Module 3 | Lesson 1 Demonstrative Words in the Japanese Language

Demonstrative words are words used to point at or refer to persons, places or

things/ objects. When used as the subject of the sentence, the demonstrative is a noun.
But when it accompanies a noun, it functions as an adjective.
In this lesson, Japanese language learners are introduced to demonstrative
pronouns and adjectives used specifically for referring to things or objects. The
demonstrative pronouns are KORE, SORE, and ARE while the demonstrative adjectives
are KONO, SONO, and ANO.

Learning Outcomes :
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to :
1. Translate vocabulary introduced in the module, and
2. Construct sentences that apply the patterns introduced/discussed .

Core Content
Here is the list of vocabulary you need to be familiar with to go through this lesson
:
This (thing here) kore
That (thing near you) sore
That (thing over there) are
Book hon
Dictionary jisho
Magazine zasshi
Newspaper shinbun
Notebook no-to
Pocket Notebook techou
Business Card meishi
Card ka-do
Telephone Card terehon ka-do
Pencil empitsu
Ballpen bo-rupen
Mechanical Pencil sha-pu penshiru
Key kagi
Watch, clock tokei
Umbrella kasa
Bag kaban
Cassette tape kasetto te-pu
Tape recorder te-pu reko-da-
Television terebi
Radio rajio
 Camera kamera
Computer kompyu-ta-
Car jidousha
Desk tsukue
Chair isu
Chocolate chokore-to
Coffee ko-hi-
Wallet saifu
What nan

1. Use of KORE, SORE , ARE

Kore , Sore, and Are are demonstrative pronouns. They are used to point at things.
Specifically, KORE is used to refer to a thing near the speaker, SORE to a thing near
the listener and ARE to a thing far from both the speaker and listener.
Kore, Sore and Are may be used as subjects of sentences.
Thus, in the pattern “Subject wa N desu”, Subject is Kore, Sore or Are while N is
the object referred to.

Example : Kore wa hon desu. ( This is a book.)

Sore wa hon desu. (That is a book.)
Are wa hon desu. (That over there is a book.)

2. Use of KONO, SONO, ANO

Kono, Sono and Ano are also demonstratives ; specifically, they are
demonstrative adjectives.
Unlike Kore, Sore and Are, Kono, Sono and Ano cannot be used alone as subjects
of sentences. When Kono, Sono or Ano is used in the sentence, it has to be immediately
followed by a noun, i.e. the name of the thing or object referred to.

Example : Kono hon wa watashi no desu. ( This book is mine.)

3. Sou desu / Sou ja arimasen
The word "SOU" may be used to answer a question requiring an affirmative or
negative answer. Thus, "HAI, SOU DESU” is the affirmative response while "IIE, SOU
JA ARIMASEN" is the negative answer.

Example : Kore wa kagi desu ka. (Is this a key?)

 …Hai, kagi desu. (Yes, that is a key.)
Or …Hai, sou desu. (Yes, it is so.)

Kore wa bo-rupen desu ka. (Is this a ball pen?)

… Iie, bo-rupen ja arimasen. (No, that is not a ball pen.)
Or … Iie, sou ja arimasen. (No, it is not so.)

Module 4 |Lesson 1 – Interrogative Words

An Interrogative word is a function word which we use to ask a question. In this
lesson, you will be introduced to three Interrogative words : DARE, DOKO, and
DOCHIRA.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to :
1. translate vocabulary,
2. answer questions that use interrogative words
Core Content
For this lesson, a new set of vocabulary is introduced.
Here, this place koko
There, that place near you soko
That place over there asoko
Where, what place doko
This way kochira
That way sochira
That way over there achira
Which way dochira
Classroom kyoushitsu
Dining hall, canteen shokudou
Office jimusho
Conference room kaigishitsu
Reception desk uketsuke
Lobby robi-
Room heya
Toilet, Restroom toire(otearai)
Staircase kaidan
Elevator erebe-ta-
Escalator esukare-ta-
Church kyoukai
Country okuni
Company kaisha
 House, home uchi
Telephone, telephone call denwa
Shoes kutsu
Necktie nekutai
Wine wain
Tobacco, cigarette tabako
Counter (in a department store) uriba
Basement chika
What floor ~kai(~gai)
Italy Itaria
Switzerland Suisu

