Recently I went on a business trip to Beijing (formerly known as Peking but still called Peking in Japanese because Cantonese refers to the city as Peking while Mandarin calls it Beijing - go figure) with a co-worker from Hong Kong. She is Hong Kong Chinese and speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, English all fluently and now is studying Italian. She moves fluidly from one culture to the next, assimilating quite easily into the language and the lifestyle. I envy her.

While I was in Beijing I had to use a lot of gestures out on the street. Asking for a receipt (particularly useful if you are a business executive on a tight budget and an even tighter salary) with a lot of jumping, pointing, making funny faces, etc. proved challenging. I got by and got what I wanted. We had to get around to various business engagements via cab and do you think I would have been able to do that without the native language?
However, at that time I certainly felt it would be very nice to be able to communicate, even if only rudimentarily, to the locals, expressing my basic needs ("Toire wa doko desu ka?" - remember that?). Very nice indeed.

Well, the business trip ended and as it was only a three day stint it wasn't too bad. I returned to the airport (old Beijing Airport - very old) and waited for the pre-boarding announcement. Across me was sitting one of the most beautiful young women I have ever seen in real life. She was intently working on something, writing in a notebook. I didn't want to seem like a total jerk so I tried not to stare too hard. Next to her sat a refined gentleman in his middle age with a very trim and proper looking beard and the stature of an aristocrat.

We boarded the plane, all heading back to Osaka and Typhoon No. 18. Sitting next to me at the emergency exit were none other than Mr. Aristocrat and Ms. Beautiful. It turned out that the young woman was on her way back to Australia where she would meet up with her fiance. He had been transferred to Tokyo and she was excitedly working on trying to remember useful phrases for her arrival into Japan.

As we talked I learned that she believed it was of great benefit for her to pick up useful words and phrases that would help her get through her daily life. Often, when we take classes we start from point A, move to B and then on to C, D, E. However in real life when we begin at A often we are tossed over to G or H without any knowledge of how we got there. If our studies are at level C and we need to know something pertaining to G, we are just plain out to ohiru gohan (lunch). My new-found friend was preparing for this leap by making a list of words and phrases that she felt she would need upon first contact. The grammar would come later. After all, who really needs to be able to say, "that red pen in the box over there is my red pen, not yours!"? All you need to do is grab the pen, thumb your nose at your antagonist and walk away with your head held high. Never underestimate the power of gestures. She had the right idea, was going about it exactly the right way, I believe.

In this lesson, what I am NOT going to do is to bother you with grammar. You can get that from Lessons One to Five and also in future lessons. We are parting from the usual for a moment.

In this lesson what I AM going to do is give you some get-down-get-dirty phrases and words that I feel might help you in the trenches. For, after all, if you make a trip to Japan that is where you are going to want to be, right? Who wants to come to an exciting new country and spend over half of the time sitting in a flourescent room studying from dry textbooks? (Well, I did, but that's beside the point - learn from the error of my ways, folks).

If you would like to know some words or phrases that are not listed here, and I am sure there will be many as everyone's situation differs, please ask.

Also, you could greatly help us all out by sending in all the phrases you think would help others, or have helped you in the past. Remember, this doesn't have to be directly related to Japan because when we visit any new country, we are bound to require the same knowledge base in order to communicate our most rudimentary concerns. The language changes but the concept stays the same. So send in your suggestions and I will continually update this page. No profanities please. Onegai shimasu.

Just a quick note: I interchange between "ha" and "wa". Never really sure which one to use. Technically it should be "ha" because the character for this is "ha". But the sound is "wa". If you mistakenly write the character "wa" in this place, it will be incorrect in Japanese. But in English, some books go with the phonetic "wa" while other textbooks prefer the more correct "ha" (pronounced "wa"). Confusing? So is life.


THE PHRASES (Use 'em or Lose 'em Pal)

COMPLIMENTS

(Remember this: Compliments will get you almost anywhere. Smiles will get you even further)

Kyou ha kakkou ii ne. (You look great today.)

kirei - pretty, hatto suru - striking, hansamu - handsome
Responses:
Maa, arigatou. - Oh, thank you.
Arigatou. - Thank you. / Thanks.
Anata mo. (Kimi mo) - So do you./ You do too.
Sou itte kurete arigatou. - Thanks for saying so.

