Fun Fact: There are twenty ways to say sorry in Japanese!
Japan's official language
Have you ever wondered why they say your name, and then "San" in Japan? Well, that's because san means Mr. , Mrs. or Ms. Japan's official language is Japanese, and the main language that they speak is called Nihongo, and it is a East Asian language, mostly in Japan. The language is spoken by around 127 million people in Japan, and there more people people who speak the language in 26 other countries . Japanese actually contains a lot of Chinese, and actually, 50% of the words used in Japanese are part of Chinese origin, though Japanese is not related to Chinese. Some history about Japanese language is that since the 18th century, Japan got some words called Gairaigo: Foreign words mainly from English. An example of this is the word teburu, which means table. Japanese also has a few words from Portuguese, Dutch and Spanish, such as pan, which means bread in Japanese and from the Portuguese word pao. These words came in the 16th and 17th century.
A really cool feature about the Japanese language is that they like to create new words by shortening and combining English words. An example is wapuro, which means word processor in Japanese. Another really cool feature about Japanese is that women like to speak in a very high, squeaky voice, at least in public, while men like to speak in low, gruff voices. Fact: Japanese is the 9th most common language in the world |
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Other languages that Japan also speak
There are lots of other languages that Japan speaks except for Japanese. Other languages that Japan speaks are Ryukyuan languages, and main immigrants speak Korean and Chinese. One of the Ryukyuan languages is Amami. Japan actually also has a sign language.
Other normal languages is called Mikyako, and its sound very different than normal Japanese. Another language that Japan speaks is Yaeyama, and they speak it in Japan's southernmost point, the Yaeyama islands. The language is very different there, and instead of the five vowels in the normal Japanese (A,I,U,E,O), there's only three (A,I,O). There are also many more differences.
The Ainu people are the native Japanese, and they also have their own language as well. There were actually a bunch of Ainu languages, but most of them have become extinct, leaving only the Hokkaido Ainu language.
The language Hachijo is spoken by people on the islands just south of Tokyo.
Another cool language is Yonaguni, which is also spoken in on the island of Yonaguni. Yonaguni is actually a tiny little island with about 2,000 people living there, but they are really famous for being Japan's most western point, and having underwater alien pyramids. The language has a lot of similarities with Ryukyuan languages, but the difference about it with it is the written language. Until the 1930's people in Yonaguni used a writing system called Kaidaa, characters that looked like pictures, very much like hieroglyphics. You still see them in the area sometimes, but the written language has mostly changed in the line with the rest of Japan.
Other normal languages is called Mikyako, and its sound very different than normal Japanese. Another language that Japan speaks is Yaeyama, and they speak it in Japan's southernmost point, the Yaeyama islands. The language is very different there, and instead of the five vowels in the normal Japanese (A,I,U,E,O), there's only three (A,I,O). There are also many more differences.
The Ainu people are the native Japanese, and they also have their own language as well. There were actually a bunch of Ainu languages, but most of them have become extinct, leaving only the Hokkaido Ainu language.
The language Hachijo is spoken by people on the islands just south of Tokyo.
Another cool language is Yonaguni, which is also spoken in on the island of Yonaguni. Yonaguni is actually a tiny little island with about 2,000 people living there, but they are really famous for being Japan's most western point, and having underwater alien pyramids. The language has a lot of similarities with Ryukyuan languages, but the difference about it with it is the written language. Until the 1930's people in Yonaguni used a writing system called Kaidaa, characters that looked like pictures, very much like hieroglyphics. You still see them in the area sometimes, but the written language has mostly changed in the line with the rest of Japan.
Another fun fact! 43,000 people speak Japanese in Canada!
How to say hello in Japan
There are actually many ways to say hello in Japan, and all of them have a specific place to say it. In Japan, Konnichiwa means hello, but something interesting about it is that it really depends on what time it is during the day. In Japanese, it is not appropriate to say Konnichiwa to someone 10AM in the morning. If you are talking on the phone, "Moshi Moshi" would be how you would say hello. You would use "Ossu" if you were saying hello between male friends or close male relatives that are around the same age. If you want to says what's up, or what's new, you would say "Saikin do". If you are greeting with someone that you have not seen in a while, you would say "Hisashiburi", which basically means "long time, no see" in English. If you would to say hello in the morning, you would say "Ohayo Gozaimasu" instead of saying Konnichiwa. After dinner, you would say "Konbanwa" as hello.
