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We know that you are fed up with talking about yourself, watashi this and watashi that, so today we introduce the words for other people! Sorry it took so long, but today we give you the tools to talk to someone else! The world just got a whole lot bigger as you’ll now be able to address 129 million people.

Learn how to talk about others in Japanese

Grammar: | Function: | Topic: | Politeness Level:


This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 21st, 2005 at 5:07 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.

112 Responses to “Beginner Lesson #3 - Talking About Others”

JapanesePod101.com says:

こなばんは!私はローイレズリー。私はじゅごさいです。私はスコットランド人です。 I come from the West coast of Scotland and I find your podcasts a great help, in addition to the weekly Japanese classes that i attend. It is really encouraging when I listen to your podcasts and realise that I already know quite a lot of basic vocabulary but I feel really pleased with myself when I learn new, interesting vocabulary through your podcast! I find this podcast a great help as aside from my weekly classes, there is not a lot of Japanese resources that I, as a teenager who is still at school, can make full use of. I’ve not listened to all your programs yet but I do intend to and just hope that they are as promising as the first four episodes!Keep up the good work! どもありがとうございます!

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Peter says:

ローイレズリーさん、
こんにちは!かいてくれましてありがとうございます!すごい!Great Japanese! Only 15, wow! You have a bright future ahead! We are so glad to hear that you are utilizing our podcast! I think it will be a big help to you! We teach a lot, I mean a lot of non-text material! Lots of very practical stuff! Please let us know the response to the Japanese you learn here! Also if there is anything we can do please don’t hesitate to ask! We’ll do all we can to help!

がんばってください! Please keep the posts coming!
Scotland is a great country! My friend was married on the Isle of Bute!

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Dorian says:

hajime mashite watashi wa doorian desu, yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

Hey my name is Dorian and im from London, I have to say that I am really enjoying these lessons, I after just recently finding them on iTunes. I was really surprised when I found them, I also wanted to study Japanese in an actual class but due to lack of interest at my University they had to cancel the lessons. They needed a minimum of 6 people for the class and by the end I was the only person that decided to stay. It looks like ill have to try and find somewhere else to do it :sad: . I like how your lessons are structured, you make it very easy to follow. I already knew a few words but now they make more sense to me ie what context to use them in. I also found that when watching Anime now I am starting to hear words which I have been learning in the lessons and i can actuall understand them. I really enjoy these lessons and I hope they will continue. Thanks……

BTW i posted the comment here because this is where im up to in the lessons lol :lol:

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Becca says:

Quick question! If the group is male and female, does one default to the masculine Kerera? Or is there a neutral term?

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Jonas says:

You can use “karera” eve if you’re talking about a mixed group. But you can only use “kanojora” if there are only girls in the group.
Next question! :grin:

Jonas

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Ingeborg says:

I’ve wanted to learn Japanese for some time now(even if I am just 15, I’ve always found Japan an interesting country), and this site helps a lot! And I think it is easier for me too: I’m Norwegian(so please excuse my spelling/grammar mistakes!), and we pronounce things very much like the Japanese. So thank you very much for these lessons!
I also have a couple of questions, even though I’m not sure if you look at the older comment pages!

1. What is Norway in Japanese?
2. I hear that you use “anata” for “you”, but I have also heard the word “omae” for the same thing? (”omae wa yowai” = “you are weak”, correct?)

Thank you!

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Sølvi says:

Hi, Ingeborg!
I’m Norwegian too :)
Unfortunately, there is no Japanese support on the computer I’m on, but I’ll give you the roumaji. Norway is “noruwee”, and it’s written in katakana.

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Sergiu says:

Omae is the informal version of “you” used mostly in anime.
Other words for “you” are kimi,kisama,temee…
(I think these words are offensing)

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Ada Kensington says:

I’m a student at Glasgow University in Scotland and I stumbled across this site on YouTube (of all places!) I’ve since become a dedicated, part-time, online student and I particularly love Beginner’s Lesson #3 - mainly because of the grammar! I study English Language, which covers many aspects of linguistics as well as the basics you need to achieve a good understanding of linguistics like phonetics, sociolinguistics and grammar. So even though I’m interested in historical linguistics (Old English, Old Norse, manuscripts and medieval literature), this website provides a fascinating and fun insight into how other languages work! I used to be quite put off by learning Japanese (mainly because of the honorific system - it scared me) but you guys make it enjoyable.

