Japanese Grammar Gulde

Tae Klm
August 28, 2010
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' (#$)"*+,$-"# .
1.1 The problem wlth conventlonal textbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.2 A Japanese gulde to learnlng Japanese grammar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.3 Suggestlons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
/ 01% 2)-$-#3 45&$%6 '/
2.1 The Scrlpts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2 Intonatlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3 Hlragana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3.1 What ls Hlragana? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3.2 The Muddled Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.3.3 The Small '].U].and e] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.3.4 The Small ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3.5 The Long Vowel Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.4 Katakana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.4.1 What ls Katakana? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.4.2 The Long Vowel Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.4.3 The Small ..'.3.7] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.4.4 Some examples of words ln Katakana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.5 Kanjl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.5.1 What ls Kanjl? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.5.2 Learnlng Kanjl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.5.3 Readlng Kanjl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.5.4 Why Kanjl? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7 89&-, :)9669) /;
3.1 Baslc Grammatlcal Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.2 Expresslng State-of-Belng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.2.1 Declarlng somethlng ls so and so uslng I] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.2.2 Conjugatlng to the negatlve state-of-belng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.2.3 Conjugatlng for the past state-of-belng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.2.4 To sum up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.3 Introductlon to Partlcles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.3.1 Denlng grammatlcal functlons wlth partlcles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.3.2 The I] toplc partlcle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.3.3 The ] lncluslve toplc partlcle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.3.4 The I] ldentler partlcle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.4 Adjectlves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.4.1 Propertles of Adjectlves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.4.2 The na-adjectlve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.4.3 The l-adjectlve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.4.4 An annoylng exceptlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.5 Verb Baslcs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3
3.5.1 Role of Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.5.2 Classlfylng verbs lnto ru-verbs and u-verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.5.3 Appendlx: lru/eru u-verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.6 Negatlve Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.6.1 Conjugatlng verbs lnto the negatlve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.7 Past Tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.7.1 Past tense for ru-verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.7.2 Past tense for u-verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.7.3 Past-negatlve tense for all verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.8 Partlcles used wlth verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.8.1 The dlrect object ] partlcle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.8.2 The target I] partlcle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.8.3 The dlrectlonal ^] partlcle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.8.4 The contextual ] partlcle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.8.5 When locatlon ls the toplc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.8.6 When dlrect object ls the toplc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.9 Transltlve and Intransltlve Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.9.1 Pay attentlon to partlcles! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.10Descrlptlve Subordlnate Clauses and Sentence Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.10.1Treatlng verbs and state-of-belng llke adjectlves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.10.2Uslng state-of-belng subclauses as adjectlves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.10.3Uslng subordlnate verb clauses as adjectlves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.10.4Japanese Sentence Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.11Noun-related Partlcles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.11.1The last three partlcles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.11.2The Incluslve ] partlcle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.11.3The Vague Llstlng '] and !] partlcles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.11.4The 0] partlcle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.11.5The 0] partlcle as explanatlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.12Uslng Adverbs and Gobl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.12.1Why adverbs and gobl? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.12.2Propertles of Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.12.3What's a "gobl"? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.12.4The 1] gobl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.12.5The e] gobl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.12.6Comblnlng both to get e1] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
; <&&%#$-9= :)9669) >;
4.1 Pollte Form and Verb Stems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.1.1 Not belng rude ln Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.1.2 The stem of verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.1.3 Uslng 7] to make verbs pollte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.1.4 Uslng ] for everythlng else . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.1.5 ] ls NOT the same as I] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.2 Addresslng People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.2.1 Referrlng to yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.2.2 Referrlng to others by name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.2.3 Referrlng to others wlth "you" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.2.4 Referrlng to others ln thlrd person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4.2.5 Referrlng to famlly members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4.3 The Questlon Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
4.3.1 Questlons ln pollte form. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
4.3.2 The uestlon marker ln casual speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
4.3.3 !] used ln subordlnate clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
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4.3.4 Uslng uestlon words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4.4 Compound Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
4.4.1 Expresslng a seuence of states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
4.4.2 Expresslng a seuence of verbs wlth the te-form . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4.4.3 Expresslng reason or causatlon uslng !] and 0] . . . . . . . 67
4.4.4 Uslng 0I] to mean "desplte" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
4.4.5 Expresslng contradlctlon uslng I] and ] . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
4.4.6 Expresslng multlple reasons uslng ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4.4.7 Expresslng multlple actlons or states uslng ] . . . . . . . . 70
4.5 Other uses of the te-form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
4.5.1 Uslng ] for endurlng states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.5.2 Endurlng state of belng rather than endurlng state of actlon . . . . . . . 72
4.5.3 Uslng ] for resultant states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.5.4 Uslng the ] form as preparatlon for the future . . . . . . . . 73
4.5.5 Uslng motlon verbs . wlth the te-form . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.6 Potentlal Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.6.1 Expresslng the ablllty to do somethlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.6.2 The Potentlal Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.6.3 Potentlal forms do not have dlrect objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
4.6.4 Are ] and ] exceptlons? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4.6.5 ], yet another exceptlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
4.7 Uslng and wlth the I partlcle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.7.1 Uslng ] and ] for nouns and na-adjectlves . . . . . . . . . 77
4.7.2 Uslng ] wlth l-adjectlves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.7.3 Uslng ] and ] wlth verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.8 Condltlonals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.8.1 How to say "lf" ln Japanese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.8.2 Expresslng natural conseuence uslng ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.8.3 Contextual condltlonals uslng ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.8.4 General condltlonals uslng ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.8.5 Past condltlonal uslng ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.8.6 How does ] t lnto all of thls? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.9 Expresslng "must" or "have to" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.9.1 When there's somethlng that must or must not be done . . . . . . . . . 83
4.9.2 Uslng I], ], and ] for thlngs that must not
be done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.9.3 Expresslng thlngs that must be done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4.9.4 Varlous short-cuts for the lay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.9.5 Saylng somethlng ls ok to do or not do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4.10Deslre and Suggestlons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4.10.1How to get your way ln Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4.10.2Verbs you want to do wlth ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.10.3Indlcatlng thlngs you want or want done uslng ] . . . . . . . . 88
4.10.4Maklng a motlon to do somethlng uslng the volltlonal form . . . . . . . . 88
4.10.5Maklng a motlon to do somethlng uslng the volltlonal form . . . . . . . . 89
4.10.6Maklng Suggestlons uslng the ] or ] condltlonal . . . . . . . 90
4.11Performlng an actlon on a subordlnate clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
4.11.1The dlrect uote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.11.2The lnterpreted uote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.11.3Uslng ] as a casual verslon of ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
4.12Denlng and Descrlblng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4.12.1The varlous uses of ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4.12.2Uslng ] to dene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
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4.12.3Uslng ] to descrlbe anythlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
4.12.4Rephraslng and maklng concluslons wlth ] . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
4.12.5Uslng ] or ] for ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
4.12.6Saylng U] lnstead of ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4.13Trylng somethlng out or attemptlng to do somethlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4.13.1Let's try some stu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4.13.2To try somethlng out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4.13.3To attempt to do somethlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
4.14Glvlng and Recelvlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
4.14.1Japanese people llke glfts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
4.14.2When to use ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
4.14.3When to use ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
4.14.4When to use ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
4.14.5Asklng favors wlth ] or ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
4.15Maklng reuests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
4.15.1Polltely and not so polltely maklng reuests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
4.15.2I] a speclal conjugatlon of I] . . . . . . . . . . 103
4.15.3Uslng ,I] as a casual reuest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
4.15.4Uslng ] to make rm but pollte reuests . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
4.15.5The Command Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
4.16Numbers and Countlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
4.16.1The Number System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
4.16.2Countlng and Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
4.16.3Uslng [] to show order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
4.17Casual Patterns and Slang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
4.17.1Baslc Prlnclples of Slang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
4.17.2Sentence orderlng and partlcles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
4.17.3Uslng l/] lnstead of l] to conrm . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
4.17.4Uslng ] for ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.17.5Uslng ] and ]to show exasperatlon . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.17.6Uslng /!] just about everywhere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
4.17.7Showlng contempt for an actlon wlth 'I]. . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
4.18Revlew and more gobl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
4.18.1The next most often used gobl: ] and ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
4.18.2Gender-speclc emphasls gobl: 1].(].|].!] . . . 118
4.18.3That's a wrap! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
> 4?%,-9= <@?)%&&-"#& '/'
5.1 Causatlve and Passlve Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
5.1.1 Causatlve Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
5.1.2 Passlve Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
5.1.3 Uslng passlve form to show pollteness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
5.1.4 Causatlve-Passlve Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
5.2 Honorlc and Humble Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
5.2.1 Set Expresslons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
5.2.2 Other substltutlons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
5.2.3 Honorlc and Humble Conjugatlons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
5.2.4 Maklng honorlc reuests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
5.3 Thlngs that happen unlntentlonally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
5.3.1 Uslng 7] wlth other verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
5.3.2 Uslng the casual verslon of 7] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
5.3.3 Another meanlng of 7]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
5.4 Speclal expresslons wlth generlc nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
5.4.1 Uslng ] to say whether somethlng has happened . . . . . . . . . 133
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5.4.2 Uslng ] as an abstract place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
5.4.3 Uslng 0] as a casual femlnlne way to emphasle . . . . . . . . . . 134
5.5 Expresslng varlous levels of certalnty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
5.5.1 Uslng !] to express uncertalnty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
5.5.2 Uslng ,] to express a falr amount of certalnty . . . . . . . . . 135
5.5.3 Uslng ,] and I] to express strong amount of certalnty 136
5.6 Expresslng amounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
5.6.1 Indlcatlng that's all there ls uslng I] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
5.6.2 Uslng 0d] as a formal verslon of I] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
5.6.3 Indlcatlon that there's nothlng else uslng !] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
5.6.4 Expresslng the opposlte of I] wlth !] . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
5.6.5 Saylng there's too much of somethlng uslng ] . . . . . . . . . . 139
5.6.6 Addlng the ] partlcle to express excesslve amounts . . . . . . . . . 141
5.6.7 Uslng l] to express the extent of somethlng . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
5.6.8 Uslng ] wlth adjectlves to lndlcate an amount . . . . . . . . . . . 142
5.7 Varlous ways to express slmllarlty and hearsay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.7.1 Expresslng slmllarlty wlth e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.7.2 Uslng d] to say somethlng looks llke somethlng else . . . . . . . 143
5.7.3 Guesslng at an outcome uslng ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
5.7.4 Expresslng hearsay uslng I] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
5.7.5 Expresslng hearsay or behavlor uslng ] . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
5.7.6 M]: Slang expresslon of slmllarlty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
5.8 Uslng / and e for comparlsons and other functlons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
5.8.1 Uslng /] for comparlsons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
5.8.2 Uslng e] for comparlsons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
5.8.3 Uslng /] to express a way to do somethlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
5.8.4 Uslng Ie] to express dependency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
5.8.5 Indlcatlng a source of lnformatlon uslng Ie] . . . . . . . . . . . 150
5.9 Saylng somethlng ls easy or dlmcult to do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
5.9.1 Varlatlons of I] wlth I] and ] . . . . . . 151
5.10More negatlve verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
5.10.1Dolng somethlng wlthout dolng somethlng else . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
5.10.2A casual mascullne type of negatlve that ends ln /] . . . . . . . . . 153
5.10.3A classlcal negatlve verb that ends ln J] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
5.11Hypothesllng and Concludlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
5.11.1Some thlngs that are not covered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
5.11.2Comlng to a concluslon wlth 1] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
5.11.3Maklng hypotheses wlth ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
5.12Expresslng tlme-speclc actlons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
5.12.1Expresslng an actlon that was just completed uslng !] . . . . 157
5.12.2Uslng /] to express somethlng that occurred lmmedlately after
an actlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
5.12.3Uslng I] for two concurrent actlons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
5.12.4Uslng I] wlth state of belng to mean "whlle" . . . . . . . . . . . 160
5.12.5To repeat somethlng wlth reckless abandon uslng 7]. . . . . . . 160
5.13Leavlng somethlng the way lt ls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
5.13.1Uslng 77] to express a lack of change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
5.13.2Uslng l] to leave somethlng the way lt ls . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
A B*C9#,%* 0"?-,& 'A7
6.1 Formal Expresslons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
6.1.1 What do you mean by formal expresslons? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
6.1.2 Uslng ] to state that somethlng ls so ln an authorltatlve tone . 163
6.1.3 Negatlve of ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
7
6.1.4 Seuentlal subordlnate clauses ln formal language . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
6.2 Thlngs that should be a certaln way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
6.2.1 Uslng I] to descrlbe an expectatlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
6.2.2 Uslng ^] to descrlbe actlons one should do . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
6.2.3 Uslng ^] to descrlbe what one trles to do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
6.2.4 Uslng ^!] to descrlbe thlngs one must not do . . . . . . . . . . 168
6.3 Expresslng the mlnlmum expectatlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
6.3.1 Uslng ] to descrlbe the mlnlmum reulrement . . . . . . . . 169
6.3.2 ] - Same as ] but dlerent? . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
6.3.3 !] - It's not even worth conslderlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
6.4 Showlng slgns of somethlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
6.4.1 Showlng outward slgns of an emotlon uslng I] . . . . . . . . . . 171
6.4.2 Uslng !] to act as lf one mlght do somethlng . . . . . . . . . . . 173
6.4.3 Uslng ] to lndlcate an atmosphere of a state . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
6.5 Formal expresslons of non-feaslblllty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
6.5.1 Expresslng the lnablllty to not do uslng 7]] . . . . . . . . 175
6.5.2 Expresslng the lnablllty to stop dolng somethlng uslng ']]] 175
6.5.3 Expresslng what cannot be done wlth !1] . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
6.6 Tendencles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
6.6.1 Saylng somethlng ls prone to occur uslng I] . . . . . . . . . . . 177
6.6.2 Descrlblng an ongolng occurrence uslng ] . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
6.6.3 Descrlblng a negatlve tendency uslng I] . . . . . . . . . . 179
6.7 Advanced Volltlonal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
6.7.1 Negatlve Volltlonal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
6.7.2 Uslng the volltlonal to express a lack of relatlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
6.7.3 Uslng ] to express llkellhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
6.7.4 Uslng !] as volltlonal for ] endlngs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
6.8 Covered by somethlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
6.8.1 Uslng I] when an object ls rlddled everywhere wlth somethlng . 183
6.8.2 Uslng 7d] to descrlbe a coverlng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
6.8.3 ] to express entlrety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
6.9 Advanced proxlmlty of actlons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
6.10Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
6.10.1Uslng '] to descrlbe somethlng unexpected . . . . . . . . . . 187
6.10.2Uslng I] to do two thlngs at one tlme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
6.10.3Uslng |] to descrlbe a bad result . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
8
!19?$%) '
(#$)"*+,$-"#
'D' 01% ?)"E=%6 F-$1 ,"#C%#$-"#9= $%@$E""G&
The problem wlth conventlonal textbooks ls that they often have the followlng goals.
1. They want readers to be able to use functlonal and pollte Japanese as ulckly as
posslble.
2. They don't want to scare readers away wlth terrlfylng Japanese scrlpt and Chlnese
characters.
3. They want to teach you how to say Engllsh phrases ln Japanese.
Tradltlonally wlth romance languages such as Spanlsh, these goals presented no problems or
were nonexlstent due to the slmllarltles to Engllsh. However, because Japanese ls dlerent
ln just about every way down to the fundamental ways of thlnklng, these goals create many
of the confuslng textbooks you see today. They are usually lled wlth compllcated rules and
countless number of grammar for speclc Engllsh phrases. They also contaln almost no
Kanjl and so when you nally arrlve ln Japan, lo and behold, you dlscover you can't read
menus, maps, or essentlally anythlng at all because the book declded you weren't smart
enough to memorle Chlnese characters.
The root of thls problem lles ln the fact that these textbooks try to teach you Japanese wlth
Engllsh. They want to teach you on the rst page how to say, "Hl, my name ls Smlth," but
they don't tell you about all the arbltrary declslons that were made behlnd your back. They
probably declded to use the pollte form even though learnlng the pollte form before the
dlctlonary form makes no sense. They also mlght have declded to lnclude the subject even
though lt's not necessary and excluded most of the tlme. In fact, the most common way
to say somethlng llke "My name ls Smlth" ln Japanese ls to say "am Smlth". That's because
most of the lnformatlon ls understood from the context and ls therefore excluded. But does
the textbook explaln the way thlngs work ln Japanese fundamentally? No, because they're
too busy trylng to push you out the door wlth "useful" phrases rlght o the bat. The result
ls a confuslng mess of "use thls lf you want to say thls" type of text and the reader ls left
wlth a feellng of confuslon about how thlngs actually !"#$.
The solutlon to thls problem ls to explaln Japanese from a Japanese polnt of vlew. Take
Japanese and explaln how lt works and forget about trylng to force what you want to say
9
%&'& ( )(*(+,-, ./01, 23 4,(5+0+. )(*(+,-, .5(66(5 78(*2,5 %& 0+2531/7203+
ln Engllsh lnto Japanese. To go along wlth thls, lt ls also lmportant to explaln thlngs ln an
order that makes sense ln Japanese. If you need to know [A] ln order to understand [B],
don't cover [B] rst just because you want to teach a certaln phrase.
Essentlally, what we need ls a )9:9;<=< gulde to learnlng Japanese grammar.
'D/ B H9?9#%&% 3+-*% $" =%9)#-#3 H9?9#%&% 3)9669)
Thls gulde ls an attempt to systematlcally bulld up the grammatlcal structures that make up
the Japanese language ln a way that makes sense ln Japanese. It may not be a practlcal tool
for ulckly learnlng lmmedlately useful Japanese phrases for example, common phrases for
travel. However, lt wlll loglcally create grammatlcal bulldlng blocks that wlll result ln a solld
grammatlcal foundatlon. For those of you who have learned Japanese from textbooks, you
may see some blg dlerences ln how the materlal ls ordered and presented. Thls ls because
thls gulde does not seek to forclbly create artlclal tles between Engllsh and Japanese by
presentlng the materlal ln a way that makes sense ln Engllsh. Instead, examples wlth
translatlons wlll show how ldeas are expressed ln Japanese resultlng ln slmpler explanatlons
that are easler to understand.
In the beglnnlng, the Engllsh translatlons for the examples wlll also be as llteral as posslble to
convey the Japanese sense of the meanlng. Thls wlll often result ln grammatlcally lncorrect
translatlons ln Engllsh. For example, the translatlons mlght not have a subject because
Japanese does not reulre one. In addltlon, slnce the artlcles "the" and "a" do not exlst
ln Japanese, the translatlons wlll not have them as well. And slnce Japanese does not
dlstlngulsh between a future actlon and a general statement such as "I wlll go to the store"
vs. "I go to the store", no dlstlnctlon wlll necessarlly be made ln the translatlon. It ls
my hope that the explanatlon of the examples wlll convey an accurate sense of what the
sentences actually mean -# H9?9#%&%. Once the reader becomes famlllar and comfortable
thlnklng ln Japanese, the translatlons wlll be less llteral ln order to make the sentences more
readable and focused on the more advanced toplcs.
Be aware that there are advantages and dlsadvantages to systematlcally bulldlng a gram-
matlcal foundatlon from the ground up. In Japanese, the most fundamental grammatlcal
concepts are the most dlmcult to grasp and the most common words have the most excep-
tlons. Thls means that the hardest part of the language wlll come rst. Textbooks usually
don't take thls approach; afrald that thls wlll scare away or frustrate those lnterested ln the
language. Instead, they try to delay golng deeply lnto the hardest conjugatlon rules wlth
patchwork and glmmlcks so that they can start teachlng useful expresslons rlght away. I'm
talklng about the past-tense conjugatlon for verbs ln partlcular Thls ls a ne approach for
some, however; lt can create more confuslon and trouble along the way much llke bulldlng
a house on a poor foundatlon. The hard parts must be covered no matter what. However,
lf you cover themln the beglnnlng, the easler blts wlll be all that much easler because they'll
t nlcely on top of the foundatlon you have bullt. Japanese ls syntactlcally much more con-
slstent than Engllsh. If you learn the hardest conjugatlon rules, most of remalnlng grammar
bullds upon slmllar or ldentlcal rules. The only dlmcult part from there on ls sortlng out and
rememberlng all the varlous posslble expresslons and comblnatlons ln order to use them ln
the correct sltuatlons.
` Before you start uslng thls gulde, please note that half brackets llke these: ] are the
Japanese verslon of uotatlon marks.
10
78(*2,5 %& 0+2531/7203+ %&>& -/..,-203+-
'D7 4+33%&$-"#&
My advlce to you when practlclng Japanese: lf you nd yourself trylng to gure out how to
say an Engllsh thought ln Japanese, save yourself the trouble and ult because you won't
get lt rlght almost 100% of the tlme. You should always keep thls ln mlnd: (I 5"+ *"#J$
G#"F 1"F $" &95 -$ 9=)%9*5K $1%# 5"+ *"#J$ G#"F 1"F $" &95 -$D Instead, lf you can,
ask someone rlght away how to say lt ln Japanese lncludlng a full explanatlon of lts use and
start your practlce I)"6 H9?9#%&%. Language ls not a math problem; you don't have to
gure out the answer. If you practlce from the answer, you wlll develop good hablts that
wlll help you formulate correct and natural Japanese sentences.
Thls ls why I'ma rmbellever of learnlng by example. Examples and experlence wlll be your
maln tools ln masterlng Japanese. Therefore, even lf you don't get somethlng completely
the rst tlme rlght away, just move on and keep referrlng back as you see more exam-
ples. Thls wlll allow you to get a better sense of how lt's used ln many dlerent contexts.
Unfortunately, wrltlng up examples takes tlme and ls slow golng. I'm trylng my best!
But lucky for you, Japanese ls everywhere, especlally on the web. I recommend practlclng
Japanese as much as posslble and referrlng to thls gulde only when you cannot understand
the grammar.
The Internet alone has a rlch varlety of readlng materlals lncludlng websltes, bulletln boards,
and onllne chat. Buylng Japanese books or comlc books ls also an excellent and fun way to
lncrease vocabulary and practlce readlng skllls. Also, I belleve that lt ls ?@:"==?AB< to learn
correct speaklng and llstenlng skllls wlthout a model. Practlclng llstenlng and speaklng skllls
wlth uent speakers of Japanese ls a @C=D lf you wlsh to master conversatlonal skllls. Whlle
llstenlng materlals such as tapes and T.V. can be very educatlonal, there ls nothlng better
than a real human wlth whlch to learn pronunclatlon, lntonatlon, and natural conversatlon
ow. If you have speclc uestlons that are not addressed ln thls gulde, you can dlscuss
them at the Japanese gulde forum.
Don't feel dlscouraged by the vast amount of materlal that you wlll need to master. Re-
member, every new word or grammar learned ls one step closer to masterlng the language!
11
!19?$%) /
01% 2)-$-#3 45&$%6
/D' 01% 4,)-?$&
Japanese conslsts of two scrlpts referred to as $9;9 called 8?#9E9;9 and F9D9$9;9, whlch
are two verslons of the same set of sounds ln the language. Hlragana and Katakana conslst
of a llttle less than 50 "letters", whlch are actually slmplled Chlnese characters adopted to
form a phonetlc alphabet.
Chlnese characters, called F9;G? ln Japanese, are also heavlly used ln the Japanese wrlt-
lng. Most of the words ln the Japanese wrltten language are wrltten ln Kanjl nouns, verbs,
adjectlves. There exlsts over 40,000 Kanjl where about 2,000 represent over 95%of char-
acters actually used ln wrltten text. There are no spaces ln Japanese so Kanjl ls necessary
ln dlstlngulshlng between separate words wlthln a sentence. Kanjl ls also useful for dlscrlm-
lnatlng between homophones, whlch occurs ulte often glven the llmlted number of dlstlnct
sounds ln Japanese.
Hlragana ls used malnly for grammatlcal purposes. We wlll see thls as we learn about partl-
cles. Words wlth extremely dlmcult or rare Kanjl, colloulal expresslons, and onomatopoelas
are also wrltten ln Hlragana. It's also often used for beglnnlng Japanese students and chll-
dren ln place of Kanjl they don't know.
Whlle Katakana represents the same sounds as Hlragana, lt ls malnly used to represent
newer words lmported from western countrles slnce there are no Kanjl assoclated wlth
words based on the roman alphabet. The next three sectlons wlll cover Hlragana, Katakana,
and Kanjl.
/D/ (#$"#9$-"#
As you wlll nd out ln the next sectlon, every character ln Hlragana and the Katakana
eulvalent corresponds to a [vowel] or [consonant + vowel] syllable sound wlth the slngle
exceptlon of the /] and `] character more on thls later. Thls system of letter for
each syllable sound makes pronunclatlon absolutely clear wlth no amblgultles. However, the
slmpllclty of thls system does not mean that pronunclatlon ln Japanese ls slmple. In fact,
the rlgld structure of the xed syllable sound ln Japanese creates the problem of lntonatlon
12
78(*2,5 '& 28, H5020+. -I-2,6 '&>& 805(.(+(
ln place of the dlmcultles that exlst ln separate consonant and vowel alphabets such as the
Engllsh alphabet.
Intonatlon of hlgh and low pltches ls a cruclal aspect of the spoken language. For example,
homophones can have dlerent pltches of low and hlgh resultlng ln a sllghtly dlerently
soundlng of the word even lf lt ls wrltten wlth the same sounds. The largest barrler to proper
and natural soundlng speech ls lncorrect lntonatlon. Many students often speak wlthout
paylng attentlon to the correct enunclatlon of pltches maklng speech sound unnatural the
classlc forelgner's accent. It ls not practlcal to memorle or attempt to loglcally create rules
for pltches, especlally slnce lt can change dependlng on the context or the dlalect. The only
practlcal approach ls to get the general sense of pltches by mlmlcklng natlve Japanese
speakers wlth careful llstenlng and practlce.
/D7 L-)939#9
/D7D' 219$ -& L-)939#9M
8?#9E9;9 ls the baslc Japanese phonetlc alphabet. It represents every sound ln the Japanese
language. Therefore, you can theoretlcally wrlte everythlng ln Hlragana. However, because
Japanese ls wrltten wlth no spaces, thls wlll create nearly lndeclpherable text.
Here ls a table of Hlragana and slmllar-soundlng Engllsh consonant-vowel pronunclatlons.
It ls read up to down and rlght to left, whlch ls how most Japanese books are wrltten. In
Japanese, wrltlng the strokes ln the correct order and dlrectlon ls lmportant, especlally for
Kanjl. Because handwrltten letters look sllghtly dlerent from typed letters just llke how
'a' looks totally dlerent when typed you wlll want to nd a source such as a webslte or
textbook that wlll showyou howto wrlte the characters. I must also stress the lmportance of
correctly learnlng how to pronounce each sound. Slnce every word ln Japanese ls composed
of these sounds, learnlng an lncorrect pronunclatlon for a letter can severely damage the
very foundatlon on whlch your pronunclatlon lles.
Hlragana - Cllck for stroke order and sound
# F ) 5 6 1 # $ & G
/ 1 ' 7 I ! 9
n
J * d O I -
chl shl
U ] J +
fu tsu
( * ^ 1 | %
e l 0 "
o
* = no longer used
Hlragana ls not too tough to master or teach and as a result, there are a varlety of web sltes
and free programs that are already avallable on the web. I also suggest recordlng yourself
and comparlng the sounds to make sure you're gettlng lt rlght.
13
'&>& 805(.(+( 78(*2,5 '& 28, H5020+. -I-2,6
When practlclng wrltlng Hlragana by hand, the lmportant thlng to remember ls that the
stroke order and dlrectlon of the strokes matter. There, I underllned, ltallcled, bolded,
and hlghllghted lt to boot. Trust me, you'll eventually nd out why when you read other
people's hasty notes that are nothlng more than chlcken scrawls. The only thlng that wlll
help you ls that everybody wrltes ln the same order and so the "ow" of the characters ls
falrly conslstent. I strongly recommend that you pay close attentlon to stroke order from
the beglnnlng startlng wlth Hlragana to avold falllng lnto bad hablts. Whlle there are many
tools onllne that alm to help you learn Hlragana, the best way to learn how to wrlte lt ls the
old fashloned way: a plece of paper and pen/pencll. The followlng llnks to pdfs that have a
traclng outllne and a free-form to practlce your wrltlng.
Hlragana traclng practlce sheet
Hlragana free-form practlce sheet
` As an aslde, an old Japanese poem called I] was often used as the base for
orderlng of the Hlragana alphabet untll recent tlmes. The poem contalns every slngle letter
of the Hlragana alphabet except for /] whlch probably dld not exlst at the tlme lt
was wrltten. You can check out thls poem for yourself ln thls wlklpedla artlcle nttp:))cn.
uikipcdiu.czg)uiki)1zcnu. As the artlcle mentlons, thls order ls stlll sometlmes used ln
orderlng llsts so you may want to spend some tlme checklng lt out.
.
.
1. Except for ].].].and /].you can get a sense of how each
letter ls pronounced by matchlng the consonant on the top row to the vowel. For
example, ] would become / kl / and U] would become / yu / and so on.
2. As you can see, not all sounds match the way our consonant system works. As
wrltten ln the table, ] ls pronounced "chl" and ] ls pronounced "tsu".
3. The / r / or / l / sound ln Japanese ls ulte dlerent from any sound ln Engllsh.
It lnvolves more of a roll and a cllp by hlttlng the roof of your mouth wlth your
tongue. Pay careful attentlon to that whole column.
4. Pay careful attentlon to the dlerence between / tsu / and / su /.
5. The /] character ls a speclal character because lt ls rarely used by ltself and
does not have a vowel sound. It ls attached to another character to add a / n /
sound. For example, !/] becomes 'kan' lnstead of 'ka', 7/] becomes
'man' lnstead of 'ma', and so on and so forth.
6. You must learn the correct stroke order and dlrectlon! Use the followlng pdf prac-
tlce sheets.
Hlragana traclng practlce sheet
Hlragana free-form practlce sheet
.Notes
14
78(*2,5 '& 28, H5020+. -I-2,6 '&>& 805(.(+(
/D7D/ 01% O+**-%* 4"+#*&
Once you memorle all the characters ln the Hlragana alphabet you're done learnlng the
alphabet but not all the sounds. There are ve more posslble consonant sounds that are
posslble by elther amxlng two tlny llnes slmllar to a double uotatlon mark called J9$CD<;
j or a tlny clrcle called K9;J9$CD<; =j. Thls essentlally creates a "muddy" or less
cllpped verslon of the consonant technlcally called a volced consonant or ], whlch
llterally means to become muddy.
All the posslble comblnatlons of muddled consonant sounds are glven ln the table below.
Volced Hlragana - Cllck for Sound
? E * P 3
l I 7 I 9
O O l -
jl jl
+
du
^ ^ | %
M l ( C "
.
.
1. Notlce that ] sounds essentlally ldentlcal to l] and both are pronounced
as / jl /, whlle ] ls pronounced llke / du /.
.Notes
/D7D7 01% 469== QRSTQUST9#* QVS
You can also comblne a consonant wlth a / ya / yu / yo / sound by attachlng a small ']
.U].or e] to the / l / vowel character of each consonant.
All small '.U.and e comblnatlons ln Hlragana - Cllck for Sound
? E W 3 ) 6 1 # , & G
O O l d O I 59
O< O< l< < < d< O< I< < < < 5+
O, O, l, , , d, O, I, , , , 5"
15
'&>& 805(.(+( 78(*2,5 '& 28, H5020+. -I-2,6
.
.
1. The above table ls the same as before. Match the top consonants to the vowel
sound on the rlght. Ex: = kya.
2. Also note that slnce l] ls pronounced / jl /, all the small '].U].e]
sounds are also based o of that, namely; / jya / jyu / jyo /.
3. The same thlng also applles to ]whlch becomes / cha / chu / cho / and ]
whlch becomes / sha / shu / sho /. Though arguably, you can stlll thlnk of lt as /
sya / syu / syo /.
.Notes
/D7D; 01% 469== QXS
A small ]ls lnserted between two characters to carry the consonant sound of the second
character to the end of the rst. For example, lf you lnserted a small ] between O]
and ] to make O], the / k / consonant sound ls carrled back to the end of
the rst character to produce "blkku". Slmllarly, Il] becomes "happa", ]
becomes "rokku" and so on and so forth. I have provlded my own slmple
mp3 le to lllustrate the sound dlerence between ] and ]. And ln case
you're wonderlng, both are actual words and yes, both mean dlerent thlngs.
.
.
1. A small ]ls used to carry the consonant sound of the second character to the
end of the rst. Ex: I] = "gakkl".
2. Download thls mp3 le to hear the dlerence between ] and ].
3. The addltlon of another consonant almost always creates the characterlstlc cllpplng
sound. But make sure you're cllpplng wlth the rlght consonant the consonant of
the second character.
.Notes
/D7D> 01% Y"#3 Z"F%= 4"+#*
Whew! You're almost done. In thls last portlon, we wlll go over the long vowel sound whlch
ls slmply extendlng the duratlon of a vowel sound. You can extend the vowel sound of a
character by addlng elther ].].or ]dependlng on the vowel ln accordance
to the followlng chart.
16
78(*2,5 '& 28, H5020+. -I-2,6 '&L& F(2(F(+(
Extendlng Vowel Sounds
Z"F%= 4"+#* <@$%#*%* E5
/ a /
/ l / e /
/ u / o /
For example, lf you wanted to create an extended vowel sound from !], you would
add ] to create !]. Other examples would lnclude: ],
], ], ], ] and so on. The reasonlng for thls ls ulte
slmple. Try saylng !]and ]separately. Then say them ln successlon as fast as you
can. You'll notlce that soon enough, lt just sounds llke you're dragglng out the / ka / for
a longer duratlon than just saylng / ka / by ltself. You can try thls exerclse wlth the other
vowel sounds lf you llke. Try to remember that you are, ln fact, saylng two characters wlth
blurred boundarles. In fact, you may not even have to consclously thlnk about long vowels
and slmply pronounce the letters together ulckly to get the correct sound.
In addltlon, whlle the / e / vowel sound followed by ] ls usually consldered to a long
vowel sound, the pronunclatlon ls actually a slurred connectlon of the / e / and / l / vowel
sounds. In other words, lt should be pronounced llke / ay / as ln "acorn" and not just a
long / e /.
It's lmportant to make sure you hold the vowel sound long enough because you can be
saylng thlngs llke "here" lnstead of "Hlgh School" or "mlddle-aged lady"
/ lnstead of "grandmother" / lf you don't stretch lt out correctly!
There are rare exceptlons where an / e / vowel sound ls extended by addlng ] or an /
o / vowel sound ls extended by ]. Some examples of thls lnclude 1/].
].and ]. Pay careful attentlon to these exceptlons but don't worry, there
aren't too many of them.
/D; [9$9G9#9
/D;D' 219$ -& [9$9G9#9M
As mentloned before, F9D9$9;9 ls malnly used for words lmported from forelgn languages.
It can also be used to emphasle certaln words slmllar to the functlon of ?D9B?M=. For a more
complete llst of usages, refer to the Wlklpedla entry on katakana nttp:))cn.uikipcdiu.
czg)uiki)kutukunu=Usugc.
Katakana represents the same set of phonetlc sounds as Hlragana except all the characters
are dlerent. Slnce forelgn words must t lnto thls set of [consonants+vowel] comblna-
tlons, they undergo many radlcal changes resultlng ln the case where Engllsh speakers can't
understand words that are supposed to have been derlved fromEngllsh! As a result, the use
of Katakana ls extremely dlmcult for Engllsh speakers because they expect Engllsh words
to sound llke... well... Engllsh. Instead, lt ls better to completely forget the orlglnal Engllsh
word, and treat the word as an entlrely separate Japanese word, otherwlse you can run
lnto the hablt of saylng Engllsh words wlth Engllsh pronunclatlons whereupon a Japanese
person may or may not understand what you are saylng.
17
'&L& F(2(F(+( 78(*2,5 '& 28, H5020+. -I-2,6
Katakana - Cllck for stroke order and sound
# F ) 5 6 1 # $ & G
` \ / J ^ 7 9
* | : -
chl shl
P D 1 \ ' +
fu tsu
3 * I > ^ 1 O 3 %
* L ! " # $ % & 7 "
o
* = obsolete or rarely used
Katakana ls slgnlcantly tougher to master compared to Hlragana because lt ls only used for
certaln words and you don't get nearly as much practlce as you do wlth Hlragana. To learn
the proper stroke order and yes, you need to, here are the practlce sheets for Katakana.
Katakana traclng practlce sheet
Katakana free-form practlce sheet
Also, slnce Japanese doesn't have any spaces, sometlmes the symbol ']ls used to show
the spaces llke L('`)'L*P]for "rock and roll". Uslng the symbol ls completely
optlonal so sometlmes nothlng wlll be used at all.
.
.
1. All the sounds are ldentlcal to what they were for hlragana.
2. As you wlll nd out later, slnce ]ls only ever used as a partlcle and all partlcles
are ln hlragana, you wlll almost never need to use ] and therefore lt can be
safely lgnored. Unless you are readlng very old telegrams or somethlng.
3. The four characters :].`].\].and %] are endlshly slmllar to
each other. Baslcally, the dlerence ls that the rst two are more "horlontal" than
the second two. The llttle llnes are slanted more horlontally and the long llne ls
drawn ln a curve from bottom to top. The second two have almost vertlcal llttle
llnes and the long llne doesn't curve as much as lt ls drawn from top to bottom.
It ls almost llke a slash whlle the former ls more llke an arc. These characters are
hard to sort out and reulre some patlence and practlce.
4. The characters #]. >].and ] are also somethlng to pay careful
attentlon to, as well as, ].].and ']. Yes, they all look very slmllar.
No, I can't do anythlng about lt.
5. You must learn the correct stroke order and dlrectlon! Use the followlng pdf prac-
tlce sheets.
Katakana traclng practlce sheet
Katakana free-form practlce sheet
6. Sometlmes '] ls used to denote what would be spaces ln Engllsh.
.Notes
18
78(*2,5 '& 28, H5020+. -I-2,6 '&L& F(2(F(+(
/D;D/ 01% Y"#3 Z"F%= 4"+#*
Everythlng else works exactly the same way as Hlragana, you just need to substltute the
eulvalent Katakana characters. However, one thlng that ls dlerent ls that long vowels
have been radlcally slmplled ln Katakana. Instead of havlng to muck around thlnklng
about vowel sounds, all long vowel sounds are denoted by a slmple dash llke so: *.
.
.
1. All long vowel sounds ln Katakana are denoted by a dash. For example, "cute"
would be wrltten ln Katakana llke so: +*$].
.Summary
/D;D7 01% 469== Q\T]T^T_T`S
Due to the llmltatlons of the sound set ln Hlragana, some new comblnatlons have been
devlsed over the years to account for sounds that were not orlglnally ln Japanese. Most
notable ls the lack of the / tl / dl / and / tu / du / sounds because of the / chl / tsu /
sounds, and the lack of the / f / consonant sound except for ]. The / sh / j / ch
/ consonants are also mlsslng for the / e / vowel sound. The declslon to resolve these
declencles was to add small verslons of the ve vowel sounds. Thls has also been done for
the / w / consonant sound to replace the obsolete characters. In addltlon, the conventlon
of uslng the llttle double slashes on the '] vowel , wlth the small ..3.7]
to deslgnate the / v / consonant has also been establlshed but lt's not often used probably
due to the fact that Japanese people stlll have dlmculty pronounclng / v /. For lnstance,
whlle you may guess that "volume" would be pronounced wlth a / v / sound, the Japanese
have opted for the easler to pronounce "bolume" -+*1. In the same way, vodka ls
wrltten as "wokka" '.(7 and not ,.(7]. You can wrlte "vlolln" as elther /
7`] or ,07`]. It really doesn't matter however because almost all Japanese
people wlll pronounce lt wlth a / b / sound anyway. The followlng table shows the added
sounds that were lacklng wlth a hlghllght. Other sounds that already exlsted are reused as
approprlate.
Addltlonal sounds
C F I ,1 * $ W &1
,0 0 1 2 ^ 31 :1 9
,4 '4 4 54 4 3 : -
, ' + )6 $6 3+ :+ +
,7 '7 7 7 5 37 :7 %
,. '. . 8 ) $ 38 :8 "
19
'&N& F(+)0 78(*2,5 '& 28, H5020+. -I-2,6
.
.
1. Notlce that there ls no / wu / sound. For example, the Katakana for "woman" ls
wrltten as "u-man" '*`.
2. Whlle the / tu / sound as ln "too" can technlcally be produced glven the rules
as $6], forelgn words that have become popular before these sounds were
avallable slmply used / tsu / to make do. For lnstance, "tool" ls stlll \*P]and
"tour" ls slmllarly stlll \*].
3. Back ln the old days, wlthout these new sounds, there was no cholce but to just
take characters o the regular table wlthout regard for actual pronunclatlon. On
old bulldlngs, you may stlll see 9P:`;] lnstead of the modern spelllng 9
P54`;]. Incldentally, thls ls the case for the old Shln-Maru bulldlng across
fromTokyo Statlon where I work. It ls, however, soon slated for a complete rebulld
and we wlll be movlng out shortly. Ironlcally, Shln-Maru <= has the character
for "new" ln lt the orlglnal one was rebullt and ls now newer.
.Notes
/D;D; 4"6% %@96?=%& "I F")*& -# [9$9G9#9
Translatlng Engllsh words lnto Japanese ls a knack that reulres ulte a blt of practlce
and luck. To glve you a sense of how Engllsh words become "Japanled", here are a few
examples of words ln Katakana. Sometlmes the words ln Katakana may not even be correct
Engllsh or have a dlerent meanlng from the Engllsh word lt's supposed to represent. Of
course, not all Katakana words are derlved from Engllsh.
Sample Katakana Words
<#3=-&1 H9?9#%&%
Amerlca >7
Russla L:
cheatlng 7``; cunnlng
tour \*
company employee *` salary man
Moart !*\0P$
car horn :8` klaxon
sofa %0or %0*
Halloween /L'4*`
French frles )>$ frled potato
/D> [9#W-
/D>D' 219$ -& [9#W-M
In Japanese, nouns and stems of adjectlves and verbs are almost all wrltten ln Chlnese
characters called Kanjl. Adverbs are also falrly freuently wrltten ln Kanjl as well. Thls
20
78(*2,5 '& 28, H5020+. -I-2,6 '&N& F(+)0
means that you wlll need to learn Chlnese characters to be able to read essentlally almost
all the words ln the language. Not all words are wrltten ln Kanjl however. For example, whlle
the verb 'to do' technlcally has a Kanjl assoclated wlth lt, lt ls always wrltten ln Hlragana.
Indlvldual dlscretlon and a sense of how thlngs are normally wrltten ls needed to declde
whether words should be wrltten ln Hlragana or Kanjl. However, a majorlty of the words
ln Japanese wlll be wrltten ln Kanjl almost always. Chlldren's books or any other materlal
where the audlence ls not expected to know a lot of Kanjl ls an exceptlon to thls.
Thls gulde beglns uslng Kanjl from the beglnnlng to help the reader read "real" Japanese as
ulckly as posslble. Therefore, we wlll go over some propertles of Kanjl and dlscuss some
strategles of learnlng lt ulckly and emclently. Masterlng Kanjl ls not easy but lt ls by no
means lmposslble. The blggest part of the battle ls masterlng the skllls of learnlng Kanjl
and tlme. In short, memorllng Kanjl past short-term memory must be done wlth a great
deal of study and, most lmportantly, for a long tlme. And by thls, I don't mean studylng
ve hours a day but rather revlewlng how to wrlte a Kanjl once every several months untll
you are sure you have lt down for good. Thls ls another reason why thls gulde starts uslng
Kanjl rlght away. There ls no reason to dump the huge job of learnlng Kanjl at the advanced
level. By studylng Kanjl along wlth new vocabulary from the beglnnlng, the lmmense job
of learnlng Kanjl ls dlvlded lnto small manageable chunks and the extra tlme helps settle
learned Kanjl lnto permanent memory. In addltlon, thls wlll help you learn new vocabulary,
whlch wlll often have comblnatlons of Kanjl you already know. If you start learnlng Kanjl
later, thls benet wlll be wasted or reduced.
/D>D/ Y%9)#-#3 [9#W-
All the resources you need to begln learnlng Kanjl are on the web for free at Jlm Breen's
WWWJDIC nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)-uL)uuudic.nt1. In addltlon to lts huge
dlctlonarles, lt has stroke order dlagrams for the 1,945 jouyo Kanjl essentlally almost all
the Kanjl you wlll need to know. Especlally for those who are just startlng to learn, you wlll
want to repeatedly wrlte out each Kanjl to memorle the stroke order. Another lmportant
sklll ls learnlng how to balance the character so that certaln parts are not too blg or small.
So make sure to copy the characters as close to the orlglnal as posslble. Eventually, you
wlll naturally develop a sense of the stroke order for certaln types of characters allowlng
you to bypass the drllllng stage. All the Kanjl used ln thls gulde can be easlly looked up by
copylng and pastlng to the WWWJDIC.
/D>D7 a%9*-#3 [9#W-
Almost every character has two dlerent readlngs called ?@d /ed and A@d
/ed. ?@d ls the orlglnal Chlnese readlng whlle A@d ls the Japanese readlng. Kanjl
that appear ln a compound or BC ls usually read wlth ?@d whlle one Kanjl by ltself ls
usually read wlth A@d. For example, D]! ls read wlth the A@dwhlle the same
character ln a compound word such as ED] ls read wlth the ?@d whlch ls ,]
ln thls case.
Certaln characters especlally the most common ones can have more than one ?@d or
A@d. For example, ln the word FD], D] ls read here as ] and not ,
]. Certaln compound words also have speclal readlngs that have nothlng to do wlth
the readlngs of the lndlvldual characters. These readlngs must be lndlvldually memorled.
21
'&N& F(+)0 78(*2,5 '& 28, H5020+. -I-2,6
Thankfully, these readlngs are few and far ln between.
A@d ls also used ln adjectlves and verbs ln addltlon to the stand-alone characters. These
words often have a strlng of kana called okurlgana that come attached to the word. Thls
ls so that the readlng of the Chlnese character stays the same even when the word ls
conjugated to dlerent forms. For example, the past form of the verb G^] ls G^
]. Even though the verb has changed, the readlng for G]remaln untouched. Imaglne
how dlmcult thlngs could get lf readlngs for Kanjl changed wlth conjugatlon or even worse,
lf the Kanjl ltself changed. Okurlgana also serves to dlstlngulsh between lntransltlve and
transltlve verbs more on thls later.
Another concept that ls dlmcult to grasp at rst ls that the actual readlngs of Kanjl can
change sllghtly ln a compound word to make the word easler to say. The more common
transformatlons lnclude the / h / sounds changlng to elther / b / or / p / sounds or ]
becomlng ]. Examples lnclude: HI].JK].and LM].
Yet another fun aspect of Kanjl you'll run lnto are words that practlcally mean the same
thlng and use the same readlng but have dlerent Kanjl to make just a sllght dlerence ln
meanlng. For example ] means to llsten and so does N]. The only
dlerence ls that N] means to pay more attentlon to what you're llstenlng to. For
example, llstenlng to muslc almost always prefers N]over ]. ]can also
mean 'to ask', as well as, "to hear" but O] can only mean "to ask". Yet another
example ls the common practlce of wrltlng ]as P]when lt applles to watchlng
a show such as a movle. Yet another lnterestlng example ls Q]! whlch means
"to wrlte" whlle R ! means "to draw". However, when you're deplctlng an abstract
lmage such as a scene ln a book, the readlng of the same word R]becomes I]
. There's also the case where the meanlng and Kanjl stays the same but can have multlple
readlngs such as ST]whlch can be elther ,]./l], or /I]. In
thls case, lt doesn't really matter whlch readlng you choose except that some are preferred
over others ln certaln sltuatlons.
Flnally, there ls one speclal character Uthat ls really not a character. It slmply lndlcates that
the prevlous character ls repeated. For example, VV].WW].XX].HH]
can and usually are wrltten as VU].WU].XU].HU].
In addltlon to these "features" of Kanjl, you wlll see a whole slew of dellghtful perks and
surprlses Kanjl has for you as you advance ln Japanese. You can declde for yourself lf
that statement ls sarcasm or not. However, don't be scared lnto thlnklng that Japanese ls
lncredlbly hard. Most of the words ln the language usually only have one Kanjl assoclated
wlth lt and a majorlty of Kanjl do not have more than two types of readlngs.
/D>D; 215 [9#W-M
Some people feel that the system of uslng separate, dlscrete symbols lnstead of a senslble
alphabet ls out-dated and overly compllcated. In fact, lt mlght not have been a good ldea to
adopt Chlnese lnto Japanese slnce both languages are fundamentally dlerent ln structure.
But the purpose of thls gulde ls not to debate over the declslons made thousands of years
ago but to explaln why 5"+ must learn Kanjl ln order to learn Japanese. And by thls, I
mean more than just saylng, "That's how lt's done so get over lt!".
Some people feel that Japanese should have just swltched from Chlnese to romajl to do
22
78(*2,5 '& 28, H5020+. -I-2,6 '&N& F(+)0
away wlth all the compllcated characters that was bewllderlng the forelgn whlte devlls.
In fact, Korean has adopted thelr own alphabet to greatly slmpllfy thelr wrltten language
to great success. So why dldn't lt work for Japanese? And I ask thls ln the past tense
because I belleve that the government dld attempt to replace Kanjl wlth romajl shortly
after the second world war wlth llttle success. I thlnk anyone who has typed at any length
ln Japanese can easlly see why thls dld not work. At any one tlme, when you convert
typed Hlragana lnto Kanjl, you are presented wlth almost always at least two cholces two
homophones and sometlmes even up to ten. Try typlng klkan. The 46 or so character
alphabet of set sounds ln Japanese makes lt hard to avold homophones. Compare thls to
the Korean alphabet whlch has 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Any of the consonants can be
matched to any of the vowels glvlng 140 sounds. In addltlon, a thlrd and sometlmes even
fourth consonant can be attached to create a slngle letter. Thls glves over 1960 sounds that
can be created theoretlcally. The sounds that are actually used ls actually much less than
that, though I don't know the exact number.
Slnce you want to read at a much faster rate than you talk, you need some vlsual cues to
lnstantly tell you what each word ls. You can use the shape of words ln Engllsh to blae
through text because most words have dlerent shapes. Try thls llttle exerclse: Hl, enve
thgouh all teh wrods aer seplled lcorrenctly, can you sltll udsternand me?" Korean does thls
too because lt has enough characters to make words wlth dlstlnct and dlerent shapes.
However, because the vlsual cues are not dlstlnct as Kanjl, spaces needed to be added to
remove amblgultles. Thls presents another problem of when and where to set spaces.
Wlth Kanjl, we don't have to worry about spaces and much of the problem of homophones
ls mostly resolved. Wlthout Kanjl, even lf spaces were to be added, the amblgultles and
lack of vlsual cues would make Japanese text much more dlmcult to read.
23
!19?$%) 7
89&-, :)9669)
7D' 89&-, :)9669$-,9= 4$)+,$+)%&
Now that we have learned how to wrlte Japanese, we can begln golng over the baslc gram-
matlcal structure of the language. Thls sectlon prlmarlly covers all the parts of speech:
nouns, adjectlves, verbs, and adverbs. It wlll also descrlbe how to lntegrate the varlous
parts of speech lnto a coherent sentence by uslng partlcles. By the end of thls sectlon, you
should have a baslc understandlng of how Japanese works and how thoughts are expressed
ln Japanese.
7D/ <@?)%&&-#3 4$9$%b"Ib8%-#3
7D/D' c%,=9)-#3 &"6%$1-#3 -& &" 9#* &" +&-#3 QdS
One of the trlcklest part of Japanese ls that there ls no verb for the state-of-belng llke the
verb "to be" ln Engllsh. What Japanese has lnstead, ls a way to declare that somethlng ls
the way lt ls by attachlng the Hlragana character I] to a noun or na-adjectlve "#=5.
You'll see what thls means when we learn about nouns and adjectlves.
.
.
Attach I] to the noun or na-adjectlve
Y [\- Flsh.
] [I\- Is sh.
.Declarlng that somethlng ls so uslng I]
Seems easy enough. Here's the real klcker though.
24
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&'& ,P*5,--0+. -2(2,Q3RQO,0+.
.
.B &$9$%b"IbE%-#3 ,9# E% -6?=-%* F-$1"+$ +&-#3 QdSe
.Note
As lt stands, Y ls slmply the word "sh" and doesn't mean anythlng beyond that. However,
we'll see ln the next sectlon that wlth the toplc partlcle, we can lnfer that somethlng ls a sh
fromthe context wlthout declarlng anythlng. So the uestlon that should be oatlng around
ln your head ls, "If you can say somethlng ls [^] wlthout uslng I], then what's the polnt
of even havlng lt around?" Well, the maln dlerence ls that a declaratlve statement makes
the sentence sound more emphatlc and forceful ln order to make lt more... well declaratlve.
Therefore, lt ls more common to hear men use I] at the end of sentences. Thls ls also
why you cannot use I] when asklng a uestlon because then lt sounds llke you're
maklng a statement and asklng a uestlon at the same tlme. Unless you're declarlng a
uestlon word such as I].
The declaratlve I] ls also needed ln varlous grammatlcal structures where a state-of-
belng must be expllcltly declared. There ls also the case where you must not attach lt. It's
all ulte a paln ln the butt really but you don't have to worry about lt yet.
7D/D/ !"#W+39$-#3 $" $1% #%39$-C% &$9$%b"IbE%-#3
In Japanese, negatlve and past tense are all expressed by conjugatlon. We can conjugate a
noun or adjectlve to elther lts negatlve or past tense to say that somethlng ls ;"D [^] or that
somethlng !9= [^]. Thls may be a blt hard to grasp at rst but none of these state-of-belng
conjugatlons make anythlng declaratlve llke I] does. We'll learn, ln a later lesson, how
to make these tenses declaratlve by attachlng I] to the end of the sentence.
Flrst, for the negatlve tense, you slmply attach l] to the noun or na-adjectlve.
.
.
Attach l] to the noun or na-adjectlve
_ `a `al ls not frlend
.Conjugatlon rules for the negatlve state-of-belng
<@96?=%&
Y [l\- Is not sh.
] bcl\- Is not student.
d e!l\- Is not ulet.
25
>&>& 0+2531/7203+ 23 *(52074,- 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
7D/D7 !"#W+39$-#3 I") $1% ?9&$ &$9$%b"IbE%-#3
We wlll now learn the past tense of the state-of-belng. To say somethlng !9= somethlng,
I] ls attached to the noun or na-adjectlve.
In order to say the negatlve past !9= ;"D, the negatlve tense ls conjugated to the negatlve
past tense by slmply dropplng the ] from l] and addlng !].
.
.
1. f9&$ &$9$%b"IbE%-#3: Attach I] to the noun or na-adjectlve _ `a
`aI was frlend
2. g%39$-C% ?9&$ &$9$%b"IbE%-#3: Conjugate the noun or na-adjectlve to the nega-
tlve tense rst and then replace ] of l] wlth !]
_ `a `al `al! was not frlend
.Conjugatlon rules for the past state-of-belng
Y [I\- Was sh.
] bcl!\- Was not student.
d e!l!\- Was not ulet.
7D/D; 0" &+6 +?
We've now learned how to express state-of-belng ln all four tenses. Next we wlll learn
some partlcles, whlch wlll allow us asslgn roles to words. Here ls a summary chart of the
conjugatlons we learned ln thls sectlon.
Summary of state-of-belng
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ [ I Is sh [l Is not sh
f9&$ [I Was sh [l! Was not sh
7D7 (#$)"*+,$-"# $" f9)$-,=%& hiTjTkl
7D7D' c%m#-#3 3)9669$-,9= I+#,$-"#& F-$1 ?9)$-,=%&
We want to now make good use of what we learned ln the last lesson by assoclatlng a
noun wlth another noun. Thls ls done wlth somethlng called partlcles. Partlcles are one
or two Hlragana characters that attach to the end of a word to dene what grammatlcal
functlon that word ls servlng ln the sentence. Uslng the correct partlcles ls very lmportant
because the meanlng of a sentence can completely change just by changlng the partlcles.
For example, the sentence "Eat sh." can become "The sh eats." slmply by changlng one
partlcle.
26
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&>& 0+2531/7203+ 23 *(52074,-
7D7D/ 01% QiS $"?-, ?9)$-,=%
The rst partlcle we wlll learn ls the toplc partlcle. The toplc partlcle essentlally ldentles
what lt ls that you're talklng about, baslcally the toplc of your sentence. Let's say a person
says, "Not student." Thls ls a perfectly valld sentence ln Japanese but lt doesn't tell us
much wlthout knowlng what the sentence ls talklng about. The toplc partlcle wlll allow us
to express what our sentences are about. The toplc partlcle ls the character I]. Now,
whlle thls character ls normally pronounced /ha/, lt ls pronounced /wa/ only when lt ls
belng used as the toplc partlcle.
<@96?=% '
-fg Ibch- Are you Allce student?
g /.bc\- Yeah, I am.
Here, Bob ls lndlcatlng that hls uestlon ls about Allce. Notlce how the I]ls left out and
yet the Engllsh translatlon has the word 'are' and 'am'. Slnce we know the toplc ls Allce,
we don't need anythlng else to guess that Allce ls a student. In fact, slnce Bob ls asklng a
uestlon, he M9;SD attach I]. That would be llke trylng to make a statement and asklng
a uestlon at the same tlme.
<@96?=% /
-f 31IiTh- Jlm ls tomorrow?
iTl\- Not tomorrow.
Slnce we have no context, we don't have enough lnformatlon to make any sense of thls
conversatlon. It obvlously makes no sense for Jlmto actually E% tomorrow. Glven a context,
as long as the sentence has somethlng to do wlth Jlm and tomorrow, lt can mean anythlng.
For lnstance, they could be talklng about when an exam ls belng held.
<@96?=% 7
STIjkI\- Today ls exam.
-f 31Ih- What about Jlm?
31IiT\- Jlm ls tomorrow. As for Jlm, the exam ls tomorrow.
We need to realle how generlc the toplc can really be. A toplc can be referrlng to any
actlon or object from anywhere even lncludlng other sentences. For example, ln the last
sentence of the conversatlon above, even though the sentence ls about when the exam ls
for Jlm, the word "exam" doesn't appear anywhere ln the sentence!
We'll see a more speclc partlcle that tles more closely lnto the sentence at the end of thls
lesson wlth the ldentler partlcle.
27
>&>& 0+2531/7203+ 23 *(52074,- 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
7D7D7 01% QjS -#,=+&-C% $"?-, ?9)$-,=%
Another partlcle that ls very slmllar to the toplc partlcle ls the lncluslve toplc partlcle. It ls
essentlally the toplc partlcle wlth the addltlonal meanlng of "also". Baslcally, lt can lntroduce
another toplc ln addltlon to the current toplc. The lncluslve toplc partlcle ls the ]
character and lts use ls best explalned by an example.
<@96?=% '
-fg Ibch- Are you Allce student?
g /.$1bc\- Yes, and Tom ls also student.
Notlce, that Allce must be conslstent wlth the lncluslon. It would not make sense to say, "I
am a student, and Tom ls also not a student." Instead, Allce would use the I] partlcle
to remove the addltlonal meanlng of lncluslon as seen ln the next example.
<@96?=% /
-fg Ibch- Are you Allce student?
g /.$1Ibcl\- Yes, but Tom ls not student.
<@96?=% 7
Thls ls also another posslblllty.
-fg Ibch- Are you Allce student?
g /.$1bcl\- No, and Tom ls also not student.
So why would Allce, all of a sudden, talk about Tom when Bob ls asklng about Allce? Maybe
Tom ls standlng rlght next to her and she wants to lnclude Tom ln the conversatlon.
7D7D; 01% QkS -*%#$-m%) ?9)$-,=%
Ok, so we can make a toplc uslng the I] and ] partlcle. But what lf we donlt
know what the toplc ls? What lf I wanted to ask, mWho ls the student?nWhat I need ls some
klnd of ldentler because I donlt know who the student ls. If I used the toplc partlcle, the
uestlon would become, mIs who the student?nand that doesnlt make any sense because
mwhonls not an actual person.
Thls ls where the I] partlcle comes lnto play. It ls also referred to as the subject par-
tlcle but I hate that name slnce "subject" means somethlng completely dlerent ln Engllsh
grammar. Instead, I move to call lt the ?J<;D?T<# :9#D?MB< because the partlcle lndlcates that
the speaker wants to ldentlfy somethlng unspecled.
28
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&L& (1),720U,-
<@96?=% '
-fg oIbch- Who ls the one that ls student?
g 31Ibc\- Jlm ls the one who ls student.
Bob wants to ldentlfy who among all the posslble candldates ls a student. Allce responds
that Jlmls the one. Notlce, Allce could also have answered wlth the toplc partlcle to lndlcate
that, speaklng of Jlm, she knows that he ls 9 student maybe not DK< student. You can see
the dlerence ln the next example.
<@96?=% /
Y oIbch- Who ls the one that ls student?
] bcIoh- The student ls who?
Hopefully, you can see that Y seeks to ldentlfy a speclc person for 'student' whlle ]
ls slmply talklng about the student. You cannot replace I] wlth I] ln Y because
"who" would become the toplc and the uestlon would become, "Is who a student?"
The two partlcles I] and I] may seem very slmllar only because lt ls lmposslble
to translate the dlerence dlrectly lnto Engllsh. For example, pIbc] and pIb
c]both translate lnto, "I am student."* However, they only seem slmllar because Engllsh
cannot express lnformatlon about the context as succlnctly as Japanese sometlmes can. In
the rst sentence pIbc], slnce p] ls the toplc, the sentence means, "Speaklng
about me, I am a student". However, ln the second sentence, p] ls speclfylng who the
bc] ls. If we want to know who the student ls, the I] partlcle tells us lts p].
You can also thlnk about the I] partlcle as always answerlng a sllent uestlon. For
example, lf we have 31I[I], we are answerlng a uestlon such as "Who ls the
sh?" or "Whlch person ls the sh?" or maybe even "What food does Jlm llke?" Or glven the
sentence, Iq], we can be answerlng the uestlon, "Whlch ls the car?" or "What ls
the car?" The I]and I]partlcles are actually ulte dlerent lf you thlnk of lt the rlght
way. The I]partlcle ldentles a speclc property of somethlng whlle the I]partlcle
ls used only to brlng up a new toplc of conversatlon. Thls ls why, ln longer sentences, lt ls
common to separate the toplc wlth commas to remove amblgulty about whlch part of the
sentence the toplc applles to.
*Well technlcally, lt's the most llkely translatlon glven the lack of context.
7D; B*W%,$-C%&
7D;D' f)"?%)$-%& "I B*W%,$-C%&
Now that we can connect two nouns together ln varlous ways uslng partlcles, we want to descrlbe
our nouns wlth adjectlves. An adjectlve can dlrectly modlfy a noun that lmmedlately follows lt. It
can also be connected ln the same way we dld wlth nouns uslng partlcles. All adjectlves fall under
two categorles: na-adjectlves and l-adjectlves. We wlll see how they are dlerent and how to use
them ln sentences.
29
>&L& (1),720U,- 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
7D;D/ 01% #9b9*W%,$-C%
The na-adjectlve ls very slmple to learn because lt acts essentlally llke a noun. In fact, they are so
slmllar; you can assume that they behave the same way unless I speclcally polnt out dlerences.
One maln dlerence ls that a na-adjectlve can dlrectly modlfy a noun followlng lt by stlcklng ]
between the adjectlve and noun. Hence the name, na-adjectlve.
Y e!r\- Qulet person.
In addltlon to thls dlrect noun modlcatlon whlch reulres a ], you can also say that a noun ?=
an adjectlve by uslng the toplc or ldentler partlcle ln a V+"C;W V*9#D?MB<W V(JGW sentence structure
for lnstance rIe!]. Thls ls essentlally the same thlng as the state-of-belng wlth nouns that
we've already covered ln the prevlous two sectlons. However, slnce lt doesn't make sense for an
adjectlve to be a noun, you cannot have a V(JGW V*9#D?MB<W V+"C;W sentence structure for lnstance
e!Ir]. Thls ls pretty obvlous because, for lnstance, whlle a person can be ulet, lt makes no
sense for ulet to be a person.
Y `aIst\- Frlend ls klnd.
] `aIstr\- Frlend ls klnd person.
Remember how na-adjectlves act almost exactly the same as nouns? Well, you can see thls by the
followlng examples.
Y -fI[IMI\- Bob llkes sh.
] -fI[IMl\- Bob does not llke sh.
d -fI[IMI\- Bob llked sh.
u -fI[IMl!\- Bob dld not llke sh.
Do the conjugatlons look famlllar? They should, lf you pald attentlon to the sectlon about state-of-
belng conjugatlons for nouns. If lt bothers you that "llke" ls an adjectlve and not a verb ln Japanese,
you can thlnk of M]as meanlng "deslrable". Also, you can see a good example of the toplc and
ldentler partlcle worklng ln harmony. The sentence ls about the toplc "Bob" and "sh" ldentles
speclcally what Bob llkes.
You can also use the last three conjugatlons to dlrectly modlfy the noun. Remember to attach ]
for posltlve non-past tense.
Y [IM^v\- Type that llkes sh.
] [IMl^v\- Type that does not llke sh.
d [IMI^v\- Type that llked sh.
u [IMl!^v\- Type that dld not llke sh.
Here, the entlre clause [IM].[IMl].etc. ls modlfylng "type" to talk about
types of people that llke or dlsllke sh. You can see why thls type of sentence ls useful because
^vI[IMI\] would mean "The type llkes sh", whlch doesn't make much sense.
We can even treat the whole descrlptlve noun clause as we would a slngle noun. For lnstance, we
can make the whole clause a toplc llke the followlng example.
Y [IMl^vI.wIMI\
30
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&L& (1),720U,-
- Types of people who do not llke sh llke meat.
7D;D7 01% -b9*W%,$-C%
The l-adjectlve ls called that because lt always ends ln the hlragana character ]. Thls ls the
okurlgana and lt ls the part that wlll change as you conjugate the adjectlve. But you may know some
na-adjectlves that also end ln ] such as ]. So how can you tell the dlerence?
The bad news ls there really ls no way to tell for sure. However, the really good news ls that I can
only thlnk of two examples of na-adjectlves that end wlth ] that ls usually wrltten ln hlragana:
] and x]. All other na-adjectlves I can thlnk of that end ln ] are usually wrltten
ln kanjl and so you can easlly tell that lt's not an l-adjectlve. For lnstance, ln the case of ],
whlch ls yz] or {z] ln kanjl, slnce the ] part of z] ls encased ln kanjl, you know
that lt can't be an l-adjectlve. That's because the whole polnt of the ]ln l-adjectlves ls to allow
conjugatlon wlthout havlng lt aect the kanjl. In fact, x] ls the only na-adjectlve I can thlnk
of that ends ln hlragana ] wlthout a kanjl. Thls has to do wlth the fact that x] ls actually
derlved from the verb x]
Remember how the negatlve state-of-belng for nouns also ended ln ] l? Well, you
can treat l-adjectlves ln the same fashlon as the negatlve state-of-belng for nouns. And just llke the
negatlve state-of-belng for nouns, you cannot attach the declaratlve I] to l-adjectlves llke you
can wlth nouns or na-adjectlves.
c" gn0 9$$9,1 QdS $" -b9*W%,$-C%&D
Now that we got that matter cleared up, we can learn the conjugatlon rules for l-adjectlves. There
are two new rules for l-adjectlve conjugatlons. To negate or set to past tense, we rst drop the ]
, then add ] for negatlon or !] for past tense. Slnce ] ends ln an ],
you can also treat the negatlve just llke another l-adjectlve. Therefore, the rule for conjugatlng to
negatlve past tense ls the same as the rule for the posltlve past tense.
.
.
g%39$-C%: Flrst remove the tralllng ] from the l-adjectlve and then attach ]
_ | |
f9&$b$%#&%: Flrst remove the tralllng ] from the l-adjectlve or negatlve l-adjectlve
and then attach !]
_ | |!
_ | |!
Summary of l-adjectlves
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ | |
f9&$ |! |!
.Conjugatlon rules for l-adjectlves
You can dlrectly modlfy nouns by just attachlng the noun to the adjectlve.
Y |9P\- Tall bulldlng.
] |9P\- Not tall bulldlng.
d |!9P\- Bulldlng that was tall.
31
>&L& (1),720U,- 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
u |!9P\- Bulldlng that was not tall.
You can also strlng multlple adjectlves successlvely ln any order ln any form.
Y e!|9P\- A ulet, tall bulldlng.
] |e!9P\- A not tall, ulet bulldlng.
Note that you can make the same type of descrlptlve noun clause as we have done wlth na-adjectlves.
The only dlerence, of course, ls that we don't need ] to dlrectly modlfy the noun. In the
followlng example, the descrlptlve clause }~I|] ls dlrectly modlfylng I$`].
Y }~I|I$`I7Ml\
- Don't llke hlgh prlce restaurants very much.
7D;D; B# 9##"5-#3 %@,%?$-"#
There ls one l-adjectlve meanlng "good" that acts sllghtly dlerently from all other l-adjectlves. Thls
ls a classlc case of how learnlng Japanese ls harder for beglnners because the most common and
useful words also have the most exceptlons. The word for "good" was orlglnally e ].
However, wlth tlme, lt soon became ]. When lt ls wrltten ln kanjl, lt ls usually read as e]
so ] ls almost always hlragana. That's all ne and good. Unfortunately, all the conjugatlons
are stlll derlved from e] and not ]. Thls ls shown ln the next table.
Another adjectlve that acts llke thls ls !] because lt ls an abbrevlated verslon of two
words merged together: LM] and ]. Slnce lt uses the same ], you need to use
the same conjugatlons.
Conjugatlon for ]
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ e
f9&$ e! e!
Conjugatlon for !]
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ ! !e
f9&$ !e! !e!
Take care to make all the conjugatlons from e] not ].
<@96?=%&
Y }~I/7e\
- Prlce lsn't very good.
] I!e!
- He looked really cool!
32
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&N& U,5O O(-07-
7D> Z%)E 89&-,&
7D>D' a"=% "I Z%)E&
We've now learned how to descrlbe nouns ln varlous ways wlth other nouns and adjectlves. Thls
glves us ulte a blt of expresslve power. However, we stlll cannot express actlons. Thls ls where
verbs come ln. Verbs, ln Japanese, always come at the end of clauses. Slnce we have not yet learned
how to create more than one clause, for now lt means that any sentence wlth a verb must end wlth
the verb. We wlll now learn the two maln categorles of verbs, whlch wlll allow us to accurately dene
rules for conjugatlon. Before learnlng about verbs, there ls one lmportant thlng to keep ln mlnd.
.
.B 3)9669$-,9==5 ,"6?=%$% &%#$%#,% )%o+-)%& 9 C%)E "#=5 p-#,=+*-#3 &$9$% "I E%-#3qD
.Note
Or to rephrase, unllke Engllsh, the only thlng you need to make a grammatlcally complete sentence
ls a verb and nothlng else! Understandlng thls fundamental property ls essentlal to understandlng
Japanese. That's why even the slmplest, most baslc Japanese sentence cannot be translated lnto
Engllsh! All conjugatlons wlll start from the dlctlonary form as they appear ln the dlctlonary.
A grammatlcally complete sentence
Y G^\- Eat. posslble translatlons lnclude: I eat/she eats/they eat
7D>D/ !=9&&-I5-#3 C%)E& -#$" )+bC%)E& 9#* +bC%)E&
Almost all verbs ln Japanese can be classled lnto two categorles: ru-verb H~ and u-verbs
~. The only two verbs that are not consldered to be ln elther category are ]meanlng
"to do" and ] meanlng "to come". Otherwlse, the rules for conjugatlon are almost all the
same dependlng on what class the verb ls ln. The way to dlstlngulsh between these verbs ls falrly
stralghtforward.
Remember, every verb has a strlng of kana called okurlgana, whlch you can modlfy to conjugate
the verb. If you convert the verb to Roman characters called L*] ln Japanese and lt
ends ln elther "lru" or "eru", then lt ls usually a ru-verb. For example, G^] ls romanled as
"taberu" and slnce lt ends ln "eru", lt ls a ru-verb. Another example of a ru-verb ls ], whlch
romanles to "oklru". All other verbs that do not end ln "lru" or "eru" are u-verbs.
However, there ls just one snag here. Notlce that all ru-verbs end wlth ] and u-verbs always
end ln a / u / vowel sound. Thls unfortunately lncludes ] ln addltlon to ]. ].
]. ]. ]]. ]. ].and J] J] ls the only verb that ends
ln J]. Even lf a verb ends wlth ], lf lt does not end ln "lru" or "eru", lt ls always an
u-verb. However, there are a number of u-verbs that end ln "lru" or "eru" and there ls no way to
dlstlngulsh them from regular ru-verbs apart from memorlatlon. You can refer to the appendlx
at the end of thls lesson for a llst of such verbs. You can also refer to Jlm Breen's WWWJDIC
nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)cgi-Lin)cgiuzup)uL)uuudic?1C, lf you have any doubts. Ru-verb
are denoted as v1 whlle u-verbs are denoted as v5.
Because of the aural conslstency ln the rules, wlth practlce, u-verbs wlll start to "sound" llke u-verbs
and llkewlse for ru-verbs. Eventually, you'll be able to categorle new verbs just llke that wlthout
glvlng lt a second thought. Or at least, that should be the lntended goal.
33
>&N& U,5O O(-07- 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
.
.
Does not end ln lru/eru +bC%)E
Ends ln lru/eru )+bC%)E F-$1 &"6% %@,%?$-"#&
.How to classlfy ru-verbs and u-verbs
Sample ru-verbs
Z%)E rstu
G^ taberu
klru
l shlnjlru
neru
oklru
deru
kakeru
suteru
^ shlraberu
Sample u-verbs
Z%)E rstu
hanasu
klku
oyogu
asobu
matu
] nomu
naoru
J shlnu
kau
Nelther ru-verb nor u-verb
Z%)E rstu
suru
kuru
<@96?=%&
Here are some example sentences uslng ru-verbs, u-verbs, and exceptlon verbs.
Y IG^\- As for Allce, eat.
] 31I\- Jlm ls the one that plays.
d -f\- Bob also do.
u I\- There ls money. llt: As for money, lt exlsts.
pI\- As for me, buy.
I\- There ls cat. llt: As for cat, lt exlsts.
7D>D7 B??%#*-@v -)+w%)+ +bC%)E&
Here ls a llst of commonly used u-verbs that end ln "lru" or "eru". Thls llst ls categorled roughly
lnto three levels to help you focus on the verbs you need to learn. Thls llst ls not lntended to lnclude
every verb under the sun.
lru/eru u-verbs grouped roughly by level
89&-, (#$%)6%*-9$% B*C9#,%*


