thejapanesepage.com-fast track 100 grammar points

7/29/2019 Thejapanesepage.com-Fast Track 100 Grammar Points

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Fast Track: 100 Grammar Points

Watered-down, understandable, bite-sized grammar lessons. Perhaps by knowing these basic Japanese

grammar points, you will be able to communicate in Japanese limited only by vocabulary and guts! Ofcourse t his list is a simplif ied grammar, and is meant to be only an introduction to the grammar points

presented.

Chapter 1

1. Basic Word Order

The sentence order is very dif f erent f rom English. In English we use Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), but in

Japanese it is usually (but not always!) Subject-Object-Verb (SOV).

English

S V O

I eat bread.

Japanese

S O V

watashi wa pan o tabemasu.

Notice the "extra" words wa & o. These are called particles (or grammatical markers) and tell us a lot

about t he function of the word it follows. Don't worry! We will get to particles soon enough.

You can read more on Japanese Word Order here.

2. , the Copula

is a copula (a word used to link the subject o f a sentence with a predicate). It shows that something is o r

isn't something else. It is o ne of the very few irregular fo rms in Japanese. can act like the English "to

be" (you know; is, am, are...) in the sense that is used to explain who or what something or someone

is. It is also used when equating one thing with another.

Let's t ake a look.

Romaji: zou wa ookii desu.

Literal: elephants (topic particle) big are

Natural: Elephants are large.

Romaji: kore wa neko desu.
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/japanese_word_orderhttp://thejapanesepage.com/book/export/html/63


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Literal: this (topic part icle) cat is

Natural: This is a cat .

Mos t o f the t ime you want to use the "to be" verb you will use . Later we will learn other forms to

show existence.

Main Points

is, are, am

always at the end

it doesn't change like its English cousin (is, are, am) in the present tense

usually pronounced like "dess"

3. "and" -

There are several ways to say "and" (connecting words and phrases). Let's look at two of them:

(to) - connecting nouns

watashi wa nihongo to eigo to furansugo ga hanasemasu.

I can speak Japanese and English and French.

(soshite) - connecting phrases

atarashii hon o kaimashita. soshite kyou kara yomimasu.

I bought a new book. And I today I will start to read it. (lit. And f rom today, I'll read.)

4. 2 Basic verb forms - dictionary

There are many ways to conjugate verbs, but here we will focus o n two present tense f orms: "dictionary

f orm" (also known as "plain fo rm") and " ~masu f orm" (also known as "polite f orm")

Note

Switching between these two verb fo rms does not change the meaning of the verb but the dictionary

f orm is more casual.

The dictionary form gets its name because it is what is f ound in the dictionary.

The dictionary form verbs ends in -u and many end in -ru.

The masu f orm verbs are so called because they always end in -masu in the present tense.

Examples

Dictionary Form -Masu Form Meaning

tabe ru

tabe masu

Both mean "to eat"


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nom u

nomi masu

to drink

hashi ru

hashiri masu

to run

su ru

shi masu

to do (this is one of the 2 irregular verbs)

You will notice some other changes between the two forms. I would recommend learning about the three

verb groups here, but f or our purposes right now, just memorize a f ew examples and try to f ind patternswith other verbs. And remember: Mistake making is memory making! (As long as you correct yourself , of

course.)

5. Making Questions -

Making questions in Japanese is easy! -- REALLY! Usually you can change a statement into a question by

ust adding a ka to the end!

amerikajin desu.

I am an American.

Now add a

amerikajin desu ka.

Are you an American?

Main points

ka is added to the end of statements

Word order is not changed as in English.

In Japanese (see the example on the right side) the ? (question mark) is not required (opt ional).

Just like in English, the last syllable goes up in intonation.

In spoken Japanese sometimes the ka can be dropped if you raise your voice at the end as we

do with "You want to eat?". But for now, let's st ick to using the ka.

See "Quest ions and Question Words - 10 minute lesson" f or more on this.

6. Question Words

By mastering these quest ion words, your conversational skills will be much stronger!

(itsu) - when

itsu kimashita ka?

When did you come? [literally "when came?" Notice the "you" is understood.]
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/questionshttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/verb_groups


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(doko) - where

doko kara kimashita ka?

Where did you come f rom? [literally "where from came?"]

(doushite) - why

doushite kimashita ka?

Why did you come? [literally "why came?"]

(naze) - why

naze?

Why? [used in the same way as doushite]

(dare) - who

dare ga kimashita ka?

Who came?

(nani) - what

nani o kaimashita ka.

What did you buy?

You can do a lot more with , see here.

Main points

Even with t he question word a ka is used. (Except in casual spoken Japanese.)

The quest ion word is at the beginning, but af ter the wa if there is one.

anata wa dare desu ka?

Who are you? (the quest ion word dare is after the wa)

For more on this please see our"Questions and Question Words" guide.

7. Possessive "s" -

This is another nice thing about Japanese.

To show relationship or possession between two things just put a (no) between them. The trick isknowing (erm... ing) which goes to t he lef t o f the no and which goes to the right...

Think of as a 's (apostrophe S)
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/questionshttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/nan


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watashi no neko

My cat [I's cat]

nihon no kuruma

Japanese car [Japan's car]

neko no omocha

Cat's toy

Also think of ...

watashino as "my"

anatano as "your"

8. "but" -

But, a small word, but... There are other "buts" but demo is the most common. Learn this f irst and you

can pick the others up later.

(demo) - but

nihongo ga suki demo furansugo wa kirai desu.

I like Japanese, but I hate French.

9. Pronouns

Pronouns are not used nearly as much in Japanese as they are in English. Of ten the pronoun is used

once and then af ter (until the topic shif ts to someone else) the pronoun is dropped. Still they are very

important!

Notes

Learn watashiand anata well

tachiand ra are endings that indicate plurality! Easy! :)

Singular Plural

I - watashi WE - watashi tachi

YOU - anata YOU - anata tachi

HE - kare THEY - kare ra


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SHE - kanojo

IT - IT isn't used but in ITs place sore (that) is o f ten used - - Don't worry! Remember to breath!

Notes

Another meaning o f kare (he) is actually "boyf riend" and kanojo is "girlf riend"!

When the meaning is obvious, the pronoun is usually dropped. Both of the f ollowing is clear in meaning:

watashi wa amerika kara kimashita.

I came f rom America.

amerika kara kimashita.

(I) came f rom America.

See the "I, Me, You, T hou..." guide f or more on pronouns.

10. Fillers -

In English, we have our "ah" and "um." In Japanese, they have their "eeto." This is the sound you make

when you can't think of what to say, but want to say something!

nan no doubutsu ga suki desu ka?

What animal do you like?

eeto... neko ga suki.

Um... I like cats.

11. Introduction to Particles

Particles may seem a litt le fo reign to you at f irst, but f or the most part, they aren't too dif f icult to grasp.

These particles are placed af ter a word (o r phrase) and show its relationship (grammatical function) to

the rest of the sentence.

In other words, the particle itself isn't really translatable, but it tells you a lot about the function of the

word it f ollows.

The best way to learn to use them is to memorize usef ul examples and try them out f or s ize!

wa - overall topic particle

shows the main topic of the conversat ion. It may be helpf ul to t hink of it as "As f or..."

It is a hiragana ha but pronounced as "wa"
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/pronouns


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anata wa yasashii.

You are nice.

Makes "you" the main to pic: "As f or YOU, you are nice."

ga - t he subject part icle

sometimes the dif f erence between wa and ga is hard to tell. Sometimes they can be used

interchangeably with only a slight change in meaning. See next ent ry for more on this.

neko ga hen.

The cat is strange.

Makes the "cat" the subject

Comparing and (by Paul_b)

The topic particle can easily be conf used with the subject particle . That is because overrides,in other words, in a sentence something can very easily be both the topic and the subject of that

sentence. In such cases the "disappears" and it looks like the is acting as a subject marker.

