A Bit of the Language

Contents

• Introduction
• Vowel Pronunciation Guide
• Consonants
• Alphabets
• Japanese Onomatopoeias and Mimetic Words
• What the Animals Say
• Fractured English

Introduction

As the title suggests, this is not an in-depth look at all the complexities of the Japanese
language. I simply intend to provide a brief look at the language in order to introduce
some of the fun and quirks that budding students of Japanese can look forward to. (And
also so they'll have a little idea of what they're in for....)

Vowel Pronunciation Guide

Japanese vowels are easy. If you have taken Spanish, you'll quickly see that they're the
same. Unlike crazy English, vowels in Japanese are always pronounced the same, so
once you've got them down you'll be well on your way to correct-sounding Japanese.
(And then you can attack the consonants.)

Here are the five basic Japanese vowels, in Japanese alphabetical order:

• a - pronounced "ah"
• i - pronounced "ee"
• u - pronounced "oo"
• e - pronounced "eh"
• o - pronounced "oh"

Let's look at the word "house." In Japanese it's ie. Just say "ee-eh." Now a little faster.
Got it?

The next important thing you must remember about vowels is to elongate double
vowels, giving each one its own "time." Again, "house" in Japanese is ie. The word for
"no" is iie. It's not as hard as it looks. Said slowly, "house" is "ee-eh," and "no" is "ee-
ee-eh." Said at natural speed, the "ee" in iie should sound about twice as long as the
"ee" in ie.

While we're at it, let's look at two more that foreign speakers seem to have a tough time
with: obasan and obaasan. Obasan (aunt) is pronounced "oh-bah-san," and obaasan
(grandmother) is "oh-bah-ah-san." Just remember to give each vowel equal time and
you'll be all right.

Consonants

The consonants used in Japanese are k, g, s, z, t, d, n, h, f, b, p, m, y, r, and w; and

they are pronounced the same as you would in English, except for the following:

• r - this is like the Spanish r, so ri should sound like a lightly pronounced dee
• d - because r sounds like a light d, d has a more distinct d sound

Japanese consonants are not thought of as having their own sound, except for n. All of
the others always appear combined with a vowel, with the vowel coming after the
consonant, like ka, for example. This combination of one consonant and one vowel
makes only one "letter" in the Japanese alphabet, and to the Japanese mind represents
only one sound. This is a very important point to remember when studying Japanese.

There are also a few letters which have combined consonants like shi, chi, and tsu.
Again, each of these look like 3 letters to us, but they are each viewed as one in
Japanese.

As with vowels, consonants also have doubles. Doubled consonants are found in
compound words like ippun, which means "one minute." The difficulty in pronouncing
the double consonant is that there's nothing to pronounce; it's just the trick of "holding"
the pronunciation so that the "time value" of the double is recognized, just like with the
vowels. When pronouncing ippun, you should be giving equal time to the 4 syllables: i-
p-pu-n, with the second syllable being just a silent rest and preparation to pronounce
the third. This will be barely noticed during normal speech, but it is important. Doubles
not pronounced correctly will be noticed by native listeners. When said correctly, ippun
will be heard as "eep-poon," not "ee-poon."

Alphabets

| Hiragana | Katakana | Kanji | Romaji |

There are 4 alphabets used in Japan today: hiragana, katakana, kanji, and romaji. Here
they are in a nutshell:

Hiragana

Hiragana is the first system you want to learn, as they are phonetic symbols or
"pronunciation guides" for kanji, and have an extensive role in Japanese grammar.
Hiragana is the first alphabet that children learn, and, at any age, is the "default"
alphabet used when a particular kanji is unknown or forgotten.

Here are the basic 46 hiragana with their readings:

The nice thing about Japanese is that once you can read and say these, you can read
and say longer words, which are simply combinations of the individual letters. Let's try
some:

Easy, right? Now let's move on to the modified hiragana.

There are 4 groups of hiragana that are modified by two small quote-like marks added
just above and/or to the right of the letter. They are the ka, sa, ta, and ha groups. The
ha group alone has an additional mode of modification which is made by adding a small
degree-like circle. Here are the modified hiragana with their readings:

It will be noticed that two ji 's and two zu 's are created, but the ones in the sa group
are used most of the time. Accurate knowledge concerning differentiation and use of
these is not important until the student is well into the study of kanji.

Let's try these:

Next up are the combined hiragana, which are made by adding a small ya, yu, or yo to
letters in the second line, namely ki through ri, including the modified ones mentioned
above. For example, ki + ya = kya; chi + yu = chu; and so on. Here they all are:
The ri group is usually the hardest for foreign speakers to master, but that's because
they're still trying to pronounce the r like the English r. If you just pronounce them dya,
dyu, dyo, with just a light d, they'll sound fine.

Try these:

The last thing that needs to be mentioned about hiragana at this time is the small tsu,
which indicates double consonants. As one becomes familiar with kanji, this will become
easier to understand. Here are some good examples. Remember to hold the double as
mentioned in consonants.

This should be enough about hiragana for the time being. All the examples used here
are words that are usually written in kanji, but are shown in hiragana to show what they
look like and how they work together.

Hiragana also play an important role in Japanese grammar as subject and object
indicators, prepositions, and other particles.

You can learn or review hiragana using my Hiragana Driller.

Katakana

For every hiragana there is a corresponding katakana, which are more angular. Here
they are:
Katakana are used to write foreign words and names, and the names of some Japanese
companies. They are also often seen expressing the sounds of various noises in comic
books.

Most of the rules that apply to hiragana also apply to katakana. One exception is when a
vowel sound is elongated: katakana vowels are not doubled, but use a dash (—) to show
an extended vowel sound.

Here are a few that are often seen:

The worst thing about katakana is that they are sometimes used as a phonetic guide for
pronouncing English words. Tiny katakana can sometimes be seen running above or
below English sentences in textbooks — books that I would never recommend. While it is
true that katakana will give Japanese students of English an idea of how a word is
pronounced, those who rely on katakana to learn English form bad habits in
pronunciation that become very difficult to overcome in the future.

You can learn or review katakana using my Katakana Driller.

Kanji

Kanji are characters which were originally adopted from the Chinese. Though similarities
still exist, Japanese kanji have evolved and changed differently than their Chinese
counterparts, and now have forms and readings all their own. Kanji are used for the core
parts of a sentence: nouns and the root forms of verbs and adjectives. Hiragana are
used as the "cement" between the kanji to indicate their relationship to each other, and
to conjugate verbs.

You need to know around 2,200 kanji to read a Japanese newspaper. The study of kanji
can be fascinating, however, and the more you study them the more sense they make
(excepting the exceptions), making it easier to learn more.

This just barely scratches the surface, but here are a few of the easiest kanji of the 76
taught to first graders in elementary school:
Romaji

Romaji are simply the ABC's we all know and love, but the Japanese like to use them,
too. Large, international companies usually have logos and emblems with their names
written in the Roman letters. Internationally known organizations and other names and
titles like OPEC, FBI, NASA, AIDS, and VIP are left as-is.

Finally, there is a certain "fashion appeal" in using foreign words on products and
product packaging, and it is practically impossible to buy something here that doesn't
have some silly message written in English. It may be in poor English but
comprehensible, or it may have no clear meaning at all. It's for fashion only, I've been
told. English letters, words and phrases may be combined just as an artist doing an
abstract will combine colors together. In this way, romaji become an enemy to the
serious student of English in pretty much the same way as katakana do, as mentioned
above. The successful student will always keep "fashion English" and correct English
completely separate.1

Japanese Onomatopoeias and Mimetic Words

Students of Japanese often find the Japanese giseigo and gitaigo amusing and fun to
use. These words are made up of 2 Japanese syllables said twice in succession, for a
total of 4. The giseigo are onomatopoeias: words used to describe a sound. Gitaigo are
mimetic words which describe a certain feeling or condition.

Here are some that are often heard in everyday conversation, arranged in Japanese
alphabetical order. Remember to pronounce those vowels correctly!

This list is only a sample of the hundreds that are actually used. Some are dialectal
and will be heard only in specific regions. Some will have meanings which overlap with
others, with some being both giseigo and gitaigo. Also, some will have a dialectal usage
that has evolved from its original one. For example, according to the dictionary
bishobisho is used for "it drizzles," but people in the area where I live use it to describe
their clothes after they come in from the rain without an umbrella: "soaked to the skin."

Giseigo

karikari: crispy
garigari: crunchy
gyugyu: squeak; creak
guigui: gulp down
kusukusu: giggle; snicker
guzuguzu: complain; grumble
korokoro: rolling over and over
zakuzaku: walking on gravel or similar surface
jabujabu: splash and play in water
janjan: clang-clang; a jangling sound
dondon: beating (drums); heavy rainfall
batabata: flap; to bustle about
bishobisho: drizzle; soaked
pichapicha: water lapping against a shore or object
berabera: chatter; jabber
potsupotsu: (rain) falling in drops

Gitaigo

iraira: to be impatient
gyugyu: to squeeze; pack
guragura: loose, as in a loose tooth
gungun: steadily
sakusaku: a light crispness
sarasara: light; smooth; dry
zarazara: rough, like dry skin or sandpaper
sansan: to shine brilliantly
jimejime: damp; wet; moist
soyosoyo: gently; softly
sowasowa: to be restless
tsuntsun: to be stuck-up; stiff-mannered
dokidoki: nervousness; a fast heartbeat
nukunuku: warmly; snugly; comfortably
hakihaki: quick; smart; brisk
harahara: to be in suspense; thrilling
bishibishi: severely; rigorously
pichipichi: lively
pyonpyon: hop; skip along
hirahira: flutter
hirihiri: smart; tingle; burn
piripiri: to be on edge; testy
furafura: to feel dizzy or light-headed
fuwafuwa: light; soft
betabeta: to feel sticky
perapera: fluently
hokahoka: warm
botsubotsu: gradually
hodohodo: in moderation
mukamuka: to feel sick; be disgusted
meramera: go up in flames
meromero: to be terribly upset
wakuwaku: to be excited
 What the Animals Say

These are just some of the sounds that animals make, according to the Japanese. It is
interesting to note that there are some that do not exist in English, like the elephant's
paoon. (I verified this with the people at Webster's, just to make sure.) These are
written in romaji (Romanized Japanese), so please remember to pronounce them
correctly. For example, the horse's hi-hiin is pronounced "hee-heen," etc. If necessary,
go back and review vowel pronunciation.

cat - nyaao ; (purring) gorogoro

dog - wan-wan ; (growling) uuuu
mouse - chuu-chuu
horse - hi-hiin
cow - moo
sheep - mee-mee
pig - buu-buu
chicken - (clucking) kokkokko
rooster crowing - kokekokkoo
duck - gaa-gaa
sparrow - chun-chun
owl - hoo-hoo
fox - kon-kon
elephant - paoon
monkey - kyakkyaa

A real kick, right? These are great to memorize and bring out at boring parties.

Fractured English

When I first began working in Japan there was a strange word that I would hear several
times a day. It was pasokon, and it didn't sound like Japanese to me. That's because it
wasn't, and isn't; but in a way it is. It has to be, because it's not English, nor any other
language for that matter. In fact, it's only one of the thousands of wasei eigo words
(Japanized English) that are used all the time here, with more and more coming in every
year.

The paso in pasokon is the Japanese pronunciation of the first part of the word
"personal," and the kon is short for "computer." So when you hear pasokon in Japan you
know that someone is talking about personal computers. Yes, it would be much easier to
say "PC," but that's not used very often; pasokon or konpyuuta is preferred.

There are thousands and thousands of these, from simple ones like keeki (cake) to ones
a bit more complex like puranetariumu (planetarium). When the English is made up of
two words, the Japanese will usually be a compound made from the beginnings of both,
like rimokon (remote control), eakon (air conditioning), dejikame (digital camera), and
pasokon mention above. And there are oddballs like baito, which comes from arbeit, the
German for "work"; but in Japanese it means only a "part-time job."
Here are a few more:

sooseeji: sausage
suteeki: steak
orenji: orange
shatsu: shirt
masukomi: mass communication
fuakkusu: fax
marason: marathon
sofuto: software
hoteru: hotel
shinpojiumu: symposium
kurejitto kaado: credit card
chokoreeto: chocolate
rasshu awaa: rush hour
intaanetto: internet

Lesson 1
Introduction to Japanese Adjectives

Japanese adjectives come in two basic flavors: "true" and "quasi." In some circles they
are also known as "i adjectives" and "na adjectives" because those are the suffixes they
get when they're followed by a noun. Nevertheless, I prefer calling them "true" and
"quasi" and will do so throughout these lessons.

