Japanese Culture Notes, Grammar Rules, and Customs

Number + -ji-han

-Han means half. By adding it after -ji in a sentence, you can say that it is half past a certain hour (example: Ima roku-ji-han desu means that it is now 6:30.)

-masen-ka

-masen is the negative form of -masu. You can add this onto verbs to make the sentence negative (example: koohii-o nomimasenka?~Don't you drink coffee?) and you can also use -masen-ka to make an invitation (example: Dareka, dezaato, tabemasenka?~Won't someone eat dessert?)

The -masu form

-masu is sometimes called the nonpast, polite form. This is a polite verb form that can be used to express non past events including ones conveyed in English by the simple present and future tenses. The simple present tense is used to describe habitual or repetitive actions. It's important to understand this. (example: Roku-ji-ni okimasu. This means that I get up (regularly or habitually) at 6:00. Tamago-o tabemasu means that we eat eggs (habitually or regularly). This verb can also be used to describe future events. (example: Ashita shichi-ji-ni okimasu means tomorrow I will get up at 7:00) Remember that the -masu form of a verb can be used with any subject since it doen't change for persons (first, sencond, third) and numbers (singular and plural). Don't forget that the negative form -masen can also be used (eiga-ni ikimasen means they don't go to the movies. Don't forget ikimasu means go and goes and ikimasen means doesn't go or won't go).

Numbers used in telephone numbers

0- zero, 1- ichi, 2- ni, 3- san, 4- yon, 5- go, 6- roku, 7- nana, 8- hachi, 9-kyuu. These are the only terms used in Japanese telephone numbers and these are the variants you use when reading out a number

Hosts always serve

A Japanese host will never let you leave their home hungry. Japanese always present food prettily on platters and plates that are often too big for a whole family to eat. To the Japanese food is an art and the bigger the masterpiece, the better. So if you're hungry, don't hesitate to take their offers for seconds or thirds! Japanese hosts will always offer you food before they take more themselves as a sign of courtesy. They might say something like "Doozo, motto" (please take more) or "Ikaga desuka" (How about more?). You can either accept by saying something like "Iie chotto" (yeah, just a bit) or "Sukoshi dake" (synonym for chotto that means just a pich) or decline politely by saying "Kekkoo desu" (That's fine)

Refusal gestures

A common hand refusal gesture is one that many Americans use: moving the hand back in forth, thumb side towards the face, several times. You may or may not use an expression of refusal like "chotto", :ii desu", or "kekkoo desu"

Kissaten

A kissaten is a Japnese tea house or coffee shop. Kissaten are all throughout Japan and provide a pleasant atmosphere where you can socialize over tea, coffee, and all kinds of drinks. You can go by yourself to relax and read as well and enjoy small, light snacks that are on the menu like toast, waffles, and sandwiches

Affiliations

Affiliations help to define a person in terms of rank and importance. When a person introduces themselves as a part of a large industry or corporation, others will show proper respect since they are most likely higher in rank than them. Affiliations determine the comparative status of individuals which affects the formality of speaking and bowing towards one another.

No refills

Although many places in the US offer free refills, this is not customary in Japan. If you want more, you pay the full price for more

Oshibori

An oshibori is a small, moist, rolled towel which is brought to a customer in a restaurant or kissaten before the meal or refreshmant is served. Sometimes the towel is even warm and has a hand sanitizer on it. It's about the size of a washcloth and is used directly before your order arrives so that your hands are pristeen before you touch your food

Manga and comics

Anime and manga are popular for people of all ages. They span a broad range of interests and topics, which is why they have universal appeal in Japan. They are usually well-bound and as thick (if not thicker) than a telephone book unless it's a part of a series. Manga gives the reader a sense of escape from the stress of every day life.

Asa-no + TIME

Asa roku-ji-han-ni okimasu (I get up at ^:30 in the morning) Asa-no shichi-ji-han ja nai desu (It's not 7:30 in the morning) What's the difference? In the first sentence, only one activity that takes place in the morning is mentioned. A description of additional morning activities may follow. In the second sentence asa-no restricts the meaning (or modifies) the time shichi-ji-han so that the listener knows that he/she is speaking of 7:30 in the morning. The same difference applies to yoru and yoru-no (at night).

