First Yapanese lesson

So, for our first couple of Yapanese lessons we're going to cover a couple of common Japanese terms, greetings, stock phrases, and the like. A small arsenal that will let you defend yourself (i.e. get you to the bathroom before you poop in your pants, etc...) if you ever happen to get stranded somewhere along the Japanese archipelago. As a precautionary statement, I should let you know that it will not get you out of more difficult situations, like being stranded on top of the roof of a mall that is surrounded by zombies (at least not yet.).

Lets devote lesson 1 to a quick aisatsu (greeting).

Suppose you are meeting somebody for the first time, but they only speak Japanese. What do you do? Well, you remember that in Lesson 1 of Yapanese, Yeison taught you that you should say Hajimemashite (the last i is a little bit silent, when I understand this fully I'll explain it to you). Apparently the literal translation for Hajimemashite is: "it's the first time we meet." Then you should proceed to introduce yourself, and one option is to say Rodriguez Yeison desu (substituting the Rodriguez Yeison with your own name.) Note that one's surname would precede one's name. From what I understand, it is customary to use family names in formal situations or when speaking to someone other than a close friend. Family names are very useful to know. The term desu, pronounced des for the same reason the i is silent above, means "it is" but in this case "I am". Let us look at some dialogue, then.

Roduriges san: Hajimemashite, Roduriges desu.

Waka san: Hajimemashite, Waka desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

Roduriges san: Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

Mr. Rodriguez: Greetings. I am Rodriguez.

Miss Waka: Greetings, I am Waka. It's nice to meet you.

Mr. Rodriguez: It's nice to meet you.

So that is lesson 1. Until next time, just signal to your Japanese friend that you'll continue talking to him/her as soon I make a new post.