see, watch -- mimasu
listen -- kikimasu
read -- yomimasu
do -- shimasu
learn (with an instructor) -- naratte imasu NOTE: to study by yourself=benkyou
teach -- oshiete imasu
have -- arimasu (arimasu takes ga instead of o as an object marker)
eat -- tabemasu
drink -- nomimasu
(I) watch TV. -- Terebi o mimasu. (o=object marker)
(I) read books every day. -- Mainichi hon o yomimasu. (o=object marker)
(I) learn Japanese (with an instructor). -- Nihon-go o naratte imasu.
(I) teach English. -- Eigo o oshiete imasu.
(I) play tennis on Saturdays. -- Do-youbi ni tenisu o shimasu.
what? -- nani
something -- nanika
*What do you do on Sundays? I play golf. -- Nichi-youbi ni nani o shimasu ka. Gorufu o shimasu.
Do you do (lit. have) anything on Wednesdays? Yes, I have a Japanese lesson. -- Sui-youbi ni nanika arimasu ka. Ee, Nihon-go no ressun ga arimasu. (arimasu takes object marker ga)
*Do you do anything on Sundays? -- Nichi-youbi ni nanika shimasu ka.
almost always -- itsumo (with positive or negative form of verb)
usually -- taitei (with positive or negative form of verb)
often -- yoku (with positive or negative form of verb)
sometimes -- tokidoki (with positive or negative form of verb)
occasionally -- tamani (with positive or negative form of verb)
not so often -- amari (with negative form of verb)
seldom -- mettani (with negative form of verb)
not at all -- zenzen (with negative form of verb)
*What do you usually (lit. almost always) do in the evening. -- Yoru ni (or:ban ni) itsumo nani o shimasu ka. (NOTE: use "itsumo" when you ask about somebody's routine, use taitei in response)
*I usually watch TV in the evening? -- Yoru ni (or: ban ni) taitei terebi o mimasu.
How often? -- dono gurai
What do you usually (lit. almost always) do over the weekend? I often play tennis (lit. go to). -- Shuumatsu ni itsumo nani o shimasu ka. Yoku tenisu ni ikimasu.
*What do you usually (lit. almost always) do in your spare time? I usually read books. -- Hima na toki ni itsumo (or: futsuu) nani o shimasu ka. Taitei hon o yomimasu.
*Do you watch TV? -- Terebi o mimasu ka.
*My father reads Japanese novels in his spare time. -- Hima na toki ni chichi wa Nihon(-go) no shousetsu o yomimasu. NOTE: hima na toki (=spare time) takes the marker ni. "Nihon no shousetsu" or "Nihon-go no shousetsu" -- both are correct, depends what you want to emphasize
Do you often go to (lit. see) the movies? No, I don't go very often. -- Yoku eiga o mimasu ka. Iie, amari mimasen.
once -- ik-kai
twice -- ni-kai
three times -- san-kai
four times -- yon-kai
five times -- go-kai
six times -- rok-kai
seven times -- nana-kai
eight times -- hak-kai
nine times -- kyuu-kai
ten times -- juuk-kai
once or twice -- ichi-ni-kai
two or three times -- ni-san-kai
three or four times -- san-yon-kai
four or five times -- shi-go-kai
How many times? -- nan-kai
once a day -- ichi-nichi ni ik-kai
twice a week -- is-shuukan ni ni-kai
two or three times a year -- ichi-nen ni ni-san-kai
once in two days -- futsu-ka ni ik-kai
six times in eight weeks -- has-shuukan ni rok-kai
5 days a week -- is-shuukan ni itsu-ka
how many hours a day -- ichi-nichi ni nan-jikan
*I have Japanese lessons twice a week. -- Is-shuukan ni ni-kai Nihon-go no ressun ga arimasu. (NOTE: use ga arimasu when you talk about lessons, compare: Is-shuukan ni ni-kai Nihon-go naratte imasu.)
*How often do you go (lit. see) to the movies? I go (lit. see) about once a month. -- Dono gurai eiga o mimasu ka. Ik-kagetsu ni ik-kai gurai mimasu. (NOTE: gurai indicates approx. extent, it follows a noun which indicates quantity, whereas goro "around" follows specific time)
How often? -- dono gurai NOTE: with "dono gurai" you can ask not only frequency but also "how much/far/long" etc.
About how many times? -- nan-kai gurai
about three times -- san-kai gurai
*About how many times a week do you go there? Three or four times a week. -- Is-shuukan ni nan-kai gurai (or: "dono gurai" instead of "nan-kai gurai") ikimasu ka. Is-shuukan ni san-yon-kai desu.
*John goes fishing about five or six times a year. -- Jon-san wa ichi-nen ni go-rok-kai gurai tsuri ni ikimasu.
*I read Japanese magazines once a week. -- Is-shuukan ni ik-kai Nihon no zasshi o yomimasu.
*I read newspapers every weekend. -- Shuumatsu ni shinbun o yomimasu. NOTE: shuumatsu takes ni/shuumatsu ni enough for "every weekend"
*I'm taking a Japanese class once a week. -- Is-shuukan ni ik-kai Nihon-go no kurasu ga arimasu (or: e/ni ikimasu). NOTE: naratte imasu should not be used here because the class is mentioned
*My mother does the laundry once a week. -- Is-shuukan ni ik-kai haha wa (or: ga) sentaku o shimasu.
