Grammar Recap!

Grammar：To be in the present and past; affirmative and negative
です
でした
じゃありません
じゃありませんでした
はい
いいえ

Let's play!

ねこですか
はい、ねこです

ねこでした
はい、ねこでした

ねこですか
いいえ、ねこじゃありません。いぬです

ねこでしたか
いいえ、ねこじゃありませんでした。いぬでした

OMG! Doggie in komono! Does it get cuter than this? Maybe, for I am just discovering the Japanese aesthetic of kawaii (可愛い)). If you would like to see more photos of dogs in komonos you are in luck!

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Image Source 1 2

でした

Grammar Point

でした

Examples

ねこでした

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Image Source 1

Baby's First Kanji 1-4

Awww! How adorable! I'm learning my first Kanji. It seems like a right of passage that I will be able to look back upon someday with nostalgia, like when I finish passing my Level 1 JLPT (someday!).

So for the posterity of the moment, here are my first Kanji, from the new Tuttle textbook Beginning Japanese, that I learned last week:

木　=　き
日　=　に
本　=　ほん
語　=　ご

However, I've determined that this book is a bit overwhelming to learn on its own, so I am supplementing my learning with TextFugu: The Online Japanese Texbook for Self Teachers.

So, officially, according to TextFugu, here are my first Kanji 1-4:

一　=　いち；ひと。つ・ひと
二　=　に；ふた。つ・ふた
七　=　しち；なな。つ・なな
九　=　きゅう、く；ここ。つ；ここ

So adorable, yes?

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

The Pronunciation of です and でした

I do find it interesting that all of the Japanese language learning books sing the praises that 'what you see is what you get' with regard to Japanese pronunciation and ひりがん but I have discovered two major exceptions in my current studies.

です = 'des' not 'desu'
でした = 'deshta' not 'deshita'

Of course, if you look at the mess surrounding the English verb 'to be,' I guess a little pronunciation weirdness isn't too tragic in the scheme of things.

All's fair in love and war and language learning!

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

はい and いいえ

Grammar Point

はい
いいえ

Examples

ねこですか
はい、 ねこです

ねこ ですか
いいえ、ねこじゃありません。いぬです。

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

Image Source 1 2

か

Grammar Point

か

Example

ねこでずか

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~

です and じゃありません

Grammar Point

• です
• じゃありません

Examples

ねこです
ねこじゃありません

~Happy, Happy Japanese Learning to You!~