1.
1. KOKO, SOKO, ASOKO / KOCHIRA, SOCHIRA, ACHIRA
In this lesson, additional demonstrative words are introduced. These
are KOKO, SOKO, and ASOKO plus KOCHIRA, SOCHIRA, and ACHIRA. Similar to Kore,
Sore and Are, Koko, Soko and Asoko as well as Kochira, and Achira are also
demonstratives. But, unlike Kore, Sore and Are, Koko, Soko and Asoko are used when
referring to places while Kochira, Sochira and Achira are used when referring to
directions.

Example: Koko wa kyoushitsu desu. (This is the classroom.)

Kyoushitsu wa koko desu. (The classroom is this place.)
Erebe-ta wa sochira desu. (The elevator is that
way.)

Koko, Soko and Asoko may also be used to tell where a person or an
object is.

Example : Tanaka san wa asoko desu. (Mr. Tanaka is over

there.)

In the sentence pattern, “Subject wa N desu.”, the subject may be a

person or object while the N tells where the subject is.
 Example : Tanaka san wa kyoushitsu desu, (Mr. Tanaka is in the
classroom.)
Denwa wa jimusho desu. (The telephone is in the
office.)

2. The Interrogative Word “DARE”

“DARE” is a Japanese word that translates in English to WHO,
thus, “DARE” is an interrogative word. When a question uses “DARE”, the basic thing you
do is to drop it and replace with your answer which, in this case, is a person. “DARE” is
followed by the particle “NO”, it becomes equivalent to WHOSE.

Example : Kore wa dare no hon desu ka. (Whose book is this?)

… Kore wa Yamada san no hon desu. (This is Mr. Yamada’s
book.)

Take note that in the above example, I replaced “DARE” with YAMADA
SAN.

3. The Interrogative Word “NAN”

In the previous module, you encountered the interrogative word “NAN”
(WHAT). In this lesson, we again use “NAN” in the question pattern ,
“Subject wa nan no N desu ka.” Let me explain the parts of this question. In the
question pattern, “Subject wa nan no N desu ka.” :
•
o
▪ the subject may be KORE, SORE, or ARE
▪ N is an object
▪ “nan no” is “WHAT KIND OF~” in English
To answer the question, drop NAN and replace it with your answer which,
in this case, is the KIND of N.
For our example, please consider the picture :
 Now, let’s ask the question, “KORE WA NAN NO HON DESU
KA.” This translates in English to, “WHAT KIND OF BOOK IS THIS?” Very obvious, our
answer in English would be ,”THIS IS A JAPANESE/ JAPANESE LANGUAGE
BOOK. Let’s translate our answer in Nihongo : “KORE WA NIHONGO NO HON DESU.”

4. The Interrogative Word “DOKO” and “DOCHIRA”

DOKO” and “DOCHIRA” are both interrogative words. “DOKO” means “where”
while “DOCHIRA” means “which direction”. However, “DOCHIRA” can also mean “where”
thus, it is more polite than “DOKO” .
To answer a question that uses “DOKO” or “DOCHIRA”, simply drop it
and replace with your answer which, in this case, can be the specific name of a place or
a demonstrative pronoun referring to a place or direction..

Example : Otearai wa doko desu ka. (Where is the restroom?)

. . . Otearai wa asoko desu. (The restroom is over there.)

Erebe-ta- wa dochira desu ka. (Which way to the elevator?)

. . . Erebe-ta- wa achira desu. (The elevator is that way over
there.)

“DOKO” or “DOCHIRA is also used to ask the name of a country,

company, school or any place or organization a person belongs
to. “NAN” (what) cannot be used.

Example : Anata no gakkou wa doko desu ka. (What is the name of

your school?)
. . . Watashi no gakkou wa Batangasu Daigaku desu. (My
school is University of Batangas.)

Okuni wa dochira desu ka. (What country are you from?)

