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Lesson 3- Getting Around Part 1

In this lesson you will be introduced to the basics on getting around town.

Let’s start with finding out our current location.

To do this you will need to use the following components:

‘sumimasen’= excuse me
‘koko’ = here
‘doko’ = where
‘desu ka?’ = <question form>

＜日本語＞ “すみません、ここはどこですか”
<Rom> “Sumimasen, koko wa doko desu ka?”
<Nlit> “Excuse me, where am I?”

Let’s move on to asking about where some popular destinations are. For this let's take a look at some useful vocabulary for travelers and residents alike, who are experiencing Japan.

Vocab 1

Hiragana Romaji Meaning
ぎんこう Ginkou Bank
けいさつしょ Keisatsusho Police Station
すいぞくかん Suizokukan Aquarium
びょういん Byuoin Hospital

Now let’s put them to use using the following structure:

＜日本語＞ “すみません、〜　はどこですか”
<Rom> “Sumimasen, ~ wa doko desu ka?”
<Nlit> “Excuse me, where is the ~ ?”

Go ahead and do some replacement drills with the previous structure. Here’s an example to get you started:

＜日本語＞ “すみません、ぎんこうはどこですか”
<Rom> “Sumimasen, ginkou wa doko desu ka?”
<Nlit> “Excuse me, where is the bank?”

Now using your newly gained skill of asking about locations of places try using the next set of vocabulary

Vocab 2

Hiragana Romaji Meaning
デパート Depaato Department store
じんじゃ Jinja Shrine
てら Tera Temple
ホテル Hoteru Hotel
えき Eki Train Station
ゆうびんきょく Yuubinkyoku Post Office
クラブ Kurabu Night Club

Note: You might have mixed results if you simply ask someone on the street "Where is the hotel?" (obvious, I know). In these situations you will need to specify which hotel or shrine or whatever. By simply adding the name of the store or building in front of the place (for example 'hotel') the person you are speaking with will have a much better chance of helping you.

Here’s an example:

＜日本語＞ “すみません、たかしまやデパートはどこですか”
<Rom> “Sumimasen, Takashimaya depaato wa doko desu ka?”
<Nlit> “Excuse me, where is Takashimaya Department Store?”


NEXT UP Lesson 4: Getting Around Part 2


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