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This entry was posted on Monday, December 19th, 2005 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Beginner Season 1 . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
265 Responses to “Beginner Lesson #1 - Self Introduction”
at 6:30 pm
Sorry to be of bother, but may I ask how you pronounce Eikoku (England/Britain/UK). Sorry if it is spelt wrong, I have only just started listening. Ive never listened to a podcast before either so its a new experience there aswell. It’s been fantastic so far, and hopefully I do pick up the basics as I would like to be able to speak other languages as the career I am planning towards in some ocassions, needs the use of other languages. Domo Arrigato?
at 11:12 pm
Michale-san: Guess nobody noticed you!
Sorry! I’m not a native english speaker, but I`ll do my best to explain. First of all, in conversational japanese, England is refered to as “igirisu”. Eikoku is a more formal name. It is pronounced as eh-koh-ku. “Eh” as in “eehh… what are you talking about?” or “_E_mbasy”. “ko” like “_co_mmunication” and “ku” as in “_Qu_iz”… More or less…
Good luck with your studying, and hang in there! It isn’t easy in the beginning, as with any language, but it is lots of fun when you start getting the grasp of it!
oh, and “Domo Arigato” or “Domo Arigatou” is the usual spelling in romanized japanese
Jonas
at 10:50 am
AWESOME! This is really cool. Now when I click the link it says lesson 2. And the recording mentions elements from a previous lesson. Have the lessons been reordered? I want to start from the beginning
at 5:33 pm
Duomo arigatou for these lessons.
But in this lesson there was a phrase that was not in the lesson’s pdf: onegai shimasu.
And this phrase is especially interesting because when spoken the final u is dropped. Some discussion about this phenomenon would be very helpful.
Please keep the lessons coming.
at 8:32 pm
sorry for no one answering for a long time, okay like a month
, but to answer your questions:
.
Chris-san, the first lesson recorded was survival phrases #1, making this the 2nd lesson, and so for Gary-san, survival phrases #1 is where they talk about onegai shimasu. And about the dropping the ‘u’ in pronounciation: I think that the ‘u’ sound is not completely gone, but just supressed by the ’s’ sound and is said much quieter to make is sound as if it isn’t there. And i think that the amount of suppression varies from person to person or region to region so that some people pronounce the ‘u’ more, like i think that Hatsumi-san pronounced the ‘u’ in ‘desu’ more than anyone else that i have heard. I am by no means an expert on Japanese pronounciation and the information i just gave is based upon my own understanding so you should probably get someone with a better knowledge of Japanese pronounciation to answer this one before you put this knowledge to heart
Hope this information helps
Yoroshiku negai shimasu!
at 8:34 pm
*onegai shimasu*
at 9:59 pm
Joey-san is correct in his explanation, and there is not much else to add to it… Some people barely pronounce the last “u” at all, and some does it quite strongly… Having the “u” sound at the end makes it sound a bit more polite though, but be aware that when adding sentence ending particles like “ne” and “yo” (like “desu yo”) the “u” is almost not pronounced at all.
Jonas
at 5:20 am
Great site! I have started my Japanese class recently and these lessons helps me to improove what I’ve learned and learn something new.
Milda
P.S. Smagu sutikti tautietį tokioje svetainėje, Jonai.
at 7:23 pm
Wow… what a website! I just found it reading a magazine in Tokyo.
Learning Japanese is not easy. Your method will surely help me. I thank you in advance.
Again… I am very amazed by your work. CONGRATULATIONS.
at 9:25 pm
hii!! thank you soo much! i wonder how do i read pdf file?? cause everytime i download the note and i open it they dont have anything but symbol.. can anyone help?
at 12:25 am
hang-san,
Welcome to JapanesePod101.com! In order to be able to access and view the PDF files on our site, you first have to be signed up to our 7-Day Free Trial, a Basic subscription, or a Premium subscription. To learn more about the various subscription levels please visit our Subscription Information help page.
To view the files, you must also have a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader or FoxIt Reader installed on your computer. Finally, you may want to check out our New User Introduction Page as well as our Feature Guide to learn more about what the JapanesePod101.com Language Training System has to offer.
If you have followed the steps above and are still having a difficult time viewing the PDF files, please contact us directly via email at support@japanesepod101.com.
Eran
at 7:31 am
i believe my prayers have been answer i been looking for a site like this for a long time. DOUMO ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU
at 8:09 am
Hi Donovan-san,
Welcome to our exciting, fun, and innovative language traning program! We are so glad that you found us and are here to answer any questions that you might have along your quest to learning the Japanese language and culture. You may want to check out our Introduction page as well as our Help Center, as both are great starting points for new users.
Once again, welcome to JapanesePod101.com!
Eran
at 9:37 am
hiii! i love this site a lot.
D
my teacher makes me listen to it, but yah ;D i woulda even if she didn`t make us. this is an awesome site! arigatou gozaimasu
at 9:17 pm
Katagana? You mean KataKana, right Peter?
Also, is it such a good idea to teach beginers to say Watashi wa… Watashi wa… Watashi wa… ad nauseum like that? To most Japanese that would sound pretty awkwardly self-centered.
From my own experience, it would be more proper to introduce yourself like “Hajimemashite. (Name) to moushimasu. Dozo yoroshiku. (country)-jin desu.”?
It might also get beginers of the language off on the right foot to mention how Japanese often avoid speaking in full and complete sentences, omitting details that are assumed to be known by both the speaker and listener (another reason, other than the self-centeredness thing, why most Japanese wouldn’t keep saying the “Watashi wa…” part over and over again).
at 8:58 pm
I understand what you’re saying Eugene-san,
however it’s probably best to talk in “complete” sentences to begin with so you are aware of the structures, then when you get some experience you can start to omit the watashi wa ’s. (but then there’s a tendecy to go too far in omitting an explicit topic,
) language instruction at such an early level is artifical by neccessity I think.
It is noted in the pdf that watashi wa can de omitted.
I can’t remember when the podcasts click over to more fluid speech but they do.
(for me anata instead of X-san sounds more strange in the early episodes)
at 1:04 pm
konnichiwa… may i know how to translit “i’ve 3 siblings” in japanese?
at 11:08 pm
Kobu san,
I am not the best person to tell you, but let me try and we will see if someone else can correct me.
First, in English, if there are four children in your family, you would say you have 3 siblings. However, I believe, in Japanese you would say that there are 4 siblings. You include yourself in the count.
kyoudai ga yon nin imasu.
kyoudai = sibling
ga = particle
yon = four
nin = counter for people
imasu = to be (for animate living things).
jya mata
John
at 4:20 am
I just want to say thank you to everyone at japanesepod101.com! i have always had a strong fascination with the japanese culture and language. because i do so much driving, listening to these in my car on cd is PERFECT for me. hopefully in the next year or so ill be ready enough for my first (of many i hope) trip to japan. ^_^
at 4:26 am
also… i cant seem to find it elsewhere. so how would i pronounce my name in japanese?
at 4:51 am
I’m guessing that it’d be Burandon ブランドン
Bu Ra N Do N 5 syllables.
And Good Luck with learning Japanese.
ganbatte ne!
at 4:51 am
This site is very comprehensive and simple to follow. I just started listening and I truly believe that this eight dollar a month subsctiption was money well spent!
at 7:43 am
ANMさん,
Welcome to JapanesePOD101. Please feel free to post if you have questions about the lessons.
John C. Briggs
at 3:11 am
WOw this is amazing,
im going to japan in a couple of months has a foreign exchange and this will help me alot
!!!
I dont have enought money for the japanese classes since i used it all on the 1 year foreign exchange program.
Thank you very much
Fabrizzio
at 11:32 am
First, ARIGATO GOZAIMASU for making such a easy-to-follow and easy-to-listen-to series of podcasts. I tried Pimsleur a while back, but got frustrated with it because it was hard to listen to. I really feel like I have a little better grasp on the language even after just a few podcasts.
Second, is it better to start with the Beginner lessons, or the Newbie lessons? I started with Newbie, but I’m only on #3, so it wouldn’t be difficult to switch, if it’s better. Thanks again!
at 3:04 pm
Konnichiwa! Chris-san! welcome to the community!
As for whether to start with the newbie or beginner i think you would be just fine with the beginner series as you obiviously have some background studying Japanese with Pimsleur, so douzo!
at 10:01 am
Anyway, Where do you people get teachers?