Some examples of true adjectives are:

 • ii: good
• yoi: good
• warui: bad
• takai: expensive; high; tall
• yasui: cheap
• hikui: low
• nagai: long
• mijikai: short
• katai: hard
• yawarakai: soft
• atsui: hot
• samui: cold (used for weather or room temperature)
• tsumetai: cold (used for tangible objects, food, drinks, and unfriendly feelings
between people: a cold look, a cold reply, etc.)
• hiroi: wide; spacious
• semai: narrow; cramped
• tsuyoi: strong (used for things which are powerful or sturdy, etc.)
• yowai: weak (used for the opposite of the above)
• kitsui: strong (usually used for "too strong," as in flavors, medicines, personalities,
etc.)
• abunai: dangerous
• akarui: bright
• kurai: dark
• karui: light
• omoi: heavy
• furui: old (not used with people or animals)
• hayai: fast; early
• osoi: slow; late
• omoshiroi: interesting

Many true adjectives end in shii:

• oishii: delicious
• muzukashii: difficult
• utsukushii: beautiful
• tanoshii: fun
• ureshii: happy
• kanashii: sad
• kurushii: hard; painful
• isogashii: busy (This is Japan's most popular adjective — you'll hear it used
several times an hour.)
• kibishii: strict; severe
• yakamashii: noisy
• mabushii: too bright; glaring
• sabishii: lonely; desolate
• hazukashii: ashamed; shy
• atarashii: new

The basic colors are often used as true adjectives:

 • akai: red
• aoi: blue
• kiiroi: yellow
• shiroi: white
• kuroi: black

And now let's look at some good quasi-adjectives:

• kantan na: easy, as in easy to do

• raku na: easy, as in an easy situation; comfortable
• kara na: empty
• kirei na: pretty; clean
• kechi na: stingy (not generous)
• binbou na: poor; destitute
• hinpan na: frequent
• benri na: convenient
• fuben na: inconvenient
• busaiku na: clumsy; awkward
• tanki na: impatient; quick-tempered
• ganko na: stubborn
• byouki na: sick
• genki na: healthy; to be feeling well
• shizen na: natural, proper
• yutaka na: full; abundant
• anzen na: safe
• kanzen na: perfect

As you can see, there are quasis that end in i when the na is omitted, which is why I
avoid calling them "i adjectives" and "na adjectives." It could be too confusing at first.

There are even a few adjectives that can be used as true or quasi, like:

• ookii / oki na: big

• chiisai / chiisa na: small

Many quasi-adjectives are made by adding teki na to a noun:

• kokusaiteki na: international

• kagakuteki na: scientific
• rekishiteki na: historical
• ippanteki na: general
• rakkanteki na: optimistic

It's time for some examples. From a grammatical angle, adjective use in Japanese is
very similar to English. With both true and quasi you include the final i or na when
placing them before a noun. Here are some with true adjectives:

• Sore wa ii hon desu. (That's a good book.)

• Douzo, tsumetai gyuunyuu o nonde kudasai. (Please, have some cold milk.)
 • Omoi hako desu ne. (This is a heavy box, isn't it. [with dropping intonation])

And here are some examples using quasi-adjectives:

• Sore wa kirei na inu desu. (That's a pretty dog.)

• Kare wa ganko na hito desu. (He's a stubborn person.)
• Ichiban kantan na houhou o oshiete ageru. (I'll show you the easiest way to do
it.)

Now, when a true adjective comes after the noun it modifies it usually does not change:

• Sono hon wa ii desu yo. (That book is good.)

• Kono gyuunyuu wa tsumetai desu ka. (Is this milk cold?)
• Kono hako wa omoi desu ne. (This box is heavy, isn't it. [with dropping
intonation])

But, when a quasi-adjective comes after its noun, leave off the na:

• Sono inu wa kirei desu ne. (That dog is pretty, isn't it. [with dropping intonation])
• Kare wa ganko! (He's stubborn!)
• Kore wa kantan. (This is easy.)

Now it's time to introduce the quirks. First, there are some strange quasi- (quasi-quasi?)
adjectives that, according to the dictionaries and grammar books, use the multi-purpose
no particle instead of na:

• tokubetsu no: special

• tokutei no: specific
• fumei no: unclear; vague

However, I have heard native speakers use na with these. When I ask about the
discrepancy, I am told that na is normal. So, while it's true that the books say no, and
official documents use no, in everyday "unofficial" life it is perfectly acceptable — even
preferred — to use na, so don't concern yourself with it until you have to be official.

There are, however, colors which use no and never na after them when modifying a
noun:

• midori no kasa: a green umbrella

• murasaki no hana: a purple flower
• nezumiiro no boushi: a gray hat

It's only natural to think that adjectives which exist in English should exist in Japanese.
Sure, most do, but many don't. In these, the "adjectival idea" is conveyed through
verbs. Some examples of these are:

• o-naka (ga) suita: hungry

• nodo (ga) kawaita: thirsty
Naka literally means "middle," and suku means "to be empty," so you're saying "my
middle is empty" when you put these together. Nodo is "throat," and kawaku means "to
be dry," so these together equal "I'm thirsty." Here, the ta form of the verb is used for
the present, which will be a bit confusing to beginners because this form is normally
used for the plain past. Just do what I do: think of this as "a verb in an adjective's role,"
and, as such, the rules slightly change.

Using hungry, let's take a look at the different popular tenses. Note the verb changes:

• O-naka (ga) suku deshou. (We'll probably get hungry.) (Base 3 for infinitives and
the future tense)
• O-naka (ga) suita deshou? (You're hungry, right?) (Ta Form for the present)
• O-naka (ga) suite inai. (I'm not hungry.) (Te Form + inai / imasen for the
present negative)
• O-naka (ga) suite ita. (I was hungry.) (Te Form + ita for the past)
• O-naka (ga) suite inakatta. (I wasn't hungry.) (Te Form + inakatta / imasen
deshita for the negative past)

The ga is optional, and is usually omitted in familiar situations.

Note also how naka gets the honorable o- prefix and nodo doesn't. I guess our throats
aren't as honorable as our stomachs. The next time you're at a party with native
speakers and run out of topics to discuss, ask about this. It will keep them hemming and
hawing for a while.

Here are two more that are often used:

• yaseru: to lose weight; become thin

• futoru: to gain weight; become fat

There are true adjectives for "fat" and "thin" (futoi and hosoi), but they, like their
English counterparts, have to be used carefully because they can be offensive. When
commenting about others, use the verbs:

• Sukoshi futotta mitai. (Looks like you've put on a little weight.)

• Yasemashita ka. (Have you lost weight?)

There are a couple of strange, colloquial "-tai adjectives" that I should mention: nemutai
and omotai. Actually, they are:

• nemui: sleepy
• omoi: heavy

However, nemutai and omotai are used often in daily conversation. As far as I know,
these are the only adjectives that can do this. By the way, this -tai ending on these two
adjectives has nothing to do with the "want to do" -tai ending used on Base 2 verbs.
"Want to sleep" is netai.
Finally, when used as simple exclamations, native speakers will often leave the final i off
of some adjectives:

• Samu! (It's cold!)

• Atsu! (It's hot!)
• Uma! (It's delicious!)
• Mazu! (It's nasty!)
• Ita! (Ouch!)

Lesson 2
Plain Positive and Plain Negative

As in English, using Japanese adjectives in plain positive statements is simple — just say
the adjective. Here are some true adjectives:

• Oishii. (It's good. [delicious])

• Atsui. (It's hot.)
• Muzukashii. (It's difficult.)

And here are some quasi-adjectives:

• Benri. (It's convenient.)

• Raku. (It's comfortable.)
• Kantan. (It's easy.)

Now let's make all these negative. Like the verbs, adjectives use nai to do this. True
adjectives drop their final i and add ku before adding nai:

• Oishiku nai. (It's not good. [not delicious])

• Atsuku nai. (It's not hot.)
• Muzukashiku nai. (It's not difficult.)

Note: The exception is ii (good). It is always used as it is and never conjugated.

Quasis add de and then nai:

• Benri de nai. (It's not convenient.)

• Raku de nai. (It's not comfortable.)
• Kantan de nai. (It's not easy.)

Note: Although de is standard after quasis in negative constructions, dewa or ja can be

used instead. Use ja only in familiar settings.

Now let's look at some endings and combinations which can be added to plain
adjectives. (There are others, but these are the most used in my opinion.) If you've
already been through my Japanese Verbs, these should look familiar.

Group A
 • deshou?: ..., right? (request for agreement)
• deshou: it probably is
• ka dou ka: whether or not it is
• kamo shirenai / shiremasen: it may be
• nara: if it is
• rashii: it seems to be; I hear it is

Group B

• hazu: it is supposed to be
• hou ga ii: it would be better if it were
• no: one(s) (used in place of nouns when they are known)
• node: because it is
• noni: in spite of the fact that it is

Group C

• kara: because it is
• keredomo / kedo: although it is
• to omou: I / We think it is

You may want to call the above three groups "quasi handling groups" because they only
apply to quasi-adjectives. We'll get to those a little later.

First, some positive examples. Any add-on from any group above can be added after a
true adjective without changing it:

• Oishii, deshou? (It's good, isn't it?)

• Muzukashii rashii. (I hear it's difficult.)
• Shiroi hazu. (It's supposed to be white.)
• Yoi ka dou ka wakaranai. (I don't know if it's good or not.)
• Mari no kaban wa ookii to omou. Chiisai no wa Keiko no. (I think Mari's bag is
big. The small one is Keiko's.)
• Yasui kara katta. (I bought it because it was cheap.)

With quasis, it gets a bit trickier. Those in Group A are added without any particle:

• Kara deshou. (It's probably empty.)

• Benri kamo shirenai. (It might be convenient.)
• Byouki nara byouin ni ikinasai. (If you're sick, go to the hospital.)

Note: In Japan you don't "go see a doctor," you "go to the hospital."

Those in Group B are added after first adding na:

• Motto kantan na hazu. (It's supposed to be easier.)

• Ryokou wa raku na hou ga ii. (A relaxing trip is best.)
• Carl wa byouki na noni gakkou ni kita. (Carl came to school even though he's
sick.)
And add da before adding those in Group C:

• Kirei da kara, kanojo wa ninkimono desu. (She's popular because she's pretty.)
• Ron wa ganko da kedo, seikaku ga ii. (Ron's stubborn, but he has a good
personality.)
• Kono mondai wa kantan da to omou. (I think this problem is easy.)

Da is actually the plain form of desu, which could be used with kara or kedo (keredomo)
instead of da to make it more polite. For more about desu, please see Lesson 7 of my
Japanese Verbs.

Now let's do some negative ones. First some with true adjectives:

• Oishikunai deshou? (It's not very good, is it. [with dropping intonation])
• Shirokunai hou ga ii deshou. (It would probably be best if it weren't white.)
• Muzukashikunai rashii. (I hear it's not difficult.)
• Mari no kaban wa ookikunai to omou. (I don't think Mari's bag is big.)
• Yasukunai kamo shirenai. (It might not be cheap.)

And here are some with quasi-adjectives:

• Kara de nai deshou. (It's probably not empty.)

• Benri de nai kamo shirenai. (It might not be convenient.)
• Kantan de nai hazu. (It's not supposed to be easy.)
• Bob wa byouki de nai noni gakkou ni konakatta. (Bob didn't come to school even
though he's not sick.)
• Joe wa ganko de nai kedo, seikaku ga muzukashii. (Joe's not stubborn, but he
has a difficult personality.)

There are two more handy negative add-ons that I'd like to introduce here. They are:

• nakereba naranai: it must be (literally, "if it's not..., it won't do")

• nakutemo ii: it doesn't need to be (literally, "even if it's not..., it's good")

Here they are with a true adjective:

• Ookiku nakereba naranai. (It has to be big.)

• Ookiku nakutemo ii. (It doesn't have to be big.)

And with a quasi:

• Kantan de nakereba naranai. (It has to be simple.)

• Kantan de nakutemo ii. (It doesn't have to be simple.)

Note: In written Japanese there are no spaces between "words." In my lessons I usually
use what is most common for romanized Japanese, but may add spaces for clarification
in long constructions. This is why there will sometimes be inconsistencies.
 Lesson 3
Colors

Because colors are usually used as adjectives, and because Japanese colors have their
own strange set of rules, I thought I'd make a separate lesson out of them.

Here are ten popular colors as they are used when not preceding a noun, which is most
of the time:

• aka: red
• ao: blue
• kiiro: yellow
• midori: green
• murasaki: purple
• daidaiiro: orange
• chairo: brown
• shiro: white
• kuro: black
• nezumiiro: gray

Please keep in mind that iro means "color," and that four of the above are made by
adding iro to a noun:

• kiiro: yellow (ki [sulfur] + iro [color])

• daidaiiro: orange (daidai [a kind of orange] + iro [color])
• chairo: brown (cha [tea] + iro [color])
• nezumiiro: gray (nezumi [mouse] + iro [color])

While it is possible to leave off the iro in some instances, this is how these colors are
used most of the time. It is also possible to add iro to the others which usually don't use
it: midori iro (green, greenish); shiro iro (white, whitish); etc.

Here are a few examples where the color comes after the noun it modifies:

• Rick no kuruma wa aka. (Rick's car is red.)

• Watashi no inu wa shiro to chairo. (My dog's white and brown.)
• Kondo jitensha o kattara ao ga ii. (The next time I buy a bicycle I want a blue
one.)

Again, most of the time the color of something is mentioned in Japanese, it's after the
subject or object in question, like in the above examples. When you want to put a color
directly before the object, add i to aka, ao, shiro and kuro; add no — not na — to
midori, murasaki, daidaiiro and nezumiiro; and you can add either i or no to kiiro and
chairo:

• Kanojo no utsukushii kuroi kami o mite. (Look at her beautiful black hair.)
• Watashi wa shiroi kutsu o kaitai. (I want to buy some white shoes.)
• Junko wa kiiroi kasa o motte iru. (Junko's holding a yellow umbrella.)
 • Kono akai jisho wa dare no? (Whose red dictionary is this?)
• Kono murasaki no fuusen wa mise de moratta. (I got this purple balloon at the
store.)
• Bob wa ooki na nezumiiro no tsukue o katta. (Bob bought a big gray desk.)

Colors with i added become and behave the same as true adjectives; those with no
behave like quasis.

There's a handy prefix that works especially well with three colors. It's ma, and it means
"true." Note how the pronunciation changes with ma added:

• makka: bright red

• masshiro: pure white
• makkuro: jet black

These are usually handled as regular quasi-adjectives, and use na before the noun they
modify:

• Ano makka na hana ga kirei desu ne. (That bright red flower is pretty, isn't it?)