t
^



- l
34
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&X& +,.(20U, U,5O-
7DA g%39$-C% Z%)E&
Now that we've seen how to declare thlngs and perform actlons wlth verbs, we want to be able to
say the negatlve. In other words, we want to say that such-and-such actlon was ;"D performed.
Verbs are negated by conjugatlng to thelr negatlve form just llke the state-of-belng for nouns and
adjectlves. However, the rules are a tad more compllcated.
7DAD' !"#W+39$-#3 C%)E& -#$" $1% #%39$-C%
We wlll now make use of the verb classlcatlons we learned ln the last sectlon to dene the rules
for conjugatlon. But before we get lnto that, we need to cover one very lmportant exceptlon to the
negatlve conjugatlon rules, the verb ]. ] ls an u-verb used to express exlstence of
lnanlmate objects.
For example, lf you wanted to say that a chalr ls ln the room, you would use the verb ].
The eulvalent verb for anlmate objects such as people or anlmals ls ], whlch ls a normal
ru-verb. For example, lf you wanted to say that a :<#="; ls ln the room, you must use the verb
not ]. These two verbs ] and ] are ulte dlerent from all other verbs
because they descrlbe exlstence and are not an actual actlon. You also have to go through the
bother of plcklng the rlght one for lnanlmate and anlmate objects.
Anyway, the reason I brlng lt up here ls because the negatlve of ] ls ] meanlng
that somethlng does not exlst. Remember, thls ls an exceptlon so do not apply the normal rules of
negatlon to thls verb.
01% #%39$-C% "I QxyS -& Qz{SD
Here are the rules for all other verbs. To negate a ru-verb, you slmply drop ] and add ]
. For u-verbs, lt may be helpful to see the romanled verslon of the verb. You slmply drop the / u /
vowel sound and add "anal". Or, more preferably, you can refer back to the K?#9E9;9 D9AB<. You take
the last hlragana character whlch wlll always be ln the / u / row, move up two columns and replace
lt wlth the character ln the / a / row. For example ] changes to !].
One lmportant exceptlon to thls rule ls for verbs that end ln ]. You must substltute 1] for
]and not ]as the rule would suggest. You wlll also have to memorle the conjugatlons for
the two exceptlon verbs and ]. The followlng tables show the conjugatlon for sample verbs
and the exceptlon verbs.
.
.
)+bC%)E&v To conjugate ru-verbs to thelr negatlve, drop the last ] and attach
] to the result.
_
_
+bC%)E&v To conjugate u-verbs to thelr negatlve, rst replace the last / u / character wlth
the / a / sound eulvalent and attach ] to the result.
_ ] 7 7
_ ` One lmportant exceptlon ls verbs that end ln ]. For
these, you must replace ] wlth 1] ;"D ] and attach ] to the result.
_ 1 1
.How to conjugate verbs to the negatlve form
35
>&Y& *(-2 2,+-, 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
Sample ru-verbs
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
G^ G^

l l





^ ^
Sample u-verbs
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C% rstu rstu pg%3q
hanasu hanasanal
! klku klkanal
I oyogu oyoganal
asobu asobanal
matu matanal
] 7 nomu nomanal
naoru naoranal
J shlnu shlnanal
1 kau kawanal
Exceptlon Verbs
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%



= exceptlons partlcular to thls conjugatlon
<@96?=%&
Here are some example sentences uslng the negatlve form. To look these words up, use the llnk
labeled "Translate Words ln Japanese Text" from the WWWJDIC or just cllck here nttp:))uuu.cssc.
cnusn.cdu.uu)cgi-Lin)cgiuzup)uL)uuudic?01. It wlll reverse the conjugatlon and glve you the
dlctlonary form. And even what conjugatlons were used to boot! Here are the example sentences
from the last sectlon conjugated to the negatlve.
Y IG^\- As for Allce, does not eat.
] 31I\- Jlm ls the one that does not play.
d -f\- Bob also does not do.
u I\- There ls no money. llt: Money ls the thlng that does not exlst.
pI1\- As for me, not buy.
I\- There ls no cat. llt: As for cat, does not exlst.
7D| f9&$ 0%#&%
We wlll nlsh denlng all the baslc propertles of verbs by learnlng how to express the past and
past-negatlve tense of actlons. I wlll warn you ln advance that the conjugatlon rules ln thls sectlon
wlll be the most complex rules you wlll learn ln all of Japanese. On the one hand, once you have
thls sectlon nalled, all other rules of conjugatlon wlll seem slmple. On the other hand, you mlght
need to refer back to thls sectlon many tlmes before you nally get all the rules. You wlll probably
need a great deal of practlce untll you can become famlllar wlth all the dlerent conjugatlons.
7D|D' f9&$ $%#&% I") )+bC%)E&
We wlll start o wlth the easy ru-verb category. To change a ru-verb from the dlctlonary form lnto
the past tense, you slmply drop the ] and add ].
36
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&Y& *(-2 2,+-,
.
.
Drop the ] part of the ru-verb and add ]
_
_
.To change ru-verbs lnto the past tense
<@96?=%&
Y CI.G^\
- As for meal, ate.
] I.\
- As for movle, saw them all.
7D|D/ f9&$ $%#&% I") +bC%)E&
Changlng a u-verb from dlctlonary form to the past tense ls dlmcult because we must break up
u-verbs lnto four addltlonal categorles. These four categorles depend on the last character of the
verb. The table below lllustrates the dlerent sub-categorles. In addltlon, there ls one exceptlon to
the rules, whlch ls the verb ]. I've bundled lt wlth the regular exceptlon verbs ] and
] even though ] ls a regular u-verb ln all other conjugatlons.
Past tense conjugatlons for u-verbs
<#*-#3 g"#bf9&$ ,19#3%& $"DDD f9&$

