Japanese Phrase Book
Excerpt:
Japanese is spoken by over 70 million people in Japan and is understood by many people in Korea and Formosa. This Phrase Book contains the Japanese words and expressions you are most likely to need. In the column headed Pronunciation, all the words are written in a spelling which you read like English. Each letter or combination of letters is used for the sound it normally represents in English and it always stands for the same sound. Thus "00" is always to be read about as in too, booty toothy roosty never as in blood or door. The Hepburn spelling is given in the third column for those who have studied some Japanese before. (See page vi.) Syllables that are accented, that is, pronounced louder than others, are written in capitals. However, you will notice that the accent in Japanese is not as strong as in English and that some of the syllables that come ahead of the accented syllable may sound almost as loud as the accented syllable.
Table of contents
1. Emergency expressions 2Asking help 2
Warnings 6
Commands 8
2. General expressions 12
Greetings 12
Getting information 16
Questions about an individual 22
Rank 26
Organization and speciality 28
8. Personal needs 86
Food and drink 36
Lodging 46
Medical aid 50
Buying and personal services 56
4. Location and terrain 70
Location 70
Distance 74
Nature of terrain 76
6. Roads and transportation 80
Roads and bridges 80
Railroads, busses, planes 84
Other means of transportation 86
Repairs and supplies
6. Communications 90
Radio and telephone — numbers 90
Telegraph 98
Mail 100
7. Reconnaissance 104
8. Landing a plane 114
9. Numbers, size, time, etc 118
Numbers 118
Other expressions of the amount. 124
Size and weight 124
Time 126
10. Additional terms 136
Personal equipment 136
Weapons and ammunition 136
Cars, tanks, planes, ships 138
Tools and supplies 144
Communications 146
Miscellaneous 148
Money — weights and measures. 152
11. Important signs 163
12. Alphabetical word list 164
Book Published: 1944
Author: United States. War Department