And here's a useful suffix: -ppoi. It works like "-ish" in English, and comes in handy
when you don't know what to call a color. All colors become true adjectives with it
attached:

• Kanojo wa midorippoi boushi o kabutta. (She wore a greenish hat.)

• Sono kiiroppoi sushi wa mazui. (That yellowish sushi is nasty.)

By the way, you will find that the names for colors in Japanese, especially the primary
ones, have a more abstract role than their English counterparts. Aka can mean anything
from dark orange to copper or reddish purple; ao from green to bluish purple; and kiiro
from light orange to pale yellow. In Japan, you stop when the light's aka, and go when
it's ao.

Lesson 4
Adjectives suki, kirai, hoshii, jouzu and heta

These five adjectives play by their own set of rules. Since they are used regularly, I
think it would be good to get used to their weird ways as soon as possible.

Suki means "to like" and kirai means "to dislike." Yes, that's right — just as there are
ideas conveyed through verbs in Japanese where adjectives would be used in English, as
mentioned in Lesson 1, the reverse is also true. If you'll check your dictionary, you'll see
that both of these exist in verb form: suku and kirau; but the chances are very slim
that you'll ever hear them used that way. You will, however, hear them used in passive
constructions, like:
 • Kazuko wa doko ni itte mo sukareru. (Kazuko is liked wherever she goes.)
• Nattou wa takusan no hito kara kirawarete iru. (Nattou [fermented soybeans] is
disliked by many people.)

For regular, straightforward talk about what you and others like and don't like, use suki
and kirai in quasi-adjective form:

• Nihon no aki ga suki. (I like autumn in Japan.)

• Nihon no natsu wa mushiatsui kara suki dewa nai . (I don't like summers in Japan
because they're hot and humid.)
• Mina gokiburi ga kirai. (Everyone hates cockroaches.)

Note that ga is used to link suki or kirai to their object when there is no other
necessary element between them.

You can put dai (a lot; very much) before suki or kirai to emphasize them:

• Linda wa ichigo ga dai suki. (Linda loves strawberries.)

• Beth wa kumo ga dai kirai. (Beth really hates spiders.)

When you put the object in question after suki or kirai, use the quasi indicator na:

• Sore wa boku no suki na ongaku. (That's the music that I like.)

• Tanaka-san wa boku no kirai na tabemono bakari tsukuru. (All the food Mrs.
Tanaka makes is the stuff I don't like.)

Interestingly, and mainly colloquially, these can also be used to modify the indirect
object:

• Yasai no suki na kodomo ga sukunai. (There are few kids that like vegetables.)
• Sashimi ga kirai na hito ga takusan imasu. (There are many people that don't like
raw fish.)

While hoshii is a true adjective, it's used to represent the English verb "want." It also
uses ga when following its object, but remains alone when preceding it:

• Fuusen ga hoshii! (I want a balloon!)

• Watashi no hoshii iro ga nai. (They don't have the color I want.)
• Akai fuusen no hoshii kodomo ga ooi. (There are many kids who want a red
balloon.)

Although hoshii isn't necessarily a kid's word, outside of familiar circles it could make
you sound like one when expressing your own desires, so you'll want to be careful with
it.

I should mention here that hoshii can be used with verbs in the Te Form to imply "want
(someone) to...," just like -te moraitai. It's not used on yourself. It's used like this:
 • Boku wa ima kono heya o souji shitai. Soshite kimi ni tetsudatte hoshii. (I want to
clean this room now, and I want you to help.)
• Motto eigo o benkyou shite hoshii. (I want you to study English more.)
• Kore o yonde hoshii. (I want you to read this.)

This is very plain and familiar, however. Be sure to upgrade to something like -te
kudasai or -te itadakitai when necessary. (See Japanese Verbs Lessons 55 and 61.)

Like suki and kirai, jouzu and heta are quasi-adjective opposites that fill the role of
ideas usually expressed by verbs in English. They also use ga before or na after in the
same manner. Jouzu means "to be good at; well done," and heta means the exact
opposite:

• Kanojo wa ryouri ga jouzu desu ne. (She's a good cook, isn't she. [with falling
intonation])
• Sore wa jouzu na e. (That's a nicely done painting.)
• Watashi wa piano ga hontou ni heta desu. (I'm really bad at playing the piano.)
• Heta na uta! (What a poorly done song!)
• Karaoke ga jouzu na hito ga sukunai. (There aren't many people who are good at
karaoke.)

There are a few expressions with jouzu where the ga is often omitted:

• Kare wa eigo jouzu. (He speaks English well.)

• Sachi wa ryouri jouzu deshou? (Sachi's a great cook, isn't she?)

Lesson 5
Adverbial Forms

Making adverbs from adjectives is quite easy. With true adjectives, just replace the final
i with ku before adding the verb. With quasis, just add ni :

• Ojii-san wa itsumo osoku taberu. (Grampa always eats slowly.)

• Hayaku shinasai! (Do it quickly!)
• Kazuya wa e o jouzu ni kakeru. (Kazuya can draw pictures well.)
• Kono shigoto wa kantan ni dekiru yo. (You'll be able to do this job easily.)

The verb naru (to become) is often used with adverbs:

• Shinpai shinaide! Dandan jouzu ni naru yo. (Don't worry! You'll gradually become
better at it.)
• Mai toshi boku no shigoto wa muzukashiku narimasu. (My job gets more
difficult every year.)
• Lisa wa kaigai kara kaeru to, itsumo byouki ni naru. (Lisa always gets sick after
returning from overseas.)

Use suru with descriptive adverbs for "to make":

 • Ookiku shite kureru? (Would you make it bigger?)
• Atatakaku shite agemashou. (I'll make it warmer for you.)
• Watashitachi wa anzen ni shinakereba naranai. (We must make it safe.)

Lesson 6
Conditional Forms

To make positive conditionals, replace the final i with kereba in true adjectives, and add
nara to quasis:

• Yasukereba kaimashou. (If it's inexpensive, let's buy it.)

• Soto wa atsukereba detakunai. (I don't want to go out if it's hot outside.)
• Inu wa byouki nara, juui ni tsurete ikou. (If the dog's sick, let's take him to the
vet.)

Note: Naraba can also be used after quasi-adjectives, but nara is more common.

For negative conditionals, use ku nakereba (the negative-forming ku nai + kereba)

with true adjectives, and de nakereba (the negative-forming de nai + kereba) with
quasis:

• Ashita wa samuku nakereba ikimashou. (If it's not cold tomorrow, let's go.)
• Kono pasokon ga hoshiku nakereba, betsu no mise ni ikimashou. (If you don't
want this computer, let's go to another store.)
• Mise no basho wa benri de nakereba, kyaku ga sukunai deshou. (If the store
isn't in a convenient location, it probably won't get many customers.)

Please see Lesson 2 for more about negative structures.

LESSON 7??????????????MISSING

Lesson 8
Plain Past

Use katta and datta to make adjectives plain and past. Datta is the universal plain
form of deshita, and can be used at the end of many sentences to make them plain and
past. Katta is for true adjectives only, however, and is added after removing the final i.

Here are a few true adjective examples:

• Kyou wa atsukatta! (It was hot today!)

• Suugaku no shiken wa totemo muzukashikatta. (The math test was very
difficult.)
• Kinou no ryokou wa tanoshikatta. (Yesterday's trip was fun.)
And here are some quasi examples:

• Kinou byouki datta. (I was sick yesterday.)

• Juu nen mae ni John wa binbou datta. (Ten years ago John was poor.)
• Rekishi no shukudai wa kantan datta. (The history homework was easy.)

Now, having done this, you can further conjugate using the endings and combinations
applicable to other plain forms, like those in Lesson 2:

• Samukatta deshou? (It was cold, wasn't it?)

• Chiisakatta hazu. (It was supposed to be small.)
• Kare wa totemo ganko datta rashii. (It seems he was very stubborn.)

If you are ending a sentence with an adjective and want to make it past and polite, just
add desu after katta in true adjectives, and use deshita instead of datta with quasis:

• Kaigi wa nagakatta desu. (The meeting was long.)

• Shokuji wa kanzen deshita. (The meal was perfect.)

Note: The adjective ii (good) is not conjugated into the past tense. Use yokatta to say
that something "was good."

Finally, in case you need the plain past negative, just change the nai covered in Lesson
2 to nakatta :

• Kinou wa atsuku nakatta. (It wasn't hot yesterday.)

• Sore wa kantan dewa nakatta. Totemo muzukashikatta! (That wasn't easy. It was
very difficult!)

To upgrade these to polite, use arimasen deshita instead of nakatta.

Lesson 9
Adjectives with sou and sugiru

This lesson should clarify sou (I hear that [something] is [adjective]) and sou
([something] looks/sounds/seems [adjective]).

Here's how they work: Sou (I hear that [something] is [adjective]) is basically used to
report hearsay or the reports of others without the involvement of your personal senses
or opinion. It is added after both true and quasi-adjectives with no change to the
adjective itself:

• Ano daigaku no nyuugaku shiken wa muzukashii sou desu. (I hear that that
university's entrance exam is difficult.)
• Sono hon wa takai sou desu. (I hear that book's expensive.)
 • Ano atarashii mise no basho wa fuben sou desu. (I hear that the new store is in
an inconvenient location.)

The other sou ([something] looks/sounds/seems [adjective]) is used to express your

own impression of something based on hearsay, seeing a picture, etc. This one takes the
place of the final i in true adjectives, and is added after quasis, just like the other sou:

• Oishisou! (Sounds delicious!)

• Sono jitensha wa takasou. (That bicycle looks expensive.)
• Kare wa ganko sou na ojii-san desu ne. (He seems like a hard-headed old man,
doesn't he?)

Thanks to various unwritten rules, these two sous are fairly easy to keep straight. In the
first sou outlined above, sou is said without stress, in a matter-of-fact kind of way.
Also, I've noticed that native speakers will usually add desu or da after it. (That's why I
added desu in the examples.) The second sou is stressed and drawn out, and said with
at least a little excitement if it's describing something good. It doesn't need desu or da,
and is often used as a simple exclamation:

• Tanoshisou! (Sounds fun!)

• Samusou! (Looks cold! [as one might say while watching a program about
Alaska])
• Mazusou! (Sounds nasty! [not good to eat])
• Kantan sou! (Looks easy!)
• Raku sou! (Looks comfortable!)

Note: The adjective yoi is an exception with this sou. You need to add sa first: yosasou
(sounds good). This, by the way, is how you add sou to the negative nai as well, for
example: yoi (good) + nai = yokunai (not good) + sou = yokunasasou (doesn't sound
good).

Sugiru means "too (much of something)," and is also used a lot. It works like the
second sou above, meaning it replaces the final i of true adjectives:

• Kono o-cha wa atsusugiru! (This tea is too hot!)

• Ano hako wa omosugiru! (That box is too heavy!)
• Kyou no shiken wa muzukashisugita. (Today's test was too difficult.)
• Kore wa kantan sugiru! (This is too easy!)
• Kanojo wa kechi sugiru kara, tomodachi ga inai. (She doesn't have any friends
because she's too stingy.)

Lesson 10
Adjective Modifiers

In this last lesson we will look at the bits and pieces needed to adjust the meaning of
adjectives so they convey exactly what we want. Everything here applies to both true
and quasi-adjectives.
Comparatives

In sentences where an adjective is used to compare two things, use yori after the object
which is used for comparison. Note how the compared object (underlined) sits between
the subject and adjective of the main idea:

• Ken no inu wa Shizuka no inu yori ookii. (Ken's dog is bigger than Shizuka's dog.)
• Kyou no shiken wa kinou no yori kantan datta. (Today's exam was easier than
yesterday's.)

...but how it comes before other objects which are not a part of the subject:

• Watashi wa yakisoba yori yakimeshi ga suki. (I like fried rice more than fried
noodles.)

Alternately, yori can be placed after the subject in structures that follow other finalized
statements:

• Shizuka no inu wa ookii desu ga, Ken no inu wa yori ookii. (Shizuka's dog is big,
but Ken's dog is bigger.)
• Kyou wa atsukatta kedo, ashita wa yori atsukunaru sou desu. (Today was hot, but
they say it's going to be hotter tomorrow.)

Note: Mo is sometimes added to yori — yorimo. It's completely optional and does not
change the meaning of the sentence.

Another popular way to compare things is to use motto, which is roughly the equivalent
of "more" in English. It is placed directly before the adjective it modifies, and could be
used to replace yori in the last set of examples above:

• Shizuka no inu wa ookii desu ga, Ken no inu wa motto ookii. (Shizuka's dog is big,
but Ken's dog is bigger.)
• Kyou wa atsukatta kedo, ashita wa motto atsukunaru sou desu. (Today was hot,
but they say it's going to be hotter tomorrow.)

Superlatives

Mottomo or the well-known ichiban (number one) can be placed before adjectives to
make them superlative. Ichiban without an adjective can be used to simply mean "the
best":

• Kore wa kono mise no mottomo yasui pasokon desu. (This is the cheapest
computer in this store.)
• Sore wa boku no ichiban suki na hon desu. (That's my favorite book.)
• Nakajima-san no ramen wa ichiban! (The ramen Ms. Nakajima makes is the
best!)

Negative Comparatives and Superlatives

Negative comparatives and superlatives are not used that much in Japanese. In fact,
there is no equivalent to the least. To convey something in a negative superlative way,
just use an adjective with that meaning, or make the adjective negative, as in:

• Kore wa mottomo warui. (This is the worst.)

• Kore wa ichiban oishikunai. (This is the least delicious.)