Q Q
I I
] ] ]/I /I
J J J/I /I
/I /I
t t


Exceptlons
g"#bf9&$ f9&$


*
* exceptlons partlcular to thls conjugatlon
<@96?=%&
Y STI.\
- As for today, ran.
] `aI\
- Frlend ls the one that came.
d p/I\
- I also played.
37
>&Z& *(52074,- /-,1 H028 U,5O- 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
u I.\
- About homework, dld lt.
7D|D7 f9&$b#%39$-C% $%#&% I") 9== C%)E&
The conjugatlon rules for the past-negatlve tense are the same for 9BB verbs. You mlght have notlced
that the negatlve tense of just about everythlng always end ln ]. The conjugatlon rule for
the past-negatlve tense of verbs ls pretty much the same as all the other negatlve tenses that end
ln ]. You slmply take the negatlve tense of any verb, remove the ] from the ]
endlng, and replace lt wlth !].
.
.
Change the verb to the negatlve tense and replace the ] wlth !]
_ !
_ ! !!
.To change verbs lnto the past-negatlve tense
<@96?=%&
Y IG^!\
- As for Allce, dld not eat.
] 31I!\
- Jlm ls the one that dld not do.
d -f!!\
- Bob also dld not go.
u I!\
- There was no money. llt: As for money, dld not exlst.
pI1!\
- As for me, dld not buy.
I!\
- There was no cat. llt: As for cat, dld not exlst.
7D} f9)$-,=%& +&%* F-$1 C%)E& h~TTTl
In thls sectlon, we wlll learn some new partlcles essentlal for uslng verbs. We wlll learn how to
speclfy the dlrect object of a verb and the locatlon where a verb takes place whether lt's physlcal or
abstract.
38
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&Z& *(52074,- /-,1 H028 U,5O-
7D}D' 01% *-)%,$ "EW%,$ Q~S ?9)$-,=%
The rst partlcle we wlll learn ls the object partlcle because lt ls a very stralghtforward partlcle. The
] character ls attached to the end of a word to slgnlfy that that word ls the dlrect object of the
verb. Thls character ls essentlally never used anywhere else. That ls why the katakana eulvalent
]ls almost never used slnce partlcles are always wrltten ln hlragana. The ]character, whlle
technlcally pronounced as /wo/ essentlally sounds llke /o/ ln real speech. Here are some examples
of the dlrect object partlcle ln actlon.
<@96?=%&
Y [G^\
- Eat sh.
] 3+*/I\
- Drank julce.
Unllke the dlrect object we're famlllar wlth ln Engllsh, places can also be the dlrect object of motlon
verbs such as ] and ]. Slnce the motlon verb ls done D" the locatlon, the concept
of dlrect object ls the same ln Japanese. However, as you can see by the next examples, lt often
translates to somethlng dlerent ln Engllsh due to the sllght dlerence of the concept of dlrect object.
d \
- Almlessly walk through town. Llt: Almlessly walk town
u |\
- Run through expressway. Llt: Run expressway
When you use ] wlth a noun, the ] partlcle ls optlonal and you can treat the whole
[noun+ ] as one verb.
T.TIC\
- Study Japanese everyday.
>*P)I\
- Reglstered emall address.
7D}D/ 01% $9)3%$ QS ?9)$-,=%
The I] partlcle can speclfy a target of a verb. Thls ls dlerent from the ] partlcle ln whlch
the verb does somethlng D" the dlrect object. Wlth the I] partlcle, the verb does somethlng
D"!9#J the word assoclated wlth the I] partlcle. For example, the target of any motlon verb ls
specled by the I] partlcle.
<@96?=%&
Y -fITII\
- Bob went to Japan.
] I\
- Not go back home.
39
>&Z& *(52074,- /-,1 H028 U,5O- 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
d I\
- Come to room.
As you can see ln example d, the target partlcle always targets "to" rather than "from". If you
wanted to say, "come from" for example, you would need to use !], whlch means "from". If
you used I], lt would lnstead mean "come D"". !]ls also often palred wlth 7], whlch
means "up to".
u I.>7!\
- Allce came from Amerlca.
ST!iT7\
- Wlll do homework from today to tomorrow.
The ldea of a target ln Japanese ls very general and ls not restrlcted to motlon verbs. For example,
the locatlon of an object ls dened as the target of the verb for exlstence and . Tlme ls
also a common target. Here are some examples of non-motlon verbs and thelr targets
II\
- Cat ls ln room.
II\
- Chalr was ln the kltchen.
`aI\
- Met good frlend.
31II\
- Jlm wlll become doctor.
Y IQI\
- Went to llbrary last week.
Note: Don't forget to use ] for lnanlmate objects such as the chalr and ] for anlmate
objects such as the cat.
Whlle theI]partlcle ls not always reulred to lndlcate tlme, there ls a sllght dlerence ln meanlng
between uslng the target partlcle and not uslng anythlng at all. In the followlng examples, the target
partlcle makes the date a speclc target emphasllng that the frlend wlll go to Japan at that tlme.
Wlthout the partlcle, there ls no speclal emphasls.
YY `aI..TII\
- Next year, frlend go to Japan.
Y] `aI.ITII\
- Frlend go to Japan next year.
7D}D7 01% *-)%,$-"#9= QS ?9)$-,=%
Whlle ^]ls normally pronounced /he/, when lt ls belng used as a partlcle, lt ls always pronounced
/e/ . The prlmary dlerence between the I] and ^] partlcle ls that I] goes D" a
target as the nal, lntended destlnatlon both physlcal or abstract. The ^]partlcle, on the other
hand, ls used to express the fact that one ls settlng out towards DK< J?#<MD?"; of the target. As a
result, lt ls only used wlth dlrectlonal motlon verbs. It also does not guarantee whether the target ls
the nal lntended destlnatlon, only that one ls headlng towards that dlrectlon. In other words, the
I]partlcle stlcks to the destlnatlon whlle the ^]partlcle ls fuy about where one ls ultlmately
40
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&Z& *(52074,- /-,1 H028 U,5O-
headed. For example, lf we choose to replace I] wlth ^] ln the rst three examples of the
prevlous sectlon, the nuance changes sllghtly.
<@96?=%&
Y -fITI^\
- Bob headed towards Japan.
] ^\
- Not go home toward house.
d ^\
- Come towards room.
Note that we cannot use the ^]partlcle wlth verbs that have no physlcal dlrectlon. For example,
the followlng ls lncorrect.
^\
- Grammatlcally lncorrect verslon of I].
Thls does not mean to say that ^] cannot set out towards an abstract concept. In fact, because
of the fuy dlrectlonal meanlng of thls partlcle, the ^] partlcle can also be used to talk about
settlng out towards certaln future goals or expectatlons.
u ^!\
- Go towards vlctory.
7D}D; 01% ,"#$%@$+9= QS ?9)$-,=%
The ]partlcle wlll allow us to speclfy the context ln whlch the actlon ls performed. For example,
lf a person ate a sh, where dld he eat lt? If a person went to school, by what means dld she go?
Wlth what wlll you eat the soup? All of these uestlons can be answered wlth the ] partlcle.
Here are some examples.
<@96?=%&
Y \
- Saw at movle theater.
] /\
- Go home by bus.
d I$`CG^\
- Ate lunch at restaurant.
It may help to thlnk of ] as meanlng "by way of". Thls way, the same meanlng wlll klnd
of translate lnto what the sentence means. The examples wlll then read: "Saw by way of movle
theater", "Go home by way of bus", and "Ate lunch by way of restaurant."
41
>&Z& *(52074,- /-,1 H028 U,5O- 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
&-#3 QS F-$1 QS
The word for "what" ls ulte annoylng because whlle lt's usually read as I], sometlmes lt
ls read as /] dependlng on how lt's used. And slnce lt's always wrltten ln Kanjl, you can't tell
whlch lt ls. I would suggest stlcklng wlth I] untll someone corrects you for when lt should be
/]. Wlth the ] partlcle, lt ls read as I] as well. Hold the mouse cursor over the
word to check the readlng.
u h
- Came by the way of what?
/\
- Came by the way of bus.
Here's the confuslng part. There ls a colloulal verslon of the word "why" that ls used much more
often than the less colloulal verslon ]or the more forceful |]. It ls also wrltten as
] but lt ls read as /]. Thls ls a completely separate word and has nothlng to do wlth
the ] partlcle.
Y h
- Why dld you come?
] I!\
- Because I am free as ln have nothlng to do.
The !] here meanlng "because" ls dlerent from the !] we just learned and wlll be
covered later ln the compound sentence sectlon. Baslcally the polnt ls that the two sentences, whlle
wrltten the same way, are read dlerently and mean completely dlerent thlngs. Don't worry. Thls
causes less confuslon than you thlnk because 95% of the tlme, the latter ls used rather than the
former. And even when I] ls lntended, the context wlll leave no mlstake on whlch one ls
belng used. Even ln thls short example snlppet, you can tell whlch lt ls by looklng at the answer to
the uestlon.
7D}D> 21%# =",9$-"# -& $1% $"?-,
There are tlmes when the locatlon of an actlon ls also the toplc of a sentence. You can attach the
toplc partlcle I] and ] to the three partlcles that lndlcate locatlon I].^].]
when the locatlon ls the toplc. We'll see how locatlon mlght become the toplc ln the followlng
examples.
<@96?=% '
-fg bIh
- [Dld you] go to school?
g !!\
- Dldn't go.
-fg QIIh
- What about llbrary?
g QI!!\
- Also dldn't go to llbrary.
42
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&[& 25(+-020U, (+1 0+25(+-020U, U,5O-
In thls example, Bob brlngs up a new toplc llbrary and so the locatlon becomes the toplc. The
sentence ls actually an abbrevlated verslon of
QIIh] whlch you can ascertaln from the context.
<@96?=% /
-fg G^h
- Eat where?
g ^I$`Ih
- How about Itallan restaurant?
Bob asks, "Where shall we eat?" and Allce suggests an Itallan restaurant. A sentence llke, "How
about..." usually brlngs up a new toplc because the person ls suggestlng somethlng new. In thls
case, the locatlon restaurant ls belng suggested so lt becomes the toplc.
7D}DA 21%# *-)%,$ "EW%,$ -& $1% $"?-,
The dlrect object partlcle ls dlerent from partlcles related to locatlon ln that you cannot use any
other partlcles at the same tlme. For example, golng by the prevlous sectlon, you mlght have
guessed that you can say I] to express a dlrect object that ls also the toplc but thls ls not
the case. A toplc can be a dlrect object wlthout uslng the ] partlcle. In fact, puttlng the ]
partlcle ln wlll make lt wrong.
<@96?=%&
Y TIC\
- Learn Japanese.
] TICI.\
- About Japanese, wlll learn lt.
Please take care to not make thls mlstake.
TICI.\
- [Thls ls lncorrect.]
7D. 0)9#&-$-C% 9#* (#$)9#&-$-C% Z%)E&
In Japanese, sometlmes there are two types of the same verb often referred to as D#9;=?D?\< and
?;D#9;=?D?\< \<#A=. The dlerence between the two ls that one verb ls an actlon done by an actlve
agent whlle the other ls somethlng that occurs wlthout a dlrect agent. In Engllsh, thls ls sometlmes
expressed wlth the same verb, such as: "The ball dropped" vs "I dropped the ball" but ln Japanese
lt becomes -*PI] vs -*P]. Sometlmes, the verbs changes when
translated lnto Engllsh such as "To put lt ln the box" I vs "To enter the box" I but
thls ls only fromthe dlerences ln the languages. If you thlnk ln Japanese, lntransltlve and transltlve
verbs have the same meanlng except that one lndlcates that someone had a dlrect hand ln the actlon
dlrect object whlle the other does not. Whlle knowlng the termlnology ls not lmportant, lt ls
lmportant to know whlch ls whlch ln order to use the correct partlcle for the correct verb.
43
>&[& 25(+-020U, (+1 0+25(+-020U, U,5O- 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
Slnce the baslc meanlng and the kanjl ls the same, you can learn two verbs for the prlce of just one
kanjl! Let's look at a sample llst of lntransltlve and transltlve verbs.
Transltlve and Intransltlve Verbs
0)9#&-$-C% (#$)9#&-$-C%
to drop to fall
to take out to come out; to leave
to lnsert to enter
to open to be opened
to close 7 to be closed
to attach to be attached
to erase to dlsappear
to extract to be extracted
7D.D' f95 9$$%#$-"# $" ?9)$-,=%&e
The lmportant lesson to take away here ls to learn how to use the correct partlcle for the cor-
rect type of verb. It mlght be dlmcult at rst to grasp whlch ls whlch when learnlng new verbs
or whether there even ls a transltlve/lntransltlve dlstlnctlon. The good news ls that the WWWJDIC
nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)-uL)uuudic.nt1 now lndlcates whether a verb ls transltlve vt
or lntransltlve vl when the dlstlnctlon applles. However, I have not tested how extenslve the
coverage ls so I recommend looklng at examples sentences from elther the WWWJDIC nttp:
))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)-uL)uuudic.nt1 or Yahoo! Q nttp:))dic.yuncc.cc.p). For ex-
ample, looklng at example sentences for ] from the WWWJDIC nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.
cdu.uu)-uL)cgi-Lin)uuudic.cgi?1Q{C0{u6{|4{81{|4{L8_1_ or Yahoo! Q nttp:))dic.yuncc.cc.
p)dscuzcn?cnc=U1l-8ap={L8{81{|4{L8{81{01{L8{82{88astypc=uadtypc=8, you can see that lt ls a
transltlve verb from the use of the ] partlcle.
<@96?=%&
Y pI\- I am the one that turned on the llghts.
] I\- The llghts turned on.
d \- Turn o the llghts.
u I\- Llghts turn o.
oIh- Who opened the wlndow?
Ih- Why has the wlndow opened?
The lmportant thlng to remember ls that lntransltlve verbs M9;;"D have a dlrect object because there
ls no dlrect actlng agent. The followlng sentences are grammatlcally lncorrect.
\- ] should be replaced wlth I] or I]
\- ] should be replaced wlth I] or I]
h- ] should be replaced wlth I] or I]
The only tlme you can use the ] partlcle for lntransltlve verbs ls when a locatlon ls the dlrect
object of a motlon verb as brley descrlbed ln the prevlous sectlon.
Y \- I left room.
44
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&%]& 1,-750*20U, -/O3510+(2, 74(/-,- (+1 -,+2,+7, 351,5
7D' c%&,)-?$-C% 4+E")*-#9$% !=9+&%& 9#* 4%#$%#,% n)*%)
7D'D' 0)%9$-#3 C%)E& 9#* &$9$%b"IbE%-#3 =-G% 9*W%,$-C%&
Have you notlced how, many forms of verbs and the state-of-belng conjugate ln a slmllar manner
to l-adjectlves? Well, that ls because, ln a sense, they are adjectlves. For example, conslder the
sentence: "The person who dld not eat went to bank." The "dld not eat" descrlbes the person and ln
Japanese, you can dlrectly modlfy the noun 'person' wlth the clause 'dld not eat' just llke a regular
adjectlve. Thls very slmple reallatlon wlll allow us to modlfy a noun wlth any arbltrary verb phrase!
7D'D/ &-#3 &$9$%b"IbE%-#3 &+E,=9+&%& 9& 9*W%,$-C%&
The negatlve, past, and negatlve past conjugatlons of verbs can be used just llke adjectlves to
dlrectly modlfy nouns. However, we cannot do thls wlth the plaln non-past state-of-belng uslng
I]. I told you thls was a paln ln the butt. The language has partlcles for thls purpose, whlch
wlll be covered ln the next sectlon.
.
.
"+ ,9##"$ +&% QdS $" *-)%,$=5 6"*-I5 9 #"+# F-$1 9 #"+# =-G% 5"+ ,9# F-$1 QdS
TQz{ST9#* QzSD
.Note
You can, however, have a strlng of nouns placed together when they're not meant to modlfy each
other. For example, ln a phrase such as "Internatlonal Educatlon Center" you can see that lt ls just a
strlng of nouns wlthout any grammatlcal modlcatlons between them. It's not an "Educatlon Center
that ls Internatlonal" or a "Center for Internatlonal Educatlon", etc., lt's just "Internatlonal Educatlon
Center". In Japanese, you can express thls as slmply1`^]or 1`^*]. You wlll see
thls chalnlng of nouns ln many comblnatlons. Sometlmes a certaln comblnatlon ls so commonly used
that lt has almost become a separate word and ls even llsted as a separate entry ln some dlctlonarles.
Some examples lnclude: r].].or ]. If you have dlmcultles ln
gurlng out where to separate the words, you can paste them lnto the WWWJDICs Translate Words
ln Japanese Text nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)cgi-Lin)cgiuzup)uL)uuudic?01 functlon and lt'll
parse the words for you most of the tlme.
<@96?=%&
Here are some examples of dlrect noun modlcatlons wlth a M";GCE9D<J noun clause. The noun
clause has been hlghllghted.
Y bclrI.bI!\
- Person who ls not student do not go to school.
] IIrI\
- The Allce that was a chlld became a ne adult.
d `al!I.`aI\
- Allce who was not a frlend, became a good frlend.
u II-fI.\
- Bob who was a doctor last week ult hls job.
45
>&%]& 1,-750*20U, -/O3510+(2, 74(/-,- (+1 -,+2,+7, 351,5 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
7D'D7 &-#3 &+E")*-#9$% C%)E ,=9+&%& 9& 9*W%,$-C%&
Verbs clauses can also be used just llke adjectlves to modlfy nouns. The followlng examples show
us how thls wlll allow us to make ulte detalled and compllcated sentences. The verb clause ls
hlghllghted.
<@96?=%&
Y IrIoh
- Who ls person who watched movle last week?
] -fI.rI\
- Bob ls a person who always studles.
d -``aI-fI\
- Frlend who buy red pants ls Bob.
u CG^!rI.I\
- Person who dld not eat dlnner went to the bank she saw at movle.
7D'D; H9?9#%&% 4%#$%#,% n)*%)
Now that we've learned the concept of subordlnate clauses and how they are used as bulldlng
blocks to make sentences, I can go over how Japanese sentence orderlng works. There's thls myth
that keeps oatlng around about Japanese sentence order that contlnues to plague many hapless
beglnners to Japanese. Here's how lt goes.
The most baslc sentence structure ln Engllsh can be descrlbed as conslstlng of the followlng elements
ln thls speclc order: [Subject] [Verb] [Object]. A sentence ls not grammatlcally correct lf any of
those elements are mlsslng or out of order.
Japanese students wlll tell you that Japanese, on the other hand, whlle frothlng at the mouth, ls
completely backwards!! Even some Japanese teacher mlght tell you that the baslc Japanese sentence
order ls [Subject] [Object] [Verb]. Thls ls a classlc example of trylng to t Japanese lnto an Engllsh-
based type of thlnklng. Of course, we all know rlght? that the real order of the fundamental
Japanese sentence ls: [Verb]. Anythlng else that comes before the verb doesn't have to come ln
any partlcular order and nothlng more than the verb ls reulred to make a complete sentence. In
addltlon, the verb must always come at the end. That's the whole polnt of even havlng partlcles so
that they can ldentlfy what grammatlcal functlon a word serves no matter where lt ls ln the sentence.
In fact, nothlng wlll stop us from maklng a sentence wlth [Object] [Subject] [Verb] or just [Object]
[Verb]. The followlng sentences are all complete and correct because the verb ls at the end of the
sentence.
:)9669$-,9==5 ,"6?=%$% 9#* ,"))%,$=5 ")*%)%* &%#$%#,%&
Y pI!"G^\
] !pI"G^\
d "pI!G^\
u "G^\
G^\
46
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&%%& +3/+Q5,4(2,1 *(52074,-
So don't sweat over whether your sentence ls ln the correct order. Just remember the followlng
rules.
.
.
1. A complete sentence reulres a maln verb that must come at the end. Thls also lncludes
the lmplled state-of-belng.
_ G^
_ bc I
2. Complete sentences subordlnate clauses can be used to modlfy nouns to make sentences
wlth nested subordlnate clauses. Except for one exceptlon, see above
_ "G^bcI!I\
.Japanese sentence order
7D'' g"+#b)%=9$%* f9)$-,=%& hTRTTl
7D''D' 01% =9&$ $1)%% ?9)$-,=%& pg"$eq
We have already gone over very powerful constructs that can express almost anythlng we want. We
wlll see the 0] partlcle wlll glve us even more power by allowlng us to dene a generlc, abstract
noun. We wlll also learn how to modlfy nouns dlrectly wlth nouns. The three partlcles we wlll cover
can group nouns together ln dlerent ways.
Thls ls the last lesson that wlll be speclcally focused on partlcles but that does ;"D mean that there
are no more partlcles to learn. We wlll learn many more partlcles along the way but they may not be
labeled as such. As long as you know what they mean and how to use them, lt ls not too lmportant
to know whether they are partlcles or not.
7D''D/ 01% (#,=+&-C% QS ?9)$-,=%
The ] partlcle ls slmllar to the ] partlcle ln that lt contalns a meanlng of lncluslon. It can
comblne two or more nouns together to mean "and".
Y v*`.*[G^\- Ate sh by means of fork and spoon.
] I#$%Q\- Bought book, magalne, and post card.
Another slmllar use of the ]partlcle ls to show an actlon that was done together wlth someone
or somethlng else.
Y `a\- Talked wlth frlend.
] c\- Met wlth teacher.
7D''D7 01% Z93+% Y-&$-#3 QRS 9#* QS ?9)$-,=%&
The '] partlcle, just llke the ] partlcle, ls used to llst one or more nouns except that lt
ls much more vague than the ] partlcle. It lmplles that there may be other thlngs that are
47
>&%%& +3/+Q5,4(2,1 *(52074,- 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
unllsted and that not all ltems ln the llst may apply. In Engllsh, you mlght thlnk of thls as an "and/or,
etc." type of llstlng.
Y d'7(v'Jv`I.h- You don't need thlngs llke drlnk, cup, or napkln,
etc.?
] &':1\\- Buy thlngs llke shoes and shlrt, etc...
!] also has the same meanlng as '] but ls a sllghtly more colloulal expresslon.
Y d!7(v!Jv`I.h- You don't need thlngs llke drlnk, cup, or napkln,
etc.?
] &!:1\\- Buy thlngs llke shoes and shlrt, etc...
7D''D; 01% QS ?9)$-,=%
The 0] partlcle has many uses and lt ls a very powerful partlcle. It ls lntroduced here because
llke the ] and '] partlcle, lt can be used to connect one or more nouns. Let's look at a few
examples.
Y -f0I\- Book of Bob.
] I0-f\- Bob of book.
The rst sentence essentlally means, "Bob's book." not a blble chapter. The second sentence
means, "Book's Bob" whlch ls probably a mlstake. I've translated Y as "book of Bob" because the
0] partlcle doesn't always lmply possesslon as the next example shows.
Y -fI.>70b0bcI\- Bob ls student of college of Amerlca.
In normal Engllsh, thls would translate to, "Bob ls a student of an Amerlcan college." The order of
modlcatlon ls backwards so Bob ls a student of a college that ls Amerlcan. bc0b0>7]
means "Amerlca of college of student" whlch ls probably an error and makes llttle sense. Amerlca
of student's college?
The noun that ls belng modled can be omltted lf the context clearly lndlcates what ls belng omltted.
The followlng hlghllghted redundant words can be omltted.
Y 0:1\Io0:1\h- Whose shlrt ls that shlrt?
] -f0:1\I\- It ls shlrt of Bob.
to become:
Y 0:1\Io0h- Whose shlrt ls that?
] -f0I\- It ls of Bob.
0] ls an abbrevlatlon of + 0] so lt dlrectly modles the noun because the 0]
partlcle ls lntrlnslcally attached. Other words lnclude 0] from 0] and 0] from
0].
The 0] partlcle ln thls usage essentlally replaces the noun and takes over the role as a noun
ltself. We can essentlally treat adjectlves and verbs just llke nouns by addlng the 0] partlcle to
lt. The partlcle then becomes a generlc noun, whlch we can treat just llke a regular noun.
Y '0I.!1\- Thlng that ls whlte ls cute.
] ()I0*\- Forgot the event of golng to class.
Now we can use the dlrect object, toplc, and ldentler partlcle wlth verbs and adjectlves. We don't
necessarlly have to use the 0] partlcle here. We can use the noun ], whlch ls a generlc
object or ] for a generlc event. For example, we can also say:
Y 'I.!1\- Thlng that ls whlte ls cute.
] ()I*\- Forgot the thlng of golng to class.
48
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&%%& +3/+Q5,4(2,1 *(52074,-
However, the 0]partlcle ls very useful ln that you don't have to speclfy a partlcular noun. In the
next examples, the 0] partlcle ls not replaclng any partlcular noun, lt just allows us to modlfy
verb and adjectlve clauses llke noun clauses. The subordlnate clauses are hlghllghted.
Y T0I+\- The thlng of studylng every day ls tough.
] T,lG^0I.-'\- It's not lnterestlng to eat same thlng every day.
You mlght have notlced that the word ,l] ls dlrectly modlfylng ] even though lt obvlously
lsn't an l-adjectlve. I have no ldea why thls ls posslble. One explanatlon mlght be that lt ls actually
an adverb, whlch we wlll soon learn doesn't reulre any partlcles.
Otherwlse, even when substltutlng 0] for a noun, you stlll need the ] to modlfy the noun
when a na-adjectlve ls belng used.
Y e!I.0I\- Qulet room ls room of Allce.
becomes:
Y e!0I.0I\- Qulet one ls room of Allce.
*Warnlng: Thls may make thlngs seem llke you can replace any arbltrary nouns wlth 0]but thls
ls not so. It ls lmportant to realle that the sentence must be about the clause and not the noun that
was replaced. For example, ln the last sectlon we had the sentence, bclrI. bI
!]. You may thlnk that you can just replace r] wlth 0] to produce bcl0I.
bI!]. But ln fact, thls makes no sense because the sentence ls now about the clause "Is
not student". The sentence becomes, "The thlng of not belng student does not go to school" whlch
ls complete glbberlsh because not belng a student ls a state and lt doesn't make sense for a state
to go anywhere much less school.
7D''D> 01% QS ?9)$-,=% 9& %@?=9#9$-"#
The0]partlcle attached at the end of the last clause of a sentence can also convey an explanatory
tone to your sentence. For example, lf someone asked you lf you have tlme, you mlght respond,
"The thlng ls I'm klnd of busy rlght now." The abstract generlc noun of "the thlng ls..." can also be
expressed wlth the 0] partlcle. Thls type of sentence has an embedded meanlng that explalns
the reasons for somethlng else.
The sentence would be expressed llke so:
Y SI.0\- The thlng ls that I'm busy now.
Thls sounds very soft and femlnlne. In fact, adult males wlll almost always add a declaratlve I]
unless they want to sound cute for some reason.
] SI.0I\- The thlng ls that I'm busy now.
However, slnce the declaratlve I]cannot be used ln a uestlon, the same 0]ln uestlons do
not carry a femlnlne tone at all and ls used by both males and females.
d SI.0h- Is lt that you are busy now? gender-neutral
To express state of belng, when the 0]partlcle ls used to convey thls explanatory tone, we need
to add ] to dlstlngulsh lt from the 0] partlcle that slmply means "of".
Y 310I\- It ls of Jlm. It ls Jlm's.
] 310I\- It ls Jlm wlth explanatory tone.
Besldes thls one case, everythlng else remalns the same as before.
In actuallty, whlle thls type of explanatory tone ls used all the tlme, 0I] ls usually substltuted
by /I]. Thls ls probably due to the fact that /I] ls easler to say than 0I]. Thls
grammar can have what seems llke many dlerent meanlng because not only can lt be used wlth
49
>&%%& +3/+Q5,4(2,1 *(52074,- 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
all forms of adjectlves, nouns, and verbs lt ltself can 9=&" be conjugated just llke the state of belng.
A conjugatlon chart wlll show you what thls means.
There's really nothlng new here. The rst chart ls just addlng/I]or /I] to a conjugated
verb, noun, or adjectlve. The second chart adds /I] or /I] to a non-conjugated verb,
noun, adjectlve and then conjugates the I] part of /I] just llke a regular state of belng for
nouns and na-adjectlves. Just don't forget to attach the ] for nouns as well as na-adjectlves.
/I] attached to dlerent conjugatlons You may substltute 0] or 0I] for /I]
g"+#wg9bB*W Z%)Ew(bB*W
f=9-# bc/I ]/I
g%39$-C% bcl/I 7/I
f9&$ bcI/I /I/I
f9&$bg%3 bcl!/I 7!/I
/I] ltself ls conjugated You may substltute 0] for /] and 0] or 0I] for /I]
g"+#wg9bB*W Z%)Ew(bB*W
f=9-# bc/I ]/I
g%39$-C% bc/l ]/l
f9&$ bc/I ]/I
f9&$bg%3 bc/l! ]/l!
I would say that the past and past-negatlve forms for noun/na-adjectlve ln the second chart are
almost never used especlally wlth 0] but they are presented for completeness.
The cruclal dlerence between uslng the explanatory 0]and not uslng anythlng at all ls that you
are telllng the llstener, "Look, here's the reason" as opposed to slmply lmpartlng new lnformatlon.
For example, lf someone asked you, "Are you busy now?" you can slmply answer, SI.].
However, lf someone asked you, "How come you can't talk to me?" slnce you obvlously have some
explalnlng to do, you would answer, SI.0] or SI./I]. Thls grammar ls
lndlspensable for seeklng explanatlons ln uestlons. For lnstance, lf you want to ask, "Hey, lsn't lt
late?" you can't just ask, /h] because that means, "It's not late?" You need to lndlcate
that you are seeklng explanatlon ln the form of //lh].
Let's see some examples of the types of sltuatlons where thls grammar ls used. The examples wlll
have llteral translatlon to make lt easler to see how the meanlng stays the same and carrles over
lnto what would be very dlerent types of sentences ln normal Engllsh. A more natural Engllsh
translatlon ls provlded as well because the llteral translatlons can get a blt convoluted.
<@96?=% '
g I0h- Where ls lt that you are golng?
-fg ()I/I\- It ls that I go to class.
Allce: Where are you golng? Seeklng explanatlon
Bob: I'm golng to class. Explanatory
<@96?=% /
g S.()I/lh- Isn't lt that there ls class now?
-fg SI./I\- Now lt ls that there ls no class.
Allce: Don't you have class now? Expectlng that there ls class
Bob: No, there ls no class now. Explanatory
50
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&%'& /-0+. (1U,5O- (+1 .3O0
<@96?=% 7
g S.()I/lh- Isn't lt that there lsn't class now?
-fg /.\- No, there ls.
Allce: Don't you not have class now? Expectlng that there ls no class
Bob: No, I do have class.
<@96?=% ;
g 0rI/l!0h- Wasn't lt that that person was the one to buy?
-fg /.cI/I\- No, lt ls that teacher ls the one to buy.
Allce: Wasn't that person golng to buy? Expectlng that the person would buy
Bob: No, the teacher ls golng to. Explanatory
<@96?=% >
g 0CG^/l!\- It ls that breakfast wasn't to eat.
-fg h- Why?
Allce: Should not have eaten breakfast, you know. Explalnlng that breakfast wasn't to be eaten
Bob: How come?
Don't worry lf you are thoroughly confused by now, we wlll see many more examples along the
way. Once you get the sense of how everythlng works, lt's better to forget the Engllsh because the
double and trlple negatlves can get ulte confuslng such as Example 3. However, ln Japanese lt ls a
perfectly normal expresslon, as you wlll begln to realle once you get accustomed to Japanese.
7D'/ &-#3 B*C%)E& 9#* :"E-
7D'/D' 215 9*C%)E& 9#* 3"E-M
Well, the two are not related to each other but I have declded to group them ln one lesson because
we wlll be coverlng only the two most common gobl for now and lt ls too short to be a separate
lesson ln ltself.
7D'/D/ f)"?%)$-%& "I B*C%)E&
Unllke Engllsh, changlng adjectlves to adverbs ls a very slmple and stralghtforward process. In addl-
tlon, slnce the system of partlcles make sentence orderlng exlble, adverbs can be placed anywhere
ln the clause that lt applles to long as lt comes A<^"#< the verb that lt refers to. As usual, we have
two separate rules: one for l-adjectlves, and one for na-adjectlves.
51
>&%'& /-0+. (1U,5O- (+1 .3O0 78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5
.
.
l-adjectlves: Substltute the ] wlth ].
_ 1 1
na-adjectlves: Attach the target partlcle I].
_ I
.How to change an adjectlve to an adverb
Y -fI0C1G^\- Bob ulckly ate breakfast.
The adverb 1] ls a llttle dlerent from the Engllsh word 'fast' ln that lt can mean ulckly ln
terms of speed "# tlme. In other words, Bob may have eaten hls breakfast early or he may have
eaten lt ulckly dependlng on the context. In other types of sentences such as 1], lt
ls ulte obvlous that lt probably means ulckly and not early. Of course thls also depends on the
context.
] I230I\- Allce dld her own room toward clean.
The llteral translatlon klnd of glves you a sense of why the target partlcle ls used. There ls some
argument agalnst calllng thls an adverb at all but lt ls convenlent for us to do so because of the
grouplng of l-adjectlves and na-adjectlves. Thlnklng of lt as an adverb, we can lnterpret the sentence
to mean: "Allce dld her room cleanly." or less llterally: "Allce cleaned her room." ]llterally
means "pretty" but lf lt helps, you can thlnk of lt as, "Allce prettled up her own room."
Note: Not all adverbs are derlved from adjectlves. Some words llke 4] and /] are
adverbs ln themselves wlthout any conjugatlon. These words can be used wlthout partlcles just llke
regular adverbs.
Y /\- Saw a lot of movles.
] 56.4G^\- Lately, don't eat at all.
Let's look at more examples of adverb usage.
Y -f07I.89\- Bob's volce ls falrly large.
] 0:I.56+1\- Thls town had changed greatly lately.
d Q0;I.e!I\- Wlthln the llbrary, [we] do thlngs uletly.
7D'/D7 219$J& 9 3"E-M
In thls sectlon, we wlll cover the two most commonly used gobl. C<] llterally means "language
tall" and lt slmply refers to anythlng that comes at the end of a sentence or a word. In thls gulde, I
wlll use lt to descrlbe the one or two hlragana characters that always come at the end of sentences
due to the lack of better termlnology. These endlngs are often very hard to explaln because many
do not actually have a speclc meanlng. But they can change the 'sound' or 'feel' of a sentence and
add some est and pep to the sentence. The two we wlll cover here do have meanlngs and they are
used ulte often.
7D'/D; 01% QS 3"E-
People usually add 1] to the end of thelr sentence when they are looklng for and expectlng
agreement to what they are saylng. Thls ls eulvalent to saylng, "rlght?" or "lsn't lt?" ln Engllsh.
<@96?=% '
-fg =I1\- Good weather, huh?
g 1\- That ls so, lsn't lt?
52
78(*2,5 >& O(-07 .5(66(5 >&%'& /-0+. (1U,5O- (+1 .3O0
The llteral translatlon of 1]sounds a blt odd but lt baslcally means somethlng llke, "Sure ls".
Males would probably say, I1].
<@96?=% /
g I1\- That was lnterestlng movle, wasn't lt?
-fg h4!\- Huh? No, lt wasn't lnterestlng at all.
Slnce Allce ls expectlng agreement that the movle was lnterestlng Bob ls surprlsed because he dldn't
nd the movle lnterestlng at all. ] ls a
sound of surprlse and confuslon.
7D'/D> 01% QVS 3"E-
When e]ls attached to the end of a sentence, lt means that the speaker ls lnformlng the llstener
of somethlng new. In Engllsh, we mlght say thls wlth a, "You know..." such as the sentence, "You
know, I'm actually a genlus."
<@96?=% '
g V>Ie\- You know, there ls no tlme.
-fg ?@Ie\- It's ok, you know.
<@96?=% /
g STI=I1\- Good weather today, huh?
-fg /\.iTAIBe\- Yeah. But lt wlll raln tomorrow, you know.
7D'/DA !"6E-#-#3 E"$1 $" 3%$ QVS
You can also comblne the two gobl we just learned to create e1]. Thls ls essentlally used when
you want to lnform the llstener of some new polnt you're trylng to make and when you're seeklng
agreement on lt at the same tlme. When comblnlng the two, the order must always be e1].
You cannot reverse the order.
<@96?=%
g -fI.[IM/Ie1\- You know, you llke sh, dontcha?
-fg I1\- That ls so, huh?
53
!19?$%) ;
<&&%#$-9= :)9669)
We have learned the baslc foundatlon of the Japanese language. Now that we have a general
knowledge of how Japanese works, we can now extend that by learnlng speclc grammar for varlous
sltuatlons. Thls sectlon wlll go over what ls consldered to be essentlal grammar for baslc practlcal
Japanese. You wlll begln to see fewer llteral translatlons ln order to emphasle the new grammar
now that you should have a good understandlng of the baslc fundamental grammar. For example,
ln sentences where the subject has not been specled, I mlght slmply speclfy the subject ln the
translatlon as 'he' even though lt may very well be "we" or "them" dependlng on the context.
Thls sectlon starts wlth transformlng what we have learned so far lnto a more unassumlng and pollter
form. In any language, there are ways to word thlngs dlerently to express a feellng of deference
or pollteness. Even Engllsh has dlerences such as saylng, "May I..." vs "Can I...". You may speak
one way to your professor and another way to your frlends. However, Japanese ls dlerent ln that
not only does the type of vocabulary change, the grammatlcal structure for <\<#_ =<;D<;M< changes
as well. There ls a dlstlnct and clear llne dlerentlatlng pollte and casual types of speech. On the
one hand, the rules clearly tell you how to structure your sentences for dlerent soclal contexts. On
the other hand, every sentence you speak must be conjugated to the proper level of pollteness. In
sectlon 3, we wlll cover the pollte verslon of Japanese, whlch ls reulred for speaklng to people of
hlgher soclal posltlon or to people you are unfamlllar wlth.
Thls sectlon wlll then contlnue to cover the most useful major types of grammar ln Japanese. For
thls reason, we wlll learn the most common conjugatlons such as the te-form, potentlal, condltlonal,
and volltlonal. The latter sectlons are ln no partlcular order and nelther does lt need to be. The
grammar that ls presented here ls essentlal whlch means that you have to learn lt all anyway and
learn them well.
;D' f"=-$% ")6 9#* Z%)E 4$%6& hTl
;D'D' g"$ E%-#3 )+*% -# H9?9#
The Japanese we have learned so far ls all well and good lf you're 5-years old. Unfortunately, adults
are expected to use a pollter verslon of the language called CDC when addresslng certaln people.
People you wlll probably use CDC wlth are: 1 people of hlgher soclal rank, and 2 people you are
not famlllar wlth. Decldlng when to use whlch language ls pretty much a matter of 'feel'. However,
lt ls a good ldea to stlck wlth one form for each person.
Later probably much later, we wlll learn an even pollter verslon of the language called honorlc
EFC and humble GHC form. It wlll be more useful than you may thlnk because store clerks,
54
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%& *3402, R356 (+1 U,5O -2,6-
receptlonlsts, and such wlll speak to you ln those forms. But for now, let's concentrate on just CD
C, whlch ls the base for EFC and GHC.
Fortunately, lt ls not dlmcult to change casual speech to pollte speech. There may be some sllght
changes to the vocabulary for example, "yes" and "no" become I]and ]respectlvely
ln pollte speech, and very colloulal types of gobl obvlously are not used ln pollte speech. Don't
worry; we haven't even gone over those yet. Essentlally, the only maln dlerence between pollte
and casual speech comes at the very end of the sentence. You cannot even tell whether a person ls
speaklng ln pollte or casual speech untll the sentence ls nlshed.
;D'D/ 01% &$%6 "I C%)E&
In order to conjugate all u-verbs and ru-verbs lnto thelr respectlve pollte forms, we wlll rst learn
about the stem of verbs. Thls ls often called the @9=CQ=D<@ ln Japanese textbooks but we wlll call
lt just the =D<@ because lt ls used ln many more conjugatlons than just lts masu-form. The stem ls
really great because lt's very easy to produce and ls useful ln many dlerent types of grammar.
.
.
ru-verbs - Remove the ]
_ G^ G^
u-verbs - The last vowel sound changes from an / u / vowel sound to an / l / vowel sound.
_
Exceptlons - ] becomes ] and ] becomes ].
.Rules for extractlng the stem of verbs
The stem when used by ltself can be a very speclalled and llmlted way of creatlng nouns from
verbs. Whlle the 0] partlcle allows you to talk about verbs as lf they were nouns, the stem
actually turns verbs lnto nouns. In fact, ln very rare cases, the stem ls used more often than the
verb ltself. For example, the stem of I]! ls used more often than the verb ltself. The
movle, "Flsts of Fury" ls translated as I0JK] and not IJK]. In fact, I] wlll
most llkely be read as ], a completely dlerent verb wlth the same meanlng and kanjl!
There are a number of speclc nouns such as Ld] that are really verb stems that are used llke
regular nouns. However, ln general we cannot take any verb and make lt lnto a noun. For example,
the followlng sentence ls wrong.
d\- Thls sentence makes sense but no one talks llke thls
However, a useful grammar that works ln general for stems of all verbs ls uslng the stem as a target
wlth a motlon verb almost always ]and ]ln thls case. Thls grammar means, "to go
or to come to do [some verb]". Here's an example.
Y iT.I\- Tomorrow, go to see movle.
I] ls the stem of ] comblned wlth the target partlcle I].
The motlon target partlcle ^]sounds llke you're llterally golng or comlng to somethlng whlle the
I] partlcle lmplles that you are golng or comlng for the purpose of dolng somethlng.
Y MT.`aIO^\
- Yesterday, frlend came to a playlng actlvlty. Sounds a blt strange
] MT.`aIOI\
- Yesterday, frlend came to play.
55
L&%& *3402, R356 (+1 U,5O -2,6- 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
The expresslon NdI] meanlng "to look forward to" ls formed from grammar slmllar to
thls but ls a speclal case and should be consldered a set expresslon.
Other verbs are also sometlmes attached to the stem to create new verbs. For example, when
] ls attached to the stem of ], whlch ls ], you get ] meanlng "to break
out lnto a run". Other examples lnclude tO], whlch means "to swltch over to somethlng
else", and PQ], whlch means "to add somethlng by attachlng lt". You can see how the
separate meanlngs of the two verbs are comblned to create the new comblned verb. For example,
R] means "to start talklng", comblnlng the meanlng, "to speak" and "to brlng out". There
are no general rules here, you need to just memorle these comblned verbs as separate verbs ln
thelr own rlght.
Thlngs that are wrltten ln a formal context such as newspaper artlcles also use the stem as a
conjunctlve verb. We wlll come back to thls later ln the formal expresslon lesson.
;D'D7 &-#3 QS $" 69G% C%)E& ?"=-$%
Of course, the reason I lntroduced the verb stem ls to learn how to conjugate verbs lnto thelr pollte
form... the masu-form! The masu-form must always come at the end of a complete sentence and
never lnslde a modlfylng subordlnate clause. When we learn compound sentences, we wlll see that
each sub-sentence of the compound sentence can end ln masu-form as well.
To conjugate verbs lnto the masu-form, you attach dlerent conjugatlons of 7] to the stem
dependlng on the tense. Here ls a chart.
A conjugatlon chart wlth sample stem O]
,"#W+39$-"#& 4$%6
f=9-# 7 O7
g%39$-C% 7|/ O7|/
f9&$ 7 O7
f9&$bg%3 7|/ O7|/
<@96?=%&
As usual, let's see some examples.
Y iT.bI7\
- Tomorrow, go to college.
] .-fI7e\
- You know, met Bob last week.
d CG^7|/1\
- Dldn't eat dlnner, huh?
u -'I7|/\
- About not lnterestlng movles, do not see them.
56
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%& *3402, R356 (+1 U,5O -2,6-
;D'D; &-#3 QS I") %C%)5$1-#3 %=&%
For any sentence that does not end ln a ru-verb or u-verb, the only thlng that needs to be done ls
to add ] or ]. You can also do thls for substltuted nouns both 0] and /]
by just treatlng them llke regular nouns. Another lmportant thlng to remember ls that lf there ls a
declaratlve I], lt must be removed. In belng pollte, I guess you can't be so bold as to forwardly
declare thlngs the way I] does. Just llke the masu-form, thls must also go at the end of a
complete sentence. Here ls a chart lllustratlng the conjugatlons.
l-adjectlve I cannot be used
!9&+9= f"=-$%
f=9-# !1 !1
g%39$-C% !1 !1
f9&$ !1! !1!
f9&$bg%3 !1! !1!
na-adjectlve/noun mlght have to remove I
!9&+9= f"=-$%
f=9-# e! I e!
g%39$-C% e!l e!l
f9&$ e!I `e!
f9&$bg%3 e!l! e!l!
`Notlce ln the case of noun/na-adjectlve only, the past tense becomes ]. A very common
mlstake ls to do the same for l-adjectlves. Remember !1] ls wrong!
<@96?=%&
As usual, let's see some examples.
Y SIM\
- About pupples, llke very much. The most natural translatlon ls that someone llkes pupples very
much but there ls not enough context to rule out that the pupples llke somethlng very much.
] MT.V>I!/\
- It was that there was no tlme yesterday.
d 0I7e!l\
- That room ls not very ulet.
u II.-'!\
- Movle saw last week was very lnterestlng.
a%9=-$5 !1%,G
I have heard on a number of occaslons that the negatlve non-past conjugatlon as glven here ls not
an "omclally" correct conjugatlon. Instead what's consldered to be a more "correct" conjugatlon
ls to actually replace the ] part wlth 7|/]. The reasonlng ls that the pollte
negatlve form of the verb ] ls not ] but 7|/]. Therefore, !1
]actually becomes !17|/]and e!l]becomes e!l7|/].
57
L&%& *3402, R356 (+1 U,5O -2,6- 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
The reallty of today's Japanese ls that what's supposed to be the "omclal" conjugatlon sounds rather
stl and formal. In normal everyday conversatlons, the conjugatlon presented here wlll be used
almost every tlme. Whlle you should use the more formal conjugatlons for wrltten works uslng the
pollte form, you'll rarely hear lt ln actual speech. In concluslon, I recommend studylng and becomlng
famlllar wlth both types of conjugatlons.
A more formal negatlve conjugatlon
!9&+9= f"=-$%
g%39$-C% !1 !17|/
f9&$bg%3 !1! !17|/
g%39$-C% e!l e!l7|/
f9&$bg%3 e!l! e!l7|/
<@96?=%&
Y 0I7e!le\
- You know, that room ls not very ulet.
] 0I7e!l7|/e\
- You know, that room ls not very ulet.
;D'D> QS -& gn0 $1% &96% 9& QdS
Many of you who have taken Japanese classes have probably been taught that ]ls the pollte
verslon of I]. However, I want to polnt some several key dlerences here and the reasons why
they are ln fact completely dlerent thlngs. It ls lmposslble to fully explaln the reasons why they
are fundamentally dlerent wlthout dlscusslng grammar that have yet to be covered so I would llke
to target thls toward those who have already started learnlng Japanese and have been lncorrectly
mlslnformed that I] ls the casual verslon of ]. For the rest of you new to thls, you can
easlly sklp thls part.
I'm sure most of you have learned the expresslon ] by now. Now, there are four ways to
make a complete sentence uslng the state-of-belng wlth ] to produce a sentence that says,
"That ls so."
c-%)%#$ F95& $" &95K 019$ -& &"D
Y \
] I\
d \
u C77\
The rst ] ls the lmplled state of belng and
I] ls the declaratlve. As I've stated before, the non-assumlng soft spoken
] ls often used by females whlle the more condent
I] ls often used by males.
] ls the pollte verslon of
], created by attachlng ] to the noun.
] ls #"$ the pollte verslon of
I] where the I] ls replaced by ] and I'll explaln why.
58
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&'& (115,--0+. *,3*4,
Perhaps we wanted to make that sentence lnto a uestlon lnstead to ask, "Is that so?" There are
several ways to do thls but some posslbllltles are glven ln the followlng. Thls grammar ls covered
ln a later sectlon.
c-%)%#$ F95& $" 9&GK (& $19$ &"M
Y h
] !h
d !h
As I've explalned before, the I] ls used to declare what one belleves to be a fact. Therefore,
I!h]ls not a valld way to ask a uestlon because lt ls declarlng a fact and asklng a uestlon
at the same tlme. But the fact that !] ls a valld uestlon shows that ] and I]
are essentlally dlerent. ], ln showlng respect and humbleness, ls not as assertlve and
ls merely the pollte verslon of ].
Besldes the dlerence ln nuance between I] and ], another key dlerence ls that I]
ls used ln many dlerent types of grammar to dellneate a subordlnate clause. ], on the
other hand, ls only used at the end of a sentence to deslgnate a pollte state-of-belng. For lnstance,
conslder the two followlng sentences. Thls grammar ls covered ln a later sectlon.
T I7 - I thlnk that ls so.
7 - Incorrect sentence
I7] ls valld whlle 7] ls not because ] can only go at the
end of the sentence. ] can only be ln a subordlnate clause when lt ls a dlrect uote of what
someone sald such as the followlng.
Y I.]U\
In concluslon, replaclng ] wlth I], thlnklng one ls the pollte eulvalent of the other or
vlce-versa wlll potentlally result ln grammatlcally lncorrect sentences. It ls best to thlnk of them as
totally separate thlngs because they are.
;D/ B**)%&&-#3 f%"?=%
Not only ls lt lmportant to use the rlght type of language wlth the rlght people, lt ls also lmportant
to address them by the rlght name. It ls also lmportant to address yourself wlth the proper level of
pollteness. Japanese ls speclal ln that there are so many ways of saylng the slmple words, "I" and
"you". We wlll go over some of ways to refer to yourself and others.
;D/D' a%I%))-#3 $" 5"+)&%=I
There are many ways to say "I" ln Japanese. Some of these words are not as common and others
are hopelessly outdated. We wlll go over the most common ones that are ln use today. The usages
of all the dlerent words for "I" ls separated lnto two categorles: gender and pollteness. 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 soclal context.
Before golng lnto thls: a note about the word p]. The omclal readlng of the kanjl ls 1
]. Thls ls the readlng you ls used ln a formal context for example, a speech by the presldent
59
L&'& (115,--0+. *,3*4, 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
of a company. Thls readlng wlll probably be accompanled wlth honorlc and humble forms, whlch
we wlll cover later. In all other sltuatlons, lt ls usually read as 1]. Thls ls the most generlc
reference to "I" ln terms of pollteness and gender; therefore lt ls usually one of the rst words taught
to students of Japanese.
Here ls a llst of the most common words for "I" and how they are used:
1. p 1 - Used by both males and females for formal sltuatlons.
2. p 1 - Used by both males and females for normal pollte sltuatlons.
3. V - Used prlmarlly by males from falrly pollte to falrly casual sltuatlons.
4. W - A very rough verslon of "I" used almost excluslvely by males ln very casual sltuatlons.
5. - A very femlnlne and casual way to refer to oneself. Many glrls have declded to opt for
1] lnstead because ] has a cutesy and glrly sound.
6. One's own name - Also a very femlnlne and klnd of chlldlsh way to refer to oneself.
7. 1 - Usually used by older men well ln thelr mlddle-ages.
Let's see how dlerent types of sentences use the approprlate verslon of "I". 1]ls left out
because we have yet to go over very formal grammatlcal expresslons.
Y p0XYI1\- My name ls Klm. Neutral, pollte
] V0XYI1\- My name ls Klm. Mascullne, pollte
d V0XYI-fI\- My name ls Bob. Mascullne, casual
u W0XYI-fI\- My name ls Bob. Mascullne, casual
0XYI\- My name ls Allce. Femlnlne, casual
;D/D/ a%I%))-#3 $" "$1%)& E5 #96%
Japanese does not reulre the use of "you" nearly as much as Engllsh does. I hope that the examples
wlth Bob, Allce, and Jlm have shown that people refer to other people by thelr names even when
they are dlrectly addresslng that person. Another common way to address people ls by thelr tltle
such as Z[].\[].c], etc. The word c] ls used to generally mean any person
who has slgnlcant knowledge and expertlse ln somethlng. For example, people usually use
c]when dlrectly addresslng doctors or teachers obvlously. You can also lnclude the person's last
name such as ];c] teacher Tanaka. In the case where your relatlonshlp wlth the person
doesn't lnvolve any tltle, you can use thelr name usually thelr last name attached wlth /] to
show pollteness. If calllng them by thelr last name seems a llttle too pollte and dlstant, the practlce
of attachlng /] to thelr rst name also exlsts. More endearlng and colloulal verslons of
/] lnclude /] and /]. /] ls usually attached to the name of males who are of
eual or lower soclal posltlon. For example, my boss sometlmes calls me 1/]. /]
ls a very endearlng way to refer to usually females of eual or lower soclal posltlon.
;D/D7 a%I%))-#3 $" "$1%)& F-$1 5"+
Please do not use ]just llke you would use the word "you" ln Engllsh. In dlrectly addresslng
people, there are three levels of pollteness: 1 Uslng the person's name wlth the approprlate sumx,
2 Not uslng anythlng at all, 3 Uslng ]. In fact, by the tlme you get to three, you're
dangerously ln the area of belng rude. Most of the tlme, you do not need to use anythlng at all
because you are dlrectly addresslng the person. Constantly poundlng the llstener wlth "you" every
sentence sounds llke you are accuslng the person of somethlng.
60
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&'& (115,--0+. *,3*4,
]ls also an old-fashloned way for women to refer to thelr husband or lover. Unless you are
a mlddle-aged women wlth a Japanese husband, I doubt you wlll be uslng ]ln thls fashlon
as well.
Here ls a llst of some words meanlng "you" ln Engllsh. You wlll rarely need to use any of these
words, especlally the ones ln the second half of the llst.
1. - Generally only used when there ls no way to physlcally address the person or know the
person's name. For example, dlrect uestlons to the reader on a form that the reader must ll
out would use ].
2. ^ - Can be a very close and assumlng way to address glrls especlally by guys. Can also be
klnd of rude.
3. Y - A very rough and coarse way to address someone. Usually used by guys and often
changed to ].
4. /- A very assumlng and famlllar way to address someone. The person uslng thls ls maybe
mled o about somethlng.
5. Y - Very rude. Llke Y], to add extra punch, people wlll usually say lt llke, ]
. Sounds llke you want to beat someone up. I've only seen thls one used ln movles and comlc
books. In fact, lf you try thls on your frlends, they wlll probably laugh at you and tell you that
you've probably been readlng too many comlc books.
6. _W- Very, very rude. Sounds llke you want to take someone out. I've also only seen thls one
used ln comlc books. I only go over lt so you can understand and enjoy comlc books yourself!
;D/D; a%I%))-#3 $" "$1%)& -# $1-)* ?%)&"#
You can use ]and `]for "he" and "she" respectlvely. Notlce that ]and `]can
also mean "boyfrlend" and "glrlfrlend". So how can you tell whlch meanlng ls belng used? Context,
of course. For example, lf someone asks, `!h] the person ls obvlously asklng lf she ls
your glrlfrlend because the uestlon, "Is she she?" doesn't make any sense. Another less commonly
used alternatlve ls to say a*PI`)]and -*I`)]for, well, I'm sure you can guess
what they mean.
;D/D> a%I%))-#3 $" I96-=5 6%6E%)&
Referrlng to famlly members ls a llttle more compllcated than Engllsh. It could be worse, try learnlng
Korean! For the purpose of brevlty, slnce thls ?= a grammar gulde and not a vocabulary gulde we
wlll only go over the lmmedlate famlly. In Japanese, you refer to members of other people's famlly
more polltely than your own. Thls ls only when you are talklng about members of your own famlly
to others outslde the famlly. For example, you would refer to your own mother as b] to people
outslde your famlly but you mlght very well call her b/] at home wlthln your own famlly.
There ls also a dlstlnctlon between older and younger slbllngs. The followlng chart llst some of the
most common terms for famlly members. There may also be other posslbllltles not covered ln thls
chart.
61
L&>& 28, `/,-203+ 6(5F,5 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
Famlly member chart
n#%J& "F# I96-=5 4"6%"#% %=&%J& I96-=5
Parents cs Ccs
Mother b b/
Father d d/
Wlfe e f/
Husband @ Cgr
Older Slster h h/
Older Brother i i/
Younger Slster j j/
Younger Brother k k/
Son l l/
Daughter m m/
Another word for wlfe, n] ls often consldered polltlcally lncorrect because the kanjl used are
"house" and "lnslde" whlch lmplles that wlves belong ln the home. Amen. Just klddlng
;D7 01% +%&$-"# O9)G%) hl
;D7D' +%&$-"#& -# ?"=-$% I")6
The uestlon marker ls covered here because lt ls prlmarlly used to clearly lndlcate a uestlon ln
pollte sentences. Whlle lt ls entlrely posslble to express a uestlon even ln pollte form uslng just
lntonatlon, the uestlon marker ls often attached to the very end of the sentence to lndlcate a
uestlon. The uestlon marker ls slmply the hlragana character !] and you don't need to add a
uestlon mark. For prevlously explalned reasons, you must not use the declaratlve I] wlth the
uestlon marker.
<@96?=% '
];/g b/I!\- Where ls your mother?
op/g bII7\- My mother went shopplng.
<@96?=% /
1/g ^qrG^I7|/!\- Go to eat Itallan food?
op/g d7|/\,.sIl\- Sorry. My stomach ls a llttle full.
Here the uestlon ls actually belng used as an lnvltatlon just llke how ln Engllsh we say, "Won't you
come ln for a drlnk?"
d7|/] ls a pollte way of apologllng. Sllghtly less formal ls C/] whlle the casual
verslon ls slmply C/].
;D7D/ 01% o+%&$-"# 69)G%) -# ,9&+9= &?%%,1
It makes sense to conclude that the uestlon marker would work ln exactly the same way ln casual
speech as lt does ln pollte speech. However, thls ls #"$ the case. The uestlon marker !] ls
62
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&>& 28, `/,-203+ 6(5F,5
usually not used wlth casual speech to make actual uestlons. It ls often used to conslder whether
somethlng ls true or not. Dependlng on the context and lntonatlon, lt can also be used to make
rhetorlcal uestlons or to express sarcasm. It can sound ulte rough so you mlght want to be
careful about uslng !] for uestlons ln the plaln casual form.
<@96?=%&
Y /0IIG^!h
- Do you thlnk [he/she] wlll really eat thls type of thlng?
] /0I.!e
- Do I look llke I would have somethlng llke that?!
Instead of !], real uestlons ln casual speech are usually asked wlth the explanatory 0 partlcle
or nothlng at all except for a rlse ln lntonatlon, as we have already seen ln prevlous sectlons.
Y /0IIG^h
- Are you really golng to eat somethlng llke thls?
] /0I.0h
- Do you have somethlng llke that?
;D7D7 QS +&%* -# &+E")*-#9$% ,=9+&%&
Another use of the uestlon marker ls slmply grammatlcal and has nothlng to do wlth the pollteness.
A uestlon marker attached to the end of a subordlnate clause makes a mlnl-uestlon lnslde a larger
sentence. Thls allows the speaker to talk about the uestlon. For example, you can talk about the
uestlon, "What dld I eat today?" In the followlng examples, the uestlon that ls belng consldered
ls ln red.
Y MTG^!*\- Forgot what I ate yesterday.
] IR!1!\- Don't understand what he sald.
d cIbI!h- Won't you lnform me whether teacher went to school?
In sentences llke d where the uestlon belng consldered has a yes/no answer, lt ls common but
not necessary to attach !]. Thls ls roughly eulvalent to saylng, "whether or not" ln Engllsh.
You can also lnclude the alternatlve as well to mean the same thlng.
Y cIbI!!\- Don't know whether or not teacher went to school.
] cIbI!!!!\- Don't know whether teacher went to school or
dldn't.
;D7D; &-#3 o+%&$-"# F")*&
Whlle we're on the toplc of uestlons, thls ls a good tlme to go over uestlon words where, who,
what, etc. and what they mean ln varlous contexts. Take a look at what addlng the uestlon marker
does to the meanlng of the words.
63
L&>& 28, `/,-203+ 6(5F,5 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
Questlon Words
2")*+%&$-"# O9)G%) O%9#-#3
o! Someone
! Somethlng
! Sometlme
! Somewhere
! A certaln one from many
As you can see by the followlng examples, you can treat these words just llke any regular nouns.
Y o!I(*G^\- Someone ate all the dellclous cookles.
] oIt/I0!.o!7|/!\- Doesn't anybody know who stole lt?
d ur!7!\- Dld you see the crlmlnal somewhere?
u 0;!!v0\- Explalnlng You are to select a certaln one from lnslde thls
[selectlon].
+%&$-"# F")*& F-$1 -#,=+&-C% 6%9#-#3
The same uestlon words ln the chart above can be comblned wlth ]ln a negatlve sentence to
mean "nobody" o, "nothlng" , "nowhere" , etc.
o] and ] are prlmarlly used only for negatlve sentences. Curlously, there ls no way to
say "everythlng" wlth uestlon words. Instead, lt ls conventlonal to use other words llke ].
And although o] can sometlmes be used to mean "everybody", lt ls customary to use w]
or w/]
The remalnlng three words ] meanlng "always" and ] meanlng "any and all",
and ] meanlng everywhere can be used ln both negatlve and posltlve sentences.
Incluslve Words
2")* j O%9#-#3
o Everybody/Nobody
Nothlng negatlve only
Always
Everywhere
Any and all
Y 0xy0UI.o\- Nobody knows the answer of thls uestlon.
] `aI/\- Frlend ls always late.
d II$`I - Any and all restaurants that are here are not
tasty.
u SzI.I!!\- Went nowhere thls weekend.
Grammatlcally, thls ]ls the same as the toplc partlcle ]so the target partlcle I]must
go before the toplc partlcle ] ln orderlng.
+%&$-"# F")*& $" 6%9# 9#5
The same uestlon words comblned wlth ] can be used to mean "any". One thlng to be
careful about ls that ] ls read as /] and ;"D I]
64
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&L& 736*3/+1 -,+2,+7,-
Words for "Any"
2")* j O%9#-#3
o Anybody
Anythlng
Anytlme
Anywhere
Whlchever
Y 0xy0UI.o3!\- Anybody understands the answer of thls uestlon.
] CI.\- About lunch, anywhere ls good.
d 0rI.IIG^\- That person really eats anythlng.
;D; !"6?"+#* 4%#$%#,%& h bI")6TTTTkT
TTyl
In thls sectlon, we wlll learn varlous ways to comblne multlple slmple sentences lnto one complex
sentence. For example, we wlll learn how to chaln separate sentences together to express multlple
actlons or states. In other words, lf we have two slmple sentences wlth the same subject, "I ran"
and "I ate", we wlll learn how to group them together to mean, "I ran and ate." We wlll also learn
how to do thls wlth adjectlves and nouns. Ex: He ls rlch, handsome, and charmlng.
;D;D' <@?)%&&-#3 9 &%o+%#,% "I &$9$%&
It ls very easy to comblne a chaln of nouns and adjectlves to descrlbe a person or object. For
example, ln Engllsh lf we wanted to say, "He ls ^. He ls Y. He ls {." slnce all three sentences have
the same noun, we would usually say, "He ls ^, Y, and {." In Japanese, we can do the same thlng
by conjugatlng the noun or adjectlve. The last noun or adjectlve remalns the same as before.
.
.
g"+#& 9#* #9b9*W%,$-C%&: Attach ] to the noun or na-adjectlve.
_ H|}H|}
_ e!e!
(b9*W%,$-C%& 9#* #%39$-C% #"+#w9*W%,$-C%: Replace the ] wlth ].
` For ] and !], the e] exceptlon applles here as well.
_ ~ ~
_ `l `l
_ e
.How to chaln nouns and adjectlves together
<@96?=%&
Y p0I..e!.M\
- My room ls clean, ulet, and I llke lt a lot.
65
L&L& 736*3/+1 -,+2,+7,- 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
] `I.bcl.cI\
- She ls not a student, she ls a teacher.
d ];/I..!e.D}1\
- Tanaka-san ls rlch, handsome, and charmlng, lsn't he?
As you can see, the ] attached to ] obvlously cannot be the context partlcle ]
here because there ls no verb. It mlght be helpful to thlnk of ] as merely a substltutlon for
I] that can be chalned together.
;D;D/ <@?)%&&-#3 9 &%o+%#,% "I C%)E& F-$1 $1% $%bI")6
In a slmllar fashlon, you can express multlple actlons. It ls usually lnterpreted as a seuence of
event. I dld [^], then I dld [Y], then I nally dld [{]. There are two forms: posltlve and negatlve.
The tense of all the actlons ls determlned by the tense of the last verb.
.
.
1. Posltlve: Conjugate the verb to lts past tense and replace ]wlth ]or I]wlth
]. Thls ls often called the $%bI")6 even though lt could sometlmes be 'de' .
2. Negatlve: Same as l-adjectlves, replace ] wlth ].
Thls rule also works for the pollte ] and 7] endlngs.
_ bc bc bc
_ 7 7 7
.How to chaln verbs together
Sample conjugatlons
f9&$ 0%#&% 0%bI")6
G^ G^


/I /
/I /
g%39$-C% 0%bI")6
G^ G^
! !