I can’t seem to find one, i never did ether!
I had to teach myself with the PC. TT^TT’ How sad…
at 10:39 pm
i must say at some parts i was quite confused but i have began to trust that even if i dont understnad Peter will eventually explain!
If i didnt have the vocabulary list in Romanji i may not have felt as confident as i do now
thank you very much
at 12:40 pm
hello everyone! Hajimemashite!
I’ve listened to the first week and quickly listened to the second week, and I have definitely learned how to say hello to someone for the first time. However, can anyone give me one (or more) greeings to someone I’m already familiar with? Even just a simple “hello”??
thanks so much.
at 5:17 am
Thank you for offering free seven day trial. materials appear high quality.
Gregg
at 6:09 am
What’s my name (joan) in japanese
at 12:49 pm
Konnichiwa “the BOMB team”, Peter & guys!
Well, could you help me to clear my doubts with 2 questions only:-
Q1) When I click on Kanji Flashcards, I realized there are 2 types of reading for the Kanji:-
a) Kun Yomi &
b) On Yomi
Could you explain the meanings of these two? And must I learn the reading of these two or just only one of them?
Q2) “Add to my Kanji Bank”, if I add chosen words to my Kanji bank, can I print it out?
If Yes, how do I go about printing it out. Please tell me step by step as I am computer nuts.
Thank you so much!
Peter san, your lessons are really a “BOMB”, I enjoy it everyday.
at 12:11 am
Joanさん、
in Japanese your name is ジョーン!
Usagiさん、
kanji is not originally the Japanese writing system. It came from china in the 500’s.
So it has 2 readings, a chinese reading and a japanese reading.
(keep in mind, people were speaking japanese before they learned kanji)
音読み ONYOMI
this is the japanized pronunciation of the chinese characters. this is the closest japanese gets to chinese.
when you put two or more kanji together in one word, you usually use 音読み (ONYOMI).
訓読み KUNYOMI
this is the japanese reading. like i said before, people were speaking japanese before they had a writing system. so they had to use a chinese system to write their own sounds.
when you combine kanji with hiragana, usually you will use 訓読み (KUNYOMI)
marky
at 12:58 am
one more thing about kanji……….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji
wikipedia is always helpful
and yes, you can print out from the word bank!
i do it all the time:
at the top of the screen you can see this:
My Word Bank
My Word Bank Flashcards | Show Printer Friendly Version
click on Show Printer Friendly Version and it will print a clean version of your word bank.
hope this helps!!!
marky
at 7:41 pm
Dear Marky san
Thanks for clearing my doubts and I am really getting more & more in love with Japanesepod101.com because of you people…Marky san, Peter san, Natsuko san, Sakura san….etc…(sorry for not listing out all the namesl) gomen ne! Once again, you people are really a GREAT TEAM!
Marky san! thanks for your promptness in answering our queries and I really appreciate it!
Happy Hanami Day!
(while watching TV at the same time writing this comment to you).
at 5:56 am
I must say I am really impressed! I have always wanted to go to Japan and have the worst time learning languages. I find this webcast to be exciting. How would I pronouce my name in Japanese? And how would my name be spelled in Japanese?
Thanks a lot!!!
at 9:38 am
Welcome Kelly-san!
I think you could write your name as: ケリー (Kerii) (English pronouciation: Kehree). In Japanese the L and R sounds are kind of smashed together.
at 11:08 am
thanks usagiさん! thanks & welcome kellyさん!
we’re just trying to have fun with japanese! it’s got a reputation as being difficult or something, so we want to take a different approach!
marky
at 1:53 pm
How would u say my name in japanese???
at 11:04 pm
I think it would be ライアン (Raian)
at 9:42 pm
Thanks guys!
at 9:48 am
My name is Brenda. How do I pronounce my name in Japanese?
at 1:46 pm
brendaさん、 your name would be written ブレンダ (burenda) in japanese.
by the way guys, be sure to check out our forum!
THE NAME THREAD: http://www.japanesepod101.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=778
we have an 11 page thread about names in there!
the main forum link is here:
http://www.japanesepod101.com/forum/
marky
at 12:10 pm
thank you.. ^^ Arigato!
at 11:20 am
Konnichiwa Mr. Galante and associates, and special hello for Ms. Natsuko. This is my first day in here, and so far its been great. I’ve been wanting to learn japanese for a long time, ever since I saw gozira movies back when I was a young’ling. Any ways I think its gona be a fun ride learning the language and the nihon culture. Im passing the word to the rest of my class mates.
I bid you a farewell for now.
Sayoonara…
PS.. sorry for any misspellings im not to good at english… Watashi wa mekishiko-jin desu.
at 10:20 am
hi there, guys! I’ve been listening to your lessons just last October and its really great because learning japanese in your site makes it easier to me than to read a bunch of japanese-english books specially if those books were thick in appearance… I love hearing your lessons and repeat it every now and then so that the japanese words would really stick in my mind
…I found your site thru skype.com and I was interested to learn japanese through listening to your pod cast… omedetou gozaimasu for making this site and for having your amazing hosts…
I just have two questions. First, how can I renew my subscription because my account is already expired just 2 days ago and what (or who’s) website will I write when I want to join the affiliate program?
at 11:00 am
Carmella-san, you can easily upgrade your account by clicking on the “My Account/Subscribe” menu item in the header. From there you can register for a Basic or Premium account.
To learn more about our affiliate program and to join when you’re ready, please visit the link below:
http://www.japanesepod101.com/affiliate-program/
Should you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to email us at contactus@japanesepod101.com.
at 10:50 am
I also wanted to know how my name would be written in katakana and pronounced, if it is different.
I can’t think off the top of my head how an a as in “hay” sound is made.
at 8:22 am
hajimimashite, i wanted to start with that since its my first time posting , in the lesson you were saying country names , so how would you say i come from syria or i am syrian
watashi wa ??????????jin desu
domo, mata ne
at 4:41 am
I’m confused. I’ve gone through the entire ‘Newbie’ section and I was expecting the ‘Beginner’ section to be more advanced than ‘Newbie,’ but I find that this lesson is completely trivial in comparison.
Am I wrong in assuming that the level of difficulty goes ‘Newbie,’ ‘Beginner, ‘ ‘Beginner 22, ‘Intermediate,’ and ‘Advanced?’
at 6:07 am
You are assuming a bit more science involved than there actually was. When JapanesePod started, there was Beginner, Survival Phrases, Culture Classes, and Intermediate. Beginner was for absolute beginner. As time went on and things made it to the second year, beginner had progressed to a point where an absolute beginner couldn’t just hop on board. So Newbie was created to fill the gap and be like a Beginner v2, and Beginner Season 2 got started as a refresher for people who’d done all of the Beginner episodes up to that point.
The whole thing is kind of always evolving, so I wouldn’t expect a grand master plan where everything fits together all nice and clean like a set of language workbooks.
at 8:30 pm
Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Carura desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu. Watachi wa Porutogaru jin desu
and I am enjoying so much hearing and learning japanese with japanesepod101 lessons that I made a blog where you can read what is said in the lessons with the meaning in portuguese.
Anyone interested in Portuguese, visit the above site for a Portuguese translation of this lesson.
http://aprenderjapones.blogs.sapo.pt/2008/01/14/
Doomo Arigatoo
Mata ne
at 11:55 am
Konbanwa, Peta-san. Yoroshiku!
I am an advanced-beginner in Japanese, and it is my dream to move there, and write for a manga. I am going to be listening and learning as much as I can from you, thank you very much.
Maido okini!
at 1:15 pm
AWSOME,
I’m stationed in Guam and there are ALOT of japanese tourist that come out here. I personally wanted to learn to better myself and to be able to make my way around japan too.
at 2:34 am
Hajimemashite! Watashi wa Anna to moshimasu. Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!

no way!!!
kakoii!!!
I know it’s a weird question that doesn’t really have anything to do with the lesson, but is this true?
Domo arigato Gozaimasu.
Just thanks for starting these lessons, they’re so easy to learn and to understand.
Wakarimasu!
By the way, I think ‘ uso’ means, ‘no way’.
Arigato!
p.s. apologies for any japanese I got wrong in this message.
at 9:19 am
Uso means “a lie.”

So if you say, “uso!” it’s like “no way, you’re lying!”
at 12:38 am
boohoooooooo!! It does’nt work!!
at 1:56 pm
こんにちは・・・Hallo from Indonesia ….
