Lesson 2.2
Dialogue 2 
Michael meets a business associate and exchanges business cards.
Oda: Ajia Ginkou no Oda desu. I’m Oda from Bank of Asia.
ぎんこう お だ
アジア銀行の小田です。
Hajimemashite. How do you do?
はじめまして。
Michael: Oda-san desu ka. Mr. Oda?
お だ
小田さんですか。
J-Netto no Maikeru Sumisu desu. I’m Michael Smith from J-Net.
J ネットのマイケル・スミスです。
Douzo yoroshiku onegai-shimasu. Nice to meet you.
ねが
どうぞ、よろしくお願いします。
Mrs. Yamamoto introduces Emily at a meeting of the International Club.
Mrs. Y: Minasan, chotto shoukai-shimasu. Everyone, I’d like to introduce someone.
しょうかい
みなさん、ちょっと紹 介します
Ryuugakusei no Emirii-san desu. It’s Emily, an exchange student.
りゅうがくせい
留学生のエミリーさんです。
Emily: Hajimemashite. Emirii Hiru desu. Hello, I’m Emily Hill.
はじめまして。エミリー・ヒルです。
Amerika no Pootorando shuuritsu daigaku, daigakuin no ichi-nensei desu.
しゅうりつだいがく だいがくいん
アメリカのポートランド州 立大学、大学院の一年生です。
I’m a first-year graduate student at Portland State University, USA.
Senkou wa bijinesu desu. My major is business.
せんこう
専攻はビジネスです。
Douzo yoroshiku onegai-shimasu. Nice to meet you.
ねが
どうぞ、よろしくお願いします。
Vocabulary 
Ajia あじあアジア Asia
Ginkou ぎんこう銀行 bank
Oda おだ小田 Oda (family name)
J-netto J−ねっとJ−ネット J-Net
Minas an みなさん皆さん everyone (polite)
shoukai しょうかい紹介 introduction
ryuugakusei りゅうがくせい留学生 study-abroad student
Emirii えみりいエミリー Emily
Hiru ひるヒル Hill
Amerika あめりかアメリカ USA
Pootorando ぽうとらんどポートランド Portland
shuuritsu しゅうりつ州立 state funded
daigaku だいがく大学 university, college
daigakuin だいがくいん大学院 graduate school
ichi-nen-sei いちねんせい一年生 freshman
senkou せんこう専攻 academic major
bijinesu びじねすビジネス business
＋dare だれ who
＋doko どこ where
＋nani-jin なにじん何人 person of what nationality
＋minna みんな everyone, all
＋gakusei がくせい学生 student
＋daigakusei だいがくせい大学生 college student
＋tomodachi ともだち友だち friend
＋kuni くに国 country
＋ni-nen-sei にねんせい二年生 sophomore, second grader
＋san-nen-sei さんねんせい三年生 junior, third grader
＋yo-nen-sei よねんせい四年生 senior, fourth grader
＋nan-nen-sei なんねんせい何年生 what grade in school
＋rekishi れきし歴史 history
＋keizai けいざい経済 economy
＋seiji せいじ政治 politics
＋ meishi めいし名刺 business card
Country & Nationality (add –jin to the country name) 
Nihon にほん日本 Japan にほんじん日本人 Japanese
Igirisu いぎりすイギリス England いぎりすじんイギリス人 English
Amerika あめりかアメリカ U.S. あめりかじんアメリカ American
Kankoku かんこく韓国 Korea かんこくじん韓国人 Korean
Roshia ろしあロシア Russia ろしあじんロシア人 Russian
Chuugoku ちゅうごく中国 China ちゅうごくじん 中国人 Chinese
Taiwan たいわん台湾 Taiwan たいわんじん台湾人 Taiwanese
Furansu ふらんすフランス France ふらんすじんフランス人 French person
Doitsu どいつドイツ Germany どいつじんドイツ人 German
Supein すぺいんスペイン Spain すぺいんじんスペイン人 Spaniard
Itaria いたりあイタリア Italy いたりあじんイタリア人 Italian
Indo いんどインド India いんどじんインド人 Indian
Betonamu べとなむベトナム Vietnam べとなむじんベトナム人 Vietnamese
doko no kuni どこのくにどこの国 what country
nani-jin なにじん何人 what nationality
Subjects in Business School 
bijinesu ビジネス business
maaketingu マーケティング marketing
fainansu ファイナンス finance
けいり
keiri 経理 accounting
sapurai chein サプライチェーン supply chain
Academic Disciplines
れきしがく
rekishi-gaku* 歴史学 history
けいざいがく
keizai-gaku* 経済学 economics
せいじがく
seiji-gaku* 政治学 political science
すうがく
suugaku 数学 mathematics
ぶんがく
bungaku 文学 literature
えいぶんがく
eibungaku 英文学 English literature
にほんぶんがく
nihon bungaku 日本文学 Japanese literature
げんごがく
gengo-gaku* 言語学 linguistics
しんりがく
shinri-gaku* 心理学 psychology
てつがく
tetsugaku* 哲学 philosophy
しゃかいがく
shakai-gaku* 社会学 sociology
ぶつりがく
butsuri-gaku* 物理学 physics
かが く
kagaku 化学 chemistry
せいぶつがく
seibutsu-gaku* 生物学 biology
てんもんがく
tenmongaku* 天文学 astrology
*These can be used without –gaku (academic discipline).
