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Japan Know How

I’m American in Japanese

I'm American in Japanese

アメリカ人です

In kana only: アメリカじんです

amerika-jin desu

polite

What it literally says

I am an America-person

Japanese politeness is mostly built out of phrases that stopped being literal a long time ago. Knowing what is underneath is the difference between repeating a sound and knowing what you said.

When to use it

The -jin suffix makes a nationality from any country name.

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The rest of the phrasebook

All 337 phrases →