Sono uagi ii ne. (I like your jacket.)

heasutairu - haircut, shaapu pen - mechanical pencil, keshigomu - eraser
kutsu - shoes, nekutai - tie, kaban - bag

Responses:
Arigatou. - Thank you. / Thanks.
Kimi no mo ii yo. - I like yours, too.
Hontou? - Really?
Shinpin nan da. - It's brand new.
Sugoku furui. - Its very old.
Watashi no okiniiri na no. - It's one of my favorites.


Sore ha subarashii! - That's wonderful!

sugoi - fantastic, saikou ni yoi - excellent, suteki - neat, oishii - delicious

Responses:
Arigatou - Thank you.
Sou itte kurete yasashii hito ne. - That's nice of you to say.
Watashi mo suki nan desu yo. - I like it/them too.
Hontou ni kirei da ne! - Isn't it beautiful? (Aren't they beautiful?)
It was a present from my dead uncle. - Shinda ojisan kara morattan da.
GREETINGS (ever try to ignore a greeting? It makes you feel like a real heel, right?)

Choushi wa dou dai? (How's everything?)
Maa maa desu. (Pretty good.)

Genki desu ka? (How are you?)
Genki yo. Arigatou. (Fine, thank you.)

(niko) (smile)
(niko) (smile)
(this one is bound to get you the furthest)

Arigatou. (Thank you.)
Dou itashimashite. (You're welcome).

Oyasumi nasai. (Good night.)
Gussuri nete ne. (Sleep tight.)

Moshi moshi? (Hello? - on the phone)
A, konnichi wa. (Oh, hi.)

Ii otenki desu ne? (It's a nice day, isn't it?)
Hontou ni yoi otenki de. (Yes, it's lovely.)

Boku wa Dracula desu. (My name's Dracula.)
Hajime mashite, Dracula. (Nice to meet you, Dracula.)

A! (Oops! - when you drop something, etc.)
Dou shita no? (What's the matter? What's wrong?)

Itte kimasu, (I'm leaving now.)
Itte rasshai. (See you later.)

Itai! (Ouch!)
Daijoubu? (Are you all right?)

Bai bai. (Bye.)
Mata ne. (See you!)
QUESTIONS (drive 'em nuts with the neverending string of questions, gang!)

NANI (What)

Anata no namae wa? (What's your name?)
Boku no name wa GI Joe, desu. (My name is GI Joe).

Kanojo no adana wa nan desu ka? (What's her nickname?)
Himitsu desu. (It's a secret.)

Shuumatsu ni nani wo shite imasu ka? (What do you do on the weekends?)
Eiga wo mi ni ikimasu. (I go to watch the movies.)

Amerika no biiru wa do omoimasu ka? (What do you think of American beer?)
Koko de henji dekimasen. (I can't answer here.)


DOCO (Where)

Doco ni sunde iru no? (Where do you live?)
Timbuktu desu. (I live in Timbuktu.)

Doko de umareta no? (Where were you born?)
Nihon umare desu. (I was born in Japan.)

Taitei doko ni sukii wo shi ni ikimasu ka? (Where do you usually go skiing?)
Hokkaido desu. (I go to Hokkaido.)

Yuube doko he ikimasita ka? (Where did you go last night?)
Nomisugita kara oboete imasen. Gomen nasai. (I drank too much so I don't remember. Sorry.)


NAZE (Why)

Naze Nihongo wo benkyo suru no desu ka? (Why are you studying Japanese?)
Italia ryoko ni ikitai kara. (Because I want to take a trip to Italy.)

Kyou wa, naze jikoku shita no? (Why were you late today?)
Nesugoshimashita. (I overslept)

Naze sonna ni tabete imasu ka? (Why are you eating so much?)
Urusai! (Shut up!)


ITSU (When)

Anata no tanjoubi wa itsu desu ka? (When is your birthday?)
Ku gatsu juuku nichi desu. (September nineteenth.)

