How to Speak Basic Japanese

Series Summary

The Japanese language gave the world the first novel ever written, The Tale of Genji, composed by a woman in the 13th century; a corpus of anime and manga that explore mature themes of spirituality, aging, war, and love; and plenty of humorous translation accidents, a la “All your base are belong to us.” Because of the many business opportunities overseas and Japanese-run companies setting up shop in the United States, learning to speak Japanese could be a savvy move. Or maybe you want to practice meditation at a Soto Zen monastery in the rural hills. There are many reasons why the Japanese language can be important to American entrepreneurs and travelers.

Learn simple Japanese phrases today in this free video series with expert Yuu Asakura. Yuu gives you demonstrations for speaking and recognizing Japanese words in print. You will be able to ask questions conversationally, talk about your job, age, friends, and object around the room. Yuu teaches you how to count and answer questions as a native speaker! Watch these videos and get ready to start understanding and speaking Japanese today!

Video Transcript

"YUU ASAKURA: Hi. My name is Yuu Asakura, and you're watching Expert Village. I'm teaching you practical Japanese, which you can start using today. I moved out here seven years ago from Osaka, Japan. I studied linguistics when I was in college, and I've been tutoring from students to adults who are travelling to Japan, and I've been working as a translator. And I hope you learn some Japanese and start using it. And in the previous show, we learned how to greet in Japanese and also we learned some very useful sentences, which you can use in Japan. And in this show, I want you to learn how to describe about you and about the person and about your surroundings. I hope you enjoy this show, and let's start."