Japanese For Everyone
Preparatory lesson 1
Week 1 Basic hiragana
Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
This course will help you use the book Japanese For Everyone by Susumu Nagara
If you need help along the way, you can Skype me at gaeilgebheo
This first lesson is to teach you basic hiragana before you start the book.
Preparation 1
Week 1. Preparation 1. Learning basic hiragana
Day 1 Learn to introduce yourself
一Ichi Step 1
The basics: i►E and e►A
First you need to know the sounds of vowels. There are two changes you need to watch out for.
It’s like Spanish: i►E and e►A
so i sounds like E as in easy and
e sounds like A as in name.
That’s what you need to remember as you read.
The order of the vowels in Japanese is a, i, u, e, o
Vowel sounds:
a as in app
i ►e as in easy
u as in lunar
e►a as in name
o as in only
With that knowledge see if you can read the following introduction. Read syllable by syllable.
頑張って＝Gambatte = Give it your best!
Ha ji me ma shi te.
Wa ta shi wa sen sei de su.
Yo ro shi ku o ne gai shi ma su.
Good. Now read it again. Let it flow more.
Hajimemashite.
Watashi wa sensei desu.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Well done. One last time and make the final u in desu and masu disappear.
Hajimemashite.
Watashi wa sensei desu.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Well done! You just read my introduction.
Now try yours as you watch and learn from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYiEcPEZS2U&feature=fvst
Day 2 Learn the basic alphabet (hiragana).
Now that we’ve introduced ourselves, let’s get started.
We have been reading with regular English letters. They are called Romaji (Roman letters).
We already know the vowels so let’s talk about consonants.
Information about consonants:
G is always a hard g as in got. Sometimes it’s nasal but it never sounds like j as in gentle.
J is always an English J as in Jester and never sounds like a French J.
Usually you will have a combination of a consonant and a vowel to make a letter or syllable.
N is the only consonant that is a letter without a vowel.
二NiStep 2
Now you know the sounds, try to read all the letters. The Japanese hiragana is written here above and romaji (our letters) below.
| あ a |
い i |
う u |
え e |
お o |
| か ka |
き ki |
く ku |
け ke |
こ ko |
| さ sa |
し shi |
す su |
せ se |
そ so |
| た ta |
ち chi |
つ tsu |
て te |
と to |
| な na |
に ni |
ぬ nu |
ね ne |
の no |
| は ha |
ひ hi |
ふ fu |
へ he |
ほ ho |
| ま ma |
み mi |
む mu |
め me |
も mo |
| や ya |
ゆ yu |
よ yo |
| ら ra |
り ri |
る ru |
れ re |
ろ ro |
| わ を んwa o n |
That’s it.
Day 2 Study You can use flashcards to help you learn hiragana if you like: http://alturl.com/yqb5w
Tired reading?
Let’s get talking a little again.
Are you feeling well after all that work? Genki?
Watch, listen and repeat here: http://alturl.com/yhz7c
Day 3 Learn to read.
Now you know the sounds we need to learn the real letters, the Japanese kana as they read them and practice them.
First of all, here’s some information about ways to write Japanese. There are three systems.
1. Hiragana is the phonetic system for regular Japanese words. You already know its sounds.
2. Katakana is the phonetic system for foreign words. They are the same sounds.
3. Kanji are pictographs or Chinese characters and are not phonetic.
In lesson 1 we only focus on basic hiragana.
Watch/listen/ repeat the Japanese letters focusing only on the top line: http://alturl.com/wwuww
Keep watching and repeating the sounds as you read along from the video until you recognize the sounds of the letters and can read them easily. Only focus on the top line (Hiragana). This is important! ☺
Did you learn some letters?
Even if you got only the first line, be proud of yourself.
That’s real progress.
Really?
Honto ni?
Really!
Honto ni!