Tsugi no yasumi wa itsu toreru no? (When can you take a holiday?)
Kondo no doyoubi to nichi youbi wa yasumi da yo! (Next Saturday and Sunday are holidays!)

Itsu unten menkyo wo torimashita ka? (When did you get your driver's licence?)
Ni nen mae desu (Two years ago.) / Nijuu ni sai no toki. (When I was 22.)


DARE (Who)

Anata ga suki na sakka/kashu/hanyu/joyu wa dare desu ka? (Who is your favorite writer/singer/actor/actress?)
Berinda Rampuringu ga suki desu. (I like Belinda Rampling.)

Anata no shinyuu wa dare desu ka? (Who is your best friend?)
Anata desu. (You are.)

Oyatsu wo motte koreru hito wa imasu ka? (Who can bring the snacks?)
Hai. (I can.)


DARE NO (Whose)

Kore wa dare no hon/pen/hankachi/fukuro desu ka? (Whose book/pen/handkerchief/bag is this?)
Watashi no desu. (It's mine.)


DORE KURAI (How)

Koko kara otaku made dore kurai desu ka? (How far is it from here to your house?)
Koko kara daitai sanjuu kiro kurai da ne. (It's about 30km from here.)

Anata wa nan nin shujin ga imasu ka?! (How many husbands do you have?!
Tatta san nin desu! (I only have three!)

Gakkou/kaisha ni ha dou yatte ikimasu ka? (How do you get to school/work?)
Basu de ikimasu. (I go by bus.)

Kono nori wa ikura desu ka? (How much is this glue?)
Hyaku en desu. (It's 100 Yen.)


DOCHIRA (Which)

Nihon sha de ichi ban ii no ha dore desu ka? (Which is the best Japanese car?)
Daihatsu desu. (Daihatsu is.)

Dono deguchi kara dereba yoi desu ka? (Which exit should I take?) - remember this one - you will need it when travelling on the Tokyo train system.
Minami guchi desu. (You should take the south exit.)

Koucha to biiru to dotira ga suki desu ka? (Which do you prefer, tea or beer?)
Biiru yori koucha ho hou ga suki desu. (I prefer tea to beer ) - the politically correct response.

Doko no kuni ni ichiban ikitai desu ka? (Which country do you want to visit the most?)
Tai ni itte mitai desu. (I want to visit Thailand the most.)
Interjection:

I just came back from my first trip to Italy (2000.05.18). It was fabulous! Italy is the only country that I have ever been to where I didn't want to come home. It is HIGHLY recommended.

Well, it has been a long time since I have been to a country where I didn't understand a single word of what people were saying. That is right gang, I was in the exact same boat as you are now, should you come to Japan. Actually that's not quite true; if you have come this far you are way ahead of me in the language skills.

So I experienced understanding nothing. Well, I bought a book called Teach Yourself Italian (you guessed right: it is the same series that I am using to base these Japanese lessons on!). On the airplane, and for a couple of days before my trip I tried as best as I could to get some vocabulary. You know what? It worked. It really helped because I learned how to say the following phrases, which really got me far. I will give you the English, and then the Japanese in this case.

MORE PHRASES TO USE OR LOSE

Sumimasen. (Excuse me.)
Eigo wo hanasemasuka? (Can you speak English?)
Gomen nasai. (I am sorry.)
Sumimasen. (I am sorry.)
Nihongo wa dekimasen. (I cannot speak Japanese.) - Literally: I cannot "do" Japanese.
Wakarimasen. (I don't understand.)
Shirimasen. (I don't know.)
Sumimasen. Toire wa doko desu ka? (Excuse me. Where is the toilet?)
Itadakemasu ka? (May I have it?)
Arigatou gozaimasu. (Thank you.)
Do itashi mashite. (You are welcome - for some reason, saying "you are welcome" implies to the Japanese that you are belittling their gratitude (strange). They usually tend to deny the thanks in order to make themselves not worthy of accepting it. Such as, "iie, iie" - no, no).
Ohayo gozaimasu. (Good morning.)
Konnichi wa. (Hello.)
Konban wa. (Good evening.)
Oyasumi nasai. (Good night.)
Ogenki desu ka? (How are you?)
Genki desu! (you know what this means already)
Hai! (Yes.)
Hai? (Yes?)
Iie. (No.)
Kore/Sore/Are wa nan desu ka? (What is this/it/that?)
Reshiito wo kudasai. (The receipt, please. - This one is very important for you business people.)
Ryoushuushou wo kudasai. (A receipt, please. - this is for an official receipt.)
Oaisou wo kudasai. (The bill, please.)
That should just about do it for the time being. If I made it any longer you might give up on studying all together.

