Category: Comic

Comic

Week Ten

travelsandchopsticks

010: Kyoto Bound

The last group of verbs are somewhat of a pain. Like every language, there are the exception verbs. For the most part, Japanese is very good at obeying its own rules. However, there are a few verbs that break the rules entirely. There there main exception verbs. 

Let’s go over the three big ones and then we will provide you a list of common LIAR verbs.  

 

Suru – To Do する 

Kuru – To Come くる 

Iku – To Go いく

 

The three verbs above very common and extremely important to remember. Particularly する. Suru is interesting because it can go behind a noun, and make it into a verb. That’s right, you can just stick する after a word like (study) and it becomes: To Study.

 

やくそく (promise) + する = To Promise

ちゅうもん (an order) + する = To Order

ほんやく(translation) + する = To Translate

かくにん(confirmation) + する = To Confirm

けんきゅう(research) + する = To Research

 けっこん(marriage) + する = To Get Married

うんてん (drive) + する = To Drive

 

Japanese is Magic! I think this is freaking awesome. 

 

Outside of these three there major exception verbs する, くる, and いく, there are verbs that are LIAR verbs that you kinda have to learn though trial and error. Examples of this include:  

Kiru – to cut

Shiru – to know 

Iru – to need

Hairu – to enter

Kaeru – to return

Hashiru – to run

Kagiru – to limit

Keru – to kick

Shaberu – to talk

Teru – to shine

etc. 

 

This list is not comprehensive, rather, it is meant to give you an idea of common verbs that initially look like Ichidan verbs but are actually Godan verbs. If you run into an verb that looks like an Ichidan and are questioning which one it is, you can double check by looking it up on http://www.jisho.org or on the app like Imiwa or Shirabe. 

 

 

来週（らいしゅう） – Next Week 

の – Connective Particle

木曜日（もくようび） – Thursday

に – Directional Particle

お休み（おやすみ） – Break/Vacation

頂けない（いただく＋ない） – Recieve (Humble)

でしょうか – 

 

妻（つま） – Wife (My Wife) 

の – Connective Particle

調子（ちょうし） – Condition

が – Subject Particle

悪くて（わるくて） – Worse

少し（すこし）Slightly

する – To Verb

こと – Intangible Thing 

ある – To Exist

んです – Predicate + Explanation Particle 

 やあ – Yeah

もちろん – Of Course

 

 

来週（らいしゅう） – Next Week

木曜日（もくようび） – Thursday

発 – Depart (Suffix)*

の – Connective Particle

京都（きょうと） – Kyoto

行き（ゆき） – Bound*

新幹線（しんかんせん） – Bullet Train 

切符（きっぷ） – Ticket

を – Object Marker

ください – Please

* Suffixes mostly used for trains.

Also, yes Yuki and Iki are the same kanji. We will talk about that another day. One Step at a time. 

 

 ありがとう – Thank You

道（みち） – Street/Road

は – Topic Particle

覚えてる（おぼえる＋Bて） – To Remember

もちろん – Of Course

神社（じんじゃ） – Shrine

の – Connective Particle

方（ほう） – Direction

に – Direction Particle

行って（いく＋Bて） – To Go

森（もり） – Forest

中（なか） – In the Middle

へ – Directional Particle (General Direction)

曲がる（まがる） – To Turn

んだ – 

よ – !

ね – Isn’t it

009: Sitting Down
011: Messages

Comic

Week Nine

travelsandchopsticks

009: What To Do?

The other kind of verbs are two fold. The first of the two are called Godan or Yodan Verbs. Both mean verbs that end in anything outside of ERU and IRU; Ichidan verbs. That’s right every other verb that doesn’t end in either ERU or IRU is a Godan verb. 

Examples of Godan Verbs:

Kau – かう – To Buy

Uru – うる – To Sell

Yobu – よぶ – To Call

Kaku – かく – To Write

Manabu – まなぶ – To Learn

 

Try to pick out the Godan verbs from the list below.

 

The other type of verbs are the the most hated group. Exception verbs. Exception verbs themselves fall into two categories. 