Use of many small plates and bowls

At a typical Japanese meal, each person will have many small plates, bowls, and dishes, each chosen to suit the food served in it. They will be of different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. A Japanese meal is a treat for the eyes as well as the stomach.

Japanese breakfast

Basically two types of breakfasts are served in Japan: Japanese-style and Western-style. A traditional Japanese breakfast consists of rice, soy bean paste soup, dried seaweed, raw egg, fish, and pickled vegetables. You can find these breakfasts at Japanese-style inns or traditional-styled family households in Japan. A Western breakfast may include bread, toast, eggs, ham, cereal, and salad. A Japanese mother may prepare a traditional-styled breakfast for her husband in the morning and a Western-styled one for all of her children

Blood type and personality

Blood type is of interest to many Japanese people and many books have been written on the subject. Many Japanese believe that there is a correlation between blood type and personality. Japanese are often surprised when many non-Japanese are not only unaware of the relationship between blood type and personality but also, in some cases, don't even know their own blood type. So make sure that you know your blood type if you plan on asking a Japanese person any personaly questions because resumes in Japan require for blood type and someone you may ask out on a date may ask you for your blood type so they know where your relationship may go based on their knowledge of blood types

Bowing

Bowing is a natural way of showing respect. Japanese buisnessmen/women and formal workers may bow 100 times more a day. Men bow with their hands to their sides and women cross their hands in front of their bodies. The depth and length of the bow is determined by the formality of the situation and the difference and rank between the two people. The lower ranked person has to bow lower and longer than their superior. The person of higher rank decides when the bowing should stop

Chopsticks

Chopsticks (o-hashi) were introduced to Japan by the Chinese around the 5th century. Chopsticks are still commonly used throughout Japan in homes and in restaurants. Western-style food establishments and fast food industries will use a fooku, supuun, and a naifu. Luckily as an American, you can use these well. But you have to be acquainted with chopsticks as well

Kurisumasu

Christmas. The Japanese have a long history of importing aspects of Western culture and distinctly making them their own. Their tradition is not much different than ours, you'll see bright lights, colorful baked goods, trees, decorations, and the works. Even though less that 1% of the population is Christian, many Japanese celebrate the holiday as a secular event and perform the same actions we do like gift exchange.

Seijin-shiki

Coming-of-Age-Day. This is a national holiday celebrated on the second Monday of January where communities all around Japan celebrate people who turn 20 years old and welcome them into adulthood

Juku

Cram school or a school after school. Juku classes are usually smaller than regular classes and cover basic instruction on things like math and science

Dakuten and Handakuten

Dakuten are used to make one symbol have a different sound. (example: ka with dakuten (which are similar to ") would make the sound ga.) Handakuten are small circles that are added to the ha line of the hiragana chart to make the pa line. (example: ha, hi, hu, he, ho with handakuten (which is basically the symbol used in English to indicate degrees) would create the sounds pa, pi, pu, pe, po.)

Importance of food preparation and presentation

For the Japanese, the appearance of the food served is just as important as how it tastes. Great care is taken in the presentation and preparation of the food. All food is cut into small pieces, seasoned to enhance the natural flavors, carefully prepared, and attractively arranged on serving dishes and in individual portions. Different foods in a meal are selected because of various flavors, colors, and textures they can offer to an entire meal. Also, carefully chosen plates, bowls, and serving dishes, chopstick holkders, and other items are used so that they compliment the food that's being served.

Levels of speaking formally

Formality levels in the Japanese language are important. For example, if you were greeting your teacher in the morning, you would say ohayoo gozaimasu but if you were greeting a friend you might only say ohayoo. Just like in America, you say differen't things when you're being respectful and other things when you're among friends

Discipline in school

General rules are very strict in school. Most aspects of student life are monitered and controlled. Includes hair length and style of boys's hair cuts, (and sometimes girls too) school uniforms, shoe style, school supplies, color, dimensions, and type of book bag, etc

Honorific and humble forms of respect

Humility and respect are important things to know and consider when in Japan. You show humility about things that belong to you or things that are associated with your respect for that which concerns others. When referring to your parents, you would say chichi and haha to other people, however when you're talking to other people's parents, you would say okaasan and otoosan. Since you always show respect to your own parents, you would say okaasan and otoosan to them.