The Culture Pocket: Nihon no Otenki (Japanese Weather)

The weather(otenki - "o" is honorific, the word is actually "tenki" - but we must respect the weather) is one of the most talked about topics in Japan. Everyone uses it to begin a conversation. In fact, in any culture you can use the weather to start up a conversation with an acquaintance or even a stranger. It is something that everyone has in common. If you are next to someone you know, it is virtually guaranteed that the rain that is soaking you to the bone is likely soaking her to the bone as well (except that she likely has an umbrella which you, in your macho attitude decided not to bring - smart choice.) So in fact, the weather is affecting you more than her. Well, you can talk about that too. Maybe even share the umbrella if you are lucky!

Here in Japan, the weather is often even used as a greeting. In the spring and autumn the weather is nearly perfect. Warm (or cool), dry, clear days. Comfortable in the day, easy to sleep at night. The cherry blossoms are a great topic, as are the changing leaves in the autumn. Life is grand in these seasons. "Totemo ii o tenki, desu ne!" "So, desu ne."

Then comes summer. Ugh! People, when they hear that it is 36C here say, "oh, it is hotter where I was in India..." Then they come. And nearly die. Remember the old addage? "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." This is so so so true here. The humidity goes up really high in June, the rainy season comes in July, the steamy 5-shower-days season arrives in August. Everyone talks about the weather. "Atsui, desu ne!" And, "So desu yo ne!!" You die in summer.

And then you die again in winter when it rolls around. It is only about -5C at the coldest around here (-25C in Hokkaido - but dry!). The humidity here makes 0C so much colder than -20C, let me tell you. I visited Canada this past Christmas hoping to experience some real cold. But you know what? -30C just didn't feel cold! Everything is always cold here. Especially in the houses. Did you know that we have to sleep with hats on at night? It is true! Imagine the hair you have in the morning. Ugh!

Then everyone greets you like this: "Samui desu ne." And you have to respond like this, "So desu ne. Totemo samui." If you tell them that you don't think it is that cold, or that it is colder where you come from, you just kill the mood. Go with the flow. Agree with them. Think of it as a greeting. Because you know what? It AIN'T colder back home!

Sometimes, just for fun, when I am greeted with, "Atsui, desu ne?", or "Samui, desu ne." I respond in a really strange way: "Konnichi wa." After all. That is what they are REALLY saying. You just have to read between the lines.


Well, it is time to start plagiarizing a different textbook for a while. I want to make the lessons a little shorter, and easier to put out there for you. If I don't do this, I need a good 6-hour block of time to make one lesson. Something I just don't have the time for these days. And as you are important to me, I really think it would be to our benefit if I changed the style a bit. Hope you don't mind.

Self Introductions, or "jiko shokai" are something you get really good at when you come to live in Japan. It may be changing a bit now because we foreigners are infecting the country more and more these days. This means we are not so rare any more. But when I first came here, to the country ten years ago, I was a 6'5" 196cm behemoth that was stared at, pointed at, talked about, greeted with, "This is a pen. he he he he he.", and more things than you can imagine.

My friend, an American fellow has more stories to tell: people try to run him off the road in their cars, they drive on the sidewalks to run him over, they pick fights with him when he is quietly eating his rice in a restaurant. And the stories go on. Maybe he is just a trouble magnet...

But you get really good at introducing yourself, your family, your pet, what you eat, where you sleep, what color your pubic hair is (sorry! but it is true - Japanese people, kids and adults alike, really want to know if a blonde is also blonde "down there" - just tell 'em its green and they will stop asking pretty quick!). You also get good at learning things about yourself you hardly ever thought about before: like your blood type, what the lines in your hands mean, your zodiac sign, your birthstone, the color of your pubic hair, and so on.

