Japanese Cheat Sheet

Layout: 8.5x11 --- Romanization: Hepburn --- Last Updated: September 30, 2009 --- Originally downloaded for free from: http://nihonshock.com Polite Verb Forms Present/Future Tense Progressive (be ing) Past Tense Negative Present/Future Negative Past Command Negative Command Potential Form (able to) Want to Dont want to Lets Causative (let / make) ~I + masu ~TE + imasu ~I + mashita ~I + masen ~I + masen deshita ~TE + kudasai ~A + naide kudasai ~E + masu (!) suru dekimasu ~I + tai desu ~I + takunai desu ~I + mashou (U-Verb) ~A + semasu (RU-Verb) ~A + sasemasu (!) suru sasemasu (!) kuru korasemasu (U-Verb) ~A + remasu (RU-Verb) ~A + raremasu (!) suru saremasu (!) kuru koraremasu Informal Verb Forms () = cannot be made into a noun with koto/no Present/Future Tense Progressive (be ing) Past Tense Negative Present/Future Negative Past () Command () Negative Command Potential Form (able to) Want to Dont want to () Lets Causative (let / make) ~U ~TE + iru ~TA ~A + nai ~A + nakatta ~TE ~I + nasai (!) Very Direct ~A + naide ~U + na (!) Can Be Rude ~E + ru (!) suru dekiru ~I + tai ~I + takunai (see footer) ~OU (U-Verb) ~A + seru (RU-Verb) ~A + saseru (!) suru saseru (!) kuru koraseru (U-Verb) ~A + reru (RU-Verb) ~A + rareru (!) suru sareru (!) kuru korareru Neutral Verb Forms () = form does not grammatically end a sentence () If ~E + ba ~U + to ~TA + ra ~A + nakereba ~TE + kara ~TA + ra ~U + mae ni ~TA + kara ~TA + node ~U + tame ni ~U + no ni ~I + nagara ~TE + miru (mimasu) ~OU + to suru (shimasu) ~I + nai to ikenai (ikemasen) ~I + nakereba ikenai (ikemasen) ~TE + te ha ikenai (ikemasen) ~TE + oku (okimasu) Compound Sentences VERB1~TE + PHRASE 2

() If not () After () Before () Because () In order to () While Try to Must/have to Must not To do in advance Compound Verbs VERB1~I + VERB 2

Passive (be verbed)

Passive (be verbed)

Verbs as nouns (Gerund form) Informal Form + koto or no

Conjugating Verbs
Regular Verbs U-Verb ~ RU-Verb hana.sa A tabe hana.shi I tabe hana.su U tabe.ru hana.se E tabe.re hana.sou OU tabe.you TE tabe.te TA tabe.ta Irregular Verbs SURU ~ KURU shi A ko shi I ki suru U kuru sure E kore shiyou OU koyou shite TE kite shita TA kita ~ TE TA U-Verb TE/TA endings u tsu ru bu mu nu ku gu tte nde ite ide tta nda ita ida Exceptions: 1. iku (to go) becomes itte and itta 2. If the verb ends in (u), ~A ending becomes (wa). su shite shita

U-Verbs that look like RU-Verbs: iru (to need) hairu (to enter) shiru (to know) kiru (to cut) kaeru (to go home) suberu (to slip/slide) keru (to kick)

de aru
Present Past Probable Negative Past Neg. Prob. Neg. Positive Past Probable Negative Past Neg. Prob. Neg.

(to be)
i-Adjectives
Change i sa i ku i kunai i katta i kunakatta i kereba i kunakereba i sugi(ru) i kute

Adjectives
na-Adjectives
Change na sa na ni Meaning noun form adverb form Meaning noun form adverb form negative past past negative if if not too combining form

a i u e o a i u e o

ka ki ku ke ko ka k ku ke ko

ga gi gu ge go ga gi gu ge go

sa shi su se so sa shi su se so

za ji zu ze zo za ji zu ze zo

ta chi tsu te to ta chi tsu te to

Polite
desu deshita deshou de ha arimasen de ha arimasen deshita de ha nai deshou

Informal
da datta darou ja nai ja nakatta ja nai darou

Adjectives ending with the hiragana (i) are i-Adjectives except those that end as ~ei