I love JapanesePod101 ..
Its so easy to understand. Especially for people new to Japanese.
In my office we usually have a Japanese class every Saturday. One day i try to use one of the material from JapanesePod101, and my friends said that it was really great material. They can easily understand it and they can practice their listening.
So thank you very much and please keep up the great work
O yeah, i think i will put JapanesePod101.com in my website so each of my friends can access it and learn some more …
Thanks ..
at 5:34 pm
Hi teachers!
I need your help!
I have just started at the beginner section, all is OK
but explain where it is noted how to draw KANJI?
I am sure to learn correctly one should know where to start
drawing the sign and how to end it
Many thanks!
Yoroshiku
at 10:35 pm
Hi guys,
Thanks a lot for the shows and all the most excellent quality you are providing.
I have been trying to learn using your site, and the talking and listening coming along nicely, my kanas are already good too, but I have huge problems memorising the kanjis.
I basically need something that will remind me where a kanji comes from, some sort of “logic”, or mnemonic.
For e.g. in the first lesson, I can easily see why 人 would be a stylicized person, and why 日 should be the sun, why 木 would be a tree, and therefore why moto 本 shows the root or the tree, or by extention the origin, so ni-hon makes “origin of the sun”, where the sun rises.
And when looking at other kanjis, I can see a stylicized moon in 月, I can see someone speaking in 言 (mouth with wind coming out of it), and some mountains in 山.
But for the more complexe ones, I am desperate for some explanation.
名 meaning “name” is a combination of evening and mouth, why? Is there somewhere an explanation?
Also why is 夕 the evening? Is it a stylicized moon?
for 私, I have no clue why it should mean “I” or “me”.
Do you know any website that explains the origin of the kanjis or gives mnemonics for them?
Have I missed a page where this is described on this site? Or are you planning to do that yourselves later?
I really feel I won’t be able to memorise any of the complicated ones otherwise.
You made the speaking easy, I am not used to learn the hard way any longer!
Many thanks.
at 1:52 pm
Laurent Griot-san,
Have you checked “Kanji Mnemonics” in our JapanesePod101 blog?
http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/blog/category/kanji-mnemonics/
at 9:57 pm
Laurent Griot-san,
First and foremost, you’ll need to know that the current Chinese characters have changed a lot over the years.
名 is name probably due to historic conventions.
1) When a child was given a name, his father would go out at evening of the child’s birth and tell the child the name he has chosen.
2) When you want to identify yourself during the evening, you’ll need to call out your name.
Whether it’s 1 or 2 for the Chinese character, I don’t know. #2 is more of a mnemonic and #1 is a more of a historic convention by different cultures, but you can think of it as a mnemonic.
私 is a combination of grain and selfish/private radicals. This is probably another character based on historic interpretation, and could use the mnemonic “This grain belongs to me.”
夕 is probably a pictograph of a crescent moon.
at 10:56 am
I have a lot of experience with Kanji (I read/write Chinese) and have never found mnemonics much use.
This is how I memorise things:
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=V6AisYnJ8yU
at 3:31 pm
I believe mnemonics may work if you don’t force them. The same can be said about looking at the radicals, pictographs, and ideographs.
However, I do recommend using flash cards in the long run. Its format doesn’t matter, but an electronic version on your ipod/phone/pda would be a good idea since you can take it anywhere and not bring too much attention to yourself.
at 12:39 pm
Hello! I have a question about this: http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/blog/category/kanji-mnemonics/
Is this really Japanese? Or is it Chinese? I dunno but it looks like Chinese to me.
at 12:53 pm
Monica-san
It looks Japanese to me.
at 10:40 am
Monica, Chinese also uses Kanji, the writing system used in kanji mneumonics. It’s like saying that French looks like English. They both use the roman alphabet, so they should look like each other.
at 10:52 am
maxiewawa,
So it’s both Chinese and Japanese??
at 1:10 am
Monica-san,
Yes, the characters that make up the kanji writing system come from China. Just like how Mandarin and Cantonese use characters with identical meaning but are pronounced differently, making them two separate languages, Japanese kanji have the same meanings as the Chinese origins but are pronounced with Japanese words. In fact, to get extremely technical and accurate, in Japanese, Kanji generally have multiple prounciations - some are considered Chinese readings and some are considered Japanese. For example:
四 - the number four. It can be pronounced both “shi”, which is the same as the Chinese say, or “yon”, which is of a Japanese origin.
at 11:43 am
Oh I understand now. ^-^ Doumo Arigatou Gozaimasu Sasquatchua-san! :]
at 6:04 am
Oh I have one more question. I noticed that the symbol for the wa in “Watashi” is different from the wa when it’s by itself. And the symbol for wa by itself it also the symbol for ha. Can anyone tell me what’s up with that?
at 4:19 pm
hi monicaさん、
you might want to try this question out in the forum. the irregular use of kana for particles has been discussed at length in there, and the everybody will be happy to help you out.
the short answer is the character は (normally “ha” in words) is read “wa” when used as the topic marking particle.
(this was probably included in the pdf as well).
hope this helps!
at 5:45 am
Hello markystar,
Yea it does help ^^ I wuz just a little confused there. Doumo arigatou!
at 3:07 pm
Love it!
It was really difficult to learn Japanese in busy life. Japanese Pod 101 made it ‘Asa Mashi Mai’
at 12:51 pm
Konichiwa,
I’m a fresh new to this lesson. I had few question to check:
a) Hajimemashita used only first time meeting? Or each time when you meet the same person, you can use the same phrase?
b) What should I say in japanese that my nationality is Singaporean and I’m chinese? Watashi wa ______jin desu.
c) I intend to take JLPT examination. How should I learn from the lesson to prepare my test. Beginner lesson for JLPT4?
d) For the Kanji, I still confuse of onyumi and kunyomi. Onyomi sound like chinese and kunyomi pronounce as hiragana, is this what you mean? So what normally Japanese pronounce kanji, onyumi or kunyumi? Should I memorise both for the test?
Thank you.
Kath
at 1:15 pm
Dear Kath
Thank you for putting questions!!
a) You can use Hajimemashite only for the first time meeting.
b) Do you want to say that you are Chinese Singaporean? If so, that would be 中国系シンガポール人です。Watashi wa Chuugoku kei Shingaporu jin desu.
c) If you want to prepare for JLPT4 Newbie Nihongo Dojo “Welcome to Style You 1″ is the best place to start.
d) We use both Onyomi(Japanese reading) and Kunyomi (Chinese reading). So, you need to check both readings when you learn a new Kanji. For JLPT4, it is said that you should know about 100 Kanji.
Good luck!!!頑張ってください!!Ganbatte kudasai!!
at 9:45 am
NaomiさんとPeterさん、
三十百万ダウンロード!
おめでとうございます!
ありがとう for answering comments on almost 3 year old lessons.
JapanesePod101が大好きですよ。
一
at 8:24 pm
Hajimemashite everybody!
Watashi wa Nhi.Watashiwa Betonamujin desu. Sorry if I made any mistakes. I am Vietnamese but living and studying in Michigan now. I love Nihon and Nihonjin, so I hope I will have a chance to visit Japan someday. I learned Nihonjin before,then I stopped , now I want to start over again. I love this website.I love to hear Peter’s voice. Sayoonara!
at 3:05 pm
nhisan,
Your introduction in Japanese is perfect! I hope that you will have a chance to come to Japan!
Ganbatte kudasai!
at 1:26 pm
初めまして。メガーンです。音楽は聞きません。でも毎日仕事にJapanesepod101が聞きます。私の犬は白くて可愛いです。私の初心はアメリカのチカグです。日本語が好きです。どうぞよろしくお願いします。
I hope that’s mostly correct.
I have to love the Japanese dictionary you guys provide that shows the kanji.
I’ve listened through all the Newbie lessons so many of the beginner lessons are way too easy. But some of them have new vocab so I listen anyway. And yes, I listen to your files all the time I’m at work: roughly 8 hours. It’s amazing and funny. And I’ve learned more in the last couple weeks than in 3 months of taking a formal Japanese 1 class. I mostly want to learn Japanese because I like to watch Anime in the original Japanese when I can. This is really useful for me.
Keep it up!
at 9:55 am
Megan-san,
Thank you for your introduction in Japanese!!
I guess that “私の初心はアメリカのチカグです。” would be “私の出身はアメリカのチカグです” which means “I’m from チカグ in the US.” Is that right?