The importance of being on time

In Japan being precisely on time is demanded and expected. Being even a couple of minutes late is a cause for embarassment and apologies. An apparent example of this is Japan's subways and transit systems. Trais, buses, subways, monorails, and planes all operate like clockwork, their schedules are always punctual to the minute. If a conductor or pilot is even a minute off-schedule, he/she will apolpogize to their passengers for causing them an inconvenience. The same goes with planning a date or meeting, if you ask someone on a date and they tell you that the only time they have available is 7:41 on a Thursday night, they mean it! You would have to plan accordingly and be there before that time.

Politely refusing drink and food offers

In Japan it's impolite to refuse offers of any kind directly. You can decline by saying "kekkoo desu" which means the same as "ii desu" or it's fine as it is. The person offering will understand by withdrawing the offer. If you would like a small amount of the offered item you can say "Sukoshi dake" or "Chotto." If your host persists to seve you something that you don't want, just let them serve you. You can choose not to eat/drink it, but don't refuse someone's hospitality

-masu/-masen

In Japanese, the same verb can have many diffeerent forms. The -masu form (sometimes called the nonpast, polite form) is important. (example: wakarimasu means understand and wakarimasen means don't understand). The -masu form of a verb can be use with any subject since it doesn't change for a person (I, you, she, they, etc) and number (single and plural). As you have probably seen in some of my other cards, the subject of a Japanese sentence is often times omitted if the meaning of the sentence can be understood from context. That means that you can express a number of different meanings with the same sentence. Examples: Terebi-o mimasu : can mean a lot of different things: (I) watch TV (You) watch TV (He) watches TV (She) watches TV (It) watches TV (We) watch TV (They) watch TV (My dog) watches TV

Position of the verb

In Japanese, the verb always comes at the end of a simple sentence. (Example: Ken desu. Desu means am, is, are, etc. In English Ken desu would literally translate into am Ken, is Ken, etc.)

Ii desuka

Is it good? This simple sentence is usually used to grant a request or borrow something

Tipping in restaurants

It is not customary to tip your waiter/waitress because a service fee is already in included in your bill

Polite responses when one does not have what is asked for

It's impolite to directly refuse someone's offer by saying iie. If you must refuse an offer you have to soften the blow by saying "ahh... chotto" which is telling the speaker that now is not a good time and to be patient and understanding

Adjectives

Japanese adjectives are just like English adjectives in the sense that they precede the noun it modifies (example: Atarashii konpyuutaa-wa hayai desu means that the new computer is fast). Japanese adjectives are also divided into two groups based on their endings. These groups are the i-adjectives and the na-adjectives

Seniority within organizations

Japanese are very much aware who is above and below them in rank and age. This information is important to any Japanese person throughout their life.

Granting a request

Japanese are very polite with their requests and are never demanding. You may say something like: "Sumimasen, enpitsu, ii desuka" which means excuse me, can I use your pencil.

Japanese counting

Japanese count 1-10 on one hand only. To demonstrate one you fold your thumb down into the palm of your hand. Next, two, is your index finger over your thumb and so on until you get to five. To get to six-ten you lift all of your fingers one by one in reverse sequence starting with your pinky. An open hand signifies the number ten

Diversity of public telephones

Japanese have a variety of phones in various sizes, colors, and features. Traditionally, phones were color-coded depending on their purpose or use. Most phones were color-coded depending on the currency they took, but now that most of the population has cell phones, pay phone use is dwindling

Absence of articles

Japanese have no equivalents to the English articles a, an, and the

Japanese names

Japanese only have two names: family and a given name. When giving their name, they say their family name first followed by their given name. Adults often introduce themselves by giving only their family name. You address one another by the family name followed by the appropriate title (-san, -kun, etc)

Japanese writing supplies

Japanese students use the same writing and school supplies as American students, although some things may differ in quality or appearance. Keshigomu is a Japanese eraser that usually comes in a cardboard sheath that serves as a holder. A shitajiki is a plastic sheet that is used to keep your pen from bleeding through the paper. A fudebako is a pencil case that is usually organized

Family relationship terms

Just as you would uses different terms for your mother and father depending on who you're talking to, the same goes with your other family members. To see these terms see my card set All Lesson Vocabulary Cards

The use of kanji in Japanese society

Kanji are used to write the roots of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs as well as the names of people and places. Hiragana are used to write the endings on words, such as -masu and -masen on verbs. Thus, kanji and hirigana can be used together to write a single word.

