Easy To Learn Japanese With ChatGPT AI

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As part of a short series of AI-sponsored stories, I set about investigating what you or I might find useful or interesting to know to complement our daily lives by using AI. In one story I dealt with asking ChatGPT to provide me with a recipe for Pasta and Pesto. You can read that story in another post.

For this story, I asked the same app to teach me some basic Japanese, particularly useful for me as I live in Japan with my Japanese wife. Here’s what I was given in less than thirty seconds. I have to say, I was pretty impressed. Of course, you easily learn virtually any other language using the very same app.

ChatGPT said;

‘Sure! Let’s start with a short introductory lesson on Japanese. We’ll cover a few basics like greetings, sentence structure, and essential vocabulary.

1. Greetings:

Here are some basic greetings in Japanese:

• こんにちは (Konnichiwa) — Hello / Good afternoon

• おはよう (Ohayou) — Good morning (casual)

• おはようございます (Ohayou gozaimasu) — Good morning (polite)

• こんばんは (Konbanwa) — Good evening

• さようなら (Sayounara) — Goodbye

• ありがとう (Arigatou) — Thank you (casual)

• ありがとうございます (Arigatou gozaimasu) — Thank you (polite)

• すみません (Sumimasen) — Excuse me / I'm sorry

• はい (Hai) — Yes

• いいえ (Iie) — No

2. Basic Sentence Structure:

Japanese sentences often follow a Subject-Object-Verb order, unlike English, which typically follows Subject-Verb-Object.

Example:

• 私は学生です (Watashi wa gakusei desu) — I am a student.

  • 私 (Watashi) = I

  • 学生 (gakusei) = student

  • です (desu) = is/am/are (polite ending)

Important to note: The subject (like "I") can often be omitted if it is understood from context.

3. Essential Vocabulary:

Here are some useful words to know:

• はい (Hai) — Yes

• いいえ (Iie) — No

• お願いします (Onegaishimasu) — Please (used when making requests)

• わかりました (Wakarimashita) — Understood / Got it

• もう一度 (Mou ichido) — One more time

• どこ (Doko) — Where

• 何 (Nani) — What

4. Counting in Japanese:

Japanese uses different counting systems, but here are the basics:

• 一 (いち, Ichi) — One

• 二 (に, Ni) — Two

• 三 (さん, San) — Three

• 四 (し, Shi / よん, Yon) — Four

• 五 (ご, Go) — Five

5. Common Question Words:

• 何ですか (Nandesuka)? — What is it?

• どこですか (Doko desuka)? — Where is it?

• どうして (Doushite)? — Why?

That’s a quick intro! Let me know if you want to dive deeper into any specific topic.

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You said:

I want more Japanese

ChatGPT said:

ChatGPT

Great! Let’s dive a bit deeper into Japanese. We’ll cover some key areas, like verbs, adjectives, particles, and pronunciation. I’ll also introduce some new phrases and concepts. Ready? Let's go!

1. Verbs in Japanese

Verbs are a critical part of the language, and they’re very versatile. They come in three main groups:

• Group 1 (Godan verbs): These verbs end in -u (e.g., taberu → to eat, aruku → to walk).

• Group 2 (Ichiban verbs): These verbs end in -iru or -eru (e.g., miru → to see, kiru → to wear).

• Group 3 (Irregular verbs): The two main irregular verbs are suru (to do) and kuru (to come).

Conjugating Basic Verbs

Japanese verbs change form based on politeness, tense, and mood. Here's a simple conjugation example using taberu(to eat):

• Present Positive: 食べる (taberu) → I eat

• Present Negative: 食べない (tabenai) → I don’t eat

• Past Positive: 食べた (tabeta) → I ate

• Past Negative: 食べなかった (tabenakatta) → I didn’t eat

In casual speech, you can use the basic form (taberu). For more formal situations, the polite form 食べます (tabemasu) is used.

2. Adjectives in Japanese

Adjectives describe things and people. There are two types of adjectives:

• い-adjectives: End in "い" and can be conjugated.