Take this simple sentence.

watashi wa kurei desu.

I am Clay.

"I" (that is the speaker, Clay) is t he topic and now this is known, it won't be repeated unless the topicchanges.

What is the subject of the sentence? That's right - "I" watashiis. But because "I" is also the topic only the

topic marker is used. Now we'll let Clay continue and say another sentence ...

neko ga suki desu.

(I) like cats.

"cats" is the subject here. "I" is still the topic. He could have said "watashi wa neko ga suki desu." but thatis unnecessary because he has already said "watashi wa" establishing the topic in the previous sentence.

if bo th are in a sentence, the wa is f irst.

o - The Direct Object particle

hon o yomimashita.

(I) read a book.

it makes "book" the object. If we were to say "I" it would be watashi wa at the beginning.

ni- usually shows movement (to)


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nihon ni ikimashou!

Let's go to Japan!

There is movement going to Japan or shows time (at)

roku ji ni ikimashou!

Let's go at 6.

de - Shows location (at, in)

nihon de asobimashou!

Let's play (have fun) in Japan!

Notice there is no movement

See the "Particles and Conjunctions" guide f or more on this.

Do you have an iPhone/iPod Touch?

You may be interested in this iPhone App for mastering JapaneseParticles. It is produced by TJP's good f riends over at

JapanNewbie.com. It covers the basic particles plus those f ound on theJLPT N5 and N4 test s. Use the Study Mode and Quiz to test yourself .

Click here to jump to the iTunes Japanese 101: Particles page

12. "if" -

We will look at a f ew examples that actually contain fairly advanced grammar. In other words, to say "if ..."

you must start with moshi-- and this is easy. However, you must also change the verb at the end

with a ba, tara, ornara or some other conditional.

That being said, you should become f amiliar with moshisince it is extremely useful. Try to memorize

one or two example sentences and then listen or look for o ther examples online or with f riends.

English Japanese

If you come.

moshi anata ga kitara.

If it's sunny.

moshi hare tara.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/japanese-101-particles/id340778943?mt=8http://www.japannewbie.com/http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/more_particles


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Special useful phrases

moshi yokereba...

If it is ok with you... [let's do this...]

moshi hoshikattara,

If you want (it),

(when of f ering something to someone)

Chapter 2

13. Using

The equivalent to Mr. or Mrs. or Miss . is

Usage

Right afterthe name. It is used even with f riends. (Even when in English we wouldn't use "Mr.")

(kurei san) - Mr. Clay

(yamada san) - Mr. (or Mrs...) Yamada

Other name titles (used the same way)

(sama) - very polite - reserved for royalty, important people, and customers of stores

(chan) - used f or girls and very young boys (kiti-chan = Hello Kitty)

(kun) - used f or young boys

(sensei) - used f or teachers [kurei sensei], doctors, and professionals

For now just use san. As you know f rom watching all the Karate Kidmovies, it is t he most common.

For more on this see our article on keishou, " Name Tit les".

Easy Adjectives

There are 2 types of adjectives:

-i adjectives - adjectives that end in -i

-na adjectives - adjectives that add -na when placed before nouns

The - i adjectives change:

atsui- (It's ) hot || +i

atsukunai- not hot || -i + kunai atsukatta - was ho t || -i + katta atsukunakatta - wasn't ho t || -i + kunakatta

Learn this and you can use all -i adjectives! The -na adjectives don't change! But when placed before
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/name_titles


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nouns t hey add a -na

genki (healthy, active, fine) genki na ko (healthy child)

Past Tense

Fornow let's s tick with the - masu f orm of verbs

PAST = MASU MASHITA

tabemasu (to eat) tabemashita (ate)

nomimasu (to drink) nomimashita (drank)

PAST NEGATIVE = MASU MASEN DESHITA

tabemasu (to eat) tabemasen deshita (didn't eat)

nomimasu (to drink) nomimasen deshita (didn't drink)

The "-masen" is the negative part

Very

Sometimes mom's coo king isn't just oishii(delicious) it is VERY OISHII!

Add totemo

before adjectives to say "very"

totemo oishii desu.

It's very delicious!

totemo ookina ki.

A very big tree.

OTHER VERY WORDS: You can ignore this if you like...

hijou ni

chou (kind of slang - chou means "super-")

To Want

Saying "I want (something)" is pretty easy. Just say the thing you want and add ga hoshiito it.


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nomimono ga hoshii desu.

(I) want a drink.

NOTE: The desu is optional and is usually dropped. nomimono ga hoshii. is perfectly f ine in spoken

Japanese.

Next, let's ask a question. Can you f igure out how to do it? That 's right add a kaREVIEW HERE

ke-ki ga hoshii desu ka?

Do you want cake?

Want to do~

First get the masu f orm of the verb you want to do. Then drop the masu and add

tai.

Of course if you want to say "do you want to ..." Just add ka

ke-ki o tabetai desu ka?

Do you want to eat cake?

These 2 part icles wa & ga both do what in English is t he subject, but wa is greater in scope than ga

wa - the main topic particle of the conversation

ga - the subject particle of the sentence

watashi wa kurei desu.

I am Clay.[Clay is the topic and now this is known, it won't be repeated unless the topic changes]

neko ga suki desu.

(I) like cats.

["cats" are actually the 'subject' here. Maybe this is easier to see "Cats are liked (by me).

Note you could say "watashi wa neko ga suki desu." but it is unnecessary because we have

already said "watashi wa" (The overall topic is already known)]

if both are in a sentence, the wa is f irst

the wa is written with a hiragana ha but pronounced as wa
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_one/making_questions_ka


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FOR MORE ON THIS ...

There is / There are

For inanimate objects (objects, plants...), end the sentence with ga arimasu

ki desu.

It's a tree. [lit. tree is.]

ki ga arimasu.

There is a tree(s).

Forliving things (people and animals) use ga imasu.

neko ga imasu.

There is a cat(s).

To s how the negative just add -sen to the end

arimasu arimasen

Another more casual form of arimasu that you don't have to learn now is... aru nai

imasu imasen

Another more casual form of imasu that you don't have to learn now is...

iru inai

Maybe you know these usef ul phrases:

onegai ga arimasu. I have a favor to ask. mondai nai. No problem! [this is the casual form of arimasen]

To like...

It is easy to like something and to say it! Just add ga sukiaf ter the object that you like:

neko ga suki desu.

I like cats.[note: Nouns don't change in number (no s) so it could mean "a cat". Also note the desu if

dropped makes the sentence more casual - "neko ga suki."]
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/particles


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Why/Because

2 ways to say "why" are:

1. naze - why

2. doushite - why

They are basically interchangeable and start at the beginning of the sentence and are fo llowed by the

question

naze (doushite) watashi no ke-ki o tabemashita ka?

Why did you eat my cake?

[There isn't a "you" but obviously you wouldn't be asking yourself this question.]

+ reason or excuse + kara

nazenara hara ga hetta kara.

Because, (I'm) starving!

[lit. because stomach is diminished]

I think This goes

at the end to show that you believe what you say, but are not 100% sure. It is also used to show one's

opinion. If there is a desu change it to da which is the more casual form and add to omoimasu

1. The speaker is not t otally sure of the accuracy of his inf o...

kuma no pu-san wa kuma da to omoimasu.Winnie the Pooh is a bear, I think...

Next is an example of showing one's opinion. It is true f or the speaker, but may not be so f or the

listener.

nattou wa oishii to omoimasu.

I thinkNatto is delicious.

Basically you can say any sentence and if you want to so f ten it or show you are not sure, or show your

opinion add to omoimasu
http://thejapanesepage.com/culture/natto


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24. "become" -

To show the state o f becoming... something, use ni narimasu.

