Theme 1: Identity and Culture — Who Am I? (わたしは だれですか)
Welcome to your Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Japanese (1JA0) study guide for Who am I? (わたしは だれですか). In this chapter, you will learn how to describe yourself, talk about your family and friends, discuss your childhood, and explain what you think makes a good friend.
Don't worry if Japanese grammar or vocabulary seems challenging at first. We will break down every structure step by step with clear patterns, examples, and memory tips so you feel completely confident across all four exam papers (Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing).
1. Family Members: The "In-Group" vs. "Out-Group" Rule
One of the most important cultural and linguistic concepts in Japanese is the distinction between your own circle (in-group / 内 / uchi) and someone else's circle (out-group / 外 / soto).
In English, you can say "my mum" and "your mum" using the same word. However, in Japanese, you use humble terms for your own family and respectful terms for someone else's family.
A. My Family (Humble Terms) vs. Someone Else's Family (Respectful Terms)
• 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)
• Siblings: 兄弟 (kyoudai - my siblings) vs. ご兄弟 (gokyoudai - someone else's siblings)
• Family: 家族 (kazoku - my family) vs. ご家族 (gokazoku - someone else's family)
B. Counting Family Members
Japanese uses specific counters for people. Notice how the first two are irregular:
• 1 person: 一人 (hitori)
• 2 people: 二人 (futari)
• 3 people: 三人 (sannin)
• 4 people: 四人 (yonin — note: not shinin!)
• How many people?: 何人 (nannin)
Sentence Pattern: 私の家族は四人です。(Watashi no kazoku wa yonin desu. — "There are four people in my family.")
Memory Tip: The Polite "O" and "Go"
Notice that words for other people's families often start with a polite お (o-) or ご (go-) and end in 〜さん (-san). When talking about your own family, drop both the prefix and the suffix to show modesty!
Key Takeaway: Always use humble terms (父, 母, 兄, 姉) when writing or speaking about your own family, and respectful terms (お父さん, お母さん) when referring to a partner's or friend's family.
---2. Describing People: Personality and Appearance
To score high marks in GCSE Speaking and Writing, you need a rich set of adjectives to describe how people look and act.
A. Personality Adjectives
• Kind / Helpful: 親切 [な] (shinsetsu [na] - Na-adjective)
• Gentle / Kind-hearted: 優しい (yasashii - I-adjective)
• Funny / Interesting: 面白い (omoshiroi - I-adjective)
• Cheerful / Bright: 明るい (akarui - I-adjective)
• Diligent / Serious: まじめ [な] (majime [na] - Na-adjective)
• Quiet / Gentle: おとなしい (otonashii - I-adjective)
• Strict: 厳しい (kibishii - I-adjective)
B. Physical Appearance: The Essential Pattern
In Japanese, you do not say "My father's height is tall." Instead, use the Topic + は + Body Part + が + Adjective pattern:
[Person] は [Body Part] が [Adjective] です。
• Tall / Short: 背が高い (se ga takai) / 背が低い (se ga hikui)
• Long / Short hair: 髪が長い (kami ga nagai) / 髪が短い (kami ga mijikai)
• Big / Small eyes: 目が大きい (me ga ookii) / 目が小さい (me ga chiisai)
• Young: 若い (wakai)
• Cute: かわいい (kawaii)
• Cool / Good-looking: かっこいい (kakkoii)
Example: 姉は背が高くて、髪が長いです。(Ane wa se ga takakute, kami ga nagai desu. — "My older sister is tall and has long hair.")
C. Linking Adjectives Together (〜くて and 〜で)
Never use the particle と (to) to join adjectives! Use these linking forms instead:
• い-Adjectives: Drop the final い and add 〜くて (-kute).
Example: 弟は明るくて、面白いです。(Otouto wa akarukute, omoshiroi desu. — "My younger brother is cheerful and funny.")
• な-Adjectives: Drop な and add 〜で (-de).
Example: 友達は親切で、優しいです。(Tomodachi wa shinsetsu de, yasashii desu. — "My friend is kind and gentle.")
Key Takeaway: Use 〜くて for い-adjectives and 〜で for な-adjectives when joining multiple descriptions. Stick to the [Person] は [Body Part] が [Adjective] です formula for physical traits.
---3. Looking Back: When I Was Younger (子供の時)
In the GCSE exam, you will often be asked to describe what you or your relationships were like in the past. To do this, you must master the time marker 〜時 (toki - when) and past tense conjugations.
