NCEA Level 2 Japanese cheat sheet

Opening formulas identify the text type: もしもし signals a phone call; いらっしゃいませ signals a shop or restaurant; 〜でしょうか often signals a polite request or inquiry.

Politeness shift rule: です/ます marks formal or neutral polite speech; dictionary and plain forms mark informal talk. A shift between them usually signals a change in addressee or register.

Sequence markers まず, つぎに, それから, さいごに mark ordered steps; answers about order should follow these markers, not merely the order in which items happen to be mentioned.

Counter sound changes: 本 is hon but 一本 is ippon, 三本 is sanbon, 六本 is roppon; 人 is hitori for one person and futari for two people.

Request and instruction patterns: 〜てください please do; 〜ないでください please do not; 〜てもいいですか may I; 〜てはいけません must not.

Contrast and reason: でも, しかし and けど reverse expectation; だから, ので and から introduce a reason. The clause after the connector is usually the speaker's main point.

Intention and certainty: 〜つもりです planned intention; 〜たいです desire; 〜でしょう probable; 〜かもしれません possible. Match the answer's certainty to the modal used.

Negative invitations: 〜ませんか is an invitation, not a negative statement; accept with いいですね or ぜひ, and decline softly with ちょっと….

Register rule: keep です/ます throughout a formal interaction; switch to plain forms only with close peers or family. Mixing registers within one turn sounds inconsistent.

Te-form functions: 〜てください request; 〜てから after doing; 〜ている ongoing action or state; 〜てもいいですか permission.

Opinion formula: [topic] は [opinion] と思います。なぜなら [reason] からです。One clear reason plus one example is stronger than several vague reasons.

Invitation scale: 〜ませんか invites and is more polite; 〜ましょう proposes a joint action; 〜ましょうか offers to do something. Choose by who performs the action.

Comparison formulas: AよりBのほうが[adjective]です; AとBとどちらが[adjective]ですか. Answer with Bのほうが…です.

Counters: 人 for people (一人 hitori, 二人 futari), 本 for long thin objects, 枚 for flat objects, 匹 for small animals, 台 for machines.

Pronunciation timing: a long vowel is two beats; small っ is a one-beat pause; ん is one mora. These affect meaning, e.g. おばさん versus おばあさん.

Repair moves: すみません、もう一度お願いします; ゆっくりお願いします; 〜というのはどういう意味ですか. Use them to keep the interaction going rather than switching to English.

Particle decision: は topic or contrast; が subject or new information; を direct object; に destination, time or recipient; で location of action or means.

〜ている reads as an ongoing action with activity verbs (食べている) and a resultant state with change verbs (結婚している, 知っている).

〜てある marks a state left by intentional action (窓が開けてある); 〜ておく marks doing something in preparation (買っておく).

Transitive and intransitive pairs: を + 開ける/入れる/出す versus が + 開く/入る/出る. The particle tells you who performs the action.

Passive formation: godan verbs take 〜れる and ichidan verbs take 〜られる; the doer is marked by に. Identify the subject first, then the doer.

Conditionals: と natural consequence; ば condition; たら when or if after completion; なら if as for a topic. と is common in facts and directions.

Reference words: これ, それ and あれ stand alone; この, その and あの need a noun. Trace それ and その to the immediately preceding noun phrase.

Kanji reading check: okurigana distinguish verbs and adjectives (上がる versus 上る). Use the kana ending and particle context to choose the reading.

Neutral sentence order is time + place + object + verb, e.g. 昨日 学校で 日本語を 勉強しました. Particles preserve roles when order changes.

Paragraph frame: topic sentence, two or three supporting details, closing sentence. Use まず, また, たとえば and だから to show links between ideas.

Polite past: verbs 〜ました and 〜ませんでした; nouns and na-adjectives 〜でした and 〜ではありませんでした. Keep tense consistent unless a time shift is signalled.

Opinion frame: 私は〜と思います。その理由は〜からです。たとえば、〜。This adds a reason and example without overusing とても.

Particle check: を object; に destination, time or recipient; で location, means or material; へ direction; と with or exhaustive and.

Katakana long vowels use ー (コーヒー, ケーキ); small っ marks a pause (きって); small ゃ, ゅ and ょ combine sounds (きょう).

Kanji policy: write kanji already learned for common nouns and verbs; use kana for unknown or ambiguous characters. Consistency matters more than using rare kanji.

Editing checklist: verify long vowels, small っ, particle choice and final verb form. A single particle error can reverse subject-object relations.