- Ken: Mr. Toyota is Japanese. / Shiba: I am Japanese, too.
- Ken: Mr. Honda is a teacher. / Shiba: I am a teacher, too.
- Ken: I am a human. / Shiba: I am a human, too.
- Ken: Really? / Shiba: Just kidding. I am a dog.
Ken: Mr. Toyota is Japanese. / Shiba: I am Japanese, too.
Ken: Mr. Honda is a teacher. / Shiba: I am a teacher, too.
Ken: I am a human. / Shiba: I am a human, too.
Ken: Really? / Shiba: Just kidding. I am a dog.
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!
You already know ‘…は(wa) …です(desu)’, right? If you change は(wa) to も(mo), it means ‘too’!
(It works for subjects & objects!)
The particle の(no) is actually pretty simple! If it works just like ‘s, I can definitely remember that. Speaking of which… since we’re on the topic, I’d love to learn the personal pronouns and possessive pronouns right now!
Did you notice? The possessive forms also just use の(no)!
By the way, as a native speaker, I want to show you how we actually use pronouns. But since it’s a bit long to explain here, I’ll cover the details in the Q&A section at the bottom.
Check it out later if you’re interested!
In the next manga, let’s fill in the pink blanks and read it out loud!
Since the rule is simple this time, the fill-in-the-blanks should be easy!
Ken: Mr. Toyota is Japanese. / Shiba: I am Japanese, too.
Ken: Mr. Honda is a teacher. / Shiba: I am a teacher, too.
Ken: I am a human. / Shiba: I am a human, too.
Ken: Really? / Shiba: Just kidding. I am a dog.
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!
Can you find all the correct pairs?
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?