For negative comparatives where "less" is implied, you can put hodo, which means "to
the extent of," after the object of comparison. You must also make the adjective
negative. Let's do this to the first two examples used in the Comparatives section
above. Note how the subject and compared object change places in order to convey the
same meaning:

• Shizuka no inu wa Ken no inu hodo ookikunai. (Shizuka's dog isn't as big as Ken's
dog.)
• Kinou no shiken wa kyou no hodo kantan dewa nakatta. (Yesterday's exam wasn't
as easy as today's.)

Two More

There are two other handy modifiers I'll mention here because they're used a lot: toku
ni and amari. Toku ni means "especially" and amari means about the opposite of that.
Here's how they're used:

• Kyou wa toku ni isogashikatta. (Today was especially busy.)

• Ano eiga wa amari omoshirokunai. (That movie is not really that interesting.)
• Kenji no seiseki wa toku ni warui. (Kenji's grades are particularly bad.)
• Kyou wa amari atsukunai ne. (Today's not that hot, is it. [with dropping
intonation])

Japanese Verbs

Introduction

For several years I have been writing tutorials on the Japanese language for relatives
and students of the language, and wish to convey my thanks to all those who have given
me their compliments and support in making this online version possible. I sincerely
hope that this is, and will continue to be, a clear, concise, and convenient resource for
those learning or reviewing Japanese, especially the more commonly used verb
conjugations with their various add-ons and combinations. Each lesson will be kept
short, with a gradual and natural introduction of new words and phrases.

Please have an English-Japanese/Japanese-English dictionary and notebook handy as

you study. As new words are introduced, use your dictionary to learn or check their
meanings, and make a word list in your notebook to add new vocabulary to. Write down
the root word as well as any conjugated forms. It's a proven fact that the process of
looking up and writing vocabulary will help the learning process, along with regular
reviewing. A Word Check section will be added to the bottom of some lessons to aid
the reviewing process.

Please see A Bit of the Language for pronunciation guides and other relevant
information.

Questions and comments are welcome, and may be sent to me by e-mail.

Please note: In order to avoid getting too technical at an early stage of learning, only
the most general translations and explanations of words and verb forms are given.
There will always be exceptions and more to learn. Also, romaji (romanized Japanese
words) used herein are written in their true, romanized form: elongated vowels are
shown as such, etc.

Table of Contents

| Base 1 | Base 2 | Base 3 | Bases 4 & 5 | Te Form | Ta Form | Notes |

1. The Plain Form

2. Yodan Verbs with Base 2 + masu

3. Ichidan Verbs with Base 2 + masu

4. Base 2 + masen

5. Base 2 + mashita

6. Base 2 + masen deshita

7. desu, iru and aru

8. Base 2 + tai

9. Base 2 + mashou

10. Base 2 + nasai

11. Irregular Verbs kuru and suru

12. Forming Questions with ka

13. Base 2 + ni iku / ni kuru

14. Base 2 + nikui / yasui

15. Base 2 + sugiru

16. Base 2 + nagara

17. Base 1 + nai — The Plain Negative Form

18. Base 1 + nai deshou

19. Base 1 + nakatta

20. Base 1 + nakereba

21. Base 1 + nakereba narimasen

22. Base 1 + seru / saseru

23. Base 1 + zu ni

24. Base 3 + deshou

25. Base 3 + hazu

26. Base 3 + hou ga ii

27. Base 3 + ka dou ka

28. Base 3 + kamo shiremasen

29. Base 3 + kara

30. Base 3 + keredomo

31. Base 3 + koto ga dekimasu

32. Base 3 + koto ni shimasu

33. Base 3 + made

34. Base 3 + na

35. Base 3 + nara

36. Base 3 + (any noun)

37. Base 3 + no desu

38. Base 3 + no ni

39. Base 3 + no wa
40. Base 3 + node

41. Base 3 + noni

42. Base 3 + sou desu

43. Base 3 + tame ni

44. Base 3 + to

45. Base 3 + to omoimasu

46. Base 3 + tsumori

47. Base 3 + you desu

48. Base 4 + ba

49. Base 4 + ba ii

50. Base 4 by itself: the Plain Imperative

51. Base 4 + ru

52. Base 4 + nai

53. Base 4 + reba

54. Base 5

55. Te Form + kudasai

56. Te Form + ageru

57. Te Form + goran / goran nasai

58. Te Form + iru

59. Te Form + inai

60. Te Form + ita

61. Te Form + itadaku / morau

62. Te Form + kara

63. Te Form + kureru

64. Te Form + kuru / iku

65. Te Form + miru

66. Te Form + mo ii

67. Te Form + oku

68. Te Form + shimau

69. Te Form + wa ikaga / dou desu ka

70. Te Form + wa ikemasen

71. Te Form for Continuing Statements

72. Ta Form: The Plain Past

73. Ta Form + Combinations Shared With Base 3

74. Ta Form + bakari

75. Ta Form + koto ga aru

76. Ta Form + ra

77. Ta Form + rashii

78. Ta Form + ri

79. Ta Form + to shitara

80. Ta Form + to shite mo

81. Ta Form + toki

82. Ta Form + tokoro

Japanese Verbs Supplement

Please
note: This page is intended for intermediate to advanced students of Japanese who are
already comfortable with the material presented in my Japanese Verbs.

Contents

Base 2 - Continuing Statements

Base 2 - Compound Verbs as Verbs
Base 2 - Compound Verbs as Nouns
Base 2 - Very Polite Form with the o Prefix
Very Polite Form with the go Prefix
Base 1 - Very Polite Form with reru / rareru
Base 2 - Unspecified Things Using mono
Cancelling Actions with yameru
The Many Faces of you ni / na
Expressing Characteristics with suru
Bases 3 & 4 - Expressing Results for Continued Actions with Base 4 + ba and Base 3 +
hodo
Te Form - Expressing No Results for Continued Actions
Base 2 - Wanting to Do Things with tai

Base 2 - Continuing Statements

Base 2 can be used to end phrases or clauses within a sentence as long as something
follows. Base 2 is not used to end a sentence:

• Shizu ni denwa shi, heya o katazuke, kaimono ni iku. (I'm going to call Shizu,
straighten up the room, and go shopping.)

The Te Form can also be used to do this:

• Shizu ni denwa shite, heya o katazukete, kaimono ni iku. (I'm going to call Shizu,
straighten up the room, and go shopping.)

Please see Lesson 71 of my Japanese Verbs for more.

Base 2 - Compound Verbs as Verbs

Verbs in Base 2 can be followed by other verbs in order to create compound verbs.
Some of these are relatively easy to grasp and can be used quite freely, like Base 2 +
hajimeru (to begin) or owaru (to finish):

• Kumi wa juu ka getsu ni natta toki arukihajimeta. (Kumi began walking when she
turned 10 months old.)

• Tabeowattara hachiji datta. (When I finished eating it was 8:00.)

Base 2 + sugiru (overdo):

• Nomisuginaide ne. (Don't drink too much, okay?)

• Kristi wa itsumo shaberisugi. (Kristi always talks too much.)

(Sugiru is often cut to sugi. This is an exception and cannot be done indiscriminately
with other verbs.)

Base 2 + naosu (repair; redo):

 • Kore yomenai kara, kakinaoshite kureru? (I can't read this, so would you write it
again?)

• Yarinaoshi. (Do it over.)

(Yarinaoshi is a "set" mild command, often used by teachers to students or bosses to

subordinates.)

Base 2 + naosu means to do something over again because the first time was sloppy
or unsatisfactory, and should not be used to ask for a repeat of something done well. In
that case, use something like Mou ichido (verb in the te form) kudasai.

Base 2 + tsuzukeru (continue):

• Yomitsuzukete kudasai. (Please continue reading.)

• Kazu wa juuji made hatarakitsuzuketa. (Kazu continued working until 10:00.)

And there are those that are more specialized. I cannot make an exhaustive study of
them here, but will list many of those that I see or hear often as examples. Many of
these can be combined with many other verbs, while others are limited or very
specialized in their use.

miwakeru : to distinguish by sight (miru + wakeru)

kikiwakeru : to distinguish by sound (kiku + wakeru)

miwatasu : to look over a wide area (miru + watasu)

arukimawaru : to walk around (aruku + mawaru)

mimawaru : to walk around and inspect (miru + mawaru)

kikiwasureru : to forget to ask (kiku + wasureru)

uketoru : to receive (ukeru + toru)

toritsukeru : to install (an appliance, etc.) (toru + tsukeru)

hanashiau : to speak together (hanasu + au)

mochikaeru : to take out (fast food, etc.) (motsu + kaeru)

toiawaseru : to inquire (tou + awaseru)

uchiawaseru : to arrange for (this usually implies making verbal arrangements for
something beforehand) (utsu + awaseru)

makimodosu : to rewind (a tape, etc.) (maku + modosu)

haraimodosu : to refund (harau + modosu)

sashikaeru : to replace (A with B) (sasu + kaeru)

atehamaru : to be applicable to (ateru + hamaru)

mochiageru : to raise up (motsu + ageru)

mochiyoru : to bring (together with others, as with a potluck dinner) (motsu + yoru)

hakobidasu : to carry out (to carry something out of a building, etc.) (hakobu + dasu)

All of the above compounds are Base 2 verbs combined with Base 3 verbs for
consistency. However, many of these will often be used as a noun with a Base 2 ending,
such as uchiawase (a planning meeting) or haraimodoshi (a refund). (See the next
section.)

Please don't confuse these with the ones which use the particle ni in between, like tabe
ni iku (go out and eat) and asobi ni kuru (come for fun). (See Lesson 13 of my
Japanese Verbs.)

Finally, although it will be tempting to create your own combinations — combinations

which seem perfectly understandable to you — they probably will not be understood by
native speakers unless they have a linguistically free mind. It is always best to check
your dictionary to see if it exists beforehand.

Base 2 - Compound Verbs as Nouns

Many verb combinations exist that are used mainly as nouns (Base 2 + Base 2), such
as:

yomikaki : reading and writing (yomu + kaku)

kaiage : a purchase (kau + ageru)

uriage : a sale (uru + ageru)

deiri : entering and exiting (deru + hairu)

ikiki : coming and going (iku + kuru)

uketsuke : reception (as in a hotel or other business) (ukeru + tsukeru)

moushide : an offer (mousu + deru)

moushikomi : application/applying (mousu + komu)

 Komu alone means "jammed" or "crowded," but is combined with many other verbs to
add other nuances, such as "entering into" something, involvement, attachment, or
resolve. For example, regular suwaru means "to sit," but suwarikomu means "to sit with
a resolute attitude of immovability," such as a sick person, a spoiled child, or someone
demonstrating would do.

Base 2 - Very Polite Form with the o Prefix

There are two o+Base 2 verb forms I'd like to introduce. Both of them start by adding
an "honorific o" prefix to the Base 2 form of the verb, which makes it act like a noun.
(Incidentally, I use a hyphen to attach this o in my lessons for clarity, but in written
Japanese there is no hyphen.)

The first is only used when the subject is I (stated or implied) and you are speaking to
another person who is the indirect object, the recipient of the action. For example, let's
use the verb okuru, which means "to send." All of the following sentences mean the
same thing — "I'll send you the paperwork." — but each conveys a different level of
politeness or "honor," which expresses your opinion of the other person or the
relationship you have with him or her. Note the differences:

• Shorui o okuru. (Base 3, plain)

• Shorui o okurimasu. (Base 2 + masu, polite)
• Shorui o o-okuri shimasu. (Base 2 with o prefix + shimasu, honorific and polite)
• Shorui o o-okuri itashimasu. (Base 2 with o prefix + itashimasu, honorific and
more polite)

As you can see, the third and fourth examples use this Base 2 form with the o prefix and
shimasu (polite form of suru) or itashimasu (polite form of itasu) to show respect to the
other person. There are not really a lot of verbs that can be used this way. Just
remember that it must be one used in an "I will do (something) for you" construction,
like:

• o-tsukuri shimasu / itashimasu ("I'll make it [for you]," from tsukuru, to make)
• o-mise shimasu / itashimasu ("I'll show you," from miseru, to show)
• o-shirase shimasu / itashimasu ("I'll let you know," from shiraseru, to notify)

With suru verbs, you just add the o and change the suru or replace it with itashimasu,
as in:

• o-denwa shimasu / itashimasu ("I will telephone you.")

• o-henji shimasu / itashimasu ("I will reply [to you].")

The second form is for the opposite flow of action — you request the other person to do
something for you. Here, you simply add kudasai directly after the verb/noun:

• Shorui o o-okuri kudasai. (Please send me the paperwork.)

• O-tsukuri kudasai. (Please make one [for me].)
• O-mise kudasai. (Please show me.)
• O-denwa kudasai. (Please call me.)
If you are already familiar with the Te Form + kudasai ending, you will probably be
tempted to create something like o-okutte kudasai or o-okuri shite kudasai. Both are
incorrect, so be careful.

Both forms introduced here illustrate the mixed blessing of the Japanese language not
needing a subject in many cases. Since the o-Base 2 verb + suru form would only be
used in (and automatically imply) an "I do for you" action, "I" and "you" are understood
and are therefore omitted. Likewise, since the o-Base 2 verb + kudasai form would only
be used in (and automatically imply) a "you do for me" action, "you" and "me" are not
needed. While this can be handy for the speaker, it is sometimes hard for the listener.

Very Polite Form with the go Prefix

I add this form here because it is similar to the second form covered in the above
section. It really has nothing to do with "bases." In fact, we could call this "baseless."

There is an "honorific go" prefix that certain verbs use instead of o. This is only for
asking favors and shows special respect to the one you're asking. The pattern is simple:
go+noun or suru verb without suru + kudasai. Here are some:

• go-renraku kudasai ("Please contact me.")

