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Hello and Welcome

Welcome to my Japanese page. This will have a few basic phrases, and some grammatical rules/tips. I have been working hard on this page for a few days to help those オタク who are desperate to learn get a grip on language.

First thing's first. The sentence structure: basic structure goes "topic は direct object を　verb"

The はを are known as particles. You can visit Namiko Abe's site on particles if my description isn't to par with you. Basically, a particle or joshi 助詞　is what helps a noun in the sentence. Joshi's kanji is composed of help + words. That's what they are, helper words. So, there are wa (は), wo　（を）, ni　（に）, de (で), ga (が), kara (から) , made (まで), and no (の) plus others.

は/wa Wa is a topic marker, so when you are identifying the topic in the sentence you will use this.

が/ga Ga is a subject marker in a sentence. Sometimes you MAY be able to switch wa and ga, but not always. Sometimes, ga acts as a direct object marker. In sentences such as __ga arimasu, or ___ga suki desu

を/wo Wo is a direct object marker. Such as "I ate the meat" in English, "the" is the direct object marker. Translated to Japanese the sentence is "Watashi wa niku WO tabemashita." However, watashi wa may be omitted, which is explained below.

に/ni Now, I know I have problems with ni and de, and I know you will too. Ni can mean in or on. However, so does de, but there is difference in usage. Ni is used when there isn't an action occurring. So, I am in the park= koen ni imasu. I got ON the train however expresses an action, densha DE notte imashita.

で/de As stated a cell above, de is used when expressing an action and is translated as "in, at, by, with" So, "please write with a pencil"= "enpitsu DE kaite kudasai." I ate a sandwich AT the bar= Pabu de sando wo tabemashita. I was born IN Argentina=Aruzenchin DE umaremashita

の/no No is a noun modifier. In English, it can be expressed as 's or "of." Such as, "Kanako's book"="kanako no hon. You may turn a noun into an adjective by adding "no" in certain occurrences. The noun red = aka, to make it an adjective it is akai. This is known as an -i adjective. Which will be later expressed.

から/kara Kara means "from" so I am from Argentina= Aruzenchin kara desu. I went from Tokyo to Hiroshima= Tokyo KARA hiroshima made kakarimashita

まで/made Made roughly means "to" in the sense of direction and action. As stated in the previous statement, I went from Tokyo TO hiroshima~ Hiroshima MADE kakarimashita. In those sentence you see kara and made linked together.

へ/e E is used in directions or goals. It is written as "he" and pronounced as "e." I use it in notes when saying, "to___" So, "To Chie Naraki"~ Naraki Chie e~ならきちえへ

Moving on from particles, lets discuss verbs (doushi/動詞).　　Doushi literally means motion words. Now, verbs go at the end of the sentence and sometimes have particles that help them when more than one is used in a sentence. But lets not worry about two verbs right now. We will concentrate on one and construct a sentence. How about~ "I was born in Argentina." So, lets think about it in English first. The topic is "I" because if I were an object it would be "me." There is an action, because it is "born" and the place of action is "Argentina."
So, being formal (yes there are formal and casual verbs) it would be~ Watashi WA Aruzenchin DE umareMASHITA.~ 私はアルゼンチンで生まれました. If a verb ends in ~masu/mashita then it is formal or polite speech. If I am talking to my friend, then I can forget using -masu/mashita and use plain speech. I was born in Argentina=Watashi wa Aruzenchin de umareta. Instead of using -masu/-mashita, I just use -ta. However, it doesn't always work that way for all verbs. Please, check out my verb chart below~_~

Verb ending (in the infinitive)	Present tense [polite/plain]	Past tense [polite/plain]	Imperative [polite/plain]	Examples
-iru/eru	-masu/ru	-mashita/ta	-nasai/yo	Taberu/Tabemasu/Tabemashita[tabeta]/Tabenasai/Tabeyo~to eat
-ku	-kimasu/ku	-kimashita/ita	-kinasai/ke	Aruku/Arukimasu/Arukimashita/Aruita/Arukinasai/Aruke~to walk
-su	-shimasu/su	-Shimashita/shita	-Shinasai/se	Keshimasu/Kesu/Keshimashita/Keshita/Keshinasai/Kese~To turn off [a light]
-mu	-Mimasu/mu	-Mimashita/-nda	-Minasai/me	Sumimasu/Sumu/Sumimashita/Sunda/Suminasai/Sume~To live/reside
-Ru	-Rimasu/ru	-Rimashita/tta	-Rinasai/re	Kaerimasu/Kaeru/Kaerimashita/Kaetta/Kaerinasai/Kaere~To return home
-Tsu	-Chimasu/tsu	-Chimashita/tta	-Chinasai/Te	Machimasu/Matsu/Machimashita/Matta/Machinasai/Mate~To wait
-U	-Imasu/u	-Imashita/tta	-Inasai/E	Omoimasu/Omou/Omoimashita/Omotta/Omoinasai/Omae~ To Think/feel

Any verb that ends in -nu follows the same rules as the -mu verbs. Which is why I did not include it in my chart. Let's make more sentences, you need the practice!
I live in Michigan= Watashi WA Michigan NI sumimasu. 私はミシガンに住みます。
I went home.= Watashi wa ie ni kaerimashita. 私は家に帰りました。
She drinks milk.=Watashi wa miruku wo nomimasu. 彼女はミルクを飲みます。

However, if you have been talking about yourself for five minutes, there is no need to continually say "watashi wa" say it once then forget about it. Don't repeat it, even if you are talking to a professor, doctor, lawyer, anyone it is okay to neglect the previously spoken topic and/or subject.

