Greating people for the first time conversation

New Vocab:
Hajimemashite = "Pleased to meet you" or "How are you?"
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu = "Please accept my regards" or "Please accept me."

Before we talk about the above vocabulary lets look at their context in a conversation. This conversation is kind of watered down but it works and also uses some of the grammar that we have learned in earlier lessons.

Mr. Tanaka: Konnichiwa.

Mr Yamata: Konnichiwa. Watashi wa Yamata desu.

Mr Tanaka: Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Tanaka desu.

Mr Yamata: Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

Mr Tanaka: Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

Now the translation:

Mr. Tanaka: Hello. (Good afternoon.)
Mr Yamata: Hello. I'm Yamata.
Mr Tanaka: Pleased to meet you. I'm Tanaka.
Mr Yamata: Please accept my regards.
Mr Tanaka: Please accept my regards.

I think that most of the above conversation was easy to understand as long as you have completed the past lessons.

I want to delve deeper into a few of the phrases used in the conversation because they do not really translate directly into English, we just have English counterparts for them.

"Hajimemashite" literally mean "The beginning" or "the first time". It comes from the verb "hajimeru" which mean "to begin" (We will start verbs in a few lessons). When you are using this phrase you are acknowledging that it is the first time you are meeting. Thus it loosely translates as "Pleased to meet you."

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu means that you are requesting that the person you are talking to will accept you from here on out. Thus it translates to "Please accept my regards".

You will find that some words or phrases in the Japanese language do not directly translate to English. This is partly because Japanese is not a Latin based language as are most languages we are familiar with. Another reason is the Japanese history and culture are very different from what we are used to in the US and Europe.

So, review the above conversation many times. Invite someone to practice with you and remember to insert your own names.

Have fun!