The Bunpo of Masho^

Let's Do Something in Japanese

Today's bunpo will show us how to say, "let's verb" in Japanese. Then we can put this construction into question form by adding ka so that we will be able to invite or persuade someone to verb with us by asking, "shall we verb. . . ? Two polite forms of this grammar and their construction is as follows

Verb (Base II) masho^**** - Let's verb! and

Verv (Base II) masho^ ka? - Shall we verb?

**** Please note that in Ghetto Grammar the carat ^ is used to indicate long vowels i.e. a^ i^ u^ e^ o^.

To say, "Let's verb" in Japanese politely, you take any verb, ichidan or yo^dan, put it into base II, then add masho^ and presto! Instant langauge skills. The Masho^ bunpo is another very useful plug and play grammar principle that can help you in your daily Japanese conversations. Towards better Japanese in 9 months with 130 lessons using modern grammar principles using old school techniques.

Ex. 1. Let's go to eat sushi somewhere. - Dokka no sushiyasan de tabe ni ikimashou!

Ex. 1a. Shall we go eat sushi somewhere? Dokka no sushiyasan in ikimashou ka?

Ex. 2. Let's play baseball! - Yakkyu o yarimashou!

Ex. 2a. Shall we play baseball? Yakkyu o Yarimashou ka?

Ex. 3. Let's go check it out! Itte mimasho!

Ex. 3a. Wanna go check it out (The basebal game or whatever)? Itte miyo^ ka?

In example 3a, the familiar form yo^ is used in place of the masho^. This is used only when you are with close friends and is considered less polite.

As always, Do Your Best! Ganbatte Ne!

Makurasuki sensei and the Japanese Grammarian Logic Society of So Cal.

A couple of Japanese Words

They say that the average American spends 17 hours per week inside their car. That is 884 hours per year or Living in Japan. There are a few words and key phrases in Japanese that, as a tourist in the Land of the Rising Sun, you would think that I could at least learn how to say the time. Since in Japan they use military time on occasion, more frequently than military time is used in America. , had I been acquainted with earlier on, would have saved me a lot of time, and prevented some of the confusion and disorientation for me upon my first adventures in Japan. In Japan, a lot of a persons life is spent at an Eki or train station spent getting on and off at the wrong train stations. Inevitably, tourists in Japan will have to use public transportation. It would be very convenient to know at least the basic words related to how to get around in Japan if you are going to spend any amount of time touring Japan. Some are quite easy for they are gairaigo or foreign borrowed terms which are usually English based (although a certain percentage can be French, Portuguese, Spanish, German, and Dutch.) Some are more difficult to get a handle on but are essential to your adventures in Japan. Because one way or another you'll soon see how the Japanese Rail systems are more part of their culture and the Japanese way of life than we might be accustomed to here in America.
First let’s learn the words for major transportation hubs like: bus stop, train station, airport, and subway.

basu tei - bus stop
eki - train station
ku^ko^ - airport

I remember getting on a bus and not knowing much Japanese other than how to say, "what time is it?" and feeling so embarrassed about not knowing where the heck I was going