Thanks Peter, Natsuko and Kazunori! :mrgreen:

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melody says:

i`m a student at msjh, and i live in california. i`m taking japanese right now in school, and this is really helping me! it`s awesomeee :mrgreen:

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Jan says:

Hi,
I´m here toady with a second question. Because of my coming from the Czech republic I would be interesting in finding out the word for “Czech republic” and its pronunciation in Japanese as well. Once again thanks a lot.

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John C. Briggs says:

Janさん,
According to JDIC it is チェコ (cheko).
Thanks
John

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Yalvora says:

Hi,

初めまして。Yalvora (however one writes that in Kana) です。どうぞ宜しくお願いします。

I love to listen to the lessons during my drive to work and then I go through the lessons at home. I try to learn the Kanjis as the are introduced in the lessons and I would like to know how one usually writes “anata”. In the dialog it is written in hiragana あなた, but in the vocabulary it is 貴方. Which on is the usual way to write “anata”?

This is something that confuses me in other lessons as well. For example, in a previous lessons, in the dialog write-up, yoroshiku is sometimes written in hiragana よろしく, but then in the vocabulary word with the Kanji for yoro 宜しく ! Or Konnichiwa, written こんにちわ or 今日わ?

How do I know the correct spelling?

Thanks a lot (I hope I still get an answer, it is a fairly old lesson) :) ,

Yalvora

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Keith says:

こんにちは、
In general, あなた and よろしく are written in the hiragana script and not the kanji script. The only reason is that the kanji for these words are not so common so Japanese people don’t use them. All Japanese people will know the kanji but will use hiragana for these words. There is no rule in finding out which words use hiragana and which use kanji, you just have to learn them as they are, it’s like English spelling! By the way, the ‘wa’ of konnichiwa is with the は character because the meaning of こんにちは is ‘as for today’. It is like saying わたしは using the は to highlight the topic of the sentence.
I hope this helps you…

From Keith

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rachel says:

Thanks for these podcats they are a great help I tried reading Japanese to learn but I did not know how to pronounce it now with your help I writing down how to pronounce it and what it means thanks! XD :mrgreen:

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Mae says:

I am finding the podcasts very entertaining. i studied Japanese almost 9 years ago in my university as a language elective but forgot most of it due to lack of practice. These podcasts are so helpful in refreshing those japanese lessons archived in the back of my brain :smile: and I am getting a lot of tips along the way at that!

I am looking forward to going to the intermediate level after some time as I shall be moving to Japan later this year :wink:

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Jonathan says:

konichiwa. Hajimimashite, watashi wa Jonathan-san desu. Watashi wa Igilisu-gin desu. Japanesepod DAI SUKI DES!! Doomo arigatoo!

Ok, back to Eigo - oops I mean English! I’ve just listened up to Lesson 3 and I can’t thank you enough! I’m living in Japan with my Japanese girlfriend and these lessons are making my life much easier. I’ve taken face-to-face lessons previously but these podcasts are actually much better for me at this time and at this level. I’m gonna have a butchers at your premium content deal - as it is Golden Week after all!

Seriously, well done!

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sarah says:

Out of curiousity, would you use karera to introduce a group of people(mixed), or is it strictly for talking about a group of people? If not, how would you introduce a group?

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Fiona says:

こにちわ!

Hello! How can you burn these podcasts onto cd or transfer them onto an MP3 player :???: ? As I listen to them I save them onto a playlist, but it would be more conveniant in a cd or mp3, because then I could listen to them at school and when i’m out and about.

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sarah says:

Fiona - first go to the webpage of the lesson you want to save. then you can right click over the link that says “Audio” and go to “save link as” or “save target as”, and then you can save it onto your computer. After that you can simply transfer the files to your mp3 player or if you have a cd burner you can burn the files to a cd using a cd burning program. hope that made sense :)

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Fiona says:

Arigato!!!

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Aria says:

こんにちは、

I have a short question: prior to beginning lessons here, I have heard あなたがた as plural of あなた . Is that also correct and if yes, what is the difference with あなたたち?