• go-kakunin kudasai ("Please confirm.")
• go-chuui kudasai ("Please be careful.")
• go-shusseki kudasai ("Please attend.")
• go-ran kudasai ("Please look.")

go-ran is a specialized form which does not exist with suru as a plain verb. It is used
instead of miru to talk up to someone.

And there are the ones which use the o prefix — never go — some of which were
introduced in the last section. These can include yodan and ichidan verbs (in the Base 2
form) as well as the suru verbs (without suru), like:

• o-uketori kudasai ("Please receive this.")

• o-henji kudasai ("Please reply.")
• o-tsutae kudasai ("Please tell him / her / them.")
• o-machi kudasai ("Please wait.")
• o-yomi kudasai ("Please read it.")

The most difficult part about this form is probably learning which suru verbs use o and
which use go. There is no rule concerning this; you just have to memorize them as they
come.

To make things even more fun, when you get deep enough into your kanji studies you
will find that the same one is used for both o and go — the reading changes according to
the verb it's attached to. However, these days this prefix is rarely seen in its kanji form;
it's usually written in hiragana.
Base 1 - Very Polite Form with reru / rareru

Above we covered polite forms for giving or asking favors. This section introduces verb
conjugations which show respect for the actions of another person even though that
action may have nothing to do with yourself. To become familiar with the general levels
of politeness, look at these three examples:

• Nanji ni shuppatsu suru?

• Nanji ni shuppatsu shimasu ka?
• Nanji ni shuppatsu saremasu ka?

All of these mean "What time will you leave?" using the "suru verb" shuppatsu suru,
which means "to leave; depart." The plain suru ending is, of course, plain, being suitable
for talking with family or friends. The shimasu ka ending is polite, and should be used
when speaking to superiors and people you don't see that often. Saremasu ka, which is
actually Base 2 of sareru with polite masu attached, is even more polite, and is used to
show special respect when you desire to do so.

As for the conversion rules, you only need to remember four things: Yodan verbs use
Base 1 + reru; ichidans use Base 1 + rareru; the suru of suru verbs changes to sareru
(like the example above); and kuru changes to korareru.

After conversion, you will notice that they have all become plain ichidans, and will
therefore require further conjugation as such, according to need. There are no special
rules for these "created" ichidans — they are converted like any other ichidan verb. Here
are some yodan examples:

• Ashita Kyoto ni ikaremasu ka. (Are you going to Kyoto tomorrow?)

• Sakamoto-san wa kaeraremashita. (Mr. Sakamoto has left for the day.)
• Nani o nomaremasu ka. (What will you have to drink?)

Some ichidan:

• O-sushi taberaremasu ka. (Will you have some sushi?)

• Sono eiga miraremashita ka. (Did you see that movie?)

Some more suru examples:

• Kimiko ni denwa sareta hou ga ii to omoimasu. (I think it would be a good idea for
you to call Kimiko.)
• Nan nen kan furansugo o benkyou saremashita ka. (How many years did you
study French?)

And one kuru:

• Raishuu no doyoubi ni koraremasu ka. (Will you come next Saturday?)

You can use this form in many, many cases, but, as in everything else, there are
exceptions. For example, when asking a person if they will be in a certain place, do not
use irareru; use orareru: Shibaraku koko ni oraremasu ka. "Will you be here for a
while?" You will pick up these exceptions as you go along. Be sure to keep an ear out for
them.

The conjugation rules here are identical to the ones used in forming passives, as
briefly mentioned near the bottom of my Notes on Japanese Verbs. Just remember that
the very polite form outlined here acts on the subject — always a person — while the
passive form acts on an object. Same conjugation rules, different use.

Base 2 - Unspecified Things Using mono

There are several nouns used for unspecified things which are made by putting the
relevant verb in Base 2 and adding mono, which means "thing." Probably the best
known example of this is kimono, which literally means "wearing thing" (kiru + mono).
Other examples are nomimono : something to drink (from nomu), as in:

• Nomimono wa ikaga desu ka. (How about something to drink?)

And norimono : something to ride in; a vehicle (from noru), as in:

• Are wa tanoshii norimono da. (That's a fun ride.)

Here are a few more:

• tabemono : something to eat; food (from taberu)

• ikimono : a living thing; creature (from ikiru)
• kaimono : shopping (not something bought; from kau)
• iremono : a container (not whatever is put inside; from ireru)
• tsumemono : stuffing; filling (including filling for a decayed tooth; from tsumeru)

Unfortunately, you can't just slap mono onto any verb in Base 2. Like the ones above,
they have already been decided upon and set aside, so please check your dictionary
before using.

Cancelling Actions with yameru

Using Base 3 or the Ta Form with hou ga ii to convey things which should be done has
been covered in Lessons 26 and 73 of my Japanese Verbs. When you want to advise
someone, even yourself, to not do something, to not go ahead with a plan, use the verb
yameru (to stop) in Base 3 (plain) or in the Ta Form:

• Ojii-san wa ima tsuri o yameru hou ga ii to itte iru. (Grandpa is saying that it
would be better not to go fishing now.)
• Yameta hou ga ii yo! (It would be best not to do it.)

In my own experience, yameta hou ga ii is preferred in conversation. Depending on the

tone of voice, it could mean a friendly "It would be best not to do it" or a more
command-like "Don't do it!" Because yameta is past tense, this often causes confusion.
What I do is think of it as meaning "after all is said and done, you will look back and see
that it was good (ii) to have cancelled (yameta) it."

By the way, if you go ahead with something and regret it later, wishing you had not
done it, express that feeling by putting ii (yoi) into past tense: ...o yameta hou ga
yokatta. (It would have been best to cancel...) Here are some other handy expressions
with yameru and yokatta:

• ...o yamete yokatta (I'm glad I cancelled... / It was a good thing that we
cancelled...)
• ...o yamenai hou ga yokatta (It would have been best not to cancel...)
• ...o yamenaide yokatta / ...o yamenakute yokatta (I'm glad we didn't cancel...)

Please see the hou ga ii section of Lesson 73 of my Japanese Verbs for more
information.

The Many Faces of you ni / na

Between verbs, you ni conveys "in order to," "so that," etc., as in:

• Piano o jouzi ni hikeru you ni mainichi renshuu shite iru. (In order to be able to
play the piano well, I practice every day.)
• Furansugo o jouzi ni hanaseru you ni naritai. (I want to be able to speak French
well. [you ni naritai = want to become so that...])

One very handy aspect of you ni is that it can be used to start an idea which is
completed (mentally) by the other party. Compare these examples, with their literal
translations:

• Ashita rokuji ni okireru you ni, mezamashidokei o setto shite ne. (So that you can
get up at six tomorrow, set the alarm clock, okay?)
• Ashita rokuji ni okireru you ni, shite ne. (Do whatever so that you can get up at six
tomorrow, okay?)
• Ashita rokuji ni okireru you ni, ne. (So that you can get up at six tomorrow, okay?)
• Ashita rokuji ni okireru you ni... (So that you can get up at six tomorrow...)

These Japanese sentences are all perfectly viable. Although unfinished, what the ending
will be is easily guessed. This is similar to the much-used unfinished English expression
"You shouldn't have!" A student of English will wonder "shouldn't have what?"; but
seasoned English speakers know it means "shouldn't have gone through so much trouble
for me."

This "add your own ending" is seen a lot in birthday cards and year-end nenga greeting
cards, where it means "Best wishes for...," "I hope you have...," etc. Here it can act on a
whole sentence:

• Tanoshii o-tanjoubi de arimasu you ni... ([May] you have a fun birthday.)
• Go-kazoku ni totte, rainen wa taihen yoi o-toshi de gozaimasu you... ([I hope]
next year is a very good one for your family.)
Please notice that I purposely left the ni off the last example. This is also seen a lot,
especially in the written language.

Another function of you ni is to convey "seems to," "appears to be":

• Kenzo wa yopparatte iru you ni aruite iru. (Kenzo is walking like he's drunk.)
• Beth wa wakaranai you ni mieru. (Beth looks as if she doesn't understand.)

(You never omit the ni in this use.)

If a noun is described, use na instead of ni :

• Beth wa wakaranai you na kao o shite iru. (Beth's face looks as if she doesn't
understand. [...kao o shite iru = to do (make) a face])
• Nenryou wa takusan tsukau you na kuruma desu ne. (It seems to be a car that
uses lots of fuel.)

There's still more. You can use you ni after nouns to describe verbs. Add a no after the
noun:

• Kanojo wa uma no you ni taberu. (She eats like a horse.)

• Kare wa usagi no you ni hashiru. (He runs like a rabbit.)

And you can use you na after nouns to describe nouns:

• Inu no you na neko. (That cat's like a dog.)

• Kanojo wa moderu no you na kao o shite iru. (She has a face like a model's.)

This should sufficiently cover the popular uses of you ni/na between verbs, nouns, or
their combinations, as well as at the end of well-wishing words. It is involved in so many
functions that I fear I may have forgotten one or two. If I find that I have, I'll add them
later on.

Expressing Characteristics with suru

Although a bit hard to grasp at first, there is a form of suru which is used to show
characteristics, mainly outward features which are visible or can be easily sensed. This
use of suru was already hinted at in examples used in the section above, so I will bring
those two examples down here:

• Beth wa wakaranai you na kao o shite iru. (Beth's face looks as if she doesn't
understand.)
• Kanojo wa moderu no you na kao o shite iru. (She has a face like a model's.)

In the first example, Beth is confronted with something hard to understand, and so
makes a face — on purpose or not — which shows that. To be true to suru, you could
think of it as meaning "does a face," but the natural English would be "makes a face" if
intentional, or "has a face" if not. In either case ...o shite iru is used. In the second
example, her face's looking like a model's does not rely on any forced facial expression,
yet the same ...o shite iru form is used. Here are a couple more based on ...o suru :

• Sonna iya na kao o shinakutemo ii yo! (You don't have to make such a
disagreeable face!)
• Ano koinu wa kawaii kao o shite iru. (That puppy has a cute face.)

For other "sensed" natural or passive things, especially sounds, smells, tastes and
feelings, use ...ga suru :

• Ame ga furu you na nioi ga suru. (It smells like it's going to rain.)
• Obaa-san ga kaetta you na oto ga suru. (It sounds like Grandma is back.)
• Kare wa yurusanai you na ki ga suru. (I have the feeling that he won't allow it.)

Bases 3 & 4 - Expressing Results for Continued Actions with Base 4 + ba and
Base 3 + hodo

This one is easier than the title makes it look. To convey "the more you (do
something)..." put the verb in Base 4 with ba followed by the plain form (Base 3) of the
same verb with hodo, then add your result:

• Noboreba noboru hodo samukunaru. (The higher you climb the colder it gets.)
• Amai mono o tabereba taberu hodo futokunaru yo. (The more you eat sweet
things the fatter you'll get!)

With suru verbs only suru needs to be repeated:

• Benkyou sureba suru hodo kashikokunaru. (The more you study the smarter you'll
get.)

Te Form - Expressing No Results for Continued Actions

Let's now do the opposite of the above section and convey no change after the effort.
One way to do this is with ikura + Te Form of the verb + mo :

• Ikura yatte mo dekinai. (No matter how many times I try, I can't do it.)
• Kore o ikura tabete mo futoranai. (You won't gain weight no matter how much of
this you eat.)
• Ano bangumi o ikura mite mo kashikokunaranai yo. (No matter how often you
watch that program, you won't get any smarter.)
• Kanojo wa ikura piano o renshuu shite mo issho. (No matter how much she
practices the piano, there's no improvement.)

Issho means "together; with," but is often used as it is in the above example to mean
"the same," "no change," or "no progress."
Base 2 - Wanting to Do Things with tai

Base 2 + tai was covered briefly but not sufficiently in Lesson 8 of my Japanese Verbs.
Please remember that tai is only for wanting to do actions, and not wanting things. The
following examples show a wide range of constructions possible using tai along with
other conjugations. Please note how tai changes depending on these conjugations. Here
I use iku (to go) in all the examples, but any verb could be used as long as it is in its
Base 2 form.

• Mise ni ikitai. (I want to go to the store.)

• Boku wa ikitakunai. (I don't want to go.)
• Issho ni ikitakatta. (I wanted to go with you.)
• Hontou wa, ikitakunakatta. (Actually, I didn't want to go.)
• Ikitakereba, issho ni ikimashou. (If you want to go, let's go together.)
• Ikitakunakereba, ikanakute mo ii yo. (If you don't want to go, you don't have to.)
• Kare no hanashi o kiitara, ikitakunatta. (After hearing what he said, I now want to
go.)
• Tenki wa warui kara, ikitakunakunatta. (The weather's bad, so now I don't want to
go.)
• Ikitakunattara, denwa shite kudasai, ne. (If you decide that you want to go, please
call me, okay?)
• Raishuu ikitakunaru kamo shirenai. (Maybe I'll want to go next week.)

The naru element is sometimes difficult to grasp in English, but means "to become"
something from either nothing or something else. Accordingly, ikitakunaru means
literally "to become to want to go" and is used where there was or might be a previous
state of not wanting to go or indecision about going. Natta is the past tense of naru.

English Phrasal Verbs to Japanese Dictionary

Phrasal verbs can sometimes be challenging and hard to find in English-Japanese

dictionaries, if they are listed at all. Here you should be able to find most of the common
ones used every day.

Each phrasal verb will be followed by vi (intransitive verb, not taking a direct object) or
vt (transitive verb, taking a direct object), a short definition for clarification if needed,
the Japanese equivalent, and an example sentence in Japanese along with its English
translation.

