Japanese/Lessons/Introduction/Konnichiwa/Noun predicates

In this unit, you will learn how to make sentences using noun predicates.

Try It
Duration: 2 minutes

Say the following sentences in Japanese by simply adding desu です to each word in parentheses. Then do the same in informal Japanese by adding da だ to each word.


 * 1) I am Japanese. ( nihon-jin)
 * 2) That is a box. ( hako)
 * 3) This is a book. ( hon)
 * 4) You are a genius. ( tensai)
 * 5) He is a friend. ( tomodachi)
 * 6) We are students. ( gakusei)
 * 7) They are doctors. ( isha)
 * 8) Those are donuts. (ドーナツ doonatsu)
 * 9) These are chestnuts. ( kuri)
 * 10) She is a police officer. ( keisatsukan)
 * 11) It is Monday. ( getsuyoubi)
 * 12) I'll have coffee. (コーヒー koohii)
 * 13) There's a car. ( kuruma)

Note: Using da だ to end your sentences can convey a somewhat masculine tone. Often women will drop the da だ entirely in informal speech, so that the noun itself becomes the predicate.

Watch and Listen
Duration: 2 minutes

Listen to the following conversation while reading along and see how much you understand.

Japanese with Furigana

 * はじめまして. です.
 * です. よろしくおします.
 * よろしくおします. さんですか？
 * はい、そうです. です. さんは？
 * です.

English Translation

 * Kouichi: Pleased to meet you. I'm Kouichi Matsui.
 * Tomoko: I'm Tomoko Noguchi. I hope everything goes well.
 * Kouichi: I hope everything goes well. Are you a student?
 * Tomoko: Yes, I am. I'm Grade 4. And you, Kouichi?
 * Kouichi: I'm Grade 3.

Explain
Duration: 5 minutes

English Predicates
In English, we learn that a sentence consists of a subject and a predicate. The predicate of a sentence indicates what the subject is, what the subject does, or what happens to the subject. For example, in the English sentence:


 * John is a baseball player.

The subject is "John", and the predicate is "is a baseball player". The sentence is about John, but it states that John is something, namely he "is a baseball player." In English, the predicate of a simple sentence starts with the verb and continues to the end of the sentence.

Japanese Predicates
In Japanese, a complete sentence must have a predicate, but the subject can be implied rather than stated, which is exactly the case more often than not. The Japanese equivalent of the above sentence would be (informal/formal ending):


 * ジョンはだ/です.
 * Jon wa yakyuu senshu da / desu.

However, if you were already talking about John, his name would not be mentioned again and the sentence would be shortened to:


 * だ/です.
 * Yakyuu senshu da / desu.

In Japanese, when you want to form a predicate with a noun, the structure to use is:

Vocabulary
The following lists contain nouns which may be useful in your study.

Practice

 * 1) Practice: Using formal speech, do the following exercises. Follow the links provided or ask the teacher for any necessary vocabulary.
 * 2) State your name.
 * 3) State your vocation.
 * 4) State your nationality by adding -jin to the name of your country.
 * 5) Point at three different objects, and state what they are.
 * Example:
 * スーです.
 * Suu desu.
 * I am Sue.
 * です.
 * Daigakusei desu.
 * I am a university student.
 * イギリスです.
 * Igirisu-jin desu.
 * I'm from the U.K. (lit. I'm a British)
 * いすです. 　えんぴつです. 　テレビです.
 * Isu desu. Enpitsu desu. Terebi desu.
 * That is a chair. That is a pencil. That is a TV.
 * 1) Practice: Repeat the previous exercise, this time using informal speech.
 * Example:
 * トムだ.
 * Tomu da.
 * I am Tom.
 * だ.
 * Bengoshi da.
 * I am a lawyer.
 * アメリカだ.
 * Amerikajin da.
 * I'm an American.
 * だ. 　だ. 　だ.
 * Mado da. Tsukue da. Ki da.
 * That is a window. That is a desk. That is a tree.
 * 1) Conversation: Have a conversation similar to the one in the Watch and Listen section with a neighbor, only substitute your own words in.

Discuss
Duration: 2 minutes

Please post any questions you may have here, and a contributor will answer them.