7 7
<@96?=%&
Y GI.CG^.\
- I wlll go to cafeterla, eat lunch, and take a nap.
] GI.CG^.\
- I went to cafeterla, ate lunch, and took a nap.
d V>I7.7\
- There was tlme and I watched a movle.
66
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&L& 736*3/+1 -,+2,+7,-
;D;D7 <@?)%&&-#3 )%9&"# ") ,9+&9$-"# +&-#3 QS 9#* QS
You can connect two complete sentences uslng !]to lndlcate a reason for somethlng. The two
sentences are always ordered [reason] ! [result]. When the reason ls a non-conjugated noun
or na-adjectlve, you must add I] to expllcltly declare the reason ln the form of noun/na-
adjectlveI!]. If you forget to add the declaratlve I] to !], lt wlll end up soundlng
llke the !] meanlng "from" whlch was rst lntroduced ln
Partlcles 2.
<@96?=%&
Y V>I!!*4*I7|/\
- There was no tlme so dldn't go to party.
] `a!vI`$I\
- Present came from frlend.
d `aI!vI`$I\
- Present came because the person ls frlend. Thls sentence sounds a blt odd.
Elther the reason or the cause can be omltted lf lt ls clear from the context. In the case of pollte
speech, you would treat !] just llke a regular noun and add ]. When you omlt the
reason, you must lnclude the declaratlve I] or ].
];/ *4*I7|/!\- Why dldn't you go to the party?
]/ V>I!!\- It's because I dldn't have tlme.
H *4*I!!0h- You dldn't go to the party?
/.V>I!!\- Yeah, because I dldn't have tlme.
Y V>I!\- I dldn't have tlme.
] I!*4*I!!0h- Is that why you dldn't go to the party?
Notlce that ]/ and could have used the explanatory 0] to express the same thlng.
In other words, ]/ could have also sald, V>I!0] or V>I!/
] whlle could have sald V>I!0] we'll assume she wants to use the more
femlnlne form. In fact, thls ls where 0] posslbly came from. Let's say you want to comblne
two sentences: V>I!0I] and *4*I!!]. Remember we can treat
the 0] just llke a noun so we can use what we just learned ln the rst sectlon of thls lesson.
Y V>I!0I*4*I!!
becomes:
] V>I!0*4*I!!\
In fact, 0] ls almost lnterchangeable wlth !] wlth a few subtle dlerences. !]
expllcltly states that the sentence precedlng ls the reason for somethlng whlle 0] ls merely
puttlng two sentences together, the rst wlth an explanatory tone. Thls ls somethlng I call causatlon
where [^] happened, therefore [Y] happened. Thls ls sllghtly dlerent from !] where [Y]
happened expllcltly A<M9C=< [^] happened. Thls dlerence tends to make 0]sound softer and
sllghtly more pollte and lt ls favored over !] when explalnlng a reason for dolng somethlng
that ls consldered dlscourteous.
Y ,.0.7\
- Because I'm a llttle busy, I'll be maklng my leave soon.
7], whlch llterally means "I'm dolng a dlscourtesy", ls commonly used as a pollte way
to make your leave or dlsturb someone's tlme.
67
L&L& 736*3/+1 -,+2,+7,- 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
a%6-#*%)v Don't forget that the explanatory 0] reulres a ] for both non-conjugated
nouns and na-adjectlves. Revlew Partlcles 3 to see why.
Y pIbc0.I/\
- Because I'm a student, I have no money llt: there ls no money.
] Ie!0.'!\
- It ls very calm here because lt ls ulet.
d 0.`aIV>I\
- That's why there's no tlme to meet frlend.
Just llke how the explanatory 0] can be shortened to /], ln speech, the 0] can be
changed to /] slmply because lt's easler to slur the sounds together rather then pronounclng
the / o / syllable.
Y V>I!/*4*I!!\
- Dldn't go to the party because there was no tlme.
] Ie!/.'!\
- It ls very calm here because lt ls ulet.
d /.`aIV>I\
- That's why there's no tlme to meet frlend.
;D;D; &-#3 QS $" 6%9# *%&?-$%
Grammatlcally, 0I] ls used exactly the same way as 0]. When used to comblne two
slmple sentences together, lt means "[Sentence 1] desplte the fact that [Sentence 2]." However the
order ls reversed: [Sentence 2] 0I [Sentence 1].
<@96?=%&
Y T0I.4|!\
- Desplte exerclslng every day, I dldn't get thlnner.
] bc0I.`I\
- Desplte belng a student, she does not study.
;D;D> <@?)%&&-#3 ,"#$)9*-,$-"# +&-#3 QkS 9#* QS
Used ln the same manner as !] and 0], I] and ] also connect two sentences
together but thls tlme to express a contradlctlon. Just llke !]the declaratlve I]ls reulred
for nouns and na-adjectlves. And just llke !] and 0], the reason or cause can be left
out.
68
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&L& 736*3/+1 -,+2,+7,-
<@96?=%&
Y 5*$I7I.!\
- I went to department store but there was nothlng I wanted.
] `aI.!\
- I asked or heard from a frlend but he or I dldn't know.
d STII.iTI.\
- I'm free today but I wlll be busy tomorrow.
u I.I7IM0\
- That may be so, but lt ls that I stlll llke hlm. explanatlon, femlnlne tone
It may seemodd but ]can elther mean "to llsten" or "to ask". You may thlnk thls may become
confuslng but the meanlng ls usually clear wlthln context. In ]. we're assumlng that the frlend
dldn't know, so the speaker was probably asklng the frlend. Yet agaln we see the lmportance of
context ln Japanese because thls sentence can also mean, "I heard from a frlend but I dldn't know"
slnce there ls nelther subject nor toplc.
Slmllar to the dlerence between !]and 0], I]has a softer tone and ls sllghtly more
pollte than ]. Though thls lsn't a rule as such, lt ls generally common to see I] attached
to a 7]or ]endlng and ]attached to a regular, plaln endlng. A more formal
verslon of ] ls ] and even more formal ls ], whlch we may see later
when we cover formal expresslons.
Unllke the Engllsh word for contradlctlon such as "but" or "however", ] and I] do not
always express a dlrect contradlctlon. Often tlmes, especlally when lntroduclng a new toplc, lt ls
used as a general connector of two separate sentences. For example, ln the followlng sentences,
there ls no actual contradlctlon but I] and ] are used slmply to connect the sentences.
Sometlmes, the Engllsh "and" becomes a closer translatlon than "but".
Y 5*$I7I.I/7\
- I went to the department store and there was a lot of good stu.
] $(.-'!\
- I watched the "Matrlx" and lt was lnterestlng.
;D;DA <@?)%&&-#3 6+=$-?=% )%9&"#& +&-#3 QS
When you want to llst reasons for multlple states or actlons you can do so by addlng ] to the
end of each subordlnate clause. It ls very slmllar to the '] partlcle except that lt llsts reasons
for verbs and state of belng. Agaln, for states of belng, I]must be used to expllcltly declare the
state of belng for any non-conjugated noun or na-adjectlve. Let's look at some examples.
Y `al/!h- Why lsn't hlm/her frlend seeklng explanatlon?
] cI.I'''\- Well, he's/she's the teacher, and older...
Y IM0h- Why do you llke hlm?
] .!.-'!\- Because he's klnd, attractlve, and lnterestlng among
other thlngs.
Notlce that .!e.-'!\] could also have worked but much llke the
dlerence between the ] and '] partlcle, ] lmplles that there may be other reasons.
69
L&N& 328,5 /-,- 3R 28, 2,QR356 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
;D;D| <@?)%&&-#3 6+=$-?=% 9,$-"#& ") &$9$%& +&-#3 QyS
Thls ls the verb verslon of the '] partlcle. You can make an example llst of verbs among a
posslble larger llst by conjugatlng each verb lnto the past tense and addlng ]. At the end, you
need to attach the verb ]. Just llke the '] partlcle, the tense ls determlned by the last
verb, whlch ln thls case wlll always be ] slnce you have to attach lt at the end.
You can also use thls wlth the state of belng to say that you are a number of thlngs at varlous
random tlmes among a larger llst. Slmllar to regular verbs, you just take the noun or adjectlve for
each state of belng and conjugate lt to the past state of belng and then attach ]. Then nally,
attach ] at the end.
.
.
Verbs - Conjugate each verb to the past tense and add ]. Flnally, add ]at the
very end.
_ G^.] G^./I G^./I G^./I
State of belng - Conjugate the noun or adjectlve for each state of belng and add ].
Flnally, add ] at the very end.
_ . I.! I.! I.
!
.Rules for statlng a llst of verbs among a larger llst uslng ]
Y .I@/I.\
- I do thlngs llke among other thlngs watch movles, read books, and take naps.
] 0b0()II.!\
- Class of thls college ls sometlmes easy, sometlmes dlmcult and other tlmes somethlng else maybe.
As you can see, the tense and negatlve/posltlve state ls controlled by the last ].
d .I@/I\
- I dld thlngs llke among other thlngs watch movles, and read books.
u .I@/I\
- I don't do thlngs llke among other thlngs watch movles, and read books.
.I@/I!\
- I dldn't do thlngs llke among other thlngs watch movles, and read books.
;D> n$1%) +&%& "I $1% $%bI")6 h{yTxyTT
{Tyl
The te-form ls lncredlbly useful as lt ls used wldely ln many dlerent types of grammatlcal expres-
slons. We wlll learn about endurlng states wlth the ]and ]form. Even though
we have learned varlous conjugatlons for verbs, they have all been one-tlme actlons. We wlll now
go over how one would say, for example, "I am runnlng." We wlll also learn how to perform an
actlon for the future uslng the ] expresslon and to express dlrectlons of actlons uslng
] and ].
70
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&N& 328,5 /-,- 3R 28, 2,QR356
;D>D' &-#3 Q{yS I") %#*+)-#3 &$9$%&
We already knowhowto express a state of belng uslng], I], etc. However, lt only lndlcates
a one-tlme thlng; you are somethlng or not. Thls grammar, however, descrlbes a contlnulng state
of an actlon verb. Thls usually translates to the gerund ln Engllsh except for a few exceptlons, whlch
we wlll examlne later. We can make good use of the te-form we learned ln the last sectlon because
the only thlng to do left to do ls add ]! You can then treat the result as a regular ru-verb.
Thls ] ls the same ru-verb descrlblng exlstence, rst descrlbed ln the negatlve verb sectlon.
However, ln thls case, you don't have to worry about whether the subject ls anlmate or lnanlmate.
.
.
To descrlbe a contlnulng actlon, rst conjugate the verb to the te-form and then attach
the verb ]. The entlre result conjugates as a ru-verb.
_ G^ G^ G^
_ @] @/ @/
The result conjugates as a ru-verb regardless of what the orlglnal verb ls
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ @/ readlng @/ls not readlng
f9&$ @/ was readlng @/!was not readlng
.Uslng ]for endurlng states
<@96?=%&
Y `aI0h- What ls frlend dolng?
] CG^\- Frlend ls eatlng lunch.
Note that once you've changed lt lnto a regular ru-verb, you can do all the normal conjugatlons.
The examples show the masu-form and plaln negatlve conjugatlons.
Y @/h- What are you readlng?
] Q@/7\- I am readlng textbook.
Y 7!\- Are you llstenlng to me? llt: Are you llstenlng to story?
] /.\- No, I'm not llstenlng.
Slnce people are usually too lay to roll thelr tongues to properly pronounce the ], ln more
casual sltuatlons, the ] ls slmply dropped. Thls ls a convenlence for speaklng. If you were
wrltlng an essay or paper, you should always lnclude the ]. Here are the abbrevlated verslons
of the prevlous examples.
Y `aI0h- What ls frlend dolng?
] CG^\- Frlend ls eatlng lunch.
Y @/h- What are you readlng?
] Q@/7\- I am readlng textbook.
Y 7!\- Are you llstenlng to me? llt: Are you llstenlng to story?
] /.\- No, I'm not llstenlng.
71
L&N& 328,5 /-,- 3R 28, 2,QR356 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
Notlce how I left the ]alone for the pollte forms. Though people certalnly omlt the ]even
ln pollte form, you mlght want to get used to the proper way of saylng thlngs rst before gettlng
carrled away wlth casual abbrevlatlons. You wlll be amaed at the extenslve types of abbrevlatlons
that exlst ln casual speech. You may also be amaed at how long everythlng gets ln super pollte
speech. Baslcally, you wlll get the abbrevlatlons lf you just act lay and slur everythlng together.
Partlcles also get punted o left and rlght.
For example:
Y 0hThose partlcles are such a paln to say all the tlme...
] 0hUgh, I hate havlng to spell out all the vowels.
d /0hAh, perfect.
;D>D/ <#*+)-#3 &$9$% "I E%-#3 )9$1%) $19# %#*+)-#3 &$9$% "I 9,$-"#
There are certaln cases where an endurlng state doesn't translate lnto the gerund form. In fact,
there ls a amblgulty ln whether one ls ln a state of J"?;E an actlon versus belng ln a state that
#<=CBD<J from some actlon. Thls ls usually declded by context and common practlces. For example,
although8]can technlcally mean someone ls ln a chapel currently gettlng marrled, lt ls
usually used to refer to someone who ls already marrled and ls currently ln that marrled state. We'll
now dlscuss some common verbs that often cause thls type of confuslon for learners of Japanese.
QyS
] means "to know". Engllsh ls welrd ln that "know" ls supposed to be a verb but ls actually
descrlblng a state of havlng knowledge. Japanese ls more conslstent and ] ls just a regular
actlon verb. In other words, I "knowed" actlon somethlng and so now I know lt state. That's
why the Engllsh word "to know" ls really a contlnulng state ln Japanese, namely: ].
QyS C& QyS
3!]meanlng "to understand" may seem slmllar to ]ln some cases. However, there ls a
dlerence between "knowlng" and "understandlng". Try not to confuse ] wlth 3!
]. 3!] means that you are already ln a state of understandlng, ln other words,
you already get lt. If you mlsuse thls, you may sound pompous. "Yeah, yeah, I got lt already." On
the other hand, ] slmply means you know somethlng.
<@96?=%&
Y ST.7\- I found out about lt today. I dld the actlon of knowlng today.
] 07!h- Do you know thls song?
d I3!7!\ Do you know the way? llt: Do you understand the road?
u I.I.3!.3!\- Yes, yes, I got lt, I got lt.
O"$-"# Z%)E& pTyT%$,Dq
It ls reasonable to assume the actlons ] and ] would mean, "golng" and
"comlng" respectlvely. But unfortunately, thls ls not the case. The ]formof motlon verbs
ls more llke a seuence of actlons we saw ln the last sectlon. You completed the motlon, and now
you exlst ln that state. Remember, ] ls the verb of exlstence of anlmate objects. It mlght
help to thlnk of lt as two separate and successlve actlons: ].and then ].
<@96?=%&
Y op/I!\ Where ls Suukl-san?
] .I\- He ls already at home went home and ls there now.
72
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&N& 328,5 /-,- 3R 28, 2,QR356
d Ie\- I'll go on ahead. I'll go and be there before you.
u /I.e\- Mle-chan ls already here, you know. She came and ls here.
;D>D7 &-#3 QxyS I") )%&+=$9#$ &$9$%&
Approprlately enough, just llke there ls an ] to go wlth ], there ls a ] form
that also has a speclal meanlng. By replaclng ] wlth ], lnstead of a contlnulng actlon,
lt becomes a resultant state after the actlon has already taken place. Usually, thls expresslon ls used
to explaln that somethlng ls ln a state of completlon. The completed actlon also carrles a nuance of
belng completed ln preparatlon for somethlng else.
<@96?=%&
Slnce thls grammar descrlbes the state of a completed actlon, lt ls common to see the I] and
] partlcles lnstead of the ] partlcle.
Y I!\- How are the preparatlons?
] I.e\- The preparatlons are already done.
Y 0Ih- Are the plans for the trlp complete?
] /.t."P0\-
Uh huh, not only dld I buy the tlcket, I also took care of the hotel reservatlons.
;D>D; &-#3 $1% QS I")6 9& ?)%?9)9$-"# I") $1% I+$+)%
Whlle ] carrles a nuance of a completed actlon ln preparatlon for somethlng else,
] expllcltly states that the actlon ls done or wlll be done wlth the future ln mlnd. Imaglne
thls: you have made a dellclous ple and you're golng to :B9M< lt on the wlndow slll for lt to cool so
that you can eat lt later. Thls lmage mlght help explaln why the verb ] , meanlng "to
place", can be used to descrlbe a preparatlon for the future. It's just too bad that ples on wlndow
sllls always seem to go through some klnd of mlshap especlally ln cartoons. Whlle ]by ltself
ls wrltten ln kanjl, lt ls customary to use hlragana when lt comes attached to a conjugated verb
such as the te-form.
<@96?=%&
Y C\- Make dlnner ln advance for the future.
] 7\- I'll buy batterles ln advance for the future.
] ls also sometlmes abbrevlated to ] for convenlence.
Y C\- Make dlnner ln advance for the future.
] 7\- I'll buy batterles ln advance for the future.
;D>D> &-#3 6"$-"# C%)E& pTyq F-$1 $1% $%bI")6
You can also use the motlon verb "to go" and "to come" wlth the te-form, to show that an
actlon ls orlented toward or fromsomeplace. The most common and useful example of thls the verb
73
L&X& *32,+20(4 R356 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
]to hold. Whlle ]means you are ln a state of holdlng somethlng ln possesslon
of, when the ] ls replaced wlth ] or ], lt means you are taklng or brlnglng
somethlng. Of course, the conjugatlon ls the same as the regular ] and ].
<@96?=%&
Y h- Do you have a pencll?
] b^h- Are you taklng pencll to school?
d Ih- Are you brlnglng pencll to home?
For these examples, lt may make more sense to thlnk of them as a seuence of actlons: hold and
go, or hold and come. Here are a couple more examples.
Y d/I.17\- Father came back home early.
] 0/^\- Went runnlng toward the dlrectlon of statlon.
The motlon verbs can also be used ln tlme expresslons to move forward or come up to the present.
Y I.&*$rI7\
- Enterlng wlnter, people wearlng coat wlll lncrease toward the future.
] Hc.
- Wlll try my hardest toward the future wlth all my mlght!
d XUrP.rI7I!\
- Went out up to the present wlth varlous types of people but a good person hasn't been found
yet.
u TICY!.8I'\
- Studled Japanese from way back before and eventually ult.
;DA f"$%#$-9= ")6
;DAD' <@?)%&&-#3 $1% 9E-=-$5 $" *" &"6%$1-#3
In Japanese, the ablllty to do a certaln actlon ls expressed by conjugatlng the verb rather than
addlng a word such as the words "can" or "able to" ln the case of Engllsh. All verbs conjugated lnto
the potentlal form become a ru-verb.
;DAD/ 01% f"$%#$-9= ")6
Once agaln, the conjugatlon rules can be spllt lnto three major groups: ru-verbs, u-verbs, and
exceptlon verbs. However, the potentlal form of the verb ] meanlng "to do" ls a speclal
exceptlon because lt becomes a completely dlerent verb: ]
74
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&X& *32,+20(4 R356
.
.
1. ru-verbs - Replace the ] wlth ].
_
2. u-verbs - Change the last character from a / u / vowel sound to the eulvalent / e / vowel
sound and add ].
_ ^ ^
3. Exceptlons - ] becomes ] and ] becomes ].
` Remember that all potentlal verbs become ru-verbs.
.Rules for creatlng potentlal form
Sample ru-verbs
f=9-# f"$%#$-9=
G^ G^

l l




^ ^
Sample u-verbs
f=9-# f"$%#$-9= rstu rstu pf"$Dq
| hanasu hanaseru
Q Q kaku kakeru
^ asobu asoberu
matu materu
] nomu nomeru
toru toreru
J 1 shlnu shlneru
kau kaeru
Exceptlon Verbs
f=9-# f"$%#$-9=


It ls also posslble to just add ] lnstead of the full ] for ru-verbs. For example,
G^] becomes G^] lnstead of G^]. I suggest learnlng the omclal
]conjugatlon rst because lalness can be a hard hablt to break and the shorter verslon, though
common, ls consldered to be slang.
<@96?=%&
Y IQ7!h
- Can you wrlte kanjl?
] -II.SzI\
- It's unfortunate, but can't go thls weekend.
d l\
- I can't belleve lt already.
;DAD7 f"$%#$-9= I")6& *" #"$ 19C% *-)%,$ "EW%,$&
The potentlal form lndlcates that somethlng ls posslble but no actual actlon ls actually taken. Whlle
the potentlal form remalns a verb, slnce lt ls descrlblng the state of somethlng you must not use the
dlrect object ] as you have done wlth regular verbs. For example the followlng sentences are
lncorrect.
\
7\
75
L&X& *32,+20(4 R356 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
Here are the corrected verslons:
T I\- Was able to cllmb Fujl-san.
T I7\- Am able to hold heavy baggage.
Of course, the I] or ] partlcle ls also posslble dependlng on what you want to say.
;DAD; B)% QyS 9#* QyS %@,%?$-"#&M
There are two verbs ] and ] that mean that somethlng ls vlslble and audlble,
respectlvely. When you want to say that you can see or hear somethlng, you'll want to use these
verbs. If however, you wanted to say that you were glven the opportunlty to see or hear somethlng,
you would use the regular potentlal form. However, ln thls case, lt ls more common to use the type
of expresslon as seen ln example d.
<@96?=%&
Y STI.I\
- It cleared up today and Fujl-san ls vlslble.
] `a0!.II\
- Thanks to [my] frlend, [I] was able to watch the movle for free.
d `a0!.II\
- Thanks to [my] frlend, [I] was able to watch the movle for free.
You can see that d uses the generlc noun for an event to say llterally, "The event of seelng movle
was able to be done." whlch essentlally means the same thlng as ]. You can also just
use generlc noun substltutlon to substltute for ].
Y `a0!.0I\
Here's some more examples uslng ], can you tell the dlerence? Notlce that ]
always means "audlble" and never "able to ask".
Y I07I\
- I was able to hear hls volce for the rst tlme ln a long tlme.
] I.IRI/7!
- The surroundlngs were nolsy and I couldn't hear what he was saylng very well\
;DAD> QxySK 5%$ 9#"$1%) %@,%?$-"#
You can say that somethlng has a posslblllty of exlstlng by comblnlng ] and the verb ]]
to produce ]]. Thls essentlally means I] except that nobody actually
says that, they just use ]]. Thls verb ls very curlous ln that lt can be read as elther
] or ], K"!<\<#; all the other conjugatlons such as ].].
and !] only have one posslble readlng uslng ].
76
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&Y& /-0+. ab (+1 cb H028 28, d *(52074,
<@96?=%&
Y /I\
- That klnd of sltuatlon/event ls posslble llt: can exlst.
] /I\
- That klnd of sltuatlon/event ls posslble llt: can exlst.
d /I\
- That klnd of sltuatlon/event ls not posslble llt: cannot exlst.
u I1\
- It's also posslble that he overslept. llt: The event that he overslept also posslbly exlsts.
I.Ie\
- That's an lmposslble story/scenarlo. llt: That story/scenarlo cannot exlst.
;D| &-#3 y 9#* zy F-$1 $1% ?9)$-,=% h V zy
yl
We can use the verbs ] and ] ln conjunctlon wlth the I] partlcle to make varlous
useful expresslons. We are used to uslng the object partlcle wlth ] because somethlng ls
usually done to somethlng else. We wlll see how the meanlng changes when we change the partlcle
to I]. As for ], lt ls always used wlth the I] partlcle because "becomlng" ls not an
actlon done to somethlng else but rather a target of change. The only grammatlcal polnt of lnterest
here ls uslng ] wlth l-adjectlves and verbs.
;D|D' &-#3 QzyS 9#* QyS I") #"+#& 9#* #9b9*W%,$-C%&
As already explalned, uslng ] wlth nouns and na-adjectlves presents nothlng new and acts
pretty much the way you'd expect.
Y 0TICII\
- Hls Japanese has become sklllful.
] pII\
- I became a doctor.
d pIXrI\
- I wlll become a famous person.
For adjectlves, uslng the verb ] wlth the I] partlcle ls just a revlew back to the lesson
on adverbs. However, for nouns, when you use the verb ] wlth the I] partlcle, lt means
that you are golng to do thlngs toward somethlng. Thls changes the meanlng of ] to mean,
"to declde on [^]". Thls ls a common expresslon to use, for lnstance, when you are orderlng ltems
on a menu.
Y pI./`/*a*2I7\
- I'll have the hamburger and salad. llt: I'll do toward hamburger and salad.
] I0I/.'lI\
- There are a lot of other good thlngs, but as I thought, I'll go wlth thls one.
77
L&Y& /-0+. ab (+1 cb H028 28, d *(52074, 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
If you thlnk thls expresslon ls strange, thlnk about the Engllsh expresslon, "I'll go wlth the ham-
burger." Exactly where are you golng wlth the hamburger?
;D|D/ &-#3 QzyS F-$1 -b9*W%,$-C%&
Because the I]partlcle ls a target partlcle that ls used for nouns and by extenslon na-adjectlves,
we need to use somethlng else to show that somethlng ls becomlng an l-adjectlve. Slnce "becomlng"
expresses a change ln state, lt makes sense to descrlbe thls process uslng an adverb. In fact, you'll
notlce that we were already uslng adverbs of a sort ln the prevlous sectlon by uslng I] wlth
na-adjectlves.
Y !I|1\
- Your helght has gotten taller from last year, huh?
] !.\
- I wlll become stronger because I am exerclslng.
d /!.Ie\
- Slnce I studled a lot, I became smarter. llt: head became better
;D|D7 &-#3 QzyS 9#* QyS F-$1 C%)E&
You may be wonderlng how to use ] and ] wlth verbs slnce there's no way to dlrectly
modlfy a verb wlth another verb. The slmple solutlon ls to add a generlc noun such as a generlc
event: or an appearance/manner: e W. These nouns don't refer to anythlng speclc
and are used to descrlbe somethlng else. In thls case, they allow us to descrlbe verbs ln the same
manner as nouns. Here are some examples of how to use these generlc nouns wlth ] and
].
Y II\
- It's been declded that I wlll go abroad. llt: It became the event of golng abroad.
] T.wG^eI\
- It became so that I eat meat everyday. llt: It became the appearance of eatlng meat everyday.
d II\
- I declded I wlll go abroad. llt: I dld toward the event of golng abroad.
u T.wG^eI\
- I wlll try to eat meat everyday. llt: I wlll do toward the manner of eatlng meat everyday.
You can modlfy a verb wlth ] or ] by rst maklng lt lnto a noun clause and then
treatlng lt just llke a regular noun. Pretty clever, huh? I hope the llteral translatlons glve you a sense
of why the example sentences mean what they do. For example, ln u eI]translates
lnto "to make an eort toward..." but ln Japanese, lt's really only a target towards actlng ln a certaln
manner.
Slnce potentlal verbs descrlbe a state of feaslblllty rather than an actlon remember, that's why
the ] partlcle couldn't be used, lt ls often used ln conjunctlon wlth eI] to
descrlbe a change ln manner to a state of feaslblllty. Let's take thls opportunlty to get some potentlal
conjugatlon practlce ln.
Y TII.IG^eI\
- After comlng to Japan, I became able to eat sushl.
78
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&Z& 73+10203+(4-
] H>!.#IeI\
- Because I practlced for one year, I became able to play the plano.
d I.I\
- After golng underground, Fujl-san became not vlslble.
;D} !"#*-$-"#9=& hTzTTl
;D}D' L"F $" &95 -I -# H9?9#%&%
Thls whole sectlon ls dedlcated to learnlng how to say "lf" ln Japanese. Oh, lf only lt was as slmple as
Engllsh. In Japanese, there's four count them, four ways to say "lf"! Thankfully, the conjugatlons
are sparse and easy especlally slnce you don't have to deal wlth tenses.
;D}D/ <@?)%&&-#3 #9$+)9= ,"#&%o+%#,% +&-#3 QS
We'll rst cover the slmplest type of "lf" whlch ls the natural conseuence condltlonal. Thls means
that lf [^] happens, [Y] wlll happen as a natural conseuence. No uestlon about lt. If I drop a ball,
lt wlll fall to the ground. If I turn o the llghts at nlght, lt wlll get dark. We can express thls type of
condltlon ln the followlng format.
.
.
1. Attach ]to the condltlon followed by the result that would occur should the condltlon
be satlsed
- !"#*-$-"# a%&+=$
2. State of belng must be made expllclt
- 4$9$% "I 8%-#3 d a%&+=$
.Rules for uslng the condltlonal ]
<@96?=%&
Y -*P\
- If you drop the ball, lt wlll fall.
] \
- If you turn o the llghts, lt wlll get dark.
These examples are deslgned to show how]ls used to express natural conseuence. However,
even lf the statement lsn't a natural conseuence ln ltself, the ] wlll tell the audlence that lt ls
nevertheless expected to be a natural conseuence.
Y bI!`ae\
- If you don't go to school, you can't meet your frlends.
] /G^e\
- If you eat a lot, you wlll get fat, for sure.
79
L&Z& 73+10203+(4- 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
d cI./l!h
- If he's a teacher, he must be older for sure, rlght?
The "for sure" part ls the lmplled meanlng supplled by the ]. The speaker ls saylng that the
followlng condltlon wlll occur ln that sltuatlon, no matter what. As you can see fromthe last example,
lf the condltlon ls a state-of-belng, lt must be expressed so expllcltly uslng I]. Thls applles to
all non-conjugated nouns and na-adjectlves as I'm sure you're used to by now. Thls wlll also help
prevent confuslon wlth other types of ].
;D}D7 !"#$%@$+9= ,"#*-$-"#9=& +&-#3 Qz pqS
Another relatlvely easy to understand type of "lf" ls the contextual condltlonal. You can use thls
partlcle to express what wlll happen glven a certaln context. For example, lf you wanted to say,
"Well, lf everybody's golng, I'm golng too" you would use the ] condltlonal because you are
saylng that you wlll go ln the context of everybody else golng. The contextual condltlonal always
reulres a context ln whlch the condltlonal occurs. For lnstance, you would use lt for saylng thlngs
llke, "If DK9DS= what you are talklng about..." or "If DK9DS= the case, then..."
In a sense, you are explalnlng what would occur lf you assume a certaln condltlon ls satlsed. In
other words, you are saylng "lf glven a certaln context, here ls what wlll happen." You wlll see thls
reected ln the Engllsh translatlons as the phrase "lf glven" ln the examples.
The ] ls attached to the context ln whlch the condltlonal occurs. The format ls the same as
the ] condltlonal, however, you must not attach the declaratlve I].
.
.
1. Attach ] to the context ln whlch the condltlonal would occur
- B&&+6%* !"#$%@$ z a%&+=$
2. You must not attach the declaratlve I].
.Rules for uslng the contextual condltlonal ]
<@96?=%&
Y d/Ip\
- If glven that everybody ls golng, then I'll go too.
] /IRye\
- If glven that Allce-san says so, there's no problem.
<@96?=% c-9="3+%
QI!\
- Where ls the llbrary?
-f Q.\- If glven that you're talklng about the llbrary, then lt's over there.
The followlng ls lncorrect.
QI\
80
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&Z& 73+10203+(4-
You can also declde to use ] lnstead of just ]. Thls means exactly the same thlng
except that lt has a more formal nuance.
;D}D; :%#%)9= ,"#*-$-"#9=& +&-#3 QS
The next type of condltlonal just expresses a regular "lf" condltlon wlthout any assumptlons or
embedded meanlngs. However, lt cannot be used wlth nouns and na-adjectlves. Conjugatlon-wlse,
the ] condltlonal ls falrly easy. For verbs, llke the potentlal form, you change the last / u /
vowel sound to an / e / vowel sound but lnstead of attachlng ], you attach ]. Thls rule
also applles to ru-verbs. For l-adjectlves and negatlves endlng ln ], you take o the last ]
and add ].
.
.
1. For verbs, just llke the potentlal form, change the last / u / vowel sound to the eulvalent
/ e / vowel sound and attach ]
_ G^ G^ G^
_
2. For l-adjectlves or negatlves endlng ln ], drop the last ] and attach ]
.
_ ! !
_
.Conjugatlon Rules for ]
<@96?=%&
Y `aI.I7\
- If I can meet wlth my frlend, we wlll go shopplng.
] I1\
- If I had money, lt would be good, huh?
d N.p\
- If lt's fun, I'll go too.
u N.p!\
- If lt's not fun, I'll also not go.
G^Ie\
- If you don't eat, you wlll become slck.
;D}D> f9&$ ,"#*-$-"#9= +&-#3 Q pqS
I call thls next condltlonal the past condltlonal because lt ls produced by taklng the past tense and
just addlng ]. It ls commonly called the ] condltlonal because all past-tense ends wlth
I] and so lt always becomes I]. Llke the ] condltlonal, lt ls also a general
condltlonal except lt can also be used wlth nouns and na-adjectlves.
81
L&Z& 73+10203+(4- 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
.
.
1. Flrst change the noun, adjectlve, or verb to lts past tense and attach ]
_ 2 2I 2I
_
_ @] @/I @/I
_ . .! .!
.Conjugatlon Rule for ]
<@96?=%&
Y I.OIe\
- If I am free, I wlll go play.
] bcI.bc7\
- If you're a student, you can buy wlth a student dlscount.
For l-adjectlves and verbs, lt ls very dlmcult to dlerentlate between the two types of condltlonals,
and you can make llfe easler for yourself by conslderlng them to be the same. However, lf you
must lnslst, I searched around the web for an explanatlon of the dlerence that I can agree wlth.
Here ls the orlglnal text nttp:))nccpugc8.nitty.cc)i-yusu)Lcsscn8.nt. Baslcally, the ]
condltlonal focuses on what happens after the condltlon. Thls ls another reason why I call thls the
past condltlonal because the condltlon ls "ln the past" not llterally and we're lnterested ln the result
not the condltlon. The ] condltlonal, on the other hand, focuses on the condltlonal part.
Let's compare the dlerence ln nuance.
A `aI.I7\- We wlll go shopplng, -I I can meet wlth my frlend.
B `aI.I7\- If I can meet wlth my frlend, F% F-== 3" &1"??-#3.
A I1\- It would be good, -I I had money, huh?
B I1\- If I had money, -$ F"+=* E% 3""*K 1+1?
Golng by the context, the ]form sounds more natural for both examples because lt doesn't
seem llke we're really focuslng on the condltlon ltself. We're probably more lnterested ln what's
golng to happen once we meet the frlend or how nlce lt would be lf we had money.
The past condltlonal ls the only type of condltlonal where the result can be ln the past. It may seem
strange to have an "lf" when the result has already taken place. Indeed, ln thls usage, there really
ls no "lf", lt's just a way of expresslng surprlse at the result of the condltlon. Thls has llttle to do
wlth condltlonals but lt ls explalned here because the grammatlcal structure ls the same.
Y I.o!\
- When I went home, there was no one there. unexpected result
] >7I./7\
- As a result of golng to Amerlca, I got really fat. unexpected result
You can also use ] lnstead of ]. Slmllar to ], thls means exactly the same
thlng except that lt has a more formal nuance.
82
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&[& ,P*5,--0+. e6/-2e 35 e8(U, 23e
;D}DA L"F *"%& QjS m$ -#$" 9== "I $1-&M
Some of you may be aware of the word ] whlch means "lf" and may be wonderlng how lt
ts lnto all of thls. Well, lf you want to say a condltlonal, you need to use one of the condltlonals
dlscussed above. ] ls really a supplement to add a sense of uncertalnty on whether the
condltlon ls true. For lnstance, you mlght use lt when you want to make an lnvltatlon and you don't
want to presume llke the followlng example.
Y e!.PI7!h
- If by any chance lt's ok wlth you, go to watch movle?
] V>I.iTe\
- If glven that there's no tlme, tomorrow ls ne as well. Not certaln whether there ls no tlme
;D. <@?)%&&-#3 6+&$ ") 19C% $" hdT{z{Tz
z{Tjl
;D.D' 21%# $1%)%J& &"6%$1-#3 $19$ 6+&$ ") 6+&$ #"$ E% *"#%
In llfe, there are thlngs that we must or must not do whether lt's taklng out the trash or dolng our
homework. We wlll cover how to say thls ln Japanese because lt ls a useful expresslon and lt also
tles ln well wlth the prevlous sectlon. We wlll also learn how to the say the expresslon, "You don't
have to..." to nlsh o thls sectlon.
;D.D/ &-#3 QdSK Q{z{SK 9#* Qzz{S I") $1-#3& $19$ 6+&$ #"$
E% *"#%
If you don't know what I][ means, I suggest looklng lt up ln WWWJDIC nttp:))uuu.
cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)-uL)uuudic.nt1 and cllcklng on the [Ex] llnk to see the example sentences.
It essentlally means "no good" but carefully check out the example sentences because lt can be used
ln many dlerent ways. The other two key words ln thls sectlon are ] and ]
and they have essentlally the same baslc meanlng as I]. However, whlle ] can be
used by ltself, ] must only be used ln the grammar presented here. In addltlon, whlle
] and ] conjugate llke l-adjectlves they are not actual adjectlves. Let's learn
how to use these words to express thlngs that must not be done.
.
.
Take the te-form of the verb, add the I] wa partlcle and nally attach elther I]
.].or ].
_ + I + I = III
I
.How to say: Must not [verb]
Y II7|/\
- You must not enter here.
] G^II
- You can't must not eat that!
d ./7I\
83
L&[& ,P*5,--0+. e6/-2e 35 e8(U, 23e 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
- You must not use the phone untll late at nlght.
u 1I7|/\
- Wasn't allowed to sleep early.
The dlerence between I].].and ] ls that, rst of all, I] ls
casual. Whlle ] and ] are baslcally ldentlcal, ] ls generally more
for thlngs that apply to more than one person llke rules and pollcles.
;D.D7 <@?)%&&-#3 $1-#3& $19$ 6+&$ E% *"#%
You may have predlcted that the opposlte of "You must not do" would use ] or ]
because they look llke the posltlve verslon of ] and ]. However,
] and ] must always be negatlve, so thls ls not correct. In actuallty, we stlll use the
same I] and use the opposlte of the verb that goes ln front of lt lnstead.
Thls double negatlve can be klnd of confuslng at rst but you wlll get used to lt wlth practlce. There
are three ways to conjugate the verb before addlng I] and two of them
lnvolve condltlonals so aren't you glad that you just learned condltlonals ln the prevlous sectlon?
.
.
1. Negatlve te-form + I] wa partlcle + I
2. Negatlve verb + ] condltlonal + I
3. Negatlve verb + ] condltlonal + I
.How to say: Must [verb]
The rst method ls the same as the "must not do" grammar form except that we slmply negated
the verb.
Y TbI!I7|/\- Must go to school everyday.
] I!\- Had to do homework.
The second method uses the natural condltlonal that we learned ln the last lesson. Llterally, lt
means lf you don't do somethlng, then lt automatlcally leads to the fact that lt ls no good. In other
words, you must do lt. However, people tend to use lt for sltuatlons beyond the natural conseuence
characterlatlon that we learned from the last sectlon because lt's shorter and easler to use than
the other two types of grammar.
Y TbI!I\- Must go to school everyday.
] \- Have to do homework.
The thlrd method ls slmllar to the second except that lt uses a dlerent type of condltlonal as
explalned ln the last lesson. Wlth the ]condltlonal, lt can be used for a wlder range of sltuatlons.
Note that slnce the verb ls always negatlve, for the ] condltlonal, we wlll always be removlng
the last ] and addlng ].
Y TbI!7|/\- Must go to school everyday.
] II\- Had to do homework.
It may seem llke I just breeed through a whole lot of materlal because there are three grammar
forms and I] addlng up to nlne posslble comblnatlons 3x3. However,
some comblnatlons are more common than others but I dld not expllcltly polnt out whlch were more
84
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&[& ,P*5,--0+. e6/-2e 35 e8(U, 23e
common because any comblnatlon ls technlcally correct and golng over style would merely confuse
at thls polnt. Also, keep ln mlnd that there ls nothlng essentlally new ln terms of conjugatlon rules.
We already covered condltlonals ln the last lesson and addlng the wa partlcle to the te-form ln the
beglnnlng of thls sectlon.
a%9=-$5 !1%,G
Although we spent the last sectlon explalnlng ] and I], the reallty ls that
because they are so long, they are practlcally never used ln real conversatlons. Whlle they are often
used ln a wrltten context, ln actual speech, people usually use the ] condltlonal or the varlous
shortcuts descrlbed below. In casual speech, the ] condltlonal ls the most prevalent type of
condltlonal. Though I explalned ln depth the meanlng assoclated wlth the ] condltlonal, you
have to take lt wlth a graln of salt here because people are lnherently lay.
;D.D; Z9)-"+& &1")$b,+$& I") $1% =9P5
You may have been grumbllng and complalnlng about how long most of the expresslons are just to
say you must do somethlng. You can end up wlth up to elght addltlonal syllables just to say "I have
to..."!
Well, others have thought the same before and people usually use short abbrevlated verslons of
I] and ] ln casual speech. Teachers are often reluctant to teach these overly
famlllar expresslons because they are so much easler to use whlch ls bad for tlmes when they mlght
not be approprlate. But, on the other hand, lf you don't learn casual expresslons, lt makes lt dlmcult
to understand your frlends or would-be frlends lf you only knew how to speak less stly!. So here
they are but take care to properly practlce the longer forms so that you wlll be able to use them for
the approprlate occaslons.
.
.
1. Slmply replace ] wlth ]
2. Slmply replace ] wlth ]
.Casual abbrevlatlons for thlngs that must be done
Rlght now, you may be saylng, "What the?" because the "abbrevlatlons" are about the same length
as what we've already covered. The secret here ls that, unllke the expresslons we learned so far,
you can just leave the I] part out altogether!
Y \- Gotta study.
] CG^\- Gotta eat.
The ] condltlonal ls also used by ltself to lmply I].
Y bI!\ Gotta go to school.
There ls another ] abbrevlatlon for thlngs that you must not do. However, ln thls case, you
cannot leave out the I] part out. Slnce thls ?= a casual abbrevlatlon, I
] ls used ln most cases.
One very lmportant dlerence for thls casual form ls that verbs that end ln ]].].J]
use l] lnstead of ]. Essentlally, all the verbs that end ln /I] for past tense fall ln
thls category.
85
L&%]& 1,-05, (+1 -/..,-203+- 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
.
.
1. Replace I] wlth ]
2. Replace I] wlth l]
.Casual abbrevlatlons for thlngs that must not be done
Y IIIe\- You can't enter here.
] /lIIe- You can't dle!
On a nal note, ln general, ] sounds a blt cutesy or glrly. You've already seen an example of
thls wlth the /] sumx. Slmllarly, ] also sounds a blt cutesy or chlldlsh.
;D.D> 495-#3 &"6%$1-#3 -& "G $" *" ") #"$ *"
Now let's learn how to say elther that lt's ok to do or not do somethlng. I declded to shove thls
sectlon ln here because ln Japanese, thls ls essentlal how to say that you don't have to somethlng
by saylng lt's ok to not do lt. The grammar ltself ls also relatlvely easy to plck up and makes for a
short sectlon.
By slmply uslng the te-form and the ] partlcle, you are essentlally saylng, "even lf you do ^..."
Common words that come after thls lnclude ], ?@], or 91]. Some examples
wlll come ln handy.
Y G^e\- You can go ahead and eat lt all. llt: Even lf you eat lt all, lt's good,
you know.
] G^e\- You don't have to eat lt all. llt: Even lf you don't eat lt all, lt's
good, you know.
d /?@Ie\- It's OK lf you drlnk lt all. llt: Even lf you drlnk lt all, lt's OK, you
know.
u /91e\- I don't mlnd lf you drlnk lt all. llt: Even lf you drlnk lt all, I don't
mlnd, you know.
In casual speech, ] sometlmes get shortened to just ] or ]
lnstead of ] .
Y h- Can I go home already?
] .,h- Can I take a ulck look at thls?
;D' c%&-)% 9#* 4+33%&$-"#& h{T{TC"=-$-"#9=T
l
;D'D' L"F $" 3%$ 5"+) F95 -# H9?9#
We wlll now learn how to say what you want elther by just comlng out and saylng lt or by maklng
dlscreet suggestlons. The major toplcs we wlll cover wlll be the ] conjugatlon and the
volltlonal form. We wlll also learn speclalled uses of the ] and ] condltlonals to oer
advlce.
86
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%]& 1,-05, (+1 -/..,-203+-
;D'D/ Z%)E& 5"+ F9#$ $" *" F-$1 Q{S
You can express verbs that you !9;D to perform wlth the ] form. All you need to do ls
add ] to the stem of the verb. However, unllke most conjugatlons we learned where the
verb turns lnto a ru-verb, thls form actually transforms the verb lnto an l-adjectlve notlce how
] convenlently ends ln ]. Thls makes sense because the conjugated form ls a descrlptlon
of somethlng that you want to do. Once you have the ] form, you can then conjugate lt
the same as you would any other l-adjectlve. However, the ] form ls dlerent from regular
l-adjectlves because lt ls derlved froma verb. Thls means that all the partlcles we normally assoclate
wlth verbs such as ].I].^].or ] can all be used wlth the ] form, whlch
ls not true for regular l-adjectlves. Here's a chart just for you.
] conjugatlons
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$
f9&$ ! !
<@96?=%&
Y !\
- What do you want to do?
] I\
- I want to go to hot sprlng.
d O*.G^0h
- You don't want to eat cake?
u G^!G^\
- I dldn't want to eat lt but I became wantlng to eat.
Example u was very awkward to translate but ls ulte slmple ln Japanese lf you refer to "Uslng
] wlth l-adjectlves". The past tense of the verb ] was used to create "became want to
eat". Here's a tongue twlster uslng the negatlve ] and past-tense of ]gG^
] meanlng "became not wantlng to eat".
Thls may seem obvlous but ]cannot have a ]form because lnanlmate objects cannot
want anythlng. However, ] can be used wlth the ] form ln examples llke the one
below.
HI\
- I want to be together forever. llt: Want to exlst together for long tlme.
Also, you can only use the ]form for the rst-person because you cannot read other people's
mlnd to see what they want to do. For referrlng to anyone beslde yourself, lt ls normal to use
expresslons such as, "I thlnk he wants to..." or "She sald that she wants to..." We wlll learn how to
say such expresslons ln a later lesson. Of course, lf you're asklng a uestlon, you can just use the
] form because you're not presumlng to know anythlng.
SO!\
- Do you want to play wlth dog?
87
L&%]& 1,-05, (+1 -/..,-203+- 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
;D'D7 (#*-,9$-#3 $1-#3& 5"+ F9#$ ") F9#$ *"#% +&-#3 Q{S
In Engllsh, we employ a verb to say that we want somethlng. In Japanese, "to want" ls actually an
l-adjectlve and not a verb. We saw somethlng slmllar wlth M] whlch ls an adjectlve whlle "to
llke" ln Engllsh ls a verb. Whlle I dldn't get too much lnto the worklngs of M], I have dedlcated
a whole sectlon to ]because lt means, "to want somethlng done" when comblned wlth the
te-form of a verb. We wlll learn a more pollte and approprlate way to make reuests ln the "Maklng
Reuests" lesson lnstead of saylng, "I want thls done."
Though not a set rule, whenever words come attached to the te-form of a verb to serve a speclal
grammatlcal functlon, lt ls customary to wrlte lt ln hlragana. Thls ls because kanjl ls already used
for the verb and the attached word becomes part of that verb.
<@96?=%&
Y dI
- I want a blg stued doll!
] G^l/I'''\
- I want lt all eaten but...
d Il0e\
- It ls that I want the room cleaned up, you know.
Llke I mentloned, there are more approprlate ways to ask for thlngs whlch we won't go lnto untll
later. Thls grammar ls not used too often but ls lncluded for completeness.
;D'D; O9G-#3 9 6"$-"# $" *" &"6%$1-#3 +&-#3 $1% C"=-$-"#9= I")6 p,9&+9=q
The term volltlonal here means a wlll to do somethlng. In other words, the volltlonal form lndlcates
that someone ls settlng out to do somethlng. In the most common example, thls slmply translates
lnto the Engllsh "let's" or "shall we?" but we'll also see how thls form can be used to express an
eort to do somethlng ln a lesson further along.
To conjugate verbs lnto the volltlonal form for casual speech, there are two dlerent rules for ru-
verbs and u-verbs. For ru-verbs, you slmply remove the ] and add e]. For u-verbs, you
replace the / u / vowel sound wlth the / o / vowel sound and add ].
.
.
For ru-verbs: Remove the ] and add e]
_ G^ G^ + e G^e
For u-verbs: Replace the / u / vowel sound wlth the / o / vowel sound and add ]
_ +
.Conjugatlons rules for the casual volltlonal form
Here ls a llst of verbs you should be used to seelng by now.
88
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%]& 1,-05, (+1 -/..,-203+-
Sample ru-verbs
f=9-# Z"=-$-"#9=
G^ G^e
e
l le
e
e
e
e
e
^ ^e
Sample u-verbs
f=9-# Z"=-$-"#9= rstu rstu pZ"=Dq
hanasu hanasou
klku klkou
C oyogu oyogou
l asobu asobou
matu matou
] nomu nomou
naoru naorou
J 0 shlnu shlnou
kau kaou
Exceptlon Verbs
f=9-# Z"=-$-"#9=
e
e
<@96?=%&
I doubt you wlll ever use 0] let's dle but I left lt ln for completeness. Here are some more
reallstlc examples.
Y STIe!h
- What shall [we] do today?
] **I
- Let's go to theme park!
d iTIG^e!h
- What shall [we] eat tomorrow?
u 7I*G^e
- Let's eat curry!
Remember, slnce you're settlng out to do somethlng, lt doesn't make sense to have thls verb ln the
past tense. Therefore, there ls only one tense and lf you were to replace iT] ln d wlth, for
example, MT] then the sentence would make no sense.
;D'D> O9G-#3 9 6"$-"# $" *" &"6%$1-#3 +&-#3 $1% C"=-$-"#9= I")6 p?"=-$%q
The conjugatlon for the pollte form ls even slmpler. All you have to do ls add 7,] to the
stem of the verb. Slmllar to the masu-form, verbs ln thls form must always come at the end of
the sentence. In fact, all pollte endlngs must always come at the end and nowhere else as we've
already seen.
.
.
For all verbs: Add 7,] to the stem of the verb
_ G^ G^ + 7, G^7,
_ + 7, 7,
.Conjugatlons rules for the pollte volltlonal form
89
L&%%& *,5R3560+. (+ (7203+ 3+ ( -/O3510+(2, 74(/-, 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
Sample verbs
f=9-# Z"=-$-"#9=
7,
7,
7,
7,
O7,
<@96?=%&
Agaln, there's nothlng new here, just the pollte verslon of the volltlonal form.
Y STI7,!h
- What shall [we] do today?
] **I7,
- Let's go to theme park!
d iTIG^7,!h
- What shall [we] eat tomorrow?
u 7I*G^7,
- Let's eat curry!
;D'DA O9G-#3 4+33%&$-"#& +&-#3 $1% QS ") QS ,"#*-$-"#9=
You can make suggestlons by uslng the ] or ] condltlonal and addlng ]. Thls
llterally means, "If you do [^], how ls lt?" In Engllsh, thls would become, "How about dolng [^]?"
Grammatlcally, there's nothlng new here but lt ls a commonly used set phrase.
<@96?=%&
Y I!\
- How about golng to bank?
] 7ICcs|h
- How about talklng wlth your parents once ln a whlle?
;D'' f%)I")6-#3 9# 9,$-"# "# 9 &+E")*-#9$% ,=9+&% hTl
In the sectlon about modlfylng subordlnate clauses, we learned how to treat a subordlnate clause
llke an adjectlve to dlrectly modlfy a noun. We wlll extend the functlonallty of subordlnate clauses
by learnlng how to perform an actlon on a subordlnate clause. Obvlously, we cannot slmply attach
the ] partlcle to a subordlnate clause because the ] partlcle only applles to noun phrases.
We need somethlng to encapsulate the subordlnate clause lnto a unlt that we can perform actlons
on. Thls ls done by maklng a uoted phrase.
Whlle ln Engllsh, you can just add uotes and a comma to make a uotatlon, Japanese reulres
90
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%%& *,5R3560+. (+ (7203+ 3+ ( -/O3510+(2, 74(/-,
attachlng ] at the end of the uote. Thls ls completely dlerent from the ] partlcle and
the ] condltlonal. Unllke uotes ln Engllsh, we can perform many dlerent types of actlons on
the uote besldes the standard "he sald", "she sald", etc. For example, we can perform the actlon,
"to thlnk" or "to hear" to produce phrases such as, "I thlnk [subclause]" or "I heard [subclause]"
Thls ls very lmportant ln Japanese because Japanese people seldomamrmdenlte statements. Thls
also why we wlll have to eventually cover many other types of grammar to express uncertalnty or
probablllty.
;D''D' 01% *-)%,$ o+"$%
We'll learn the slmplest type of uoted phrase, whlch ls the dlrect uote. Baslcally, you are dlrectly
uotlng somethlng that was sald. Thls ls done by slmply encloslng the statement ln uotes, addlng
] and then lnsertlng the approprlate verb. The most common verbs assoclated wlth a dlrect
uote would be R] and ] but you may use any verbs related to dlrect uotatlon such
as: ], ], ], etc. Thls type of uotatlon ls often used for dlalogue ln novels and
other narratlve works.
<@96?=%&
Y I.]R\
- Allce sald, "Cold".
] STI()I]c!/I\- It ls that I heard from the teacher, "There ls
no class today."
The verb does not need to be dlrectly connected to the subordlnate clause. As long as the verb
that applles to the subordlnate clause comes before any other verb, you can have any number of
adjectlves, adverbs or nouns ln between.
Y ]I];IR\- "Cold," Allce sald to Tanaka.
;D''D/ 01% -#$%)?)%$%* o+"$%
The second type of uote ls the uote along the llnes of what someone actually sald. It's not a word-
for-word uote. Slnce thls ls not a dlrect uote, no uotatlons are needed. You can also express
thoughts as an lnterpreted uote as well. By uslng thls and the verb ] you can say you thlnk
that somethlng ls so-and-so. You wlll hear Japanese people use thls all the tlme. You can also use
the verb ] when you are conslderlng somethlng.
<@96?=%&
Y c!STI()I/I\
- I heard from the teacher that there ls no class today.
] I.TICR7!\- What do you call thls ln Japanese? llt: About thls, what
do you say ln Japanese?
d pI.R7\- I am called Allce. llt: As for me, you say Allce.
91
L&%%& *,5R3560+. (+ (7203+ 3+ ( -/O3510+(2, 74(/-, 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
In an lnterpreted uote, the meanlng of R] may change as you see ln examples ] and d.
Actually, as you can see from the llteral translatlon, the meanlng remalns the same ln Japanese but
changes only when translated to normal Engllsh. We'll learn more about varlous ways to use
] ln the next lesson.
Here are some examples of thoughts belng used as uoted subordlnate clauses. In example ,
the uestlon marker ls used wlth the volltlonal to lnsert an embedded uestlon.
u 7I*G^e.G^V>I!\
- I thought about settlng out to eat curry but I dldn't have tlme to eat.
S.I!\
- Now, I'm conslderlng where to set out to go.
Unllke the dlrect uotatlon, whlch you can just copy as ls, lf the uoted subordlnate clause ls a
state-of-belng for a noun or na-adjectlve, you have to expllcltly lnclude the declaratlve I] to
show thls.
Y I.IIR7!\
- What dld he say thls ls?
] I|cI.l\
- I heard that he ls a hlgh school student but I can't belleve lt.
Notlce howI]was added to expllcltly declare the state-of-belng that ls hlghllghted ln the Engllsh
translatlon. You can really see how lmportant the I] ls here by comparlng the followlng two
sentences.
A IIR7!\
- What dld [he] say thls ls?
B R7!\
- What dld [he] say?
;D''D7 &-#3 QS 9& 9 ,9&+9= C%)&-"# "I QS
You may be surprlsed to hear that there ls a shorter and casual verslon of the uoted subordlnate
clause slnce lt's already only one hlragana character, ]. However, the lmportant polnt here ls
that by uslng thls casual shortcut, you can drop the rest of the sentence and hope your audlence
can understand everythlng from context.
<@96?=%&
Y I.I/I\
- Tomoko sald that she's golng overseas next year.
] I\
- I already told you I have no money.
d hIh
- Huh? What dld you say?
u S.V>I/I.Ih
- I heard you don't have tlme now, ls that true?
92
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%'& 1,R0+0+. (+1 1,-750O0+.
S.V>I.Ih
- You don't have tlme now I heard, ls that true?
] can also be used to talk about practlcally anythlng, not just to uote somethlng that was
sald. You can hear ] belng used just about everywhere ln casual speech. Most of the tlme lt
ls used ln place of the I] partlcle to slmply brlng up a toplc.
<@96?=%&
Y iT.AIB/I\
- About tomorrow, I hear that lt's golng to raln.
] .Cr,h
- About Allce, she's a very good person, rlght?
;D'/ c%m#-#3 9#* c%&,)-E-#3 h{l
;D'/D' 01% C9)-"+& +&%& "I Q{S
In the prevlous lesson, we learned how to uote a subordlnate clause by encaslng lt wlth ].
Thls allowed us to talk about thlngs that people have sald, heard, thought, and more. We also took
a look at some examples sentences that used ]and R]to descrlbe how to say somethlng
ln Japanese and even what to call oneself. In thls sectlon, we wlll learn that wlth ], we can use
] ln a slmllar fashlon to dene, descrlbe, and generally just talk about the thlng ltself. We'll
also see how to do the same thlng wlth the casual ]verslon we rst learned about ln the last
lesson.
;D'/D/ &-#3 Q{S $" *%m#%
In the last lesson, we brley looked at how to lntroduce ourselves by uslng ] and ]. For
lnstance, we had the followlng example, whlch Allce used to lntroduce herself.
Y pI7\- I am called Allce. llt: As for me, you say Allce.
Thls sentence pattern ls probably one of the rst thlngs beglnner Japanese students learn ln the
classroom. In thls case, the verb ] doesn't mean that somebody actually sald somethlng.
Rather, Allce ls saylng that people ln general say "Allce" when referrlng to her. Whlle uslng kanjl for
] ls perfectly acceptable, ln thls case, slnce nothlng ls actually belng sald, uslng hlragana ls
also common.
Thls ldea of descrlblng what a person ls known or referred to as can also be extended to objects
and places. We can essentlally dene and ldentlfy anythlng we want by uslng ] ln thls
manner. As you can lmaglne, thls ls partlcularly useful for us because lt allows us to ask what thlngs
are called ln Japanese and for the denltlon of words we don't know yet.
93
L&%'& 1,R0+0+. (+1 1,-750O0+. 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
<@96?=%&
Y I./[!\
- What ls thls sh referred to as?.
] 0[I.7\
- Thls sh ls known as "29?".
d P5*$II!.7!h
- Do you know where the department store called "Lumlne" ls?
u `a]I.Cfrlend]\
- The meanlng of "D"@"J9MK?" ln Engllsh ls "frlend".
;D'/D7 &-#3 Q{S $" *%&,)-E% 9#5$1-#3
We learned how to use ]to descrlbe what somethlng ls known or referred to as. However,
we can take thls ldea even further by attachlng two subordlnate clauses. At thls polnt, ]ls so
abstract that lt doesn't even really have a meanlng. When a subordlnate clause ls encapsulated wlth
], you must have a verb to go along wlth lt and ] ls slmply belng used as a generlc verb
to enable us to talk about any subordlnate clause. Thls allows us to descrlbe and explaln just about
anythlng ranglng from a slngle word to complete sentences. As you can lmaglne, thls constructlon
ls ulte useful and employed ulte often ln Japanese.
<@96?=%&
Y grIurI0IH-'!\
- The most lnterestlng thlng was that the maln character was the crlmlnal.
] TIrII0IIh
- Is lt true that Japanese people are weak to alcohol?
d I0I.I0h
- It was a lle that you were slngle?
u f*$0I.%&`\
- Reboot means to restart your computer.
We can abstract lt even further by replaclng the subordlnate clause wlth a generlc way of dolng
somethlng. In thls case, we use ].].].and ], whlch when comblned
wlth ] means "thls way, "that way", "that way far away ln an abstract sense" and "what
way" respectlvely.
<@96?=%&
Y /I.VI/I!./Ie\
- It's because you always come at tlmes llke these that I'm troubled.
] rHI0I.xIe1\
- [Anybody would] dlsllke dolng work together wlth that type of person, huh?
94
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%'& 1,R0+0+. (+1 1,-750O0+.
d r8.|I7\
- I thlnk you can become happy lf you could marry that type of person.
u bI!.0h
- What do you mean, "You're not golng to go to college?"
;D'/D; a%?1)9&-#3 9#* 69G-#3 ,"#,=+&-"#& F-$1 Q{S
We can attach the uestlon marker !] to ] ln order to add a uestlonlng element.
Thls constructlon ls used when you want to rephrase or redene somethlng such as the followlng
dlalogue.
<@96?=% c-9="3+%
d/I./0`,h
- Mlkl-chan ls your glrlfrlend, rlght?
/.`!.`a!./!'''
- Um, you mlght say glrlfrlend, or frlend, or somethlng
Thls constructlon ls used all the tlme, partlcularly ln casual conversatlons. It can be used to correct
somethlng, come to a dlerent concluslon, or even as an lnterjectlon.
<@96?=%&
Y IM!.c\
- I llke alcohol or rather, can't llve on wlthout lt.
] 3!\!.I!.\
- Don't thlnk I'll go. Or rather, can't because there's no money.
d !.I\
- Rather than that, I have to go home already.
Rather than uslng !] to rephrase a concluslon, we can also slmply use ] to sum up
somethlng wlthout rephraslng anythlng.
<@96?=% c-9="3+%
d/I/I\
- I heard that Mlkl-chan broke up wlth Yousuke.
I.d/I.SIh
- Does that mean Mlkl-chan doesn't have a boyfrlend now?
\\
- That's rlght. That's what lt means.
95
L&%'& 1,R0+0+. (+1 1,-750O0+. 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
;D'/D> &-#3 QS ") QS I") Q{S
As mentloned ln the prevlous lesson, ] ls very often used ln causal slang ln place of ]
, because lt allows us to leave out the rest of the sentence and assume context or just plaln
assumptlon wlll take care of the rest. We already saw that we can use ] to replace
] as well. However, slnce we just learned how to use ] to do much more than just
slmply say somethlng, there ls a llmlt to just how much you can leave out. In any case, ]wlll
allow us to leave out not only ] but also any accompanylng partlcles as you can see ln the
followlng example.
<@96?=%&
Y b0I.0h
- The studylng abroad next year thlng, ls that Tomoko?
] b0h
- The studylng abroad next year thlng, ls that Tomoko?
I] ls also another phrase that leaves out just about everythlng. By conventlon, lt ls used to
express dlsagreement or dlssatlsfactlon usually to whlne, complaln, or to make an excuse but you
can't tell what lt means just from looklng at lt. It ls an abbrevlatlon of somethlng along the llnes of
I] meanlng, "even lf that was the case".
<@96?=% c-9="3+% '
A IIe\
- Have to do lt, you know.
B I.V>I!e\
- But even so, can't do lt because there ls no tlme.
<@96?=% c-9="3+% /
A !e\
- Don't have to go, you know.
B I.d/\p!\
- But even so, everybody sald they're golng. I have to go too.
In some cases, the small ] ls left out and just ] ls used lnstead of ]. Thls ls done
as ls usually the case for slang ln order to make thlngs easler to say. In general, thls ls when there
ls nothlng before the ] or when the sound that comes before lt doesn't reulre the expllclt
separatlon the ] glves us ln order to be understood.
<@96?=%&
Y I.d/I.SIh
- Does that mean Mlkl-chan doesn't have a boyfrlend now?
96
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%>& 25I0+. -36,280+. 3/2 35 (22,6*20+. 23 13 -36,280+.
] !.I\
- Rather than that, I have to go home already.
Slnce slang tends to be used ln whlchever way the person feels llke, there are no denlte rules
denlng whether you should use ]or ]. However, ]ls generally not used to express
what people have actually sald or heard, whlch ls why lt wasn't covered ln the last lesson.
d/I.iT\
- Can't use ] for somethlng actually sald
T d/I.iT\
- Mlkl-chan says she lsn't comlng tomorrow.
;D'/DA 495-#3 QUS -#&$%9* "I Q{S
Because the ]constructlon ls used so often, there are a lot of dlerent varlatlons and slang
based on lt. Whlle I do not plan on coverlng all of them here, you can check out casual patterns and
slang ln the mlscellaneous sectlon for yet even more slang derlved from ].
The last thlng I'm am golng to brley mentlon here ls the use of U] lnstead of ]. In
conversatlons, lt ls ulte normal to say U]lnstead of ]. U]ls easler to say because
lt ls slmply one letter wlth a long vowel sound lnstead of the two dlerent vowel sounds of ]
.
<@96?=%&
Y U!.I\
- Rather than that, I have to go home already.
] Ul
- I sald lt's not llke that llt: lt's not that type of thlng!
;D'7 0)5-#3 &"6%$1-#3 "+$ ") 9$$%6?$-#3 $" *" &"6%$1-#3
hyTC"=-$-"#9= yl
;D'7D' Y%$J& $)5 &"6% &$+
In Engllsh, we use the word, "try" to mean both "to try somethlng out" and "to make an eort to
do somethlng". In Japanese, these are separate grammatlcal expresslons. For lnstance, "I trled the
cherry avor" and "I trled to do homework" mean ulte dlerent thlngs and though Engllsh does
not make a dlstlnctlon, Japanese does.
;D'7D/ 0" $)5 &"6%$1-#3 "+$
To try somethlng out, you slmply need to change the verb to the te-form and add d]. If lt
helps you to remember, you can thlnk of lt as a seuence of an actlon and then seelng the result.
97
L&%>& 25I0+. -36,280+. 3/2 35 (22,6*20+. 23 13 -36,280+. 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
In fact d] conjugates just llke ]. However, just llke the l] grammar we
learned, thls ls a set phrase and d] ls usually wrltten ln hlragana.
.
.
To say you trled somethlng out, take the actlon, conjugate lt to the te-form and add d
].
_ tt td
You can treat the whole result as a regular verb just as you would wlth ].
_ td.td.td.td!
.Summary
<@96?=%&
Y MdG^d.!
- I trled eatlng okonomlyakl for the rst tlme and lt was very tasty!
] /d7I.C7\
- I trled drlnklng alcohol and I became extremely sleepy.
d <5*$Id\
- I'm golng to check out the new department store.
u 0MdG^d
- I want to try eatlng Hlroshlma okonomlyakl!
;D'7D7 0" 9$$%6?$ $" *" &"6%$1-#3
We already learned that the volltlonal form was used to lndlcate a wlll to set out to do somethlng.
If you guessed that thls next grammar for attemptlng to do somethlng would lnvolve the volltlonal
form, you were rlght. To say that you trled as ln attempted to do somethlng, you need to conjugate
the verb lnto the volltlonal, enclose lt ln a uotatlon so that we can performan actlon on the clause
and nally add the verb ]. Or put more slmply, you just add ] to the volltlonal
form of the verb. Thls ls slmply an extenslon of the uoted subordlnate clause from the last sectlon.
Instead of saylng the uote R or treatlng lt as a thought ., we are slmply dolng lt
wlth ].
.
.
To say that you are attemptlng a certaln actlon, convert the actlon to the volltlonal form
and add ].
_ e e
_
.Summary
98
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%L& .0U0+. (+1 5,7,0U0+.
<@96?=%&
Y T.e\
- Everyday, she attempts to avold study.
] rrII\
- He ls attemptlng to force hls way lnto the room.
d 1e.8IJ\
- I attempted to sleep early but ended up staylng up all nlght.
u I.f/I\
- He trled to drlnk alcohol but hls wlfe stopped hlm.
Though we use the verb ] to say, "to do attempt", we can use dlerent verbs to do other
thlngs wlth the attempt. For lnstance, we can use the verb ] to say, "declde to attempt to
do [^]". Here are some examples of other actlons carrled out on the attempt.
Y ^e\
- I thought I would attempt to avold studylng as much as posslble.
] T31I\
- Declded to attempt to go to gym everyday.
;D'; :-C-#3 9#* a%,%-C-#3 hxyTRyTyTjl
;D';D' H9?9#%&% ?%"?=% =-G% 3-I$&
One thlng about Japanese culture ls that they're blg on glvlng glfts. There are many dlerent customs
lnvolvlng glvlng and recelvlng glfts .;.etc. and when Japanese people go travellng,
you can be sure that they're golng to be plcklng up souvenlrs to take back as glfts. Even when
attendlng marrlages or funerals, people are expected to glve a certaln amount of money as a glft to
help fund the ceremony. You can see why properly learnlng how to express the glvlng and recelvlng
of favors and ltems ls a very lmportant and useful sklll. For some reason, the proper use of
].].and ] has always haunted people studylng Japanese as belng horrlbly
complex and lntractable. I hope to prove ln thls sectlon that lt ls conceptually ulte stralghtforward
and slmple.
;D';D/ 21%# $" +&% QxyS
] ls the Japanese word for "to glve" seen from the speaker's polnt of vlew. You must use
thls verb when you are glvlng somethlng or dolng somethlng for someone else.
<@96?=%&
Y pI`aIvI`$\
- I gave present to frlend.
99
L&%L& .0U0+. (+1 5,7,0U0+. 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
] IcI\
- I'll glve thls to teacher.
In order to express the glvlng of a favor verb you must use the ever useful te-formand then attach
]. Thls applles to all the other sectlons ln thls lesson as well.
Y qe\
- I'll glve you the favor of buylng a car.
] 1I\
- I'll glve you the favor of golng ln your place.
For thlrd-person, thls verb ls used when the speaker ls looklng at lt from the glver's polnt of vlew.
We'll see the slgnlcance of thls when we examlne the verb ] next.
Y bcIcI\
- The student glve thls to teacher. looklng at lt from the student's polnt of vlew
] `aIdI\
- Frlend gave the favor of teachlng somethlng good to my dad. looklng at lt from the frlend's polnt
of vlew
&-#3 QRyS $" 6%9# QxyS
Usually used for pets, anlmals, and such, you can substltute '], whlch normally means "to
do", for ]. You would normally never use thls type of '] for people. I only lncluded
thls so that you won't be confused by sentences llke the followlng.
Y SI'h- Dld you glve the dog food?
Here, ']does not mean "to do" but "to glve". You can tell because "dolng food to dog" doesn't
make any sense.
;D';D7 21%# $" +&% QyS
] ls also a verb meanlng "to glve" but unllke ], lt ls from the recelver's polnt of
vlew. You must use thls verb when someone <B=< ls glvlng somethlng or dolng somethlng for you
eectlvely the opposlte of ].
<@96?=%&
Y `aIpIvI`$\
- Frlend gave present to me.
] I.cI\
- Teacher gave thls to me.
d q0h
- You'll glve me the favor of buylng a car for me?
u 1Ih
- Wlll you glve me the favor of golng ln my place?
100
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%L& .0U0+. (+1 5,7,0U0+.
Slmllarly, when used ln the thlrd-person, the speaker ls speaklng from the recelver's polnt of vlew
and not the glver.
Y cIbcI\
- The teacher glve thls to student. looklng at lt from the student's polnt of vlew
] `aIdI\
- Frlend gave favor of teachlng somethlng good to my dad. looklng at lt from the dad's polnt of
vlew
The followlng dlagram lllustrates the dlrectlon of glvlng from the polnt of vlew of the speaker.
From the speaker's polnt of vlew, all the glvlng done to others "go up" to everybody else whlle the
glvlng done by everybody else "goes down" to the speaker. Thls ls probably related to the fact that
there ls an ldentlcal verb ] meanlng "to ralse" that contalns the character for "above"
and that the honorlc verslon of ] ls ] wlth the character for down . Thls
restrlctlon allows us to make certaln deductlons from vague sentences llke the followlng:
Y cI/!\
- Teacher, wlll you be the one to glve favor of teachlng to... [anybody other than the speaker]?
Because all glvlng done to the speaker must always use ], we know that the teacher must
be dolng lt for someone else and ;"D DK< =:<9$<#. The speaker ls also looklng at lt fromthe teacher's
polnt of vlew as dolng a favor for someone else.
] cI/!\
- Teacher, wlll you be the one to glve favor of teachlng to... [anybody lncludlng the speaker]?
Because the glver ls not the speaker, the teacher ls elther glvlng to the speaker or anyone else. The
speaker ls vlewlng lt from the recelver's polnt of vlew as recelvlng a favor done by the teacher.
Let's see some mlstakes to watch out for.
pIG^7\- ] ls belng used as glvlng done by the speaker. Wrong
T pIG^7\- I gave favor of eatlng lt all. Correct
`aIvI`$pI\- ] ls belng used as glvlng to the speaker. Wrong
101
L&%L& .0U0+. (+1 5,7,0U0+. 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
T `aIvI`$pI\- Frlend gave present to me. Correct
;D';D; 21%# $" +&% QjS
] meanlng, "to recelve" has only one verslon unllke ] so there's very
llttle to explaln. One thlng to polnt out ls that slnce you recelve ^#"@ someone, !] ls also
approprlate ln addltlon to the I] target partlcle.
<@96?=%&
Y pI`aIvI`$\
- I recelved present from frlend.
] `a!vI`$\
- I recelved present from frlend.
d I`aI\
- About thls, recelved the favor of buylng lt from frlend.
u 7(!.V>IrI\
- I wanted to recelve the favor of checklng homework but there was no tlme and lt was lmposslble.
] ls seen from the perspectlve of the recelver, so ln the case of rst-person, others usually
don't recelve thlngs from you. However, you mlght want to use p!] when you want to
emphaslve that fact that the other person recelved lt from you. For lnstance, lf you wanted to say,
"Hey, I gave you that!" you would use ]. However, you would use ]lf you wanted
to say, "Hey, you got that from me!"
0VIp!0e\
- [He] recelved that watch from me.
;D';D> B&G-#3 I9C")& F-$1 QyS ") QjyS
You can make reuests by uslng ] and the potentlal form of ] can I recelve
the favor of.... We've already seen an example of thls ln example u of the ] sectlon.
Because reuests are favors done for the speaker, you cannot use ] ln thls sltuatlon.
<@96?=%&
Y h
- Wlll you glve me the favor of lendlng 1000 yen?
] h
- Can I recelve the favor of you lendlng 1000 yen?
Notlce that the two sentences essentlally mean the same thlng. Thls ls because the glver and
recelver has been omltted because lt ls obvlous from the context. If we were to wrlte out the full
sentence, lt would look llke thls:
102
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%N& 6(F0+. 5,`/,-2-
Y I.pIh
- Wlll you glve me the favor of lendlng 1000 yen?
] pI.Ih
- Can I recelve the favor of you lendlng 1000 yen?
It ls not normal to expllcltly lnclude the subject and target llke thls when dlrectly addresslng someone
but ls provlded here to lllustrate the change of subject and target dependlng on the verb ]
and ].
You can use the negatlve to make the reuest a llttle softer. You'll see that thls ls true ln many other
types of grammar.
Y ,e!Ih
- Won't you be a llttle uleter?
] Q7|/!\
- Can you wrlte thls ln kanjl for me?
B&G-#3 &"6%"#% $" #"$ *" &"6%$1-#3
In order to reuest that someone ;"D do somethlng, you slmply attach ] to the negatlve form
of the verb and proceed as before.
Y G^7!\
- Can you not eat lt all?
] |1h
- Can you not buy expenslve thlngs?
;D'> O9G-#3 )%o+%&$& hd{Td{Tz{T
,"669#* I")6l
;D'>D' f"=-$%=5 p9#* #"$ &" ?"=-$%=5q 69G-#3 )%o+%&$&
Slmllar to asklng for favors, whlch we learned ln the last lesson, there are also varlous ways to make
reuests ln Japanese. Thls ls eectlvely the Japanese way of saylng, "please do ^". We'll rst learn
the most common way to make reuests uslng a speclal conjugatlon of the verb I] and
the rmer ]. Flnally, we'll learn the rarely used excesslvely strong command form for the
sake of completeness. You can safely sklp the last part unless you're an avld reader of manga.
;D'>D/ Qd{S 9 &?%,-9= ,"#W+39$-"# "I QdyS
I] ls a speclal conjugatlon of I], whlch ls the honorlc form of ]. We
wlll learn more about honorlc and humble forms ln the beglnnlng of the next major sectlon. We
are golng over I] here because lt has a sllght dlerence ln meanlng from the normal
] and the honorlc I]. I] ls dlerent from ] ln the followlng
fashlon:
103
L&%N& 6(F0+. 5,`/,-2- 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
Y I\- Please glve me that.
] h- Can you glve me that?
As you can see I] ls a dlrect reuest for somethlng whlle ] ls used as a uestlon
asklng for someone to glve somethlng. However, lt ls slmllar to ] ln that you can make a
reuest for an actlon by slmply attachlng lt to the te-form of the verb.
Y QI\- Please wrlte lt ln kanjl.
] UI\- Please speak slowly.
The rules for negatlve reuests are same as the rules for ] as well.
Y QQ!I\- Please don't wrlte gramtl.
] II\- Please don't come here.
In casual speech, lt ls often common to slmply drop the I] part.
TIC\- Please speak ln Japanese.
1\- Please lend me the eraser.
!I!\- Please don't go to a far place.
For those who want to sound partlcularly commandlng and manly, lt ls also posslble to use
] wlth the ] removed.
TIC\- Speak ln Japanese.
1\- Lend me the eraser.
!I!\- Don't go to a far place.
Because I] llke the masu-form must always come at the end sentence or a subordlnate
clause, you cannot use lt to dlrectly modlfy a noun. For example, the followlng ls not posslble wlth
I].
Y d/IVI"\- The clock that father gave broke.
Of course, slnce dlrect uotes ls merely repeatlng somethlng someone sald ln verbatlm, you can put
practlcally anythlng ln a dlrect uote.
Y I]d/IR\- Father sald, "Please glve me that."
;D'>D7 &-#3 Qd{S 9& 9 ,9&+9= )%o+%&$
A casual alternatlve of I] used usually by females ls ,I]. It ls always wrltten
ln hlragana. Wrltten ln kanjl, lt ls usually used ln a very formal expresslon such as #$%7].
There's not much more to say here because grammatlcally; lt works the same way as I].
<@96?=%&
Y v*`,I\- Please glve me the spoon.
] IXYQ,I\- Please wrlte your name here.
;D'>D; &-#3 Qz{S $" 69G% m)6 E+$ ?"=-$% )%o+%&$&
] ls a speclal honorlc conjugatlon of ]. It ls a soft yet rm way of lssulng a
command. It ls used, for example, when a mother ls scoldlng her chlld or when a teacher wants a
dellnuent student to pay attentlon. Unllke I], ] only applles to posltlve verbs
and uses the stem of the verb lnstead of the te-form. It also cannot be used by ltself but must be
attached to another verb.
104
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%N& 6(F0+. 5,`/,-2-
.
.
Conjugate the verb to lts stem and attach ]
_ G^ G^
_ ] d d
_
.Uslng ]to make rm but pollte reuests
<@96?=%&
Y e- Llsten well!
] I&\- Slt here.
You can also drop ] portlon of the ] to make a casual verslon of thls grammar.
Y 7Il!./G^\- There's stlll a lot, so eat a lot.
] .e\- If you thlnk that's ne, then go ahead and do lt.
;D'>D> 01% !"669#* ")6
We wlll go over the command form ln the lnterest of coverlng all the posslble verb conjugatlons. In
reallty, the command formls rarely used as Japanese people tend to be too pollte to use lmperatlves.
Also, thls coarse type of speech ls rarely, lf lndeed at all, used by females who tend to use ]
or an exasperated ] when angry or lrrltated. Thls form ls only really useful for readlng or
watchlng ctlonal works. You may often see or hear 1] "Dle!" ln ctlon whlch, of course,
you'll never hear ln real llfe. I hope!
Be sure to note that, ln addltlon to the famlllar ], ]exceptlon verbs, ]ls also
an exceptlon for the command form.
.
.
ru-verbs - Replace the ] wlth ]
u-verbs - Change the last character from an / u / vowel to an / e / vowel
Exceptlons - ] becomes ], ] becomes ], ] becomes
]
.Rules for creatlng command form
Sample ru-verbs
f=9-# !"669#*
G^ G^

