Daily Kanji + Weekly Quiz + Grammar Lesson
Daily Kanji
day 7
本
(wikipedia link)
On: ほん (hon)
Kun: もと (moto)
Meaning:
BOOK; MAIN
2 Common Compounds:
本当 - (ほんとう ; honto) - true
本日 - (ほんじつ ; honjitsu) - today
Wikipedia Refs: Kanji by Stroke Count & Kana Index
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Weekly Kanji Quiz
Quiz 1
At the end of each section, the answers can be found by highlighting the text.
A. Identify the Kanji for each English word:
1. Below; Low
2. Five
3. Book; Main
4. Middle; Inside
5. One; First
6. Three
7. Correct; Just
A Answers:
1. 下
2. 五
3. 本
4. 中
5. 一
6. 三
7. 正
B. Give a reading for each Kanji, either in Romaji or Hiragana. There is more than one right answer.
1. 五
2. 三
3. 中
4. 一
5. 正
6. 本
7. 下
B Answers:
1. go (ご); itsu (いつ)
2. san (san); mi (mi)
3. chiyuu/chū (ちゅう); naka (naka)
4. ichi (いち); hito(tsu) (ひとつ)
5. sei (せい); shiyou (シヨウ); tada(shii) (ただしい)
6. hon (ほん); moto (もと)
7. ka (か); ge (げ); shita (した); Kuda(su) (くだす)
*******************
Weekly Grammar
Lesson 1: Sentence Structure
These lessons assumes you know Hiragana and Katakana, as well as basic pronunciation of Japanese. If not, May I suggest basics, accents and sound files?
A major difference between English sentences and Japanese sentences is the word order. English is a Subject-Verb-Object language (Johnny kissed Danni), like French or Spanish. Japanese, on the other hand, is a Subject-Object-Verb language (so, Johnny Danni kissed).
Another major difference is the use of particles (joshi). Japanese Particles typically demonstrate relationship in a sentence. While they sometimes have English equivalents, some do not. In this lesson, we will be dealing with the Particle "Wa".
"Wa" is a topic marker, and has the rough equivalent of "As for . . ." Many times in translating from Japanese to English, there is no need to include a literal translation. ("Ga" is another Particle which will be discussed in later lessons.)
There are two Basic tenses in Japanese: Past and Present. When dealing with verbs it is also useful to keep in mind that unlike English or French, Japanese verbs are very rarely effected by gender or number.
Our verb for now will be "desu". "Desu" is best translated as "to be", and thus is "is", "am", or "are" in the present tense.
Thus:
"A wa B Desu" translates to "A is B".
By combining what we know, we can make our first sentence!
私はにこです。
Watashi wa Niko desu.
I am Nico.
Grammar Lessons references: about.com's Japanese Lessons and Contemporary Japanese Volume I by Eriko Sato published by Tuttle Publishing.
day 7
本
(wikipedia link)
On: ほん (hon)
Kun: もと (moto)
Meaning:
BOOK; MAIN
2 Common Compounds:
本当 - (ほんとう ; honto) - true
本日 - (ほんじつ ; honjitsu) - today
Wikipedia Refs: Kanji by Stroke Count & Kana Index
********************
Weekly Kanji Quiz
Quiz 1
At the end of each section, the answers can be found by highlighting the text.
A. Identify the Kanji for each English word:
1. Below; Low
2. Five
3. Book; Main
4. Middle; Inside
5. One; First
6. Three
7. Correct; Just
A Answers:
1. 下
2. 五
3. 本
4. 中
5. 一
6. 三
7. 正
B. Give a reading for each Kanji, either in Romaji or Hiragana. There is more than one right answer.
1. 五
2. 三
3. 中
4. 一
5. 正
6. 本
7. 下
B Answers:
1. go (ご); itsu (いつ)
2. san (san); mi (mi)
3. chiyuu/chū (ちゅう); naka (naka)
4. ichi (いち); hito(tsu) (ひとつ)
5. sei (せい); shiyou (シヨウ); tada(shii) (ただしい)
6. hon (ほん); moto (もと)
7. ka (か); ge (げ); shita (した); Kuda(su) (くだす)
*******************
Weekly Grammar
Lesson 1: Sentence Structure
These lessons assumes you know Hiragana and Katakana, as well as basic pronunciation of Japanese. If not, May I suggest basics, accents and sound files?
A major difference between English sentences and Japanese sentences is the word order. English is a Subject-Verb-Object language (Johnny kissed Danni), like French or Spanish. Japanese, on the other hand, is a Subject-Object-Verb language (so, Johnny Danni kissed).
Another major difference is the use of particles (joshi). Japanese Particles typically demonstrate relationship in a sentence. While they sometimes have English equivalents, some do not. In this lesson, we will be dealing with the Particle "Wa".
"Wa" is a topic marker, and has the rough equivalent of "As for . . ." Many times in translating from Japanese to English, there is no need to include a literal translation. ("Ga" is another Particle which will be discussed in later lessons.)
There are two Basic tenses in Japanese: Past and Present. When dealing with verbs it is also useful to keep in mind that unlike English or French, Japanese verbs are very rarely effected by gender or number.
Our verb for now will be "desu". "Desu" is best translated as "to be", and thus is "is", "am", or "are" in the present tense.
Thus:
"A wa B Desu" translates to "A is B".
By combining what we know, we can make our first sentence!
私はにこです。
Watashi wa Niko desu.
I am Nico.
Grammar Lessons references: about.com's Japanese Lessons and Contemporary Japanese Volume I by Eriko Sato published by Tuttle Publishing.