Say who you are
- ゆきです
- I'm Yuki.
The basic sentence is short. Say your name, and finish with です. ゆきです. I'm Yuki.
hanamaruEpisode 3 · JLPT N5
Say Who You Are in Japanese
私は〜です
How to say who you are in Japanese with 私は〜です, how to ask a question with か, and how to say what you are not.
Did you catch it?
Listen to the conversation first, with no text, the way the video plays it. Then answer.
It is the first day of school, and Yuki meets two people in the corridor.
Who does Yuki think is a teacher?
The conversation 会話
Play any line again, or the whole scene. Tap a word to hear only that part. Hide the English to test yourself.
Excuse me. Are you a teacher?
No, I'm not a teacher. I'm a student.
Oh, sorry! My name is Yuki.
Nice to meet you. I'm Nami. I look forward to getting to know you.
Ah — sensei!
Mori
Good morning. I'm Mori.
Good morning, Mori-sensei.
Mori
Oh, are you Yuki?
Yes. I'm Yuki. I look forward to getting to know you.
Mori
Likewise — I look forward to getting to know you.
The lesson
What the video teaches, to read at your own pace.
The people at school
- 先生
- teacher
- 学生
- student
- もり先生
- Mori, the teachername + 先生 — it replaces さん, never both
Two words for the people at school. 先生 is a teacher. 学生 is a student. A teacher is called by name and then 先生 — もり先生. That 先生 replaces さん: you never say もりさん先生.
Join two nouns
- わたしのなまえ
- my name
の joins two nouns. The owner comes first. 私の 名前. My name.
Say what the sentence is about
- わたしはがくせいです
- I am a student.
- わたしのなまえはゆきです
- My name is Yuki.
は comes after what the sentence is about. You write it with ha, but you say wa. 私は 学生です. About me: I am a student. The part before は can be longer. 私の 名前は ゆきです. About my name: it is Yuki. の joins 私 and 名前 into one part, and は comes after that whole part.
Ask a yes or no question
- せんせいですか
- Are you a teacher?
To ask a yes or no question, add か at the end. Nothing else changes. 先生ですか. Are you a teacher? And notice there is no は in front. When it is obvious who you are talking about, Japanese leaves the topic out altogether. That is ordinary, not lazy.
Say what you are not
- せんせいじゃありません
- I'm not a teacher.
To say what you are not, change the last word. です becomes じゃありません. 先生 じゃありません. I'm not a teacher.