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markystar says:

ariaさん、 i asked the same question a while ago. and hopefully, some can back me up on this.  あなたがた is a very formal form (you might compare it to わたくし), both are used, but most by old people in very formal situations. if you look at the kanji for あなたがた、there are 2 ways to right
short form: 貴方々
long form: 貴方方
the second form shows the history of this word. it’s 貴方 which means ‘your side’ plus ‘方’ which is a polite way to say ‘this person’ — it’s less direct than この人 or something.
for whatever reason, it’s used as a plural and because of general disuse it has (or i’ve been told) a certain ‘overly lavish’ or ‘flagrant’ nuance.
in general, we should refer to the listening party as ‘あなた unless we are very comfortable with each other. even more so, we should be careful when using extremely polite forms, it may come across as too much. :cool:

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Ace says:

Ohiyo gozaimasu! Hajimemashite, watashi wa Ace desu. Watashi wa amerika-gin desu.
My friend actually introduced me to this site, and I immediately fell in love with learning Japanese! :wink:
I just have two questions. I have heard people use “ore” instead of “watashi”, but I’ve never heard a guy use “watashi”, only “ore”. Someone once told me that women usually use “watashi” and men usually use “ore”, and I was wondering what the difference was and if the rumor was true.
Is “kimi” an offensive way to say “you”?
I would really appreciate any help…

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markystar says:

Ace,
in general, men use ‘watashi,’ ‘boku’ and ‘ore.’
it all depends on who you’re talking to. in formal situations, ‘watashi’ is best and you’ll never offend anyone with this. ‘boku’ is also ok in polite and casual situations. personally, i recommend that you stick with these two only.
‘ore’ is very strong, and can be considered rude or crass if the people you’re speaking to aren’t cool with you using that.
also, i’ve often heard my japanese friends laughing at foreigners who use ‘ore.’ so, unless you’re a really good speaker, i recommend avoiding this one for the time being.

for a guy speaking to others, in general, it’s best to avoid saying ‘you’ at all. it’s considered too direct. so use the person’s name and attach an honorific suffix like ’san’ at the end.
as for ‘kimi.’ only use this with people you’re cool with (and are cool with you). otherwise it would be a bit presumptuous. ‘anata’ is always safe, but my personal recommendation is to stick to names plus ’san.’ it sounds really natural, and it will never put you in an awkward situation. :cool:

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Ace says:

markystar,
Arigatou gozaimasu! :grin:
I really appreciate your help!

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Saya says:

Ace-san, “kimi” isn’t too bad. I’ve heard it in love songs (sung by guys) before.

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Kennerz says:

Kanichiwa!
Watashi wa 15 desu. Watashi wa kokoro nihongo desu.
Watashi wa nihongo ga skushi shika hanasemasen (but your helping me learn more).
mate na!!!
Kennerz!

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Sachi says:

Just to notice, I believe that it is not neccessary to tack on the -san, etc. after your name when introducing. To be formal, you will have to say your last name before your first name, and then there’s the informal way of just your first name, but -san, -kun, -chan aren’t used when introducing. Am I correct?

I’m still confused on the -san stuff, though. I learned that -kun is for men, -san is for woman, and -chan for kids or close relations, but I’ve also heard -san be used with men, too?

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markystar says:

さん and the like are honorific suffixes. so, it sounds quite arrogant if you attach to your own name. you attach this kind of suffix to other people’s names to elevate their status. :wink:

as for when to use them…
you’ll never go wrong with -san. it’s the best one to use until you really get a feel for this.

here’s the break down:

TWO YOU’LL RARELY SEE:
-dono (very formal, originally used for addressing a feudal lord or samurai of higher rank)
-hime (very formal, originally used for addressing a noble woman or “princess”)

EXTREMELY HIGH FREQUENCY, ALWAYS SAFE:
-sama (formal, for men & women)
-san (polite, for men & women)

HIGH FREQUENCY, BUT YOU’LL HAVE TO LEARN BY EXAMPLE:
-kun (basically for men who are equal or of lower status; in a company or school it could be used for both men and women who are of lower status)
-chan (casual, adds a “cuteness” to the name. so it gets used with girls more than guys, but many guys are referred to as -chan by their very close friends)

there are others, but basically, i’ve given you the 4 most high frequency suffixes. the two at the top were just for fun. if you read manga or watch anime, you may come across them.

hope this helps

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羅子傑 says:

Carla, doumo obrigado gozaimasu. :mrgreen:

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Kathy says:

はじめまして。 私はKathyです。 よろしくおねがいします。私はアメリカ人です。 ハワイにすんでいます。I signed up mainly to learn improve my knowledge of kanji. I decided to start from the very beginning since the format of the kanji isn’t set up with learning the simple ones first (like those that require only 3 or 4 strokes) to more difficult one. It’s been a good refresher for me in the language itself and I’m learning things along the way as well. I’m glad that I signed up! :razz:

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Elizabeth says:

What’s the difference between -達 and - ら? For example, I’ve seen both 僕達 and 僕ら.