Group One:

Suru – する – To Verb

Kuru – くる – To Come

Iku – いく – To Go

 

These three verbs are tricky and you unfortunately have to learn their unique conjugation table via wrote memorization. Luckily though, these are the only verbs that you really have to do that with. For once you can distinguish Ichidans from Godans conjugation is quite simple, but we will go into that another week. Or you can check out the 30 Day Challenge.

 

Group Two:

Liar Verbs: Etc. 

Kiru – きる – To Cut

Shiru – しる – To Know

 

Group Two exception verbs are super annoying. They are verbs that look like Ichidan verbs but are conjugated like Godan verbs. There are not many of these verbs but they do pop up every so often.

 

 

  1. いく – To Go
  2. はなす – To Speak
  3. みる – To See
  4. える – To Get
  5. ある – To Exist
  6. なく – To Cry
  7. とぶ – to Jump/Fly
  8. たべる – To Eat
  9. ねる – To Sleep
  10. もつ – To Hold

 

 

どうしまようか – What should we do?

 

 

あの人（ひと）- That Person

に – Directional Particle

話（はなし）- Talk 

行く（いく）- To Go

べき – Should

だろう- Predicate

か – Question Particle

 どうかしら – I don’t know

 

 

お母さん（おかあさん）- Mom

その – That

お守り（おまもり）- Charm

どこ – Where

で – Location of action

手に入れた（てにいれる　PAST）- Get

の – Informal Question Particle

後（あと）- After

に – Direction Particle

して （する）To Verb

 

 

シクシク – Crying Onomatopoeia 

Bolded Words are Godan Verbs. 

 

いく – To Go

はなす – To Speak

みる – To See

える – To Get

ある – To Exist

なく – To Cry

とぶ – to Jump/Fly

たべる – To Eat

ねる – To Sleep

もつ – To Hold

008: Sitting Down
010: Kyoto Bound

Comic

Week Eight

travelsandchopsticks

008: Sitting Down

Today we learn a something epic and huge. That is verbs. Verbs are the most important part of the Japanese sentence alongside the predicate. That is because everything in the Japanese sentence is organized around whatever is at the and of the sentence. Which in Japanese is the predicate or a verb. Verb in Japanese can be kind tricky. So in order to appropriately understand them and not get unnecessarily confused, we will first discuss the three different types of verbs before we talk about conjugation and all the other things that verbs do.

 

In Japanese there are three types of verbs. Ichidan, Godan (also called Yodan) and exception verbs. Unlike many other languages, Japanese does not have many exception verbs, which makes things really nice. It’s important to understand that the three unique verb types now so we can learn how to conjugate them later. 

 

While some grammarians and old-time teachers will often over complicate this the easiest way to differentiate the two types is to spell the verbs out in romanized letters (IE; ABC.) All Ichidan verbs are verbs that end in “ERU” or “IRU” it is that simple. All other verbs are Godan verbs. Period. 

 

Look at the verbs below and identify which are Ichidan verbs and Which are Godan verbs. The answers will be listed under the last frame of the comic. 

 

  1. suwaru　すわる
  2. naru　なる
  3. wakaru　わかる
  4. taberu　たべる
  5. neru　ねる
  6. okiru　おきる
  7. hanasu　はなす
  8. morau　もらう
  9. ageru　あげる
  10. ganbaru　がんばる 

 

 

 

 

 

リビング – Living Room

に – Directional Particle

来て（くる＝きて） – To Come 

座り（すわる＝すわり） – To Sit

なさい – Command Suffix

 

 お母さん（おかあさん） – Mom

具合（ぐあい） – Condition

が – Subject Marker

益々（ますます） – Steadily

悪く（わるく） – Badly

なっている – Becoming

 

何（なに） – What

原因（げんいん） – Origin

なのか – Whatever it is

よく – Very

分からない（わかる＋B1ない） – Don’t Understand

んだ – Indicates Explanation

だから – Which is why/Hence

お前たち（おまえたち） – You (plural)

