🤝 Making Friends — Basic Sentences
Now that you know the writing system and greetings, it’s time to build actual sentences. This chapter covers the fundamental sentence patterns of Japanese.
The “X is Y” Structure
In English, we use “am / is / are” to connect a subject to a description. In Japanese, we use the particle は (wa) and the copula です (desu).
Formula
[Topic] は [Description] です。
[Topic] wa [Description] desu.
- は (wa) — The Topic Marker. It indicates what the sentence is about. Although written with the character for ‘ha’ (は), it is pronounced ‘wa’ when used as a particle.
- です (desu) — The copula. It acts like “is / am / are” and comes at the very end.
Examples
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| わたしは がくせい です。 | Watashi wa gakusei desu. | I am a student. |
| たけしさんは にほんじん です。 | Takeshi-san wa nihonjin desu. | Takeshi is Japanese. |
| メアリーさんは アメリカじん です。 | Mearii-san wa amerika-jin desu. | Mary is American. |
Negative Form
To say “X is not Y”, replace です with じゃないです (ja nai desu):
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| がくせいです (is a student) | がくせいじゃないです (is not a student) |
| にほんじんです (is Japanese) | にほんじんじゃないです (is not Japanese) |
More formal negative: じゃありません (ja arimasen) — used in very polite/formal speech.
Asking Questions (Particle か)
Japanese does not change word order to make a question. Simply add the particle か (ka) to the end of a statement. It acts like a spoken question mark.
Formula
[Statement] か。
Examples
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| がくせいです。(Is a student.) | がくせいですか。(Is [he/she] a student?) |
| にほんじんです。(Is Japanese.) | にほんじんですか。(Is [he/she] Japanese?) |
Full Dialogue Example
A: りゅうがくせいですか。(Ryuugakusei desu ka.) — Are you an international student?
B: はい、りゅうがくせいです。(Hai, ryuugakusei desu.) — Yes, I’m an international student.
A: せんせいですか。(Sensei desu ka.) — Are you a teacher?
B: いいえ、せんせいじゃないです。がくせいです。(Iie, sensei ja nai desu. Gakusei desu.) — No, I’m not a teacher. I’m a student.
Answer patterns:
- はい (hai) — Yes
- いいえ (iie) — No
Note: In formal writing, a period (。) is used after か instead of a question mark (?). Beginners often use ? for clarity.
Possession & Connection (Particle の)
The particle の (no) connects two nouns. It primarily indicates:
- Possession (like English ‘s)
- Modification (one noun describing another)
Formula
[Noun A] の [Noun B]
Meaning: Noun A ‘s Noun B / Noun B of Noun A
Examples
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| わたしの でんわばんごう | Watashi no denwa bangou | My phone number |
| たけしさんの せんこう | Takeshi-san no senkou | Takeshi’s major |
| にほんごの せんせい | Nihongo no sensei | Japanese language teacher |
| とうきょうだいがくの がくせい | Toukyou daigaku no gakusei | Tokyo University student |
Chaining の
You can chain multiple の particles:
わたしの だいがくの せんせい Watashi no daigaku no sensei → My university’s teacher
Asking “What?” (なん / なに)
To ask “what” in Japanese, use なん (nan) or なに (nani):
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| おなまえは？ | O-namae wa? | What is your name? |
| せんこうはなんですか。 | Senkou wa nan desu ka. | What is your major? |
| なんねんせいですか。 | Nan-nensei desu ka. | What year (student) are you? |
Answering:
A: せんこうはなんですか。— What is your major?
B: にほんごです。— It’s Japanese.
Key Vocabulary
People
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| がくせい | gakusei | Student |
| せんせい | sensei | Teacher / Professor |
| りゅうがくせい | ryuugakusei | International student |
| ともだち | tomodachi | Friend |
| ~じん | ~jin | Nationality suffix (e.g., にほんじん = Japanese person) |
School
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| だいがく | daigaku | University |
| こうこう | koukou | High school |
| せんこう | senkou | Major (field of study) |
| ~ねんせい | ~nensei | ~year student (いちねんせい = 1st year) |
Honorifics
| Suffix | Usage |
|---|---|
| ~さん (san) | Mr./Ms. — default polite suffix for names |
| ~くん (kun) | For boys/young men (used by superiors) |
| ~ちゃん (chan) | Cute/affectionate — for children, close friends |
| ~せんせい (sensei) | For teachers, doctors, masters |
Practice Exercises
- Make sentences: Create 3 “X は Y です” sentences about yourself
- Ask questions: Convert your sentences into questions using か
- Use の: Describe 3 possessions using the の particle
- Mini dialogue: Write a self-introduction conversation between two students meeting for the first time