l l





Sample u-verbs
f=9-# !"669#* rstu rstu p!"6q
| hanasu hanase
klku klke
^ asobu asobe
matu mate
] nomu nome
naoru naore
J 1 shlnu shlne
kau kae
Exceptlon Verbs
f=9-# !"669#*



105
L&%X& +/6O,5- (+1 73/+20+. 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
<@96?=%&
Y MI\- Do as you please.
] - Go away!
d 1\- Hurry up and brlng me some alcohol.
The negatlve command form ls very slmple: slmply attach ] to elther ru-verbs or u-verbs.
Don't confuse thls wlth the ] gobl we wlll be learnlng at the end of thls sectlon. The lntonatlon
ls totally dlerent.
.
.
Attach ] to the verb.
_
_
.Uslng the negatlve command form
<@96?=%&
Y G^- Don't eat that!
] +R- Don't say such welrd thlngs!
Thls ls not to be confused wlth the shortened verslon of ] we just learned ln the last
sectlon. The most obvlous dlerence besldes the clear dlerence ln tone ls that ln ], the
verb ls rst converted to the stem whlle the negatlve command has no conjugatlon. For example,
for ], ] would be the short verslon of ] whlle ] would be a
negatlve command.
;D'A g+6E%)& 9#* !"+#$-#3
Numbers and countlng ln Japanese are dlmcult enough to reulre lts own sectlon. Flrst of all, the
number system ls ln unlts of four lnstead of three, whlch can make convertlng lnto Engllsh ulte
dlmcult. Also, there are thlngs called counters, whlch are reulred to count dlerent types of objects,
anlmals, or people. We wlll learn the most generlc and wldely used counters to get you started so
that you can learn more on your own. To be honest, counters mlght be the only thlng that'll make
you want to ult learnlng Japanese, lt's that bad. I recommend you dlgest only a llttle blt of thls
sectlon at a tlme because lt's an awful lot of thlngs to memorle.
;D'AD' 01% g+6E%) 45&$%6
The Japanese number system ls spread lnto unlts of four. So a number such as 10,000,000 ls
actually spllt up as 1000,0000. However, thanks to the strong lnuence of the Western world and
the standardlatlon of numbers, when numbers are actually wrltten, the spllt-o ls three dlglts. Here
are the rst ten numbers.
106
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%X& +/6O,5- (+1 73/+20+.
g+6%)9=& 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
u H ' ( ) * + , - .
kz I / e/ C I
< l<
As the chart lndlcates, 4 can elther be ] or e/] and 7 can elther be ] or ]
. Baslcally, both are acceptable up to 10. However, past ten, the readlng ls almost always e/]
and ]. In general, e/] and ] are preferred over ] and ] ln most
clrcumstances.
You can slmply count from 1 to 99 wlth just these ten numbers. Japanese ls easler than Engllsh ln
thls respect because you do not have to memorle separate words such as "twenty" or "fty". In
Japanese, lt's slmply just "two ten" and "ve ten".
Y (.H /l< = 31
] .) Cl<e/= 54
d +.+ l<= 77
u '. Il< = 20
Notlce that numbers are elther always wrltten ln kanjl or numerals because hlragana can get rather
long and hard to declpher.
g+6E%)& ?9&$ ..
Here are the hlgher numbers:
g+6%)9=& 100 1,000 10,000 10

8 10

12
u / 0 1 2
kz O |/ 7/ ,
Notlce how the numbers jumped four dlglts from 10

4 to 10

8 between 0 and 1? That's because

Japanese ls dlvlded lnto unlts of four. Once you get past 1 0 10,000, you start all over untll you
reach 9,999 0, then lt rotates to 1 1 100,000,000. By the way, / ls 100 and ls 1,000, but
anythlng past that, and you need to attach a 1 so the rest of the unlts become H0 10

4.H1
10

8.H2 10

12.
Now you can count up to 9,999,999,999,999,999 or 9,999 2 just by chalnlng the numbers same
as before. Thls ls where the problems start, however. Try saylng ,] .O]
./|/] really ulckly, you'll notlce lt's dlmcult because of the repetltlon of slmllar consonant
sounds. Therefore, Japanese people have declded to make lt easler on themselves by pronounclng
them as ,].O].and /|/]. Unfortunately, lt makes lt all the harder
for you to remember when to pronounce what. Here are all the sllght sound changes.
g+6%)9=& u kz
300 (/ /O
600 */ O
800 ,/ IO
3000 ( /|/
8000 , I|/
10