. . . Okuni wa Firipin desu. (My country is Philippines.)

“Subject wa doko no N desu ka.” is our last pattern for this lesson. Notice that
the question uses DOKO (where) but is followed by the particle NO plus an N. The N is
an object or a product.
Thus, in the question pattern ,“Subject wa doko no N desu ka.”, we would like
to find our WHERE the N (object/product) is manufactured or made. And to answer the
question, just drop the DOKO and replace it with the name of the place (country, most of
the time) where the N (object/product) is made. Aside from the name of the place, the
name of the company (manufacturer) and even brand name may be used to answer the
question.
For our example, consider this picture :

To ask where the bag is made in Nihongo, we say (write), “Kore wa doko no
kaban desu ka.”
And to answer, we simply drop the DOKO and replace it with the place
(company/brand) . Let's assume our answer is "The bag is made in America". In
Nihongo, that would be “Kore wa AMERIKA no kaban desu.”
Module 4 |Lesson 2 – Telling Prices in Japanese
Another essential topic in the study of Nihongo is telling prices. In this lesson,
that is our focus. Ready ?
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to :
1.
1. say in Japanese numbers higher than 99,
2. construct sentences that ask for and tell the price of a product.
Core Content
Before we go to sentence construction on asking for and telling prices, let us first
learn how to say numbers higher than 99.
For the numbers one hundred (100) up to nine hundred ninety-nine (999), add
~ HYAKU after saying in Japanese the number that occupies the hundred place.
~HYAKU is a suffix equivalent to HUNDRED
Example : 200 ( 2 + hundred) NIHYAKU
202 ( 2 + hundred + 2) NIHYAKU NI
222 ( 2 + hundred + 22) NIHYAKU NIJUUNI

However, the technique previously explained does not apply to all. There are
certain exceptions to which no explanation was given. You just need to memorize what
these exceptions are. Take note, exceptions are to be observed both in the written and in
the spoken Japanese.

100 HYAKU
300 SANBYAKU ( pronounced SAMBYAKU)
600 ROPPYAKU
800 HAPPYAKU

For the next set of numbers , one thousand (1,000) up to nine thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine (9,999), add ~ SEN after saying in Japanese the number
that occupies the one thousand place. ~SEN is a suffix equivalent to THOUSAND

Example : 2,000 ( 2 + thousand) NISEN

2,200 ( 2 + thousand + 2 + hundred) NISEN NIHYAKU
2,222 ( 2 + thousand + 2 + hundred + 22) NISEN NIHYAKU NIJUUNI

Just like in the hundred place, there are also exceptions for the second set.
Again, you need to memorize what these exceptions are.
1, 000 sen
3, 000 sanzen
8,000 hassen

Third set are the numbers ten thousand (10,000) up to ninety-nine thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine (99,999). To say these numbers in Nihongo, add
~MAN after saying in Japanese the number that occupies the ten thousand place.
~MAN is a suffix that refers to the ten thousand place. NO EXCEPTIONS for this set.

Rei : 20, 000 NIMAN

22,222 NIMAN NISEN NIHYAKU NIJUUNI

Finally, what about the numbers one hundred thousand (100,000) up to

nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine (999,999) ? To say
these in Nihongo, add ~MAN after saying in Japanese the TWO-DIGIT number
occupying the Hundred thousand and ten thousand places. Thus, 200, 000 is
actually 20 + MAN

200,000 NIJUUMAN

Now that you know how to say numbers higher than 99, let us then
construct sentences that ask for and tell prices. These are your patterns :
 To ask for the price, “Subject wa ikura desu ka.”

Just like “DOKO”, “DARE” ,and “NAN”, “IKURA” is also an interrogative word. In
English, “IKURA” is HOW MUCH.

To answer the question, simply drop “IKURA” and replace it with the PRICE of the
subject. To tell the price, again, just say (write) in Japanese the number that tells the price
and add the currency (EN for Japanese currency, DORU for dollars, and PESO for pesos.

Example : Enpitsu wa ikura desu ka. (How much is the pencil?)

Enpitsu wa gojuu en desu. (The pencil is 50 yen.)