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Kim says:

Is there audio where you break down pronunciation of the R’s in japanese words? I understand R is not emphasized but I hear a little something close to R, D , and L. Help!

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Mae says:

I’m about to ask the same question as Elizabeth.
What’s the difference between ‘bokura’ and ‘bokutachi’?
I have read some sentences using ‘bokura’ translated as ‘we’ and the some goes with ‘bokutachi’.
I hope you can help. Thank you. :)

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JapanesePod101.com says:

Elizabethさん、 Maeさん
ら and 達(たち)are basically same. But I think there are slightly some differremces.:

1. ら is more impolite than 達. 2. ら is mainly used by male speakers.

(Casual used by male)      おれ    おれ達    おれら  
(Standard politeness, male)    ぼく     ぼく達    ぼくら
(Standard politeness) わたし   わたし達   わたしら (sounds strange)
(Polite)             わたくし  わたくし達  わたくしら(incorrect)

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アイゼン says:

Firstly, I’d just like to say that I’ve been studying Japanese on and off for about two or three years now and previously to JapanesePod101, I’d learned little more than hello, goodbye, thank you, and a few other words I’d picked up from watching Kurosawa Akira films. I had a Japanese teacher in high school, who was Chinese, and was not a good teacher. Next semester I’ll be studying Japanese at the university level, so this will hopefully be a great tool to supplement my lectures. Now, I’d tried everything–I’d bought three different “teach yourself Japanese” type books–one with 12 conversational CDs–but it just seemed scattered and unorganized. In three days of using JapanesePod, I’ve already mastered 20 kanji, the hiragana alphabet, and lessons 1-3. I commit no fewer than 2 hours daily to this website, mainly because I am majoring in Teaching English as a Second Language and will relocate to Japan in two years after I attain my degree. So far, this program has been a godsend; you really just can’t beat the mobility offered by the iPod downloads and the text supplements in the lessons. I also noticed that, unlike virtually every other Japanese language teaching program out there, JapanesePod101 gets you started on Kanji right off the bat, which, although I thought it would be more difficult, seems almost to make things easier. I’m already supplementing 私 for わたし and 貴方達 for あなたたち when I practice writing the lessons. And did I mention, I haven’t had to make a single flash card yet? So, Peter, Natsuko, and Kazunori, どうもありがとうございます!!! :dogeza:

Okay, now about this lesson in particular. I have a couple of questions maybe someone can answer. Firstly, in the past two beginner lessons, the kanji we’ve learned have each represented an individual or series of sounds, but I notice that with 貴方, the characters aren’t broken down individually, and only collectively spell あなた. Why is this? Do the kanji have to accompany each other, or do they each mean something separately?

Another thing I found is that kanji for “he” and “she” is the same–彼–until you add the “jo” suffix or second character to make it female. Because I’m somewhat of a linguist and impossibly curious, I want to know why adding 女 to 彼 changes the sound of the kanji from “kare” to “kano”.

My last question (thanks for bearing with me) is the word “watashitachi”, meaning “we”. Up until now, my understanding was that 我々 or われわれ meant “we”. Are they both different terms for the same thing? Is one slang and the other more polite? Or am I totally off the mark?

Any explanations and information on these questions would be enormously appreciated.

じゃね、
アイゼン

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sTeVe aUsTiN says:

I don’t think Japanese people use 貴方達 for あなたたち. If I’m not mistaken, that’s an archaism.

I think you should try posting your questions in the jpod forum, you’ll probably have better luck getting answers in there! :cool:

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Mayumi says:

アイゼン-san,

A set of characters which aren’t broken down individually in reading them, like 貴方(anata) is called “Jukujikun.” 熟字訓(jukujikun) is allocated to one reading as a set of characters. For example, 明日(ashita), 昨日(kinou) or 梅雨(tsuyu; rainy season)

According to the dictionary, 彼 originally has a meaning of the third person. After English came in, 彼 is allocated to “he” and then 彼女is come up with to mean “she.”

私達(watashi-tachi) and 我々(wareware) both mean “we.” 私達 is the word usually used to mean “we”. It seems to me that 我々sounds like a word for army or very formal public speech by a politician or president of a company.

