Japanese Grammar Guide

Japanese Grammar Guide Tae Kim November 21, 2012 Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 The problem with conventional textbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 A Japanese guide to learning Japanese grammar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 11 12 13 2 The Writing System 2.1 The Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Intonation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 Hiragana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.1 The Muddied Sounds . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.2 The Small 「 」、「 」、and 「 」 2.3.3 The Small 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.4 The Long Vowel Sound . . . . . . . . . 2.4 Katakana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.1 The Long Vowel Sound . . . . . . . . . 2.4.2 The Small 「 、 、 、 、 」 . . 2.4.3 Some examples of words in Katakana . 2.5 Kanji . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5.1 What is Kanji? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5.2 Learning Kanji . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5.3 Reading Kanji . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5.4 Why Kanji? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 15 16 16 18 19 20 20 21 23 24 25 26 26 26 27 28 3 Basic Grammar 3.1 Basic Grammatical Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Expressing State-of-Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.1 Declaring something is so and so using 「 」 3.2.2 Conjugating to the negative state-of-being . . . 3.2.3 Conjugating to the past state-of-being . . . . . 3.2.4 Conjugation summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Introduction to Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.1 Defining grammatical functions with particles . 3.3.2 The 「 」 topic particle . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.3 The 「 」 inclusive topic particle . . . . . . . 3.3.4 The 「 」 identifier particle . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.1 Properties of Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 29 29 29 31 32 32 33 33 33 35 36 38 38 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.4.2 The na-adjective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.3 The i-adjective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.4 An annoying exception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Verb Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.1 Role of Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.2 Classifying verbs into ru-verbs and u-verbs . . . 3.5.3 Appendix: iru/eru u-verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . Negative Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6.1 Conjugating verbs into the negative . . . . . . . Past Tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7.1 Past tense for ru-verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7.2 Past tense for u-verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7.3 Past-negative tense for all verbs . . . . . . . . . Particles used with verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.8.1 The direct object 「 」 particle . . . . . . . . . 3.8.2 The target 「 」 particle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.8.3 The directional 「 」 particle . . . . . . . . . . 3.8.4 The contextual 「 」 particle . . . . . . . . . . 3.8.5 When location is the topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.8.6 When direct object is the topic . . . . . . . . . . Transitive and Intransitive Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.9.1 Pay attention to particles! . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relative Clauses and Sentence Order . . . . . . . . . . 3.10.1 Treating verbs and state-of-being like adjectives 3.10.2 Using state-of-being clauses as adjectives . . . 3.10.3 Using relative verb clauses as adjectives . . . . 3.10.4 Japanese Sentence Order . . . . . . . . . . . . Noun-related Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.1 The last three particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.2 The Inclusive 「 」 particle . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.3 The Vague Listing 「 」 and 「 」 particles 3.11.4 The 「 」 particle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.11.5 The 「 」 particle as explanation . . . . . . . . Adverbs and Sentence-ending particles . . . . . . . . . 3.12.1 Properties of Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.12.2 Sentence-ending particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.12.3 「 」 sentence ending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.12.4 「 」 sentence ending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.12.5 Combining both to get 「 」 . . . . . . . . . 4 Essential Grammar 4.1 Polite Form and Verb Stems . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.1 Not being rude in Japan . . . . . . . . 4.1.2 The stem of verbs . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.3 Using 「〜 」 to make verbs polite 4.1.4 Using 「 」 for everything else . . 4.1.5 「 」 is NOT the same as 「 」 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 40 42 43 43 45 46 47 47 50 50 51 52 53 54 55 57 58 60 61 62 62 63 63 64 65 66 68 68 68 69 70 73 77 77 79 79 80 81 . . . . . . 83 84 84 84 87 88 90 4.2 Addressing People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.1 Referring to yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.2 Referring to others by name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.3 Referring to others with "you" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.4 Referring to others in third person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.5 Referring to family members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 The Question Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.1 Questions in polite form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.2 The question marker in casual speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.3 「 」 used in relative clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.4 Using question words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Compound Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.1 Expressing a sequence of states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.2 Expressing a sequence of verbs with the te-form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.3 Expressing reason or causation using 「 」 and 「 」. . . . . . . 4.4.4 Using 「 」 to mean "despite" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.5 Expressing contradiction using 「 」 and 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.6 Expressing multiple reasons using 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.7 Expressing multiple actions or states using 「〜 」 . . . . . . . . 4.5 Other uses of the te-form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5.1 Using 「〜 い 」 for enduring states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5.2 Enduring state-of-being vs enduring state of action . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5.3 Using 「〜 あ 」 for resultant states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5.4 Using the 「〜 」 form as preparation for the future . . . . . . . . . 4.5.5 Using motion verbs (⾏ 、来 ) with the te-form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 Potential Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.1 Expressing the ability to do something . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.2 The Potential Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.3 Potential forms do not have direct objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.4 Are 「⾒え 」 and 「聞 え 」 exceptions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.5 「あ 」, yet another exception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7 Using and with the particle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.1 Using 「 」 and 「 」 for nouns and na-adjectives . . . . . . . . . 4.7.2 Using 「 」 with i-adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7.3 Using 「 」 and 「 」 with verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8 Conditionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8.1 How to say "if" in Japanese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8.2 Expressing natural consequence using 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8.3 Contextual conditionals using 「 ( )」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8.4 General conditionals using 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8.5 Past conditional using 「 ( )」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8.6 How does 「 」 fit into all of this? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9 Expressing "must" or "have to" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9.1 When there's something that must or must not be done . . . . . . . . . . 4.9.2 Using 「 」, 「い い」, and 「 い」 for things that must not be done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9.3 Expressing things that must be done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 92 92 93 93 94 95 96 96 97 98 99 103 103 105 106 109 110 112 113 114 114 117 119 120 121 123 123 123 125 126 127 128 128 130 131 132 132 132 134 135 137 139 140 140 140 142 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.9.4 Various short-cuts for the lazy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9.5 Saying something is ok to do or not do . . . . . . . . . . . . . Desire and Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.10.1 How to get your way in Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.10.2 Verbs you want to do with 「 い」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.10.3 Indicating things you want or want done using 「欲 い」 . . 4.10.4 Making a motion to do something using the volitional form . . 4.10.5 Making a motion to do something using the volitional form . . 4.10.6 Making Suggestions using the 「 」 or 「 」 conditional Performing an action on a relative clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11.1 The direct quote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11.2 The interpreted quote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11.3 Using 「 」 as a casual version of 「 」 . . . . . . . . . Defining and Describing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.1 The various uses of 「いう」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.2 Using 「いう」 to define . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.3 Using 「いう」 to describe anything . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.4 Rephrasing and making conclusions with 「 いう」 . . . . 4.12.5 Using 「 」 or 「 」 for 「 いう」 . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.6 Saying 「 う」 instead of 「いう」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trying something out or attempting to do something . . . . . . . . . 4.13.1 Let's try some stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.13.2 To try something out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.13.3 To attempt to do something . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Giving and Receiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.14.1 Japanese people like gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.14.2 When to use 「あ 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.14.3 When to use 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.14.4 When to use 「 う」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.14.5 Asking favors with 「 」 or 「 え 」 . . . . . . . . Making requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.15.1 Politely (and not so politely) making requests . . . . . . . . . 4.15.2 「〜 い」－ a special conjugation of 「 」 . . 4.15.3 Using 「〜 う い」 as a casual request . . . . . . . . . 4.15.4 Using 「〜 い」 to make firm but polite requests . . . . . 4.15.5 The Command Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.15.6 Negative Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Numbers and Counting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.16.1 The Number System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.16.2 Counting and Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.16.3 Using 「⽬」 to show order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Casual Patterns and Slang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.17.1 Basic Principles of Slang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.17.2 Sentence ordering and particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.17.3 Using 「 」 instead of 「 い」 to confirm . . . . 4.17.4 Using 「 」 for 「 いう」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.17.5 Using 「 」 and 「 」to show exasperation . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 145 146 146 146 148 149 151 152 153 153 154 156 158 158 158 159 161 163 165 166 166 166 167 169 169 170 171 174 175 177 177 177 179 180 181 183 184 184 187 192 192 192 194 195 197 199 4.17.6 Using 「 」 just about everywhere . . . . . 4.17.7 Showing contempt for an action with 「〜 」 4.18 More sentence-ending particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.18.1 「 」 and 「 」 sentence-ending particles . . . 4.18.2 「 い」 and 「 い」 sentence-ending particles 4.18.3 Gender-specific sentence-ending particles . . . . 4.18.4 That's a wrap! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Special Expressions 5.1 Causative and Passive Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.1 Causative Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.2 Passive Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.3 Using passive form to show politeness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.4 Causative-Passive Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Honorific and Humble Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.1 Set Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.2 Other substitutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.3 Honorific and Humble Conjugations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.4 Making honorific requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 Things that happen unintentionally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.1 Using 「 う」 with other verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.2 Using the casual version of 「〜 う」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.3 Another meaning of 「 う」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 Expressions with generic nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.1 Using 「 」 to say whether something has happened . . . . . . . . . 5.4.2 Using 「 」 as an abstract place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.3 Using 「 」 as a casual feminine way to emphasize . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 Expressing levels of certainty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5.1 Using 「 い」 to express uncertainty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5.2 Using 「 う」 to express a fair amount of certainty . . . . . . . . . 5.5.3 Using 「 う」 and 「 う」 to express strong amount of certainty 5.6 Expressing amounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6.1 Indicating that's all there is using 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6.2 Using 「 」 as a formal version of 「 」. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6.3 Indication that there's nothing else using 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6.4 Expressing the opposite of 「 」 with 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6.5 Saying there's too much of something using 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . 5.6.6 Adding the 「 」 particle to express excessive amounts . . . . . . . . . 5.6.7 Using 「 」 to express the extent of something . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6.8 Using 「〜 」 with adjectives to indicate an amount . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 Express similarity and hearsay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7.1 Expressing similarity with う . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7.2 Using 「 い」 to say something looks like something else . . . . . . . 5.7.3 Guessing at an outcome using 「〜 う」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7.4 Expressing hearsay using 「〜 う 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7.5 Expressing hearsay or behavior using 「〜 い」 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7.6 「 い」: Slang expression of similarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 199 201 202 202 204 205 206 211 211 211 216 218 219 222 222 225 227 230 232 232 233 235 235 235 237 238 238 239 240 241 243 244 246 246 249 250 253 254 256 258 258 260 261 264 266 267 5.8 Using ⽅ and for comparisons, etc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8.1 Using 「⽅」 for comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8.2 Using 「 」 for comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8.3 Using 「⽅」 to express a way to do something . . . . . 5.8.4 Using 「 」 to express dependency . . . . . . . 5.8.5 Indicating a source of information using 「 」 . . 5.9 Saying something is easy or difficult to do . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9.1 Variations of 「〜 い」 with 「〜 い」 and 「〜 5.10 More negative verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10.1 Doing something without doing something else . . . . . . 5.10.2 A casual masculine type of negative that ends in 「 」 . 5.10.3 A classical negative verb that ends in 「 」 . . . . . . . 5.11 Hypothesizing and Concluding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11.1 Coming to a conclusion with 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11.2 Making hypotheses with 「 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12 Expressing time-specific actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12.1 Expressing what just happened with 「〜 」 . . . . 5.12.2 Express what occurred immediately after with 「 」 5.12.3 Using 「 」 for two concurrent actions . . . . . . . 5.12.4 Using 「 」 with state-of-being . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12.5 To repeat something with reckless abandon using 「 5.13 Leaving something the way it is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.13.1 Using 「 」 to express a lack of change . . . . . . . . 5.13.2 Using 「 」 to leave something the way it is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . い」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 」. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Advanced Topics 6.1 Formal Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.1 What do you mean by formal expressions? . . . . . . . . . 6.1.2 Using 「 あ 」 for formal state-of-being . . . . . . . . . 6.1.3 Negative of 「 あ 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.4 Sequential relative clauses in formal language . . . . . . . 6.2 Things that should be a certain way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.1 Using 「 」 to describe an expectation . . . . . . . . . 6.2.2 Using 「 」 to describe actions one should do . . . . . 6.2.3 Using 「 」 to describe what one tries to do . . . . . . 6.2.4 Using 「 」 to describe things one must not do . . 6.3 Expressing the minimum expectation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.1 Using 「( ) え」 to describe the minimum requirement . 6.3.2 「( ) 」 - Older version of 「( ) え」 . . . . . . . . 6.3.3 「 」 - It's not even worth considering . . . . . . . . . 6.4 Showing signs of something . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.1 Showing outward signs of an emotion using 「〜 」 . . 6.4.2 Using 「 」 to act as if one might do something . . . 6.4.3 Using 「 」 to indicate an atmosphere of a state . . . . 6.5 Formal expressions of non-feasibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5.1 Expressing the inability to not do using 「〜 得 い」 6.5.2 Expressing the inability to stop doing something using 「 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 得 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 268 270 272 273 274 275 277 278 278 281 282 284 284 286 288 288 290 291 293 295 296 296 297 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . い」 299 299 299 299 301 302 304 304 306 309 311 312 312 314 316 317 317 320 321 323 324 325 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.5.3 Expressing what cannot be done with 「〜 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 Tendencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328 6.6.1 Saying something is prone to occur using 「〜 」 . . . . . . . . . . . 328 6.6.2 Describing an ongoing occurrence using 「〜 」 . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 6.6.3 Describing a negative tendency using 「 い あ 」 . . . . . . . . . 333 Advanced Volitional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 6.7.1 Negative Volitional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 6.7.2 Using the volitional to express a lack of relation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 6.7.3 Using 「 あ う」 to express likelihood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338 6.7.4 Using 「 う」 as volitional for 「い」 endings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 Covered by something . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 6.8.1 Using 「 」 when an object is riddled everywhere with something . 342 6.8.2 Using 「 」 to describe a covering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 6.8.3 「 」 to express entirety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344 Advanced proximity of actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346 6.9.1 Using 「 早い 」 to describe the instant something occurred . . . . . . 346 6.9.2 Using 「 ／ 否 」 to describe what happened right after . . . . . . . 347 6.9.3 Using 「 」 to describe an event that repeatedly occurs soon after 349 Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 6.10.1 Using 「思い 」 to describe something unexpected . . . . . . . . . . 350 6.10.2 Using 「〜 」 to do two things at one time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 6.10.3 Using 「〜あ (挙句)」 to describe a bad result . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 9 10 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 The problem with conventional textbooks The problem with conventional textbooks is that they often have the following goals. 1. They want readers to be able to use functional and polite Japanese as quickly as possible. 2. They don't want to scare readers away with terrifying Japanese script and Chinese characters. 3. They want to teach you how to say English phrases in Japanese. Traditionally with romance languages such as Spanish, these goals present no problems or are nonexistent due to the similarities to English. However, because Japanese is different in just about every way down to the fundamental ways of thinking, these goals create many of the confusing textbooks you see today. They are usually filled with complicated rules and countless number of grammar for specific English phrases. They also contain almost no Kanji and so when you finally arrive in Japan, lo and behold, you discover you can't read menus, maps, or essentially anything at all because the book decided you weren't smart enough to memorize Chinese characters. The root of this problem lies in the fact that these textbooks try to teach you Japanese with English. They want to teach you on the first page how to say, "Hi, my name is Smith," but they don't tell you about all the arbitrary decisions that were made behind your back. They probably decided to use the polite form even though learning the polite form before the dictionary form makes no sense. They also might have decided to include the subject even though it's not necessary and omitted most of the time. In fact, the most common way to say something like "My name is Smith" in Japanese is to say "Smith". That's because most of the information is understood from the context and is therefore omitted. But does most textbooks explain the way things work in Japanese fundamentally? No, because they're too busy trying to push you out 11 1.2. A JAPANESE GUIDE TO LEARNING JAPANESE GRAMMAR CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION the door with "useful" phrases right off the bat. The result is a confusing mess of "use this if you want to say this" type of text and the reader is left with a feeling of confusion about how things actually work. The solution to this problem is to explain Japanese from a Japanese point of view. Take Japanese and explain how it works and forget about trying to force what you want to say in English into Japanese. To go along with this, it is also important to explain things in an order that makes sense in Japanese. If you need to know [A] in order to understand [B], don't cover [B] first just because you want to teach a certain phrase. Essentially, what we need is a Japanese guide to learning Japanese grammar. 1.2 A Japanese guide to learning Japanese grammar This guide is an attempt to systematically build up the grammatical structures that make up the Japanese language in a way that makes sense in Japanese. It may not be a practical tool for quickly learning immediately usable phrases such as for travel. However, it will logically create successive building blocks that will result in a solid grammatical foundation. For those of you who have learned Japanese from textbooks, you may see some big differences in how the material is ordered and presented. This is because this guide does not seek to forcibly create artificial ties between English and Japanese by presenting the material in a way that makes sense in English. Instead, examples with translations will show how ideas are expressed in Japanese resulting in simpler explanations that are easier to understand. In the beginning, the English translations for the examples will also be as literal as possible to convey the Japanese sense of the meaning. This will often result in grammatically incorrect translations in English. For example, the translations might not have a subject because Japanese does not require one. In addition, since the articles "the" and "a" do not exist in Japanese, the translations will not have them as well. And since Japanese does not distinguish between a future action and a general statement (such as "I will go to the store" vs. "I go to the store"), no distinction will necessarily be made in the translation. It is my hope that the explanation of the examples will convey an accurate sense of what the sentences actually mean in Japanese. Once the reader becomes familiar and comfortable thinking in Japanese, the translations will be less literal in order to make the sentences more readable and focused on the more advanced topics. Be aware that there are advantages and disadvantages to systematically building a grammatical foundation from the ground up. In Japanese, the most fundamental grammatical concepts are often the most difficult to truly understand. This means that the hardest part of the language will come first. Textbooks usually don't take this approach; afraid that this will scare away or frustrate those interested in the language. Instead, they try to delay going deeply into the hardest conjugation rules with patchwork and gimmicks so that they can start teaching useful expressions right away. This is a fine approach for some, however; it can create more confusion and trouble along the way, much like building a house on a poor foundation. The hard parts must be 12 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1.3. SUGGESTIONS covered no matter what. However, if you cover them in the beginning, the easier parts will be all that much easier because they'll fit nicely on top of the foundation you have built. Japanese is syntactically much more consistent than English. If you learn the hardest conjugation rules, most of remaining grammar builds upon similar or identical rules. The only difficult part from there on is sorting out and remembering all the various possible expressions and combinations in order to use them in the correct situations. ฀Note: You will see half brackets like these: 「」 in the text. These are the Japanese version of quotation marks. 1.3 Suggestions Here's my advice for practicing Japanese: if you find yourself trying to figure out how to say an English thought in Japanese, save yourself the trouble and stop because you won't get it right most of the time. You should always keep in mind that if you don't know how to say it already, then you don't know how to say it. Instead, if you can, ask someone how to say it in Japanese including a full explanation of the answer and start practicing from Japanese. Language is not a math problem; you don't have to figure out the answer. If you practice from the answer, you will develop good habits that will help you formulate correct and natural Japanese sentences. This is why I'm a firm believer of learning by example. Examples and experience will be your main tools in mastering Japanese. Therefore, even if you don't understand something completely the first time, just move on and keep referring back as you see more examples. This will allow you to get a better sense of how it's used in many different contexts. Even this guide will not have all the examples to cover every situation. But lucky for you, Japanese is everywhere, especially on the web. I recommend practicing Japanese as much as possible and referring to this guide only when you cannot understand the grammar. The Internet alone has a rich variety of reading materials including websites, bulletin boards, and online chat. Buying Japanese books or comic books is also an excellent (and fun) way to increase your vocabulary and practice reading skills. It's also important to keep in mind that it is impossible to learn good speaking and listening skills without actually conversing in Japanese. Practicing listening and speaking skills with fluent speakers of Japanese is a must if you wish to master conversational skills. While audio listening material can be very educational, there is nothing better than interacting with a real human for learning pronunciation, intonation, and natural conversation flow. If you have specific questions that are not addressed in this guide, you can ask them on my online forum at http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum. Don't feel discouraged by the vast amount of material that you will need to master. Remember that every new word or grammar learned is one step closer to mastering the language! 13 1.3. SUGGESTIONS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 14 Chapter 2 The Writing System 2.1 The Scripts Japanese consists of two scripts (referred to as kana) called Hiragana and Katakana, which are two versions of the same set of sounds in the language. Hiragana and Katakana consist of a little less than 50 "letters", which are actually simplified Chinese characters adopted to form a phonetic script. Chinese characters, called Kanji in Japanese, are also heavily used in the Japanese writing. Most of the words in the Japanese written language are written in Kanji (nouns, verbs, adjectives). There exists over 40,000 Kanji where about 2,000 represent over 95% of characters actually used in written text. There are no spaces in Japanese so Kanji is necessary in distinguishing between separate words within a sentence. Kanji is also useful for discriminating between homophones, which occurs quite often given the limited number of distinct sounds in Japanese. Hiragana is used mainly for grammatical purposes. We will see this as we learn about particles. Words with extremely difficult or rare Kanji, colloquial expressions, and onomatopoeias are also written in Hiragana. It's also often used for beginning Japanese students and children in place of Kanji they don't know. While Katakana represents the same sounds as Hiragana, it is mainly used to represent newer words imported from western countries (since there are no Kanji associated with words based on the roman alphabet). The next three sections will cover Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. 15 2.2. INTONATION 2.2 CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM Intonation As you will find out in the next section, every character in Hiragana (and the Katakana equivalent) corresponds to a [vowel] or [consonant + vowel] syllable sound with the single exception of the 「 」 and 「 」 characters (more on this later). This system of letter for each syllable sound makes pronunciation absolutely clear with no ambiguities. However, the simplicity of this system does not mean that pronunciation in Japanese is simple. In fact, the rigid structure of the fixed syllable sound in Japanese creates the challenge of learning proper intonation. Intonation of high and low pitches is a crucial aspect of the spoken language. For example, homophones can have different pitches of low and high tones resulting in a slightly different sound despite sharing the same pronunciation. The biggest obstacle for obtaining proper and natural sounding speech is incorrect intonation. Many students often speak without paying attention to the correct enunciation of pitches making speech sound unnatural (the classic foreigner's accent). It is not practical to memorize or attempt to logically create rules for pitches, especially since it can change depending on the context or the dialect. The only practical approach is to get the general sense of pitches by mimicking native Japanese speakers with careful listening and practice. 2.3 Hiragana Hiragana is the basic Japanese phonetic script. It represents every sound in the Japanese language. Therefore, you can theoretically write everything in Hiragana. However, because Japanese is written with no spaces, this will create nearly indecipherable text. Here is a table of Hiragana and similar-sounding English consonant-vowel pronunciations. It is read up to down and right to left, which is how most Japanese books are written. In Japanese, writing the strokes in the correct order and direction is important, especially for Kanji. Because handwritten letters look slightly different from typed letters (just like how 'a' looks totally different when typed), you will want to use a resource that uses handwritten style fonts to show you how to write the characters (see below for links). I must also stress the importance of correctly learning how to pronounce each sound. Since every word in Japanese is composed of these sounds, learning an incorrect pronunciation for a letter can severely damage the very foundation on which your pronunciation lies. 16 CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM n (n) 2.3. HIRAGANA Hiragana - Click for stroke order and sound w r y m h n t s k * * (chi) (fu) (o) (tsu) (shi) あ a い i う u え e o * = no longer used You can listen to the pronunciation for each character by clicking on it in chart. If your browser doesn't support audio, you can also download them. There are also other free resources with audio samples. Hiragana is not too tough to master or teach and as a result, there are a variety of web sites and free programs that are already available on the web. I also suggest recording yourself and comparing the sounds to make sure you're getting it right. When practicing writing Hiragana by hand, the important thing to remember is that the stroke order and direction of the strokes matter. There, I underlined, italicized, bolded, and highlighted it to boot. Trust me, you'll eventually find out why when you read other people's hasty notes that are nothing more than chicken scrawls. The only thing that will help you is that everybody writes in the same order and so the "flow" of the characters is fairly consistent. I strongly recommend that you pay close attention to stroke order from the beginning starting with Hiragana to avoid falling into bad habits. While there are many tools online that aim to help you learn Hiragana, the best way to learn how to write it is the old fashioned way: a piece of paper and pen/pencil. Below are handy PDFs for Hiragana writing practice. • Hiragana trace sheets • japanese-lesson.com • Hiroshi & Sakura ฀ As an aside, an old Japanese poem called「い 」was often used as the base for ordering of Hiragana until recent times. The poem contains every single Hiragana character except for 「 」 which probably did not exist at the time it was written. You can check out this poem for yourself in this wikipedia article. As the article mentions, this order is still sometimes used in ordering lists so you may want to spend some time checking it out. 17 2.3. HIRAGANA CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM Notes 1. Except for 「 」、「 」、「 」、and 「 」、you can get a sense of how each letter is pronounced by matching the consonant on the top row to the vowel. For example, 「 」 would become / ki / and 「 」 would become / yu / and so on. 2. As you can see, not all sounds match the way our consonant system works. As written in the table, 「 」 is pronounced "chi" and 「 」 is pronounced "tsu". 3. The / r / or / l / sound in Japanese is quite different from any sound in English. It involves more of a roll and a clip by hitting the roof of your mouth with your tongue. Pay careful attention to that whole column. 4. Pay careful attention to the difference between / tsu / and / su /. . 5. The 「 」 character is a special character because it is rarely used by itself and does not have a vowel sound. It is attached to another character to add a / n / sound. For example, 「 」 becomes 'kan' instead of 'ka', 「 」 becomes 'man' instead of 'ma', and so on and so forth. 6. You must learn the correct stroke order and direction! Use either of the following pdf practice sheets. • Hiragana trace sheets • japanese-lesson.com • Hiroshi & Sakura 2.3.1 The Muddied Sounds Once you memorize all the characters in Hiragana, there are still some additional sounds left to be learned. There are five more consonant sounds that are written by either affixing two tiny lines similar to a double quotation mark called dakuten (濁点) or a tiny circle called handakuten (半濁点). This essentially creates a "muddy" or less clipped version of the consonant (technically called a voiced consonant or 「濁 」, which literally means to become muddy). All the voiced consonant sounds are shown in the table below. 18 CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM 2.3. HIRAGANA Voiced Hiragana - Click for Sound p b d z g a i (ji) (ji) u (dzu) e o Note • Notice that 「 」 sounds essentially identical to 「 . /, while 「 」 is pronounced like / dzu /. 2.3.2 The Small 「 」、「 」、and 「 」 and both are pronounced as / ji 」 You can also combine a consonant with a / ya / yu / yo / sound by attaching a small 「 「 」、or 「 」 to the / i / vowel character of each consonant. All small p b 、 j 、and g combinations in Hiragana - Click for Sound r m h n c s k 」、 ya yu yo Notes 1. The above table is the same as before. Match the top consonants to the vowel sound on the right. Ex: = kya. 2. Also note that since 「 」 is pronounced / ji /, all the small 「 . / jyo /. are also based off of that, namely: / jya / jyu 」、「 」、「 」 sounds 3. The same thing also applies to 「 」 which becomes / cha / chu / cho / and 「 」 which becomes / sha / shu / sho /. (Though arguably, you can still think of it as / sya / syu / syo /.) 19 2.3. HIRAGANA 2.3.3 The Small 「 CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM 」 A small 「 」 is inserted between two characters to carry the consonant sound of the second character to the end of the first. For example, if you inserted a small 「 」 between 「 」 and 「 」 to make 「 」, the / k / consonant sound is carried back to the end of the first character to produce "bikku". Similarly, 「 」 becomes "happa", 「 」 becomes "rokku" and so on and so forth. Examples 1. (zas-shi) - magazine 2. (kap-pu) - cup Notes 1. A small 「 」 is used to carry the consonant sound of the second character to the end of the first. Ex: 「 」 = "gakki". . 2. The addition of another consonant almost always creates the characteristic clipping sound. But make sure you're clipping with the right consonant (the consonant of the second character). 2.3.4 The Long Vowel Sound Whew! You're almost done. In this last portion, we will go over the long vowel sound which is simply extending the duration of a vowel sound. You can extend the vowel sound of a character by adding either 「あ」 、 「い」 、 or 「う」 depending on the vowel in accordance to the following chart. Extending Vowel Sounds Vowel Sound Extended by /a/ あ /i/e/ い /u/o/ う For example, if you wanted to create an extended vowel sound from 「 」 , you would add 「あ」 to create 「 あ」. Other examples would include: 「 → い」, 「 → う」, 「 20 CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM 2.4. KATAKANA → い」, 「 → う」, 「 → あ」 and so on. The reasoning for this is quite simple. Try saying 「 」 and 「あ」 separately. Then say them in succession as fast as you can. You'll notice that soon enough, it sounds like you're dragging out the / ka / for a longer duration than just saying / ka / by itself. When pronouncing long vowel sounds, try to remember that they are really two sounds merged together. It's important to make sure you hold the vowel sound long enough because you can be saying things like "here" ( ) instead of "high school" ( う う) or "middle-aged lady" ( ) instead of "grandmother" ( あ ) if you don't stretch it out correctly! Examples 1. い (ga-ku-se) - student 2. い (sen-se) - teacher 3. 4. 5. う (kyo) - today う (o-ha-yo) - good morning あ (o-ka-san) - mother There are rare exceptions where an / e / vowel sound is extended by adding 「え」 or an / o / vowel sound is extended by 「 」. Some examples of this include 「 え 」、 「 い」、and 「 い」. Pay careful attention to these exceptions but don't worry, there aren't too many of them. 2.4 Katakana As mentioned before, Katakana is mainly used for words imported from foreign languages. It can also be used to emphasize certain words similar to the function of italics. For a more complete list of usages, refer to the Wikipedia entry on katakana. Katakana represents the same set of phonetic sounds as Hiragana except all the characters are different. Since foreign words must fit into this limited set of [consonants+vowel] sounds, they undergo many radical changes resulting in instances where English speakers can't understand words that are supposed to be derived from English! As a result, the use of Katakana is extremely difficult for English speakers because they expect English words to sound like... well... English. Instead, it is better to completely forget the original English word, and treat the word as an entirely separate Japanese word, otherwise you can run into the habit of saying English words with English pronunciations (whereupon a Japanese person may or may not understand what you are saying). 21 2.4. KATAKANA CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM n (n) Katakana - Click for stroke order and sound w r y m h n t s k * * * (o) (chi) (fu) (tsu) (shi) a i u e o * = obsolete or rarely used Katakana is significantly tougher to master compared to Hiragana because it is only used for certain words and you don't get nearly as much practice as you do with Hiragana. To learn the proper stroke order (and yes, you need to), here are links to practice sheets for Katakana. • Katakana trace sheets • japanese-lesson.com • Hiroshi & Sakura Also, since Japanese doesn't have any spaces, sometimes the symbol 「・」 is used to show the spaces like 「 ・ ・ ー 」 for "rock and roll". Using the symbol is completely optional so sometimes nothing will be used at all. 22 CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM 2.4. KATAKANA Notes 1. All the sounds are identical to what they were for Hiragana. 2. As we will learn later,「 」is only ever used as a particle and all particles are in Hiragana. Therefore, you will almost never need to use 「 」 and it can be safely ignored. (Unless you are reading very old telegrams or something.) 3. The four characters 「 」、「 」、「 」、and 「 」 are fiendishly similar to each other. Basically, the difference is that the first two are more "horizontal" than the second two. The little lines are slanted more horizontally and the long line is drawn in a curve from bottom to top. The second two have almost vertical little lines and the long line doesn't curve as much as it is drawn from top to bottom. It is almost like a slash while the former is more like an arc. These characters are hard to sort out and require some patience and practice. . 4. The characters 「 」、「 」、and 「 」 are also something to pay careful attention to, as well as, 「 」、「 」、 and 「 」. Yes, they all look very similar. No, I can't do anything about it. 5. You must learn the correct stroke order and direction! Use the following pdf practice sheets to practice. • Katakana trace sheets • japanese-lesson.com • Hiroshi & Sakura 6. Sometimes 「・」 is used to denote what would be spaces in English. 2.4.1 The Long Vowel Sound Long vowels have been radically simplified in Katakana. Instead of having to muck around thinking about vowel sounds, all long vowel sounds are denoted by a simple dash like so: ー. Examples ー (tsu-a) - tour 1. 2. ー (me-ru) - email 3. ー (ke-ki) - cake 23 2.4. KATAKANA CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM Summary • All long vowel sounds in Katakana are denoted by a dash. For example, "cute" would be . written in Katakana like so: 「 ー 」. 2.4.2 The Small 「 、 、 、 、 」 Due to the limitations of the sound set in Hiragana, some new combinations have been devised over the years to account for sounds that were not originally in Japanese. Most notable is the lack of the / ti / di / and / tu / du / sounds (because of the / chi / tsu / sounds), and the lack of the / f / consonant sound except for 「 」. The / sh / j / ch / consonants are also missing for the / e / vowel sound. The decision to resolve these deficiencies was to add small versions of the five vowel sounds. This has also been done for the / w / consonant sound to replace the obsolete characters. In addition, the convention of using the little double slashes on the 「 」vowel ( ) with the small 「 、 、 、 」 to designate the / v / consonant has also been established but it's not often used probably due to the fact that Japanese people still have difficulty pronouncing / v /. For instance, while you may guess that "volume" would be pronounced with a / v / sound, the Japanese have opted for the easier to pronounce "bolume" ( ー ). In the same way, vodka is written as "wokka" ( ) and not「 」. You can write "violin" as either「 」 or 「 」. It really doesn't matter however because almost all Japanese people will pronounce it with a / b / sound anyway. The following table shows the added sounds that were lacking with a highlight. Other sounds that already existed are reused as appropriate. v w f Additional sounds ch d t 24 j sh a i u e o CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM 2.4. KATAKANA Notes 1. Notice that there is no / wu / sound. For example, the Katakana for "woman" is written as "u-man" ( ー ). 2. While the / tu / sound (as in "too") can technically be produced given the rules as 「 」, foreign words that have become popular before these sounds were available simply used / tsu / to make do. For instance, "tool" is .still 「 ー 」 and "tour" is similarly still 「 ー」. 3. Back in the old days, without these new sounds, there was no choice but to just take characters off the regular table without regard for actual pronunciation. On old buildings, you may still see 「 」 instead of the modern spelling 「 」. 2.4.3 Some examples of words in Katakana Translating English words into Japanese is a knack that requires quite a bit of practice and luck. To give you a sense of how English words become "Japanified", here are a few examples of words in Katakana. Sometimes the words in Katakana may not even be correct English or have a different meaning from the English word it's supposed to represent. Of course, not all Katakana words are derived from English. Sample Katakana Words English Japanese America Russia cheating (cunning) tour ー company employee ー (salary man) Mozart ー car horn (klaxon) sofa or ー Halloween ー French fries (fried potato) 25 2.5. KANJI 2.5 CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM Kanji 2.5.1 What is Kanji? In Japanese, nouns and stems of adjectives and verbs are almost all written in Chinese characters called Kanji. Adverbs are also fairly frequently written in Kanji as well. This means that you will need to learn Chinese characters to be able to read most of the words in the language. (Children's books or any other material where the audience is not expected to know a lot of Kanji is an exception to this.) Not all words are always written in Kanji however. For example, while the verb "to do" technically has a Kanji associated with it, it is always written in Hiragana. This guide begins using Kanji from the beginning to help you read "real" Japanese as quickly as possible. Therefore, we will go over some properties of Kanji and discuss some strategies of learning it quickly and efficiently. Mastering Kanji is not easy but it is by no means impossible. The biggest part of the battle is mastering the skills of learning Kanji and time. In short, memorizing Kanji past short-term memory must be done with a great deal of study and, most importantly, for a long time. And by this, I don't mean studying five hours a day but rather reviewing how to write a Kanji once every several months until you are sure you have it down for good. This is another reason why this guide starts using Kanji right away. There is no reason to dump the huge job of learning Kanji at the advanced level. By studying Kanji along with new vocabulary from the beginning, the immense job of learning Kanji is divided into small manageable chunks and the extra time helps settle learned Kanji into permanent memory. In addition, this will help you learn new vocabulary, which will often have combinations of Kanji you already know. If you start learning Kanji later, this benefit will be wasted or reduced. 2.5.2 Learning Kanji All the resources you need to begin learning Kanji are on the web for free. You can use dictionaries online such as Jim Breen's WWWJDIC or jisho.org. They both have great Kanji dictionaries and stroke order diagrams for most Kanji. Especially for those who are just starting to learn, you will want to repeatedly write out each Kanji to memorize the stroke order. Another important skill is learning how to balance the character so that certain parts are not too big or small. So make sure to copy the characters as close to the original as possible. Eventually, you will naturally develop a sense of the stroke order for certain types of characters allowing you to bypass the drilling stage. All the Kanji used in this guide can be easily looked up by copying and pasting to an online dictionary. 26 CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM 2.5. KANJI 2.5.3 Reading Kanji Almost every character has two different readings called ⾳読 ( ) and 訓読 ( ). ⾳読 is the original Chinese reading while 訓読 is the Japanese reading. Kanji that appear in a compound or 熟語 is usually read with ⾳読 while one Kanji by itself is usually read with 訓読 . For example, 「⼒」( ) is read with the 訓読 while the same character in a compound word such as 「能⼒」 is read with the ⾳読 (which is 「 」 in this case). Certain characters (especially the most common ones) can have more than one ⾳読 or 訓読 . For example, in the word 「怪⼒」, 「⼒」 is read here as 「 」 and not 「 」. Certain compound words also have special readings that have nothing to do with the readings of the individual characters. These readings must be individually memorized. Thankfully, these readings are few and far in between. 訓読 is also used in adjectives and verbs in addition to the stand-alone characters. These words often have a string of kana (called okurigana) that come attached to the word. This is so that the reading of the Chinese character stays the same even when the word is conjugated to different forms. For example, the past form of the verb 「⾷ 」 is 「⾷ 」 . Even though the verb has changed, the reading for 「⾷」 remain untouched. (Imagine how difficult things could get if readings for Kanji changed with conjugation or even worse, if the Kanji itself changed.) Okurigana also serves to distinguish between intransitive and transitive verbs (more on this later). Another concept that is difficult to grasp at first is that the actual readings of Kanji can change slightly in a compound word to make the word easier to say. The more common transformations include the / h / sounds changing to either / b / or / p / sounds or 「 」 becoming 「 」 . Examples include: 「⼀本」、「徹底」、and 「格好」. Yet another fun aspect of Kanji you'll run into are words that practically mean the same thing and use the same reading but have different Kanji to make just a slight difference in meaning. For example 「聞 」( ) means to listen and so does 「聴 」( ). The only difference is that 「聴 」 means to pay more attention to what you're listening to. For example, listening to music almost always prefers 「聴 」 over 「聞 」. 「聞 」 can also mean 'to ask', as well as, "to hear" but 「訊 」( ) can only mean "to ask". Yet another example is the common practice of writing 「⾒ 」 as 「観 」 when it applies to watching a show such as a movie. Yet another interesting example is 「書 」( ) which means "to write" while 描 ( ) means "to draw". However, when you're depicting an abstract image such as a scene in a book, the reading of the same word 「描 」 becomes 「え 」 . There's also the case where the meaning and Kanji stays the same but can have multiple readings such as 「今⽇」 which can be either 「 う」、「 」, or 「 」. In this case, it doesn't really matter which reading you choose except that some are preferred over others in certain situations. Finally, there is one special character 々that is really not a character. It simply indicates that the previous character is repeated. For example, 「時時」、「様様」、「⾊⾊」、「⼀⼀」 can and usually are written as 「時々」、「様々」、「⾊々」、「⼀々」. 27 2.5. KANJI CHAPTER 2. THE WRITING SYSTEM In addition to these "features" of Kanji, you will see a whole slew of delightful perks and surprises Kanji has for you as you advance in Japanese. You can decide for yourself if that statement is sarcasm or not. However, don't be scared into thinking that Japanese is incredibly hard. Most of the words in the language usually only have one Kanji associated with it and a majority of Kanji do not have more than two types of readings. 2.5.4 Why Kanji? Some people may think that the system of using separate, discrete symbols instead of a sensible alphabet is overly complicated. In fact, it might not have been a good idea to adopt Chinese into Japanese since both languages are fundamentally different in many ways. But the purpose of this guide is not to debate how the language should work but to explain why you must learn Kanji in order to learn Japanese. And by this, I mean more than just saying, "That's how it's done so get over it!". You may wonder why Japanese didn't switched from Chinese to romaji to do away with having to memorize so many characters. In fact, Korea adopted their own alphabet for Korean to greatly simplify their written language with great success. So why shouldn't it work for Japanese? I think anyone who has learned Japanese for a while can easily see why it won't work. At any one time, when you convert typed Hiragana into Kanji, you are presented with almost always at least two choices (two homophones) and sometimes even up to ten. (Try typing "kikan"). The limited number of set sounds in Japanese makes it hard to avoid homophones. Compare this to the Korean alphabet which has 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Any of the consonants can be matched to any of the vowels giving 140 sounds. In addition, a third and sometimes even fourth consonant can be attached to create a single letter. This gives over 1960 sounds that can be created theoretically. (The number of sounds that are actually used is actually much less but it's still much larger than Japanese.) Since you want to read at a much faster rate than you talk, you need some visual cues to instantly tell you what each word is. You can use the shape of words in English to blaze through text because most words have different shapes. Try this little exercise: Hi, enve thgouh all teh wrods aer seplled icorrenctly, can you sltil udsternand me?" Korean does this too because it has enough characters to make words with distinct and different shapes. However, because the visual cues are not distinct as Kanji, spaces needed to be added to remove ambiguities. (This presents another problem of when and where to set spaces.) With Kanji, we don't have to worry about spaces and much of the problem of homophones is mostly resolved. Without Kanji, even if spaces were to be added, the ambiguities and lack of visual cues would make Japanese text much more difficult to read. 28 Chapter 3 Basic Grammar 3.1 Basic Grammatical Structures Now that we have learned how to write Japanese, we can begin going over the basic grammatical structure of the language. This section primarily covers all the parts of speech: nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. It will also describe how to integrate the various parts of speech into a coherent sentence by using particles. By the end of this section, you should have an understanding of how basic sentences are constructed. 3.2 Expressing State-of-Being 3.2.1 Declaring something is so and so using 「 」 Vocabulary 1. ⼈【 2. 学⽣【 】- person ・ い】- student 3. 元気【 ・ 】- healthy; lively ＊ Used as a greeting to indicate whether one is well One of the trickiest part of Japanese is that there is no verb for the state-of-being like the verb "to be" in English. You can, however, declare what something is by attaching the Hiragana character 「 」 to a noun or na-adjective only. (We will learn about na-adjectives in the section on adjectives later.) 29 3.2. EXPRESSING STATE-OF-BEING Declaring that something is so using 「 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 」 • Attach 「 」 to the noun or na-adjective . Example: ⼈＋ ＝⼈ Examples 1. ⼈ 。 Is person. 2. 学⽣ 。 Is student. 3. 元気 。 Is well. Seems easy enough. Here's the real kicker though. Note . 「 A state-of-being can be implied without using 」! You can say you're doing well or someone is a student without using 「 」 at all. For example, below is an example of a very typical greeting among friends. Also notice how the subject isn't even specified when it's obvious from the context. Typical casual greeting Ａ：元気？ A: (Are you) well? Ｂ：元気。 B: (I'm) well. So you may be wondering, "What's the point of using 「 」?" Well, the main difference is that a declarative statement makes the sentence sound more emphatic and forceful in order to make it more... well declarative. Therefore, it is more common to hear men use 「 」 at the end of sentences. 30 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.2. EXPRESSING STATE-OF-BEING The declarative 「 」 is also needed in various grammatical structures where a state-of-being must be explicitly declared. There are also times when you cannot attach it. It's all quite a pain in the butt really but you don't have to worry about it yet. 3.2.2 Conjugating to the negative state-of-being Vocabulary 1. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 2. 友達【 ・ 】- friend 3. 元気【 ・ 】- healthy; lively ＊ Used as a greeting to indicate whether one is well In Japanese, negative and past tense are all expressed by conjugation. We can conjugate a noun or adjective to either its negative or past tense to say that something is not [X] or that something was [X]. This may be a bit hard to grasp at first but none of these state-of-being conjugations make anything declarative like 「 」 does. We'll learn how to make these tenses declarative by attaching 「 」 to the end of the sentence in a later lesson. First, for the negative, attach 「 い」 to the noun or na-adjective. Conjugation rules for the negative state-of-being • Attach 「 い」 to the noun or na-adjective . Example: 学⽣＋ い＝学⽣ い Examples い。 1. 学⽣ Is not student. 2. 友達 い。 Is not friend. い。 3. 元気 Is not well. 31 3.2. EXPRESSING STATE-OF-BEING CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.2.3 Conjugating to the past state-of-being Vocabulary 1. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 2. 友達【 ・ 】- friend 3. 元気【 ・ 】- healthy; lively ＊ Used as a greeting to indicate whether one is well We will now learn the past tense of the state-of-being. To say something was something, attach 「 」 to the noun or na-adjective. In order to say the negative past (was not), conjugate the negative to the negative past tense by dropping the 「い」 from 「 い」 and adding 「 」. Conjugation rules for the past state-of-being 1. Past state-of-being: Attach 「 ＝友達 」 to the noun or na-adjective Example: 友達＋ . 2. Negative past state-of-being: Conjugate the noun or na-adjective to the negative first and then replace the 「い」 of 「 い」 with 「 」 Example: 友達 い → 友達 ＝友達 Examples 。 1. 学⽣ Was student. 2. 友達 Was not friend. 。 3. 元気 Was not well. 。 3.2.4 Conjugation summary We've now learned how to express state-of-being in all four tenses. Next we will learn some particles, which will allow us assign roles to words. Here is a summary chart of the conjugations we learned in this section. 