Page 3

  1. Counting people

    Add the word (nin) to the numbers you already know to count people. "One person" and "two people" are a little different, though. You also need to watch out for "four people," where (yon) turns into (yo)--and that goes for "fourteen people" and so on as well.


    hitori one person
    futari two people
    sannin three people
    yonin four people
    gonin five people
    rokunin six people
    shichinin seven people
    hachinin eight people
    kyuunin nine people
    juunin ten people
    juuichinin eleven people
    juuyonin fourteen people
    nijuunin twenty people
    nijuuichinin twenty one people
    sanjuunin thirty people
    yonjuunin forty people
    hyakunin one hundred people



  2. Asking how many people

    If you want to ask how many people there are (in someone's family, for instance), just use your old friend (nan) instead of a number. Don't forget to add (desu ka) to make the question complete.

    Q:
    Nannin desu ka?    		 How many people are there?
    A:
    Futari desu.    		 There are two people.
    Q:
    Nannin nihon e ikimasu ka?    		 How many people will go to Japan?
    A:
    Gonin ikimasu.     		Five people will go.
    Q:
    Yonin ikimasu ka?     		Will four people go?
    A:
    Iie, yonin dewa arimasen. Gonin desu.     		No, not four people. It's five people.


  3. Asking "who"

    The word (dare) is used just like (nani) and (itsu), which you have learned to use to ask "what" and "when." Again, use (desu ka) to turn your phrase into a proper question.


    Dare desu ka?    		 Who is it?

    Otousan desu.    		 It's my father.

    Ojisan desu ka?    		 Is it your uncle?

    Iie, ojisan dewa arimasen. Otousan desu.    		 No, it is not my uncle. It is my father.



  4. Members of a family

    Some of the names of family members are easy to get confused. Be sure to listen for the longer sound in grandfather and grandmother, and compare it to the shorter sound in uncle and aunt.

    ojiisan grandfather
    ojisan uncle
    obaasan grandmother
    obasan aunt

    In English there are no separate words for "brother" and "sister" that let you know whether they are older or younger. But in Japanese different words are used depending on this age difference. Make sure you use the right ones!

    oneesan elder sister
    imouto younger sister
    oniisan elder brother
    otouto younger brother