  • 高い (takai) — high, expensive

  • 新しい (atarashii) — new

  • 面白い (omoshiroi) — interesting

  • Example: この店は高いです (Kono mise wa takai desu) — This store is expensive.

• な-adjectives: Do not end in "い" and require な when modifying nouns.

  • 静かな (shizukana) — quiet

  • 元気な (genkina) — healthy, energetic

  • Example: 彼は静かな人です (Kare wa shizukana hito desu) — He is a quiet person.

3. Particles

Particles are small but powerful words that indicate the grammatical relationship of words in a sentence. Here are some essential ones:

• は (wa) — Topic marker

  • 私は学生です (Watashi wa gakusei desu) — I am a student.

• が (ga) — Subject marker (used to emphasize or introduce new information)

  • 誰が来ましたか？ (Dare ga kimashita ka?) — Who came?

• を (wo) — Direct object marker

  • りんごを食べる (Ringo wo taberu) — Eat an apple.

• に (ni) — Direction or time marker

  • 学校に行きます (Gakkou ni ikimasu) — I go to school.

• で (de) — Location of action marker

  • 図書館で勉強します (Toshokan de benkyou shimasu) — I study at the library.

• と (to) — And / With

  • 友達と話す (Tomodachi to hanasu) — Talk with a friend.

4. Basic Phrases for Conversations

Let’s learn some more common phrases that you can use in daily conversation:

• お元気ですか？ (Ogenki desu ka?) — How are you?

• 元気です (Genki desu) — I’m fine.

• どこですか？ (Doko desu ka?) — Where is it?

• 日本語が話せますか？ (Nihongo ga hanasemasu ka?) — Can you speak Japanese?

• 少しだけ (Sukoshi dake) — Just a little (useful when talking about your Japanese ability!)

• はい、わかります (Hai, wakarimasu) — Yes, I understand.

• いいえ、わかりません (Iie, wakarimasen) — No, I don’t understand.

• もう一度言ってください (Mou ichido itte kudasai) — Please say it again.

5. Pronunciation

Japanese pronunciation is relatively simple, with a few key points:

• Vowels are pronounced consistently:

  • あ (a): Like the "a" in "car"

  • い (i): Like the "ee" in "see"

  • う (u): Like the "oo" in "food"

  • え (e): Like the "e" in "bed"

  • お (o): Like the "o" in "go"

• Consonants are usually pronounced softly. For example, し (shi) sounds like “she,” and ち (chi) sounds like “chee.”

• Double consonants: When you see a small つ (tsu), it means you should hold the consonant sound slightly longer. For example, きって (kitte) means “stamp,” and you pause a little between the "k" and the "t."

6. Kanji Basics

Japanese writing uses three scripts: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

• Hiragana is used for native Japanese words and grammatical elements.

• Katakana is used for foreign words, names, and borrowed words.

• Kanji are Chinese characters used for nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Kanji can have multiple readings, depending on the context. For example:

  • 日 (hi) — day/sun

  • 本 (hon) — book or origin

You don’t need to worry about mastering Kanji right away, but it’s helpful to recognize a few commonly used ones!

7. Practice Sentences

Let’s try to put everything together in a few sentences:

1. 私は日本が好きです。 (Watashi wa Nihon ga suki desu) — I like Japan.

2. 今日はいい天気ですね。 (Kyou wa ii tenki desu ne) — The weather is nice today, isn’t it?

3. 日本語を勉強しています。 (Nihongo wo benkyou shiteimasu) — I am studying Japanese.

4. どこに行きますか？ (Doko ni ikimasu ka?) — Where are you going?

8. Cultural Tip: Politeness

Japanese is a very polite language, and the level of politeness can change depending on the situation. For instance, using です (desu) and ます (masu) makes your speech polite. Dropping them makes it more casual, but be careful with who you’re speaking to!

If you'd like to focus on a specific area or need more examples, just let me know! There's always more to learn, and I’m here to help.

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