BJFZ II Lesson 1

Beginning Japanese From Zero II

Session 1

+oday's Agenda

• Personal Introductions

• Introduction to Katakana

• New Phrases & Vocabulary

• Cultural Presentation

• Study Techniques

Let's Introduce Ourselves

なまえ、なんさい、しゅみ、しゅっしん

Katakana

What is katakana?

Katakana is an alternative alphabet of characters that correspond to hiragana. Katakana was derived from Chinese characters, and is used to represent words not native to Japanese.

New Phrases

• わかります　か？

• はい、わかります。

• いいえ、わかりません。

• もう　いちど　いって　ください

• もっと　ゆっくり　いって　ください

What If There's More Than One?

Plurals don't 'really' exist in Japanese. Instead, based on context, a word like "は" might mean one tooth or multiple teeth.

です　です

What does the word です mean? Well, it's a verb, first of all, and in context, it can mean a variety of different things.　

Let's think of it as meaning "is/am/are"

How to make anything a question

• Take a regular statement

• Now add "か"

• It has become a question!

• It's so simple that we have to be very careful

Five Question Words

• なに

• だれ

• どこ

• いつ

• なぜ

Cultural Presentation

Let's deepen our appreciation for Japanese culture!

Study Technique Reviews

Jisho.org, Shirabejisho, Tofugu, Refold.io