Japanese

Konnichi wa!

こんにちは

Welcome back to Japanese for 2026! This year we celebrate the Year of the Horse 午年 ·うまどし (u.ma do.shi) in Japanese as part of the juunishi 十二支 (or Japanese zodiac) celebrations. 

If you were born in 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002 and 2014 you were born in the Year of the Horse! That means that most of our Grade 6 students are Horses! People born in the Year of the Horse tend to be associated with qualities of being active, independent, honest, enthusiastic, cheerful, stubborn, impatient and fun!

At the beginning of Term 1, students in Grade 1 - 6 participated in some activities to assist their understanding of the juu.ni.shi 十二支 (Japanese zodiac), including the completion of some craft activities to assist their learning. They also had the opportunity to write the word for horse in hiragana (u.ma うま ), as well as set some goals for themselves. 

Preps

We welcome this year our new Prep students into Japanese! In Term 1, the Prep students have been learning some simple greetings and instructions in Japanese:

Good Morning おはよう (o.ha.you)

Good Afternoon (hello) こんにちわ (ko.n.ni.chi.wa)

Goodbye さようなら (sa.yo.u.na.ra)

Stand Up たって (ta.tte)

Sit Down すわって (su.wa.tte)

Students have also been learning to count from 1-10 in Japanese and correctly match the kanji (Japanese & Chinese characters) to the numbers. 

1.       一       いち (i.chI)

2.       二       に (ni)

3.       三       さん (san)

4.       四       よん (yon)

5.       五       ご (go)

6.       六       ろく (ro.ku)

7.       七       なな (na.na)

8.       八       はち (ha.chi)

9.       九       きゅう (kyuu)

10.   十       じゅう (juu)

Grade One

Students in Grade One have been revising over one-stroke hiragana, which is one of the writing systems in Japan:

く(ku)、し(shi)、そ(so)、つ(tsu)、て(te)、の(no)、ひ(hi)、へ(he)、る(ru)、ろ(ro) and ん(n)

They also been starting to learn some two-stroke hiragana:

い(i)、う(u)、え(e)、こ(ko)、す(su)、ち(chi)、と(to)、ぬ(nu)、ね(ne)、み(mi)、め(me)、ゆ(yu)、よ(yo)、ら(ra)、り(ri)、れ(re) and わ(wa)

Grade Two

This term, students in Grade Two have been revising over two-stroke hiragana:

い(i)、う(u)、え(e)、こ(ko)、す(su)、ち(chi)、と(to)、ぬ(nu)、ね(ne)、み(mi)、め(me)、ゆ(yu)、よ(yo)、ら(ra)、り(ri)、れ(re) and わ(wa)

They have also been starting to learn some three-stroke and four-stroke hiragana:

あ (a)、お (o)、か (ka)、け (ke)、さ (sa)、せ (se)、に (ni) 、は (ha) 、ま(ma)、む(mu) 、も(mo) 、や(ya) 、を(wo) 、き(ki)、た(ta) 、な(na)、ふ(fu) and ほ(ho)

Grade Three

Grade Three students have begun learning their unit based on the Japanese version of the picture story book, Where is the Green Sheep? By Mem Fox. 

みどり の ひつじ は どこ です か。(mi.do.ri  no hi.tsu.ji wa do.ko de.su ka?)

Students have been learning the colours in Japanese this term, which will be used to create some sentences about the sheep and their location next term.

みどり (mi.do.ri) green

おれんじ/オレンジ (o.re.n.ji) orange

ちゃいろ (cha.i.ro) brown

くろ (ku.ro) black

しろ (shi.ro) white

あお (a.o) blue

むらさき (mu.ra.sa.ki) purple

ぴんく/ピンク (pi.n.ku) pink

あか (a.ka) red

きいろ (ki.i.ro) yellow

Grade Four

Grade Four students this term have been learning some key vocabulary from the Japanese version of the popular fairy tale, ‘The Three Little Pigs’. They will use this vocabulary to create some sentences next term describing the houses being built, the order of the builds, as well as the materials used to build the houses. 

三さんびき の 子こぶた (sa.n bi.ki no ko.bu.ta) The Three Little Pigs

ぶた (bu.ta) pig

うち/家 (u.chi) house

わら (wa.ra) straw

木 (ki) wood

れんが (re.n.ga) brick

おおかみ (o.o.ka.mi) wolf

子ぶた (ko.bu.ta) piglet/little pig

Grade Five

Grade Five students have been learning weather words in Japanese. The word used for weather in Japanese is ‘tenki’ 天気. Students will be using these weather words next term to create a weather report in Japanese.

Sunny - ha-re はれ

Rainy - a-me 雨

Windy - ka-ze かぜ

Cloudy - ku-mo-ri くもり

Snow - yu-ki 雪

Storm - a-ra-shi あらし

Grade Six

Grade Six students have started their unit learning how to order food in Japanese. They have learnt some fast food items which they will then be able to use to order multiple items and pay for them using Japanese yen next term. 

はんばーがー (ha.n.baーgaー) hamburger

ちーずばーがー (chi.zu.baーgaー) cheeseburger

ふらいどぽてと (fu.ra.i.do.po.te.to) fried potato/fries

そふとくりーむ (so.fu.to.ku.riーmu) soft cream/soft serve)

こーら (koーra) cola

ふぁんた (fua.n.ta) fanta

すぷらいと (su.pu.ra.i.to) sprite

みるく (mi.ru.ku) milk

Japan Trip 2026

The 10 Grade 6 students lucky enough to be chosen to attend the Japan Trip in October this year have been working hard to learn some of the cultures and traditions of Japan and learn some additional words and phrases in preparation for their amazing adventures!

Brown Sensei

Until next time, 

Sa.you.na.ra

さようなら