IRL Japanese 2: Things the kids I teach say all the time
If you're planning to work as an ESL teacher in Japan working with kids, this vocab is gonna be super useful for you! You'll pick up a lot as you go along, but it's good to have an overview from the start.
できた = done, finished (whenever they finish an exercise I've set them. The older kids will use the ます-form, but kids under like age 8 will use this one)
かえる？= is it time to go home? (lit: go home?)
わかった = got it (again, the older kids will use the ます-form)
わからない / わかんない = I don't get it (idk if わかんない is just dialect or if it's common overall, but I hear it more than わからない. Usually from the kids who don't wanna be there and are making zero effort)
ちがう = wrong / different (when they give an answer but realise it's not correct. It's basically like "wait, no")
ばか = idiot (sometimes boys say this to their friends)
全部？（ぜんぶ）= everything?! (asked in disbelief when I ask them to write more than one word)
やめろ = stop it! (used with friends when they're teasing each other)
いたいよ = that actually hurts, you know! (used with friends when they're rough-housing)
よし (more like 'yoshhh') = right then (filler word indicating the start of an activity or a change of activity)
水筒（すいとう）= water bottle (most kids bring one to class and frequently forget to take them with them when they go home)
忘れた（わすれた）= I forgot (usually in reference to the text book they left at home)
トイレに行きたい = I want to go to the bathroom
先生、大好き！（せんせい、だいすき！）= I love you, Sensei!
Other useful classroom/school vocabulary:
ごろごろ = onomatopeia for the sound for rolling (I found the kids got confused if I just mimed rolling a dice/ball and said "roll!" but if I did the gesture and said "gorogoro", they understood)
ビリビリ = onomatopeia for ripping (useful for when you have tear-apart crafts in class)
ケシケシ = onomatopeia for erasing something (useful when you try to explain to a kid they spelled something wrong. Because it's easier to just say "A kesh-kesh, E" than "Not A, E. Okay great you wrote E, but A needs to go. No no no not the whole word, just A. Oh my God. Okay. Let me write it and you copy.")
ちょっと = a little, soon, wait a little (useful if the kids are getting a bit antsy and ready to go home a bit too early/don't want to wait their turn. Don't use it with parents though!)
がんばれ = do your best / you can do it!
あぶない！= dangerous / look out! (useful if a kid unexpectedly runs in front of me while I'm carrying a table)
せえの！= Altogether now! (When I need the kids to repeat something after me)
だめだよ = Don't do that (for when the kids repeatedly do something I've asked them not to do)
少々お待ちください（しょうしょう おまち ください）= polite form of "please wait a moment". Useful if you have a parent talking to you and you need to go get something (e.g. a communication sheet for them to point at so you know what they're trying to say)
授業参観 (じゅぎょうさんかん) = parent observation (PO). A couple of times a year, parents are invited into the classroom to watch the lesson (absolutely not a thing in the UK, not sure about other countries). The past two months I've had POs at my various schools, and so the parents come to the door and ask me if it's PO week. I don't understand most of the question, but I can pick out this one word and a question particle and figure out what they're asking.
It's also obviously a good idea to learn vocabulary related to stationery (eraser, pencil, crayon, pen, notebook, textbook, pencil case etc) because kids forget/lose their stuff all the time and will inevitably ask you if they can borrow something.
germansingergirl
theartofmadeline
gracieabrams
tangentwithtanner
discoholicmusic
origamiaround
izzy806