12 H2 ,
Y )0(+.* e/7//|/l< = 43,076
] +1*/'.)0-'/'.' OIl<e/7/<|/IOIl<
107
L&%X& +/6O,5- (+1 73/+20+. 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
I = 706,249,222
d /2'0H CO,I7/ = 500,000,000,020,001
Notlce that lt ls customary to wrlte large numbers only ln numerals as even kanjl can become dlmcult
to declpher.
Some of you may be clamorlng for larger numbers but you'll hardly ever use 1]much less 2]
. I wlll guarantee that you wlll not need to know thls but I looked up a llst nttp:))uckyu626.np.
intcscck.cc.p)cckuzukckuzu.nt for curloslty's sake.
g+6E%)& &69==%) ") =%&& $19# '
{ero ln Japanese ls 3] but L] or P] ls more common ln modern Japanese. There ls
no speclal method for readlng declmals, you slmply say j] for the dot and read each lndlvldual
number after the declmal polnt. Here's an example:
Y 0.0021 - L.j.L.L.'.H\
For negatlve numbers, everythlng ls the same as posltlve numbers except that you say J]
rst.
Y J'.- = -29
;D'AD/ !"+#$-#3 9#* !"+#$%)&
Ah, and now we come to the fun part. In Japanese, when you are slmply countlng numbers,
everythlng ls just as you would expect, H.'.(. and so on. However, lf you want to count any
type of object, you have to use somethlng called a counter whlch depends on what type of object
you are countlng and on top of thls, there are varlous sound changes slmllar to the ones we saw
wlth */, etc.. The counter themselves are usually slngle kanjl characters that often have a speclal
readlng just for the counter. Flrst, let's learn the counters for dates
c9$%&
The year ls very easy. All you have to do ls say the number and add ] whlch ls pronounced
here as 1/]. For example, Year 2003 becomes 2003 I|//1/. The catch ls that
there ls another calendar whlch starts over every tlme a new emperor ascends the throne. The year
ls preceded by the era, for example thls year ls: 45 15 . My blrthday, 1981 ls 67 56 The
Showa era lasted from 1926 to 1989. You may thlnk that you don't need to know thls but lf you're
golng to be lllng out forms ln Japan, they often ask you for your blrthday or the current date ln the
Japanese calendar 78. So here's a neat converter nttp:))uuu.upun-guidc.cc)c)c2272.nt1
you can use to convert to the Japanese calendar.
Saylng the months ls actually easler than Engllsh because all you have to do ls wrlte the number
elther ln numerals or kanjl of the month and add 9] whlch ls read as I]. However, you
need to pay attentlon to Aprll u9, July 9, and September 9 whlch are pronounced
I]. I].and I] respectlvely.
Flnally, we get to the days of the month, whlch ls where the headache starts. The rst day of the
month ls ] HT; J?f<#<;D from I] HT, whlch means "one day". Besldes
thls and some other exceptlons we'll soon cover, you can slmply say the number and add T]
whlch ls pronounced here as I]. For example, the 26th becomes 26 T Il<I.
Pretty slmple, K"!<\<#, the rst 10 days, the 14th, 19th, 20th, 29th have speclal readlngs that you
108
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%X& +/6O,5- (+1 73/+20+.
must separately memorle. If you llke memorllng thlngs, you'll have a ball here. Notlce that the
kanjl doesn't change but the readlng does.
Days of the month
c95 [9#W- a%9*-#3
What day T /'I
1st HT
2nd 'T '!
3rd (T d'!
4th )T e'!
5th T '!
6th *T ]'!
7th +T 0'!
8th ,T e'!
9th -T 0'!
10th .T '!
11th .HT l<''I
12th .'T l<'I'I
13th .(T l<'/'I
14th .)T l<'e'!
15th .T l<'C'I
16th .*T l<''I
17th .+T l<''I
18th .,T l<'I'I
19th .-T l<''I
20th '.T I'!
21th '.HT I'l<''I
22th '.'T I'l<'I'I
23th '.(T I'l<'/'I
24th '.)T I'l<'e'!
25th '.T I'l<'C'I
26th '.*T I'l<''I
27th '.+T I'l<''I
28th '.,T I'l<'I'I
29th '.-T I'l<''I
30th (.T /'l<'I
31th (.HT /'l<''I
In Japan, the full format for dates follows the lnternatlonal date format and looks llke: ^^^^ YY
9 {{ T. For example, today's date would be: 2003 12 9 2 T
0-6%
Now, we'll learn how to tell tlme. The hour ls glven by saylng the number and addlng V] whlch
ls pronounced here as l]. Here ls a chart of exceptlons to look out for.
4 o'clock 7 o'clock 9 o'clock
u )V +V -V
kz el l l
Notlce how the numbers 4, 7, and 9 keep comlng up to be a paln ln the butt? Well, those and
sometlmes 1, 6 and 8 are the numbers to watch out for.
109
L&%X& +/6O,5- (+1 73/+20+. 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
The mlnutes are glven by addlng 3]whlch usually read as /]wlth the followlng exceptlons:
1 mln 3 mln 4 mln 6 mln 8 mln 10 mln
u H3 (3 )3 *3 ,3 .3
kz / // e// / I/ l</
For hlgher number, you use the normal pronunclatlon for the hlgher dlglts and rotate around the
same readlngs for 1 to 10. For lnstance, 24 mlnutes ls Il<e//] '.)3 whlle
30 mlnutes ls /l</] (.3. There are also other less common but stlll correct
pronunclatlons such as I/] for ,3] and l/] for .3] thls one ls almost
never used.
All readlngs for seconds conslsts of the number plus :], whlch ls read as O,]. There are
no exceptlons for seconds and all the readlngs are the same.
Some examples of tlme.
Y 1 V 24 3 l'Il<e// - 1:24
] ;< 4 V 10 3 CC'el'l</ - 4:10 PM
d ;Y 9 V 16 3 C|/'l'l</ - 9:16 AM
u 13 V 16 3 l</l'l</ - 13:16
2 V 18 3 13 : Il'l<I/'l</O, - 2:18:13
B 4?9# "I 0-6%
Ha! I bet you thought you were done wlth dates and tlme, well guess agaln. Thls tlme we wlll learn
counters for countlng spans of tlme, days, months, and years. The baslc counter for a span of tlme
ls >], whlch ls read as !/]. You can attach lt to the end of hours, days, weeks, and years.
Mlnutes ln general and seconds do not need thls counter and months have a separate counter,
whlch we wlll cover next.
Y 'V>).3 Il!/'e/l</ - 2 hours and 40 mlnutes
] '.T> I!!/ - 20 days
d .T> l<CI!/ - 15 days
u '> I1/!/ - two years
(> /<!/ - three weeks
HT I - 1 day
As mentloned before, a perlod of one day ls HT] I whlch ls dlerent from the 1st of
the month: ].
Pronunclatlons to watch out for when countlng weeks ls one week: H>] <!/ and
8 weeks: ,>] I<!/.
To count the number of months, you slmple take a regular number and add !]and 9]whlch
ls pronounced here as ] and ;"D I]. The !] used ln thls counter ls usually wrltten
as a small katakana =] whlch ls confuslng because lt's stlll pronounced as !] and not ]
. The small =] ls actually totally dlerent from the katakana O] and ls really an abbrevlatlon
for the kanjl >], the orlglnal kanjl for the counter. Thls small =] ls also used ln some place
names such as =?] and other counters, such as the counter for locatlon descrlbed ln the
"Other Counters" sectlon below.
In countlng months, you should watch out for the followlng sound changes:
1 month 6 months 10 months
u H=9 *=9 .=9
kz ! ! l<!
110
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%X& +/6O,5- (+1 73/+20+.
Just llke mlnutes, the hlgh numbers rotate back uslng the same sounds for 1 to 10.
Y .H=9 l<! - Eleven months
] '.=9 Il<! - Twenty months
d (.(=9 /l</! - Thlrty three months
n$1%) !"+#$%)&
We'll cover some of the most common counters so that you'll be famlllar wlth how counters work.
Thls wlll hopefully allow you to learn other counters on your own because there are too many to
even conslder coverlng them all. The lmportant thlng to remember ls that uslng the wrong counter
ls grammatlcally lncorrect. If you are countlng people, you 6+&$ use the people counter, etc.
Sometlmes, lt ls acceptable to use a more generlc counter when a less commonly used counter
applles. Here are some counters.
21%# $" &%
r To count the number of people
I To count long, cyllndrlcal objects such as bottles or chopstlcks
@ To count thln objects such as paper or shlrts
A To count bound objects usually books
B To count small anlmals llke cats or dogs
To count the age of a llvlng creatures such as people
C To count small often round objects
D To count number of tlmes
= > To count number of locatlons
To count any generlc object that has a rare or no counter
Countlng 1 to 10 some varlatlons mlght exlst
pq X
' O M/ 7 O ! !, O
/ Il/ I7 I IO I I I! I!,
7 /I/ /l/ /7 / /O / / /! /!, d
; eI/ e/l/ e/7 e/ e/O e/ e/ e/! e/!, e
> CI/ Cl/ C7 C CO C C C! C!,
A I/ M/ 7 O ! !, ]
| I/ l/ 7 O ! !,
} II/ Il/ I7 I IO I I I! I!, '
. <I/ <l/ <7 < <O < < <! <!, 0
' l<I/ l<M/ l<7 l< l<O l< l< l<! l<!,
The changed sounds have been hlghllghted.
You don't count 0 because there ls nothlng to count. You can slmply use ] or ].
The chart has hlragana for pronunclatlon but, as before, lt ls usually wrltten wlth elther numbers or
kanjl plus the counter wlth the slngle exceptlon of ] whlch ls slmply wrltten as .].
For hlgher numbers, lt's the same as before, you use the normal pronunclatlon for the hlgher dlglts
and rotate around the same readlngs for 1 to 10 except for Hr] and 'r] whlch transforms
to the normal ] and I] once you get past the rst two. So Hr] ls O] whlle
11 r] ls l<I/]. Also, the generlc counter ] only applles up to exactly ten
ltems. Past that, you can just use regular plaln numbers.
Note: The counter for age ls often sometlmes wrltten as E] for those who don't have the tlme
to wrlte out the more complex kanjl. Plus, age 20 ls usually read as I] and not Il<
].
111
L&%Y& 7(-/(4 *(22,5+- (+1 -4(+. 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
;D'AD7 &-#3 QS $" &1"F ")*%)
You can attach [] read as ] to varlous counters to lndlcate the order. The most common
example ls the ] counter. For example, H] whlch means "number one" becomes "the
rst" when you add [] H[. Slmllarly, HD[] ls the rst tlme, 'D[] ls the second
tlme, )r[] ls the fourth person, and so on.
;D'| !9&+9= f9$$%)#& 9#* 4=9#3
So far, for every grammar we have covered, we also went over all the casual varlatlons as well.
However, even though we have already covered all the casual forms, truly masterlng casual speech
ln Japanese reulres far more than just learnlng the varlous casual forms. There are countless
numbers of ways ln whlch wordlngs and pronunclatlons change as well as dlerences between
male and female speech. Understandlng slang also reulres knowlng varlous vocabulary that ls also
growlng wlth every new generatlon. Many adults would be hard-pressed to understand the klnd of
slang belng used by klds today.
Whlle comprehenslvely coverlng slang and relevant vocabulary would reulre a book ln and of ltself
a book that would soon become out of date, I'll lnstead cover some broad patterns and common
phenomenon whlch wlll at least help you get started ln understandlng the most common aspects of
Japanese slang. There ls no partlcular order ln the materlal presented here and I expect thls page
to grow contlnuously as I nd dlerent thlngs to cover.
Please note that slang ls also heavlly lnuenced by local dlalects. Although all the materlal presented
here ls valld for the greater Tokyo area, your mlleage may vary dependlng on where you are located.
;D'|D' 89&-, f)-#,-?=%& "I 4=9#3
In the world of slang, anythlng goes and rules that apply to wrltten Japanese are often broken. The
most dlmcult part ls that, of course, you can't just say whatever you want. When you break the
rules, you have to break lt the correct way. Taklng what you learned from textbooks or Japanese
classes and applylng lt to the real world ls not so easy because lt ls lmposslble to teach all the posslble
ways thlngs can get jumbled up ln the spoken language. Learnlng how to speak naturally wlth all
the correct ldlosyncrasles and lnconslstencles ln a language ls somethlng that reulres practlce wlth
real people ln real-world sltuatlons. In thls sectlon, we'll look at some common patterns and themes
that wlll at least help you get an ldea of where the majorlty of slang orlglnates from.
One thlng you'll soon realle when you rst start talklng to Japanese people ln real llfe ls that many
sounds are slurred together. Thls ls especlally true for males. The fact ls volces ln lnstructlonal
materlal such as language tapes often exaggerate the pronunclatlon of each letter ln order to make
aural comprehenslon easler. In reallty, not all the sounds are pronounced as clearly as lt should be
and thlngs end up soundlng dlerent from how lt's wrltten on paper.
There ls one major drlvlng factor behlnd the majorlty of slang ln Japanese. The prlmary goal of
most slang ls to make thlngs easler to say. In other words, the goal ls to reduce or slmpllfy the
movement of your mouth. There are two prlmary ways ln whlch thls ls accompllshed, 1 By maklng
thlngs shorter or, 2 By slurrlng the sounds together. We have already seen many examples of the
rst method such as shortenlng !] to !] or preferrlng ] to the longer
condltlonal forms. The second method makes thlngs easler to say usually by substltutlng parts of
words wlth sounds that t better wlth the sounds surroundlng lt or by merglng two or more sounds
together. For example, the same !] mlght be pronounced !/] slnce
/] reulres less movement than ].
112
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%Y& 7(-/(4 *(22,5+- (+1 -4(+.
.
.01% I+#*96%#$9= 3"9= "I &=9#3 -& $" )%*+,% 6"+$1 6"C%6%#$
.Note
Let's see some more examples of words that get shortened or slurred. Try saylng both verslons to
get a feel for how the slang saves space and some calorles for your mouth.
<@96?=%&
A I7!p0I\
B 7/!.p/\
A 7.7/./Ie\
B .7/./Ie\
You'll see that a great deal of slang ln Japanese stems from thls slngle prlnclple of maklng thlngs
easler to say. It's very natural because lt's gulded by how your mouth moves. Wlth a falr amount of
practlce, you should be able to naturally plck up shorter, alternatlve pronunclatlons and lncorporate
them lnto your own speech.
;D'|D/ 4%#$%#,% ")*%)-#3 9#* ?9)$-,=%& p") $1% =9,G $1%)%"Iq
Whlle wrltten Japanese already has falrly loose rules regardlng sentence order, casual spoken Japanese
takes lt one step further. A complete sentence reulres a verb at the end of the sentence to complete
the thought. However, we'll see how thls rule ls bent ln casual conversatlons.
Conversatlons are sporadlc and chaotlc ln any language and lt's common for people to say the rst
thlng that pops lnto thelr head wlthout thlnklng out the whole proper sentence.
For example, lf you wanted to ask what somethlng was, the normal, proper way would be to ask,
Ih] However, lf the rst thlng that popped lnto your head, "What the?" then lt would be
more natural to say ] rst. However, slnce Ih] doesn't make any sense Is what
that?, Japanese people slmply break lt up lnto what are essentlally two sentence fragments asklng
"what" rst h, and then followlng lt up wlth the explanatlon of what you were talklng about
] ln thls case. For the sake of convenlence, thls ls lumped lnto what looks llke one sentence.
<@96?=%&
A Ih- What ls that?
B h- What? That. Two sentences lumped lnto one
Sometlmes, the rst thlng that pops lnto your head mlght be maln verb. But lf the maln verb has
already sllpped out of your mouth, you're now left wlth the rest of the sentence wlthout a verb
to complete the thought. In conversatlonal Japanese, lt's perfectly acceptable to have the verb
come rst uslng the same technlue we just saw by breaklng them lnto two sentences. The second
sentence ls lncomplete of course, but that klnd of thlng ls common ln the speech of any language.
Y h0rh- Dld you see? That guy?
113
L&%Y& 7(-/(4 *(22,5+- (+1 -4(+. 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
] G^hMT\- You ate lt already? The lce cream I bought yesterday.
;D'|D7 &-#3 QS -#&$%9* "I Qz{S $" ,"#m)6
l/] ls an abbrevlatlon of l], the negatlve conjugatlon for nouns and na-adjectlves.
However, thls only applles to l] used ln the followlng fashlon.
Y *`I!.-)I//lh
-Because hels a salaryman, doesnlt he do a lot of overtlme?
The lmportant thlng to note about the example above ls that l]here ls actually conrmlng
the posltlve. In fact, a closer translatlon ls, mBecause hels a salaryman, he :#"A9AB_ J"<= a lot of
overtlme.nBut ltls stlll a uestlon so therels a sllght nuance that you are seeklng conrmatlon even
though you are relatlvely sure.
l/] ls a shorter slang for expresslng the same type of thlng except lt doesnlt even bother to
ask a uestlon to conrm. Itls completely amrmatlve ln tone.
In fact, the closest eulvalent to l/] ls l] used ln the followlng fashlon.
] 7.l\
- Well, ltls probably ne donlt you thlnk?.
Thls type of expresslon ls the "#=5 case where you can attach l]dlrectly to l-adjectlves and
verbs. Once you actually hear thls expresslon ln real llfe, youlll see that lt has a dlstlnct pronunclatlon
that ls dlerent from slmply uslng the negatlve. Plus, you have to realle that thls type of l
] sounds rather mature and femlnlne, unllke l/], whlch ls gender-neutral.
Llke the above, speclalled use of l], you can also attach l/] dlrectly to verbs and
l-adjectlves as well as the usual nouns and na-adjectlves. Because slang ls usually created to make
thlngs easler, ltls not surprlslng that the rules for uslng l/] are so lax and easy.
.
.
Though derlved from l], l/] ls always used to conrm the posltlve.
It can be attached to the end of any sentence regardless of whether lt ends ln a noun,
adjectlve, verb, or adverb.
.Summary
Flnally, letls get to the examples. Hopefully, you can see that l/]ls baslcally saylng somethlng
along the llnes of, mSee, Ilm rlght, arenlt I?n
<@96?=%&
Y l.'lI>*$Q!Il/\
-See, as I thought, you have to wrlte the report.
] o!Ol/\
-Slnce therels nobody, ltls probably ne to change here.
A !^I.Ih- Is Takashl here?
B \- Dunno.
A 'l.l/- Ah! See, he ls here!
114
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%Y& 7(-/(4 *(22,5+- (+1 -4(+.
Therels also another varlatlon, whlch attaches the uestlon marker as well. The meanlng ls mostly
the same but lt adds more to the uestlonlng, conrmlng tone.
A 06I77OIl/!\- Therels a karaoke place near the statlon, rlght?
B /\- Yeah.
A 0FI\- Itls rlght next to there.
;D'|D; &-#3 QXS I") Q{S
As we learned ln the denlng and descrlblng sectlon, ]serves many more functlons than the
eulvalent Engllsh verb, "to say". It ls used all the tlme and therefore, lt's not too surprlslng that
a number of varlatlons and slang have developed. Here's one more that I felt was too "slangy" to
cover so early at that polnt of the gulde.
Thls may sound hard to belleve but lf you really slur ] together, lt becomes somethlng
resembllng ]. Or least, that's what somebody thought when he or she began replaclng
] wlth ] or ln some case ].
Now, ln my oplnlon, ] ls a lot harder to say than ] so uslng lt llke a natlve mlght take
a blt of practlce. Rather than maklng thlngs easler to say, as ls usually the case, the real purpose
of thls substltutlon ls to sound rougher because ] has a harder, hlsslng sound. Thls ls ldeal for
when you're plssed or for that young and rough lmage you've always wanted. As you mlght expect,
thls type of speech ls usually used by males or very tough females.
<@96?=%&
Y !./YII/0e
-Or rather, why are you here?!
] V>I/0I.d/5*$I\
-Although he's saylng he doesn't have tlme due to homework, I hear he went on a date wlth Mlkl-
chan.
d iTIjkI(\.II\
-Yo, tomorrow's the test. Even lf I say that, you probably dldn't study anyway, huh?
u I!.G/I0
-Llke I sald, you're wrong!
If you want even more emphasls, you can even add a small ]. Thls usually means you are
really at the brlnk of your patlence.
u I!.G/I0
-Llke I sald, you're wrong!
;D'|D> &-#3 QS 9#* QS$" &1"F %@9&?%)9$-"#
] and ] ls yet another type of abbrevlatlon for ] slmllar to ] as
dlscussed ln the denlng and descrlblng sectlon. In thls case, lt's an abbrevlatlon of the condltlonal
form of ], whlch ls ] and ]. By uslng thls abbrevlatlon, you
are essentlally saylng somethlng along the llnes of, "If I told you once, I told you a mllllon tlmes!"
115
L&%Y& 7(-/(4 *(22,5+- (+1 -4(+. 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
You can use thls expresslon when you tlred of repeatlng yourself or when you are exasperated wlth
somebody for not llstenlng to you.
<@96?=%&
Y
-I told you I'm golng already!
] .*/I!\
-You're always forgettlng.
;D'|DA &-#3 QzS W+&$ 9E"+$ %C%)5F1%)%
By now, you're probably aware that ] can be elther read as I] or /] dependlng on
what comes after lt such as X]I versus r]/I/. In the case of !],
whlle I!] ls the correct readlng, lt ls often contracted to just /!] ln casual speech.
A I!G^h
-Eat somethlng?
B /!G^h
-Eat somethlng?
However, /!]also has a functlon slmllar to the word "llke" ln Engllsh. By "llke", I'mnot talklng
about the actual word but the klnd that has no meanlng and some people use just about anywhere
ln the sentence. Slmllarly, /!] can also be used as a ller wlthout any actual meanlng. For
lnstance, take a look at the example below.
Y STI./!.de\
-I guess he's llke busy today.
Whlle /!]ls a shorter verslon of I!], only /!]can be used ln thls way as a ller.
STI.I!.de\
-I!] cannot be used as a ller word.
Let's take a look at a few more examples.
<@96?=%&
Y /!1\HIJe1
-Llke, baths feel really good, huh?
] b/I./!iT7K/Ie\
-Mom sald she's not comlng back untll llke tomorrow.
d /!\-fI.p0/!IIM!h
-Hey llke, do you really thlnk that Bob llkes somebody llke me?
116
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%Z& 5,U0,H (+1 635, .3O0
;D'|D| 41"F-#3 ,"#$%6?$ I") 9# 9,$-"# F-$1 QRkyS
'I]ls a verb sumx used to lndlcate hatred or contempt for the person dolng the actlon. Unllke
the rest of the slang covered here, thls extremely strong language ls #"$ used ln normal, everyday
conversatlons. You wlll probably never hear thls expresslon outslde of movles, comlc books, games,
and the llke. However, lt ls covered here so that you can understand when lt ls used ln those
medlums.
In order to use 'I], you slmply attach lt to the stem of the verb. After that, 'I]
conjugated just llke a regular u-verb.
<@96?=%&
Y /'IL'I\l./Ieh
-Loslng to a guy llke that. Well, what are you golng to do?
] '!hI'I
-You want to ght? If so, then hurry up and come on!
;D'} a%C-%F 9#* 6")% 3"E-
We are comlng to the end of the fourth major sectlon of the gulde. Do you feel llke your Japanese
has lmproved? We've come to the polnt where we've learned enough conjugatlons to be able to
start mlxlng them together ln varlous useful comblnatlons. Of course thls can be a llttle dlmcult to
do wlthout some practlce, whlch ls the reason for thls lesson. But rst, slnce we've come to the end
of yet another sectlon, let's learn some more sentence endlngs.
;D'}D' 01% #%@$ 6"&$ "I$%# +&%* 3"E-v QzS 9#* QS
Next to e] and 1], ] and ] are the next most commonly used gobl.
], whlch ls baslcally a very casual form of e], ls slmllar to the Engllsh "llke" ln that some
people throw lt ln at the end of almost every slngle phrase. Of course, that doesn't mean lt's
necessarlly a very sophlstlcated manner of speech but just llke uslng "llke" all the tlme, I cannot
deny that lt ls an easy hablt to fall lnto. In that sense, due to lts over-use, lt has almost lost any
speclc meanlng. You may overhear a conversatlon llke the followlng:
bcYg 0'''
bc]g /
bcYg 0>'''
bc]g /
bcYg 54*`)I/I./!.CM/'''
bc]g /
bcYg '''
And lt goes on llke thls, sometlmes the other person mlght break ln to say somethlng related to the
toplc.
You can use ]ln place of 1]when lt sounds too soft and reserved for what you want to say
or for the audlence you are speaklng to. Its rough sound generally applles to the male gender but
ls not necessarlly restrlcted to only males.
117
L&%Z& 5,U0,H (+1 635, .3O0 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
g S.QI/Ie\
- You are golng to the llbrary now huh? seeklng explanatlon
g /./h
- Yeah, why?
-fg TICI./\7I41!\
- I studled Japanese a lot, rlght? But, I stlll don't get lt at all.
g ?@e\1!eI!\
- No problem. You'll become able to understand for sure, you know?
-fg \
- If so, lt would be good.
The ] gobl ls often used wlth the uestlon marker !] to lndlcate that the speaker ls
conslderlng somethlng.
Y STIAIB!h
- I wonder lf lt'll raln today.
] bI!h
- I wonder lf I can go to a good college.
;D'}D/ :%#*%)b&?%,-m, %6?19&-& 3"E-v QSTQSTQSTQS
These gobl are prlmarlly used just to emphasle somethlng and doesn't really have a meanlng per
se. However, they can make your statements sound much stronger and very gender-speclc. Uslng
1] ls just llke e] except lt wlll make you sound almost slckenlngly female puttlng dlerent
dlalects aslde. Use sparlngly. !] ls also a very femlnlne verslon of !], whlch we just
went over. (]and |]are ldentlcal to e]except that lt makes you sound "cool" and manly,
or at least, that ls the lntent. These examples mlght not be very helpful wlthout actually hearlng
what they sound llke.
Y V>I1\
- There ls no more tlme.
] .(
- Hey, we're golng!
d .1I|\
- Wlth thls, lt's over already.
u bI!h
- I wonder lf I can enter a good college.
;D'}D7 019$J& 9 F)9?e
We learned ulte a lot of thlngs ln thls sectlon. Let's try to put lt all together by seelng how dlerent
klnds of conjugatlons are used ln dlerent comblnatlons. Thls ls of course by no means an exhaustlve
llst but merely an lllustratlon of how we can use what we learned ln varlous comblnatlons to create
a lot of useful expresslons.
118
78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5 L&%Z& 5,U0,H (+1 635, .3O0
<@96?=% '
gQNc.,xy!h
QNcg/.e\
g Hello]TICR!\
R = uoted sub-clause + lf condltlonal of R
QNcg1\O./II]R7e\I.QVI/I1]l
./II]Q!I7|/\
R7] = uoted sub-clause + uoted sub-clause
l] = negatlve seuence of states
g !\I!PQI7!\
QNcgR1\0I.Ie]R0\.0rIIIeC77]
RI\
R] - R +
abbrevlated form of + casual I wlth I dropped.
g I.3!7\>GeI7\I7
Y-$%)9= $)9#&=9$-"# "I <@96?=% '
Allce: Kaga-sensel, ls lt ok to ask you a uestlon?
Kaga-sensel: Yes, lt's ok.
Allce: If you say what for "hello" ln Japanese, ls lt ok?
Kaga-sensel: Well, mostly, I thlnk people say "konnlchlwa". Only, when you wrlte lt, you must wrlte
"konnlchlha" and not "konnlchlwa".
Allce: Is that so? Are there any other good expresslons?
Kaga-sensel: Please memorle thls too ln preparatlon for the future. In the mornlng, everybody
says, "ohayou". But, please say, "ohayou-goalmasu" to a hlgher person.
Allce: Yes, I understood. I'll do ln the manner of not maklng mlstake. It became good study!
(#$%)?)%$9$-C% $)9#&=9$-"# "I <@96?=% '
Allce: Kaga-sensel, ls lt ok to ask you a uestlon?
Kaga-sensel: Sure.
Allce: How do you say "Hello" ln Japanese?
Kaga-sensel: Well, most of the tlme, I thlnk people say "konnlchlwa". Only, when you wrlte lt, you
must wrlte "konnlchlha" and not "konnlchlwa".
Allce: Is that so? Are there any other good expresslons?
Kaga-sensel: You should know thls too. In the mornlng, everybody says, "ohayou". But, please say,
"ohayou-goalmsu" to a hlgher person.
Allce: Ok, I got lt. I'll try not to make that mlstake. That was very lnformatlve!
<@96?=% /
g I\01.xyh
g h
g ,C/I.V>I.h
119
L&%Z& 5,U0,H (+1 635, .3O0 78(*2,5 L& ,--,+20(4 .5(66(5
] = recelvlng favor + to want
g hC0h
g /.>7bd1\.I'''
d] = to try somethlng out d + want to + gobl + uoted
subuote + te-form of
] = volltlonal of + to attempt
g 0he\l0h
g e\
g l.0pST!Ih
g /.e\I
g T.!.1\
T!] = Llst of actlons + negatlve reuest of .
g /e
Y-$%)9= $)9#&=9$-"# "I <@96?=% /
Yousuke: Oh! It's Allce. Hey, ls lt ok to ask a uestlon?
Allce: What?
Yousuke: I want to recelve the favor of you teachlng Engllsh and lf, by any chance, you have tlme,
wlll you glve the favor of teachlng?
Allce: Huh? You are golng to study Engllsh?
Yousuke: Yeah, I was thlnklng that I want to try studylng abroad ln Amerlca. I trled to make motlon
toward golng last year too but, wlthout money...
Allce: Is that so? It's good. When do you want me to teach you?
Yousuke: Anytlme ls good.
Allce: Then what about from next week Thursday?
Yousuke: Yeah, ok. Thanks!
Allce: Don't do thlngs llke shlrk on your studles or not come, ok?
Yousuke: I won't do anythlng llke that!
(#$%)?)%$9$-C% $)9#&=9$-"# "I <@96?=% /
Yousuke: Oh! It's Allce. Hey, can I ask you a uestlon?
Allce: What up?
Yousuke: I want to learn Engllsh so lf you have tlme, can you teach me?
Allce: Huh? You're golng to study Engllsh?
Yousuke: Yeah, I was thlnklng about studylng abroad ln Amerlca. I trled golng last year too but I
dldn't have the money.
Allce: Really? No problem. When do you want me to teach you?
Yousuke: Anytlme ls ne.
Allce: What about from next week Thursday then?
Yousuke: OK, thanks!
Allce: You're not golng to shlrk on your studles or not come or anythlng rlght?
Yousuke: I won't do anythlng llke that!
120
!19?$%) >
4?%,-9= <@?)%&&-"#&
I have declded to call thls next sectlon "Speclal Expresslons" only because wlth the exceptlon of
the rst few lessons, most of the grammar here applles to more speclc areas than the grammar
we have covered so far. These speclal expresslons, whlle lndlvldually not vltal, are, as a collectlon,
necessary for regular everyday conversatlons. We are slowly enterlng the stage where we've bullt
the toolbox and we now need to aculre the llttle tools that wlll make the toolbox complete. Now
that we covered most of the base, lt ls tlme to look at all the llttle ltty grltty blts. You are welcome
to sklp around the lessons, however; the examples wlll assume that you have gone over all prevlous
sectlons.
>D' !9+&9$-C% 9#* f9&&-C% Z%)E&
We wlll now learn the last two major types of verb conjugatlons: causatlve and passlve forms. These
two verb conjugatlons are tradltlonally covered together because of the notorlous causatlve-passlve
comblnatlon. We wlll now go over what all these thlngs are and how they are used.
>D'D' !9+&9$-C% Z%)E&
Verbs conjugated lnto the causatlve formare used to lndlcate an actlon that someone makes happen.
Llke Captaln Plcard so succlnctly puts lt, the causatlve verb means to "make lt so". Thls verb ls
usually used ln the context of maklng somebody do somethlng. The really confuslng thlng about the
causatlve verb ls that lt can also mean to B<D someone do somethlng. Or maybe thls ls a dlerent
type of verb wlth the exact same conjugatlon rules. Whlchever the case may be, a verb ln the
causatlve form can mean elther maklng or lettlng someone do somethlng. The only good news ls
that when the causatlve form ls used wlth ]and ], lt almost always means to "let
someone do". Once you get used to lt, surprlslngly, lt becomes ulte clear whlch meanlng ls belng
used when.
Y G^|\- Made/Let someone eat lt all.
] G^|\- Let someone eat lt all.
121
N&%& 7(/-(20U, (+1 *(--0U, U,5O- 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
.
.
Here are the conjugatlon rules for the causatlve form. All causatlve verbs become ru-verbs.
)+bC%)E& - Remove the ] and add |].
+bC%)E& - Change the last character as you would for negatlve verbs but attach |]
lnstead of ].
<@,%?$-"# Z%)E& - ] becomes |] and ] becomes |].
.Causatlve Conjugatlon Rules
Sample ru-verbs
f=9-# !9+&9$-C%
G^ G^|
|
l l|
|
|
|
|
|
^ ^|
Sample u-verbs
f=9-# !9+&9$-C% rstu rstu p!9+&Dq
| hanasu hanasaseru
!| klku klkaseru
I| oyogu oyogaseru
| asobu asobaseru
| matu mataseru
] 7| nomu nomaseru
| naoru naoraseru
J | shlnu shlnaseru
1| kau kawaseru
Exceptlon Verbs
f"&-$-C% !9+&9$-C%
|
|
<@96?=%&
Here are some examples uslng the causatlve verb. Context wlll usually tell you whlch ls belng meant,
but for our purposes we wlll assume that when the verb ls used wlth ] and ]
I lt means "to let someone do" whlle lt means, "to make someone do" when used wlthout lt.
Y cIbcI/|\
- Teacher made students do lots of homework.
] cIxy/!|\
- Teacher let [someone] ask lots of uestlons.
d STIL7|I\
- Please let me rest from work today. Please let me take the day o today.
u 0[I.e[V>U!|\
- That manager often make [people] work long hours.
When asklng for permlsslon to let someone do somethlng, lt ls more common to use the
] grammar.
Y $II!|7!\
- Can you let me go to the bathroom? Sounds llke a prlsoner, even ln Engllsh
] $II!\
- Is lt ok to go to the bathroom? No problem here
122
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&%& 7(/-(20U, (+1 *(--0U, U,5O-
B 41")$%) B=$%)#9$-C%
There ls a shorter verslon of the causatlve conjugatlon, whlch I wlll go over for completeness.
However, slnce thls verslon ls mostly used ln very rough slang, you are free to sklp thls sectlon untll
you've had tlme to get used to the regular form. Also, textbooks usually don't cover thls verslon of
the causatlve verb.
The key dlerence ln thls verslon ls that all verbs become an u-verbs wlth a ]endlng. Therefore,
the resultlng verb would conjugate just llke any other u-verb endlng ln ] such as ] or
V]. The rst part of the conjugatlon ls the same as the orlglnal causatlve form. However, for
ru-verbs, lnstead of attachlng |], you attach ] and for u-verbs, you attach ]
lnstead of |]. As a result, all the verbs become an u-verb endlng ln ].
.
.
Thls form ls rarely used so you may just want to stlck wlth the more tradltlonal verslon of
the causatlve form.
)+bC%)E& - Remove the ] and add ].
_ G^ G^
+bC%)E& - Change the last character as you would for negatlve verbs but attach ]
lnstead of ].
_ ! !
<@,%?$-"# Z%)E& - ] becomes ] and ] becomes ].
.Shortened Causatlve Form
<@96?=%&
Y ,lDR1
- Don't make me say the same thlng agaln and agaln!
] sW/I!./!G^e\
- I'm hungry so let me eat somethlng.
>D'D/ f9&&-C% Z%)E&
Passlve verbs are verbs that are done to the passlve subject. Unllke Engllsh style of wrltlng whlch
dlscourages the use of the passlve form, passlve verbs ln Japanese are often used ln essays and
artlcles.
.
.
For once, the conjugatlons rules are same for both ru-verbs and u-verbs. All passlve verbs
become ru-verbs.
)+bC%)E& 9#* +bC%)E& - Change the last character from an / u / vowel sound to an / a /
vowel sound and add ].
<@,%?$-"# Z%)E& - ] becomes ] and ] becomes ].
.Passlve Conjugatlon Rules
123
N&%& 7(/-(20U, (+1 *(--0U, U,5O- 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
Sample ru-verbs
f=9-# f9&&-C%
G^ G^

l l





^ ^
Sample u-verbs
f=9-# f9&&-C% rstu rstu pf9&&Dq
hanasu hanasareru
! klku klkareru
I oyogu oyogareru
asobu asobareru
matu matareru
] 7 nomu nomareru
naoru naorareru
J shlnu shlnareru
1 kau kawareru
Exceptlon Verbs
f"&-$-C% f9&&-C%


<@96?=%&
Y >(3Io!IG^
- The porrldge was eaten by somebody!
] d/I+IR17\
- I am told by everybody that [I'm] strange.
d X0J0I.YZEI1\
- Exceedlng the speed of llght ls thought to be lmposslble.
u 0QI0rI@7\
- Thls textbook ls belng read by a large number of people.
rIxy!I.U!\
- I was asked a uestlon by a forelgner but I couldn't answer.
0(O*3II.U0I[7\
- Everythlng ls lncluded ln thls package.
>D'D7 &-#3 ?9&&-C% I")6 $" &1"F ?"=-$%#%&&
Whlle we wlll go over varlous types of grammar that express a pollteness level above the normal
-masu/-desu forms ln the next lesson, lt ls useful to know that uslng passlve form ls another more
pollte way to express an actlon. In Japanese, a sentence ls usually more pollte when lt ls less dlrect.
For example, lt ls more pollte to refer to someone by hls or her name and not by the dlrect pronoun
"you". It ls also more pollte to ask a negatlve uestlon than a posltlve one. For example, 7
!h] vs. 7|/!h] In a slmllar sense, uslng the passlve form makes the sentence less
dlrect because the subject does not dlrectly perform the actlon. Thls makes lt sound more pollte.
Here ls the same sentence ln lncreaslng degrees of pollteness.
Y h- What wlll you do? llt: How do?
] 7!h- Regular pollte.
d 7!h- Passlve pollte.
u 7!h- Honorlc to be covered next lesson
7,!h- Honorlc + a lesser degree of certalnty.
Notlce how the same sentence grows longer and longer as you get more and more lndlrect.
124
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&%& 7(/-(20U, (+1 *(--0U, U,5O-
<@96?=%&
Y I:*$I7!h
- What about your recelpt? llt: How wlll you do recelpt?
] iT0\I!/!h
- Are you golng to tomorrow's meetlng?
>D'D; !9+&9$-C%bf9&&-C% ")6&
The causatlve-passlve formls slmply the comblnatlon of causatlve and passlve conjugatlons to mean
that the actlon of maklng someone do somethlng was done to that person. Thls would eectlvely
translate lnto, "[someone] ls made to do [somethlng]". The lmportant thlng to remember ls the
order of conjugatlon. The verb ls rst conjugated to the causatlve and then passlve, never the other
way around.
.
.
The causatlve-passlve verb ls formed by rst conjugatlng to the causatlve form and then
by conjugatlng the result to the passlve form.
_ G^ G^| G^|
_ !| !|
.Causatlve-Passlve Conjugatlon Form
<@96?=%&
Y 0CIG^!0I.G^|\
- Desplte not wantlng to eat breakfast, I was made to eat lt.
] TII.7|I\
- In Japan, the event of belng made to drlnk ls numerous.
d I'V>|\
- I was made to walt 2 hours by that guy.
u sIT|\
- I am made to do homework everyday by my parents.
B 41")$%) B=$%)#9$-C%
Golng along wlth the shorter causatlve alternatlve, you can also use the same conjugatlon for the
causatlve-passlve form. I won't cover lt ln too much detall because the usefulness of thls form ls
rather llmlted just llke the shorter causatlve form ltself. The ldea ls to slmply used the shortened
causatlve form lnstead of uslng the regular causatlve conjugatlon. The rest ls the same as before.
125
N&'& 83+350R07 (+1 8/6O4, R356- 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
.
.
Flrst conjugate to the shortened causatlve form. Then conjugate to the passlve form.
_ ! ! !
_
.Shortened causatlve-passlve form examples
Thls formcannot be used ln cases where the shorter causatlve formends ln ], ln other words,
you can't have a ] endlng.
.
.
Examples of verbs you M9;SD use ln thls form.
G^ G^ G^

.Verbs that cannot be used ln thls form
<@96?=%&
Y bcI]I\
- The student was made to stand ln the hall.
] TII.7I\
- In Japan, the event of belng made to drlnk ls numerous.
d I'V>\
- I was made to walt 2 hours by that guy.
>D/ L"#")-m, 9#* L+6E=% ")6&
Japanese can be roughly separated lnto three levels of pollteness: casual, pollte, and honorlc/humble.
So far, we have already gone over the pollte forms uslng ] and 7]. We wlll now
cover the next level of pollteness uslng honorlc and humble forms. You wlll often hear thls type
of language ln any customer/consumer type sltuatlons such as fast food counters, restaurants, etc.
For now, the rst thlng to remember ls that the speaker always conslders hlmself/herself to be at
the lowest level. So any actlons performed by oneself are ln humble form whlle actlons performed
by anyone else seen from the vlew of the speaker uses the honorlc form.
>D/D' 4%$ <@?)%&&-"#&
The dlmcult part of learnlng honorlc and humble language ls that there are a number of words that
have separate verbs for honorlc and humble forms. Anythlng that does not have lts own speclal
expresslon fall under the general rules of humble and honorlc conjugatlons that we wlll cover next.
126
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&'& 83+350R07 (+1 8/6O4, R356-
Honorlc and Humble Verbs
f=9-# L"#")-m, L+6E=%
%
I
I
I
C^I _
`
R aa
b

