GRAMMER
Identifying people and things

Noun 1 wa noun 2 desu

Ex. George-san wa bengoshi desu. “Mr. George is an attorney”.

The particle wa – the topic marker
Wa (“as for”) follows noun 1, singling out as the topic of the sentence. Noun 2 is then identified , and the phrase is concluded with desu. The topic is the person or thing that the sentence is about. The topic is often the same as the subject but not necessarily.

Noun 1 wa noun 2 desu ka

Hai, (noun1 wa ) noun 2 desu
Iie, (noun 1wa ) noun 2 dewa/ja arimasen

Ex. George-san wa bengoshi desu ka. “ Is mr. George an attorney?
Hai, bengoshi desu. “ Yes (he) is an attorney”.
Iie, bengoshi dewa arimasen. “ no (he) isn’t an attorney”.

The particle ka- is the question marker
Its easy to make questions in Japanese. Simply place the particle ka at the end of the sentence. No change in word order is required even when the question contains interrogatives like “who”, “what”, “when” etc.
NOTE: intonation normally rises on ka, i.e., … desu ka.

Hai/iie
Hai is virtually the same as “yes”, and iie is virtually same as “no”

Omission of the topic (noun 1 wa )

When it is obvious to the other person what the topic is, it is generally omitted.
Ex. (Watashi wa) George desu. “(As for me) I’m George.”

But when it is necessary to make clear what the topic is, it is not omitted.
Ex. Kochira wa George-san desu. “This is mr. George."

Often the topic is omitted in answers to questions.
Ex. George-san wa bengoshi desu ka. “Is mr. George an attorney?.”
Hai, bengoshi desu. “Yes, he is an attorney.”
iie , bengoshi dewa arimasen. “No, he isn’t an attorney.”

Dewa / Ja arimasen
Dewa arimasen or ja arimasen is the negative form of desu. Ja is more informal than dewa; otherwise they are the same.

Forms of DESU
Present form
Desu : is
Dewa arimasen: is not
Past form
Deshita : was
Dewa arimasendeshita: was not

INTRODUCTIONS
Ms. Shiguri introduces Mr. George to Mr. Miyagi

Shiguri: Miyagi-san, kochira wa George-san desu. George-san wa Aoi Fuuzu no bengoshi desu.
George: Hajimemashite. George desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu
Miyagi: Hajimemashite. Hatsuko Depaato no Miyagi desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

Shiguri: Mr. Miyagi, this is Mr. George. Mr. George is an attorney.
George: How do you do. My name is George. Pleased to meet you.
Miyagi: How do you do. I'm Miyagi from Hatsuko Department store. Pleased to meet you.

Vocabulary:
San : Mr., Mrs., Ms,. Miss.
Kochira : This one (polite for “ this person”)
Desu : be
wa : (particle that denotes the topic of a sentence)
No : ‘s, of(particle indicating belonging)
Bengoshi : attorney
Hajimemashite : how do you do
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu: pleased to meet you
Depaato : department store

Anata : you
Rondon : London
Ginko : Bank
Tokyo Daigaku : Tokyo University
Daigaku : University, College
Uketsuke : Reception desk, receptionist
Onegaishimasu : Please, (get me..)
Dare : who
Donata : Who (polite form)
Hai, doozo : please go ahead, please feel free

Some example of conversations
At some reception desk of a company

Shizuna: Tokyo daigaku no Shizuna desu. Makino-san o onegaishimasu.
Uketsuke: Hai.
Shizuna: I'm Shizuna from Tokyo University. (i'd like to see) Mr. Makino, please.
receptionist: All right.

Your doorbell rings.

Anata: Hai. Donata desu ka.
Hiro: Hiro desu
Anata: Hai, doozo.
You: Yes? Who is it?
Hiro: I'ts Hiro.
You: All right. Please come in.

Onegaishimasu is a very convenient phrase often used in making polite requests.
The basic word for who is Dare, but Donata is more polite.
Hai, doozo: this expression is used when granting a visitior permission to enter a room or an office. It can also be used when handing over something that another person has asked for.

