Easy Japanese

by Ogawa Language Institute

You must remember this, "East is just East and West is just West"
the fundamental things don't apply,
as time goes by.....



To non-Japanese Ladies and Gentlemem:
In Japan, if you speak Japanese fluently,
some people may think you are "a strange foreigner (hen-naa-guy-jin) ".
Because in Japan, a foreigner is believed to speak only his or her own language, not Japanese.
But if you speak a little Japanese, even though it is broken,
then people feel very close to you and try to be friendly to you.

basic expressions

A new pronunciation marking system(n.p.m.s.) which we invented and developed is used here,
though academicism will surely ignore this.
Just pronounce each syllable like an English word.

English Japanese(n.p.m.s.) Comments
Hello con-nee-chee-waa Formal
Hi! yaa Sounds like "Yeah". Informal
Good morning. oh-haa-yo sounds like the state of "Ohio" in America.
Good afternoon. con-nee-chee-waa the same as Hello.
Good evening. con-bun-waa Sounds like "Combine what?"
Good night. oh-yah-sue-me Sounds like "Oh, yeah? Sue me!"
Good bye. Sa-yoo-nah-laa This one is well known all over the world. "Sayonara"
Yes hai Just sound like "hi"
No ee-ee-ye Just say alphabet "E""A"
Thank you. Ali-got-toe Almost sounds like "alligator" Don't say "crocodile".
You're welcome. dough-it-ash-mush-teh. Almost sounds like "Don't touch my moustache."
Sorry. go-men Sounds like,"Go, men!" Informal
I am sorry. Sue-me-maa-sen sounds like "Sue me, Massen!" Formal
Please. dough-though Actually,we don't have "th"sound. So, "th"and"z" sound the same to us.
No, thank you. ee-ee-ye, kekko-des Just sounds like,"E.A. Kekko, death."

Domo.(sounds like domo for major-domo)
"Domo"is a very convenient word (expression),
and frequently used by native speakers. Thanks to the ambiguity of this word,(basically it is an adverb meaning "very")
this word can be used on various occasions.
Such as....
When someone gives you a present, you can say "Domo", instead of saying "Thank you".
When you step on someone's foot on the train, you can say,"Domo" instead of saying,"I'm sorry."
When someone died, you can say to the bereaved family, "Domo" in a low voice, instead of saying, "My deepest condolenses."
When you visit someone, you can say "Domo", instead of saying, "Long time no see! How are you doing?"
This way, you can save your breath.

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SINCE 1999.8.19

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