☺
Watch /listen to the Audio here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNTPbcjOzdw
Ready? Let’s start reading:
You can check your answers and the sounds from the flashcards and audio symbols at http://quizlet.com/9739613/japanese-for-everyone-h1-flash-cards/
一Ichi READ
A: あ い う え お
K: か き く け こ
S: さ し す せ そ
Try reading it forwards and backwards and upwards and downwards.
Now try words:
１．あい __ ２．うえ__ ３．え__ ４．あおい__ ５．いいえ
1. love 2. up/on/above 3. picture 4. blue 5. no
6.あかい＿_ ７．かお＿＿ ８．き＿＿ ９．いけ＿＿ １０．ここ＿＿
6．red 7. face 8. tree 9. pond 10. here
How about this word？ すし
If you add the word desu (sounds like des) to each of these you make sentences.
For example, Ai desu. = It’s love. Ue desu. = It’s above. etc.
To ask the question What is it? you say Nan desu ka.
Cool fact: The ka is the question mark and you say it ☺
If you are studying with a partner you can now ask
Nan desu ka. and then answer that for numbers 1-10 above.
Well done. Take a break. Go for a quick walk.
Review Day 2 and then let’s keep going. You’re doing great!
Day 4 Read some more.
二Ni Read
T: た ち つ て と
N: な に ぬ ね の
H: は ひ ふ へ ほ
Try reading it forwards and backwards and upwards and downwards.
Now try words:
１．いち __ ２．いつ__ ３．て__ ４．そと__ ５．あと__
1. one 2. when 3. hand 4. outside 5. after
6.に＿_ ７．いぬ＿＿ ８．ねこ＿＿ ９．この＿＿ １０．なに＿＿
6．two 7. dog 8. cat 9. this 10. what
The H line has secrets.
i) は can be pronounced ha or wa depending on its function.
Watashi は is pronounced watashi wa. It’s a topic marker.
ii) へ as it can be pronounced he or e depending on its function。
Yama へ ikimasu is pronounced yama e ikimasu. It’s a directional verb marker.
For now just know there are two possible ways to pronounce は and へ .
Good job. Reward yourself with a treat. Go to a Japanese restaurant?
Day 5 Read even more
Review previous work and let’s push on as we’re almost done. This is great!
三San Read
M: ま み む め も
Y: や ゆ よ
R: ら り る れ ろ
Try reading it forwards and backwards and upwards and downwards.
Now try words:
１．いま __ ２．もも__ ３．むし__ ４．みみ__ ５．あめ
1. now 2. peach 3. insect 4. ear 5. rain
6.やま＿_ ７．ゆき＿＿ ８．よこ＿＿ ９．あたま＿＿ １０．なまえ＿＿
6．mountain 7. snow 8. beside 9. head 10. name
これ means this. それ means that. あれ means that over there.
Last line: わ を ん
Now try words:
１．わたし＿＿＿＿ ２．すみさせん ＿＿＿ ３．これ を ください。
１．I ２．Excuse me。 ３．This please.
Excellent. Now you need to buy yourself something good. How about a kendama? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOiB8CEDQlU
For the weekend review all you have done or take a break.
Study this over and over until you feel very comfortable you can recognize the letters. This is essential before you start your textbook
三San Step 3. ♥ A gift for you to reward you for your hard work ♥
Gift 1: You have a textbook! It’s called Japanese For Everyone Here it is:http://alturl.com/dbcvw
Gift 2: If you like courses from prestigious universities, feel free to supplement your study with free resources from a course from MIT!
日本語 – MIT Japanese 1: http://alturl.com/2aox
Preparation for Week 2
Start looking at your textbook http://alturl.com/dbcvw
Go to the vocabulary on page 22 so you can prepare for lesson 2 when we will start our textbook! Here’s some more help with the vocabulary Japanese For Everyone Chapter 1 so you can prepare better for Lesson 1 of the textbook if you are feeling very diligent.
頑張って
You have laid the foundation for a successful course. This will pay off big time for you.
At the end of all this work you need to reward yourself and your mind.
Relax with http://alturl.com/7jcgj
That feels so good.
Yatta! You did it!