In the city of Osaka, you would say "Yaho" to your close friends.
In the city of Osaka, you would say "Yaho" to your close friends.
How to say my name and my group member's name in Japanese!
Roy=ロイ Roi
Jason=ジェイソン Jeison
Nadya=ナディア Nadia
Samantha=サマンサ Samansa
Ryan C.=ライアン・C. Raian C.
Kadin=Kadin
Jason=ジェイソン Jeison
Nadya=ナディア Nadia
Samantha=サマンサ Samansa
Ryan C.=ライアン・C. Raian C.
Kadin=Kadin
Japanese Alphabet
There are no letters in the Japanese alphabet, and instead contain characters and character sets. Hiragana is mainly the character set for Japanese, while Katakana is used for foreign words and Kanji for Chinese words. The combinations of the three character sets are combined to make sentences. There are 48 syllables in the Hiragana Alphabet. In total, Japanese Alphabet consists of 99 sounds formed with 5 vowels and 14 consonants.
Before, just like traditional Chinese, in Japanese books you read the columns down, not left to right, or basically, you read it vertical style. This kind of writing is called tategaki. Now, most school textbooks are written horizontally. Young people prefer writing horizontally, while old people like write vertically.
Before, just like traditional Chinese, in Japanese books you read the columns down, not left to right, or basically, you read it vertical style. This kind of writing is called tategaki. Now, most school textbooks are written horizontally. Young people prefer writing horizontally, while old people like write vertically.
How to say some commonly used words in Japanese
Thank you-ありがとうございました
Arigatōgozaimashita(OR-E-GA-TO-GO-ZAI-MA-SHE-TA)
Please-お願いします
Onegaishimasu(O-NE-GAI-SHI-ME-SU)
Bye-さようなら
Sayōnara(Sigh-a-nor-a)
Sorry-ごめんなさい
Gomen'nasai(Go-men-nai-sai)
I'v returned-ただいま
Tadaima(Ta-dai-ma)
Yes-はい
Hai
No-いいえ
Īe
Good night-おやすみ
Oyasuminasai (O-ya-su-mi-na-sai)
Arigatōgozaimashita(OR-E-GA-TO-GO-ZAI-MA-SHE-TA)
Please-お願いします
Onegaishimasu(O-NE-GAI-SHI-ME-SU)
Bye-さようなら
Sayōnara(Sigh-a-nor-a)
Sorry-ごめんなさい
Gomen'nasai(Go-men-nai-sai)
I'v returned-ただいま
Tadaima(Ta-dai-ma)
Yes-はい
Hai
No-いいえ
Īe
Good night-おやすみ
Oyasuminasai (O-ya-su-mi-na-sai)
Japanese Statistics-Some of the countries that speak Japanese!
- Japan - 127,333,002
- United States - 804,000
- Brazil - 380,000
- Peru - 109,000
- Canada - 43,000
- Mexico - 35,000
- Argentina - 32,000
- Germany - 20,000
- Singapore - 20,000
- Hong Kong - 12,000
- Paraguay - 12,000
- United Kingdom - 12,000
- Taiwan - 10,000
- Paraguay - 7,000
- Dominican Republic - 1,500
- United Arab Emirates - 1,300
- Panama - 1,200
- Mongolia (?)
- Philippines- 2,899
- Thailand (?)
- United States - 804,000
- Brazil - 380,000
- Peru - 109,000
- Canada - 43,000
- Mexico - 35,000
- Argentina - 32,000
- Germany - 20,000
- Singapore - 20,000
- Hong Kong - 12,000
- Paraguay - 12,000
- United Kingdom - 12,000
- Taiwan - 10,000
- Paraguay - 7,000
- Dominican Republic - 1,500
- United Arab Emirates - 1,300
- Panama - 1,200
- Mongolia (?)
- Philippines- 2,899
- Thailand (?)