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Beginner Lesson
Self Introduction

1 Formal Kanji
Formal Kana
Formal Romanization
English
2
2
2
2
Vocabulary 2
Grammar Points 4
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Kanji
夏子 初めまして。私は夏子です。宜しくお願いします。
ピーター 初めまして。私はピーターです。宜しくお願いします。

Kana
なつこ はじめまして。わたし は なつこ です。よろしく おねがい
します。
ピーター はじめまして。わたし は ピーター です。よろしく おねがい
します。

Formal Romanization
Natsuko Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Natsuko desu. Yoroshiku onegai
shimasu.
Pītā Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Pītā desu. Yoroshiku onegai
shimasu.

2 English
Natsuko Nice to meet you. I am Natsuko. Please be kind to me.
Peter Nice to meet you. I am Peter. Please be kind to me.

Vocabulary
Kanji Kana Romaji English
初めまして はじめまして hajimemashite Nice to meet you
私 わたし watashi I (personal pronoun)
宜しくお願いします よろしくおねがいしま yoroshiku onegai Please be kind to me
す shimasu
アメリカ アメリカ Amerika America
カナダ カナダ Kanada Canada
イギリス イギリス Igirisu England

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オーストラリア オーストラリア Ōsutoraria Australia

インド インド Indo India
人 じん jin person, used as a
suffix for nationality
さようなら さようなら sayōnara Good bye.
またね またね mata ne See you (again)
じゃあね じゃあね jā ne Bye.
片仮名 かたかな katakana katakana (Japanese
writing system used
primarily for borrowed
words)
名前 なまえ namae name
国籍 こくせき kokuseki nationality
日本 にほん Nihon Japan

Vocabulary Sample Sentences

初めまして、田中さん Nice to meet you, Mr./Ms. Tanaka
Hajimemashite, Tanaka-san
私はすずきです。 I'm Suzuki.
Watashi wa Suzuki desu.
私は鈴木です。宜しくお願いします。 I'm Suzuki. Nice to meet you.
Watashi wa Suzuki desu. Yoroshiku
3 onegaishiumasu.
私はアメリカ人です。 I'm American.
Watashi wa Amerikajin desu.
私はカナダ人です。 I'm Canadian
Watashi wa Kanadajin desu.
私はイギリス人です。 I'm British.
Watashi wa Igirisujin desu.
私はオーストラリア人です。 I'm Australian.
Watashi wa Ōsutorariajin desu.
私はインド人です。 I'm Indian.
Watashi wa Indojin desu.
私はブラジル人です。 I'm Brazilian.
Watashi wa Burajirujin desu.
さようなら、また、明日。 Good bye, see you tomorrow.
Sayōnara, mata, ashita.
明日、またね。 See you tomorrow again.

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Ashita mata ne.

じゃあね、また、明日。 See you tomorrow!
Jaa ne, mata, ashita.
片仮名、わかりません。 I don't understand Katakana.
Katakana, wakarimasen.
名前は鈴木一郎です。 My name is Ichiro Suzuki.
Namae wa Suzuki Ichiro desu.
国籍はアメリカです。 my nationality is America.
Kokuseki wa Amerika desu.
国籍はどこですか。 What is your nationality?
Kokuseki wa doko desu ka?
出身は、日本です。 I'm from Japan.
Shusshin wa nihon desu.

Grammar Points
Today's lesson introduced a few standard greetings that can be used when meeting
someone for the first time. Below are a few notes that go more in-depth into these greetings.

"Hajimemashite" is an expression used when meeting someone for the first time and has the
literal meaning of "the first time." As can be seen from context, this is roughly equivalent to
the English "nice to meet you" and has been translated as such.
4
The expression "yoroshiku onegai shimasu." is translated here as "please be kind to me,"
and it is generally inferred that the favor will be returned. This is commonly used as the final
phrase when introducing yourself, or after making a request, etc. The contextual meaning of
this expression can vary widely, so it is often required to take a case-by-case approach when
translating it.

Following are two more very useful phrases introduced in today's lesson.
Japanese Kana Romanization English
私は[名前]です。 わたしは[なまえ]です Watashi wa [namae] I am [name].
。 desu.
私は[国籍]です。 わたしは[こくせき]で Watashi wa [kokuseki] I am [nationality].
す。 desu.

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The structure of both of these sentences is identical, with the exception of the name or
nationality. As is often done in Japanese, when the meaning can be clearly derived from
context, dropping "watashi wa" is acceptable in both of these sentences.

For nationalities, just suffix the word jin to the name of the country. For example, Amerikajin
would be American, and Nihonjin would be Japanese.

When introducing yourself, be sure to state your full name. Also, in Japanese, family names
appear before given names.

For example:
私は「スミス・ブライアン」です。
わたしは「すみす・ぶらいあん」です。
Watashi wa [Sumisu Buraian] desu.
I am Brian Smith.

When introducing yourself, remember to bow after saying "yoroshiku onegai shimasu." To
bow properly, keep your back straight and bend forward at the waist. How deeply and how
often you bow depends on the situation and social status of the other people you are
meeting.
5

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