The non-but でも/ても Even if、although

We have studied　も which means 'also'. When added after the て form of a verb or adjective it brings on the meaning of 'even if'. Let's investigate:

冗談を言っても、彼は笑いません。
joudan wo ittemo, kare wa waraimasen.
Even if you tell a joke, he won't laugh.

And an adjective:

冷たくても、食べられます。
tsumetakutemo taberaremasu.
Even if it is cold, I can eat it.

And just stick it after a noun

スーパマンでも、そんなことはできないよ。
su-paman demo　sonna koto wa dekinai yo.
Even Superman can't do that!

The best, -est いちばん

While it means #1, it is also used as a superlative- most or -est

食べ物の中で何が一番好きですか？
tabemono no naka wa nani ga ichiban suki desu ka?
Out of all foods, what do you like the best?

富士山は、世界で一番高い山じゃない。
fujisan wa sekai de ichiban takai yama ja nai.
Mt. Fuji isn't the tallest mountain in the world.

About... ～について

This is added to mean 'this sentence is ABOUT the previous word'. Simply stick it after the noun you want to talk about.

番組についてのお知らせです。
bangumi ni tsuite no oshirase desu.
This is an annoucement about the program (TV for example).

あの映画についてどう思う？
ano eiga ni tsuite dou omou?
What do you think about that movie?

Can't, not allowed いけません/いけない

This is how to say something is forbidden to do. Perhaps easiest way to us this is to stick it after the て form of a verb and は (wa - topic particle).

知らない人と話してはいけません。
shiranai hito to hanashite wa ikemasen.
Don't speak to strangers.

Often in casual speech, the ては becomes ちゃ (or じゃ) as in:

その映画を見ちゃいけませんよ。
sono eiga o micha ikemasen yo.
You are not allowed to watch this movie - or You shouldn't watch this movie.

You can also use だめ for a similar effect: 私の本を読んじゃだめ。watashi no hon o yonja dame. You can't read my book!

Easy kanji prefixes

There are a number of fairly easy kanji that will help dramatically increase your vocabulary. These kanji have specific meanings that when added to other kanji or words, it changes the whole meaning in a logical way.

大 - dai, oo - big 好き suki to like 大好き dai suki to really like, love 　 嫌い kirai to dislike 大嫌い daikirai to really dislike, hate 　 　 　 　 　 地震 ji shin earthquake 大地震 dai jishin a huge earthquake 　 雨 ame rain 大雨 oo ame heavy rain Another similar word is: 小 (small) 毎- mai - every (attached to time words) 朝 asa morning 毎朝 mai asa every morning 　 年 toshi year 毎年 mai toshi every year 　 　 　 　 　 晩 ban evening 毎晩 mai ban every evening 　 　 　 会- kai - to meet (a suffix) 音楽 ongaku music 音楽会 ongaku kai concert/recital 　 運動 un dou exercise, sports 運動会 undou kai athletic meet

Easy Counters

In English, we just take a number (1,2,3...) add a noun and an "s" to count items. But in Japanese different types of objects have different counters. Plus some numbers change pronunciation slightly when added with their counter. Don't worry too much about the pronunciation changes since you will be understood. And even if you mess up and count with the wrong counter, you should be understood, but just a tip... don't count people with "pikki" (used with animals!)

First, there are 2 ways to count numbers - the 'native' and the 'Chinese' way. Actually the 'native' counting system only goes up to 10 and is pretty much only used for counting up to two people and for counting general things. If you are feeling lazy, just learn the "Chinese" numbers for now.

If you haven't studied numbers yet, go to this page to learn all about them before proceeding: How to Count

Here is a quick review::

Native 一つ　ひとつ 二つ　ふたつ 三つ　みっつ 四つ　よっつ 五つ　いつつ 六つ　むっつ 七つ　ななつ 八つ　やっつ 九つ　ここのつ 十　と

Chinese 一　いち 二　に 三　さん 四　し、よん 五　ご 六　ろく 七　しち、なな 八　はち 九　きゅう、く 十　じゅう

Note the two red alternate readings on the "Chinese" side. These are pronunciations based on the "native" readings but are often used in conjunction when counting other "Chinese" numbers.

Ok, now for counters.

Let's go through some common counters one by one and then I will give a list of many other counters:

Counter: nin | Usage: people [pay attention to the red lines.]
一人 （ひとり） 1 person [irregular]
二人　（ふたり） 2 people [irregular]
三人　（さん　にん） 3 people [now we simply add the Chinese numbers to にん]
四人　（よ　にん） [し　にん is NOT used. Probably because し means death... Also notice the dropped ん from よん; hihlordjp from the discussion forums on this site brought up an interesting but obscure (I think) pronunciation - よったり or よたり. It is in the dictionaries although I had never heard it. ]
五人　（ご　にん）
六人　（ろく　にん）
七人　（しち　にん OR なな　にん） [It seems しちにん is used more often, but ななにん is also used]
八人　（はち　にん）
九人　（きゅう　にん or く　にん)
十人　（じゅう　にん）
十一人 　（じゅう　いち　にん） etc...

