Translation into Japanese
English into Japanese, in kana and the kanji you know: five sentences at Foundation, a short paragraph at Higher.
Learn
Translation into Japanese, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know how the translation is set and marked
At Foundation it is Question 4: five English sentences to translate, getting harder as they go, with (a) to (c) worth 2 marks each and (d) and (e) 3 each, marked sentence by sentence. At Higher it is Question 3: a short paragraph, marked as a whole out of 12. Work in romaji is never credited.
Rebuild the sentence in Japanese order
Start with the time, then who, where and with whom, then what, and finish with the verb. I play tennis with my friend in the park on Saturdays becomes 土曜日に 友だちと こうえんで テニスを します。
Carry over every element
Check the tense, any negative, and every time and frequency word: often is よく, sometimes ときどき and every day まいにち. Each one that goes missing costs meaning.
Join clauses the Japanese way
For and between actions, use the te-form: 家に かえって、 ごはんを 食べました. Between adjectives, use くて or で. Never put と between two verbs or two sentences.
Tell the Japanese language from a Japanese thing
Japanese the language is 日本語, a Japanese person is 日本人, and Japanese food or a Japanese car is 日本の 食べもの or 日本の くるま. Read the English closely to see which one it means.
Write in the right script
Write loanwords and foreign names in katakana (レストラン, ロンドン), use the kanji you know well, and use kana for everything else.
Keep long sentences together where you can
At Foundation, splitting a long sentence in two has been accepted. At Higher, a split answer can still reach the top band but not full marks, so join clauses where you can.
Check the details
Read your answer once for particles, once for small っ and long vowels, and once for the kana after each kanji. Then check that every verb comes last and matches the English tense.
Translation into Japanese key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Translation into Japanese
- The last question of the writing paper: five sentences at Foundation, a short paragraph at Higher, 12 marks either way.
- Word order
- Japanese puts the verb last and time words near the start.
- Te-form link
- Joining actions with the te-form, the Japanese way to say and then.
- 日本語
- The Japanese language, as in 日本語を はなします.
- 日本人
- A Japanese person. For a Japanese thing, use 日本の.
- Frequency word
- A word for how often: よく, ときどき, まいにち.
- Romaji
- Japanese in the English alphabet, which is never credited.
Common mistakes in Translation into Japanese
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Writing 日本人 or 日本の when the English means the language.
The language is 日本語, as in 日本語を べんきょうします.
Translating often as たくさん.
たくさん means a lot, of an amount. Often is よく: よく 行きます.
Joining two actions with と.
Join the actions with the te-form instead: こうえんに 行って、 テニスを しました.
Leaving the verb in the middle, as English does.
Finish every sentence with its verb: 私は まいにち 七時に おきます.
Missing a small っ or a long vowel, as in がこう or せんせ.
Check every word for its small っ and long vowels: がっこう, せんせい, きって.