[Extraterrestrial Interference Detected]

皆様, こんにちにゃあぁ！Welcome to Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online, the place where you don’t need to risk your existence on this planet trespassing on a secret United States military to learn about space or aliens, we have all that you need right here! Sure, if you’re looking to learn Japanese, you might simply be interested in the most basic of basic vocabulary that you’ll use on an everyday basis. But, if Black Stars, Moonage Daydreams, Rocket Men, Satellites of Love, Space Oddities,or Wandering Stars have taught us anything, it’s that space is definitely a topic of everyday vocabulary. Whether it’s 月見, tsukimi, themed Japanese poetry of old or a passing conversation whilst looking up at the stars, you’re bound to come across some space-themed vocabulary. And, of course, if you come across any Japanese-speaking space aliens, you’ll want to be able to connect with them. We’re pretty sure aliens speak British English and Japanese.

So, today, we probably won’t focus on advanced vocabulary such as fancy new alien technology such as mobile phones with 6 cameras, or orange juice you can drink after cleaning your teeth, but we will be focusing on vocabulary that might make aliens feel a bit more at home… in a general sense. Of course, simply naming off landmarks may not suddenly cause an Earthling to feel at home, but it’ll show you’re making an effort. But, before we do get to the main vocabulary, we think it might be important to give you some verbs you can use to interact with the nouns.

Equip your Japanese Language Survival Kit with Japanese Language Learning Essentials!

But, in order to use these verbs, we definitely recommend you take a look at our previous Japanese Essentials lessons in order to learn about particles. You can also look at previous vocabulary lessons such as the lessons concerning vehicles like cars, trucks, and lorries in order to get some more examples of sentence creation.

【みる】 miru

This is a ridiculously versatile Japanese word with a few kanji variants that transform it into other specific definitions, but when speaking it aloud, you simply have to rely on context. miru, (見る), mainly means to see, to watch, to look, to observe, or to view. So, in the context of space, you might translate it as to observe most often if you want it to sound more scientific, so to speak.

However! Maybe you want to use a more formal way of speech to make a good impression. The previously mentioned form is the casual or dictionary form, but the basic level of formality would be with the word: mimasu, (見ます)。And, if you’re looking or watching right this moment, or continuing to watch, it would be:  mitteiru, (見ている) or in basic politeness: miteimasu, (見ています)。

【いく】iku

This is also another word with multiple definitions, but this lesson, we’ll focus on the basics. This word is meant for when you’re transported from one place to another and is usually translated as, to go. But, if you’re planning on telling aliens or Earthlings about where you’re going, you might want to use the basest polite form, which you can pick out easily as it ends in -masu, (ます).  If you will go, or you do go, you can say: ikimasu, (行きます) or if you are currently going or are in a continuous state of going: itteiru, (行っている), or in basic politeness: itteimasu, (行っています)

Simple Survival Sentence Study

This lesson is perfect for applying to our previous lessons! Knowing the vocabulary is very important, but knowing HOW to use it and being able to apply it in many more situations is how you’ll not only survive, but thrive! And of course, when you know how to use the vocabulary, it’s more fun. Mixing up and matching up different sentences will help you feel more comfortable with the sentence structures. We’ll be using some of these sentence structures in the  です、は、が、 を, に and へ, and で～！but you can use these lessons to properly suss out exactly HOW we made the sentences, so you can make your own~!

You can open these on another tab or another device for reference. Now, to space!

Basic Space Vocabulary | 基本的な宇宙の単語

Space (Also: Universe) 🌃

宇宙【うちゅう】uchuu

一緒に　宇宙へ　行きましょう！
いっしょに　うちゅうへ　いきましょう！
issho ni uchuu he ikimashou!
Let’s go to space together!

(learn more about particles に and へ)

Star ⭐

星【ほし】hoshi

夜の空に　星が　見えました。
よるの　そらに　ほしが　みえました。
yoru no sora ni hoshi ga miemashita.
In the night sky, we could see the stars.

Planet 🪐

惑星【わくせい】wakusei

どこの惑星から　来ましたの？
どこの　わくせい　から　きましたの？
dono wakusei kara kimashitano?
Which planet are you from?