A. Time Expressions for Childhood
• When I was a child: 子供の時 (kodomo no toki)
• When I was small: 小さい時 (chiisai toki)
• When I was young: 若い時 (wakai toki)
• In the past / A long time ago: 昔 (mukashi)
• Before: 前に (mae ni)
B. Conjugating into the Past Tense
1. い-Adjectives in the Past
• Present Positive: 髪が短いです (kami ga mijikai desu — hair is short)
• Past Positive: 髪が短かったです (kami ga mijikakatta desu — hair was short)
• Present Negative: 髪が短くないです (kami ga mijikukunai desu — hair is not short)
• Past Negative: 髪が短くなかったです (kami ga mijikukanakatta desu — hair was not short)
2. な-Adjectives & Nouns in the Past
• Present Positive: まじめです (majime desu — diligent)
• Past Positive: まじめでした (majime deshita — was diligent)
• Past Negative: まじめじゃありませんでした (majime ja arimasen deshita — was not diligent)
Example Sentence:
子供の時、私はおとなしかったですが、今は明るいです。
(Kodomo no toki, watashi wa otonashikatta desu ga, ima wa akarui desu.)
"When I was a child, I was quiet, but now I am cheerful."
Key Takeaway: To talk about the past with い-adjectives, drop the い and add 〜かったです. For な-adjectives and nouns, use 〜でした.
---4. Friendship: What Makes a Good Friend?
Exam questions in Theme 1 often invite you to give opinions about your relationships and qualities of a true friend.
A. Core Friendship Vocabulary
• Friend: 友達 (tomodachi)
• Best Friend: 親友 (shinyuu)
• To get along well: 仲が良い (naka ga ii)
• Relationships: 人間関係 (ningen kankei)
B. Expressing Opinions: 〜と思います (I think that...)
To share your thoughts on friendship, use a plain (short) form verb or adjective followed by 〜と思います (~to omoimasu):
• With い-Adjectives: いい友達は優しいと思います。(Ii tomodachi wa yasashii to omoimasu. — "I think a good friend is kind.")
• With な-Adjectives / Nouns: いい友達は親切だと思います。(Ii tomodachi wa shinsetsu da to omoimasu. — "I think a good friend is helpful. Note the だ!")
C. Expressing Similarity and Difference
• Same as [Noun]: [Noun] + と同じ (to onaji)
Example: 私は親友と同じ趣味があります。(Watashi wa shinyuu to onaji shumi ga arimasu. — "I have the same hobbies as my best friend.")
• Different from [Noun]: [Noun] + と違います (to chigaimasu)
Example: 私の性格は兄と違います。(Watashi no seikaku wa ani to chigaimasu. — "My personality is different from my older brother's.")
Key Takeaway: Build sophisticated opinion sentences by combining friendship traits with 〜と思います (~to omoimasu) and comparisons using 〜と同じ / 〜と違います.
---5. Common Pitfalls and Examiner Tips for Pearson Edexcel (1JA0)
Keep these frequent exam traps in mind during revision to protect your marks:
• Trap 1: Writing in Romaji
Examiner Warning: Romaji is never credited in Paper 4 (Writing) or Paper 3 (Reading translation). Always write in Kana (Hiragana/Katakana) and prescribed GCSE Kanji.
• Trap 2: Mixing In-Group and Out-Group Family Words
Do not say "Watashi no okaasan" in formal writing or speaking. Always use 母 (haha) for your own mother and お母さん (okaasan) for someone else's mother.
• Trap 3: Adjective Conjugation Clashes
Never say yasashii deshita (優しいでした ❌). Because 優しい is an い-adjective, you must conjugate it to 優しかったです (yasashikatta desu ✔).
• Trap 4: Incorrect Adjective Linking
Do not use と (to) to link adjectives (e.g., yasashii to akarui ❌). Use 優しくて、明るいです (yasashikute, akarui desu ✔).
• Trap 5: Forgetting to Shift Tenses for "When I was younger"
If a prompt starts with 子供の時 (kodomo no toki), ensure your verbs and adjectives end in the past tense (〜ました / 〜かったです / 〜でした).
Quick Revision Checklist
• Can you list all members of your family using humble terms (父, 母, 兄, 姉, 弟, 妹, 祖父, 祖母)?
• Can you count people from 1 to 4 correctly (一人, 二人, 三人, 四人)?
• Can you describe physical appearance using [Person] は [Body Part] が [Adjective] です?
• Can you link two い-adjectives with 〜くて and two な-adjectives with 〜で?
• Can you form past tense sentences with 子供の時 and 〜かったです / 〜でした?
• Can you give an opinion about a good friend using 〜と思います?