Episode 1
Your First Japanese Words
Learn essential Japanese greetings and introduce yourself with the XはYです pattern in this 5-minute lesson.
In this first episode of Genki Flow, you'll learn three essential Japanese greetings and the most important sentence pattern in the language: XはYです (X is Y). By the end, you'll be able to greet someone and introduce yourself in Japanese.
What You'll Learn#
standard greetings
Essential daily greetings: おはようございます (good morning), こんにちは (hello), はじめまして (nice to meet you).
A is B
The fundamental sentence pattern for identification and description. Used to introduce yourself and state facts.
New vocabulary: おはよう (good morning), こんにちは (hello), はじめまして (nice to meet you), 私 (I/me), です (is/am/are)
Lesson Transcript#
Greetings#
The most common morning greeting in Japanese:
The daytime greeting — probably the most well-known Japanese word:
When meeting someone for the first time:
Self-Introduction with AはBです#
The pattern AはBです is the most fundamental structure in Japanese. It means "A is B."
Using the same pattern to state your occupation or status:
Related Grammar#
- Greeting Expressions — Full guide to Japanese greetings
- 〜です (is/am/are) — Deep dive into the copula pattern
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