32 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR Non-Past Past 3.3 3.3. INTRODUCTION TO PARTICLES Summary of state-of-being Positive Negative 学⽣ ( ) Is student 学⽣ い Is not student 学⽣ Was student 学⽣ Was not student Introduction to Particles （ 、 、 ） 3.3.1 Defining grammatical functions with particles We want to now make good use of what we learned in the last lesson by associating a noun with another noun. This is done with something called particles. Particles are one or more Hiragana characters that attach to the end of a word to define the grammatical function of that word in the sentence. Using the correct particles is very important because the meaning of a sentence can completely change just by changing the particles. For example, the sentence "Eat fish." can become "The fish eats." simply by changing one particle. 3.3.2 The 「 」 topic particle Vocabulary 1. 学⽣【 2. う ・ い】- student - yes (casual) 3. 明⽇【あ 4. うう 】- tomorrow - no (casual) 5. 今⽇【 う】- today 6. 試験【 】- exam The first particle we will learn is the topic particle. The topic particle identifies what it is that you're talking about, essentially the topic of your sentence. Let's say a person says, "Not student." This is a perfectly valid sentence in Japanese but it doesn't tell us much without knowing what the person is talking about. The topic particle will allow us to express what our sentences are about. The topic particle is the character 「 」. Now, while this character is normally pronounced as /ha/, it is pronounced /wa/ only when it is being used as the topic particle. 33 3.3. INTRODUCTION TO PARTICLES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR Example 1 ： 学⽣？ Bob: Is Alice (you) student? ：う 、学⽣。 Alice: Yeah, (I) am. Here, Bob is indicating that his question is about Alice. Notice that once the topic is established, Alice does not have to repeat the topic to answer the question about herself. Example 2 明⽇？ ： Bob: John is tomorrow? ：うう 、明⽇ Alice: No, not tomorrow. い。 Since we have no context, we don't have enough information to make any sense of this conversation. It obviously makes no sense for John to actually be tomorrow. Given a context, as long as the sentence has something to do with John and tomorrow, it can mean anything. For instance, they could be talking about when John is taking an exam. Example 3 ：今⽇ 試験 。 Alice: Today is exam. ： ？ Bob: What about John? ： 明⽇。 Alice: John is tomorrow. (As for John, the exam is tomorrow.) The last example shows how generic the topic of a sentence is. A topic can be referring to any action or object from anywhere even including other sentences. For example, in the last sentence from the previous example, even though the sentence is about when the exam is for John, the word "exam" doesn't appear anywhere in the sentence! We'll see a more specific particle that ties more closely into the sentence at the end of this lesson with the identifier particle. 34 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.3.3 The 「 3.3. INTRODUCTION TO PARTICLES 」 inclusive topic particle Vocabulary 1. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 2. う - yes (casual) 3. - but 4. うう - no (casual) Another particle that is very similar to the topic particle is the inclusive topic particle. It is essentially the topic particle with the additional meaning of "also". Basically, it can introduce another topic in addition to the current topic. The inclusive topic particle is the 「 」 character and its use is best explained by an example. Example 1 ： 学⽣？ Bob: Is Alice (you) student? 学⽣。 ：う 、 Alice: Yeah, and Tom is also student. The inclusion of 「 」 must be consistent with the answer. It would not make sense to say, "I am a student, and Tom is also not a student." Instead, use the 「 」 particle to make a break from the inclusion as seen in the next example. Example 2 ： 学⽣？ Bob: Is Alice (you) student? ：う 、 学⽣ Alice: Yeah, but Tom is not student. い。 Below is an example of inclusion with the negative. 35 3.3. INTRODUCTION TO PARTICLES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR Example 3 ： 学⽣？ Bob: Is Alice (you) student? ：うう 、 学⽣ い。 Alice: No, and Tom is also not student. 3.3.4 The 「 」 identifier particle Vocabulary 1. 誰【 】- who 2. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 3. 私【 】- me; myself; I Ok, so we can make a topic using the 「 」 and 「 」 particle. But what if we donグt know what the topic is? What if I wanted to ask, ゼWho is the student?ナWhat I need is some kind of identifier because I don't know who the student is. If I use the topic particle, the question would become, ゼIs who the student?ナand that doesn't make any sense because "who" is not an actual person. This is where the 「 」 particle comes into play. It is also referred to as the subject particle but I hate that name since "subject" means something completely different in English grammar. Instead, I call it the identifier particle because the particle indicates that the speaker wants to identify something unspecified. Example 1 ：誰 学⽣？ Bob: Who is the one that is student? ： 学⽣。 Alice: John is the one who is student. Bob wants to identify who among all the possible candidates is a student. Alice responds that John is the one. Notice, Alice could also have answered with the topic particle to indicate that, speaking of John, she knows that he is a student (maybe not the student). You can see the difference in the next example. 36 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.3. INTRODUCTION TO PARTICLES Example 2 1. 誰 学⽣？ Who is the one that is student? 2. 学⽣ 誰？ (The) student is who? The first sentence seeks to identify a specific person for "student" while the second sentence is simply talking about the student. You cannot replace 「 」 with 「 」 in the first sentence because "who" would become the topic and the question would become, "Is who a student?" The two particles 「 」 and 「 」 may seem very similar only because it is impossible to translate them directly into English. For example, the two sentences below have the same English translation.* Example 3 1. 私 学⽣。 I (am) student. 2. 私 学⽣。 I (am) student. However, they only seem similar because English cannot express information about the context as succinctly as Japanese sometimes can. In the first sentence, since 「私」 is the topic, the sentence means, "Speaking about me, I am a student". However, the second sentence is specifying who the 「学⽣」 is. If we want to know who the student is, the 「 」 particle tells us it's 「私」. You can also think about the 「 」 particle as always answering a silent question. The second sentence might be answering a question, "Who is the student?" I often translate the topic particle as "as for; about" and the identifier particle as "the one; the thing" to illustrate the difference. 1. 私 学⽣。 As for me, (I am) student. 2. 私 学⽣。 I (am) the one (that is) student. The 「 」 and 「 」 particles are actually quite different if you think of it the right way. The 「 」 particle identifies a specific property of something while the 「 」 particle is used only to bring up a new topic of conversation. This is why, in longer sentences, it is common to separate 37 3.4. ADJECTIVES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR the topic with commas to remove ambiguity about which part of the sentence the topic applies to. *Well technically, it's the most likely translation given the lack of context. 3.4 Adjectives 3.4.1 Properties of Adjectives Now that we can connect two nouns together in various ways using particles, we want to describe our nouns with adjectives. An adjective can directly modify a noun that immediately follows it. It can also be connected in the same way we did with nouns using particles. All adjectives fall under two categories: na-adjectives and i-adjectives. 3.4.2 The na-adjective Vocabulary 1. 静 【 2. ⼈【 ・ 】(na-adj) - quiet 】- person い (na-adj) - pretty; clean 3. 4. 友達【 ・ 】- friend 5. 親切【 ・ 】(na-adj) - kind 6. ⿂【 】- fish 7. 好 8. ⾁【 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - likable; desirable 】- meat 9. 野菜【 ・ い】- vegetables The na-adjective is very simple to learn because it acts essentially like a noun. All the conjugation rules for both nouns and na-adjectives are the same. One main difference is that a na-adjective can directly modify a noun following it by sticking 「 」 between the adjective and noun. (Hence the name, naadjective.) 38 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.4. ADJECTIVES Examples 1. 静 ⼈。 Quiet person. 2. い ⼈。 Pretty person. You can also use adjectives with particles just like we did in the last lesson with nouns. Examples 1. 友達 親切。 Friend is kind. 2. 友達 親切 ⼈ 。 Friend is kind person. As shown by the following examples, the conjugation rules for na-adjectives are the same as nouns. Examples 1. ⿂ 好 Bob likes fish. 。 2. い。 ⿂ 好 Bob does not like fish. 3. ⿂ 好 Bob liked fish. 4. ⿂ 好 Bob did not like fish. 。 。 If it bothers you that "like" is an adjective and not a verb in Japanese, you can think of 「好 」 as meaning "desirable". Also, you can see a good example of the topic and identifier particle working in harmony. The sentence is about the topic "Bob" and "fish" identifies specifically what Bob likes. You can also use the last three conjugations to directly modify the noun. (Remember to attach 「 positive non-past tense.) Examples ⼈。 1. ⿂ 好 Person that likes fish. 39 」 for 3.4. ADJECTIVES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 2. ⿂ 好 い⼈。 Person that does not like fish. ⼈。 3. ⿂ 好 Person that liked fish. 4. ⿂ 好 ⼈。 Person that did not like fish. Here, the entire clause 「⿂ 好 」、「⿂ 好 い」、etc. is modifying "person" to talk about people that like or dislike fish. You can see why this type of sentence is useful because 「⼈ ⿂ 好 」 would mean "People like fish", which isn't always the case. We can even treat the whole descriptive noun clause as we would a single noun. For instance, we can make the whole clause a topic like the following example. Examples 1. ⿂ 好 い⼈ 、⾁ 好 。 Person who does not like fish like meat. 2. ⿂ 好 ⼈ 、野菜 好 。 Person who likes fish also like vegetables. 3.4.3 The i-adjective Vocabulary 1. 嫌い【 2. ⾷ 3. 物【 ・ い ・ 】- food い (i-adj) - tasty 4. ⾼い【 5. ・い】(na-adj) - distasteful, hateful ・い】(i-adj) - high; tall; expensive - building 6. 値段【 ・ 7. 】- price - restaurant 8. あ ／あ 9. 好 【 ・ - not very (when used with negative) 】(na-adj) - likable; desirable 10. いい (i-adj) - good 40 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.4. ADJECTIVES All i-adjectives always end in the Hiragana character: 「い」. However, you may have noticed that some na-adjectives also end in 「い」 such as 「 い ( )」. So how can you tell the difference? There are actually very few na-adjectives that end with 「い」 that is usually not written in Kanji. Two of the most common include: 「 い」 and 「嫌い」. Almost all other na-adjectives that end in 「い」 are usually written in Kanji and so you can easily tell that it's not an i-adjective. For instance, 「 い」 written in Kanji looks like 「綺麗」 or 「奇麗」. Since the 「い」 part of 「麗」 is part of a Kanji character, you know that it can't be an i-adjective. That's because the whole point of the 「い」 in i-adjectives is to allow conjugation without changing the Kanji. In fact, 「嫌い」 is one of the rare na-adjectives that ends in 「い」 without a Kanji. This has to do with the fact that 「嫌い」 is actually derived from the verb 「嫌う」. Unlike na-adjectives, you do not need to add 「 」 to directly modify a noun with an i-adjective. Examples 1. 嫌い ⾷ 物。 Hated food. 2. い い⾷ Tasty food. 物。 Remember how the negative state-of-being for nouns also ended in 「い」 ( い)? Well, just like the negative state-of-being for nouns, you can never attach the declarative 「 」 to i-adjectives. Do NOT attach 「 」 to i-adjectives. Now that we got that matter cleared up, below are the rules for conjugating i-adjectives. Notice that the rule for conjugating to negative past tense is the same as the rule for the past tense. Conjugation rules for i-adjectives Negative: First remove the trailing 「い」 from the i-adjective and then attach 「 Example: ⾼い → ⾼ い」 い Past-tense: First remove the trailing 「い」 from the i-adjective or negative i-adjective and then attach 「 」 Examples . 1. ⾼い → ⾼ 2. ⾼ い→⾼ Summary of i-adjective conjugations Positive Negative Non-Past ⾼い ⾼ い Past ⾼ ⾼ 41 3.4. ADJECTIVES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR Examples 1. ⾼い 。 Tall building. い 。 2. ⾼ Not tall building. 3. ⾼ 。 Building that was tall. 4. ⾼ 。 Building that was not tall. Note that you can make the same type of descriptive noun clause as we have done with na-adjectives. The only difference is that we don't need 「 」 to directly modify the noun. Example あ 好 い。 • 値段 ⾼い Don't like high price restaurants very much. In this example, the descriptive clause 「値段 ⾼い」 is directly modifying 「 」. 3.4.4 An annoying exception Vocabulary 1. 値段【 ・ 2. あ 】- price ／あ - not very (when used with negative) 3. いい (i-adj) - good 4. 彼【 5. 】- he; boyfriend いい (i-adj) - cool; handsome There is one i-adjective meaning "good" that acts slightly differently from all other i-adjectives. This is a classic case of how learning Japanese is harder for beginners because the most common and useful words also have the most exceptions. The word for "good" was originally 「 い (良い)」 . However, with time, it soon became 「いい」. When it is written in Kanji, it is usually read as 「 い」 so 「いい」 is almost always Hiragana. That's all fine and good. Unfortunately, all the conjugations are still derived from 「 い」 and not 「いい」. This is shown in the next table. 42 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.5. VERB BASICS Another adjective that acts like this is 「 いい」 because it is an abbreviated version of two words merged together: 「格好」 and 「いい」. Since it uses the same 「いい」, you need to use the same conjugations. Conjugation for 「いい」 Positive Negative Non-Past いい い Past Conjugation for 「 Positive Non-Past いい Past Take care to make all the conjugations from 「 い」 not 「いい」. Examples い。 1. 値段 あ Price isn't very good. 2. 彼 ！ He looked really cool! 3.5 Verb Basics 3.5.1 Role of Verbs Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 2. 分 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to understand 3. ⾒ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to see 4. 寝 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to sleep 5. 起 【 ・ 6. 考え 【 7. 教え 【 】(ru-verb) - to wake; to occur ・え ・え いい」 Negative 】(ru-verb) - to think 】(ru-verb) - to teach; to inform 43 い 3.5. VERB BASICS 8. 出 【 ・ 9. い (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 】(ru-verb) - to come out 10. 着 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to wear 11. 話 【 12. 聞 【 ・ 13. 泳 【 14. 遊 【あ ・ 15. 待 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to wait 16. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink ・ 】(u-verb) - to speak 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen ・ 】(u-verb) - to swim 】(u-verb) - to play 17. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 18. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 19. 死 【 ・ 20. (exception) - to do 21. 来 【 ・ 22. 】(u-verb) - to die 】(exception) - to come ⾦【 ・ 23. 私【 24. 猫【 】- money 】- me, myself, I 】- cat We've now learned how to describe nouns in various ways with other nouns and adjectives. This gives us quite a bit of expressive power. However, we still cannot express actions. This is where verbs come in. Verbs, in Japanese, always come at the end of clauses. Since we have not yet learned how to create more than one clause, for now it means that any sentence with a verb must end with the verb. We will now learn the three main categories of verbs, which will allow us to define conjugation rules. Before learning about verbs, there is one important thing to keep in mind. Note . A grammatically complete sentence requires a verb only (including state-of-being). Or to rephrase, unlike English, the only thing you need to make a grammatically complete sentence is a verb and nothing else! That's why even the simplest, most basic Japanese sentence cannot be translated into English! A grammatically complete sentence: • ⾷ 。 Eat. (possible translations include: I eat/she eats/they eat) 44 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.5. VERB BASICS 3.5.2 Classifying verbs into ru-verbs and u-verbs Before we can learn any verb conjugations, we first need to learn how verbs are categorized. With the exception of only two exception verbs, all verbs fall into the category of ru-verb or u-verb. All ru-verbs end in 「 」 while u-verbs can end in a number of u-vowel sounds including 「 」 . Therefore, if a verb does not end in 「 」, it will always be an u-verb. For verbs ending in 「 」, if the vowel sound preceding the 「 」 is an /a/, /u/ or /o/ vowel sound, it will always be an u-verb. Otherwise, if the preceding sound is an /i/ or /e/ vowel sound, it will be a ru-verb in most cases. A list of common exceptions are at the end of this section. Examples 1. ⾷ -「 」 is an e-vowel sound so it is a ru-verb 2. 分 -「 」 is an a-vowel sound so it is an u-verb If you're unsure which category a verb falls in, you can verify which kind it is with most dictionaries. There are only two exception verbs that are neither ru-verbs nor u-verbs as shown in the table below. Examples of different verb types ru-verb u-verb exception ⾒ 話 ⾷ 聞 来 寝 泳 起 遊 考え 待 教え 飲 出 買う い あ 着 死 Examples Here are some example sentences using ru-verbs, u-verbs, and exception verbs. 1. ⾷ 。 As for Alice, eat. 2. 来 。 Jim is the one that comes. 3. 。 Bob also do. 45 3.5. VERB BASICS 4. CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR ⾦ あ 。 There is money. (lit: Money is the thing that exists.) 5. 私 買う。 As for me, buy. 6. 猫 い 。 There is cat. (lit: As for cat, it exists.) 3.5.3 Appendix: iru/eru u-verbs Vocabulary 1. 要 【い・ 2. 帰 【 3. 切 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to need え・ 4. 】(u-verb) - to go home 】(u-verb) - to cut (u-verb) - to talk 5. 知 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to know 6. ⼊ 【 い・ 7. ⾛ 【 ・ 8. 減 【 ・ 9. 焦 【あ ・ 】(u-verb) - to be in a hurry 10. 限 【 】(u-verb) - to limit 11. 蹴 【 ・ 12. 滑 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to be slippery 13. 握 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to grasp 14. 練 【 ・ 15. 参 【 】(u-verb) - to enter 】(u-verb) - to run 】(u-verb) - to decrease ・ 】(u-verb) - to kick 】(u-verb) - to knead い・ 】(u-verb) - to go; to come 16. 交 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to mingle 17. 嘲 【あ ・ 】(u-verb) - to ridicule 18. 覆 【 え・ 19. 遮 【 え ・ 20. 罵 【 ・ 21. 捻 【 22. 翻 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to overturn 】(u-verb) - to interrupt 】(u-verb) - to abuse verbally 】(u-verb) - to twist ・え 】(u-verb) - to turn over; to wave 46 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 23. 滅⼊ 24. 蘇 【 い・ 【 え・ 3.6. NEGATIVE VERBS 】(u-verb) - to feel depressed 】(u-verb) - to be resurrected Below is a list of u-verbs with a preceding vowel sound of /i/ or /e/ ("iru" or "eru" sound endings). The list is not comprehensive but it does include many of the more common verbs categorized roughly into three levels. iru/eru u-verbs grouped (roughly) by level Basic Intermediate Advanced 要 焦 嘲 帰 限 覆 切 蹴 遮 滑 罵 知 握 捻 ⼊ 練 翻 ⾛ 参 滅⼊ 減 交 蘇 3.6 Negative Verbs Now that we've seen how to declare things and perform actions with verbs, we want to be able to say the negative. In other words, we want to say that such-and-such action was not performed. This is done by conjugating the verb to the negative form just like the state-of-being for nouns and adjectives. However, the rules are a tad more complicated. 3.6.1 Conjugating verbs into the negative Vocabulary 1. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 2. い (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 3. ⾷ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 4. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 5. 待 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to wait 6. (exception) - to do 7. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 8. ⾒ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to see 47 3.6. NEGATIVE VERBS 9. 寝 【 ・ CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 】(ru-verb) - to sleep 10. 起 【 ・ 11. 考え 【 12. 教え 【 】(ru-verb) - to wake; to occur ・え ・え 】(ru-verb) - to think 】(ru-verb) - to teach; to inform 13. 出 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to come out 14. 着 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to wear 15. 話 【 16. 聞 【 ・ 17. 泳 【 18. 遊 【あ ・ 19. 飲 【 ・ 20. 帰 【 21. 死 【 ・ 22. ・ 】(u-verb) - to speak 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen ・ 】(u-verb) - to swim 】(u-verb) - to play 】(u-verb) - to drink え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home 】(u-verb) - to die ⾦【 ・ 23. 私【 24. 猫【 】- money 】- me, myself, I 】- cat We will now make use of the verb classifications we learned in the last section to define the rules for conjugation. But before we get into that, we need to cover one very important exception to the negative conjugation rules: 「あ 」. • あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) • い (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 「あ 」 is an u-verb used to express existence of inanimate objects. The equivalent verb for animate objects (such as people or animals) is 「い 」, which is a normal ru-verb. For example, if you wanted to say that a chair is in the room, you would use the verb 「あ 」, but if you wanted to say that a person is in the room, you must use the verb 「い 」 instead. These two verbs 「あ 」 and 「い 」 are quite different from all other verbs because they describe existence and are not actual actions. You also need to be careful to choose the correct one based on animate or inanimate objects. Anyway, the reason I bring it up here is because the negative of 「あ 」 is 「 い」 (meaning that something does not exist). The conjugation rules for all other verbs are listed below as well as a list of example verbs and their negative forms. ＊ = exceptions particular to this conjugation 48 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.6. NEGATIVE VERBS Conjugation rules for negative verbs • For ru-verbs: Drop the 「 」 and attach 「 Example: ⾷ + い=⾷ い い」 • ＊ For u-verbs that end in 「う」: Replace 「う」 with 「 Example: 買 う + + い=買 い 」 and attach 「 い」 • For all other u-verbs: Replace the u-vowel sound with the a-vowel equivalent and attach 「 い」 . + =待 い Example: 待 • Exceptions: 1. → い 2. → い 3. ＊あ → い Negative form conjugation examples ru-verb u-verb exception ⾒ → ⾒ い 話 → 話 い → い ⾷ → ⾷ い 聞 → 聞 い → い 寝 → 寝 い 泳 → 泳 い ＊あ → い 起 → 起 い 遊 → 遊 い 考え → 考え い 待 → 待 い 教え → 教え い 飲 → 飲 い 出 → 出 い ＊買う → 買 い 着 → 着 い 帰 → 帰 い い → い い 死 → 死 い Examples Here are the example sentences from the last section conjugated to the negative form. 1. ⾷ い。 As for Alice, does not eat. 2. 遊 い。 Jim is the one that does not play. 3. い。 Bob also does not do. 4. い。 ⾦ There is no money. (lit: Money is the thing that does not exist.) 49 3.7. PAST TENSE CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 5. 私 買 い。 As for me, not buy. 6. 猫 い い。 There is no cat. (lit: As for cat, does not exist.) 3.7 Past Tense We will finish defining all the basic properties of verbs by learning how to express the past and pastnegative tense of actions. I will warn you in advance that the conjugation rules in this section will be the most complex rules you will learn in all of Japanese. On the one hand, once you have this section nailed, all other rules of conjugation will seem simple. On the other hand, you might need to refer back to this section many times before you finally get all the rules. You will probably need a great deal of practice until you can become familiar with all the different conjugations. 3.7.1 Past tense for ru-verbs Vocabulary 1. 出 【 ・ 2. 捨 】(ru-verb) - to come out 【 ・ 飯【 ・ 3. 4. ⾷ 】(ru-verb) - to throw away 】- rice; meal 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 5. 映画【えい・ 】- movie 6. 全部【 】- everything 7. ⾒ 【 ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to see We will start off with the easy ru-verb category. To change a ru-verb from the dictionary form into the past tense, you simply drop the 「 」 and add 「 」. To change ru-verbs into the past tense Drop the 「 Examples 1. 出 2. 捨 」 part of the ru-verb and add 「 . →出 →捨 50 」 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.7. PAST TENSE Examples 1. 飯 、⾷ 。 As for meal, ate. 2. 映画 、全部⾒ 。 As for movie, saw them all. 3.7.2 Past tense for u-verbs Vocabulary 1. 話 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to speak 2. 書 【 ・ 3. 泳 【 4. 飲 【 ・ 5. 遊 【あ ・ 6. 死 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to die 7. 切 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to cut 】(u-verb) - to write ・ 】(u-verb) - to swim 】(u-verb) - to drink 】(u-verb) - to play 8. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 9. 持 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to hold 10. (exception) - to do 11. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 12. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 13. 今⽇【 う】- today 14. ⾛ 【 ・ 15. 友達【 ・ 16. 私【 】- me, myself, I 17. 勉強【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to run 】- friend う】- study Changing a u-verb from dictionary form to the past tense is difficult because we must break up u-verbs into four additional categories. These four categories depend on the last character of the verb. The table below illustrates the different sub-categories. In addition, there is one exception to the rules, which is the verb 「⾏ 」. I've bundled it with the regular exception verbs 「 」 and 「来 」 even though 「⾏ 」 is a regular u-verb in all other conjugations. 51 3.7. PAST TENSE CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR Past tense conjugations for u-verbs Ending Non-Past changes to... Past 話 → 話 書 →い 書い 泳 →い 泳い 飲 → 飲 死 → 死 遊 → 遊 切 → 切 持 → 持 う 買う う→ 買 * exceptions particular to this conjugation Examples 。 1. 今⽇ 、⾛ As for today, ran. 2. 友達 来 。 Friend is the one that came. 。 3. 私 遊 I also played. 。 4. 勉強 、 About study, did it. 3.7.3 Past-negative tense for all verbs Vocabulary 1. 捨 【 ・ 2. ⾏ 【い・ 3. ⾷ 【 4. 5. 】(ru-verb) - to throw away 】(u-verb) - to go ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat (exception) - to do ⾦【 ・ 6. あ 】- money (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 7. 私【 】- me, myself, I 8. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 9. 猫 【 】- cat 52 Exceptions Non-Past Past ⾏ ⾏ * CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 10. い 3.8. PARTICLES USED WITH VERBS (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) The conjugation rules for the past-negative tense are the same for all verbs. You might have noticed that the negative of just about everything always end in 「 い」. The conjugation rule for the past-negative tense of verbs is pretty much the same as all the other negatives that end in 「 い」. You simply take the negative of any verb, remove the 「い」 from the 「 い」 ending, and replace it with 「 」. To change verbs into the past-negative tense Change the verb to the negative and replace the 「い」 with 「 Examples . 1. 捨 →捨 い→捨 2. ⾏ →⾏ 」 い→⾏ Examples 1. ⾷ 。 As for Alice, did not eat. 2. 。 Jim is the one that did not do. 3. 。 ⾏ Bob also did not go. 4. ⾦ 。 There was no money. (lit: As for money, did not exist.) 。 5. 私 買 As for me, did not buy. 6. 猫 い 。 There was no cat. (lit: As for cat, did not exist.) 3.8 Particles used with verbs （ 、 、 、 ） In this section, we will learn some new particles essential for using verbs. We will learn how to specify the direct object of a verb and the location where a verb takes place whether it's physical or abstract. 53 3.8. PARTICLES USED WITH VERBS 3.8.1 The direct object 「 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 」 particle Vocabulary 1. ⿂【 】- fish 2. ⾷ 【 ・ 3. ー 4. 飲 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat - juice 】(u-verb) - to drink 5. 街【 】- town 6. - wandering; aimlessly 7. 歩 【あ ・ 8. ⾼速【 う・ 9. 道路【 う・ 10. ⾛ 【 ・ 11. 毎⽇【 い・ 】(u-verb) - to walk 】- high-speed 】- route 】(u-verb) - to run 】- everyday 12. ⽇本語【 ・ ・ 13. 勉強【 う】- study 14. 15. ・ 】- Japanese (language) (exception) - to do ー 16. 登録【 - email address う・ 】- register The first particle we will learn is the object particle because it is a very straightforward particle. The 「 」 character is attached to the end of a word to signify that that word is the direct object of the verb. This character is essentially never used anywhere else. That is why the katakana equivalent 「 」 is almost never used since particles are always written in hiragana. The 「 」 character, while technically pronounced as /wo/ essentially sounds like /o/ in real speech. Here are some examples of the direct object particle in action. Examples 1. ⿂ ⾷ Eat fish. 2. 。 ー 飲 Drank juice. 。 54 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.8. PARTICLES USED WITH VERBS Unlike the direct object we're familiar with in English, places can also be the direct object of motion verbs such as 「歩 」 and 「⾛ 」 . Since the motion verb is done to the location, the concept of direct object is the same in Japanese. However, as you can see by the next examples, it often translates to something different in English due to the slight difference of the concept of direct object. 歩 。 1. 街 Aimlessly walk through town. (Lit: Aimlessly walk town) 2. ⾼速道路 ⾛ 。 Run through expressway. (Lit: Run expressway) When you use 「 ] as one verb. 」 with a noun, the 「 」 particle is optional and you can treat the whole [noun+ 1. 毎⽇、⽇本語 勉強 。 Study Japanese everyday. 2. 登録 。 ー Registered email address. 3.8.2 The target 「 」 particle Vocabulary 1. ⽇本【 ・ 2. ⾏ 】- Japan 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 3. 家【1) う 4. 帰 【 ; 2) いえ】- 1) one's own home; 2) house え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home 5. 部屋【 ・ 】- room 6. 来 】(exception) - to come 【 ・ 7. - America 8. 宿題【 9. 今⽇【 ・ う】- today 10. 明⽇【あ 11. 猫【 い】- homework 】- tomorrow 】- cat 12. い (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 13. い - chair 55 3.8. PARTICLES USED WITH VERBS 14. 台所【 15. あ い・ CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 】- kitchen (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 16. いい (i-adj) - good 17. 友達【 ・ 】- friend 18. 会う【あう】(u-verb) - to meet 19. 医者【い・ 20. 】- doctor (u-verb) - to become 21. 先週【 ・ う】- last week 22. 図書館【 ・ ・ 23. 来年【 】- next year い・ 】- library The 「 」 particle can specify a target of a verb. This is different from the 「 」 particle in which the verb does something to the direct object. With the 「 」 particle, the verb does something toward the word associated with the 「 」 particle. For example, the target of any motion verb is specified by the 「 」 particle. Examples 1. 。 ⽇本 ⾏ Bob went to Japan. い。 2. 家 帰 Not go back home. 3. 部屋 。 Come to room. As you can see in the last example, the target particle always targets "to" rather than "from". If you wanted to say, "come from" for example, you would need to use 「 」, which means "from". If you used 「 」 , it would instead mean "come to". 「 」 is also often paired with 「 」, which means "up to". 1. 、 Alice came from America. 。 2. 宿題 今⽇ 明⽇ 。 Will do homework from today to tomorrow. The idea of a target in Japanese is very general and is not restricted to motion verbs. For example, the location of an object is defined as the target of the verb for existence (あ and い ). Time is also a common target. Here are some examples of non-motion verbs and their targets 56 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.8. PARTICLES USED WITH VERBS 1. 猫 部屋 い 。 Cat is in room. 。 2. い 台所 あ Chair was in the kitchen. 3. いい友達 会 。 Met good friend. 4. 。 医者 Jim will become doctor. 5. 先週 図書館 ⾏ 。 Went to library last week. Note: Don't forget to use 「あ objects such as the cat. 」 for inanimate objects such as the chair and 「い 」 for animate While the 「 」 particle is not always required to indicate time, there is a slight difference in meaning between using the target particle and not using anything at all. In the following examples, the target particle makes the date a specific target emphasizing that the friend will go to Japan at that time. Without the particle, there is no special emphasis. 1. 友達 、来年、⽇本 ⾏ 。 Next year, friend go to Japan. 2. 友達 、来年 ⽇本 ⾏ 。 Friend go to Japan next year. 3.8.3 The directional 「 」 particle Vocabulary 1. ⽇本【 ・ 2. ⾏ 【い・ 3. 家【1) う 4. 帰 】- Japan 【 】(u-verb) - to go ; 2) いえ】- 1) one's own home; 2) house え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home 5. 部屋【 ・ 】- room 6. 来 】(exception) - to come 【 ・ 7. 医者【い・ 】- doctor 8. (u-verb) - to become 9. 勝 【 ・ 】- victory 57 3.8. PARTICLES USED WITH VERBS 10. 向 う【 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR ・う】(u-verb) - to face; to go towards While 「 」 is normally pronounced /he/, when it is being used as a particle, it is always pronounced /e/ (え). The primary difference between the 「 」 and 「 」 particle is that 「 」 goes to a target as the final, intended destination (both physical or abstract). The 「 」 particle, on the other hand, is used to express the fact that one is setting out towards the direction of the target. As a result, it is only used with directional motion verbs. It also does not guarantee whether the target is the final intended destination, only that one is heading towards that direction. In other words, the 「 」 particle sticks to the destination while the 「 」 particle is fuzzy about where one is ultimately headed. For example, if we choose to replace 「 」 with 「 」 in the first three examples of the previous section, the nuance changes slightly. Examples 1. 。 ⽇本 ⾏ Bob headed towards Japan. 2. 家 帰 い。 Not go home toward house. 3. 部屋 。 Come towards room. Note that we cannot use the 「 following is incorrect. 」 particle with verbs that have no physical direction. For example, the • 医者 。 (Grammatically incorrect version of 「医者 」.) This does not mean to say that 「 」 cannot set out towards an abstract concept. In fact, because of the fuzzy directional meaning of this particle, the 「 」 particle can also be used to talk about setting out towards certain future goals or expectations. 向 う。 • 勝 Go towards victory. 3.8.4 The contextual 「 」 particle Vocabulary 1. 映画館【えい・ 2. ⾒ 【 ・ ・ 】- movie theatre 】(ru-verb) - to see 58 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3. - bus 4. 帰 【 え・ 5. 3.8. PARTICLES USED WITH VERBS 】(u-verb) - to go home - restaurant 6. 昼 飯【 7. ⾷ ・ ・ 【 ・ 】- lunch 】(ru-verb) - to eat 8. 何【 ／ 】- what 9. 暇【 】- free (as in not busy) The 「 」 particle will allow us to specify the context in which the action is performed. For example, if a person ate a fish, where did he eat it? If a person went to school, by what means did she go? With what will you eat the soup? All of these questions can be answered with the 「 」 particle. Here are some examples. Examples 1. 映画館 ⾒ 。 Saw at movie theater. 2. 帰 。 Go home by bus. 3. 昼 飯 ⾷ Ate lunch at restaurant. 。 It may help to think of 「 」 as meaning "by way of". This way, the same meaning will kind of translate into what the sentence means. The examples will then read: "Saw by way of movie theater", "Go home by way of bus", and "Ate lunch by way of restaurant." Using 「 」 with 「何」 The word for "what" (何) is quite annoying because while it's usually read as 「 」, sometimes it is read as 「 」 depending on how it's used. And since it's always written in Kanji, you can't tell which it is. I would suggest sticking with 「 」 until someone corrects you for when it should be 「 」. With the 「 」 particle, it is read as 「 」 as well. (Hold the mouse cursor over the word to check the reading.) 1. 何 ？ Came by the way of what? 2. 。 Came by the way of bus. 59 3.8. PARTICLES USED WITH VERBS CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR Here's the confusing part. There is a colloquial version of the word "why" that is used much more often than the less colloquial version 「 う 」 or the more forceful 「 」. It is also written as 「何 」 but it is read as 「 」 . This is a completely separate word and has nothing to do with the 「 」 particle. ？ 1. 何 Why did you come? 2. 暇 。 Because I am free (as in have nothing to do). The 「 」 here meaning "because" is different from the 「 」 we just learned and will be covered later in the compound sentence section. Basically the point is that the two sentences, while written the same way, are read differently and mean completely different things. Don't worry. This causes less confusion than you think because 95% of the time, the latter is used rather than the former. And even when 「 」 is intended, the context will leave no mistake on which one is being used. Even in this short example snippet, you can tell which it is by looking at the answer to the question. 3.8.5 When location is the topic Vocabulary 1. 学校【 2. ⾏ ・ 【い・ う】- school 】(u-verb) - to go 3. 図書館【 ・ 4. 】- library - where 5. - Italy 6. 7. ・ - restaurant う - how There are times when the location of an action is also the topic of a sentence. You can attach the topic particle (「 」 and 「 」) to the three particles that indicate location (「 」、「 」、「 」) when the location is the topic. We'll see how location might become the topic in the following examples. Example 1 ：学校 ⾏ ？ Bob: (Did you) go to school? 60 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR ：⾏ Alice: Didn't go. 3.8. PARTICLES USED WITH VERBS 。 ：図書館 ？ Bob: What about library? ⾏ ：図書館 Alice: Also didn't go to library. 。 In this example, Bob brings up a new topic (library) and so the location becomes the topic. The sentence is actually an abbreviated version of 「図書館 ⾏ ？」 which you can ascertain from the context. Example 2 ： ⾷ Bob: Eat where? ？ う？ ： Alice: How about Italian restaurant? Bob asks, "Where shall we eat?" and Alice suggests an Italian restaurant. A sentence like, "How about..." usually brings up a new topic because the person is suggesting something new. In this case, the location (restaurant) is being suggested so it becomes the topic. 3.8.6 When direct object is the topic Vocabulary 1. ⽇本語【 ・ 2. 習う【 ・ 】- Japanese (language) ・う】(u-verb) - to learn The direct object particle is different from particles related to location in that you cannot use any other particles at the same time. For example, going by the previous section, you might have guessed that you can say 「 」 to express a direct object that is also the topic but this is not the case. A topic can be a direct object without using the 「 」 particle. In fact, putting the 「 」 particle in will make it wrong. Examples 1. ⽇本語 習う。 Learn Japanese. 2. ⽇本語 、習う。 About Japanese, (will) learn it. 61 3.9. TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR Please take care to not make this mistake. 、習う。 • ⽇本語 (This is incorrect.) 3.9 Transitive and Intransitive Verbs In Japanese, sometimes there are two types of the same verb often referred to as transitive and intransitive verbs. The difference between the two is that one verb is an action done by an active agent while the other is something that occurs without a direct agent. In English, this is sometimes expressed with the same verb, such as: "The ball dropped" vs "I dropped the ball" but in Japanese it becomes 「 ー 落 」 vs 「 ー 落 」. Sometimes, the verbs changes when translated into English such as "To put it in the box" (箱 ⼊ ) vs "To enter the box" (箱 ⼊ ) but this is only from the differences in the languages. If you think in Japanese, intransitive and transitive verbs have the same meaning except that one indicates that someone had a direct hand in the action (direct object) while the other does not. While knowing the terminology is not important, it is important to know which is which in order to use the correct particle for the correct verb. Since the basic meaning and the kanji is the same, you can learn two verbs for the price of just one kanji! Let's look at a sample list of intransitive and transitive verbs. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs Transitive Intransitive 落 to drop 落 to fall 出 to take out 出 to come out; to leave ⼊ to insert ⼊ to enter 開 to open 開 to be opened 閉 to close 閉 to be closed to attach to be attached 消 to erase 消え to disappear 抜 to extract 抜 to be extracted 3.9.1 Pay attention to particles! The important lesson to take away here is to learn how to use the correct particle for the correct type of verb. It might be difficult at first to grasp which is which when learning new verbs or whether there even is a transitive/intransitive distinction. If you're not sure, you can always check whether a verb is transitive or intransitive by using an online dictionary such as jisho.org 62 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.10. RELATIVE CLAUSES AND SENTENCE ORDER Examples 1. 私 電気 。 I am the one that turned on the lights. い 。 2. 電気 The lights turned on. 3. 電気 消 。 Turn off the lights. 4. 電気 消え 。 Lights turn off. ？ 5. 誰 窓 開 Who opened the window? 6. 窓 う 開い ？ Why has the window opened? The important thing to remember is that intransitive verbs cannot have a direct object because there is no direct acting agent. The following sentences are grammatically incorrect. 1. 電気 い 。 (「 」 should be replaced with 「 」 or 「 」) 2. 電気 消え 。 (「 」 should be replaced with 「 」 or 「 」) う 窓 開い ？ (「 」 should be replaced with 「 」 or 「 」) 3. The only time you can use the 「 」 particle for intransitive verbs is when a location is the direct object of a motion verb as briefly described in the previous section. 1. 部屋 出 。 I left room. 3.10 Relative Clauses and Sentence Order 3.10.1 Treating verbs and state-of-being like adjectives Have you noticed how, many forms of verbs and the state-of-being conjugate in a similar manner to iadjectives? Well, that is because, in a sense, they are adjectives. For example, consider the sentence: "The person who did not eat went to bank." The "did not eat" describes the person and in Japanese, you can directly modify the noun 'person' with the clause 'did not eat' just like a regular adjective. This very simple realization will allow us to modify a noun with any arbitrary verb phrase! 63 3.10. RELATIVE CLAUSES AND SENTENCE ORDER CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.10.2 Using state-of-being clauses as adjectives Vocabulary 1. 国際【 ・ い】- international 2. 教育【 う・い 】- education ー- center 3. 4. 登場【 う・ 5. ⼈物【 ・ 】- character 6. ⽴⼊【 ・い 】- entering 7. 禁⽌【 ・ 】- prohibition, ban 8. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 9. ⼈【 】- person 10. 学校【 11. ⾏ う】- entry (on stage) ・ 【い・ う】- school 】(u-verb) - to go 12. ⼦供【 ・ 】- child 13. ⽴派【 】(na-adj) - fine, elegant ・ 14. ⼤⼈【 15. 】- adult (u-verb) - to become 16. 友達【 ・ 】- friend 17. いい (i-adj) - good 18. 先週【 ・ う】- last week 19. 医者【い・ 】- doctor 20. 仕事【 ・ 】- job 21. 辞 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to quit The negative, past, and negative past conjugations of verbs can be used just like adjectives to directly modify nouns. However, we cannot do this with the plain non-past state-of-being using 「 」 . (I told you this was a pain in the butt.) The language has particles for this purpose, which will be covered in the next section. Note You cannot use 「 い」、and 「 」 to directly modify a noun .with a noun like you can with 「 」. 」、「 You can, however, have a string of nouns placed together when they're not meant to modify each other. 64 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.10. RELATIVE CLAUSES AND SENTENCE ORDER For example, in a phrase such as "International Education Center" you can see that it is just a string of nouns without any grammatical modifications between them. It's not an "Education Center that is International" or a "Center for International Education", etc., it's just "International Education Center". In Japanese, you can express this as simply 「国際教育 」 (or 「 ー」 ). You will see this chaining of nouns in many combinations. Sometimes a certain combination is so commonly used that it has almost become a separate word and is even listed as a separate entry in some dictionaries. Some examples include: 「登場⼈物」、 「⽴⼊禁⽌」、or 「通勤⼿当」. If you have difficulties in figuring out where to separate the words, you can paste them into the WWWJDICs Translate Words in Japanese Text function and it'll parse the words for you (most of the time). Examples Here are some examples of direct noun modifications with a conjugated noun clause. The noun clause has been highlighted. 1. 学⽣ い⼈ 、学校 ⾏ い。 Person who is not student do not go to school. 2. ⼦供 ⽴派 ⼤⼈ 。 The Alice that was a child became a fine adult. 、いい友達 。 3. 友達 Alice who was not a friend, became a good friend. 4. 先週医者 、仕事 辞 。 Bob who was a doctor last week quit his job. 3.10.3 Using relative verb clauses as adjectives Vocabulary 1. 先週【 ・ 2. 映画【えい・ 3. ⾒ 【 ・ う】- last week 】- movie 】(ru-verb) - to see 4. ⼈【 】- person 5. 誰【 】- who 6. い - always 7. 勉強【 8. ・ う】- study (exception) - to do 9. ⾚い【あ ・い】(i-adj) - red 65 3.10. RELATIVE CLAUSES AND SENTENCE ORDER 10. CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR - pants 11. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 12. 友達【 13. 晩 ・ 飯【 14. ⾷ 】- friend ・ 【 ・ 15. 銀⾏【 ・ 】- dinner 】(ru-verb) - to eat ・ う】- bank Verbs clauses can also be used just like adjectives to modify nouns. The following examples show us how this will allow us to make quite detailed and complicated sentences. The verb clause is highlighted. Examples 1. 先週 映画 ⾒ ⼈ 誰？ Who is person who watched movie last week? 2. 勉強 ⼈ 。 、い Bob is a person who always studies. 買う友達 。 3. ⾚い Friend who buy red pants is Bob. 4. 晩 飯 ⾷ ⼈ 、映画 ⾒ 銀⾏ ⾏ 。 Person who did not eat dinner went to the bank she saw at movie. 3.10.4 Japanese Sentence Order Vocabulary 1. 私【 】- me; myself; I 2. 公園【 3. う・え 弁当【 ・ 4. ⾷ 【 ・ 5. 学⽣【 6. ⾏ 【い・ ・ 】- (public) park ・ う】- box lunch 】(ru-verb) - to eat い】- student 】(u-verb) - to go Now that we've learned the concept of relative clauses and how they are used as building blocks to make sentences, I can go over how Japanese sentence ordering works. There's this myth that keeps floating around about Japanese sentence order that continues to plague many hapless beginners to Japanese. Here's how it goes. 66 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.10. RELATIVE CLAUSES AND SENTENCE ORDER The most basic sentence structure in English can be described as consisting of the following elements in this specific order: [Subject] [Verb] [Object]. A sentence is not grammatically correct if any of those elements are missing or out of order. Japanese students will tell you that Japanese, on the other hand, while frothing at the mouth, is completely backwards!! Even some Japanese teacher might tell you that the basic Japanese sentence order is [Subject] [Object] [Verb]. This is a classic example of trying to fit Japanese into an English-based type of thinking. Of course, we all know (right?) that the real order of the fundamental Japanese sentence is: [Verb]. Anything else that comes before the verb doesn't have to come in any particular order and nothing more than the verb is required to make a complete sentence. In addition, the verb must always come at the end. That's the whole point of even having particles so that they can identify what grammatical function a word serves no matter where it is in the sentence. In fact, nothing will stop us from making a sentence with [Object] [Subject] [Verb] or just [Object] [Verb]. The following sentences are all complete and correct because the verb is at the end of the sentence. Grammatically complete and correctly ordered sentences 1. 私 公園 弁当 ⾷ 。 私 弁当 ⾷ 。 公園 ⾷ 。 2. 公園 3. 弁当 私 4. 弁当 ⾷ 5. ⾷ 。 。 So don't sweat over whether your sentence is in the correct order. Just remember the following rules. Japanese sentence order • A complete sentence requires a main verb that must come at the end. This also includes the implied state-of-being. Examples 1. ⾷ 2. 学⽣ ( ) . • Complete sentences (relative clauses) can be used to modify nouns to make sentences with nested relative clauses except in the case of 「 」. Example 弁当 ⾷ 学⽣ 公園 ⾏ 。 Student who ate lunch went to the park. 67 3.11. NOUN-RELATED PARTICLES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.11 Noun-related Particles （ 、 、 、 ） 3.11.1 The last three particles (Not!) We have already gone over very powerful constructs that can express almost anything we want. We will see the 「 」 particle will give us even more power by allowing us to define a generic, abstract noun. We will also learn how to modify nouns directly with nouns. The three particles we will cover can group nouns together in different ways. This is the last lesson that will be specifically focused on particles but that does not mean that there are no more particles to learn. We will learn many more particles along the way but they may not be labeled as such. As long as you know what they mean and how to use them, it is not too important to know whether they are particles or not. 3.11.2 The Inclusive 「 」 particle Vocabulary 1. - knife 2. ー - fork 3. ー - steak 4. ⾷ 【 ・ 5. 本【 6. 雑誌【 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】- book ・ 7. 葉書【 】- magazine 】- postcard 8. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 9. 友達【 10. 話 ・ 】- friend 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to speak 11. 先⽣【 ・ い】- teacher 12. 会う【あ・う】(u-verb) - to meet The「 」particle is similar to the「 」particle in that it contains a meaning of inclusion. It can combine two or more nouns together to mean "and". 1. ー ー ⾷ 。 Ate steak by means of knife and fork. 68 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.11. NOUN-RELATED PARTICLES 2. 本 雑誌 葉書 買 。 Bought book, magazine, and post card. Another similar use of the 「 something else. 」 particle is to show an action that was done together with someone or 1. 友達 話 。 Talked with friend. 。 2. 先⽣ 会 Met with teacher. 3.11.3 The Vague Listing 「 」 and 「 」 particles Vocabulary 1. 飲 2. 物【 ・ 】- beverage - cup 3. - napkin 4. い 5. 靴【 6. ・ (u-verb) - to need 】- shoes - shirt 7. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy The 「 」 particle, just like the 「 」 particle, is used to list one or more nouns except that it is much more vague than the 「 」 particle. It implies that there may be other things that are unlisted and that not all items in the list may apply. In English, you might think of this as an "and/or, etc." type of listing. 1. 飲 物 、い い？ You don't need (things like) drink, cup, or napkin, etc.? 買う。 2. 靴 Buy (things like) shoes and shirt, etc... 「 」 also has the same meaning as 「 」 but is a slightly more colloquial expression. 1. 飲 物 、い い？ You don't need (things like) drink, cup, or napkin, etc.? 買う。 2. 靴 Buy (things like) shoes and shirt, etc... 69 3.11. NOUN-RELATED PARTICLES 3.11.4 The 「 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 」 particle Vocabulary 1. 本【 】- book 2. - America 3. ⼤学【 い・ 】- college 4. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 5. - that 6. - abbreviation of 「 7. - shirt 8. 誰【 】- who 9. - this 10. - abbreviation of 「 11. あ - that (over there) 12. あ - abbreviation of 「あ 13. ⽩い【 ・ 14. 【い・ 17. 忘 【 18. う】- class 】(u-verb) - to go ・ 】(ru-verb) - to forget - event, matter 19. 毎⽇【 い・ 20. 勉強【 ・ 21. 】- every day う】- study (exception) - to do 22. ⼤変【 い・ 【 】(na-adj) - tough, hard time ・ 24. 物【 】- same 】- object 【 ・ 26. ⾯⽩い【 27. 静 」 い】(i-adj) - white ・ 16. ⾏ 25. ⾷ 」 いい (i-adj) - cute 15. 授業【 23. 同 」 【 】(ru-verb) - to eat ・ ・ 28. 部屋【 ・ ・ い】(i-adj) - interesting 】(na-adj) - quiet 】- room 70 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 29. ⼈【 30. 学校【 3.11. NOUN-RELATED PARTICLES 】- person ・ う】- school The「 」 particle has many uses and it is a very powerful particle. It is introduced here because like the 「 」 and 「 」 particle, it can be used to connect one or more nouns. Let's look at a few examples. 1. 本。 Book of Bob. 2. 本 。 Bob of book. The first sentence essentially means, "Bob's book." (not a lost bible chapter). The second sentence means, "Book's Bob" which is probably a mistake. I've translated the first example as "book of Bob" because the 「 」 particle doesn't always imply possession as the next example shows. 1. ⼤学 学⽣ 。 、 Bob is student of college of America. In normal English, this would translate to, "Bob is a student of an American college." The order of modification is backwards so Bob is a student of a college that is American. 「学⽣ ⼤学 」 means "America of college of student" which is probably an error and makes little sense. (America of student's college?) The noun that is being modified can be omitted if the context clearly indicates what is being omitted. The following highlighted redundant words can be omitted. 1. 誰 ？ Whose shirt is that shirt? 2. 。 It is shirt of Bob. to become: 1. 誰 ？ Whose shirt is that? 2. 。 It is of Bob. 71 3.11. NOUN-RELATED PARTICLES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR (「 」 is an abbreviation of 「 + 」 so it directly modifies the noun because the 「 」 particle is intrinsically attached. Other words include 「 」 from 「 」 and 「あ 」 from 「あ 」.) The 「 」 particle in this usage essentially replaces the noun and takes over the role as a noun itself. We can essentially treat adjectives and verbs just like nouns by adding the 「 」 particle to it. The particle then becomes a generic noun, which we can treat just like a regular noun. 、 いい。 1. ⽩い Thing that is white is cute. 2. 授業 ⾏ 忘 。 Forgot the event of going to class. Now we can use the direct object, topic, and identifier particle with verbs and adjectives. We don't necessarily have to use the 「 」 particle here. We can use the noun 「物」, which is a generic object or 「 」 for a generic event. For example, we can also say: いい。 1. ⽩い物 、 Thing that is white is cute. 2. 授業 ⾏ 忘 。 Forgot the thing of going to class. However, the 「 」 particle is very useful in that you don't have to specify a particular noun. In the next examples, the 「 」 particle is not replacing any particular noun, it just allows us to modify verb and adjective clauses like noun clauses. The relative clauses are highlighted. 1. 毎⽇勉強 ⼤変。 The thing of studying every day is tough. 、⾯⽩ い。 2. 毎⽇同 物 ⾷ It's not interesting to eat same thing every day. Even when substituting「 is being used. 」for a noun, you still need the「 • 静 部屋 、 部屋 Quiet room is room of Alice. 。 becomes: • 静 、 部屋 Quiet one is room of Alice. 。 72 」to modify the noun when a na-adjective CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.11. NOUN-RELATED PARTICLES *Warning: This may make things seem like you can replace any arbitrary nouns with 「 」 but this is not so. It is important to realize that the sentence must be about the clause and not the noun that was replaced. For example, in the last section we had the sentence, 「学⽣ い⼈ 、 学校 ⾏ 、学 い」. You may think that you can just replace 「⼈」 with 「 」 to produce 「学⽣ い 校 ⾏ い」 . But in fact, this makes no sense because the sentence is now about the clause "Is not student". The sentence becomes, "The thing of not being student does not go to school" which is complete gibberish because not being a student is a state and it doesn't make sense for a state to go anywhere much less school. 3.11.5 The 「 」 particle as explanation Vocabulary 1. 今【い 2. 忙 】- now い【い ・ い】(i-adj) - busy 3. 学⽣【 ・ 4. 飲 【 】- to drink 5. - where 6. ⾏ 【い・ 7. 授業【 8. あ い】- student 】(u-verb) - to go ・ う】- class (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 9. うう 10. - casual word for "no" (nah, uh-uh) - that (abbr. of 11. ⼈【 ) 】- person 12. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 13. 先⽣【 ・ 14. 朝 飯【あ ・ 15. ⾷ 【 ・ い】- teacher 16. う ・ 】- breakfast 】(ru-verb) - to eat - why The 「 」 particle attached at the end of the last clause of a sentence can also convey an explanatory tone to your sentence. For example, if someone asked you if you have time, you might respond, "The thing is I'm kind of busy right now." The abstract generic noun of "the thing is..." can also be expressed with the 「 」 particle. This type of sentence has an embedded meaning that explains the reason(s) for something else. The sentence would be expressed like so: 73 3.11. NOUN-RELATED PARTICLES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR • 今 忙 い 。 The thing is that (I'm) busy now. This sounds very soft and feminine. In fact, adult males will almost always add a declarative「 they want to sound cute for some reason. 」unless 。 • 今 忙 い The thing is that (I'm) busy now. However, since the declarative 「 」 cannot be used in a question, the same 「 not carry a feminine tone at all and is used by both males and females. 」 in questions do • 今 忙 い ？ Is it that (you) are busy now? (gender-neutral) To express state-of-being, when the 「 」 particle is used to convey this explanatory tone, we need to add 「 」 to distinguish it from the 「 」 particle that simply means "of". 1. 。 It is of Jim. (It is Jim's.) 2. 。 It is Jim (with explanatory tone). Besides this one case, everything else remains the same as before. In actuality, while this type of explanatory tone is used all the time, 「 」 is usually substituted by 「 」. This is probably due to the fact that 「 」 is easier to say than 「 」. This grammar can have what seems like many different meaning because not only can it be used with all forms of adjectives, nouns, and verbs it itself can also be conjugated just like the state-of-being. A conjugation chart will show you what this means. There's really nothing new here. The first chart is just adding 「 」 (or 「 」) to a conjugated verb, noun, or adjective. The second chart adds 「 」 (or 「 」 ) to a non-conjugated verb, noun, adjective and then conjugates the 「 」 part of 「 」 just like a regular state-of-being for nouns and na-adjectives. Just don't forget to attach the 「 」 for nouns as well as na-adjectives. 「 」 attached to different conjugations (Substitute 「 」 or 「 Noun/Na-Adj Verb/I-Adj Plain 学⽣ 飲 Negative 学⽣ い 飲 い Past 学⽣ 飲 Past-Neg 学⽣ 飲 74 」 for 「 」) CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 「 」 is conjugated (Substitute 「 Noun/Na-Adj Plain 学⽣ Negative 学⽣ い Past 学⽣ Past-Neg 学⽣ 3.11. NOUN-RELATED PARTICLES 」 for 「 」 and 「 」 or 「 」 for 「 Verb/I-Adj 飲 飲 い 飲 飲 」) I would say that the past and past-negative forms for noun/na-adjective in the second chart are almost never used (especially with 「 」) but they are presented for completeness. The crucial difference between using the explanatory 「 」 and not using anything at all is that you are telling the listener, "Look, here's the reason" as opposed to simply imparting new information. For example, if someone asked you, "Are you busy now?" you can simply answer, 「今 忙 い」. However, if someone asked you, "How come you can't talk to me?" since you obviously have some explaining to do, you would answer, 「今 忙 い 」 or 「今 忙 い 」 . This grammar is indispensable for seeking explanations in questions. For instance, if you want to ask, "Hey, isn't it late?" you can't just ask, 「遅 い？」 because that means, "It's not late?" You need to indicate that you are seeking explanation in the form of 「遅い い？」. Let's see some examples of the types of situations where this grammar is used. The examples will have literal translation to make it easier to see how the meaning stays the same and carries over into what would be very different types of sentences in normal English. A more natural English translation is provided as well because the literal translations can get a bit convoluted. Example 1 ？ ： ⾏ Alice: Where is it that (you) are going? ：授業 ⾏ 。 Bob: It is that (I) go to class. Alice: Where are you going? (Seeking explanation) Bob: I'm going to class. (Explanatory) Example 2 い？ ：今、授業 あ Alice: Isn't it that there is class now? ：今 、 い 。 Bob: Now it is that there is no class. Alice: Don't you have class now? (Expecting that there is class) Bob: No, there is no class now. (Explanatory) 75 3.11. NOUN-RELATED PARTICLES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR Example 3 い？ ：今、授業 い Alice: Isn't it that there isn't class now? ：うう 、あ Bob: No, there is. 。 Alice: Don't you not have class now? (Expecting that there is no class) Bob: No, I do have class. Example 4 ： ⼈ 買う ？ Alice: Wasn't it that that person was the one to buy? 。 ：うう 、先⽣ 買う Bob: No, it is that teacher is the one to buy. Alice: Wasn't that person going to buy? (Expecting that the person would buy) Bob: No, the teacher is going to. (Explanatory) Example 5 ：朝 飯 ⾷ Alice: It is that breakfast wasn't to eat. ： う Bob: Why? 。 ？ Alice: Should not have eaten breakfast, you know. (Explaining that breakfast wasn't to be eaten) Bob: How come? Don't worry if you are thoroughly confused by now, we will see many more examples along the way. Once you get the sense of how everything works, it's better to forget the English because the double and triple negatives can get quite confusing such as Example 3. However, in Japanese it is a perfectly normal expression, as you will begin to realize once you get accustomed to Japanese. 76 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.12. ADVERBS AND SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES 3.12 Adverbs and Sentence-ending particles 3.12.1 Properties of Adverbs Vocabulary 1. 早い【 ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 2. い (na-adj) - pretty; clean 3. 朝 飯【あ ・ 4. ⾷ 【 ・ 】- oneself 6. 部屋【 ・ 】- room 7. 映画【えい・ 】- movie - a lot (amount) 9. ⾒ 【 ・ 】- to see; to watch 10. 最近【 い・ 11. 全然【 ・ 12. 声【 】- recent; lately 】- not at all (when used with negative) え】- voice 13. 結構【 ・ う】- fairly, reasonably 14. ⼤ い【 15. - this (abbr. of 16. 町【 ・ い】(i-adj) - big ) 】- town 17. 変 【 ・ 18. 図書館【 ・ 19. 中【 20. 静 】- breakfast 】(ru-verb) - to eat 5. ⾃分【 ・ 8. ・ 【 】(u-verb) - to change ・ 】- library 】- inside ・ 】(na-adj) - quiet Unlike English, changing adjectives to adverbs is a very simple and straightforward process. In addition, since the system of particles make sentence ordering flexible, adverbs can be placed anywhere in the clause that it applies to as long as it comes before the verb that it refers to. As usual, we have two separate rules: one for i-adjectives, and one for na-adjectives. 77 3.12. ADVERBS AND SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR How to change an adjective to an adverb • For i-adjectives: Substitute the 「い」 with 「 」. Example: 早い → 早 . • For na-adjectives: Attach the target particle 「 」. Example: い→ い • 朝 飯 早 ⾷ 。 