Reference sheet
Classroom phrasebook
The sixteen phrases from Day 1, in Japanese and Modern Standard Arabic. Tap any 🔊 to hear it. Prints cleanly without the buttons.
1.Answering and addressing
| Japanese | English | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| はい hai |
Yes | نَعَمْ naʿam |
| いいえ iie |
No | لَا lā |
| みなさん minasan |
Everyone (to a group) | أَيُّهَا الْجَمِيعُ ayyuhā l-jamīʿ |
| せんせい sensei |
Teacher | اَلْمُعَلِّمُ al-muʿallim |
| すみません sumimasen |
Excuse me / sorry | عَفْوًا ʿafwan |
2.Questions and their answers
| Japanese | English | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| おげんき ですか o-genki desu ka |
How are you? | كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟ kayfa ḥāluka? |
| はい、げんき です hai, genki desu |
Yes, I'm well | نَعَمْ، أَنَا بِخَيْرٍ naʿam, anā bi-khayrin |
| わかりましたか wakarimashita ka |
Did you understand? | هَلْ فَهِمْتَ؟ hal fahimta? |
| はい、わかりました hai, wakarimashita |
Yes, I understood | نَعَمْ، فَهِمْتُ naʿam, fahimtu |
| おわりましたか owarimashita ka |
Have you finished? | هَلِ انْتَهَيْتَ؟ hal-i ntahayta? |
| はい、おわりました hai, owarimashita |
Yes, I've finished | نَعَمْ، انْتَهَيْتُ naʿam, intahaytu |
3.Requests and greetings
| Japanese | English | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| かいて ください kaite kudasai |
Please write | اُكْتُبْ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ uktub min faḍlika |
| ちょっと まって ください chotto matte kudasai |
Please wait a moment | اِنْتَظِرْ قَلِيلًا مِنْ فَضْلِكَ intaẓir qalīlan min faḍlika |
| おはようございます ohayō gozaimasu |
Good morning | صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ ṣabāḥu l-khayr |
| こんにちは konnichiwa |
Good afternoon / hello | نَهَارُكَ سَعِيدٌ nahāruka saʿīd |
| こんばんは konbanwa |
Good evening | مَسَاءُ الْخَيْرِ masāʾu l-khayr |
4.The patterns underneath
Four rules that generate most of the table above.
| Pattern | Japanese | Arabic |
|---|---|---|
| Make it a question Add one word, change nothing else |
…か at the end わかりました → わかりましたか |
هَلْ at the start فَهِمْتَ → هَلْ فَهِمْتَ؟ |
| Past tense | …ました ends a polite past verb wakari·mashita, owari·mashita |
Suffix on the root fahim·tu, intahay·tu |
| Who did it | Not marked at all — context decides わかりました = I / you / they understood |
The final harakah decides ‑tu = I · ‑ta = you (m) · ‑ti = you (f) |
| Politely ask for something | …ください after the verb kaite kudasai, matte kudasai |
مِنْ فَضْلِكَ after the command uktub min faḍlika |
5.Two spellings to remember
- こんにちは and こんばんは end in は, pronounced wa. A survival from pre-war spelling. It happens in these greetings and in the grammatical particle は — nowhere else worth worrying about yet.
- ちょっと uses a small ょ. A full-size よ would read chiyotto. Small kana shrink the preceding sound instead of adding a syllable; the small っ likewise doubles the following consonant, which is why it is matte and not mate.