Lesson 1

Introductions

Grammar
Pattern 1 · Topic は + copula です
topic はcopula です
N1 is N2. は marks the topic (pronounced "wa"); です is the polite copula.
Examples

I, me noun topic marker particle (wa, not ha) engineer noun to be · polite copula (desu) 。

I am an engineer.

Mr. Santos noun · name + さん topic marker particle (wa) Brazilian (person) noun to be · polite copula 。

Mr. Santos is Brazilian.
Pattern 2 · Negative — じゃ ありません
topic はnegative じゃ ありません
N1 is not N2. じゃ ありません is the colloquial negative; では ありません is the formal version.
Examples

Mr. Miller noun topic marker particle student noun is not (polite negative) copula · negative 。

Mr. Miller is not a student.

I, me noun topic marker particle doctor noun is not (polite negative) copula 。

I am not a doctor.
Pattern 3 · Question — final か
topic はcopula ですquestion か
Is N1 N2? Adding か at the end turns any statement into a yes/no question. Intonation rises on か.
Examples

that person (polite) noun topic marker particle who (polite) noun to be · polite copula question marker particle (ka) 。

Who is that person? (polite)

Ms. Karina noun topic marker particle student noun copula question marker particle 。

Is Ms. Karina a student?
Pattern 4 · Also — も swaps with は
also もcopula です
N1 is ALSO N2. も replaces は (never both). At most one of these particles per slot.
Examples

Mr. Tanaka noun topic marker particle company employee noun copula 。 Mr. Suzuki noun also (replaces は) particle (mo) noun copula 。

Mr. Tanaka is a company employee. Mr. Suzuki is ALSO a company employee.
Pattern 5 · の as connector
connector の
N1’s N2, or N2 of N1. の joins two nouns — possessive, topic-of, kind-of. Left modifies right.
Examples

this noun topic marker particle Mr. Miller noun possessive · connector particle (no) bag noun copula 。

This is Mr. Miller’s bag.

Japanese language noun connector (of, for) particle teacher noun copula 。

A Japanese-language teacher.
Pattern 6 · Age counter ～さい
counter ～さい
N is [number] years old. ～さい is the counter suffix for age. Ask with なんさい (neutral) or おいくつ (polite).
Examples

little Teresa name + ちゃん (diminutive) particle how old (neutral) noun copula question marker particle 。

How old is Teresa?

9 years old number + さい counter copula 。

— She is 9 years old.

Notes

は is pronounced "wa" when used as a particle
The character is always written は, but in the topic-particle role it is pronounced "wa". This catches almost every beginner who tries to type わ instead of は. The character is は, the sound is "wa". Same applies to greetings frozen in time: こんにちは ends in は because historically it meant "regarding today…".
です is politeness, not just grammar
です attaches to nouns (and later, な-adjectives) to make a polite affirmative. It signals respect to the listener — using です is a social marker as much as a grammatical one. Affirmative: です. Negative: じゃ ありません (colloquial) or では ありません (more formal). Past forms come in L12.
も replaces は — never both (the swap rule)
When you add "also/too" with も, it takes the slot は would have occupied. You do NOT write はも or もは. Compare: たなかさん は かいしゃいん です。 → すずきさん も かいしゃいん です。 — the second subject takes も instead of は. This is the rule that fades fastest without rotation — vocab-rotation diagnostics consistently show learners losing the swap.
の joins two nouns — many relationships, one particle
の connects two nouns in any kind of relationship: possessive (ミラーさん の かばん — Mr. Miller’s bag), kind-of (にほんご の せんせい — Japanese-language teacher), of-the (IMC の しゃいん — IMC’s employee). The order is always [modifier] の [head]: the noun on the RIGHT is the main one, the noun on the LEFT modifies it.
か turns any statement into a question
Add か to the end of any sentence to make it a yes/no question. No question mark needed in writing — though modern casual Japanese sometimes adds 「？」 in chat. Intonation rises slightly on the か. Example: がくせい です。 (I am a student.) → がくせい です か。 (Are you a student?)
Honorifics — さん, ちゃん, くん, かた
さん is the default polite suffix on names — NEVER attach it to yourself. ちゃん is diminutive, for children and very close friends (テレーザちゃん — little Teresa). くん is for younger males, schoolmates, junior employees. かた is the polite version of ひと (person): あの ひと (that person, neutral) vs あの かた (that person, polite).

Practice

Q1 Tap to reveal
Answer I am a student.
Q2 Tap to reveal
Answer Who is that person?
Q3 Tap to reveal
Answer Mr. Miller is American.
Q4 Tap to reveal
Answer This is Mr. Tanaka’s bag.
Q5 Tap to reveal
Answer I am not a teacher.