Bob quickly ate breakfast. The adverb 「早 」 is a little different from the English word 'fast' in that it can mean quickly in terms of speed or time. In other words, Bob may have eaten his breakfast early or he may have eaten it quickly depending on the context. In other types of sentences such as 「早 ⾛ 」, it is quite obvious that it probably means quickly and not early. (Of course this also depends on the context.) • ⾃分 部屋 い 。 Alice did her own room toward clean. The literal translation kind of gives you a sense of why the target particle is used. There is some argument against calling this an adverb at all but it is convenient for us to do so because of the grouping of iadjectives and na-adjectives. Thinking of it as an adverb, we can interpret the sentence to mean: "Alice did her room cleanly." or less literally: "Alice cleaned her room." (「 い」 literally means "pretty" but if it helps, you can think of it as, "Alice prettied up her own room.") Note: Not all adverbs are derived from adjectives. Some words like 「全然」 and 「 」 are adverbs in themselves without any conjugation. These words can be used without particles just like regular adverbs. ⾒ 。 1. 映画 Saw a lot of movies. い。 2. 最近、全然⾷ Lately, don't eat at all. Examples Here are some more examples of using adverbs. 1. 声 、結構⼤ い。 Bob's voice is fairly large. 78 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.12. ADVERBS AND SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES 2. 町 、最近⼤ 変 。 This town had changed greatly lately. 。 3. 図書館 中 、静 Within the library, [we] do things quietly. 3.12.2 Sentence-ending particles Vocabulary 1. いい (i-adj) - good 2. 天気【 3. ・ 】- weather う - (things are) that way 4. ⾯⽩い【 ・ 5. 映画【えい・ 6. 全然【 】- movie ・ 】- not at all (when used with negative) 7. 時間【 ・ 8. あ ・い】(i-adj) - interesting 】- time (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 9. ⼤丈夫【 い・ 10. 今⽇【 - yes (casual) 12. - but 13. 明⽇【あ 15. 降 】- tomorrow 】- rain 【 ・ 16. ⿂【 17. 好 】(na-adj) - ok う】- today 11. う 14. ⾬【あ う・ 】(u-verb) - to precipitate 】- fish 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - likable Sentence-ending particles are particles that always come at the end of sentences to change the "tone" or "feel" of a sentence. In this section, we will cover the two most commonly used sentence-ending particles. 3.12.3 「 」 sentence ending People usually add「 」to the end of their sentence when they are looking for (and expecting) agreement to what they are saying. This is equivalent to saying, "right?" or "isn't it?" in English. 79 3.12. ADVERBS AND SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR Example 1 。 ：いい天気 Bob: Good weather, huh? ： う 。 Alice: That is so, isn't it? The literal translation of 「 う 」 sounds a bit odd but it basically means something like, "Sure is". Males would probably say, 「 う 」. Example 2 。 ： い映画 Alice: That was interesting movie, wasn't it? ：え？全然 。 Bob: Huh? No, it wasn't interesting at all. Since Alice is expecting agreement that the movie was interesting Bob is surprised because he didn't find the movie interesting at all. (「え」 is a sound of surprise and confusion.) 3.12.4 「 」 sentence ending When 「 」 is attached to the end of a sentence, it means that the speaker is informing the listener of something new. In English, we might say this with a, "You know..." such as the sentence, "You know, I'm actually a genius." Example 1 ：時間 い 。 Alice: You know, there is no time. 。 ：⼤丈夫 Bob: It's ok, you know. 80 CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 3.12. ADVERBS AND SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES Example 2 ：今⽇ いい天気 。 Alice: Good weather today, huh? ：う 。 、明⽇⾬ 降 。 Bob: Yeah. But it will rain tomorrow, you know. 3.12.5 Combining both to get 「 」 You can also combine the two particles we just learned to create 「 」 . This is essentially used when you want to inform the listener of some new point you're trying to make and when you're seeking agreement on it at the same time. When combining the two, the order must always be 「 」 . You cannot reverse the order. Example ： 、⿂ 好 。 Alice: You know, you like fish, dontcha? ： う 。 Bob: That is so, huh? 81 3.12. ADVERBS AND SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES CHAPTER 3. BASIC GRAMMAR 82 Chapter 4 Essential Grammar We have learned the basic foundation of the Japanese language. Now that we have a general knowledge of how Japanese works, we can now extend that by learning specific grammar for various situations. This section will go over what is considered to be essential grammar for basic practical Japanese. You will begin to see fewer literal translations in order to emphasize the new grammar now that you (should) have a good understanding of the basic fundamental grammar. For example, in sentences where the subject has not been specified, I might simply specify the subject in the translation as 'he' even though it may very well be "we" or "them" depending on the context. This section starts with transforming what we have learned so far into a more unassuming and politer form. In any language, there are ways to word things differently to express a feeling of deference or politeness. Even English has differences such as saying, "May I..." vs "Can I...". You may speak one way to your professor and another way to your friends. However, Japanese is different in that not only does the type of vocabulary change, the grammatical structure for every sentence changes as well. There is a distinct and clear line differentiating polite and casual types of speech. On the one hand, the rules clearly tell you how to structure your sentences for different social contexts. On the other hand, every sentence you speak must be conjugated to the proper level of politeness. In section 3, we will cover the polite version of Japanese, which is required for speaking to people of higher social position or to people you are unfamiliar with. This section will then continue to cover the most useful major types of grammar in Japanese. For this reason, we will learn the most common conjugations such as the te-form, potential, conditional, and volitional. The latter sections are in no particular order and neither does it need to be. The grammar that is presented here is essential which means that you have to learn it all anyway and learn them well. 83 4.1. POLITE FORM AND VERB STEMS CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.1 （〜 Polite Form and Verb Stems 、〜 ） 4.1.1 Not being rude in Japan Vocabulary 1. 丁寧語【 い・ い・ 】- polite language 2. 尊敬語【 ・ い・ 】- honorific language 3. 謙譲語【 ・ う・ 】- humble language い - yes (polite) 4. 5. いいえ - no (polite) The Japanese we have learned so far is all well and good if you're 5-years old. Unfortunately, adults are expected to use a politer version of the language (called 丁寧語) when addressing certain people. People you will probably use 丁寧語 with are: 1) people of higher social rank, and 2) people you are not familiar with. Deciding when to use which language is pretty much a matter of "feel". However, it is a good idea to stick with one form for each person. Later (probably much later), we will learn an even politer version of the language called honorific (尊敬語) and humble (謙譲語) form. It will be more useful than you may think because store clerks, receptionists, and such will speak to you in those forms. But for now, let's concentrate on just 丁寧語, which is the base for 尊敬語 and 謙譲語. Fortunately, it is not difficult to change casual speech to polite speech. There may be some slight changes to the vocabulary (for example, "yes" and "no" become 「 い」 and 「いいえ」 respectively in polite speech), and very colloquial types of sentence endings are not used in polite speech. (We will learn about sentence endings in a later section.) Essentially, the only main difference between polite and casual speech comes at the very end of the sentence. You cannot even tell whether a person is speaking in polite or casual speech until the sentence is finished. 4.1.2 The stem of verbs Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 2. 泳 【 】(u-verb) - to swim 3. (exception) - to do 4. 来 【 ・ 5. 怒 【 】(exception) - to come ・ 】(u-verb) - to get angry 84 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 6. 鉄拳【 ・ 7. 休 【 ・ 8. 飲 【 ・ 】- fist 】- rest; vacation 】(u-verb) - to drink 9. 明⽇【あ 】- tomorrow 10. 映画【えい・ 】- movie 11. ⾒ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to see 12. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 13. 友達【 14. 遊 ・ 】- friend 【あ ・ 15. 楽 【 16. 出 【 ・ 17. ⾛ 【 18. ⾛ 出 19. 着 【 ・ 20. 替え 】(u-verb) - to play ・ 】(u-verb) - to enjoy 】(u-verb) - to bring out ・ 】(u-verb) - to run 【 ・ ・ 】(u-verb) - to break into a run 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to switch ・え 22. 付 【 ・ 23. 加え 【 ・え 加え 【 ・ 24. 付 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to wear 【 ・え 21. 着替え 4.1. POLITE FORM AND VERB STEMS 】(ru-verb) - to change (clothes) 】(ru-verb) - to attach 】(ru-verb) - to add ・ ・え 】(ru-verb) - to add one thing to another 25. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 26. ⾔い出 【い・い・ ・ 】(u-verb) - to start talking In order to conjugate all u-verbs and ru-verbs into their respective polite forms, we will first learn about the stem of verbs. This is often called the masu-stem in Japanese textbooks but we will call it just the stem because it is used in many more conjugations than just its masu-form. The stem is really great because it's very easy to produce and is useful in many different types of grammar. 85 4.1. POLITE FORM AND VERB STEMS CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Rules for extracting the stem of verbs • For ru-verbs: Remove the 「 Example: ⾷ →⾷ 」 • For u-verbs: The last vowel sound changes from an / u / vowel sound to an / i / vowel sound. Example: 泳 → 泳 . • Exceptions: 1. 「 」 becomes 「 」 2. 「 」 becomes 「 」 The stem when used by itself can be a very specialized and limited way of creating nouns from verbs. While the「 」particle allows you to talk about verbs as if they were nouns, the stem actually turns verbs into nouns. In fact, in very rare cases, the stem is used more often than the verb itself. For example, the stem of 「怒 」(い ) is used more often than the verb itself. The movie, "Fists of Fury" is translated as 「怒 鉄拳」 and not 「怒 鉄拳」. In fact, 「怒 」 will most likely be read as 「 」, a completely different verb with the same meaning and kanji! There are a number of specific nouns (such as 「休 」) that are really verb stems that are used like regular nouns. However, in general we cannot take any verb and make it into a noun. For example, the following sentence is wrong. • 飲 。 (This sentence makes sense but no one talks like this) However, a useful grammar that works in general for stems of all verbs is using the stem as a target with a motion verb (almost always 「⾏ 」 and 「来 」 in this case). This grammar means, "to go or to come to do [some verb]". Here's an example. 1. 明⽇、映画 ⾒ 「⾒ ⾏ 」 is the stem of 「⾒ 。- Tomorrow, go to see movie. 」 combined with the target particle 「 」. The motion target particle 「 」 sounds like you're literally going or coming to something while the 「 particle implies that you are going or coming for the purpose of doing something. 」 。 1. 昨⽇、友達 遊 Yesterday, friend came to a playing activity. (Sounds a bit strange) 。 2. 昨⽇、友達 遊 Yesterday, friend came to play. The expression 「楽 」 meaning "to look forward to" is formed from grammar similar to this but is a special case and should be considered a set expression. 86 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.1. POLITE FORM AND VERB STEMS Other verbs are also sometimes attached to the stem to create new verbs. For example, when 「出 」 is attached to the stem of 「⾛ 」, which is 「⾛ 」, you get 「⾛ 出 」 meaning "to break out into a run". Other examples include 「切 替え 」, which means "to switch over to something else", and 「付 加え 」, which means "to add something by attaching it". You can see how the separate meanings of the two verbs are combined to create the new combined verb. For example, 「⾔い出 」 means "to start talking", combining the meaning, "to speak" and "to bring out". There are no general rules here, you need to just memorize these combined verbs as separate verbs in their own right. Things that are written in a formal context such as newspaper articles also use the stem as a conjunctive verb. We will come back to this later in the formal expression lesson. 4.1.3 Using 「〜 」 to make verbs polite Vocabulary 1. 明⽇【あ 2. ⼤学【 3. ⾏ 】- tomorrow い・ 【い・ 4. 先週【 】- college 】(u-verb) - to go ・ う】- last week 5. 会う【あ・う】(u-verb) - to meet 6. 晩 7. ⾷ 飯【 【 ・ 8. ⾯⽩い【 9. 映画【えい・ 10. ⾒ ・ 【 ・ ・ 】- dinner 】(ru-verb) - to eat ・ ・い】(i-adj) - interesting 】- movie 】(ru-verb) - to see Of course, the reason I introduced the verb stem is to learn how to conjugate verbs into their polite form... the masu-form! The masu-form must always come at the end of a complete sentence and never inside a modifying relative clause. When we learn compound sentences, we will see that each sub-sentence of the compound sentence can end in masu-form as well. To conjugate verbs into the masu-form, you attach different conjugations of「 on the tense. Here is a chart. A conjugation chart with sample stem 「遊 conjugations Stem+ Plain 遊 Negative 遊 Past 遊 Past-Neg 遊 87 」 」to the stem depending 4.1. POLITE FORM AND VERB STEMS CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Examples 1. 明⽇、⼤学 ⾏ 。 Tomorrow, go to college. 会い 。 2. 先週、 You know, met Bob last week. 3. 晩 飯 ⾷ Didn't eat dinner, huh? 。 4. ⾯⽩ い映画 ⾒ 。 About not interesting movies, do not see (them). 4.1.4 Using 「 」 for everything else Vocabulary 1. いい (i-adj) - cute 2. 静 【 ・ 3. ⼦⽝【 ・い 】(na-adj) - quiet 4. 5. 好 】- puppy - very 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - likable; desirable 6. 昨⽇【 う】- yesterday 7. 時間【 ・ 】- time 8. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 9. - that (abbr of 「 10. 部屋【 ・ 11. 先週【 12. ⾒ 】- room ・ う】- last week 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to see 13. 映画【えい・ 14. ⾯⽩い【 」) 】- movie ・ ・い】(i-adj) - interesting For any sentence that does not end in a ru-verb or u-verb, the only thing that needs to be done is to add 「 」 or 「 」. You can also do this for substituted nouns (both 「 」 and 「 」) by just treating them like regular nouns. Another important thing to remember is that if there is a declarative 「 」, it must be removed. In being polite, I guess you can't be so bold as to forwardly declare things the way 「 」 does. Just like the masu-form, this must also go at the end of a complete sentence. Here is a chart illustrating the conjugations. 88 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Plain Negative Past Past-Neg 4.1. POLITE FORM AND VERB STEMS i-adjective ( cannot be used) Casual Polite いい いい い い い い い い い い na-adjective/noun (might have to remove ) Casual Polite Plain 静 ( ) 静 Negative 静 い 静 い Past 静 ฀静 Past-Neg 静 静 ฀ Notice in the case of noun/na-adjective only, the past tense becomes 「 」 . A very common mistake is to do the same for i-adjectives. Remember 「 いい 」 is wrong! Examples 1. ⼦⽝ 好 。 About puppies, like very much. (The most natural translation is that someone likes puppies very much but there is not enough context to rule out that the puppies like something very much.) 。 2. 昨⽇、時間 It was that there was no time yesterday. 3. 静 い 部屋 あ That room is not very quiet. 。 4. 先週 ⾒ 映画 、 ⾯⽩ 。 Movie saw last week was very interesting. ฀ Reality Check I have heard on a number of occasions that the negative non-past conjugation as given here is not an "officially" correct conjugation. Instead what's considered to be a more "correct" conjugation is to actually replace the 「 い 」 part with 「あ 」. The reasoning is that the polite negative form of the verb 「あ 」 is not 「 い 」 but 「あ 」. Therefore, 「 い い」 actually becomes 「 い あ 」 and 「静 い」 becomes 「静 あ 」. The reality of today's Japanese is that what's supposed to be the "official" conjugation sounds rather stiff and formal. In normal everyday conversations, the conjugation presented here will be used almost every time. While you should use the more formal conjugations for written works using the polite form, you'll rarely hear it in actual speech. In conclusion, I recommend studying and becoming familiar with both types of conjugations. 89 4.1. POLITE FORM AND VERB STEMS Negative Past-Neg Negative Past-Neg CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR A more formal negative conjugation Casual Polite い い い あ い い あ 静 い 静 あ 静 静 あ Examples 1. 部屋 あ 静 い 。 You know, that room is not very quiet. 2. あ 部屋 あ 静 You know, that room is not very quiet. 4.1.5 「 。 」 is NOT the same as 「 」 Vocabulary 1. う - so 2. 思う【 3. ・う】(u-verb) - to think い - yes (polite) 4. 答え 【 ・え 】(ru-verb) - to answer Many of you who have taken Japanese classes have probably been taught that 「 」 is the polite version of 「 」 . However, I want to point some several key differences here and the reasons why they are in fact completely different things. It is impossible to fully explain the reasons why they are fundamentally different without discussing grammar that have yet to be covered so I would like to target this toward those who have already started learning Japanese and have been incorrectly misinformed that 「 」 is the casual version of 「 」. For the rest of you new to this, you can easily skip this part. I'm sure most of you have learned the expression 「 う」 by now. Now, there are four ways to make a complete sentence using the state-of-being with 「 う」 to produce a sentence that says, "That is so." Different ways to say, "That is so." 1. う。 2. う 3. う 4. う 。 。 い 。 90 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.1. POLITE FORM AND VERB STEMS The first 「 う」 is the implied state-of-being and 「 う 」 is the declarative. As I've stated before, the non-assuming soft spoken 「 う」 is often used by females while the more confident 「 う 」 is often used by males. 「 う 」 is the polite version of 「 う」, created by attaching 「 」 to the noun. 「 う is not the polite version of 「 う 」 where the 「 」 is replaced by 「 」 and I'll explain why. 」 Perhaps we wanted to make that sentence into a question instead to ask, "Is that so?" There are several ways to do this but some possibilities are given in the following. (This grammar is covered in a later section.) Different ways to ask, "Is that so?" 1. う？ 2. う 3. う ？ ？ As I've explained before, the 「 」 is used to declare what one believes to be a fact. Therefore, 「 う ？」 is not a valid way to ask a question because it is declaring a fact and asking a question at the same time. But the fact that 「 う 」 is a valid question shows that 「 」 and 「 」 are essentially different. 「 う 」, in showing respect and humbleness, is not as assertive and is merely the polite version of 「 う」. Besides the difference in nuance between 「 」 and 「 」, another key difference is that 「 」 is used in many different types of grammar to delineate a relative clause. 「 」, on the other hand, is only used at the end of a sentence to designate a polite state-of-being. For instance, consider the two following sentences. (This grammar is covered in a later section.) • う 思い I think that is so. • 思い う (Incorrect sentence) 「 う 思い 」 is valid while 「 う 思い 」 is not because 「 」 can only go at the end of the sentence. 「 」 can only be in a relative clause when it is a direct quote of what someone said such as the following. • 「 い、 う 」 答え 。 In conclusion, replacing「 」with「 」, thinking one is the polite equivalent of the other or vice-versa will potentially result in grammatically incorrect sentences. It is best to think of them as totally separate things (because they are). 91 4.2. ADDRESSING PEOPLE 4.2 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Addressing People Not only is it important to use the right type of language with the right people, it is also important to address them by the right name. It is also important to address yourself with the proper level of politeness. Japanese is special in that there are so many ways of saying the simple words, "I" and "you". We will go over some of ways to refer to yourself and others. 4.2.1 Referring to yourself Vocabulary • 名前【 ・ え】- name There are many ways to say "I" in Japanese. Some of these words are not as common and others are hopelessly outdated. We will go over the most common ones that are in use today. The usages of all the different words for "I" is separated into two categories: gender and politeness. In other words, there are words that are usually used by males and words that are usually only used by females and they all depend on the social context. Before going into this: a note about the word 「私」. The official reading of the kanji is 「 」. This is the reading you is used in a formal context (for example, a speech by the president of a company). This reading will probably be accompanied with honorific and humble forms, which we will cover later. In all other situations, it is usually read as 「 」. This is the most generic reference to "I" in terms of politeness and gender; therefore it is usually one of the first words taught to students of Japanese. Here is a list of the most common words for "I" and how they are used: 1. 私【 2. 私【 】- Used by both males and females for formal situations. 】- Used by both males and females for normal polite situations. 3. 僕【 】- Used primarily by males from fairly polite to fairly casual situations. 4. 俺【 】- A very rough version of "I" used almost exclusively by males in very casual situations. 5. あ 「 - A very feminine and casual way to refer to oneself. Many girls have decided to opt for 」 instead because 「あ 」 has a cutesy and girly sound. 6. One's own name - Also a very feminine and kind of childish way to refer to oneself. 7. - Usually used by older men well in their middle-ages. Let's see how different types of sentences use the appropriate version of "I". 「 because we have yet to go over very formal grammatical expressions. 92 」 is left out CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.2. ADDRESSING PEOPLE 1. 私 名前 。 My name is Kim. (Neutral, polite) 2. 僕 名前 。 My name is Kim. (Masculine, polite) 3. 僕 名前 。 My name is Bob. (Masculine, casual) 4. 俺 名前 。 My name is Bob. (Masculine, casual) 5. あ 名前 。 My name is Alice. (Feminine, casual) 4.2.2 Referring to others by name Vocabulary 1. 社⻑【 ・ う】- company president 2. 課⻑【 ・ う】- section manager 3. 先⽣【 い】- teacher 4. ⽥中【 ・ ・ 】- Tanaka (last name) Japanese does not require the use of "you" nearly as much as English does. I hope that the examples with Bob, Alice, and Jim have shown that people refer to other people by their names even when they are directly addressing that person. Another common way to address people is by their title such as 「社⻑」 、 「課⻑」 、 「先⽣」 , etc. The word 「先⽣」 is used to generally mean any person who has significant knowledge and expertise in something. For example, people usually use 「先⽣」 when directly addressing doctors or teachers (obviously). You can also include the person's last name such as 「⽥中先⽣」 (teacher Tanaka). In the case where your relationship with the person doesn't involve any title, you can use their name (usually their last name) attached with 「 」 to show politeness. If calling them by their last name seems a little too polite and distant, the practice of attaching 「 」 to their first name also exists. More endearing and colloquial versions of 「 」 include 「 」 and 「 」. 「 」 is usually attached to the name of males who are of equal or lower social position. (For example, my boss sometimes calls me 「 」). 「 」 is a very endearing way to refer to usually females of equal or lower social position. 4.2.3 Referring to others with "you" Please do not use 「あ 」 just like you would use the word "you" in English. In directly addressing people, there are three levels of politeness: 1) Using the person's name with the appropriate suffix, 2) Not using anything at all, 3) Using 「あ 」. In fact, by the time you get to three, you're dangerously in the area of being rude. Most of the time, you do not need to use anything at all because you are directly 93 4.2. ADDRESSING PEOPLE CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR addressing the person. Constantly pounding the listener with "you" every sentence sounds like you are accusing the person of something. 「あ 」 is also an old-fashioned way for women to refer to their husband or lover. Unless you are a middle-aged women with a Japanese husband, I doubt you will be using 「あ 」 in this fashion as well. Here is a list of some words meaning "you" in English. You will rarely need to use any of these words, especially the ones in the second half of the list. 1. あ - Generally only used when there is no way to physically address the person or know the person's name. For example, direct questions to the reader on a form that the reader must fill out would use 「あ 」. 2. 君【 】- Can be a very close and assuming way to address girls (especially by guys). Can also be kind of rude. 3. 前【 ・ え】- A very rough and coarse way to address someone. Usually used by guys and often changed to 「 え」. 4. あ - A very assuming and familiar way to address someone. The person using this is maybe miffed off about something. 5. ⼿前【 ・ え】- Very rude. Like 「 前」, to add extra punch, people will usually say it like, 「 〜〜」. Sounds like you want to beat someone up. I've only seen this one used in movies and comic books. In fact, if you try this on your friends, they will probably laugh at you and tell you that you've probably been reading too many comic books. 6. 貴様 【 ・ 】 - Very, very rude. Sounds like you want to take someone out. I've also only seen this one used in comic books. I only go over it so you can understand and enjoy comic books yourself! 4.2.4 Referring to others in third person Vocabulary 1. 彼【 2. 彼⼥【 】- he; boyfriend ・ 】- she; girlfriend 3. ー - girlfriend 4. ー - boyfriend You can use「彼」 and「彼⼥」for "he" and "she" respectively. Notice that 「彼」and「彼⼥」can also mean "boyfriend" and "girlfriend". So how can you tell which meaning is being used? Context, of course. For example, if someone asks, 「彼⼥ ？」 the person is obviously asking if she is your girlfriend because the question, "Is she she?" doesn't make any sense. Another less commonly used alternative is to say 「 ー 」 and 「 ー 」 for, well, I'm sure you can guess what they mean. 94 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.2. ADDRESSING PEOPLE 4.2.5 Referring to family members 1. ⺟【 2. 】- mother ⺟ 【 ・ 3. 両親【 う・ 4. ⽗【 5. あ・ 】- parents 】- father ⽗ 【 ・ 6. 妻【 う・ 【 ・ 】- wife (polite) 8. 夫【 】- husband 9. 主⼈【 ・ 10. 姉【あ 姉 12. 兄【あ 13. 】- father (polite) 】- wife 7. 奥 11. 】- mother (polite) 兄 】- husband 】- older sister 【 ・ え・ 】- older sister (polite) 】- older brother 【 ・ い・ 】- older brother (polite 14. 妹【い う 】- younger sister 15. 弟【 う 】- younger brother 16. 息⼦【 ・ 】- son 17. 娘【 】- daughter Referring to family members is a little more complicated than English. (It could be worse, try learning Korean!) For the purpose of brevity, (since this is a grammar guide and not a vocabulary guide) we will only go over the immediate family. In Japanese, you refer to members of other people's family more politely than your own. This is only when you are talking about members of your own family to others outside the family. For example, you would refer to your own mother as 「⺟」 to people outside your family but you might very well call her 「 ⺟ 」 at home within your own family. There is also a distinction between older and younger siblings. The following chart list some of the most common terms for family members. There may also be other possibilities not covered in this chart. 95 4.3. THE QUESTION MARKER Parents Mother Father Wife Husband Older Sister Older Brother Younger Sister Younger Brother Son Daughter CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Family member chart One's own family Someone else's family 両親 両親 ⺟ ⺟ ⽗ ⽗ 妻 奥 夫 主⼈ 姉 姉 兄 兄 妹 妹 弟 弟 息⼦ 息⼦ 娘 娘 Another word for wife,「家内」is often considered politically incorrect because the kanji used are "house" and "inside" which implies that wives belong in the home. Amen. (Just kidding) 4.3 The Question Marker （ 4.3.1 Questions in polite form Vocabulary 1. ⽥中【 ・ ⺟ 2. 3. 】- Tanaka (last name) 【 ・ あ・ - where 4. 鈴⽊【 5. ⺟【 ・ 】- Suzuki (last name) 】- mother 6. 買い物【 ・い・ 7. ⾏ 【い・ 8. 10. ⾷ 】(u-verb) - to go う・ 【 ・ 11. 13. 】- shopping - Italy 9. 料理【 12. 】- mother (polite) 】- cooking; cuisine; dish 】(ru-verb) - to eat - sorry (polite) - a little 腹【 ・ 】- stomach 96 ） CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 14. い 4.3. THE QUESTION MARKER い - full い - sorry (polite) 15. 16. - sorry The question marker is covered here because it is primarily used to clearly indicate a question in polite sentences. While it is entirely possible to express a question even in polite form using just intonation, the question marker is often attached to the very end of the sentence to indicate a question. The question marker is simply the hiragana character「 」and you don't need to add a question mark. For previously explained reasons, you must not use the declarative 「 」 with the question marker. Example 1 。 ⽥中 ： ⺟ Tanaka-san: Where is (your) mother? 鈴⽊ ：⺟ 買い物 ⾏ 。 Suzuki-san: (My) mother went shopping. Example 2 ： 料理 ⾷ ⾏ Kim-san: Go to eat Italian food? 鈴⽊ ： 。 、 腹 い Suzuki-san: Sorry. (My) stomach is a little full. 。 い 。 Here the question is actually being used as an invitation just like how in English we say, "Won't you come in for a drink?" 「 」 is a polite way of apologizing. Slightly less formal is 「 い」 while the casual version is simply 「 」. 4.3.2 The question marker in casual speech Vocabulary 1. - this sort of 2. 本当【 ・ う】- real 3. ⾷ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 4. - that sort of 97 4.3. THE QUESTION MARKER 5. あ CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) It makes sense to conclude that the question marker would work in exactly the same way in casual speech as it does in polite speech. However, this is not the case. The question marker 「 」 is usually not used with casual speech to make actual questions. It is often used to consider whether something is true or not. Depending on the context and intonation, it can also be used to make rhetorical questions or to express sarcasm. It can sound quite rough so you might want to be careful about using 「 」 for questions in the plain casual form. Examples 1. 本当 ⾷ ？ Do you think [he/she] will really eat this type of thing? 2. ！ 、あ Do I look like I would have something like that?! Instead of 「 」, real questions in casual speech are usually asked with the explanatory nothing at all except for a rise in intonation, as we have already seen in previous sections. 1. 本当 ⾷ ？ Are you really going to eat something like this? 2. 、あ ？ Do you have something like that? 4.3.3 「 」 used in relative clauses Vocabulary 1. 昨⽇【 う】- yesterday 2. 何【 】- what 3. ⾷ 【 ・ 4. 忘 【 5. 彼【 】(ru-verb) - to eat ・ 】(ru-verb) - to forget 】- he; boyfriend 6. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 7. 分 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to understand 8. 先⽣【 ・ い】- teacher 9. 学校【 ・ う】- school 98 particle or CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 10. ⾏ 【い・ 11. 教え 【 4.3. THE QUESTION MARKER 】(u-verb) - to go ・え 】(ru-verb) - to teach; to inform う - how 12. 13. 知 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to know Another use of the question marker is simply grammatical and has nothing to do with the politeness. A question marker attached to the end of a relative clause makes a mini-question inside a larger sentence. This allows the speaker to talk about the question. For example, you can talk about the question, "What did I eat today?" In the following examples, the question that is being considered is in red. 忘 。 1. 昨⽇何 ⾷ Forgot what I ate yesterday. 2. 彼 何 ⾔ 分 い。 Don't understand what he said. 3. 先⽣ 学校 ⾏ 教え い？ Won't you inform me whether teacher went to school? In sentences like example 3 where the question being considered has a yes/no answer, it is common (but not necessary) to attach 「 う 」 . This is roughly equivalent to saying, "whether or not" in English. You can also include the alternative as well to mean the same thing. う 知 い。 1. 先⽣ 学校 ⾏ Don't know whether or not teacher went to school. 2. 先⽣ 学校 ⾏ ⾏ 知 い。 Don't know whether teacher went to school or didn't. 4.3.4 Using question words Vocabulary 1. い い (i-adj) - tasty ー- cookie 2. 3. 全部【 4. ⾷ 】- everything 【 ・ 5. 誰【 6. 盗 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】- who 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to steal 99 4.3. THE QUESTION MARKER 7. 知 【 ・ 8. 犯⼈【 9. ⾒ 】(u-verb) - to know ・ 【 ・ 10. 】- criminal 】(ru-verb) - to see - this (abbr. of 11. 中【 12. 〜 13. 選 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR ) 】- inside (particle) - from 〜 【え ・ 】(u-verb) - to select While we're on the topic of questions, this is a good time to go over question words (where, who, what, etc.) and what they mean in various contexts. Take a look at what adding the question marker does to the meaning of the words. Question Words Word+Question Marker Meaning 誰 Someone 何 Something い Sometime Somewhere A certain one from many Examples As you can see by the following examples, you can treat these words just like any regular nouns. 1. 誰 い い ー 全部⾷ 。 Someone ate all the delicious cookies. 2. 誰 盗 、誰 知 。 Doesn't anybody know who stole it? 3. 犯⼈ ⾒ 。 Did you see the criminal somewhere? 4. 中 選 。 (Explaining) You are to select a certain one from inside this (selection). Question words with inclusive meaning Vocabulary 1. 全部【 ・ 】- everything 100 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 2. 皆【 】- everybody 3. 皆 【 4. ・ 】- everybody (polite) - this (abbr. of ) 5. 質問【 ・ 6. 答え【 ・え】- answer 7. 知 【 ・ 8. 友達【 9. 遅 】- question 】(u-verb) - to know ・ 【 】- friend ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be late 10. - here 11. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 12. 13. 4.3. THE QUESTION MARKER - restaurant い い (i-adj) - tasty 14. 今週末【 ・ 15. ⾏ 】(u-verb) - to go 【い・ う・ 】- this weekend The same question words in the chart above can be combined with 「 mean "nobody" (誰 ), "nothing" (何 ), "nowhere" ( ), etc. 」 in a negative sentence to 「誰 」 and 「何 」 are primarily used only for negative sentences. Curiously, there is no way to say "everything" with question words. Instead, it is conventional to use other words like 「全部」. And although 「誰 」 can sometimes be used to mean "everybody", it is customary to use 「皆」 or 「皆 」 The remaining three words 「い 」 (meaning "always") and 「 」 (meaning "any and all"), and 「 」 (meaning everywhere) can be used in both negative and positive sentences. Word+ 誰 何 い Inclusive Words Meaning Everybody/Nobody Nothing (negative only) Always Everywhere Any and all Examples 1. 質問 答え 、誰 知 い。 Nobody knows the answer of this question. 101 4.3. THE QUESTION MARKER CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 2. 友達 い 遅 。 Friend is always late. 3. い い。 あ Any and all restaurants that are here are not tasty. 4. 今週末 、 ⾏ Went nowhere this weekend. 。 (Grammatically, this 「 」 is the same as the topic particle 「 before the topic particle 「 」 in ordering.) 」 so the target particle 「 」 must go Question words to mean "any" Vocabulary 1. - this (abbr. of ) 2. 質問【 ・ 3. 答え【 ・え】- answer 4. 分 5. 昼 】- question 【 ・ 飯【 】(u-verb) - to understand ・ ・ 】- lunch 6. いい (i-adj) - good 7. あ - that (over there) (abbr. of あ 8. ⼈【 】- person 9. 本当【 10. ⾷ ) ・ 【 ・ う】- real 】(ru-verb) - to eat The same question words combined with 「 about is that 「何 」 is read as 「 」 can be used to mean "any". One thing to be careful 」 and not 「 」 Words for "Any" Word+ Meaning 誰 Anybody 何 Anything い Anytime Anywhere Whichever 102 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.4. COMPOUND SENTENCES Examples 1. 質問 答え 、誰 分 。 Anybody understands the answer of this question. いい 。 2. 昼 飯 、 About lunch, anywhere is good. 3. あ ⼈ 、本当 何 ⾷ 。 That person really eats anything. 4.4 Compound Sentences 、 、 、〜 （ ） -form、 、 、 、 In this section, we will learn various ways to combine multiple simple sentences into one complex sentence. For example, we will learn how to chain separate sentences together to express multiple actions or states. In other words, if we have two simple sentences with the same subject, "I ran" and "I ate", we will learn how to group them together to mean, "I ran and ate." We will also learn how to do this with adjectives and nouns. (Ex: He is rich, handsome, and charming.) 4.4.1 Expressing a sequence of states Vocabulary 1. ⼀般的【い ・ 2. 静 【 ・ ・ 】- in general 】(na-adj) - quiet 3. 狭い【 ・い】(i-adj) - narrow 4. 彼⼥【 ・ 】- she; girlfriend 5. いい (i-adj) - good 6. 私【 】- me; myself; I 7. 部屋【 ・ 8. い (na-adj) - pretty; clean 9. 10. 好 】- room - very 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - likable; desirable 11. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 12. 先⽣【 ・ い】- teacher 13. ⽥中【 ・ 】- Tanaka (last name) 103 4.4. COMPOUND SENTENCES 14. ⾦持 【 ・ ・ ・ CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 】- rich いい (i-adj) - cool; handsome 15. 16. 魅⼒的【 ・ ・ 】- charming It is very easy to combine a chain of nouns and adjectives to describe a person or object. For example, in English if we wanted to say, "He is X. He is Y. He is Z." since all three sentences have the same noun, we would usually say, "He is X, Y, and Z." In Japanese, we can do the same thing by conjugating the noun or adjective. The last noun or adjective remains the same as before. How to chain nouns and adjectives together • For nouns and na-adjectives: Attach 「 Examples 」 to the noun or na-adjective. 1. ⼀般的 → ⼀般的 2. 静 →静 • For i-adjectives and negative noun/adjectives: Replace the 「い」 with 「 」. . ฀For 「いい」 and 「 いい」, the 「い → 」 exception applies here as well. Examples 1. 狭い → 狭 2. 彼⼥ い → 彼⼥ 3. いい → Examples 、 好 1. 私 部屋 、 い 、静 My room is clean, quiet, and I like it a lot. 。 、先⽣ 。 2. 彼⼥ 、学⽣ She is not a student, she is a teacher. 3. ⽥中 、 ⾦持 、 、魅⼒的 。 Tanaka-san is rich, handsome, and charming, isn't he? As you can see, the 「 」 attached to 「 ⾦持 」 obviously cannot be the context particle 「 」 here because there is no verb. It might be helpful to think of 「 」 as merely a substitution for 「 」 that can be chained together. 104 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.4. COMPOUND SENTENCES 4.4.2 Expressing a sequence of verbs with the te-form Vocabulary 1. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 2. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 3. ⾷ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 4. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 5. (exception) - to do 6. 遊 【あ ・ 7. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to play 】(u-verb) - to drink 8. ⾷堂【 ・ う】- cafeteria 9. 昼 ・ ・ 飯【 10. 昼寝【 ・ 11. 時間【 ・ 12. あ 】- afternoon nap 】- time (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 13. 映画【えい・ 14. ⾒ 】- lunch 【 ・ 】- movie 】(ru-verb) - to see In a similar fashion, you can express multiple actions. It is usually interpreted as a sequence of event. (I did [X], then I did [Y], then I finally did [Z].) There are two forms: positive and negative. The tense of all the actions is determined by the tense of the last verb. How to chain verbs together • Positive: Conjugate the verb to its past tense and replace 「 」 with 「 . This is often called the te-form even though it could sometimes be 'de'. • Negative: Same as i-adjectives, replace 「い」 with 「 」. . 「 This rule also works for the polite 「 」 and 」 endings. Examples 1. 学⽣ → 学⽣ → 学⽣ 2. 買い → 買い → 買い 105 」 or 「 」 with 「 」 4.4. COMPOUND SENTENCES Past Tense ⾷ ⾏ 遊 飲 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Sample conjugations Te-form Negative ⾷ ⾷ い ⾏ ⾏ い い 遊 遊 い 飲 飲 い Te-form ⾷ ⾏ 遊 飲 Examples 、昼 飯 ⾷ 、昼寝 。 1. ⾷堂 ⾏ I will go to cafeteria, eat lunch, and take a nap. 2. ⾷堂 ⾏ 、昼 飯 ⾷ 、昼寝 。 I went to cafeteria, ate lunch, and took a nap. 3. 時間 あ 、映画 ⾒ 。 There was time and I watched a movie. 4.4.3 Expressing reason or causation using 「 Vocabulary 1. 時間【 ・ 2. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) ー 3. 】- time 4. ⾏ ー- party 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 5. 友達【 ・ 6. - present 7. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 8. ⽥中【 ・ 9. う 】- friend 】- Tanaka (last name) - why 10. ⼭⽥【 ・ 】- Yamada (last name) 11. ⼀郎【い ・ う】- Ichirou (first name) 12. 直⼦【 】- Naoko (first name) 13. 14. 忙 15. ・ - a little い【い ・ い】(i-adj) - busy - gradually; soon 106 」 and 「 」 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 16. 失礼【 17. ・ 4.4. COMPOUND SENTENCES い】- discourtesy (exception) - to do 18. 学⽣【 ・ 19. ⾦【 ・ 20. - here 21. 静 【 い】- student 】- money ・ 22. - very 23. 穏 【 】(na-adj) - quiet ・ 】(na-adj) - calm, peaceful 24. 会う【あ・う】(u-verb) - to meet You can connect two complete sentences using 「 」 to indicate a reason for something. The two sentences are always ordered [reason] [result]. When the reason is a non-conjugated noun or naadjective, you must add 「 」 to explicitly declare the reason in the form of 「(noun/na-adjective) 」 . If you forget to add the declarative 「 」 to 「 」 , it will end up sounding like the 「 」 meaning "from" which was first introduced in the section on particles, earlier. Examples 1. 時間 ー ー ⾏ There was no time so didn't go to party. 。 来 。 2. 友達 Present came from friend. 3. 友達 来 。 Present came because (the person is) friend. (This sentence sounds a bit odd.) Either the reason or the result can be omitted if it is clear from the context. In the case of polite speech, you would treat 「 」 just like a regular noun and add 「 」. Example 1 ⽥中 ： う ー ー ⾏ Tanaka-san: Why didn't you go to the party? 。 ⼭⽥ ：時間 。 Yamada-san: It's because I didn't have time. 107 4.4. COMPOUND SENTENCES CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Example 2 ⼀郎： ー ー ⾏ Ichiro: You didn't go to the party? ？ 直⼦：う 、時間 。 Naoko: Yeah, because I didn't have time. Example 3 When you omit the reason, you must include the declarative 「 」 or 「 」. 直⼦：時間 。 Naoko: I didn't have time. ー ー ⾏ ？ ⼀郎： Ichiro: Is that why you didn't go to the party? Notice that we could have also used the explanatory 「 」 to express the same thing. In other words, ⼭⽥ could have also said, 「時間 」 or 「時間 」 while 直⼦ could have said 「時間 」 (we'll assume she wants to use the more feminine form). In fact, this is where 「 」 possibly came from. Let's say you want to combine two sentences: 「時間 」 and 「 ー ー ⾏ 」. Remember we can treat the 「 」 just like a noun so we can use what we just learned in the first section of this lesson. 時間 becomes: 時間 ＋ ー ー ー ー ⾏ ⾏ 。 In fact, 「 」 is almost interchangeable with 「 」 with a few subtle differences. 「 」 explicitly states that the sentence preceding is the reason for something while 「 」 is merely putting two sentences together, the first with an explanatory tone. This is something I call causation where [X] happened, therefore [Y] happened. This is slightly different from 「 」 where [Y] happened explicitly because [X] happened. This difference tends to make 「 」 sound softer and slightly more polite and it is favored over「 」when explaining a reason for doing something that is considered discourteous. • 、 失礼 。 忙 い Because I'm a little busy, I'll be making my leave soon. (「失礼 」, which literally means "I'm doing a discourtesy", is commonly used as a polite way to make your leave or disturb someone's time.) Reminder: Don't forget that the explanatory 「 」 requires a 「 and na-adjectives. Review Particles 3 to see why. 108 」 for both non-conjugated nouns CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.4. COMPOUND SENTENCES 1. 私 学⽣ 、 ⾦ い 。 Because I'm a student, I have no money (lit: there is no money). 2. 、 穏 。 静 It is very calm here because it is quiet. 3. 、友達 会う時間 い。 That's why there's no time to meet friend. Just like how the explanatory 「 」 can be shortened to 「 」 , in speech, the 「 」 can be changed to 「 」 simply because it's easier to slur the sounds together rather than pronouncing the / o / syllable. 1. 時間 ー ー ⾏ 。 Didn't go to the party because there was no time. 2. 、 穏 。 静 It is very calm here because it is quiet. 3. 、友達 会う時間 い。 That's why there's no time to meet friend. 4.4.4 Using 「 」 to mean "despite" Vocabulary 1. 毎⽇【 い・ 2. 運動【う ・ 3. 】- everyday う】- exercise (exception) - to do 4. 全然【 5. 痩 ・ 【 ・ 】- not at all (when used with negative) 】(ru-verb) - to become thin 6. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 7. 彼⼥【 ・ 】- she; girlfriend 8. 勉強【 ・ う】- study Grammatically, 「 」 is used exactly the same way as 「 」. When used to combine two simple sentences together, it means "[Sentence 1] despite the fact that [Sentence 2]." However the order is reversed: [Sentence 2] [Sentence 1]. 109 4.4. COMPOUND SENTENCES CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Examples 1. 毎⽇運動 、全然痩 。 Despite exercising every day, I didn't get thinner. 、彼⼥ 勉強 い。 2. 学⽣ Despite being a student, she does not study. 4.4.5 Expressing contradiction using 「 」 and 「 Vocabulary 1. ー 2. ⾏ 【い・ 3. 何【 - department store ／ 4. 全然【 5. 欲 】(u-verb) - to go 】- what ・ 】- not at all (when used with negative) い【 ・ 6. 友達【 い】(i-adj) - desirable ・ 】- friend 7. 聞 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen 8. 知 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to know 9. 今⽇【 10. 暇【 う】- today 】- free 11. 明⽇【あ 12. 忙 】- tomorrow い【い 13. 彼【 (as in not busy) ・ い】(i-adj) - busy 】- he; boyfriend 14. - yet 15. 好 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - likable; desirable 16. いい (i-adj) - good 17. 物【 】- object 18. - a lot (amount) 19. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 20. ⾒ 【 ・ 21. ⾯⽩い【 】(ru-verb) - to see ・ ・い】(i-adj) - interesting 110 」 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.4. COMPOUND SENTENCES Used in the same manner as 「 」 and 「 」, 「 」 and 「 」 also connect two sentences together but this time to express a contradiction. Just like 「 」 the declarative 「 」 is required for nouns and na-adjectives. And just like 「 」 and 「 」, either part of the contradiction can be left out. Examples 1. 、何 欲 。 ー ⾏ I went to department store but there was nothing I wanted. 2. 友達 聞い 、知 。 I asked (or heard from) a friend but he (or I) didn't know. 、明⽇ 忙 い。 3. 今⽇ 暇 I'm free today but I will be busy tomorrow. 4. 、彼 好 。 That may be so, but it is that I still like him. [explanation, feminine tone] It may seem odd but 「聞 」 can either mean "to listen" or "to ask". You may think this may become confusing but the meaning is usually clear within context. In the second example, we're assuming that the friend didn't know, so the speaker was probably asking the friend. Yet again we see the importance of context in Japanese because this sentence can also mean, "I heard from a friend but I didn't know" since there is neither subject nor topic. Similar to the difference between 「 」 and 「 」, 「 」 has a softer tone and is slightly more polite than 「 」. Though this isn't a rule as such, it is generally common to see 「 」 attached to a 「〜 」 or 「〜 」 ending and 「 」 attached to a regular, plain ending. A more formal version of 「 」 is 「 」 and even more formal is 「 」, which we may see later when we cover formal expressions. Unlike the English word for contradiction such as "but" or "however", 「 」 and 「 」 do not always express a direct contradiction. Often times, especially when introducing a new topic, it is used as a general connector of two separate sentences. For example, in the following sentences, there is no actual contradiction but 「 」 and 「 」 are used simply to connect the sentences. Sometimes, the English "and" becomes a closer translation than "but". 1. ー ⾏ 、いい物 あ 。 I went to the department store and there was a lot of good stuff. 2. ⾒ 、⾯⽩ 。 I watched the "Matrix" and it was interesting. 111 4.4. COMPOUND SENTENCES CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.4.6 Expressing multiple reasons using 「 」 Vocabulary 1. う - why 2. 友達【 ・ 】- friend 3. 先⽣【 ・ い】- teacher 4. 年上【 ・うえ】- older 5. 彼【 】- he; boyfriend 6. 好 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - likable 7. 優 い【 ・ 8. い】(i-adj) - gentle; kind いい (i-adj) - cool; handsome 9. ⾯⽩い【 ・ ・ い】(i-adj) - interesting When you want to list reasons for multiple states or actions you can do so by adding 「 」 to the end of each relative clause. It is very similar to the 「 」 particle except that it lists reasons for verbs and state-of-being. Again, for states of being, 「 」 must be used to explicitly declare the state-of-being for any non-conjugated noun or na-adjective. Let's look at some examples. Example 1 Ａ： う 友達 い ？ A: Why isn't (he/she) friend [seeking explanation]? Ｂ：先⽣ 、年上 ・・・。 B: Well, he's/she's the teacher, and older... Example 2 Ａ： う 彼 好 ？ A: Why (do you) like him? いい 、⾯⽩い 。 Ｂ：優 い 、 B: Because he's kind, attractive, and interesting (among other things). Notice that 「優 、 difference between the 「 」 and 「 、 ⾯⽩い 」 particle, 「 112 。」 could also have worked but much like the 」 implies that there may be other reasons. CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.4. COMPOUND SENTENCES 4.4.7 Expressing multiple actions or states using 「〜 」 Vocabulary 1. (exception) - to do 2. ⾷ 3. 飲 【 ・ 【 ・ 4. 簡単【 5. 難 】(u-verb) - to drink ・ い【 【 ・ 8. 本【 9. 読 い】(i-adj) - difficult 】- movie 】(ru-verb) - to see 】- book 【 ・ 10. 昼寝【 11. 】(na-adj) - simple ・ 6. 映画【えい・ 7. ⾒ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】(u-verb) - to read ・ 】- afternoon nap - this (abbr. of ) 12. ⼤学【 い・ 】- college 13. 授業【 ・ う】- class This is the verb version of the 「 」 particle. You can make an example list of verbs among a possible larger list by conjugating each verb into the past tense and adding 「 」. At the end, you need to attach the verb 「 」. Just like the 「 」 particle, the tense is determined by the last verb, which in this case will always be 「 」 (since you have to attach it at the end). You can also use this with the state-of-being to say that you are a number of things at various random times among a larger list. Similar to regular verbs, you just take the noun or adjective for each state-ofbeing and conjugate it to the past state-of-being and then attach 「 」. Then finally, attach 「 」 at the end. Rules for stating a list of verbs among a larger list using 「〜 」 • For verbs: Conjugate each verb to the past tense and add 「 」. Finally, add 「 」 at the very end. Example ⾷ 、飲 → ⾷ 、飲 →⾷ 、飲 →⾷ 、飲 . • For state-of-being: Conjugate the noun or adjective for each state-of-being to the past tense and add 「 」. Finally, add 「 」 at the very end. Example 簡単、難 い → 簡単 、難 → 簡単 、難 → 簡単 、難 113 4.5. OTHER USES OF THE TE-FORM CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 1. 映画 ⾒ 、本 読 、昼寝 。 I do things like (among other things) watch movies, read books, and take naps. 2. 、難 。 ⼤学 授業 簡単 Class of this college is sometimes easy, sometimes difficult (and other times something else maybe). As you can see, the tense and negative/positive state is controlled by the last 「 」. 1. 映画 ⾒ 、本 読 。 I did things like (among other things) watch movies, and read books. い。 2. 映画 ⾒ 、本 読 I don't do things like (among other things) watch movies, and read books. 3. 映画 ⾒ 、本 読 。 I didn't do things like (among other things) watch movies, and read books. 4.5 Other uses of the te-form （〜 、〜 い 、〜 ） い 、〜 あ 、〜 The te-form is incredibly useful as it is used widely in many different types of grammatical expressions. We will learn about enduring states with the 「〜 い 」 and 「〜 あ 」 form. Even though we have learned various conjugations for verbs, they have all been one-time actions. We will now go over how one would say, for example, "I am running." We will also learn how to perform an action for the future using the 「〜 」 expression and to express directions of actions using 「〜 い 」 and 「〜 」. 4.5.1 Using 「〜 い 」 for enduring states Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 2. 読 【 ・ 【 ・ 3. 友達【 4. 何【 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】(u-verb) - to read ・ 】- friend 】- what 5. (exception) - to do 6. 昼 飯【 7. 教科書【 8. 話【 ・ ・ う・ 】- lunch ・ 】- textbook 】- story 114 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 9. 聞 【 ・ 10. うう 4.5. OTHER USES OF THE TE-FORM 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen - casual word for "no" (nah, uh-uh) We already know how to express a state-of-being using 「 」, 「 」, etc. However, it only indicates a one-time thing; you are something or not. This grammar, however, describes a continuing state of an action verb. This usually translates to the progressive form in English except for a few exceptions, which we will examine later. We can make good use of the te-form we learned in the last section because the only thing left to do is add 「い 」! You can then treat the result as a regular ru-verb. This 「い 」 is the same ru-verb describing existence, first described in the negative verb section. However, in this case, you don't have to worry about whether the subject is animate or inanimate. Using 「〜 い 」for enduring states To describe a continuing action, first conjugate the verb to the te-form and then attach the verb「い 」. The entire result conjugates as a ru-verb. Examples 1. ⾷ 2. 読 →⾷ →読 →⾷ →読 い . い The result conjugates as a ru-verb regardless of what the original verb is Positive Negative Non-Past 読 い reading 読 い いis not reading Past 読 い was reading 読 い was not reading Example 1 Ａ：友達 何 い A: What is friend doing? ？ い 。 Ｂ：昼 飯 ⾷ B: (Friend) is eating lunch. Note that once you've changed it into a regular ru-verb, you can do all the normal conjugations. The examples below show the masu-form and plain negative conjugations. Example 2 Ａ：何 読 い ？ A: What are you reading? 115 4.5. OTHER USES OF THE TE-FORM CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Ｂ：教科書 読 い 。 B: I am reading textbook. Example 3 。 Ａ：話 聞い い A: Are you listening to me? (lit: Are you listening to story?) Ｂ：うう 、聞い い い。 B: No, I'm not listening. Since people are usually too lazy to roll their tongues to properly pronounce the 「い」, it is often omitted in conversational Japanese. If you are writing an essay or paper, you should always include the 「い」. Here are the abbreviated versions of the previous examples. Example 4 ？ Ａ：友達 何 A: What is friend doing? Ｂ：昼 飯 ⾷ 。 B: (Friend) is eating lunch. Example 5 Ａ：何 読 ？ A: What are you reading? い 。 Ｂ：教科書 読 B: I am reading textbook. Example 6 Ａ：話 聞い い 。 A: Are you listening to me? (lit: Are you listening to story?) い。 Ｂ：うう 、聞い B: No, I'm not listening. Notice how I left the 「い」 alone for the polite forms. Though people certainly omit the 「い」 even in polite form, you might want to get used to the proper way of saying things first before getting carried 116 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.5. OTHER USES OF THE TE-FORM away with casual abbreviations. You will be amazed at the extensive types of abbreviations that exist in casual speech. (You may also be amazed at how long everything gets in super polite speech.) Basically, you will get the abbreviations if you just act lazy and slur everything together. Particles also get punted off left and right. For example: 1. 何 い 2. 何 い ？(Those particles are such a pain to say all the time...) 3. 何 ？(Ugh, I hate having to spell out all the vowels.) ？(Ah, perfect.) 4.5.2 Enduring state-of-being vs enduring state of action Vocabulary 1. 知 【 ・ 2. 分 【 ・ 3. 今⽇【 4. 】(u-verb) - to know う】- today - this (abbr. of 5. 歌【う 】- song 6. 道【 】- road 7. 】(u-verb) - to understand ) い - yes (polite) There are certain cases where an enduring state doesn't translate into the progressive form. In fact, there is an ambiguity in whether one is in a state of doing an action versus being in a state that resulted from some action. This is usually decided by context and common practices. For example, although 「結婚 い 」 can technically mean someone is in a chapel currently getting married, it is usually used to refer to someone who is already married and is currently in that married state. We'll now discuss some common verbs that often cause this type of confusion for learners of Japanese. 「知 」 「知 」 means "to know". English is weird in that "know" is supposed to be a verb but is actually describing a state of having knowledge. Japanese is more consistent and 「知 」 is just a regular action verb. In other words, I "knowed" (action) something and so now I know it (state). That's why the English word "to know" is really a continuing state in Japanese, namely: 「知 い 」. 117 4.5. OTHER USES OF THE TE-FORM 「知 」 vs 「分 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 」 「分 」 meaning "to understand" may seem similar to 「知 」 in some cases. However, there is a difference between "knowing" and "understanding". Try not to confuse 「知 い 」 with 「分 い 」. 「分 い 」 means that you are already in a state of understanding, in other words, you already get it. If you misuse this, you may sound pompous. ("Yeah, yeah, I got it already.") On the other hand, 「知 い 」 simply means you know something. Examples 。 1. 今⽇、知 I found out about it today. (I did the action of knowing today.) 2. 歌 知 い ？ Do (you) know this song? 。 3. 道 分 Do you know the way? (lit: Do (you) understand the road?) 4. い、 い、分 、分 Yes, yes, I got it, I got it. 、来 Motion Verbs (⾏ 。 、etc.) Vocabulary 1. 鈴⽊【 2. 3. ・ - where う - already 4. 家【1) う 5. 帰 【 6. 先【 7. ⾏ 】- Suzuki (last name) ; 2) いえ】- 1) one's own home; 2) house え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home 】- before 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 8. 美恵【 ・え】- Mie (first name) 9. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come It is reasonable to assume the actions 「⾏ い 」 and 「来 い 」 would mean, "going" and "coming" respectively. But unfortunately, this is not the case. The 「〜 い 」 form of motion verbs is more like a sequence of actions we saw in the last section. You completed the motion, and now you exist in that state. (Remember, 「い 」 is the verb of existence of animate objects.) It might help to think of it as two separate and successive actions: 「⾏ 」、and then 「い 」. 118 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.5. OTHER USES OF THE TE-FORM Examples 1. 鈴⽊ 。 Where is Suzuki-san? 2. い 。 う、家 帰 He is already at home (went home and is there now). い 。 3. 先 ⾏ I'll go on ahead. (I'll go and be there before you.) 。 4. 美恵 、 う来 い Mie-chan is already here, you know. (She came and is here.) 4.5.3 Using 「〜 あ 」 for resultant states Vocabulary 1. 準備【 ・ 2. う - how 3. う - already 】- preparations 4. (exception) - to do 5. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 6. 旅⾏【 ・ う】- travel 7. 計画【 い・ 】- plans 8. 終 9. う 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to end - casual word for "yes" (yeah, uh-huh) 10. 切符【 ・ 】- ticket 11. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 12. - hotel 13. 予約【 ・ 】- reservation Appropriately enough, just like there is an 「あ 」 to go with 「い 」, there is a 「〜 あ 」 form that also has a special meaning. By replacing 「い 」 with 「あ 」, instead of a continuing action, it becomes a resultant state after the action has already taken place. Usually, this expression is used to explain that something is in a state of completion. The completed action also carries a nuance of being completed in preparation for something else. Since this grammar describes the state of a completed action, it is common to see the 「 particles instead of the 「 」 particle. 119 」 and 「 」 4.5. OTHER USES OF THE TE-FORM CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Example 1 Ａ：準備 う 。 A: How are the preparations? Ｂ：準備 、 う あ 。 B: The preparations are already done. Example 2 Ａ：旅⾏ 計画 終 ？ A: Are the plans for the trip complete? あ 。 Ｂ：う 、切符 買 、 予約 B: Uh huh, not only did I buy the ticket, I also took care of the hotel reservations. 4.5.4 Using the 「〜 」 form as preparation for the future Vocabulary 1. 晩 飯【 ・ ・ 】- dinner 2. 作 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to make 3. 電池【 ・ 】- battery 4. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy While 「〜 あ 」 carries a nuance of a completed action in preparation for something else, 「〜 」 explicitly states that the action is done (or will be done) with the future in mind. Imagine this: you have made a delicious pie and you're going to place it on the window sill for it to cool so that you can eat it later. This image might help explain why the verb 「 」 (置 ), meaning "to place", can be used to describe a preparation for the future. (It's just too bad that pies on window sills always seem to go through some kind of mishap especially in cartoons.) While 「置 」 by itself is written in kanji, it is customary to use hiragana when it comes attached to a conjugated verb (such as the te-form). Examples 1. 晩 飯 作 。 Make dinner (in advance for the future). 2. 電池 買 。 I'll buy batteries (in advance for the future). 120 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 「 4.5. OTHER USES OF THE TE-FORM 」 is also sometimes abbreviated to 「〜 」 for convenience. 。 1. 晩 飯 作 Make dinner (in advance for the future). 。 2. 電池 買 I'll buy batteries (in advance for the future). 4.5.5 Using motion verbs (⾏ 、来 ) with the te-form Vocabulary 1. え - pencil 2. 持 【 ・ 3. い (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 4. 学校【 5. ⾏ ・ う】- school 【い・ 6. 家【1) う 7. 来 8. 】(u-verb) - to hold 】(u-verb) - to go ; 2) いえ】- 1) one's own home; 2) house 【 ・ ⽗ 【 ・ 9. 早い【 10. 帰 う・ え・ 11. 駅【え 12. ⽅【 】(u-verb) - to go home 】- station う】- direction, way 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to run 14. 冬【 】- winter 15. ⼊ い・ 【 ー 16. 】- father (polite) ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 【 13. ⾛ 】(exception) - to come 】(u-verb) - to enter 17. 着 - coat 【 ・ 18. 増え 】(ru-verb) - to wear 【 ・え 】(ru-verb) - to increase 19. ⼀⽣懸命【い ・ 20. 頑張 【 ・ 21. ⾊々【い ・い う・ ・ ・ い】- with all one's might 】(u-verb) - to try one's best 】(na-adj) - various 121 4.5. OTHER USES OF THE TE-FORM 22. ⼈【 23. 