Konnichiwa: Saying Hello, Saying Who You Are
🎯 Today's mission briefing
We are learning to greet someone in Japanese, say who we are, and ask and answer two real questions — how are you, and how old are you — using a written sound map and the question job-word ka.
You'll know you've got it when:
- I can use the ParkSyde sound map to say Japanese vowels the Japanese way, and explain what the line over ō means
- I can greet someone, introduce myself, and ask and answer o-genki desu ka and nan-sai desu ka out loud
- I can explain what the job-word ka does, and read and write the five k-row hiragana with the strokes in the right order
You already speak some Japanese (you just say it wrong)
Connects to what your guest already knows and makes them curious. Activating prior knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of new learning.
Say these out loud right now, the way you normally would: karaoke, sushi, origami, tsunami, futon, wasabi, manga. Every one of those is a Japanese word that moved to Australia and got an Australian accent. Karaoke is the funniest example. Most Australians say 'ka-ree-OH-kee'. In Japanese it is kah-rah-oh-keh — four clean, even beats, no squashed syllables, no stressed one shouting over the others. Try both versions. Feel the difference? That difference is basically this whole lesson: Japanese gives every syllable a fair go.