Category Archives: Obentō 01-003

102 Am, is, are です

There is a whole lot of desu です going on. 

It is pronounced as if there is no letter u at the end: DES

It means “am, is, are” depending on the subject, the person or the thing.  It ALWAYS comes at the end of a sentence in Japanese. 


Oh, hang on a minute… 

not all sentences in Japanese end with “desu” of course; 
just as all sentences in English don’t have the word “am”, or “is” in them. 




Let’s have a look at these examples:



えき です。eki desu.  (It) is (the) station.






でんしゃ です。densha desu.  (It) is (the) train.






たぬき です。tanuki desu.  (It) is (a) raccoon.






やきとり です。yakitori desu.  (It) is yakitori.





ちず です。chizu desu.  (It) is (a) map.

 





ひこうき です。hikōki desu.   (It) is (a) plane.

 

102 How do you do? はじめまして




















  















Let’s practise now a complete introduction:





The Ainu people are the native people of Japan. Their culture is to some extent preserved in Hokkaido. Their culture is unique to Japan and must be acknowledged.

 








Almost all countries in the world have a wide range of different languages and cultures. The native American Indians are represented by many different languages and identities. The Hispanic communities, the Afro-American cultures are all representative of the United States of America and visible and important to the outside world.

 








The native people of Australia are the Aborigines. Their ancestors have lived on the Australian continent for some 50000 years. There are many different languages among the Australian Aborigines, each with their own cultural identity.









Canada is a country of many different cultures. The British immigrants and the French immigrants of centuries ago, the new Canadian immigrants, but a very important part of Canadian culture are the native Canadians largely over northern Canada, the Inuit who have lived there for tens of thousands of years. They are represented by many different languages too.








China is a vast country with over a billion people. Outside China people often do not realise that there is great cultural, linguistic and even racial diversity in China. China is like a sub-continent inhabited by peoples for tens of thousands of years.

 







Great Britain too is represented by many peoples. The United Kingdom officially consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Great Britain too, ancient languages are still being spoken in some communities.

 






The sport of sumo seems so Japanese, yet these days many top athletes of this sport come from Mongolia, America and even from Bulgaria. Despite its distinct Japanese cultural flavour it attracts increasingly athletes from other parts of the world.

 






Korea is presently a divided country and its people share a long history and identity. The word ‘Kankoku’ refers to modern South Korea. Some Korean families have lived in Japan for hundreds of years. The Korean people, their language and their culture are closely related to Japan’s.







The Maori people of New Zealand represent a significant part of the New Zealand identity. New Zealand is called Aotearoa in the Maori language: アオテアロア.







Hello, Mr Hart.









The largest nation on earth is also represented by many different languages, cultures and racial groups. It is difficult to represent them all here, but Anna Netrebko who is perhaps the most famous Russian singer certainly presents a beautiful face of modern Russia.




101 Greetings あいさつ Hello こんにちは

Hello!


konnichiwa akachan
Hello Baby!






Hello!





Hello Letter



Hello Anne!    (Anne of Green Gables)


Hello Anne!




Hello!



knock, knock, knock     Hello!




Hello from the Bottom of the River !

(must be some film about Bug Life   –   ve~ry educational)




Hello!



こんにちは どうぶつたち
konnichiwa dōbutsu-tachi

Hello Animals!




Hello Rattatan!




こんにちは 赤ちゃん
こんにちは あかちゃん
konnichiwa akachan

Hello Baby!


Good Morning おはようございます

Good Morning!





With smiley faces       Good morning 







Good morning Mr Donkey







Good morning Jackie







Good morning!







Good morning Mr Parsley







Good morning Mr Cub from Wakayama Prefecture







Nontan     Good morning







Good morning        Young Chap








Good morning!









Good morning







Good morning 21!








Good Morning 
Lady of the House Magazine








Goo’ mo~rnin’    Birdie!








Good morn’    Mr Eel!








Good Morning Radio








Good Morning Japan
NHK News at 4:30