The niis placed af ter what something is becoming (or became, or might become... depending on the

conjugation used, as t he examples illust rate below).

The narimasu means to become. Nouns and -na adjectives use ni narimasu. -i adjectives are dif f erent,

but f or now there are enough useful nouns to look at:

Examples

yoru ni narimashita.*

It has become night.

* ~mashita shows past

tomodachi ni narimashou.*

Let's become f riends.

* the ~mashou means "let's"

genki ni narimashita.

(I) have become f ine / healthy.

Also

mo means "also" or "to o" and like other particles, it is placed aft er the word it modif ies. Let's see

some examples:

PERSON A:

watashi wa neko ga suki.

I like cats.

PERSON B: watashi wa neko ga suki, soshite inu mo suki.

I like cats, and I also like dogs.

[to review soshite; the mo afterinu replaces ga. You can't say "ga mo"]

PERSON C:

watashi mo neko to inu ga suki.

I also like cats and dogs.

NOTE: watashi mo by itself means "Me too."

Chapter 3

26. Making the form

27. "to do, play" -

28. "more, ~er" -

29. "can" -
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/dekimasu_canhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/mottohttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/suruhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/te_formhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_one/and_to_soshite


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30. "~ing" -

31. "for example" -

32. "this" -

33. "that" -

34. "that over there" -

35. "must do" -

36. "bett er do..." -

37. "better/worse than" -

Making the form

Ifyou know how to make this form, you can do a lot ! Later we will look at other grammar points t hat are

based on the te f orm. By itself the te f orm makes a verb a request (or demand)

1.nomu (to drink) nonde (drink)2.taberu (to eat) tabete (eat)

3.suru (to do) shite (do)

These are the ways to make the te f orm f or each of the 3 types of verbs. If you are new to t he

"types of verbs" thing, don't worry.

Now I know there are many grammarians out there that would argue against what I am about to

say, but here's my advice. Don't worry about learning all the confusing rules about how to make

this verb do that (just yet ). Just say it as you f eel it should be. Of course you will make many mistakes,

but if you keep your ears open and learn from your mistakes you will get a f eel f or how the verbs work.

Take the te f orm for an example. If you memorize the 3 examples at the top you should be able to guess

what other verbs may change to. Or even if you guess wrong, the correct f orm should be at least

f amiliar to you.

To do, play

Suru is a very usef ul verb thingy. It is used where no other verb dares to go! (Foreign words, nouns, and

other scary things...) Think of it as "to do..."

jogingu suru - t o (do) jogging shoppingu suru - to (do) shopping sain suru - to sign (autograph)

USEFUL JAPANESE + SURU

benkyou suru - to study mainichi, nihongo o benkyou shimasu.Everyday, (I) am studying Japanese.

The o is the direct object marker.You will notice it moves around

sometimes. Don't worry about this now,just concentrat e on suru.

Another usage of -or- is "to play" as in sports or games

yakyuu o suru. To play baseball. sumou o suru. To play (do) Sumo.

basuketto ba-ru o suru. To play basketball.
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/verb_groupshttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/yorihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/hougaiihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/nakerebanarimasenhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/that_over_therehttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/thathttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/thishttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/tatoebahttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/teiru


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shougi o suru. To play shogi (Japanese chess)

more, ~er

One easy way to say "MORE" or "-er" is to add a motto before the thing you want to emphasis.

This is one of the rare times that the word order is the same with English - o r at least with the more part!

Relish the moment (while you can)

{ motto ~ = more ~ }

motto pi-man o tabenasai. Eat moregreen peppers.[~nasaiis like the te f orm in that it gives commands, but it is st ronger. ]

AND FOR THE:

{ motto ~ = ~er }

motto hayaku itte kudasai. (Next time) pleasesay (it) a little earlier.[Usef ul when someone tells you NOT to cut the yellow wire of the bombafteryou have done that...]

Can

There are a couple of ways to say "I can..." in Japanese. The easiest is dekimasu. Let's look at

how to f orm some sentences.

CAN + NOUN []

1 nihongo ga dekimasu.I can (speak) Japanese. [I can do Japanese.]

2 kanji ga dekimasu.I can (read/write) kanji. [I can do kanji.]

3 sukaidaibingu ga dekimasu.I can skydive.

CAN + VERB [ ]

Actually, the above are all shortened versions without t he verb. Let's add the verb. koto means thing, but

here it is used to make a verb a noun so it will work with dekimasu.

1 nihongo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu.I can speak Japanese.

2 kanji o yomu kotoga dekimasu.I can read kanji.

Be creative and come up with things you can do!


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FOR MORE ON THIS ...

30. "~ing" -

This is a very important grammar point. It corresponds to the English "~ing" form

Construction

f orm + or

eat eating (now)

Use this to describe things happening now.

ima anata ni hanashite imasu.

I am talking to you now.

ima gohan o tabete imasu.

I am eating rice (food) now.

ima sukaidaibingu o shite imasu.

I am skydiving now.

To make a question just add to the end. (See here f or more on using for asking questions.)

anata wa benkyou shite imasu ka?

Are you studying?

For example

Anytime you want to make an illustration o r give an example this is the phrase to use.

watashi wa washoku ga suki desu.

I like Japanese style food.

tatoeba, gohan to misoshiru .

For example, rice and miso soup .

You can also ask someone this t o get more concre te information.

tatoeba, nani?

For example, what?
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/questionshttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/can


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FOR MORE POWER WORDS...

This

This and that. Actually Japanese also has one more. They also have "that over there" - but we will get at

that later. There are 2 words in Japanese that are translated as "this" in English:

kore - When "this" is not connected to a noun - hang on you will get it in a minute

kore wa nan desuka?What is this?

kore wa neko desu.This is a cat.

HINTTo say "This is" or "is this" the kore will probably be

followed by a wa

kono - When you put "this" before a noun, it changes to kono

kono neko wa pochidesu ka?

Is this cat, Pochi?.

iie kono inu wapochi desu.No. This dog isPochi.

HINTIt may seem strange at f irst, but aft er a while This

and That become second nature !

That This and that.

Now we are on the THAT part. So this THAT ref ers to objects near the listener (not the speaker)

sore - when "that" is not connected to a noun

sore wa nandesu ka?What is that?

HINTBegin to think of the words start ing with K's as "this" and

the S's as "that" words
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/small_words


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sore wa nekodesu.That is a cat.

sono - When you put "that" before a noun, it changes to sono

sono neko wa pochi desu ka?Is that cat, Pochi?.

iie sono tako wa pochi desu.No. That octopus is Pochi.

HINTThis is used in the same way as

kono

That over there

This and that. Now we are on the THAT OVER THERE part. So this T HAT refers to o bjects not near the

listener or t he speaker.

are

- when "that" is not connected to a noun

are wa nan desu ka?What is that over there?

are wa neko desu.That over there is a cat.

HINTAnd now recognize A's mean That over t here

ano - When you put "that" before a noun, it changes to ano

ano neko wa pochi desu ka?Is that cat over there, Pochi?.

iie ano kujira wa pochi desu.No. That whale over there is Pochi.

HINTAgain the y ALL are used in the same

way.


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Must do

This is a mouthful! But it is so useful. Learn it well

TO MAKE IT: plain negative form - i+ kereba narimasen

[Would be for the plain negative form ]pi-man o tabenakereba narimasen.

(I) must eat green peppers. (Many Japanese children don't like green peppers)

Say that 5 times fast with your mouth full!

Perhaps the most usef ul usage is:

The shi is from suru (to do)

benkyou shinakereba narimasen.

(I) must (have to) study.

shinakereba narimasen.

(I) must (have to) do (it).

When giving advice this is usef ul.