Keep enjoying our programs!!
at 6:16 pm
I have a quick question. I was looking at the speech bubble above and noticed that the word(s) “watashiwa” was spelled out like わたしは. Logically the phrase “watashiwa” contains two instances of “wa” but in the speech bubble different characters are used in both “wa”s. I took a quick glance at a hiragana chart and noticed that they had the characters listed as わ=wa and は=ha. Why would the phrase have a “ha” character for a “wa” sound? Shouldn’t it be spelled out like this? わたしわ
at 1:10 am
Coreyさん
This is a very common issue for beginners. (I myself had this problem.
).
The topic marking particle は is pronounced “wa”. So the subject “I” is correctly written
わたしは and prounounced “watashi wa”.
Another common problem is the object marking particle を. This is most often pronounced “o” instead of “wo”.
がんばって。 よろしくおねがいします。
(ganbatte) (yoroshiku onegaishimasu).
at 6:50 pm
How do i pronounce my name (kristine) in Japanese ?
at 12:25 am
Kristineさん、
はじめまして!(hajimemashite)
よろしくおねがいします (yorishiku onegaishimasu)
One of the wonderful things about かたかな (katakana) and your own name is that you have some freedom in developing the exact characters to suit your preferred pronunciation. For example, 私の妻の名前 (watashi no tsuma no namae, my wife’s name) is Theresa. This is traditionally タレサ (ta-re-sa). However, she wants to pronounce her name “Ta Ree Sa” so her かたかな is タリサ instead.
Your name has one problematic sound in it. There is traditionally no sound for “tee” in the Japanese language. But there has been an accommodation in かたかな for this. Some characters are used as a “diminiutive”. When written they appear smaller than the regular characters. So the “tee” sound becomes ティ (te i), but notice that the second “i” character is smaller than the first “te” character. When “te” is followed by the diminutive “i”, it is pronounced “tee”.
So, in Japanese, your name would normally be pronounced: ku-ri-su-ti-n, (ku-ree-su-teen) which is spelled クリスティン, but once again, note that the ィ character is smaller than its surrounded character so it has a pronunciation influence on its surrounding characters (in this case the preceding テ).
Finally, you see this diminutive character influencing pronunciation in “regular” Japanese quite often, for example with the character “tsu”, or つ. When tsu is used used as a diminutive, it causes a slight pause and an emphasis on the following character. For example, ちょっと (chotto)、meaning “a little”. Actually, in this example, there are two diminutives, the first one ょ turns “chi” into “cho” and the second one creates a slight pause and makes the “to” sound have a slightly heavier emphasis. You will hear this word often in the lessons so don’t worry about it right now.
Sorry, that was probably way more information than you were asking for.
クリスティンさん、ようこそ!(Kristine-san, youkuso). Welcome!
at 9:16 am
at 9:03 am
Hello
As newly registered user i just want to say hello to everyone else who uses this forum B-)
at 3:20 pm
Bybeammapsems-san,
Hello! Welcome to JapanesePod101.com!
Please enjoy learning Japanese with us!
at 5:54 pm
クリステリンさん(Christine-san)
これからもよろしくお願いします!
Antonyo (DJ AH) -san,
Antonyo-sanもよろしくお願いします!!
にほんご、がんばれー!
at 10:43 am
Hy my name is mnorgovudkka
Im from mongolia
Buy
at 12:27 pm
Thank you guys
i love this site
so much
it help so much!!!
lotts of love
at 2:42 am
mnorgovudkka-san,
Welcome to Japanesepod101!
MoonPrincess-san,
Thank you for your kind words. Glad to hear you are finding the site useful!
at 1:08 pm
Does the Japanese pronuciation change the way American names are said or does it keep the same pronuciation? I’m curious because it sounded like Peter was modifing his names pronuciation.
at 1:35 pm
konnichiwa! i hope i learn more from this resourceful site!
i want to learn step by step so i can follow-up with new lessons
i hope this site last-long and ARIGATO GOZAIMASU to all members of this site!
i really love this site!! japanesepod101 ROCKS!
sayonara!!
at 11:19 am
kenken-san,
Thank you very much for your nice and warm comments!
Ganbatte kudasai!
at 6:08 am
Doesn’t Hajimemashite mean “How do you do”?
What’s the difference between hasimemashite and yoroshiku?
at 4:57 pm
J0cker-san,
That’s right, Hajimemashite means “How do you do” or “Nice to meet you.”
When we introduce ourselves, we usually say “hajimemashite” and your name, and then “yoroshiku,” or just say your name and “yoroshiku.” Both of them are a set phrase of greeting to mean “Nice to meet you!”
Hajimemashite. Mayumi desu. Yoroshiku!

Mayumi desu. Yoroshiku!
at 3:41 am
Konnichiwa!
Watashi wa Samedin desu. Hajimemashite. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!
at 9:47 am
Ironicさん>
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!
Hajimemashite! Great introduction
at 1:32 pm
I am very grateful for these! Just one question, how do i upload these to my ipod? as podcasts? I am very confused as to how to add things to my ipod for on the go. I dont want to randomly subscribe because it starts at a random lesson that isnt for begginers. I want it from lesson 1!
at 7:56 pm
I am looking to become an exchange student from australia, how would igo about this and how much japanese would i need to know ?
at 10:28 am
killakittyさん,
Click on the Basic/Premium Feed graphic on the right-hand side of the main page!
It would be best to use iTunes to download the podcasts to your iPod
Rheesさん,
Have you looked up exchange student programs online? It would be good to know basic Japanese before you go - the more you know, the better! I would recommend the Newbie series and Survival Phrases series!
at 5:03 pm
Arigato I am watching japanese animes to better my japanese
at 3:29 pm
Rhees-san,
What anime do you like best?
at 4:03 pm
Bleach and Deathnote and Fullmetal Alchemist and my other reason for doing japanese is cause i really like this girl but mainly cause i really wanna be a exchange student
at 1:32 am
Nice good luck with that girl.
I do want to give a word of causion to learning from anime. You need to make sure that you know what form is being used because nihonjin languge has formal and informal versions. So what you heard in the anime might be a rude way to say something and you would not know that with out studying the regular teachings.
Oh by the way “Bleach Rules!” lol
at 9:26 am
Good advice Scott! I’d be careful repeating anything heard from anime unless you really know how it sounds/what it means first
And Rhees, being an exchange student is really fun! Definitely do it if you get the chance!
at 10:44 pm
Domo Arigato.
Fabulous lesson.
I began learning Japanese a few years ago, but having two children delayed my learning. I am pleasantly surprised how much I knowledge I retained as I understood everything in this lesson.
I found the format very enjoyable and I would definitely recommend to others.
Caroline
PS: My youngest daughter (just over 2) started to pick up some words too, much to her grandparents confusion.
at 2:14 am
I don’t know if you still see this comment, but I would really like to know my name in Japanese. My name is Efrain and I think it is derived from the name Ephraim. So please tell me my name in Japanese. This is an awesome site and I really love it. In fact I already know some words.
at 11:24 pm
Pallin-san,
はじめまして (hajimemashite)
It is said that the last freedom a person has in Japan is how to spell their name.
See my post above to Kristine for a bit more information.
Two possibilities are:
エフラン (E-fu-ran) or
エフレン (E-fu-ren).
The ‘u’ sound between fu and the next syllable would be contracted so it sounds fairly similar (but not identical) to your name when spoken naturally.
Since there are other possible spellings, you should go to the Forum section, the first “sticky” conversation topic in “All About Japanese” is about how to say / spell your (non-Japanese) name. I would post in the forum there.
at 5:27 am
Thanks, that sounds right to me. I’ll go to that forum too.
arigatou gozaimasu!! or so I think that’s how I say thank you very much.
at 3:36 am
I belive that is correct for thank you very much. I think I will take that advice and check out that forum section myself.
Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!
at 4:00 am
Konbawa desu. i was wondering why in japan they say san,kun, dono, things like that after they say the person name? what does it mean?
at 4:45 am
Stone-san,
Hajimashite, yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
-san is an honorific suffix that is very commonly used. -kun is another suffix but is fairly different because only someone with higher social status can use the suffix when addressing someone of lower social status. This is fairly complicated stuff and safely ignored right now. The most important two suffixes you should know right now are:
~san
~sensei
The latter one, I am sure you know, means “teacher”. As in Naomi-sensei.