付 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 】- person 合う【 ・ ・あ・う】(u-verb) - to go out with; to keep in company with 24. いい (i-adj) - good 25. - yet 26. ⾒ 【 ・ 27. ⽇本語【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to be found ・ 】- Japanese (language) 28. - long; far 29. 前【 え】- front; before 30. 勉強【 31. ・ う】- study (exception) - to do 32. 結局【 33. ・ 】- eventually (ru-verb) - to stop; to quit You can also use the motion verbs "to go" (⾏ )and "to come" (来 ) with the te-form, to show that an action is oriented toward or from someplace. The most common and useful example of this is the verb 「持 」(to hold). While「持 い 」means you are in a state of holding something (in possession of), when the 「い 」 is replaced with 「い 」 or 「 」, it means you are taking or bringing something. Of course, the conjugation is the same as the regular 「⾏ 」 and 「来 」. Examples い ？ 1. え 持 Do (you) have a pencil? 2. 鉛筆 学校 持 い ？ Are (you) taking pencil to school? 3. 鉛筆 家 持 ？ Are (you) bringing pencil to home? For these examples, it may make more sense to think of them as a sequence of actions: hold and go, or hold and come. Here are a couple more examples. 1. ⽗ 、早 帰 Father came back home early. 。 い 。 2. 駅 ⽅ ⾛ Went running toward the direction of station. 122 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.6. POTENTIAL FORM The motion verbs can also be used in time expressions to move forward or come up to the present. 。 1. 冬 ⼊ 、 ー 着 い ⼈ 増え い Entering winter, people wearing coat will increase (toward the future). い ！ 2. ⼀⽣懸命、頑張 Will try my hardest (toward the future) with all my might! 3. ⾊々 ⼈ 付 合 、いい⼈ ⾒ い。 Went out (up to the present) with various types of people but a good person hasn't been found yet. 4. ⽇本語 前 勉強 、結局 。 Studied Japanese from way back before and eventually quit. 4.6 Potential Form 4.6.1 Expressing the ability to do something In Japanese, the ability to do a certain action is expressed by conjugating the verb rather than adding a word such as the words "can" or "able to" in the case of English. All verbs conjugated into the potential form become a ru-verb. 4.6.2 The Potential Form Vocabulary 1. ⾒ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to see 2. 遊 【あ ・ 3. (exception) - to do 4. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 5. 出来 【 ・ 6. ⾷ 【 ・ 7. 着 【 ・ 8. 信 【 9. 寝 【 ・ 10. 起 11. 出 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】(ru-verb) - to wear ・ 】(ru-verb) - to believe 】(ru-verb) - to sleep 【 ・ 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to play 】(ru-verb) - to wake; to occur 】(ru-verb) - to come out 123 4.6. POTENTIAL FORM 12. 掛 【 ・ 13. 調 【 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 】(ru-verb) - to hang ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to investigate 14. 話 【 】(u-verb) - to speak 15. 書 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to write 16. 待 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to wait 17. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink 18. 取 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to take 19. 死 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to die 20. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 21. 漢字【 ・ 】- Kanji 22. 残念【 ・ 】(na-adj) - unfortunate 23. 今週末【 ・ 24. ⾏ 】(u-verb) - to go 25. 【い・ う・ 】- this weekend う - already Once again, the conjugation rules can be split into three major groups: ru-verbs, u-verbs, and exception verbs. However, the potential form of the verb 「 」 (meaning "to do") is a special exception because it becomes a completely different verb: 「 」 (出来 ) Rules for creating potential form • For ru-verbs: Replace the 「 Example: ⾒ → ⾒ 」 with 「 」. • For u-verbs: Change the last character from a / u / vowel sound to the equivalent / e / vowel sound and add 「 」. Example: 遊 → 遊 → 遊 . • Exceptions: 1. 「 」 becomes 「 2. 「 」 becomes 「 」 」 ฀Remember that all potential verbs become ru-verbs. 124 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Sample ru-verbs Plain Potential ⾷ ⾷ 着 着 信 信 寝 寝 起 起 出 出 掛 掛 調 調 4.6. POTENTIAL FORM Sample u-verbs Plain Potential 話 話 書 書 遊 遊 待 待 飲 飲 取 取 死 死 買う 買え Exception Verbs Plain Potential It is also possible to just add 「 」 instead of the full 「 」 for ru-verbs. For example, 「⾷ 」 becomes 「⾷ 」 instead of 「⾷ 」 . I suggest learning the official 「 」 conjugation first because laziness can be a hard habit to break and the shorter version, though common, is considered to be slang. Examples 1. 漢字 書 ？ Can you write kanji? 2. 残念 、今週末 ⾏ い。 It's unfortunate, but can't go this weekend. 3. い。 う信 I can't believe it already. 4.6.3 Potential forms do not have direct objects Vocabulary 1. 富⼠⼭【 ・ ・ 2. 登 】(u-verb) - to climb 【 3. 重い【 ・ ・い】(i-adj) - heavy 4. 荷物【 ・ 5. 持 】- Mt. Fuji 【 ・ 】- baggage 】(u-verb) - to hold The potential form indicates that something is possible but no actual action is actually taken. While the potential form remains a verb, since it is describing the state of something you must not use the direct object 「 」 as you have done with regular verbs. For example the following sentences are incorrect. 1. 富⼠⼭ 登 。 125 4.6. POTENTIAL FORM 2. 重い荷物 持 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 。 Here are the corrected versions: 。 1. 富⼠⼭ 登 Was able to climb Fuji-san. 。 2. 重い荷物 持 Am able to hold heavy baggage. 4.6.4 Are 「⾒え 」 and 「聞 え 」 exceptions? Vocabulary 1. ⾒え 2. 聞 【 ・え え 【 ・ 3. 今⽇【 4. 晴 】(ru-verb) - to be visible え う】- today 【 ・ 5. 富⼠⼭【 ・ 6. 友達【 7. 】(ru-verb) - to be audible 】(ru-verb) - to be sunny ・ ・ 】- Mt. Fuji 】- friend - thanks to 8. 映画【えい・ 9. 】- movie - free of charge; only 10. ⾒ 【 ・ 11. - event, matter 12. 出来 】(ru-verb) - to see 【 ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 13. 久 【 ・ 】- after a long time 14. 彼【 】- he; boyfriend 15. 声【 え】- voice 16. 聞 【 ・ 17. 周 【 18. う 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen ・ 】- surroundings い (i-adj) - noisy 19. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 20. あ ／あ - not very (when used with negative) 126 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.6. POTENTIAL FORM There are two verbs 「⾒え 」 and 「聞 え 」 that mean that something is visible and audible, respectively. When you want to say that you can see or hear something, you'll want to use these verbs. If however, you wanted to say that you were given the opportunity to see or hear something, you would use the regular potential form. However, in this case, it is more common to use the type of expression as seen in example 3. Examples 1. 今⽇ 晴 、富⼠⼭ ⾒え 。 (It) cleared up today and Fuji-san is visible. 2. 友達 、映画 ⾒ 。 Thanks to (my) friend, (I) was able to watch the movie for free. 3. 友達 、映画 ⾒ 。 Thanks to (my) friend, (I) was able to watch the movie for free. You can see that example 3 uses the generic noun for an event to say literally, "The event of seeing movie was able to be done." which essentially means the same thing as 「⾒ 」. You can also just use generic noun substitution to substitute for 「 」. 1. 友達 、映画 。 ⾒ Here's some more examples using「聞 」, can you tell the difference? Notice that「聞 means "audible" and never "able to ask". 1. 久 彼 声 聞 。 I was able to hear his voice for the first time in a long time. 2. 周 う 、彼 ⾔ い あ 聞 え 。 The surroundings were noisy and I couldn't hear what he was saying very well. 4.6.5 「あ 」, yet another exception Vocabulary 1. - that sort of 2. - event, matter 3. 有 得 4. 彼【 【あ・ ・え・ ／あ・ ・う・ 】(ru-verb) - to possibly exist 】- he; boyfriend 5. 寝坊【 ・ う】- oversleep 127 え 」always 4.7. USING AND WITH THE 6. (exception) - to do 7. - that 8. 話【 PARTICLE CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 】- story You can say that something has a possibility of existing by combining 「あ 」 and the verb 「得 」 to produce 「あ 得 」. This essentially means 「あ 」 except that nobody actually says that, they just use 「あ 得 」. This verb is very curious in that it can be read as either 「あ う 」 or 「あ え 」, however; all the other conjugations such as 「あ え い」、「あ え 」、and 「あ え 」 only have one possible reading using 「え」. Examples 1. あ う 。 That kind of situation/event is possible (lit: can exist). 2. あ え 。 That kind of situation/event is possible (lit: can exist). 3. あ え い。 That kind of situation/event is not possible (lit: cannot exist). 4. 彼 寝坊 あ う 。 It's also possible that he overslept. (lit: The event that he overslept also possibly exists.) 5. 4.7 。 、あ え い話 That's an impossible story/scenario. (lit: That story/scenario cannot exist.) Using ／ ） and with the particle （〜 [ う] We can use the verbs 「 」 and 「 」 in conjunction with the 「 」 particle to make various useful expressions. We are used to using the object particle with 「 」 because something is usually done to something else. We will see how the meaning changes when we change the particle to 「 」. As for 「 」, it is always used with the 「 」 particle because "becoming" is not an action done to something else but rather a target of change. The only grammatical point of interest here is using 「 」 with i-adjectives and verbs. 4.7.1 Using 「 」 and 「 」 for nouns and na-adjectives Vocabulary 1. 彼【 】- he; boyfriend 128 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.7. USING 2. ⽇本語【 ・ ・ 3. 上⼿【 】(na-adj) - skillful 4. う・ 】- me, myself, I 】- doctor 7. 有名【 う・ い】(na-adj) - famous 8. ⼈【 】- person 11. PARTICLE 】- Japanese (language) 6. 医者【い・ 10. WITH THE (u-verb) - to become 5. 私【 9. AND ー ー- hamburger - salad (exception) - to do 12. 他【 】- other 13. いい (i-adj) - good 14. 物【 】- object 15. - a lot (amount) 16. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 17. ／ 18. - this - as I thought As already explained, using 「 much the way you'd expect. 」 with nouns and na-adjectives presents nothing new and acts pretty 。 1. 彼 ⽇本語 上⼿ His Japanese has become skillful. 。 2. 私 医者 I became a doctor. 3. 私 有名 ⼈ 。 I will become a famous person. For adjectives, using the verb 「 」 with the 「 」 particle is just a review back to the lesson on adverbs. However, for nouns, when you use the verb 「 」 with the 「 」 particle, it means that you are going to do things toward something. This changes the meaning of 「 」 to mean, "to decide on [X]". This is a common expression to use, for instance, when you are ordering items on a menu. 1. 私 、 ー ー 。 I'll have the hamburger and salad. (lit: I'll do toward hamburger and salad.) 129 4.7. USING AND WITH THE PARTICLE CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 2. 他 いい あ 、 。 There are a lot of other good things, but as I thought, I'll go with this one. If you think this expression is strange, think about the English expression, "I'll go with the hamburger." Exactly where are you going with the hamburger? 4.7.2 Using 「 」 with i-adjectives Vocabulary 1. 去年【 ・ 】- last year 2. 〜 (particle) - from 〜 3. 背【 】- height 4. ⾼い【 5. ・い】(i-adj) - high; tall; expensive (u-verb) - to become 6. 運動【う ・ 7. う】- exercise (exception) - to do 8. 〜 9. 強い【 10. 勉強【 11. 12. 頭【あ (particle) - 〜 so ・い】(i-adj) - strong ・ う】- study - a lot (amount) 】- head 13. いい (i-adj) - good Because the 「 」 particle is a target particle that is used for nouns and by extension na-adjectives, we need to use something else to show that something is becoming an i-adjective. Since "becoming" expresses a change in state, it makes sense to describe this process using an adverb. In fact, you'll notice that we were already using adverbs (of a sort) in the previous section by using 「 」 with na-adjectives. 。 1. 去年 背 ⾼ Your height has gotten taller from last year, huh? 2. 運動 い 、強 。 I will become stronger because I am exercising. 3. 勉強 、頭 。 Since I studied a lot, I became smarter. (lit: head became better) 130 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.7. USING 4.7.3 Using 「 」 and 「 AND WITH THE PARTICLE 」 with verbs Vocabulary 1. 海外【 い・ い】- overseas 2. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 3. - event, matter 4. (u-verb) - to become 5. 毎⽇【 い・ 6. ⾁【 】- meat 7. ⾷ 】- everyday 【 ・ 8. 】(ru-verb) - to eat (exception) - to do 9. ⽇本【 ・ 10. 来 】- Japan 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 11. 寿司【 】- sushi 12. ⼀年間【い ・ 13. 練習【 14. 15. 弾 ・ 】- span of 1 year う】- practice - piano 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to play (piano, guitar) 16. 地下【 ・ 17. ⼊ ・ 【 】- underground い・ 18. 富⼠⼭【 ・ 19. ⾒え 】(u-verb) - to enter ・ 【 ・え 】- Mt. Fuji 】(ru-verb) - to be visible You may be wondering how to use 「 」 and 「 」 with verbs since there's no way to directly modify a verb with another verb. The simple solution is to add a generic noun such as a generic event: (事) or an appearance/manner: う (様). These nouns don't refer to anything specific and are used to describe something else. In this case, they allow us to describe verbs in the same manner as nouns. Here are some examples of how to use these generic nouns with 「 」 and 「 」. 1. 海外 ⾏ 。 It's been decided that I will go abroad. (lit: It became the event of going abroad.) う 。 2. 毎⽇、⾁ ⾷ It became so that I eat meat everyday. (lit: It became the appearance of eating meat everyday.) 131 4.8. CONDITIONALS CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 3. 海外 ⾏ 。 I decided I will go abroad. (lit: I did toward the event of going abroad.) う 。 4. 毎⽇、⾁ ⾷ I will try to eat meat everyday. (lit: I will do toward the manner of eating meat everyday.) You can modify a verb with「 」or「 」by first making it into a noun clause and then treating it just like a regular noun. Pretty clever, huh? I hope the literal translations give you a sense of why the example sentences mean what they do. For instance, in the fourth example, 「〜 う 」 translates into "to make an effort toward..." but in Japanese, it's really only a target towards acting in a certain manner. Since potential verbs describe a state of feasibility rather than an action (remember, that's why the 「 」 particle couldn't be used), it is often used in conjunction with 「〜 う 」 to describe a change in manner to a state of feasibility. Let's take this opportunity to get some potential conjugation practice in. う 。 1. ⽇本 来 、寿司 ⾷ After coming to Japan, I became able to eat sushi. 2. ⼀年間練習 、 弾 う 。 Because I practiced for one year, I became able to play the piano. 。 3. 地下 ⼊ 、富⼠⼭ ⾒え After going underground, Fuji-san became not visible. 4.8 Conditionals （ 、 、 、 ） 4.8.1 How to say "if" in Japanese This whole section is dedicated to learning how to say "if" in Japanese. Oh, if only it was as simple as English. In Japanese, there's four (count them, four) ways to say "if"! Thankfully, the conjugations are sparse and easy especially since you don't have to deal with tenses. 4.8.2 Expressing natural consequence using 「 Vocabulary 1. ー - ball 2. 落 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drop 3. 落 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to fall 4. 電気【 ・ 】- electricity; (electric) light 132 」 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 5. 消 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to erase 6. 暗い【 ・い】(i-adj) - dark 7. 学校【 ・ 8. ⾏ う】- school 【い・ 9. 友達【 4.8. CONDITIONALS 】(u-verb) - to go ・ 】- friend 10. 会う【あ・う】(u-verb) - to meet 11. - a lot (amount) 12. 太 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to become fatter 13. 先⽣【 ・ い】- teacher 14. - for sure 15. 年上【 ・うえ】- older We'll first cover the simplest type of "if" which is the natural consequence conditional. This means that if [X] happens, [Y] will happen as a natural consequence. No question about it. If I drop a ball, it will fall to the ground. If I turn off the lights at night, it will get dark. We can express this type of condition in the following format. Rules for using the conditional 「 」 1. Attach 「 」 to the condition followed by the result that would occur should the condition be satisfied . = [Condition] + + [Result] 2. State-of-being must be made explicit = [State-of-being] + + [Result] Examples 1. ー 落 落 。 If you drop the ball, it will fall. 暗 。 2. 電気 消 If you turn off the lights, it will get dark. These examples are designed to show how 「 」 is used to express natural consequence. However, even if the statement isn't a natural consequence in itself, the 「 」 will tell the audience that it is nevertheless expected to be a natural consequence. 133 4.8. CONDITIONALS CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 1. 学校 ⾏ い 友達 会え い 。 If you don't go to school, you can't meet your friends. 2. 太 。 ⾷ If you eat a lot, you will get fat, for sure. 3. 先⽣ 、 年上 い ？ If he's a teacher, he must be older for sure, right? The "for sure" part is the implied meaning supplied by the「 」. The speaker is saying that the following condition will occur in that situation, no matter what. As you can see from the last example, if the condition is a state-of-being, it must be expressed so explicitly using 「 」 . This applies to all non-conjugated nouns and na-adjectives as I'm sure you're used to by now. This will also help prevent confusion with other types of 「 」. 4.8.3 Contextual conditionals using 「 ( )」 Vocabulary 1. 皆【 2. ⾏ 】- everybody 【い・ 3. 私【 】(u-verb) - to go 】- me, myself, I 4. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 5. 問題【 6. あ ・ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 7. 図書館【 ・ 8. あ い】- problem ・ 】- library - over there Another relatively easy to understand type of "if" is the contextual conditional. You can use this particle to express what will happen given a certain context. For example, if you wanted to say, "Well, if everybody's going, I'm going too" you would use the 「 」 conditional because you are saying that you will go in the context of everybody else going. The contextual conditional always requires a context in which the conditional occurs. For instance, you would use it for saying things like, "If that's what you are talking about..." or "If that's the case, then..." In a sense, you are explaining what would occur if you assume a certain condition is satisfied. In other words, you are saying "if given a certain context, here is what will happen." You will see this reflected in the English translations as the phrase "if given" in the examples. The 「 」 is attached to the context in which the conditional occurs. The format is the same as the 「 」 conditional, however, you must not attach the declarative 「 」. 134 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.8. CONDITIONALS Rules for using the contextual conditional 「 」 1. Attach 「 」 to the context in which the conditional would occur . = [Assumed Context] + + [Result] 2. You must not attach the declarative 「 」. Examples 1. ⾏ 私 ⾏ 。 If given that everybody is going, then I'll go too. 2. 問題 い 。 ⾔う If given that Alice-san says so, there's no problem. Example Dialogue ：図書館 Alice: Where is the library? 。 ：図書館 、あ 。 Bob: If given that you're talking about the library, then it's over there. The following is incorrect. あ • 図書館 。 You can also decide to use 「 」 instead of just 「 except that it has a more formal nuance. 4.8.4 General conditionals using 「 Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 2. 待 3. 4. あ 【 ・ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】(u-verb) - to wait い (i-adj) - funny (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 135 」 」 . This means exactly the same thing 4.8. CONDITIONALS 5. 学⽣【 6. 暇【 ・ CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR い】- student 】- free 7. 友達【 (as in not busy) ・ 】- friend 8. 会う【あ・う】(u-verb) - to meet 9. 買い物【 ・い・ 10. ⾏ 11. 【い・ 】- shopping 】(u-verb) - to go ⾦【 ・ 】- money 12. いい (i-adj) - good 13. 楽 い【 ・ い】(i-adj) - fun 14. 私【 】- me; myself; I 15. 病気【 う・ 16. 】- disease; sickness (u-verb) - to become The next type of conditional just expresses a regular "if" condition without any assumptions or embedded meanings. The conjugation rules for the 「 」 conditional is below. Note, the conjugation rule for nouns and na-adjectives is actually using the verb 「あ 」 in 「 あ 」, a formal expression we'll learn much later. Conjugation Rules for 「 」 • For verbs: Change the last /u/ vowel sound to the equivalent /e/ vowel sound and attach 「 Examples 1. ⾷ ⾷ → 2. 待 待 → →⾷ →待 • For i-adjectives or negatives ending in 「 Examples い 1. 2. い → • For nouns and na-adjectives: Attach 「 Examples 2. 暇 い」: Drop the last 「い」 and attach 「 . → 1. 学⽣ 学⽣ → → 暇 」 あ あ あ 136 」 」. CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.8. CONDITIONALS Examples 1. 友達 会え 、買い物 ⾏ 。 If I can meet with my friend, we will go shopping. 2. いい 。 ⾦ あ If I had money, it would be good, huh? 3. 楽 、私 ⾏ If it's fun, I'll go too. 。 4. 楽 、私 ⾏ い。 If it's not fun, I'll also not go. 病気 。 5. ⾷ If you don't eat, you will become sick. 4.8.5 Past conditional using 「 ( )」 Vocabulary 1. ⾃動【 ・ う】- automatic 2. 待 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to wait 3. 読 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to read 4. 忙 い【い 5. 暇【 ・ 】- free 6. 遊 【あ ・ 7. ⾏ 【い・ い】(i-adj) - busy (as in not busy) 】(u-verb) - to play 】(u-verb) - to go 8. 学⽣【 ・ 9. 割引【 ・ い】- student 】- discount 10. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 11. 友達【 ・ 】- friend 12. 会う【あ・う】(u-verb) - to meet 13. 買い物【 ・い・ 14. ⾦【 ・ 15. あ 】- shopping 】- money (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 16. いい (i-adj) - good 17. 家【1) う ; 2) いえ】- 1) one's own home; 2) house 137 4.8. CONDITIONALS 18. 帰 【 19. 誰【 20. い え・ CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 】(u-verb) - to go home 】- who (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 21. - America 22. - a lot (amount) 23. 太 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to become fatter I call this next conditional the past conditional because it is produced by taking the past tense and just adding 「 」. It is commonly called the 「 」 conditional because all past-tense ends with 「 ／ 」 and so it always becomes 「 ／ 」. Like the 「 」 conditional, it is also a general conditional. Conjugation Rule for 「 ( )」 • First change the noun, adjective, or verb to its past tense and attach 「 Examples → ⾃動 1. ⾃動 → ⾃動 2. 待 → 待 →待 3. 読 → 読 → 4. 忙 い → 忙 」 . 読 →忙 Examples 、遊 ⾏ 1. 暇 If I am free, I will go play. 。 2. 学⽣ 、学⽣割引 買え 。 If you're a student, you can buy with a student discount. For i-adjectives and verbs, it is very difficult to differentiate between the two types of conditionals, and you can make life easier for yourself by considering them to be the same. However there is a small difference in that the 「 」 conditional focuses on what happens after the condition. This is another reason why I call this the past conditional because the condition is "in the past" (not literally) and we're interested in the result not the condition. The 「 」 conditional, on the other hand, focuses on the conditional part. Let's compare the difference in nuance. 138 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.8. CONDITIONALS Example 1 、買い物 ⾏ 。 Ａ：友達 会え A: We will go shopping, if I can meet with my friend. Ｂ：友達 会え 、買い物 ⾏ 。 B: If I can meet with my friend, we will go shopping. Example 2 いい 。 Ａ： ⾦ あ A: It would be good, if I had money, huh? いい 。 Ｂ： ⾦ あ B: If I had money, it would be good, huh? Going by the context, the 「〜 」 form sounds more natural for both examples because it doesn't seem like we're really focusing on the condition itself. We're probably more interested in what's going to happen once we meet the friend or how nice it would be if we had money. The past conditional is the only type of conditional where the result can be in the past. It may seem strange to have an "if" when the result has already taken place. Indeed, in this usage, there really is no "if", it's just a way of expressing surprise at the result of the condition. This has little to do with conditionals but it is explained here because the grammatical structure is the same. 1. 家 帰 、誰 い 。 When I went home, there was no one there. (unexpected result) 2. ⾏ 、 太 。 As a result of going to America, I got really fat. (unexpected result) 」 instead of 「 」. Similar to 「 You can also use 「 thing except that it has a more formal nuance. 4.8.6 How does 「 」 fit into all of this? Vocabulary 1. - if by any chance 2. いい (i-adj) - good 3. 映画【えい・ 】- movie 139 」, this means exactly the same 4.9. EXPRESSING "MUST" OR "HAVE TO" 4. 観 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to watch 5. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 6. 時間【 ・ 7. あ CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 】- time (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 8. 明⽇【あ 】- tomorrow Some of you may be aware of the word 「 」 which means "if" and may be wondering how it fits into all of this. Well, if you want to say a conditional, you need to use one of the conditionals discussed above. 「 」 is really a supplement to add a sense of uncertainty on whether the condition is true. For instance, you might use it when you want to make an invitation and you don't want to presume like the following example. 1. 、映画 観 ⾏ ？ If by any chance it's ok with you, go to watch movie? 2. 時間 い 、明⽇ いい 。 If given that there's no time, tomorrow is fine as well. (Not certain whether there is no time) 4.9 Expressing "must" or "have to" 〜 い、〜 ） （〜 、〜い い、 4.9.1 When there's something that must or must not be done In life, there are things that we must or must not do whether it's taking out the trash or doing our homework. We will cover how to say this in Japanese because it is a useful expression and it also ties in well with the previous section. We will also learn how to the say the expression, "You don't have to..." to finish off this section. 4.9.2 Using 「 」, 「い not be done い」, and 「 Vocabulary 1. 駄⽬【 】- no good 2. - here 3. ⼊ 【 4. - that い・ 】(u-verb) - to enter 140 い」 for things that must CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 5. ⾷ 【 6. 夜【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】- evening 7. 遅い【 8. 〜 ・い】(i-adj) - late (particle) - until 〜 9. 電話【 10. 4.9. EXPRESSING "MUST" OR "HAVE TO" ・ 】- phone (exception) - to do 11. 早い【 12. 寝 ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to sleep If you're not familiar with the word 「 」 (駄⽬), though it can be used in many different ways it essentially means "no good". The other two key words in this section are 「い い」 and 「 い」 and they have essentially the same basic meaning as 「 」. However, while 「い い」 can be used by itself, 「 い」 must only be used in the grammar presented here. In addition, while 「い い」 and 「 い」 conjugate like i-adjectives they are not actual adjectives. Let's learn how to use these words to express things that must not be done. How to say: Must not [verb] • Take the te-form of the verb, add the 「 」 (wa) particle and finally attach either 「 」、「い い」、or 「 い」. . Example ⼊ →⼊ + + ／い い／ い=⼊ ／⼊ い い／⼊ い 1. ⼊ い You must not enter here. 。 2. ⾷ ！ You can't (must not) eat that! 3. 夜、遅 電話 い。 You must not use the phone until late at night. 。 4. 早 寝 Wasn't allowed to sleep early. The difference between 「 」、「い い」、and 「 い」 is that, first of all, 「 」 is casual. While 「い い」 and 「 い」 are basically identical, 「 い」 is generally more for things that apply to more than one person like rules and policies. 141 4.9. EXPRESSING "MUST" OR "HAVE TO" CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.9.3 Expressing things that must be done Vocabulary 1. 毎⽇【 い・ 2. 学校【 ・ 3. ⾏ 【い・ 4. 宿題【 5. 】- everyday う】- school 】(u-verb) - to go ・ い】- homework (exception) - to do You may have predicted that the opposite of "You must not do" would use「い 」or「 」because they look like the positive version of 「い い」 and 「 い」. However, 「い い」 and 「 い」 must always be negative, so this is not correct. In actuality, we still use the same 「 ／い い／ い」 and use the opposite of the verb that goes in front of it instead. This double negative can be kind of confusing at first but you will get used to it with practice. There are three ways to conjugate the verb before adding 「 ／い い／ い」 and two of them involve conditionals so aren't you glad that you just learned conditionals in the previous section? How to say: Must [verb] 1. Negative te-form + 「 」 (wa) particle + ／い い／ い 2. Negative verb + 「 」 conditional + . ／い い／ い 3. Negative verb + 「 」 conditional + ／い い／ い The first method is the same as the "must not do" grammar form except that we simply negated the verb. 1. 毎⽇学校 ⾏ Must go to school everyday. 。 い 2. 宿題 Had to do homework. The second method uses the natural conditional that we learned in the last lesson. Literally, it means if you don't do something, then it automatically leads to the fact that it is no good. (In other words, you must do it.) However, people tend to use it for situations beyond the natural consequence characterization that we learned from the last section because it's shorter and easier to use than the other two types of grammar. 1. 毎⽇学校 ⾏ い Must go to school everyday. 。 142 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.9. EXPRESSING "MUST" OR "HAVE TO" 2. 宿題 い い い Have to do homework. The third method is similar to the second except that it uses a different type of conditional as explained in the last lesson. With the 「 」 conditional, it can be used for a wider range of situations. Note that since the verb is always negative, for the 「 」 conditional, we will always be removing the last 「い」 and adding 「 」. い 1. 毎⽇学校 ⾏ Must go to school everyday. 2. 宿題 Had to do homework. 。 。 It may seem like I just breezed through a whole lot of material because there are three grammar forms and 「 ／い い／ い」 adding up to nine possible combinations (3x3). However, some combinations are more common than others but I did not explicitly point out which were more common because any combination is technically correct and going over style would merely confuse at this point. Also, keep in mind that there is nothing essentially new in terms of conjugation rules. We already covered conditionals in the last lesson and adding the wa particle to the te-form in the beginning of this section. ฀ Reality Check Although we spent the last section explaining 「〜 」 and 「〜 」 , the reality is that because they are so long, they are practically never used in real conversations. While they are often used in a written context, in actual speech, people usually use the 「 」 conditional or the various shortcuts described below. In casual speech, the 「 」 conditional is the most prevalent type of conditional. Though I explained in depth the meaning associated with the 「 」 conditional, you have to take it with a grain of salt here because people are inherently lazy. 4.9.4 Various short-cuts for the lazy Vocabulary 1. 勉強【 2. 3. う】- study (exception) - to do 飯【 ・ 4. ⾷ 】- rice; meal 【 ・ 5. 学校【 6. ⾏ ・ ・ 【い・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat う】- school 】(u-verb) - to go 143 4.9. EXPRESSING "MUST" OR "HAVE TO" 7. - here 8. ⼊ 【 い・ 9. 駄⽬【 10. 死 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 】(u-verb) - to enter 】- no good 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to die You may have been grumbling and complaining about how long most of the expressions are just to say you must do something. You can end up with up to eight additional syllables just to say "I have to..."! Well, others have thought the same before and people usually use short abbreviated versions of 「 」 and 「 」 in casual speech. Teachers are often reluctant to teach these overly familiar expressions because they are so much easier to use which is bad for times when they might not be appropriate. But, on the other hand, if you don't learn casual expressions, it makes it difficult to understand your friends (or would-be friends if you only knew how to speak less stiffly!). So here they are but take care to properly practice the longer forms so that you will be able to use them for the appropriate occasions. Casual abbreviations for things that must be done 1. Simply replace 「 2. Simply replace 「 」 with 「 」 with 「 」 . 」 Right now, you may be saying, "What the?" because the "abbreviations" are about the same length as what we've already covered. The secret here is that, unlike the expressions we learned so far, you can just leave the 「 ／い い／ い」 part out altogether! 1. 勉強 Gotta study. 2. 飯 ⾷ Gotta eat. The 「 。 。 」 conditional is also used by itself to imply 「 ／い い／ い」. • 学校 ⾏ い 。 Gotta go to school. There is another 「 」 abbreviation for things that you must not do. However, in this case, you cannot leave out 「 ／い い／ い」. Since this is a casual abbreviation, 「 」 is used in most cases. One very important difference for this casual form is that verbs that end in 「 」、「 」、「 」 use 「 」 instead of 「 」 . Essentially, all the verbs that end in 「 」 for past tense fall in this category. 144 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.9. EXPRESSING "MUST" OR "HAVE TO" Casual abbreviations for things that must not be done 1. 1. Replace 「 」 with 「 」 2. Replace 「 」 with 「 」 ⼊ You can't enter here. 2. 死 . 。 ！- You can't die! On a final note, in general, 「 」 sounds a bit cutesy or girly. You've already seen an example of this with the 「 」 suffix. Similarly, 「 」 also sounds a bit cutesy or childish. 4.9.5 Saying something is ok to do or not do Vocabulary 1. 全部【 2. ⾷ ・ 】- everything 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 3. いい (i-adj) - good 4. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink 5. ⼤丈夫【 い・ 6. 構う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to mind; to be concerned about 8. 帰 【 9. - this 11. ⾒ 】(na-adj) - ok う - already 7. 10. う・ え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home - just a little 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to see Now let's learn how to say either that it's ok to do or not do something. I decided to shove this section in here because in Japanese, this is essential how to say that you don't have to something (by saying it's ok to not do it). The grammar itself is also relatively easy to pick up and makes for a short section. By simply using the te-form and the 「 」 particle, you are essentially saying, "even if you do X..." Common words that come after this include 「いい」, 「⼤丈夫」, or 「構 い」. Some examples will come in handy. 145 4.10. DESIRE AND SUGGESTIONS CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 1. 全部⾷ いい 。 You can go ahead and eat it all. (lit: Even if you eat it all, it's good, you know.) いい 。 2. 全部⾷ You don't have to eat it all. (lit: Even if you don't eat it all, it's good, you know.) 3. 全部飲 ⼤丈夫 。 It's ok if you drink it all. (lit: Even if you drink it all, it's OK, you know.) 構 い 。 4. 全部飲 I don't mind if you drink it all. (lit: Even if you drink it all, I don't mind, you know.) In casual speech, 「〜 of 「〜 いい」 ). いい」sometimes get shortened to just「〜 1. う帰 いい？ Can I go home already? 2. 、 ⾒ いい？ Can I take a quick look at this? 4.10 Desire and Suggestions 〜 う） （ いい」(or「〜 い、 欲 いい」instead い、 volitional、 4.10.1 How to get your way in Japan We will now learn how to say what you want either by just coming out and saying it or by making discreet suggestions. The major topics we will cover will be the 「 い」 conjugation and the volitional form. We will also learn specialized uses of the 「 」 and 「 」 conditionals to offer advice. 4.10.2 Verbs you want to do with 「 Vocabulary 1. ⾏ 【い・ 2. 何【 3. 】- what (exception) - to do 4. 温泉【 5. 】(u-verb) - to go ー ・ 】- hotspring - cake 146 い」 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 6. ⾷ 【 ・ 7. - long; far 】(ru-verb) - to eat 8. ⼀緒【い ・ 9. い 】- together (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 10. ⽝【い 11. 遊 4.10. DESIRE AND SUGGESTIONS 】- dog 【あ ・ 】(u-verb) - to play You can express verbs that you want to perform with the 「 い」 form. All you need to do is add 「 い」 to the stem of the verb. However, unlike most conjugations we learned where the verb turns into a ru-verb, this form actually transforms the verb into an i-adjective (notice how 「 い」 conveniently ends in 「い」). This makes sense because the conjugated form is a description of something that you want to do. Once you have the 「 い」 form, you can then conjugate it the same as you would any other i-adjective. However, the 「 い」 form is different from regular i-adjectives because it is derived from a verb. This means that all the particles we normally associate with verbs such as 「 」、「 」、「 」 、or 「 」 can all be used with the 「 い」 form, which is not true for regular i-adjectives. Here's a chart just for you. 「 Non-Past Past い」 conjugations Positive Negative ⾏ い ⾏ い ⾏ ⾏ Examples 1. 何 い 。 What do you want to do? い。 2. 温泉 ⾏ I want to go to hot spring. 3. ー 、⾷ い ？ You don't want to eat cake? 4. ⾷ ⾷ 。 I didn't want to eat it but I became wanting to eat. Example 4 was very awkward to translate but is quite simple in Japanese if you refer to the section about using 「 」 with i-adjectives". The past tense of the verb 「 」 was used to create "became want to eat". Here's a tongue twister using the negative 「〜 い」 and past-tense of 「 」：「⾷ 」 meaning "became not wanting to eat". This may seem obvious but 「あ 」 cannot have a 「 い」 form because inanimate objects cannot want anything. However, 「い 」 can be used with the 「 い」 form in examples like the one below. 147 4.10. DESIRE AND SUGGESTIONS • CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR ⼀緒 い い。 I want to be together forever. (lit: Want to exist together for long time.) Also, you can only use the「 い」form for the first-person because you cannot read other people's mind to see what they want to do. For referring to anyone beside yourself, it is normal to use expressions such as, "I think he wants to..." or "She said that she wants to..." We will learn how to say such expressions in a later lesson. Of course, if you're asking a question, you can just use the 「 い」 form because you're not presuming to know anything. • ⽝ 遊 い 。 Do you want to play with dog? 4.10.3 Indicating things you want or want done using 「欲 い」 Vocabulary 1. 欲 い【 ・ い】(i-adj) - wanted; desirable 2. 好 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - likable; desirable 3. ⼤ い【 ・ い】(i-adj) - big 4. 縫い 【 ・い 5. 全部【 ・ 6. ⾷ 【 ・ 7. 部屋【 ・ 8. 】- stuffed doll 】- everything 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】- room い (na-adj) - pretty; clean In English, we employ a verb to say that we want something. In Japanese, "to want" is actually an iadjective and not a verb. We saw something similar with 「好 」 which is an adjective while "to like" in English is a verb. While I didn't get too much into the workings of 「好 」, I have dedicated a whole section to 「欲 い」 because it means, "to want something done" when combined with the te-form of a verb. We will learn a more polite and appropriate way to make requests in the "Making Requests" lesson instead of saying, "I want this done." Though not a set rule, whenever words come attached to the te-form of a verb to serve a special grammatical function, it is customary to write it in hiragana. This is because kanji is already used for the verb and the attached word becomes part of that verb. Examples 1. ⼤ い縫い 欲 い！ I want a big stuffed doll! 148 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 2. 全部⾷ い I want it all eaten but... 4.10. DESIRE AND SUGGESTIONS ・・・。 い 。 3. 部屋 い It is that I want the room cleaned up, you know. Like I mentioned, there are more appropriate ways to ask for things which we won't go into until later. This grammar is not used too often but is included for completeness. 4.10.4 Making a motion to do something using the volitional form (casual) Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 ・ 2. ⼊ 【 3. 着 【 ・ 4. 信 【 5. 寝 【 ・ 6. 起 7. 出 】(ru-verb) - to eat い・ 】(u-verb) - to enter 】(ru-verb) - to wear ・ 】(ru-verb) - to believe 】(ru-verb) - to sleep 【 ・ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to wake; to occur 】(ru-verb) - to come out 8. 掛 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to hang 9. 捨 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to throw away 10. 調 【 ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to investigate 11. 話 【 】(u-verb) - to speak 12. 書 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to write 13. 待 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to wait 14. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink 15. 取 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to take 16. 聞 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen 17. 泳 【 18. 遊 【あ ・ 】(u-verb) - to play 19. 直 【 】(u-verb) - to be fixed 20. 死 【 ・ ・ ・ 】(u-verb) - to swim 】(u-verb) - to die 21. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 149 4.10. DESIRE AND SUGGESTIONS 22. (exception) - to do 23. 来 【 ・ 24. 今⽇【 】- what ー 27. ⾏ 】(exception) - to come う】- today 25. 何【 26. ー 【い・ 28. 明⽇【あ 29. CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR - theme park 】(u-verb) - to go 】- tomorrow ー- curry The term volitional here means a will to do something. In other words, the volitional form indicates that someone is setting out to do something. In the most common example, this simply translates into the English "let's" or "shall we?" but we'll also see how this form can be used to express an effort to do something in a lesson further along. To conjugate verbs into the volitional form for casual speech, there are two different rules for ru-verbs and u-verbs. For ru-verbs, you simply remove the 「 」 and add 「 う」. For u-verbs, you replace the / u / vowel sound with the / o / vowel sound and add 「う」. Conjugations rules for the casual volitional form • For ru-verbs: Remove the 「 」 and add 「 う」 Example: ⾷ →⾷ + う→⾷ う . • For u-verbs: Replace the / u / vowel sound with the / o / vowel sound and add 「う」 Example: ⼊ → ⼊ + う → ⼊ う Here is a list of verbs you should be used to seeing by now. Sample ru-verbs Plain Volitional ⾷ ⾷ う 着 着 う 信 信 う 寝 寝 う 起 起 う 出 出 う 掛 掛 う 捨 捨 う 調 調 う Sample u-verbs Plain Volitional 話 話 う 聞 聞 う 泳 泳 う 遊 遊 う 待 待 う 飲 飲 う 直 直 う 死 死 う 買う 買 う 150 Exception Verbs Plain Volitional う う CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.10. DESIRE AND SUGGESTIONS Examples I doubt you will ever use 「死 realistic examples. う」 (let's die) but I left it in for completeness. Here are some more 1. 今⽇ 何 う ？ What shall (we) do today? 2. ⾏ う！ ー ー Let's go to theme park! 3. 明⽇ 何 ⾷ う ？ What shall (we) eat tomorrow? 4. ー ⾷ う！ Let's eat curry! Remember, since you're setting out to do something, it doesn't make sense to have this verb in the past tense. Therefore, there is only one tense and if you were to replace 「明⽇」 in the third example with, let's say, 「昨⽇」 then the sentence would make no sense. 4.10.5 Making a motion to do something using the volitional form (polite) Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 ・ い・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 2. ⼊ 【 3. (exception) - to do 4. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 5. 寝 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to sleep 6. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 7. 遊 【あ ・ 8. 今⽇【 ー 】- what ー 11. 明⽇【あ 12. 】(u-verb) - to play う】- today 9. 何【 10. 】(u-verb) - to enter - theme park 】- tomorrow ー- curry 151 4.10. DESIRE AND SUGGESTIONS CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR The conjugation for the polite form is even simpler. All you have to do is add 「〜 う」 to the stem of the verb. Similar to the masu-form, verbs in this form must always come at the end of the sentence. In fact, all polite endings must always come at the end and nowhere else as we've already seen. Conjugations rules for the polite volitional form • For all verbs: Add 「〜 1. ⾷ 2. ⼊ →⾷ →⼊ う」 to the stem of the verb . う→⾷ + う→⼊ + う う Sample verbs Plain Volitional う う 寝 寝 う ⾏ ⾏ う 遊 遊 う Examples Again, there's nothing new here, just the polite version of the volitional form. 1. 今⽇ 何 う ？ What shall (we) do today? 2. ー ー ⾏ Let's go to theme park! う！ う ？ 3. 明⽇ 何 ⾷ What shall (we) eat tomorrow? 4. ー ⾷ Let's eat curry! う！ 4.10.6 Making Suggestions using the 「 Vocabulary 1. 銀⾏【 2. ⾏ 【い・ ・ う】- bank 】(u-verb) - to go 152 」 or 「 」 conditional CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.11. PERFORMING AN ACTION ON A RELATIVE CLAUSE 3. - once in a while 4. 両親【 う・ 5. 話 ・ 【 】- parents 】(u-verb) - to speak You can make suggestions by using the 「 」 or 「 」 conditional and adding 「 う」. This literally means, "If you do [X], how is it?" In English, this would become, "How about doing [X]?" Grammatically, there's nothing new here but it is a commonly used set phrase. Examples う 。 1. 銀⾏ ⾏ How about going to bank? 2. 両親 話 う？ How about talking with your parents once in a while? 4.11 Performing an action on a relative clause （ 、 ） In the section about modifying relative clauses, we learned how to treat a relative clause like an adjective to directly modify a noun. We will extend the functionality of relative clauses by learning how to perform an action on a relative clause. Obviously, we cannot simply attach the 「 」 particle to a relative clause because the「 」particle only applies to noun phrases. We need something to encapsulate the relative clause into a unit that we can perform actions on. This is done by making a quoted phrase. While in English, you can just add quotes and a comma to make a quotation, Japanese requires attaching 「 」 at the end of the quote. This is completely different from the 「 」 particle and the 「 」 conditional. Unlike quotes in English, we can perform many different types of actions on the quote besides the standard "he said", "she said", etc. For example, we can perform the action, "to think" or "to hear" to produce phrases such as, "I think [clause]" or "I heard [clause]" This is very important in Japanese because Japanese people seldom affirm definite statements. This also why we will have to eventually cover many other types of grammar to express uncertainty or probability. 4.11.1 The direct quote Vocabulary 1. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 2. 聞 【 ・ 3. 叫 【 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen ・ 】(u-verb) - to scream 153 4.11. PERFORMING AN ACTION ON A RELATIVE CLAUSE CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4. 呼 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to call 5. 呟 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to mutter 6. 寒い【 ・い】(i-adj) - cold 7. 今⽇【 う】- today 8. 授業【 ・ う】- class 9. 先⽣【 ・ い】- teacher 10. ⽥中【 ・ 】- Tanaka (last name) We'll learn the simplest type of quoted phrase, which is the direct quote. Basically, you are directly quoting something that was said. This is done by simply enclosing the statement in quotes, adding 「 」 and then inserting the appropriate verb. The most common verbs associated with a direct quote would be 「⾔う」 and 「聞 」 but you may use any verbs related to direct quotation such as: 「叫 」, 「呼 」 , 「呟 」, etc. This type of quotation is often used for dialogue in novels and other narrative works. Examples 1. 、「寒い」 Alice said, "Cold". ⾔ 。 い」 先⽣ 聞い 。 2. 「今⽇ 授業 It is that I heard from the teacher, "There is no class today." The verb does not need to be directly connected to the relative clause. As long as the verb that applies to the relative clause comes before any other verb, you can have any number of adjectives, adverbs or nouns in between. ⽥中 ⾔ • 「寒い」 "Cold," Alice said to Tanaka. 。 4.11.2 The interpreted quote Vocabulary 1. 先⽣【 ・ 2. 今⽇【 う】- today 3. 授業【 ・ 4. 聞 【 ・ い】- teacher う】- class 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen 154 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.11. PERFORMING AN ACTION ON A RELATIVE CLAUSE 5. - this 6. ⽇本語【 ・ 7. 何【 ・ ／ 】- Japanese (language) 】- what 8. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 9. 私【 】- me; myself; I ー- curry 10. 11. ⾷ 【 ・ 12. 思う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to think 13. 時間【 ・ 14. 今【い 】- time 】- now 15. - where 16. ⾏ 【い・ 17. 考え 【 18. 彼【 】(u-verb) - to go ・え 】(ru-verb) - to think 】- he; boyfriend 19. ⾼校⽣【 20. 信 】(ru-verb) - to eat 【 う・ ・ う・ い】- high school student 】(ru-verb) - to believe The second type of quote is the quote along the lines of what someone actually said. It's not a word-forword quote. Since this is not a direct quote, no quotations are needed. You can also express thoughts as an interpreted quote as well. By using this and the verb 「思う」 you can say you think that something is so-and-so. You will hear Japanese people use this all the time. You can also use the verb 「考え 」 when you are considering something. Examples 1. 先⽣ 今⽇ 授業 い 聞い 。 I heard from the teacher that there is no class today. 2. 、⽇本語 何 ⾔い 。 What do you call this in Japanese? (lit: About this, what do you say in Japanese?) 3. 私 、 ⾔い 。 I am called Alice. (lit: As for me, you say Alice.) In an interpreted quote, the meaning of 「⾔う」 may change as you see in examples 2 and 3. Actually, as you can see from the literal translation, the meaning remains the same in Japanese but changes only when translated to normal English. (We'll learn more about various ways to use 「いう」 in the next lesson.) 155 4.11. PERFORMING AN ACTION ON A RELATIVE CLAUSE CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Here are some examples of thoughts being used as quoted relative clauses. In example 2 below, the question marker is used with the volitional to insert an embedded question. 1. 、⾷ 時間 。 ー ⾷ う 思 I thought about setting out to eat curry but I didn't have time to eat. 考え い 。 2. 今、 ⾏ う Now, I'm considering where to set out to go. Unlike the direct quotation, which you can just copy as is, if the quoted relative clause is a state-of-being for a noun or na-adjective, you have to explicitly include the declarative 「 」 to show this. 1. 彼 、 何 ⾔い What did he say this is? 。 聞い 、信 い。 2. 彼 ⾼校⽣ I heard that he is a high school student but I can't believe it. Notice how 「 」 was added to explicitly declare the state-of-being that is highlighted in the English translation. You can really see how important the「 」is here by comparing the following two sentences. • ⾔い 。 何 What did (he) say this is? • 何 ⾔い 。 What did (he) say? 4.11.3 Using 「 」 as a casual version of 「 Vocabulary 1. 智⼦【 ・ 2. 来年【 い・ 】- next year 3. 海外【 い・ い】- overseas 4. う - already 5. ⾦【 ・ 6. あ 】- Tomoko (first name) 】- money (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 7. 本当【 ・ う】- real 156 」 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.11. PERFORMING AN ACTION ON A RELATIVE CLAUSE 8. 明⽇【あ 9. ⾬【あ 】- tomorrow 】- rain 10. 降 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to precipitate 11. い (i-adj) - to a great extent 12. いい (i-adj) - good 13. ⼈【 】- person You may be surprised to hear that there is a shorter and casual version of the quoted relative clause since it's already only one hiragana character, 「 」 . However, the important point here is that by using this casual shortcut, you can drop the rest of the sentence and hope your audience can understand everything from context. Examples 。 1. 智⼦ 来年、海外 ⾏ Tomoko said that she's going overseas next year. 2. う ⾦ い 。 I already told you I have no money. ？ 3. え？何 Huh? What did you say? 4. 今、時間 い 聞い 、本当？ I heard you don't have time now, is that true? 、本当？ 5. 今、時間 い You don't have time now (I heard), is that true? 「 」 can also be used to talk about practically anything, not just to quote something that was said. You can hear 「 」 being used just about everywhere in casual speech. Most of the time it is used in place of the 「 」 particle to simply bring up a topic. 1. 明⽇ 、⾬ 降 。 About tomorrow, I hear that it's going to rain. 2. 、 いい⼈ ？ About Alice, she's a very good person, right? 157 4.12. DEFINING AND DESCRIBING 4.12 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Defining and Describing （ いう） 4.12.1 The various uses of 「いう」 In the previous lesson, we learned how to quote a relative clause by encasing it with 「 」. This allowed us to talk about things that people have said, heard, thought, and more. We also took a look at some examples sentences that used 「 」 and 「⾔う」 to describe how to say something in Japanese and even what to call oneself. In this section, we will learn that with 「 」, we can use 「いう」 in a similar fashion to define, describe, and generally just talk about the thing itself. We'll also see how to do the same thing with the casual 「 」 version we first learned about in the last lesson. 4.12.2 Using 「いう」 to define Vocabulary 1. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 2. - this 3. 何【 ／ 4. ⿂【 5. 】- what 】- fish - this (abbr. of 6. 鯛【 ) い】- tai (type of fish) 7. ー 8. - where 9. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 10. 知 - department store 【 ・ 11. 友達【 】(u-verb) - to know ・ 12. 英語【えい・ 13. 意味【い・ 】- friend 】- English (language) 】- meaning In the last lesson, we briefly looked at how to introduce ourselves by using 「 instance, we had the following example, which Alice used to introduce herself. いい 。 • 私 I am called Alice. (lit: As for me, you say Alice.) 158 」 and 「いう」 . For CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.12. DEFINING AND DESCRIBING This sentence pattern is probably one of the first things beginner Japanese students learn in the classroom. In this case, the verb 「いう」 doesn't mean that somebody actually said something. Rather, Alice is saying that people in general say "Alice" when referring to her. While using kanji for 「いう」 is perfectly acceptable, in this case, since nothing is actually being said, using hiragana is also common. This idea of describing what a person is known or referred to as can also be extended to objects and places. We can essentially define and identify anything we want by using 「 いう」 in this manner. As you can imagine, this is particularly useful for us because it allows us to ask what things are called in Japanese and for the definition of words we don't know yet. Examples 1. いう⿂ 。 、 What is this fish referred to as? 2. 。 ⿂ 、鯛 いい This fish is known as "Tai". 3. いう ー あ 、知 い ？ Do you know where the department store called "Lumine" is? 。 4. 「友達」 、英語 「friend」 いう意味 The meaning of "tomodachi" in English is "friend". 4.12.3 Using 「いう」 to describe anything Vocabulary 1. 主⼈公【 ・ 2. 犯⼈【 ・ ・ 】- criminal 3. ⼀番【い ・ 4. ⾯⽩い【 】- best; first ・ 5. ⽇本⼈【 ・ 6. 酒【 ・ 7. 弱い【 う】- main character ・い】(i-adj) - interesting ・ 】- Japanese person 】- alcohol ・い】(i-adj) - weak 8. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 9. 本当【 ・ 10. 独⾝【 ・ 11. 嘘【う 】- lie 12. ー う】- real 】- single; unmarried - reboot 159 4.12. DEFINING AND DESCRIBING 13. CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR - computer, PC 14. う - (things are) this way 15. う - (things are) that way 16. ああ - (things are) that way 17. う - how 18. 再起動【 い・ ・ 19. あ - you (slang) 20. い - always 21. 時【 う】- reboot 】- time 22. 来 【 ・ 23. 困 【 】(exception) - to come ・ 24. ⼈【 】(u-verb) - to be bothered, troubled 】- person 25. 結婚【 26. 出来 ・ 】- marriage 【 ・ ・ あ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 27. 幸 【 28. (u-verb) - to become 29. 思う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to think 30. ⼤学【 31. ⾏ い・ 【い・ 32. 意味 】- happiness 】- college 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 】- meaning We learned how to use 「 いう」 to describe what something is known or referred to as. However, we can take this idea even further by attaching two relative clauses. At this point, 「いう」 is so abstract that it doesn't even really have a meaning. When a relative clause is encapsulated with 「 」 , you must have a verb to go along with it and 「いう」 is simply being used as a generic verb to enable us to talk about any relative clause. This allows us to describe and explain just about anything ranging from a single word to complete sentences. As you can imagine, this construction is quite useful and employed quite often in Japanese. Examples 1. 主⼈公 犯⼈ いう ⼀番⾯⽩ 。 The most interesting thing was that the main character was the criminal. 2. ⽇本⼈ 酒 弱い いう 本当？ Is it true that Japanese people are weak to alcohol? 160 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.12. DEFINING AND DESCRIBING 3. 独⾝ いう 、嘘 ？ It was a lie that you were single? 4. いう 、 再起動 ー Reboot means to restart your computer. いう 。 We can abstract it even further by replacing the relative clause with a generic way of doing something. In this case, we use 「 う」、「 う」、「ああ」、and 「 う」, which when combined with 「いう」 means "this way, "that way", "that way (far away in an abstract sense)" and "what way" respectively. Examples 1. あ 、い ういう時 来 、困 。 It's because you always come at times like these that I'm troubled. 2. ういう⼈ ⼀緒 仕事 、嫌 。 (Anybody would) dislike doing work together with that type of person, huh? 3. ああいう⼈ 結婚 、幸 思い 。 I think you can become happy if you could marry that type of person. 4. ⼤学 ⾏ い 、 ういう意味 ？ What do you mean, "You're not going to go to college?" 4.12.4 Rephrasing and making conclusions with 「 Vocabulary 1. あ - you (slang) 2. 彼⼥【 ・ 】- she; girlfriend 3. 友達【 ・ 】- friend 4. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 5. 何【 6. ／ 酒【 ・ 】- what 】- alcohol 7. 好 【 ・ 8. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 9. ⽣ 】(na-adj) - likable 【い・ 10. 多分【 ・ 11. ⾏ 】- maybe 【い・ 12. 思う【 】(ru-verb) - to live 】(u-verb) - to go ・う】(u-verb) - to think 161 いう」 4.12. DEFINING AND DESCRIBING 13. ⾦【 ・ 14. う - already 15. 帰 【 17. 洋介【 18. 別 【 19. 】- money え・ 16. 駄⽬【 】(u-verb) - to go home 】- no good う・ 】- Yousuke (first name) ・ 】(ru-verb) - to separate; to break up - event, matter 20. 今【い 】- now 21. 彼⽒【 ・ 22. い 23. CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 】- boyfriend (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) う - (things are) that way We can attach the question marker 「 」 to 「 いう」 in order to add a questioning element. This construction is used when you want to rephrase or redefine something such as the following dialogue. Example Dialogue Ａ： 、あ 彼⼥ A: Miki-chan is your girlfriend, right? う？ いう ・・・ Ｂ：う〜 、彼⼥ いう 、友達 いう 、 B:Um, you might say girlfriend, or friend, or something… This construction is used all the time, particularly in casual conversations. It can be used to correct something, come to a different conclusion, or even as an interjection. Examples 1. 酒 好 いう 、 い ⽣ い い。 I like alcohol or rather, can't live on without it. 2. 多分⾏ い 思う。 いう 、 ⾦ い 、⾏ い。 Don't think I'll go. Or rather, can't because there's no money. 3. いう 、 う帰 い 。 Rather than that, I have to go home already. Rather than using「 」to rephrase a conclusion, we can also simply use「 without rephrasing anything. 162 」to sum up something CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.12. DEFINING AND DESCRIBING Example Dialogue Ａ： 洋介 別 。 A: I heard that Miki-chan broke up with Yousuke. Ｂ： いう 、 、今彼⽒ い い いう B: Does that mean Miki-chan doesn't have a boyfriend now? ？ Ａ： う。 ういう 。 A: That's right. That's what it means. 4.12.5 Using 「 」 or 「 」 for 「 Vocabulary 1. 来年【 い・ 2. 留学【 3. 】- next year う・ 】- study abroad (exception) - to do 4. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 5. 智⼦【 6. ・ 】- Tomoko (first name) - event, matter 7. 駄⽬【 】- no good 8. 時間【 ・ 9. あ 】- time (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 10. 出来 11. ⾏ 【 ・ 【い・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 】(u-verb) - to go 12. いい (i-adj) - good 13. 皆【 】- everybody 14. 私【 】- me; myself; I 15. 今【い 】- now 16. 彼⽒【 ・ 17. い 】- boyfriend (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) う - already 18. 19. 帰 【 え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home 163 いう」 4.12. DEFINING AND DESCRIBING CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR As mentioned in the previous lesson, 「 」 is very often used in causal slang in place of 「 」 , because it allows us to leave out the rest of the sentence and assume context (or just plain assumption) will take care of the rest. We already saw that we can use 「 」 to replace 「 いう」 as well. However, since we just learned how to use 「 いう」 to do much more than just simply say something, there is a limit to just how much you can leave out. In any case, 「 」 will allow us to leave out not only 「いう」 but also any accompanying particles as you can see in the following example. Examples いう 、智⼦ ？ 1. 来年留学 The studying abroad next year thing, is that Tomoko? 智⼦ ？ 2. 来年留学 The studying abroad next year thing, is that Tomoko? 「 」 is also another phrase that leaves out just about everything. By convention, it is used to express disagreement or dissatisfaction usually to whine, complain, or to make an excuse but you can't tell what it means just from looking at it. It is an abbreviation of something along the lines of 「 い 」 meaning, "even if that was the case". Example 1 Ａ： い 。 A: Have to do it, you know. Ｂ： 、時間 い い 。 B: But (even so), can't do it because there is no time. Example 2 Ａ：⾏ いい 。 A: Don't have to go, you know. 、 ⾏ 。私 ⾏ い 。 Ｂ： B: But (even so), everybody said they're going. I have to go too. In some cases, the small 「 」 is left out and just 「 」 is used instead of 「 」. This is done (as is usually the case for slang) in order to make things easier to say. In general, this is when there is nothing before the 「 」 or when the sound that comes before it doesn't require the explicit separation the 「 」 gives us in order to be understood. Examples 164 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.12. DEFINING AND DESCRIBING 1. 、 、今彼⽒ い い ？ Does that mean Miki-chan doesn't have a boyfriend now? 2. いう 、 う帰 い 。 Rather than that, I have to go home already. Since slang tends to be used in whichever way the person feels like, there are no definite rules defining whether you should use 「 」 or 「 」 . However, 「 」 is generally not used to express what people have actually said or heard, which is why it wasn't covered in the last lesson. • • (Can't use 「 、明⽇ い 。 」 for something actually said) 、明⽇ い 。 Miki-chan says she isn't coming tomorrow. 4.12.6 Saying 「 う」 instead of 「いう」 Vocabulary う - already 1. 2. 帰 3. 4. 【 え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home う - (things are) that way - event, matter Because the 「 いう」 construction is used so often, there are a lot of different variations and slang based on it. While I do not plan on covering all of them here, you can check out casual patterns and slang in the miscellaneous section for yet even more slang derived from 「 いう」. The last thing I'm am going to briefly mention here is the use of 「 う」 instead of 「いう」 . In conversations, it is quite normal to say 「 う」 instead of 「いう」. 