CONSTRUCTION: ta form (#3) + hou ga ii

yasunda hou ga ii.

It would be better to rest.

kiita hou ga ii.

It would be better to ask (someone).

NOTE: The ta f orm is the same as the past tense. (But obviously it is not past here)

better / worse than

This has the same hou ga ii as the previous entry. But here we using it to compare things. Also we will

introduce yori(less than).

~no hou ga ii(more than)

~yori(less than)
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/hougaiihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/verb_formshttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/suru


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This is a litt le conf using if you think too much on this! But I suggest memorizing one or two examples

and then you should be able to keep it s traight.

watashi wa inu yori, neko no hou ga suki.

I like dogs less than cats. (I like cats more than dogs.)

You should spend some t ime studying the above example to understand how the ordering works. Not ice

in English we use either "less than" or "more than" and the meaning is understood by the order of "dogs"

and "cats" BUT in Japanese this is also ok:

watashi wa neko no hou ga inu, yori suki.

Chapter 438. "how..." -

39. "isn't it?" -

40. "said" -

41. Negative verbs

42. Negative adjectives

43. "plan to " -

44. Punctuation

45. "should/must" -

46. "because" part 2 -

47. "although" -

48. Using

49. "easy to..." -

50. "hard to..." -

How...

Here is a very useful quest ion word -- dou -- Let's look at ways o f using dou.

dou desu ka? How is (it)? [Use this f or asking about f ood, or anything that isbeing done now]

dou deshita ka? How was (it)? [Use this to f ind out about past experiences -movie, last night's date, molded pizza you just ate...]

OT HER WAYS!

dou yatte? How do you do it? [Ask this when you are not sure how to do something]

dou shimashita ka? What happened? [Ask this if someone looks sad orsomething has happened]
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/hard_nikuihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/easy_yasuihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/nanhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/nonihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/nodehttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/hazuhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/punctuationhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/yotei_tsumorihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/negative_verbshttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/negative_adjectiveshttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/iimashitahttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/deshouhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/how_dou


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dou shiyou What shall (I or we) do? [This is o f ten used when you can't make a decisionand want help... doushiyou, ne!]

dou suru no? What will you do? [When you want to encourage someone to make adecision -- Well, what will you do?]

Isn't it?

Ifyou want to state your opinion and then encourage someone to agree, use deshou.

?

firipin wa atsui deshou?

The Philippines is hot, isn't it?

[You are expecting a 'yes' answer]

itai deshou?

It hurts, doesn't it?

[You see someone who has just slammed their head in the low doorway]

But usually is used to mean 'probably':

Ame ga furu deshou ne.

It will probably rain, don't you think?

And another common usage is meaning 'how about...' o r 'what do you think about '

udon wa dou deshou?

How about some Udon?

said

Meet the wonderful ' to.' Mr. can act as a quotation marker ("). Don't confuse this with the that

means 'and.' Very of ten if you are quot ing someone or some source. This is best shown with examples:

ore wa su-paman to iimashita.

He said, "I am Superman."

ano e wa juu seiki ni tsukutta to kaite arimasu.

The book says (it is written) that this painting was made in the 10th century.

It can also be used to mark sound eff ects of things o r animals:


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ano inu wa 'wan' to iimashita.

That dog barked, "bark"

There are many other usages f or 'to.' Paying attention to each usage will help you get a good grasp.

Negative adjectives

we say `not red` to show an absence of that color in English. In Japanese as with the verbs, theadjective`s ending is modif ied with a negative ending. You will not ice a great s imilarity with t he verbal

endings.

With ì` adjectives the ì` changes to a `ku` bef ore adding the `nai`...sono ringo wa akakunai. That apple isn`t red. `na` adjectives simply drop the`na` (which is really only used before nouns) and add `ja nai` or `ja arimasen` (o r dewa nai & dewaarimasen)...watashi wa kirei ja nai. I am not pretty.

To learn more about adjectives click here.

Negative verbs

It isn't a sin to be negative. Interesting I should say that... 'sin' sounds like 'sen' which marks the negative

in Japanese in the - masu form. (Ok, so I set that one up...) hanasemasu - can speak becomes...

watashi wa nihongo ga hanasemasen.

(I) can`t speak Japanese.

wakarimasu - understand becomes...

watashi wa eigoga wakarimasen.

(I) don`t understand English.

If you can make the -masu f orm, just drop the and add the

You may have not iced there are no `no` words needed to make a negative like in English. You simply

modif y the verb`s ending.

To make the negat ive in the plain, or s imple, form by taking the basic stem and adding to it.

With the `ru` verbs you simply drop the and add as in wasureru (to f orget)...

nihongo o wasurenai.

(I) don`t forget Japanese.

And f or the ù` verbs we change t he ending ù` sound to a à` sound as in kaku -> ...
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/adjectives


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tegami o kakanai.

(I) don`t write letters.

Finally we come to and the o ther irregular verbs.

is in the s imple form and in the polite fo rm

sukaidaibingu o shimasen.

(I) don`t do sky diving.

And kuru is konaiand kimasen in the f ormal...

gojira ga konai.

Godzilla doesn`t come.

To review the 3 types of verbs click here.

Plan to

Ifyou plan on speaking Japanese these two words are very usef ul.yoteiand tsumori

yoteiand are very similar in meaning and usage. conveys more of a `schedule` feel

whereas is more of a `conviction of doing something. All you have to do is to s tick either on the

end of a verb (simple form)... To add or to any verb just f ind the simple form...

/

nihon ni iku tsumori(or yotei) desu.

I intend to go to Japan.

[if you use tsumori, you `intend` to go one way or another; if you use yotei you already have a hard

schedule set to leave at a certain time.]

Here is how you add it to a verb

/anata to kekkon suru tsumori(or yotei) desu.

I intend to marry you.

You can also use it with nouns by st icking a befo re the tsumori and after adjectives. But f or nowconcentrate on the verb usage.

Punctuation

Punctuation is in many ways similar to English. You have a comma, called a and a period at the endof a sentence called a .

Let`s quickly go over some common Punctuation thingies:

the acts just like our period by ending the sentence. It looks like a ball- maru
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/verb_groups


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the acts like a comma. This is o f ten f ound af ter as in (I, like you)

and These brackets hold quotations and work like our "" marks

Should/Must

You should know . It is easy and useful, therefore you have no excuse :)

Hazu shows an expectation that so mething should happen. In other words, you are pretty sure

something is true. Let`s see how it works... To add to any adjective just add it...

sono kaban wa, takai hazu desu.

That bag must be expensive.

[It is expected to be expensive]

Just add it to t he simple f orm of any verb

anata wa, gojira o shitteiru hazu desu.

You should/must know Godzilla.

Because II We have looked at some 'becauses'that mainly act as a preposition. comes at the end of the

phrase.

In English we start the phrase with `because`; in Japanese you of ten say the reason f irst and then the

because...

Just add it after an adjective...

sono kaban wa takai node, zutto tsukau tsumori desu.

Since that bag was expensive, I plan on using it f or a long time.

Just add it to t he simple f orm of any verb

gojira ga kuru node, toukyou wa kowai tokoro desu.

Since Godz illa comes, Tokyo is a scary place.

Af ter a no un or a -na adject ive add a NA before NODE...

watashi wa mada gakusei na node, okane ga nai .

Because I am still a student, I don`t have any money.

Although

A close cousin to (above), is . It is of ten used to show disappointment in the current situation.


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Just add it af ter an adjective...isshou kenmei benkyou shita noni, tesuto o ochita.Even though I studied really hard, I f lunked the t est .

Using

This is a very useful add-on.