Let's memorize a few self introduction phrases. They might come in handy. If you are going on a trip to Japan, and want to know what some phrases mean, ask me.

Some basic phrases, with a few common ways of saying more things. Just fill in the underlined part with the other words, and presto! you are introducing yourself.

Download Qualcomm Pure Voice Here

THE PHRASES

Watashi wa Amerika-jin desu. (I am American.)

Amerika-jin (American)
Nijuu san sai (23 years old)
Sensei (teacher)
Seito (student)
Shufu (housewife)
Sarariman (businessman)
Asagata ningen (a morning person)
Otonashii (shy, quiet)
Shako teki (outgoing)
Majime (serious)
Hito natsukoi (friendly)
Namake mono (lazy)
Wagamama (selfish)
Undo ga suki/kira (athletic/not athletic)

Respond with:

So desu ka? (Oh are you?)
Honto ni? (Really?)
Watashi/Boku mo. (Me, too.)
Uso! (Get outta here!)

Watashi no namae wa Bugs Bunny desu. (My name is Bugs Bunny.)


namae (name)
tanjobi (birthday)
ketsu eki gata (blood type)
suki na tabemono (favorite food)
suki na supootsu (favorite sport)
suki na iro (favorite color)
suki na bando (favorite band)
shuumi (hobby) Bugs Bunny
Ku Gatsu Juuku nich (September 19th)
A, AB, B, O, Z (to stir things up)
suteeki, katsudon (steak, katsudon)
sukii, gorufu, kendo (skiing, golf, kendo)
aka, shiro, kuro, chairo, kiiro (red, white, black, brown, yellow)
Crash Test Dummies
daibingu (scuba)

Respond with:

So desu ka? (Oh, is it?)
Suteki! (Great!)
Watashi no mo so./Boku no mo sou denai. (Mine is, too./ Mine isn't, either)

Watashi wa unten menkyo wo motte imasu. (I have a driver's license.)
Watashi wa unten menkyo wo motte imasen. (I don't have a driver's license.)

unten menkyo (a driver's license)
inu, neko, sakana, kame, wani (a dog, a cat, a fish, a turtle, a crocodile)
gorira 3 tou (three gorillas)
kou ketsu atsu (high blood pressure)
zuttsu ( a headache)
bentzu (a Mercedes)
pasokon (a computer)

Respond with:

Sou desu ka? (Oh, you do?)
Omoshiroi! (How interesting!)
Watashi mo/boku mo. (Me, too.)
Watashi no ......... mo ......... (So does my .........)


Watashi wa tenisu wo shimasu. (I play tennis.)
Watashi wa tenisu wo shimasen. (I don't play tennis.)

tenisu wo shimasu (play tennis)
gitaa wo shimasu (play the guitar)
doramu wo enso shimasu (play the drums)
Kamishii-mura ni sunde imasu (live in Kamishii mura)
ginko ni tsutomete imasu (work in a bank)
kaisha ni tsutomete imasu (work at a company - this is a very common reply when you ask someone what they do for a living - you aren't any more knowledgeable than before you asked)
paato de hataraite imasu (work part-time)
aikido wo naratte imasu (take aikido lessons)
ohana wo naratte imasu (take ikebana lessons)
kuma no atama wo atsumete imasu (collect bears heads)
dizunii guzzu wo atsumete imasu (collect Disney goods - the girls are crazy about Disney here in Japan - don't know why. Hello Kitty, too.)

Respond with:

So desu ka? (Are you getting the picture by now? )
Sugoi! (That's great!)
Watashi mo. (Me, too.)