~san can be roughly translated as “Mr.” or “Ms.”. The somewhat confusing thing is that once you hear ~san as a suffix for a 3rd person, you cannot tell if that 3rd person is male or female. So a somewhat long translation is “honorable person”. But “Mr./Ms.” is a better translation. It’s like the difference between saying “This is Smith” versus “This is Mr. Smith”.
As you go through the lessons, you will learn more about the “social status” impact on the language. Right now, don’t worry about it too much.
at 3:00 pm
一 (ハジメ) -san
Thank you very much for the great explanation!!!!
at 4:45 pm
To be honest… I got Hajimemashite and the others but it kinda confused me. I don’t know… I don’t get it…
at 5:38 am
Hajimashite, yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
Can you tell me how to say my name in Japanese?
Its ………. Lyle
“Domo Arigato”
at 5:41 am
I just started using japanesepod
よろしくおねがいします。
at 9:40 am
LYLEさん,
Hajimemashite! Your name would be ライル (Rairu) in Japanese
Calebさん,
Welcome to the site! よろしくお願いします。
at 5:32 pm
Just a quick note! The Kanji-Closeup lists one of the kanji meanings as ‘one-sieded’. Unless I’m crazy, that’s a spelling error? =O
at 9:30 am
Dualityさん,
Thanks for pointing that out!! It has been fixed
at 3:08 am
I’m not sure I fully understand how the Japanese language alters our name. I was just reading some of the post about what their name would look like and be spoken as in Japanese. Could someone explain that a little?
at 2:05 pm
A very nice website because I was looking for some resources to start with so that I can give JLPT 4 this december.
Hajimemashite
Watashi wa Vipin desu
Watashi wa Indo jin desu
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu
at 10:44 am
Vipin -san
Konnichiwa! Yoroshikuonegaishimasu.
If you want to learn grammar systematically, I recommend that you start with Newbie series season2 after you listen to some beginner lessons.
Newbie series season 1 and Beginner series season1 are mainly focusing on set phrases and there isn’t enough grammar explanation. If you want to learn only conversation, those courses might be OK. However, if you’re planning to take JLPT4(this would be New JLPTN5), Newbie series season2,3 beginner lesson 4 and 5 would be good.
We also have JLPT prep course so please check that course!
I’m sure that course helps you to prepare for the test.
at 9:23 am
Came to learn easy Japanese but got my brains blown out in the first few lessons. Got anything simpler?
at 10:06 am
Benito Finitoさん,
I’d recommend our new Basic Japanese videos!
#1) http://www.japanesepod101.com/2010/01/08/video-1-basic-japanese-1-self-introductions/
#2) http://www.japanesepod101.com/2010/01/15/video-2-basic-japanese-2-basic-greetings/
#3) http://www.japanesepod101.com/2010/01/22/video-503-basic-japanese-3-basic-greetings-2/
They’re presented in an easy to understand format and only introduce a couple phrases in each video
Please try them out!
at 2:44 pm
i just subscribed to the premium membership and tried to download the lesson .pdf. However, everything in it was blank. I went to the Beginner Lesson #2 and the .pdf on there works fine. Just this lesson, there’s nothing in the .pdf
at 2:22 pm
janis-san,
Thank you for subscribing our premium course! Could you try to download the latest version of Acrobat Reader, if you don’t have it yet? Beginner Lesson #1 has our new version of lesson PDF format, which needs the latest version of Acrobat reader. If this doesn’t resolve the issue, please email us at contactus@japanesepod101.com. Thank you!
at 8:54 am
the introducing was easy but my sound just carried off
i really know all of these already but im just practicing but thts really nice knowing these…………….
at 2:34 pm
初めまして。私はブラムです。よろしくお願いします。
Nice to meet you. My name is Bram. Please be kind to me.
Great site. Just started on the lessons.
I’m from Indonesia, how do you write “Indonesia” in 方仮名if I want to say my nationality?
ありがとうございます。
at 4:09 pm
bram-san,
Welcome to JapanesePod101.com!
“Indonesia” is written as “インドネシア” in katakana.
at 5:20 pm
i am suprised andexcited from this program, can it tell me my name in katakana and can someone put the pronounciation??
at 2:49 pm
Richard-san,
Your name would be written in katakana, リチャード and you can pronounce it as “Richaado.”
at 9:07 am
How would you say “i am not japanese” in japanese?
at 9:19 am
Paigeさん,
You could say “Watashi wa nihonjin janai desu”. (私は日本人じゃないです)
at 12:07 pm
Hajimemashite.
Watashi wa Ramilo Edel desu.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Watashi wa Firipin-jin desu.
Mata ashita.
Jaa ne.
at 2:05 pm
Edel Ramilo-san
Welcome to JapanesePod101.com!
Thank you for your introducing yourself!
at 10:28 pm
Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Stone Markkai. Yoroshiku O-negai shimasu. O-genki desu ka?
at 9:28 am
Markkai Stoneさん,
Hajimemashite! Jessi desu. Welcome to JapanesePod101.com
at 5:55 pm
Wow, it’s amazing way to learn that very charming language. I used to think that’s far too complicate to learn, but now I think that everything is possible.
Milda, Jonai, Netgi du lietuviai tokioje svetaineje. Malonu jus cia matyti
at 9:37 am
Augustinasさん,
Thank you for joining us and leaving a comment! Japanese appears difficult at first, but there are many aspects of it that are easy compared to other languages. Best of luck!
at 1:03 pm
こにちわ^^ わたしわけらです. i hope i wrote that right. lol. i just started learning the hiragana today and well it’s a lot harder than the korean alphabet that’s for sure.
at 3:18 am
I don’t get why I can’t read the Lesson notes? Don’t see any letters nor katana, just some sqaures. I am a member, since today and have done the introduction and suvival phrases #1 without any problem. So why can’t I read this lesson note? Could I be doing something wrong?
Love the site btw! really great work
at 9:50 am
Jordyさん,
Please try upgrading to the latest version of Adobe Reader:
http://get.adobe.com/reader/
You may also want to try opening the Lesson Notes Lite version (I have uploaded it just now, so it may take awhile for it to show up)
Let me know if you are still having problems!
at 11:06 pm
konnichiwaa…..
Hajimemashite.
Watashi wa khawla desu.
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.
kyou wa kono peji hajimete ni kimasu.
is that right or wrong ???
i really love this site ….. arigatou gosaimasu
i have one question …… what’s the difference between kanji and kana ???
at 1:46 pm
khawla-san,
Welcome to JapanesePod101.com!
Thank you for your nice comment in Japanese!
If the last sentence would be “kyou wa kono peji ni hajimete kimashita.” that would be perfect. But you are almost perfect!
For the difference and kana, you may want to check our All About #2-Japanese Writing System.
http://www.japanesepod101.com/2009/07/13/all-about-2-learn-the-japanese-writing-system/
at 11:27 pm
Hajimemashite.
Watashi wa Marko desu.
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.
I’m glad I found this site and ironically enough I googled “japanese101″ and stumbled upon it
. I plan to study Japanese at my local college so this is just perfect to get me started with the basics.
Up until now I learned through anime/manga and it evolved from there, the desire to learn Nihongo. ^-^
I have one question though, if I say it like this (Watashi wa ni-ju-ni-sai desu.), is it correct?
Arigatou Gozaimasu!
Jaa ne
at 2:24 pm
Marko-san,
Welcome to JapanesePod101.com!
If you say “ni-juu-ni-sai” not “ni-ju-ni-sai” with the long vowel of “u,” that would be perfect!
at 1:02 pm
at 12:56 am
Wow! This site is really sugoi!
Mina-san, konnichiwa! Kiki to moushimasu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
Amerika-jin desu, demo Kanada ni sunde imasu. Nihon ga suki desu yo! I know simple sentences, but feel free to correct any mistakes! Mina-san, ganbatte ne!
at 1:50 am
Great lesson, but when testing myself with the written components, it is so difficult to know what Hiragana to type in order to get the correct Kanji. Through the lesson, I now know what the Kanji should look like, to get the correct answer, but I do not know how to find it by scrolling through the drop-down options on software, after typing the appropriate Hiragana. This is VERY frustrating and wasting my precious time, sadly.
at 2:58 pm
Kiki-san,
Welcome to JapanesePod101.com!
Your self-introduction in Japanese is perfect! ganbatte kudasai!
