lingophant_japanese
11-06-2026
02 - Introductions

Introduce yourself — where you're from, what you do, and your interests.

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どこから来ましたか
 
Where are you from? (Literally 'from where did you come?' から = from, 来る (kuru) = to come.)
アメリカから来ました
 
I'm from America (Past tense 来ました ('I came') used for origin.)
どこに住んでいますか
 
Where do you live? (住む (sumu) = to live/reside. に marks location of existence.)
東京に住んでいます
 
I live in Tokyo (東京 = 東 (east) + 京 (capital) — 'eastern capital'.)
お仕事は何ですか
 
What's your job? (仕事 (shigoto) = work. お adds politeness.)
何をしていますか
 
What do you do in life? (Literally 'what are you doing?' — covers job/general activity.)
先生です
 
I'm a teacher (先生 = 先 (before/ahead) + 生 (born/life) — 'one born before/ahead'.)
データサイエンティストです
 
I'm a data scientist (Many modern professions are direct loanwords written in katakana.)
アーティストです
 
I'm an artist (Native word 芸術家 (geijutsuka) exists but アーティスト is more common in speech.)
学生ですか？何を勉強していますか
 
Are you a student? What do you study? (学生 = 学 (study) + 生 (life/person). 勉強 = 勉 (effort) + 強 (strong).)
大学で言語を勉強しています
 
I study languages at university (大学 = 大 (big) + 学 (study) — 'big study'. で marks location of action.)
何語を話しますか
 
What languages do you speak? (何語 (nani-go) = 'what language' — 語 attaches to language names (英語, 日本語...).)
英語と日本語を少し話します
 
I speak English and a bit of Japanese (と = and (between nouns). 少し (sukoshi) = a little.)
母国語は何ですか
 
What's your native language? (母国語 = 母 (mother) + 国 (country) + 語 (language) — 'mother-country language'.)
暇な時、何をしますか
 
What do you do in your free time? (暇 (hima) = free time. 時 (toki) = when. Literally 'free time-when, what do you do?')
本を読んだり、映画を見たりするのが好きです
 
I like to read and watch movies (〜たり〜たりする = 'do things like X and Y'. 映画 = 映 (reflect) + 画 (picture).)
友達に会って、冗談を言うのが好きです
 
I like meeting friends and joking around (Literally 'say jokes' — 冗談を言う. に会う = to meet (someone).)
趣味はありますか
 
Do you have any hobbies? (趣味 (shumi) = hobby. ある = to exist (for things).)
何かスポーツをしますか
 
Do you play any sports? (何か (nanika) = something/any. する covers 'play' for sports.)
何歳ですか
 
How old are you? (歳 (sai) = years of age. Counter required after the number.)
二十一歳です
 
I'm twenty-one years old (二十 (ni-juu) = 20, literally 'two-ten'. 一 = one.)
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