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Kaisa says:

Konbanwa, hajimemashite! Atashi ga Kaisa desu, finrandojin desu yo. Nihongo wo benkyousuru, yappari.. O-genki desu ka? Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
So, I am a finnish girl who simply LOVES your great site - thank you, Japanesepod!
But, there is still a matter which bothers me; I think you use a bit too much english, because some people like me, who actually don´t speak english as their native language, really cannot understand a word about what are you talking about! ;____; Sorry for critique and super-poor english, if it appears. I am just 12 years old schoolgirl so all I know is elementary school english..

But anyways, thank you a lot! Ganbatte kudasai!

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Monica says:

Okay this lesson confused me a little bit, so I have a few questions.

First of all, what does the wa mean in: Kare wa Kazunori desu, Watashi wa ___ desu, etc. I remember listening 2 the Magical Wa! Lesson but I forgot what it meant exactly ^^; I got sort of confused there.

Second, what is the Japanese word for: they. I forgot. I know Kare ra meant they but do u use that for a group of males? And kanojo ra do you use that for a group of females? What if there is a group with both females and males? What would be the exact word for they?? And would you use the wa there again like: Kare ra wa, Nihon desu.

Third: I know Nihongo means Japanese in Japanese. How would you say I am Japanese or you are Japanese. Can’t you say something like Watashi wa Nihongo desu or Anata wa Nihongo desu? :???:

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maxiewawa says:

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: ”wa” is a marking particle. It comes after the subject of the sentence.

“Kare” means “he”, and by adding “ra” you make it plural. “Kanojo” is “she” and by adding “ra” you’re making it a plural too. There isn’t an exact word for “they”.

Nihongo means “Japanese language”. To say “Japanese people” or “Japanese person”, you say nihonjin.

So with all these points in mind, the Japanese sentences you wrote should be:

Karera wa nihonjin desu.
Watashi wa nihonjin desu.
Anata wa nihonjin desu.

Keep up the questions, they are the mark of a good student! :mrgreen:

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Monica says:

Okay, okay, I’m getting it now, but I’m still a little bit confused.

Soo you would say Karera for a group of boys right? And Kanojo for a group of girls right? What if there is a group of both boys and girls?? I know you said there isn’t an exact word for “they” but what would you say something that is similar to “They are Japanese,” or “They are from America” or something like that :]

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maxiewawa says:

You might say “ano hito-tachi”. Or you might even leave the word for “they” out. If it’s clear through context you don’t need it.

You don’t need to translate every English word into Japanese to be understood.

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Monica says:

Oh alright.

I went through the lesson again and it says you could also use karera. I understand much better now. :] Thank you for your help! ^-^

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Sakinah says:

Hi my name is sakura massenburg ok what does the wa means

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Sakinah says:

like watashi WA what does the wa means

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Kennerz says:

Sakura,
The wa is a particle. Particles are included in many sentences. The ‘wa’ particle is a subject marker. It doesn’t have a meaning.
Hope this helps,
Kennerz

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nhisan says:

I love you guys!Thanks for great lesson!Arigatoo gozaimasu!

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Mayumi says:

nhisan

Thank you for your warm comments!

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tmad57 says:

I signed up for 12 mo. premium last week, i havent received my Kanji cards yet. Are you guys shipping it from japan or something?

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Blake Hart says:

hxy4csquwaqw1lpe

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Esperanza Finch says:

d75e2cwls5nmo4a7

として

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Jonas says:

Hi,
I was wondering is there only ‘watashitachi’ for ‘we’ or is there also ‘atashitachi’ for female ‘we’?
Thanks.

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JKid says:

Jonas-san,
“-tachi” can be attached to any personal pronoun to mean “we”.

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Hassan jewally says:

To be honest I am only a 15 years old sudanese high school student .

but life here is so tough so there will be no part-time jobs and no paypal acounts …. that means its 5 days for me … :smile: .. :roll: .

any way I thank you so much for the chance to learn and study this great magical language. and love japan so much. since i was 5 years old.

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Mayumi says:

Hassan jewally-san,

Thank you for your comment! Our latest lessons are free. So, I hope that you’re going to keep listening!
What made you get interested in Japan when you were 5 years old? :shock:

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Renna says:

Hello!