ぐらでいしゅ ぐらんと-san,
Do you have “rikaichan” installed? If not yet, you might want to install it. I think it might help you to find the right kanji.
You can watch the video about Rikaichan here.
http://www.japanesepod101.com/index.php?s=Rikaichan
at 7:08 pm
Mayumi-san,
Hontou desu ka? Yatta!! I try really hard, and I guess my studying is working!! Doumo arigatou for this site.
at 1:25 am
Mayumi-san –
Hontoni arigato gozaimasu for the Rikaichan demo video.
Peter spoke about other tutorials for optimizing our Firefox for Nihongo, but when I browsed News, I failed to find it…?
Tasukete, kudasaii.
at 3:15 am
what is my name in japanese. My name is justin martindale
at 9:53 am
justin martindale-san,
Your name would be ジャスティン・マーティンデイル (Jasutin Maatindeiru) in Japanese
at 10:58 am
This was awesome. Great post.
(I am having some trouble downloading the Lesson Notes pdf)
at 9:32 pm
Great lesson~~~
love the way you guys arrange your lesson and how’s done simply and clearly.
I will continue follow up the beginner L1.
at 5:24 pm
at 5:27 pm
Hi everyone-Japanes is great and fun!I cant wait to go there on student retreat this term-Poopybut-That is impossible!I have been doing japanese for 7 years(with private tuition) and I still cant speak fluently! No one up there is a dingbat exept you!!!
at 4:46 pm
Hi there~
I’ve always wanted to learn Japanese so I do self teaching methods since I love learning. Not to mention, I’m a huge fan of Anime/Manga. Someday, I’d help translating from Japanese to English. “til recently, I found this website. However, I’m on the introduction stage now. I honestly have no idea how to say or write my name in Japanese. How do I write Nina in Kanji and Kana? Also, I have a question. From what I’ve heard, they say that it’s the best way to learn Hiragana and Katakana because they’re a bit rather easy than Kanji. Is that the correct information? Please let me know, thanks!
~Nina
at 4:56 pm
Nina-san,
Hello!!
Non-Japanese names are written in katakana, so your name in Japanese would be:
ニナ (Nina)
And yes, we recommend starting with hiragana and katakana before learning kanji. Please check out our Kantan Kana video series for help with learning them!
http://www.japanesepod101.com/index.php?cat=7&submit=Go
at 7:45 am
I just subscribed to this site

I cant use the video vocab
and it don’t work on any other version either
at 9:56 am
Palmerさん,
Are you getting an error when you try and watch the video vocab?
Please try updating your browser and updating to the latest version of Adobe Flash
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/
at 3:32 am
where can i find how to to say all countries in japanese?
at 11:54 pm
Trying to decide whether to start learning with JPod101 and one thing bothers me a bit. In your Kanji Close Up sheets there is no stroke order indicated and without it they do not seem to be very useful. It would require me looking up each kanji in a dictionary.
Not a big deal one might say - but does take time, which is exactly what I want to save by going for an online course.
Marius
at 5:19 am
at 6:18 am
Hi everyone I’m new to this site just listened to my first lesson and I’m not taking any classes and no previous knowledge of the language Its a little fast and can’t really pick up everything but hopefully I’ll keep at it cause I’ve met a wounderful woman from Japan and really would like to learn her Language so we can speak to each other better Thanks for this chance to learn something new
at 5:47 pm
hi I’m new around here. It’s my 2nd day here. but why is it that I can’t open the Pdf files like lesson notes, kanji close-up, etc.? But all those features for premium subscribers work just fine…
Please help.
at 9:24 am
katieさん,
Are you on the 7-day trial right now, or do you have a Basic or Premium membership?
at 1:13 pm
Hey! My name is Gina Wall, and I’ve just gotten started with the lessons. I’m really enjoying it. How do I say my name in Japanese? Thanks.
at 3:48 am
umm i want to know possiable how i can write in hiragana or katakana on my pc onegai im sooo frustrated i cant figure it out..Onegai i would be very thankful
at 3:09 pm
Ginaさん,
Your name would be ジーナ (Jiina) in Japanese
Kikiさん,
Please check out this link for info on how to write in Japanese!
http://tinyurl.com/typejp
at 1:33 am
はじめまして。
わたしはフーンです。わたしはベトナムじんです。
どうぞよろしくおねがいします。
at 9:08 am
candleさん,
はじめまして!
よろしくおねがいします
at 6:33 am
Just a simple question, which I hope somebody can answer for me.
I don’t know if this was covered in the Newbie Lessons, since I’m starting here, but:
What is the difference betweem the particles ‘wa’, ‘wo’ and ‘yo’? I’ve pretty much heard them used hundreds, if not thousands of times in anime, and I just don’t see a pattern. I know from what I’ve read somewhere else that ‘wa’ is the topic marking particle but what about the other two? And how do I know which one to use?
at 9:55 am
Kasperさん,
To give a very basic answer, “wa” marks the topic of a sentence, “wo” marks the object of a sentence, and “yo” is a sentence ending particle used to emphasize your statement (often used when you are telling someone something they don’t know). Again, that’s just a very basic overview - I would recommend listening to our Particle series to learn more about the usages for these particles
at 7:05 am
Thanks. I think I’ll take a look at it when I get the time. Sadly, I don’t have so much time to learn Japanese these days.
at 9:51 pm
cool lessons arigatou gozimasu
at 12:13 pm
Omg thanks you with this i can learn japan with more properly and can make some word so people know what i’m gonna to says to them..
guys nice to meet you too..
i’m 17 years old..
at 9:50 am
kore wa yoi desune ^_^ doomo arigatou gozaimashita♪
\(^o^)/
at 6:54 am
really grateful for the new video clip I’ve written down a few sentences in my journal thanks to this lesson
I will share a few with you please excuse me for using romaji I am on anothers’ computer.
hajimemashite, Watashi wa stephanie desu yoro shi ku onegaishimasu
( i have used this sentence many times to surprise native Japanese speakers. Thank you Japanese Pod
a bit about me:
shusshin wa kanada desu.
katakana wakarimasen.
jaa ne
at 1:42 pm
yuri-san
Arigatou gozaimasu!
stephanime-san
Arigatou gozaimasu. Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
at 9:18 pm
i REALLY LOVE UR LESSONS
how can i say im arabic ,,im from palastine ,, im from jordan
jaa ne
at 10:12 am
arwaさん,
Thanks for your comment!
I’m Arabic = (Watashi wa) Arabia-jin desu.
I’m from Palestine = Paresuchina kara kimashita
I’m from Jordan = Yorudan kara kimashita
I hope this helps
at 3:33 am
I like your website it is really gooood especially for me as beginer
I am sure i will be a member one day
thank you
at 3:08 pm
Hey,
Been self studying Japanese for about 2 years, and I still learned new stuff. Question…would you use hajimemashite in an informal setting…like I meet you in a bar and say “hi”? How about the lady behind the desk in a hotel? Do you ever mix konnichiwa & hajimemashite?
Thanks
at 2:23 am
初めまして 私は 夏子 です。国籍はイギリス人です。 宜しくお願いします。 片仮名はわかりました。 じゃね。
at 11:29 am
konnichiwa..I want to learn how to introduce myself in Japanese..can you help me?
at 7:46 am
at 7:47 am
at 9:08 am
Joanne,
Nothing will happen to your account after the 7-Day Trial ends, but if you would still like it deleted anyways, please e-mail us at contactus@japanesepod101.com with that request
at 2:07 am
Thanks alot for the video!
at 11:40 pm
Hey all I was just wondering how my name would be pronounced. In the English it’s em-o-lay but spelled Emole in japanese how would it be pronounced?
at 7:35 am
idk how to learn japanese fast if i cant find the site for it
at 9:10 am
angel-san,
Is there something you need help finding?
You are on the site now
at 8:10 am
I have a premium membership but I can’t use the voice record. It say that jaba is not supported, contact webmaster!!!, How can I make it work????. It says ‘’(Please report error to webmaster.
ListenUp version V1.80 (build 356, Tue Jul 17 00:00:00 BST 2007)
Caught: java.lang.RuntimeException: Audio I/O from Java not supported on this system.)'’. Arigatou
at 8:13 am
The voice recorded doesn’t work!!!! , it says (Please report error to webmaster.