SO

TSU

SHI

Hiragana da na ha ji ni hi zu nu fu de ne he do no ho Katakana da na ha ji ni hi zu nu fu de ne he do no ho

ba bi bu be bo ba bi bu be bo

pa pi pu pe po pa pi pu pe po

ma mi mu me mo ma mi mu me mo

ya ra wa ri yu ru n re yo ro wo ya ra wa ri yu ru n re yo ro wo

shichi/nana

JLPT Level 4 (N5) Kanji (103 in all)

ichi ni san shi/yon go roku

hachi kyuu juu hyaku sen man Yen person child man woman

sun moon fire water tree gold

ground

up down left right in out big small inside outside half

mouth eye hand leg ear north

south

east west mother father friend many few old new front back

now noon hour week year go

come meet

see hear say talk stand car street station

language school

read write buy store high cheap

learn heaven

understand sky

rest eat drink live company

country each interval previous what

mountain

river white flower rain fish

electricity

energy name book long 3: Drop sa if followed by a form of de aru.
Lloyd Vincent, 2009. Redistributing without giving credit is terribad for your karma, dont do it.

1: Do not use this form to refuse/decline an offer; its too direct.

2: iru (to be/exist) is a RU-Verb

Japanese Cheat Sheet

Layout: 8.5x11 --- Romanization: Hepburn --- Last Updated: September 30, 2009 --- Originally downloaded for free from: http://nihonshock.com

Core Particles
Indicates the topic of a sentence. Used to contrast one thing from another. Commonly used when stating a fact about someone or something. (!) Although the hiragana ha is used, it is pronounced as wa Kuruma wa watashi ga unten shimashita. As for the car, I drove (it). kono wasabi wa totemo tsuyoi desu. This wasabi is very strong. (= stronger than average wasabi) Tanaka-san wa o-kane o motteimasu. Mr. Tanaka has money. (= he is rich) Marks the subject of a verb. (The doer of the verb) Marks the objects of some specific non-action verbs. wakaru (to understand), dekiru (to be able) Marks the object of an adjectival-verb. hoshii desu (to want), jouzu desu (to be good at), suki desu (to like/love) Connects clauses with a meaning of but or despite Tanaka-san ga o-kane o motteimasu. Mr. Tanaka has the money. (= with him right now) kono bunshou no imi ga wakarimasu. (I) understand the meaning of this sentence. DAKE KURAI HODO YORI

Assisting Particles
Indicates the lesser element in a positive comparison. Indicates from, as in a letter from Mr. Yamada Kono akai kamera wa sono kuroi kamera yori yasui desu. This red camera is cheaper than that black camera. Indicates the greater element in a negative comparison. Indicates an approximate extent, limit or value. (!) Nuance: used to indicate a neutral or large amount. Sono kuroi kamera wa kono akai kamera hodo yasukunai desu. That black camera isnt as cheap as this red camera. Nakitai hodo benkyou shimashita. I studied to the extent that I want to cry. Can also be pronounced gurai

WA

GA

Indicates an approximate extent, limit or value. (!) Nuance: used to indicate a neutral or small amount. Kanji wo juukai gurai kaku to oboeremasu. If you write a kanji about 10 times, you can remember it. Indicates a limit, extent, or amount of something that the speaker thinks is small. Commonly used with dekiru (to be able) to create an as much as possible meaning. Ichijikan dake matte kudasai. Please wait just one hour. Dekiru dake hayaku kaite kudasai. Please write it as quickly as you can.

Indicates the direct object of a verb. Used with verbs of motion to show the place the action occurs. (!) The hiragana wo is used. (The w sound is only faintly enunciated) Kutsu o kaimashita. (I) bought shoes. sora o tobu to fly in the sky

BAKARI

NI

Means only or to the exclusion of all other things

Indicates a indirect object. (the thing or person that an action is done for or directed toward). Indicates direct objects for some specific verbs: naru (to become), au (to meet), noru (to ride) Indicates a destination or location for a verb. Indicates a specific point in time. (Monday / 3pm / 1972) (!) kyou (today), ashita (tomorrow), kinou (yesterday) do not take this particle. Indicates a period of time in which something repeats: ie. (twice) a week Replaces na when using na-Adjectives as Adverbs. Kanojo ni hon o agemashita. (I) gave her a book. Doyoubi ni kouen ni aimashou. Lets meet at the park on Saturday.