Borrowed English (gairaigo)

Many Japanese words actually come from English. Many of these words arrived in Japan with imported products or practices from the West. Some others are used to give things an air of sophistication, this is similar to the English using French words to make things sound better (like hors d'oeuvres)

Plastic food samples in eating establishments

Many places you eat at in Japan will have a glass window for display filled with very accurate plastic models of various dishes served on the menu. The name of the item is usually given in Japanese, but some places with have hiragana and gairaigo for tourists. This is helpful for visitors because most of the items are written in katakana or maybe even kanji. The price will also be listed.

Giving and recieving meishi

Meishi are name cards and they are very important to Japanese. It provides valuable information about said given person you recieve it from. It contains their name, affiliation, rank, address, phone/fax numbers, etc. It is important to know the rank of the person you are talking to because it shows you what level of formality of language you should use when speaking to them. When recieving meishi, show respect by accepting the card with both hands while bowing, examine the card for a few seconds, and then put it in your bag, purse, or pocket. Do not give crumpled meishi because it tells the person that you do not care for them or yourself and it is very offensive. When handing your meishi away, do so in a manner that will not require the person to turn the card to read it.

Keitai denwa

Mobile or cell phone. Japanese embrace and create many new technological trends and the fact that as of 1990 1 in 2 Japanese people (including elders and children) owned one, just emphasizes their popularity. Japanese are also known for decorating their phones with numerous personalization accessories like cases and glitter.

Nan~nani

Nan and nani are alternate forms of the Japanese word for what. Don't get confused if you hear either word just remember that they mean the same thing

O-shoogatsu

New Year's day is one of the most important celebrations on the Japanese calander. Preperations start a week or more before the end of the year. Families do extensive cleaning, traditional food cooking, and decorations in all personal places like homes and offices. They send greeting cards to one another (similar to Christmas greeting cards) and beginning of New Year's Eve, go to parties, visit shrines and temples, and wish one another good health and fortune.

-gatsu

Once you learn this counter for months, it's easy to learn the names of the months because you simply add the numbers 1-12 before -gatsu (example: shi-gatsu is April. The alternate forms for April (Shi-gatsu), July (Shichi-gatsu), and September (Ku-gatsu) are used)

An observation on culture

One of the fascinating aspects of culture is that the members of a particular culture accept certain ideas as fact without ever questioning their validity while members of other cultures may not even be aware of the same concepts.

Sensei vs. Teacher

Sensei can mean teacher, professor, or medical doctor. It can be used as a title suffix or independently and as a respectful term of address with or without the person's name. When Japanese students first enter the US they might be considered rude when they try to get their teacher's attention by litteraly saying, "teacher."

Shichi-Go-San

Seven-Five-Three. This is a traditional event that takes place every year on November 15. On that day parents dress their 7 year old girls, 5 year old boys, and 3 year old boys in their finest traditional clothing and send them to Shinto shrines where they pray for their children's happiness and success in life. 3, 5, and 7 are lucky numbers in Japan and parents consider it good luck when their children have lived through these ages.

___-to iimasu

Simple sentence structure to say it is called ____

Nan-to iimasuka

Simple sentence to say what something is called

____ chotto ii desuka

Simple sentnece structure to ask if you can borrow something or use something for a little while

Singular and plural nouns

Singular and plural forms of Japanese nouns are usually the same so when someon says yasai (vegetable or vegetables) in a sentence you have to understand if it's singular or plural out of context

Japanese dishes

Some well-known Japanese dishes you may run into are as follows. It's good to be familiar with what you're ordering so you don't get something you don't like: Tempura~pieces of seafood and vegetables, dipped in a flou-egg batter and quickly deep fried Sukiyaki~thin slices of beef and vegetables cooked in a small amount of water seasoned with soy sauce and sugar (sukiyaki is not a traditional dish but has been around since the late 19th century) Sushi~slightly vinegared rice mixed or topped with fresh, raw seafood and/or vegetables Sashimi~slices of fresh, raw fish Yakitori~pieces of chicken, onions, and vegetables barbequed together on small wooden skewers

