Basic prices, weather, and discoveries | Learn Japanese in English

Japanese lesson set in a contemporary Tokyo everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic price, weather, and discoveries..

EN → JA / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Basic prices, weather, and discoveries to practice Japanese conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

これはいくらですか。

koh-REH wah ee-KOO-rah dess kah How much is this?
B

どこに住んでいますか。

DOH-koh nee SOO-moo-deh ee-MAHSS kah Where do you live?
A

天気がいいです。

TEHN-kee gah EE dess The weather is nice.
B

今、雨が降っています。

EE-mah, AH-meh gah FOOT-teh ee-MAHSS It is raining now.
A

私は携帯電話を忘れました。

wah-TAH-shee wah keh-TAI dehn-WAH oh wah-soo-reh-mah-SHEE-tah I forgot my phone.
B

私はそれを見つけました。

wah-TAH-shee wah soh-REH oh meet-soo-keh-mah-SHEE-tah I found it.

Word by Word

これ これ means “this” and identifies the item being discussed in これはいくらですか。It is commonly used in the pattern これは... when pointing out or asking about a nearby item, such as in a shop.
は は marks これ as the topic in これはいくらですか。It is used after the topic in patterns such as これは..., so this sentence asks about the price of “this.”
いくら いくら means “how much” here and asks for the price of the item in これはいくらですか。The reusable price-question pattern is いくらですか, useful when speaking to a shop assistant.
です です makes the question polite in いくらですか and also appears in the polite statement 天気がいいです。It is useful for forming polite everyday questions and statements, especially in conversations with people you do not know well.
か か is the sentence-final question marker in これはいくらですか。The reusable pattern Xですか turns a polite statement into a question, such as when asking about a price.
どこ どこ means “where” and asks for the place of residence in どこに住んでいますか。The pattern どこに...ますか is useful when asking where someone lives or where something is located.
に に marks the location connected with living in どこに住んでいますか。The reusable pattern is placeに住んでいます, used when stating or asking about someone’s place of residence.
住んでいます 住んでいます means “live” or “reside” here, referring to someone’s current home in どこに住んでいますか。It is the polite form related to the citation form 住む, and it is reused after a place marked with に. You can use it when asking someone about their home or telling them where you live.
天気 天気 means “weather” in 天気がいいです, the thing being described as nice. It commonly appears in the pattern 天気が..., useful for everyday small talk about outdoor conditions.
が が marks 天気 as the thing described in 天気がいいです. The reusable pattern nounがいいです describes something as good or pleasant, and this sentence is useful when making a positive comment about the weather.
いい いい means “good” or “nice” here and describes the weather in 天気がいいです。It appears before です in this polite description, which is useful for making a simple positive comment during a weather conversation.
今 今 means “now” and sets the time for 雨が降っています in 今、雨が降っています。It can be placed before a sentence to describe what is happening at the present moment, such as giving a current weather update.
雨 雨 means “rain” in 雨が降っています, where rain is what is falling. The reusable expression 雨が降っています is used to report rainy weather to someone nearby or in a message.
降っています 降っています means “is raining” here and describes rain that is falling now in 今、雨が降っています。It is the polite form related to the citation form 降る, and it is commonly used after 雨が when reporting current rain.
私 私 means “I” and identifies the speaker in 私は携帯電話を忘れました and 私はそれを見つけました。The pattern 私は... is useful when explaining your own action or situation in a conversation.
携帯電話 携帯電話 means “mobile phone” in 私は携帯電話を忘れました, the item the speaker forgot. It can be used before を when describing an action involving the phone, as in 携帯電話を忘れました.
を を marks the object of the action in 携帯電話を忘れました and それを見つけました. The reusable pattern nounを verb identifies the thing that someone forgets, finds, or acts on, which is useful when reporting what happened to an item.
忘れました 忘れました means “forgot” here and politely reports that the speaker left the phone behind in 私は携帯電話を忘れました。It is the polite form related to the citation form 忘れる, and the reusable pattern objectを忘れました is useful when telling someone about a forgotten item.
それ それ means “it” or “that” here and refers to the phone mentioned in the previous line: 携帯電話. The pattern それを... is useful when referring to an already known object instead of repeating its name, such as when saying that you found it.
見つけました 見つけました means “found” here and politely reports finding the previously mentioned phone in 私はそれを見つけました。It is the polite form related to the citation form 見つける, and the reusable pattern objectを見つけました is useful when telling someone that a lost item has been located.

Grammar Points

〜ています

今、雨が降っています。

EE-mah, AH-meh gah FOOT-teh ee-MAHSS

It is raining now.

The polite 〜ています form describes an action happening now or an ongoing state.

〜ました

携帯電話を忘れました。

keh-TAI dehn-WAH oh wah-soo-reh-mah-SHEE-tah

I forgot my mobile phone.

The polite 〜ました form describes a completed action in the past.

Japanese Vocabulary

いい adj
EE nice; good いいです

天気がいいです。

いくら adv
ee-KOO-rah how much

これはいくらですか。

これ pron
koh-REH this これは

これはいくらですか。

どこ pron
DOH-koh where どこに

どこに住んでいますか。

雨 noun
AH-meh rain 雨が

今、雨が降っています。

携帯電話 noun
keh-TAI dehn-WAH mobile phone; cell phone 携帯電話を

私は携帯電話を忘れました。

降る verb
FOO-roo to fall; to rain 降っています

今、雨が降っています。

今 adv
EE-mah now

今、雨が降っています。

私 pron
wah-TAH-shee I; me 私は

私は携帯電話を忘れました。

住む verb
SOO-moo to live 住んでいます

どこに住んでいますか。

天気 noun
TEHN-kee weather 天気が

天気がいいです。

忘れる verb
wah-SOO-reh-roo to forget 忘れました

私は携帯電話を忘れました。

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

nice; good

Show Answerいいです

to fall; to rain

Show Answer降っています

to live

Show Answer住んでいます

to forget

Show Answer忘れました