「 う」 is easier to say because it is simply one letter with a long vowel sound instead of the two different vowel sounds of 「いう」. Examples 1. う 、 う帰 い 。 Rather than that, I have to go home already. 2. い ！ う う I said it's not like that (lit: it's not that type of thing)! 165 4.13. TRYING SOMETHING OUT OR ATTEMPTING TO CHAPTER DO SOMETHING 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.13 Trying something out or attempting to do something （〜 、volitional+ ） 4.13.1 Let's try some stuff In English, we use the word, "try" to mean both "to try something out" and "to make an effort to do something". In Japanese, these are separate grammatical expressions. For instance, "I tried the cherry flavor" and "I tried to do homework" mean quite different things and though English does not make a distinction, Japanese does. 4.13.2 To try something out Vocabulary 1. ⾒ 【 ・ 】- to see; to watch 2. 切 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to cut 好 焼 【 ・ 4. 初 【 ・ 5. ⾷ 【 ・ 6. - very 3. 7. い 8. 酒【 ・ 9. 飲 10. ・ ・ ・ 】- okonomiyaki (Japanese-style pancake) 】- for the first time 】(ru-verb) - to eat い (i-adj) - tasty 】- alcohol 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink い (i-adj) - to a great extent 11. 眠い【 ・い】(i-adj) - sleepy 12. (u-verb) - to become 13. 新 い【あ 14. ー 15. ⾏ 【い・ 16. 広島【 ・ い】(i-adj) - new - department store 】(u-verb) - to go ・ 】- Hiroshima To try something out, you simply need to change the verb to the te-form and add 「 」. If it helps you to remember, you can think of it as a sequence of an action and then seeing the result. In fact 「 」 166 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL 4.13. TRYING GRAMMAR SOMETHING OUT OR ATTEMPTING TO DO SOMETHING conjugates just like 「⾒ 」. However, just like the 「〜 phrase and 「 」 is usually written in hiragana. い」 grammar we learned, this is a set To try something out Conjugate the verb to the te-form and add 「 切 Example: →切 」. →切 . You can treat the whole result as a regular verb just as you would with 「⾒ 、切 切 Example: 、切 い、切 Examples 1. ⾷ 、 い ！ 好 焼 初 I tried eating okonomiyaki for the first time and it was very tasty! 2. 酒 飲 、 眠 。 I tried drinking alcohol and I became extremely sleepy. ⾏ 。 3. 新 い ー I'm going to check out the new department store. 4. 広島 好 焼 ⾷ い！ I want to try eating Hiroshima okonomiyaki! 4.13.3 To attempt to do something Vocabulary 1. (exception) - to do 2. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 3. 思う【 4. 考え ・う】(u-verb) - to think 【 ・え 】(ru-verb) - to think 5. ⾒ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to see 6. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 7. 毎⽇【 い・ 8. 勉強【 ・ 9. 避 【 ・ 】- everyday う】- study 】(ru-verb) - to avoid 167 」. 4.13. TRYING SOMETHING OUT OR ATTEMPTING TO CHAPTER DO SOMETHING 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 10. 無理⽮理【 ・ 11. 部屋【 ・ 12. ⼊ 【 14. 寝 ・ 】- forcibly 】- room い・ 13. 早い【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to enter ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to sleep 15. 結局【 ・ 】- eventually 16. 徹夜【 ・ 】- staying up all night 17. 酒【 ・ 】- alcohol 18. 飲 【 ・ 19. 奥 【 20. ⽌ 【 ・ 21. 】(u-verb) - to drink ・ 】- wife (polite) 】(ru-verb) - to stop - as much as possible 22. - gym 23. 決 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to decide We already learned that the volitional form was used to indicate a will to set out to do something. If you guessed that this next grammar for attempting to do something would involve the volitional form, you were right. To say that you tried (as in attempted) to do something, you need to conjugate the verb into the volitional, enclose it in a quotation (so that we can perform an action on the clause) and finally add the verb 「 」. Or put more simply, you just add 「 」 to the volitional form of the verb. This is simply an extension of the quoted relative clause from the last section. Instead of saying the quote (⾔ う) or treating it as a thought (思う、考え ), we are simply doing it with 「 」. Attempting a certain action Change the verb to the volitional form and add 「 Examples . 1. ⾒ →⾒ う→⾒ う 2. ⾏ →⾏ う→⾏ う Examples 1. 毎⽇、勉強 避 う 。 Everyday, she attempts to avoid study. 168 」. CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.14. GIVING AND RECEIVING 2. 無理⽮理 部屋 ⼊ う い 。 He is attempting to force his way into the room. 、結局 徹夜 。 3. 早 寝 う I attempted to sleep early but ended up staying up all night. 4. 酒 飲 う 、奥 ⽌ 。 He tried to drink alcohol but his wife stopped him. Though we use the verb 「 」 to say, "to do attempt", we can use different verbs to do other things with the attempt. For instance, we can use the verb 「決 」 to say, "decide to attempt to do [X]". Here are some examples of other actions carried out on the attempt. 1. 勉強 避 う 思 。 I thought I would attempt to avoid studying as much as possible. 。 2. 毎⽇ ⾏ う 決 Decided to attempt to go to gym everyday. 4.14 （あ Giving and Receiving う） 、 、 、 4.14.1 Japanese people like gifts Vocabulary 1. 歳暮【 ・ 2. 中元【 ・ い・ 】- year-end presents う・ 】- Bon festival gifts 3. あ (ru-verb) - to give; to raise 4. (ru-verb) - to give 5. う (u-verb) - to receive One thing about Japanese culture is that they're big on giving gifts. There are many different customs involving giving and receiving gifts ( 歳暮、 中元、etc.) and when Japanese people go traveling, you can be sure that they're going to be picking up souvenirs to take back as gifts. Even when attending marriages or funerals, people are expected to give a certain amount of money as a gift to help fund the ceremony. You can see why properly learning how to express the giving and receiving of favors and items is a very important and useful skill. For some reason, the proper use of 「あ 」、「 」、and 「 う」 has always haunted people studying Japanese as being horribly complex and intractable. I hope to prove in this section that it is conceptually quite straightforward and simple. 169 4.14. GIVING AND RECEIVING CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.14.2 When to use 「あ 」 Vocabulary 1. あ (ru-verb) - to give; to raise 2. 私【 】- me; myself; I 3. 友達【 ・ 4. - present 5. 】- friend - this 6. 先⽣【 ・ い】- teacher 7. ⾞【 】- car 8. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 9. 代 10. ⾏ 【 ・ 【い・ 11. 学⽣【 12. ⽗【 】- substitute 】(u-verb) - to go ・ い】- student 】- father 13. いい (i-adj) - good 14. - event, matter 15. 教え 【 ・え 】(ru-verb) - to teach; to inform 「あ 」 is the Japanese word for "to give" seen from the speaker's point of view. You must use this verb when you are giving something or doing something for someone else. Examples 1. 私 友達 あ I gave present to friend. 2. 。 先⽣ あ 。 I'll give this to teacher. In order to express the giving of a favor (verb) you must use the ever useful te-form and then attach 「あ 」. This applies to all the other sections in this lesson as well. あ 。 1. ⾞ 買 I'll give you the favor of buying a car. 170 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.14. GIVING AND RECEIVING 2. 代 ⾏ あ 。 I'll give you the favor of going in your place. For third-person, this verb is used when the speaker is looking at it from the giver's point of view. We'll see the significance of this when we examine the verb 「 」 next. 。 1. 学⽣ 先⽣ あ The student give this to teacher. (looking at it from the student's point of view) 2. 友達 ⽗ いい 教え あ 。 Friend gave the favor of teaching something good to my dad. (looking at it from the friend's point of view) Using 「 」 to mean 「あ 」 Vocabulary 1. ⽝【い 】- dog 2. 餌【え 】- food for animals 3. (u-verb) - to do Usually used for pets, animals, and such, you can substitute 「 」, which normally means "to do", for 「あ 」. You would normally never use this type of 「 」 for people. I only included this so that you won't be confused by sentences like the following. • ⽝ 餌 ？ Did you give the dog food? Here, 「 」 does not mean "to do" but "to give". You can tell because "doing food to dog" doesn't make any sense. 4.14.3 When to use 「 」 Vocabulary 1. (ru-verb) - to give 2. 友達【 ・ 】- friend 3. 私【 】- me; myself; I 171 4.14. GIVING AND RECEIVING 4. CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR - present 5. - this 6. 先⽣【 ・ い】- teacher 7. ⾞【 】- car 8. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 9. 代 10. ⾏ 【 ・ 【い・ 11. 学⽣【 】(u-verb) - to go ・ 12. ⽗【 】- substitute い】- student 】- father 13. いい (i-adj) - good 14. - event, matter 15. 教え 【 16. あ (ru-verb) - to give; to raise 17. 全部【 18. ⾷ ・え ・ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to teach; to inform 】- everything 】(ru-verb) - to eat 「 」 is also a verb meaning "to give" but unlike 「あ 」, it is from the receiver's point of view. You must use this verb when someone else is giving something or doing something for you (effectively the opposite of 「あ 」). Examples 1. 友達 私 Friend gave present to me. 2. 。 。 、先⽣ Teacher gave this to me. 3. ⾞ 買 ？ You'll give me the favor of buying a car for me? 4. 代 ⾏ ？ Will you give me the favor of going in my place? Similarly, when used in the third-person, the speaker is speaking from the receiver's point of view and not the giver. 1. 先⽣ 学⽣ 。 The teacher give this to student. (looking at it from the student's point of view) 172 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.14. GIVING AND RECEIVING 2. 友達 ⽗ いい 教え 。 Friend gave favor of teaching something good to my dad. (looking at it from the dad's point of view) The following diagram illustrates the direction of giving from the point of view of the speaker. From the speaker's point of view, all the giving done to others "go up" to everybody else while the giving done by everybody else "goes down" to the speaker. This is probably related to the fact that there is an identical verb 「上 」 meaning "to raise" that contains the character for "above" (上) and that the honorific version of 「 」 is 「下 」 with the character for down (下). This restriction allows us to make certain deductions from vague sentences like the following: • 先⽣ 教え あ 。 Teacher, will you be the one to give favor of teaching to... [anybody other than the speaker]? Because all giving done to the speaker must always use 「 」, we know that the teacher must be doing it for someone else and not the speaker. The speaker is also looking at it from the teacher's point of view as doing a favor for someone else. • 先⽣ 教え 。 Teacher, will you be the one to give favor of teaching to... [anybody including the speaker]? Because the giver is not the speaker, the teacher is either giving to the speaker or anyone else. The speaker is viewing it from the receiver's point of view as receiving a favor done by the teacher. Let's see some mistakes to watch out for. 173 4.14. GIVING AND RECEIVING • 私 「 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 全部⾷ 。 」 is being used as giving done by the speaker. (Wrong) あ 。 • 私 全部⾷ I gave favor of eating it all. (Correct) 。 私 あ 」 is being used as giving to the speaker. (Wrong) • 友達 「あ • 友達 私 。- Friend gave present to me. (Correct) 4.14.4 When to use 「 う」 Vocabulary 1. 私【 】- me; myself; I 2. 友達【 ・ 3. - present 4. う (u-verb) - to receive 5. - this 】- friend 6. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 7. 宿題【 8. 9. ・ - check (exception) - to do 10. 時間【 ・ 11. あ 】- time (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 12. 無理【 ・ 13. い】- homework 】- impossible - that (abbr. of 14. 時計【 ・ ) い】- watch; clock 「 う」 meaning, "to receive" has only one version unlike 「あ ／ to explain. One thing to point out is that since you receive from someone, 「 in addition to the 「 」 target particle. 174 」 so there's very little 」 is also appropriate CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.14. GIVING AND RECEIVING Examples 1. 私 友達 I received present from friend. 。 2. 友達 。 I received present from friend. 3. 友達 買 。 About this, received the favor of buying it from friend. い 、時間 無理 。 4. 宿題 I wanted to receive the favor of checking homework but there was no time and it was impossible. 「 う」 is seen from the perspective of the receiver, so in the case of first-person, others usually don't receive things from you. However, you might want to use「私 う」when you want to emphasive that fact that the other person received it from you. For instance, if you wanted to say, "Hey, I gave you that!" you would use 「あ 」. However, you would use 「 う」 if you wanted to say, "Hey, you got that from me!" • 時計 私 。 (He) received that watch from me. 4.14.5 Asking favors with 「 」 or 「 え 」 Vocabulary 1. 千円【 ・え 】- 1,000 yen 2. 貸 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - lend 3. (exception) - to do 4. (ru-verb) - to give 5. う (u-verb) - to receive 6. あ - you 7. 私【 】- me; myself; I 8. 9. 静 - a little 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - quiet 10. 漢字【 ・ 】- Kanji 11. 書 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to write You can make requests by using 「 」 and the potential form of 「 う」 (can I receive the favor of...). We've already seen an example of this in example 4 of the 「 」 section. Because requests are favors done for the speaker, you cannot use 「あ 」 in this situation. 175 4.14. GIVING AND RECEIVING CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Examples 1. 千円 貸 ？ Will you give me the favor of lending 1000 yen? 2. 千円 貸 え ？ Can I receive the favor of you lending 1000 yen? Notice that the two sentences essentially mean the same thing. This is because the giver and receiver has been omitted because it is obvious from the context. If we were to write out the full sentence, it would look like this: 、私 千円 貸 ？ 1. あ Will you give me the favor of lending 1000 yen? 2. 私 、あ 千円 貸 え ？ Can I receive the favor of you lending 1000 yen? It is not normal to explicitly include the subject and target like this when directly addressing someone but is provided here to illustrate the change of subject and target depending on the verb 「 」 and 「 え 」. You can use the negative to make the request a little softer. You'll see that this is true in many other types of grammar. 1. い？ 静 Won't you be a little quieter? 2. 漢字 書い え 。 Can you write this in kanji for me? Asking someone to not do something Vocabulary 1. 全部【 ・ 】- everything 2. ⾷ 【 ・ 3. (ru-verb) - to give 4. ⾼い【 5. 物【 】(ru-verb) - to eat ・い】(i-adj) - high; tall; expensive 】- object 6. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 176 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.15. MAKING REQUESTS In order to request that someone not do something, you simply attach 「 verb and proceed as before. 」 to the negative form of the 。 1. 全部⾷ い Can you not eat it all? ？ 2. ⾼い物 買 い Can you not buy expensive thing(s)? 4.15 Making requests （〜 い、command form） い、〜 う い、〜 4.15.1 Politely (and not so politely) making requests Similar to asking for favors, which we learned in the last lesson, there are also various ways to make requests in Japanese. This is effectively the Japanese way of saying, "please do X". We'll first learn the most common way to make requests using a special conjugation of the verb 「 」 and the firmer 「 」. Finally, we'll learn the rarely used excessively strong command form for the sake of completeness. You can safely skip the last part unless you're an avid reader of manga. 4.15.2 「〜 い」－ a special conjugation of 「 Vocabulary 1. - that 2. (ru-verb) - to give 3. 漢字【 ・ 4. 書 【 ・ 5. - here 6. 来 【 ・ 】- Kanji 】(u-verb) - to write 】(exception) - to come 7. ⽇本語【 ・ 8. 話 【 9. 消 10. 貸 ・ ・ 】(u-verb) - to speak 【 ・ 【 ・ 11. 遠い【 】- Japanese (language) ・ 】- eraser 】(u-verb) - lend ・い】(i-adj) - far 177 」 4.15. MAKING REQUESTS 12. 所【 】- place 13. ⾏ 14. CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 【い・ ⽗ 】(u-verb) - to go 【 ・ う・ 】- father (polite) 15. 時計【 ・ い】- watch; clock 16. 壊 ・ 【 】(ru-verb) - to break 17. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 「 い」 is a special conjugation of 「 」, which is the honorific form of 「 」. We will learn more about honorific and humble forms in the beginning of the next major section. We are going over 「 い」 here because it has a slight difference in meaning from the normal 「 」 and the honorific 「 」. 「 い」 is different from 「 」 in the following fashion: 1. い。 Please give me that. 2. ？ Can you give me that? As you can see 「 い」 is a direct request for something while 「 」 is used as a question asking for someone to give something. However, it is similar to「 」in that you can make a request for an action by simply attaching it to the te-form of the verb. い。 1. 漢字 書い Please write it in kanji. 2. 話 い。 Please speak slowly. The rules for negative requests are same as the rules for 「 」 as well. 書 い い。 1. 落書 Please don't write graffiti. 2. い い。 Please don't come here. In casual speech, it is often common to simply drop the 「 1. ⽇本語 話 。 Please speak in Japanese. 178 い」 part. CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.15. MAKING REQUESTS 2. 消 貸 。 Please lend me the eraser. い 。 3. 遠い所 ⾏ Please don't go to a far place. For those who want to sound particularly commanding and manly, it is also possible to use 「 with the 「 」 removed. 」 1. ⽇本語 話 。 Speak in Japanese. 2. 消 貸 Lend me the eraser. 。 い 。 3. 遠い所 ⾏ Don't go to a far place. Because 「 い」 like the masu-form must always come at the end sentence or a relative clause, you cannot use it to directly modify a noun. For example, the following is not possible with 「 い」. • ⽗ 時計 壊 。 The clock that father gave broke. Of course, since direct quotes is merely repeating something someone said in verbatim, you can put practically anything in a direct quote. ⽗ ⾔ • 「 い」 Father said, "Please give me that." 4.15.3 Using 「〜 う 。 い」 as a casual request Vocabulary 1. 頂戴【 う 2. 致 【い 3. ー 4. - here い】- receiving (humble) 】(u-verb) - to do (humble) - spoon 5. 名前【 ・ え】- name 6. 書 】(u-verb) - to write 【 ・ 179 4.15. MAKING REQUESTS CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR A casual alternative of 「 い」 is 「 う い」. While it can be used by anyone, it has a slightly feminine and childish nuance and is always written in Hiragana. Written in Kanji, it is usually used in a very formal expression such as 「頂戴致 」 . Grammatically, it's used exactly the same way as 「 い」. Examples 1. う い。 ー Please give me the spoon. 2. 名前 書い う い。 Please write your name here. 4.15.4 Using 「〜 い」 to make firm but polite requests Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 2. 飲 【 ・ 3. (exception) - to do 】(u-verb) - to drink 4. いい (i-adj) - good 5. 聞 【 ・ 6. - here 7. 座 【 8. - yet 9. い 10. あ 】(ru-verb) - to sit (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) - a lot (amount) - that 13. 思う【 14. ・ い - full 11. 12. 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen ・う】(u-verb) - to think う - (things are) that way 「 い」 is a special honorific conjugation of 「 」. It is a soft yet firm way of issuing a command. It is used, for example, when a mother is scolding her child or when a teacher wants a delinquent student to pay attention. Unlike 「 い」, 「 い」 only applies to positive verbs and uses the stem of the verb instead of the te-form. It also cannot be used by itself but must be attached to another verb. 180 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Using 「 4.15. MAKING REQUESTS い」to make firm but polite requests Conjugate the verb to its stem and attach 「 Examples 1. ⾷ →⾷ 2. 飲 →飲 3. → . い →飲 → い」 い い Examples 1. 聞 Listen well! 2. 座 Sit here. い！ い。 You can also drop 「 い」 portion of the 「 い」 to make a casual version of this grammar. 1. い いあ 、 There's still a lot, so eat a lot. 2. いい 思う 、 う 。 If you think that's fine, then go ahead and do it. ⾷ 。 4.15.5 The Command Form Vocabulary 1. (ru-verb) - to give 2. 死 【 ・ 3. (exception) - to do 4. 来 【 ・ 5. ⾷ 】(u-verb) - to die 】(exception) - to come 【 ・ 6. 着 【 ・ 7. 信 【 8. 寝 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】(ru-verb) - to wear ・ 】(ru-verb) - to believe 】(ru-verb) - to sleep 181 4.15. MAKING REQUESTS 9. 起 10. 出 【 ・ 【 ・ CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 】(ru-verb) - to wake; to occur 】(ru-verb) - to come out 11. 掛 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to hang 12. 捨 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to throw away 13. 話 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to speak 14. 聞 【 ・ 15. 遊 【あ ・ 16. 待 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to wait 17. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink 18. 直 【 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen 】(u-verb) - to play ・ 】(u-verb) - to be fixed 19. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 20. 好 【 ・ 21. あ 22. ⾏ - that way (over there) (abbr of あ 【い・ 23. 早い【 24. 酒【 25. 持 】(na-adj) - likable ) 】(u-verb) - to go ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 】- alcohol 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to hold We will go over the command form in the interest of covering all the possible verb conjugations. In reality, the command form is rarely used as Japanese people tend to be too polite to use imperatives. Also, this coarse type of speech is rarely, if indeed at all, used by females who tend to use 「 い」 or an exasperated 「 」 when angry or irritated. This form is only really useful for reading or watching fictional works. You may often see or hear 「死 ！」 ("Die!") in fiction which, of course, you'll never hear in real life. (I hope!) Be sure to note that, in addition to the familiar 「 an exception for the command form. 」, 「 」 exception verbs, 「 Rules for creating command form • For ru-verbs: Replace the 「 」 with 「 」 • For u-verbs: Change the last character from an / u / vowel to an / e / vowel • Exceptions: 1. → 2. → 3. . い → 182 」 is also CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Sample ru-verbs Plain Command ⾷ ⾷ 着 着 信 信 寝 寝 起 起 出 出 掛 掛 捨 捨 4.15. MAKING REQUESTS Sample u-verbs Plain Command 話 話 聞 聞 遊 遊 待 待 飲 飲 直 直 死 死 買う 買え Exception Verbs Plain Command い Examples 1. 好 。 Do as you please. 2. あ ⾏ ！ Go away! 。 3. 早 酒 持 Hurry up and bring me some alcohol. 4.15.6 Negative Command Vocabulary 1. ⾏ 【い・ 2. (exception) - to do 3. - that 4. ⾷ 5. 変【 6. 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to go 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】(na-adj) - strange - event, matter 7. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say The negative command form is very simple: simply attach 「 」 to either ru-verbs or u-verbs. Don't confuse this with the 「 」 sentence-ending particle we will be learning at the end of this section. The intonation is totally different. 183 4.16. NUMBERS AND COUNTING CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Using the negative command form Attach 「 」 to the verb Examples 1. ⾏ →⾏ 2. → . Examples 1. ⾷ ！ Don't eat that! 2. 変 ⾔う ！ Don't say such weird things! This is not to be confused with the shortened version of 「〜 い」 we just learned in the last section. The most obvious difference (besides the clear difference in tone) is that in 「〜 い」, the verb is first converted to the stem while the negative command has no conjugation. For example, for 「 」, 「 」 would be the short version of 「 い」 while 「 」 would be a negative command. 4.16 Numbers and Counting Numbers and counting in Japanese are difficult enough to require its own section. First of all, the number system is in units of four instead of three, which can make converting into English quite difficult. Also, there are things called counters, which are required to count different types of objects, animals, or people. We will learn the most generic and widely used counters to get you started so that you can learn more on your own. To be honest, counters might be the only thing that'll make you want to quit learning Japanese, it's that bad. I recommend you digest only a little bit of this section at a time because it's an awful lot of things to memorize. 4.16.1 The Number System The Japanese number system is spread into units of four. So a number such as 10,000,000 is actually split up as 1000,0000. However, thanks to the strong influence of the Western world and the standardization of numbers, when numbers are actually written, the split-off is three digits. Here are the first ten numbers. 184 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 1 ⼀ い 2 ⼆ 4.16. NUMBERS AND COUNTING Kanji and readings for numbers 1 to 10 4 5 6 7 8 四 五 六 七 ⼋ ／ ／ 3 三 9 九 う 10 ⼗ う As the chart indicates, 4 can either be 「 」 or 「 」 and 7 can either be 「 」 or 「 」. Basically, both are acceptable up to 10. However, past ten, the reading is almost always 「 」 and 「 」. In general, 「 」and 「 」 are preferred over 「 」 and 「 」 in most circumstances. You can simply count from 1 to 99 with just these ten numbers. Japanese is easier than English in this respect because you do not have to memorize separate words such as "twenty" or "fifty". In Japanese, it's simply just "two ten" and "five ten". 1. 三⼗⼀ ( うい ) = 31 2. 五⼗四 ( う 3. 七⼗七 ( 4. ⼆⼗ ( )= 54 う )= 77 う) = 20 Notice that numbers are either always written in kanji or numerals because hiragana can get rather long and hard to decipher. Numbers past 99 Here are the higher numbers: Numerals 漢字 100 百 1,000 千 10,000 万 108̂ 億 101̂2 兆 う Notice how the numbers jumped four digits from 104̂ to 108̂ between 万 and 億? That's because Japanese is divided into units of four. Once you get past 1 万 (10,000), you start all over until you reach 9,999 万, then it rotates to 1 億 (100,000,000). By the way, 百 is 100 and 千 is 1,000, but anything past that, and you need to attach a 1 so the rest of the units become ⼀万 (104̂)、⼀億 (108̂)、⼀兆 (101̂2). Now you can count up to 9,999,999,999,999,999 just by chaining the numbers same as before. This is where the problems start, however. Try saying 「い う」 、 「 」 、 or 「 」 really quickly, you'll notice it's difficult because of the repetition of similar consonant sounds. Therefore, Japanese people have decided to make it easier on themselves by pronouncing them as 「い う」 、「 」、and 「 」. Unfortunately, it makes it all the harder for you to remember how to pronounce everything. Here are all the slight sound changes. 185 4.16. NUMBERS AND COUNTING CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Numerals 300 600 800 3000 8000 101̂2 漢字 三百 六百 ⼋百 三千 ⼋千 ⼀兆 い う ) 1. 四万三千七⼗六 ( 43,076 2. 七億六百⼆⼗四万九千⼆百⼆⼗⼆ ( う ) 706,249,222 3. 五百兆⼆万⼀ ( 500,000,000,020,001 う う う い う ) Notice that it is customary to write large numbers only in numerals as even kanji can become difficult to decipher. Numbers smaller or less than 1 Vocabulary 1. 零【 い】- zero 2. - zero 3. - circle; zero 4. 点【 】- period; point 5. - minus Zero in Japanese is 「零」 but 「 」 or 「 」 is more common in modern Japanese. There is no special method for reading decimals, you simply say 「点」 for the dot and read each individual number after the decimal point. Here's an example: • 0.0021 = 、点、 、 、⼆、⼀。 For negative numbers, everything is the same as positive numbers except that you say「 • ⼆⼗九 = -29 186 」first. CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.16. NUMBERS AND COUNTING 4.16.2 Counting and Counters Ah, and now we come to the fun part. In Japanese, when you are simply counting numbers, everything is just as you would expect, ⼀、⼆、三、 and so on. However, if you want to count any type of object, you have to use something called a counter which depends on what type of object you are counting and on top of this, there are various sound changes similar to the ones we saw with 六百, etc.. The counter themselves are usually single kanji characters that often have a special reading just for the counter. First, let's learn the counters for dates Dates Vocabulary 1. 平成【 い・ 2. 昭和【 い】- Heisei era う・ 3. 和暦【 ・ 4. ⼀⽇【い ・ 】- Showa era 】- Japanese calendar 】- one day The year is very easy. All you have to do is say the number and add 「年」 which is pronounced here as 「 」 . For example, Year 2003 becomes 2003 年 ( ). The catch is that there is another calendar which starts over every time a new emperor ascends the throne. The year is preceded by the era, for example the year 2000 is: 平成 12 年. My birthday, 1981 is 昭和 56 年 (The Showa era lasted from 1926 to 1989). You may think that you don't need to know this but if you're going to be filling out forms in Japan, they often ask you for your birthday or the current date in the Japanese calendar (和 暦). So here's a neat converter you can use to convert to the Japanese calendar. Saying the months is actually easier than English because all you have to do is write the number (either in numerals or kanji) of the month and add 「⽉」 which is read as 「 」. However, you need to pay attention to April (４⽉), July (７⽉), and September (９⽉) which are pronounced 「 」、 「 」、and 「 」 respectively. Finally, we get to the days of the month, which is where the headache starts. The first day of the month is 「 い 」(⼀⽇); different from「い 」 (⼀⽇), which means "one day". Besides this and some other exceptions we'll soon cover, you can simply say the number and add 「⽇」 which is pronounced here as 「 」. For example, the 26th becomes 26 ⽇ ( う ). Pretty simple, however, the first 10 days, the 14th, 19th, 20th, 29th have special readings that you must separately memorize. If you like memorizing things, you'll have a ball here. Notice that the kanji doesn't change but the reading does. 187 4.16. NUMBERS AND COUNTING Day What day 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Days of the month Kanji Reading 何⽇ ・ ⼀⽇ い ⼆⽇ ・ 三⽇ ・ 四⽇ ・ 五⽇ い ・ 六⽇ い・ 七⽇ ・ ⼋⽇ う・ 九⽇ ・ ⼗⽇ ・ ⼗⼀⽇ う・い ・ ⼗⼆⽇ う・ ・ ⼗三⽇ う・ ・ ⼗四⽇ う・ ・ ⼗五⽇ う・ ・ ⼗六⽇ う・ ・ ⼗七⽇ う・ ・ ⼗⼋⽇ う・ ・ ⼗九⽇ う・ ・ ⼆⼗⽇ ・ ⼆⼗⼀⽇ ・ う・い ・ ⼆⼗⼆⽇ ・ う・ ・ ⼆⼗三⽇ ・ う・ ・ ⼆⼗四⽇ ・ う・ ・ ⼆⼗五⽇ ・ う・ ・ ⼆⼗六⽇ ・ う・ ・ ⼆⼗七⽇ ・ う・ ・ ⼆⼗⼋⽇ ・ う・ ・ ⼆⼗九⽇ ・ う・ ・ 三⼗⽇ ・ う・ 三⼗⼀⽇ ・ う・い ・ In Japan, the full format for dates follows the international date format and looks like: XXXX 年 YY ⽉ ZZ ⽇. For example, today's date would be: 2003 年 12 ⽉ 2 ⽇ Time Now, we'll learn how to tell time. The hour is given by saying the number and adding 「時」 which is pronounced here as 「 」. Here is a chart of exceptions to look out for. 英語 漢字 4 o'clock 四時 7 o'clock 七時 188 9 o'clock 九時 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.16. NUMBERS AND COUNTING Notice how the numbers 4, 7, and 9 keep coming up to be a pain in the butt? Well, those and sometimes 1, 6 and 8 are the numbers to watch out for. The minutes are given by adding 「分」 which usually read as 「 英語 漢字 1 min ⼀分 い 3 min 三分 4 min 四分 6 min 六分 」 with the following exceptions: 8 min ⼋分 10 min ⼗分 For higher number, you use the normal pronunciation for the higher digits and rotate around the same readings for 1 to 10. For instance, 24 minutes is 「 う 」 (⼆⼗四分) while 30 minutes is 「 」 (三⼗分). There are also other less common but still correct pronunciations such as 「 」 for 「⼋分」 and 「 」 for 「⼗分」 (this one is almost never used). All readings for seconds consists of the number plus 「秒」, which is read as 「 exceptions for seconds and all the readings are the same. う」. There are no Some examples of time. 1. 1 時 24 分 (い 1:24 ・ 2. 午後 4 時 10 分 ( 4:10 PM ・ 3. 午前 9 時 16 分 ( 9:16 AM 4. 13 時 16 分 ( 13:16 う ・ ・ う 5. 2 時 18 分 13 秒 ( 2:18:13 ) ・ ・ ・ ) う ) う う ) ・ う う) A Span of Time Ha! I bet you thought you were done with dates and time, well guess again. This time we will learn counters for counting spans of time, days, months, and years. The basic counter for a span of time is 「間」, which is read as 「 」. You can attach it to the end of hours, days, weeks, and years. Minutes (in general) and seconds do not need this counter and months have a separate counter, which we will cover next. 1. ⼆時間四⼗分 ( ・ 2 hours and 40 minutes ) 189 4.16. NUMBERS AND COUNTING 2. ⼆⼗⽇間 ( 20 days 3. ⼗五⽇間 ( 15 days ) う 4. ⼆年間 ( two years ) ) 5. 三週間 ( three weeks 6. ⼀⽇ (い 1 day CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR う ) ) As mentioned before, a period of one day is 「⼀⽇」 (い month: 「 い 」. ) which is different from the 1st of the Pronunciations to watch out for when counting weeks is one week: 「⼀週間」 (い weeks: 「⼋週間」 ( う ). う ) and 8 To count the number of months, you simple take a regular number and add 「 」 and 「⽉」 which is pronounced here as 「 」 and not 「 」. The 「 」 used in this counter is usually written as a small katakana 「ヶ」 which is confusing because it's still pronounced as 「 」 and not 「 」. The small 「ヶ」 is actually totally different from the katakana 「 」 and is really an abbreviation for the kanji 「箇」, the original kanji for the counter. This small 「ヶ」 is also used in some place names such as 「千 駄ヶ⾕」 and other counters, such as the counter for location described in the "Other Counters" section below. In counting months, you should watch out for the following sound changes: 英語 漢字 1 month ⼀ヶ⽉ い 6 months 六ヶ⽉ 10 months ⼗ヶ⽉ Just like minutes, the high numbers rotate back using the same sounds for 1 to 10. 1. ⼗⼀ヶ⽉ ( うい Eleven months 2. ⼆⼗ヶ⽉ ( Twenty months 3. 三⼗三ヶ⽉ ( う Thirty three months ) ) ) 190 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.16. NUMBERS AND COUNTING Other Counters We'll cover some of the most common counters so that you'll be familiar with how counters work. This will hopefully allow you to learn other counters on your own because there are too many to even consider covering them all. The important thing to remember is that using the wrong counter is grammatically incorrect. If you are counting people, you must use the people counter, etc. Sometimes, it is acceptable to use a more generic counter when a less commonly used counter applies. Here are some counters. ⽇本語 ⼈ 本 枚 冊 匹 歳 個 回 ヶ所 (箇所) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ⼈ う う い 本 う When to Use To count the number of people To count long, cylindrical objects such as bottles or chopsticks To count thin objects such as paper or shirts To count bound objects usually books To count small animals like cats or dogs To count the age of a living creatures such as people To count small (often round) objects To count number of times To count number of locations To count any generic object that has a rare or no counter Counting 1 to 10 (some variations might exist) 冊 匹 歳 個 い い い い い い い い い い い い い い い い い い い い い う い う う う い う う い い 枚 い 回 い い い い い い い い う い い ヶ所 (箇所) い い う The changed sounds have been highlighted. You don't count 0 because there is nothing to count. You can simply use 「 い」 or 「い い」. The chart has hiragana for pronunciation but, as before, it is usually written with either numbers or kanji plus the counter with the single exception of 「 」 which is simply written as 「⼗」. For higher numbers, it's the same as before, you use the normal pronunciation for the higher digits and rotate around the same readings for 1 to 10 except for 「⼀⼈」 and 「⼆⼈」 which transforms to the normal 「い 」 and 「 」 once you get past the first two. So 「⼀⼈」 is 「 」 while 「11 ⼈」 is 「 うい 」. Also, the generic counter 「〜 」 only applies up to exactly ten items. Past that, you can just use regular plain numbers. Note: The counter for age is often sometimes written as 「才」 for those who don't have the time to write out the more complex kanji. Plus, age 20 is usually read as 「 」 and not 「 い」. 191 4.17. CASUAL PATTERNS AND SLANG CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.16.3 Using 「⽬」 to show order You can attach 「⽬」 (read as 「 」 ) to various counters to indicate the order. The most common example is the 「番」 counter. For example, 「⼀番」 which means "number one" becomes "the first" when you add 「⽬」 (⼀番⽬). Similarly, 「⼀回⽬」 is the first time, 「⼆回⽬」 is the second time, 「四 ⼈⽬」 is the fourth person, and so on. 4.17 Casual Patterns and Slang So far, for every grammar we have covered, we also went over all the casual variations as well. However, even though we have already covered all the casual forms, truly mastering casual speech in Japanese requires far more than just learning the various casual forms. There are countless numbers of ways in which wordings and pronunciations change as well as differences between male and female speech. Understanding slang also requires knowing various vocabulary that is also growing with every new generation. Many adults would be hard-pressed to understand the kind of slang being used by kids today. While comprehensively covering slang and relevant vocabulary would require a book in and of itself (a book that would soon become out of date), I'll instead cover some broad patterns and common phenomenon which will at least help you get started in understanding the most common aspects of Japanese slang. There is no particular order in the material presented here and I expect this page to grow continuously as I find different things to cover. Please note that slang is also heavily influenced by local dialects. Although all the material presented here is valid for the greater Tokyo area, your mileage may vary depending on where you are located. 4.17.1 Basic Principles of Slang In the world of slang, anything goes and rules that apply to written Japanese are often broken. The most difficult part is that, of course, you can't just say whatever you want. When you break the rules, you have to break it the correct way. Taking what you learned from textbooks or Japanese classes and applying it to the real world is not so easy because it is impossible to teach all the possible ways things can get jumbled up in the spoken language. Learning how to speak naturally with all the correct idiosyncrasies and inconsistencies in a language is something that requires practice with real people in real-world situations. In this section, we'll look at some common patterns and themes that will at least help you get an idea of where the majority of slang originates from. One thing you'll soon realize when you first start talking to Japanese people in real life is that many sounds are slurred together. This is especially true for males. The fact is voices in instructional material such as language tapes often exaggerate the pronunciation of each letter in order to make aural comprehension easier. In reality, not all the sounds are pronounced as clearly as it should be and things end up sounding different from how it's written on paper. There is one major driving factor behind the majority of slang in Japanese. The primary goal of most 192 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.17. CASUAL PATTERNS AND SLANG slang is to make things easier to say. In other words, the goal is to reduce or simplify the movement of your mouth. There are two primary ways in which this is accomplished, 1) By making things shorter or, 2) By slurring the sounds together. We have already seen many examples of the first method such as shortening 「 い」 to 「 」 or preferring 「 」 to the longer conditional forms. The second method makes things easier to say usually by substituting parts of words with sounds that fit better with the sounds surrounding it or by merging two or more sounds together. For example, the same 「 い」 might be pronounced 「 い」 since 「 」 requires less movement than 「 」. Note . movement The fundamental goal of slang is to reduce mouth Let's see some more examples of words that get shortened or slurred. Try saying both versions to get a feel for how the slang saves space and some calories for your mouth. Examples Vocabulary 1. - here い (i-adj) - boring 2. 3. 私【 】- me; myself; I 4. 家【1) う ; 2) いえ】- 1) one's own home; 2) house 5. ⾏ 【い・ 6. 7. い 8. 9. 所【 10. 11. 】(u-verb) - to go - entirely; indeed; good grief (expression of exasperation) - when - this sort of 】- place - tardily; hesitatingly (exception) - to do い 1. い 2. 1. 2. 私 、私 家 ⾏ ⾏ う。 う。 、い 、い 、 。 、 。 193 4.17. CASUAL PATTERNS AND SLANG CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR You'll see that a great deal of slang in Japanese stems from this single principle of making things easier to say. It's very natural because it's guided by how your mouth moves. With a fair amount of practice, you should be able to naturally pick up shorter, alternative pronunciations and incorporate them into your own speech. 4.17.2 Sentence ordering and particles (or the lack thereof) Vocabulary 1. - that 2. 何【 ／ 】- what 3. ⾒ 【 ・ 4. あ - that (over there) (abbr. of あ 5. ⼈【 】(ru-verb) - to see ) 】- person う - already 6. 7. ⾷ 8. 昨⽇【 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat う】- yesterday 9. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 10. - ice (short for ice cream) While written Japanese already has fairly loose rules regarding sentence order, casual spoken Japanese takes it one step further. A complete sentence requires a verb at the end of the sentence to complete the thought. However, we'll see how this rule is bent in casual conversations. Conversations are sporadic and chaotic in any language and it's common for people to say the first thing that pops into their head without thinking out the whole proper sentence. For example, if you wanted to ask what something was, the normal, proper way would be to ask, 「 何？」 However, if the first thing that popped into your head, "What the?" then it would be more natural to say 「何」 first. However, since 「何 ？」 doesn't make any sense (Is what that?), Japanese people simply break it up into what are essentially two sentence fragments asking "what" first (何？), and then following it up with the explanation of what you were talking about (「 」 in this case). For the sake of convenience, this is lumped into what looks like one sentence. Examples 1. 何？ What is that? 194 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.17. CASUAL PATTERNS AND SLANG 2. 何 ？ What? That. (Two sentences lumped into one) Sometimes, the first thing that pops into your head might be main verb. But if the main verb has already slipped out of your mouth, you're now left with the rest of the sentence without a verb to complete the thought. In conversational Japanese, it's perfectly acceptable to have the verb come first using the same technique we just saw by breaking them into two sentences. The second sentence is incomplete of course, but that kind of thing is common in the speech of any language. 1. ⾒ ？あ ⼈？ Did you see? That guy? 2. う⾷ ？昨⽇買 。 You ate it already? The ice cream I bought yesterday. 4.17.3 Using 「 」 instead of 「 Vocabulary ー 1. - office worker (salary man) 2. 残業【 ・ 3. - a lot (amount) 4. 5. う】- overtime (exception) - to do あ - well 6. いい (i-adj) - good 7. - look 8. ／ 9. 10. 書 - as I thought ー - report 【 ・ 11. 駄⽬【 12. 誰【 】(u-verb) - to write 】- no good 】- who 13. い (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 14. - here 15. 着替え 【 ・え 】(ru-verb) - to change clothes 16. 〜君【〜 】- name suffix 17. 知 】(u-verb) - to know 【 ・ 195 い」 to confirm 4.17. CASUAL PATTERNS AND SLANG ／ 18. 19. 駅【え 20. 近い【 21. ／ CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR - as I thought 】- station ・い】(i-adj) - close, near - karaoke 22. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 23. う - yes (casual) 24. あ - over there 25. - soon; nearby 26. 隣【 】- next to 「 」 is an abbreviation of 「 い」 , the negative conjugation for nouns and na-adjectives. However, this only applies to 「 い」 used in the following fashion. • い？ ー 、残業 Because heグs a salaryman, doesnグt he do a lot of overtime? The important thing to note about the example above is that 「 い」 here is actually confirming the positive. In fact, a closer translation is, ゼBecause heグs a salaryman, he probably does a lot of overtime.ナ But itグs still a question so thereグs a slight nuance that you are seeking confirmation even though you are relatively sure. 「 」 is a shorter slang for expressing the same type of thing except it doesnグt even bother to ask a question to confirm. Itグs completely affirmative in tone. In fact, the closest equivalent to 「 • 」 is 「 い」 used in the following fashion. あ、いい い。 Well, itグs probably fine (donグt you think?). This type of expression is the only case where you can attach 「 い」 directly to i-adjectives and verbs. Once you actually hear this expression in real life, youグll see that it has a distinct pronunciation that is different from simply using the negative. Plus, you have to realize that this type of 「 い」 sounds rather mature and feminine, unlike 「 」, which is gender-neutral. Like the above, specialized use of 「 い」, you can also attach 「 」 directly to verbs and i-adjectives as well as the usual nouns and na-adjectives. Because slang is usually created to make things easier, itグs not surprising that the rules for using 「 」 are so lax and easy. 196 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.17. CASUAL PATTERNS AND SLANG Summary • Though derived from 「 い」, 「 」 is always used to confirm the positive. . • It can be attached to the end of any sentence regardless of whether it ends in a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb. Finally, letグs get to the examples. Hopefully, you can see that 「 along the lines of, ゼSee, Iグm right, arenグt I?ナ 」 is basically saying something Examples 1. 、 ー 書 い See, as I thought, you have to write the report. 。 2. 誰 い い 着替え いい 。 Since there's nobody, itグs probably fine to change here. Ａ： 君 、 A: Is Takashi here? い ？ Ｂ：知 い。 B: Dunno. Ａ：あ ！ 、い A: Ah! See, he is here! ！ Thereグs also another variation, which attaches the question marker as well. The meaning is mostly the same but it adds more to the questioning, confirming tone. 。 Ａ：駅 近 あ A: There's a karaoke place near the station, right? Ｂ：う 。 B: Yeah. Ａ：あ 隣 。 A: It's right next to there. 4.17.4 Using 「 」 for 「 いう」 Vocabulary 1. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 197 4.17. CASUAL PATTERNS AND SLANG 2. 何 【 ・ 】- why; how 3. 前【 ・ 4. - here 5. い (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) え】- you (casual) 6. 宿題【 ・ 7. 時間【 ・ 8. あ CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR い】- homework 】- time (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) ー 9. - date 10. (exception) - to do 11. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 12. 明⽇【あ 】- tomorrow 13. 試験【 ・ 】- exam 14. 勉強【 ・ う】- study 15. 違う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to be different As we learned in the defining and describing section, 「いう」 serves many more functions than the equivalent English verb, "to say". It is used all the time and therefore, it's not too surprising that a number of variations and slang have developed. Here's one more that I felt was too "slangy" to cover so early at that point of the guide. This may sound hard to believe but if you really slur「 いう」together, it becomes something resembling 「 」. Or least, that's what somebody thought when he or she began replacing 「 いう」 with 「 」 or in some case 「 う」. Now, in my opinion, 「 」 is a lot harder to say than 「 いう」 so using it like a native might take a bit of practice. Rather than making things easier to say, as is usually the case, the real purpose of this substitution is to sound rougher because 「 」 has a harder, hissing sound. This is ideal for when you're pissed or for that young and rough image you've always wanted. As you might expect, this type of speech is usually used by males or very tough females. Examples 1. う 、 前 い Or rather, why are you here?! ！ 2. 宿題 時間 い 、 ー い い。 Although he's saying he doesn't have time due to homework, I hear he went on a date with Mikichan. 198 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.17. CASUAL PATTERNS AND SLANG 3. 明⽇ 試験 。 、勉強 い う 。 Yo, tomorrow's the test. Even if I say that, you probably didn't study anyway, huh? 4. う ！ 、違う Like I said, you're wrong! If you want even more emphasis, you can even add a small 「 the brink of your patience. • 」. This usually means you are really at 、違う う ！ Like I said, you're wrong! 4.17.5 Using 「 」 and 「 」to show exasperation Vocabulary 1. う - already 2. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 3. あ - you 4. い - always 5. 忘 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to forget 「 」and「 」is yet another type of abbreviation for「 いう」similar to「 」as discussed in the defining and describing section. In this case, it's an abbreviation of the conditional form of 「 い う」, which is 「 いえ 」 and 「 い 」. By using this abbreviation, you are essentially saying something along the lines of, "If I told you once, I told you a million times!" You can use this expression when you tired of repeating yourself or when you are exasperated with somebody for not listening to you. Examples 1. ！ う⾏ I told you I'm going already! 2. あ 、い 忘 You're always forgetting. 4.17.6 Using 「 。 」 just about everywhere Vocabulary 1. 何【 ／ 】- what 199 4.17. CASUAL PATTERNS AND SLANG 2. ⾷ 【 ・ 3. 今⽇【 4. 忙 】(ru-verb) - to eat う】- today い【い ・ 5. ⾵呂【 ・ 6. 超【 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR い】(i-adj) - busy 】- bath う】- super 7. 気持 【 ・ ・ 】- feeling 8. いい (i-adj) - good 9. ⺟ 【 ・ 10. 明⽇【あ 11. 戻 【 】- mother (polite) 】- tomorrow ・ 12. 私【 13. あ・ 】(u-verb) - to return 】- me; myself; I - event, matter 14. 本当【 15. 好 ・ 【 ・ う】- real 】(na-adj) - likable; desirable By now, you're probably aware that 「何」 can be either read as 「 what comes after it such as 「何⾊」( い ) versus 「何⼈」( while 「 」 is the correct reading, it is often contracted to just 「 • ⾷ ？ Eat something? • ⾷ ？ Eat something? 」 or 「 」 depending on ). In the case of 「何 」, 」 in casual speech. However, 「 」 also has a function similar to the word "like" in English. By "like", I'm not talking about the actual word but the kind that has no meaning and some people use just about anywhere in the sentence. Similarly, 「 」 can also be used as a filler without any actual meaning. For instance, take a look at the example below. 忙 い い • 今⽇ 、 I guess he's like busy today. While 「 • 今⽇ (「 。 」 is a shorter version of 「 、 」, only 「 忙 い い 。 」 cannot be used as a filler word.) Let's take a look at a few more examples. 200 」 can be used in this way as a filler. CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.17. CASUAL PATTERNS AND SLANG Examples 1. 。 ⾵呂 超気持 いい Like, baths feel really good, huh? ！ 2. 明⽇ 戻 い 。 ⺟ 、 Mom said she's not coming back until like tomorrow. 3. 。 、私 本当 好 ？ -Hey like, do you really think that Bob likes somebody like me? 4.17.7 Showing contempt for an action with 「〜 」 Vocabulary 1. あ - that sort of 2. 奴【 】- guy (derogatory) 3. 負 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to lose う - how 4. 5. (exception) - to do 6. (u-verb) - to do 7. 気【 】- mood; intent 8. - quickly 9. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 「 」 is a verb suffix used to indicate hatred or contempt for the person doing the action. Unlike the rest of the slang covered here, this extremely strong language is not used in normal, everyday conversations. You will probably never hear this expression outside of movies, comic books, games, and the like. However, it is covered here so that you can understand when it is used in those mediums. In order to use「 」, you simply attach it to the stem of the verb. After that,「 just like a regular u-verb. Examples 負 。 、 う ？ 1. あ Losing to a guy like that. Well, what are you going to do? 2. 来 ！ 気 ？ You want to fight? If so, then hurry up and come on! 201 」is conjugated 4.18. MORE SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES 4.18 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR More sentence-ending particles We are coming to the end of the fourth major section of the guide. Do you feel like your Japanese has improved? We've come to the point where we've learned enough conjugations to be able to start mixing them together in various useful combinations. Of course this can be a little difficult to do without some practice, which is the reason for this lesson. But first, since we've come to the end of yet another section, let's learn some more sentence-endings particles. 「 4.18.1 」 and 「 」 sentence-ending particles Vocabulary 1. あ う／あ 2. う - yes (casual) 3. - this (abbr. of 4. 間【あい - say; well; errr 】- space (between); time (between); period ー 5. ) - Disney Land 6. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 7. い (i-adj) - to a great extent 8. 込 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to become crowded 9. 何【 ／ 10. 出来 【 ・ 11. 今【い 】- what ・ 】- now 12. 図書館【 ・ 13. 何 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 【 ・ ・ 】- why; how 14. ⽇本語【 ・ 15. 】- library ・ 】- Japanese (language) - a lot (amount) 16. 勉強【 ・ う】- study 17. (exception) - to do 18. - yet 19. 全然【 20. 分 ・ 【 ・ 21. ⼤丈夫【 い・ 】- not at all (when used with negative) 】(u-verb) - to understand う・ 】(na-adj) - ok 202 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 22. 4.18. MORE SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES (u-verb) - to become 23. いい (i-adj) - good 24. 今⽇【 25. ⾬【あ 26. 降 う】- today 】- rain 【 ・ 27. ⼤学【 After the 「 particles. い・ 】(u-verb) - to precipitate 】- college 」 and 「 」, 「 」 and 「 」 are the next most commonly used sentence-ending 「 」, which is basically a very casual form of 「 」, is similar to the English "like" in that some people throw it in at the end of almost every single phrase. Of course, that doesn't mean it's necessarily a very sophisticated manner of speech but just like using "like" all the time, I cannot deny that it is an easy habit to fall into. In that sense, due to its over-use, it has almost lost any specific meaning. You may overhear a conversation like the following: Ａ：あ A: Hey... ・・・ Ｂ：う 。 B: Yeah. Ａ： 間 ・・・ A: This one time... Ｂ：う 。 B: Yeah. Ａ： ー ⾏ 、 、 A: I went to Disney Land and it was really crowded... い込 ・・・ Ｂ：う B: Uh huh. ・・・ Ａ：何 A: Couldn't do anything, you know... And it goes on like this, sometimes the other person might break in to say something related to the topic. You can use 「 」 in place of 「 」 when it sounds too soft and reserved for what you want to say or for the audience you are speaking to. Its rough sound generally applies to the male gender but is not necessarily restricted to only males. 203 4.18. MORE SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR Example 1 。 洋介：今、図書館 ⾏ Yousuke: You are going to the library now huh? (seeking explanation) 智⼦：う 、 ？ Tomoko: Yeah, why? Example 2 ：⽇本語 、 勉強 。 全然 い。 Bob: I studied Japanese a lot, right? But, I still don't get it at all. 。 ：⼤丈夫 。 う Alice: No problem. You'll become able to understand for sure, you know? ： いい 。 Bob: If so, it would be good. The 「 」 sentence-ending particle is often used with the question marker 「 speaker is considering something. 1. 今⽇ ⾬ 降 ？ I wonder if it'll rain today. ？ 2. いい⼤学 ⾏ I wonder if I can go to a good college. 「 4.18.2 い」 and 「 い」 sentence-ending particles Vocabulary 1. い - hey 2. - where 3. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 4. 呼 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to call 5. いい (i-adj) - good 6. ⼀体【い 7. 何時【 8. 帰 【 い】- forms an emphatic question (e.g. "why on earth?") ・ え・ 】- what time 】(u-verb) - to go home 204 」 to indicate that the CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 9. 4.18. MORE SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES - intention, plan 10. 俺【 】- me; myself; I (masculine) 11. ⼟曜⽇【 ・ う・ 12. 映画【えい・ 】- movie 13. ⾒ 【 ・ 】- Saturday 】(ru-verb) - to see 14. ⼀緒【い ・ 】- together 「 い」 and 「 い」 are strongly masculine sentence endings for asking questions. 「 for yes/no questions while 「 い」 is used for open-ended questions. い」 is used Examples 1. い？ い、 ⾏ Hey, where are (you) going? 2. 呼 いい Can (I) call you Saki-chan? い？ 3. ⼀体何時 帰 い？ What time were (you) planning on coming home exactly? 4. 俺 ⼟曜⽇、映画 ⾒ ⾏ 、⼀緒 ⾏ い？ I'm going to see a movie Saturday, go together? 4.18.3 Gender-specific sentence-ending particles These sentence-ending particles are primarily used just to emphasize something and doesn't really have a meaning per se. However, they can make your statements sound much stronger and/or very genderspecific. Using 「 」 is just like 「 」 except it will make you sound very feminine (this is a different sound from the 「 」 used in Kansai dialect). 「 」 is also a very feminine version of 「 」 , which we just went over. 「 」 and 「 」 are identical to 「 」 except that it makes you sound "cool" and manly, or at least, that is the intent. These examples may not be very helpful without actually hearing what they sound like. Vocabulary う - already 1. 2. 時間【 ・ 3. あ 4. 】- time (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) い - hey 205 4.18. MORE SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES 5. ⾏ 【い・ 6. - this 7. 終 】(u-verb) - to go 【 ・ 】- end 8. いい (i-adj) - good 9. ⼤学【 10. ⼊ 【 い・ い・ 】- college 】(u-verb) - to enter 1. う時間 い 。 There is no more time. 2. い、⾏ ！ Hey, we're going! 3. 。 、 う終 With this, it's over already. 4. いい⼤学 ⼊ ？ I wonder if I can enter a good college. 4.18.4 That's a wrap! Vocabulary 1. 加賀【 ・ 2. 先⽣【 3. 】- Kaga (last name) ・ い】- teacher - a little 4. 質問【 5. 聞 ・ 【 ・ 】- question 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen 6. いい (i-adj) - good 7. い - yes (polite) 8. ⽇本語【 ・ 9. 何【 ／ ・ 】- Japanese (language) 】- what 10. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 11. う - (things are) that way 12. ⼤体【 13. い・ い】- mostly - good day 206 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 14. 思う【 4.18. MORE SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES ・う】(u-verb) - to think 15. 16. 書 - however 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to write 17. 時【 】- time 18. 他【 】- other 19. 表現【 う・ 】- expression 20. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 21. - this 22. 覚え 【 23. 朝【あ ・え 】(ru-verb) - to memorize 】- morning う - good morning 24. 25. - but 26. 上【うえ】- above 27. ⼈【 】- person 28. う い 29. 分 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to understand 30. 間違え 【 ・ 31. 勉強【 ・ 32. ・え 】(ru-verb) - to make a mistake う】- study (u-verb) - to become 33. 洋介【 34. あ - good morning (polite) う・ う／あ - say; well; errr 35. 英語【えい・ 36. 教え 】- Yousuke (first name) 【 】- English (language) ・え 】(ru-verb) - to teach; to inform 37. う (u-verb) - to receive 38. - if by any chance 39. 時間【 ・ 40. う - yes (casual) 41. - America 42. 留学【 43. 】- time う・ 】- study abroad (exception) - to do 44. 去年【 ・ 】- last year 207 4.18. MORE SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES 45. ⾏ 46. 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go ⾦【 ・ 】- money 47. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 48. い - when 49. 欲 い【 ・ 50. 来週【 い】(i-adj) - wanted; desirable い・ 51. ⽊曜⽇【 う】- next week ・ 52. あ CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR う・ 】- Thursday う - thank you 53. 怠 【 54. 来 【 ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to neglect, to be lazy about 】(exception) - to come 55. - that sort of 56. - event, matter We learned quite a lot of things in this section. Let's try to put it all together by seeing how different kinds of conjugations are used in different combinations. This is of course by no means an exhaustive list but merely an illustration of how we can use what we learned in various combinations to create a lot of useful expressions. Example 1 ：加賀先⽣、 質問 聞い いい ？ 加賀先⽣： い、いい 。 。 ：「Hello」 ⽇本語 何 ⾔え いい 何 ⾔え = quoted sub-clause + if conditional of ⾔う 。 加賀先⽣： う 。⼤体、「 」 ⾔う 思い 、「 」 書 。 「 ⾔う 思い 」 = quoted sub-clause + quoted sub-clause 「 」 = negative sequence of states ： う 。他 加賀先⽣： 覚え い 」 ⾔ い。 「覚え い 」 - 覚え + abbreviated form of 〜 ： い、分 何 いい表現 。朝 あ う」 ⾔う + casual 〜 い 時 「 」 。 、「 。間違え 、書 い with う 。 ⼈ 「 い dropped. 。いい勉強 208 、上 ！ う い CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR 4.18. MORE SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES Literal translation of Example 1 Alice: Kaga-sensei, is it ok to ask you a question? Kaga-sensei: Yes, it's ok. Alice: If you say what for "hello" in Japanese, is it ok? Kaga-sensei: Well, mostly, I think people say "konnichiwa". Only, when you write it, you must write "konnichiha" and not "konnichiwa". Alice: Is that so? Are there any other good expressions? Kaga-sensei: Please memorize this too (in preparation for the future). In the morning, everybody says, "ohayou". But, please say, "ohayou-gozaimasu" to a higher person. Alice: Yes, I understood. I'll do in the manner of not making mistake. It became good study! Interpretative translation of Example 1 Alice: Kaga-sensei, is it ok to ask you a question? Kaga-sensei: Sure. Alice: How do you say "Hello" in Japanese? Kaga-sensei: Well, most of the time, I think people say "konnichiwa". Only, when you write it, you must write "konnichiha" and not "konnichiwa". Alice: Is that so? Are there any other good expressions? Kaga-sensei: You should know this too. In the morning, everybody says, "ohayou". But, please say, "ohayou-gozaimasu" to a higher person. Alice: Ok, I got it. I'll try not to make that mistake. That was very informative! Example 2 洋介： ！ ：何？ 洋介： 「教え い 。あ 、質問 聞い いい？ い い 、 英語 教え い」 = receiving favor + to want ( い) ：え？英語 勉強 う ？いい 。い 教え いい 。 、来週 ⽊曜⽇ う？ 、いい 。あ う！ ：勉強 怠 あ 、教え い？ ？ い 思 洋介：う 、 留学 「 い 思 」= to try something out (〜 + quoted subquote + te-form of 思う 「⾏ う 」 = volitional of ⾏ + to attempt ( ： 洋介：い ： 洋介：う 時間 、来 、 い 。去年 ⾏ う ) + want to ( い) + ) ？ い 209 。 、 ⾦ ・・・ sentence-ending particle 4.18. MORE SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES 「怠 洋介： 来 い い 」 = List of actions (〜 CHAPTER 4. ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR ) + negative request of . ！ Literal translation of Example 2 Yousuke: Oh! It's Alice. Hey, is it ok to ask a question? Alice: What? Yousuke: I want to receive the favor of you teaching English and if, by any chance, you have time, will you give the favor of teaching? Alice: Huh? You are going to study English? Yousuke: Yeah, I was thinking that I want to try studying abroad in America. I tried to make motion toward going last year too but, without money... Alice: Is that so? It's good. When do you want me to teach you? Yousuke: Anytime is good. Alice: Then what about from next week Thursday? Yousuke: Yeah, ok. Thanks! Alice: Don't do things like shirk on your studies or not come, ok? Yousuke: I won't do anything like that! Interpretative translation of Example 2 Yousuke: Oh! It's Alice. Hey, can I ask you a question? Alice: What up? Yousuke: I want to learn English so if you have time, can you teach me? Alice: Huh? You're going to study English? Yousuke: Yeah, I was thinking about studying abroad in America. I tried going last year too but I didn't have the money. Alice: Really? No problem. When do you want me to teach you? Yousuke: Anytime is fine. Alice: What about from next week Thursday then? Yousuke: OK, thanks! Alice: You're not going to shirk on your studies or not come or anything right? Yousuke: I won't do anything like that! 210 Chapter 5 Special Expressions I have decided to call this next section "Special Expressions" only because with the exception of the first few lessons, most of the grammar here applies to more specific areas than the grammar we have covered so far. These special expressions, while individually not vital, are, as a collection, necessary for regular everyday conversations. We are slowly entering the stage where we've built the toolbox and we now need to acquire the little tools that will make the toolbox complete. Now that we covered most of the base, it is time to look at all the little itty gritty bits. You are welcome to skip around the lessons, however; the examples will assume that you have gone over all previous sections. 