Pronounciation of whispered vowels

Sometimes called devoiced vowels, thes vowels are in countless Japanese words and you may pronounce them right without knowing it. But in order to pronounce whispered vowels correctly you have to be able to recognize a whispered vowel. The Japanese vowels i and u are usually voiced (which means your vocal chords vibrate when you say them). These voiced vowels become voiceless when: 1. They comb between two voiceless consonants (represented in roomaji by the letters k, s, sh, t, ch, ts, h, p). Example: Hajimemashite is really pronounced hajimemashte 2. When they come at the end of a word after a voiceless consonant like the words desu (pronounced dehss), arimasu (pronounced ahrimahss), and tabemasu (pronounced tahbehmahss)

Pronounciation in roomaji

The combonation of n + p in roomaji words like senpai (Someone who is your senior) are always pronounced m + p. Keep in mind that roomaji would be written in hiragana but gairaigo would be written in katakana n + p is pronounced m + p n + b is pronounced m + b

-nichi

The counter for the days of the month. The days of the month are not as easy to learn because they have specific names (most of which have to be memorized). All of the other days of the month still have to end with -nichi unless they have special names

When writing the particle -wa

The hiragana symbol for ha is used to write the -wa particle instead of using the actual hiragana symbol that creates the sound wa

Using small Hiragana when writing

The hiragana ya, yu, and yo are used as individual syllables in writing and talking. These hiragana when written smaller (about half the size of how you regularly write) can be combined with any preceeding hiragana ending with the vowel i to represent different sounds. When small ya, yu, and yo are combined with other hiragana, each combonation represents a single syllable which has a different sound from the two original hiragana that were combined. You can't confuse this because the meaning of two similar words can have completely different meanings (like biyooin which is a beaty parlor and byooin which is a hospital).

Arimasu/arimasen

The verb arimasu means has/have and is used with inanimate or nonliving things. The verb arimasen means doesn't/don't have. Be careful to not get these mixed up with imasu and imasen

Imasu/imasen

The verb imasu means is/are and is used with animate or living objects. The verb imasen is the negative form of imasu and means isn't/aren't. Imasen is only used with inanimate or nonliving things.

____-ni narimasu

The verb narimasu means become(s), will become, or will be. It uses the particle -ni when the result of final state is given. (example: Sani-kun-wa ashita juu-hassai-ni narimasu means that Sani will be 18 tomorrow.)

Shimasu

The verb shimasu is very important to the Japanese. It's often translated into English as do. (example: nani-o shimasu-ka means what does she do?). Shimasu is also frequently used with a direct object (and the direct object particle -o) to express actions which in English may be conveyes by one or more words. (example: Natsu-ni arubaito-o shimasu means I work a part-time job in the summer (usually). Deeto-o shimasen means that he doesn't go on dates (usually))

____-wa doo desuka

The word doo means how and can be used in many useful expressions like: Doo desuka? Oishii desu How is it? It's delicious Sakana-wa doo desuka How is the fish Kore-wa doo desuka How is this one? And many others like it

Chopstick etiquette

There are a number of important rules that you have to be aware of when eating with chopsticks. You hold the chopsticks is a way to where your hand does not touch the upper part of the chopsticks so that you can serve youself from a dish when there are no seving chopsticks or when someone offers you something from their plate. You simply turn the chopsticks in your hand, serve yourself, and then reverse them so you can eat again. Don't point at people with chopsticks when you are talking (many Americans do this with their fork) because it's impolite. Don't leave them sticking upwards in a bowl of rice or any other food. Instead, you lay both of them across the edge of the rice bowl or a plate. Also do not transfer food from one pair of chopsticks to another mid-air. Your Japanese host will most likely cringe. Instead, put the food thath you are offering to someone else on a plate that they can take from you.

Omission of the subject particle

There are no equivalents for English subject pronouns in the Japanese language. Particles in the correct sentence placement takes the place for this grammar rule

Omission of the subject pronouns

There are no equivalents to the subject pronouns I, you, he, she, and it. They are only included in English translations to make the sentence grammatically correct. That's why you may sometimes hear a Japanese person speak in English and it sound choppy or wrong. If they were to introduce themselves by their first name one might say Han desu but the literal translation would mean "is Han."