Use it as a counte r:

nan ninhow many peoplekuru no wa nan nin desu ka? - How many people arecoming?

nan nenhow many years

nan nen amerika ni sunde imashita ka? -How many years did you live in America?

nan banwhat number tsugi wa nan ban desu ka? - What is the next number?

nan dowhat`s the temperature ondo wa nando desu ka? - What is the temperatureat?

nan you biwhat day of the week kyou wa nan youbi desu ka? - What is the day of theweek?

nan nichiwhich day

pa-ti wa nan nichi? - What day is the party?

nan kohow many pieces jeri-bi-n o nanko hoshii desu ka? -How many jelly beans do you want?

And the following are a few of the adverbial usages of

nani kasomething nanika nomitai - I want something to drink

nan demoanything, whatever nandemo ii desu. - Anything is f ine.


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nan tohow...! nan to subarashii hi. - What a wonderful day!

nan no tamewhat fo r koko ni kita no wa nan notame desu ka? - Why did you come here?

nantonakusomehow, in some way nantonaku wakaru. - I somehow understand.

Easy to...

It 's easy to add "easy to" to verbs! Consider the fo llowing verbs in the masu form:

tabe masu [to eat] tabe yasui[easy to eat]

Did you see that? If you know the -masu f orm of the verb, you can easily drop the -masu and

add a yasui.

wakari masu [to understand] wakari yasui[easy to understand]

Hard to...

If"easy to" is easy to use (see above) then you would think that "hard to" would be hard to use. Well,

they had to go and make it easy as well. Usage is the same as -yasui(easy to)

tabe masu [to eat] tabe nikui[hard to eat]

If you know the -masu f orm of the verb, you can easily drop the -masu and add a nikui.

wakari masu [to understand] wakari nikui[hard to understand]

Chapter 5

51. "looks like" -

52. "I've heard" -

53. "like, as..." -

54. "like, as if " -

55. "let 's..." -

56. "won't you...?" -

57. Power ender ""

58. "when, that time" -

59. Using

60. "situation, case" -

61. "etc... and..." -

62. "about" -
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/kurai_guraihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/etchttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/baaihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/kotohttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/tokihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/ender_nehttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/masenkahttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/mashouhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/rashiihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/younihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/like_younihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_five/looks_like_mitaihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/verb_formshttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/verb_forms


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Looks like

Looks like

we made it - as Barry Manilow would say - at least we made it half way!

taifuu

ga kuru mitai. It looks

like a hurricane. [This could mean

you are looking at s to rm clouds, OR someone told you a hurricane is comingand you are report ing that possibility]

And just st ick it af ter a no un

kono keshiki wa yume mitai.

This scenery loo ks like

a dream. [Usef ul if visiting Mt. Fuji - or, alternat ively, if you have

bad dreams, a garbage heap...]

ano hito WA nihonjin mitai.That person looks like

he's [or she's] Japanese.

There is another usage o f -mitai where it can mean 'try and see' when added

to the f orm of a verb: yatte mitai - I'll give

it a shot.

tabete mitai - I'll taste

and see.

That is a bit diff erent f rom the above, but it is also very usef ul!

I've heard

While can convey info you have heard as well as what you see, is mainly used for info that

originated elsewhere. - I heard...

Construction:

1) simple verb + ~sou + desu/da

yuki chan WA niku o tabenai sou DA

I heard Yuki doesn't eat meat.

2) -i adjective + ~sou + desu/DA

tanaka san no atarashii pasokon wa totemo takai sou desu.

I heard Tanaka's new computer is very expensive. [This info could have come from Tanaka

himself, or someone else]

Like, as...

Here is a usef ul tag which means ' just as...' or 'like this...'


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Construction:

1) simple verb + ~you ni

watashi ga iu you ni shite.

Do as I say.

2) noun + ~ no you ni

anata wa kuma no pu-san no you ni kawaii desu.

You are as cute as Winnie the Pooh

like, as if, apparently

This is similar to ~sou where the speaker is repeating inf o heard f rom another source. The only

dif f erence may be ~rashii may be based on more reliable inf ormation.

Construction: 1) simple verb + ~rashii

yamada san wa kaetta rashii desu.

It sounds like Mr. Yamada has come home.

2) noun + ~rashii

There are a f ew nouns with rashii that you can remember as a word in itself . This meaning is slighly

dif f erent f rom the above verb construction. Instead of meaning inf o heard elsewhere, when added to a

noun it means the speaker thinks something looks like something. Here are a f ew:

otokorashii - manly (like a man)

onnarashii - girly (but perhaps onnappoi is used more)

inurashii - like a dog (substitute any animal here. This is useful when you see an

animal at night and are not sure what it is, but it looks like...)

amerikarashii - American-ish (substitute any country)

Another s imilar construct ion with nouns is ~ppoi - as seen above with onnappo i. When added to nouns

to mean 'looks like...' ~ppoi is the same as ~rashii

Let's...

Maybe this should be bumped up since it is so usef ul. Let`s start...

Construction:1) ~masu verb - masu + mashou

Here are a few quick and usef ul examples:


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ikimashou.

Let's go.

asobimashou.

Let's play.

sensei to hanashimashou.

Let's talk to the teacher.

nihongo o benkyou shimashou.

Let's study Japanese.

This example uses suru. Another example would be:

sukai daibingu shimashou. Let's go sky diving.

This const ruction is very easy if you know the masu (formal) f orm of the verb. If you are a beginner, you

probably want t o st ick with the ~masu f orm anyway.

Won't you...?

Why don't we study Japanese grammar?

ok. Since we have the above construction (using a negative to suggest doing something) in English, this

grammar point isn't too dif f icult to grasp.

Construction:1) ~masu verb - masu + mashou

dokoka ikimasen ka.

Why don't we go already?

[notice I have the English as 'we.' It could be 'you' if you are angry at the person and wish him

to leave...]

eiga o mimasen ka .Why don't we see a movie.

nanika nomimasen ka.

Wouldn't you like to drink something?

[In this case you are asking someone individually if they would like something to drink. ]

Power ender ""

This is used at the end of a sentence and contains a variety of meanings. We will loo k at it as a quest ion

tag.

As a question tag: don't you... isn't it...


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anata wa ninjin ga kirai desu ne. You don't like carrots, don't you?

sono eiga wa totemo ii eiga datta ne. Don't you think that was a goo

movie?

kyou wa atsui desu ne. Today is very hot , isn't it?

If you want to use ne as a question tag, it helps to nod your head, or change the inf lection to let the

listener know you would like a response. It is usually used when the speaker feels f airly certain his

listeners agree with what was said.

A very usef ul phrase f or whenever so mething good happens is:

ii ne. Isn't that great!

When, that time

Ifyou don't know when to say so mething, you will never say it! Using toki - at the time when...

With a noun add a

[Looking at a photo]watashi wa gakusei no toki ni wa to temo wakakatta ne. [looking at a photo ] When I was a s tudent, Iwas very young, wasn't I?

And with verbs...

simple past

f urorida ni itta t oki ni kore wo kaimashita. When I went t o Florida, I bought this.

non-pastf urorida ni iku toki wa omiyage wo kaimasu. When I go to Florida, I will buy souvenirs.

continuingneru toki itsumo futon de nemasu. When I sleep, I always sleep on a f uton.

For more information on time related words, click here

Using

This is how you say 'thing'

Koto - intangible things

ii koto wa arimasen.

There isn't anything good.

daiji na koto o oshiemasu.

I will tell you an important thing.
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/toki_tara_to


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kinou no koto wa sumimasen deshita.

I am sorry about what happened yesterday. (yesterday's thing)

Mono - t angible things

sono kuroi mono wa neko kanaa.

I wonder if that black thing is a cat?

oishii mono ga tabetai.

I want to eat something good.

One usef ul phrase using koto is:

dou iu koto?

What is the meaning of this?

