Does anyone here speak Japanese?

[lemondog]

I have a student in my class this year whose family is new to America. The mom doesn't speak a lick of English, except hello and thankyou. The little boy (who is 3) understands better than he speaks, but still does not understand much. I am looking for a few basic phrases I can use with him. So far I know...

Okasa = mom
ohio = good morning
kanichiwa = good afternoon
sayonara = goodbye

I especially would like to know how to say (phonetically):

bathroom
please & thankyou
go to sleep (always handy at naptime)
tummy


I have a Spanish speaking girl in my class but I majored in Spanish and spoke fluently so she is no problem. Japanese, OTOH, is not coming easily to me. Thanks!

 

[Cantw8]

Try this......Japanese is VERY hard to master

http://www.freedict.com/onldict/jap.html

 

[debbi801]

I have a student in my class this year whose family is new to America. The mom doesn't speak a lick of English, except hello and thankyou. The little boy (who is 3) understands better than he speaks, but still does not understand much. I am looking for a few basic phrases I can use with him. So far I know...

Okasa = mom
ohio = good morning
kanichiwa = good afternoon
sayonara = goodbye

I especially would like to know how to say (phonetically):

bathroom
please & thankyou
go to sleep (always handy at naptime)
tummy


I have a Spanish speaking girl in my class but I majored in Spanish and spoke fluently so she is no problem. Japanese, OTOH, is not coming easily to me. Thanks!

Per my 13 yr old DD (She is in a Japanese magnet program at school):

Can I go to the bathroom = toireni ittemo idesuka?
Thank you = arigottogozaimasu
you're welcome = doitashimashte
sleep = nemasu
hungry = onaka pekopeko

If she can think of others, we'll post them.

 

[rayelias]

How about, "Mother, please give me large sums of money for teacher"

 

[MsLeFever]

If mom went to high school in Japan she had at least 3 or 4 years of English - BUT they spend most of that time learning written language. If you need to let her know something - write it down - that will help her a great deal.

(I lived there as an exchange student for a year - LOVED it)

 

[Tinijocaro]

I have a student in my class this year whose family is new to America. The mom doesn't speak a lick of English, except hello and thankyou. The little boy (who is 3) understands better than he speaks, but still does not understand much. I am looking for a few basic phrases I can use with him. So far I know...

Okasa = mom
ohio = good morning
kanichiwa = good afternoon
sayonara = goodbye

I especially would like to know how to say (phonetically):

bathroom
please & thankyou
go to sleep (always handy at naptime)
tummy


I have a Spanish speaking girl in my class but I majored in Spanish and spoke fluently so she is no problem. Japanese, OTOH, is not coming easily to me. Thanks!

I can help with a few. Their vowels never change. A is always our short O sound as in "top". E sounds like the E in "pet". I sounds like our long E as in "feet". O sounds like our long o as in "poke", and U sounds like "ooh"

Mom is okasan
Good afternoon is Konnichiwa

Here is a site of useful Japanese phrases, all phonetic as long as you follow the vowel rules above, you'll figure it out.

http://www.appliedlanguage.com/languages/japanese/japanese_phrases.shtml

Here are a few sound files to hear the pronunciation.
http://japanese.about.com/bl_greeting.htm

http://japanese.about.com/blsoundfile.htm

Hope this helps!

 

[horseshowmom]

No help here, but I wanted to give you my sympathy. My husband teaches 4th grade and just got a little boy from Iran who knows no English. The teachers are trying very hard, but we really feel sorry for the little boy. It's a difficult situation.

Good luck!

 

[Notatourist]

If you don't feel like links...

Try this book. Japanese for Busy People.

 

[MossMan]

I have a student in my class this year whose family is new to America. The mom doesn't speak a lick of English, except hello and thankyou. The little boy (who is 3) understands better than he speaks, but still does not understand much. I am looking for a few basic phrases I can use with him. So far I know...

Okasa = mom
ohio = good morning
kanichiwa = good afternoon
sayonara = goodbye

I especially would like to know how to say (phonetically):

bathroom
please & thankyou
go to sleep (always handy at naptime)
tummy


I have a Spanish speaking girl in my class but I majored in Spanish and spoke fluently so she is no problem. Japanese, OTOH, is not coming easily to me. Thanks!

Ohio Go-Zy-A-Mus - Good Morning - just saying Ohio is a little too masculine
koo-da-sy - please
A-dee-ga-toe - thanks
A-dee-ga-toe Go-Zy-A-Mus - thank-you very much

Don't worry about body parts. The exception in Japanese is the nose. When you point to the nose you are not referring to the nose, you are referring to yourself. We point to out chests.

For sleep I would say "Ne-Doo Koo-Da-Sy. The translation for this is "Sleep please", but this will work just fine.

For bathroom I would use the Japanese version of Toilet - Toe-Ee-De-Toe. Put some old slippers just outside the bathroom door and don't use them for anything else. You don't have to use them in the bathroom. But it will make it more comfortable for any Japanese to have toilet slippers to use in the bathroom.