2.0: Welcome to Japanese-Learning Communities (1)
- Page ID
- 289548
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In this book, our goal is to provide you with the tools and knowledge to actively participate in dynamic learning groups.
In ‘Welcome to Japanese-Learning Communities’, you will start a fun journey to learn basic Japanese conversation skills. This chapter will show you how to introduce yourself and help you make friends with your fellow classmates and people in Japanese-learning groups.
Whether you are saying hello for the first time or joining a new community, we hope that this chapter will make it easy and exciting to connect with others in Japanese!
Learning goals
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Identify additional hiragana characters.
- Use simple greetings to start a friendly conversation in Japanese.
- Understand the cultural distinctiveness of Japanese greetings, including the phrase よろしくお願（ねが）いします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu), which literally means ‘Please treat me kindly’ or ‘Nice to meet you’.
- Understand and apply the fundamental sentence pattern ‘X は (wa) Y です (desu)’ (X is Y) in a self-introduction.
- Use the honorific さん (san) appropriately when addressing others by name.
Words
| Japanese | Romaji | English | Notes |
| 私（わたし） | watashi | I/me | This is a formal and gender-neutral first-person pronoun. For more information on gender and first-person pronouns, please see Module 6.6. |
| 名前（なまえ） | namae | name | This is used when referring to your own name, not someone else’s name. |
| お名前 | onamae | name | This is used to refer to someone else’s name politely. お（o）before なまえ（namae）is an honorific prefix (see Module 1.6). |
| 先生（せんせい） | sensei | teacher/professor/doctor/ lawyer/author | This is also an honorific title placed after the family name of the teacher to whom you are referring. |
| 〜さん | san | Mr/Ms/Mrs | The honorific さん (san) is a gender-neutral title that is used after someone’s family name or, in slightly more intimate contexts, their given name. |
| 皆（みな）さん | mina-san | everyone | Polite/formal |
| 学生（がくせい） | gakusei | student | This word usually refers to university students. |
| 大学（だいがく） | daigaku | university | |
| 自己紹介（じこしょうかい） | jiko-shoukai | self-introduction | 自己 (jiko) means ‘self’. 紹介 (shoukai) means ‘introduction’ or ‘referral’. |
Expressions and phrases
| Japanese | Romaji | English | Notes |
| じゃあ | jaa | then | |
| あ | a | oh | |
| ええと | eeto | well | |
| はい | hai | yes | |
| お願（ねが）いします | onegai shimasu | please | |
| X（を）お願いします | X (o) onegai shimasu | X, please | Use a noun for ‘X’ in this sentence pattern. |
| はじめまして | hajime mashite | Nice to meet you | Neutral |
| よろしく | yoroshiku | Treat me kindly | Informal |
| よろしくお願いします | yoroshiku onegai shimasu | Please treat me kindly. | Polite/formal |
| ありがとう | arigatou | Thanks | Informal |
| ありがとうございます | arigatou gozaimasu | Thank you very much | Polite/formal |
| どういたしまして | dou itashi mashite | You’re welcome | Neutral |
| こんにちは | konnichiwa | Hello | Neutral; Note that the hiragana character は is pronounced ‘wa’ rather than ‘ha’. |
| おはよう | ohayou | Morning [greeting] | Informal |
| おはようございます | ohayou gozaimasu | Good morning | Polite/formal |
| さようなら | sayounara | Bye | Neutral |
| すみません | sumimasen | Excuse me/I’m sorry | Polite/formal |
| ごめんなさい | gomennasai | I’m sorry | Polite/less formal (see Module 2.3) |
Key grammar points
| Japanese | Romaji | English | Notes |
| は | wa | — | Particle; It is pronounced ‘wa’; however, it is written as ‘ha’. This particle is often referred to as a ‘topic marker’, used to indicate the topic of a sentence (see Module 2.4). |
| です | desu | is, am, are | Copula/linking verb |
| Xは? | X wa? | What about X? | Use a noun for ‘X’ in this sentence pattern. |
| を | o | — | Particle; It is pronounced ‘o’. This particle is often referred to as a ‘object marker’, used to indicate the object that marks the action of a verb in a sentence (see Module 2.5). |
Exercise 1
Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)
Model dialogue
Lina and Kevin are practising self-introductions in their first Japanese language class at a university in Australia.