Asteroid 🗿

小惑星【しょうわくせい】 shouwakusei

小惑星は地球の近くを通過したけど、当分の間　心配するわけない
しょうわくせいは　ちきゅうの　ちかくを　つうかしたけど、　とうぶんのあいだ、　しんぱいするわけない
shouwakusei wa chikyuu no chikaku wo tsuuka shita kedo, toubun no aida, shinpai suru wake nai.
An asteroid passed close-by Earth, but there’s no need to worry for the time being

Galaxy 🌌

銀河【ぎんが】ginga

この銀河から来たことを推定しないで
この　ぎんがから　きたことを　すいていしないで
kono ginga kara kita koto wo suitei shinai de
Don’t assume I’m from this galaxy

Milky Way 🌌

天の川【あまのがわ】ama no gawa

International Space Non Sequitur by Kiki:
コップから
ミルク流れた
天の川

coppu kara
miruku nagareta
ama no gawa

From my cup
I spilt the milk
Milky Way

Alien (Also: Extraterrestrial being)👽👾

宇宙人【うちゅうじん】uchuujin

宇宙船で　宇宙人と　宇宙に　行きました。
うちゅうせんで　うちゅうじんと　うちゅうに　いきました。
uchuusen de uchuujin to uchuu ni ikimashita.
I went to space with an alien on a spaceship.

「Just leaving #Area51 early after collecting our friends and #patrons before the rush. We just politely asked the #cammodudes to give them back. #notrecommended #staysafe✨https://patreon.com/ieindigoeast✨」♡Kiki+Koko via Twitter

Astronaut (Also: Cosmonaut)👨‍🚀👩‍🚀

宇宙飛行士【うちゅうひこうし】uchuuhikoushi 

宇宙飛行士は スマホ―で 宇宙人と 写真を撮った。
うちゅうひこうしは　すまふぉーで　うちゅうじんと　しゃしんを　とった。
uchuuhikoushi wa sumahoo de uchuujin to shashin o totta.
The astronaut took a picture with the alien on his smartphone.

Rocket 🚀

ロケット【ろけっと】 roketto

ロケットが　発射して　月への旅は　始まった。
ろけっとが　はっしゃして　つきへの　たびは　はじまった。
roketto ga hasshashite tsuki he no tabi wa hajimatta.
The rocket launched and its journey to the moon began.

BONUS WORD:

Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) 🛸

ＵＦＯ 【ユーエフオー】yuuefoo
ＵＦＯ 【ユーフオー】yuufoo
ＵＦＯ 【ユー・エフ・オー】yuu・efu・oo

未確認飛行物体【みかくにんひこうぶったい】mikakuninhikou buttai

未確認飛行物体じゃない。ボクの宇宙船だよ。
みかくにんひこうぶったい　じゃない。　ぼくの　うちゅうせんだよ。
mikakuninhikou buttai jyanai. boku no uchuusen da yo.
It’s not an unidentified flying object. It’s my spaceship.

And, that’s all of the space vocabulary we have time for this time! But, no worries, you and any of your Japanese-speaking extraterrestrial friends will be able to bond over new vocabulary on 【ＳＩＤＥ　Ｂ】 of our far-out mixtape experience. But, if you’d like to

And, those are all of the vehicles for which we have time, this lesson! We’re going to have to continue this on the flip-side of this cosmic mixtape. But, you can use this opportunity to try to use these vocabulary words in sentences. You can even leave them in the comments below~!

Many of the hiragana characters you’ve seen this, we’ve already covered in previous lessons! Be sure to take a look at our Reading and Writing sections to revise / review / study, if you’ve already stayed up-to-date, or take your time and go through them at your own pace.

But, maybe after partying with aliens in the deserts near Area 51, you lost track of time and missed out on the latest content. Stay up to date whether you’re travelling through space or time without ever having to keep track of the days by subscribing to the Electronic Mailing List of Tomorrow, today, found usually at the bottom of the site page or the sidebar on desktop. You’ll get the latest tools and resources to surviving in Japanese language in straight to your inbox. That’s articles, videos, podcasts, and more.

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Thank you for joining us! We hope that you continue with us on this adventure, and we appreciate that you’ve chosen us to assist you on your Japanese learning journey!

♡Kiki+Koko