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What should you do and say when you meet a Japanese person for the first time? More importantly, what should you not say! In this lesson we’ll learn how to talk about yourself in a polite manner. We’ll also learn the must know expression “Where are you from?” A staple of Japanese small talk. We’ll look at sai, the Japanese counter for age. We’ll also look at how to use wa to imply a question, a useful grammatical structure in Japanese.

talking about Japanese family members; meeting a Japanese person for the first time; using counters in Japanese



This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Beginner Season 4 . 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.

26 Responses to “Beginner Lesson S4 #3 - Tell Me More About Yourself”

JapanesePod101.com says:

Mina-san, when you meet someone for the first time, what do you usually talk about?

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Spidey says:

webbings

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Glenn says:

It depends on who I meet but usually - work, and what is around us when we meet for the first time.

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プチクレア says:

Work, because that’s usually a safe subject … And after that hobbies. I’d be surprised if someone asked me my age right away. But then again, it depends on circumstances.

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Naomi says:

こんにちは。皆さん。
Konnichiwa mina-san

皆さん、ご兄弟は?
Mina-san go-kyoudai wa?
Do you have siblings? :grin:

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バロン says:

はい、妹一人います。

If I meet someone in a casual setting, the topic usually covers my hobby. There’s something 懐かしい about seeing one of those big cameras with a bellows. People just can’t help being curious about it. I do have to be careful to not bore people with details, so I let them ask more questions. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bloritsch/1442373827/)

If I meet someone in a more formal setting, the topic usually covers my job. That’s another one you can easily bore people with details if you are not careful.

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Angie says:

はい、姉一人います、けど、ふたごが います、 だから 私たちと いっしょに 住んでいません。 
(aaaah too bad, i’m stil wondering why I am trying writing japanese…oh yes, it’s just beacuse I am actually studying it… :roll: )
Meeting someone for the first time, I usually speak/ask about hobbies or hometown too. But it clearly depends on the context.
Peterさん :cool: thanks, as always!
Naomi Sensei :dogeza:
Takeさん :kokoro:

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Angie says:

あー
はい、姉 が 一人います。 すみません。

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maxiewawa says:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMRfuWGmVTc

I asked my 日本人 these questions.

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capt.strugglebunny says:

Oh sweet, a new beginner’s series. Now I may be able to actually keep up with episodes and participate in threads that aren’t over 2 years old!

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Naomi says:

バロンーsan
すごいカメラですね。Sugoi kamera desu ne!
バロンさんはカメラマンですか。Baron-san wa kameraman desu ka?

Angie-san
お姉さんはイタリアに住んでいますか?
Onee-san wa itaria ni sunde imasu ka?

maxiewawa-san
ビデオありがとうございます。Bideo arigatou gozaimasu. :dogeza:

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ヒョヌ says:

Max, ビデオ面白い!!www
アイかさんはビデオに顔出すのがあまり好きじゃなさそうだね^^;

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バロン says:

アマチュア写真家です。 (Amachua shushin-ka desu.)
たのしいですよね。 (tanoshii desu yo ne?)

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Angie says:

Naomi Sensei, すみません、 私のへんじは ちょっと おそい です。。
ところで、はい、姉もイタリアに住んでいます。じつは、姉のうちと私たちの は とても ちかい です。 I absolutely don’t know if I can say something like “AのC to Bの wa “something”, I thought about that about 2 days! :oops: sorry if it’s wrong!

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Naomi says:

Angie-さん, バロン-san

Thank you for your reply!!! :dogeza:

Angie-san, your sentences are great!!! I think 姉のうちと 私たちの「うち」は とても ちかいです。 sounds more natural. :wink:

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gilin says:

mina-san,go shushin wa doko desu ka(is it correct?_) :oops:

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Peter says:

Gilin-san, sugoi! Great job posting in Japanese! Looks pretty good!
Watashi no shuushin wa Amerika no NyuuYooku desu. :grin:

Gilin-san no shuushin wa doko desu ka?

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バロン says:

Gilin-san,
Watashi no shusshin wa Amerika no Baajinia desu.
私の出身はアメリカのバージニアです。

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radha says:

Hello Talking about weather in the very first meeting is a safe bait, me thinkso.

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マイ says:

直美先生、はい、妹が三人います。
Yes, Naomi-sensei, I have three younger sisters.

gilin-san, watashi no shusshin wa Placerville, CA desu.

皆さん、動物がいますか?
Everyone, do you have any pets?

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Naomi says:

マイ -san
Thank you for answering my question!! :razz:
ありがとうございます。

犬がいます。Inu ga imasu. ” I have a dog.” :wink:

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マイ says:

はははー、直美先生、すみません、I accidentally combined my replies into one in lesson 1’s comment section. How confusing of me :oops: ありがとう、thank you for answering my question.

私の犬は白くて赤くてとても嬉しいですが、she barks a lot! はははー、でも、すきですよ!
My dog is white and apricot (not really red but I didn’t know a better Japanese word), and very happy,… …but I love her.

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亀井 says:

私は相手の方初めて時天気か、仕事か、趣味し ついて話します。

I might have run afoul of a construction rule here. The concept was “when meeting other people for the first time I usually talk about such things as the weather, work, or hobbies.” Neutral topics…

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Motoko says:

亀井さん
おしいですね!
That would be;
初めて会った時、たいてい天気か、仕事か、趣味について話します。
I hope this helps. :wink:

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亀井 says:

素子さん、
ありがとうございます。

I knew I got stuck on an English way of thinking about the opening phrase.

私は初めて会った時、たいてい天気か、仕事か、趣味などついて話します。

今度は正しいですか

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Motoko says:

亀井さん
とてもいいですね!
Please make sure that the spelling is ~について :grin:

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