Who am I?: interests; socialising with friends and family; role models

Theme 1: Identity and Culture — Who Am I? (自分について)

Welcome to your study notes for Who am I?! This topic is all about you: your family, friends, hobbies, how you spend your free time, and the people you look up to. In your Edexcel GCSE Japanese (1JA0) exam, you will use this vocabulary and grammar across all four papers: Listening (Paper 1), Speaking (Paper 2), Reading (Paper 3), and Writing (Paper 4).

Don't worry if Japanese grammar and characters feel tricky at first. We will break everything down step by step with clear rules, examples, and memory tips so you can feel confident in your exams!

1. Family Members: In-Group (内 - Uchi) vs. Out-Group (外 - Soto)

In Japanese culture and language, there is an essential distinction between your in-group (your own family) and your out-group (other people's families). When speaking about your own family to someone else, you use humble terms. When speaking about someone else's family, you use polite, honorific terms.

Think of it like this: When you talk about your own team, you stay modest and humble. When you talk about someone else's team, you show respect!

Core Family Vocabulary

• Father: 父 (chichi — my father) vs. お父さん (otousan — someone else's father)
• Mother: 母 (haha — my mother) vs. お母さん (okaasan — someone else's mother)
• Older Brother: 兄 (ani — my older brother) vs. お兄さん (oniisan — someone else's older brother)
• Older Sister: 姉 (ane — my older sister) vs. お姉さん (oneesan — someone else's older sister)
• Younger Brother: 弟 (otouto — my younger brother) vs. 弟さん (otoutosan — someone else's younger brother)
• Younger Sister: 妹 (imouto — my younger sister) vs. 妹さん (imoutosan — someone else's younger sister)
• Grandfather: 祖父 (sofu — my grandfather) vs. おじいさん (ojiisan — someone else's grandfather)
• Grandmother: 祖母 (sobo — my grandmother) vs. おばあさん (obaasan — someone else's grandmother)
• Parents: 両親 (ryoushin — my parents) vs. ご両親 (goryoushin — someone else's parents)
• Family: 家族 (kazoku — my family) vs. ご家族 (gokazoku — someone else's family)

Exam Tip & Memory Aid

Memory Trick: Notice how someone else's family members often have the polite prefix お- (o-) or ご- (go-) and end in -さん (-san). When talking to an examiner about your own family, drop the o- and -san: use 父 (chichi) and 母 (haha)!

Key Takeaway: Always check who you are describing. If it is your own family, use the humble term (e.g. haha). If it is a friend's or teacher's family, use the polite term (e.g. okaasan).

2. Describing Personality and Qualities

To score high marks in Speaking and Writing, you need a range of adjectives to describe your family, friends, and role models. In Japanese, adjectives fall into two types: い-adjectives and な-adjectives.

Essential Adjectives

• Kind / Gentle: 優しい (yasashii — い-adj) / 親切［な］ (shinsetsu [na] — な-adj)
• Strict: 厳しい (kibishii — い-adj)
• Bright / Cheerful: 明るい (akarui — い-adj)
• Funny / Interesting: 面白い (omoshiroi — い-adj)
• Cool / Stylish: かっこいい (kakkoii — い-adj)
• Famous: 有名［な］ (yuumei [na] — な-adj)
• Quiet: 静か［な］ (shizuka [na] — な-adj)

Describing Ability: Upper vs. Lower Skills

In Japanese, you must be careful when talking about skill levels:

• Good at / Skilled: 上手［な］ (jouzu [na]) is used to compliment others. Use 得意［な］ (tokui [na]) when stating that you yourself are good at something.
• Poor at / Weak at: 下手［な］ (heta [na]) or 苦手［な］ (nigate [na]).

Example Sentences:
• Tanaka-san is good at tennis: 田中さんはテニスが上手です。(Tanaka-san wa tenisu ga jouzu desu.)
• I am good at Japanese: 私は日本語が得意です。(Watashi wa nihongo ga tokui desu.)

Key Takeaway: Never call yourself 上手 (jouzu), as modesty is valued in Japanese! Use 得意 (tokui) for your own strengths.

3. Personal Interests and Hobbies (趣味 - Shumi)

Being able to talk about what you enjoy doing in your spare time is essential for the 9-1 GCSE.

Formula 1: Using a Simple Noun

Pattern: 趣味は［Noun］です。(Shumi wa [Noun] desu. — My hobby is [Noun].)
Example: 趣味は読書です。(Shumi wa dokusho desu. — My hobby is reading.)

Formula 2: Using an Action (Verb Nominalisation)

To say your hobby is an action, you cannot simply stick a verb directly in front of です. You must turn the verb into a noun by taking the Dictionary Form and adding こと (koto).

Pattern: 趣味は［Verb Dictionary Form］ことです。(Shumi wa [Verb] koto desu.)
Example: 趣味は音楽を聞くことです。(Shumi wa ongaku o kiku koto desu. — My hobby is listening to music.)
Example: 趣味はアニメを見ることです。(Shumi wa anime o miru koto desu. — My hobby is watching anime.)

