Beginning Japanese for Professionals, Book 1

Beginning Japanese for Professionals, Book 1 introduces basic spoken Japanese for life and work beyond the classroom. Emiko Konomi's text begins with Lesson 0 on directions, greetings, and pronunciation, then develops four lessons on office interaction, meeting people, settling down, and project teamwork.

How to study this book

Start with Lesson 0, then study each dialogue's purpose, vocabulary, grammar, drills, and review. Practise aloud and use audio and scripts together when available. Replace details to create new exchanges, seek feedback on intelligibility, and avoid relying on silent recognition as proof of speaking ability.

Chapter-wise explanations and study tasks

Lesson 0 — Directions, Greetings, and Pronunciation

The opening lesson establishes classroom directions, ritual expressions, and pronunciation features used throughout the text. Learn when an expression is appropriate as well as its English meaning. Listen for distinctions that may be easy to overlook in romanized writing.

Study task: Build a daily speaking routine using the source greetings and directions, then record and compare selected pronunciation examples.

Lesson 1, Dialogue 1 — Formal Non-Past Verbs

Affirmative and negative verbs, response expressions, sentence particles, and adverbs support initial office exchanges. Formal non-past forms need interpretation in context rather than a mechanical English tense label. Practise both answering and checking information.

Study task: Create four question-and-response pairs using affirmative and negative forms, then explain the difference in function between ka and ne in your examples.

Lesson 1, Dialogue 2 — Nouns, Demonstratives, and Contrast

Noun-verb combinations, the ko-so-a-do series, kedo, contrastive wa, and additive mo organize simple information. The demonstrative depends on the shared situation, while particles show relationships that an English translation may hide.

Study task: Role-play discussing nearby and more distant items, including one contrast and one addition.

Lesson 1, Dialogue 3 — Suggestions and Listener Responses

Negative questions can make suggestions, chotto can soften an interaction, and aizuchi helps show listening. Personal reference and yo add further context-sensitive choices. Study the social purpose of the exchange rather than treating every negative form as rejection.

Study task: Write and perform an invitation exchange with a suggestion, a softened response, and appropriate listener feedback.

Lesson 1, Dialogue 4 — Past Forms and Compound Verbs

Past verb forms extend the earlier exchanges to completed events. Compound verbs build meanings that need to be learned as constructions. Compare the source forms with the non-past patterns before expanding the vocabulary.

Study task: Describe three completed workplace activities and ask a follow-up question about each, checking the verb forms.

Lesson 2, Dialogue 1 — Noun Sentences and Time

Noun plus desu constructions express identification and related information, while clock time and hesitation expressions support conversation. Distinguish a useful pause from losing the structure of a sentence. Practise negative as well as affirmative statements.

Study task: Introduce a fictional person, state and ask the time, and include a natural clarification or hesitation.

Lesson 2, Dialogue 2 — Noun Relationships and Introductions

Noun-no-noun patterns, loan words, introductions, and business-card exchange connect grammar with professional convention. Interpret the relationship between nouns in context instead of translating no the same way everywhere. Keep the introduction appropriate to the situation.

Study task: Prepare a short professional introduction and identify three different noun relationships in it.

Lesson 2, Dialogue 3 — Echo Questions and Reference

Echo questions confirm or clarify information, while another demonstrative construction identifies a particular noun. The listener's response can keep a conversation going without pretending to understand. Practise clarification as an active communication skill.

Study task: Create an exchange in which a listener confirms a name or detail and clarifies which person or item is meant.

Lesson 2, Dialogue 4 — Weekdays, Listing, and Past Noun Sentences

Weekday expressions, noun-to-noun connections, and past desu forms support schedules and descriptions of earlier situations. Keep the distinction between a past event expressed by a verb and a past noun predicate visible.

Study task: Describe a two-day schedule and a past situation, including a list joined with the appropriate pattern.

Lesson 3, Dialogue 1 — Adjectives and Existence

Adjective sentences, adjectives modifying nouns, and arimasu develop descriptions and statements about what exists. Compare sentence-level description with a phrase identifying an object. Check how the noun and predicate fit together.

Study task: Describe a fictional room with both adjective-noun phrases and existence statements, then ask questions about it.

Lesson 3, Dialogue 2 — Numbers, Classifiers, and Wondering

Numbers and classifiers for money or numbered items support practical transactions. The notes also introduce an expression of wondering. Select the form from the quantity's purpose rather than inserting the same counter after every number.

Study task: Role-play comparing prices and identifying a numbered item, including a tentative question or expression of uncertainty.

Lesson 3, Dialogue 3 — Na-Nouns and Adverbial Forms

Na-noun constructions and adjective-derived adverbs extend how qualities and actions are described. A property used to modify a noun is not formed in the same way as one describing how an action occurs. Learn the full pattern.

Study task: Write paired examples describing an object and how an action is performed, checking the required linking or adverbial form.

Lesson 3, Dialogue 4 — Examples and Inclusive Expressions

Toka and ya support non-exhaustive examples, while mo constructions can express both or neither in context. Clarify whether a list is complete or illustrative. Negative scope can change the meaning of an apparently simple phrase.

Study task: Compare a complete list, an illustrative list, and a both-or-neither statement using the source patterns.

Lesson 4, Dialogue 1 — Suggestions, Objects, and Reasons

Mashou forms support suggestions or offers, o marks an object, and kara introduces a reason in the studied construction. Connect a proposed action with its object and rationale. Avoid assembling particles without checking the sentence's intended relationship.

Study task: Propose a small team activity and give a reason, then practise an alternative offer with a clear object.

Lesson 4, Dialogue 2 — Subject Marking

The dialogue introduces ga as a subject marker and provides a setting for comparing its role with earlier patterns. Topic and subject descriptions should be learned through examples rather than treated as interchangeable English labels.

Study task: Select source examples with ga and explain what is being identified or described; produce two new exchanges with the same structure.

Lesson 4, Dialogue 3 — Double-Subject Structures and Wanting

The notes develop structures involving two subject-related expressions and the verb-stem-plus-tai pattern. Identify whose preference or property is being discussed and how the construction organizes it. A literal word-for-word translation can obscure the relation.

Study task: Describe fictional team members' preferences with the lesson patterns and ask two relevant follow-up questions.

Lesson 4, Dialogue 4 — More Classifiers and Quantity Expressions

Additional classifiers and quantity phrases support more specific descriptions of objects and amounts. Practise both choosing the classifier and placing the quantity in a natural construction. Check pronunciation and form against the source.

Study task: Create a small project-supplies exchange in which participants request, count, and confirm several kinds of objects.

Applied assignment

Perform a short office scenario that includes greetings, introductions, a schedule, descriptions, a suggestion, a reason, and a supplies request. Keep a correction log for pronunciation, particles, verb forms, and response appropriateness.

Suggested reading plan

Complete Lesson 0 first, then Lessons 1–4 in order, practising each dialogue before its drills and review. Use the scripts to check listening and return to earlier lessons when a form is reused.

Questions for reflection

• Can you respond without reading the model?
• What does this particle contribute in this sentence?
• Is the expression appropriate to the relationship and situation?

Edition and source notes

Based on Emiko Konomi's Book 1, with a 2015 title-page date and 2018 copyright in the supplied PDF. The guide preserves Lesson 0 and Lessons 1–4, with four dialogues in each numbered lesson. English explanations accompany Japanese practice; audio and script use are central to its oral focus.

Consult the official source and full text.