DEMO

(!) In spoken Japanese, it is sometimes pronounced bakkari for emphasis, or bakka as a shortened form. Ano kyoushitsu wa onna no ko bakari imasu. That classroom has only girls in it. Indicates a possibility or suggestion. (!) Although demo is often treated as a particle, it is actually the ~TE + mo form of de aru (meaning even if it is...) Means but or even so, at the beginning of a phrase. Turns interrogatives into some~ words. O-cha demo nomimashou ka? Shall we drink some tea or something? Itsudemo denwa shite kudasai. Please call me anytime.

SHIKA

Ichinichi ni ko-hi- o nihai nomimasu. I drink two cups of coffee a day. Creates a complete AND-group of two or more nouns. Indicates a person that the action of a sentence is done with. Marks quoted speech. (!) In this usage, to sometimes informally becomes tte Marks a complete idea for use with verbs like omou (to think). Connects two phrases showing a natural, predictable relationship. kanojo to eiga o mi ni ikimashita. (I) went to see a movie with her. Piza o tabesugiru to futorimasu yo. If you eat too much pizza, youll get fat.

KARA

Like dake, shika also indicates a limit, extent, or amount of something that is small. However, shika is always used with a negative verb form. (!) Nuance: implies that the amount is small, insufficient, or unsatisfactory. Senen shika motte imasen I only have 1,000 yen. Indicates a time or place of beginning. Can join phrases meaning and or after (!) See Page 1 (Neutral Verb Forms): ~U + kara and ~TE + kara Kyou no kaigi wa ichiji kara sanji made desu. Today's meeting is from one o'clock to three o'clock. Indicates a time or place of end. When followed by ni, indicates a time something must be done by/before. Sanji made ni kite kudasai. Please come by three o'clock.

TO

DE

MADE

Indicates the place or area, or length of time inside of which something occurs. Indicates the tool or means used to perform an action. Indicates the material something is made of. Indicates a reason or motive. Nihongo o sankagetsu de oboemashita. (I) learned Japanese in three months. Kaze de nebou shimashita. Due to a cold, I overslept.

HAZU
Expectation

MO

Common Grammar Patterns

BEKI
Appropriateness

Used with other particles to add a meaning of also/too or even. (!) Usage: mo replaces wa and ga completely, but follows all other particles. Turns interrogatives (dare, doko, itsu, etc.) into an every~/all~ word. Osaka ni mo ikimashita. I also/even went to Osaka. Creates an OR-group. Turns interrogatives (dare, doko, itsu, etc.) into a some~ word. At the end of a sentence, makes the sentence or phrase into a question. banana ka ringo o kaimashou ka? Shall we buy a banana or an apple? Dareka tasukete! Somebody save me! Kare wa itsumo sou desu yo. He is always that way.

KA

WAKE
Situation / Fact

TAME
Reason

TSUMORI
Intention

DAKE DE NAKU
Not only

NO HOU GA
WAKE NI WA IKENAI
Must not

Can be interchanged with the particle ni to show a destination. (!) The hiragana he is used. (The h sound is only faintly vocalized) Sengetsu Kyoto e ikimashita. (I) went to Kyoto last month. Creates an incomplete AND-group of two or more nouns. Hon ya enpitsu ya keshigomu o kaimashita (I) bought a book, a pencil, an eraser (and some other stuff).

YA

~EBA ~U HODO
The more the ~er

Tanaka-san ha Sato-san no denwa-bangou o shitteiru hazu desu. Mr. Tanaka should know Mr. Satos phone number. Shachou no sasoi dakara iku beki da to omoimasu. Its an invitation from the CEO, so I think (you) should go. Watashi no tomodachi ga katta wake ja nai kedo ii shoubu deshita. My friend didnt win, but it was a good match. Iku tame no junbi ga owarimashita ka? Are you finished getting ready to go? Konshuu hiragana to katakana o oboeru tsumori desu. This week (Im) going to learn hiragana and katakana. Kanojo wa nihongo dake de naku eigo mo hanasemasu. She can speak not only Japanese but English too. Zenkai yori konkai no tesuto no hou ga muzukashikatta desu. The test this time was more difficult than last time. Uso wo tsukeru wake ni wa ikemasen yo. You mustnt tell lies. Ko-hi- wa nomeba nomu hodo oishiku narimasu. The more you drink coffee, the more delicious it is.

Giving and Receiving

Regular Polite I give AGERU SASHIAGERU I receive MORAU ITADAKU You give to me KURERU KUDASARU

1: With to, you must state all objects of the group, ya only lists some (implying that there are others) Lloyd Vincent, 2009. Redistributing without giving credit is terribad for your karma, dont do it.