Lesson 9: "Yo To Ne"
In this lesson we'll cover a few more of those "particles", those small bits of the Japanese language that make big differences in what is being said. To begin with, let's talk about the particle "Yo". Just like the "Ka" particle makes a question (Like "Doko des' ka?"="Where is it?"), "Yo" makes an exclamation. 
It emphasizes what you say. Like "Kore suki des' yo!"= "(I) Like this!". "Yo" shows that you feel strongly about whatever you just stated. You'll hear "yo" used a lot in anime themes and J-Pop music, about as much as "yeah" is used in American music. "To" (toh) is like 2 different particles in one; it is used to connect words together. It can be used like "and" or "with" are used in English. For example "Sushi to o-cha" ="Sushi and tea". "To" is also used like quotation marks when you are talking about something that was said or thought, but you only use one, you don't have to use it at the beginning and end of the quote like our quotation marks. It comes after the quote part, like to say "He said "Let's go"." in Japanese would be "Ikimasho to iimashita." (Ee-kee-mah-shoh toh ee-mah-shee-tah) = ""Let's go" was said". Remember when we talked about Japanese verbs in the last lesson? "Iimasu" (ee-mas) is "Says", so changing the end to the past tense "-shita" makes "Says" into "said". And, adding "-sho" to "Ikimasu" makes "Go" into the invitation "Let's go".
Ii des' yo! = It's good!
Watashi wa neko to inu suki. = I like cats and dogs.
Anata no kabuto to katana des' ka? = Is it your helmet and sword?
Nyan to Pururun iimas'. = "Meow" Pururun says.
Piza to aisukuremu ga tabemashita ka? = (You/he/she) ate pizza and ice cream?
Watashi wa anata ga suki des' yo! = I like you!
"Ne" (Neh) is sort of like saying "Isn't that right?". It's similar to the way some European languages use "Yes?" at the end of a sentence, like in German "Ist gut, ja?" = "Is good, yes?". In Japanese that would be "Ii des' ne?" (Ee des neh). It's OK for men and women to use "Ne", but using it a lot can be considered feminine. When a girl uses "Ne" a lot, it's considered cute and "Girly". If a guy says it too much, he might be considered a bit "girly" too. By the way, "Ne?" can be used by itself also. Since I brought up the thing about men and women, here's a few words that can help you sound more feminine or masculine. Instead of saying "Watashi" for "I/me", guys can use "Ore" (oh-reh), like "Ore wa Yattaro"="I am Yattaro", or "Boku", like "Boku wa Sukashi". Using a double word unnecessarily, like "Nani nani?" ="What what?" can be considered cute. But before you try anything out of the ordinary, make sure you know what you are doing first. The best way to do that is to listen to spoken Japanese, in person or while watching your favorite anime.
Boku wa Nyanki yo! = I am a Nyanki (Pizza Cat)!
Nyanki des' ne? = A Nyanki, right?
Sou sou (soh soh) = That is so (repeated to be cute)
That wasn't too hard, ne? Our next lesson should be fun, as I'll be covering some words that frequently come up in Anime.