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Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! Your Japanese teacher glares down at you, and you sink further and further into your desk. Suddenly, she raps on your desk and asks in Japanese, “What is wrong with the sentence you just said?” You pause and manage to stammer in Japanese, “Uh…I…uh…” You cringe even further as your Japanese teacher hovers over your desk, praying that she’ll move on to another victim. But it’s not your day. She stays there and asks you in Japanese, “What’s that? Are you capable of speaking Japanese?” You reply in Japanese, “Yes ma’am, I am capable. I just don’t know what you’re asking me.” She audibly sighs and instructs in Japanese, “I just want you to tell me what was wrong with that sentence you just put together. Here’s a hint. It has something to do with the level of formality and informality.” You respond in Japanese, “It does?”
Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Newbie lesson will show you how to interact with people using varying levels of politeness in Japanese. We’ll also show you how to use several formal and informal Japanese expressions. Finally, we’ll share some common Japanese name suffixes with you. Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Newbie Season 5 . 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.
30 Responses to “Newbie Lesson S5 #1 - If You’re Going to Say It in Japanese, You Better Say It Right!”
at 6:30 pm
Hi みなさん! Welcome to the first JapanesePod101 lesson of 2010! We’re kicking off this year with the first episode of Newbie Series Season 5! Enjoy, and please give a warm welcome to our new host, Kat!
at 10:57 pm
開けましたおめでとうございます。
I’ll try doing it this year, anyway.
こんにちはなおみせんせいとケットせ*んせい。
なおみせんせいおひさちぶりですよ、おげんきですか。
Hello Naomi-Sensei and Kat-Sensei!
Great to hear a new NB series with you Naomi-Sensei, you’ve been away quite some time. Hope you are well.
Will you guide me - and the co-listeners- to JLPT 4 this year? (Perhaps you could put a bit more emphasis on such an official test, incidently.
Best regards from Germany
またね
トーマス
* i hope i spelled your name correct.
at 11:23 pm
GREAT to hear Newbie Series S5! I’ve been waiting since the end of Newbie S4 to find the right level. Wonderful. I’ve really gotten out of shape! I look forward to each lesson this season!
eric from Toronto
at 11:25 pm
One last thing—where’s that bonus track that introduces Kat? Can’t find it on the site.
eric
at 11:50 pm
Re: You better say it right!
No pressure there! Because I totally needed more pressure. Some people’s refusal to even try to understand what I say if it has a minor error or, even worse, is perfect Japanese but not what they expected me to say, was just not making things hard enough.
at 1:30 am
Hello Naomi sensei and welcome Kat sensei to
Jpod
About how long did it take for you to achive fluency ?
at 2:31 am
I always listen to lessons after and while reading the lesson notes. This is to make sure I pronounced it right the first time and to understand the conversation/lesson better. The lesson notes really help!
Also good to hear there is a new newbie series which uses last series to make new lessons ^^
よろしくおねがいします!
Nicky
at 9:34 am
Kat-sensei, your accent is adorable!
よろしくおねがいします。:)
at 10:52 am
Thomas-san


あけましておめでとうございます。
Are you going to take new JLPT(N)4? If so please listen to our new JLPT series hosted by Jessi and me!
がんばってください!
*By the way Kat is spelled as キャット in Katakana.
エリック-san
おひさしぶりです!It’s been a long time! It was good to hear from you!
きつねざる -san
I relly like your name.
Rigo-san
ありがとうございます for your warm welcome!
Nicky -san
Thank you for letting us know how you study. We really want to know how listeners study with our site.
LittleDebbie11-san
I agree.
at 12:19 pm
It’s great to see the Newbie Series’ return! I like that I can revise the grammar rules and structures that should have been absorbed by my brain in the previous 4 series. It’s amazing what is actually there!!! I’ve been doing S3 Lower Intermediate, and for a change, it is great to understand ALL the Japanes spoken in the lesson. Congratulations. I think you are on a winner with the Return of the Newbie!
Welcome to Kat … I also love her accent (so unlike the indecipherable accents of most Scots you see on TV!)
at 3:44 pm
Thank you everyone for your kind comments on my JPod101 debut!
I think Naomi’s covered most of your questions… but I just want to add:
Thomas-san: As Naomi said, it’s spelled キャット (kyatto) in katakana… my full name is Katherine (キャサリン)
エリック-san: The bonus track is right below the main audio!
Rigo-san: Thank you! I started studying Japanese from zero at university when I was 18. I would say I’m fluent now - so just over 4 years, including a year of study abroad in Tokyo and the last year and a bit living & working in Japan.
LittleDebbie11-san: Thank you
It’s not very strong I don’t think… I often get asked if I’m Canadian (?!).
