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.

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We’ll learn about the polite copula, desu, which in Japanese approximates the English verb “to be.” We’ll also introduce the Japanese topic marking particle, wa.

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Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! You know how it goes. You find a really nice girl, she speaks Japanese, and eventually she wants you to meet her family in Japan. This time it’s worse though. You have to go to her home for the weekend to meet the family so you won’t be able to exit gracefully after a couple of hours. You’re stuck for the entire weekend. Well, it’s now or never…you are already at her parents’ door. Boy, everyone’s here - mother, father, siblings, grandparents. Your girlfriend’s mother greets you politely in Japanese, “Nice to meet you. Come on in. Well, she sure picked a tall, good-looking one this time.” You know, that kind of talk from a girlfriend’s mother feels a little weird, especially the very first time you meet. Here comes her father…he grabs your hand firmly (looking you up and down) and asks in Japanese, “Hi. Want a drink? How about a fresh, cold beer?” Well, at least her father isn’t acting rough like something out of the movies, trying to scare you. Uh-oh, siblings. Those can be trouble. No telling what they’ll say. They take turns telling you in Japanese, “You must be the boyfriend. We hope you’re quieter and cooler than the last one. Maybe you’ll be nicer and last longer. Or not.” You hope her father has a good supply of beer. This could be a long weekend…

Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Newbie lesson is about combining Japanese adjectives. The rules can be tricky; the Japanese adjectives must match in special ways. But with this Japanese adjective lesson, you’ll be ready for that weekend meeting the family. 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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Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! You walk with her into the Japanese shop at the hot springs, and the person behind the counter asks, in Japanese, “Can I help you find a yukata.” It’s a good thing you have your friend with you to advise you about the yukata. You ask in Japanese, “How do I pick the right one? Can I get anything I like?” She smiles and begins choosing different styles and fabrics from the racks for you to try. You appreciate her helpfulness as you tell her in Japanese, “You are very intelligent and patient with me. Thank you.” As she begins to explain how to pick out an appropriate Japanese yukata, you realize just how popular the Japanese hot spring must be. You are both distracted from your shopping as a famous Japanese singer come in. Suddenly, you have no fear. You know you must approach her and try to make her acquaintance…but, how do you do that? She’s really quite something…you and your friend take turns admiring her many attributes in Japanese, “She’s very tall.” Your friend remarks in Japanese, “She’s so beautiful, and her eyes…they’re so big!” You agree in awe in Japanese…well what woman wouldn’t be impressed by an Italian fashion coordinator? Flattery in Japanese should get you everywhere! Now’s the time you’re glad you practiced you introduction in Japanese. “How do you do…”

Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Newbie lesson teaches you some of the ways to describe people in Japanese. Maybe the only thing more fun that watching people in Japan is describing them to your friends in Japanese…and what a fun way to practice your Japanese, too! Tall, short, smart, stupid, and many other Japanese words will be yours when you’ve studied this lesson. 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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