Guild Wars: EPoS Forums: Guild Wars: EPoS Forums -> Japanese Lesson 5 - Asking Time and Direction

Now, one of the most important things in any language to gain information, is to ask questions. You have come across some questions in previous lessons, such as asking how someone is feeling. In this lesson, I will be going over some questions, including some important questions, such as asking where the toilet is.

First, we need to learn more vocabulary (Yay, more words to learn!). You may be getting tired with all the new words getting thrown your way, but you can't learn a language without them. The following vocabulary consists of different question words.



Asking the Time

In Japanese, asking for the time is quite easy. This is the basic sentence:

今(いま)何(なん)時(じ)ですか。
Ima nanji desu-ka.
What time is it?

This sentence, though is translated as 'What time is it?' literally means 'What time is it now?'. This is because without the word 'Ima 今', it would make the sentence 'What time?' which would be used in making arrangements. Answering this question is no easy task. You would say the hour, followed by 'Ji 時''. The only exception is that the number nine uses the 'kū' pronunciation. The minutes in Japanese are quite hard. and I will explain them after a quick sentence answering the above question.

今(いま)十(じゅう)一(いち)時(じ)五(ご)分(ふん)です。
Ima Jūichi-ji Gofun desu.
Now it is 11:05.

Minutes in Japanese are pretty much the number, followed by 'fun 分' or 'bun 分'. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as one minute, which is 'ippun 一分'. The following table shows the minuted in Japanese.



If you wish to say 11 minutes, you say ten, then add 1 minute after it. This is the same for all numbers up to sixty, 20 would be 'nijuppun' etc. If you wish to say it is half past the hour, simply add 'han 半' after the hour + ji as 'han' literally means half. If you wish to say whether it is AM or PM, you must add the following after you have said the hour and minutes:

• Gozen 午(ご)前(ぜん): Japanese for AM. The Kanji literally mean Before Midday.

• Gogo 午(ご)後(ご): Japanese for PM. The Kanji literally mean After Midday.

Time for another example:

今(いま)九(く)時(じ)五(ご)十(じゅう)六(ろ)分(っぷん)午(ご)前(ぜん)です。
Ima kuji sanjūippun gozen desu.
It is now 9:31AM.

今(いま)三(さん)時(じ)五(ご)十(じゅう)六(ろ)分(っぷん)午(ご)後(ご)です。
Ima sanji gojūroppun gogo desu.
It is now 3:56PM.

This is probably all you need to know (and want to) about time at this point. I suggest revising the section a lot as it is a tricky section.

Asking for Directions

One of the most important tools in anyone's arsenal when learning a language is asking for directions. If you ever get lost in Japan, you do not want to not know how to ask for and understand directions.

You have already learned a very important word for directions above, that word is 'doko' which means where. Look at the following example:

便(ベン)所(じょ)はどこですか。
Benjo-wa doko desu-ka.
Where is the toilet?

This is slightly vague, so we need to ask:

最(も)寄(よ)り便便(ベン)所(じょ)どこですか。
Moyori benjo-wa doko desu-ka.
Where is the nearest toilet?

Also, if you are asking a stranger where it is, it is always best to say excuse me (sumimasen) prior to asking the question:

すみません、最(も)寄(よ)り便便(ベン)所(じょ)はどこですか。
Sumimasen, Moyori benjo-wa doko desu-ka.
Excuse Me/Sorry, Where is the nearest toilet?

Now that you have asked the question, you may or may not be given an answer. Quite commonly in Japan, even if you ask in Japanese, the stranger may feel as if they should answer in English, if so they may reply with:

あぁ、すみません、私は英(えい)語(ご)ができません。
Aa, sumimasen, watashi-wa eigo-ga dekimasen.
Oh, sorry, I can't speak English.

Before I explain different responses, it would best for you to see the vocabulary that you will need (yes, another table).