Suki na dobutsu wa .... (My favorite animal is....)
Suki na tabemono wa..... (My favorite food is....)
..... ni sunde imasu. (I live in ....)
...... de hataraite imasu (I work at ........)
...... de benkyou shite imasu (I study at .........)
Jibun no ....... wo ai shite imasu. (I love my ........)
...... suru no ga tokui desu. (I'm good at........)
Tsuyoi kyouka wa....... (My strong subjects are.......)
- recall this if you come to Japan. You WILL be asked - and also how fast you could run the 100m dash when you were in elementary school.
....... ni itta koto ga arimasu. (I have been to ........)
....... wo ryori shimasu. (I cook..........)
Watashi no denwa bango wa........ (My phone number is.........)
Boku no suki na shumi wa ........ (My favorite hobby is........)
Tsuma - shujin/ani - otooto/ane - imooto/ wa........... (My wife-husband/elder brother - younger brother/elder sister - younger sister is........)
Boku no ichi ban warui kuse wa....... (My worst habit is.........)
Yatte iru spootsu wa....... (I play...........)
Jibun senyou no .......... wo motte imasu. (I have my own.........)
The Culture Pocket: Referring to Others

Something that I still have trouble with in Japanese is the lack of use of pronouns.

If your name is Curious George and I am talking to you, in English, I would call you, "you". For example, "Do you like Guns 'n Roses?" But in Japanese, we do not use names when referring to that person directly . So instead, I would have to say to YOU, "Jooji wa Ganzu ando Rozezu ga suki desu ka?" Now if our best friend was also called George, I think it could get a little confusing.

Don't get me wrong; pronouns DO exist:

Watashi/Boku/Ore/Jibun (I)
Anata/Kimi (you)
Kare/Kanojo (he/her)

But apparently it is unusual to actually use them. So instead we use the names. And I find that hard to do.

I first of all would like to thank Ms. Anne-May Meulmeester for sending me an email that got tagged by my server as spam and sat there for an entire 10 days before I randomly decided to check my spambox and get rid of all the rolex, viagra, free sony handicam, online cheap downloads, etc. blah blah blah spams that seem to be hitting everyone harder than the devastating South Asian tsunami on December 26th, 2004. The only difference is that the tsunami hit once; spam just keeps coming over and over and over again until the world's killer app known as E-mail is no longer a useful tool to use. Have you noticed that more and more websites say, "if you want to place an order, call or fax my number because I probably won't find your email order in all the spam I get!" Often now a days you won't even FIND a real email link on websites because the spammers are so good at culling them en-masse. Even the form page that people thought would solve that problem has been found to be exploitable by spammer cretins.

Well, Anne-May sent me an email thanking me for my Japanese lessons. I really have wanted to continue them because I know how much you all have enjoyed learning "my way". It isn't standard, but then again, neither is real life, right?

Thanks, Anne-May for kicking my butt and getting at least one more lesson out for all of my loyal followers in the world (before I die). (At this writing I note that I have had over 20,000 people hit this portion of my website! That is a LOT of students!!) - Cam




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In the previous lesson (maybe you forgot if you did it 5 years ago when I made it), we learned all about Self Introductions, or "jiko shokai". I hope that in this time you have had an opportunity to practice and become a professional. If after five years you still can't introduce yourself, maybe you had better give up and become a hermit like me, talking to no one. Just kidding.

So let's say that by now you can introduce yourself. Great! OK, so you have a friend, no; you have two friends. And now you want to introduce your friends to each other so that you can take a break and let them carry on some of the conversations instead of relying on your amazing Japanese language skills (they ARE amazing now, right?). After all, you can't live your entire life alone, talking to your pet or pets. Even if that is the case and you have more than one pet, eventually one is going to leave this world before you (under natural circumstances unless you have a very unique pet like my dog who is going to live for 75 years (not dog years, but years). Well, if you lose one, you will want to get another one, right? So you get another pet. What do you do? You have to introduce this new pet to your old pet so that they can become acquainted. Right? Right!

Therefore, even if you never want to talk to another person again in your entire life, there IS REASON why you might want to be able to introduce others. After all, you care about your pets, right?

As an aside, look up at the kanji at the top of this page. Does it look familiar? Flip back to Lesson 7 and compare. What do you see? Yes! The last two kanji of lesson 7 are the same as these kanji! Amazing coincidence? Maybe. (I trimmed it and put it here for a purpose). Those kanji say "shokai" or introduction. And they are what you are about to do now.