には – You too

もっと – More

母さん（かあさん） – Mom

の – Connective Particle

手伝い（てつだい） – Help/Assistance

を – Object Marker

して（する） – To Verb

もらえないといけない – Must Give

 家事（かじ） – Chores

の – Connective Particle

手伝い（てつだい） – Help/Assistance

や – And (Non limiting)

母さん（かあさん） – Mom

と – Quotative Particle

よく – Very

話す（はなす） – To Speak

こと – Intangible object

も – Redundant Particle

含めて（ふくめる＝ふくめて） – To Include

ね – Isn’t it

 心配する（しんぱいする） – To Worry

なくていい （ない＋BTE＝なくて＋いい ） – To not it ok.

わ – ! (feminine)

よ – !

あんた達（あなたたち） – You (Plural)

お母さん（おかあさん） – Mom

は – Topic Marker

大丈夫 – OK

だから – Hence/Which is Why

 

早く（はやく） – Fast

よくなる – Get Better

ために – In order To

頑張る（がんばる）  – To one’s best

もちろん – of course

私（わたし） – I

何でも（なんでも） – Whatever

手伝う（てつだう） – Help/Assistance

お母さん（おかあさん） – Mom

僕（ぼく） – I

も  – Redundant Particle

何でも（なんでも）  – Whatever

手伝う（てつだう）- Help/Assistance

suwaru　すわる – To Sit (Godan) 

naru　なる – To Become (Godan)

wakaru　わかる – To Understand (Godan)

taberu　たべる – To Eat (Ichidan)

neru　ねる – To Sleep (Ichidan)

okiru　おきる – To Awake (Ichidan)

hanasu　はなす – To Speak (Godan)

morau　もらう – To receive (Godan)

ageru　あげる – To Give (Ichidan)

ganbaru　がんばる – To do one’s best (Godan)

00７: Family Ties
009: What To Do?

Comic

Week Seven

travelsandchopsticks

007: Family Ties

Family is an important and often tricky thing. While at first it may appear as simple as Mom, Dad, Brother, and Sister, there are a few other perspectives that we forget when we assume family is that simple. Today’s lesson is about 1. Perspective, and 2. Respect. We will be breaking down the basic Japanese family unit and all it’s special intricacies. 

 

Mom. While this may be some people’s first word, there are numerous ways to say mom in English. Mom, Ma, Mother, Mommy, Mama, etc. However in Japanese there is considerably less variation. However, the word you use for you family members tends to be different than the words that you would use for another person’s family members. Therefore I will make two lists explaining the words used for each.

 

In the lists below you will notice that though you may refer to a person in one way, you may call them another. This is because when you speak to other people you are working to make the other person, the listener, feel comfortable. Hence, you will try to use more humble versions of the words. Your family always fall under your area of information.

 

If you would like to learn more about area of information check back on chapter two of the comic where we break down “Yo” and “Ne” which also use this very important concept. 

Listener’s Family

  1. Family 
  2. Mom
  3. Dad
  4. Husband 
  5. Wife
  6. Son
  7. Daughter
  8. Older Sister
  9. Older Brother
  10. Younger Sister
  11. Younger Brother
  12. Children
  13. Parents 
  14. Grandma
  15. Grandpa 
  16. Couple
  17. Siblings 

 

  1. ごかぞく
  2. おかあさん
  3. おとおさん
  4. ごしゅじん
  5. おくさん
  6. おむすこさん
  7. おじょうさん
  8. おねえさん
  9. おにいさん
  10. おいもうとさん
  11. おおとうとさん
  12. おこさん
  13. ごりょうしん 
  14. おばあさん
  15. おじいさん 
  16. ごふふ 
  17. ごきょうだい 

Speaker’s Family

  1. Family
  2. Mom
  3. Dad
  4. Husband
  5. Wife
  6. Son
  7. Daughter
  8. Older Sister
  9. Older Brother 
  10. Younger Sister
  11. Younger Brother
  12. Children
  13. Parents 
  14. Grandma
  15. Grandpa 
  16. Couple
  17. Siblings 

 

  1. かぞく
  2. はは＊
  3. ちち＊
  4. しゅじん・おっと＊＊
  5. かない・つま＊＊
  6. むすこ
  7. むすめ
  8. あね＊
  9. あに＊
  10. いもうと
  11. おとうと
  12. こ・こども＊＊＊
  13. おや
  14. そふ
  15. そば＊
  16. ふふ＊
  17. きょうだい 

*This is the term when referring to this member of your family, however you call them the title in the “listener’s” Column. 