Okay, this is a new tactic that will prove useful, Dialogue. I will compose a dialogue between a Japanese person, and a foreign tourist. Here we go:

エリザベス：　すみません、新(しん)幹(かん)線(せん)駅(えき)はどこですか。

通行人：　あぁ、ごめんなさい、私は英(えい)語(ご)ができません。

エリザベス：　えぇ、すみません、新(しん)幹(かん)線(せん)駅(えき)はどこですか。

通行人：新(しん)幹(かん)線(せん)駅(えき)はですか。ええと、この道(みち)をまっすごいって、次(つぎ)の信(しん)号(ご)を左(ひだり)に…　ああ、すみません、次(つぎ)の信(しん)号(ご)を右(みぎ)に曲(ま)がって

ください。それから、二(に)番(ばん)目(め)の交(こう)差(さ)点(てん)を左(ひだり)に曲(つま)がってください。新(しん)幹(かん)線(せん)駅(えき)は東(とう)京(きょう)金(ぎん)行(こう)の向(む)かい側(がわ)です。

エリザベス： すみません、この道(みち)をまっすぐいって…　それから。もう一(いち)度(ど)ください。

通行人： それから、次(つぎ)の信(しん)号(ご)を右(みぎ)に曲(つま)がってください。

エリザベス：　わかりました。そして、二(に)番(ばん)目(め)の交(こう)差(さ)点(てん)を左(ひだり)に曲(つま)がって…

通行人：　はい、そうです。日(に)本(ほん)語(ご)が上(じょう)手(ず)ですね！

エリザベス：　いいえ、まだまだです。どうもありがとうございました。

Erizabasu: Sumimasen, Shinkansen eki-wa doko desu-ka.
Tsūkōnin: Ā, Gomen nasai, Watashi-wa eigo-ga dekimasen.
Erizabesu: Ē, sumimasen, Shinkansen eki-wa doko desu-ka.
Tsūkōnin: Shinkansen eki-wa desu-ka. Ēto, kono michi-wo magatte itte, tsugi no shingō-wo hidari ni... Ā, sumimasen, tsugi no shingō-wo migi ni magatte kudasai. Sorekara, nibanme no kōsaten-wo hidari-ni magatte kudasai. Shinkansen eki-wa Tōkyō Ginkō no mukaigawa desu.
Erizabesu: Sumimasen, kono michi-wo massugu itte... sorekawa. Mou ichido kudasai.
Tsūkōnin: Sorekawa, tsugi no shingō-wo migi ni magatte kudasai.
Erizabesu: Wakarimashita. Shikashi, nibanme no kōsaten-wo hidari ni magatte...
Tsūkōnin: Hai, sō desu. Nihongo-ga jōzu desu ne!
Erizabesu: Iie, mada mada desu. Dōmo arigatō gozaimashita.

Elizabeth: Excuse me, Where is the Bullet Train Station?
Passer-by: Ah, sorry, I cannot speak English.
Elizabeth: Ah, excuse me, Where is the Bullet Train Station?
Passer-by: The Bullet Train Station? Urm, Go straight down this road, turn left at the next traffic lights.. Ah, sorry, please turn right at the next traffic lights. After that, turn left at the second intersection. The Bullet Train Station is opposite the Tokyo Bank.
Elizabeth: Sorry, go straight down this road... after that. Could you say that once more please?
Passer-by: After that, turn right at the next traffic lights.
Elizabeth: I understand. And, I turn left at the second intersection?
Passer-by: Yes, that's right. Your Japanese is very good!
Elizabeth: No, it is not that good. Thank you very much (lit. Thank you very much for what you have done).

The following table contains some vocabulary that will be useful. Anything else that you are unfamiliar with, you can reference on Denshi Jisho (Link in Lesson 3). Some words though, will become more important in other lessons


Okay, this is as far as I will go today, another time I will go more in-depth probably in the next few lessons. If I write any more it will probably become a bit too much and I would rather teach you in small sections.