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Vocabulary -

Now that you've got the Japanese alphabets down, let's learn some basic Japanese vocabulary

words and simple Japanese phrases. I will list the Kanji, Hiragana, Romaji (the word sounded

out using English letters), and the English meaning for each Japanese word or phrase. Most

Japanese words have Kanji for them but I will only include the Kanji if that word is typicallywritten that way.

Keep in mind that the Japanese language has different levels of politeness that change based

on who you are talking to. I will refer to these as "ultra-formal", "formal" (or "polite form"),

"normal" (or "plain form"), "informal", and "rude" (we won't be covering too much of the

rude form, however).

- Kanji - Hiragana Romaji(English Letters)

English Meaning

watashi I (formal for males,normal for females)

boku I (normal for males)

kare he

kanojo she

anata you (singular/normal)

kore this (the object itself)

koko here

kono this (ex. this pen) sore that (the object itself)

soko there

sono that (ex. that pen)

hito person

inu dog

neko cat

ie house

arigatou Thank you. (normal)

arigatou gozaimasu Thank you. (formal)

douitashimashiteYou're welcome.

(normal)

ohayou

(sounds like "Ohio")

Good morning.

(informal)

ohayou gozaimasuGood morning.

(normal and formal)

konnichiwa Hello. (normal)

konbanwa Good evening. (normal)

sayonara Goodbye. (normal)

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