5.1 Causative and Passive Verbs We will now learn the last two major types of verb conjugations: causative and passive forms. These two verb conjugations are traditionally covered together because of the notorious causative-passive combination. We will now go over what all these things are and how they are used. 5.1.1 Causative Verbs Vocabulary 1. あ (ru-verb) - to give; to raise 2. (ru-verb) - to give 3. 全部【 4. ⾷ ・ 【 ・ 5. 着 【 ・ 6. 信 【 】- everything 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】(ru-verb) - to wear ・ 】(ru-verb) - to believe 211 5.1. CAUSATIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS 7. 寝 【 ・ 8. 起 9. 出 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 】(ru-verb) - to sleep 【 ・ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to wake; to occur 】(ru-verb) - to come out 10. 掛 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to hang 11. 捨 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to throw away 12. 調 【 ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to investigate 13. 話 【 】(u-verb) - to speak 14. 聞 【 ・ 15. 泳 【 16. 遊 【あ ・ 17. 待 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to wait 18. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink 19. 直 【 20. 死 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen ・ 】(u-verb) - to swim 】(u-verb) - to play ・ 】(u-verb) - to be fixed 】(u-verb) - to die 21. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 22. (exception) - to do 23. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 24. 先⽣【 ・ い】- teacher 25. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 26. 宿題【 ・ 27. い】- homework - a lot (amount) 28. 質問【 ・ 29. 今⽇【 う】- today 30. 仕事【 ・ 】- question 】- job 31. 休 【 ・ 32. - abbreviation of 「 33. 部⻑【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to rest 」 う】- section manager 34. いい (i-adj) - good 35. ⻑時間【 う・ 36. 働 ・ 37. 【 ・ 】- long period of time 】(u-verb) - to work - bathroom; toilet 212 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 38. ⾏ 【い・ 5.1. CAUSATIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS 】(u-verb) - to go Verbs conjugated into the causative form are used to indicate an action that someone makes happen. Like Captain Picard so succinctly puts it, the causative verb means to "make it so". This verb is usually used in the context of making somebody do something. The really confusing thing about the causative verb is that it can also mean to let someone do something. Or maybe this is a different type of verb with the exact same conjugation rules. Whichever the case may be, a verb in the causative form can mean either making or letting someone do something. The only good news is that when the causative form is used with 「あ 」 and 「 」, it almost always means to "let someone do". Once you get used to it, surprisingly, it becomes quite clear which meaning is being used when. 。 1. 全部⾷ Made/Let (someone) eat it all. 2. 全部⾷ 。 Let (someone) eat it all. Causative Conjugation Rules Here are the conjugation rules for the causative form. All causative verbs become ru-verbs. • For ru-verbs: Replace the last 「 」 with 「 」. • For u-verbs: Change the last character as you would for negative verbs but attach「 . of 「 い」. 」instead • Exception Verbs: 1. 「 」 becomes 「 2. 「 」 becomes 「 Sample ru-verbs Plain Causative ⾷ ⾷ 着 着 信 信 寝 寝 起 起 出 出 掛 掛 捨 捨 調 調 」 」. Sample u-verbs Plain Causative 話 話 聞 聞 泳 泳 遊 遊 待 待 飲 飲 直 直 死 死 買う 買 213 Exception Verbs Positive Causative 5.1. CAUSATIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Examples Here are some examples using the causative verb. Context will usually tell you which is being meant, but for our purposes we will assume that when the verb is used with 「あ 」 and 「 」( い) it means "to let someone do" while it means, "to make someone do" when used without it. 1. 先⽣ 学⽣ 宿題 。 Teacher made students do lots of homework. 聞 。 2. 先⽣ 質問 Teacher let (someone) ask lots of questions. 3. 今⽇ 仕事 休 い。 Please let me rest from work today. (Please let me take the day off today.) 4. 部⻑ 、 ⻑時間働 。 That manager often makes (people) work long hours. When asking for permission to let someone do something, it is more common to use the 「〜 grammar. 1. ⾏ 。 Can you let me go to the bathroom? (Sounds like a prisoner, even in English) 2. ⾏ いい 。 Is it ok to go to the bathroom? (No problem here) A Shorter Alternative Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 2. ⾏ 【い・ 3. (exception) - to do 4. 来 【 ・ 5. 同 【 6. - event, matter 7. 何回【 】(u-verb) - to go 】(exception) - to come ・ ・ 】- same い】- how many times 8. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 9. 腹【 ・ 】- stomach 214 いい」 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 10. 空 【あ・ 11. 何【 】(u-verb) - to become empty ／ 12. 5.1. CAUSATIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS 】- what (ru-verb) - to give There is a shorter version of the causative conjugation, which I will go over for completeness. However, since this version is mostly used in very rough slang, you are free to skip this section until you've had time to get used to the regular form. Also, textbooks usually don't cover this version of the causative verb. The key difference in this version is that all verbs become an u-verbs with a 「 」 ending. Therefore, the resulting verb would conjugate just like any other u-verb ending in 「 」 such as 「話 」 or 「指 」. The first part of the conjugation is the same as the original causative form. However, for ru-verbs, instead of attaching 「 」, you attach 「 」 and for u-verbs, you attach 「 」 instead of 「 」. As a result, all the verbs become an u-verb ending in 「 」. Shortened Causative Form • This form is rarely used so you may just want to stick with the more traditional version of the causative form. – For ru-verbs: Replace the last 「 Example →⾷ ⾷ 」 with 「 」. – For u-verbs: Change the last character. as you would for negative verbs but attach 「 instead of 「 い」. Example ⾏ →⾏ →⾏ – Exception Verbs: 1. 「 2. 「 」 becomes 「 」 becomes 「 」 」 Examples ！ 1. 同 何回 ⾔ Don't make me say the same thing again and again! 2. ⾷ 腹空い い 、 I'm hungry so let me eat something. 。 215 」 5.1. CAUSATIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.1.2 Passive Verbs Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 ・ 2. 着 【 ・ 3. 信 【 4. 寝 【 ・ 5. 起 6. 出 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】(ru-verb) - to wear ・ 】(ru-verb) - to believe 】(ru-verb) - to sleep 【 ・ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to wake; to occur 】(ru-verb) - to come out 7. 掛 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to hang 8. 捨 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to throw away 9. 調 【 ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to investigate 10. 話 【 】(u-verb) - to speak 11. 聞 【 ・ 12. 泳 【 13. 遊 【あ ・ 14. 待 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to wait 15. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink 16. 直 【 17. 死 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen ・ 】(u-verb) - to swim ・ 】(u-verb) - to play 】(u-verb) - to be fixed 】(u-verb) - to die 18. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 19. (exception) - to do 20. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 21. - porridge 22. 誰【 】- who 23. 皆【 】- everybody 24. 変【 】(na-adj) - strange 25. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 26. 光【 】- light 27. 速い【 ・い】(i-adj) - fast 28. 超え 【 ・え 】(ru-verb) - to exceed 216 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 29. 不可能【 ・ 30. 思う【 31. ・ う】- impossible ・う】(u-verb) - to think - this (abbr. of 32. 教科書【 う・ 33. 多い【 ・ 】- textbook 】- person 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to read 36. 外国⼈【 い・ 37. 質問【 ・ 38. 答え 【 39. ー 40. あ 41. 含 ) ・い】(i-adj) - numerous 34. ⼈【 35. 読 5.1. CAUSATIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS ・ 】- foreigner 】- question ・え 】(ru-verb) - to answer - package - all 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to include Passive verbs are verbs that are done to the (passive) subject. Unlike English style of writing which discourages the use of the passive form, passive verbs in Japanese are often used in essays and articles. Passive Conjugation Rules All passive verbs become ru-verbs. • For ru-verbs: Replace the last 「 」 with 「 」 • For u-verbs: Change the last character as you would for negative verbs but attach「 . of 「 い」. • Exception Verbs: 1. 「 」 becomes 「 2. 「 」 becomes 「 」 」 217 」instead 5.1. CAUSATIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Sample ru-verbs Plain Passive ⾷ ⾷ 着 着 信 信 寝 寝 起 起 出 出 掛 掛 捨 捨 調 調 Exception Verbs Positive Passive Sample u-verbs Plain Passive 話 話 聞 聞 泳 泳 遊 遊 待 待 飲 飲 直 直 死 死 買う 買 Examples 1. ⾷ ！ 誰 The porridge was eaten by somebody! 2. 変 ⾔ 。 I am told by everybody that (I'm) strange. 思 。 3. 光 速 超え 、不可能 Exceeding the speed of light is thought to be impossible. 4. 教科書 多 ⼈ 読 い 。 This textbook is being read by a large number of people. 5. 外国⼈ 質問 聞 、答え 。 I was asked a question by a foreigner but I couldn't answer. 6. 含 ー 、あ Everything is included in this package. い 。 5.1.3 Using passive form to show politeness Vocabulary 1. 2. う - how (exception) - to do 3. 領収証【 う・ 4. 明⽇【あ 】- tomorrow 5. 会議【 6. ⾏ い・ 【い・ う・ う】- receipt 】- meeting 】(u-verb) - to go 218 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.1. CAUSATIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS While we will go over various types of grammar that express a politeness level above the normal -masu/desu forms in the next lesson, it is useful to know that using passive form is another more polite way to express an action. In Japanese, a sentence is usually more polite when it is less direct. For example, it is more polite to refer to someone by his or her name and not by the direct pronoun "you". It is also more polite to ask a negative question than a positive one. (For example, 「 ？」 vs. 「 ？」 ) In a similar sense, using the passive form makes the sentence less direct because the subject does not directly perform the action. This makes it sound more polite. Here is the same sentence in increasing degrees of politeness. 1. う ？- What will you do? (lit: How do?) 2. う 3. う 4. う い 5. う い ？- Regular polite. ？- Passive polite. ？- Honorific (to be covered next lesson) う ？- Honorific + a lesser degree of certainty. Notice how the same sentence grows longer and longer as you get more and more indirect. Examples 1. 領収証 う ？ What about your receipt? (lit: How will you do receipt?) ？ 2. 明⽇ 会議 ⾏ Are you going to tomorrow's meeting? 5.1.4 Causative-Passive Forms Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 2. ⾏ 【い・ 3. 朝 飯【あ ・ 4. ⽇本【 ・ 5. 酒【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to go ・ 】- Japan 】- alcohol 6. 飲 【 ・ 7. - event, matter 8. 多い【 】- breakfast 】(u-verb) - to drink ・い】(i-adj) - numerous 219 5.1. CAUSATIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS 9. あい - that guy (derogatory) 10. 〜時間【〜 ・ 11. 待 【 ・ 12. 親【 】- counter for span of hour(s) 】(u-verb) - to wait 】- parent 13. 宿題【 14. CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS ・ い】- homework (exception) - to do The causative-passive form is simply the combination of causative and passive conjugations to mean that the action of making someone do something was done to that person. This would effectively translate into, "[someone] is made to do [something]". The important thing to remember is the order of conjugation. The verb is first conjugated to the causative and then passive, never the other way around. Causative-Passive Conjugation Form The causative-passive verb is formed by first conjugating to the causative form and then by conjugating the result to the passive form. Examples . →⾷ 1. ⾷ 2. ⾏ →⾏ →⾷ →⾏ Examples 1. 朝 飯 ⾷ 、⾷ 。 Despite not wanting to eat breakfast, I was made to eat it. 2. ⽇本 、 酒 飲 多い。 In Japan, the event of being made to drink is numerous. 。 3. あい ⼆時間 待 I was made to wait 2 hours by that guy. 。 4. 親 毎⽇宿題 I am made to do homework everyday by my parent(s). A Shorter Alternative Vocabulary 1. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 220 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 2. ⽴ 【 ・ 3. ⾷ 】(u-verb) - to stand 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to speak 5. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 6. 廊下【 う・ 4. 話 】- hall, corridor 7. ⽇本【 ・ 】- Japan 酒【 ・ 8. 9. 飲 【 ・ 10. 5.1. CAUSATIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS 】- alcohol 】(u-verb) - to drink - event, matter 11. 多い【 12. あい ・い】(i-adj) - numerous - that guy (derogatory) 13. 〜時間【〜 ・ 14. 待 【 ・ 】- counter for span of hour(s) 】(u-verb) - to wait Going along with the shorter causative alternative, you can also use the same conjugation for the causativepassive form. I won't cover it in too much detail because the usefulness of this form is rather limited just like the shorter causative form itself. The idea is to simply used the shortened causative form instead of using the regular causative conjugation. The rest is the same as before. Shortened causative-passive form examples First conjugate to the shortened causative form. Then conjugate to the passive form. Examples . →⾏ 1. ⾏ → ⾏ → ⾏ 2. ⽴ →⽴ →⽴ →⽴ This form cannot be used in cases where the shorter causative form ends in 「 you can't have a 「 」 ending. Verbs that cannot be used in this form Examples of verbs you can't use in this form. 1. ⾷ 2. 話 →⾷ →話 . → ⾷ → 話 221 」, in other words, 5.2. HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE FORMS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Examples 1. 学⽣ 廊下 ⽴ 。 The student was made to stand in the hall. 多い。 2. ⽇本 、 酒 飲 In Japan, the event of being made to drink is numerous. 3. あい ⼆時間 待 。 I was made to wait 2 hours by that guy. 5.2 Honorific and Humble Forms Japanese can be roughly separated into three levels of politeness: casual, polite, and honorific/humble. So far, we have already gone over the polite forms using 「〜 」 and 「〜 」. We will now cover the next level of politeness using honorific and humble forms. You will often hear this type of language in any customer/consumer type situations such as fast food counters, restaurants, etc. For now, the first thing to remember is that the speaker always considers himself/herself to be at the lowest level. So any actions performed by oneself are in humble form while actions performed by anyone else seen from the view of the speaker uses the honorific form. 5.2.1 Set Expressions Vocabulary 1. (exception) - to do 2. - to do (honorific) 3. 致 【い ・ 4. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to do (humble) 】(u-verb) - to go 5. い - to be; to go; to come (honorific) い 6. - to be; to go; to come (honorific) 7. 参 【 8. い (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 9. (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) (humble) 10. ⾒ 11. い・ 【 ・ 覧 12. 拝⾒ 】(u-verb) - to go; to come (humble) 】(ru-verb) - to see 【 ・ 【 い・ ・ ・ 】- to see (honorific) 】- to see (humble) 222 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 13. 聞 【 ・ 5.2. HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE FORMS 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen 14. 伺う【う ・う】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen (humble) 15. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 16. - to say (honorific) 17. 申 【 う・ 18. 申 上 【 19. あ 】(u-verb) - to say (humble) う・ ・あ・ 】(u-verb) - to say (humble) (ru-verb) - to give; to raise 20. 差 上 【 ・ ・あ・ 21. (ru-verb) - to give 22. 下 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to give; to raise (humble) 】- to give (honorific) う (u-verb) - to receive 23. 24. い (u-verb) - to receive; to eat; to drink (humble) 25. ⾷ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 26. 召 上 27. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink 28. 知 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to know 29. 存 【 ・ 【 ・ ・あ・ ・ 】- knowing (honorific) 30. 存 【 31. - to be (formal) 32. ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat; to drink (honorific) 】(ru-verb) - to know (humble) う - already 33. 仕事【 ・ 】- job 34. 何【 】- what ／ 35. 推薦状【 36. 書 い・ 【 ・ 37. ・ う】- letter of recommendation 】(u-verb) - to write - which way 38. 今⽇【 う】- today 39. 私【 】- me; myself; I 40. ー 41. 失礼【 - report ・ い】- discourtesy 223 5.2. HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE FORMS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS The difficult part of learning honorific and humble language is that there are a number of words that have separate verbs for honorific and humble forms. Anything that does not have its own special expression fall under the general rules of humble and honorific conjugations that we will cover next. Honorific and Humble Verbs Honorific Plain ⾏ 来 い ⾒ 聞 ⾔う あ 知 ⾷ 飲 い い い 覧 下 う ／ ／ ／ い い い － － － 召 上 召 上 存知 ( い ) Humble 致 参 参 拝⾒ 伺う 申 ／申 上 差 上 － い い い 存 Honorific verbs with special conjugations A number of these verbs do not follow the normal masu-conjugation rules and they include: 「 」、 「い 」、「 」、「下 」、 and 「 」 (which we will soon cover). For all masu-form tenses of these verbs, instead of the「 」becoming a「 」as it does with normal u-verbs, it instead becomes an 「い」. All other conjugations besides the masu-form do not change from regular u-verbs. Plain い い 下 下 -form い い い い い -conjugations Past -form Negative -form い い い い い い い い 下 い 下 い い い Past-negative い い い い 下 い い -form Examples of honorific form We can now begin to see that 「 い」 is just a special conjugation of 「下 」 which is the honorific version of 「 」 . Let's look at some actual examples. Since these examples are all questions directed directly to someone (second person), they all use the honorific form. 1. 、 う召 上 Alice-san, did (you) eat already? 。 224 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 2. 仕事 何 い What are you doing at work? 5.2. HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE FORMS 。 。 3. 推薦状 書い You're going to give me the favor of writing a recommendation letter? 4. い い Where did you come from? い い 5. 今⽇ 、 Where are you going today? 。 。 Examples of humble form The following examples are all actions done by the speaker so they all use the humble form. 申 。 1. 私 As for me, (people) say Kim. (I am called Kim.) 2. 私 書い ー ⾒ い 。 Will I be able to receive the favor of getting my report looked at? 。 3. 失礼致 Excuse me. (lit: I am doing a discourtesy.) 5.2.2 Other substitutions Vocabulary 1. - this way 2. 私【 】- me, myself, I 3. 部屋【 ・ 4. 5. 】- room - to be (formal) ⼿洗い【 ・ ・あ 6. - this (abbr. of 7. - building 8. 〜階【〜 ・い】- bathroom ) い】- counter for story/floor 9. いい (i-adj) - good 10. い (i-adj) - good (formal) 11. 悪い【 ・い】(i-adj) - bad 225 5.2. HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE FORMS い 12. - sorry (polite) 13. - sorry (casual) 14. い - sorry (polite) 15. - sorry (polite) 16. 申 訳あ 【 17. ⾔い訳【い・い・ 18. 恐 ⼊ 19. 恐縮 【 【 20. 〜様【〜 21. 〜 22. CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS ・ ・あ 】- sorry (formal) 】- excuse ・ ・い・ う・ ・ 】- sorry (formal) 】- sorry (formal) 】- honorific name suffix - polite name suffix 客様【 ・ 23. 神様【 う・ ・ ・ 】- customer (formal) 】- god (formal) In addition to these set expressions, there are some words that also have more polite counterparts. Probably the most important is the politer version of 「あ 」, which is 「 」. This verb can be used for both inanimate and animate objects. It is neither honorific nor humble but it is a step above 「あ 」 in politeness. However, unless you want to sound like a samurai, 「 」 is always used in the polite form: 「 い 」. By extension, the politer version of 「 」 is 「 conjugation of 「 」, which comes from 「 あ much later). い 」 . This is essentially the masu-form 」 literally meaning, "to exist as" (to be covered Examples 。 1. 、私 部屋 Over here is my room. 2. 、私 部屋 This way is my room. 1. ⼿洗い ⼆階 あ 。 The bathroom is on the second floor of this building. 2. ⼿洗い ⼆階 い 。 The bathroom is on the second floor of this building. い 。 Other examples include 「いい」, which is more formally expressed as 「 い」. There are also six different ways to say, "I'm sorry" (not counting 「悪い 」 or slight inflection changes like 「 い 」). Successively politer expressions for apologizing: 226 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.2. HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE FORMS 。 1. 2. い。 3. 。 4. 申 訳あ 5. 恐 ⼊ 。(申 訳 is the humble form of ⾔い訳) 。 6. 恐縮 。 In addition, the politest suffix for names is 「様」, one level above 「 」. You won't be using this suffix too often in actual speech even if you speak to that person in honorific/humble speech. However, expect to use it when writing letters even to people you are somewhat familiar with. Also, service people such as cashiers or waitresses/waiters will normally refer to the customer as 「 客様」. Of course, royalty and deities are always accompanied by 「様」 such as 「神様」. 5.2.3 Honorific and Humble Conjugations Vocabulary 1. 酒【 ・ 】- alcohol 2. 茶【 ・ 】- tea 3. ⾦【 ・ 】- money 4. ⾳読 【 ・ 5. 意⾒【い・ 6. 【 】- rice; meal ・ 8. 仕事【 ・ 9. 10. 好 焼 】- Chinese reading 】- opinion 飯【 ・ 7. 訓読 ・ ・ 】- Japanese reading 】- job 【 ・ ⼟産【 ・ ・ ・ ・ 】- reply 12. 先⽣【 ・ い】- teacher 14. 】- okonomiyaki (Japanese-style pancake) 】- souvenir 11. 返事【 13. ⾒え ・ 【 ・え 】(ru-verb) - to be visible (u-verb) - to become う - already 15. 16. 帰 【 え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home 227 5.2. HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE FORMS 17. 店内【 ・ 18. 召 【 ・ 上 い】- store interior ・あ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat; to drink (honorific) 19. ⼆重敬語【 ・ う・ 20. 下 】- to give (honorific) 【 ・ 21. 少々【 22. 待 う・ 【 ・ 23. 24. CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS い・ 】- redundant honorific う】- just a minute; small quantity; 】(u-verb) - to wait - this way 覧下 い【 ・ 25. 閉 26. 【 ・ ・ ・ い】- please look (honorific) 】(u-verb) - to close - door 27. 注意【 う・い】- caution い (i-adj) - good (formal) 28. 29. 願う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to wish; to request 30. (exception) - to do 31. 聞 【 ・ 32. - event, matter 33. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen 34. - sorry (polite) 35. 千円【 ・え 36. 預 37. 致 【あ ・ 【い ・ 】- 1,000 yen 】- to look after; to hold on to; 】(u-verb) - to do (humble) For all other verbs without set expressions, there are conjugation rules to change them into honorific and humble forms. They both involve a common practice of attaching a polite prefix 「御」 . In Japanese, there is an practice of attaching an honorific prefix 「御」 to certain (not all) nouns to show politeness. In fact, some words like 「 酒」、 「 茶」、or 「 ⾦」 come with this prefix so often that it's become practically the word itself. In general, 「御」 is written in hiragana as either 「 」 for words read as ⾳ 読 (e.g. 意⾒、 飯) or 「 」 for words read as 訓読 (e.g. ⾦、 仕事). In fact, you may have been using this prefix already without realizing it like 「 好 焼 」 or 「 ⼟産」 . There are some exceptions to this rule such as 「 返事」. Luckily since 「御」 is rarely written in kanji, identifying the exceptions should not really be a problem. Honorific Form The honorific form of verbs that are not among the set honorific expressions given above can be formed in two different ways. 228 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Honorific Conjugation 1: + stem + 5.2. HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE FORMS + This kind of makes sense if you think of it as a person becoming the honorific state of a verb. All subsequent conjugations follow the normal rules of conjugating the u-verb 「 」. To be honest, this type of sentence formulation is rarely used. • 先⽣ ⾒え 。 Have you seen the teacher? Honorific Conjugation 2: 1. + stem + う 帰 。 You're going home already? 召 上 2. 店内 Will you be dining in? 。 Service people want to be extra polite so they will often use this type of "double honorific" conjugation or ⼆重敬語 (in this case, the honorific 「召 上 」 combined with the honorific conjugation). Whether it's necessary or grammatically proper is another story. Using 「 い」 with honorifics You can also use 「下 い」 with a honorific verb by replacing 「 」 with 「 useful for when you want to ask somebody to do something but still use a honorific verb. Yet another often-used expression. • 少々 待 Similarly, with 「 • い。- Please wait a moment. 覧 」, you simply replace 「 」 with 「 覧下 い。 Please look this way. This works for other nouns as well. For example, riding the trains... 注意下 い。 • 閉 Please be careful of the closing doors. 229 い」. い」. This is 5.2. HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE FORMS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Humble Form Humble verbs are formed in the following fashion. Humble Conjugation: + stem + You've probably already heard the first example many times before but now you know exactly where it comes from. 1. 願い 。 I properly make request. 2. 先⽣、 聞 い あ 。 Teacher, there's something I want to ask you. 3. 、 待 。 Sorry, I made you wait (causative form). 預 い 。 4. 千円 We'll be holding on [from?] your 1000 yen. You'll hear something like example 4 when, for example, you need to get change after paying 1000 yen. Again, the ⼆重敬語 where 「 」 has been converted to the humble 「致 」 form when it's already in the +stem+ humble form. Some Japanese people complain that this makes no sense and that 「 」 should really be 「 」. 5.2.4 Making honorific requests Vocabulary 1. 下 【 ・ 2. い 3. - to be; to go; to come (honorific) - to do (honorific) 4. 5. 】- to give (honorific) - to say (honorific) (exception) - to do 6. い い 7. い い - please come in 8. あ 9. 10. 越 う - please come in (formal) い - thank you (polite) - again 【 ・ 】- to go over 230 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 11. う 12. 5.2. HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE FORMS - please - slowly We learned how to make polite requests using 「〜 い」 in a previous section and we just looked at how to use honorific verbs with requests as well. However, there is yet another way to make requests using honorific verbs. This grammar only applies to the honorific verbs with special 「〜 」 conjugations that we just covered. This includes 「下 」、「い 」、「 」、and 「 」. I've never actually seen this used with 「 」, but it is grammatically possible. Making requests for honorific actions • Conjugate the honorific verb to the special masu-conjugation and replace the last「 Examples 1. 下 →下 2. い い →下 →下 2. い い →い 」 い →い い . • An abbreviated and less formal version of this is to simply remove the 「 to the special masu-form Examples 1. 下 →い 」with「 い →下 」 after conjugating い い →い Now you finally know where grammar such as 「 Let's look at a few quick examples. い い」 and 「 い」 actually came from. Examples You'll probably hear this one a million times every time you enter some kind of store in Japan. • い い 。 Please come in! However, a middle-aged sushi chef will probably use the abbreviated version. • い い！ Please come in! Some more examples... 1. あ う い 。 越 Thank you very much. Please come again. い 231 。 5.3. THINGS THAT HAPPEN UNINTENTIONALLY CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 2. う 、 い 。 Please take your time and relax. 5.3 Things that happen unintentionally う／〜 う） （〜 う、 〜 This is the first of many useful tools that will become essential in your day-to-day conversations. We will now learn how to express an action that has taken place unintentionally often with unsatisfactory results. This is primarily done by the verb 「 う」. Let's look at an example. Vocabulary 1. 康介【 う・ 2. 宿題【 】- Kousuke (first name) ・ い】- homework 3. (u-verb) - to do 4. う (u-verb) - to do something by accident; to finish completely 康介：宿題 ？ Kousuke: Did you do homework? ！ ： Alice: Oh no! (I screwed up!) 5.3.1 Using 「 う」 with other verbs Vocabulary 1. う (u-verb) - to do something by accident; to finish completely 2. - that (abbr. of 3. ー ) - cake 4. 全部【 5. ⾷ ・ 【 ・ 6. 毎⽇【 い・ 7. - kilo 8. 太 【 ・ 】- everything 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】- everyday 】(u-verb) - to become fatter 232 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.3. THINGS THAT HAPPEN UNINTENTIONALLY 9. - properly 10. 痩 【 ・ 11. 結局【 12. 嫌【い 】(ru-verb) - to become thin ・ 】- eventually 】(na-adj) disagreeable; unpleasant 13. - event, matter 14. (exception) - to do 15. - sorry 16. 待 【 ・ 17. ⾦⿂【 】(u-verb) - to wait ・ 】- goldfish う - already 18. 19. 死 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to die When 「 う」 is used in this sense, it is normal to attach it to the te-form of another verb to express an action that is done or happened unintentionally. As is common with this type of grammar, the tense is decided by the tense of 「 う」. 1. ー 全部⾷ Oops, I ate that whole cake. 。 太 い 。 2. 毎⽇ ー ⾷ 、２ I ate cake everyday and I (unintentionally) gained two kilograms. 3. ⾷ い 、痩 い 。 If you don't eat properly, you'll (unintentionally) lose weight you know. 。 4. 結局、嫌 In the end, I (unintentionally) made [someone] do something distasteful. 5. 、待 ！ Sorry about (unintentionally) making you wait! 6. ⾦⿂ う死 。 The goldfish died already (oops). 5.3.2 Using the casual version of 「〜 う」 Vocabulary 1. う (u-verb) - to do something by accident; to finish completely 2. ⾦⿂【 ・ 】- goldfish 233 5.3. THINGS THAT HAPPEN UNINTENTIONALLY CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS う - already 3. 4. 死 【 ・ 5. 帰 【 】(u-verb) - to die え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home 6. いい (i-adj) - good 7. 皆【 】- everybody 8. - somewhere (abbr. of 9. ⾏ 【い・ 10. ) 】(u-verb) - to go - gradually; soon 11. 遅い【 ・い】(i-adj) - late 12. (u-verb) - to become 13. - again 14. 遅刻【 ・ 15. 】- tardiness (exception) - to do 16. - sorry 17. い - just (now); unintentionally 18. 前【 ・ 19. 呼 【 ・ え】- you (casual) 】(u-verb) - to call In casual speech, the 「〜 う」 is often substituted by 「〜 う」 while 「〜 う」 is substituted by 「 う」. Both 「〜 う」 and 「〜 う」 conjugate just like regular u-verbs. 。 1. ⾦⿂ う死 The goldfish died already. 2. う帰 いい？ Is it ok if I went home already? 3. 。 、 ⾏ Everybody went off somewhere. 4. 遅 う 。 It'll gradually become late, you know. There is yet another very colloquial version of 「〜 う」 and 「〜 う」 where it is replaced by 「〜 う」 and 「〜 う」 respectively. Unlike the cuter 「〜 う」 and 「〜 う」 slang, this version conjures a image of rough and coarse middle-aged man. 。 1. 遅刻 Darn, I'm late again. 2. 、 い 前 呼 。 Sorry, I just ended up calling you unconsciously. 234 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.3.3 Another meaning of 「 5.4. EXPRESSIONS WITH GENERIC NOUNS う」 Vocabulary う (u-verb) - to do something by accident; to finish completely 1. 2. 宿題【 3. ・ い】- homework (u-verb) - to do You may have noticed that 「 う」 has another definition meaning "to finish something completely". You may want to consider this a totally separate verb from the 「 う」 we have covered so far. Occasionally but not usually, 「 う」 will have this meaning rather than the unintended action. • 宿題 い い。 Finish your homework completely. Special expressions with generic nouns （ ） 5.4 、 、 We've already learned how to use generic nouns in order to modify nouns. Now we will go over some special expression used with generic nouns. 5.4.1 Using 「 」 to say whether something has happened Vocabulary 1. - event, matter 2. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 3. 徹夜【 ・ 4. 宿題【 5. 】- staying up all night ・ い】- homework (exception) - to do 6. ⼀⼈【 】- 1 person; alone 7. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 8. - Paris 9. 寿司【 ・ ・ 】- sushi 235 5.4. EXPRESSIONS WITH GENERIC NOUNS 10. ⾷ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 11. ⽇本【 ・ 】- Japan 12. 映画【えい・ 】- movie 13. 観 【 ・ ー 14. CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 】(ru-verb) - to watch - Europe 15. いい (i-adj) - good う - (things are) that way 16. 17. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 18. ⾒ 【 ・ 19. 〜度【〜 】(ru-verb) - to see 】- counter for number of times When you combine 「 an event exists or not. 」, the generic word for an event with 「あ 」, you can talk about whether Examples あ 。 1. 徹夜 、宿題 There are times when I do homework while staying up all night. あ 2. ⼀⼈ ⾏ I never go by myself. 。 Using the past tense of the verb with 「 」 , you can talk about whether an event has ever taken place. This is essentially the only way you can say "have done" in Japanese so this is a very useful expression. You need to use this grammar any time you want to talk about whether someone has ever done something. Examples 1. ⾏ あ 。 Have you ever gone to Paris? 2. 寿司 ⾷ あ I've had sushi before. 。 3. ⽇本 映画 観 い ？ You've never seen a Japanese movie? 4. ⾏ あ いい ー It would be nice if I ever go to Europe. 。 236 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5. 5.4. EXPRESSIONS WITH GENERIC NOUNS ういう ⾒ 。 I had never seen anything like that. い 。 6. ⼀度⾏ I've never gone, not even once. 5.4.2 Using 「 」 as an abstract place Vocabulary 1. 所【 】- place 2. 早い【 ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 3. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 4. 映画【えい・ 5. 今【い 】- now う 6. 】- movie - just right; exactly 7. いい - good 8. 彼【 9. 優 10. あ 】- he; boyfriend い【 ・ い】(i-adj) - gentle; kind (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 11. 授業【 12. 終 ・ う】- class 【 ・ 13. - this 14. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to end 】(u-verb) - to go 「 」(所) is usually used to indicate a generic physical location. However, it can also hold a much broader meaning ranging from a characteristic to a place in time. Examples 。 1. 早 。映画 今 う いい Come quickly. We're at the good part of the movie. 2. 彼 優 い あ 。 His personality has some gentle parts too. 3. 今 授業 終 Class has ended just now. 4. 。 ⾏ 。 I was just about to go from now. 237 5.5. EXPRESSING LEVELS OF CERTAINTY 5.4.3 Using 「 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 」 as a casual feminine way to emphasize Vocabulary 1. 物【 】- object う 2. 3. 来 - why 【 ・ 4. 授業【 5. あ ・ 】(exception) - to come う】- class (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) The generic object noun 「 」 can be used as a casual and feminine way of emphasizing something. This is identical to the explanatory feminine emphasis expressed by the 「 」 particle. Just like the explanatory 「 」 particle, the 「 」 is often changed into 「 」 resulting in 「 」. Using 「 」 sounds very feminine and a little cheeky (in a cute way). Examples • う ？ Why didn't (you) come? 。 1. 授業 あ (I) had class. [feminine explanatory] 。 2. 授業 あ (I) had class. [feminine explanatory] 3. 授業 あ 。 (I) had class, so there. [feminine explanatory] 5.5 Expressing various levels of certainty う、 う） （ い、 In general, Japanese people don't assert themselves of something unless they are absolutely sure that it is correct. This accounts for the incredibly frequent use of 「〜 思う」 and the various grammatical expressions used to express specific levels of certainty. We will go over these expressions starting from the less certain to the most certain. 238 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.5.1 Using 「 5.5. EXPRESSING LEVELS OF CERTAINTY い」 to express uncertainty Vocabulary 1. 多分【 ・ 】- perhaps; probably 2. 映画【えい・ 】- movie 3. 観 【 ・ 4. 彼【 】- he; boyfriend 5. 学⽣【 6. 】(ru-verb) - to watch ・ い】- student - that 7. ⾯⽩い【 ・ 8. 先⽣【 ・ 9. 退屈【 い・ ・ い】(i-adj) - interesting い】- teacher 】- boredom 10. ⾷堂【 ・ 11. ⾏ 】(u-verb) - to go 【い・ 12. ⾬【あ う】- cafeteria 】- rain 13. 試合【 ・あい】- match, game 14. 中⽌【 う・ 】- cancellation 15. (u-verb) - to become 16. - this (abbr. of 17. 映画【えい・ 18. 〜回【〜 ) 】- movie い】- counter for number of times 19. - event, matter 20. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 21. あ - over there 22. 代々⽊公園【 ・ ・ ・ う・え 】- Yoyogi park う - already 23. 24. 逃 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to escape; to run away 「 い」 is used to mean "maybe" or "possibly" and is less certain than the word 「多分」 . It attaches to the end of a complete clause. For noun and na-adjective clauses, the declarative 「 」 must be removed. It can also be written in kanji as 「 知 い」 and you can treat it the same as a negative ru-verb (there is no positive equivalent) so the masu-form would become 「 」. 239 5.5. EXPRESSING LEVELS OF CERTAINTY CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS In casual speech, it can be abbreviated to just 「 」. There is also a very masculine version 「 」, which is simply a different type of negative verb. Expressing uncertainty with 「 • Simply attach 「 Examples 1. 映画 2. 彼 い」 い」 or 「 3. ⾯⽩い い」 to the clause い 観 学⽣ 知 い い • Noun and na-adjective clauses must not use the . declarative 「 Examples 1. 先⽣ い → 先⽣ い 2. 退屈 い → 退屈 い • It can be abbreviated to just 「 Example 1. ⾯⽩い 」 」 in casual speech い → ⾯⽩い Examples 1. 。 ⾷堂 ⾏ Smith-san may have gone to the cafeteria. 2. ⾬ 試合 中⽌ い 。 The game may become canceled by rain, huh? 3. ！ 映画 ⼀回観 あ I might have already seen this movie once. 4. あ 代々⽊公園 い。 That might be Yoyogi park over there. 5. う逃 い 。 Might not be able to escape anymore, you know. 5.5.2 Using 「 う」 to express a fair amount of certainty (polite) Vocabulary 1. 多分【 ・ 】- perhaps; probably 240 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 2. 明⽇【あ 】- tomorrow 3. ⾬【あ 】- rain 4. 学⽣【 ・ 5. - this 6. - where 7. ⾏ 【い・ 8. 休 【 9. い 5.5. EXPRESSING LEVELS OF CERTAINTY い】- student 】(u-verb) - to go ・ 】(u-verb) - to rest (u-verb) - to receive; to eat; to drink (humble) 「 う」 is used to express a level of some certainty and is close in meaning to 「多分」 . Just like 「〜 ／〜 」, it must come at the end of a complete sentence. It does not have any other conjugations. You can also replace 「〜 」 with 「〜 う 」 to make the question sound slightly more polite and less assuming by adding a slight level of uncertainty. Examples う。 1. 明⽇ ⾬ Probably rain tomorrow too. う 。 2. 学⽣ Are (you) student? 3. ⾏ う ？ Where (are you) going from here? If you want to sound really, really polite, you can even add 「〜 ending. • 休 5.5.3 Using 「 う」 and 「 certainty (casual) 】- tardiness (exception) - to do 3. 時間【 ・ 」 う」 to express strong amount of Vocabulary 2. 」 to the end of a 「〜 う 。- May I receive the favor of resting, possibly? い 1. 遅刻【 ・ う 】- time 241 5.5. EXPRESSING LEVELS OF CERTAINTY 4. あ CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 5. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 6. - this 7. ⾷ 8. ⾏ 【 ・ 【い・ 9. 掃除【 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】(u-verb) - to go う・ 】- cleaning 10. ⼿伝う【 ・ 11. (ru-verb) - to give う - (things are) that way 12. 13. - where う - already 14. 15. 寝 【 ・ 16. 家【1) う 17. 帰 ・う】(u-verb) - to help, to assist 【 】(ru-verb) - to sleep ; 2) いえ】- 1) one's own home; 2) house え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home The casual equivalent of 「 う」 is surprisingly enough 「 う」 . However, when you are speaking in a polite manner, the 「 う」 is enunciated flatly while in casual speech, it has a rising intonation and can be shortened to 「 」 . In addition, since people tend to be more assertive in casual situations, the casual version has a much stronger flavor often sounding more like, "See, I told you so!" Example 1 Ａ：あ ！遅刻 う！ A: Ah! We're going to be late! う！ Ｂ： 、時間 い ⾔ B: That's why I told you there was no time! Example 2 。 Ａ： ⾷ ⾏ A: You're going to eat from now aren't you? Ｂ： ？ B: So what if I am? 242 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS Example 3 う。 Ａ：掃除、⼿伝 A: You're going to help me clean, right? Ｂ：え？ う ？ B: Huh? Is that so? 「 う」 means essentially the same thing as 「 is used mostly by males. う」 except that it sounds more masculine and Example 4 Ａ： ？ A: Where is Alice? Ｂ： う寝 い う。 B: Probably sleeping already. Example 5 Ａ： う家 帰 う。 A: You're going home already, right? Ｂ： う 。 B: That's right. 5.6 Expressing amounts 、Amount+ 、 （ 、 、 ） 、 、 、 This lesson will cover various expressions used to express various degrees of amounts. For example, sentences like, "I only ate one", "That was all that was left", "There's just old people here", or "I ate too much" all indicate whether there's a lot or little of something. Most of these expressions are made with particles and not as separate words as you see in English. 243 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.6.1 Indicating that's all there is using 「 」 Vocabulary 1. - apple 2. - this 3. - that 4. ⾷ 【 5. ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat - this (abbr. of 6. 歌【う ) 】- song 7. 歌う【う ・う】(u-verb) - to sing 8. - that (abbr. of 9. ⼈【 10. 好 】- person 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - likable; desirable 11. 販売機【 ・ い・ 12. 五百円⽟【 ・ 14. 返事【 18. ・ 】- 500 yen coin 】- Kobayashi (last name) ・ 】- reply 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 16. 準備【 17. 終 】- vending machine ・え 13. ⼩林【 ・ 15. 来 ) ・ 【 ・ 】- preparations 】(u-verb) - to end - here 19. 名前【 ・ え】- name 20. 書 】(u-verb) - to write 【 ・ 21. いい (i-adj) - good The particle 「 」 is used to express that that's all there is. Just like the other particles we have already learned, it is directly attached to the end of whichever word that it applies to. 244 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS Examples 1. 。 Just apple(s) (and nothing else). 2. 。 Just that and this (and nothing else). When one of the major particles are also applied to a word, these particles must come after 「 fact, the ordering of multiple particles usually start from the most specific to the most general. 1. 、⾷ い い。 Just don't eat that. (Anything else is assumed to be OK). 2. 歌 歌 。 Didn't sing just this song. 3. 好 。 ⼈ That person was the only person I liked. The same goes for double particles. Again 「 • 」. In 」 must come first. 販売機 、五百円⽟ 使え い。 Cannot use 500 yen coin in just this vending machine. With minor particles such as 「 」 or 「 」, it is difficult to tell which should come first. When in doubt, try googling to see the level of popularity of each combination. It turns out that 「 」 is almost twice as popular as 「 」 with a hit number of 90,000 vs. 50,000. 、返事 来 。 • ⼩林 A reply has not come from only Kobayashi-san. Unlike some particles, you can directly attach 「 」 to verbs as well. 1. 準備 終 、 ⾷ 。 Since the preparations are done, from here we just have to eat. 2. いい ？ 名前 書 Is it ok to just write [my] name here? 245 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS 5.6.2 Using 「 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 」 as a formal version of 「 」 Vocabulary 1. - this (abbr. of 2. 乗⾞券【 う・ 3. 発売【 ・ 4. 当⽇【 う・ 5. 有効【 う・ ー 6. ) ・ 】- passenger ticket い】- sale 】- that very day う】- effective 7. 対象【 - survey い・ 8. ⼤学⽣【 う】- target い・ ・ い】- college student A particle that is essentially identical both grammatically and in meaning to「 」is「 」. However, unlike 「 」, which is used in regular conversations, 「 」 is usually only used in a written context. It is often used for explaining policies, in manuals, and other things of that nature. This grammar really belongs in the advanced section since formal language has a different flavor and tone from what we have seen so far. However, it is covered here because it is essentially identical to 「 」. Just googling for 「 」 will quickly show the difference in the type of language that is used with 「 」 as opposed to 「 」. 1. 乗⾞券 発売当⽇ 有効 。 This boarding ticket is only valid on the date on which it was purchased. 2. ー 対象 ⼤学⽣ 。 The targets of this survey are only college students. 5.6.3 Indication that there's nothing else using 「 Vocabulary 1. - this 2. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 3. ⾒ 【 ・ 4. 今⽇【 】(ru-verb) - to see う】- today 5. 忙 い【い 6. 朝 飯【あ ・ ・ ・ い】(i-adj) - busy 】- breakfast 246 」 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 7. ⾷ 【 ・ 8. 全部【 ・ 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】- everything 9. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 10. うう - no (casual) 11. 何【 】- what う - to receive 12. 13. 頑張 【 ・ ・ 】(u-verb) - to try one's best う - (things are) this way 14. 15. (u-verb) - to become 16. 逃 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to escape; to run away う - already 17. 18. 腐 19. 捨 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to rot; to spoil 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to throw away I carefully phrased the title of this section to show that 「 」 must be used to indicate the lack of everything else. In other words, the rest of the sentence must always be negative. • い。 There's nothing but this. The following is incorrect. • あ 。 (Should be using 「 As you can see, 「 nuance. 」 instead) 」has an embedded negative meaning while 「 1. ⾒ 。 See just this. 2. ⾒ い。 Don't see just this. 3. ⾒ い。 Don't see anything else but this. 247 」doesn't have any particular 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Examples • 今⽇ 忙 、朝 飯 ⾷ 。 Today was busy and couldn't eat anything but breakfast. Notice that unlike 「 」, it is necessary to finish off the sentence. • 全部買う ？ You're buying everything? 1. うう 、 Nah, just this. 。 買 い 2. うう 、 Nah, won't buy anything else but this. 。 3. うう 、 (Wrong, the sentence must explicitly indicate the negative.) While the major particles always come last, it turns out that 「 」 must come after 「 」 and 「 」. A google search of 「 」 beats 「 」 by an overwhelming 60,000 to 600. • 何 い。 I didn't receive anything except from Alice. You can also use this grammar with verbs. 1. い！ 頑張 There's nothing to do but try our best! 2. う 、逃 い。 There no choice but to run away once it turns out like this. 3. う腐 い 、捨 い 。 It's rotten already so there's nothing to do but throw it out. 「 」, an alternative to 「 」 Vocabulary 1. - this 2. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 248 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 3. あ 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) う - (things are) this way 4. 5. (u-verb) - to become う - already 6. 7. (u-verb) - to do 「 」 is another version of 「 」 that means essentially the same thing and works exactly the same way. Just substitute 「 」 with 「 」 and you're good to go. This version is a bit stronger than 「 」 in emphasis but it's not used nearly as often so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I briefly cover it here just in case you do run into this expression. Examples 1. い！ 買う There's nothing but to buy this! 2. う 、 う い！ If things turn out like this, there nothing to do but to just do it! 5.6.4 Expressing the opposite of 「 」 with 「 Vocabulary 1. 何【 ／ 2. - middle-aged lady 3. 嫌【い 】(na-adj) disagreeable; unpleasant 4. 崇【 】- what 】- Takashi (first name) 5. 〜君【〜 6. 漫画【 7. 読 】- name suffix ・ 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to read 悪い【 8. 9. 彼【 ・ ・い】(i-adj) - unattractive; uncool 】- he; boyfriend 10. ⿇雀【 ー・ 11. 直美【 ・ 12. 遊 】- comic book 【あ ・ 】- mahjong 】- Naomi (first name) 】(u-verb) - to play 249 」 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS 13. 最近【 い・ 14. 仕事【 ・ CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 】- recent; lately 】- job 「 」is used to express the condition where there's so much of something to the point where there's nothing else. Notice this is fundamentally different from 「 」 which expresses a lack of everything else but the item in question. In more casual situations, 「 」 is usually pronounced 「 」 or just 「 」. For example, let's say you went to a party to find, much to your dismay, the whole room filled with middle-aged women. You might say the following. い ？ • 何 ！ What the? Isn't it nothing but obasan? Or perhaps a little more girly: 。 • い 。 Eww. It's nothing but obasan. Examples • 崇君 漫画 読 。 悪い。 Takashi-kun is reading nothing but comic books... He's so uncool. It is quite common in casual speech to end midsentence like this. Notice 「読 」 is the te-form of 「読 い 」 with the 「い」 dropped. We assume that the conclusion will come somewhere later in the story. 1. 彼 ⿇雀 。 He's nothing but mahjong. (He does nothing but play mahjong.) う！ 2. 直美 遊 You're hanging out with Naomi-chan all the time, aren't you! 3. 最近 仕事 。 Lately, it's nothing but work. 5.6.5 Saying there's too much of something using 「 Vocabulary 1. 過 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to exceed; to pass 250 」 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 2. ⾷ 【 ・ 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS 】(ru-verb) - to eat 3. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink 4. 太 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to become fatter 5. 静 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - quiet 6. ⼤ い【 ・ 7. ⾯⽩い【 ・ 8. い 9. 情 い【 い】(i-adj) - big ・い】(i-adj) - interesting い (i-adj) - wasteful ・ い】(i-adj) - pitiable 10. 危 い【あ ・ い】(i-adj) - dangerous 11. 少 い【 い】(i-adj) - few ・ 12. 佐藤【 ・ う】- Satou (last name) 13. 料理【 う・ 】- cooking; cuisine; dish 14. 上⼿【 う・ 】(na-adj) - skillful 15. 16. - again 酒【 ・ 】- alcohol 17. 気【 】- mood; intent 18. - to attach 19. 気 - (expression) to be careful 20. 21. ⼊ - trunk 【 い・ 22. 罠【 】(u-verb) - to enter 】- trap 23. 時間【 ・ 24. ⾜ 【 ・ 25. 何【 26. 出来 】- time 】(ru-verb) - to be sufficient 】- what 【 ・ 27. 彼【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 】- he; boyfriend 28. 彼⼥【 ・ 】- she; girlfriend 29. 昨晩【 ・ 】- last night 30. - event, matter 31. 全然【 32. 覚え 【 ・ ・え 】- not at all (when used with negative) 】(ru-verb) - to memorize 251 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS 33. CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS - that 「 」 is a regular ru-verb written 「過 」 meaning, "to exceed". When 「 」 is attached to the end of other verbs and adjectives, it means that it is too much or that it has exceeded the normal levels. For verbs, you must directly attach 「 」 to the stem of the verb. For example, 「⾷ 」 means "to eat too much" and 「飲 」 means "to drink too much". For adjectives, you just attach it to the end after you remove the last 「い」 from the i-adjectives (as usual). One more rule is that for both negative verbs and adjectives, one must remove the 「い」 from 「 い」 and replace with 「 」 before attaching 「 」. There is no tense (past or non-past) associated with this grammar. Since 「 」 is a regular ru-verb, this grammar always results in a regular ru-verb. Using 「 」to indicate there's too much of something • For verbs: First change the verb to the stem and attach 「 Examples 1. ⾷ 2. 太 」. →⾷ →太 →太 」. For i-adjectives, remove the last「い」first before attaching • For na-adjectives: Attach「 「 」. Examples 1. 静 →静 2. ⼤ い→⼤ • For negative verbs and adjectives: Replace the last 「い」 from 「 attach 「 」 Examples . 1. ⾷ い→⾷ 2. ⾯⽩ い → ⾯⽩ い」 with 「 」 and then →⾷ → ⾯⽩ • I-adjectives that end in 「 い」 which incorporate the negative 「無い」 such as 「 い」(勿体無い) or 「情 い」(情 無い) follow the third rule. Examples 1. い 2. 情 い→情 い→ い →情 • Most regular i-adjectives such as 「危 Examples 1. 危 い→危 2. 少 い→少 い → い」 or 「少 252 い」 follow the regular rule (rule 2). い CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS Examples 1. 佐藤 料理 上⼿ 、 ⾷ 過 。 Satou-san is good at cooking and I ate too much again. 2. い う 気 酒 飲 Be careful to not drink too much, ok? 。 3. ⼤ ⼊ い 。 It won't fit in the trunk cause it's too big, man. 4. 静 。罠 い 。 It's too quiet. It might be a trap, you know. 、何 。 5. 時間 ⾜ Due to too much of a lack of time, I couldn't do anything. 6. 彼 、彼⼥ い 。 She is totally wasted on him (too good for him). It is also common to change 「 」 into its stem and use it as a noun. Ａ：昨晩 、全然覚え い 。 A: Man, I don't remember anything about last night. 飲 。 Ｂ： B: That's drinking too much. 5.6.6 Adding the 「 」 particle to express excessive amounts Vocabulary 1. 昨⽇【 う】- yesterday 2. 電話【 ・ 3. 〜回【〜 い】- counter for number of times 4. 】- phone (exception) - to do 5. 試験【 ・ 6. 】- exam - for the sake/benefit of 7. 〜時間【〜 ・ 8. 勉強【 9. 今年【 ・ ・ 10. 】- counter for span of hour(s) う】- study 】- this year - kilo 253 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS 11. 太 【 ・ CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 】(u-verb) - to become fatter When the 「 」 particle comes after some type of amount, it means that the amount indicated is way too much. For instance, let's look at the next example. ！ • 昨⽇、電話三回 I called you like three times yesterday! Notice that the 「 」 particle is attached to the amount "three times". This sentence implies that the speaker called even three times and still the person didn't pick up the phone. We understand this to mean that three times are a lot of times to call someone. 1. 試験 三時間 勉強 。 I studied three whole hours for the exam. 太 ！ 2. 今年、⼗ I gained 10 whole kilograms this year! 5.6.7 Using 「 」 to express the extent of something Vocabulary 1. 程【 】- degree, extent 2. 今⽇【 う】- today 3. 天気【 ・ 4. 】- weather - that 5. 暑い【あ ・い】(i-adj) - hot 6. 寝 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to sleep 7. 時間【 ・ 】- time 8. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 9. 忙 い【い ・ い】(i-adj) - busy 10. 韓国【 ・ 】- Korea 11. 料理【 う・ 】- cooking; cuisine; dish 12. ⾷ 13. 14. い 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat い (i-adj) - tasty (u-verb) - to become 254 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 15. 歩 【あ ・ 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS 】(u-verb) - to walk 16. 迷う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to get lost 17. 勉強【 ・ 18. 頭【あ 】- head う】- study 19. いい (i-adj) - good 20. ー - hard disk 21. 容量【 22. ⼤ う・ い【 23. う】- capacity ・ い】(i-adj) - big - more 24. - a lot (amount) 25. 曲【 】- tune 26. 保存【 ・ 】- save 27. 出来 ・ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 28. 航空券【 う・ 29. 安い【 ・い】(i-adj) - cheap 30. 限 【 ・ 31. ⽂章【 ・ 32. 短い【 33. 簡単【 う・ 】- plane ticket 】(u-verb) - to limit う】- sentence; writing ・い】(i-adj) - short ・ 】(na-adj) - simple 34. 良い【 ・い】(i-adj) - good The noun 「 」 (程) is attached to a word in a sentence to express the extent of something. It can modify nouns as well as verbs as seen in the next example. 暑 い。 1. 今⽇ 天気 Today's weather is not hot to that extent. 2. 寝 時間 い 忙 い。 Busy to the extent that there's no time to sleep. When you use this with conditionals, you can express something that translates into English as, "The more you [verb], the more..." The grammar is always formed in the following sequence: [conditional of verb] followed immediately by [same verb+ ] 255 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS • 韓国料理 ⾷ ⾷ 、 い 。 About Korean food, the more you eat the tastier it becomes. The literal translation is, "About Korean food, if you eat, to the extent that you eat, it becomes tasty." which essentially means the same thing. The example uses the 「 」 conditional form, but the 「 」 conditional will work as well. Since this is a general statement, the contextual 「 」 conditional will never work. The decided 「 」 conditional won't work very well here either since it may not always be true depending on the extent of the action. 歩 、迷 。 1. 歩い The more I walked, the more I got lost. 2. 勉強 、頭 。 The more you study, the more you will become smarter. You can also use this grammar with i-adjectives by using the 「 」 conditional. ⼤ い 曲 1. iPod 、 ー 容量 ⼤ About iPod, the larger the hard disk capacity, the more songs you can save. 保存 。 安い いい 限 い。 2. 航空券 安 It's not necessarily the case that the cheaper the ticket, the better it is. For na-adjectives, since you can't use the「 」conditional you have to resort to the「 」conditional. Because it sounds strange to use the 「 」 conditional in this fashion, you will hardly ever see this grammar used with na-adjectives. Since 「 」 is treated as a noun, make sure you don't forget to use 「 」 to attach the noun to the na-adjective. • ⽂章 、短 短い 、簡単 簡単 い The shorter and simpler the sentences, the better it is. 5.6.8 Using 「〜 」 with adjectives to indicate an amount Vocabulary 1. ⾼い【 ・い】(i-adj) - high; tall; expensive 2. 低い【 ・い】(i-adj) - short 3. 穏 【 ・ 4. - this (abbr. of 5. - building 。 】(na-adj) - calm, peaceful ) 256 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 6. 何【 ／ 7. ⽝【い 】- dog 8. 聴覚【 う・ 9. 敏感【 ・ 】(na-adj) - sensitive 10. ⼈間【 ・ 】- human 5.6. EXPRESSING AMOUNTS 】- what 11. ⽐ 【 12. - far more 】- sense of hearing ・ 】(ru-verb) - to compare 13. 上【うえ】- above We will now learn how to add 「 」 to adjectives to indicate an amount of that adjective. For example, we can attach 「 」 to the adjective for "high" in order to get "height". Instead of looking at the height, we can even attach 「 」 to the adjective for "low" to focus on the amount of lowness as opposed to the amount of highness. In fact, there is nothing to stop us from using this with any adjective to indicate an amount of that adjective. The result becomes a regular noun indicating the amount of that adjective. Adding 「〜 」to adjectives to indicate an amount • For i-adjectives: First remove the trailing 「い」 from the i-adjective and then attach 「 1. ⾼い → ⾼ 2. 低い → 低 • For na-adjectives: Just attach 「 Example 1. 穏 . 」 to the end of the na-adjective →穏 The result becomes a regular noun. Examples 1. ⾼ 何 ？ What is the height of this building? 2. ⽝ 聴覚 敏感 ⼈間 ⽐ 、 上 。 If you compare the level of sensitivity of hearing of dogs to humans, it is far above. 257 」 5.7. EXPRESS SIMILARITY AND HEARSAY 5.7 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Various ways to express similarity and hearsay （ 〜 い、〜 う、〜 う 、〜 い、〜 い） う、 In Japanese there are many different ways to express likeness or similarity depending on appearance, behavior, or outcome. When learning these expressions for the first time, it is difficult to understand what the differences are between them because they all translate to the same thing in English. This lesson is designed to study the differences between these expressions so that you can start to get a sense of which is appropriate for what you want to say. 5.7.1 Expressing similarity with う (様) Vocabulary 1. - here 2. 誰【 3. い 】- who (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 4. 映画【えい・ 5. 観 【 ・ 】- movie 】(ru-verb) - to watch 6. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 7. 静 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - quiet 8. あ - that (over there) (abbr. of あ 9. ⼈【 10. ⾒ 】- person 【 ・ 11. 気【 】(ru-verb) - to see 】- mood; intent 12. (exception) - to do 13. 彼【 】- he; boyfriend 14. 雰囲気【 ・い・ 15. 】- atmosphere; mood - a little 16. 怒 【 ・ 17. 聞 え 【 ・ 18. 何【 19. 起 ) 】(u-verb) - to get angry ／ 【 え 】(ru-verb) - to be audible 】- what ・ 】(u-verb) - to happen 20. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 258 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.7. EXPRESS SIMILARITY AND HEARSAY We've already briefly gone over 「 う」 and learned that 「 う」 means an appearance or manner. We can use this definition to say that something has an appearance or manner of a certain state. This word can be used in many ways to express similarity. The simplest example is by directly modifying the relative clause. When the sentence ends in 「 う」, you must explicitly express the state-of-being by adding 「 」, 「 」, or 「 い 」. 1. 、誰 い い う Looks like no one is here. 。 う 。 2. 映画 観 Looks like (he) watched the movie. When directly modifying nouns or na-adjectives, you must use the 「 「 」 to na-adjectives. 」 particle for nouns or attach 1. 学⽣ う 。 Looks like it's a student. 2. う 。 静 Looks like it's quiet. Notice that example 1 does not say that the person looks like a student. Rather, the declarative 「 」 states that the person appears to be a student. On a side note, you can't say 「 い い う 」 to say that something looks tasty. This is like saying, "This dish apparently is tasty," which can actually be kind of rude. You can also use it as a na-adjective to describe something that appears to be something else. 。 1. あ ⼈ ⾒ う 気 Had a feeling like I saw that person before. 2. 彼 学⽣ う 雰囲気 。 He has a student-like atmosphere. Finally, we can attach the target particle to say things like, "I heard it like that" or "I said it like...". 1. 怒 う 聞 え 。 Was able to hear it like (she) was a little mad. 2. 何 起 う ⾔ Said (it) like nothing happened. 。 259 5.7. EXPRESS SIMILARITY AND HEARSAY 5.7.2 Using 「 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS い」 to say something looks like something else Vocabulary 1. ⾒ 【 ・ 2. ⽝【い 】(ru-verb) - to see 】- dog う - already 3. 4. 売 切 5. 制服【 6. 着 【う・ ・ い・ 】- uniform 【 ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to wear 7. 姿【 】- figure 8. 学⽣【 ・ 9. 11. い】- student - this (abbr. of 10. 】- sold out ) - pizza 好 12. ⾒え 焼 【 ・ 【 ・え ・ ・ ・ 】- okonomiyaki (Japanese-style pancake) 】(ru-verb) - to be visible Another way to express similarity which is considered more casual is by using「 い」. Do not confuse this with the「 い」conjugation of「⾒ 」. The main difference is that this「 い」can be attached directly to nouns, adjectives, and verbs just like particles which i-adjectives like 「〜 い」 obviously can't do. Using 「 い」to say something looks like something else Attach 「 い」 to the noun that bears the resemblance. 「 na-adjective and not an i-adjective. い」 conjugates like a noun or Conjugation Example with 「⽝」 Positive . Negative Non-Past ⽝ い ⽝ い い looks like a dog doesn't look like a dog Past ⽝ い ⽝ い looked like a dog didn't look like a dog Examples 1. う売 切 い。 Looks like it's sold out already. 260 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.7. EXPRESS SIMILARITY AND HEARSAY 2. 制服 着 い 姿 、学⽣ い 。 