How to Ask for a Word in Japanese

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Japanese by JapanesePod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask how to say something in Japanese.

For example, "How do you say "textbook" in Japanese?" is

Textbookは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Textbook wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

Rin Sasaki is at a cafe doing a language exchange with her classmate, Hana Hashimoto.

It’s the Japanese portion of the exchange, and she points at the textbook and asks what it's called in Japanese.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

にほんご

"Japanese"

にほんご

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the question.

Ready?

Textbookは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Textbook wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

きょうかしょです。(Kyōkasho desu.)

Once more with the English translation.

Textbookは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Textbook wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

"How do you say "textbook" in Japanese?"

きょうかしょです。(Kyōkasho desu.)

"It's a textbook."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Ben asks,

"How do you say ‘textbook’ in Japanese?"

Textbookは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Textbook wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

First is the English word, "textbook."

Next is は (wa), the topic-marking particle. は. は.

Here, は (wa) marks "textbook" as the topic of the sentence. Think of it as "as for," like in "As for the "Textbook."

After this is にほんご, "Japanese," as in "the Japanese language." に-ほ-ん-ご. にほんご.

Next is the particle で (de), which marks the thing you use to do something で. で.

In this sentence, で marks にほんご, "Japanese," as the language used to speak.

Together, にほんごで (nihongo de) translates as "in Japanese." にほんごで.

Note, when the context is clear, you may omit にほんごで.

Next is the phrase, なんといいますか。(nan to iimasu ka) "How [do you] say?" なんといいますか。

First is なんといいます (nan to iimasu) "How [do you] say…" なんといいます。

At this point in your language learning journey, remember this as a set phrase.

Last is the particle, か, the question-marking particle. か (slow version - breakdown by syllable). か.

This particle turns the sentence into a question.

Together, なんといいますか。"How do you say…?" なんといいますか。

All together, Textbookは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Textbook wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.) literally means, "As for textbook, in Japanese how [do you] say, " but translates as "How do you say ‘textbook’ in Japanese?" Textbookは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。

In many cases, you can omit にほんごで from the question pattern. Since you’re asking the question in Japanese, and it’s about an English word, it’s understood that you’re asking for the Japanese word.

The simplified variation to ask about the Japanese word for "textbook" is,

Textbookは,　なんと　いいますか。

You should be aware of this shortcut, but for this lesson, we’ll use the full sentence pattern.

Textbookは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Textbook wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Hana says, "It’s "textbook."

きょうかしょです。(Kyōkasho desu.)

First is きょうかしょ (kyōkasho), "textbook." きょ-う-か-しょ. きょうかしょ。

After this is です (desu), in this case, it’s like the "is" in "It is." It’s a linking verb. で-す. です.

Together, きょうかしょです (Kyōkasho desu.) literally means "kyōkasho [it] is," but it translates as, "It’s kyōkasho."　きょうかしょです.

きょうかしょです is the shortened version of the sentence, "Textbook" はきょうかしょです。

The first part, "textbookは," meaning "As for "textbook," is omitted since the context is clear, as Hana is responding to a question about the "textbook."

きょうかしょです。(Kyōkasho desu.)

The pattern is

ENGLISH WORD は、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

"How do you say ENGLISH WORD in Japanese?"

ENGLISH WORD は、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

To use this pattern, simply replace the {English word} placeholder with the word you want to know.

Imagine you want to know the Japanese word for "pen."

Ask

"How do you say "pen" in Japanese?"

Ready?

Penは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。 (Pen wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

"How do you say "pen" in Japanese?"

Penは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Pen wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

If you want to keep the conversation completely in Japanese, you can say, "How do you say ‘this’ in Japanese?" Simply replace the English word with これ (kore), "this." こ-れ. これ.

これは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Kore wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

"How do you say this in Japanese?"

これは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Kore wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

If the thing is far away from you, you can use それ (sore), that. それ.

それは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Sore wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

"How do you say ‘that’ in Japanese?"

それは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Sore wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

Again, this is a very useful pattern for using Japanese to learn Japanese.

Keeping the conversation in Japanese as long as possible is a great tactic to learn a language. These questions will help with that.

Again, the key pattern is

ENGLISH WORD は、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

How do you say ENGLISH WORD in Japanese?

ENGLISH WORD は、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Textbookは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Textbook wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

"How do you say 'textbook’ in Japanese?"

きょうかしょです。(Kyōkasho desu.)

Textbookは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Textbook wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

Penは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。 (Pen wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

"How do you say 'pen’ in Japanese?"