Kono (this) + noun Ano (that)+ noun Sono (that) + noun Dono (which) + noun Kore (this) Are (that way over there) Sore (that) Dore (which) Koko (this place here) Asoko (that place way over there) Soko (this place here) Doko (Which place)

There is a big difference between the kono group of words and the kore group of words. Kore means this thing so it's never followed by a noun, but kono is used like an adjective to describe which noun is being referred to. The koko, asoko, soko, and doko words are just used like kono, ano, sono, and dono, but it specifies the placement of the object more precisely

-kara, -made

These are commonly used in time expressions to state when activities begin and end. -Kara means from, which identifies the beginning point and -made means until or to, designates the ending of time. You can use this to identify when vacations or breaks start and end (example: Fuyu-yasumi wa juu-ni-gatsu ni-juu-ichi-nichi-kara ichi-gatsu muika-made desu. Means that Winter break (or vacation) is from December 21 to January 6.)

Particles

These are very important to Japanese language. You can't make sentences without knowing all of the particles. Most particles are used to show the relationship between words or to hint on the speaker's emotions. Some are "sentence final particles'' because they only come at the end of sentences. Particles are basically English pronouns and prepositions, but many of them do not translate into English. Japanese just know when to use them and what words to use them with

Arimasu and imasu

These two verbs are basically the same, as they both express possession. They are also both translated in a similar if not same way. They are different, however, because arimasu is used with inanimate objects and imasu is used with living.

____-ga hoshii desu(ka) and -tai desu

This common expression is usually translated into want or wants. You can use it to express what you want or to ask someone else what they want. The object of desire goes in the blank. (example: kuruma-ga hoshii desu. Means I want a car). For polite requests in stores and restaurants use onegaishimasu as in O-mizu onegaishimasu (Water, please). To express the English: want + verb as in I want to eat, Japanese do NOT use hoshii (want). Instead, the -masu ending is changed to -tai desu.

-pun/fun

This counter is used to express time down to the minute. The counter varies depending on which number it is being used with. Really using these counters is something that has to be memorized, although these counters are pretty much interchangeable.

Itadakimasu

This is a set expression that means I humbly recieve. It's said just before eating or drinking. It's kind of praying and saying thank you in your prayer, but you can use this term when you recieve anything

____-ni shimasu

This is a short expression which means decide on _____. It's commonly used in restaurants when taking orders. It's commonly translated in English as have or going to have.

Gochisooma deshita

This is another set expression which is said by someone who was served something by someone else. This literally means it was a treat/feast can also be used when parting from someone who has given you something

Language name + -de

This is the common and simple sentence structure used to ask something related to a language such as what something is in a language. (example: Eigo-de fax machine-to iimasu means it's called a fax machine in English.)

Nan-ji

This is the most common and most simple form of the sentence to ask what time it as. You can also add "ima" to the beginning of the sentence to ask what time it is at that moment (example: Ima nan-ji desuka means what time is it right now? and nan-ji means what time?). When giving the answer, like other counters (such as -sai and -nin) the counter will be replaced in the sentence's answer, but the sentence will most likely remain the same. (example: Q: NAN-ji desuka (means what time is it?) A: JUU-ji desu (it is 10:00))

Ja nai desu

This is the negative form of the verb desu. Since it's a verb, you must always use it at the end of a sentence just like you would with desu.

Nan-sai

This is the simple sentence form that is used to ask how old someone is informally. Can be more formal as nan-sai desuka or (o-)ikutsu desuka. Ikutsu is the same as how old

___-wa nan desuka

This is the simple sentence form that is used to ask what something is. If you are holding the object you can use kore

Noun A + Noun B desu

This is the simple sentence structure that is used to express possession of a person (example: watashi-no pen desu-yo means that this is my pen). Sometimes Japanese speakers leave out Noun B if it is clear what's being referred to from context (example: someone asks: Dare-no rajio desuka (whose radio is this?) and then someone answers Saitoo-san-no desu (it's Saitoo's).

Number + -sai

This is the simple sentence structure to specify how old someone is

Number + -nin

This is the simple sentence used to say how many people there are. To ask how many people there are you would say nan-nin desuka.

Number + -ji

This is the simple structure that is used to state what time it is (example: san-ji desu means that it is 3:00). You can add "Ima" to the beggining of the sentence to make the simple sentence "It is now 3:00" (Ima san-ji desu).