When i write this i am desperate… i don’t have the money to gett basic or premium …… Please i am a 13 years old boy that jusst loves japan! i love the anime culture food manga and so on.. i have asked my parents 4 the money but they keep saying no….. i can do commercial 4 you on other sites!? …. anything jusst to get to learn japanese … becuse i think it’s a beautiful country…
please find it in your hearts to do this 4 me please…..

here is my email if you want to reply me on the email :
renato_rados@hotmail.com … please……

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AikoAyame says:

Hi!I’m so glad because i found this site ….you make such a awesome job! :dogeza: Thank you very much is very helpful ! :kokoro:

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Mayumi says:

AikoAyame-san,
Thank you so much for your nice comments! Ganbatte kudasai!! :dogeza:

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Melissa says:

This grammar was useful. I feel silly not knowing it when I first began my learning of Japanese. :razz:

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Mayumi says:

Melissa-san,

Thank you for your nice comment! Please brush up your Japanese with us! :wink:

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Bethan says:

This is really handy, i’ve been looking for a lesson like this for a while now :) These sorts of lessons are good because they help make the vocab into knowledge, rather than just memorizing it (Well, I think so anyway).
Btw, why wont it let me listen to any more lessons after this? I’m only on a free account, so can I not listen to any more now?
Domo arigato :D

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Jessi says:

Bethanさん、
Thanks for your comment! Yes, with a free account you have access to the first few lessons as well as the most recent lessons of the past 3 weeks. With a Basic subscription you’ll get access to all of the lessons :smile:

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Claudia says:

私はクラウジアです。ポルトガル人です。あなたたちはこくせきがなんですか。

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Jessi says:

Claudiaさん,
コメントありがとうございます!
私はアメリカ人です :grin:

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Naomi says:

Claudia -san
私は、日本人です。 :wink:

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M says:

私はポランド人です。

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Josh says:

I really really like these podcasts because there extremely easy to follow with and it helps me pronounce them clearly! :mrgreen: I’m about 14 and i really didn’t know what i wanted to do when i grew up it just completely irritated me when someone asked me what i wanted to be when i grew up because i never knew. After learning a few phrases in Japanese i thought it was really fun to speak it then tell my friends what it meant it was also fun to hear those words in anime or a song or something so i thought i’ll be a translater or something when i grow up! :mrgreen:

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Naomi says:

Josh-san
We’re so glad to hear that you liked our lessons.
GANBATTE KUDASAI!
Good luck! :razz:

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Swathi says:

This is really helpful! Thank you guys! you’re amazing.
One question though, how do i say India in japanese? Is there a name for India?

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Naomi says:

Swathi -san
India in Japanese is インド “Indo.” :wink:

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mario-kun says:

:mrgreen: this has been
like
so useful
im an audio listener
i like how u guys stop
break it down and tell wat it means
that juss gets it glued in your head

but can i get how to say
we are and they are in romaji
arigotou

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mario-kun says:

how do you say they are in japanese
u guys explained everything so well
the
anatatachi
watatatchi
and everything
but
how do u say they are
as in a group of boys and girls??

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Jessi says:

Mario-kunさん,
Thanks for the nice comments!!

“We are _____” would be “Watashi-tachi wa ____ desu”.
“They are ____” would be “Karera wa ______ desu”.

I hope that helps you out ;)

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janevictoriacudia says:

:razz: very happy to know about this stuff…
it helps a lot and when mastered, no need to read subtitles of anime anymore ;)

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Jessi says:

janevictoriacudiaさん,
Great! Thanks for the comment! :mrgreen:

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mario-kun says:

how would u say
they are____
as in a group of boys and girls?
can u spell it in romaji and tell me
how wouldi use it plz
arigatou

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mario-kun says:

wait nvm about the other comment sry i didnt read first =[

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mario-kun says:

wait
is
karera wa
as in a group pof boys and girls
or
juss guys
bc
i kno
he is
kare wa
so how does that work?

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mario-kun says:

o yea sry for so many comments but uhm
im not a basic member the 4 dollar mnth thing
so the only thing i can get by is the first 3
so is there a way i can keep learning without the basic
like sumbody can email me sumthing or idk
is there a way im 16 and my school lacks the support of teaching jap
wen my school loves anime and they wana learn so bad
but is there a way to keep learning from this site without basic????

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tony says:

lol im basic
:twisted:

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Kiki says:

Mina-san, konnichiwa! Kiki to moushimasu. :D . Douzo yoroshiku. Atashi no onii-san to onee-chan wa Nihon ga suki dewa arimasen. :( . Soshite, karera wa manga to ramen ga suki dewa arimasen!! Waah! Demo, atashi wa ramen o tabemasu ga suki desu yo! Feel free to correct! Still learning! Note: NEVER use ‘temee’. It means ‘you’ but in the nasty, cussing type of way. It makes me feel bad to even type it out. o_o. Anyway. Mina-san, ganbatte kudasai! ^.^.

