Tap the manga and hear the story!
Ken & Shiba: Nice to meet you!
Ken: I am Ken. / Shiba: I am Teacher Shiba.
Ken: I am Canadian. / Shiba: I am Japanese.
Ken: My hobby is playing games. / Shiba: Me too!
- Ken & Shiba: Nice to meet you
- Ken: I am Canadian / Shiba: I am Japanese.
- Ken: I am Ken / Shiba: I am Teacher Shiba.
- Ken: My hobby is playing games. / Shiba: Me too!
Did you catch the story? Let’s check the magic words to understand it better! 🐾
Let’s review the phrases we found in the story!
Did you notice? Japanese word order is the opposite of English!
Exactly! And in Japanese, the verb always comes at the very end. You have to listen until the last second to know the whole meaning! 🤯
Haha, you’re right! If someone looks you straight in the eye and says, ‘I… you…’ and then just stops… that’s pure torture! You’re stuck in limbo, not knowing if they love you or hate you until that final verb hits! 😂
No kidding! That’s why I need to master the sentence structure first—to survive the suspense! 😂 Alright, Shiba Sensei, let’s break down the basic ‘A wa B desu’ frame. How does it work?
It marks the subject. Think of it as “As for…”
The polite ending of the sentence.
In the next manga, let’s fill in the pink blanks and read it out loud!
Ken: I am Ken. / Shiba: I am Teacher Shiba.
Ken: I am Canadian. / Shiba: I am Japanese.
Ken: My hobby is playing games. / Shiba: Me too!
Was that easy or what? Now that you’ve mastered ‘Watashi wa … desu,’ you’ve unlocked a superpower! You can make endless sentences just by swapping the nouns! Try changing the words in the blue block below!
I think I’m getting the hang of the ‘wa…desu’ structure! I want to try a quiz!
If you’re not yet used to Japanese characters, try turning Romaji ON.
I want to review the vocabulary too!
Try Romaji if you’re still learning characters!
Congratulations! You’ve mastered the core of Japanese grammar: “A wa B desu.”
Now you can introduce yourself, your job, and your nationality. You’ve taken a huge first step!
PREMIUM MEMBERS
Your Homework & Personal Feedback:
In Lesson 5, you’ll have your first big Writing Assignment! Send us your Japanese sentences, and Shiba will provide personal corrections and tips just like this:
Make sure to complete Lessons 2 to 4 first to sharpen your skills for the assignment! 🐕✨
Curious about the finer details?
