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1: Greetings
Expressions | Basic Rules | Communication Tips | Drill Exercise
Read this page briefly and spend most of your time on the drill exercise for quick
memorization.
Expressions
Hello. Konnichiwa.
The last vowel "u" is not pronounced ly. It's like "gozaimas".
Informal: Ohayō.
Informal: Oyasumi.
Goodbye. Sayōnara.
In general, used when people will not see each other for some time.
Informal: Sayonara. (short "o" after y).
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mata: again
Click button to play audio.
Thanks. Dōmo.
Iie. (literally means "No.") also can be used with the rising accent if it's not a big deal.
Yes. Hai.
Used when you talk to someone, and to apologize for small faults (Sorry.).
Hai. (Yes.) can be used to answer someone's call.
Literally means "I accept (the food)". Used when you start eating as a signal "Let's start".
You can say this to the person who is treating you the meal.
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Literally means "It was a wonderful feast". Used when you finished eating.
You can say this to thank the person who treated you the meal.
Basic Rule
person
In general, add "san" after one's family name.
"san" is like Mr., Mrs., or Miss..
For example, Mr. Tanaka is Tanaka-san. But for foreigners (westerners), people
add san after the first names such as Paul-san or Kate-san.
Except for the close relationships, people address almost anybody with san.
Hello, Mr. Tanaka. Tanaka-san, konnichiwa.
Spoken Japanese has some variations - plain, honorific and informal. People
use different styles of speech in different situations. For example, the same
person uses the plain style at work and the informal style at home.
In this course, you will learn the plain style of speech. In addition, frequently-
used honorific and informal expressions are included.
In the Japanese society, politeness is one of the most cherished value. Using
plain (standard) language is taken to be a polite attitude. It's safe for you to use
the plain language till you become fluent enough.
Inappropriate use of informal (casual) language could be taken as rude or
offensive.
As you can see in this lesson, informal expressions are shorter in many cases.
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