Expressing your emotions is an important part of communication. Adjectives are used when expressing emotions.
| Ureshii うれしい | glad, happy |
| Shiawasena 幸せな | happy, fortunate |
| Zannenna 残念な | unfortunate, disappointing |
| Kanashii 悲しい | sad |
| Sabishii さびしい | lonely |
Emotions are usually expressed straightforwardly, therefore informal speeches are widely used. Here are some useful expressions.
| Ureshii naa. (Male speech) うれしいなあ｡ Ureshii wa. (Female speech) うれしいわ｡ | I am glad! |
| Shiawase da naa. (M) 幸せだなあ｡ Shiawase da wa. (F) 幸せだわ｡ | I am happy! |
| Zannen da naa. (M) 残念だなあ｡ Zannen nee. (F) 残念ねえ｡ | I am sorry to hear that. |
| Kanashii naa. (M) 悲しいなあ｡ Kanashii wa. (F) 悲しいわ｡ | I am sad. |
| Sabishii naa. (M) さびしいなあ。 Sabishii wa. (F) さびしいわ。 | I am lonely. |
When describing someone's emotions, "~sou desu (looks, seems)" is added to the stem of the adjective.
| Yuki wa shiawase sou desu. ゆきは幸せそうです｡ | Yuki looks happy. |
| Chichi wa totemo sabishi sou deshita. 父はとてもさびしそうでした｡ | My father seemed very lonely. |
Interjections and Exclamations
You will need quite a bit of experience in, and understanding of, a culture to speak its language naturally. If the proper expression does not come to mind instantly, it will sound like you are reading it. When you have a chance to hear the Japanese speaking, listen carefully to the way they speak as well as to their facial expressions. If you are interested in these exclamatory expressions, Japanese comic books (manga), which include many of them, might be good a resource to explore.
Here are some of the widely used expressions. Remember that exclamations are used almost always in informal style.
| A, Aa あ、ああ Oh. | A, nagareboshi da! あ、流れ星だ！ Oh, that's a shooting star! |
| Aree, Oya, Maa あれえ、 おや、まあ Oh my! Gee! | Maa, kirei na nagame nee! まあ、きれいな眺めねえ｡ Oh my, what a nice view! ("Maa" is used by women only.) |
| E え What? | E, Shigoto yameta no. え、 仕事やめたの｡ What, you quit your job? |
| Masaka! まさか！ No kidding! | Masaka sonna koto ga aruhazu nai yo! まさかそんなことがあるはずないよ！ That can't be! |
| Hee! へえ！ Really! | Hee, sore wa yokatta ne! へえ、それは良かったね！ Wow, that's great! |
| Naruhodo なるほど I see. | Naruhodo, sou iu koto datta no ka. なるほど、そういうことだったのか｡ I see, that's the way it was. |
| Yare yare やれやれ Oh boy! | Yare yare, nante koto da! やれやれ、なんてことだ！ Oh boy, what a disaster! |