This phrase is used whenever the listener isn't sure of the motive of the speaker.

situation, case

This is one that should be learned by usef ul examples

hijou no ba ai wa botan o oshite kudasai.

In case of emergency push the button.

sono ba ai wa dou sureba ii?

In that situation, what should I do?

tesuto ga atta ba ai, watashi wa byouki ni narimasu.

Should a test be given , I will get sick.

Etc... and...

Sometimes you have to say more than one thing. Whoever invented 'etc.' was a genius. Let's see how to

do this in Japanese...

First a f ew ways to list multiple items:

ya - and, and so f orth

pi-man ya hourensou ga kirai desu.

I don't like green peppers, spinach and the like.


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toka - o r, and, and so f orth

kuma no pu-san toka doraemon toka kiti chan ga suki desu.

I like things like Winnie the Pooh and Doraemon and Hello Kitty.

And now for nado to wrap things up.

tabemono no naka dewa piza toka furaido poteto nado ga suki desu.

As for foods, I like things like pizza or french fries.

About or

About how much? About how many?

Sometimes the turns into a probably after harder consonants.

okyakusama wa dono kurai kimashita ka?

About how many customers came?

eeto, hyaku nin kurai kimashita.

Let me see, About 100 people.

You can use this with time:

hachi ji gurai

about 8 O'clock

Or counting anything:

ni hiki kurai- about 2 (animals) juu satsu gurai- about 10 books

Chapter 6

63. "how abo ut ...?" -

64.

65. "please do..." -

66. "please give me..." -

67. on, in, above, behind...

68. "why don't we...?" -

69. Closer look at
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/ohttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/why_dont_wehttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/on_inhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/o_kudasaihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/kudasaihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/chattahttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/how_about_dou


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70. Closer look at

71. Closer look at

72. Closer look at

73. "if " II -

74. "sof t ender" II -

75. The power ender ""

How about ...?

To ask the state of something (how something is doing) use the useful dou (desu ka).

You can used it with or without the f inal 'desu ka' in conversation.

saikin wa dou desu ka?

How's it going recently?

ko-hi- wa dou?

How's the coffee? or it could mean How about some coffee?

tenki yohou wa dou?

How's the weather forecast looking?

Of course when the context is understood you can simply say, 'dou' (Like returning from a docto r's

appointment, or af ter your f riend gets of f an important phone call)

This literally means 'to complete, f inish' but can (and usually does) involve a regret over having done

something. Also it can be used sarcastically to mean the speaker really wanted t o do something, but

gives a halfhearted apology. For example, I unfortunately ate the last

cookie. Of course there really wasn't anything unfo rtunate about it.

The construction is usually af ter the ~te f orm of any verb

zenbu no okane o tsukatte shimaimashita.

Unfortunately, I spent all my money.

watashi wa kanzen ni nihongo o wasurete shimatta.

Unfortunately, I have completely forgotten Japanese.

Another very usef ul variat ion is ~chatta. This is inf ormal and is used by bo th male and f emale speakers.

chau is made by combining te shimau -> chau

shiken ni ochichatta.
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/power_ender_yohttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/chottohttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/tarahttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/gahttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/dehttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_six/ni


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In spoken Japanese, the 'o ' is usually dropped.

On, In, Above, Behind

A good knowledge of pos ition part icles will help glue everything to gether. ni - on tsukue ni hon ga arimasu. There is a book on the desk.

no ue ni - on top of

tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu. There is a book on (top o f ) the desk.

no shita ni - under...

tsukue no shita ni hon ga arimasu. There is a book under the desk.

no ushiro ni - behind... tsukue no ushiro ni hon ga arimasu. There is a boo k behind the desk.

Why don't we...?

Why don't we study a litt le more?

dokoka de tabemasen ka?

Why don't we eat somewhere.

nanika nomimasen ka?

Would you like something to drink. or Why don't we have a drink.

The context decides if the meaning should be 'why don't WE' or 'Would YOU.'

A Closer look at

Pronounced o but written in Japanese as wo. Simply put, is the 'direct object marker or particle' whichindicates the previous word is the direct object. There are cases when the English would not consider it a

direct object, though. Learn some examples and give it a try. This part icle is one o f the easier ones...

watashi wa ringo o tabemashita.

I ate an apple. (apple is the )

ongaku o kikitai desu.

I want to listen to music. (music is the )

terebi o kau tsumori desu .

I intend to buy a TV. (tsumori means'intend to'; TV is the )

A Closer look at

In most cases t he particle can be used interchangeably with . But has a wider application so f or

now just s tick with


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Showing movement toward... Like 'to'

nihon ni ikitai.

I want to go to Japan. (direction TO Japan)

doko ni ikitai desu ka.

Where do you want to go?

Meaning 'on' or 'in'

kami ni e o kakimashita.

I drew a picture on a piece of paper.

In t ime - 'at'

roku ji ni aimashou.

Let's meet at 6.

A Closer look at

This is used mainly for location.

Used for location of where something happens

depa-to de boushi o kaimashita.

I bought a hat at the Department store.

nihon de nani o shimashita ka.

In Japan, what did you do?

Observe the dif f erence between and :

makudonarudo ni ikitai.

I want to go to McDonalds.

makudonarudo de tabetai.

I want to eat at McDonalds.

A Closer look at


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This is the 'subject marker / particle'.

ame ga futteimasu.

It's raining.

There is a subt ile dif f erence between WA and GA and I don't pretend to try to completely explain it. Yearsf rom now, you will st ill make WA/GA mistakes. Still, in general you can say WA is the main TOPIC and GA is

the more specif ic SUBJECT at hand. In the above example we say it is raining. The to pic isn't about rain.

We are simply stating the circumstances at the moment and the subject o f that particular sentence is

rain. If we were to talk all about rain, we would probably start with WA as in:

ame wa sora kara futte kuru mizu desu.

As for rain, it is water that falls from the sky. (You may go on to say more about the overall

topic of rain.)

Used with SUKI

watashi wa neko ga suki.

I like cats.

Question words always use GA

nani ga oishii?

What tastes good?

dare ga kimashita?

Who came?

doko ga ichi ban ii tokoro desu ka?

Where is the best place?

If II

A while back we f ound as the word that means 'if'. is added to the end of verbs to give the

meaning of 'if this is done, then this will happen'

It is f ormed by finding the simple past f orm and adding a

anata ga kitara kare wa kaeru

Ifyou are coming, he will go home.


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The simple past f orm of is .The 2nd phrase is conditional on the phrase.

gojira ni attara doushiyou.

What should I do ifI meet Godzilla?

You can also use it with nouns by using the simple past f orm of desu:

okanemochi da tara ookina ie ga kaeru noni.

Ifonly I were rich, I could buy a large house.

Softener

Many years ago I fo und an example in a book o f how Japanese can be direct or politely indirect. For

example you can say:

1) koi

or

2)

both mean 'come here' but #2 is much more polite being cushioned by many sof t, indirect words. One of

these words is .

means 'little' or 'small amount' but it is o f ten used to sof ten an otherwise painful 'no' o r 'your

request is impossible; live with it'

chotto muzukashi desu ga.

That's a little difficult. (this may be said when the request is impossible)

chotto dekinai desu.

It can't be done.

chotto wakaranai desu.

I'm not really sure.

I have been told the sound 'chot to ' is a bad word in Korean. If that is the case, chotto may not be that

sof t o f a word...

The power ender ""

When you want to impress upon your listener the importance or t ruth of what you are saying stick a

at the end of the sentence.

hontou desu yo. It's the truth, I te ll ya! (Perhaps the speaker suspects the listener doesn't

believe what he just said)


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fururida no 12 gatsu wa atsui desu ka? Is December in Florida is pret ty

hot?

kekkou samui desu yo.Actually, it is pretty cold.