ListenUp version V1.80 (build 356, Tue Jul 17 00:00:00 BST 2007)
Caught: java.lang.RuntimeException: Audio I/O from Java not supported on this system.), How do I make it work????!!!. Arigatou
at 10:32 am
Indira-san,
You need to have Java installed on your computer to use the voice recorder.
Please download it here!
http://www.java.com/
at 11:22 am
ありがとう
at 6:55 am
When I first started studying Japanese from textbooks I never felt comfortable that I was saying よろしく correctly. Hearing it said a few times, including slowly, in this podcast has helped me feel more confident in my pronunciation.
ありがとうございます
at 11:01 pm
はじめまして。わたしはダレンです。オーストラリアじんです。よろしくおねがいします。またね。
I’m just getting a little practice in and possibly helping everyone practice reading. I hope I got it all right. Mata ne
at 5:54 pm
Sorry……………..but is ther any special way to tell india or indian in japanese?:???:
at 3:51 pm
Arjun-san,
Yes we have. We call India as Indo, インド, and Indian people as インド人.
By the way, Hindi is Hindi, ヒンディー語.
I hope this helps.
at 6:47 am
I’m enjoying this program. It’s very easy to understand. What I can’t seem to figure out is how to download these lessons so I can listen to them on my MP3 players. Whenever I click ‘download’ it just opens a window that plays the lesson, but doesn’t download it:???:
at 11:59 am
Hi Travis,
To download an Mp3 file of the lesson, please right-click on the Download link, and then click “Save As…”. You will then be prompted to save it on your computer. Let me know if you need any more help with this step
at 3:34 am
Thanks Jessi. I couldn’t get it to work in Google Chrome, but when I tried your suggestion in Firefox it worked.
Arigatou Gozaimasu
at 1:01 am
初めまして 私はレスリ[Lesley]です
カナダ人です
at 10:49 pm
I am getting stronger:Aka and kiiro waites!
at 4:07 am
初めまして。僕はトーマスです。ドイツ人です。よろしくお願いします。
じゃあね!
at 2:41 am
I love this site! It really helps me get the pronunciation and stuff right. I’m learning Japanese in school, but we only do it for two years before the Leaving Cert. (massive exam at the end of high school in ireland that determines what courses you can do in college) and we have to be good enough to do an essay, hold a conversation and an aurel tape test. There are not enough periods to learn that much!
at 2:47 pm
Hi Lauren-san,
Kon’nichiwa
We’re glad to hear that you like to learn Japanese with us.
We hope that our products help you study Japanese with fun.
If you have any question about Japanese please let us know.
Keep listening
at 7:47 am
Hello JapanesePod101!
I’m just beginning with Japanese, but I’m already in love with the language.
I’m learning Hinayana and katakana and I found something interesting:
One says ‘watashi wa’, but writes ’私は’ (わたしは).
why is there ‘ha’ (は) instead of ‘wa’ (わ)?
Thank you very much!
ありがとう ございます!
at 10:52 am
カロルさん
こんにちは!Thanks for joining us on your Japanese journey
!
The basic answer to your question is that when は is used as a grammatical particle, it is always pronounced “wa”. When it is used in normal words, like はた (flag), it is pronounced “ha”. The syllable わ (”wa”) in normal words such as わたし and わくせい (wakusei, “planet”) is always pronounced “wa”, but cannot take the place of the grammatical particle は.
Does this make it clearer?
at 8:06 pm
こんにちわ!
Thank you for your replay, I do understand now. Interesting that even ‘konnichiwa’ is written with は.
Japanese is such an interesting language fist great to the people and the country.
at 8:07 pm
Oh! Can’t edit. I mean ‘fits’…
at 10:19 am
カロルさん,
thank you for your comment! It made your point clear!
Keep learning more and more of this fascinating language and don’t hesitate to make more questions if you need some help!
Stefania/JapanesePod101.com
at 10:06 am
I really wanna download the Audio casts!!
at 10:58 am
Hi Juan,
are you having trouble downloading the audio file?
Did you try to right click on the “Download MP3″ and then click “Save link as” (for Chrome or Firefox browser) or “Save target as” (for Internet explorer)?
Let us know if you need more help!
Stefania/JapanesePod101.com
at 5:25 pm
I want to learn how to read Japanese as well as speak it. Should I learn Kanji or should I go with Katakana or Hiragana. What would you recommend?
at 3:26 pm
Drew-san,

I’m impressed by your positive attitude.
Well, I recommend to learn Hiragana and Katanaka.
Hiragana and its chart, called aiueo chart, help you to learn verb conjugation.
Also you would need Katakana to write down your name in Japanese.
After mastering these 2 letters, you’re ready for learning kanji.
If your goal is to be an intermediate/advanced speaker, I’m sure that you need to learn kanji someday. But for now, let’s start Hiragana and katanaka.
The video lesson “kantan kana” series will help you.
If you have any other questions, please let us know.
We would love to help you.
at 9:43 am
Konnichiwa,
How do you say “I am Chinese”?
Domo.
at 5:22 pm
Shui-san,
Konnichiwa!
“I’m Chinese” in Japanese is;
watashi wa chuugoku jin desu.
Let’s practice!
Natsuko/JapanesePod101.com
at 11:28 am
hey is there anyway to download all the lessons at once or can you only do it one at a time? it will take me a minute to do all 170 one at at time but i will if need be, not on the computer a lot and would love to have the audio with me
thanks so much!
at 11:52 am
Hi Janell,
If you’re premium member, you can enjoy the feature named ‘My Feed’ under the My Tools.
http://www.japanesepod101.com/learningcenter/account/myfeed
Here, you can select the series name and the type of media to download, so that you can download them all at once by using the iTunes.
Thank you,
Jae / JapanesePod101.com
at 5:47 am
Hajimemashite, 22redroses5760 desu. Watashi wa America-jin desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!
Arigatou gozaimasu, sore wa subarashii website desu!
Is that how you say ‘thank you, it’s an amazing website!’ in Japanese? I had to look up the correct sentence structure. x) Hopefully I’ll get better at it soon.
Ja ne!
at 11:30 am
22redroses5760-san,
Hajimemashite! Kat desu. Sukottorandojin desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!
You were almost correct with your sentence! To say ‘thank you, it’s an amazing website!’ in Japanese, the most natural way would be to flip the parts round so that you say ‘it’s an amazing website, thank you’ (in Japanese, ‘thank you’ coming AFTER the comment is often but not always the case). Also, because you’re currently on the website in question, you would use “kore” (this) instead of “sore” (that), but in fact you don’t need to use either.
Subarashii uebusaito desu. Arigatou gozaimasu.
“Arigatou gozaimasu” is in the present tense because the “action” hasn’t been completed (the website still exists, you’re still using it).
Hope this helps! Welcome to the site!
Kat/Team JapanesePod101.com
at 12:11 am
Konnichiwa,
Watashi wa roshia jin desu.
Am I right?
Domo arigato.
at 9:32 am
vikki-san, kon’nichiwa.
You’re from Russia, right?
Great! Keep studying and feel free to ask us any questions!
Motoko /Team JapanesePod101.com
at 2:15 am
Yes,I’m from Russia.
Thank your for this educational website! I have been looking for the same website on russian, but have found only a few lessons.
I’m styding English at school, so your website gives me maximum of benefits in styding foreign languages.Because while studing Japanese I improve my English.In my view your website is perfect!
at 11:38 am
vikki-san,
Brilliant!
Hope you’ll enjoy studying both languages with us
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 4:43 am
I need to tell you,this one rocks!!!!!!
Sami listened to it and loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sayonara!!!
at 12:33 pm
Hello William,
Thank you so much! We’re happy to know that
Cheers,
Neha
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 8:43 pm
The only thing I don’t like about this program is that we don’t get a list of the words we used in each lesson with out having to pay for it.:???:
at 11:34 am
Hi Danielle,
Thanks for your feedback. But we hope you also find the value of these features to help you improve Japanese more efficiently. Feel free to check our subscriptions options at http://www.japanesepod101.com/member/member_upnewapi.php to see more useful features that you can get after making subscriptions.
Thank you!
Jae
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 1:48 am
こんいちは。わたしは Tonyです。わたしあめりかじん だけど 日本勉強。今 3ヶ月 勉強。
わたしは 翻訳しゃになりたい。
Hello. My name is Tony. I’m American but studying Japanese. I’ve been studying for 3 months now.
