Buying Items at a Register in Japan | Innovative Japanese

Imagine you're on a plane. There's someone next to you. What do you say? こんにちは、リサです。 Hi, I'm Lisa. Introducing yourself in Japanese is easy. In this lesson, you're going to learn how with Mark and Shunsuke who meet on a plane. Mark's moving to Tokyo. His family is going to join him later in the month. Shunsuke is in the seat when Mark gets on the plane. Let's watch! Kobayashi Shunsuke. Hai, sou desu. Demo, Shun to yonde kudasai. Shun, yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Now with English. Sumimasen. Ah, sumimasen. Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Mark desu. Mark-san, hajimemashite. Kobayashi Shunsuke desu. Sumimasen. Mou ichido onegaishimasu. Yukkuri onegaishimasu. Kobayashi Shunsuke. Hai, sou desu. Demo, Shun to yonde kudasai. Shun, yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Here are the keywords from the scene. Watashi. I. Watashi. Demo. But. Demo. Sumimasen. Excuse me. Sumimasen. Hajimemashite. Nice to meet you. Hajimemashite. Mou ichido. Once more. Mou ichido. Yukkuri. Slowly. Yukkuri. Hai. Yes. Hai. Here are the key phrases from the scene. The first phrase was used by Mark to have the Japanese speaker repeat himself. He said, Mou ichido onegaishimasu. Once more, please. Mou ichido onegaishimasu. Now you try it. Now say Mark's line after Shun speaks. Hajimemashite. Kobayashi Shunsuke desu. Sumimasen. Mou ichido onegaishimasu. The second phrase was used by Mark to have the Japanese speaker talk more slowly. Recall what he said. Yukkuri onegaishimasu. Slowly, please. Yukkuri onegaishimasu. Now you try. Say Mark's next line after he speaks. Sumimasen. Mou ichido onegaishimasu. Yukkuri onegaishimasu. The third phrase was used by Mark and Shun at the end of their self introductions. Do you remember what they said? Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. In this situation, meaning, nice to meet you. There's no equivalent in English as the meaning is derived from the context of usage. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Now you try. Fill in the line for Mark. Demo, Shun to yonde kudasai. Shun, yoroshiku onegaishimasu. After Mark repeated Shun's name, Shun confirmed that he had the right pronunciation. How did he do that? Hai, sou desu. Yes, that's right. Hai, sou desu. Now it's your turn. Fill in the line for Shun. Kobayashi Shunsuke. Hai, sou desu. Now, the lesson focus. Here's how to introduce yourself. Ready? Do you remember how Mark introduced himself in Japanese? Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Mark desu. When Mark introduces himself in Japanese, he starts with a set phrase, meaning, nice to meet you. Hajimemashite. Then he says, I'm Mark. Watashi wa Mark desu. The first word in the sentence is... Watashi. I. The next part of the sentence is... Wa. This is a topic marking particle. It marks I as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like the as for in the expression, as for me. The next word of the sentence is the character's name, Mark. Mark. Your name goes here when you introduce yourself. Then, the next word in the sentence is... Desu. This is like the am in I am. It's a linking verb. Together, it's... Watashi wa Mark desu. I, Mark, am. In English, I'm Mark. The sentence pattern is... Watashi wa. Your name. Desu. Now you try. Imagine your name is John. Say, I'm John, in Japanese. Watashi wa John desu. I'm John. Now, imagine your name is Aiko. Say, I'm Aiko, in Japanese. Watashi wa Aiko desu. I'm Aiko. Now use your own name. There's two things you should know. First, there's a shortcut to giving your name. Kobayashi Shunsuke desu. The only difference is, you drop... Watashi wa. Since it's understood, you're talking about yourself. Second, Japanese people usually say their full names or only their family names when they introduce themselves. Kobayashi Shunsuke desu. Kobayashi is a family name. Shunsuke is a given name. Kobayashi Shunsuke. In Japanese, the family name comes first, and then the given name. You could also just say the family name, instead of both the family name and the given name. Kobayashi desu. Imagine your name is John Smith. Introduce yourself in the Japanese style, family name first. Watashi wa Smith John desu. Now use the shortcut version. Smith John desu. Next, you'll learn how to tell people to call you by a nickname, just like Shun did in the scene. Shun to yonde kudasai. The first part is... Shun. A common nickname for men named Shunsuke. Your own nickname goes here. The next part is... To, which marks a quotation, kind of like a spoken quotation mark. Next is the phrase... Yonde kudasai. Please call. Together, it's... Shun to yonde kudasai. Please call me Shun. The word for I is not mentioned in the Japanese sentence, but if you say this after introducing your name, it makes perfect sense. Shun to yonde kudasai. The sentence structure is... Your nickname... To yonde kudasai. Now you try. Imagine your nickname is Matt. Say, please call me Matt, in Japanese. Matt to yonde kudasai. Please call me Matt. Now, imagine your nickname is I. Say, please call me I, in Japanese. Ai to yonde kudasai. Please call me I. Now use your own nickname. Say, please call me, your nickname, in Japanese. Now, it's time to practice your new ability. It's your first day in Japan, and you're meeting your new neighbor. Ready? Here we go. What's the first thing you say to someone you've just met? Hajimemashite. How do you tell someone your name? Watashi wa... Your name... desu. Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Kobayashi Shunsuke desu. How do you tell someone your nickname? Your nickname... To yonde kudasai. Shun to yonde kudasai. What's the last thing you say to someone you've just met? Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Great job! You've just introduced yourself in Japanese. You'll follow this same pattern many times, so be sure to practice it. Yoku dekimashita. Now, watch the scene one more time. After that, go and practice with all your Japanese friends, or with us in the comments. Ja, mata ne! Sumimasen. Ah, sumimasen. Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Mark desu. Mark-san. Hajimemashite. Kobayashi Shunsuke desu. Sumimasen. Mou ichido onegaishimasu. Yukkuri onegaishimasu. Kobayashi Shunsuke. Hai, sou desu. Demo, Shun to yonde kudasai. Shun, yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.