Study Break: Japanese Comics

Reading literature, listening to music, eating the food are great ways to learn about the culture of a country you're learning about. One of the most fun ways to learn about Japan is to read their comics. To learn more about Japanese comics, look at the audio slide show below.

Study Break: Chatmonchy is a cute all-girl rock group

Take a study break and check out an awesome band, Chatmonchy. They are an all-girl rock group from Tokushima, Japan. Check out Nippop to learn more about the group. Renai Spirits is the title of the song the band is singing below.

Lesson 1a: Greeting

You see Utada Hikaru walking by and you have to introduce yourself.

Hitori Nakamura wa nihojin desu. kireide, shinsetsu desu. - Hitori is japanese. She is pretty and nice.

You want to meet her. Well, of course you want to impress herself by introducing yourself in Japanese and then asking her what her name is. Here's the respectful way to do it.

You walk up to the person and then begin.

You: Hajimemashite. Your name desu. O-namae wa?

Hitori: Hitori desu. Hajimemashite.

Hajimemashite can be a polite way of asking - how do you do. Just respectful. O-namae wa is a colloquial style of asking what is your name? It is short for O namae wa nan desu ka?

Memorize the conversation, but this is what you should remember:

1. O namae wa nan desu ka - what is your name?


2. Hajimemashite. ____ desu. O-namae wa?

Here's a list of some cool vocabulary words on this website that go with today's lesson. Get on it. Since this is a simple lesson you should have no problem memorizing this.