The particle -to

This particle has multiple meanings (see Particles, Prefixes, and Suffixes cards) but is mainly used after the noun to which it refers in reference of going somewhere (example: Tanaka-san-to ikimasu means I'm going with Tanaka). -To can also be used to ask who someone is going with or who you are doing something with, etc (example: Dare-to ikimasuka means who are you going with? Dare-to tabemasuka means who are you eating with.)

Kore/sore-wa____desu.

This simple sentence structure identifies things close to the speaker (kore) or things close to the listener (sore).

Place-ni ikimasu

To express the idea of go/goes to a place, use the verb ikimasu preceeded by the place and the particle -ni. Ikimasu in all of these examples can be translated as goes or will go: Eiga-ni ikimasu means I'm going to the movies Konsaato-ni ikimasu means I'm going to a concert Gakkoo-ni ikimasu means go to school or I'm going to school The question form which generates all of the answers above is: doko-mi ikimasuka? (where are you going, where will you go, etc). You can also use -ni ikimasu with words expressing an activity. These are often translated in English as go + activity (ending in -ing) (example: Kaimono-ni ikimasu. Means I'm going shopping)

Katei kyooshi

Tutor. Many Japanese parents hire tutors to help their children with lessons at home after school and juku (cram school). Tutoring can be in standard subjects like math, but it is not uncommon to hire foreign study tutors. Most tutors are adults who tutor on a professional basis and some are university students who tutor part-time to make extra money.

School uniform

Uniforms are usually madatory for middle through high school. Uniforms for males usually include a button-up shirt, slacks, and a blazer or jacket that is usually buttoned up the front like a military jacket. The uniform for girls is usually include a pleated skirt, blazer, and a white button down blouse with a turn-down collar.

Greetings

When meeting family members, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances for the first time in the new year, Japanese say, "Akemashite, omedetoo gozaimasu. Kotoshi-mo doozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu." Literally translated, this means happy opening of the new year and congradulations this year also be good (to me), I beg of you, but this is confusing and often doesn't make sense in English, so a more idiomatic translation would be happy New Year. Let's continue to have a healthy relationship with one another. In exchange, they boy appropriately to one another.

Pointing to oneself

When responding to questions like "Who, me?" and introducting yourself, Japanese point at their nose, while Americans point at their chests usually.

Telephone etiquette

When you answer the phone, most people identify themselves by their family name. (Example: moshi-moshi? Tanaka desu. Which means hello this is the Tanaka residence. Not too different than how Americans) The person making the call should identify his/her self before asking to speak to another family member other than the one who answered the phone. If the name of the caller isn't identified by the one who answers immediately, the caller should give school, business, or organizational affiliation with his/her name. Kedo is a word that is used to soften the blow when giving negative responses, but it is also used to make affirmative statements less demanding (example: Nishimura desu kedo Ueda-san onegaishimasu means "this is Nishimura but may I please speak with Ueda?" rather than just saying this is Nishimura I am calling to speak with Ueda.) When hanging up the phone, you may see older Japanese people bowing several times before hanging up the phone. Even though it may look strange, they still follow the same basic social behaviour that govern face-to-face interactions even though they cannot see each other.

Number + -nen sei

When you need to specify a student's grade level, this is the sentence structure that is used. (example ni-nen sei means a 2nd grader or second year student)

Refusing a request

You cannot directly refuse a Japanese person's request, that is rude and shows that you just don't care for the person at all. Even if it is someone you like, the Japanese are all about respect and it is considered impolite. If you refuse a request, you have to soften the blow by saying certain phrases like, "Aa, chotto." Chotto means a little bit but when used in a refusal it means that it's not a good time to ask and the listener will always understand and leave. Aa, chotto can also mean "I don't have one, but..." or "I don't know but I'll find out."

Reading telephone numbers

You have to use the particle -no to separate long strings of numbers. (example: 434-354-9877 is yon san yon-no san go yon-no kyuu hachi nana nana.)

Body contact

You will see less physical contance between Japanese in public. It's regarded as inappropriate so Japanese express affection in other ways such as bowing and anticipating the needs of others. Small things such as holding hands, linking arms, and having your arm over someone's shoulders that are informal situations with no difference in age and rank that are considered informal situations that are appropriate.