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Milica says:

My name is MIlica i come from Serbia n i find these lessons very helpful!so i just wanted to thank u! :grin:

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lily says:

i was wondering how lily is spelled in japanese, i heard that it was Yuri but i’m not sure. i love that you guys have podcasts to teach japanese! i always wanted to learn japanese because i plan on living in japan some day :mrgreen: , so i want to learn their language. i am only in 7th grade so all they teach us is spanish. i am really excited to learn japanese :grin: i was also wondering if sumimasen is excuse me or i’m sorry? or both? i am looking foward to learning more with your lessons. arigatou gozaimasu :mrgreen:

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Jessi says:

Thanks for all of the comments, everyone!

lilyさん,
Yes, the word for “lily” is “yuri” in Japanese :)
And you’re right, “sumimasen” does mean both “excuse me” and “I’m sorry”!

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Tiara says:

Konbanwa! (It’s evening here)

I’m from Mississippi and I’m 16. I’ve been interested in Japanese since I was three and I have finally found this site to finally help me begin the learning process and it works great! Just one thing. I find it hard for me to remember a language when I am not able to talk it out and it freaks me out because i dont know no anyone who can respond to me in Japanese. What do I do about that? And how do you say Mississippi in Japanese?

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Ahmad Bakhtiar says:

gosh this good..if i’m from malaysia so the mean i need to says like this:
Watashitachi Malasia jin des is it?

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Jessi says:

Tiaraさん,
Welcome to the site!
Mississippi is ミシシッピ (Mishishippi) in Japanese :grin:
As for getting speaking practice, why not try and find a language partner online? I know that Skype is really popular for that nowadays, and there are a lot of sites out there that arrange language exchanges through Skype :)

Ahmad Bakhtiarさん,
You would say “Watashi wa Mareeshia-jin desu” to mean “I’m Malaysian” :)

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イレイナ says:

こにちわ、 わたしわイレイナです!I love your websites podcast and videos they are really help ful and fun! I am not very old in fact I am not out of school yet but your site has helped my so much. My favorite kind of music is J-pop and with my friend we have even made out own songs! There aren’t any Japanese schools in our area and not many websites. You have a great and inexpensive reference that it is easy to afford! :grin:
ありがとございます!
 -江零那

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Jessi says:

イレイナさん,
Thank you for your comment and kind words! :grin:
I’m also a big fan of Japanese music :mrgreen:

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Jay says:

re and ra sound really close to le and la, how do you learn to say it right. when i say it, it has more of a “R” sound. watashi wa amerikajin desu.

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Jessi says:

Jayさん,
One tip is to try pronouncing it like a soft “d”.
For example, try saying the name Eddie quickly multiple times - this “di” sound is nearly identical to the Japanese “ri”.
Also, Make sure your tongue is touching the roof of your mouth ;) Hope this helps!

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Florentzia89 says:

はじめまして。私の名前は、フローレンツ・リナです。21才のスウェーデン人でNorrkopingという都市に住んでいます。宜しくお願いします!もう4年ぐらい日本語(独学)を勉強しますけど、自分のスキルはまだ初級と中級の能力です。Japanesepod101で、日本語を学び始めようと思います。’
(^^)優れた学習サイトのようですよ。それで、ありがとうございます!

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Florentzia89 says:

Oh i forgot. I’ve a question:

Since I am between beginner and intermediate level, what do you guys/girls (lol) think is best, to review the beginner level first or something else? :S
I am a bit confuse how i will focus on my studies the best way.

I’ve studying for myself over 4 years now; I know all Kana and can reconize vocabulary, and I can only take part of a japanese conversation when I write it and have the dictionary tools beside me. Its still very hard to talk japanese or say something in japanese before thinking how to say it, although my grammar knowledges are pretty high..

So any suggestions? =D
(Sorry if my English sounds weird, I am Swedish ;P)

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Florentzia89 says:

can reconize 2000 vocabulary ** (Sorry for spamming comments, haha)

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Naomi says:

Florentzia89-san
こんにちは。よろしくおねがいします。 :razz:
古いレッスンも楽しくていいのですが、新しいレッスンのほうが文法や単語が分かりやすくなっています。
まず、Beginner series season 4,5,6を聞いてみてください。いい文法の復習になると思います。
もし、簡単すぎるなら、Beginner をスキップしてLower Intermediate 4 を聞いてみてください。

I recommend that you listen to some lessons from Beginner series season 4, 5 or 6 to check your level. (Beginner series season 4 5 and 6 would be a good series to review basic Japanese grammar)
If you find those lessons are too easy then skip beginner series and start listening to Lower Intermediate season 4.