Grammar Notes
2-2-1 Noun no Noun
When one noun describes another in Japanese they are connected together by particle no. /X no Y/ means a kind of Y, which is described by X. Multiple nouns can be connected by particle no, but always the last noun is the main noun. Compare the following:
pasokon no kaisyaa computer company
kaisya no pasokona computer in the company
America no pasokon no kaisyaa computer company in the US
America no kaisya no pasokona computer (made by) an American company
The relationship between the main noun and other noun(s) varies greatly depending on their meaning. The following are some examples.
Location: Nihon no daigaku – colleges in Japan
Affiliation: J-Netto no Maikeru – Michael from J-Net
Possession: watashi no baggu – my bag
Time: san-ji no baito – work from 3 o’clock
Subgroup: Amerika no Pootorando – Portland, US,
daigakuin no ichi-nensei – First year graduate student
Status: ryuugakusei no Hiru-san – Mr/s. Hill, an exchange student
2-2-2 Loan Words
Japanese has borrowed words and phrases from other languages. The majority of Japanese loanwords these days come from English. When words are borrowed, they go through some changes. First, their pronunciation changes to fit the Japanese sound system. Make sure you learn how your name is pronounced in Japanese. Second, these words usually become nouns, regardless of what they were in their original language.
Third, their meaning in Japanese may be different.
As explained in GN1-4-2, by attaching –simasu, many borrowed words that are verbs in the original language can be used as verbs in Japanese (kopii-shimasu ‘copy’). If the original words/phrases are long, they get abbreviated and become very different words from the original (sumaho for smart phone). It’s common to abbreviate two-word phrases by taking the first two syllables from each and combine them to make four syllable words (pasokon for personal computer).
2-2-3 Introductions and Exchange of Business Cards
It’s customary in business situations to exchange business cards when meeting someone for the first time. Keep your cards ready. As you present your card (with both hands, palms up), bow and turn it so that the other person can read it. As you receive the other person’s card, take a moment to read/acknowledge it. You can place their business cards in front of you during the meeting to refer to.
Self-introductions are very common in Japan, during which a person gets up in front of a group and explains who he/she is. These follow a formula, which starts with hajimemashite, followed by your name (even if it has already been mentioned) and other information, and closes with douzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.
Remember to bow as you introduce yourself, and nod when others bow. It’s better to be safe and bow more often than sorry by bowing too little. When in doubt, bow!
Drills and Exercises
A.
Cue: Amerika desu ka. Is it America? 
Response: Hai, Amerika no kaisha desu. Yes, it’s an American company. Cue: Furansu desu ka.Is it France?
Response: Hai, furansu no kaisha desu. Yes, it’s a French company.
B.
Cue: Sensei wa Amerikajin desu ka. Is the teacher Japanese? 
Response: Ie, Amerikajin ja nai desu. No, she is not American. She is Japanese. Cue: Sensei wa furansujin desu ka. Is the teacher French?
Response: Ie, furansujin ja nai desu. No, she is not French. She is Japanese.
C. Say it in Japanese.
You are at a reception. You’ve been asked who that person is.
- He is Mr. Oda from Google.
- He is a Vietnamese exchange student. He is a senior.
- He is a friend from work (company). I’ll introduce you.
- He is a professor of Economics from an American college.
- Isn’t he a friend of Ms. Honda’s? I see him a lot.
D. Act in Japanese.
- You’ve been asked to introduce yourself to everyone in the new office. Perform!
- Introduce Ms. Young from Bank of Japan to everyone in your office.
- At a reception, approach a business associate, introduce yourself and exchange business cards.
- You’ve just met a new exchange student from Taiwan. Ask her what year of school she is in and what she majors in.
- On a guest list, you see the name of a Mr. Lee. Ask a co-worker a) if he is Mr. Lee from Asia Bank, b) what nationality he has, and c) if he is Korean.
