If you are not living in Japan or have no Japanese friends learning how to converse in Japanese is quite a challenge. It is quite easy to learn how to read and write kana and kanji, to study grammar and to learn lots of words by yourself. Conversation is different – you need a Japanese person to speak to. In this post we will do some Japanese conversation practice. Hopefully you will learn something new.
A Typical Japanese Conversation
Imagine you are at a train station wanting to go to Shibuya. You have forgotten your watch. You ask a stranger for the time and the time of the next train.
A: すみません。 いま なんじですか。
B: じゅういちじはんです。
A: すぎのでんしゃ なにじに きますか
B: ごふんにきます
A: ありがとう ございます
B: いいえ
In the above conversation すみません is said to get the strangers attention. Remember すみません can also mean “Thank you” or “I’m sorry” depending on context. In this case it means “Excuse me”.
To ask for the time in Japanese the set phrase なんじですか is used.
なん (what) じ (time) ですか (question particle). いま means “now”.
If you have studied Japanese numbers you will know that じゅういち is 11. So じゅういちじ means 11 o’clock. はん means half past. So じゅういちじはんです means “It is 11:30”. です is just the sentence ending particle. Depending on context it can mean “It is”, “They are” and so on.
Let’s have a look at the next line, すぎのでんしゃ なんじに きますか. Again this is a time question
すぎ のでんしゃ – means next train. The のis just the possessive particle.
なんじに – What time…
きますか – Come? Here we have the ますform of the plain verb くる, which means “come”. By adding か the sentence becomes a question..
What time does the next train come? – すぎのでんしゃ なにじに きますか
Now, for the answer; ごふんにきます. As both the speaker and listener know the subject (the next train) it doesn’t need to be stated in the reply. This is very typical of Japanese. So the answer is something like this – (the train) comes in 5 minutes.
ごふん meaning 5 minutes and the verb きます meaning come.
ごふんにきます - It comes in 5 minutes
ありがとう ございます of course means “thank you” and いいえ means “Don’t mention it.”
Here is the conversation in English
A: すみません。 いま なんじですか。
B: じゅういちじはんです。
A: すぎのでんしゃ なにじに きますか
B: ごふんにきます
A: ありがとう ございます
B: いいえ
A: Excuse me. What time is it?
B: It is 11.30
A: What time does the next train come?
B: In 5 minutes
A: Thank you
B: You’re welcome
Getting Japanese Conversation Practice
If you are in the unfortunate situation where you can’t find a native Japanese speaker to help you with your studies there is one alternative – Japanese TV, particularly dramas. Watching Japanese television dramas is an excellent way to pick up words and learn Japanese conversation dynamics. Japanese converse very differently to westerners. If you watch dramas you can see how Japanese converse in fairly natural every speech. Movies are usually too difficult and the story lines unrealistic. So buy some drama sets on e-bay or get on to youtube and start watching dramas.
An effective way to learn and remember Japanese vocabulary is to not only to try to memorize particular words, but also to learn how to define them. As students we often become too dictionary dependent and not actually take the time to learn the meanings of new vocabulary. Often we forget new words and as a result become frustrated and get into a negative state of thinking, believing we can’t easily remember new words.
However, we can communicate what we want to say often by defining the word we have forgotten. We do this quite often in our native language when we can’t remember elusive words or when we are just having a mental block. In the process oflearning the definitons of new words we also improve our chances of remembering new words and reinforce words we already know.
Japanese Vocabulary
This method will work wonders for building your Japanese vocabulary, improving your overall fluency anddevelping reading skills.
1. Try reading the definitions by yourself
2. Listen to the audio tracks and take mental notes of Kaoru Sensei’s readings
3. Try to read the definitions in the same manner as Kaoru Sensei
4. Find the English translation for each definition
5. Try to recall the definitions from memory
6. Repeat process until you can define each word from memory
7. Watch the Video
Japanese Vocabulary List with Definitions
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
| Word | English | Definition |
| あくび | Yawn | ねむくなったり、 あきたりしたときに、 しぜんに口を大きくあけていきをすること。 |
| いじめる | よわい人に、わざとひどいことをする。 | |
| うるさい | 音が大きすぎて、いやだ。 やかましい | |
| えんそく | 学校で、 見学やうんどうのために遠くに出かけること。 | |
| おいしい | あじがよい | |
| かお | 目や、 はなや、 口があるところ。 | |
| 聞く | 声や音を耳でかんじる。 | |
| くせ | いつも、 気づかないうちにしてしまうこと 。 | |
| けいさつ | わるい人をつかまえたり、 みんなのくらしをまもったりするやくしょ | |
| こうえん | みんながあそんだり、 休んだりするためのひろば。 |
English Trasnlation
Bully Excursion Face Park Noisy Yawn Delicious Listen Police Habit
Want more Japanese vocabulary lessons like these?
