A kanji intro, so that you will have an idea of what these conversations look like in real Japanese, using kana and kanji, with no spaces.
Kana, hiragana and katakana, are just sounds with no meaning. Kanji, Chinese characters, have both sounds and meaning.
Using a dictionary to look up words you come across when reading books or newspapers can be tricky if you don't already know how to pronounce them.
For example, if you come across 横浜, it's reading is Yokohama, and you have never met it before. How do you find out what it means?
Yokohama is a compound word, meaning it's made up of two or more kanji.
Let's look at the first kanji, 横. As you can see it's made up of two distinct parts. One one the left and one on the right. What you need to do is look in a "Stroke Dictionary". This kind of dictionary will list words by the number of strokes it takes to write the character.
In the above example, the first part consists of four strokes, so input the number four and press the enter key. This will take you to a list of characters that have four strokes, of which there are considerable. Pick out the one you want, select it and press enter. You now need to count up the number of strokes in the second half of the character. This is eleven. Add the two together, which equals fifteen, input this number and press enter. You then get a list of kanji that have fifteen strokes. Look through them until you find the above Chinese character, select it and press enter. This will give you the readings, plus information about the character.
Unfortunately, there is usually more than one reading for each kanji and this then becomes a matter of trial and error in fitting the sounds together in order to find the word you are looking for.
If you are using a non-electronic dictionary, then look in your stroke dictionary under the section that shows kanji that have fifteen strokes.
English Japanese kana and kanji
1A: Excuse me! 1A: すみません！
Are you Japanese? 日本人ですか？
1B: Yes, I am. 1B:はい、そうです。
2A: Where are you from? 2A:あなたはどこからですか？
2B: From Yokohama. 2B: 横浜です。
3A: Where is it? 3A: どこですか？
3B: It’s near Tokyo. 3B:東京の近くです。
4A: Are you on holiday? 4A: あなたは旅行ですか？
4B: Yes, I am. 4B: はい、そうです。
5A: Is this your first trip to 5A:イギリスでは初めてですか？
England?
5B: No it isn’t. 5B:そうではありません。
I was here 10 years ago, 私は十年前に
on my honeymoon. 新婚旅行できました。
6A: Is that so? 6A:そうですか？
How long did you stay? いつまで滞在しましたか？
6B: We stayed for six days. 6B:私たちは六日滞在しました。
We enjoyed it very much. とても楽しかったです。
7A: What did you do? 7A:あなたは何をしましたか？
7B: We visited many places. 7B:私たちはいろいろなところに
We especially enjoyed 滞在しました。バッキンガム
Buckingham Palace. パレスが大好きでした。
8A: Yes, I like Buckingham 8A:私もバッキンガムパレス
Palace too. が好きです。ほかの
Did you visit anywhere else? ところに滞在しましたか？
8B: We also went to 8B:私たちはイギリスの
the British Museum. 博物館にも滞在しました。
I also liked that very much. それも大好きでした。
9A: By the way, my name is 9A: ところで、私の名前はハーリー
Harry Watson. ワトサンです。
Please call me Harry. ハーリーを呼んでください。
What’s your name? お名前は何ですか？
9B: Nice to meet you. 9B: スズキケンジです。
My name is Kenji Suzuki. どうぞよろしく。
Please call me Kenji. ケンジを呼んでください。
10A: Nice to meet you. 10A: どうぞよろしく。
Where will you go this trip? この旅行はどこに行きますか？
10B: I will visit the 10B: レイクデイストリクト
Lake District. に行きます。
11A: That sounds like fun. 11A: 楽しいそうです。
I have heard that とてもいいところだそうです。
it’s a very nice place. いつまで滞在しますか？
How long will you
stay for?
11B: I will stay for seven days. 11B:七日の滞在します。
12A: When will you return 12A: いつ日本に帰りますか？
to Japan?
12B: After the Lake District, 12B: レイク デイストリク
I will return to London の後で、ロンドンに
and spend another two 帰えてもう二日間
days there. 過ごします。
I will then catch the それから飛行機で
plane back to Tokyo. 東京に帰ります。
13A: Have you visited any 13A: ほかの国に行ったことが
other countries? ありますか？
13B: Yes, I have. 13B: はい、ドイツ、スペイン、と
I have been to Italy, イタリアに行ったことが
Spain and Germany. あります。
14A: Which country did 14A: どの国が一番
you like the best? 好きでしたか？
14B: Well, I liked them 14B:では、私はすべて
all, but Spain が好きでしたけど、
was my favorite. スペインのほうが
一番好きです。
15A: Why was Spain your 15A:どうしてスペインが
favorite? 一番好きでしたか？
15B: I like Spanish food. 15B:私はスペインの
料理がすきです。
16Ai: Please say that again 16Ai:もういちど ゆっくり
slowly. 話してください。
16Bi: Of course. 16Bi:もちろん。
I like Spanish food. スペインの料理が好きです。
17A: What is your favorite 17A:何があなたの一番好きな
Spanish dish? スペインの料理ですか？
17B: My favorite is Paella. 17B:わたしはパエリヤが一番好きです。
18A: I like paella too. 18A:私もパエリヤが好きです。
Well, it’s been nice では、お話できて嬉しいです。
talking to you.
Have a nice trip. 楽しい旅行を
18B: Thank you. Goodbye! 18B: ありがとうございます。
さよなら。
English
1A: Excuse me! 1B: Yes, I am. 2A: Where are you from? 2B: From Yokohama. 3A: Where is it? 3B: It’s near Tokyo. 4A: Are you on holiday? 4B: Yes, I am. England? 5B: No it isn’t. for six days. We enjoyed it very much. 7A: What did you do? 7B: We visited many places. We especially enjoyed Buckingham Palace. 8A: Yes, I like Buckingham Palace too. Did you visit anywhere else? 8B: We also my name is Harry Watson. Please call me Harry. What’s your name? 9B: Nice to meet you. My name is Kenji Suzuki. Please call me Kenji. 10A: Nice to meet you. Where will you go this trip? 10B: I will visit the Lake District. 11A: That sounds like fun. I have heard that it’s a very nice place. How long will you stay for? 11B: I will stay for seven days. 12A: When will you return to Japan? 12B: After the Lake District, I will return to London and spend another two days there. I will then catch the plane back to Tokyo. 13A: Have you visited any other countries? 13B: Yes, I have. I have been to Italy, Spain and Germany. 14A: Which country did you like the best? 14B: Well, I liked them all, but Spain was my favorite. 15A: Why was Spain your favorite? 15B: I like Spanish food. 16Ai: Please say that again slowly. 16Bi: Of course. I like Spanish food. 17A: What is your favorite Spanish dish? 17B: My favorite is Paella. 18A: I like paella too. Well, it’s been nice talking to you. Have a nice trip. 18B: Thank you. Goodbye! |
Japanese
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Kanji originally came from China a very long time ago. They have meaning and sound. The Japanese used the Chinese characters both with the original Chinese pronunciation and also adapted the kanji to fit their own words, which had similar meaning, but different sound. So, each kanji has, at least, two very different sounds: onyomi and kunyomi.
Onyomi is the way the character is pronounced in Chinese and kunyomi is the Japanese pronunciation.
Onyomi will usually be found in kanji compounds, which are words made up of two or more kanji. They will usually be written in katakana, when you look the kanji up in a dictionary.
For example: 飛行機, 旅行, 滞在.
Kunyomi are usually stand alone kanji or kanji with added hiragana, which are often verbs. For example: 話して, 楽しい, 国, 過ごします.
For a more in-depth and practical understanding, please click Understanding kanji