A lunch time session for officers at Portsmouth City Council

1. Intermediate
Japanese Language
Lunch-time sessions at PCC
By Peter Missen
Session 4
Abilities

2. Objectives for this session
Abilities
Grammar
with particle
at particle
Building basic sentences – some tips
Culture – Japanese holidays July & August
Counters
People
Communities of Practice for Public Service

3. Abilities
Jouzu 上手 good at, skillful, clever
(2Kanji: up + hand)
heta 下手 poor at, unskillful, clumsy
(2Kanji: down + hand)
wakarimasu 分かります to understand

4. Ability sentence examples
watashi wa dansu ga jouzu desu.
私はダンスが上手です
。
I am good at dancing.
dansu = dance (in katakana)
watashi wa e ga heta desu.
私は絵が下手です。
I am poor at drawing.

5. Ability sentence example
watashi wa nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu.
私は日本語が少し分かります。
I understand Japanese a little.
go = language (Kanji: language)
sukoshi = a little (Kanji: little)

6. Ability sentences – a question
[anata wa] itariago ga wakarimasu ka.
[ あなたは ]
イタリア語が分かりますか
。
Do you understand Italian?

7. Ability sentences – some replies
hai, wakarimasu.
はい , 分かります。
Yes I understand.
sukoshi wakarimasu.
少し分かります。
I understand a little.

8. Ability sentences – some replies
iie, wakarimasen.
いいえ , 分かりますせん
。
No I don’t understand.
zenzen wakarimasen.
全然分かりますせん。
No I don’t understand at all.

9. Grammar – more on the de で particle
Previously we have seen that de で can be used as a
“by mode of transport” particle
de で can also be used to indicate:
The method with which you do something.
e.g. eat a meal “using” chopsticks
The place where an action takes place.
e.g. buy a newspaper “at” the train station

10. で particle – “using” sentence
watashi wa 私は
ohashi de お箸で
gohan ご飯
(w)o を
tabemasu. 食べます。

11. で particle - new words
hashi = chopsticks
o shows honour
gohan = meal/boiled rice
go shows honour

12. で particle – “at” sentence
watashi wa 私は
eki de 駅で
shinbun 新聞
(w)o を
kaimasu. 買います。

13. で particle - new words
shinbun = newspaper
(2Kanji: latest + listen)
kaimasu = to buy (polite form)

14. Building basic sentences – some tips
Start with small steps!
Take a known sentence and amend it.
Change a word or location or verb…
e.g. watashi wa ashita rondon e ikimasu.
私は明日ロンドンへ行きます
。
Tomorrow I’m going to London.
watashi wa ashita pari e ikimasu.
私は明日パリへ行きます。

15. Building basic sentences – examples
watashi wa ashita densha de rondon e ikimasu.
私は明日電車でロンドンへ行きます。
Tomorrow I’m going to London by train.
watashi wa ashita hikouki de pari e ikimasu.
私は明日飛行機でパリへ行きます。
Tomorrow I’m going to Paris by plane.

16. Building basic sentences – examples
watashi wa densha de rondon e ikimasu.
私は電車でロンドンへ行きます。
I’m going to London by train.
watashi wa densha de rondon e ikimashita.
私は電車でロンドンへ行きました。
I went to London by train.

17. Building basic sentences – examples
watashi wa ashita hikouki de pari e ikimasu.
私は明日飛行機でパリへ行きます。
Tomorrow I’m going to Paris by plane.
watashi wa ashita tomodachi to hikouki de pari e
ikimasu.
私は明日友達と飛行機でパリへ行きます
。
Tomorrow I’m going to Paris with a friend by plane.

18. Culture section – holidays & festivals
July and August National holidays:
Third Monday of July. Ocean Day (umi no hi):
A recently introduced national holiday to celebrate maritime
Japan. Ocean day marks the return of Emperor Meiji from
a boat trip to Hokkaido in 1876.
Ocean day was declared a national holiday in 1995 as a day
of gratitude for the blessings of the oceans and to hope
for the economic prosperity of maritime Japan.
Ocean day was first observed on July 20th 1996, when
“Happy Monday” ( ハッピーマンデー )
legislation moved the date from July 20th to the third
Monday of July.

19. Culture section – holidays & festivals
July and August Non-national holidays:
July/August 13th-15th Obon:
Obon is an annual Buddhist event for commemorating one's ancestors. It
is believed that each year during Obon, the ancestors' spirits return to
this world in order to visit their relatives. Traditionally, lanterns are hung
in front of houses to guide the ancestors' spirits, Obon dances (bon
odori) are performed, graves are visited, and food offerings are made
at house altars and temples.
At the end of Obon, floating lanterns are put into rivers, lakes and seas in
order to guide the spirits back into their world. The actual customs
followed do vary from region to region.
Obon is celebrated from the 13th to the 15th day of the 7th month of the
year, which is July according to the solar calendar. However, since the
7th month of the year roughly coincides with August according to the
formerly used lunar calendar, Obon is still celebrated in mid August in
many regions of Japan, while it is celebrated in mid July in other
regions.
The Obon week in mid August is one of Japan's 3 major holiday seasons,
which means intensive domestic and international travel activities and
increased accommodation rates!

20. Culture section – holidays & festivals
July and August Non-national holidays:
July/August 7th Star Festival (tanabata):
According to a Chinese legend, the two stars Altair and
Vega, which are usually separated from each other by
the milky way, are able to meet.
The same deal applies to Tanabata as to Obon and is
celebrated on July 7th in some regions of Japan, and
on August 7th in other regions.
One popular Tanabata custom is to write one's wishes on
a piece of paper, and hang that piece of paper on a
specially erected bamboo tree, in the hope that the
wishes become true.
Colourful Tanabata festivals are held across Japan in
either early July or August. Among the biggest and
most famous ones are the Tanabata Festivals of
Sendai in August and Hiratsuka near Tokyo in July.

21. Counting – People (nin 人 )
The first 2 numbers in counting people are irregular, as is 4.
1 is hitori 一人
2 is futari 二人
3 is san nin 三人
4 is yo nin 四人
5 is go nin 五人
6 is roku nin 六人
7 is shichi nin 七人
8 is hachi nin 八人
9 is kyuu nin 九人
10 is juu nin 十人

22. Communities of Practice for Public Service
Language Learning & Development –
Portsmouth City Council.
Any feedback?
What would you like to see there?
It’s for all of us to use…

23. Homework
Nothing compulsory
Suggestions
– Work on making a few sentences
– Great if you can practice with a colleague

24. Questions
?????