Are you thinking about investing in taking lessons at a Japanese language school? Well, before you fork out several hundred or thousand dollars it would be wise to do plenty of research on where you intend to study.
I studied at language schools in both my home country of Australia and in Japan. I did a few certificate courses in Australia before moving to Japan. In Japan I studied at a private language school in Tokyo.
I always recommend friends and students interested in learning Japanese to take some free lessons or a short course before investing in a fulltime education at a private Japanese language school.
If you are a beginner level student then finding a short course should be no problem. If you are currently living in Japan then your local ward office can provide you with information on where you can take lessons for free. If you are living outside of Japan, then try your local community center. Chances are there will be someone conducting a short course on Japanese in your local city.
Should You Study at a Japanese Language School
Taking a few lessons will give you a good idea of the time committment involved in learning Japanese. Once you are sure you want to learn Japanese at a Japanese langauge shcool you need to be clear on what you want to learn. Thinking about and setting goals is always a good idea. Here are some questions I recommend you contemplate and answer
- Why do you want to learn Japanese?
- How much time will you have for study?
- Do you want to focus on spoken Japanese or written Japanese?
- Do you want to learn about Japanese culture in the classroom or only language?
- Do you intend to take the JLPT sometime in the future?
- Is it important that you have a native Japanese teacher?
When I lived in Tokyo I found it quite hard to find a language school that could cater to my level which was intermediate at the time. There were plenty of beginner courses that taught all the basics like hiragana, katakana and daily conversation, but I couldn't really find a language school to meet my needs. I ended up joining a school that provided advanced courses for the JLPT.
Taking the JLPT was one of my goals at the time, but the classes were far too advanced for me . I struggled through the lessons and found it very frustrating. I was paying a lot of money for a course that didn't really help me improve as a speaker. Unfortunately, I was far to trusting of the school and believed what they promised. I was unable to change classes and told to hang in there "gambatte" .
I recommend you do plenty of research online and try to find out as much as you can about a Japanese language school before paying any fees. When possible hunt students down prospective language schools and see if they are satisfied with their lessons and teachers. It is not only important that you get your moneys worth, but also that you are inspired to learn at the school you end up attending.
When I first started studying Japanese, learning and reading Kanji seemed like an unobtainable goal. I struggled with Hiragana and Katakana, and the complexity of Japanese grammar almost had me give up learning the language altogether on numerous occasions. I started studying Japanese well before we had the Internet and spent most of my study time learning from text books. This was a very slow and ineffective way to study.
For me to learn how to read Kanji was indeed a challenge. I had to use a big fat kanji dictionary to find out the readings and meanings of kanji. It would take me up to 5 minutes to look up and work out the readings and meanings of one individual Kanji character. First, I would have to work out the radical of the kanji, correctly determine the stroke number and the go hunting in the dictionary. Eventually, I purchase an electronic Kanji Tank dictionary, but this didn’t make learning Kanji any easier.
An Effective Way To Reading Kanji
In the end, the only way I could effectively learn kanji was have a Japanese native read with me. I would have someone read a very basic article to me, teaching the kanji readings along the way. Then, I would try to read the article back. Every now and then I would get caught with a Kanji, but I would be correctly immediately and I could continue reading. This method turn the standard learning process on its head. Instead of learning kanji in order to read Japanese, I was reading Japanese in order to learn Kanji.
This method was so effective for me that years later I decided to create a product that would teach students how to read Kanji in context using what I call a kanji coaching method. The product is Read Japanese Fast. I created this product with the help of my wife. Check out the video below.
Want more lessons? Visit http://readjapanesefast.com/
A lesson for beginners -- Days of the week in Japanese. I have fond memories of when I first started learning Japanese. For me, the Japanese language seemed so cultured and mysterious. I found it very attracting and desperately wanted to learn. Yet, learning the basics wasn’t easy. Just trying to learn the days of the week seemed like a challenge. Eventually, I discovered that the more I studied the easier it became for me to retain words and progress. But those early days were hard. Getting my head around the backwards grammar, polite Keigo language and those long greetings took quite a lot of study and effort.
I think the hardest aspect to learning the Japanese language is breaking through what I call the “basics threshold”. Most people stop learning a language because they feel that they are not progressing. The basics overwhelm them and they give up. So if you are struggling with the basics of Japanese DON’T GIVE UP. Persist and study everyday for a few more months and you’ll be surprised by how much your understanding of the language will improve. You must allow for some time for the old grey matter to adjust to learning a different language. Study for short periods everyday and do lots of revision to retain what you learn.
Enjoy the lesson -- Days of the week in Japanese.
If you want learn how to read Japanese check out -- http://readjapanesefast.com
If you are looking for something a bit more challenging check out our intermediate course -- http://speakjapanesefluently.com
