Master how to ask about well-being with the key pattern
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| Let's look at some examples. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
| げんきですか。 (Genki desu ka.) |
| はい、げんきです。 (Hai, genki desu.) |
| げんきですか。 (Genki desu ka.) |
| はい、げんきです。 (Hai, genki desu.) |
| リーさん、げんきですか。 (Rī-san, genki desu ka.) |
| まあまあです。 (Māmā desu.) |
| リーさん、げんきですか。 (Rī-san, genki desu ka.) |
| まあまあです。 (Māmā desu.) |
| げんき？ (Genki?) |
| げんき。 (Genki.) |
| げんき？ (Genki?) |
| げんき。 (Genki.) |
| げんきですか。 (Genki desu ka.) |
| げんきです。リーさんは? (Genki desu. Rī-san wa?) |
| げんきですか。 (Genki desu ka.) |
| げんきです。リーさんは? (Genki desu. Rī-san wa?) |
| Did you notice how I added, |
| リーさんは? (Rī-san wa?) |
| げんきです。リーさんは? (Genki desu. Rī-san wa?) |
| I'm fine. And you? |
| リーさんは? (Rī-san wa?) "And you?" リーさんは? |
| First is Mark's family name in Japanese. リー (Rī). リー. リー. |
| After this is さん (san), a polite suffix attached to a person's name. さ-ん. さん. |
| It can be used with any gender. In Mark's case, it translates as "Mr." |
| Together, リーさん. Mr. Lee. リーさん. |
| Note, the suffix さん can be used with any gender, so in the case of Karen Lee, リーさん translates as Ms. Lee. Remember this point. You'll need it later. |
| Finally, は the topic-marking particle. は。 |
| Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for you." |
| Together, it's リーさんは? (Rī-san wa?) This literally means "as for Mr. Lee?" but it translates as "And you?" リーさんは? |
| Notice Mr. Lee's name is used instead of the word "you." In Japanese, it's more common to address a person by their name and polite suffix than directly with "you." |
| The pattern is {Name} + は? |
| Note, that this is a shortened form of the sentence, リーさんは げんきですか。which literally means "As for Mr. Lee, well are [you]", but it translates as "How are you, Mr. Lee?" |
| In the shortened form, げんきですか is omitted as it can be understood from context. |
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