ペンです。(Pen desu.)

Penは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。 (Pen wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

れは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Kore wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

"How do you call this in Japanese?"

はしです。(Hashi desu.)

これは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Kore wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

それは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Sore wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

"How do you call that in Japanese?"

えんぴつです。(Enpitsu desu.)

それは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Sore wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

これは、にほんごで　なんですか。(Kore wa, nihongo de nan desu ka.)

"What is 'this’ in Japanese?"

きょうかしょです。(Kyōkasho desu.)

これは、にほんごで　なんですか。(Kore wa, nihongo de nan desu ka.)

Did you notice how one of the speakers in the last exchange used a different pattern?

これは、にほんごで　なんですか。(Kore wa, nihongo de nan desu ka.)

"What is ‘this’ in Japanese?"

Instead of なんと　いいますか。"How [do you] say…," なんと　いいますか。 this pattern uses the phrase なんですか。"What is…?" なんですか。

Let’s take a closer look at なんですか。

First is なん "what" な-ん. なん

After this is です, in this case, it’s like the "is" in "What is." で-す. です.

Last is か, the question-marking particle. か.

All together, なんですか。"What is…?" なんですか。

なんですか。is easier to say and perfectly acceptable to use; however, なんと　いいますか。is more natural.

All together

これは、にほんごで　なんですか。(Kore wa, nihongo de nan desu ka.)

You should be aware of this shortcut, but for this lesson, we’ll use the full sentence pattern.

ENGLISH WORD は、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

"How do you say ENGLISH WORD in Japanese?"

Let’s review the key vocabulary.

ペン (pen).

"pen"

ペン. ペン.

はし (hashi).

"chopsticks"

はし. はし.

えんぴつ (enpitsu)

"pencil"

えんぴつ. えんぴつ.

これ (kore)

"this"

これ. これ.

それ (sore).

"that"

それ. それ

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say the question-marking particle?

か.

And how to say "Japanese,” as in the language?

にほんご.

Do you remember how to say "in Japanese?"

にほんごで.

And how to say the topic-marking particle?

は.

Do you remember how Rin says, "How do you say "textbook" in Japanese?"

Textbookは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。(Textbook wa, nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.)

Do you remember how to say "textbook?"

きょうかしょ.

Do you remember how Hana says, "It’s textbook."

きょうかしょです。(Kyōkasho desu.)

Do you remember how to say "this?"

これ.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Megumi Sasaki, and you’re having a language-exchange lunch with Ai Nakamura (@target-mom).

Ask, "How do you say ‘chopsticks’ in Japanese?"

Ready?

Chopsticksは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。

はしです。

Listen again and repeat.

Chopsticksは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。

Now you want to know the word for "pen."

Ready?

Penは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。

ペンです。

Listen again and repeat.

Penは、にほんごで　なんと　いいますか。

Let's try one more.

Imagine you’re Haruto Sasaki, and you’re studying with a classmate. Point at a nearby pencil, and ask how to say "this" in Japanese.

Ready?

これは、にほんごで　なんといいますか。

えんぴつです。

Listen again and repeat.

これは、にほんごで　なんといいますか。

れは、にほんごで　なんといいますか。

In this lesson, you learned how to ask how to say something in Japanese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of asking for clarification. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say,

"Excuse me."

すみません.

And how to say,

"One more time."

もういちど.

Do you remember how to say,

"please."

おねがいします.

And do you remember how to say,

"Excuse me. One more time, please."

すみません、もういちど　おねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu.)

Do you remember how to say, "slowly?"

ゆっくり.

And do you remember how to say,

"Slowly, please."

ゆっくりおねがいします。(Yukkuri onegai shimasu.)

Imagine You're Jack Jones, and you're meeting your fellow student Hana Hashimoto for the first time. She introduces herself, but you can't catch her name.

Respond to her introduction, and ask her to repeat it one more time, and slowly.

Ready?

はじめまして。はしもとです。(Hajimemashite. Hashimoto desu.)

すみません、もういちど　おねがいします。ゆっくりおねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.)

Listen again, and repeat.

すみません、もういちど　おねがいします。ゆっくりおねがいします。(Sumimasen, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.)

On a different occasion you're doing a language exchange. In the Japanese portion of it you want to know how to say pencil in Japanese.

Ask Hana Hashimoto how to say "pencil" in Japanese.

Pencilはにほんごで　なんといいますか。

えんぴつです。

Listen again, and repeat.

Pencilはにほんごで　なんといいますか。

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Ask for Clarification unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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