Could be useful... Some of the vocab is stuff I picked up from manga and anime, so its a bit random to say the least. Much of this document was written by a Singaporean friend of mine who has been learning Japanese for years. Other parts were written by an American and a Canadian student of Japanese and a Japanese guy living in America. So if there are errors, they're not mine! A lot of this was gathered from a Studio Ghibli anime discussion board where a good few Japanese speakers hang out, so much of it is pretty relaible, I hope. I have more which is on more complex grammar, pronouns etc but that begins to get a bit scholastic, so I left it out.<br/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_u">JAPANESE<br/><br/>Greetings</span></strong><br/><br/>Greetings are used in Japan very often, almost every time a person meets someone they know. However, proper greetings are only used when the other person is of higher status (teacher/parent) or someone you don't know too well. Between close friends, more casual greetings and slang is usually used.<br/><br/><strong>Time of Day / Events</strong><br/><br/>The more common ones:<br/><br/><strong><em>Ohayou (gozaimasu)</em></strong>: good morning<em>(lit. it is early)</em>usually used only early in the morning, usually before 10am.<br/><br/><strong><em>Konnichiwa</em></strong>: Good afternoon. General use for daytime.<br/><br/><strong><em>Konbanwa</em></strong>: Good evening/night. As said.<br/><br/><strong><em>Oyasumi (nasai) </em></strong>: Good night (lit. have a good rest). Used only when one is going to bed. Almost never used any other time of the day.<br/><br/><strong><em>Itadakimasu</em></strong>: Used before eating (lit. I partake this offering).<br/><br/><strong><em>Gochisousama</em></strong>: Used after eating.<br/><br/><strong><em>Otsukaresama (deshita) </em></strong>: Often used after a task is done, most often heard amongst working colleagues at the end of the day (lit. you are tired).<br/><br/><strong><em>Moshimoshi</em></strong>: Hello (often used on the telephone)<br/><br/><strong><em>Hajimemashite</em></strong>: I am pleased to meet you –or- How do you do?<br/><br/><strong><em>Dozo yoroshiku</em></strong>: My best regards.<br/><br/><strong>Personal Greetings</strong><br/><br/>Note that after introductions are done, generally people call one another by their family name, followed by whatever honorific that shows the intimacy of their relationship. "-san" is standard, "-kun" usually for boys, "-chan" usually for girls.<br/><br/>In general, one's own name is only used when a<em>really</em>close relationship has been established. Also, often it is used only when both parties agree to the use, otherwise when that person does not mind. Honorifics follow as standard. Very rare is the case when one allows the use of their name before a good relationship is formed.<br/><br/>* * * * * * * * * *<br/><br/><strong>I love you:</strong><br/><br/><em>Daisuki</em>basically means love, and it is often used that way, though to be more accurate, to romantically love somebody is<em>aisuru</em>, and to say that you love somebody would be (subject) say...<strong><em>watashi</em></strong>(I), as it works for everybody...<strong><em>wa</em></strong>(person you love)<strong><em>o</em></strong>(sometimes written "wo")<strong><em>aishiteru</em></strong>(or)<strong><em>aishiteimasu</em></strong>. The subject can often be dropped, and if you are talking directly to somebody using<em>daisuke</em>appears more common, though less committed. Which could go...<strong><em>watashi wa kimi ga daisuki desu</em></strong>, and you could throw in a "yo" at the end if you wanted to. If you want to say you like somebody in a romantic sense, you could drop the<em>dai</em>from<em>daisuki</em>. Though the semantics 'to love' vs 'to like' are pretty gray, quite literally<em>daisuki</em>means to like a lot aka love, and<em>suki</em>means to like, though can just as easily be translated as love as well. It's kind of ambiguous. Also,<em>suki</em>is an adjective<em>sukina</em>technically, though the<em>na]</em>is dropped in conjugation. It is interesting though to me that it isn't a verb. Similarly<em>kiraina</em>, used as<em>kirai</em>in a sentence where it isn't directly modifying a noun means to dislike but is often translated as hate, as is the more extreme<em>daikiraina</em>, which is always pretty much translated as hate.