Looking at the uniform-wearing figure, (person) looks like a student. The implied meaning here is the person wearing the uniform is not really a student because he/she only looks like a student. This is different from example 3 from the previous 「 う」 section which implied that the person appears to be (but might not be) a student. Again, we also can't say 「 い い い」 to say that something looks tasty because it implies that, in actuality, the food might not be so good. Similarly, you would never say 「 いい い」 to say that something looks cute. Don't forget that 「 • • ( い」 does not conjugate like the 「〜 い」 form or i-adjectives. い？ 好 焼 い conjugates like a na-adjective.) い？ 好 焼 い Doesn't this pizza looks like okonomiyaki? 「 い」 is a grammar used mostly for conversational Japanese. Do not use it in essays, articles, or anything that needs to sound authoritative. You can use 「 う」 instead in the following fashion. 1. う 。 う売 切 It appears that it is sold-out already. 2. 好 焼 う ⾒え This pizza looks like okonomiyaki. 。 5.7.3 Guessing at an outcome using 「〜 Vocabulary 1. いい (i-adj) - good 2. 3. 崩 - balance 【 ・ 4. ⼀瞬【い ・ 5. 倒 【 】(ru-verb) - to collapse; to crumble 】- an instant ・ 】(ru-verb) - to collapse; to fall 6. - this (abbr. of ) 7. 辺 【あ ・ 8. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 】- vicinity 261 う」 5.7. EXPRESS SIMILARITY AND HEARSAY 9. 漬物【 10. い ・ 】- pickled vegetable い (i-adj) - tasty 11. - this 12. 結構【 ・ う】- fairly, reasonably ／ 13. 14. ⾼い【 15. CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS - as I thought ・い】(i-adj) - high; tall; expensive 前【 ・ え】- you (casual) 16. ⾦髪【 ・ 17. ⼥【 】- woman; girl 18. 好 【 ・ 】- blond hair 】(na-adj) - likable; desirable う - already 19. 20. 〜時【〜 】- counter for hours 21. (u-verb) - to become 22. 来 【 ・ 23. - free of charge; only 】(exception) - to come 24. 試合【 ・あい】- match, game 25. - that (abbr. of 26. ⼈【 27. 学⽣【 】- person ・ い】- student 28. いい (i-adj) - cute 29. い 30. ⽝【い ) う (i-adj) - pitiable 】- dog The problem with English is that the expression, "seems like" has too many meanings. It can mean similarity in appearance, similarity in behavior or even that current evidence points to a likely outcome. We will now learn how to say the third meaning: how to indicate a likely outcome given the situation. Just like the grammar we have learned so far in this lesson, we can use this grammar by simply attaching 「 う」 to the end of verbs, and adjectives. However, there are four important different cases. Actually, I just noticed this but the conjugation rules are exactly the same as the 「〜 」 grammar we learned in the last section. The only difference is that for the adjective 「いい」, you need to change it to 「 」 before attaching 「 う」 to create 「 う」. 262 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.7. EXPRESS SIMILARITY AND HEARSAY Rules for conjugation 1. Verbs must be changed to the stem. 2. The 「い」 in i-adjectives must be dropped except for 「いい」. 」.. 3. 「いい」 must first be conjugated to 「 4. For all negatives, the 「い」 must be replaced with 「 」. 5. This grammar does not work with plain nouns. 1. Verb must be changed to the stem. For ru-verbs, remove the 「 • 」 崩 、⼀瞬倒 う 。 Losing my balance, I seemed likely to fall for a moment. For u-verbs, change the / u / vowel sound to an / i / vowel sound • 辺 あ う 。 It seems likely that it would be around here but... 2. The 「い」 in i-adjectives must be dropped. In the next example, the 「い」 has been dropped from 「 • い い」. い う！ 漬物 I bet this pickled vegetable is tasty! (This pickled vegetable looks good!) Exception: The only exception to this rule is the adjective 「いい」. When using this grammar with 「いい」, you must first change it to 「 」. • う 、 ⾼い 。 結構 This one also seems to be good but, as expected, it's expensive, huh? Nothing needs to be done for na-adjectives. • 前 、⾦髪 ⼥ 好 う 。 Knowing you, I bet you like blond-haired girls. 263 5.7. EXPRESS SIMILARITY AND HEARSAY CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 3. For all negatives, the 「い」 must be replaced with 「 The negative of 「来 」 is 「 い」 so when used with 「〜 」. う」, it becomes 「 1. う 10 時 、来 う 。 Since it already became 10:00, it's likely that (person) won't come. 2. う 。 試合 This isn't likely to be an ordinary match. Identical to the 「〜 」 grammar, i-adjectives that are derived from the negative 「〜 like 「 い い」 or 「情 い」 also follow this rule as well (which would be 「 う」 and 「情 う」 in this case). う」. い」 い 4. This grammar does not work with plain nouns. • ⼈ 学⽣ う。 There are other grammar we have already covered that can be used to indicate that something is likely to be something else. 1. ⼈ 学⽣ う。 That person is probably student. 2. ⼈ 学⽣ う。 That person is probably student. Be careful never to use 「 いい」 with this grammar. 「 い う」 is a completely different word used when you feel sorry for something or someone. 「 いい」 means, "to look cute" already so you never need to use any of the grammar in this lesson to say something looks cute. 1. ⽝ い う。 Oh, this poor dog. 2. ⽝ いい。 This dog is cute. 5.7.4 Expressing hearsay using 「〜 Vocabulary 1. 明⽇【あ 】- tomorrow 264 う 」 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 2. ⾬【あ 3. 降 5.7. EXPRESS SIMILARITY AND HEARSAY 】- rain 【 ・ 4. 毎⽇【 】(u-verb) - to precipitate い・ 】- everyday 5. 会う【あ・う】(u-verb) - to meet 6. ⾏ 【い・ 7. 彼【 】(u-verb) - to go 】- he; boyfriend 8. ⾼校⽣【 う・ 9. 今⽇【 う】- today 10. ⽥中【 ・ 11. 来 【 ・ う・ い】- high school student 】- Tanaka (last name) 】(exception) - to come The reason that there are so many annoying rules to using 「〜 う」 is to distinguish it from this next grammar we will learn. This is a useful grammar for talking about things you heard that doesn't necessary have anything to do with how you yourself, think or feel. Unlike the last grammar we learned, you can simply attach 「 う 」 to verbs and i-adjectives. For na-adjectives and nouns, you must indicate the state-of-being by adding 「 」 to the noun/na-adjective. Also, notice that 「 う」 itself must always end in 「 」、「 」、or 「 い 」. These differences are what distinguishes this grammar from the one we learned in the last section. There are no tenses for this grammar. う 。 1. 明⽇、⾬ 降 I hear that it's going to rain tomorrow. う 。 2. 毎⽇会い ⾏ I heard he went to meet everyday. Don't forget to add 「 」 for nouns or na-adjectives. • 彼 、⾼校⽣ う 。 I hear that he is a high school student. When starting the sentence with this grammar, you also need to add 「 」 Ａ：今⽇、⽥中 い ？ A: Is Tanaka-san not coming today? Ｂ： う B: So I hear. 。 265 」 just like you do with 「 5.7. EXPRESS SIMILARITY AND HEARSAY CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.7.5 Expressing hearsay or behavior using 「〜 い」 Vocabulary 1. 今⽇【 う】- today 2. ⽥中【 ・ 】- Tanaka (last name) 3. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 4. あ - that (over there) (abbr. of あ 5. ⼈【 】- person 6. 何【 】- what 7. 美由紀【 ・ 8. 友達【 9. ⼦【 ・ ・ ) 】- Miyuki (first name) 】- friend 】- child 10. ⼦供【 ・ 11. ⼤⼈【 】- child 】- adult 12. (exception) - to do 13. - intention, plan 14. ⼤騒 【 ・ ・ 】- big commotion 「 い」 can be directly attached to nouns, adjectives, or verbs to show that things appear to be a certain way due to what you've heard. This is different from 「〜 う 」because 「〜 う 」 indicates something you heard about specifically while 「 い」 means things seem to be a certain way based on some things you heard about the subject. 「 い」 conjugates like a normal i-adjective. Example 1 Ａ：今⽇、⽥中 い ？ A: Is Tanaka-san not coming today? い。 Ｂ： い B: Seems like it (based on what I heard). 266 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.7. EXPRESS SIMILARITY AND HEARSAY Example 2 Ａ：あ ⼈ 何 ？ A: What is that person over there? Ｂ：美由紀 友達 い 。 B: Seems to be Miyuki-san's friend (based on what I heard). い」is to indicate that a person seems to be a certain thing due to his behavior. Another way to use「 1. あ ⼦ ⼦供 い。 That child does not act like a child. 、⼤騒 。 2. ⼤⼈ Despite the fact that I planned to act like an adult, I ended up making a big ruckus. 「 5.7.6 い」: Slang expression of similarity Vocabulary 1. あ - that (over there) (abbr. of あ 2. ⼈【 ) 】- person 3. 韓国⼈【 4. 皆【 ・ ・ 】- Korean person 】- everybody う - already 5. 6. 全部【 7. ⾷ ・ 【 ・ 】- everything 】(ru-verb) - to eat 8. 恭⼦【 う・ 】- Kyouko (first name) 9. 全然【 ・ 】- not at all (when used with negative) 10. ⼥【 】- woman; girl A really casual way to express similarity is to attach 「 い」 to the word that reflects the resemblance. Because this is a very casual expression, you can use it as a casual version for all the different types of expression for similarity covered above. 「 い」 conjugates just like an i-adjective, as seen by example 3 below. 1. あ ⼈ 韓国⼈ い 。 That person looks a little like Korean person, huh? 267 5.8. USING ⽅ AND 2. FOR COMPARISONS, ETC CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 、 う全部⾷ い 。 It appears that everybody ate everything already. い 。 3. 恭⼦ 全然⼥ Kyouko is not womanly at all, huh? 5.8 Using ⽅ and for comparisons and other functions （ 、 ⽅、stem ＋⽅、 、 ） If you were wondering how to make comparison in Japanese, well wonder no more. We will learn how to use 「⽅」 and 「 」 to make comparisons between two things. We will also learn other uses of 「⽅」 and 「 」 along the way. 5.8.1 Using 「⽅」 for comparisons Vocabulary 1. ⽅【1) う; 2) 2. 飯【 ・ 3. い 】- 1) direction; side; 2) person; way of doing 】- rice; meal い (i-adj) - tasty 4. 鈴⽊【 ・ 】- Suzuki (last name) 5. 若い【 ・い】(i-adj) - young 6. 学⽣【 ・ い】- student 7. いい (i-adj) - good 8. ⾚ 9. 静 10. 好 【あ ・ 【 ・ 【 ・ 11. 】(na-adj) - quiet 】(na-adj) - likable; desirable - slowly 12. ⾷ 【 ・ 13. 健康【 14. 15. ⾏ 】- baby ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat う】- health - this way 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 16. 早い【 ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 17. 怖い【 ・い】(i-adj) - scary 268 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.8. USING ⽅ AND 18. 映画【えい・ 19. 観 【 ・ 20. FOR COMPARISONS, ETC 】- movie 】(ru-verb) - to watch - that sort of 21. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink The noun 「⽅」 is read as 「 う」 when it is used to mean a direction or orientation. As an aside, it can also be read as 「 」 when it is used as a politer version of 「⼈」. When we use 「⽅」 to mean direction, we can use it for comparison by saying one way of things is better, worse, etc., than the other way. Grammatically, it works just like any other regular nouns. Examples Use it with nouns by utilizing the 「 1. 」 particle. い い 飯 ⽅ Rice is tastier. (lit: The way of rice is tasty.) ⽅ 若い。 2. 鈴⽊ Suzuki-san is younger. (lit: The way of Suzuki is young.) Grammatically, it's no different from a regular noun. 1. 学⽣ い⽅ いい 。 It's better to not be a student. (lit: The way of not being student is good.) ⽅ 好 。 2. ⾚ 、静 Like quiet babies more. (lit: About babies, the quiet way is desirable.) For non-negative verbs, you can also use the past tense to add more certainty and confidence, particularly when making suggestions. 1. ⾷ ⽅ 健康 いい 。 It's better for your health to eat slowly. 2. ⾏ ⽅ 早 。 It was faster to go from this way. The same thing does not apply for negative verbs. 269 5.8. USING ⽅ AND FOR COMPARISONS, ETC CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS • 怖い映画 観 い⽅ いい 。 It's better not to watch scary movie(s). The negative verb is only in the past tense when the comparison is of something that happened in the past. • 飲 ⽅ 。 It was better not to have drunk that much. 5.8.2 Using 「 」 for comparisons Vocabulary 1. ⽅【1) う; 2) 2. 花【 】- flower 3. 団⼦【 4. 飯【 ・ 5. 6. ・ 】- 1) direction; side; 2) person; way of doing 】- dango (dumpling) 】- rice; meal - bread い い (i-adj) - tasty 7. 若い【 ・い】(i-adj) - young 8. 鈴⽊【 ・ 9. 毎⽇【 い・ 10. 仕事【 ・ 11. 嫌【い 】- Suzuki (last name) 】- everyday 】- job 】(na-adj) disagreeable; unpleasant 12. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 13. - not as bad 14. - slowly 15. ⾷ 16. 早い【 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 17. いい (i-adj) - good You can think of 「 」 as being the opposite of 「⽅」. It means, "rather than" or "as opposed to". It attaches directly to the back of any word. It is usually used in conjunction with 「⽅」 to say something like, "This way is better as opposed to that way." 270 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.8. USING ⽅ AND FOR COMPARISONS, ETC Examples 1. 花 団⼦。 Dango rather than flowers. (This is a very famous saying.) 2. い い。 飯 ⽅ 、 Rice tastes better than bread. (lit: The rice way is tasty as opposed to bread.) 3. 鈴⽊ ⽅ 若い。 Suzuki-san is younger than Kim-san. (lit: The way of Suzuki is young as opposed to Kim-san.) For those curious about the meaning of the proverb, dango is a sweet doughy treat usually sold at festivals. The proverb is saying that people prefer this treat to watching the flowers, referring to the 「花⾒」 event where people go out to see the cherry blossoms (and get smashed). The deeper meaning of the proverb, like all good proverbs, depends on how you apply it. Of course, there is no rule that 「 gleaned from context. 」 must be used with 「⽅」 . The other way of things can be 鈴⽊：毎⽇仕事 ⾏ 嫌 。 Suzuki: I don't like going to work everyday. ：仕事 い 。 Smith: It's not as bad as opposed to not having a job. Words associated with 「 」 do not need any tense. Notice in the following sentence that 「⾷ in front of 「 」 is present tense even though 「⾷ 」 in front of 「⽅」 is past tense. • ⾷ ⽅ 早 ⾷ いい。 It is better to eat slowly as opposed to eating quickly. Using 「 」 as a superlative Vocabulary 1. 誰【 】- who 2. 何【 】- what 3. - where 4. 商品【 う・ 5. 品質【 ・ 6. ⼤切【 い・ 7. 】- product 】- quality of a good 】(na-adj) - important (exception) - to do 271 」 5.8. USING ⽅ AND 8. FOR COMPARISONS, ETC CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS - this (abbr. of 9. 仕事【 ・ 】- job 10. 早い【 11. 出来 ) ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 【 ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do You can also use「 」with question words such as「誰」、「何」、or「 」to make a superlative by comparing with everything or everybody else. In this case, though not required, it is common to include the 「 」 particle. Examples 1. 商品 品質 何 ⼤切 い 。 We place value in product's quality over anything else. 2. 仕事 誰 早 。 Can do this job more quickly than anyone else. 5.8.3 Using 「⽅」 to express a way to do something Vocabulary 1. ⽅【1) 2. ⾏ う; 2) 【い・ 3. ⾷ 】(u-verb) - to go 【 ・ 4. 新宿【 5. 分 6. 】- 1) direction; side; 2) person; way of doing 】(ru-verb) - to eat ・ 】- Shinjuku 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to understand う - (things are) that way 7. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 8. 体【 】- body 9. いい (i-adj) - good 10. 漢字【 11. 書 ・ 【 ・ 】- Kanji 】(u-verb) - to write 12. 教え 【 ・え 】(ru-verb) - to teach; to inform 13. (ru-verb) - to give 14. - computer, PC 272 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.8. USING ⽅ AND 15. 使う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to use 16. 皆【 】- everybody 17. 知 【 ・ FOR COMPARISONS, ETC 】(u-verb) - to know You can also attach 「⽅」 to the stem of verbs to express a way to do that verb. In this usage, 「⽅」 is read as 「 」 and the result becomes a noun. For example, 「⾏ ⽅」(い ) means, "the way to go" or 「⾷ ⽅」( )means, "the way to eat". This expression is probably what you want to use when you want to ask how to do something. Examples 。 1. 新宿 ⾏ ⽅ 分 Do you know the way to go to Shinjuku? 2. ういう⾷ ⽅ 体 い 。 Eating in that way is not good for your body. 3. 漢字 書 ⽅ 教え ？ Can you teach me the way of writing kanji? 4. 使い⽅ 、 知 い う。 Probably everybody knows the way to use PC's. When verbs are transformed to this form, the result becomes a noun clause. Sometimes, this requires a change of particles. For instance, while 「⾏ 」 usually involves a target (the 「 」 or 「 」 particle), since 「⾏ ⽅」 is a noun clause, example 1 becomes 「新宿 ⾏ ⽅」 instead of the familiar 「新 宿 ⾏ 」. 5.8.4 Using 「 」 to express dependency Vocabulary 1. ⼈【 】- person 2. 話【 】- story 3. 違う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to be different 4. 季節【 ・ 5. 果物【 6. い ・ 】- season 】- fruit い (i-adj) - tasty 7. (u-verb) - to become 8. い (i-adj) - unpleasant 273 5.8. USING ⽅ AND 9. 和⼦【 ・ 10. 今⽇【 FOR COMPARISONS, ETC CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 】- Kazuko (first name) う】- today 11. 飲 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink 12. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 13. ⼤樹【 14. い・ 】- Daiki (first name) - that 15. 裕⼦【 う・ 】- Yuuko (first name) When you want to say, "depending on [X]", you can do this in Japanese by simply attaching 「 to [X]. Examples 話 違う。 1. ⼈ The story is different depending on the person. 果物 い 、 2. 季節 Fruit becomes tasty or nasty depending on the season. This is simply the te-form of 「 。 」 as seen by the following simple exchange. 和⼦：今⽇ 飲 ⾏ う ？ Kazuko: Shall we go drinking today? 。 ⼤樹： 、裕⼦ Daiki: That depends on Yuuko. 5.8.5 Indicating a source of information using 「 Vocabulary 1. 天気【 ・ 2. 予報【 ・ 3. 今⽇【 】- weather う】- forecast う】- today 4. ⾬【あ 】- rain 5. 友達【 ・ 6. 話【 】- story 】- friend 274 」 」 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.9. SAYING SOMETHING IS EASY OR DIFFICULT TO DO 7. 朋⼦【 8. ・ 】- Tomoko (first name) - finally ー 9. - boyfriend 10. ⾒ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to find Another expression using 「 」 is by using it with the target and the decided conditional 「 indicate a source of information. In English, this would translate to "according to [X]" where 「 is attached to [X]. 」 to 」 Examples 、今⽇ ⾬ う 。 1. 天気予報 According to the weather forecast, I hear today is rain. 、朋⼦ ー ⾒ い。 2. 友達 話 According to a friend's story, it appears that Tomoko finally found a boyfriend. 5.9 Saying something is easy or difficult to do 〜 い） Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 ・ 2. 】(ru-verb) - to eat (u-verb) - to talk 3. - this (abbr. of 4. 字【 ) 5. 読 】- character; hand-writing 【 ・ 6. 】(u-verb) - to read - cocktail ー 7. 8. 飲 - beer 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink 9. 部屋【 ・ 10. 暗い【 】- room ・い】(i-adj) - dark 11. ⾒ 【 ・ 12. 難 い【 】(ru-verb) - to see ・ い】(i-adj) - difficult 275 （〜 い、 5.9. SAYING SOMETHING IS EASY OR DIFFICULTCHAPTER TO DO 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 13. 易 い【 ・ 14. 簡単【 15. 容易【 16. い】(i-adj) - easy ・ 】(na-adj) - simple う・い】(na-adj) - simple - that (abbr. of 17. ⾁【 ) 】- meat This is a short easy lesson on how to transform verbs into adjectives describing whether that action is easy or difficult to do. Basically, it consists of changing the verb into the stem and adding 「 い」 for easy and 「 い」 for hard. The result then becomes a regular i-adjective. Pretty easy, huh? Using 「〜 い、〜 い」to describe easy and difficult actions To describe an action as being easy, change the verb to the stem and add 「 an action as being difficult, attach 「 い」 to the stem. Examples 1. ⾷ 2. →⾷ → い」. To describe い い. → The result becomes a regular i-adjective. Positive Negative Non-Past ⾷ い ⾷ い Past ⾷ ⾷ Examples 1. い 字 読 This hand-writing is hard to read. 2. ー 飲 い。 Cocktails are easier to drink than beer. 3. 部屋 暗 、⾒ 。 Since the room was dark, it was hard to see. As an aside: Be careful with 「⾒ い」 because 「醜い」 is a rarely used adjective meaning, "ugly". I wonder if it's just coincidence that "difficult to see" and "ugly" sound exactly the same? Of course, you can always use some other grammatical structure that we have already learned to express the same thing using appropriate adjectives such as 「難 い」、 「易 い」、 「簡単」、 「容易」、 etc. The following two sentences are essentially identical in meaning. 276 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.9. SAYING SOMETHING IS EASY OR DIFFICULT TO DO 1. ⾁ ⾷ い。 That meat is hard to eat. 2. 難 い。 ⾁ ⾷ The thing of eating that meat is difficult. 5.9.1 Variations of 「〜 い」 with 「〜 い」 and 「〜 い」 Vocabulary 1. 彼【 】- he; boyfriend 2. 忘 【 ・ 3. 思い出【 4. ⼤切【 5. 】(ru-verb) - to forget ・い・ い・ 】(na-adj) - important (exception) - to do 6. - very 7. 信 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to believe 8. 話【 】- story 9. 本当【 ・ 10. 起 【 う】- real ・ 11. ⾟い【1) 13. 読 【 ・ 14. 待 合 】(u-verb) - to happen ・い; 2) 12. ⽇本語【 ・ 15. 分 】- memories ・ 】- Japanese (language) 】(u-verb) - to read 【 ・ 【 ・ 16. 場所【 ・ ・い】(i-adj) - 1) spicy; 2) painful ・あ ・ 】- meeting arrangement 】(u-verb) - to understand 】- location The kanji for 「 い」 actually comes from 「難い」 which can also be read as 「 い」. As a result, you can also add a voiced version 「〜 い」 as a verb suffix to express the same thing as 「 い」. 「 い」 is more common for speaking while 「 い」 is more suited for the written medium. 「 い」 tends to be used for physical actions while 「 い」 is usually reserved for less physical actions that don't actually require movement. However, there seems to be no hard rule on which is more appropriate for a given verb so I suggest searching for both versions in google to ascertain the popularity of a given combination. You should also always write the suffix in hiragana to prevent ambiguities in the reading. 277 5.10. MORE NEGATIVE VERBS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Examples 1. 彼 忘 い思い出 ⼤切 い 。 I am treating importantly the hard to forget memories of and with him. 2. 信 い話 、本当 起 い。 It's a very difficult to believe story but it seems (from hearsay) that it really happened. Yet another, more coarse variation of stem + 「 い」 is to use 「 い」 instead which is a slightly transformed version of 「⾟い」( い). This is not to be confused with the same 「⾟い」( い), which means spicy! Examples い 。 1. ⽇本語 読 Man, Japanese is hard to read. 2. 待 合 、分 い場所 い 。 Please don't pick a difficult to understand location for the meeting arrangement. 5.10 More negative verbs （ い 、 、〜 、 ） We already learned the most common type of negative verbs; the ones that end in 「 い」. However, there are couple more different types of negatives verbs. The ones you will find most useful are the first two, which expresses an action that was done without having done another action. The others are fairly obscure or useful only for very casual expressions. However, you will run into them if you learn Japanese for a fair amount of time. 5.10.1 Doing something without doing something else Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 ・ 2. 寝 【 ・ 3. 何【 】(ru-verb) - to sleep ／ 4. ⻭【 5. 磨 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】- what 】- tooth 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to brush; to polish 6. 学校【 ・ う】- school 7. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 278 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 8. 宿題【 9. ・ 5.10. MORE NEGATIVE VERBS い】- homework (exception) - to do 10. 授業【 11. ⽌ ・ う】- class 【 ・ 12. ⽅【1) 】(ru-verb) - to stop う; 2) 】- 1) direction; side; 2) person; way of doing 13. いい (i-adj) - good 14. 先⽣【 ・ 15. 相談【 う・ い】- teacher 】- consultation 16. - this (abbr. of 17. 取 【 ・ 18. - event, matter 19. 出来 】(u-verb) - to take 【 ・ 20. 彼【 ) ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 】- he; boyfriend 21. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 22. 帰 【 23. 24. え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home - that sort of 酒【 ・ 25. 飲 【 ・ 26. 当然【 27. 酔 】- alcohol 】(u-verb) - to drink う・ 】- naturally 払う【 ・ ・ ・ う】(u-verb) - to get drunk 28. 勉強【 ・ 29. 東⼤【 う・ い】- Tokyo University (abbr. for 「東京⼤学」) 30. ⼊ い・ 】(u-verb) - to enter 【 31. 思う【 う】- study ・う】(u-verb) - to think Way back when, we learned how to express a sequence of actions and this worked fine for both positive and negative verbs. For instance, the sentence "I didn't eat, and then I went to sleep" would become「⾷ 寝 。」 However, this sentence sounds a bit strange because eating doesn't have much to do with sleeping. What we probably really want to say is that we went to sleep without eating. To express this, we need to use a more generalized form of the negative request we covered at the very end of the giving and receiving lesson. In other words, instead of substituting the last 「い」 with 「 」, we need only append 「 」 instead. 279 5.10. MORE NEGATIVE VERBS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Doing something without doing something else To indicate an action that was done without doing another action, add 「 action that was not done. . Example ⾷ →⾷ い→⾷ い 」 to the negative of the Examples 1. 何 ⾷ い 寝 。 Went to sleep without eating anything. い 。 2. ⻭ 磨 い 、学校 ⾏ Went to school without brushing teeth (by accident). 3. 宿題 い 、授業 ⾏ 、 ⽅ いい 。 It's better to stop going to class without doing homework. 4. 先⽣ 相談 い 、 授業 取 出来 い。 You cannot take this class without consulting with teacher. Hopefully not too difficult. Another way to express the exact same thing is to replace the last 「 い」 part with 「 」. However, the two exception verbs 「 」 and 「 」 become 「 」 and 「 」 respectively. It is also common to see this grammar combined with the target 「 」 particle. This version is more formal than 「 い 」 and is not used as much in regular conversations. Doing something without doing something else • Another way to indicate an action that was done without doing another action is to replace the 「 い」 part of the negative action that was not done with 「 」. Examples →⾷ 1. ⾷ 2. ⾏ →⾏ い→⾷ . い→⾏ • Exceptions: 1. → 2. → 280 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.10. MORE NEGATIVE VERBS Examples 1. 彼 何 ⾔ 、帰 。 He went home without saying anything. 酒 飲 当然酔 払い 。 2. 何 ⾷ Obviously, you're going to get drunk if you drink that much without eating anything. 3. 勉強 東⼤ ⼊ 思 い 。 I don't think you can get in Tokyo University without studying. 5.10.2 A casual masculine type of negative that ends in 「 」 Vocabulary 1. (exception) - to do 2. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 3. - sorry (masculine) 4. - sorry (polite) 5. 知 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to know 6. 韓国⼈【 7. 結婚【 8. ・ ・ ・ 】- marriage (u-verb) - to become 9. - that sort of 10. - event, matter 11. 皆【 】- everybody 12. 今⽇【 う】- today 13. ⾏ 】- Korean person 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go Finally, we cover another type of negative that is used mostly by older men. Since 「 い」 is so long and difficult to say (sarcasm), you can shorten it to just 「 」. However, you can't directly modify other words in this form; in other words, you can't make it a modifying relative clause. In the same manner as before, 「 」 becomes 「 」 and 「 」 becomes 「 」 though I've never heard or seen 「 」 actually being used. If you have ever heard ｢ 」 and wondered what that meant, it's actually an example of this grammar. Notice that 「 」 is actually in polite negative form. Well, the plain form would be 「 い」, right? That further transforms to just 「 」. The word brings up an image of but that may be just me. Anyway, it's a male expression. 281 5.10. MORE NEGATIVE VERBS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS A shorter way to say negative verbs • A shorter way to say a negative verb is to use 「 Example 知 →知 い→知 . • Exceptions: 1. → 2. → 」 instead of 「 Examples 1. Sorry. 。 2. 韓国⼈ 結婚 You must marry a Korean! 3. ！ ！ I won't let you do such a thing! You can even use this slang for past tense verbs by adding 「 」. • 皆、今⽇⾏ 、知 。 I didn't know everybody was going today. 5.10.3 A classical negative verb that ends in 「 Vocabulary 1. (exception) - to do 2. 来 【 ・ 】(exception) - to come 3. 知 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to know 4. 韓国⼈【 5. 結婚【 6. ・ ・ ・ 】- Korean person 】- marriage (u-verb) - to become 7. 模擬【 ・ 】- mock 282 」 い」. CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 8. 試験【 ・ 】- exam 9. 何回【 ・ い】- how many times 10. 失敗【 ・ い】- failure 11. 実際【 ・ い】- actual 12. 受 【う・ 】(ru-verb) - to receive 13. 思う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to think 14. 結果【 ・ 15. 出 【 ・ 5.10. MORE NEGATIVE VERBS 】- result 】(ru-verb) - to come out There is yet another version of the negative verb conjugation and it uses 「 」 instead of the 「 い」 that attaches to the end of the verb. While this version of the negative conjugation is old-fashioned and part of classical Japanese, you will still encounter it occasionally. In fact, I just saw this conjugation on a sign at the train station today, so it's not too uncommon. For any verb, you can replace 「 い」 with 「 」 to get to an old-fashion sounding version of the negative. Similar to the last section, 「 」 becomes 「 」 and 「 」 becomes 「 」. You may hear this grammar being used from older people or your friends if they want to bring back ye olde days. An old-fashioned way to say negative verbs • An old-fashioned way to say a negative verb is to use 「 Example い→知 知 →知 . • Exceptions: 1. → 2. → 」 instead of 「 い」. Examples ！ 1. 韓国⼈ 結婚 You must not marry a Korean! 2. 模擬試験 何回 失敗 、実際 受 思 結果 出 。 After having failed mock examination any number of times, a result I wouldn't have thought came out when I actually tried taking the test. 283 5.11. HYPOTHESIZING AND CONCLUDING CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.11 Hypothesizing and Concluding （ 、〜 ） In this section, we're going to learn how to make hypotheses and reach conclusions using: 「 and 「 」(訳). 5.11.1 Coming to a conclusion with 「 」 Vocabulary 1. 訳【 】- meaning; reason; can be deduced 2. 直⼦【 3. い ・ 】- Naoko (first name) - how much 4. 英語【えい・ 5. 勉強【 】- English (language) ・ う】- study 6. (exception) - to do 7. う い (i-adj) - skillful; delicious 8. (u-verb) - to become 9. - in short 10. 語学【 ・ 11. 能⼒【 12. あ 】- language study う・ 】- ability (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 13. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 14. 失礼【 ・ い】- discourtesy 15. 中国語【 う・ 16. 読 】(u-verb) - to read 【 ・ ・ 】- Chinese language 17. 広⼦【 ・ 】- Hiroko (first name) 18. 家【1) う ; 2) いえ】- 1) one's own home; 2) house 19. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 20. - event, matter 21. ⼀郎【い ・ う】- Ichirou (first name) 22. 微積分【 ・ ・ 23. 分 】(u-verb) - to understand 【 ・ 】- (differential and integral) calculus 284 」 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 24. - here 25. 試験【 ・ 】- exam 26. 合格【 う・ 27. 今度【 ・ 28. 負 29. 来 5.11. HYPOTHESIZING AND CONCLUDING 】- pass (as in an exam) 】- this time; another time 【 ・ 【 ・ 30. あ 】(ru-verb) - to lose 】(exception) - to come (ru-verb) - to give up The noun「 」(訳) is a bit difficult to describe but it's defined as: "meaning; reason; can be deduced". You can see how this word is used in the following mini-dialogue. Example 1 直⼦：い 英語 勉強 、う い 。 Naoko: No matter how much I study, I don't become better at English. ： 、語学 、能⼒ い いう訳 。 Jim: So basically, it means that you don't have ability at language. 直⼦：失礼 。 Naoko: How rude. As you can see, Jim is concluding from what Naoko said that she must not have any skills at learning languages. This is completely different from the explanatory 「 」, which is used to explain something that may or may not be obvious. 「 」 is instead used to draw conclusions that anyone might be able to arrive at given certain information. A very useful application of this grammar is to combine it with 「 い」 to indicate that there is no reasonable conclusion. This allows some very useful expression like, "How in the world am I supposed to know that?" い。 • 中国語 読 There's no way I can read Chinese. (lit: There is no reasoning for [me] to be able to read Chinese.) Under the normal rules of grammar, we must have a particle for the noun 「 」 in order to use it with the verb but since this type of expression is used so often, the particle is often dropped to create just 「〜 い」. 285 5.11. HYPOTHESIZING AND CONCLUDING CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Example 2 直⼦：広⼦ 家 ⾏ あ ？ Naoko: Have you ever gone to Hiroko's house? ⼀郎：あ い う。 Ichirou: There's no way I would have ever gone to her house, right? Example 3 直⼦：微積分 分 ？ Naoko: Do you understand (differential and integral) calculus? い ！ ⼀郎：分 Ichirou: There's no way I would understand! There is one thing to be careful of because 「 い」 can also mean that something is very easy (lit: requires no explanation). You can easily tell when this meaning is intended however, because it is used in the same manner as an adjective. • 試験 合格 It's easy to pass the tests here. い。 Finally, although not as common, 「 」 can also be used as a formal expression for saying that something must or must not be done at all costs. This is simply a stronger and more formal version of 「〜 い い」 . This grammar is created by simply attaching 「 い い」 . The 「 」 is the topic particle and is pronounced 「 」. The reason 「い い」 changes to 「い い」 is probably related to intransitive and transitive verbs but I don't want to get too caught up in the logistics of it. Just take note that it's 「い い」 in this case and not 「い い」. 1. 今度 負 い い。 This time, I must not lose at all costs. 2. 、あ い After coming this far, I must not give up. い。 5.11.2 Making hypotheses with 「 」 Vocabulary 1. (exception) - to do 2. 明⽇【あ 】- tomorrow 286 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 3. ⾏ 【い・ 4. 今【い 】(u-verb) - to go 】- now 5. 〜時【〜 6. 着 】- counter for hours 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to arrive 7. 思う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to think 8. 観客【 ・ 9. 参加【 ・ 】- spectator 】- participation う - to receive 10. 11. 被害者【 ・ い・ 12. ⾮常【 ・ う】- extreme 13. 幸い【 飯【あ ・ 15. ⾷ 【 ・ ・ 】- breakfast 】(ru-verb) - to eat う - already 17. 昼【 18. 】- victim い ・い】(na-adj) - fortunate 14. 朝 16. 5.11. HYPOTHESIZING AND CONCLUDING 】- afternoon 腹【 ・ 19. 空 【 ・ 】- stomach 】(u-verb) - to become empty While this next grammar doesn't necessarily have anything directly related to the previous grammar, I thought it would fit nicely together. In a previous lesson, we learn how to combine the volitional form with 「 」 to indicate an attempt to perform an action. We will now learn several other ways 「 」 can be used. It may help to keep in mind that 「 」 is really just a combination of the quotation particle 「 」 and the verb 「 」 meaning "to do". Let's say you have a sentence: [verb] . This means literally that you are doing like "[verb]" (in quotes). As you can see, when used with the volitional, it becomes: "Doing like making motion to do [verb]". In other words, you are acting as if to make a motion to do [verb]. As we have already seen, this translates to "attempt to do [verb]". Let's see what happens when we use it on plain verbs. Examples • 明⽇ ⾏ 。 Assume we go tomorrow. The example above is considering what would happen supposing that they should decide to go tomorrow. You can see that the literal translation "do like we go tomorrow" still makes sense. However, in this situation, we are making a hypothesis unlike the grammar we have gone over before with the volitional form of the verb. Since we are considering a hypothesis, it is reasonable to assume that the conditional will be very handy here and indeed, you will often see sentences like the following: 287 5.12. EXPRESSING TIME-SPECIFIC ACTIONS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS • 今 ⾏ 、９時 着 思い 。 If we suppose that we go from now, I think we will arrive at 9:00. As you can see, the verb 「 」 has been conjugated to the 「 」 conditional form to consider what would happen if you assume a certain case. You can also change 「 」 to the te-form ( ) and use it as a sequence of actions like so: 1. 観客 参加 。 Received favor of allowing to participate as spectator. 、⾮常 幸い 。 2. 被害者 As a victim, was extremely fortunate. 、 う昼 腹 空い う。 3. 朝 飯 ⾷ Even assuming that you ate breakfast, because it's already noon, you're probably hungry, right? The same idea applies here as well. In example 1, you are doing like a "spectator" and doing like a "victim" in example 2 and finally, doing like you ate breakfast in example 3. So you can see why the same grammar applies for all these types of sentences because they all mean the same thing in Japanese (minus the use of additional particles and various conjugations of 「 」). 5.12 Expressing time-specific actions（ 、 ） 、 、 In this lesson, we will go over various ways to express actions that take place in a certain time-frame. In particular, we will learn how to say: 1) an action has just been completed, 2) an action is taken immediately after another action took place, 3) an action occurs while another action is ongoing, and 4) one continuously repeats an action. 5.12.1 Expressing what just happened with 「〜 Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 2. 5. い 6. 】(ru-verb) - to eat - sorry (polite) 3. 今【い 4. ・ 】- now 腹【 ・ 】- stomach い - full - kilo 288 」 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 7. ⾛ 【 ・ 8. 凄い【 9. 疲 5.12. EXPRESSING TIME-SPECIFIC ACTIONS 】(u-verb) - to run ・い】(i-adj) - to a great extent 【 ・ 10. 家【1) う 11. 帰 【 12. 昼 飯【 】(ru-verb) - to get tired ; 2) いえ】- 1) one's own home; 2) house え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home ・ ・ 】- lunch う - already 13. 14. 空 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to become empty 15. - no way, you can't mean to say 16. 起 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to wake; to occur This is a very useful grammar that is used to indicate that one has just finished doing something. For instance, the first time I really wished I knew how to say something like this was when I wanted to politely decline an invitation to eat because I had just eaten. To do this, take the past tense of verb that you want to indicate as just being completed and add 「 」. This is used with only the past tense of verbs and is not to be confused with the 「 」 used with nouns to express amounts. Just like the other type of 「 」 instead of 「 」. Using 「 」 we have covered before, in slang, you can hear people use 「 」for actions just completed • To indicate that an action has ended just recently, take the past tense of the verb and add 「 」. Example: ⾷ →⾷ →⾷ • For casual speech, you can abbreviate 「 Example: ⾷ → ⾷ . 」 to just 「 」 You can treat the result as you would with any noun. Positive Negative ⾷ ( ) Just ate ⾷ い Didn't just eat Examples 1. 、今⾷ 、 Sorry, but I'm full having just eaten. 腹 い 2. 10 ⾛ 、凄 疲 。 I just ran 10 kilometers and am really tired. 289 い 。 5.12. EXPRESSING TIME-SPECIFIC ACTIONS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 3. 今、家 帰 。 I got back home just now. Here are some examples of the abbreviated version. 、 う 腹 空い 。 1. 昼 飯 ⾷ Despite the fact that I just ate lunch, I'm hungry already. 2. 、今起 ？ No way, did you wake up just now? 5.12.2 Express what occurred immediately after with 「 」 Vocabulary 1. 開 【あ・ 2. 取 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to open 】(u-verb) - to take 3. 窓【 】- window 4. 猫【 】- cat 5. 跳 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to jump 6. 映画【えい・ 7. 観 【 ・ 8. 9. ⾏ 】(ru-verb) - to watch - bathroom; toilet 【い・ 10. 眠い【 11. 】- movie 】(u-verb) - to go ・い】(i-adj) - sleepy (u-verb) - to become Kind of as a supplement to 「 」, we will cover one way to say something happened as soon as something else occurs. To use this grammar, add 「 」 to the past tense of the first action that happened. It is also common to add the 「 」 target particle to indicate that specific point in time. 290 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Using 「 5.12. EXPRESSING TIME-SPECIFIC ACTIONS 」to describe what happened immediately after Change the verb that happened first to the past tense and attach 「 Examples 1. 開 →開 2. 取 →取 →開 →取 」. ) . ( ( 」 or 「 ) ฀Note: You can only use this grammar for things that happen outside your control. Examples 1. 窓 開 、猫 跳 い 。 As soon as I opened window, cat jumped out. For many more examples, check these examples sentences from our old trusty WWWJDIC. An important thing to realize is that you can only use this grammar for things that occur immediately after something else and not for an action that you, yourself carry out. For instance, compare the following two sentences. ⾏ 。 • 映画 観 、 (You carried out the action of going to the bathroom so this is not correct.) • 映画 観 、眠 。 (Since becoming sleepy is something that happened outside your control, this sentence is ok.) 5.12.3 Using 「 」 for two concurrent actions Vocabulary 1. ⾛ 【 2. 3. 観 ・ - TV, television 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to watch 4. 宿題【 5. 】(u-verb) - to run ・ い】- homework (exception) - to do 6. ⾳楽【 ・ 】- music 291 5.12. EXPRESSING TIME-SPECIFIC ACTIONS 7. 聴 【 ・ 8. 学校【 9. 歩 10. 好 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 】(u-verb) - to listen (e.g. to music); ・ う】- school 【あ ・ 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to walk 】(na-adj) - likable 11. 相⼿【あい・ 】- other party 12. 何【 】- what ／ 13. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 14. ⾃分【 ・ 】- oneself 15. 気持 【 ・ ・ 16. 分 【 ・ 17. 欲 い【 ・ 18. 単 【 19. 】- feeling 】(u-verb) - to understand い】(i-adj) - desirable ・ 】- simply (na-adj) - selfish 20. 思う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to think ー 21. 22. ⾷ - popcorn 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 23. 映画【えい・ 】- movie 24. ⼝笛【 え】- whistle ・ 25. ⼿紙【 ・ 26. 書 【 ・ 】- letter 】(u-verb) - to write You can use 「 」 to express that one action is taking place in conjunction with another action. To use 「 」, you must change the first verb to the stem and append 「 」. Though probably rare, you can also attach 「 」 to the negative of the verb to express the negative. This grammar has no tense since it is determined by the second verb. Using 「 」for concurrent actions • Change the first verb to the stem and append 「 Example ⾛ →⾛ →⾛ . • For the negative, attach 「 」 Example ⾛ →⾛ い→⾛ い 292 」 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.12. EXPRESSING TIME-SPECIFIC ACTIONS Examples 1. 観 、宿題 。 Do homework while watching TV. 、学校 歩 好 。 2. ⾳楽 聴 Like to walk to school while listening to music. 3. 相⼿ 何 ⾔ い 、⾃分 気持 い 単 思 い？ Don't you think that wanting the other person to understand one's feelings while not saying anything is just simply selfishness? Notice that the sentence ends with the main verb just like it always does. This means that the main action of the sentence is the verb that ends the clause. The 「 」 simply describes another action that is also taking place. For example, if we switched the verbs in the first example to say, 「宿題 、 観 。」, this changes the sentence to say, "Watch TV while doing homework." In other words, the main action, in this case, becomes watching TV and the action of doing homework is describing an action that is taking place at the same time. The tense is controlled by the main verb so the verb used with 「 1. ー ⾷ 、映画 観 Watch movie while eating popcorn. 。 2. ー ⾷ 、映画 観 Watched movie while eating popcorn. 。 3. ⼝笛 、⼿紙 書い い 。 Was writing letter while whistling. 5.12.4 Using 「 」 with state-of-being Vocabulary 1. 残念【 ・ 2. 貧乏【 ・ 3. 仕事【 ・ 4. い 5. ⼊ 】(na-adj) - unfortunate う】(na-adj) - poor 】- job い - full 【 い・ 6. 今⽇【 】(u-verb) - to enter う】- today 7. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 8. (u-verb) - to become 293 」 cannot have a tense. 5.12. EXPRESSING TIME-SPECIFIC ACTIONS 9. ⾼級【 10. う・ CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS う】(na-adj) - high class, high grade - bag 11. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 12. 彼【 】- he; boyfriend 13. 初⼼者【 14. 実⼒【 15. - pro 16. 同 【 ・ ・ ・ ・ 】- beginner 】- actual ability 】- same A more advanced use of 「 」 is to use it with the implied state-of-being. In other words, you can use it with nouns or adjectives to talk about what something is while something else. The implied state-of-being means that you must not use the declarative 「 」 , you just attach 「 」 to the noun or adjective. For example, a common way this grammar is used is to say, "While it's unfortunate, ・・・」 something something..." In Japanese, this would become 「残念 You can also attach the inclusive 「 」 particle to 「 meaning from "while" to "even while". Using 「 」or 「 」 to get 「 」. This changes the 」with state-of-being • To say [X] is something while something else, attach 「 」 to [X] Example 残念 → 残念 . • To say [X] is something even while something else, attach 「 」 to [X] Example 貧乏 → 貧乏 Examples 1. 仕事 い い⼊ 、残念 、今⽇ ⾏ 。 While it's unfortunate, a lot of work came in and it became so that I can't go today. 2. 貧乏 、⾼級 買 。 Even while I'm poor, I ended up buying a high quality bag. 、実⼒ 同 。 3. 彼 、初⼼者 Even while he is a beginner, his actual skills are the same as a pro. 294 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.12. EXPRESSING TIME-SPECIFIC ACTIONS 5.12.5 To repeat something with reckless abandon using 「 」 Vocabulary 1. (u-verb) - to do ー 2. - game 3. (u-verb) - to get hooked 4. 最近【 い・ 5. - computer, PC 6. 使う【 7. ・う】(u-verb) - to use - America 8. い (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 9. 時【 10. 】- recent; lately ー 11. 飲 】- time - cola 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to drink The WWWJDIC very succinctly defines the definition of this verb as a "verb suffix to indicate reckless abandon to the activity". Unfortunately, it doesn't go on to tell you exactly how it's actually used. Actually, there's not much to explain. You take the stem of the verb and simply attach 「 」. However, since this is a continuing activity, it is an enduring state unless you're going to do it in the future. This is a very casual expression. Using 「 」for frequent actions Change the first verb to the stem and append 「 Example → → い い 」. You can use all the normal conjugations. you would expect with any other verb. Positive Negative Non-Past い い い doing all the time don't do all the time Past い い did all the time didn't do all the time 295 5.13. LEAVING SOMETHING THE WAY IT IS CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS Examples 1. ー 、最近 使い い 。 Having gotten hooked by games, I do nothing but use the computer lately. 2. 飲 い 。 い 時 ー When I was in the US, I drank coke like all the time. 5.13 Leaving something the way it is （ 、 ） Up until now, we've mostly been talking about things that have happened or changed in the course of events. We will now learn some simple grammar to express a lack of change. 5.13.1 Using 「 」 to express a lack of change Vocabulary 1. - this (abbr. of 2. 宜 い【 3. 半分【 ・ ・ ) い】(i-adj) - good (formal) 】- half 4. ⾷ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 5. 捨 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to throw away 6. 駄⽬【 7. い 】- no good (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 8. 今⽇【 9. 悲 10. い【 ・ い】(i-adj) - sad - that (abbr. of 11. 格好【 12. 13. ⼊ う】- today ・ ) う】- appearance - club; nightclub 【 い・ 】(u-verb) - to enter 「 」, not to be confused with the childish expression for "mother" ( ), is a grammatical phrase to express a lack of change in something. Grammatically, it is used just like a regular noun. You'll most likely hear this grammar at a convenience store when you buy a very small item. Since store clerks use super polite expressions and at lightening fast speeds, learning this one expression will help you out a bit in advance. (Of course, upon showing a lack of comprehension, the person usually repeats the exact same phrase... at the exact same speed.) 296 CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS 5.13. LEAVING SOMETHING THE WAY IT IS Examples • 宜 い Is it ok just like this? ？ In other words, the clerk wants to know if you'll take it just like that or whether you want it in a small bag. 「宜 い」, in case I haven't gone over it yet, is simply a very polite version of 「いい」. Notice that 「 」 grammatically works just like a regular noun which means, as usual, that you can modify it with verb phrases or adjectives. ⾷ い 捨 ！ • 半分 You can't throw it out leaving it in that half-eaten condition! Ok, the translation is very loose, but the idea is that it's in an unchanged state of being half-eaten and you can't just throw that out. Here's a good example I found googling around. Hint: The 「い 」 is the causative form of 「い 」 meaning "let/make me exist". • 今⽇ 悲 い い い。 For only today, I want you to let me stay in this sad condition. Finally, just in case, here's an example of direct noun modification. • 格好 ⼊ い 。 You can't get in the club in that getup (without changing it). 5.13.2 Using 「 」 to leave something the way it is Vocabulary 1. 放 2. 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to release; to set loose (ru-verb) - to give 3. (u-verb) - to neglect 4. - TV, television 5. 開 【あ・ 6. 書 7. 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to open 】(u-verb) - to write (ru-verb) - to attach; to turn on 297 5.13. LEAVING SOMETHING THE WAY IT IS 8. CHAPTER 5. SPECIAL EXPRESSIONS (exception) - to do 9. 眠 【 10. ⼈【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to fall asleep 】- person 11. 結構【 12. い ・ う】- fairly, reasonably (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 13. 窓【 】- window 14. 蚊【 】- mosquito 15. い い - full 16. ⼊ 【 い・ 】(u-verb) - to enter 17. う (u-verb) - to do something by accident; to finish completely The verb 「放 」 meaning "to set loose", can be used in various ways in regards to leaving something the way it is. For instance, a variation 「放 」 is used when you want to say "Leave me alone". For instance, you might use the command form of a request ( ) and say, 「 い ！」(Leave me alone!). Yet another variant 「 」 means "to neglect". The grammar I would like to discuss here is the 「 」 suffix variant. You can attach this suffix to the stem of any verb to describe the act of doing something and leaving it that way without changing it. You can treat the combination like a regular noun. Here's a link with more examples of this grammar. As you can see by the examples, this suffix carries a nuance that the thing left alone is due to oversight or neglect. Here are the (simple) conjugation rules for this grammar. Using 「 」to complete an action and leave it that way Take the stem of the verb and attach 「 Examples 1. 開 2. 書 」. . →開 →書 →書 Examples 1. 眠 い⼈ 、結構い 。 There exists a fair number of people who cannot sleep unless they turn on the TV and leave it that way. 放 、蚊 い い⼊ 。 2. 窓 開 The window was left wide open so a lot of mosquitoes got in. 298 Chapter 6 Advanced Topics Whew! We've come a long way from learning the basic phonetic alphabet to covering almost all the grammar you're going to need for daily conversations. But wait, we're not finished yet! In fact, things are going to get even more challenging and interesting because, especially toward the latter part of this section, we are going to learn grammar that only might come in handy. In my experience, the most useful things are easiest to learn as they come up again and again. However, in order to completely master a language, we also must work hard to conquer the bigger area of things that don't come up very often and yet every native Japanese speaker instinctively understands. Believe it or not, even the more obscure grammar will come up eventually leaving you wondering what it's supposed to mean. That's why I bothered to learn them at least. 6.1 Formal Expressions （ あ 、 い） 6.1.1 What do you mean by formal expressions? So far we have learned casual, polite, and honorific/humble types of languages. So what do I mean by formal expressions? I think we are all aware of the type of language I am talking about. We hear it in speeches, read it in reports, and see it on documentaries. While discussing good writing style is beyond the scope of this guide, we will go over some of the grammar that you will commonly find in this type of language. Which is not to say that it won't appear in regular everyday speech. (Because it does.) 6.1.2 Using 「 あ 」 for formal state-of-being Vocabulary 1. 我輩【 2. 猫【 ・ い】- I; we 】- cat 299 6.1. FORMAL EXPRESSIONS 3. 夏⽬【 ・ 4. 漱⽯【 う・ 5. 任 8. 種類【 ・ ・ 10. 純物質【 】- leaving a decision to someone else 】- display ・ 9. 以上【い・ う・ う】- greater or equal ・ ・ ／ 】- mixture, amalgam い】- type, kind, category ・ あう【 ・ 12. 物質【 13. 何【 】- Souseki (first name) う・ 7. 混合物【 11. 混 】- Natsume (last name) 【 ・ 6. 表⽰【 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 】- pure material あう】(u-verb) - to mix together 】- pure material 】- what We have already learned how to speak with your friends in casual speech, your superiors in polite speech, and your customers in honorific / humble speech. We've learned 「 」 、 「 」 、 and 「 い 」 to express a state-of-being for these different levels of politeness. There is one more type of state-of-being that is primarily used to state facts in a neutral, official sounding manner - 「 あ 」. Just like the others, you tack 「 あ 」 on to the adjective or noun that represents the state. Examples • 吾輩 猫 あ I am a cat. (This is the title of a famous novel by 夏⽬漱⽯) Since I'm too lazy to look up facts, let's trot on over to the Japanese version of Wikipedia and look at some random articles by clicking on 「 表⽰」. • 混合物 ( う , mixture) 、 2 種類以上 純物質 (Wikipedia - 混合物, July 2004) An amalgam is a mixture of two or more pure materials. To give you an idea of how changing the 「 around that sentence. あ 混 あ い 物質 あ 。 」 changes the tone, I've included some fake content 1. 混合物 何？ 混合物 、2 種類以上 純物質 混 あ い 物質 2. 混合物 何 ？ 混合物 、2 種類以上 純物質 混 あ い 物質 300 。 。 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 3. 混合物 何 う 。 混合物 、2 種類以上 純物質 4. 混合物 混合物 ？ 、2 種類以上 純物質 6.1.3 Negative of 「 あ 6.1. FORMAL EXPRESSIONS 混 あ い 物質 い 混 あ い 物質 あ 。 。 」 Vocabulary 1. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 2. - that 3. 不公平【 ・ う・ い】- unfair 4. ⾔語【 ・ 】- language 5. 簡単【 ・ 】(na-adj) - simple ー- master 6. 7. (exception) - to do 8. - event, matter 9. 出来 【 ・ 10. 学⽣【 ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do い】- student Because the negative of 「あ 」 is 「 い」, you might expect the opposite of 「 あ 」 to be 「 い」. However, for some reason I'm not aware of, you need to insert the topic particle before 「 い」 to get 「 い」. Examples 1. 不公平 い う 。 Wouldn't you consider that to be unfair? 2. ⾔語 簡単 ー い。 Language is not something that can be mastered easily. 301 6.1. FORMAL EXPRESSIONS Using 「 あ CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 」to sound official Attach 「 あ 」 to the verb or adjective that the state-of-being applies to. Example: 学⽣ → 学⽣ あ For the negative, attach 「 い」 to the verb or adjective that the state-of-being applies to. い Example: 学⽣ → 学⽣ . For the past tense state-of-being, apply the regular past tenses of 「あ 」 Complete conjugation chart for 「 あ 」 Positive Negative 学⽣ あ is student 学⽣ いis not student 学⽣ あ was student 学⽣ was not student 6.1.4 Sequential relative clauses in formal language Vocabulary 1. 花⽕【 ・ 】- fireworks 2. ⽕薬【 ・ 】- gunpowder 3. ⾦属【 ・ 】- metal 4. 粉末【 ・ 】- fine powder 5. 混 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to mix 6. 物【 】- object 7. ⽕【 】- flame, light 8. 付 【 ・ 9. 燃焼時【 】(ru-verb) - to attach ・ 10. ⽕花【 ・ 11. 楽 【 12. う・ 】- at time of combustion 】- spark ・ 】(u-verb) - to enjoy - for the sake/benefit of 13. 企業内【 ・ う・ 14. 顧客【 ・ 】- customer, client 15. ー い】- company-internal - data 302 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 16. 利⽤【 ・ 17. 6.1. FORMAL EXPRESSIONS う】- usage (exception) - to do 18. 彼【 】- he; boyfriend 19. ⾏⽅【 20. 調 ・え】- whereabouts 【 21. ・ 】(ru-verb) - to investigate - event, matter 22. 出来 【 ・ ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 23. 封筒【 う・ 24. 写真【 ・ 25. 数枚【 う・ い】- several sheets (flat objects) 26. ⼊ い・ 】(u-verb) - to enter 【 27. ⼿紙【 ・ 28. 添え う】- envelope 】- photograph 】- letter 【 ・え 29. - this (abbr. of 30. - file ー 31. 】(ru-verb) - to garnish; to accompany (as a card does a gift) ) - password 32. 設定【 ・ い】- setting 33. 開 ・ 】(u-verb) - to open 【 34. 〜際【〜 35. い】- on the occasion of - that 36. ⼊⼒【 う・ 37. 必要【 ・ 38. あ 】- input う】- necessity (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) In the Compound Sentence lesson, we learned how to use the te-form of verbs to express multiples sequential actions in one sentence. This practice, however, is used only in regular everyday speech. Formal speeches, narration, and written publications employ the verb stem instead of the te-form to describe sequential actions. Particularly, newspaper articles, in the interest of brevity, always prefer verb stems to the te-form. 303 6.2. THINGS THAT SHOULD BE A CERTAIN WAY CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS Examples 1. 花⽕ ( ) 、⽕薬 ⾦属 粉末 混 ⽕ 付 、燃焼時 ⽕花 楽 。 (Wikipedia - 花⽕, August 2004) Fireworks are for the enjoyment of sparks created from combustion created by lighting up a mixture of gunpowder and metal powder. 出来 。 2. 企業内 顧客 ー 利⽤ 、彼 ⾏⽅ 調 Was able to investigate his whereabouts using the company's internal customer data. For the 「〜 い 」 forms, the stem becomes 「〜 い」 but because that doesn't fit very well into the middle of a sentence, it is common to use the humble form of 「い 」 which you will remember is 「 」. This is simply so you can employ 「 」 to connect relative clauses instead of just 「い」. It has nothing to do with the humble aspect of 「 」 1. 封筒 写真 数枚⼊ 、⼿紙 添え い 。 Several photos were inside the envelope, and a letter was attached. 2. ー 設定 、開 際 ⼊⼒ 必要 A password has been set on this file, and it needs to entered when opening. Things that should be a certain way （ ） 6.2 、 あ 。 、 、 In this lesson, we'll learn how to express the way things are supposed depending on what we mean by "supposed". While the first two grammar points 「 」 and 「 」 come up often and are quite useful, you'll rarely ever encounter 「 」 or 「 」. You can safely skip those lessons unless you are studying for the JLPT. 6.2.1 Using 「 」 to describe an expectation Vocabulary 1. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 2. ⽇曜⽇【 ・ 3. 可能【 ・ う】(na-adj) - possible い 4. 5. 帰 6. 彼【 う・ 】- Sunday い (i-adj) - tasty 【 え・ 】(u-verb) - to go home 】- he; boyfriend 304 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 7. 漫画【 ・ 8. 】- comic book - mania 9. - this 10. 〜 11. 6.2. THINGS THAT SHOULD BE A CERTAIN WAY - pluralizing suffix う - already 12. 全部【 ・ 】- everything 13. 読 【 ・ 14. - this (abbr. of 15. 料理【 16. 焦 】(u-verb) - to read う・ 】- cooking; cuisine; dish 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to burn, to be burned い (i-adj) - unpleasant 17. 18. ⾊々【い ・い 19. 予定【 ・ 20. 】(na-adj) - various い】- plans, arrangement (exception) - to do 21. 今年【 ・ 22. 楽 い【 】- this year ・ 23. 24. ) い】(i-adj) - fun - Christmas う - (things are) that way 25. 簡単【 ・ 26. 直 ・ 【 27. 打合 】(u-verb) - to correct, to fix 【う ・あ 28. 毎週【 い・ 29. 〜時【〜 30. 始 】(na-adj) - simple 【 ・ 】- meeting う】- every week 】- counter for hours ・ 】(u-verb) - to begin The first grammar we will learn is 「 」, which is used to express something that was or is supposed to be. You can treat 「 」 just like a regular noun as it is usually attached to the adjective or verb that is supposed to be or supposed to happen. The only thing to be careful about here is expressing an expectation of something not happening. To do this, you must use the negative existence verb 「 い」 to say that such an expectation does not exist. い」 or 「〜 い」 depending on which particle you This might be in the form of 「〜 want to use. The negative conjugation 「 い」 is really only used when you want to confirm in a positive sense such as 「〜 い ？」. 305 6.2. THINGS THAT SHOULD BE A CERTAIN WAY Using 「 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 」to describe an expectation Use 「 」 just like a regular noun to modify the expected thing Examples 1. ⽇曜⽇ (noun) 2. 可能 い 3. (na-adjective) い 4. 帰 . (i-adjective) (verb) For the case where you expect the negative, use the 「 →帰 Example: 帰 い」 verb for nonexistence い Examples 。 1. 彼 漫画 、 う全部読 He has a mania for comic book(s) so I expect he read all these already. 2. い い 、焦 、 。 料理 This dish was expected to be tasty but it burned and became distasteful. 3. ⾊々予定 あ 、今年 楽 い 。 Because various things have been planned out, I expect a fun Christmas this year. 4. う簡単 直 い 。 It's not supposed to be that easy to fix. 始 い ？ 5. 打合 毎週２時 This meeting is supposed to start every week at 2 o'clock, isn't it? Here are more examples from the WWWJDIC. You may also want to check out the jeKai entry. 6.2.2 Using 「 」 to describe actions one should do Vocabulary 1. 絶対【 2. あ ・ い】(na-adj) - absolutely, unconditionally (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 3. 強い【 4. 推奨【 ・い】(i-adj) - strong い・ う】- recommendation 306 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 5. (exception) - to do 6. 擦 【 ・ 6.2. THINGS THAT SHOULD BE A CERTAIN WAY 】(u-verb) - to rub 7. ⾏う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to conduct, to carry out 8. 何【 ／ 】- what 9. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 10. 前【 え】- front; before 11. 本当【 ・ う】- real 12. 必要【 ・ う】- necessity 13. う - how 14. いい (i-adj) - good 15. 考え 【 ・え 16. 例え【 】(ru-verb) - to think ・え】- example 17. 国【 】- country 18. 国⺠【 ・ 19. 騙 ・ 【 20. 思う【 】- people, citizen 】(u-verb) - to trick, to cheat, to deceive ・う】(u-verb) - to think 21. 預⾦者【 ・ ・ 】- depositor 22. ⼤⼿【 ・ 】- large corporation 23. 銀⾏【 ・ う】- bank 24. 相⼿【あい・ 25. 取 】- other party 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to take 26. 訴訟【 ・ 27. 起 【 ・ ー 28. 29. 出 う】- litigation, lawsuit 】(u-verb) - to cause, to wake someone - case 【 ・ 30. ⾦融庁【 】(ru-verb) - to come out ・ 31. 被害者【 ・ 32. 救済【 う・ い・ う・ 33. 優先【 う・ 34. ⾦融【 ・ 35. 機関【 ・ う】- Financial Services Agency 】- victim い】- relief, aid 】- preference, priority, precedence う】- financing 】- institution 307 6.2. THINGS THAT SHOULD BE A CERTAIN WAY 36. 犯罪【 ・ 37. 防⽌【 う・ 38. 強化【 39. 促 40. 判断【 い】- crime 】- prevention う・ 【う ・ ・ 41. 朝⽇【あ ・ 42. 新聞【 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS ・ 】- strengthen 】(u-verb) - to urge 】- judgement, decision 】- Asahi 】- newspaper 「 」 is a verb suffix used to describe something that is supposed to be done. This suffix is commonly defined as "should", however, one must realize that it cannot be used to make suggestions like the sentence, "You should go to the doctor." If you use 「 」, it sounds more like, "You are supposed to go to the doctor."「 」has a much stronger tone and makes you sound like a know-it-all telling people what to do. For making suggestions, it is customary to use the comparison「⽅ いい」grammar instead. For this reason, this grammar is almost never used to directly tell someone what to do. It is usually used in reference to oneself where you can be as bossy as you want or in a neutral context where circumstances dictate what is proper and what is not. One such example would be a sentence like, "We are supposed to raise our kids properly with a good education." Unlike the 「 」 grammar, there is no expectation that something is going to happen. Rather, this grammar describes what one should do in a given circumstance. In Japanese, you might define it as meaning 「絶対 い 、強 推奨 い 」. There is very little of grammatical interest. 