Konichiwa! Todays lesson is a most essential part of speaking japanese for anyone: the "How are you"s and some general "I am.."s. Lets begin:
First off, when adressing someone to ask how they are (or addressing them at all for that matter..) you usually will start your sentance with
_(insert name here)_san* wa** (sah-n-wah)
*'san' is a title of respect and equality and is to go after a persons name
->(the 'equality' part is very key because their are many titles for people according to status, such as; sensei, sempai, or sama. status is an extremely important part of japanese culture: but that's another lesson entirely :D)
**'wa' is a partical that is used as a topic marker, when written in japanese it is a hirigana (1st alphabet of the japanese language) 'ha', but it is said 'wa' (for reasons I cant recal T.T;). none the less, it simply means that the persons name whom you said is the subject of the coming sentance. simple- but essential!!
Now, the word genki (geh-n-kee) means "good" or "well", but only when speaking about how you are, desu (deh-soo)* is "is" (forgive the redundancy), and putting 'ka' (kah) at the end of something makes it a question. Got it? :D
SO: if we put it all together, the japanese 'how are you' is;
______san wa genkidesu ka?
*In 'desu', the 'oo' on the 'su' is often silent. some nihon nin (japanese people) may pronounce the 'oo', but it's more commonly said 'des' (deh-s).
->therefore: please forgive me if I do not right the 'u' at the end of any future 'des's in order to avoid any confusion.. :3
~*whew* that was a lot: but we're not finnished yet! As a matter of fact: we've only begun!! >:D Hang in there!!~
SIDE NOTE: if one is very comfortable with whom you are speaking, i.e. friends, then genkideska can be shortened to just 'genki?'. this is very informal and should not be used for anyone of 'higher status', i.e. teachers, unless you are extremely comfortable with them. And even then it can be inapropriate. But for friends and the like: it's all good!! :3
Now, here's a central list of common responses for genkideska (with pronunciations and definitions of course!):
- hai (hah-ee), genki des! = yes, I'm good! (the hai, and des are optional; but more polite if included- this go's for all coming expresions unless otherwise stated)
- iie (ee*long*-eh), dame des (dah-meh)= no, I'm bad
-->Notice that in both of these responses the subject is left out. While 'I' (watashi~(wah-tah-shee)) can be included; it is more natural to leave it out. After all: it has already been established who is the subject. :3 This is a common thing to do in japanese.
- maamaa des (mah*long ah*-mah*long ah*)= (I'm) so-so, alright-ish
- nemui des(neh-moo-ee)= sleepy
- samui des(sah-moo-ee)= cold
- atsui des(ah-tsoo-ee)= hot
- manzoku des(mah-n-zoh-koo)= content
- tsukareta des(taoo-kah-reh-tah)= tired/exhausted (physically)
- ureshii des(oo-reh-shee*long ee*)= happy
- kanashii des(kah-nah-shee*long ee*)= sad
- okoteiru des(oh-koh-teh-ee-roo)= angery
- subarashii des(soo-bah-rah-shee*long ee*)= wonderful
~*deep breath* ok- I think that's enough for now!! :D How did we do today? Any questions or see something that might need correction? (It's super late right now, and it's been a long day- I will not be surprised if I spelled something wrong or sumthin'... Y.Y) Just comment or pm me and I'll do my best to answere/correct what ever is needed. *yawn*
Arright-I'm dont in. Thanx for stopping by; I hope you found this helpful. Have a nice night all!! :3
