Daily Conversation Practice

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to follow and understand short daily conversations between two speakers. You will recognize common greetings, questions, and responses used in everyday Japanese.

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In Japanese, daily conversations follow simple patterns. They often start with a greeting, include a question or statement about what someone is doing, and end with a polite closing. The key is to listen for the main verb and the question word (like なに nani "what" or どこ doko "where").

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1. Common Greetings

Every conversation begins with a greeting. The most common are:

2. Asking "How are you?"

A simple way to ask is:

• おげんきですか？
  Ogenki desu ka?
  "How are you?" (lit. "Are you well?")

A common reply:

• はい、げんきです。
  Hai, genki desu.
  "Yes, I'm fine."

3. Asking "What are you doing?"

Use the verb する (suru – "to do") in its polite form:

• なにをしていますか？
  Nani o shite imasu ka?
  "What are you doing?"

Possible answers:

• ほんをよんでいます。
  Hon o yonde imasu.
  "I am reading a book."

• テレビをみています。
  Terebi o mite imasu.
  "I am watching TV."

4. Asking "Where are you going?"

Use the verb いく (iku – "to go"):

• どこへいきますか？
  Doko e ikimasu ka?
  "Where are you going?"

Possible answers:

• がっこうへいきます。
  Gakkou e ikimasu.
  "I am going to school."

• うちへかえります。
  Uchi e kaerimasu.
  "I am going home."

5. Ending a Conversation

A polite way to say goodbye:

• さようなら
  Sayounara
  "Goodbye"

Or a more casual "see you later":

• またあした
  Mata ashita
  "See you tomorrow"

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Here are two short daily conversations:

Conversation 1: Morning

A: おはようございます。おげんきですか？
A: Ohayou gozaimasu. Ogenki desu ka?
A: "Good morning. How are you?"

B: はい、げんきです。ありがとうございます。
B: Hai, genki desu. Arigatou gozaimasu.
B: "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."

Conversation 2: Afternoon

A: こんにちは。なにをしていますか？
A: Konnichiwa. Nani o shite imasu ka?
A: "Hello. What are you doing?"

B: ほんをよんでいます。あなたは？
B: Hon o yonde imasu. Anata wa?
B: "I am reading a book. And you?"

A: テレビをみています。
A: Terebi o mite imasu.
A: "I am watching TV."

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❌ Saying おげんきですか？ when you just met someone
In Japanese, おげんきですか？ is used with people you already know. With strangers, just use こんにちは.

❌ Forgetting the particle を (o) after the object
Wrong: ほん よんでいます。
Correct: ほんをよんでいます。

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Fill in the blanks with the correct Japanese word or phrase.

1. A: おはようございます。おげんきですか？
   B: はい、__________です。
   (Answer: げんき)

2. A: こんばんは。なにをしていますか？
   B: __________をみています。
   (Answer: テレビ)

3. A: どこへいきますか？
   B: __________へいきます。
   (Answer: がっこう / うち / etc.)

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You now know how to:

• Greet someone (おはようございます, こんにちは, こんばんは)
• Ask and answer "How are you?" (おげんきですか？ / げんきです)
• Ask and answer "What are you doing?" (なにをしていますか？)
• Ask and answer "Where are you going?" (どこへいきますか？)
• End a conversation (さようなら, またあした)

Next step: Practice these conversations with a partner or out loud. Then move on to learning numbers and time expressions to talk about when you do things.