So lets discuss adjectives. There are three types of adjectives. -I, -na, and -no adjectives. These are usually easy to identify because -i adjectives end with an "I." Such as akai (red), kiiroi (yellow), takai (expensive/tall) chiisai (small), ookii (big). Na adjectives are a little harder because if not used before a noun, then they do not express the -na. Such as "Kirei dewa arimasen deshita" = it was not pretty. But, if you say pretty flower= kirei na hana. So, let's make a chart, shall we?! [first is -i adjectives then -na]

Affirmative Present	Affirmative Past	Negative Present	Negative Past
Takai	Takakatta	Takakunai	Takakunakatta
Omoi	Omokatta	Omokunai	Omokunakatta
Yasui	Yasukatta	Yasukunai	Yasukunakatta

As you see with the -i adjectives, you simply remove the -i for conjugation. You do not conjugate the verb to express negative or past tense. Omoi=heavy. The rock was not heavy= Iwa wa omokunakatta desu. Notice it is not "Iwa wa omoi denai." You leave the copula present and affirmative while changing the adjective. Moving on to -na adjectives:

Present Affirmative	Past Affirmative	Present Negative	Past Negative
Kirei desu	Kirei deshita	Kirei dewa arimasen	Kirei dewa arimasen deshita
Iro-iro desu	Iro-iro deshita	Iro-iro dewa arimasen	Iro-iro dewa arimasen deshita
Genki desu	Genki deshita	Genki dewa arimasen	Genki dewa arimasen deshita

Didn't know "genki" was a -na adjective, did you? (笑) If yo are unaware of genki's meaning, it's simply used when expressive your well-being.
O-genki desu ka?How are you?
Genki desu.I am fine

What about using two adjectives in one sentence? Do you use "to?" Nope! You just take off the -i and add kute and instead of -na use de.
I am young and short.~ Wakakute hikui desu. ~若くて低いです。
She is not young and short.~ Kanojo wa wakakunakute hikui desu. ~彼女は若くなくて低いです。
He is young and not short.~ Kare wa wakakute hikukunai desu. ~彼は若くて低くないです。
They are not young and not short. ~Karera wa wakakunakute hikukunai desu. ~彼らは若くなくて低くないです。

Are you getting a grip on these adjectives yet? I know my site is typed, but I suggest you write these down, writing helps the memory. Japanese isn't about memorization, if you think of it in the aspect of memorization, you will soon forget words, grammatical rules, and make more errors then intended along your journey.

Let's continue to the next lesson
Next
Japanese Names
List of Jyouyou kanji

は/wa	Wa is a topic marker, so when you are identifying the topic in the sentence you will use this.
が/ga	Ga is a subject marker in a sentence. Sometimes you MAY be able to switch wa and ga, but not always. Sometimes, ga acts as a direct object marker. In sentences such as __ga arimasu, or ___ga suki desu
を/wo	Wo is a direct object marker. Such as "I ate the meat" in English, "the" is the direct object marker. Translated to Japanese the sentence is "Watashi wa niku WO tabemashita." However, watashi wa may be omitted, which is explained below.
に/ni	Now, I know I have problems with ni and de, and I know you will too. Ni can mean in or on. However, so does de, but there is difference in usage. Ni is used when there isn't an action occurring. So, I am in the park= koen ni imasu. I got ON the train however expresses an action, densha DE notte imashita.
で/de	As stated a cell above, de is used when expressing an action and is translated as "in, at, by, with" So, "please write with a pencil"= "enpitsu DE kaite kudasai." I ate a sandwich AT the bar= Pabu de sando wo tabemashita. I was born IN Argentina=Aruzenchin DE umaremashita
の/no	No is a noun modifier. In English, it can be expressed as 's or "of." Such as, "Kanako's book"="kanako no hon. You may turn a noun into an adjective by adding "no" in certain occurrences. The noun red = aka, to make it an adjective it is akai. This is known as an -i adjective. Which will be later expressed.
から/kara	Kara means "from" so I am from Argentina= Aruzenchin kara desu. I went from Tokyo to Hiroshima= Tokyo KARA hiroshima made kakarimashita
まで/made	Made roughly means "to" in the sense of direction and action. As stated in the previous statement, I went from Tokyo TO hiroshima~ Hiroshima MADE kakarimashita. In those sentence you see kara and made linked together.
へ/e	E is used in directions or goals. It is written as "he" and pronounced as "e." I use it in notes when saying, "to___" So, "To Chie Naraki"~ Naraki Chie e~ならきちえへ