*My son did not study at all last weekend. -- Senshuu no shuumatsu ni musuko wa zenzen benkyou o shimasen deshita.
*My roomate and I sometimes go to Karaoke on Saturday nights. -- Do-youbi no ban (or: yoru) ni rumomete to watashi wa tokidoki Karaoke ni (=purpose) ikimasu.
*My younger sister listens to Japanese tapes every day. -- Imouto wa mainichi Nihon-go no teepu o kikimasu.
I don't read anything. -- Nani mo yomimasen. (nani+mo=anything)
*What did you read yesterday? -- Kino nani o yomimashita ka.
I didn't do anything on the weekend. -- Shuumatsu ni nani mo shimasen deshita.
*I didn't do anything in particular yesterday. -- Kino tokuni nani mo shimasen deshita.
Nobody reads that book. -- Sono hon wa dare mo yomimasen. (dare+mo=nobody)
*What kind of books do you read? I read novels. -- Donna hon o yomimasu ka. Shousetsu o yomimasu.
What kind? -- donna+noun
What kind of things do you do on Sundays? -- Nichi-youbi ni donna koto o shimasu ka.
abstract thing -- koto
tangible thing -- mono
What kind of thing(s)? -- donna mono
*That person does not eat sushi. -- Sono (or:ano) hito wa sushi o tabemasen.
video -- bideo
television -- terebi
program (television or radio) -- bangumi
What kind of program? -- donna bangumi
What kind of program (television) do you watch? -- Donna bangumi o mimasu ka.
weather forcast -- tenki-yohou
news -- nyuusu
music -- ongaku
jazz -- jazu
classical music -- kurasikku
Japanese music -- Nihon no ongaku
tape -- teepu
radio -- rajio
book -- hon
essay -- essei
novel -- shousetsu
magazine -- zasshi
Japanese magazine -- Nihon no zasshi
newspaper -- shinbun
Japanese (language) newspaper -- Nihon-go no shinbun
English newspaper -- Eigo no shinbun
movie -- eiga
Japanese movies -- Nihon no eiga
American movies -- Amerika no eiga
French movies -- Furansu no eiga
comedies -- komedii
date -- deeto
What kind of magazine? -- donna zasshi
What kind of newspaper? -- donna shinbun
What newspapers? -- Nani shinbun.
I sometimes read books on the train. -- Densha (no naka) de tokidoki hon o yomimasu.
*I often listen to my cd's at home at night. -- Yoru ni uchi de yoku shiidii o kikimasu.
I listen to music at home. -- Uchi de ongaku o kikimasu. (to indicate the place of action use the marker de)
I see movies in Shibuya. -- Shibuya de eiga o mimasu. (to indicate the place of action use marker de)
I have a lesson in Ginza. -- Ginza de ressun ga arimasu. (to indicate the place of action use marker de)
*I have in English lesson in Shibuya. -- Shibuya de eigo no resson ga arimasu.
like -- suki desu NOTE: with "suki desu" you express your general taste, to express that you like something for specific cases use "ii desu" (suki translates as a verb in English, but in Japanese grammar it is a adjectival noun)
dislike -- kirai desu NOTE: kirai is also an adjectival noun, kirai is too strong for Japanese people, use AMARI SUKI JA ARIMASEN
*I like coffee (in general). -- Watashi wa koohii ga suki desu. NOTE: person wa+item/thing ga+suki desu
*I would like to have coffee. -- Koohii o onegai shimasu.
*My wife likes country western music. -- Kanai wa kantorii ga suki desu.
(I) don't like jazz very much. -- Jazu ga amari suki ja arimasen. NOTE: person wa+item/thing ga+amari suki ja arimasen
*What kind of sports do you like? -- Donna supootsu ga suki desu ka.
*What kind of person do you dislike? -- Donna hito ga amari suki ja arimasen ka.
*I'm still poor at Japanese. That's not true. -- Watashi wa mada Nihon-go ga heta desu. Sonna koto wa arimasen yo. NOTE: person wa+thing ga+heta desu (mada=still can go anywhere)
*I'm still poor at tennis. -- (Watashi wa) tenisu ga mada heta desu.
*Mr. Smith is good at Japanese. -- Sumisu-san wa Nihon-go ga jouzu desu. NOTE: person wa+thing ga+jouzu desu
Mr. Takahashi is good at English. -- Takahashi-san wa eigo ga jouzu desu.
Mr. Smith, you are good at Japanese. No, I'm still poor at it. -- Sumisu-san, Nihon-go ga jouzu desu ne. Iie, mada heta desu. NOTE: jouzu desu ne is often used for a compliment NOTE: if s.b. says you are good at s.th., you don't answer "yes, I'am good" (modesty in Japanese)
be poor at -- heta desu (heta=adj. noun)
be good at -- jouzu desu (jouzu=adj. noun)
*I love Italian food but I don't like German food very much. -- Watashi wa Itaria-ryouri ga totemo suki desu kedo Doitsu-ryouri ga amari suki ja arimasen.
* Japanese people eat Nori and Natto in the morning, don't they? -- Nihon-jin wa asa ni nori to natto o tabemasu ne.
* I usually go home right after work, but on Tuesdays I have dance lessons. -- Taitei shigoto no ato sugu kaerimasu ga ka-youbi ni dansu no ressun ga arimasu.
immediately -- sugu
after; after work -- ato; shigoto no ato
war -- sensou
peace -- heiwa
such a fact -- sonna koto