I
G^ cI
Cd dl
L"#")-m, C%)E& F-$1 &?%,-9= ,"#W+39$-"#&
A number of these verbs do not follow the normal masu-conjugatlon rules and they lnclude:
].].].]. and C7] whlch we wlll soon cover.
For all masu-form tenses of these verbs, lnstead of the ] becomlng a ] as lt does wlth
normal u-verbs, lt lnstead becomes an ]. All other conjugatlons besldes the masu-form do not
change from regular u-verbs.
7 -conjugatlons
f=9-# bI")6 f9&$ bI")6 g%39$-C% bI")6 f9&$b#%39$-C% bI")6
7 7 7|/ 7|/
7 7 7|/ 7|/
7 7 7|/ 7|/
7 7 7|/ 7|/
C7 C77 C77 C77|/ C77|/
<@96?=%& "I 1"#")-m, I")6
We can now begln to see that I] ls just a speclal conjugatlon of ] whlch ls the
honorlc verslon of ]. Let's look at some actual examples. Slnce these examples are all
uestlons dlrected dlrectly to someone second person, they all use the honorlc form.
Y /.cI7!\
- Allce-san, dld [you] eat already?
] /!\
- What are you dolng at work?
d efgQI/!\
- You're golng to glve me the favor of wrltlng a recommendatlon letter?
u !7!\
- Where dld you come from?
STI.^7!\
- Where are you golng today?
127
N&'& 83+350R07 (+1 8/6O4, R356- 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
<@96?=%& "I 1+6E=% I")6
The followlng examples are all actlons done by the speaker so they all use the humble form.
Y pI1a7\
- As for me, [people] say Klm. I am called Klm.
] pIQI>*$I7!\
- Wlll I be able to recelve the favor of gettlng my report looked at?
d %7\
- Excuse me. llt: I am dolng a dlscourtesy.
>D/D/ n$1%) &+E&$-$+$-"#&
In addltlon to these set expresslons, there are some words that also have more pollte counterparts.
Probably the most lmportant ls the pollter verslon of ], whlch ls C7]. Thls verb can
be used for both lnanlmate and anlmate objects. It ls nelther honorlc nor humble but lt ls a step
above ]ln pollteness. However, unless you want to sound llke a samural, C7]ls always
used ln the pollte form: C77].
By extenslon, the pollter verslon of ] ls C77]. Thls ls essentlally the masu-form
conjugatlon of C7], whlch comes from ] llterally meanlng, "to exlst as" to be
covered much later.
<@96?=%&
Y A I.p0\
- Over here ls my room.
Y B I.p0C77\
- Thls way ls my room.
] A hI09P0'iI7\
- The bathroom ls on the second oor of thls bulldlng.
] B hI09P0'iIC77\
- The bathroom ls on the second oor of thls bulldlng.
Other examples lnclude ], whlch ls more formally expressed as e]. There are also
slx dlerent ways to say, "I'm sorry" not countlng j1] or sllght lnectlon changes llke
7|/].
Successlvely pollter expresslons for apologllng:
Y C/\
] C/\
d d7|/\
u ak7|/\ak ls the humble form of Rk
l7\
lm\
In addltlon, the polltest sumx for names ls W], one level above /]. You won't be uslng
thls sumx too often ln actual speech even lf you speak to that person ln honorlc/humble speech.
128
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&'& 83+350R07 (+1 8/6O4, R356-
However, expect to use lt when wrltlng letters even to people you are somewhat famlllar wlth. Also,
servlce people such as cashlers or waltresses/walters wlll normally refer to the customer as n
W]. Of course, royalty and deltles are always accompanled by W] such as oW].
>D/D7 L"#")-m, 9#* L+6E=% !"#W+39$-"#&
For all other verbs wlthout set expresslons, there are conjugatlon rules to change themlnto honorlc
and humble forms. They both lnvolve a common practlce of attachlng a pollte prex p]. In
Japanese, there ls an practlce of attachlng an honorlc prex p] to certaln not all nouns to
show pollteness. In fact, some words llke ]. q].or ] come wlth thls prex so
often that lt's become practlcally the word ltself. In general, p] ls wrltten ln hlragana as elther
C] for words read as ?@d _gC.C or ] for words read as A@d _g.
. In fact, you may have been uslng thls prex already wlthout realllng lt llke Md]or
rs]. There are some exceptlons to thls rule such as t]. Lucklly slnce p] ls rarely
wrltten ln kanjl, ldentlfylng the exceptlons should not really be a problem.
L"#")-m, ")6
The honorlc form of verbs DK9D 9#< ;"D 9@";E DK< =<D K";"#?TM <g:#<==?";= E?\<; 9A"\< can be
formed ln two dlerent ways.
L"#")-m, !"#W+39$-"# 'v &$%6 zy
Thls klnd of makes sense lf you thlnk of lt as a person becomlng the honorlc state of a verb. All
subseuent conjugatlons follow the normal rules of conjugatlng the u-verb ]. To be honest,
thls type of sentence formulatlon ls rarely used.
Y cII7!\
- Have you seen the teacher?
L"#")-m, !"#W+39$-"# /v &$%6
] !\
- You're golng home already?
d uncI!\
- Wlll you be dlnlng ln?
Servlce people want to be extra pollte so they wlll often use thls type of "double honorlc" conjugatlon
or 'FC ln thls case, the honorlc cI] comblned wlth the honorlc conjugatlon.
Whether lt's necessary or grammatlcally proper ls another story.
&-#3 Qd{S F-$1 1"#")-m,&
You can also use ] wlth a honorlc verb by replaclng I] wlth I]. Thls ls
useful for when you want to ask somebody to do somethlng but stlll use a honorlc verb.
Yet another often-used expresslon.
Y vUI\- Please walt a moment.
Slmllarly, wlth C^I], you slmply replace I] wlth I].
129
N&'& 83+350R07 (+1 8/6O4, R356- 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
] IC^\
- Please look thls way.
Thls works for other nouns as well. For example, rldlng the tralns...
d 7)ICw\
- Please be careful of the closlng doors.
L+6E=% ")6
Humble verbs are formed ln the followlng fashlon.
L+6E=% !"#W+39$-"#v &$%6 y
You've probably already heard the rst example many tlmes before but now you know exactly where
lt comes from.
Y ex7\
- I properly make reuest.
] c.I7I\
- Teacher, there's somethlng I want to ask you.
d d7|/.|7\
- Sorry, I made you walt causatlve form.
u !y!7\
- We'll be holdlng on [from?] your 1000 yen.
You'll hear somethlng llke example u when, for example, you need to get change after paylng
1000 yen. Agaln, the 'FC where ] has been converted to the humble %] form
when lt's already ln the +stem+ humble form. Some Japanese people complaln that thls
makes no sense and that !] should really be ].
>D/D; O9G-#3 1"#")-m, )%o+%&$&
We learned how to make pollte reuests uslng I] ln a prevlous sectlon and we just
looked at how to use honorlc verbs wlth reuests as well. However, there ls yet another way to
make reuests uslng honorlc verbs. Thls grammar only applles to the honorlc verbs wlth speclal
7]conjugatlons that we just covered. Thls lncludes ].].].
and ]. I've never actually seen thls used wlth ], but lt ls grammatlcally
posslble.
130
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&>& 280+.- 28(2 8(**,+ /+0+2,+203+(44I
.
.
Conjugate the honorlc verb to the speclal masu-conjugatlon and replace the last ]
wlth |]
_ 7 7|
_ 7 7|
An abbrevlated and less formal verslon of thls ls to slmply remove the 7] after
conjugatlng to speclal the masu-form
_ 7
_ 7
.Maklng reuests for honorlc actlons
Now you nally know where grammar such as ] and I] actually came
from. Let's look at a few ulck examples.
<@96?=%&
You'll probably hear thls one a mllllon tlmes every tlme you enter some klnd of store ln Japan.
Y 7|\
- Please come ln!
However, a mlddle-aged sushl chef wlll probably use the abbrevlated verslon.
]
- Please come ln!
Some more examples...
d IC77\7zI7|\
- Thank you very much. Please come agaln.
u (.CU7|\
- Please take your tlme and relax.
>D7 01-#3& $19$ 19??%# +#-#$%#$-"#9==5 hT
l
Thls ls the rst of many useful tools that wlll become essentlal ln your day-to-day conversatlons. We
wlll now learn how to express an actlon that has taken place unlntentlonally often wlth unsatlsfactory
results. Thls ls prlmarlly done by the verb 7]. Let's look at an example.
{g 'h- Dld you do homework?
g 7- Oh no! I screwed up!
>D7D' &-#3 QS F-$1 "$1%) C%)E&
When 7] ls used ln thls sense, lt ls normal to attach lt to the te-form of another verb to
express an actlon that ls done or happened unlntentlonally. As ls common wlth thls type of grammar,
the tense ls declded by the tense of 7].
Y 0O*G^7\
- Oops, I ate that whole cake.
131
N&>& 280+.- 28(2 8(**,+ /+0+2,+203+(44I 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
] TO*G^.]L77\
- I ate cake everyday and I unlntentlonally galned two kllograms.
d /G^.|77e\
- If you don't eat properly, you'll unlntentlonally lose welght you know.
u 8.x|7\
- In the end, I unlntentlonally made [someone] do somethlng dlstasteful.
C/.|7
- Sorry about unlntentlonally maklng you walt!
[I/7\
- The goldsh dled already oops.
If you want to see many more examples, look up 7] on WWWJDIC and cllck the [E^] llnk.
There are over 100 examples wlth translatlons for you to enjoy.
>D7D/ &-#3 $1% ,9&+9= C%)&-"# "I QS
In casual speech, the 7] ls often substltuted by ] whlle 7] ls
substltuted by l]. Both ] and l] conjugate just llke regular u-verbs.
Y [I/l\
- The goldsh dled already.
] h
- Is lt OK lf I went home already?
d d/.!e\
- Everybody went o somewhere.
u /e\
- It'll gradually become late, you know.
There ls yet another very colloulal verslon of 7]and 7]where lt ls replaced
by 7] and l7] respectlvely. Unllke the cuter ] and l] slang,
thls verslon conjures a lmage of rough and coarse mlddle-aged man.
Y 7/|7e\
- Darn, I'm late agaln.
] C/.Y/l7\
- Sorry, I just ended up calllng you unconsclously.
>D7D7 B#"$1%) 6%9#-#3 "I QS
If you look up 7], the edlct dlctlonary wlll say:
}~7v5u uk to nlsh; to close; to do somethlng completely; to put away; to put an
end to;
You may want to conslder thls a totally separate verb from the 7] we have covered so far.
Occaslonally but not usually, 7] wlll have thls meanlng rather than the unlntended actlon.
132
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-N&L& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- H028 .,+,507 +3/+-
Y '7\
- Flnlsh your homework completely.
>D; 4?%,-9= %@?)%&&-"#& F-$1 3%#%)-, #"+#& hTTj
l
We've already learned how to use generlc nouns ln order to modlfy nouns. Now we wlll go over
some speclal expresslon used wlth generlc nouns.
>D;D' &-#3 QS $" &95 F1%$1%) &"6%$1-#3 19& 19??%#%*
When you comblne ], the generlc word for an event wlth ], you can talk about whether
an event exlsts or not.
<@96?=%&
Y J.I\
- There are tlmes when I do homework whlle staylng up all nlght.
] HrI7|/\
- I never go by myself.
Uslng the past tense of the verb wlth ], you can talk about whether an event has ever taken
place. Thls ls essentlally the only way you can say "have done" ln Japanese so thls ls a very useful
expresslon. You need to use thls grammar any tlme you want to talk about whether someone has
ever done somethlng.
<@96?=%&
Y II7!\
- Have you ever gone to Parls?
] G^I\
- I've had sushl before.
d TI0P0h
- You've never seen a Japanese movle?
u *L(II\
- It would be nlce lf I ever go to Europe.
0I!\
- I had never seen anythlng llke that.
H/\
- I've never gone, not even once.
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>D;D/ &-#3 QS 9& 9# 9E&$)9,$ ?=9,%
] ls usually used to lndlcate a generlc physlcal locatlon. However, lt can also hold a
much broader meanlng ranglng from a characterlstlc to a place ln tlme.
<@96?=%&
Y 1\I.S,Ie\
- Come ulckly. We're at the good part of the movle.
] I.e\
- Hls personallty has some gentle parts too.
d SI()I\
- Class has ended just now.
u !\
- I was just about to go from now.
>D;D7 &-#3 QjS 9& 9 ,9&+9= I%6-#-#% F95 $" %6?19&-P%
The generlc object noun 0] can be used as a casual and femlnlne way of emphasllng some-
thlng. Thls ls ldentlcal to the explanatory femlnlne emphasls expressed by the 0] partlcle. Just
llke the explanatory 0] partlcle, the 0] ls often changed lnto /] resultlng ln /].
Uslng /] sounds very femlnlne and a llttle cheeky ln a cute way.
<@96?=%&
xy !0h- Why dldn't you come?
Y ()I0\- I had class. femlnlne explanatory
] ()I0\- I had class. femlnlne explanatory
d ()I/\- I had class, so there. femlnlne explanatory
>D> <@?)%&&-#3 C9)-"+& =%C%=& "I ,%)$9-#$5 hjz{T
Tdl
In general, Japanese people don't assert themselves of somethlng unless they are absolutely sure
that lt ls correct. Thls accounts for the lncredlbly freuent use of ]and the varlous gram-
matlcal expresslons used to express speclc levels of certalnty. We wlll go over these expresslons
startlng from the less certaln to the most certaln.
>D>D' &-#3 Qjz{S $" %@?)%&& +#,%)$9-#$5
!]ls used to mean "maybe" or "posslbly" and ls less certaln than the word 3]. It
attaches to the end of a complete clause. For noun and na-adjectlve clauses, the declaratlve I]
134
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&N& ,P*5,--0+. U(503/- 4,U,4- 3R 7,52(0+2I
must be removed. It can also be wrltten ln kanjl as !] and you can treat lt the same
as a negatlve ru-verb there ls no posltlve eulvalent so the masu-form would become !
7|/]. In casual speech, lt can be abbrevlated to just !]. There ls also a very mascullne
verslon !/], whlch ls slmply a dlerent type of negatlve verb.
.
.
Slmply attach !] or !] to the clause
_ !
_ Ibc!
_ I-'!
Noun and na-adjectlve clauses must #"$ use the declaratlve I]
_ cI!c!
_ I!!
It can be abbrevlated to just !] ln casual speech
_ -'! -'!
.Expresslng uncertalnty wlth !]
<@96?=%&
Y /IGI!7|/\- Smlth-san may have gone to the cafeterla.
] AjI;I!1\- The game may become canceled by raln, huh?
d 0IHD!- I mlght have already seen thls movle once.
u IUp!!\- That mlght be Yoyogl park over there.
!/(\- Mlght not be able to escape anymore, you know.
>D>D/ &-#3 QS $" %@?)%&& 9 I9-) 96"+#$ "I ,%)$9-#$5 p?"=-$%q
,] ls used to express a level of some certalnty and ls close ln meanlng to 3]. Just
llke 7], lt must come at the end of a complete sentence. It does not have any other
conjugatlons. You can also replace !] wlth ,!] to make the uestlon sound
sllghtly more pollte and less assumlng by addlng a sllght level of uncertalnty.
<@96?=%&
Y iTA,\- Probably raln tomorrow too.
] I.bc/,!\- Are you student?
d !^/,!h- Where are you golng from here?
If you want to sound really, really pollte, you can even add ,!] to the end of a 7
] endlng.
u L7|I7,!\- May I recelve the favor of restlng, posslbly?
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>D>D7 &-#3 QS9#* QdS$" %@?)%&& &$)"#3 96"+#$ "I ,%)$9-#$5
p,9&+9=q
The casual eulvalent of ,] ls surprlslngly enough ,]. However, when you are
speaklng ln a pollte manner, the ,] ls enunclated atly whlle ln casual speech, lt has a
rlslng lntonatlon and can be shortened to ,]. In addltlon, slnce people tend to be more
assertlve ln casual sltuatlons, the casual verslon has a much stronger avor often soundlng more
llke, "See, I told you so!"
<@96?=%&
Y /|- Ah! We're golng to be late!
] I!.V>IR,- That's why I told you there was no tlme!
d !G^I/,\- You're golng to eat from now aren't you?
u Ih- So what lf I am?
.,\- You're golng to help me clean, rlght?
h0h- Huh? Is that so?
I] means essentlally the same thlng as ,] except that lt sounds more mascullne
and ls used mostly by males.
A IIh- Where ls Allce?
B I\- Probably sleeplng already.
A I/I\- You're golng home already, rlght?
B e\- That's rlght.
>DA <@?)%&&-#3 96"+#$& hdTTTTyT
B6"+#$ jTTl
Thls lesson wlll cover varlous expresslons used to express varlous J<E#<<= of amounts. For example,
sentences llke, "I only ate one", "That was all that was left", "There's just old people here", or "I ate
too much" all lndlcate whether there's a lot or llttle of somethlng. Most of these expresslons are
made wlth partlcles and not as separate words as you see ln Engllsh.
>DAD' (#*-,9$-#3 $19$J& 9== $1%)% -& +&-#3 QdS
The partlcle I] ls used to express that that's all there ls. Just llke the other partlcles we have
already learned, lt ls dlrectly attached to the end of whlchever word that lt applles to.
<@96?=%&
Y /CI\
- Just apples and nothlng else.
136
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&X& ,P*5,--0+. (63/+2-
] I\
Just that and thls and nothlng else.
When one of the major partlcles are also applled to a word, these partlcles must come after I]
. In fact, the orderlng of multlple partlcles usually start from the most speclc to the most general.
Y II.G^I\
- Just don't eat that. Anythlng else ls assumed to be OK.
] 0I1!\
- Dldn't slng just thls song.
d 0rIIMI/I\
- That person was the only person I llked.
The same goes for double partlcles. Agaln I] must come rst.
Y 0II.500 I\
- Cannot use 500 yen coln ln just thls vendlng machlne.
Wlth mlnor partlcles such as !]or 7], lt ls dlmcult to tell whlch should come rst. When
ln doubt, try googllng to see the level of popularlty of each comblnatlon. It turns out that !I
] ls almost twlce as popular as I!] wlth a hlt number of 90,000 vs. 50,000.
Y /!II.tI!\
- A reply has not come from only Kobayashl-san.
Unllke some partlcles, you can dlrectly attach I] to verbs as well.
Y I1!.!IG^II\
- Slnce the preparatlons are done, from here we just have to eat.
] IXYQI!h
- Is lt ok to just wrlte [my] name here?
>DAD/ &-#3 QS 9& 9 I")69= C%)&-"# "I QdS
A partlcle that ls essentlally ldentlcal both grammatlcally and ln meanlng to I] ls 0d].
However, unllke I], whlch ls used ln regular conversatlons, 0d] ls usually only used ln a
wrltten context. It ls often used for explalnlng pollcles, ln manuals, and other thlngs of that nature.
Thls grammar really belongs ln the advanced sectlon slnce formal language has a dlerent avor and
tone from what we have seen so far. However, lt ls covered here because lt ls essentlally ldentlcal
to I]. Just googllng for 0d] wlll ulckly show the dlerence ln the type of language that
ls used wlth 0d] as opposed to I].
Y 0qIT0d\
- Thls boardlng tlcket ls only valld on the date on whlch lt was purchased.
] `O*$Ibc0d\
- The targets of thls survey are only college students.
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>DAD7 (#*-,9$-"# $19$ $1%)%J& #"$1-#3 %=&% +&-#3 QS
I carefully phrased the tltle of thls sectlon to show that !] must be used to lndlcate the =9,G
of everythlng else. In other words, the rest of the sentence must always be negatlve.
Y !\- There's nothlng but thls.
The followlng ls wrong.
!\- Wrong, wrong, wrong
As you can see, !] has an embedded negatlve meanlng whlle I] doesn't have any
partlcular nuance.
Y I\- See just thls.
] I\- Don't see just thls.
d !\- Don't see anythlng else but thls.
<@96?=%&
Let's see some example sentences.
Y STI..0C!G^!\
- Today was busy and couldn't eat anythlng but breakfast.
Notlce that unllke I], lt ls necessary to nlsh o the sentence.
xy 0h- You're buylng everythlng?
Y /.I\- Nah, just thls.
] /.!1 - Nah, won't buy anythlng else but thls.
/.!\- Wrong, the sentence must expllcltly lndlcate the negatlve.
Whlle the major partlcles always come last, lt turns out that !] must come after !] and
7]. A google search of !!] beats
!!] by an overwhelmlng 60,000 to 600.
Y !!\
- I dldn't recelve anythlng except from Allce.
You can also use thls grammar wlth verbs.
Y !!
- There's nothlng to do but try our best!
] .!\
- There no cholce but to run away once lt turns out llke thls.
d !.!e\
- It's rotten already so there's nothlng to do but throw lt out.
QSK 9# 9=$%)#9$-C% $" QS
] ls another verslon of !] that means essentlally the same thlng and works exactly
the same way. Just substltute !] wlth ] and you're good to go. Thls verslon ls a blt
138
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&X& ,P*5,--0+. (63/+2-
stronger than !]ln emphasls but lt's not used nearly as often so I wouldn't worry about lt too
much. I brley cover lt here just ln case you do run lnto thls expresslon.
<@96?=%&
Y I
- There's nothlng but to buy thls!
] .'
- If thlngs turn out llke thls, there nothlng to do but to just do lt!
>DAD; <@?)%&&-#3 $1% "??"&-$% "I QdS F-$1 QS
!] ls used to express the condltlon where there's so much of somethlng to the polnt where
there's nothlng else. Notlce thls ls fundamentally dlerent from !] whlch expresses a =9,G of
everythlng else but the ltemln uestlon. In more casual sltuatlons, !]ls usually pronounced
!] or just !]. For example, let's say you went to a party to nd, much to your
dlsmay, the whole room lled wlth mlddle-aged women. You mlght say the followlng.
Y Ie/!l!h
- What the? Isn't lt nothlng but obasan?
Or perhaps a llttle more glrly:
] 'I\/!\
- Eww. It's nothlng but obasan.
<@96?=%&
Let's look at some more examples.
Y ^I!@/\!j\
- Takashl-kun ls readlng nothlng but comlc books... He's so uncool.
It ls ulte common ln casual speech to end mldsentence llke thls.
Notlce @/] ls the te-form of @/] wlth the ] dropped. We assume that the
concluslon wlll come somewhere later ln the story.
] I!\
- He's nothlng but mahjong. He does nothlng but play mahjong.
d /!,
- You're hanglng out wlth Naoml-chan all the tlme, aren't you!
u 56I!Ie\
- Lately, lt's nothlng but work.
>DAD> 495-#3 $1%)%J& $"" 6+,1 "I &"6%$1-#3 +&-#3 QyS
] ls a regular ru-verb wrltten ] meanlng, "to exceed". However, much llke
139
N&X& ,P*5,--0+. (63/+2- 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
l] you can modlfy the meanlng of other verbs and adjectlves. When ] ls attached
to the end of other verbs and adjectlves, lt means that lt ls too much or that lt has exceeded the
normal levels. For verbs, you must dlrectly attach ] to the stem of the verb. For example,
to eat too much would become G^] and to drlnk too much would become d]
. For adjectlves, you just attach lt to the end after you remove the last ] from the l-adjectlves
as usual. One more rule ls that for both negatlve verbs and adjectlves, one must remove the ]
from ] and replace wlth ] before attachlng ]. There ls no tense past or
non-past assoclated wlth thls grammar. Slnce ] ls a regular ru-verb, use of thls grammar
results ln a regular ru-verb.
.
.
1. For verbs, rst change the verb to the =D<@ and attach ].
_ G^ G^
_
2. For na-adjectlves, slmply attach ]. For l-adjectlves, remove the last ]
rst before attachlng ].
_ e!e!
_
3. For negatlve verbs and adjectlves, replace the last ]from]wlth ]and
then attach ]
_ G^ G^ G^
_ -' -'-'
g"$%v I-adjectlves that end ln ] whlch lncorporate the negatlve ] such as
]O or ] follow the thlrd rule.
_
_
Most regular l-adjectlves such as ] or v] follow the regular rule rule 2.
_
_ v v
.Uslng ]to lndlcate there's too much of somethlng
<@96?=%&
Y /IqrI.7G^7\
- Satou-san ls good at cooklng and I ate too much agaln.
] deI1\
- Be careful to not drlnk too much, ok?
d !$`I(\
- It won't t ln the trunk cause lt's too blg, man.
u e!\!e\
- It's too ulet. It mlght be a trap, you know.
V>I.!\
140
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&X& ,P*5,--0+. (63/+2-
- Due to too much of a lack of tlme, I couldn't do anythlng.
II.`Ie\
- She ls totally wasted on hlm too good for hlm.
It ls also common to change ] lnto lts stem and use lt as a noun.
A / M0.4R\
- Man, I don't remember anythlng about last nlght.
B / IdIe\
- That's drlnklng too much.
>DADA B**-#3 $1% QjS ?9)$-,=% $" %@?)%&& %@,%&&-C% 96"+#$&
When the ] partlcle comes after some type of amount, lt means that the amount lndlcated ls
way too much. For lnstance, let's look at the next example.
Y MT.(De
- I called you llke three tlmes yesterday!
Notlce that the ] partlcle ls attached to the amount "three tlmes". Thls sentence lmplles that
the speaker called even three tlmes and stlll the person dldn't plck up the phone. We understand
thls to mean that three tlmes are a lot of tlmes to call someone.
] jk0I(V>\
- I studled three whole hours for the exam.
d S..L
- I galned 10 whole kllograms thls year!
>DAD| &-#3 QS $" %@?)%&& $1% %@$%#$ "I &"6%$1-#3
The noun l] ls attached to a word ln a sentence to express the extent of somethlng. It
can modlfy nouns as well as verbs as seen ln the next example.
Y ST0=Il\
- Today's weather ls not cold to that extent.
] V>Il.\
- Busy to the extent that there's no tlme to sleep.
When you use thls wlth condltlonals, you can express somethlng that translates lnto Engllsh as, "The
more you [verb], the more..." The grammar ls always formed ln the followlng seuence: [condltlonal
of verb] followed lmmedlately by [same verb+ l]
Y qrIG^G^l.\
- About Korean food, the more you eat the tastler lt becomes.
The llteral translatlon ls, "About Korean food, lf you eat, to the extent that you eat, lt becomes
tasty." whlch essentlally means the same thlng. The example uses the ] condltlonal form, but
the ] condltlonal wlll work as well. Slnce thls ls a general statement, the contextual ]
condltlonal wlll never work. The declded ] condltlonal won't work very well here elther slnce lt
141
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may not always be true dependlng on the extent of the actlon.
Y l.7\
- The more I walked, the more I got lost.
] l.Iee\
- The more you study, the more you wlll become smarter.
You can also use thls grammar wlth l-adjectlves by uslng the ] condltlonal.
Y lPod I./*)540Il/0Id7\
- About lPod, the larger the hard dlsk capaclty, the more songs you can save.
] WIlI\
- It's not necessarlly the case that the cheaper the tlcket, the better lt ls.
For na-adjectlves, slnce you can't use the ] condltlonal you have to resort to the ]
condltlonal. Because lt sounds strange to use the ]condltlonal ln thls fashlon, you wlll hardly
ever see thls grammar used wlth na-adjectlves. Slnce l] ls treated as a noun, make sure you
don't forget to use ] to attach the noun to the na-adjectlve.
Y I.l.le\
- The shorter and slmpler the sentences, the better lt ls.
>DAD} &-#3 QS F-$1 9*W%,$-C%& $" -#*-,9$% 9# 96"+#$
We wlll now learn how to add ] to adjectlves to lndlcate an amount of that adjectlve. For
example, we can attach ]to the adjectlve for "hlgh" ln order to get "helght". Instead of looklng
at the helght, we can even attach ]to the adjectlve for "low" to focus on the amount of lowness
as opposed to the amount of hlghness. In fact, there ls nothlng to stop us from uslng thls wlth any
adjectlve to lndlcate an amount of that adjectlve. The result becomes a regular noun lndlcatlng the
amount of that adjectlve.
.
.
") -b9*W%,$-C%&: Flrst remove the tralllng ] from the l-adjectlve and then attach
]
_ | |
_ - -
") #9b9*W%,$-C%&: Just attach ] to the end of the na-adjectlve
_ '!'!
The result becomes a regular noun.
.Addlng ]to adjectlves to lndlcate an amount
<@96?=%&
Y 09P0|I!h
- What ls the helght of thls bulldlng?
142
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&Y& U(503/- H(I- 23 ,P*5,-- -0604(502I (+1 8,(5-(I
] S0NR0r>^.I!II\
- If you compare the level of sensltlvlty of hearlng of dogs to humans, lt ls far above.
>D| Z9)-"+& F95& $" %@?)%&& &-6-=9)-$5 9#* 1%9)&95 hVT
{TTdT{T{l
In Japanese there are many dlerent ways to express llkeness or slmllarlty dependlng on appearance,
behavlor, or outcome. When learnlng these expresslons for the rst tlme, lt ls dlmcult to understand
what the dlerences are between them because they all translate to the same thlng ln Engllsh. Thls
lesson ls deslgned to study the dlerences between these expresslons so that you can start to get
a sense of whlch ls approprlate for what you want to say.
>D|D' <@?)%&&-#3 &-6-=9)-$5 F-$1 V pq
We've already brley gone over e]and learned that e]means an appearance or manner.
We can use thls denltlon to say that somethlng has an appearance or manner of a certaln state.
Thls word can be used ln many ways to express slmllarlty. The slmplest example ls by dlrectly
modlfylng the subordlnate clause. When the sentence ends ln e], you must expllcltly express
the state of belng by addlng I], ], or C77].
Y II.oeI\- Looks llke no one ls here.
] Pe\- Looks llke [he] watched the movle.
When dlrectly modlfylng nouns or na-adjectlves, you must use the 0]partlcle for nouns or attach
] to na-adjectlves.
d bc0eI\- Looks llke lt's a student.
u Ie!eI\- Looks llke lt's ulet.
Notlce that d does not say that the person looks B?$< 9 =DCJ<;D. Rather, the expllclt state of belng
states that the person appears to A< 9 =DCJ<;D. On a slde note, you can't say eI] to
say that somethlng looks tasty. Thls ls llke saylng, "Thls dlsh apparently ls tasty," whlch can actually
be klnd of rude.
You can also use lt as a na-adjectlve to descrlbe somethlng that appears to be somethlng else.
0reI\- Had a feellng llke I saw that person before.
Ibc0e1\- He has a student-llke atmosphere.
Flnally, we can attach the target partlcle to say thlngs llke, "I heard lt llke that" or "I sald lt llke...".
,IeI\- Was able to hear lt llke she was a llttle mad.
!eIR\- Sald lt llke nothlng happened.
>D|D/ &-#3 Q{S $" &95 &"6%$1-#3 =""G& =-G% &"6%$1-#3 %=&%
Another way to express slmllarlty whlch ls consldered more casual ls by uslng d]. Do not
confuse thls wlth the ] conjugatlon of ]. The maln dlerence ls that thls d]
can be attached dlrectly to nouns, adjectlves, and verbs just llke partlcles whlch l-adjectlves llke
] obvlously can't do.
143
N&Y& U(503/- H(I- 23 ,P*5,-- -0604(502I (+1 8,(5-(I 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
.
.
Attach d] to the noun that bears the resemblance. d] conjugates llke a
noun or na-adjectlve and not an l-adjectlve.
Conjugatlon Example wlth S]
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ Sd Looks llke a dog Sld Doesn't look llke a dog
f9&$ SId Looked llke a dog Sl!d Dldn't look llke a dog
.Uslng d]to say somethlng looks llke somethlng else
<@96?=%&
Y td\- Looks llke lt's sold out already.
] d.bcd\- Looklng at the unlform-wearlng gure, person
looks llke a student.
The lmplled meanlng here ls the person wearlng the unlform ls not really a student because he/she
only B""$= llke a student. Thls ls dlerent from d of the prevlous e] sectlon whlch lmplled
that the person appears to be but mlght not be a student. Agaln, we also can't say d
] to say that somethlng looks tasty because lt lmplles that, ln actuallty, the food mlght not be
so good. Slmllarly, you would never say !1d] to say that somethlng looks cute.
Don't forget that d] does not conjugate llke the ] form or l-adjectlves.
0IMddh- d conjugates llke a na-adjectlve.
d 0IMddlh- Doesn't thls pla looks llke okonomlyakl?
d] ls really a grammar only used ln conversatlon.
Do not use lt ln essays, artlcles, anythlng that needs to sound authorltatlve. You can use e]
lnstead ln the followlng fashlon.
t0eI\- It appears that lt ls sold-out already.
0IMd0eI\- Thls pla looks llke okonomlyakl.
>D|D7 :+%&&-#3 9$ 9# "+$,"6% +&-#3 QS
The problem wlth Engllsh ls that the expresslon, "seems llke" has too many meanlngs. It can
mean slmllarlty ln appearance, slmllarlty ln behavlor or even that current evldence polnts to a llkely
outcome. We wlll now learn how to say the thlrd meanlng; how to lndlcate a llkely outcome glven
the sltuatlon.
Just llke the grammar we have learned so far ln thls lesson, we can use thls grammar by slmply
attachlng ] to the end of verbs, and adjectlves. However, there are four lmportant dlerent
cases. Actually, I just notlced thls but the conjugatlon rules are exactly the same as the ]
grammar we learned ln the last sectlon. The only dlerence ls that for the adjectlve ], you
need to change lt to e] before attachlng ] to create e].
144
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&Y& U(503/- H(I- 23 ,P*5,-- -0604(502I (+1 8,(5-(I
.
.
1. Verbs must be changed to the =D<@.
2. The ] ln l-adjectlves must be dropped except for ].
3. ] must rst be conjugated to e]
4. For all negatlve tenses, the ] must be replaced wlth ].
5. Thls grammar does not work wlth plaln nouns.
.Rules for conjugatlon
'D Z%)E 6+&$ E% ,19#3%* $" $1% &$%6D
For ru-verbs, remove the ]
Y /`I.HI\
- Loslng my balance, I seemed llkely to fall for a moment.
For u-verbs, change the / u / vowel sound to an / l / vowel sound
] 0II\
- It seems llkely that lt would be around here but...
/D 01% Q{S -# -b9*W%,$-C%& 6+&$ E% *)"??%*D
In the next example, the ] has been dropped from ].
Y 0I
- I bet thls plckled vegetable ls tasty! Thls plckled vegetable looks good!
<@,%?$-"#: The only exceptlon to thls rule ls the adjectlve ]. When uslng thls grammar wlth
], you must rst change lt to e].
] 89eI.'l|e1\
- Thls one also seems to be good but, as expected, lt's expenslve, huh?
Nothlng needs to be done for na-adjectlves.
d Y.0`IMI\
- Knowlng you, I bet you llke blond-halred glrls.
7D ") 9== #%39$-C% $%#&%&K $1% Q{S 6+&$ E% )%?=9,%* F-$1 QSD
The negatlve of ] ls ] so when used wlth ], lt becomes ].
Y 10 VI!.I1\
- Slnce lt already became 10:00, lt's llkely that person won't come.
] II0jlI\
145
N&Y& U(503/- H(I- 23 ,P*5,-- -0604(502I (+1 8,(5-(I 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
- Thls lsn't llkely to be an ordlnary match.
Identlcal to the ] grammar, l-adjectlves that are derlved from the negatlve ]
llke ] or ] also follow thls rule as well whlch would be
] and ] ln thls case.
;D 01-& 3)9669) *"%& #"$ F")G F-$1 ?=9-# #"+#&D
0rIbc\
There are other grammar we have already covered that can be used to lndlcate that somethlng ls
llkely to be somethlng else.
Y 0rIbc,\
- That person ls probably student.
] 0rIbcI\
- That person ls probably student.
Be careful never to use !1] wlth thls grammar. !1] ls a completely dlerent
word used when you feel sorry for somethlng
or someone. !1] means, "to look cute" already so you never need to use any of the
grammar ln thls lesson to say somethlng looks cute.
Y 0SI!1\
- Oh, thls poor dog.
] 0SI!1\- Thls dog ls cute.
>D|D; <@?)%&&-#3 1%9)&95 +&-#3 QdS
The reason that there are so many annoylng rules to uslng ] ls to dlstlngulsh lt from thls
next grammar we wlll learn. Thls ls a useful grammar for talklng about thlngs you heard that doesn't
necessary have anythlng to do wlth how you yourself, thlnk or feel. Unllke the last grammar we
learned, you can slmply attach I] to verbs and l-adjectlves. For na-adjectlves and nouns,
you must lndlcate the state of belng by addlng I] to the noun/na-adjectlve. Also, notlce that
] ltself must always end ln I].].or C77]. These dlerences are what
dlstlngulshes thls grammar from the one we learned ln the last sectlon. There are no tenses for thls
grammar.
Y iT.AIBI\- I hear that lt's golng to raln tomorrow.
] TI\- I heard he went to meet everyday.
Don't forget to add I] for nouns or na-adjectlves.
d I.|cI\- I hear that he ls a hlgh school student.
When startlng the sentence wlth thls grammar, you also need to add I] just llke you do wlth
I!]
Y ST.];/I0h- Is Tanaka-san not comlng today?
] I\- So I hear.
146
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&Z& /-0+. h (+1 ib R35 736*(50-3+- (+1 328,5 R/+7203+-
>D|D> <@?)%&&-#3 1%9)&95 ") E%19C-") +&-#3 Q{S
] can be dlrectly attached to nouns, adjectlves, or verbs to show that thlngs appear to
be a certaln way due to what you've heard. Thls ls dlerent from I]because
I] lndlcates somethlng you heard about speclcally whlle ] means thlngs seem to be a
certaln way based on some thlngs you heard about the subject. ]conjugates llke a normal
l-adjectlve.
ST.];/I0h- Is Tanaka-san not comlng today?
\- Seems llke lt based on what I heard.
0rI0h- What ls that person over there?
/0`ae\- Seems to be Mlyukl-san's frlend based on what I heard.
Another way to use ] ls to lndlcate that a person seems to be a certaln thlng due to hls
behavlor.
Y 0I\- That chlld does not act llke a chlld.
] rI0I.7\- Desplte the fact that I planned to act
llke an adult, I ended up maklng a blg ruckus.
>D|DA Q{Sv 4=9#3 %@?)%&&-"# "I &-6-=9)-$5
A really casual way to express slmllarlty ls to attach M] to the word that reects the re-
semblance. Because thls ls a very casual expresslon, you can use lt as a casual verslon for all the
dlerent types of expresslon for slmllarlty covered above.
M] conjugates just llke an l-adjectlve, as seen by example d below.
Y 0rI,rMe1\- That person looks llke a Korean person, huh?
] d/.G^7Me\- It appears that everybody ate everythlng already.
d I4`M1\- Kyouko ls not womanly at all, huh?
>D} &-#3 9#* Vy I") ,"6?9)-&"#& 9#* "$1%) I+#,$-"#&
hVTT&$%6 TVTVyl
If you were wonderlng how to make comparlson ln Japanese, well wonder no more. We wlll learn
how to use /] and e] to make comparlsons between two thlngs. We wlll also learn other
uses of /] and e] along the way.
>D}D' &-#3 QS I") ,"6?9)-&"#&
The noun /] ls read as l] when lt ls used to mean a dlrectlon or orlentatlon. It can also
be read as !] when lt ls used as a pollter verslon of r]. But that's nelther here nor there.
When we use /] to mean dlrectlon, we can use lt for comparlson by saylng one way of thlngs ls
better, worse, etc., than the other way. Grammatlcally, lt works just llke any other regular nouns.
147
N&Z& /-0+. h (+1 ib R35 736*(50-3+- (+1 328,5 R/+7203+- 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
<@96?=%&
Use lt wlth nouns by utllllng the 0] partlcle.
Y C0/I\- Rlce ls tastler. llt: The way of rlce ls tasty.
] op/0/I\- Suukl-san ls younger. llt: The way of Suukl ls young.
Grammatlcally, lt's no dlerent from a regular noun.
d bcl/Ie\- It's better to not be a student. llt: The way of not belng student
ls good.
u /I.e!/IM\- Llke ulet bables more. llt: About bables, the ulet way ls
deslrable.
The trlcky part of maklng comparlsons wlth verb ls the use of tenses. For absolutely no reason,
non-negatlve verbs must always be past tense.
UG^/I{Ie\- It's better for your health to eat slowly.
!/I1!\- It was faster to go from thls way.
The same thlng does not apply for negatlve verbs.
$('I-+*:8`P/Ie\- It's better not to watch "Matrlx Revolu-
tlon".
The negatlve verb ls only ln the past tense when the comparlson ls of somethlng that happened ln
the past.
/I7!/Ie!\- It was better not to have drunk that much.
>D}D/ &-#3 QVS I") ,"6?9)-&"#&
You can thlnk of e] as belng the opposlte of /]. It means, "rather than" or "as opposed
to". It attaches dlrectly to the back of any word. It ls usually used ln conjunctlon wlth /] to say
somethlng llke, "Thls way ls better as opposed to that way."
<@96?=%&
Y e\
- Dango rather than owers. Thls ls a very famous proverb.
] C0/I.`e\
- Rlce tastes better than bread. llt: The rlce way ls tasty as opposed to bread.
d 1/eop/0/I\
- Suukl-san ls younger than Klm-san. llt: The way of Suukl ls young as opposed to Klm-san.
For those curlous about the meanlng of the proverb, dango ls a sweet doughy treat usually sold at
festlvals. The proverb ls saylng that people prefer thls treat to watchlng the owers, referrlng to
the ]event where people go out to see the cherry blossoms and get smashed. The deeper
meanlng of the proverb, llke all good proverbs, depends on how you apply lt.
Of course, there ls no rule that e] must be used wlth /]. The other way of thlngs can be
gleaned from context.
op TI0IxI\- I don't llke golng to work everyday.
Ie7Ie\- It's not as bad as opposed to not havlng a job.
Words assoclated wlth e] do not need any tense. Notlce ln the followlng sentence that G^
148
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&Z& /-0+. h (+1 ib R35 736*(50-3+- (+1 328,5 R/+7203+-
] ln front of e] ls present tense even though G^] ln front of /] ls past tense.
Y UG^/I1G^e\- It ls better to eat slowly as opposed to eatlng ulckly.
&-#3 QVS 9& 9 &+?%)=9$-C%
You can also use e] wlth uestlon words such as o]. ].or ] to make a
superlatlve by comparlng wlth everythlng or everybody else. In thls case, though not reulred, lt ls
common to lnclude the ] partlcle.
<@96?=%&
Y 0xetI7\
- We place value ln product's uallty over anythlng else.
] 0Ioe17\
- Can do thls job more ulckly than anyone else.
>D}D7 &-#3 QS $" %@?)%&& 9 F95 $" *" &"6%$1-#3
You can also attach /] to the stem of verbs to express a way to do that verb. In thls usage,
/] ls read as !] and the result becomes a noun. For example, /]! means,
"the way to go" or G^/]^!means, "the way to eat". Thls expresslon ls probably what
you want to use when you want to ask how to do somethlng.
<@96?=%&
Y <0/I3!7!\
- Do you know the way to go to Shlnjuku?
] G^/IOIee\
- Eatlng ln that way ls not good for your body.
d 0Q/7!h
- Can you teach me the way of wrltlng kanjl?
u %&`0/I.d/,\
- Probably everybody knows the way to use PC's.
When verbs are transformed to thls form, the result becomes a noun clause. Sometlmes, thls
reulres a change of partlcles. For lnstance, whlle ] usually lnvolves a target the I] or
^] partlcle, slnce /] ls a noun clause, Y becomes <0/] lnstead of the
famlllar <I].
>D}D; &-#3 QVS $" %@?)%&& *%?%#*%#,5
When you want to say, "dependlng on [^]", you can do thls ln Japanese by slmply attachlng I
e] to [^].
149
N&[& -(I0+. -36,280+. 0- ,(-I 35 10RR07/42 23 13 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
<@96?=%&
Y rIeIG\
- The story ls dlerent dependlng on the person.
] IeI.7\
- Frult becomes tasty or nasty dependlng on the season.
Thls ls slmply the te-form of e] as seen by the followlng slmple exchange.
7 STIdI!h- Shall we go drlnklng today?
I.Ie1\- That depends on Yuuko.
>D}D> (#*-,9$-#3 9 &"+),% "I -#I")69$-"# +&-#3 QVyS
Another expresslon uslng e] ls by uslng lt wlth the target and the declded condltlonal ]
to lndlcate a source of lnformatlon. In Engllsh, thls would translate to "accordlng to [^]" where I
e] ls attached to [^].
<@96?=%&
Y =Ie.STIAII\
- Accordlng to the weather forecast, I hear today ls raln.
] `a0Ie.I'-*I`)\
- Accordlng to a frlend's story, lt appears that Tomoko nally found a boyfrlend.
>D. 495-#3 &"6%$1-#3 -& %9&5 ") *-,+=$ $" *" hR{T
{l
Thls ls a short easy lesson on how to transform verbs lnto adjectlves descrlblng whether that actlon
ls easy or dlmcult to do. Baslcally, lt conslsts of changlng the verb lnto the stem and addlng '
] for easy and I] for hard. The result then becomes a regular l-adjectlve. Pretty easy,
huh?
.
.
To descrlbe an actlon as belng easy, change the verb to the stem and add ']. To
descrlbe an actlon as belng dlmcult, attach I] to the stem.
_ ru-verb: G^ G^'
_ u-verb: ^ ^ ^I
The result becomes a regular l-adjectlve.
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ G^I G^I
f9&$ G^I! G^I!
.Uslng '.I]to descrlbe easy and dlmcult actlons
150
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&[& -(I0+. -36,280+. 0- ,(-I 35 10RR07/42 23 13
<@96?=%&
Y 0I@dI
- Thls hand-wrltlng ls hard to read.
] 7PI9*Ped'\
- Cocktalls are easler to drlnk than beer.
d I!0.I!\
- Slnce the room was dark, lt was hard to see.
As an aslde: Be careful wlth I] because ] ls a rarely used adjectlve meanlng,
"ugly". I wonder lf lt's just colncldence that "dlmcult to see" and "ugly" sound exactly the same?
Of course, you can always use some other grammatlcal structure that we have already learned to
express the same thlng uslng approprlate adjectlves such as ].]. ].
].etc. The followlng two sentences are essentlally ldentlcal ln meanlng.
Y 0wIG^I\
- That meat ls hard to eat.
] 0wG^0I\
- The thlng of eatlng that meat ls dlmcult.
>D.D' Z9)-9$-"#& "I Q{S F-$1 Qk{S 9#* Q{S
The kanjl for I] actually comes from ] whlch can also be read as !]. As a
result, you can also add a volced verslon I] as a verb sumx to express the same thlng as
I]. I] ls more common for speaklng whlle I] ls more sulted for the wrltten
medlum. I] tends to be used for physlcal actlons whlle I] ls usually reserved for
less physlcal actlons that don't actually reulre movement. However, there seems to be no hard rule
on whlch ls more approprlate for a glven verb so I suggest searchlng for both verslons ln google to
ascertaln the popularlty of a glven comblnatlon. You should also always wrlte the sumx ln hlragana
to prevent amblgultles ln the readlng.
<@96?=%&
Y 0*ItI\
- I am treatlng lmportantly the hard to forget memorles of and wlth hlm.
] lIII.II\
- It's a very dlmcult to belleve story but lt seems from hearsay that lt really happened.
Yet another, more coarse varlatlon of stem + I] ls to use ] lnstead whlch ls a
sllghtly transformed verslon of ]. Thls ls not to be confused wlth the same ]
!, whlch means splcy!
<@96?=%&
Y TICI@d\
- Man, Japanese ls hard to read.
151
N&%]& 635, +,.(20U, U,5O- 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
] 1|I.3!I1\
- Please don't plck a dlmcult to understand locatlon for the meetlng arrangement.
>D' O")% #%39$-C% C%)E& hz{TTTl
We already learned the most common type of negatlve verbs; the ones that end ln]. However,
there are couple more dlerent types of negatlves verbs. The ones you wlll nd most useful are the
rst two, whlch expresses an actlon that was done wlthout havlng done another actlon. The others
are falrly obscure or useful only for very casual expresslons. However, you !?BB run lnto them lf you
learn Japanese for a falr amount of tlme.
>D'D' c"-#3 &"6%$1-#3 F-$1"+$ *"-#3 &"6%$1-#3 %=&%
Way back when, we learned how to express a seuence of actlons and thls worked ne for both
posltlve and negatlve verbs. For lnstance, the sentence "I dldn't eat, and then I went to sleep"
would become G^\] However, thls sentence sounds a blt strange because eatlng
doesn't have much to do wlth sleeplng. What we probably #<9BB_ want to say ls that we went to
sleep !?DK"CD eatlng. To express thls, we need to use a more generalled form of the negatlve
reuest we covered at the very end of the glvlng and recelvlng lesson. In other words, lnstead of
substltutlng the last ] wlth ], we need only append ] lnstead.
.
.
To lndlcate an actlon that was done !?DK"CD dolng another actlon, add ] to the
negatlve of the actlon that was not done.
_ G^ G^ G^
.Dolng somethlng wlthout dolng somethlng else
<@96?=%&
Y G^7\
- Went to sleep wlthout eatlng anythlng.
] !.bI7\
- Went to school wlthout brushlng teeth by accldent.
d .()I0I.'/Ie\
- It's better to stop golng to class wlthout dolng homework.
u c.0()I\
- You cannot take thls class wlthout consultlng wlth teacher.
Hopefully not too dlmcult. Another way to express the exact same thlng ls to replace the last ]
part wlth ]. However, the two exceptlon verbs ]and ]become |]and
] respectlvely. It ls also common to see thls grammar comblned wlth the target I] partlcle.
Thls verslon ls more formal than ] and ls not used as much ln regular conversatlons.
152
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&%]& 635, +,.(20U, U,5O-
.
.
Another way to lndlcate an actlon that was done wlthout dolng another actlon ls to replace
the ] part of the negatlve actlon that was not done wlth ].
_ G^ G^ G^
_ ! !
The two exceptlon verbs ]and ]become |]and ]respectlvely.
_ 1 |
_ 2
.Dolng somethlng wlthout dolng somethlng else
<@96?=%&
Y IR1.7\
- He went home wlthout saylng anythlng.
] G^I/I]47e\
- Obvlously, you're golng to get drunk lf you drlnk that much wlthout eatlng anythlng.
d |II1\
- I don't thlnk you can get ln Tokyo Unlverslty wlthout studylng.
>D'D/ B ,9&+9= 69&,+=-#% $5?% "I #%39$-C% $19$ %#*& -# QS
Flnally, we cover another type of negatlve that ls used mostly by older men. Slnce ]ls so long
and dlmcult to say sarcasm, you can shorten lt to just /]. However, you can't dlrectly modlfy
other words ln thls form; ln other words, you can't make lt a modlfylng subordlnate clause. In the
same manner as before, ] becomes |/] and ] becomes /] though I've
never heard or seen /] actually belng used. If you have ever heard 7/] and wondered
what that meant, lt's actually an example of thls grammar. Notlce that d7|/] ls actually ln
pollte negatlve form. Well, the plaln form would be 7], rlght? That further transforms to
just 7/]. The word brlngs up an lmage of l/ but that may be just me. Anyway, lt's a
male expresslon.
.
.
A shorter way to say a negatlve verb ls to use /] lnstead of ].
_ /
The two exceptlon verbs ]and ]become |/]and /]respectlvely.
_ 1 |/
_ 2 /
.A shorter way to say negatlve verbs
<@96?=%&
Y 7/\
- Sorry.
153
N&%%& 8I*328,-0j0+. (+1 73+74/10+. 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
] r8I/
- You must marry a Korean!
d /I|/
- I won't let you do such a thlng!
You can even use thls slang for past tense verbs by addlng !].
u w.ST./!e\
- I dldn't know everybody was golng today.
>D'D7 B ,=9&&-,9= #%39$-C% C%)E $19$ %#*& -# QS
There ls yet another verslon of the negatlve verb conjugatlon and lt uses J] lnstead of the
] that attaches to the end of the verb. Whlle thls verslon of the negatlve conjugatlon ls old-
fashloned and part of classlcal Japanese, you wlll stlll encounter lt occaslonally. In fact, I just saw
thls conjugatlon on a slgn at the traln statlon today, so lt's not too uncommon.
For any verb, you can replace ] wlth J] to get to an old-fashlon soundlng verslon of the
negatlve. Slmllar to the last sectlon, ] becomes |J] and ] becomes J].
You may hear thls grammar belng used from older people or your frlends lf they want to brlng back
ye olde days.
.
.
An old-fashloned way to say a negatlve verb ls to use J] lnstead of ].
_ J
The two exceptlon verbs ]and ]become |J]and J]respectlvely.
_ 1 |J
_ 2 J
.An old-fashloned way to say negatlve verbs
<@96?=%&
Y r8IJ
- You must not marry a Korean!
] jkID.Id1J8I\
- After havlng falled mock examlnatlon any number of tlmes, a result I wouldn't have thought came
out when I actually trled taklng the test.
>D'' L5?"$1%&-P-#3 9#* !"#,=+*-#3 hTyl
>D''D' 4"6% $1-#3& $19$ 9)% #"$ ,"C%)%*
In wrltlng thls sectlon, I consldered a large number of toplcs that fall on the border between vocab-
ulary and grammar. In the end, I declded to sklp any toplc that can be looked up and learned wlth
154
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&%%& 8I*328,-0j0+. (+1 73+74/10+.
examples. Some examples of grammar that fall under thls category are I.I.I
.and I]. When you come across such grammar ln the course of learnlng Japanese,
you can look them up at the WWWJDIC nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)-uL)uuudic.nt1 and
look at the example sentences. That's all you should need to glve you an ldea of what each phrase
means and how lt ls used. On the other hand, I've declded to go over two types of grammar that
does deserve some explanatlon: 1]k and ].
>D''D/ !"6-#3 $" 9 ,"#,=+&-"# F-$1 QS
The rst type of grammar ls, ln actuallty, just a regular noun. However, lt ls used to express a
concept that deserves some explanatlon. The noun 1]k ls dened as: "meanlng; reason;
can be deduced". You can see how thls word ls used ln the followlng mlnl-dlalogue.
O-#-bc-9="3+% '
C.70\
- No matter how much I study, I don't become better at Engllsh.
31 7.CbII.EDIk!\
- So baslcally, lt means that you don't have ablllty at language.
1\
- How rude.
As you can see, Jlmls concludlng fromwhat Naoko sald that she must not have any skllls at learnlng
languages. Thls ls completely dlerent from the explanatory 0], whlch ls used to explaln
somethlng that may or may not be obvlous. 1] ls lnstead used to draw concluslons that
anyone mlght be able to arrlve at glven certaln lnformatlon.
A very useful appllcatlon of thls grammar ls to comblne lt wlth ] to lndlcate that there ls
no reasonable concluslon. Thls allows some very useful expresslon llke, "How ln the world am I
supposed to know that?"
Y ;CI@1I\
- There's no way I can read Chlnese. llt: There ls no reasonlng for [me] to be able to read Chlnese.
Under the normal rules of grammar, we must have a partlcle for the noun 1] ln order to use
lt wlth the verb but slnce thls type of expresslon ls used so often, the partlcle ls often dropped to
create just 1].
O-#-bc-9="3+% /
0Ih
- Have you ever gone to Hlroko's house?
H 1,\
- There's no way I would have ever gone to her house, rlght?
155
N&%%& 8I*328,-0j0+. (+1 73+74/10+. 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
O-#-bc-9="3+% 7
3I3!h
- Do you understand dlerentlal and lntegral calculus?
H 3!1e
- There's no way I would understand!
There ls one thlng to be careful of because 1] can also mean that somethlng ls very easy
llt: reulres no explanatlon. You can easlly tell when thls meanlng ls lntended however, because
lt ls used ln the same manner as an adjectlve.
Y 0jkIL0I1\- It's easy to pass the tests here.
Flnally, although not as common, 1] can also be used as a formal expresslon for saylng that
somethlng must or must not be done at all costs. Thls ls slmply a stronger and more formal verslon
of I]. Thls grammar ls created by slmply attachlng 1II!]. The I]
ls the toplc partlcle and ls pronounced 1]. The reason ] changes to !]
ls probably related to lntransltlve and transltlve verbs but I don't want to get too caught up ln the
loglstlcs of lt. Just take note that lt's !] ln thls case and not ].
Y SIL1II!\
- Thls tlme, I must not lose at all costs.
] 7.1II!\
- After comlng thls far, I must not glve up.
>D''D7 O9G-#3 15?"$1%&%& F-$1 QyS
Whlle thls next grammar doesn't necessary have anythlng to do wlth the prevlous grammar, I thought
lt would t nlcely together. In a prevlous lesson, we learn how to comblne the volltlonal form wlth
] to lndlcate an attempt to perform an actlon. We wlll now learn several other ways
] can be used. It may help to keep ln mlnd that ] ls really just a comblnatlon of the
uotatlon partlcle ] and the verb ] meanlng "to do". Let's say you have a sentence:
[verb] . Thls means llterally that you are dolng llke "[verb]" ln uotes. As you can see, when
used wlth the volltlonal, lt becomes: "Dolng llke maklng motlon to do [verb]". In other words, you
are actlng as lf to make a motlon to do [verb]. As we have already seen, thls translates to "attempt
to do [verb]". Let's see what happens when we use lt on plaln verbs.
<@96?=%&
Y iTI\
- Assume we go tomorrow.
In Y, the example ls conslderlng what would happen supposlng that they should declde to go
tomorrow. You can see that the llteral translatlon stlll makes sense, "Do llke we go tomorrow." but
ln thls sltuatlon, we are maklng a hypothesls unllke the grammar we have gone over before wlth
the volltlonal form of the verb. Slnce we are conslderlng a hypothesls, lt ls reasonable that the
condltlonal wlll be very handy here and lndeed, you wlll often see sentences llke the followlng:
] S!.VI7\
- If we suppose that we go from now, I thlnk we wlll arrlve at 9:00.
156
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&%'& ,P*5,--0+. 206,Q-*,70R07 (7203+-
As you can see, the verb ] has been conjugated to the ] condltlonal form to conslder
what would happen ?^ you assume a certaln case. You can also change ] to the te-form
and use lt as a seuence of actlons llke so:
d PnQ|\
- Recelved favor of allowlng to partlclpate as spectator.
u I.II\
- As a vlctlm, was extremely fortunate.
0CG^.I!sIW,\
- Even assumlng that you ate breakfast, because lt's already noon, you're probably hungry, rlght?
The same ldea applles here as well. In d, you are dolng llke a "spectator" and dolng llke a "vlctlm"
ln u and nally, dolng llke you ate breakfast ln . So you can see why the same grammar
applles for all these types of sentences because they all mean the same thlng ln Japanese mlnus
the use of addltlonal partlcles and varlous conjugatlons of ].
>D'/ <@?)%&&-#3 $-6%b&?%,-m, 9,$-"#& hTTzk
Tyl
In thls lesson, we wlll go over varlous ways to express actlons that take place ln a certaln tlme-frame.
In partlcular, we wlll learn how to say: 1 an actlon has just been completed, 2 an actlon ls taken
lmmedlately after another actlon took place, 3 an actlon occurs whlle another actlon ls ongolng,
and 4 one contlnuously repeats an actlon.
>D'/D' <@?)%&&-#3 9# 9,$-"# $19$ F9& W+&$ ,"6?=%$%* +&-#3 QS
Thls ls a very useful grammar that ls used to lndlcate that one has just nlshed dolng somethlng.
For lnstance, the rst tlme I really wlshed I knew how to say somethlng llke thls was when I wanted
to polltely decllne an lnvltatlon to eat because I had just eaten. To do thls, take the past tense of
verb that you want to lndlcate as just belng completed and add !]. Thls ls used wlth only
the past tense of verbs and ls not to be confused wlth the !] used wlth nouns to express
amounts.
Just llke the other type of !] we have covered before, ln slang, you can hear people use
!] lnstead of !].
.
.
To lndlcate that an actlon has ended just recently, take the past tense of the verb and add
!].
_ G^ G^ G^!
For casual speech, you can abbrevlate !] to just !]
_ G^! G^!
You can treat the result as you would wlth any noun.
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
G^! I Just ate G^!l Dldn't just eat
.Uslng !]for actlons just completed
157
N&%'& ,P*5,--0+. 206,Q-*,70R07 (7203+- 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
<@96?=%&
Y d7|/.SG^!0.sIl\
- Sorry, but I'm full havlng just eaten.
] 10 L!.\
- I just ran 10 kllometers and am really tlred.
d S.I!\
- I got back home just now.
Here are some examples of the abbrevlated verslon.
Y CG^!0I.sIW\
- Desplte the fact that I just ate lunch, I'm hungry already.
] 7!.S!0h
- No way, dld you wake up just now?
>D'/D/ &-#3 QS $" %@?)%&& &"6%$1-#3 $19$ ",,+))%* -66%*-9$%=5
9I$%) 9# 9,$-"#
Klnd of as a supplement to !], we wlll cover one way to say somethlng happened as soon
as somethlng else occurs. To use thls grammar, add /] to the past tense of the rst actlon
that happened. It ls also common to add the I] target partlcle to lndlcate that speclc polnt ln
tlme.
.
.
Change the verb that happened rst to the :9=D D<;=<
and attach /] or /I].
_ / I
_ / I
` Note: You can only use thls grammar for thlngs that happen outslde your control.
.Uslng /]to lndlcate one thlng happened rlght after another
<@96?=%&
Y /I.I/\
- As soon as I opened wlndow, cat jumped out.
For many more examples, check these examples sentences nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)cgi-Lin)
cgiuzup)uL)uuudic?1Q{C6{u8{C8{8C_1_ from our old trusty WWWJDIC.
An lmportant thlng to realle ls that you can only use thls grammar for thlngs that occur lmmedlately
after somethlng else and not for an actlon that you, yourself carry out. For lnstance, compare the
followlng two sentences.
P/I.$II7\
158
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&%'& ,P*5,--0+. 206,Q-*,70R07 (7203+-
- You carrled out the actlon of golng to the bathroom so thls ls not correct.
T P/I.7\
- Slnce becomlng sleepy ls somethlng that happened outslde your control, thls sentence ls ok.
>D'/D7 &-#3 QzkS I") $F" ,"#,+))%#$ 9,$-"#&
You can use I]to express that one actlon ls taklng place ln conjunctlon wlth another actlon.
To use I], you must change the rst verb to the stem and append I]. Though
probably rare, you can also attach I] to the negatlve of the verb for express the negatlve.
Thls grammar has no tense slnce lt ls determlned by the second verb.
.
.
Change the rst verb to the =D<@ and append I]
_ I
For the negatlve, slmply attach I] to the negatlve tense
_ I
.Uslng I]for concurrent actlons
<@96?=%&
Y I9PI.\
- Do homework whlle watchlng TV.
] ?NNI.b^0IM\
- Llke to walk to school whlle llstenlng to muslc.
d IR1I.2301!l0I1I77I1h
- Don't you thlnk that wantlng the other person to understand one's feellngs whlle not saylng any-
thlng ls just slmply selshness?
Notlce that the sentence ends wlth the maln verb just llke lt always does. Thls means that the maln