Once again let's memorize a few phrases so that you will not be running off to the front without any ammunition in the chamber. They might come in handy. If you are going on a trip to Japan, and want to know what some phrases mean, ask me.

Some basic phrases, with a few common ways of saying more things. Just fill in the underlined part with the other words, and presto! you are introducing yourself.

Oh, by the way, put some humor into the introduction, will you? Although you may not hear much humor from Japanese people in their speeches and introductions, don't follow suit. After all, YOU want to be remembered, right?

One more thing to note: introductions are usually polite so use the "desu / masu" forms of verbs.

Take a look at the culture pocket below before you start ranting away with the phrases below.

THE PHRASES

Kono kata wa Keisuke Yagiwara desu. (This is Keisuke Yagiwara.)
Kyoto ni sunde imasu. (He lives in Kyoto.)
Suki na dobutsu wa ushi desu. (His favorite animals are cows.)
Toyota de hataraite imasu. (He works at Toyota.)
Keio Daigaku de benkyo shite imasu. (He studies at Keio University)
Kare no petto wo ai shite imasu. (He loves his pet).
Petto no namae wa Bobbu desu. (His pet's name is Bob.)
Tenisu wo suru no wa tokui desu. (He is good at tennis.)
Nankyoku e itta koto ga arimasu. (He's been to Antarctica.)
Toosuto wo ryori shimasu. (He cooks toast.)
Ano hito no namae wa Britney Spears desu. (Her name is Britney Spears.)
Denwa bango wa ..... (Her phone number is....)
Kusai ashi de yuumei desu. (She's famous for her smelly feet.)
Suki na goraku wa geemu desu. (Her favorite pastime is playing computer games.)
Ichiban warui kuse wa kutsu wo nugu koto desu. (Her worst habit is taking her shoes off.)
Terebi no "American Aidoru" no bangumi wo mimasu. (She watches "American Idol".)
Jibun no karada wo kojiri ni shite imasu. (She is proud of her own body.)
Yatte iru spootsu wa kikku bokkushingu. (She plays kickboxing.)
Jibun no senyo no doraiba wo motte imasu. (She has her own chauffeur.)
Kanojo no imooto/otooto ga kawaii/hansamu. (Her younger sister/brother is cute/handsome.)
Respond with:

Watashi/boku mo onaji da? (Mine is too.)
Honto. Watashi wa shinai. / Watashi mo suru. (You do? I don't/I do, too!)
Onaji da ne. (We're the same.)
Chigau ne. (We're different.)
Sugoi ne! (Wow!)
Shinjirarenai!! (I can't believe it!)


The Culture Pocket: Different Strokes for Different Folks

Introducing people in English and Japanese are actually very different. We often say "she" or "he" instead of using their names all the time (remember learning not to use the same noun over and over again? "Paul is happy. Paul went to the store today. Paul bought a bag of donuts. Paul greedily ate them all by himself. Now Paul is obese and Paul deserves it for not sharing." Sounds kind of "low level" don't you think?

But in Japanese, we actually do that. It takes some getting used to it, and even after 15 years in Japan I still feel kind of uncomfortable referring to the person I am directly talking to by their name all the time. But here, it is OK. The pronouns "kanojo" (she) and "kare" (he) exist, but often if you use them, you may get a little giggle by the listener. Why is that? Well, because they more often than not are used to mean "girlfriend" and "boyfriend" rather than the simple straightforward meaning of she and he as we learn in traditional textbooks. Remember, textbook study and real life study are two completely different monsters.

If you want to be polite, you can say "ano hito" (that person), or "kono kata" (this person - honorific). Or you can say the names, "Pooru-san wa ureshii desu. Pooru-san wa kyo, hitori de kaimono he itte kimashita. Pooru-san wa doonatsu no hitofukuro wo kaimashita. Pooru-san wa donyoku ni (greedily) subete wo tabete shimaimashita. Ima Pooru-san wa debu soshite dare ni mo wakenakatta node atari mae desu."

One of the other things to note, as I mentioned earlier I think, is that you can skip the names, and pronouns all together in Japanese. It works.

This does not sound so low level, actually.