Please keep in mind that this is not meant to be comprehensive. In many cases there
are other Japanese words which can be used instead. However, the ones listed here are
those which I feel are the most preferred. Please cross-reference using other dictionaries
in order to get a good feel for the total scope of each word or phrase. Also, please
remember that not all English verb forms will translate into a Japanese verb form.
Sometimes the commonly used Japanese equivalent will be an auxiliary or something
else entirely.
Example sentences will use a wide variety of verb conjugations. Please use my
Japanese Verbs as a guide for these. While I have taken care to choose examples
which translate over in a straightforward manner, there are some that are not a
perfectly literal match. They will be, however, close enough to convey the meaning
shown while being commonly used in both languages. Even though Japanese tends to
prefer passive structures much more than English, I have kept some active simply to
keep the structure true to the English in order to be more easily understood. If further
clarification is necessary, or if there are others which you would like to see included
here, please feel free to contact me.

Contents

| be l blow | call | catch | cheer | come | cut | drop | fill | get | go | hang | keep | look |
make | put | show | take | tell | turn | wear | work | write |

be about to 1 vt (to be on the verge of doing) ...tokoro: Ima kara yuushoku o taberu
tokoro. (I'm just about to eat dinner.)

be up to 1 vt (to be doing) shite iru: Kimiko wa nani o shite iru ka na? (I wonder what
Kimiko is up to.) 2 vt (to be planning to do, often something devious) takuramu: Ano
futari wa kitto nanika takurande iru. (Those two are surely up to something.) 3 vt (to
feel like doing) ...ki ga aru: Kouen made aruku ki ga aru? (Are you up to a walk to the
park?)

Top

blow away 1 vt fukitobasu: Kaze wa kare no boushi o fukitobashita. (The wind blew his
hat away.) 2 vt (to surprise) odorokasu: Sore o itte mina odorokashita. (I said that
and blew everyone away.)

blow out 1 vt (to extinguish) fukikesu: rousoku o fukikeshite ne. (Blow out the candles,
okay?) 2 vi (for a tire to blow out) panku suru: Jitensha no tire ga panku shita yo. (The
bicycle tire blew out.)
Panku is borrowed from the English "puncture."

blow over 1 vt fukitaosu: Kaze wa sanbon no denchuu o fukitaoshita. (The wind blew
over three telephone poles.) 2 vi (to die away) toorisugiru: Kono arashi ga toorisugiru
made matsu shika nai. (All we can do is wait for this storm to blow over.)

blow up 1 vi (to explode) bakuhatsu suru: Kyonen, kouba no tanku ga bakuhatsu

shimashita. (A tank at the factory blew up last year.)
call off 1 vt (to cancel) chuushi suru: Asu ame ga futtara, yama e no haikingu o
chuushi suru. (If it rains tomorrow I’m going to call off the hike in the mountains.)

call on 1 vt (to visit) houmon suru: Kurashiki ni itta toki yuujin o houmon shita. (I
called on a friend when I went to Kurashiki.)

call out 1 vt yobidasu: O-namae o yobidashitara, kountaa ni kite kudasai. (When I call
out your name please come to the counter.)

call up 1 vt denwa suru: Karen ni denwa shita no? (Did you call up Karen?)

catch it 1 vi (to be scolded) shikarareru: Yameta hou ga ii. Shikarareru yo. (You better
not do it. You’ll catch it.)

catch on 1 vi (to understand) rikai suru: Sono uchi rikai suru. (You’ll catch on in time.)

catch up 1 vi oitsuku: Saki ni itte. Oitsuku kara. (Go ahead. I’ll catch up.)

As in the last example above, there are words used in Japanese simply for “colloquial
smoothing,” which would usually not be used in the English counterpart. The literal
translation of oitsuku kara would be “because I’ll catch up,” but that would sound
unnatural in English. Oitsuku alone would sound equally as odd in Japanese; kara would
naturally be added. Kara, ga, ne, and yo are just some of the Japanese words that are
often added for feeling but do not have a simple counterpart in English.

cheer up 1 vi (to show renewed spirit or energy) genki o dasu: Genki o dashite ne.
(Cheer up, okay?) 2 vt (to cause someone to show renewed spirit or energy) genki
zukeru: Kanojo wa shibaraku no aida kare ni hanashite genji zukete kureta. (She was
nice enough to talk to him for a while and cheer him up.)

cheer on 1 vt ouen suru: Ouen shimasu yo. (I’ll be cheering you on.)

come across 1 vi (to give an impression) inshou o ataeru: Kare wa totemo majime na
hito da to iu inshou o ataeru. (He comes across as being a very sober person.) 2 vt (to
find) mitsukeru: Souko no naka ni totemo furui hon o mitsuketa. (I came across a very
old book in the storage shed.)
When something is found which was intentionally searched for, the intransitive verb
mitsukaru is usually used: Mitsukatta! (I found it!)

come after 1 vt (to follow) …no ato ni kuru: Daitai tsuyoi kaze ga ame no ato ni kuru.
(Usually strong winds come after the rain.) 2 vt (to come to get) tori ni kuru: Kanojo wa
mou sugu kasa o tori ni kuru deshou. (She will surely come after her umbrella soon.)

come again 1 vi mata kuru: Mata kite kudasai. (Please come again.)
come along 1 vi (to accompany) tsuite kuru: Yokereba tsuite kite. (Come along with
me if you like.) 2 vi (to progress) susumu: Yoku susunde imasu ne. (It’s coming along
quite nicely, isn’t it?)

come and go 1 vi ittari kitari suru: Benchi ni suwatte, hito ga ittari kitari suru koto o
miru no ga suki. (I like sitting on a bench and watching the people come and go.)

come apart 1 vi barabara ni naru: Denwaki ga katte ni barabara ni natta. (The

telephone came apart on its own.)

come around 1 vi mawatte kuru: Maitoshi kono jiki ni tsubame ga mawatte kuru.
(Every year about this time the swallows come around.)

come back 1 vi (to return) kaette kuru: Nanji goro kaette kuru deshou? (About what
time will you come back?) 2 vt (to be remembered) omoidasareru: Chotto matte. Chotto
shitara omoidasareru deshou. (Just a minute. It’ll probably come back to me in a bit.)

come from 1 vt …kara kuru: Doko kara kimashita ka. (Where did you come from?)

come in 1 vi / vt hairu: Douzo, haitte kudasai. (Please come in.)

come in handy 1 vi yaku ni tatsu: Denshi jisho o kattara yaku ni tatsu ni chigainai. (If
you buy an electronic dictionary it will surely come in handy.)

come close to 1 vt (to approach) …ni chikazuku: Ippiki no saru ga boku ni chikazuita.
(One of the monkeys came close to me.) 2 vt (to just miss an occurrence) … tokoro:
Hikouki ni noriokureru tokoro datta. (I came close to missing my plane.)

come off 1 vi hazureru: Jitensha no cheen ga hazureta. (My bicycle chain came off.)

come on 1 vi (used to hurry someone up) isogu: Isoginasai! (Come on! Hurry!) 2 vi (for
lights or electrical appliances to start working) tsuku: Denki ga mou sugu tsuku deshou.
(The lights will probably come on in a minute.)

come out 1 vi dete kuru: Sakuban nezumi ga kurozetto kara dete kita. (Last night a
mouse came out of the closet.)

come over 1 vi kuru: Watashi wa shichiji han goro kuru. (I’ll come over around 7:30.)

come to 1 vt (to result in) …ni naru: Kesshite konna koto ni naru to omowanakatta. (I
never thought it would come to this.) 2 vt (to total in money) …ni naru: Go hyaku juugo
en ni narimasu. (That comes to 515 yen.)

come up 1 vi (to rise) agaru: Douzo, agatte kudasai. (Please come up. [Please come
in.]) 2 vi (to happen) okoru: Ano mondai ga okoru made, raku na ichi nichi ni narisou
datta. (Until that problem came up, it looked like it was going to be an easy day.)
Since the inside of Japanese houses are traditionally much higher than the outside,
you are literally asked to “rise up” when asked to come in.

come up against 1 vt butsukaru: Ritsuko wa Hawaii de hatarakihajimeta toki, iroiro na

mondai ni butsukatta. (Ritsuko came up against various problems when she began
working in Hawaii.)

come up with 1 vt (to suggest) teian suru: Kono mondai o kaiketsu suru tame, ii
houhou o teian suru koto ga dekinai ka. (Can’t you come up with a good way to solve
this problem?)

cut corners 1 vi (to make tasks easier; to not do a task completely) te o nuku: Kare wa
itsumo te o nuite iru. (He is always cutting corners.)

cut down 1 vt (to cut down a tree) kiritaosu: Kare wa niwa ni atta furui matsu no ki o
kiritaoshita. (He cut down that old pine tree that was in his yard.) 2 vt (to
decrease) herasu: Shuppi o herasanai to ikenai. (We've got to cut down our spending.)

cut off 1 vt (to interrupt) chuudan saseru: Chuudan shinaide kudasai. (Please don’t cut
me off.) 2 vt (to discontinue service) tomeru: Karera wa gasu dai o harawanakatta
node, tomerareta. (They didn’t pay their gas bill, so it was cut off.) 3 vt (to hang up and
end a telephone call) denwa o kiru: Watashi no kyuuka ni tsuite hanasou to omotta
kedo, kanojo wa denwa o kitta. (I was going to tell her about my vacation, but she cut
me off.)

cut out 1 vi (for a machine to stop) kyuu ni tomaru: Enjin ga kyuu ni tomatta. (The
engine just cut out.) 2 vt (to make a way through) kirihiraku: Karera wa kawa made no
michi o kirihiraita. (They cut out a path to the river.)

cut out for 1 vt (to be good at) muite iru: Boku wa sou iu seikatsu ni muite inai. (I’m
not cut out for that kind of life.)

drop by / drop in 1 vt tachiyoru: Mise ni iku tochuu, Sachiko no ie ni tachiyorimashou

ne. (Let's drop by Sachiko's place on the way to the store, okay?)

drop off 1 vt orosu: Yuubinkyoku no mae ni oroshite kudasai. (Please drop me off in
front of the post office.)

drop out 1 vi (to quit school) taigaku suru: Kare wa juugo sai de taigaku shita. (He
dropped out of school when he was 15.)

fill in 1 vt (to write information) kinyuu suru: Kono moushikomisho o kinyuu shite
kudasai. (Please fill in this application.) 2 vt (to inform) oshieru: Kinou no kaigi no
naiyou ni tsuite oshiete ageru. (I’ll fill you in on what we talked about in yesterday’s
meeting.) 3 vi (to substitute for) …no kawari ni suru: Kyou wa, Ishii-san no kawari ni
shimasu. (Today I will fill in for Ms. Ishii.)

fill out 1 vt (to write information) kinyuu suru (see fill in) 2 vi (to gain weight or
fullness) yutaka ni naru: Kyonen made wa inu no ke ga sukunakatta ga, daibun yutaka
ni natta. (Up until last year our dog’s coat was scanty, but it has filled out pretty well.)

fill up 1 vt (to fill a container) ippai ni suru: Kappu o ue made ippai ni shite choudai.
(Please fill my cup up all the way.) 2 vt (to fill a hole) umeru: Inu ga hotta ana o umete
kureru? (Would you please fill up the hole that the dog dug?)

get across 1 vt (to cross a road, river, etc.) wataru: Kare wa booto de mizuumi o
watatta. (He used a boat to get across the lake.) 2 vt (to make something understood)
rikai saseru: Yatto boku no gakusei ni ano suugaku no mondai no kaiketsuhou o rikai
saseta. (I finally got the solution to that math problem across to my students.)

get after 1 vt (to nag) shitsukoku iu: Obaa-chan wa itsumo shukudai o suru you ni
shitsukoku itte iru. (Grandma's always getting after me to do my homework.) 2 vt (to
scold) shikaru: Bill wa gakkou ni okurete kita node, sensei ni shikarareta. (The teacher
got after Bill for coming to school late.)

get ahead 1 vi (to make progress) susumu: Nihongo no benkyou wa, sukoshi zutsu
susunde imasu. (As far as my Japanese studies are concerned, I'm getting ahead little
by little.)

get along 1 vi (to exist together well) nakayoku yatte iku: Karera wa nakayoku yatte
itte iru. (They are getting along well together.)
This is usually expressed with the adjective form naka ga ii: Karera wa naka ga ii.

get around 1 vi (to spread) hiromaru: Sono uwasa ga hayaku hiromatta. (That rumor
got around quickly.)

get away 1 vi nigeru: Kanojo wa ano iya na shigoto kara nigeru koto ga dekita. (She
was able to get away from that wretched job.)

get back 1 vi (to return) modoru: Goji made ni modorimasu. (I'll get back by 5:00.)
2 vt (to take back) torimodosu: Kenji no ie ni itte, watashi no jisho o torimodosu. (I'm
going to Kenji's to get back my dictionary.) 3 vi (to step back) ushiro e sagaru: Keikan
wa 'ushiro e sagarinasai!' to sakenda. (The police officer shouted 'Get back!') 4 vi (to
reply later) (ato de) henji suru: Asu no gozenchuu henji shimasu. (I'll get back to you
sometime tomorrow morning.)
get behind 1 vi (to be slower than planned) okureru: Zannen nagara, boku wa yotei
yori okurete kita. (Unfortunately, I have gotten behind schedule.) 2 vt (to move back
behind something) ...no ushiro ni sagaru: Kiiroi sen no ushiro ni sagatte kudasai. (Please
get behind the yellow line.) 3 vt (to support a person or idea) shiji suru: Suzuki san no
an o shiji shimashou. (Let's get behind Suzuki's proposal.)

get by 1 vi (to make do) nantoka kurashite iku: Kibishikatta kedo, Tokyo ni sunde ita
toki nantoka kurashite iku koto ga dekita. (It was tough, but we were able to get by
when we lived in Tokyo.)

