Category Archives: Beginning Lessons

Notifications for new and updated beginning lessons.

New Lesson: Counting in Japanese

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Kenneth

The first number related lesson, Counting in Japanese, covers Japanese numbers up to 1000. It also discusses the differences between yon/shi for 4, nana/shichi for 7, and kyuu/ku for 9, and introduces the counters ban and banme. Subsequent lessons will cover … Continue reading →

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New Lesson: Demonstratives: the Ko-so-a-do Series

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Kenneth

Demonstratives: the Ko-so-a-do Series covers an interesting collection of Japanese pronouns, adverbs, and modifiers. English has demonstratives too, like “this”, “that”, “here”, and “there”, but as usual Japanese is far more systematic. At this, the first main section of the … Continue reading →

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Beginning Lessons Revision Almost Complete

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Kenneth

The Introduction to the Japanese Language series has now been fully integrated into the Beginning Lessons. Several new pages have been written, the top page reorganized, and “recommended background” and “what next?” sections added to all pages. A Guide to … Continue reading →

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Intro/Beginning Lessons Revision Progress

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Kenneth

I’ve written the new pronunciation guide and expanded the intro lesson on writing. The other big changes I need to make is to reorganize the lessons relating to desu and nouns/pronouns/plurals. Then I’ll post everything and make the remaining changes.

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Intro and Beginning Lessons Rewrite

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Kenneth

I’ve decided to combine Introduction to the Japanese Language into the Beginning Lessons. (You can read about the reasons behind this in the last post.) It’s time I start revising the lessons I’ve written so far, so I might as … Continue reading →

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New Lesson: “No”, The Modifying Particle

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Kenneth

Another longer lesson, “No”, The Modifying Particle explains this particle’s multiple uses as a modifier, first to create possessives (my, your) followed by the more general case. Other uses of “no”, such as its use as a nominalizer (turning the … Continue reading →

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Beginning Lessons Progress

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Kenneth

With about 17 lessons already written, I think it’s about time for a more detailed explanation of what’s coming over the next 6 weeks and beyond. First, I’m starting to consider combining Introduction to the Japanese Language into the Beginning … Continue reading →

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New Lesson: Question Words

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Kenneth

Question Words is a follow up to Questions and Negation, which focuses on yes-no questions. The next couple of lessons will be about the possessive particle “no” and the ko-so-a-do series (this, that, here, there, etc.), followed by adjectives and … Continue reading →

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New Page: Basic Japanese Vocabulary

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Kenneth

The new Basic Japanese Vocabulary page under Beginning Lessons includes some general vocabulary for beginners as well as links to particular categories of vocabulary covered on dedicated pages. A basic particle summary page is also in the works.

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New Lesson: The Sentence Ending Particles “Ne” and “Yo”

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Kenneth

The Sentence Ending Particles “Ne” and “Yo” explains the other two sentence ending particles (along with “ka”) used in formal speech: when to use each, or both together. It also covers the “sou desu” category of expressions that are common … Continue reading →

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