** The first word is considered somewhat traditional and is being slowly fazed out. The second term is considered more politically correct.

*** The second implies that there are more than one. (Plural)

****You can be even more polite and replace “San” with “Sama”

 

 

 

 

あんた – You

こと – Thing (intangible object)

する – to verb

とか – “Things Like”

ホント（本当）*

信じられない （しんじられない） – Cannot Believe

 *Sometimes Japanese people write things in Katakana to add emphasis.

 

２人（ふたり) – 2 people

とも – Both

自分（じぶん） – individual

の – Connecting Particle

部屋（へや） – Room

に – Directional Particle

行き（いき　いく） – To Go

な – Reflective Particle

お母さん（おかあさん） – Mom

に – Directional Particle

ストレス – Stress

を – Object Particle

かける – This verb has tons of meanings but in this case it means to add

んじゃない – Aren’t you

よ – !

今日（きょう） – Today

また – Again

別（べつ） – Separate 

の – Connecting Particle

予定（よてい） – Appointment

が – Subject Marker

ある – To exist

んだから  – Because

 

 

不可 （ふか） – Fail

 今夜（こんや） – Tonight

家（いえ） – House/Home

で – Location of Action Particle

ちゃんと – Like you should

勉強する（べんきょうする） – Study

ように – So That

クラス – Class

の – Connective Particle

後に（あとに） – After

一人（ひとり） – One Person

だけ – Only

に – Directional Particle

また – Again

教える（おしえる） – Teach

のは – Indicating an Explanation

もう – Already

御免（ごめん） – Sorry

なん – Something

だ – Predicate

よ – !

006: Meetings
008: Sitting Down

Comic

Week Six

travelsandchopsticks

006: Meetings

Today we are going to talk about KANJI. We will be getting back to particles and verb tenses starting again next week, that and this week is going to be a little bit of an odd lesson as there isn’t much talking going on this week in the story. Japanese uses three main writing systems, as you might already be aware. If you are reading this comic that means you are at least somewhat familiar with Hiragana and Katakana. Which is awesome. The last ‘alphabet’ if you will, is the hardest and most difficult of the three systems.

 

Kanji are difficult to master, and are something that even advanced learners struggle with. There always seem to be another reading, another meaning, or another combination that you just don’t know. Which can make kanji somewhat frustrating. However, never fear, We have started a series on Youtube to teach Japanese Kanji to you, one day and symbol at a time. There are tons or other useful tools out there too. 

 

The one thing we do want to tell beginning learners, and even some high beginner/intermediate learners is: 

1 It is completely OK to take your time on Kanji

2 Make sure learn the readings and the meaning not just one or the other. 

 

Find out how to read Kanji and the two different kinds of readings. 

For today’s lesson check out our new Youtube Channel below. 

 

  • ほら ｰ Here (As in “here it is)
  • よ ｰ ! 

 

 

助かった（たける past tense =たすかった） ｰ To Help

本当に （ほんとうに）ｰ Very

上手く（ うまく） ｰ Well/Skilled

やってくれた ｰ To do (for me)

よ ｰ ! 

 

 

ねえ ｰ Hey 

 

 

 

ねえ ｰ Hey

今日（きょう） ｰ Today

は ｰ Topic Marker

ごめん ｰ Sorry

気まずかった (きまずい past tense)ｰ Awkward 

またｰ Again

明日（あした）ｰ Tomorrow

会える（あえる）ｰ Can you meet?

 

 

あれ ｰ What?

変（へん） ｰ Strange/Odd

なの ｰ isn’t it 

005: A Wrong Turn
007: Family Ties