Mother: Haha/ Okaasan (Learning Japanese with Dogs)

Unlike the English language, the term for mother is different depending on one's point of view.

For instance, if you are referring to your mother, you use the word haha (はは).

If you are referring to another person's mother, you use the word okaasan (おかあさん).

Chooey-ちゃん　は　しんせつな　おかあさん　です。(Chooey-chan ha (pronounced as wa) shinsetsu na okaasan desu.) Chooey is a kind mother.  

The Japanese word for mother as used in the sentence:

はは　は　きれいな　ひと　です。Haha ha(pronounced as wa) kirei na hito desu. [My] Mom is a beautiful person.

「わたし　は　わたし　の」　ともだち　の　おかあさん　に　カメラ　を　あげました。「Watashi ha (pronounced as wa) watashi no」tomodachi no okaasan ni kamera wo agemashita.  [ I ] gave [my] best friend's mother a camera.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Pawrents out there!

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Dog- Inu (Learning Japanese with Dogs)

Today's word is pretty basic and always used in bloggyville.

The term inu means dog. So most of bloggyville have inu (dog) or neko (cat) masters dictating their posts.

ちいさい　いぬ- chiisai inu- small dog　

いぬ (Hiragana characters for inu) is a noun. The sound a dog makes in Japan is ワンワン (Katakana characters for wanwan)

しろい　いぬ - shiroi inu- white dog

Check this dog's talent out.

これ　いぬのビデオ　は　とても　かわいい　です。(Kore inu no bideo ha totemo kawaii desu.) This dog video is very cute.　

Yes! In Japan, even dogs aren't spared from pranks.

Sample Sentences:

チョオイ-ちゃん　は　げんきないぬ　です。Chooey-chan ha (pronounced wa) genki na inu desu. Chooey is a healthy/lively/energetic dog.

(あなた　は）いぬ　が　すき　です　か。(Anata ha) Inu ga suki desu ka.　Do you like dog(s)?

わたし　の　いぬ　は　わたし　の　かぞく　です。Watashi no inu ha watashi no kazoku desu. My dog is my family.

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Like- Suki (Learning Japanese with Dogs)

Today's word is suki. It's pronounced as "ski".

According to JED (Android's Japanese-English Dictionary), the term suki means fondness, love, or liking. So, if you've come across a few Japanese drama or anime  series, when a person is in-love with another, he/she says "Daisuki desu" (silent u) or "Suki desu" (again, with a silent u). The term love is barely used.

 マンゴ が すき です。 - Mango ga suki desu.- I like mango. More correctly put, I like mangoes.

Unlike the English language, suki is used as noun rather than a verb. So, when they say Inu ga suki desu (いぬ が すき です), it roughly translates to "I like a dog." or "I like dogs." It can also mean "I love dogs!"

Breakdown of Definitions:

Inu (いぬ) -dog

ga (が)- particle used to denote ability or preference.

suki (すき)- like

desu (です)- is/are/be/am; polite filler

So, to create a sentence where you want to express liking/ loving something, just pick a word and add "ga suki desu" after it.

Example:

バナナ が すき です。- Banana ga suki desu. I like banana(s).

チョウィ-ちゃん が すき です。-Chooey-chan ga suki desu. I like/love Chooey. 

Note: The suffix -chan or -san is added after a name just like Mr. and Ms. is added before a name in the English language. However, chan is added after a child's name while san is added to an adult's name.

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