「 」 works just like a regular noun and so you can conjugate it as 「 い」、「 」, and so on. The only thing to note here is that when you're using it with 「 」, the verb meaning "to do", you can optionally drop the 「 」 from 「 」 to produce 「 」. You can do this with this verb only and it does not apply for any other verbs even if the verb is written as 「 」 such as 「擦 」, the verb meaning "to rub". Using 「 」for actions that should be done Attach 「 Examples 」 to the action that should be done 1. ⾏う → ⾏う 2. . → For the generic "to do " verb 「 Example: ＋ 」 only, you can remove the 「 → 308 」 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6.2. THINGS THAT SHOULD BE A CERTAIN WAY Examples 1. 何 買う前 本当 必要 う 考え 。 Before buying something, one should think well on whether it's really necessary or not. い 思う。 2. 例え国 あ 、国⺠ 騙 Even if it is, for example, for the country, I don't think the country's citizens should be deceived. 3. 預⾦者 ⼤⼿銀⾏ 相⼿取 訴訟 起 ー 出 、⾦融庁 被害者 救済 優先 、⾦融機関 犯罪防⽌対策 強化 促 判断。(朝⽇新聞) With cases coming out of depositors suing large banks, the Financial Services Agency decided it should prioritize relief for victims and urge banks to strengthen measures for crime prevention. 6.2.3 Using 「 」 to describe what one tries to do Vocabulary 1. 連⽤形【 ・ 2. 早い【 3. 帰 い】- conjunctive form ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 【 え・ 4. 準備【 5. う・ 】(u-verb) - to go home ・ 】- preparations (exception) - to do 6. 始 【 ・ 7. 思う【 8. 出来 ・う】(u-verb) - to think 【 ・ 9. ⾏う【 ・ 12. 皆【 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do ・う】(u-verb) - to conduct, to carry out 10. 試験【 ・ 11. 合格【 】(ru-verb) - to begin 】- exam う・ 】- pass (as in an exam) 】- everybody 13. ⼀⽣懸命【い ・ う・ ・ 14. 勉強【 ・ う】- study 15. 今後【 ・ 】- from now on 16. 客様【 ・ 17. 対話【 い・ 18. 窓⼝【 ・ 19. ・ い】- with utmost effort 】- guest, customer 】- interaction 】- teller window, counter; point of contact - more 309 6.2. THINGS THAT SHOULD BE A CERTAIN WAY 20. 充実【 21. ⾏ う・ 【い・ 【 】- fulfilled 】(u-verb) - to go 22. 努⼒【 ・ 23. 参 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 】- effort い・ 】(u-verb) - to go; to come (humble) Grammatically, 「 」 is really a conjunctive form (連⽤形) of 「 」, similar to what the te-form does to connect another phrase. However, what needs mentioning here is that by changing it into a conjunctive and adding a predicate, the meaning of 「 」 changes from the ordinary meaning of 「 」. While 「 」 describes a strong suggestion, changing it to 「 」 allows you to describe what one did in order to carry out that suggestion. Take a look that the following examples to see how the meaning changes. 。 1. 早 帰 Should go home early. 2. 早 帰 、準備 始 。 In trying to go home early, started the preparations. As we can see in this example, adding the 「準備 始 」 tells us what the subject did in order to carry out the action he/she was supposed to do.In this way we can define 「 」 as meaning, "in order to" or "in an effort to". Similarly, 「 」 might mean the Japanese equivalent of 「 う 思 」 or 「 う 」. This is a very seldom-used old-fashioned expression and is merely presented here to completely cover all aspects of 「 」. Using 「 」for actions that are attempted to be done Attach 「 Examples 」 to the action that is attempted to be done 1. ⾏う → ⾏う 2. Same as 「 Example: . → 」, you can remove the 「 ＋ 」 for the generic "to do " verb 「 」 only → Examples 、皆⼀⽣懸命 勉強 い 。 1. 試験 合格 Everybody is studying very hard in an effort to pass the exam. 2. 今後 客様 対話 窓⼝ 、 充実 い 努⼒ い We are working from here in an effort to provide a enriched window for customer interaction. 310 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6.2.4 Using 「 6.2. THINGS THAT SHOULD BE A CERTAIN WAY 」 to describe things one must not do Vocabulary 1. 未然形【 ・ 2. ⾏う【 ・ い】- imperfective form ・う】(u-verb) - to conduct, to carry out 3. (exception) - to do 4. - garbage 5. 捨 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to throw away 6. 安全【あ ・ 】- safety 7. 措置【 ・ 】- measures 8. 忘 ・ 【 】(ru-verb) - to forget Moving on to yet another from of 「 」 is 「 」 . This is undoubtedly related to the 「 」 negative ending we learned in a previous section. However, it seems to be a conjugation of an old 未然 形 of 「 」. I have no idea what that means and you don't have to either. The only thing we need to take away from this is that 「 」 expresses the opposite meaning of 「 」 as an action that one must not do. I suppose the short and abrupt ending of the 「 」 form makes this more useful for laying out rules. In fact, searching around on google comes up with a bunch of 「 ･ 」 or "do's and don'ts". ( is an older form of , which I doubt you'll ever need.) Using 「 」for actions that must not be done Attach 「 Examples 」 to the action that must not be done 1. ⾏う → ⾏う 2. Same as 「 Example: . → 」, you can remove the 「 ＋ 」 for the generic "to do " verb 「 → Examples 1. 捨 。 You must not throw away trash. 2. 安全措置 忘 。 You must not forget the safety measures. 311 」 only 6.3. EXPRESSING THE MINIMUM EXPECTATION CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS Expressing the minimum expectation （ ） 6.3 え、 、 In this section, we'll learn various ways to express the minimum expectation. This grammar is not used as often as you might think as there are many situations where a simpler expression would sound more natural, but you should still become familiar with it. 6.3.1 Using 「( ) え」 to describe the minimum requirement Vocabulary 1. 私【 】- me; myself; I 2. ⼦供【 ・ 3. ⾷ 】- child 【 ・ 4. ⾏ 【い・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】(u-verb) - to go 5. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 6. 読 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to read 7. 宿題【 ・ 8. 多い【 ・い】(i-adj) - numerous 9. - bathroom; toilet 10. 時間【 ・ 11. あ 12. 】- time (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) ⾦【 ・ 】- money 13. 何【 ／ 14. 出来 【 ・ 15. い】- homework 】- what ・ 弁当【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do ・ う】- box lunch 16. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 17. あ - you (slang) 18. 楽 【 19. ・ 】(na-adj) - easy - vitamin 20. 健康【 21. 保証【 ・ ・ う】- health う】- guarantee 312 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 22. 6.3. EXPRESSING THE MINIMUM EXPECTATION (exception) - to do 23. ⾃分【 ・ 】- oneself 24. 過 【あ ・ 25. 認 【 ・ 26. 問題【 ・ 27. 解決【 い・ 28. 教科書【 29. 】- fault, error 】(ru-verb) - to recognize, to acknowledge い】- problem 】- resolution う・ ・ 】- textbook - more 30. - properly 31. い (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 32. 合格【 う・ 33. ⼀⾔【 ・ 】- pass (as in an exam) 】- a few words 34. (ru-verb) - to give 35. - this sort of 36. - event, matter 37. (u-verb) - to become In English, we might say, "not even close" to show that not even the minimum expectation has been met. In Japanese, we can express this by attaching 「 え」 to the object or verb that miserably failed to reach what one would consider to be a bare minimum requirement. Conversely, you can also use the same grammar in a positive sense to express something is all you need. Using 「( ) え」to describe the minimum requirement For nouns: Attach 「 Examples 1. 私 2. ⼦供 え」 or 「 え」 to the minimum requirement. え - even me え - even children For verbs: Change the verb to the stem and attach 「 . to 「 ／ 」. Examples 1. ⾷ 2. ⾏ →⾷ →⾏ 3. ⾔ 4. 読 え →⾏ →⾔ い →読 え え えい 313 え」. For verbs in te-form, attach 「 え」 6.3. EXPRESSING THE MINIMUM EXPECTATION CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS Examples 1. 宿題 多 、 ⾏ 時間 え 。 There was so much homework, I didn't even have time to go to the bathroom. 2. 、何 出来 。 ⾦ えあ The least you need is money and you can do anything. 3. 弁当 買う ⾦ え 。 I didn't even have money to buy lunch. え」instead of just「 For nouns only, you can add「 」and use「 differences but it does sound a bit more emphatic. え」. There are no grammatical え出来 、あ 楽 う。 1. 私 If even I can do it, it should be a breeze for you. You can also attach 「 え」 to the stem of verbs to express a minimum action for a result. This is usually followed up immediately by 「 」 to show that the minimum action is done (or not). If the verb happens to be in a te-form, 「 え」 can also be attached directly to the end of the 「 」 or 「 」 of the te-form. 1. ⾷ え 、健康 保証 。 If you just eat vitamins, your health will be guaranteed. 認 え 、問題 解決 い 。 2. ⾃分 過 The problem won't be solved if you don't even recognize your own mistake, you know. 3. 教科書 読 えい 、合格 。 If only I had read the textbook more properly, I could have passed. 4. ⼀⾔⾔ え 。 If you only had said something things wouldn't have turned out like this. 6.3.2 「( ) 」 - Older version of 「( ) Vocabulary 1. 私【 】- me; myself; I 2. ⼦供【 ・ 3. - this (abbr. of 4. 天才【 5. 分 】- child ・ 【 ・ ) い】- genius 】(u-verb) - to understand 314 え」 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6. 緊張【 ・ う】- nervousness 7. (exception) - to do 8. - a peek 9. ⾒ 【 ・ 10. 6.3. EXPRESSING THE MINIMUM EXPECTATION 】(ru-verb) - to see - event, matter 11. 出来 【 ・ 12. ⼈【 ・ 】- Kanji 【 ・ 15. ⽣徒【 16. い 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 】- person 13. 漢字【 14. 知 ・ い・ 】(u-verb) - to know 】- student (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 「( ) 」 is a older variation of 「( ) え」 that is not as commonly used. It is essentially interchangeable with 「( ) え」 except that it is generally used only with nouns. 「( ) 」is used in the same way as 「( For nouns: Attach 「 Examples 1. 私 2. ⼦供 」 or 「 ) え」for nouns 」 to the minimum requirement. . - Even me - Even children Examples 1. 。 天才 私 Even a genius such as myself couldn't solve it. 2. 私 緊張 、 ⾒ 出来 I was so nervous that I couldn't even take a quick peek. 3. 「⼈」 漢字 知 い⽣徒 、い い ！ There are no students that don't even know the 「⼈」 Kanji! 315 。 6.3. EXPRESSING THE MINIMUM EXPECTATION 6.3.3 「 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 」 - It's not even worth considering Vocabulary 1. 愚 【 ・ 】(na-adj) - foolish 2. 漢字【 ・ 】- Kanji 3. 4. 読 - Hiragana 【 ・ 5. 結婚【 】(u-verb) - to read ・ 】- marriage 6. 〜ヶ⽉【〜 ・ 7. 付 合う【 ・ 8. 結局【 9. 別 ・ 【 】- counter for span of month(s) ・あ・う】(u-verb) - to go out with; to accompany 】- eventually ・ 】(ru-verb) - to separate; to break up 10. ⼤学【 い・ 11. ⾼校【 う・ う】- high school 12. 卒業【 ・ う】- graduate 13. 】- college (exception) - to do This grammar comes from the adjective 「愚 」 which means to be foolish or stupid. However, in this case, you're not making fun of something, rather by using 「 」, you can indicate that something is so ridiculous that it's not even worth considering. In English, we might say something like, "Are you kidding? I can't touch my knees much less do a full split!" In this example, the full split is so beyond the person's abilities that it would be foolish to even consider it. Examples 1. 漢字 、 え読 い ！ Forget about Kanji, I can't even read Hiragana! 2. 結婚 、2ヶ⽉付 合 、結局別 。 We eventually broke up after going out two months much less get married. 3. ⼤学 、⾼校 卒業 。 I didn't even graduate from high school much less college. This grammar is rarely used and is primarily useful for JLPT level 1. The expression 「 」 is far more common and has a similar meaning. However, unlike 「 」 which is used as an adjective, 「 」 is attached directly to the noun, adjective, or verb. 1. 漢字 、 え読 い ！ Forget about Kanji, I can't even read Hiragana! 316 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6.4. SHOWING SIGNS OF SOMETHING Showing signs of something （〜 6.4 、 、〜 ） In this lesson, we'll learn various expressions involving how to describe people who are expressing themselves without words. For example, we'll learn how to say expressions in Japanese such as "They acted as if they were saying goodbye," "He acted disgusted," and "She acts like she wants to go." 6.4.1 Showing outward signs of an emotion using 「〜 Vocabulary 1. 嫌【い 】(na-adj) disagreeable; unpleasant 2. 怖い【 3. 嬉 ・い】(i-adj) - scary い【う ・ 4. 恥 い】(i-adj) - happy い【 ・ 5. 早い【 6. い】(i-adj) - embarrassing ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early (exception) - to do 7. 何【 8. い ／ 】- what (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 9. 彼⼥【 ・ 10. 朝【あ 】- morning 11. 起 【 ・ 12. - type 13. う 】- she; girlfriend 】(u-verb) - to cause, to wake someone - referring to one's in-group, i.e. company, etc. 14. ⼦供【 ・ ー 15. 16. ⼊ 】- child - pool 【 い・ 17. 理由【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to enter う】- reason 18. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 19. 欲 い【 ・ 20. ー- curry 21. ⾷ 【 ・ 22. 家【1) う い】(i-adj) - desirable 】(ru-verb) - to eat ; 2) いえ】- 1) one's own home; 2) house 317 」 6.4. SHOWING SIGNS OF SOMETHING 23. 帰 【 え・ 24. - soon 25. CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 】(u-verb) - to go home - computer, PC 26. 使う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to use 27. 皆【 】- everybody 28. - Italy 29. ⾏ 【い・ 30. 私【 】(u-verb) - to go 】- me, myself, I 31. 予算【 ・ 】- budget う - how 32. 33. 34. 怪 - very い【あ ・ 35. 妻【 い】(i-adj) - suspicious; dubious; doubtful 】- wife 36. - bag 37. - that sort of 38. - object (short for ) 39. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 40. 訳【 】- meaning; reason; can be deduced 41. 恥 屋【 ・ ・ 】- one who easily feels or acts embarrassed 42. 寒 屋【 ・ ・ 】- one who easily feels cold 43. 暑 屋【あ ・ ・ 】- one who easily feels hot 44. 45. 暮 46. ⾟い【 - Minnesota 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to live ・い】(i-adj) - harsh The 「〜 」 grammar is used when you want to make an observation about how someone is feeling. This is simply an observation based on some type of sign(s). Therefore, you would not use it for your own emotions since guessing about your own emotions is not necessary. This grammar can only be used with adjectives so you can use this grammar to say, "He is acting scared," but you cannot say "He acted surprised," because "to be surprised" is a verb in Japanese and not an adjective. This grammar is also commonly used with a certain set of adjectives related to emotions such as: 「嫌」、「怖い」、「嬉 い」、or 「恥 い」. 318 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS Using 「〜 6.4. SHOWING SIGNS OF SOMETHING 」for observing the emotions or feelings of others For i-adjectives: Remove the last 「い」 from the i-adjective and then attach 「 」 Example: 怖い → 怖 For na-adjectives: Attach 「 」 to the end of the na-adjective Example: 嫌 → 嫌 . All adjectives that are conjugated with 「〜 」 become an u-verb Positive Negative Non-Past 怖 怖 い act scared not act scared Past 怖 怖 acted scared didn't act scared Examples 1. 早 ！何 恥 い ？ Hurry up and come here. What are you acting all embarrassed for? 嫌 。 2. 彼⼥ 朝早 起 My girlfriend is the type to show dislike towards getting woken up early in the morning. 3. う ⼦供 ー ⼊ 理由 怖 。 Our child acts afraid about entering a pool without any reason. This grammar is also used to observe very frankly on what you think someone other than yourself wants. This involves the adjective 「欲 い」 for things one wants or the 「〜 い」 conjugation for actions one wants to do, which is essentially a verb conjugated to an i-adjective. This type of grammar is more suited for things like narration in a story and is rarely used in this fashion for normal conversations because of its impersonal style of observation. For casual conversations, it is more common to use 「 う」 such as in, 「 ー ⾷ い う。」 . For polite conversations, it is normal to not make any assumptions at all or to use the 「 」 sentence ending such as in 「 ー ⾷ い 。」 or 「 ー ⾷ い 。」 Examples 使い 。 1. 家 帰 、 (He) soon acts like wanting to use computer as soon as (he) gets home. 2. ⾏ 、私 予算 ⾏ う 怪 い。 Everybody is acting like they want to go to Italy but it's suspicious whether I can go or not going by my budget. 319 6.4. SHOWING SIGNS OF SOMETHING CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 3. 妻 欲 い 、 、買え い う！ My wife was showing signs of wanting a Louis Vuitton bag but there's no way I can buy something like that! 「〜 」 is also used with 「屋」 to indicate a type of person that often feels a certain way such as 「恥 屋」 (one who easily feels or acts embarrassed)、 「寒 屋」 (one who easily feels cold)、or 「暑 屋」 (one who easily feels hot). 屋 、 暮 ⾟ 。 • 私 寒 I'm the type who easily gets cold and so living in Minnesota was painful. 6.4.2 Using 「 」 to act as if one might do something Vocabulary 1. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 2. ー - ball 3. 爆発【 4. ・ 】- explosion (exception) - to do 5. 膨 【 ・ 6. あ - you (slang) 7. 関係【 8. あ ・ 】(u-verb) - to expand; to swell い】- relation, relationship (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 9. 彼⼥【 10. 彼【 ・ 】- she; girlfriend 】- he; boyfriend 11. 無視【 ・ 】- ignore 12. 昨⽇【 う】- yesterday 13. 喧嘩【 ・ 】- quarrel 14. 何【 ／ 】- what 15. 平気【 い・ 】(na-adj) - coolness; calmness 16. 顔【 】- face We just learned how to observe the emotions and feelings of other by using 「〜 」 with adjectives. But what about verbs? Indeed, there is a separate grammar used to express the fact that someone else looks like they are about to do something but actually does not. Similar to the 「〜 」 grammar, this 320 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6.4. SHOWING SIGNS OF SOMETHING is usually not used in normal everyday conversations. I have seen it several times in books and novels but have yet to hear this grammar in a conversation. For the regular non-past, non-negative verb, you must first conjugate the verb to the negative ending with 「 」, which was covered here. Then, you just attach 「 」 to the end of the verb. For all other conjugations, nothing else is necessary except to just add 「 」 to the verb. The most common verb used with this grammar is 「⾔う」 . It is also usually used with the 「 」 target particle attached to the end of 「 」. This grammar is completely different from the 「 used to express the proximity of an action. Using 「 」 used to express amounts and the 「 」to indicate that one seems to want to do something For present, non-negative: Conjugate the verb to the 「 Example: ⾔う → ⾔ い→⾔ For all other tenses: Attach 「 Example: ⾔ 」 negative form and attach 「 →⾔ 」 to the end of the verb →⾔ . Summary of basic conjugations Positive Negative Non-Past ⾔ ⾔ い as if to say as if [she] doesn't say Past ⾔ ⾔ as if [she] said as if [she] didn't say Examples 1. ー 爆発 、膨 い 。 The ball was expanding as if it was going to explode. 彼⼥ 彼 無視 い 2. 「あ 関係 い」 ⾔ She ignored him as if to say, "You have nothing to do with this." 。 3. 昨⽇ 喧嘩 何 ⾔ 、平気 顔 い 。 Has a calm face as if [he] didn't say anything during the fight yesterday. 6.4.3 Using 「 」 to indicate an atmosphere of a state Vocabulary 1. 謎【 」 】- puzzle 321 」 6.4. SHOWING SIGNS OF SOMETHING CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 2. 秘密【 ・ 】- secret 3. ⽪⾁【 ・ 】- irony 4. 紅葉【 う】- leaves changing color 5. 始 う・ 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to begin 6. - completely 7. 秋【あ 】- autumn 8. 空気【 う・ 9. 】- air; atmosphere (u-verb) - to become 10. - that sort of 11. 顔【 】- face 12. (exception) - to do 13. う い (i-adj) - skillful; delicious 14. 説明【 ・ い】- explanation 15. 出来 【 ・ ・ 16. い - always 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 17. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 18. 〜⽅【〜 19. 皆【 20. 嫌【い 】- way of doing 〜 】- everybody 】(na-adj) disagreeable; unpleasant By now, you're probably thinking, "Ok, we've done adjectives and verbs. What about nouns?" As a matter of fact, there is a similar grammar that is used usually for nouns and na-adjectives. It is used to indicate that something is showing the signs of a certain state. Unlike the 「〜 」 grammar, there is no action that indicates anything; merely the atmosphere gives off the impression of the state. Just like the previous grammar we learned in this section, this grammar has a list of commonly used nouns such as 「謎」、 「秘密」、or 「⽪⾁」. This grammar is used by simply attaching 「 」 to the noun or na-adjective. The result then becomes a regular u-verb. 322 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS Using 「 6.5. FORMAL EXPRESSIONS OF NON-FEASIBILITY 」to indicate that one seems to want to do something Attach 「 」 to the noun or na-adjective. The result then becomes a regular u-verb. Example: 謎 → 謎 Non-Past Past Summary of basic conjugations Positive Negative 謎 * 謎 い . puzzling atmosphere not puzzling atmosphere 謎 い *謎 puzzled atmosphere not puzzled atmosphere *The negatives conjugations are theoretically possible but are not likely used. The most common usage is the past tense. Examples 1. 紅葉 始 、 秋 い 空気 。 With the leaves starting to change color, the air came to become quite autumn like. 2. 謎 い 顔 、う 説明 い 。 Even having that kind of puzzled look done to me, I can't explain it very well, you know. 3. い ⽪⾁ い ⾔い⽅ 、 嫌 。 You'll make everyone dislike you if you keep speaking with that ironic tone, you know. For a whole slew of additional real world examples, check out the jeKai entry. It states that the grammar can be used for adverbs and other parts of speech but none of the numerous examples show this and even assuming it's possible, it's probably not practiced in reality. 6.5 Formal expressions of non-feasibility い、 得 い、〜 ） （〜 得 We learned how to express feasibility in the section on the potential form quite a while ways back. In this section, we'll learn some advanced and specialized ways to express certain types of feasibility or the lack thereof. Like much of the grammar in the Advanced Section, the grammar covered here is mostly used for written works and rarely used in regular speech. 323 6.5. FORMAL EXPRESSIONS OF NON-FEASIBILITY CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6.5.1 Expressing the inability to not do using 「〜 得 い」 Vocabulary 1. 得 【え・ 】(ru-verb) - to obtain 2. 意図【い・ 】- intention; aim; design 3. (exception) - to do 4. 来 【 ・ 5. ⾷ 】(exception) - to come 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat 6. ⾏ 【い・ 7. - this (abbr. of 8. 】(u-verb) - to go ) - TV, television 9. - this 10. 以上【い・ 11. 壊 【 12. 新 い【あ う】- greater or equal ・ 】(ru-verb) - to break ・ い】(i-adj) - new 13. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 14. - the whole time, all along 15. 我慢【 ・ 16. 状態【 】- tolerance; self-control う・ い】- situation 17. ⻭医者【 ・い・ 】- dentist 18. 上司【 う・ 19. 話【 】- story 20. 聞 21. 【 ・ う 22. 海外【 】- superior; boss 】(u-verb) - to ask; to listen - by any means, no matter what い・ い】- overseas This grammar is used when there's something that just can't be helped and must be done. It is the negative version of the grammar we previously covered for something that has to be done. It uses the negative of the verb 「得 」 or "obtain", to roughly mean that "one cannot obtain not doing of an action". This means that you can't not do something even if you wanted to. As a result of the use of double negatives, this grammar carries a slight suggestion that you really don't want to do it, but you have to because it can't be helped. Really, the negative connotation is the only difference between this grammar and the grammar we covered in this "have to" section. That, and the fact that this grammar is fancier and more advanced. 324 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6.5. FORMAL EXPRESSIONS OF NON-FEASIBILITY This grammar uses an archaic negative form of verbs that ends in 「〜 」 . It is really not used in modern Japanese with the exception of this grammar and some expressions such as 「意図 」. The rules for conjugation are the same as the negative verbs, except this grammar attaches 「 」 instead. To reiterate, all you have to do is conjugate the verb to the negative form and then replace the 「 い」 with 「 」. The two exception verbs are 「 」 which becomes 「 」 and 「 」 which becomes 「 」. Finally, all that's left to be done is to attach 「 得 い」 to the verb. It is also not uncommon to use Hiragana instead of the Kanji. Using 「〜 得 い」for actions that must be done • To say that you can't not do something replace the 「 , then attach 「 得 い」 to the end of the verb. Examples 1. ⾷ →⾷ い→⾷ →⾷ 2. ⾏ →⾏ い→⾏ →⾏ . い」 part of the negative verb with 「 得 い 得 い 」 • Exceptions: 1. → → え い 2. → → え い Examples 1. 買 得 い 。 以上壊 、新 い If this TV breaks even more, there's no choice but to buy a new one. 2. 我慢 、 状態 ⻭医者 ⾏ 得 い。 I tolerated it all this time but in this situation, I can't not go to the dentist. 3. 上司 話 聞 、 う 海外 出張 得 い う 。 Hearing the story from the boss, it seems like I can't not go on a business trip overseas no matter what. 6.5.2 Expressing the inability to stop doing something using 「 い」 Vocabulary 1. ⽌ 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to stop 2. 仕⽅【 ・ 】- way, method 3. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 325 得 6.5. FORMAL EXPRESSIONS OF NON-FEASIBILITY 4. う 5. 得 【え・ い - it can't be helped, nothing can be done 】(ru-verb) - to obtain 6. 事由【 ・ う】- reason; cause 7. ⼿続【 ・ 8. 遅 9. 必 】- procedure, paperwork 【 ・ 【 】(ru-verb) - to be late ・ 10. 連絡【 11. 】- without exception, without fail ・ 】- contact - this (abbr. of 12. 仕事【 ・ 13. 厳 い【 14. 最近【 ・ い】(i-adj) - strict い・ 】- recent; lately い・ 16. 新 ・ い【あ 18. 状態【 ) 】- job 15. 不景気【 ・ 17. ⾒ CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 【 ・ う・ 】- recession, depression い】(i-adj) - new 】(u-verb) - to be found い】- situation This grammar is very similar to the one we just learned above except that it uses the verb 「⽌ 」 to say that one cannot obtain the stopping of something. Remember that we normally can't just attach the 「 」 direct object particle to verbs, so this is really a set expression. Just like the previous grammar we learned, it is used to describe something that one is forced to do due to some circumstances. The difference here is that this is a complete phrase, which can be used for a general situation that doesn't involve any specific action. In other words, you're not actually forced to do something; rather it describes a situation that cannot be helped. If you have already learned 「仕⽅ い」 or 「 う い」, this grammar means pretty much the same thing. The difference lies in whether you want to say, "Looks like we're stuck" vs "Due to circumstances beyond our control..." Since this is a set expression, there are really no grammar points to discuss. You only need to take the phrase and use it as you would any regular relative clause. Examples 1. 得 い事由 ⼿続 遅 場合、必 連絡下 い。 If the paperwork should be late due to uncontrollable circumstance, please make sure to contact us. 2. 仕事 厳 い 、最近 不景気 新 い仕事 ⾒ い 得 い状態 。 This job may be bad but because (I) can't find a new job due to the recent economic downturn, it's a situation where nothing can be done. 326 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6.5. FORMAL EXPRESSIONS OF NON-FEASIBILITY 6.5.3 Expressing what cannot be done with 「〜 」 Vocabulary 1. (ru-verb) - to be unable to; to find difficult (unpleasant, awkward, painful) to do; 2. 決 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to decide 3. (exception) - to do 4. (u-verb) - to become 5. - this (abbr. of 6. 場【 】- place, spot 7. 8. ) - a little - again 9. 別途【 ・ 】- separate 10. 会議【 い・ 】- meeting 11. 設 【 う・ 12. 個⼈【 ・ 13. 情報【 17. 願う【 う】- information う・えい】- disclosure; leakage 【 16. 対応【 18. 致 】- personal う・ 14. 漏洩【 15. 速 】(ru-verb) - to establish ・ い・ 】(na-adj) - speedy; prompt う】- dealing with; support ・う】(u-verb) - to wish; to request 【い ・ 】(u-verb) - to do (humble) The meaning and usage of 「 」 is covered pretty well in this jeKai entry with plenty of examples. While much of this is a repetition of what's written there, 「 」 is a ru-verb that is used as a suffix to other verbs to express a person's inability, reluctance, or refusal to do something 「 」 is often used in the negative as 「 い」 to indicate that there is a possibility that the verb in question might happen. As the jeKai entry mentions, this is usually in reference to something bad, which you might express in English as, "there is a risk that..." or "there is a fear that..." One important thing that the jeKai doesn't mention is how you would go about using this grammar. It's not difficult and you may have already guessed from the example sentences that all you need to do is just attach 「 」 or 「 い」 to the stem of the verb. 327 6.6. TENDENCIES Using 「〜 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 」for things that cannot be done • To say that something cannot be done using 「 「 」. Examples 1. 決 」, change the verb to the stem and attach →決 2. → . •「 」is a ru-verb so use the negative「 Examples 1. → 2. → い → → い」to say that something (bad) might happen. い Examples 1. 決 、 別途会議 設 う。 場 Since making a decision here is impossible, let's set up a separate meeting again. 2. 、個⼈情報 漏洩 い 、速 対応 願い致 。 At this rate, there is a possibility that personal information might leak so I request that this be dealt with promptly. 6.6 Tendencies （〜 、〜 、 い あ ） In this lesson, we will go over various types of grammar that deal with tendencies. Like much of the Advanced Section, all the grammar in this lesson are used mostly in written works and are generally not used in conversational Japanese. 6.6.1 Saying something is prone to occur using 「〜 Vocabulary 1. ⾒ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to see 2. (u-verb) - to become 3. 病気【 う・ 4. 確定【 ・ 】- disease; sickness い】- decision; settlement 328 」 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 5. 申告【 ・ 】- report; statement; filing a return 6. 確定申告【 7. 忘 ・ 【 ・ 8. ⼿続【 ・ 9. 留守【 い・ 】- final income tax return 】(ru-verb) - to forget 】- being away from home い】- household 11. ⽝【い 】- dog 12. 猫【 】- cat 【 ・ 14. ⽗親【 ・ 15. 皆【 】- everybody 16. ⼼配【 ・ 17. ・ 】- procedure, paperwork 10. 家庭【 ・ 13. 勧 6.6. TENDENCIES 】- recommendation 】- father い】- worry; concern (exception) - to do This is arguably the most useful grammar in this lesson in terms of practically. By that, I mean that it's the only grammar here that you might actually hear in a regular conversation though again, it is far more common in a written context. With this grammar, you can say that something is likely to occur by simply attaching 「 」 to the stem of the verb. While, 「 」 is a suffix, it works in much same way as a noun or na-adjective. In other words, the result becomes a description of something as being likely. This means that we can do things like modifying nouns by attaching 「 」 and other things we're used to doing with na-adjectives. You can also say that something is prone to be something by attaching 「 」 to the noun. As the word "prone" suggest, 「 」 is usually used for tendencies that are bad or undesirable. 329 6.6. TENDENCIES Using 「〜 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 」as a description of an action prone to occur • For verbs: Attach 「 Examples 1. ⾒ →⾒ 2. → 」 to the stem of the verb. → • For nouns: Attach 「 Example: 病気 → 病気 」 to the appropriate noun . All adjectives that are conjugated with 「〜 」 become a noun/na-adjective Positive Negative Non-Past い prone to become is not prone to become Past was prone to become was not prone to become Examples 1. 確定申告 忘 ⼿続 。 Filing income taxes is one of those processes that one is prone to forget. 2. 留守 家庭 、⽝ 、猫 ⽅ 。 For families that tend to be away from home, cats are recommended over dogs. 、 ⼼配 い 。 3. ⽗親 病気 Father is prone to illness and everybody is worried. For more examples, check out the WWWJDIC examples. 6.6.2 Describing an ongoing occurrence using 「〜 Vocabulary 1. - TV, television 2. ⾒ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to see 3. 寝 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to sleep 4. 思う【 5. ・う】(u-verb) - to think (u-verb) - to become 330 」 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6. ⼆⽇酔い【 ・ 7. 痛 】(u-verb) - to feel pain 【い ・ 8. 頭【あ 9. 押 ・ 6.6. TENDENCIES い】- hangover 】- head え 【 10. ・え 】(ru-verb) - to hold something down; to grasp - bathroom; toilet 11. ⼊ 【 い・ 12. 体【 】(u-verb) - to enter 】- body 13. いい (i-adj) - good 14. 最近【 い・ 15. 全然【 ・ 】- recent; lately 】- not at all (when used with negative) 16. 運動【う ・ 17. (exception) - to do 18. 電気【 ・ 19. 製品【 い・ 20. 発展【 ・ 21. 22. う】- exercise 】- electricity; (electric) light 】- manufactured goods, product 】- development; growth; advancement (ru-verb) - to lead ー - hard disk 23. 容量【 う・ う】- capacity 24. - increasingly 25. ⼤ い【 26. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 27. 今【い ・ い】(i-adj) - big 】- now 28. ⽇本【 ・ 29. 終⾝【 】- Japan う・ 30. 雇⽤【 ・ 】- lifetime う】- employment 31. 年功【 ・ 32. 序列【 ・ う】- long service 】- order 33. 年功序列【 ・ う・ ・ 】- seniority system 34. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 35. 慣⾏【 36. 崩 【 ・ ・ う】- customary practice 】(ru-verb) - to collapse; to crumble 331 6.6. TENDENCIES CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 「 」 is a verb modifier that can be attached to the stem of verbs to express an ongoing occurrence. Though the meaning stays essentially the same, there are essentially two ways to use this grammar. The first is almost identical to the 「〜 」 grammar. You can use 「 」 to describe an action that is taking place while another action is ongoing. However, there are several major differences between 「 」 and 「〜 」. First, the tone of 「 」 is very different from that of 「〜 」 and you would rarely, if ever, use it for regular everyday occurences. To go along with this, 「 」 is more appropriate for more literary or abstract actions such as those involving emotions or thoughts. Second, 「〜 」 is used to describe an auxiliary action that takes place while the main action is going on. However, with 「 」, both actions have equal weight. For example, it would sound very strange to say the following. • ⾒ 、寝 (Sounds unnatural) • ⾒ 、寝 Don't watch TV while sleeping! ！ ！ The second way to use this grammar is to express the existence of a continuing process by using 「あ 」, the verb for existence. Everything is the same as before except that you attach 「あ 」 to 「 」 to produce 「〜 あ 」. This is often used in magazine or newspaper articles to describe a certain trend or tide. Using 「〜 」to describe a repetitive occurrence • To describe an ongoing action, attach 「 Examples 1. ⾒ 」 to the stem of the verb. →⾒ . 2. 思う → 思い → 思い • To show the existence of a trend or tide, add 「あ 」 to 「 Example: → → → あ 」 Examples 1. ⼆⽇酔い 痛 頭 押 え 、 ⼊ 。 Went into the bathroom while holding an aching head from a hangover. 2. 体 い 思い 、最近 全然運動 い。 While thinking it's bad for body, haven't exercised at all recently. あ 。 3. 電気製品 発展 、 ー 容量 ⼤ Lead by the advancement of electronic products, hard disk drive capacities are becoming ever larger. 332 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6.6. TENDENCIES 4. 今 ⽇本 、終⾝雇⽤ 年功序列 いう雇⽤慣⾏ 崩 あ 。 In today's Japan, hiring practices like life-time employment and age-based ranking are tending to break down. For more examples, check out the WWWJDIC examples. 6.6.3 Describing a negative tendency using 「 い あ 」 Vocabulary 1. 嫌い【 ・い】(na-adj) - distasteful, hateful 2. 依存症【い・ 3. あ ・ う】- dependence; addiction (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 4. 多い【 ・い】(i-adj) - numerous 5. ⼤学⽣【 い・ ・ い】- college student 6. 締切⽇【 ・ ・ 】- closing day; deadline 7. - at the last moment; just barely 8. 宿題【 9. 10. ・ い】- homework (u-verb) - to do ー 11. 好 - coding 【 ・ 12. 開発者【 】(na-adj) - likable; desirable い・ ・ 13. - properly 14. (exception) - to do 15. - document 16. 作成【 ・ 17. ⼗分【 う・ 18. 19. 怠 】- developer い】- creation 】- sufficient, adequate - test 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to shirk 「 い あ 」 is a fixed expression used to describe a bad tendency or habit. I suspect that 「 い」 here might have something to do with the word for hateful: 「嫌い」. However, unlike 「嫌い」, which is a na-adjective, the 「 い」 in this grammar functions as a noun. This is made plain by the 333 6.7. ADVANCED VOLITIONAL CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS fact that the 「 」 particle comes right after 「 い」, which is not allowed for adjectives. The rest of the phrase is simply expressing the fact that the negative tendency exists. Using 「 い あ 」to describe a negative tendency • The 「 い」 in this grammar functions as a noun. 「あ . inanimate objects. Example: 依存症 い あ 。 」 is simply the existence verb for Examples い あ 。 1. 多 ⼤学⽣ 、締切⽇ 、宿題 い A lot of college students have a bad tendency of not doing their homework until just barely it's due date. 2. ー 好 開発者 、 作成 ⼗分 怠 い あ 。 Developers that like coding have a bad tendency to neglect proper documents and adequate testing. 6.7 Advanced Volitional （ い、 あ う、 う） We learned in a previous lesson that the volitional form is used when one is set out to do something. In this section, we're going to cover some other ways in which the volitional form is used, most notably, the negative volitional form. 6.7.1 Negative Volitional Vocabulary 1. ⾒ 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to see 2. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 3. (exception) - to do 4. 来 【 ・ 5. (u-verb) - to become 6. 相⼿【あい・ 】(exception) - to come 7. 剣【 】- other party 】- sword 334 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 8. 達⼈【 9. ・ 6.7. ADVANCED VOLITIONAL 】- master, expert う - (things are) that way 10. 簡単【 11. 勝 ・ 【 ・ 12. 】(na-adj) - simple 】(u-verb) - to win - that sort of 13. 無茶【 ・ 14. ⼿段【 15. 認 16. ・ 【 】- method ・ 】(ru-verb) - to recognize, to acknowledge - that (abbr. of 17. 時【 18. 決 】- unreasonable; excessive ) 】- time 【 19. 彼【 ・ 】- by no means; decidedly 】- he; boyfriend 20. 会う【あ・う】(u-verb) - to meet 21. ⼼【 】- heart; mind 22. 決 23. あ 【 ・ - that (over there) (abbr. of あ 24. ⼈【 26. 嘘【う 】- counter for number of times 】- lie (u-verb) - to be attached 28. 誓う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to swear, to pledge 29. 明⽇【あ 30. 31. ⾁【 32. ⾷ ) 】- person 25. 〜度【〜 27. 】(ru-verb) - to decide 】- tomorrow (ru-verb) - to stop; to quit 】- meat 【 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to eat You may have seen the negative volitional form in a verb conjugation table and wondered, "What the heck is that used for?" Well the answer is not much, or to put it more accurately, there are various ways it can be used but almost all of them are extremely stiff and formal. In fact, it's so rare that I only found one explanation in English on the web or anywhere else. (I also found this one in Japanese.) The negative volitional is used to express negative intention. This means that there is a will for something to not happen or that someone is set out to not do something. As a result, because one is trying not to do something, it's probably not going to happen. Essentially, it is a very stiff and formal version of 「 335 6.7. ADVANCED VOLITIONAL CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS う」 and 「 う」. While this form is practically never used in daily conversations, you might still hear it in movies, etc. Verbs are conjugated to the negative volitional by simply attaching「 い」to the verb. Another alternative is to attach 「 い」 to the stem. The conjugation for the negative volitional is quite different from those we are used to because it is always the last conjugation to apply even for the masu-form. There is no way to conjugate 「 い」 to the masu-form, you simply attach 「 い」 to the masu-form conjugation. Using 「 い」to express a will to not do something • For ru-verbs: Attach「 い」 to the stem. →⾒ い Example: ⾒ • For u-verbs: Attach 「 Example: ⾏ い い」 to the end of the verb . • Exceptions: 1. → い or 2. → い い • This conjugation must always come last. For masu-form, attach 「 Example: → → → い い」 to the masu-form verb. Examples 1. 相⼿ 剣 達⼈ 。 う簡単 勝 い。 Your opponent is a master of the sword. I doubt you can win so easily. 2. 無茶 ⼿段 認 い！ I won't approve of such an unreasonable method！ We already learned that you could use the volitional form to say "let's" and to express an attempt do something. But that doesn't mean you can use the negative volitional to say "let's not" or "try not to". The tone of this grammar is one of very strong determination to not do something, as you can see in the following examples. 1. い 。 時 決 彼 会う い ⼼ 決 Until that time, I had decided in my heart to not meet him by any means. 2. あ ⼈ 、⼆度 嘘 い 誓 That person had sworn to never lie again. 。 In order to express "let's not", you can use the verb, 「 express an effort to not do something, you can use 「 う 336 」 with the regular volitional. In order to 」 with the negative verb. CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6.7. ADVANCED VOLITIONAL 1. 明⽇ ⾏ う。 Let's not go tomorrow. (lit: Let's quit going tomorrow.) 2. ⾁ ⾷ い う Trying not to eat meat. い 。 6.7.2 Using the volitional to express a lack of relation Vocabulary 1. ⾷ 【 ・ 2. ⾏ 【い・ 3. あい 】(ru-verb) - to eat 】(u-verb) - to go - that guy (derogatory) 4. ⼤学【 い・ 5. ⼊ い・ 【 6. 俺【 】- college 】(u-verb) - to enter 】- me; myself; I (masculine) 7. 関係【 8. あ ・ い】- relation, relationship (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 9. 時間【 ・ 】- time 10. 合う【あ・う】(u-verb) - to match 11. 間 合う【 ・ 12. 最近【 い・ 13. - virus ・あ・う】- to be in time 】- recent; lately 14. 強⼒【 う・ 15. - program 16. 実⾏【 17. ・ 】(na-adj) - powerful, strong う】- execute (exception) - to do ー 18. 19. ⾒ - page 【 ・ 20. 感染【 】(ru-verb) - to see ・ 】- infection We will now learn a grammar that's actually practical for everyday use using the negative volitional grammar. Basically, we can use both volitional and negative volitional forms to say it doesn't matter whether something is going to happen or not. This is done by attaching 「 」 to both the volitional and the negative volitional form of the verb that doesn't matter. 337 6.7. ADVANCED VOLITIONAL CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS Using the volitional to express a lack of relation • Attach 「 」 to the volitional and negative volitional form of the verb. Examples . 1. ⾷ →⾷ う、⾷ い→⾷ う ⾷ い 2. ⾏ →⾏ う、⾏ い→⾏ う ⾏ い Examples 1. あい ⼤学 ⼊ う ⼊ い 、俺 関係 い 。 Whether that guy is going to college or not, it has nothing to do with me. い 、間 合 い。 2. 時間 あ う あ Whether there is time or not, there's nothing to do but make it on time. 3. 最近 強⼒ 、 実⾏ う い 、 ー ⾒ 感染 い。 The viruses lately have been strong and whether you run a program or not, I hear it will spread just by looking at the page. 6.7.3 Using 「 あ う」 to express likelihood Vocabulary 1. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 2. 困難【 3. ・ 】(na-adj) - difficulty, distress (exception) - to do 4. 今後【 ・ 5. 〜年【〜 6. ⼈間【 】- hereafter 】- counter for year ・ 7. 直⾯【 】- human ・ 8. 問題【 ・ 9. 正⾯【 う・ 】- confrontation い】- problem 】- front; facade 10. 向 合う【 ・ ・あ・う】(u-verb) - to face each other 11. ⾃ 【 】- for one's self 12. 解決【 ・ い・ 】- resolution 338 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 13. (u-verb) - to plan, to devise 14. - that (abbr. of ) 15. - know-how 16. 次【 】- next 17. 産業【 18. ・ う】- industry (u-verb) - to become 19. - scenario 20. 考え 【 ・え 21. 】(ru-verb) - to think - of course 22. ⽣徒数【 い・ ・ 23. 減少【 ・ う】- decline, reduction 24. 現在【 ・ い】- present time 25. 学科【 ・ 】- course of study 26. 新設【 ・ ・ 28. 統廃合【 う・ 29. 科内【 ・ ー う】- number of students 】- newly organized or established 27. 職業科【 30. 6.7. ADVANCED VOLITIONAL う・ い・ 】- occupational studies う】- reorganization い】- within study course - course 31. 改編【 い・ 32. 時代【 ・ 】- reorganization い】- period, era 33. 合う【あ・う】(u-verb) - to match 34. 変⾰【 35. 求 【 ・ ・ 】- reform 】(ru-verb) - to request; to seek We already found out that the negative volitional can be used as kind of a formal version of 「 う」 and 「 う」. You may wonder, how would you do the same thing for the volitional? The answer is to conjugate the verb 「あ 」 from the formal state-of-being 「 あ 」 to the volitional to produce 「 あ う」. Remember 「 う」 can already be used as a polite form, so this form is even a step above that in formality. We'll see what kind of language uses this form in the examples. 339 6.7. ADVANCED VOLITIONAL Using 「 あ CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS う」to express likelihood • Attach 「 あ Examples う」 to the noun, adjective, or verb. 1. 困難 → 困難 あ う 2. あ う → . Examples 1. 今後 50 年、⼈間 直⾯ あ う問題 正⾯ 向 合 、⾃ 解決 、 次 産業 考え い。(from www.jkokuryo.com) I would like to directly approach problems that humans have likely encounter the next 50 years and while devising solutions, take that knowledge and think about scenarios that will become the next industry. 2. 、⽣徒数減少 現在、学科 新設 困難 あ う 、職業科 統廃合 科内 ー 改 編 時代 合 変⾰ 求 い あ 。(from www1.normanet.ne.jp) Of course, setting up new courses of study will likely be difficult with this period of decreasing student population but with reorganizations of occupational studies and courses within subjects, there is supposed to be demand for reform fit for this period. 6.7.4 Using 「 う」 as volitional for 「い」 endings Vocabulary 1. あ (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 2. 早い【 3. ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early - what kind of 4. 商品【 5. う・ 】- product - net 6. 販売【 ・ い】- selling 7. 売上【う ・あ 】- amount sold, sales 8. 伸 】(ru-verb) - to extend, to lengthen 【 ・ 9. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 10. 物【 】- object 11. 運動【う ・ う】- exercise 340 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 12. 始 【 ・ 6.7. ADVANCED VOLITIONAL 】(ru-verb) - to begin 13. 遅い【 ・い】(i-adj) - late 14. 健康【 ・ う】- health 15. いい (i-adj) - good 16. 変 【 ・ 17. 休⽇【 18. 】(u-verb) - to change う・ 】- holiday, day off - this (abbr. of 19. 関係【 ・ ) い】- relation, relationship We learned in the lesson about formal grammar that 「 い」 was the negative of 「 あ 」. So how would we say something like 「 あ う」 but for the negative? The answer is to use yet another type of volitional for negatives and i-adjectives used only in formal and literary contexts. You can think of this grammar as a very old-fashioned version for i-adjectives and negative 「い」 endings. The conjugation rule is simple: remove the last「い」and attach「 and i-adjectives just like the 「 」 past conjugation form. Using 「 う」to express volition for 「い」endings • Drop the last 「い」 and attach 「 Examples 1. う」. You can use it for negatives い→ 2. 早い → 早 う」 . う う Examples 1. う。 商品 販売 売上 伸 いう It's not necessarily the case that sales go up just by selling any type of product on the net. 2. 運動 始 早 う 遅 う 、健康 いい いう 変 。 Whether you start exercising early or late, the fact that it's good for your health doesn't change. う 、 仕事 関係 い い。 3. 休⽇ あ う 、 Whether it's a holiday or not, it looks like it doesn't matter for this job. 341 6.8. COVERED BY SOMETHING 6.8 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS Covered by something （ 、 、 ） This is a short lesson to cover several specialized expressions that describe the state of being covered by something. Mostly, we will focus on the differences between 「 」、「 」 and 「 」. 6.8.1 Using 「 thing 」 when an object is riddled everywhere with some- Vocabulary 1. 間違い【 ・ 2. - garbage 3. 埃【 4. 】- dust - this (abbr. of 5. ) - document 6. 全然【 7. 役 ・い】- mistake ・ ⽴ 8. 携帯【 】- not at all (when used with negative) 【 ・ い・ い】- handheld (phone) 9. 〜年【〜 ・ 】(u-verb) - to be useful 】- counter for year 10. 使う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to use 11. 傷【 ・ 】- injury; scratch; scrape 12. (u-verb) - to become 13. - TV, television 14. - properly 15. 拭 16. 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to wipe; to dry (ru-verb) - to give 「 」 is usually used when something is riddled everywhere. It generally carries a negative connotation. As a result, you'll often see 「 」 used with expressions like 「間違い 」, 「 」, or 「埃 」. There is no conjugation rule to cover here, all you need to do is attach 「 」 to the noun that is just all over the place. You should treat the result just like you would a regular noun. 342 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS Using 「 6.8. COVERED BY SOMETHING 」to describe the state of being riddled everywhere by something • Attach 「 Examples 」 to the noun that is covering the object or place 1. 間違い → 間違い 2. 埃 → 埃 . (riddled with mistakes) (riddled with dust) Examples 1. 間違い 、全然役 ⽴ い。 This document is just riddled with mistakes and is not useful at all. 。 2. 携帯 ２年間使 、傷 After using cell phone for 2 years, it became covered with scratches. ฀Notice how the 「 1. 」 particle is used to modify since 「 埃 拭い い？ Can you properly dust this TV completely covered in dust? 6.8.2 Using 「 」 to describe a covering Vocabulary 1. 間違い【 ・ 2. ⾎ 【 4. 】- oil - garbage 5. 彼【 6. ・い】- mistake 】- blood 3. 油【あ 】- he; boyfriend (u-verb) - to become 7. ⾞【 】- car 8. 修理【 う・ 9. 頑張 10. 」 functions like a noun. 【 ・ 】- repair ・ 】(u-verb) - to try one's best - only, merely 343 6.8. COVERED BY SOMETHING 11. - kilo 12. ⾛ 【 ・ 13. 汗【あ 14. 情 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 】(u-verb) - to run 】- sweat い【 ・ い】(i-adj) - shameful; deplorable 「 」 may seem very similar to 「 」 but there are some very important subtle differences. First, it's only used for actually physical objects so you can't say things like 「間違い 」 like you can with 「 」. Plus, you can only use it for things that literally cover the object. In other words, you can't use it to mean "littered" or "riddled" like we have done with 「 」 So you can use it for things like liquids and dust, but you can't use it for things like scratches and garbage. The grammatical rules are the same as 「 Using 「 」. 」to describe a covering by sticking • Like 「 Examples 」, you attach 「 」 to the noun that is doing covering. 1. ⾎ → ⾎ (covered in blood) 2. 油 → 油 (covered in oil) • You can only use 「 Examples 1. 間違い . 」 for physical objects that literally covers the object. (not a physical object) 2. (doesn't actually cover anything) Examples 、⾞ 修理 頑張 。 1. 彼 油 While becoming covered in oil, he worked hard at fixing the car. 2. １ ⾛ 、汗 情 い。 It's pitiful that one gets covered in sweat from running just 1 kilometer. 6.8.3 「 」 to express entirety Vocabulary 1. ⿊【 】- black 344 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 2. ⽩【 6.8. COVERED BY SOMETHING 】- white 3. いい (i-adj) - good 4. - event, matter 5. 団体【 ・ 6. 去年【 ・ ー 7. い】- group 】- last year - news 8. (u-verb) - to become 9. - this (abbr. of ー 10. い 11. ) - shake い (i-adj) - tasty 12. 栄養【えい・ 13. う】- nutrition - filled with 14. 体【 】- body The 「⼤辞林」 dictionary describes exactly what 「 名詞 。 「う ― 準 ⾔い 語句 」「いい 付い 、何 ―」「⿊ ― 」 means very well. 何 、 あ 表 。 … あ 服装」「結構 ―」 In other words, 「 」 describes something that applies to the whole thing. For instance, if we were talking about the human body, the expression "is [X] from head to toe" might be close to what 「 」 means. In actuality, 「 」 is an expression that is rarely used and usually with a color to describe people completely dressed in that color. For example, you can see what 「⿊ 」 looks like via Google Images. Grammatically, 「 Using 「 」 works in exactly the same ways as 「 」to describe something that applies to the whole thing • Attach 「 Examples 」 to the noun that applies to the whole thing. . 1. ⽩ → ⽩ 2. いい 」 and 「 → いい 345 」. 6.9. ADVANCED PROXIMITY OF ACTIONS CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS Examples 1. ⽩ 団体 去年 ー い 。 The organization dressed all in white was on the news last year. 2. 。 ー 、 い い 、栄養 体 いい 、いい This shake is tasty and filled with nutrients, it's good for (your) body so it's entirely good things. 6.9 Advanced proximity of actions （ ） 早い 、 否 、 In this section, we will be covering some advanced grammar that describe an action that takes place right after something else has occurred. I suggest you look over this section if you are really serious about completely mastering Japanese, or if you plan to take the level 1 JLPT exam, or if you enjoy reading a lot of Japanese literature. 6.9.1 Using 「 早い 」 to describe the instant something occurred Vocabulary 1. 早い【 ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 2. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 3. 彼⼥【 ・ 4. 教授【 う・ 5. 姿【 】- figure 6. ⾒ 【 ・ 7. 教室【 8. 逃 】- she; girlfriend 出 9. ⾷ 】- professor 】(ru-verb) - to see う・ 【 ・ 【 ・ 】- classroom ・ 】- mouth 11. 中【 】- inside 12. 放 【 The phrase 「 occurred. 】(u-verb) - to run away 】(ru-verb) - to eat 10. ⼝【 込 ・ う・ 早い ・ ・ 】(u-verb) - to throw into 」 is used to describe something that happened the instant something else 346 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6.9. ADVANCED PROXIMITY OF ACTIONS While very similar to the「 」grammar, it has a strong emphasis on how soon one thing occurred after another as if it's almost simultaneous. This grammar is rarely used outside of Japanese language tests. To use this grammar, you attach「 早い 」to the first verb, then you describe the event that happened the next instant. While it's conventional to use the non-past tense (dictionary form) for the first verb, you can also use the past tense. For example, you can say either 「⾔う 早い 」 or 「⾔ 早い 」. The curious thing about this grammar is that the 「 」 particle comes right after the verb. Remember, you can do this only with this specific grammatical phrase. Using 「 早い 」to describe what happened the instant something occurred • Attach 「 早い Examples 」 to the non-past or past tense of the verb that just occurred 1. ⾔う → ⾔う 早い 2. ⾔う → ⾔ →⾔ . 早い • You can only use this grammar only for events that are directly related. • You can only use this grammar only for events that actually happened (past tense). Examples 早い 、教室 逃 出 。 1. 彼⼥ 、教授 姿 ⾒ The instant (she) saw the professor's figure, (she) ran away from the classroom. 2. 「⾷ う」 ⾔う 早い 、⼝ 中 放 込 。 The instant (he) said "let's try eating it", he threw (it) into his mouth. 早い 、⼝ 中 放 込 。 3. 「⾷ う」 ⾔ The instant (he) said "let's try eating it", he threw (it) into his mouth. 6.9.2 Using 「 ／ 否 」 to describe what happened right after Vocabulary 1. 早い【 ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 2. 否定【 ・ い】- denial 3. ⾒ 】(ru-verb) - to see 4. 私【 5. 顔【 【 ・ 】- me, myself, I 】- face 347 6.9. ADVANCED PROXIMITY OF ACTIONS 6. 何【 ／ CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 】- what 7. ⾔う【い・う】(u-verb) - to say 8. (exception) - to do 9. 搭乗【 う・ 10. う】- boarding - announcement 11. 聞 え 【 ・ 12. 皆【 ー 13. 14. ⽅【 15. ⾛ 出 え 】(ru-verb) - to be audible 】- everybody - gate う】- direction, way 【 ・ ・ ・ 】(u-verb) - to break into a run The 「 」 or 「 否 」( い ) phrase, when appended to a verb, is used to described something that happened right after that verb. Its meaning is essential the same as 「 早い 」. It is also another type of grammar that is not really used in regular conversational Japanese. 「否」 (read here as 「い 」) is a Kanji meaning "no" used in words like 「否定」. The literal meaning of this grammar is "whether the action was taken or not". In order words, the second action is taken before you even take the time to determine whether the first event really happened or not. You can use this grammar by attaching 「 」 or 「 否 」 to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred. Since this grammar is used for events that already have occurred, the second verb is usually in the past tense. However, you can use the dictionary tense to indicate that the events happen regularly. Using 「 ／ 否 」to describe what happened right after • Attach 「 」 or 「 Examples 1. ⾒ →⾒ 2. ⾒ →⾒ 否 」( い ) to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred . 否 • This grammar is almost always used for events that actually happened (past tense). • This grammar can be used with the present tense for regularly occurring events. Examples 1. 私 顔 ⾒ 、何 ⾔ う 。 (He) tried to say something as soon as he saw my face. 348 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6.9. ADVANCED PROXIMITY OF ACTIONS 2. 搭乗 聞 え 否 、 ー ⽅ ⾛ 出 。 As soon as the announcement to board was audible, everybody started running toward the gate. 」to describe an event that repeatedly occurs soon 6.9.3 Using「 after Vocabulary 1. 早い【 ・い】(i-adj) - fast; early 2. 読 【 ・ 】(u-verb) - to read 3. (exception) - to do 4. ⼦供【 ・ 】- child 5. 掃除【 う・ 】- cleaning 6. 散 【 ・ 7. 】(u-verb) - to scatter around; to leave untidy う - already 8. あ 9. (ru-verb) - to give up (u-verb) - to become 10. 教科書【 う・ ・ 11. 忘 ・ 】(ru-verb) - to forget 【 12. 勉強【 13. 出来 ・ 【 ・ 】- textbook う】- study ・ 】(ru-verb) - to be able to do 「 」 is yet another grammar that describes an event that happens right after another. However, unlike the expressions we have covered so far, 「 」 implies that the events are a recurring pattern. For example, you would use this grammar to express the fact that you just clean and clean your room only for it to get dirty again soon after. Besides this difference, the rules for using this expression are exactly the same as「 早い 」and「 否 」. Just attach「 」to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred. The past tense, though rare, also appears to be acceptable. However, the event that immediately follows is usually expressed with the non-past dictionary form because this grammar is used for repeated events and not a specific event in the past. 349 6.10. OTHERS CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS Using 「 」to describe an event that repeatedly occurs soon after • Attach 「 Examples 」 to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred 1. 読 →読 2. → . • This grammar implies that the events occur repeatedly. Examples 1. ⼦供 掃除 散 、 うあ 。 The child messes up (the room) [repeatedly] as soon as I clean so I already became wanting to give up. 忘 う 勉強 い。 2. 教科書 読 Forget [repeatedly] right after I read the textbook so I can't study. 6.10 Others （思い 、 、あ ） Hopefully, you've managed to get a good grasp of how grammar works in Japanese and how to use them to communicate your thoughts in the Japanese way. In this final section, we'll be covering some left-over grammar that I couldn't fit into a larger category. 6.10.1 Using 「思い 」 to describe something unexpected Vocabulary 1. 思う【 2. あ ・う】(u-verb) - to think (u-verb) - to exist (inanimate) 3. 昼間【 ・ 】- daytime 4. 絶対【 ・ い】(na-adj) - absolutely, unconditionally 5. 込 【 ・ 6. ⼀⼈【 7. い 】(u-verb) - to become crowded 】- 1 person; alone (ru-verb) - to exist (animate) 350 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 8. - this (abbr. of 9. 6.10. OTHERS ) - restaurant 10. 安い【 11. 会計【 ・い】(i-adj) - cheap い・ 12. 千円【 い】- accountant; bill ・え 13. 以上【い・ 】- 1,000 yen う】- greater or equal This is a grammar I learned out of a book and was surprised to actually hear it used in real life on a number of occasions. You use this grammar when you think one thing, but much to your astonishment, things actually turn out to be very different. You use it in the same way as you would express any thoughts, by using the quotation 「 」 and 「思う」 . The only difference is that you use 「思い 」 instead of 「思う」. There is no tense in 「思い 」, or rather, since the results already went against your expectations, the original thought is implicitly understood to be past tense. Using 「思い 」to describe something unforeseen or unexpected • Attach 「思い 」 to the thought using the quotation 「 . Example: あ → あ →あ 思い 」. Examples い 思い 、⼀⼈ い 。 1. 昼間 絶対込 Despite having thought that it must be crowded since it was afternoon, (surprisingly) not a single person was there. 2. 安い 思い 、会計 5 千円以上 ！ Thought this restaurant would be cheap but (surprisingly) the bill was over 5,000 yen! 6.10.2 Using 「〜 」 to do two things at one time Vocabulary 1. 散歩【 ・ 】- walk, stroll 2. 作 ・ 】(u-verb) - to make 3. 【 - tobacco; cigarettes 4. 買う【 ・う】(u-verb) - to buy 5. ⾏ 【い・ 】(u-verb) - to go 351 6.10. OTHERS CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 6. 博物館【 ・ 7. ⾒ 】(ru-verb) - to see 8. 【 ・ ・ ⼟産【 ・ 9. 】- museum 】- souvenir - intention, plan This rather formal and seldom-used grammar is used to indicate that two actions were done at the same time. The nuance is a bit difference from 「 」 in that some or all of the time spent on doing one action was also used to do another action as an aside. Remember, 「 」 is used to describe two exactly concurrent actions. The interesting thing about this grammar is that no verb is required. You can just attach it a noun, and the verb "to do" is inferred. For instance, "while taking a stroll" can simply be expressed as 「散歩 」. In the case where you want to employ a different verb, you also have the option of attaching 「 」 to the stem similar to the 「 」 usage. In addition, the verb or noun that is accompanied by 「 」 is the main action while the following action is the one done on the side. Using 「〜 」to do two things at one time • Attach 「 is inferred. Examples 」 to the noun or verb stem of the main action. In case of a noun, the verb 「 . 1. 散歩 → 散歩 2. 作 →作 →作 Examples 1. 散歩 、 買い ⾏ 。 While taking a stroll, I also used that time to buy cigarettes. 2. 博物館 ⾒ 、 ⼟産 買う 。 While seeing the museum, I plan to also use that time to buy souvenirs. 6.10.3 Using 「〜あ (挙句)」 to describe a bad result Vocabulary 1. 挙句【あ ・ 】- in the end (after a long process); at last 2. 喧嘩【 】- quarrel 3. 考え 【 ・ ・え 】(ru-verb) - to think 352 」 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED TOPICS 4. 事情【 ・ う】- circumstances 5. 〜時間【〜 ・ 6. 掛 【 ・ 7. 説明【 8. ・ 】- counter for span of hours 】(ru-verb) - to hang; to take (time, money) い】- explanation (exception) - to do 9. 納得【 10. 6.10. OTHERS ・ 】- understanding; agreement う (u-verb) - to receive 11. 先⽣【 ・ 12. 相談【 う・ 】- consultation 13. 退学【 い・ 】- dropping out of school 14. い】- teacher - event, matter 「あ 」 is a grammar used to describe a result, usually negative, that came about after a great deal of effort. The rule for this grammar is very simple. You modify the verb or noun that was carried out with 「あ 」 and then describe the final result that came about from that verb or noun. Because this grammar is used to describe a result from an action already completed, it is used with the past tense of the verb. 「あ 」 is essentially treated the same as any noun. In other words, you would need the 「 」 particle to modify another noun. 「あ 果 」 is another stronger version of this grammar. Using 「〜あ 」to describe a final result • Attach 「あ nouns) Examples 」 to the verb or noun that created the end result (「 」 particle is required for . 1. → 2. 考え → 考え あ あ Examples 1. 事情 2 時間 説明 あ 、納得 え 。 (After a great deal of) explaining the circumstances for 2 hours, (in the end), couldn't receive understanding. 2. 先⽣ 相談 あ 、退学 い 。 (After much) consulting with teacher, (in the end), decided on not dropping out of school. 353