Introduction

Learning the Japanese language can be fun and easy. This book is a fun attempt to help you to understand more easily the English meaning of Japanese spoken verbs. An English “Keyword” will be assigned to the Japanese syllable or syllables of each verb and those keywords will be made into an imaginative story that is then linked to the English meaning of the verb.

Japanese Verbs Made Easy will use the imaginative approach for the spoken language. Of all the parts of speech, the Japanese verb is the most useful tool for beginning students to communicate in the Japanese language.

Approach this book as if you were going to create your own version of a play in which you are the producer, director, writer, set designer and, sometimes, actor. Each verb you are learning is a scene in that play. You will be given a brief script and a cast of characters, but the final version of this play will be determined by your own imagination.

In this book the process of learning Japanese verbs will be simplified by focusing on only the MASU form of Japanese verbs. This form is often referred to as the “polite form” and the one that is most used by beginning Japanese students. In your further studies you will learn that from this form other Japanese forms can be made.

There are three steps in this approach to understanding the English meaning of Japanese verbs:

Step 1 will be to assign a “Keyword” for the different sounds of the Japanese syllable or syllables contained in the given verb. These keywords will be close approximations of the sound of each syllable and will be good enough for you to understand what is spoken and to be understood in a conversation. Your continued interest in the Japanese language will further your skills in the precise pronunciation of the verb.

Step 2 will be to construct an imaginative story using the keywords. As you will see later, the keywords are not limited to space or time; there are some individuals representing keywords who existed hundreds of years ago and are interacting with individuals of today. This is an imaginative approach in which time and space have no limits, and one in which you have total control.

Step 3 will be to link the keywords with the English meaning of the verb to complete the imaginative story. Once you have learned the verb, you are encouraged to use that verb as often as possible even though you may not know any other Japanese words. This method works best with others who are also beginning their study of the Japanese language. For example, saying “Please AKEMASU the window” is requesting of someone to “Please OPEN the window.”  You should not be concerned now about whether the verb is in the correct form or in the correct order. Your main objective at this point is to learn the English meaning of Japanese verbs and to retain what you have learned.