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Japanese · JLPT Band 1 (N5) · Chapter 13

それは なんですか What is that?

Sore wa nan desu ka

No new grammar. We review kore/sore/are + nani (ch6) with words for everyday things: water, money, shoes, clothes, umbrella, pencil, paper, chair, desk, window, eye, hand. Ask about an object and answer, like Sore wa nan desu ka — Enpitsu desu. Kana: reading a mix of object words at speed.

それ? これ? — Sore? Kore?

  1. Yuki マイクさん、それは なんですか。 Mike, what's that?
  2. Mike それは えんぴつです。 That's a pencil. (slip: it's near me, so the natural word is "kore", not "sore")
  3. Yuki マイクさんは「これ」ですよ。 For you, it's "kore".
  4. Mike あ、これは えんぴつです! あれは まどです。 Oh, this is a pencil! And that over there is a window.

なにが ありますか — What's Here?

  1. Ken あれは くつですか。 Are those shoes over there?
  2. Mike はい、くつです。それは かさですか。 Yes, shoes. Is that an umbrella?
  3. Ken いいえ、これは ふくです。あれが かさです。 No, this is clothes. That over there is the umbrella.
  4. Mike あ、そうですね! ぜんぶ ありますね。 Oh, I see! Everything's here.
汉字PinyinPOSMeaning
みず mizu n. water
おかね okane n. money
くつ kutsu n. shoes
ふく fuku n. clothes
かさ kasa n. umbrella
えんぴつ enpitsu n. pencil
かみ kami n. paper
いす isu n. chair
つくえ tsukue n. desk
まど mado n. window
me n. eye
te n. hand

これ・それ・あれ + なに(ふくしゅう) kore/sore/are + nani (review)

あたらしい ぶんぽうは ありません。ものを さす ことば(ch6)を ふくしゅう します: これ(じぶんの ちかく)、それ(あいての ちかく)、あれ(どちらからも とおい)。「なに/なん」で「なに?」と きいて、〈もの〉です で こたえます: 「それは なんですか」—「えんぴつです」。「なに」は です の まえで「なん」に なります。

No new grammar. We review the words that point at things (ch6): kore (near me), sore (near you), are (far from both). Ask "what?" with nani/nan, and answer with <noun> desu: Sore wa nan desu ka — Enpitsu desu. Before desu, nani becomes nan.

  • それは なんですか。— えんぴつです。 Sore wa nan desu ka. — Enpitsu desu. What is that? — A pencil.
  • これは みずです。あれは おかねですか。 Kore wa mizu desu. Are wa okane desu ka. This is water. Is that money over there?
  • それは くつですか。— いいえ、ふくです。 Sore wa kutsu desu ka. — Iie, fuku desu. Are those shoes? — No, they're clothes.
  • これは め、それは て です。 Kore wa me, sore wa te desu. This is an eye, that is a hand.

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