| Teacher: じゃあ、みなさん。自己紹介（じこしょうかい）をお願（ねが）いします。 | Jaa, mina-san. Jiko shoukai o onegai shimasu. |
| Lina: あ、はじめまして。わたしは*リナ（りな）です。よろしく。
* This word is usually written in katakana, but we are providing the hiragana here to help you read it in Japanese. |
A, hajime mashite. Watashi wa Rina desu. Yoroshiku. |
| Kevin: Oh, so can we just say よろしく? | Yoroshiku? |
| Lina: Yeah, that’s a shorter and more casual version of yoroshiku onegai shimasu. | Yeah, that’s a shorter and more casual version of yoroshiku onegai shimasu. |
| Kevin: Right. ありがとう、リナさん。 | Arigatou, Rina-san. |
| Lina: ええと、お名前（なまえ）は？ | Eeto, onamae wa? |
| Kevin: ケビン（けびん）です。はじめまして。よろしくお願い… What was that again? | Kebin desu. Hajime mashite. Yoroshiku onegai … What was that again? |
| Lina: よろしく is just fine! | Yoroshiku is just fine! |
| Kevin: よろしく！ | Yoroshiku! |
| Teacher: リナさん、ケビンさん、とてもいいですね！Just quickly, when you’re talking to your teachers or people who are older than you or in more formal contexts, it’s customary to use the longer version of the phrase, ‘yoroshiku onegai shimasu’. | Rina-san, Kebin-san, totemo ii desu ne! Just quickly, when you’re talking to your teachers or people who are older than you or in more formal contexts, it’s customary to use the longer version of the phrase, ‘yoroshiku onegai shimasu’. |
| Lina and Kevin: はい。ありがとうございます！ | Hai, arigatou gozaimasu! |
| Teacher: どういたしまして。 | Dou itashi mashite. |
English translation
| Teacher: All right, everyone. Please introduce yourselves [literally, ‘Self introductions, please’]. |
| Lina: Oh, nice to meet you. I’m Lina. Treat me kindly. |
| Kevin: Oh, so can we just say yoroshiku? |
| Lina: Yeah, that’s a shorter and more casual version of yoroshiku onegai shimasu. |
| Kevin: Right. Thanks, Lina. |
| Lina: Well, (what’s) your name? |
| Kevin: (I’m) Kevin. Nice to meet you. Yoroshiku onegai … What was that again? |
| Lina: Yoroshiku is just fine! |
| Kevin: Yoroshiku [Treat me kindly]! |
| Teacher: Lina and Kevin, that’s very good! Just quickly, when you’re talking to your teachers or people who are older than you or in more formal contexts, it’s customary to use the longer version of the phrase, yoroshiku onegai shimasu. |
| Lina and Kevin: Okay. Thank you very much! |
| Teacher: You’re welcome. |
Exercise 2
Listen to the following audio files. Each phrase is read twice, first at a slow pace and then at a natural pace. Repeat each phrase after the speaker.
Teacher: じゃあ、みなさん。自己紹介をお願いします。
Lina: あ、はじめまして。わたしはリナ（りな）です。よろしく。
Kevin: Oh, so can we just say よろしく?
Kevin: Right. ありがとう、リナさん。
Lina: ええと、お名前は？
Kevin: ケビン（けびん）です。はじめまして。よろしくお願い … what was that again?
Lina: よろしくis just fine!
Kevin: よろしく！
Teacher: リナさん、ケビンさん、とてもいいですね！
Lina and Kevin: はい。ありがとうございます！
Teacher: どういたしまして。
Discussion points
Let’s share our observations and thoughts on the following points!
- The greeting よろしくおねがいします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu) might have sounded quite unfamiliar to you at first. How did it make you feel when you heard it for the first time? Is there an expression in your own language that conveys a similar meaning?
- How do the brief expressions あ (a), じゃあ (jaa) and ええと (eeto) function in the conversation? Can you think of specific situations where you might use these phrases? Are you familiar with any other short expressions that facilitate smoother dialogue?
Further resources
The following resource (about 2 minutes long), created by Japan Voices, may help you understand the cultural nuances and connotations of よろしくお願いします. It explains the expression by using some sequences from the Studio Ghibli anime Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbour, Totoro).
Figures
1 “Tokyo Sky” (untitled) by Pierre Blaché. Pexels. Licensed under Pexels licence.
2 “Goal Icon” by faisalovers. Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC by 3.0.
3 “Speech Bubble Icon” by Geremy Good. Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC 0.
4 “Lightbulb Icon” by Maxim Kulikov. Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC by 3.0.
References
Japan Voices. “The True Meaning of Yoroshiku onegai shimasu from My Neighbor Totoro (2).” YouTube video, 2:09. December 1, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB9nMSQXFKY.