N5 · Unit 1
Lesson 1Name, role, and nationality
Use polite sentences to identify yourself and others, including affirmative, negative, and question forms.
What you learn
Use polite sentences to identify yourself and others, including affirmative, negative, and question forms.
Learning points
- Noun predicate sentences
- Affirmative and negative forms
- Yes-no questions and replies
Why this lesson comes now
This lesson connects what you can already say to a new way of expressing it. Hear the key sentences, understand the structure, then use it in a real situation.
Your next step
Listen to the key sentences, understand the pattern, finish the examples and vocabulary, then continue to the next lesson.
Open the interactive lessonCore pattern
A は B です / では ありません / ですかBeginner explanation
Use は to introduce the topic and です to identify it politely. Here は is pronounced wa, not ha. Use では ありません for a negative and add か to form a question.
Understand these sentences first
- わたしは リナです。watashi wa Rina desu
I am Rina.
- わたしは 会社員です。watashi wa kaishain desu
I am an office worker.
- アレックスさんは 学生ですか。Arekkusu-san wa gakusei desu ka
Is Alex a student?
- いいえ、学生では ありません。iie, gakusei dewa arimasen
No, not a student.
Core vocabulary
- 私わたしI
- 会社員かいしゃいんoffice worker
- 学生がくせいstudent
- 先生せんせいteacher
- 中国人ちゅうごくじんChinese person
- 日本人にほんじんJapanese person
Grammar, one point at a time
A is B: A は B です
A は B ですは, pronounced wa here, marks the topic. です makes a polite identification. Japanese does not add another separate verb equivalent to English be.
Examples
- わたしは 会社員です。I am an office worker.
- アレックスさんは 学生です。Alex is a student.
A is not B: A は B ではありません
A は B では ありませんReplace です with では ありません for a polite negative. In conversation, では often becomes じゃ. Learn the full form first.
Examples
- わたしは 学生では ありません。I am not a student.
- 田中さんでは ありません。It is not Tanaka.
Ask with か, then confirm, deny, or say you do not know
A は B ですかFinal か turns the sentence into a question. Confirm with はい、そうです, deny with いいえ、ちがいます, and say 分かりません when you cannot tell. A question mark may appear in modern writing, but か and intonation carry the grammatical question.
Examples
- ミナさんは 会社員ですか。Is Mina an office worker?
- はい、そうです。Yes, that is right.
- いいえ、ちがいます。No, that is not right.
Use の for affiliation, origin, or category
A の BJapanese commonly links two nouns with の. The first noun can identify the company, school, country, or category associated with the second. Do not simply place every pair of Chinese-style nouns side by side.
Examples
- 東京大学の 学生a University of Tokyo student
- 日本の 会社a Japanese company
Expressions and situations
わたし, あなた, and あの人
わたし refers to yourself. あなた refers to the listener, but repeating it when you know the person's name can sound distant. あの人 means that person. In real conversation, prefer name + さん or omit a clear subject.
- ミナさんは 会社員ですか。Is Mina an office worker?
さん, ちゃん, 君, and 先生
さん is the safest general suffix and follows another person's name, not your own. ちゃん is often affectionate or used for children. 君 can address a younger male in specific relationships but is context-sensitive. 先生 is a title for teachers, doctors, and similar professions, not a general equivalent of Mr.
Omit a subject that is already clear
Japanese conversation often omits first- and second-person subjects. Repeating わたしは or あなたは can sound unnatural when the context is clear. State the subject when contrast or clarification requires it.
- 会社員です。(I am) an office worker.
あっ marks a sudden realization or reaction
あっ is a brief interjection for suddenly recognizing someone, remembering something, or lightly bumping into another person. It is informal and often precedes a name or すみません.
- あっ、すみません。Oh, excuse me.
A standard first-meeting sequence
Begin with はじめまして, give your name or role, and close with よろしく お願いします. The other person can reply こちらこそ、よろしく お願いします. The phrase asks for a good relationship going forward and should not be translated word by word.
- はじめまして。リナです。よろしく お願いします。Nice to meet you. I am Rina. I look forward to knowing you.
会社員 is an occupation; 社員 links a person to a company
会社員 names the occupation of office worker. 社員 usually identifies membership in a particular company, as in ABC社の 社員です.
- 会社員です。I am an office worker.
- ABC社の 社員です。I work for ABC Company.
What you should be able to do
- Substitute roles, nationalities, and occupations into affirmative sentences.
- Turn an affirmative identification into a polite negative with では ありません.
- Respond to a name or role with はい、そうです or いいえ、ちがいます.
- Use A の B for a school, company, country, or category.
- Reorder shuffled words into complete statements and questions.
- Complete an original introduction with name, nationality, role, affiliation, and greeting.
Culture and real use
At Narita Airport, confirm the terminal before choosing transport
Narita Airport currently has three terminals. Rail options include the Keisei Line, Narita Sky Access, and JR lines. Buses serve Tokyo Station, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Shibuya, and other areas. Timetables, fares, and stops change, so check the airport's official access pages before travel.
- 第1ターミナルは どこですか。Where is Terminal 1?
- 東京駅まで どう 行きますか。How do I get to Tokyo Station?