It is very useful fo r rumors or explaining a truth you know someone may not swallow at f irst:

suzuki san wa uchuujin desu yo. Suzuki is an alien, you know.

Chapter 7

76. The non-but "even if " -

77. "the best, ~est " -

78. "about..." -

79. "can't, no t allowed" -

80. Easy kanji pref ixes

81. Easy counters

82. The Explanatory

83. as a pronoun

84. "how to ..." -

85. "please don't " -

86. "have done..." -

87. "to decide to have..." -

The non-but / Even if although

We have studied which means 'also '. When added af ter the form of a verb or adjective it brings on

the meaning of 'even if '. Let's invest igate:

joudan wo ittemo, kare wa waraimasen.

Even if you tell a joke, he won't laugh.

And an adject ive:

tsumetakutemo taberaremasu.

Even if it is cold, I can eat it.

And just st ick it af ter a no un

su-paman demo sonna koto wa dekinai yo.

Even Superman can't do that!

The best, -est
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapterthree/teiruhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/ni_shimasuhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/koto_ga_arimasuhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/shinaidehttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/katahttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/no_pronounhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/n_desuhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/countershttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/kanji_prefixeshttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/ikenaihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/nitsuitehttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/besthttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_seven/temo


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While it means #1, it is also used as a superlative- most or -est

tabemono no naka wa nani ga ichiban suki desu ka?

Out of all foods, what do you like the best?

fujisan wa sekai de ichiban takai yama ja nai.

Mt. Fuji isn't the tallest mountain in the world.

About...

This is added to mean 'this sentence is ABOUT the previous word'. Simply stick it af ter t he noun you

want to talk about.

bangumi ni tsuite no oshirase desu.

This is an annoucement about the program (TV for example).

ano eiga ni tsuite dou omou?

What do you think about that movie?

Can't, not allowed /

This is how to say something is f orbidden to do. Perhaps easiest way to us this is t o stick it af ter the f orm of a verb and (wa - topic particle).

shiranai hito to hanashite wa ikemasen.

Don't speak to strangers.

Of ten in casual speech, the becomes (or) as in:

sono eiga o micha ikemasen yo.

You are not allowed to watch this movie - or You shouldn't watch this movie.

You can also use f or a similar ef f ect: watashi no hon o yonja dame. You can'tread my book!

Easy kanji prefixes

There are a number of f airly easy kanji that will help dramatically increase your vocabulary. These kanji

have specif ic meanings that when added to other kanji or words, it changes the whole meaning in a

logical way.

- dai, oo - big


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suki

to like

dai sukito reallylike, love

kirai

to dislike

daikiraito reallydislike,hate

ji shin

earthquake

dai jishina huge

earthquake

amerain

oo ame

heavy rain

Anot her s imilar word is: (small)

- mai - every (attached to time words)

asamorning

mai asaevery

morning

toshiyear

maitoshieveryyear

ban

evening

mai ban

every

evening

- kai - to meet (a suf f ix)

ongakumusic

ongaku kai

concert/recital

un dou

exercise,sports

undou kaiathletic

meet

Easy Counters

In English, we just take a number (1,2,3...) add a noun and an "s" t o count items. But in Japanese

dif f erent types of objects have dif f erent counters. Plus some numbers change pronunciation slightly

when added with their counter. Don't worry too much about the pronunciation changes since you will be

understood. And even if you mess up and count with the wrong counter, you should be understood, but

ust a t ip... don't count people with "pikki" (used with animals!)

First, there are 2 ways to count numbers - the 'native' and the 'Chinese' way. Actually the 'native' counting

system only goes up to 10 and is pretty much only used fo r counting up to two people and for count ing


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general things. If you are f eeling lazy, just learn the "Chinese" numbers f or now.

If you haven't studied numbers yet, go to this page to learn all about them befo re proceeding: How to

Count

Here is a quick review::

Native

Chinese

Note t he two red alternate readings on the "Chinese" side. These are pronunciations based on the"native" readings but are of ten used in conjunction when counting other "Chinese" numbers.

Ok, now for counters.

Let's go t hrough some common counters one by one and then I will give a list of many other counters:

Counter: nin | Usage: people [pay att ention to the red lines.]

1 person [irregular] 2 people [irregular]

3 people [now we simply add the Chinese numbers to ]

[ is NOT used. Probably because means death... Also notice the dropped from ; hihlordjp f rom the discussion forums on this site brought up an interesting but obscure (I

think) pronunciation - or. It is in the dictionaries although I had never heard it. ]

OR [It seems is used more of ten, but is also used]

or )

etc...

Counter: hiki | Usage : most animals

[not ice the H changes to a P] [not ice the H changes to a B this t ime.]

[not ice the H changes to a P AND the becomes a small ] or [probably is most used] or

[not ice the small - t his occurs when there is a so f t

sound aft er like H]

Counter: hon | Usage : long, slender objects like pencils, bottles, arms...
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/count


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or

Other Counters:

satsubooks and magazines

funminutes

haicups of liquids, drinks

maisheets of paper; flatobjects

one book or or or*

one minute or*

one cup or*

one piece

* notice this can be pronounced as instead of . This is to make it clearer and is of ten used in

broadcasting. You may also encounter this with hon and hiki. For now, you can just say, ...

The Explanatory ""

You may have heard this quite a lot and wondered what it's all about! It is most of ten used, inf ormally,

when:

1) To explain something

2) To show emphasis

is short fo r; Inf ormal usage;

plain fo rm verb +

nani o shite iru n desu ka .

Whatcha doing?

terebi o mite iru n desu.

Watching TV.

- i Adjective +


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kono eiga wa omoshiroi n desu.

This movie was great!

And it can be used as a way to st ress a point

pa-ti ni ikanai deshou

You won't be able to make it to the party, right?

iie, boku wa iku n desu.

No, I'm going!

ittai, doushita n desu ka.

Just what exactly happened (to you)!!!?

as a Pronoun

can be used in place of a noun (indefinite pronoun) to mean "one" or "some."

Construction:

Use in place of noun

aoi no.

The blue one.

yasui no ga hoshii.

I want the cheap one.

(computer, car, book, anything)

How to...

Attach to the stem of verbs to change it into a noun to mean: Way or Manner of doing or how to

do...

Construction:

Take the ~ f orm of a verb minus the and then add .

kanji no yomi kata

How/Way to read (a) kanji

kanji no kaki kata


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How/Way to write (a) kanji

NOTE: Since it becomes a noun phrase, you should use as above.

Let's ask, "Please teach me how to use chopst icks correctly."

hashi no tadashii tsukai kata o oshiete kudasai.

Please teach me how to use chopsticks correctly

Please don't

Sometimes you have to t ell/ask people to not do something.

Construction:

Take the f orm of a verb and drop the

Add

ke-ki o tabe naide kudasai.

Please don't eat the cake.

sukaidaibingu o shinaide kudasai.

Please don't go skydiving.

Have Done

This is a very usef ul construction. Simply add it af ter a simple past f orm of a verb:

Construction:

Take the simple past f orm of a verb

Add

amerika ni itta koto ga arimasu ka?

Have you been to America?

nattou o tabeta koto ga arimasu.

(I) have eaten natto before.

I'll Have...

To decide to have...

Very of ten this phrase is used to say, "I'll have (some foo d or drink)." Next time you go to a Japanese

restaurant, give this a t ry.

nani ni shimasu ka?

What will you have?


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watashi wa tenpura ni shimasu

I'll have tempura.

Chapter 8

88. "about" - ~

89. "even if " -

90. "and, and, etc" -

91. "while" -

92. "may I...?" -

93. "not much" -

94. The power

95. Polite Japanese -

96. Polite II -

97. Giving/receiving -

98. Level/degree of something -

99. "just did..." -

100. "can" II -

About ~

To s ay 'about ' as in "about a week" or t o show an approximate degree of something, use ~

isshuu kan hodo

About a week

eki wa jukkiro hodo saki desu.