get down 1 vi (to move from an elevated location to a lower or normal one) oriru: Ojii-
chan wa hitori de kaidan o oriru koto ga dekinakunatta. (Grandpa can't get down the
steps by himself anymore.) 2 vt (to swallow) nomikomu: Ano shokuji wa mazukatta!
Nomikomenakatta yo! (That food was awful! I couldn't get it down!)

get home 1 vi (to return home) ie ni kaeru: Kinou no yoru no juuichiji han goro ie ni
kaetta. (I got home last night at around 11:30.)

get in 1 vi / vt (to enter into) hairu: Kagi o wasureta node hairenakatta. (I forgot the
key so I couldn't get in.)

get it 1 vi (to understand) rikai suru: Nankai mo setsumei shita ga, kanojo wa rikai
dekinai. (I explained it again and again, but she cannot get it.)

get off 1 vt (to get out of a train, bus, etc.; to get off of a bicycle, table, or object
higher than the floor or ground) oriru: Takamatsu eki de orite kudasai. (Get off at
Takamatsu Station.)

get on 1 vt (to get into a train, bus, etc.; to get onto an object higher than the floor or
ground.) noru: Hayaku! Densha ni norinasai! (Hurry up! Get on the train!)

get out 1 vi / vt (to leave a room or other enclosed area) deru: Dete mo ii? (Can I go
out?) 2 vi (to esape) nigeru: Inu ga nigeta. Issho ni sagashimashou. (The dog got out.
Let's look for him together.) 3 vi (to go out for entertainment) asobi ni dekakeru:
Konogoro amari asobi ni dekakenai. (We don't get out very often these days.)

get over 1 vt (to climb over a physical obstacle; to get through a difficult period)
norikoeru: Taihen na jiki deshita ga, yatto norikoemashita. (It was a difficult time, but
I've finally gotten over it.)

get through 1 vi / vt (to pass through a physical area) toorinukeru: Ano mori o
toorinukeru no ni, itsuka kan kakatta. (It took five days to get through that forest.) 2 vi
(to make contact with someone) tsuujiru: Nankai mo denwa shite mita ga, sanji goro
yatto tsuujita. (I called many times, and finally got through around 3:00.) 3 vt (to make
someone understand) wakatte morau: Hai, densha wa hachiji han ni deru koto ga, kare
ni wakatte moratta. (Yes, I got through to him that the train leaves at 8:30.) 4 vt (to
finish) oeru: Raishuu no mokuyoubi made ni kono shigoto o oeru yotei da. (I plan to get
through this job by Wednesday of next week.)

get together 1 vi (to assemble) atsumaru: Doyoubi no ban atsumarou yo. (Hey, let's
get together Saturday night.) 2 vt atsumeru: Oya no kekkon kinenbi ni kazoku zenin o
atsumeru yotei da. (I plan to get together the whole family on my parents' wedding
anniversary.)

get up 1 vi (to get out of bed; to rise from a sitting position) okiru: Hayaku okinasai!
(C'mon, get up!) 2 vt (to get someone else up) okosu: Ima kara ojii-san o okosu kara,
tetsudatte ne. (I'm going to get Grandpa up now, so give me a hand, okay?)

go after 1 vt (to chase) ou: Inu ga dete itta. Hayaku, otte choudai. (The dog got out.
Hurry and go after him.)

go against 1 vt (to oppose) hankou suru: Boku wa nani o shiyou to shite mo, kare ga
hankou suru. (He goes against whatever I try to do.)

go along 1 vi (to accompany) tsuite iku: Tsuite itte mo ii no? (Can I go along?) 2 vt (to
agree) doui suru: Yoi keikaku ka dou ka mada wakaranai ga, ichiou doui shimasu. (I
don’t know yet whether or not it’s a good plan, but I’ll go along for the time being.)

go away 1 vi (to leave) saru: Ano norainu wa dokoka satte itta mitai. (It looks like that
stray dog went away somewhere.) 2 vi (to vanish) nakunaru: Itami ga yatto nakunatta.
(The pain finally went away.)
When referring to people, nakunaru means “to die,” so be careful when using it.

go back 1 vi / vt modoru: Itsu o-kuni ni modorimasu ka. (When will you go back to
your home country?)
When talking to someone about their own country — as well as many other things —
the honorific o prefix is often used.)

go down 1 vi (to descend) oriru: Chikashitsu ni orimashou. (Let’s go down to the

basement.) 2 vi (to break down) kowareru: Konpyuuta wa kinou no gogo kowareta. (The
computer went down yesterday afternoon.)

go off 1 vi (to leave) tachisaru: Kare wa sayonara mo iwazu ni tachisatta. (He went off
without saying good-bye.) 2 vi (for food to spoil [British]) kusaru: Zannennagara, niku
ga kusatta. (Unfortunately, the meat has gone off.) 3 vi (for an alarm to ring) naru:
Boku no mezamashidokei ga rokuji han ni natta. (My alarm clock went off at 6:30.) 4 vi
(for electric lights to be extinguished) kieru: Denki ga mata kietara komaru. (I’ll be at a
loss if the lights go off again.)
go on 1 vi (to continue) tsuzuku: Kono ame wa itsu made tsuzuku kana. (I wonder how
long it will go on raining.) 2 vt (to continue) tsuzukeru: Kyuukei suru you ni itta ga,
kanojo wa shigoto o tsuzuketa. (I told her to take a break, but she went on working.) 3
vi (to talk about) shaberitateru: Kanojo ni au tabi ni kodomo ni tsuite shaberitateru.
(Whenever I meet her she goes on about her kids.) 4 vt (to take a trip) tabi ni deru:
Kotoshi no natsu kanada made tabi ni deru yotei. (This summer I’m planning to go on a
trip to Canada.)

go out 1 vi dekakeru: Konban dekakemasu. (I’m going out this evening.) 2 vi (for a
light or fire to be extinguished) kieru (see go off)

go over 1 vt (to climb/pass over) koeru: Inu wa hei o koete nigeta. (The dog went over
the fence and got away.) 2 vt (to inspect) tenken suru: Kuruma o kau mae ni tetteiteki
ni tenken suru yo. (You can bet that I thoroughly go over cars before buying them.)

go through 1 vt (to experience) keiken suru: Nido to sore o keiken shitakunai. (I don’t
ever want to go through that again.)

go too far 1 vi yarisugiru: Erika wa paatei o hiraku to, itsumo yarisugiru. (Whenever
Erika throws a party, she always goes too far.)

go up 1 vi agaru: Ni kai e agatte kudasai. (Please go up to the second floor.)

go without 1 vt …nashi de yatte iku: CD o wasureta node, konkai wa ongaku nashi de

yatte iku shika nai. (I forgot my CDs, so we’ll have to go without music this time.)

hang about / hang around 1 vi / vt burabura suru: Kinou shoutengai de burabura

shite jikan o tsubushita. (Yesterday I hung around the mall and killed time.)
In case you didn’t catch it, jikan o tsubusu is a handy idiom for “to waste / kill time.”

hang back 1 vi (to hesitate) tamerau: Sore o teian shitakatta ga, doushite mo
tameratte shimatta. (I wanted to suggest that, but for some reason hung back.)

hang in there / hang on 1 vi (to keep trying) ganbaru: Ato mou sukoshi. Ganbatte!
(Only a little more. Hang in there!)

hang on 1 vi (to wait) matsu: Cindy ni sukoshi matsu you ni itte kureru? (Would you
please tell Cindy to hang on just a bit?) 2 vt (to depend on) …shidai: Umi ni iku ka
douka wa, otenki shidai. (Whether we go to the beach or not hangs on the weather.) 3
vt (to listen carefully) chuui shite kiku: Gakusei wa Tanaka sensei no hanashi o chuui
shite kiita. (The students hung on every word that Mr. Tanaka said.) 4 vt (to grasp)
nigiru: Tesuri o shikkari nigitte yo! (Hang on to the handrail tightly!) 5 vt (to keep
something) tebanasanai: Ano furui jitensha o suteyou to omotta ga, ima tebanasanai. (I
thought of getting rid of that old bicycle, but now I want to hang on to it.)
 Tebanasanai is the negative form of the compound tebanasu, from te (hand) and
hanasu (to release).

hang up 1 vt (to put up for display, etc.) kakeru: sono e o terebi no ue ni kakemashou.
(Let’s hang up that picture above the TV.) 2 vi / vt (to end a telephone conversation)
denwa o kiru: Jaa, denwa o kiru. Mata ashita. (Well, I’m going to hang up. See you
tomorrow.)

keep after 1 vt shitsukoku iu: Kare wa heya o souji suru you ni, shitsukoku
iwanakereba naranai. (I have to keep after him to clean his room.)

keep ahead 1 vi sakinjiru: Ken wa itsumo doukyuusei yori sakinjiyou to shite iru. (Ken
is always trying to keep ahead of his classmates.)

keep at 1 vt (to continue) tsuzukeru: Kanojo ni totte piano o narau no wa taihen

deshita ga, kanojo ga tsuzukete imashita. (Learning the piano was hard for her, but she
kept at it.)

keep away 1 vi / vt chikayoranai: Ano kodomo ni inu ni chikayoranai you ni iinasai.

(Tell those kids to keep away from the dog.)

keep down 1 vt (to allay a problem) osaeru: Kono kusuri wa kayumi o osaeru. (This
medicine will keep down the itching.)

keep from 1 vt (to avoid) shinaide iru: Gomen. Warawanaide irarenai. (Sorry. I can’t
keep from laughing.)

keep going 1 vi ganbaru: Taihen na shigoto da to wakatte imasu ga, owaru made
ganbarinasai. (I know it’s a tough job, but keep going until it’s finished.)

keep off 1 vt (to quit or control the use of) hikaeru: Osake o hikaeta hou ga ii yo. (You
had better keep off the booze.)

keep on 1 vt tsuzukeru: Yameru you ni iimashita ga, kare wa tabetsuzuketa. (I told

him to stop, but he kept on eating.)

keep out 1 vi hairanai: Heya ni hairanaide kudasai. (Please keep out of the room.) 2 vt
irenai: Shako ni karera o irenai you ni. (Keep them out of the garage.)

keep together 1 vi / vt issho ni iru: Kengakuchuu, issho ni ite kudasai. (Please keep
together during the tour.)

keep to oneself 1 vi kousai shinai: Kanojo wa hotondo kousai shinai. (She pretty much
keeps to herself.)
keep up 1 vi / vt (to continue) tsuzukeru: Nihongo no benkyou o tsuzukete yo. (Keep
up your Japanese studies.) 2 vi (to maintain pace with) tsuite iku: Tokidoki tsuite ikenai
you ni kanjiru. (Sometimes I feel that I just can’t keep up.)

look after 1 vt (to take care of) sewa o suru: Itsumo kodomo no sewa o shite, arigatou
gozaimasu. (You're always looking after the kids. Thank you.)
Sewa o suru is very flexible, and can be used for just about anything from a simple
task to the full-time chore of caring for children or the elderly. The set phrase O-sewa ni
narimasu! (You help me!) is often used as a greeting, even to the point of becoming
meaningless. Another expression, mendou o miru, which has the same meaning, is not
quite as flexible, being usually reserved for real acts of caring: children, animals, etc.

look all over 1 vi achikochi sagasu: Are o achikochi sagashite ita yo. (I tell you, I
looked all over for that.)

look as if 1 vt …you ni mieru: Komatte iru you ni mieru. (You look as if you're
confused.)

look back 1 vi furikaette miru: John wa arukinagara nankai mo furikaette mita. (John
looked back again and again as he walked.)

look for 1 vt sagasu: Tebukuro o sagashita kedo, mitsukaranakatta. (I looked for the
gloves, but couldn't find them.)

look forward to 1 vt tanoshimi ni suru: Kondo no Hawaii no tabi o tanoshimi ni shite

iru. (I'm looking forward to my upcoming trip to Hawaii.)

look into 1 vt (to look inside) naka o miru: Neko wa heya no naka o mite iru. (The cat
is looking into the room.) 2 vt (to examine or verify) shiraberu: Ato de shirabete ageru.
(I'll look into it for you later.)

look like 1 vt ...no you ni mieru: Kanojo wa watashi no itoko no you ni mieru. (She
looks like my cousin.)

look out 1 vi chuui suru: Chuui shinasai! (Look out!)

look through 1 vt (to search or check) me o toosu: Honyaku ga dekiagarimashita

node, jikan ga areba me o tooshite kudasai. (I've finished the translation, so please look
through it when you have time.)

look up 1 vt (to search for something in reference books or on the internet, etc.)
shiraberu: Ano kotoba o jisho de shirabemashou. (Let's look up that word in our
dictionaries.) 2 vt (search for and visit a person) sagashite tazuneru: London ni iru aida,
Jones-san o sagashite tazuneta. (While in London, I looked up Mr. Jones.)
look up to 1 vt (to respect) sonkei suru: Boku no nihongo no sensei o hontou ni sonkei
shite imasu. (I really look up to my Japanese language teacher.)

make do 1 vi ma ni au you ni suru: Tanonda kazu dewa nai ga, ma ni au you ni

shimasu. (There aren’t as many as I asked for, but I’ll make do.)

make do without (see go without)

make it 1 vi (to get by) dounika yatte iku: Saisho wa kibishikatta kedo, dounika yatte
itta. (At first it was tough, but I made it.) 2 vi (to be on time) ma ni au: Okureru ka to
shinpai shita ga, ma ni atta. (I was afraid that I would be late, but I made it.)

