Wednesday, 7 January 2009

Survival Japanese

Keywords:

これ kore = this one
ください kudasai = please give me

All you need is to point and say これ ください. This is particularly useful at a restaurant not knowing any Japanese you can see the pics and point what tickle your fancy.

EXPANSION:

If you know a few more たんご tango = vocab. You can say ~ください.

本 (ほん)ください。
This book please.

Vocab:
本 (ほん) hon = book
はなぎ hanagi = postcard

FOCUS

ください kudasai is polite but the alternative おながいします onagaishimasu = please too, is seen as more polite and formal than kudasai. Put it this way, a man usually uses kudasai and a woman almost always uses onagashimasu. Unless if a man wants to impress a lady and would likely use onagashimasu to show off his chivalry.

EXPANSION

'o' particle is placed before kudasai to make it more formal or as the J-peeps describe as honorific.