The train station is about 10 kilometers ahead.

kore wa go sen en hodo de kaemasu.

This can be bought for about 5000 yen.

Even if

Sometimes you need to sound poet ic. This const ruction f its perfectly into that mood.

Construction: VERBS +

Take the f orm of a verb

Add

tatoe sekai ga owattemo

Even if the world ends...
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/canhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/bakarihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/sahttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/giving_receivinghttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/polite2http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/keigohttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/souhttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/amarihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/may_ihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/nagarahttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/tarihttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/tatoehttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_eight/hodo


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tatoe shippai shitemo mata ganbarimashou..

Even if we fail, let's keep at it.

Make the negative form of the verb with :

tatoe nido to aenaku temo wasuremasen.

Even if we shall never meet again, I won't forget.

And and

Doing this; Doing that

Construction:

Take the form of a verb (simple past)

Add

tattari suwatari

Standing and sitting

doru ga agattari sagattari

The dollar is rising and falling.

kyou wa kaimono o shitari resutoran de tabetari shite takusan no okane o tsukatta.

Today I went shopping and

at at a restaurant, etc; I used a lot of money.

While

While doing this I also did this...

Construction:

Take the f orm of a verb and drop the (the stem)

Add

ongaku o kiki nagara benkyou o shimashita.

While studying, I listened to music.

hon o yomi nagara gohan o tabemasu.

While eating a meal, I read a book.

One useful set phrase is zan nen nagara and means, "That's too bad" or "I regreat (to say)"

or "Unfortunately"

May I?


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Asking permission and Being po lite go hand in hand. Here is how you do both in Japanese.

Construction:

Take the f orm of a verb

Add

denwa o tsukattemo ii desu ka?May I use the phone?

yasundemo ii desu ka?

May I take a break? (from work, from studying, etc)

chotto hanashitemo ii desu ka?

May I say something? (I'd like to speak a little)

Not much

Not much; not really--Followed by a negative verb

Construction:

Used in a negative sentence

nihongo ga amari jouzu ja nai

I'm not really good at Japanese.

amari yokunai

(That's) not really good.

odori wa amari umaku nai

I'm not really good dancing.

okane wa amari nai

I don't have much money.

The power ""

, for our purposes today, means, "That's right" or "That's so" (the latter being an easy way to

remember)

Construction:

This usef ul word is used in various idiomatic ways. It is best to learn each as an example by

heart.

sou desu

Yes, that is right.


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sou desu ka?

Is that so?; Really?; You don't say?

sou ieba

Now that you mention it; Speaking of that...

sou kangaeru to

Seen from that

light; Thinking like that; From that point of view

sou shitara

If you do it that way...; if done that way...

sou shinai to

If you don't do it that way...

And there are many more you will come across ! Listen to how is used in conversat ion.

Polite Japanese

There are three basic types of honorif ics f or verbs. It depends on your social rank as to which fo rm to

use.

A) Humble (kenjougo) - T his is when referring to oneself or one's f amily members and (usually)

speaking to someone higher up in social rank, pos ition or some other criteria for determining status.

However even some people with high pos itions may choose to use the humble f orm with those under

him/her.

B) ~masu - As mentioned above ~masu / desu is actually teineigo or polite language, but I'm using

the f amiliar ~masu f orm fo r an easy comparison to t he the kenjougo and sonkeigo forms.

C) Respectful (sonkeigo) - This is what you say to your boss or those higher up when speaking

to them. If you are speaking about yourself , you will use the humble f orm.

Humble(speaking to your bossabout yourself)

Normal(speaking to your friends)

Respectful(speaking to your bossabout your boss)

haiken shimasu

mimasuto see

goran ni narimasu

moushimasu

You know this f rom "name tomoushimasu"

iimasu

to say

osshaimasu

itadakimasu

tabemasu

to eat

meshi agarimasu


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mairimasu

This is the humble f orm fo rboth to come and go!

kimasu

to come

ikimasu

to go

irasshaimasu

This is the respectf ul f orm f orboth to come and go!

itashimasu

shimasu

to do

nasaimasu

For a more detailed explanation and many more examples see here.

Polite Part II

+ stem + This makes a 'normal' verb hono rif ic (exalted) [You are speaking to or about

someone with a higher status than you (your boss)]

shachou to hanashimashita ka?Company president - with - talk - ?Did you speak with the boss? (normal)

shachou to o hanashi ni narimashita ka?Did you speak with the boss? (polite)

nanika nomimasen ka?something - won't drink - questionWon't you drink something? (normal)

nanika o nomi ni narimasen ka?Won't you drink something? (polite)

+ stem + This also makes a 'normal' verb exalted; it is used when asking things -

'please give me'

utte kudasai.Please sell (me this). (normal)

o uri kudasai.Please sell (me this) (honorif ic)

tabete kudasai,Please eat. (normal)

o tabe kudasai.Please eat. (polite)

For a more detailed explanation and many more examples see here.

Giving and Receiving

These three verbs are easy to mix up, but they aren't too diff icult if you spend some time learning eachword's f unction. It is o f course more complex than this page allows, but t his should give you a f airly good

understanding.

The Word:
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/more_polite_languagehttp://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/more_polite_language


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When you, the speaker, give something to someone, use

kore o anata ni agemasu.

I will give you this.

NOTE: The receiver is the one with the particle (to you).

The Word:

This is also usually translated as 'give' but it is f rom the receiver's point of view.

tanaka san ga kore o watashi ni kuremashita.

Tanaka gave this to me.

NOTE:Again, the receiver is the one with the particle. (to me)

The Word:

is used f rom the perspective of the receiver.

watashi ga tomodachi kara ke-ki o moraimashita.

I received

a cake from a friend. (My, the receiver, point of view)

NOTE: If is used, the meaning should be pretty clear (

from a freind), but you can also use to show who is doing the action as in:

watashi ga tomodachi ni ke-ki o moraimashita.

I received a cake from a friend.

NOTE: The use ofwith can seem confusing consideringis used to mean the

receiver in the other two cases

Level / degree of something

Add to adjectives to express a degree or amount

Construction: -i adjectives:

Remove the trailing and add

zou san no takasa wa nan desu ka?

What is the height of an elephant

NOTE: The shows a degree; this can be a higher, lower, wider, thinner, etc amount. (we

could be asking the height of an ant)


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Construction: -na adjectives:

Just add the without the

kono kuruma no shizukasa wa odoroku beki desu.

This car's quietness is amazing.

NOTE: The finished product (adjective + ) becomes a noun phrase and is treated as a

noun grammatically.

Just Did...

Showing a completed act ion: just...

Construction:

Add af ter the simple past of a verb

tabeta bakari desu.

I just ate.

tateta bakari no ie.

A newly built house.

ima kita bakari desu.

I just arrived.

Can II

Can II

Potential f orm of Verbs.

Befo re start ing this lesson, you may want to review the groups of the verbs.

Construction: The ~u Group (group 1 verbs)

Verb Root + eru

kaku to write kak (verb root) kakeruable to write

kanji ga kakemasu ka?

Can you write kanji?

[NOTE: use with the potential form]

Construction: The ~ru Group (group 2 verbs)

Verb Root + rareru

taberu to eat tabe (verb root) taberareruable to eat
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/verb_groups


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pi-man ga taberaremasu ka?

Can you eat green peppers?

Construction: The irregular Group (group 3 verbs)

The two irregular verbs should be memorized:

pa-ti ni koraremasu ka?.

Can you come to the party?

NOTE: You can also easy do this with any Simple Past Verb + More...
http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_three/dekimasu_can

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