Old lessons such as season 1 or 2 are easygoing, informative and fun ! :razz: But there wasn’t clear guideline for levels back then. So Kanji, vocab, grammar they introduced in those lessons were rather random. If you want to review grammar and vocab season 4 would be a good place to start. :grin:

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lechocolatier says:

皆さん初めまして私はサミです、どぞ宜しくお願いします。フランス語と、スペイン語とアラビア語と英語が話せますでも日本語大好きですけど少し難しい。i hope to learn lotfrom you guys.i want to became fluent.

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Naomi says:

lechocolatier -san
はじめまして。よろしくお願いします。 :razz:

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lechocolatier says:

私はアメリカで生まれました.母スイス人父エジプト人、スペインに住んでいました、じゃ私は出身どこですか 難しいね???: 知ってる 知ってる 私は世界人です。 :razz:

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おう says:

私は王です。私達は中国人です。彼は一徳です。彼らは日本人です。彼女は夏子です。彼女らはオストラリア人です。貴方はピーターです。貴方達はアメリカ人です。

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Kiki says:

Arigato gozimasu
:smile: ♪( ´▽`)

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Jesse Perez says:

I love this website and resource! I have been taking Japanese classes for a few months now, which has been good - but the audio lessons kick the classes out of the water in certain respects…especially in regard to proper contextualizing, translation and letting you “soak in” the phrases. My Japanese teacher only speaks in Japanese and its very rare for her to use English words for reference, so I am never able to form mnemonics, which is a vital part of my learning style.

I have stopped classes for a while and will only use this resource up until I am satisfied I have reached a comfortable level of Japanese…. its a far greater use of my time with this resource!

Great work.

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Karin says:

His pronunciation is terrible (the american). im half japanese and picking up my language again but even i can pronounce better then him, it should be all japanese teaching

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レイラ says:

Ohayo!

Thank you all so much for putting these lessons together and making them freely available. It’s been years since I studied any Japanese, and I’m very, very rusty - but I’m finding myself grinning ear-to-ear when I remember things, which makes the experience that much more rewarding. I’m finding the video clips as helpful as the audio, too; it’s nice to be able to see the characters.

- Reira (Layla)

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Natalee says:

This podcast is really awesome and I’m finding it very useful.
I have one question though. I’ve heard from several people that saying “Anata wa” is incredibly rude. My friend’s Japanese professor said she would kick them out of class for using it. What do you say instead?

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Motoko says:

Natalee-san,
We rarely use “anata” as “you,” so we usually use the speakers’ name, instead.
ex) “(to you) Do you play tennis?”
Natalee-san wa tenisu o shimasu ka?
“(to professor) Do you like sushi?”
Sensei wa sushi ga suki desu ka?
I hope this helps.

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Mikayla says:

I am a high school student and i know a lot of japanese
FOr eg: わたしわ なまえわ みかえら です.
or: うま は ちゃいろ です。
Through i would like to learn more than this i already know my:
HIragana.
Animals.
I know how to introduce my self.
Colors.
Numbers.
Months.
Dates.
how to ask a question.
for eg:
the teacher is scary: せんせい は こわい です。
:wink: so i would like to learn more but don’t know what i would be in either: beginner intermediate or advanced please tell me and i would like to watch a video on learning not an audio.
PLease help me !!!!!!

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Motoko says:

Mikayla-san,
JapanesePod101.comへようこそ!
I think Newbie Nihongo Dojo series is good for you.
You can also try Newbie Season4&5, which cover casual Japanese and an exchange student life in Japan.
Even if the grammar is easy for you, you can encounter new vocabularies.
Video series is good for leaning culture and letters, but the audio lessons are organized to learn the language.
I hope this helps :grin:

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Shannon says:

how might one go about saying something like “What are you two doing?” or “What are you girls doing?” something like that?

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Motoko says:

Shannon-san,
You can ask 何しているんですか。Nani shite iru n desu ka.
When it is to your close friends, you can say なにしてるの?, Nani shite ru no?
I hope this helps.

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Jakku says:

どもありがと!These lessons are すごい :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: ! I have very little knowledge of kanji. I want to learn how to read signs in Japanese.

You rock。

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