I hope to be a translator eventually.
at 1:56 pm
Anthony-san,
こんにちは
Great! Hope you can make it soon!
BTW, “I’ve been studying Japanese” in Japanese would be
日本語を勉強しています。
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 1:41 am
I’m having a great time working through the lessons, they are short enough that I can get away with doing them at work when it’s quiet (our secret).
After doing the Absolute beginner series I feel I have a way better understanding of grammar and common sentence structures. Even if you have previous experience learning I think everyone should visit these lessons, there is loads other learning websites and programs have missed out.
One thing I’m trying not to do is look ahead and get completely overwhelmed with the amount of lessons on here! I feel like I’ll be here for life, that’s no bad thing
Oh and Peter.. you always go on about other tutor voices.. yours is pretty neat too!
at 10:52 am
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks for your nice comments!
We’re glad that you’ve found the Absolute Beginner series helpful
Good luck with your studies!
Jessi
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 8:55 pm
こにちは。(Hi)
I have a question about learning the Kanji. When would I start with it? The Lessen Checklist (neither basic or premium) sais anything about the Kanji List or the Kanji Bank etc. - Are these Features so new, that they are just not yet added or shouldn’t I learn each Kanji with the lessons?
宜しくお願いします。 (Thanks in advance)
at 6:58 pm
マルセルさん、
こんにちは
I assume you already know hiragana and katakana quite well, and even some kanji.
If you want, you can learn kanji using dialog scripts in Lesson Notes.
Other wise we have lessons only focusing on Kanji.
As to “when”, it’s up to you actually. It’s always the best if you could learn
both speaking and writing. So, I’d say “now”
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 10:45 am
ありがとうございます、奈津子さん!
All right, I just wanted to hear if you recommend it. Yes I am fine with hiragana and ok with katakana. So I will try to remember the most important kanjis in the lessons right away.
By the way, did you know your names is spelled 夏子 in the vocabulary list (i.e. beginner-lesson-2)? What is correct or are the writings interchangeably? I allways thought it should have something to do with “summerchild”, but now I am not sure what this means 奈津子. The Kanji dictionary (your’s and rikaichan’s) both think this 奈 means “Nara, what?” what makes no sense…
(No panic, I am not going to learn all the name Kanjis, just the vocabulary ones. But I am interested in this one, as it is yours *g*)
酒井さんの名前も面白いですよ。 Sakai’s name is also interesting! (correct use of も?)
酒井さんの名前は「alcohol-well」ですか
If yes, then: 乾杯、酒井さん!
at 3:37 pm
マルセルさん、
The reason I write my name both with alphabets and kanji is because
many listeners (who knows kanji, obviously) wrote 夏子 to address me.
I’m not perfectly sure about my name’s kanji either…奈津子 is quite a common name and most of “Natsuko”s have either 奈津子 or 夏子, but it could also be
菜津子, 奈都子, etc.
My parents decided to use those kanjis hoping that I’d grow up as beautiful as
ladies in antient Nara and as “great” or “big” as the lake Ootsu. But I know
they created such story later…
はい、「も」の使い方は合っていますよ!
(Yes; you used “mo” correctly!)
I love that! 乾杯
Great translation for 酒井さん
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 4:57 am
Hey
Just want to say thanks very much for the lessons here
I’m in my final year in high school in Ireland, and studying Japanese for my final exams. I know a bit already, but these lessons are really great for my pronunciation and learning a bit of extra kanji
ありがとうございます!
at 11:58 am
Laure-san,
thank you very much for a kind comment!
So, you’re studying Japanese at school AND with us? Wow! You’ll be fluent in no time
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 1:56 am
Sugoi!! so many lessons!!!! It’s a little daunting actually eh heh… I’m worried I’ll never know when I’ve done enough of these lessons to continue with the next seasons… I mean, just wow. Doing 25 of them was difficult but it’s so many…
so I must say… I CAN’T WAIT TO GET STARTED ON LESSON 1! Here I go wish me luck!
at 9:51 pm
Nathanielさん、

goooooooooooooooood luck!!
Take as much time as you need before going to the next step! That’s why we have
many seasons in one level
And, anytime you’ve got questions, just ask us here! We’re happy to help you!
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 4:37 am
Hi can someone help?
I have seen よろしく and おねかいします used separately. Does each mean the same ? Can both phases be used on its own by it self?
Thank you so much
ありがとごうさいます
My first attempt at hiragana, using iPad Japanese keyboard is amaaaaazing!
Piyah
at 9:45 pm
Piyah-san,
yes; both can be used separately.
It is quite difficult to explain what each one exactly means, but
よろしく is kind of modifying the following expression, like “emphasising” or
strenghening. おねがいします is when you ask someone a favour.
Hope this help!
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 5:38 pm
Hi there! This is really helpful! Thank you for the kind hearted person who decided to do this. I just have one concern, i can’t download the audio of this lesson. Every time I click the download button it just keep on playing
please help! I really really wanted to learn how to speak japanese.
at 9:22 am
Erm-san,

thank you very much for a kind comment!!
And we’re very sorry for the problem!
I’ll speak to our technical team about it.
Someone will get back to you shortly. Thank you for your patience!!
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 12:50 pm
Hi Erm,
If you want to download the audio, you need to right-click on the link and then click “Save As”. You can see an example of it here:
http://www.japanesepod101.com/helpcenter/getstarted/downloadhowto/
Hope that helps!
Jessi
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 7:50 am
Wow this is old, they seem so nervous, peters pronunciation really improved over the years
at 10:12 pm
max-san,

Thank you for a lovely comment!! No one might have noticed or at least said
that. That’s interesting
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 4:06 am
I just dont know what to say, i spent so much time with you from this episode, learning what hajimemashite means,to almost fluent speaking with Japanese friends
For all reading my comments: If its boring then just concentrate and watch. First i thought so too but i was so much mistaken
If these 1000+ days ago i wasnt charmed by that cute woman that always invites you
that would be a biggest mistake of my life. I know that may sound some impolite, but i really consider Natsuko, Peter, Sakura, Alphamale Kazunori
and all others as my best friends
I imagine meeting you all somewhere, i would give 1000000 dollars for that
. We would be laughing like…
“This gonna be great lesson right Kazunori? Yes. Right Kazunori? Yes. Right Kazunori??? YES.” that makes me laugh like a best joke.
I just want to thank you all that made or participate in this website. I owe you so much. You are people of greath worth…
And this episode? Its just a beginning…of a legend
at 8:15 pm
ahrigatou gojaemasu
at 12:53 am
> Luke-san,


wow, thank you sooooooo much for such a lovely and kind comment!
We all consider you as our best friend too!
I think your lovely & funny comment would be VERY appreciated by all and any
of our team members!
Thank YOU for joining us, listening to our lessons, enjoying with us and
writing a brilliant feedback which we’re sure other listeners are encouraged
to have patience!
We’ll try our best to keep good work. Please let us know anytime if there’s
anything we can improve
> dipkoren-san,
douitashimashite
Did you enjoy our lesson? Arigatou gozaimasu
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 8:14 am
how do I work this website anyway? I don’t like it!
at 8:19 am
I —!IT AWSOME
at 8:22 am
I DONT KNOW HOW TO WORK THIS WEBSITE BUT I HAVE A ACCOUNT.
CAN YOU HELP ME?
at 5:58 pm
mei-san,
of course we will help you!
Basically you have loads of lessons already available so you have
to choose the lesson you want to listen.
As you chose this one, beginner lesson, you can simply click “play”
to listen to the audio lesson, or “download”.
(you can find those contents above)
You can also check our video guides:
http://www.japanesepod101.com/helpcenter/faqandsupport/videouserguide
Please let us know if you have specific questions, so that we can help you
better! Hope this helps a bit and hope you can enjoy the lesson!
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 9:03 pm
Hajimemashite! Watashiwa Mihau desu. Porandojin desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!
Just started and I love this lessons!
Thank you very much!
at 5:12 pm
Mihau-san,
hajimemashite!!
Thank you for a lovely comment and perfect self-introduction!
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
at 1:50 pm
はじめまして。わたしはデニーゼひろみです。ブラジルじんです。よろしくおねがいします。
Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Denise Hiromi desu. Burajirujin desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
at 9:36 am
Denise san
はじめまして。わたしはみなこです。日本人です。
よろしくおねがいします
Let’s learn Japanese with us!
Minako
Team JapanesePod101.com