<br/><br/><strong><em>Daisuke-dayo</em></strong>can mean "I like you a lot" or "I love you" also.<br/><br/>There's like a hundred and one ways to say I love you, like Shakespeare. So I'll just give the common ones (using female speech patterns).<br/><br/><strong><em>suki</em></strong>: like<br/><strong><em>ai/koi</em></strong>: love/affection<br/><br/>From formal to informal:<strong><em>Anata</em></strong>-><strong><em>kimi</em></strong>-><strong><em>omae</em></strong>(crude)<br/><br/>(<strong><em>Kimi ga</em></strong>)<strong><em>Suki desu</em></strong>/<strong><em>suki na no</em></strong>(informal)<br/><strong><em>Ai shite imasu</em></strong>/<strong><em>Ai shiteru</em></strong>(informal) (more for being affectionate than love)<br/><br/>Or just use the name<br/><br/>[name]<strong><em>no koto ga suki desu</em></strong>/<strong><em>suki na no</em></strong>(see above)<br/><br/>Just to name a few.<br/><br/>* * * * * * * * * *<br/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_u">Enquiries</span></strong><br/><br/>Enquiring about a person's general well being centers around the word<em>'Genki'</em>, meaning "to be healthy".<br/><br/>Formal:<strong><em>O-genki desu ka?</em></strong><br/><br/>Informal:<br/><strong><em>Genki?</em></strong><br/><strong><em>Genka na no?</em></strong>(female speech)<br/><strong><em>Genki (no) ka?</em></strong><br/><br/>When the person is known to have suffered from a mishap (sickness, accident, etc), other phrases are used.<br/><br/><strong><em>Doushita no (desu ka)?</em></strong>: What's wrong?<br/><strong><em>Choushi/Kibun wa dou (desu ka)?</em></strong>: How are you feeling (health/mood-wise)?<br/><strong><em>Choushi/Kibun warui (desu ka)?</em></strong>: Are you feeling unwell(health/mood-wise)?<br/><br/>Responses:<br/><strong><em>Daijoubu</em></strong>: OK, alright<br/><strong><em>Heiki</em></strong>: Fine<br/><br/><strong><em>Daijoubu (desu ka)?</em></strong>: Are you okay?<br/><strong><em>Daijoubu/heiki (desu)</em></strong>: I'm ok.<br/><br/>* * * * * * * * * *<br/><strong><span class="bbc_u">Farewells</span></strong><br/><br/>The term<em>"sayonara"</em>should not be used lightly; generally, it is said that the number of times you say<em>"sayonara"</em>is as often as you say<em>"hajimemashite"</em>(greeting during first-time intro).<br/><br/><em>Sayonara</em>is most often used when you do not expect to return to the place/person; for example, to your teacher after graduation. Someone you will never meet again.<br/><br/>There are many exceptions, however. For example, because the school is not where one lives, it is still acceptable to say<em>"sayonara"</em>when returning from school, or when parting ways after a trip (you don’t expect to return to the vacation place anytime soon, after all).<br/><br/>When you are leaving a place where you intend to return at some point, the following are used:<br/><br/><strong><em>Ittekimasu</em></strong>: I'm going<em>(lit. I go and come back)</em><br/><strong><em>Itterasshai</em></strong>: Have a safe trip<em>(lit. You go and come back)</em><br/><br/>Generally, the above is often used when one leaves the house (for school/work/etc), and whoever is left may reply with the latter. It can also be used in other situations, but<em>never</em>when a student is coming home from school.