といっしょに
In this lesson, you will learn the expression といっしょに, which means 'together' (with somebody). You will learn how to use this expression and how to use the particle と (to).
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to use the expression 'together with' and to use the particle と as a link between two or more nouns.
いっしょ means 'together' and you will see this word often with the particle に to say that you are doing something with someone, in a manner of being together.
いっしょにあそびましょう！
Issho ni asobimashou!
Let's play together!
When saying that you are doing something with someone, the particle と will also be used.
れいなといっしょにあそんでいます。
Reina to issho ni asondeimasu.
I am playing (together) with Reina.
You can also drop いっしょに in this case and just say れいなとあそんでいます.
The particle と
The particle と can be translated as 'and' or 'with'. It will be used in the context we have just seen with いっしょに to say that you are doing something with someone or it will be used to connect two nouns together.
The first instance is to express the fact that we are doing something with someone. In this case, it will roughly be translated as 'with'.
さゆみとフランスへいきます。
Sayumi to furansu e ikimasu.
I am going to France with Sayumi.
We can add いっしょに in this case.
さゆみといっしょにフランスへいきます。
Sayumi to issho ni furansu e ikimasu.
I am going (together) with Sayumi in France.
The second instance is to link two or more nouns together. In this case, it will roughly be translated as 'and'.
やさいとミルクをかいました。
Yasai to miruku o kaimashita.
I bought vegetables and milk.
レストランでたこやきとたいやきとやきとりをたべました。
Resutoran de takoyaki to taiyaki to yakitori o tabemashita.
I ate takoyaki, taiyaki and yakitori at the restaurant.
You can link up to three nouns together; however, you cannot make a chain out of it. Other particles will be used to make an non-exhaustive list. Also, the particle と cannot link up verbs. In English, you can say 'I sing and dance' with the connector 'and'; but in Japanese, you cannot. We will see how to put two verbs in the same sentence in another lesson. The particle と cannot link two adjectives together neither. The particle と, therefore, is only used to connect nouns.
さくらとまほうのほん
Sakura to mahou no hon
Sakura and magic book (the book of magic)
れいながさゆみといっしょにアメリカへいきます。いいな！
Reina ga Sayumi to issho ni amerika e ikimasu. Ii na!
Reina is going to the United States (together) with Sayumi. I'm jealous!
わたしはもえみといっしょにおおさかへいきます。
Watashi wa Moemi to issho ni Oosaka e ikimasu.
As for me, I am going to Osaka with Moemi.
にほんちり
Japan geography
Japan is an archipelago. It has eight regions and 47 prefectures. Did you know that Japan has 47 dialects accounting for the 47 different prefectures? The 47 dialects have their own expressions and their own ways of saying things. One of the most famous dialect is the Osaka/Kansai dialect. You can hear this dialect in the anime Cardcaptor Sakura; Kero-chan, voiced by Hisakawa Aya, has this Osaka accent. Fukuoka also has a distinctive dialect. But nothing sounds as foreign as the dialect from Okinawa!
Quite fascinating, isn't it? But why is the dialect (or rather language) of Okinawa so different? It all comes down to the history and how Okinawa is separated from the main island. The Okinawan language split up from old Japanese around 1000 years ago. The language was called the Naha-shuri version; Naha is now the capital of the prefecture. Before the Meiji period, Okinawa was not officially part of Japan, thus its own language remained.
Unfortunately, during World War II, the people of Okinawa were forced to abandon their language, and now today, only a few older people are still able to speak it. You might get a glimpse of it from the older generation if you go visit Okinawa. Right now, petitions and demonstrations have been happening against the American military base in Okinawa.
Now, the language is deemed to be a dialect, because young people now speak it with a mixture of the Okinawan and Japanese.
Every region in Japan is famous for some things. If you want really good food, you need to go to Fukuoka prefecture. The Tonkotsu ramen, now called the Hakata ramen (Hakata is a ward in Fukuoka city), is really famous to be really delicious.
If you go to Hokkaido, the northern prefecture, you might get a glimpse of traditional Ainu artefacts. The Ainu people are the native people of Hokkaido who were forced to be assimilated by the Yamato people (which are the ancestors of the vast majority of Japanese people).
The Ainu people are Indigenous people from the Hokkaido region and the northern Honshu region, as well as from the land surrounded by the Sea of Okhotsk, near Russia, such as Sakhalin, the Kuril islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Khabarovsk Krai. They lived there well before the arrival of the Yamato people and the Russians. Because of the forced assimilation, the number of people still speaking the Ainu language has been decreasing. In 1966, there were about 300 native speakers. In 2008, there were 100 native speakers. In 2019, efforts have been made to revitalize the use of the language. The story of the Ainu people closely resembles the one from the Native people of North America.
In Kagoshima prefecture, in the Kyushu region, porcelain ware is popular and has been developed since the 16th century. Hiroshima prefecture is known for its museum on World War II. The prefecture of Ehime is well known for its onsen (hot spring baths).
Every prefecture in Japan has something to offer!
The Japanese in Okinawa sounds so different from the standard Japanese that we feel like it is another language altogether! Okinawa is an island completely cut out from Japan. The only way to go there is by plane or by a ferry. The climate in Okinawa is also so different from the main island; it has warm temperature all year around, so it means that during winter as you can slide on the snow in Hokkaido, you can swim in the ocean in Okinawa!
Take a look at how these words in Japanese look like in the Okinawan language:
Konnichiwa = hasai / haitai
Sayounara = guburii sabira
Gomen nasai = wassaibiin
Arigatou = nifee deebiru
Hai = uu
Iie = wouwou
Itadakimasu = kwatchiisabira