Expressing Likes and Preferences

• Like / Love: ［Noun］が好きです (...ga suki desu) / 大好きです (...ga daisuki desu)
• Expressing Preferences: ［Noun］のほうが好きです (...no hou ga suki desu — I prefer...)

Key Takeaway: Always remember to add こと (koto) after a dictionary form verb when defining a hobby (e.g. 本を読むことです).

4. Socialising with Friends and Family

Examiners frequently ask how you spend time with others at weekends or after school.

Key Socialising Vocabulary

• To hang out / spend leisure time with friends: 友達と遊ぶ (tomodachi to asobu)
• To meet: 会う (au)
• To talk / chat: 話す (hanasu) / おしゃべりする (oshaberi suru)
• Together: 一緒に (issho ni)

Crucial Particle Rules for Socialising

1. With someone: Use the particle と (to).
Example: 友達と映画を見に行きます。(Tomodachi to eiga o mi ni ikimasu. — I go to see a film with my friend.)
2. Meeting someone: The verb 会う (au) takes the particle に (ni), NOT を (o)!
Correct: 友達に会います。(Tomodachi ni aimasu. — I meet a friend.)
Incorrect: ❌ 友達を会います。

Key Takeaway: Always pair に with 会う (ni au = meet someone) and と for doing an activity "with" someone.

5. Role Models (尊敬する人 / ロールモデル)

A key topic in Theme 1 is describing someone you admire or respect. This could be a parent, a teacher, a sports star, or an artist.

Key Terms & Phrases

• Role model / Respected person: 尊敬する人 (sonkei suru hito) / ロールモデル (roorumoderu)
• Stating who you respect: 私は［Person］を尊敬しています。(Watashi wa [Person] o sonkei shite imasu. — I respect / look up to [Person].)

Giving Reasons for Admiration

To achieve higher grades, give clear reasons why you look up to this person:

• Because they are...: ［Reason］から／ので、尊敬しています。(...kara / node, sonkei shite imasu.)
• Good at doing an action: ［Verb Dictionary Form］のが上手／得意 (...no ga jouzu / tokui)
Example: サッカーをするのが上手です。(Sakkaa o suru no ga jouzu desu. — They are good at playing football.)
• Hardworking attitude: いつも一生懸命頑張るからです。(Itsumo isshoukenmei ganbaru kara desu. — Because they always try their best.)

Key Takeaway: Link your role model's personality, skills (no ga jouzu), and hardworking nature (isshoukenmei ganbaru) to form rich, complex sentences.

6. Essential Grammar Toolkit for Theme 1

A. Chaining Descriptions (Te-form for Adjectives)

To connect two adjectives in a single sentence ("is kind AND funny"):
• For い-adjectives: Drop the final い and add くて (-kute).
Example: 優しくて、面白いです。(Yasashikute, omoshiroi desu. — Kind and funny.)
• For な-adjectives: Add で (-de).
Example: 親切で、明るいです。(Shinsetsu de, akarui desu. — Kind and cheerful.)

B. Giving Reasons with から (kara) and ので (node)

Put から or ので after a reason to mean "because" or "so":
Example: 父は優しいですから、大好きです。(Chichi wa yasashii desu kara, daisuki desu. — Because my dad is kind, I love him.)

C. Listing Multiple Reasons with 〜し、〜し (shi... shi)

Use し to list multiple characteristics or reasons smoothly:
Example: 先生は親切だし、面白いし、尊敬しています。(Sensei wa shinsetsu da shi, omoshiroi shi, sonkei shite imasu. — My teacher is kind, and also funny, so I respect them.)

7. Common Exam Pitfalls to Avoid

• No Rōmaji in Writing: You will receive zero marks for words written in rōmaji in Paper 4. Use Hiragana, Katakana, and your required GCSE Kanji.
• Mixing Plain and Polite Forms: Keep your style consistent. If you start writing in polite form (です / ます - desu / masu), do not randomly switch to plain form (だ / だ-form - da).
• The 会う (au) Particle Mistake: Never write を会う; always write に会う.
• Missing Bullet Points: In Paper 4 open writing tasks (80–90 words for Foundation, 130–140 words for Higher), make sure you directly answer every single bullet point in the prompt (including your role model or weekend plans)!

Quick Review Checklist

Before sitting your exam, check that you can:
1. Name family members correctly using both humble (chichi, haha) and polite (otousan, okaasan) forms.
2. Describe someone's personality using connected adjectives (-kute / -de).
3. State your hobby using the ［Verb Dictionary Form］+ ことです pattern.
4. Explain who your role model is and give at least two reasons using 〜から or 〜し、〜し.
5. Correctly use particles: と (with), に (meeting someone), and が (with likes/abilities).