Counter: hiki | Usage: most animals
一匹　（いっぴき） [notice the H changes to a P]
二匹　（にひき）
三匹　（さん　びき） [notice the H changes to a B this time.]
四匹　（よんひき）
五匹　（ごひき）
六匹　（ろっぴき） [notice the H changes to a P AND the く becomes a small　っ]
七匹　（なな　ひき or しち　ひき） [probably ななひき is most used]
八匹　（はっぴき or はち　ひき）
九匹　（きゅう　ひき）
十匹　（じゅっぴき） [notice the small っ - this occurs when there is a soft sound after like H]

Counter: hon | Usage: long, slender objects like pencils, bottles, arms...
一本　（いっぽん）
二本　（に　ほん）
三本　（さん　ぼん）
四本　（よん　ほん）
五本　（ご　ほん）
六本　（ろっぽん）
七本　（なな　ほん）
八本　（はっぽん or はち　ほん）
九本　（きゅう　ほん）
十本　（じゅっぽん）

Other Counters:

satsu books and magazines	fun minutes	hai cups of liquids, drinks	mai sheets of paper; flat objects
一冊　（いっさつ） one book 二冊　（に　さつ） 三冊　（さん　さつ） 四冊　（よん　さつ） 五冊　（ご　さつ） 六冊　（ろく　さつ） 七冊　（なな　さつ or しち　さつ） 八冊　（はち　さつ or はっさつ） 九冊　（きゅう　さつ） 十冊　（じゅっさつ or じっさつ*）	一分　（いっぷん） one minute 二分　（に　ふん） 三分　（さん　ぷん） 四分　（よん　ぷん） 五分　（ご　ふん） 六分　（ろっぷん） 七分　（なな　ふん） 八分　（はち　ふん） 九分　（きゅう　ふん） 十分　（じゅっぷん or じっぷん*）	一杯　（いっぱい） one cup 二杯　（に　はい） 三杯　（さん　ばい） 四杯　（よん　はい） 五杯　（ご　はい） 六杯　（ろっぱい） 七杯　（なな　はい） 八杯　（はっぱい） 九杯　（きゅう　はい） 十杯　（じゅっぱい or じっぱい*）	一枚　（いち　まい） one piece 二枚　（に　まい） 三枚　（さん　まい） 四枚　（よん　まい） 五枚　（ご　まい） 六枚　（ろく　まい） 七枚　（なな　まい） 八枚　（はち　まい） 九枚　（きゅう　まい） 十枚　（じゅう　まい）

* notice this can be pronounced as じっ instead of じゅっ. This is to make it clearer and is often used in broadcasting. You may also encounter this with hon and hiki. For now, you can just say, じゅっ...

The Explanatory "んです"

You may have heard this quite a lot and wondered what it's all about! It is most often used, informally, when:

1) To explain something
2) To show emphasis

んです is short for のです; Informal usage;

plain form verb + んです

何をしているんですか。
nani o shite iru n desu ka .
Whatcha doing?

テレビを見ているんです。
terebi o mite iru n desu.
Watching TV.

-i Adjective + んです

この映画は面白いんです。
kono eiga wa omoshiroi n desu.
This movie was great!

And it can be used as a way to stress a point

パーティに行かないでしょう。
pa-ti ni ikanai deshou
You won't be able to make it to the party, right?

いいえ、僕は行くんです。
iie, boku wa iku n desu.
No, I'm going!

---

いったい、どうしたんですか？
ittai, doushita n desu ka.
Just what exactly happened (to you)!!!?

の as a Pronoun

の can be used in place of a noun (indefinite pronoun) to mean "one" or "some."

Construction:　
Use in place of noun

青いの。
aoi no.
The blue one.

安いのがほしい。
yasui no ga hoshii.
I want the cheap one.
(computer, car, book, anything)

How to... ～かた

Attach かた to the stem of verbs to change it into a noun to mean: Way or Manner of doing or how to do...

Construction:
Take the ~ます form of a verb minus the ます and then add かた.

漢字の読み方
kanji no yomi kata
How/Way to read (a) kanji

漢字の書き方
kanji no kaki kata
How/Way to write (a) kanji

NOTE: Since it becomes a noun phrase, you should use の as above.

Let's ask, "Please teach me how to use chopsticks correctly."

はしの正しい使い方を教えてください。
hashi no tadashii tsukai kata o oshiete kudasai.
Please teach me how to use chopsticks correctly