Japanese Gender

Welcome to the fifth Japanese lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Japanese to help you practice your daily phrases. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

man 男性 [dansei]

woman 女性 [josei]

husband 夫 [otto]

wife 妻 [tsuma]

boy 少年 [shounen]

girl 少女 [shoujo]

father 父親 [chichioya]

mother 母親 [hahaoya]

Gender Grammar Rules

In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.

Grammar + Rules - Japanese + Pronunciation
my son is a student [masculine + noun] 私の息子は学生です。 [watashi no musuko wa gakusei desu]
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] 彼女の娘さんは学生です。 [kanojo no musume san wa gakusei desu]
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] 彼には背の高い兄弟がいます。 [kare ni wa se no takai kyoudai ga i masu]
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] 彼女には背の高い姉妹がいます。 [kanojo ni wa se no takai shimai ga i masu]
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] 彼の兄弟は、若いです。 [kare no kyoudai wa, wakai desu]
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] 彼の姉妹は若いです。 [kare no shimai wa wakai desu]

The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.

son 息子 [musuko]

daughter 娘 [musume]

brother 兄弟 [kyoudai]

sister 姉妹 [shimai]

grandfather 祖父 [sofu]

grandmother 祖母 [sobo]

child 子ども [kodomo]

children 子どもたち [kodomo tachi]

Expressions in Japanese

Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Japanese, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.

English - Japanese - Pronunciation
What do you mean? どういう意味ですか？ [douiu imi desu ka?]
I don't understand 私には分かりません。 [watashi ni wa wakari mase n]
I don't know 私は知りません。 [watashi wa shiri mase n]
What is that called in Japanese? 日本語でなんといいますか？ [nihongo de nanto ii masu ka?]
What is this? これは何ですか？ [kore wa nan desu ka?]
What does that word mean in English? その言葉は英語でなんといいますか？ [sono kotoba wa eigo de nanto ii masu ka?]
Sorry (if you made a mistake) すみません。 [sumimasen]

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