<br/><br/>Coming into the house:<br/><br/><strong><em>Tadaima</em></strong>: I'm back<em>(lit. I return to the place I was)</em><br/><strong><em>Okaeri (nasai)</em></strong>: Welcome back/home<em>(lit. Welcome back to the place you belong)</em><br/><br/>Informal farewells are a-plenty. Below are some examples:<br/><br/>-<strong><em>Jaa (ne) </em></strong><br/>-<strong><em>Mata (ne)</em></strong>:<em>(lit. See you later)</em><br/>-<strong><em>Mata ashita/raishuu</em></strong>:<em>(lit. see you tomorrow/next week)</em><br/>-<strong><em>Bye-bye</em></strong>(duh) (can also be cutely written<em>'bai-bai'</em>usually used by girls)<br/>-<strong><em>Saki in iku/ikimasu</em></strong>(informal/formal): I'll be going first (ahead of you)<br/><br/>* * * * * * * * * *<br/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_u">Random Slang</span></strong><br/><br/>(A lot of this is slang and not very polite~)<br/><br/><strong><em>Achi itte</em></strong>: Go Away!!!<br/><strong><em>Aho</em></strong>: Idiot! (I think this might be a corruption of the American 'asshole')<br/><strong><em>Are! </em></strong>: OMG, WTF<br/><strong><em>Che</em></strong>: Expressing disgust - darn it, crap, etc.<br/><strong><em>Dai</em></strong>: Replaces<strong><em>"desu ka"</em></strong>e.g. -<strong><em>'Nan desu ka'</em></strong>becomes<strong><em>'Nan dai'</em></strong>. Informal.<br/><strong><em>Doke</em></strong>: Outta the way!<br/><strong><em>Faito</em></strong>: Derives from "fight". = gambatte<br/><strong><em>Ge! </em></strong>: Yuck! Gross!<br/><strong><em>Mecha</em></strong>: Wicked, super. Context ex. - That was wicked cool!<br/><strong><em>Ore wa</em></strong>: Informal for 'I am'<br/><strong><em>Oitama! </em></strong>: Got to go now!<br/><strong><em>Suge</em></strong>: Slang for 'sugoi' - amazing<br/><strong><em>Usse</em></strong>: Slang for 'urusai' - shut up<br/><strong><em>Washa</em></strong>: Slang for 'watashi'  - 'I', 'Me'<br/><br/>Note: the words<strong><em>'baka'</em></strong>and<strong><em>'yarou'</em></strong>can both be attached to the endings of names.<br/>Ex. -<strong><em>Daisuke-baka</em></strong>,<strong><em>Ryo-yarou</em></strong><br/><br/>They can be used seperately, by themselves.<br/>Also, they can be combined to form the very rude insult<strong><em>"baka yarou"</em></strong>.<br/><br/>* * * * * * * * * *<br/><br/>Also, in Japanese, it is not common to use the pronouns for he and she,<em>karei</em>and<em>kanojo</em>, but rather that person's name. If you just use<em>kare</em>or<em>kanojo</em>, it is assumed that the person you are referring to is your boyfriend or girlfriend. If you want to refer to someone whom you don't know the name of, you can say<em>onnanohito</em>or<em>otokonohito</em>, literally woman person and man person. It isn't common to just use the word<em>onna</em>or<em>otoko</em>to refer to a specific man or woman.<br/><br/>to add to the pronouns list, we have some first person pronouns (there are a ton more of them):<br/><br/><strong><em>Watashi</em></strong>, for everybody<br/><strong><em>Atashi</em></strong>, for girls<em>only</em><br/><strong><em>Boku</em></strong>, usually for guys<br/><strong><em>Ore</em></strong>, crude usually for guys<br/>add<em>tachi</em>to that to get the first person plurals<br/><br/>such as<em>watashitachi</em>or<em>bokutachi</em>for example.<br/><br/>More on pronouns. It isn't uncommon for girls to use<strong><em>boku</em></strong>if they are tomboys, and while it is less common still,<strong><em>atashi</em></strong>is sometimes used by gay guys.<br/><strong><em>ne</em></strong>is a particle added to the end of a sentence that changes the connotation a little bit. It's kind of like saying something, and then saying "right?" or something "huh" so it kind of makes a statement and asks for a confirmation of that statement.<br/>That sounds about right. I always read<em>ne</em>as "isn't it?"<br/><br/>ie.<em>Akuri-Sensei wa kowai desu ne</em>.<br/><br/>"Akuri-Sensei is scary, isn't he?"<br/><br/>It sounds more subjective than just<em>Akuri-Sensei wa kowai desu</em>.<br/><br/><em>Baka</em>translates as stupid. There's an actual term in Japanese,<em>"baka-baka"</em>to denote an object/situation that is silly.<br/><br/>* * * * * * * * * *<br/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_u">Sounds of Speech</span></strong><br/><br/>Several Japanese syllables, particular of the 'u' family, has the 'u' part silent usually.