwa Good afternoon Konbanwa Good evening Shitsurei shimasu I'm
sorry (for doing that.) Sayonara Good bye Onegai shimasu Please (when you are asking for something.) Ostukaresama deshita You must be tired (from what you did.) Arigatou gozaimasu Thank you Sayonara Good bye Moshiwake nai Forgive me Sumimasen Thank you (for going to all that trouble.) Shitsurei shimasu Excuse me for leaving early

Doitashimashita Don't mention it Doozo Please (when you offer something.) Yoroshiku (I hope things go smoothly between us.)

Try to Translate the Following: How do you say the following in Japanese... 1. Please (when offering something.) 2. Forgive me 3. Excuse me 4. Good morning 5. Good bye 6. You must be tired. 7. Thank you (for going to all that trouble.) 8. Good afternoon 9. Thank you 10. Good evening

ndex
Lesson1 Study Tips Lesson 2 Greetings Lesson 3 I am a student Lesson 4 It's Difficult Lesson 5 This & That

Watashi wa gakusei desu Kanojo wa sensei desu Kare wa sensei desu Sore wa keisanki desu Karera wa tomodachi desu Sore wa chaiiro desu

I am a student. She is a teacher. He is a doctor. It is a calculator. They are friends. It's brown.

Things to Note About Plurals:

In Japanese you don't find particles like a, an, the. And plural uses of nouns aren't nearly as commonly used as in English. The Particle "Wa" "wa" is used to talk about something within limits. So in the sentence "Watashi wa gakusei desu" the person is saying that I (at least) am a student. (And there are others who are students too). So "wa" is best understood as "at least" or "as for me..." Regarding the use of 'wa' you're not necessarily talking about anything outside your range of knowledge. Resist the temptation to simply use 'wa' as a subject or topic marker. "Wa" is also pronounced with the noun that comes before it so you shouldn't pause between "watashi" and "wa". Another Example...
Watashi wa nihonjin desu (As for me) I am Japanese.

The Sentence Finalizer "desu" "Desu" is often translated as the b-verb is, am or are. But "desu" really doesn't have any meaning by itself. It is simply attached to nouns to create a sense of politeness or distance in speech. Japanese will use 'desu' with their superiors or people they don't know. "Good friends" or a husband and wife wouldn't use "desu" when speaking to each other because of the closeness of their relationship. When pronouncing "desu" the "u" is silent so it sounds like "des".

Question Forms With "desu ka" In English, we must change word order to make a question:"You are a boy" becomes a question by changing order of "you"and "are" i.e. Are you a boy?

Japanese is much simpler, to form a question, simply put "ka" after desu. So in other words "ka" is a verbal question mark. By simply adding "ka", without changing word order, we're able to make a question. Now that's convenience with a capital C !

Compare:
Sore wa neko desu It's a cat.

To:

Sore wa neko desu ka Sore wa jogi desu ka

Is it a cat? Is it a ruler?

Just like "wa" which follows "watashi" without pause, "ka" follows "desu" without pause. Vocabulary Pumper - Colors

aka kiiro shiro chaiiro

midori ao haiiro

murasaki kuro orenji

Kono, Kore Sono, Sore Ano, Are Dono, Dore

This (right here near you) That (over there) further from you That (way over there) Which (of 3 or more objects)

If you look at the noun chart above, youll notice something strange. Both kono and kore have the same meaning in English. So if kono means this and kore means this, what is the difference in their uses? Good question! The confusion comes from the fact that in English, the same word this is being used in 2 grammatically different sentences. i.e.This is a student and This student is pretty. So a quick and dirty answer is: kono, sono, ano and dono are called pre-nominals and connect directly to a noun without any particles between the two. In the first box below with blue text, notice that kono is followed by shougakkusei directly. This isnt so with kore which we will look at next. Take a Look at These Examples
kono shougakkusei kono koukousei sono daigakkusei This grade school student... This high school student... That college student...

sono seito ano chugakkousei ano koukangakusei dono pasokon dono kyoushitsu

That student... That junior high school student... That exchange student... which computer (of 3 or more) which classroom (of 3 or more)

Other Meanings of Kono, Sono, Ano & Dono Kono means this thing very near you. Sono means that thing somewhat near you or something just mentioned or know about. Ano means that thing way over there or something we both know about. Dono means which thing of 3 or more.
Sono eiga (desu ka) Ano kaigi (desu ka) Sono hito (desu ka) (You mean)that movie (you mentioned before)? (You mean) that conference (that we both know of)? (You mean)that person (we both know or have met)?

Using Kono, Sono, Ano & Dono in a Sentence Here is the sentence order and English equivalents. Note that both Japanese nouns and adjectives can follow the kono & noun combinations.
Kono shougakkusei (wa) Mary (desu) Kono eiga (wa) tsumaranai (desu) Sono zasshi (wa) aka (desu) Sono mondai (wa) hiroi (desu) Ano kettei (wa) fukouhei (desu) Ano sensei (wa) jozu (desu) Dono ko ga suki desu ka Dono ensou wa omoshiroi desu ka This grade school student is Mary. This movie is boring. That magazine is red. That problem is terrible. That decision is unfair. That teacher is good/skillful. Which girl do you like? Which performance is interesting?

Now Contrast This to Using Kore,Sore,Are and Dore... Unlike kono and family, kore are not pre-nominals and so are often (not always)followed by the particles wa and ga. More on the particle wa here. Because they dont connect directly but stand as the subject of the sentence, you cant say sore hito desu ka to mean That person? You would say 'sono hito' to mean 'that person?' or 'that person we were just speaking of?' Take a Look at These Examples

Kore (wa) heya (desu) Kore (wa) shinbun (desu) Sore (wa) eki (desu ka) Sore (wa) noriba (desu ka) Are (wa) daigaku (desu) Are (wa) youchien (desu ka)

This is a room. This is a newspaper. Is that the train station? Is that the bus stop? That (over there) is a college. Is that (over there) a kindergarten?

And Finally Dore There is one rule to remember with using it. Dore is followed by the particle ga Whats ga? Glad you asked. Unlike, wa which establishes a loose connection with the subject, ga establishes a very tight and exhaustive connection with the subject of the sentence. So you shouldnt say Dore wa suki desu ka to mean which of these 3 things do you like? Instead, use ga in place of wa.
Dore ga suki desu ka Dore ga dame desu ka Dore ga oishii desu ka Dore ga chugakkou desu ka Dore ga koukou desu ka Which (of 3 or more) do you like? Which (of 3 or more) is broken or no good. Which (of 3 or more) is delicious. Which (of 3 or more buildings) is the junior high school? Which (of 3 or more buildings) is the senior high school?

Let's Try to Translate the Following 1. This movie is boring. 2. This is a boring movie. 3. Is that (way over there) the bus stop? 4. This grade school student is Kumiko. 5. Which magazine (of 3 or more) is interesting? 6. Which performance (of 3 or more) is interesting? 7. That college (slightly removed from you) is new. 8. Is that (slightly removed from us) the train station? 9. That (way over there) is a junior high school. 10. This room is hot. 11. Which computer (of 3) is broken? 12. That exchange student (which we were just speaking about) is smart/clever. 13. Should you use kore when talking about somethingthat is far from you? 14. Is it ok to connect kono to a noun? i.e. kono kippu 15. Is it ok to say dore wa oishii desu ka?