-SAN is a title of respect added to a person’s name, so it cannot be used after one’s own name. –San may be used with both male and female names, and with either surnames or given names.
KOCHIRA (this one) implies “this person here” and is a polite way of saying “this person”. It is used when introducing one person to another.
(WATASHI WA) GEORGE DESU
Especially in conversational Japanese, watashi( I) is hardly ever used. Anata(you) us similarly avoided, especially when addressing superiors. In which case the person’s surname followed by –san is used.
Hatsuko Depaato NO Miyagi desu.
The particle no attaches to nouns, and the noun-no combination modifies the word that comes after it. No expresses belonging or affiliation. Here it shows that Mr. Miyagi belongs to, in the sense that he Works for, Hatsuko department store. Japanese customarily give their company name and position when being introduced.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu
A phrase used when being introduced, yoroshiku onegaishimasu is usually combined with hajimemashite. It is also used when taking one’s leave after having asked a favour. Yoroshiku means “well” and is a request for the other person’s favourable consideration in the future.

Vocabulary
Countries and nationalities
Nihon: Japan Chuugoku: China Doitsu: Germany
Igirisu: England Amerika: America Oosutoraria: Australia
Tai: Thailand

Nihon-jin: Japanese Chuugoku-jin: Chinese, Doitsu-jin: German
Igirisu-jin: English Amerika-jin: American Oosutoraria-jin: Australian
Tai-jin: Thai
-jin : -ese, -ian(person from)

Occupations:
Bengoshi: Attorney, Lawyer
Hisho: Secretary
Gakusei: Student
Enjinia: Engineer

Some info about pronunciation of Japanese.
The pronunciation of Japanese vowels is the same as in Italian or Spanish: that of consonants is as in English:
Short vowels
a as in father, alms
e as in pen, red
i as in ink, machine
o as in open, ocean
u as in true, cruel
All combined vowels are pronounced in full; for example
Ei = e+i sounded as in day
ai = a+i sounded as in alive
ou = o+u sounded as in float
au = a+ u sounden as in out
Long vowels
Long vowels oo, aa, ee, ii, and uu are pronounced as the short vowels but the sound is double in length.
An n occurring before b, m and p changes to an m in sound and is so written when in romanized.
Ex.
Shinbun = shimbun(newspaper)
Shinpai = shimpai(worry)
Anma = amma (massage)

The initial g in a word is usually glottal as the g in get, the mid-word g is often nasalized as the ng in king. Ex. Igirisu sounds like Ingirisu.
The u is nearly mute in Japanese except where it is the initial syllable. Particularly where u follows an s, it is not articulated, thus desu as in “Dare desu ka?”(who is it?) is pronounced as des in desperate; suteeki(steak) is near to “steiki”

The r is pronounced with the tip of the tongue; a sound midway between l an r, never rolled
Other consonantal sounds are;
ch as in child
sh as in shine
ts as in pets,cats

i'll try to put some exercises tomorrow.

Nodame Sensei i have a question about this translation:

Shiguri: Miyagi-san, kochira wa George-san desu. George-san wa Aoi Fuuzu no bengoshi desu.
George: Hajimemashite. George desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu
Miyagi: Hajimemashite. Hatsuko Depaato no Miyagi desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

Shiguri: Mr. Miyagi, this is Mr. George. Mr. George is an attorney.
George: How do you do. My name is George. Pleased to meet you.
Miyagi: How do you do. I'm Miyagi from Hatsuko Department store. Pleased to meet you.


I thought Hajimemashite is the same meaning as Nice to meet you, isn`t it???


We are waiting for new lessons. It realy helps. Thanks

Yes it also means Nice to meet you. but how do you do fits better if you meet a person for the first time. either way thats how it was translated in the book. so i guess they now it better:)
Hajimemashite - has many meanings ,you only use it when you first meet someone. It's literally something along the lines of "this is the first time" as in the first time meeting someone.

about new lesson i'll try to make some time for it next week.

i added new vocabulary and some sentences. see vocabulary part in the middle of the page.

it is very illuminating. Thank you for your this such consideration but something I intriguing about much. Where did you find this all favourable information, if you please tell me.

i've got it from a book which i'm studying right now. All these information comes from that book