<br/><br/>For example, the word "suki" is often said as "ski", simply because when spoken quickly, the sound isn't heard anymore,<br/><br/>This point is more towards lingual fluency. I for one seldom drop the 'su' in "desu" (barely audible, but still there) out of habit from dialects when speaking formally to my teachers.<br/><br/>* * * * * * * * * *<br/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_u">General Vocab</span></strong><br/><br/>Ara – “my” as in “My, my”, denotes mild surprise or puzzlement.<br/>Are – Japanese interjection, usually to one’s self, something like “What?” or “Huh?”<br/>Arigato – thanks / thank you (informal)<br/>Arigato gozaimasu – thank you / thank you very much (more formal)<br/>Baka - stupid, idiot (this is a moderate insult in Japanese)<br/>Basu – bus<br/>Bento – boxed meal, commonly taken as a school lunch.<br/>Da kara – “Like I said…”<br/>Dou?, Dou siteru?, Don-na? - How are you doing?, How is everything?, What's up?<br/>Duomo/Domo – thanks (slang)<br/>Futon – bedding mat (usually rolled up and stored in a cupboard during the day and laid out each night on the floor)<br/>Genki-datta? - How’s it going?<br/>O-genki desu ka? - How are you?<br/>Gomen – sorry<br/>Gomen nasai – very sorry or a more formal ‘sorry’<br/>Hai – yes, I understand, ok, yes sir, yes miss (conforms to the situation). For example a soldier will say 'hai' to an officer and in that usage it means "yes, sir". Same could apply to a student talking to a teacher.<br/>Hebi – snake<br/>Higashi – east<br/>Ikimashyou ka? - Shall we go?<br/>Itadakimasu – Let’s eat!<br/>Iya / Iie / Demo – no – see pages below; “no” is variable. Demo can mean 'but…'<br/>Kakushi/Kakusu - to hide<br/>Kami – spirit, or minor god<br/>Kita - north<br/>Komorebi - sunlight filtering through the trees<br/>Konnichiwa – good afternoon<br/>Kotatsu – low table at which you kneel to eat, write or relax. Can be surrounded by a padded cloth, can have an electric heater under in winter.<br/>Kuma – bear<br/>Mah mah – Fine, Everything’s okay, Pretty good. (in response to Dou? Genki? etc)<br/>Minami – south<br/>Moshimoshi - hello (on telephone)<br/>Muchuu (or chuu) – Japanese onomatopoeia for kissing<br/>Nan desu ka..? - What's this?<br/>Neechan – (slang) – older girl (from ‘onee-chan’ meaning big sister)<br/>Neko - cat<br/>Nezumi - mouse, rat<br/>Niisan – (slang) – older boy (from ‘oni-san’ meaning big brother)<br/>Nishi   - west<br/>Ohayo – morning<br/>Ohayo gozaimasu – good morning (more formal)<br/>Okaeri – welcome.<br/>Okaerinasai – welcome back (to the place where you should be).<br/>Okasan – mother (kasan)<br/>Onegai – please<br/>Onegai shimasu – please (more polite form)<br/>Onigiri - rice ball<br/>Otosan– father (tosan)<br/>Oyasumi – good night<br/>Oyasuminasai – good night (more polite)<br/>Sayonara - goodbye (farewell, rarely used)<br/>Shikato - ignoring<br/>Shouji – sliding partition<br/>Shoujo Ai – literally ‘girl love’, another name for lesbian relationships<br/>Sempai – ‘senior’ the direct translation means ‘you who came first’.<br/>Sumimasen - excuse me<br/>Tadaima – I’m back! (or I’m home!)(I have come back to the place where I belong)<br/>Wakarimasen - I don't understand.<br/>Yaoi – homosexual or boy/boy relationships<br/>Yoisho – an expression meant to encourage one’s self during, or at the start of, a physical task. "Yoshio!" = "Let's do it!"<br/>Yuri - lesbian or girl/girl relationships<br/>Zukoku - square flat padded cushion for kneeling on. About 2 feet/0.5m square.<br/><br/>O-namae wa? - what's your name?<br/>Watashi wa… - my name is…<br/><br/>"..... Takako-san wa?" "Ah, kanojo toire ni ittanda." "..... sou." ["..... Where's Takako?" "Ah, she went to the toilet." "..... I see."]<br/>“Takako Aoi desu. Dozo yoroshiku." [I'm Aoi Takako, pleased to meet you.]<br/><br/>A boy messing up when talking to a girl (or vice-versa): "Iya, anta no koto ga suki ja nai! Chigau... sono... anta ga suki, demo suki ja nai! Eeto... ne?" (Lit: No, I don't love you! No wait... that's wrong... I like you, but I don't like you! Uhh... understand?)<br/>