actlon of the sentence ls the verb that ends the clause. The I] slmply descrlbes another
actlon that ls also taklng place. For example, lf we swltched the verbs ln Y to say,
I. I9P\], thls changes the sentence to say, "Watch TV whlle dolng homework." In
other words, the maln actlon, ln thls case, becomes watchlng TV and the actlon of dolng homework
ls descrlblng an actlon that ls taklng place at the same tlme.
The tense ls controlled by the maln verb so the verb used wlth I] cannot have a tense.
Y >(v&*`G^I.P\- Watch movle whlle eatlng popcorn.
] >(v&*`G^I.P\- Watched movle whlle eatlng popcorn.
d I.Q\- Was wrltlng letter whlle whlstllng.
159
N&%'& ,P*5,--0+. 206,Q-*,70R07 (7203+- 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
>D'/D; &-#3 QzkS F-$1 &$9$% "I E%-#3 $" 6%9# F1-=%
A more advanced use of I] ls to use lt wlth the lmplled state of belng. In other words,
you can use lt wlth nouns or adjectlves to talk about what somethlng ls whlle somethlng else. The
lmplled state of belng means that you must not use the declaratlve I], you just attach I
] to the noun or adjectlve. For example, a common way thls grammar ls used ls to say, "Whlle
lt's unfortunate, somethlng somethlng..." In Japanese, thls would become -I''']
You can also attach the lncluslve ] partlcle to I] to get I]. Thls changes the
meanlng from "whlle" to "even whlle".
.
.
To say [^] ls somethlng whlle somethlng else, attach I] to [^]
_ --I
To say [^] ls somethlng even whlle somethlng else, attach I] to [^]
_ I
.Uslng I]wlth state of belng to mean "whlle" or I]to mean "even whlle"
<@96?=%&
Y Il.-I.STI7\
- Whlle lt's unfortunate, a lot of work came ln and lt became so that I can't go today.
] I.|/(;e\
- Even whlle I'm poor, I ended up buylng a hlgh uallty bag.
d I.I.DIvL,lI\
- Even whlle he ls a beglnner, hls actual skllls are the same as a pro.
>D'/D> 0" )%?%9$ &"6%$1-#3 F-$1 )%,G=%&& 9E9#*"# +&-#3 QyS
The WWWJDIC very succlnctly denes the denltlon of thls verb as a "verb sumx to lndlcate reckless
abandon to the actlvlty". Unfortunately, lt doesn't go on to tell you exactly how lt's actually used.
Actually, there's not much to explaln. You take the stem of the verb and slmply attach 7].
However, slnce thls ls a contlnulng actlvlty, lt ls an <;JC#?;E =D9D< unless you're golng to do lt ln the
future. Thls ls a very casual expresslon.
160
78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+- N&%>& 4,(U0+. -36,280+. 28, H(I 02 0-
.
.
Change the rst verb to the =D<@ and append 7].
_ ' ' '7
You can use all the normal conjugatlons you would expect wlth any other verb.
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ '7 Dolng all the tlme '7 Don't do all the tlme
f9&$ '7 Dld all the tlme '7! Dldn't do all the tlme
.Uslng 7]for freuent actlons
<@96?=%&
Y *1II7.56%&`7e\
- Havlng gotten hooked by games, I do nothlng but use the computer lately.
] >7IVI&*d7\
- When I was ln the US, I drank coke llke all the tlme.
>D'7 Y%9C-#3 &"6%$1-#3 $1% F95 -$ -& hTzl
Up untll now, we've mostly been talklng about thlngs that have happened or changed ln the course
of events. We wlll now learn some slmple grammar to express a B9M$ of change.
>D'7D' &-#3 QS $" %@?)%&& 9 =9,G "I ,19#3%
77], not to be confused wlth the chlldlsh expresslon for "mother" , ls a grammatlcal
phrase to express a lack of change ln somethlng. Grammatlcally, lt ls used just llke a regular noun.
You'll most llkely hear thls grammar at a convenlence store when you buy a very small ltem. Slnce
store clerks use super pollte expresslons and at llghtenlng fast speeds, learnlng thls one expresslon
wlll help you out a blt ln advance. Of course, upon showlng a lack of comprehenslon, the person
usually repeats the exact same phrase... at the exact same speed.
<@96?=%&
Y 077!h
- Is lt ok just llke thls?
In other words, the clerk wants to know lf you'll take lt just llke that or whether you want lt ln a
small bag. ], ln case I haven't gone over lt yet, ls slmply a very pollte verslon of ].
Notlce that 77] grammatlcally works just llke a regular noun whlch means, as usual, that you
can modlfy lt wlth verb phrases or adjectlves.
] =3!G^772>
- You can't throw lt out leavlng lt ln that half-eaten condltlon!
161
N&%>& 4,(U0+. -36,280+. 28, H(I 02 0- 78(*2,5 N& -*,70(4 ,P*5,--03+-
Ok, the translatlon ls very loose, but the ldea ls that lt's ln an unchanged state of belng half-eaten
and you can't just throw that out.
Here's a good example I found googllng around.
Hlnt: The |] ls the causatlve form of ] meanlng "let/make me exlst".
d STII77|l\
- For only today, I want you to let me stay ln thls sad condltlon.
Flnally, just ln case, here's an example of dlrect noun modlcatlon.
u 0LM077fIe\
- You can't get ln the club ln that getup wlthout changlng lt.
>D'7D/ &-#3 QzS $" =%9C% &"6%$1-#3 $1% F95 -$ -&
The verb]meanlng "to set loose", can be used ln varlous ways ln regards to leavlng somethlng
the way lt ls. For lnstance, a varlatlon ]ls used when you want to say "Leave me alone".
For lnstance, you mlght use the command form of a reuest and say, l]
Leave me alone!. Yet another varlant l!] means "to neglect".
The grammar I would llke to dlscuss here ls the l] sumx varlant. You can attach thls
sumx to the stem of any verb to descrlbe the act of dolng somethlng and leavlng lt that way wlthout
changlng lt. You can treat the comblnatlon llke a regular noun.
As usual, you can cllck the [E^] llnk after looklng up the word at the WWWJDIC nttp:))uuu.cssc.
cnusn.cdu.uu)-uL)uuudic.nt1 to see examples. In fact, here's a dlrect llnk to examples of thls
grammar nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)cgi-Lin)cgiuzup)uL)uuudic?1Q{|4{C8{|4{u1{|4{C|{|4{
87_1_. As you can see by the examples, thls sumx carrles a nuance that the thlng left alone ls due
to overslght or neglect. Here are the slmple conjugatlon rules for thls grammar.
.
.
Take the stem of the verb and attach l].
_ l
_ Q Q Ql
.Uslng l]to complete an actlon and leave lt that way
<@96?=%&
Y I9PlIrI.89\
- There exlsts a falr number of people who cannot sleep unless they turn on the TV and leave lt that
way.
] II0.Il\
- The wlndow was left wlde open so a lot of mosultoes got ln.
162
!19?$%) A
B*C9#,%* 0"?-,&
Whew! We've come a long way from learnlng the baslc phonetlc alphabet to coverlng almost all
the grammar you're golng to need for dally conversatlons. But walt, we're not nlshed yet! In fact,
thlngs are golng to get even more challenglng and lnterestlng because, especlally toward the latter
part of thls sectlon, we are golng to learn grammar that only @?EKD come ln handy. In my experlence,
the most useful thlngs are easlest to learn as they come up agaln and agaln. However, ln order to
completely master a language, we also must work hard to conuer the blgger area of thlngs that
don't come up very often and yet every natlve Japanese speaker lnstlnctlvely understands. Belleve
lt or not, even the more obscure grammar !?BB come up eventually leavlng you wonderlng what lt's
supposed to mean. That's why 0 bothered to learn them at least.
AD' ")69= <@?)%&&-"#& hxyTiz{l
AD'D' 219$ *" 5"+ 6%9# E5 I")69= %@?)%&&-"#&M
So far we have learned casual, pollte, and honorlc/humble types of languages. So what do I mean
by formal expresslons? I thlnk we are all aware of the type of language I am talklng about. We hear
lt ln speeches, read lt ln reports, and see lt on documentarles. Whlle dlscusslng good wrltlng style
ls beyond the scope of thls gulde, we wlll go over some of the grammar that you wlll commonly
nd ln thls type of language. Whlch ls not to say that lt won't appear ln regular everyday speech.
Because lt does.
AD'D/ &-#3 QxyS $" &$9$% $19$ &"6%$1-#3 -& &" -# 9# 9+$1")-$9$-C% $"#%
We have already learned how to speak wlth your frlends ln casual speech, your superlors ln pollte
speech, and your customers ln honorlc / humble speech. We've learned I].].and
C77] to express a state of belng for these dlerent levels of pollteness. There ls one more
type of state of belng that ls prlmarlly used to state facts ln a neutral, omclal soundlng manner -
]. Just llke the others, you tack ] on to the adjectlve or noun that represents the
state.
163
X&%& R356(4 ,P*5,--03+- 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
<@96?=%&
Y I
- I am a cat. Thls ls the tltle of a famous novel by [
Slnce I'm too lay to look up facts, let's trot on over to the Japanese verslon of Wlklpedla nttp:
))u.uikipcdiu.czg) and look at some random artlcles by cllcklng on 7!|P].
] /C, mlxture I.2 0xIlx\
Wlklpedla - nttp:))u.uikipcdiu.czg)uiki){L6{87{87{L6{0u{88{L7{80{|0, July 2004
An amalgam ls a mlxture of two or more pure substances.
To glve you an ldea of how changlng the ] changes the tone, I've lncluded some fake
content around that sentence.
1. Ih
I.2 0xIlxI\
2. I!h
I.2 0xIlx\
3. I,!\
I.2 0xIlxC77\
4. Ih
I.2 0xIlx\
Newspaper artlcles are dlerent ln that the maln objectlve ls to convey current events as succlnctly
and ulckly as posslble. For thls reason, ] ls not normally used ln newspaper artlcles
favorlng I] or nothlng at all. Though, ln general, slnce newspaper artlcles detall events that
took place or uotatlons, almost all sentences end ln plaln dlctlonary-form verbs anyway.
Y rI]<I!"#$7.OVI!"I!
!I7%II\0T<, 2004/8/16
Wlth the ldea of ralslng percentage of usage to 70% ln two years, lt seems llkely that the key wlll
become whether the Mlnlstry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport wlll employ [lt] when lt buys
replacements.
AD'D7 g%39$-C% "I QxyS
Because the negatlve of ] ls ], you mlght expect the opposlte of ] to be
]. However, for some reason I'm not aware of, you need to lnsert the toplc partlcle before
] to get I].
<@96?=%
Y IY4I,!\
- Wouldn't you conslder that to be unfalr?
] RCII^*I\
- Language ls not somethlng that can be mastered easlly.
164
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&%& R356(4 ,P*5,--03+-
.
.
Attach ] to the verb or adjectlve that the state of belng applles to.
_ bcbc
For the negatlve, attach I]to the verb or adjectlve that the state of belng applles
to.
_ bcbcI
For the past tense state of belng, apply the regular past tenses of ]
Complete conjugatlon chart for ]
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
bc ls student bcIls not student
bc was student bcI!was not student
.Uslng ]to sound omclal
AD'D; 4%o+%#$-9= &+E")*-#9$% ,=9+&%& -# I")69= =9#3+93%
In the Compound Sentence lesson, we learned how to use the te-form of verbs to express multlples
seuentlal actlons ln one sentence. Thls practlce, however, ls used only ln regular everyday speech.
Formal speeches, narratlon, and wrltten publlcatlons employ the verb stemlnstead of the te-formto
descrlbe seuentlal actlons. Partlcularly, newspaper artlcles, ln the lnterest of brevlty, always prefer
verb stems to the te-form.
<@96?=%&
Y & IO I.&'(0)z|0I&P.*V0&N]00\
Wlklpedla - & nttp:))u.uikipcdiu.czg)uiki){L8{8|{81{L7{81{|8, August 2004
Flreworks are for the enjoyment of sparks created from combustlon created by llghtlng up a
mlxture of gunpowder and metal powder.
] +)n0,n5*^!".0/^I\
- Was able to lnvestlgate hls whereabouts uslng the company's lnternal customer data.
For the forms, the stem becomes ] but because that doesn't t very well lnto the
mlddle of a sentence, lt ls common to use the humble form of ] whlch you wlll remember ls
]. Thls ls slmply so you can employ ] to connect subordlnate clauses lnstead of just
]. It has nothlng to do wlth the humble aspect of ]
d -.II/0I1@.I2\
- Several plctures were lnslde the envelope, and a letter was attached.
u 00PII*)I34.IID5I\
- A password has been set on thls le, and lt needs to entered when openlng.
165
X&'& 280+.- 28(2 -83/41 O, ( 7,52(0+ H(I 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
AD/ 01-#3& $19$ &1"+=* E% 9 ,%)$9-# F95 hiTTT
l
In thls lesson, we'll learn how to express the way thlngs are supposed dependlng on what we mean
by "supposed". Whlle the rst two grammar polnts I] and ^] come up often and are
ulte useful, you'll rarely ever encounter ^] or ^!]. You can safely sklp those lessons
unless you are studylng for the YTIC64.
AD/D' &-#3 QiS $" *%&,)-E% 9# %@?%,$9$-"#
The rst grammar we wlll learn ls I], whlch ls used to express somethlng that was or ls
supposed to be. You can treat I] just llke a regular noun as lt ls usually attached to the
adjectlve or verb that ls supposed to be or supposed to happen.
The only thlng to be careful about here ls expresslng an expectatlon of somethlng ;"D happenlng.
To do thls, you must use the negatlve exlstence verb ] to say that such an expectatlon does
not exlst. Thls mlght be ln the form of II] or II] dependlng on whlch
partlcle you want to use. The negatlve conjugatlon Il] ls really only used when you
want to conrm ln a posltlve sense such as Il!h].
.
.
Use I] just llke a regular noun to modlfy the expected thlng
_ kT0I noun
_ ZEI na-adjectlve
_ I l-adjectlve
_ I verb
For the case where you expect the negatlve, use the ] verb for nonexlstence
_ I II
.Uslng I]to descrlbe an expectatlon
<@96?=%&
Y II!.@/IIIe\
- He's has a manla for comlc book so I expect he read all these already.
] 0qrIIII..7\
- Thls dlsh was expected to be tasty but lt burned and became dlstasteful.
d XU4!.SIN0I\
- Because varlous thlngs have been planned out, I expect a fun Chrlstmas thls year.
u I|IIe\
- It's not supposed to be that easy to x.
7|I]V!87Il!h
- Thls meetlng ls supposed to start every week at 2 o'clock, lsn't lt?
166
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&'& 280+.- 28(2 -83/41 O, ( 7,52(0+ H(I
Here are more examples nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)cgi-Lin)cgiuzup)uL)uuudic?1Q{C8{|6_
1_ from the WWWJDIC.
You may also want to check out the jeKal entry nttp:))uuu.ckui.czg)cntzics)uu)uu)nn)uuuunn81.
nt.
AD/D/ &-#3 QS $" *%&,)-E% 9,$-"#& "#% &1"+=* *"
^] ls a verb sumx used to descrlbe somethlng that ls supposed to be done. Thls sumx ls
commonly dened as "should", however, one must realle that lt cannot be used to make suggestlons
llke the sentence, "You should go to the doctor." If you use ^], lt sounds more llke, "You are
supposed to go to the doctor." ^]has a much stronger tone and makes you sound llke a know-
lt-all telllng people what to do. For maklng suggestlons, lt ls customary to use the comparlson /I
]grammar lnstead. For thls reason, thls grammar ls almost never used to dlrectly tell someone
what to do. It ls usually used ln reference to oneself where you can be as bossy as you want or ln
a neutral context where clrcumstances dlctate what ls proper and what ls not. One such example
would be a sentence llke, "We are supposed to ralse our klds properly wlth a good educatlon."
Unllke the I] grammar, there ls no expectatlon that somethlng ls golng to happen. Rather,
thls grammar descrlbes what one should do ln a glven clrcumstance. In Japanese, you mlght dene
lt as meanlng 9II.e:].
There ls very llttle of grammatlcal lnterest. ^] works just llke a regular noun and so you can
conjugated lt as ^l].^I], and so on. The only thlng to note here ls that
when you're uslng lt wlth ], the verb meanlng "to do", you can optlonally drop the ]
from ^] to produce ^]. You can do thls wlth thls verb only and lt does not apply
for any other verbs even lf the verb ls wrltten as ] such as ;], the verb meanlng "to
rub".
.
.
Attach ^] to the actlon that should be done
_ ^
_ ^
For the generlc "to do " verb ] only, you can remove the ]
_ ^^
.Uslng ^]for actlons that should be done
<@96?=%&
Y !YIII5!!e^I\
- Before buylng somethlng, one should thlnk well on whether lt's really necessary or not.
] _0.<=^I\
- Even lf lt ls, for example, for the country, I don't thlnk the country's cltlens should be decelved.
d yI>?O*.@AI0BC|
.@IuDEF0GH^IIJ\0T<
- Wlth cases comlng out of deposltors sulng large banks, the Flnanclal Servlces Agency declded lt
should prlorltle rellef for vlctlms and urge banks to strengthen measures for crlme preventlon.
167
X&'& 280+.- 28(2 -83/41 O, ( 7,52(0+ H(I 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
AD/D7 &-#3 QS $" *%&,)-E% F19$ "#% $)-%& $" *"
Grammatlcally, ^]ls really a conjunctlve form K"L of ^], slmllar to what the te-form
does to connect another phrase. However, what needs mentlonlng here ls that by changlng lt lnto a
conjunctlve and addlng a predlcate, the meanlng of ^] changes from the ordlnary meanlng of
^]. Whlle ^]descrlbes a strong suggestlon, changlng lt to ^]allows you to descrlbe
what one dld ln order to carry out that suggestlon. Take a look that the followlng examples to see
how the meanlng changes.
Y 1^\
Should go home early.
] 1^.8\
In trylng to go home early, started the preparatlons.
As we can see ln thls example, addlng the 8] tells us what the subject dld ln order
to carry out the actlon he/she was supposed to do.In thls way we can dene ^] as meanlng,
"ln order to" or "ln an eort to". Slmllarly, ^] mlght mean the Japanese eulvalent of e
] or eI]. Thls ls a very seldom-used old-fashloned expresslon and ls merely
presented here to completely cover all aspects of ^].
.
.
Attach ^] to the actlon that ls attempted to be done
_ ^
_ ^
Same as ^], you can remove the ] for the generlc "to do " verb ] only
_ ^^
.Uslng ^]for actlons that are attempted to be done
<@96?=%&
Y jkIL^.wHcI\
Everybody ls studylng very hard ln an eort to pass the exam.
] S<nW00.eM^ND77
We are worklng from here ln an eort to provlde a enrlched wlndow for customer lnteractlon.
AD/D; &-#3 QS $" *%&,)-E% $1-#3& "#% 6+&$ #"$ *"
Movlng on to yet another from of ^] ls ^!]. Thls ls undoubtedly related to the ]
negatlve endlng we learned ln a prevlous sectlon. However, lt seems to be a conjugatlon of an old
O4L of ^!]. I have no ldea what that means and you don't have to elther. The only thlng
we need to take away from thls ls that ^!] expresses the opposlte meanlng of ^] as
an actlon that one must #"$ do. I suppose the short abrupt endlng of the ] form makes thls
more useful for laylng out rules. In fact, searchlng around on google comes up wlth a bunch of ^
PQ!] or "do's and don'ts". ^ ls an even older form of ^, whlch I doubt you'll ever
need.
168
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&>& ,P*5,--0+. 28, 60+06/6 ,P*,72(203+
.
.
Attach ^!] to the actlon that must not be done
_ ^!
_ ^!
Same as ^], you can remove the ] for the generlc "to do " verb ] only
_ ^!^!
.Uslng ^!]for actlons that must not be done
<@96?=%&
Y ^!\
-You must not throw away trash.
] R*^!\
-You must not forget the safety measures.
AD7 <@?)%&&-#3 $1% 6-#-6+6%@?%,$9$-"# hTT
l
In thls sectlon, we'll learn varlous ways to express the mlnlmum expectatlon. Thls grammar ls not
used as often as you mlght thlnk as there are many sltuatlons where a slmpler expresslon would
sound more natural, but you should stlll become famlllar wlth lt.
AD7D' &-#3 Qpq S $" *%&,)-E% $1% 6-#-6+6 )%o+-)%6%#$
In Engllsh, we mlght say, "not even close" to show that not even the mlnlmumexpectatlon has been
met. In Japanese, we can express thls by attachlng ] to the object or verb that mlserably
falled to reach what one would conslder as a glven. Let's see some examples of thls wlth nouns
rst. You can also use the same grammar ln a posltlve sentence to show that that ls all you need to
produce a deslred eect.
<@96?=%&
Y I.$IIV>!\
- There was so much homework, I dldn't even have tlme to go to the bathroom.
] .e\
- The least you need ls money and you can do anythlng.
d "!\
- I dldn't even have money to buy lunch.
169
X&>& ,P*5,--0+. 28, 60+06/6 ,P*,72(203+ 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
For nouns only, you can add ] and use ] lnstead of just ]. There are no
grammatlcal dlerences but lt does sound a blt more emphatlc.
u p./IIN/,\
- If even I can do lt, lt should be a breee for you.
You can also attach ] to the stem of verbs to express a mlnlmum actlon for a result. Thls
ls usually followed up lmmedlately by ] to show that the mlnlmum actlon was done or not
done ln the case of negatlve.
9^`G^.{IS7e\
- If you just eat vltamlns, your health wlll be guaranteed.
230T.yIUe\
- The problem won't be solved lf you don't even recognle your own mlstake, you know.
.
.
For nouns, attach ] or ] to the mlnlmum reulrement
_ p - even me
_ - even chlldren
For verbs, change the verb to the stem and attach ]
_ G^ G^
_
.Uslng ]to descrlbe the mlnlmum reulrement
AD7D/ Qpq S b 496% 9& Qpq S E+$ *-%)%#$M
] ls a varlatlon of ] that means essentlally the same thlng and ls used ln the
exact same way. However, lt ls more obscure and ls usually lgnored ln favor of ]. The
maln reason we are coverlng lt here ls because slnce lt's the same as ], lt's a clnch to go
over. Plus, lt's covered ln the Japanese Language Proclency Test JLPT level 1 lf you're thlnklng
of taklng that.
<@96?=%&
Y 0=E0p1!!\
- Even a genlus such as myself couldn't solve lt.
] pIV.7|/\
- I was so nervous that I couldn't even take a ulck peek.
d r]0cWI.,
- There are no students that don't even know the r] kanjl!
170
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&L& -83H0+. -0.+- 3R -36,280+.
.
.
For nouns, attach ] or ] to the mlnlmum reulrement
_ p - Even me
_ - Even chlldren
For verbs, change the verb to the stem and attach ]
_ G^ G^
_
However, lt ls more common to attach the generlc noun ]to the verb and just treat
the whole thlng as a regular noun. le G^ and
. ]ls used ln exactly the same way as ]and means the same thlng to boot
AD7D7 QS b ($J& #"$ %C%# F")$1 ,"#&-*%)-#3
I suspect thls grammar comes from the adjectlve X!] whlch means to be foollsh or stupld.
However, ln thls case, you're not maklng fun of somethlng, rather by uslng !], you can
lndlcate that somethlng ls so rldlculous that lt's not even worth conslderlng. In Engllsh, we mlght
say somethlng llke, "Are you klddlng? I can't touch my knees much less do a full spllt!" In thls
example, the full spllt ls so beyond the person's abllltles that lt would be foollsh to even conslder lt.
<@96?=%&
Y I!.OI@e
- Forget about kanjl, I can't even read hlragana!
] 8I!.2=9P.87\
- We eventually broke up after golng out two months much less get marrled.
d bI!.|Y)!\
- I dldn't even graduate from hlgh school much less college.
AD; 41"F-#3 &-3#& "I &"6%$1-#3 hkyTTl
In thls lesson, we'll learn varlous expresslons lnvolvlng how to descrlbe people who are expresslng
themselves wlthout words. For example, we'll learn how to say expresslons ln Japanese such as
"They acted as lf they were saylng goodbye," "He acted dlsgusted," and "She acts llke she wants to
go."
AD;D' 41"F-#3 "+$F9)* &-3#& "I 9# %6"$-"# +&-#3 QkyS
The I] grammar ls used when you want to make an observatlon about how someone ls
feellng. Thls ls slmply an observatlon based on some type of slgns. Therefore, you would not use
lt for your own emotlons slnce guesslng about your own emotlons ls not necessary. Thls grammar
can only be used wlth adjectlves so you can use thls grammar to say, "He ls actlng scared," but
171
X&L& -83H0+. -0.+- 3R -36,280+. 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
you cannot say "He acted surprlsed," because "to be surprlsed" ls a verb ln Japanese and not an
adjectlve. Thls grammar ls also commonly used wlth a certaln set of adjectlves related to emotlons
such as: x].Z].[].or \!].
.
.
") -b9*W%,$-C%&: Flrst remove the tralllng ] from the l-adjectlve and then attach
I]
_ Z ZI
") #9b9*W%,$-C%&: Just attach I] to the end of the na-adjectlve
_ ]]I
All adjectlves that are conjugated wlth I] become an u-verb
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ ZI act scared ZI not act scared
f9&$ ZI acted scared ZI! dldn't act scared
.Uslng I]for observlng the emotlons or feellngs of others
<@96?=%&
Y 1e\!I0h
- Hurry up and come here. What are you actlng all embarrassed for?
] `I010xI^v\
- My glrlfrlend ls the type to show dlsllke towards gettlng woken up early ln the mornlng.
d 0Iv*PI0rZI\
- Our chlld acts afrald about enterlng a pool wlthout any reason.
Thls grammar ls also used to observe very frankly on what you thlnk someone other than yourself
wants. Thls lnvolves the adjectlve ] for thlngs one wants or the ] conjugatlon
for actlons one wants to do, whlch ls essentlally a verb conjugated to an l-adjectlve. Thls type of
grammar ls more sulted for thlngs llke narratlon ln a story and ls rarely used ln thls fashlon for normal
conversatlons because of lts lmpersonal style of observatlon. For casual conversatlons, lt ls more
common to use ,] such as ln, 7I*G^,\]. For pollte conversatlons, lt
ls normal to not make any assumptlons at all or to use the e1] sentence endlng such as ln 7
I*G^!\] or 7I*G^e1\]
<@96?=%&
Y I.%&`I\
- [He] soon acts llke wantlng to use computer as soon as [he] gets home.
] d/^II/I.p0^!!IF\
- Everybody ls actlng llke they want to go to Italy but lt's susplclous whether I can go or not golng
by my budget.
d eIP,4$`0/(;I/I.//.1,
- My wlfe was showlng slgns of wantlng a Louls Vultton bag but there's no way I can buy somethlng
llke that!
172
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&L& -83H0+. -0.+- 3R -36,280+.
I] ls also used wlth ] to lndlcate a type of person that often feels a certaln way such
as \!I] one who easlly feels or acts embarrassed. I] one who easlly
feels cold.or _I] one who easlly feels hot.
d pIII!.%^0I!\
- I'm the type who easlly gets cold and so llvlng ln Mlnnesota was palnful.
AD;D/ &-#3 QS $" 9,$ 9& -I "#% 6-31$ *" &"6%$1-#3
We just learned how to observe the emotlons and feellngs of other by uslng I] wlth adjec-
tlves. But what about verbs? Indeed, there ls a separate grammar used to express the fact that
someone else looks llke they are about to do somethlng but actually does not. Slmllar to the
I] grammar, thls ls usually not used ln normal everyday conversatlons. I have seen lt several
tlmes ln books and novels but have yet to hear thls grammar ln a conversatlon.
For the regular non-past, non-negatlve verb, you must rst conjugate the verb to the negatlve
endlng wlth /], whlch was covered here. Then, you just attach !] to the end of the
verb. For all other conjugatlons, nothlng else ls necessary except to just add !]to the verb.
The most common verb used wlth thls grammar ls R] . It ls also usually used wlth the I]
target partlcle attached to the end of !].
Thls grammar ls completely dlerent from the !] used to express amounts and the !
] used to express the proxlmlty of an actlon.
.
.
") ?)%&%#$K #"#b#%39$-C% $%#&%: Conjugate the verb to the /] negatlve form and
attach !]
_ R R1 R1/ R1/!
") 9== "$1%) $%#&%&: Slmply attach !] to the end of the verb
_ R1!R1!!
Summary of baslc conjugatlons
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ R1/! as lf to say R1! as lf [she] doesn't say
f9&$ R! as lf [she] sald R1!! as lf [she] dldn't say
.Uslng !]to lndlcate that one seems to want to do somethlng
<@96?=%&
Y -*PI`|/!I.a/\
- The ball was expandlng as lf lt was golng to explode.
] /b]R1/!I`Ic\
- She lgnored hlm as lf to say, "You have nothlng to do wlth thls."
d MT0O`7R1!!I.4d\
- Has a calm face as lf [he] dldn't say anythlng durlng the ght yesterday.
173
X&N& R356(4 ,P*5,--03+- 3R +3+QR,(-0O0402I 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
AD;D7 &-#3 QS $" -#*-,9$% 9# 9$6"&?1%)% "I 9 &$9$%
By now, you're probably thlnklng, "Ok, we've done adjectlves and verbs. What about nouns?" As a
matter of fact, there ls a slmllar grammar that ls used usually for nouns and na-adjectlves. It ls used
to lndlcate that somethlng ls showlng the slgns of a certaln state. Unllke the I] grammar,
there ls no actlon that lndlcates anythlng; merely the atmosphere glves o the lmpresslon of the
state. Just llke the prevlous grammar we learned ln thls sectlon, thls grammar has a llst of commonly
used nouns such as e].fg].or hw]. Thls grammar ls used by slmply attachlng
] to the noun or na-adjectlve. The result then becomes a regular u-verb.
.
.
Slmply attach ] to the noun or na-adjectlve. The result then becomes a regular
u-verb.
_ ee
Summary of baslc conjugatlons
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ e pullng atmosphere* e! not pullng atmosphere
f9&$ e puled atmosphere* e!! not puled atmosphere
* I suppose the negatlve tenses are theoretlcally posslble but probably not practlcally.
The most common tense ls by the far the past tense.
.Uslng ]to lndlcate that one seems to want to do somethlng
<@96?=%&
Y i%I87.!jWI\
- Wlth the leaves startlng to change color, the alr came to become ulte autumn llke.
] /ed.7kie\
- Even havlng that klnd of puled look done to me, I can't explaln lt very well, you know.
d hwR/.d/xI|e\
- You'll make everyone dlsllke you lf you keep speaklng wlth that lronlc tone, you know.
For a whole slew of addltlonal real world examples, check out the jeKal entry nttp:))uuu.ckui.
czg)cntzics)uu)uu)np)uuuunp21.nt. It states that the grammar can be used for adverbs and other
parts of speech but none of the numerous examples show thls and even assumlng lt's posslble, lt's
probably not practlced ln reallty.
AD> ")69= %@?)%&&-"#& "I #"#bI%9&-E-=-$5 hy~z{TR
~z{Tyl
We learned how to express feaslblllty ln the sectlon on the potentlal form ulte a whlle ways back.
In thls sectlon, we'll learn some advanced and speclalled ways to express certaln types of feaslblllty
or the lack thereof. Llke much of the grammar ln the Advanced Sectlon, the grammar covered here
ls mostly used for wrltten works and rarely used ln regular speech.
174
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&N& R356(4 ,P*5,--03+- 3R +3+QR,(-0O0402I
AD>D' <@?)%&&-#3 $1% -#9E-=-$5 $" #"$ *" +&-#3 Qy~z{S
Thls grammar ls used when there's somethlng that just can't be helped and must be done. It ls the
negatlve verslon of the grammar we prevlously covered for somethlng that has to be done. It uses
the negatlve of the verb ]] or "obtaln", to roughly mean that "one cannot obtaln not dolng of
an actlon". Thls means that you can't not do somethlng even lf you wanted to. As a result of the
use of double negatlves, thls grammar carrles a sllght suggestlon that you really don't want to do lt,
but you have to because lt can't be helped. Really, the negatlve connotatlon ls the only dlerence
between thls grammar and the grammar we covered ln thls "have to" sectlon. That, and the fact
that thls grammar ls fancler and more advanced.
Thls grammar uses an archalc negatlve form of verbs that ends ln 7]. It ls really not used
ln modern Japanese wlth the exceptlon of thls grammar and some expresslons such as |7
]. The rules for conjugatlon are the same as the negatlve verbs, except thls grammar attaches
7]lnstead. To relterate, all you have to do ls conjugate the verb to the negatlve form and then
replace the ] wlth 7]. The two exceptlon verbs are ] whlch becomes |7]
and ]whlch becomes 7]. Flnally, all that's left to be done ls to attach ]]to
the verb. It ls also not uncommon to use hlragana lnstead of the kanjl.
.
.
To say that you can't not do somethlng replace the ]part of the negatlve verb wlth
7], then attach ]] to the end of the verb.
_ G G^ G^7 G^7]
_ ! !7 !7]
The two exceptlon verbs ] and ] become |7] and 7]
respectlvely.
_ 1 |7 |7
_ 2 7 7
.Uslng 7]]for actlons that must be done
<@96?=%&
Y 0I9I".<017]\
- If thls TV breaks even more, there's no cholce but to buy a new one.
] lmI.0gnI/I!7]\
- I tolerated lt all thls tlme but ln thls sltuatlon, I can't not go to the dentlst.
d 0.I|7]e\
- Hearlng the story from the boss, lt seems llke I can't not go on a buslness trlp overseas no matter
what.
AD>D/ <@?)%&&-#3 $1% -#9E-=-$5 $" &$"? *"-#3 &"6%$1-#3 +&-#3 QR~z{S
Thls grammar ls very slmllar to the one we just learned above except that lt uses the verb
]] to say that one cannot obtaln the stopplng of somethlng. Remember that we normally can't
just attach the ] dlrect object partlcle to verbs, so thls ls really a set expresslon. Just llke the
prevlous grammar we learned, lt ls used to descrlbe somethlng that one ls forced to do due to some
clrcumstances. The dlerence here ls that thls ls a complete phrase, whlch can be used for a general
sltuatlon that doesn't lnvolve any speclc actlon. In other words, you're not actually forced to J"
175
X&N& R356(4 ,P*5,--03+- 3R +3+QR,(-0O0402I 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
somethlng; rather lt descrlbes a sltuatlon that cannot be helped. If you have already learned /
I] or ,I], thls grammar means pretty much the same thlng. The dlerence lles
ln whether you want to say, "Looks llke we're stuck" vs "Due to clrcumstances beyond our control..."
Slnce thls ls a set expresslon, there are really no grammar polnts to dlscuss. You only need to take
the phrase and use lt as you would any regular subordlnate clause.
<@96?=%&
Y ']]IeoI/.5CKp\
- If the paperwork should be late due to uncontrollable clrcumstance, please make sure to contact
us.
] 0Iq!7|/I.560YrI<I!0']]
gn\
- Thls job may be bad but wlth the recent economlc downturn, lt's a sltuatlon where nothlng can be
done.
AD>D7 <@?)%&&-#3 F19$ ,9##"$ E% *"#% F-$1 QyS
The meanlng and usage of !1] ls covered pretty well ln thls jeKal entry nttp:))uuu.ckui.
czg)cntzics)uu)uu)np)uuuunpu8.nt wlth plenty of examples. Whlle much of thls ls a repetltlon of
what's wrltten there, !1]ls a ru-verb that ls used as a sumx to other verbs to express the fact
that somethlng ls lmposslble. By lmposslble, we are not talklng so much about physlcal lmposslblllty,
such as creatlng matter out of nothlng, but more about what cannot be accompllshed glven certaln
condltlons.
!1] ls more often used ln the negatlve tense as !1] to lndlcate that there ls a
posslblllty that the verb ln uestlon mlght happen. As the jeKal entry mentlons, thls ls usually ln
reference to somethlng bad, whlch you mlght express ln Engllsh as, "there ls a rlsk that..." or "there
ls a fear that..."
One lmportant thlng that the jeKal doesn't mentlon ls how you would go about uslng thls grammar.
It's not dlmcult and you may have already guessed from the example sentences that all you need
to do ls just attach !1] or !1] to the stem of the verb.
.
.
To say that somethlng cannot be done uslng !1], change the verb to the stem and
attach !1]
_ !1
_ !1
!1] ls the same as a regular ru-verb so you negate lt to !1] to say that
somethlng bad mlght happen.
_ !1 !1
_ !1 !1
.Uslng !1]for thlngs that cannot be done
176
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&X& 2,+1,+70,-
<@96?=%&
Y 0I,!170.7s\37,\
- Slnce maklng a declslon here ls lmposslble, let's set up a separate meetlng agaln.
] 077I.CrItu!10.'!Ivx%7\
- At thls rate, there ls a posslblllty that personal lnformatlon mlght leak so I reuest that thls be
dealt wlth promptly.
ADA 0%#*%#,-%& hkTXXT{kxyl
In thls lesson, we wlll go over varlous types of grammar that deal wlth tendencles. Llke much of the
Advanced Sectlon, all the grammar ln thls lesson are used mostly ln wrltten works and are generally
not used ln conversatlonal Japanese.
ADAD' 495-#3 &"6%$1-#3 -& ?)"#% $" ",,+) +&-#3 QkS
Thls ls arguably the most useful grammar ln thls lesson ln terms of practlcally. By that, I mean that
lt's the only grammar here that you mlght actually hear ln a regular conversatlon though agaln, lt ls
far more common ln a wrltten context.
Wlth thls grammar, you can say that somethlng ls llkely to occur by slmply attachlng I]to the
stem of the verb. Whlle, I] ls a sumx, lt works ln much same way as a noun or na-adjectlve.
In other words, the result becomes a descrlptlon of somethlng as belng llkely. Thls means that we
can do thlngs llke modlfylng nouns by attachlng ] and other thlngs we're used to dolng wlth
na-adjectlves. You can also say that somethlng ls prone to A< somethlng by attachlng I] to
the noun.
As the word "prone" suggest, I] ls usually used for tendencles that are bad or undeslrable.
.
.
To descrlbe an actlon that's prone to occur uslng I], attach I] to the stem of
the verb.
_ I
_ I
To say that somethlng ls prone to be somethlng, attach I] to the approprlate noun
_ I
All adjectlves that are conjugated wlth I] become a noun/na-adjectlve
f"&-$-C% g%39$-C%
g"#bf9&$ I prone to become Il ls not prone to become
f9&$ II was prone to become Il! was not prone to become
.Uslng I]as a descrlptlon of an actlon prone to occur
177
X&X& 2,+1,+70,- 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
<@96?=%&
Y w4axI*Io0OI\
- Flllng lncome taxes ls one of those processes that one ls prone to forget.
] yICzII.Se.0/I\
- For famllles that tend to be away from home, cats are recommended over dogs.
d dsII.d/I{\
- Father ls prone to lllness and everybody ls worrled.
For more examples, check out the WWWJDIC examples nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)-uL)cgi-Lin)
uuudic.cgi?1Q{8L{|1{|4{C1_1_{|4{|C{|4{C1.
ADAD/ c%&,)-E-#3 9# "#3"-#3 ",,+))%#,% +&-#3 QXXS
] ls a verb modler that can be attached to the stem of verbs to express an ongolng occur-
rence. Though the meanlng stays essentlally the same, there are essentlally two ways to use thls
grammar. The rst ls almost ldentlcal to the I]grammar. You can use ]to descrlbe
an actlon that ls taklng place whlle another actlon ls ongolng. However, there are several major
dlerences between ]and I]. Flrst, the tone of ]ls very dlerent from that
of I] and you would rarely, lf ever, use lt for regular everyday occurences. To go along
wlth thls, ] ls more approprlate for more llterary or abstract actlons such as those lnvolvlng
emotlons or thoughts. Second, I] ls used to descrlbe an auxlllary actlon that takes place
whlle the maln actlon ls golng on. However, wlth ], both actlons have eual welght.
For example, lt would sound very strange to say the followlng.
I9.2>e- Sounds unnatural
Y I9I.2>e- Don't watch TV whlle sleeplng!
The second way to use thls grammar ls to express the exlstence of a contlnulng process by uslng
], the verb for exlstence. Everythlng ls the same as before except that you attach ] to
] to produce ]. Thls ls often used ln magalne or newspaper artlcles to descrlbe
a certaln trend or tlde.
.
.
To descrlbe an ongolng actlon uslng ], attach ] to the stem of the verb.
_
_
To show the exlstence of a trend or tlde, add ] to ]
_
.Uslng ]to descrlbe a repetltlve occurrence
<@96?=%&
Y 'T|]}.$II\
- Went lnto the bathroom whlle holdlng an achlng head from a hangover.
178
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&Y& (1U(+7,1 U340203+(4
] OIe.56I4\
- Whlle thlnklng lt's bad for body, haven't exerclsed at all recently.
d ~0I./*)540I77\
- Wlth the development of electronlc goods, hard dlsk drlve capacltles are becomlng ever larger.
u S0TII."'"I\
- In today's Japan, hlrlng practlces llke llfe-tlme employment and age-based ranklng are tendlng to
break down.
For more examples, check out the WWWJDIC examples nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)cgi-Lin)
cgiuzup)uL)uuudic?1Q{|4{C4{|4{C4_u__.
ADAD7 c%&,)-E-#3 9 #%39$-C% $%#*%#,5 +&-#3 Q{kxyS
I] ls a xed expresslon used to descrlbe a bad tendency or hablt. I suspect that
] here @?EKD have somethlng to do wlth the word for hateful: x]. However, unllke x
], whlch ls a na-adjectlve, the ]ln thls grammar functlons as a noun. Thls ls made plaln
by the fact that the I] partlcle comes rlght after ], whlch ls not allowed for adjectlves.
The rest of the phrase ls slmply expresslng the fact that the negatlve tendency exlsts.
.
.
The ] ln thls grammar functlons as a noun. ] ls slmply the exlstence verb
for lnanlmate objects.
_ d0I\
.Uslng I]to descrlbe a negatlve tendency
<@96?=%&
Y 0bcI.tT7.'I\
- A lot of college students have a bad tendency of not dolng thelr homework untll just barely lt's due
date.
] &*54`;IMI./)+>`$5.3$TI
\
- Developers that llke codlng have a bad tendency to neglect proper documents and adeuate testlng.
AD| B*C9#,%* Z"=-$-"#9= h{TxTl
We learned ln a prevlous lesson that the volltlonal form ls used when one ls set out to do somethlng.
In thls sectlon, we're golng to cover some other ways ln whlch the volltlonal form ls used, most
notably, the negatlve volltlonal form.
179
X&Y& (1U(+7,1 U340203+(4 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
AD|D' g%39$-C% Z"=-$-"#9=
You may have seen the negatlve volltlonal formln a verb conjugatlon table and wondered, "What the
heck ls that used for?" Well the answer ls not much, or to put lt more accurately, there are varlous
ways lt can be used but almost all of them are extremely stl, formal, and seldom used. In fact, lt's
so rare that I only found one explanatlon nttp:))uuu.cssc.cnusn.cdu.uu)-uL)uuuvczLint.nt1 ln
Engllsh on the web or anywhere else. I also found thls one nttp:))uuu.gcccitics.p)niuusuLuzcc)
82kunyuuisi.nt1=82.1u ln Japanese.
The negatlve volltlonal ls used to express negatlve lntentlon. Thls means that there ls a wlll for
somethlng to #"$ happen or that someone ls set out to #"$ do somethlng. As a result, because
one ls trylng not to do somethlng, lt's probably not golng to happen. Essentlally, lt ls a very stl
and formal verslon of ,] and I]. Whlle thls form ls practlcally never used ln dally
conversatlons, you mlght stlll hear lt ln movles, etc.
Verbs are conjugated to the negatlve volltlonal by slmply attachlng 7] to the verb. Another
alternatlve ls to attach 7] to the stem. The conjugatlon for the negatlve volltlonal ls ulte
dlerent from those we are used to because lt ls always the last conjugatlon to apply even for the
masu-form. There ls no way to conjugate 7] to the masu-form, you slmply attach 7] to
the masu-form conjugatlon.
.
.
ru-verbs - Add 7] to the stem.
_ 7
u-verbs - Attach 7] to the end of the verb
_ 7
Exceptlons - ] can become 7] or 7], ] becomes 7
].
Thls conjugatlon must always come last. For masu-form, attach7]to the masu-form
verb.
_ 7 77
.Uslng 7]to express a wlll to not do somethlng
<@96?=%&
Y I0arI\II7\
- Your opponent ls a master of the sword. I doubt you can wln so easlly.
] /q~IT77
- I won't approve of such an unreasonable method
We already learned that you could use the volltlonal form to say "let's" and to express an attempt
do somethlng. But that doesn't mean you can use the negatlve volltlonal to say "let's not" or "try
not to". The tone of thls grammar ls one of very strong determlnatlon to not do somethlng, as you
can see ln the followlng examples.
Y 0V7II7I\
- Untll that tlme, I had declded ln my heart to not meet hlm by any means.
] 0rI.'70\
- That person had sworn to never lle agaln.
180
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&Y& (1U(+7,1 U340203+(4
In order to express "let's not", you can use the verb, '] wlth the regular volltlonal. In order
to express an eort to not do somethlng, you can use eI] wlth the negatlve verb.
Y iTI0'e\
- Let's not go tomorrow. llt: Let's ult golng tomorrow.
] wG^eI\
- Trylng not to eat meat.
AD|D/ &-#3 $1% C"=-$-"#9= $" %@?)%&& 9 =9,G "I )%=9$-"#
We wlll now learn a grammar that's actually practlcal for everyday use uslng the negatlve volltlonal
grammar. Baslcally, we can use both volltlonal and negatlve volltlonal forms to say lt doesn't matter
whether somethlng ls golng to happen or not. Thls ls done by attachlng I]to both the volltlonal
and the negatlve volltlonal form of the verb that doesn't matter.
.
.
Attach I] to the volltlonal and negatlve volltlonal form of the verb.
_ G^G^e.G^7 G^eIG^7I
_ .7 I7I
.Uslng the volltlonal to express a lack of relatlon
<@96?=%&
Y IbII7I.WIbe\
- Whether that guy ls golng to college or not, lt has nothlng to do wlth me.
] V>II7I.>I1|!\
- Whether there ls tlme or not, there's nothlng to do but make lt on tlme.
d 560'4PID.vL;1eI7I.*3I
\
- The vlruses lately have been strong and whether you run a program or not, I hear lt wlll spread
just by looklng at the page.
AD|D7 &-#3 QxS $" %@?)%&& =-G%=-1""*
We already found out that the negatlve volltlonal can be used as klnd of a formal verslon of ,
] and I]. You may wonder, how would you do the same thlng for the volltlonal? The
answer ls to conjugate the verb ]fromthe formal state of belng ]to the volltlonal to
produce ]. Remember ,] can already be used as a pollte form, so thls form ls
even a step above that ln formallty. We'll see what klnd of language uses thls form ln the examples.
181
X&Y& (1U(+7,1 U340203+(4 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
.
.
Attach ] to the noun, adjectlve, or verb.
_
_
.Uslng ]to express llkellhood
<@96?=%&
Y S< 50 .r>I-yIT-!.2UI!.0
#'/'I0s):J7\from www.jkokuryo.com nttp:))uuu.kckuzyc.cc)
pupczs)cn1inc)2uu2u1u7.nt
- I would llke to dlrectly approach problems that humans have llkely encounter the next 50 years
and whlle measurlng solutlons, take that knowledge and thlnk about scenarlos that wlll become the
next lndustry.
] /.cW1-v0Q.b0<3II.)0'n&*0
VI1|+II\from www1.normanet.ne.jp nttp:
))uuu1.nczunct.nc.p)-uu1uu114)1iLzuzy)1i-u1.nt
- Of course, new educatlonal facllltles wlll llkely be dlmcult wlth thls perlod of decreaslng student
populatlon but wlth reorganlatlons of subjects and courses wlthln subjects, there ls supposed to be
demand for reform t for thls perlod.
AD|D; &-#3 QS 9& C"=-$-"#9= I") Q{S %#*-#3&
We learned ln the lesson about formal grammar that I] was the negatlve of ]
. So how would we say somethlng llke ] but for the negatlve tense? The answer ls
to use yet another type of volltlonal for negatlve tenses and l-adjectlves used only ln formal and
llterary contexts. You can thlnk of thls grammar as a very old-fashloned verslon for l-adjectlves and
negatlve ] endlngs.
The conjugatlon rule ls slmple: remove the last ] and attach !]. You can use lt for
negatlve tenses and l-adjectlves just llke the !] past conjugatlon form.
.
.
Drop the last ] and attach !]
_ I I!
_ 1 1!
.Uslng !]to express volltlon for ]endlngs
<@96?=%&
Y /($IIO0I!\fromwww.kojll.net
nttp:))nttp:))uuu.kcii.nct)cpinicn)cc1u1u2u6.nt1
- It's not necessarlly the case that sales go up just by selllng any type of product on the net.
182
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&Z& 73U,5,1 OI -36,280+.
] 80I1!I/!I.{I0I+17|/\
- Whether you start exerclslng early or late, the fact that lt's good for your health doesn't change.
d LTI.!I.0Ibd\
- Whether lt's a hollday or not, lt looks llke lt doesn't matter for thls job.
AD} !"C%)%* E5 &"6%$1-#3 hdTTl
Thls ls a short lesson to cover several speclalled expresslons that descrlbe the state of belng covered
by somethlng. Mostly, we wlll focus on the dlerences between I].7d] and
].
AD}D' &-#3 QdSF1%# 9# "EW%,$ -& )-**=%* %C%)5F1%)% F-$1 &"6%$1-#3
I] ls usually used when somethlng ls rlddled everywhere. It generally carrles a negatlve
connotatlon. As a result, you'll often see I] used wlth expresslons llke >GI],
I], or I]. There ls no conjugatlon rule to cover here, all you need to do ls
attach I] to the noun that ls just all over the place. You should treat the result just llke you
would a regular noun.
.
.
Attach I] to the noun that ls coverlng the object or place
_ >G>GI rlddled wlth mlstakes
_ I rlddled wlth dust
.Uslng I]to descrlbe the state of belng rlddled everywhere by somethlng
<@96?=%&
Y 0)+>`$I>GI.4I\
- Thls document ls just rlddled wlth mlstakes and ls not useful at all.
] ]>.II\
- After uslng cell phone for 2 years, lt became covered wlth scratches.
` Notlce how the 0] partlcle ls used to modlfy slnce I] functlons llke a noun.
d 0I0I9/h
- Can you properly dust thls TV completely covered ln dust?
AD}D/ &-#3 QS $" *%&,)-E% 9 ,"C%)-#3
7d]may seemvery slmllar to I]but there are some very lmportant subtle dlerences.
Flrst, lt's only used for actually physlcal objects so you can't say thlngs llke >G7d] llke
you can wlth I]. Plus, you can only use lt for thlngs that llterally cover the object. In other
183
X&Z& 73U,5,1 OI -36,280+. 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
words, you can't use lt to mean "llttered" or "rlddled" llke we have done wlth I] So you can
use lt for thlngs llke llulds and dust, but you can't use lt for thlngs llke scratches and garbage.
The grammatlcal rules are the same as I].
.
.
Llke I], you attach 7d] to the noun that ls dolng coverlng.
_ 7d covered ln blood
_ 7d covered ln oll
You can only use 7d] for physlcal objects that llterally covers the object.
_ >G7d not a physlcal object
_ 7d doesn't actually cover anythlng
.Uslng 7d]to descrlbe a coverlng by stlcklng
<@96?=%&
Y I7dII.q0rI7\
- Whlle becomlng covered ln oll, he worked hard at xlng the car.
] YLI.7dI0I\
- It's pltlful that one gets covered ln sweat from runnlng just 1 kllometer.
AD}D7 QS $" %@?)%&& %#$-)%$5
The ] dlctlonary descrlbes exactly what ] means very well.
XeOIC|IP.!7.!P\^\
0R1]]0]89]
In other words, ] descrlbes somethlng that applles to the whole thlng. For lnstance, lf we
were talklng about the human body, the expresslon "ls [^] from head to toe" mlght be close to what
] means.
In actuallty, ] ls an expresslon that ls rarely used and usually wlth a color to descrlbe
people completely dressed ln that color. For example, you can see some examples of
] vla Google Images nttp:))iugcs.gccg1c.cc)iugcs?u=1an1=cnac1icnt=tizctcx-uaz1s=czg.
czi11u{8|cn-U8{8|ctticiu1aq={L0{88{02{L8{81{0|{L8{81{8l{L8{82{81aLtn0=8cuzcn+1ugcs.
Grammatlcally, ] works ln exactly the same ways as I] and 7d].
.
.
Attach ] to the noun that applles to the whole thlng.
_ ''
_
.Uslng ]to descrlbe somethlng that applles to the whole thlng
184
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&[& (1U(+7,1 *53P0602I 3R (7203+-
<@96?=%&
Y 'OI+*I\
- The organlatlon dressed all ln whlte was on the news last year.
] `00I.230O{I\e\from www.de-
slre.net nttp:))uuu.dc-sizc.nct)tccd.nt1
- A common toplc to talk about wlth glrls ls able to be made and one's own body also becomes
healthy. It's all good thlngs.
AD. B*C9#,%* ?)"@-6-$5 "I 9,$-"#& hk{TRRTl
In thls sectlon, we wlll be coverlng some advanced grammar that descrlbe an actlon that takes place
rlght after somethlng else has occurred. I suggest you look over thls sectlon lf you are really serlous
about completely masterlng Japanese, or lf you plan to take the level 1 JLPT exam, or lf you enjoy
readlng a lot of Japanese llterature.
Uslng I1!] to descrlbe the lnstant somethlng occurred
The phrase I1!] ls used to descrlbe somethlng that happened the lnstant somethlng else
occurred.
It ls more common to use the word ] wlth the te-form of the verb to descrlbe the same type
of thlng but I1!] has a more lnstantaneous nuance. In addltlon, unllke ], whlch
slmply means "soon", I1!] has several dlstlnct characterlstlcs.
Flrst of all, thls grammar ls used to descrlbe an actlon that lmmedlately occurs as a dlrect result of
the rst verb so lt ls unnatural to use thls grammar for unrelated or naturally occurrlng events. For
lnstance, you would not use lt to say, "It started ralnlng the moment we went out" because lt was
golng to raln whether or not you went out. In addltlon, thls grammar ls only used for thlngs that
have actually occurred and therefore always employs the past tense.
To use thls grammar, you attach I1!] to the rst verb, then you descrlbe the event that
happened the next lnstant. Whlle lt's conventlonal to use the non-past tense dlctlonary form for
the rst verb, you can also use the past tense. For example, you can say elther RI1!] or
RI1!]. The curlous thlng about thls grammar ls that the I]partlcle comes rlght after
the verb. Remember, you can do thls only wlth thls speclc grammatlcal phrase.
Uslng I1!] to descrlbe what happened the lnstant somethlng occurred
Attach I1!] to the non-past or past tense of the verb that just occurred
_ RRI1!
_ R R RI1!
You can only use thls grammar only for events that are dlrectly related.
You can only use thls grammar only for events that actually happened past tense.
Examples
Y `I.(0I1!.!\
- The lnstant [she] saw the teacher's gure, [she] ran away from the classroom.
] G^de]RI1!.0;IM/I\
- The lnstant [he] sald "let's try eatlng lt", he threw [lt] lnto hls mouth.
185
X&[& (1U(+7,1 *53P0602I 3R (7203+- 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
d G^de]RI1!.0;IM/I\
- The lnstant [he] sald "let's try eatlng lt", he threw [lt] lnto hls mouth.
Uslng '''] to descrlbe what happened rlght after
The ']or '']'' phrase, when appended to a verb, ls used to descrlbed somethlng
that happened rlght after that verb. Its meanlng ls essentlal the same as I1!].
It ls also another type of grammar that ls not really used ln regular conversatlonal Japanese.
] read here as ] ls a fancy Kanjl for "no" used ln words llke 4] and slmllar to
Y]. The llteral meanlng of thls grammar ls
"whether the actlon was taken or not". In order words, the second actlon ls taken before you even
take the tlme to determlne whether the rst event really happened or not.
You can use thls grammar by attachlng '] or ''] to the dlctlonary form of the rst verb
that occurred. Slnce thls grammar ls used for
events that already have occurred, the second verb ls usually ln the past tense. However, you can
use the dlctlonary tense to lndlcate that the events
happen regularly.
Uslng '''] to descrlbe what happened rlght after
Attach '] or '']'' to the dlctlonary form of the rst verb that occurred
_ '
_ ''
Thls grammar ls almost always used for events that actually happened past tense.
Thls grammar can be used wlth the present tense for regularly occurrlng events.
Examples
Y p0d'.!R\
- [He] trled to say somethlng as soon as he saw my face.
] 0J'`I''.d/I*$0/^\
- As soon as the announcement to board was audlble, everybody started runnlng toward the gate.
Uslng !] to descrlbe an event that repeatedly occurs soon after
!] ls yet another grammar that descrlbes an event that happens rlght after another. How-
ever, unllke the expresslons we have covered so far, !] lmplles that the events are a
recurrlng pattern. For example, you would use thls grammar to express the fact that you just clean
and clean your room only for lt to get dlrty agaln soon after.
Besldes thls dlerence, the rules for uslng thls expresslon are exactly the same as I1!] and
'']. Just attach !] to the dlctlonary form of the rst verb that occurred. The past
tense, though rare, also appears to be acceptable. However, the event that lmmedlately follows
ls usually expressed wlth the non-past dlctlonary form because thls grammar ls used for repeated
events and not a speclc event ln the past.
Uslng !] to descrlbe an event that repeatedly occurs soon after
Attach !] to the dlctlonary form of the rst verb that occurred
_ @]@]!
_ !
Thls grammar lmplles that the events occur repeatedly.
Examples
186
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&%]& 328,5-
Y I!!!.\
- The chlld messes up [the room] repeatedly as soon as I clean so I already became wantlng to
glve up.
] Q@/I!*70I\
- Forget repeatedly rlght after I read the textbook so I can't study.
AD' n$1%)& h{RTkTxl
Hopefully, you've managed to get a good grasp of how grammar works ln Japanese and how to use
them to communlcate your thoughts ln the Japanese way. In thls nal sectlon, we'll be coverlng
some left-over grammar that I couldn't t lnto a larger category. Don't worry, thls won't be the
absolute end as there wlll be an addltlonal mlscellaneous sectlon that wlll contaln all sorts of useful
lnformatlon about other varlous aspects of the language.
AD'D' &-#3 Q{RS $" *%&,)-E% &"6%$1-#3 +#%@?%,$%*
Thls ls a grammar I learned out of a book and was surprlsed to actually hear lt used ln real llfe
on a number of occaslons. You use thls grammar when you thlnk one thlng, but much to your
astonlshment, thlngs actually turn out to be very dlerent. You use lt ln the same way as you would
express any thoughts, by uslng the uotatlon ]and ]. The only dlerence ls that you use
']lnstead of ]. There ls no tense ln '], or rather, slnce the results already
went agalnst your expectatlons, the orlglnal thought ls lmpllcltly understood to be past tense.
.
.
Attach '] to the thought uslng the uotatlon ].
_ '
.Uslng ']to descrlbe somethlng unforeseen or unexpected
<@96?=%&
Y >I!9M/'.Hr!\
- Desplte havlng thought that lt must be crowded slnce lt was afternoon, surprlslngly not a slngle
person was there.
] 0I$`I'.I 5 I
- Thought thls restaurant would be cheap but surprlslngly the blll was over 5,000 yen!
AD'D/ &-#3 QkS $" *" $F" $1-#3& 9$ "#% $-6%
Thls rather formal and seldom-used grammar ls used to lndlcate that two actlons were done at the
same tlme. The nuance ls a blt dlerence from I] ln that some or all of the tlme spent on
dolng one actlon was also used to do another actlon as an aslde. Remember, I] ls used to
descrlbe two exactly concurrent actlons.
187
X&%]& 328,5- 78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07-
The lnterestlng thlng about thls grammar ls that no verb ls reulred. You can just attach lt a noun,
and the verb "to do" ls lnferred. For lnstance, "whlle taklng a stroll" can slmply be expressed as
I]. In the case where you want to employ a dlerent verb, you also have the optlon of
attachlng I] to the stem slmllar to the I] usage. In addltlon, the verb or noun that
ls accompanled by I] ls the maln actlon whlle the followlng actlon ls the one done on the
slde.
.
.
Attach I]to the noun or verb stem of the maln actlon. In case of a noun, the verb
] ls lnferred.
_ I
_ I
.Uslng I]to do two thlngs at one tlme
<@96?=%&
Y I.^/&I7\
- Whlle taklng a stroll, I also used that tlme to buy clgarettes.
] II.rs\
- Whlle seelng the museum, I plan to also use that tlme to buy souvenlrs.
AD'D7 &-#3 Qx pqS $" *%&,)-E% 9 E9* )%&+=$
] ls a grammar used to descrlbe a result, usually negatlve, that came about after a great
deal of eort. The rule for thls grammar ls very slmple. You modlfy the verb or noun that was
carrled out wlth ] and then descrlbe the nal result that came about from that verb or
noun. Because thls grammar ls used to descrlbe a result from an actlon already completed, lt ls
used wlth the past tense of the verb. ] ls essentlally treated the same as any noun. In
other words, you would need the 0] partlcle to modlfy another noun.
0] ls another stronger verslon of thls grammar.
.
.
Attach ] to the verb or noun created the end result 0] partlcle ls reulred
for nouns
_ /!/!0
_
.Uslng ]to descrlbe a nal result
<@96?=%&
The brackets show what ls belng lmplled by the grammar.
Y 2 V>!ki.]!\
- [After a great deal of] explalnlng the clrcumstances for 2 hours, [ln the end], couldn't recelve
188
78(*2,5 X& (1U(+7,1 23*07- X&%]& 328,5-
understandlng.
] c0.bI\
- [After much] consultlng wlth teacher, [ln the end], declded on not dropplng out of school.
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