🔊January Japanese Word of the Weekday w//QUIZBO™ | 【はじめまして、私の名前は○○です。】(01 of 20)

By Kiki+Koko: Let's NihonGO!! on January 3, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

After the lesson, you can practise using the vocabulary with this episode of the Helpful Hints with Kiki+Koko Mini-Podcast

ＨＥＬＬＯ！Ｉ　ＡＭ　ＱＵＩＺＢＯ™！Welcome to Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online’s Japanese Word of the Weekday! This will be a special corner for the month of January dedicated to those that have decided to begin their Japanese language learning journey this year as well as those who hope to return to learning Japanese language. Refrain from worry if you happen to be joining us in future, as you can benefit from this special corner at any time of the year!

Every Word of the Weekday, which will also include many phrases, will be presented in its original Japanese script, potentially its phonetic counterpart, and its romanisation. These will be provided alongside its definition and part of speech if applicable. I will also personally pronounce each word for you. But, this is not all, as it will include an example sentence to help you use the word or phrase in future.

Learning Japanese language requires more than phrases, however. It requires grammar, culture, and more, but this vocabulary serves an important purpose as there is no harm in having a large word bank from which your mind can draw.

The expectation for this special corner is to help you prepare your mind for learning and studying. It can be a difficult habit for many humans to form, but beginning at a rigorous pace may raise your lowest point of mental activity in order to make any less become relaxing. As Kiki and Koko always say, learning a new language should be visualised as an oasis or a relaxing experience as it is potentially a deviation from your usual routine.

At the same time, resting is important, especially for learning; so please do not feel the need to push yourself too much if it is not helpful for your studying habits. But, this consideration is also the reason that we chose to only include weekdays in this special, leaving the weekend for your mind to relax and hopefully encode some of this information into your long term memory.

We have many related lessons and resources that we are sure those who may have already experienced them should revise/review, and those who have not read before would benefit from exponentially. That is why we are supplementing this month with both learning and revision/review so that you can begin and continue at your own pace.

Note: If you have any contrast issues with the colour coding on your monitor, you can highlight the text by tapping on your touch screen or click and drag with your cursor in order to get a higher contrast. The colour coding is meant to assist as a visual aid to accommodate all types of language learners, but monitors may not always provide the same contrast to every student/reader.

Word(s) of the Weekday:

はじめまして、私の名前は○○です。
はじめまして、わたしのなまえは○○です。
hajimemashite, watashi no namae wa ○○desu.
Hello*, my name is ____.

*Alt. Nice to meet you/How do you do

初めまして（はじめまして）
hajimemashite

Phrase/Collocation (連語)
Greeting at the first time of meeting.
(初対面時の挨拶。)

私*の（わたしの）
watashi no

Possessive Personal Pronoun(所有代名詞)
Personal Pronoun+ Possessive Particle (人称代名詞+「の」)

“My”

*Japanese language has many personal pronouns which you can read about in our lessons: 🔊 I Me Mine | Basic Personal Pronouns | SIDE A and 🔊 I Me Mine | Basic Personal Pronouns + Body Language Note | SIDE B.

However, as a beginner, or in any polite social situation, we recommend using 私, read as (わたし・watashi) or even more formally in special formal situations as (わたくし・watakushi).

But, you can avoid it altogether using other natural subject-omitted sentence structures where the subject is implied. This means that 私の as well as 名前, indicated as the topic by the particle 「は」, pronounced (わ・wa), can be omitted completely, leaving just the greeting, 「はじめまして」and your name, followed by the copula 「です。」 Japanese language can be very efficient this way!

名前*は (なまえは)
namae wa
Noun+topic marker/particle
(名詞＋は)
“name is…”

*名前 can be broken down into its two 漢字(kanji), 名, meaning name or given name, and 前, meaning before or in front (of). Japanese given names are placed before the family name. So, even though it is still used when saying your full name, i.e. 「私の名前は「ジョン・スミス」です。」(My name is John Smith.) or 私の名前は「ジョニー・デッパ」です。(My name is Johnny Deppa). Do not call anyone “Mr. Deppa”. This is a 駄洒落, dajare, a wordplay, given to me by Koko who insists that this is humorous. (Dentistry is no laughing matter, Koko.)

Also, do not worry, these were just examples of introductions. I am not John Smith or Johnny Deppa.Ｉ　ＡＭ　 still ＱＵＩＺＢＯ™ .

And, as previously stated, this has a topic marker, the particle 「は」, pronounced (わ・wa), suffixed to show that it is what you are about to indicate in this case.

です。

Desu

Copula(繋辞)/Verb (動詞)

Expresses affirmation.

( 断定の意を表す。)

The copula 「です」is ubiquitous in Japanese, being used in so many instances that we cannot cover it all in this special Word of the Weekday corner. However, it is recommended that you read our lessons: この魔法的な「です」とは？｜What is this magical 「desu」?（SIDE A） and 繋辞とは？｜What is a Copula?（SIDE B） in order to gain an understanding of this important magical copula.

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Published by Kiki+Koko: Let's NihonGO!!

ヾ(・ω・*)ノ　こんにちにゃあ！嬉嬉と興子でございます! And we’re here to teach you Japanese. We'll teach you how to read and write! We'll teach you tips and phrases. We'll teach you grammar and culture! And all you have to do is watch, like, comment, and subscribe to let us know you're going along for the journey! If not, we'd look a bit silly talking to ourselves. 一緒に日本語を学びましょう！ Let's NihonGO!! ©2017-2022 Indigo East View all posts by Kiki+Koko: Let's NihonGO!!