Tess-san: Thank you! And assuming you’re in the US (?), -I- can barely understand the ridiculous accents TV/film producers give Scottish people, so…
at 3:59 pm
Question:
Is JapanesePod friendly for the absolute novice? Like, one who doesn’t know the difference between Ona, and Otoko.
I’m new to Japanese, and find this program to be very appealing, but want to make sure that it would be friendly for someone on my level.
at 8:10 pm
Kan-san: I live in Australia, so you probably think we have a weird accent too!!!
Noogah-san: From my experience, Japanesepod101 is the perfect place for the absolute beginner to start. In November 2007 ( a couple of months after my son married a Japanese girl), I decided to try to learn to speak Japanese, and whilst I am miles away from being fluent, I can honestly say that I can understand a lot of the Japanese in the lessons, and it becomes easier as time goes on. I just wish I had more time in my days to study … however, like I said, this is a great place to start, and to then progress to wherever or whatever level you want to go to.
at 9:54 am
at 2:30 pm
Noogah-san、
Newbie series is good for you! We have 5 seasons of Newbie series so far.
Also, we have All About series which is targeted for people who don’t know anything about Japanese. Please check each series to see which one is the best for you!
at 1:20 pm
This will certainly be a great learning for me.. I sometimes get mixed up when it comes to the formality level while speaking (or imagining that I am speaking) to people.
I have one question: Is it OK to say “ごめんなさい” instead of “ごめん” in this kind of situation? I understand it is more polite, but less so than “すみません”.
ありがとうございます, Naomi-sensei, Kat-sensei!
これから よろしくおねがいします!
at 11:22 am
Toyoyo-san
You’re right. If Kent had said ごめんなさい, he wouldn’t have been corrected by Madoka.
よろしくおねがいします。
at 11:29 am
Toyoyoさん:
よろしくおねがいします!Thanks for listening!
Regarding your question, I personally would stick to すみません for people you don’t know (for example in a business situation, apologizing to a client), and ごめんなさい for formal apologies/deep apologies with people you do know (for example apologizing for a serious mistake to a friend). However, I don’t think you need to worry too much about the semantics of すみません and ごめんなさい - as long as you don’t say ごめん! in a formal situation, you’ll be fine!
at 2:36 am
Thanks Naomi-sensei and Naomi-sensei II (Kat-sensei)
I’ll keep that in mind!
at 11:19 am
what about the this word (s) 失礼しました I found it and i put it in a translater and it said it meant sorry is this true, is it more formal than ごめんなさい or not?
at 7:59 pm
Miguel san,
Yes, you can use the phrase 失礼しました to say you’re sorry. It sounds extremely formal, though, compared to ごめんなさい and すみません too.
I think it also depends on how sorry you are for the mistake you have made!
at 8:26 pm
at 8:29 pm
Helloooo
at 6:55 am
Kat’s accent is amazing. I too thought that she may have been Canadian. I played it to my 29 year old ( actress ) daughter as a good example of youthful exuberance. However I have listened to some of the other lessons and there is one Japanese speaker who, when she plays a grandmother, speaks with quite painful intonation. I lived in Japan during 昭和年間 55 and 56. I never heard anyone with such intonation. I think that her intonation would sound so much better if she took a laxative. Nevertheless I think that you are all fantastic teachers and I hope one day to learn to speak Japanese. 皆さん 明けましておめでとうございます !!!! ………….. ( おば すぐ良く - 私は3月に東京に来て、薬を持って )
at 11:12 am
chris-san
あけましておめでとうございます。
at 4:05 am
お早う、赤木さん、赤木君。
お早うございます。
お早う、黒川先生。
ケンテ、ございます。
ごめん、お早うございます。
ケンテ、すみません。
また、後で。
at 2:08 am
This is very nice. These days I saw my japanese teacher complaining to a girl in class because she was talking too much, and she said “gomen” to the teacher a lot of times because of that, and I was like: “Oh my God! Don’t you have manners? It’s gomennasai!” But I didn’t say anything because I don’t know her. But it’s interesting, I guess I really got some sense about all this politeness thing. I felt just like Madoka-san in this lesson!
at 6:03 am
直美さん、こんにちは。始めまして、ケットさん。トーマスです。よろしくお願いします。
at 3:58 am
ぼくはレッスンノートをよみます。
べんりですね。
at 4:21 pm
>王凱さん
とてもシンプルな会話ですね!
でも、「ごめん、は、だめです」のように、長い文の方がていねいですよ
>フィリペさん
It seems you DO have good understanding of Japanese!!
>トーマスさん
はじめまして。こちらこそ、よろしくお願いします。
>Lars Erik san
ありがとうございます。がんばってください。
Thank you! We’re glad you found it useful!