Birthday Party, Part 1: Practice

Let's practice what we've learned.

Interactive Activities

The directions for the activities below are written with the idea of you working with a partner. If you do not have a partner available, complete the practice on your own, completing both parts of the activity as well as you can.

Vocabulary check

Silently review the days of the month given in the box in the Vocabulary section. Then have a kurasumeeto orally test you. Your partner says the nihongo, and you give the eigo (this is the reverse of the normal procedure). Switch and test your partner.

Note

As you say the days of the month for your partner, be careful to pronounce the whispered (devoiced) vowels correctly. For a description of whispered vowels, review Text Lesson 27.

futsuka
itsuka
hatsuka

Nan-gatsu desu-ka?

Do this activity with a kurasumeeto. Partner A and Partner B prepare for this activity separately without showing the other this page. Each partner writes the actual birth month for him/herself and his/her family members. Take turns asking each other questions to determine the birth month of each family member. Use questions and answers such as these:

Oneesan-ga imasu-ka? Iie, imasen.
Otootosan-ga imasu-ka? Hai, imasu.
Otootosan-no-o-tanjoobi-wa nan-gatsu desu-ka? Juu-ni-gatsu desu.

Compare your charts when you finish. Is the information the same?

**Watashi-no kazoku**
Kazoku-no hito	Tanjoobi
watashi
haha
chichi
imooto
otooto
ane
ani

**Kurasumeeto-no go-kazoku**
Go-kazoku-no hito	O-tanjoobi
kurasumeeto-no o-namae-san
okaasan
otoosan
imootosan
otootosan
oneesan
oniisan

Nan-nichi desu-ka?

With a kurasumeeto, practice saying dates. Look only at your part. If your partner reads the dates correctly, say “Hai, soo desu.” If your partner reads the dates incorrectly, say “Chotto chigaimasu. Moo ichi-do yonde kudasai.”

**Nan-nichi desu-ka?**
Partner A	Partner B
1st, 2nd, 3rd 3rd, 1st, 2nd yokka, itsuka, muika itsuka, mikka, yokka 3rd, 4th, 6th 1st, 5th, 2nd futsuka, muika, tsuitachi yokka, mikka, itsuka 7th, 8th, 9th 6th, 4th, 8th kokonoka, itsuka, nanoka yooka, mikka, muika 10th, 1st, 6th, 9th, 5th 4th, 8th, 2nd, 7th, 3rd tsuitachi, yooka, yokka, tooka, futsuka kokonoka, mikka, itsuka, nanoka, muika	tsuitachi, futsuka, mikka mikka, tsuitachi, futsuka 4th, 5th, 6th 5th, 3rd, 4th mikka, yokka, muika tsuitachi, itsuka, futsuka 2nd, 6th, 1st 4th, 3rd, 5th nanoka, yooka, kokonoka muika, yokka, yooka 9th, 5th, 7th 8th, 3rd, 6th tooka, tsuitachi, muika, kokonoka, itsuka yokka, yooka, futsuka, nanoka, mikka 1st, 8th, 4th, 10th, 2nd 9th, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 6th

O-tanjoobi-wa itsu desu-ka?

In this whole class activity, ask all your kurasumeeto one at a time, “O-tanjoobi-wa itsu desu-ka?” and record their responses. Before beginning, be sure you can say your own birthday.

Reading practice

Practice reading the following lines until you can read them smoothly. Check your reading accuracy by clicking the audio. When you turn the card over, you can see the translations in English.

たんじょうび　おめでとう。
たんじょうび　おめでとう　ございます。
（この　ひとの）おたんじょうびは　いつ　ですか。
わたしの　たんじょうびは　しがつ　じゅうににち　です。
おかあさんの　おたんじょうびは　なんがつ　ですか。
みなさんに　おたんじょうびを　きいて　ください。
ぼくの　たんじょうびは　しちがつ　じゅうはちにち　です。

[CC BY-NC-SA 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION - INTENDED ONLY FOR USE WITHIN LESSON.
IRASSHAI VIDEO SERIES COURTESY OF GPB, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.