make out 1 vt (to see; to discern) mieru: Bouenkyou de mitara, getsumen no kureetaa
ga mieru. (If you look through a telescope, you can make out the moon’s craters.) 2 vt
(to understand) rikai suru: Sensei no itte iru koto o rikai suru koto ga dekinai. (I can’t
make out what the teacher is saying.)

make up 1 vt (to compensate) tsugunau: Kabin o watta koto o tsugunau tame ni, kare
wa atarashii kabin to ooki na hanataba o katte kureta. (To make up for breaking the
vase, he bought a new one and a big bouquet of flowers.) 2 vt (to lie) uso o tsuku: Jody
wa shigoto ni tsuite uso o tsuita. (Jody made up what she said about her job.) 3 vt (to
create) sakusei suru: Rainen no jugyou no tame ni atarashii kyouzai o sakusei
shinakereba naranai. (I’ve got to make up new teaching materials for next year’s
classes.) 4 vi (to be reconciled) nakanaori suru: Ano futari wa senshuu oogenka shita
ga, sono ato sugu nakanaori shita. (Those two had a big fight last week, but made up
soon afterwards.)

put aside 1 vt (to stop doing for the time being) waki ni oku: Jisho o waki ni oite,
kyoukasho o dashinasai. (Put aside your dictionary and take out your textbook.)

put away 1 vt (to clear things away) katazukeru: Kono shokki o katazukemashou.
(Let’s put away these dishes.) 2 vt (to save money) chokin suru: Dekiru dake chokin
shinasai. (Put away as much money as you can.)

put back 1 vt (to return) modosu: Ima sugu modoshinasai. (Put that back right now!)

put down 1 vt (to set down) orosu: Sore o koko ni oroshite kudasai. (Please put that
down here.)

put in 1 vt (to place inside) ireru: Hako ni hon o irete kudasai. (Please put the books in
the box.) 2 vt (to spend time or money on) tsukau: Anata wa kore ni takusan no jikan o
tsukatta deshou. (I’ll bet you put a lot of time into this.)
put off 1 vt (to reschedule for a later date) enki suru: Ryokou wa aki made enki
shimashita. (We put off the trip until fall.) 2 vt (to make wait) mataseru: Matasenaide
kudasai. (Please don’t put me off.)

put on 1 vt (to wear) kiru: Chotto samui. Jaketto o kita hou ga ii. (It’s a little cold. You
had better put on a jacket.) 2 vt (to gain weight) futoru: Futoru no wa itsudemo kantan
da. (Putting on weight is always easy.) 3 vt (to deceive) damasu: Uso yarou. Damashite
wa ikenai yo. (Come on. Don’t put me on.) 4 vt (to play music) kakeru: Kono atarashii
jazu CD o kakete ne. (Put on this new jazz CD, okay?) 5 vt (to put over heat to cook) (hi
ni) kakeru: Kono jagaimo o hi ni kakemashou. (Let’s put these potatoes on.)
To put on clothing requires various different verbs in Japanese: boushi o kaburu (to
put on a hat); nekkutai o shimeru (to put on a tie); kutsushita o haku (to put on socks);
megane o kakeru (to put on glasses); yubiwa o hameru (to put on a ring).

put out 1 vt (to place outside) dasu: Inu o dashite choudai. (Please put the dog out.) 2
vt (to extinguish) kesu: Hi o keshite, hai ni suna o kakenasai. (Put the fire out, then
cover the ashes with sand.) 3 vt (to annoy) meiwaku o kakeru: Go-meiwaku o kakete,
gomen nasai. (I’m sorry for putting you out.) 4 vt (to make efforts) doryoku suru:
Karera wa hontou ni doryoku shita koto o shitte iru yo. (I know they put out their best
efforts.) 5 vt (to produce) seisan suru: Ano kouba wa mainichi yaku gohyaku nijuu dai
no jidousha o seisan shite iru. (That factory puts out around 520 cars per day.)
Meiwaku o kakeru is a very polite set phrase and is usually used with the honorific go
prefix added to meiwaku.

put through 1 vt (to cause to endure) keiken saseru: Kyonen kare wa kanojo ni iroiro
keiken saseta. (He really put her through a lot last year.)

put together 1 vt (to assemble) kumitateru: Bill wa gareeji no naka de jitensha o

kumitatete imasu. (Bill’s in the garage putting together his bicycle.)

put up 1 vt (to fix in a relatively high location; to attach to a wall or ceiling) kakeru:
Ano tokei o kabe ni kakete kudasai. (Please put that clock up on the wall.) 2 vt (to build
a structure) tateru: Atarashii shoppingu sentaa wa ni san ka getsu dake de taterareta.
(The new shopping center was put up in just a few months.) 3 vi (to stay at) tomaru:
Satogaeri shitara oya no ie de tomaru. (When I go back to my home town, I’ll put up at
my parents’ house.) 4 vt (to provide a place to stay) tomeru: Asobi ni koretara tomete
ageru yo. (If you can visit, I’ll put you up.)
There are various Japanese verbs used to convey “to set / put up”: Kurisumasu tsurii
o kazaru (to put up a Christmas tree); tento o haru (to put up a tent); kasa o sasu (to
put up an umbrella), etc.

put up with 1 vt (to endure) gaman suru: Ureshii! Ano furui reizouko o mou gaman
shinakutemo ii kara. (I’m so happy because I won’t have to put up with that old
refrigerator anymore!)

show off 1 vi / vt misebirakasu: Kenta wa itsumo misebirakashite iru ne. (Kenta is

always showing off, isn’t he?)

show around 1 vi / vt annai suru: Takamatsu ni kitara annai shite ageru yo. (When you
come to Takamatsu I’ll show you around.)

show up 1 vt (to embarrass) hazukashii omoi o saseru: Kare wa itsumo douryou ni

hazukashii omoi o saseyou to shite iru. (He is always trying to show up his colleagues.)

take after 1 vt (resemble) niru: Kare wa kare no ojii-san ni nitte iru. (He takes after his
grandfather.)

take apart 1 vt bunkai suru: Kore o bunkai shite katazukete kudasai. (Please take it
apart and put it away.)

take away 1 vt torisaru: Kare wa senshuu no shuumatsu, sore zenbu torisatta. (He
took it all away last weekend.)

take back 1 vt torimodosu: Kanojo wa zasshi o torimodoshita. (She took the magazine
back.) 2 vt (to apologize for something said) torikesu: Gomen! Yutta koto o torikesu.
Honki de nai yo! (I'm sorry! I take back what I said. I really didn't mean it!)

take down 1 vt (to lower something) orosu: Kanojo wa nichibotsu mae ni kokki o
oroshita. (She took down the flag before sunset.) 2 vt (to write down) kakitomeru:
Shizu wa sensei no yutta koto no subete o kakitometa. (Shizu took down everything the
teacher said.)

take it easy 1 vi kiraku ni suru: Kiraku ni shite kudasai. (Please take it easy.)

take it out on 1 vt yatsuatari suru: Kare wa itsumo jibun no shippai o boku ni

yatsuatari suru. (He always takes out his failures on me.)

take off 1 vt (to remove clothing or accessories) nugu: Boushi o nuide kudasai. (Please
take off your hat.) 2 vi (to leave) deru: Rokuji han goro demashou, ne. (Let’s take off
around 6:30, okay?) 3 vi (for an aircraft to leave the ground) ririku suru: Hikouki wa
hachiji juugo fun ni ririku shita. (The plane took off at 8:15.)

take on 1 vt (to accept as an assignment) hikiukeru: Ima watashi wa atarashii shigoto

o hikiukerenai. (I cannot take on any new projects now.)

take out 1 vt dasu: Gomi o dashite kureru? (Would you please take out the trash?)
take over 1 vi / vt (to carry on a responsibility in place of someone else) hikitsugu:
Iketani wa boku no kawari ni kono shigoto o hikitsuide kureru. (Iketani will take over
this job for me.)

tell apart 1 vt shikibetsu suru: Kono nidai no pasukon wa onaji moderu da to omou.
Shikibetsu suru koto ga dekimasu ka. (I think that both of these computers are the
same model. Can you tell them apart?)

tell off 1 vt (to scold) shikaru: Kare wa amarinimo shitsurei datta node, kanojo ga
shikatta. (She told him off for being so rude.)

tell on 1 vt tsugeguchi suru: Kanojo wa boku no koto o itsumo tsugeguchi shite iru.
(She is always telling on me.)

turn around 1 vi mawaru: Skeeto o shite iru onna no ko wa kurukuru mawatte iru.
(The girl skating is turning around and around.) 2 vt mawasu: Sono tsukue o mawashite
kudasai. (Please turn that desk around.)

turn down 1 vt (to decrease the volume of sound) oto o chiisaku suru: Terebi no oto o
chiisaku shite ne. (Turn down the TV, okay?) 2 vt (to decrease the flow of water, etc.; to
decrease the amount of heat or air conditioning) yowaku suru: Mizu no de o yowaku
shite kureru? (Would you turn down the water?) 3 vt (to reject a person or thing)
kotowaru: Boku no teian o kotowaranaide kudasai. (Please don't turn down my
suggestion.)

turn in 1 vt (to hand in) teishutsu suru: Shorui o kinyuu shi, suiyoubi made ni teishutsu
shinasai. (Fill out the documents and turn them in by Wednesday.)

turn inside out 1 vt uragaesu: Mite. Kono boushi o uragaesu koto ga dekiru yo. (Look.
You can turn this hat inside out.)

turn loose 1 vt (to release) hanasu: Kouen de inu o hanashite wa ikenai. (Don't turn
your dog loose in the park.)

turn off 1 vt kesu: Heya no denki o keshita? (Did you turn off the lights in the room?)

turn on 1 vt tsukeru: Terebi o tsukenaide kudasai. (Please don't turn on the TV.)

turn out 1 vi (to result in becoming) ...to naru: Kanojo wa rippa na sensei to naru
deshou. (I'm sure she'll turn out to be a fine teacher.) 2 vt (to produce) seisan suru:
Yaku hyaku nen kan jidousha o seisan shite kita. (They’ve been turning out cars for
almost 100 years.)
turn over 1 vt hikkurikaesu: Hotto keeki o hikkurikaeshite kureru? (Would you turn
over the pancakes?) 2 vi hikkurikaeru: Katte ni hikkurikaetta. (It turned over on its
own.) 3 vi (to turn over in one's sleep) negaeri o utsu: Toshi o toru to, dandan negaeri o
utanakunaru. (As we grow older, we turn over in our sleep less.)

turn up 1 vt (to increase the volume of sound) oto o ookiku suru: Ongaku no oto o
ookiku shite kureru? (Would you please turn up the music?) 2 vt (to increase the flow of
water, etc.; to increase the amount of heat or air conditioning) tsuyoku suru: Danbou o
tsuyoku shinaide kudasai. (Please don't turn up the heater.) 3 vi (for something to be
found) dete kuru: Shinpai shinaide. Dete kuru deshou. (Don’t worry. It’ll turn up.)

wear off 1 vi shidai ni nakunaru: Chotto nemuke ga sasu kamo shiremasen ga, shidai
ni nakunaru. (You may feel drowsy, but it will wear off.)
Nakunaru alone means "to cease to exist." Shidai ni or equivalent is necessary to
convey the fact that it will be gradual.

wear out / wear down 1 vt (to wear something out) tsukai furusu: Kyonen katta
jitensha o mou tsukai furushita. (I’ve already worn out the bicycle I bought last year.) 2
vt (to wear someone out) tsukaresaseru: Kim o haikingu ni tsurete itte,
tsukaresasemashita. (I took Kim hiking and wore her out.)
Tsukai furusu is mainly for things besides clothing: tools, appliances, etc. For clothing,
since there are several different verbs for "to wear on the body," the correct one will
have to be used with furusu: ki furusu (to wear out a shirt, jacket, suit, etc.); haki
furusu (to wear out pants, shoes, etc.), etc.

wear well 1 vi mochi ga ii: Kono kutsu wa mochi ga ii. (These shoes wear well.)

work loose 1 vi yurumu: Kono neji ga itsumo yurumu. (This screw is always working
loose.) 2 vt yurumeru

work off 1 vt (to gradually decrease) torinozoku: Kono zeiniku o dandan

torinozokanakucha. (I’ve got to work off this flab.) 2 vt (to work in order to pay back a
loan) hataraite… kaesu: Juugatsu no getsumatsu made ni hataraite, kono shakin o
kaesu tsumori da. (I plan to work off this loan by the end of October.)
There really isn't a simple word to convey the gradual "working off" of something in
Japanese. Torinozoku actually means "to remove" and can be used concerning
something to be removed instantly. To convey the fact that it will take time, something
for "gradually" will be needed, like dandan, sukoshi zutsu, shidai ni, etc.
-nakucha is an informal contraction for nakereba naranai.

work on 1 vt (to focus on solving a specific problem) torikumu: Ohiru o tabetara ano
mondai o torikumu yotei. (I plan to work on that problem after lunch.)
work out 1 vi (to exercise) undou suru: Mainichi undou suru no ga daiji. (It’s important
to work out every day.) 2 vt (to solve a problem) kaiketsu suru: Sono mondai o yatto
kaiketsu shita. (We finally worked out that problem.)

work over 1 vt (to give someone a hard time) hidoi me ni awaseru: Kanojo wa hontou
ni kare ni hidoi me ni awaseta, ne. (She really worked him over, didn’t she?)

work toward 1 vt …ni mukete doryoku suru: Tom wa Nihongo Nouryoku Shiken Ni
Kyuu ni mukete doryoku shite imasu. (Tom is working toward passing Level 2 of the
Japanese Language Proficiency Test.)

write back 1 vi henji o kaku: Bob oji-san ni henji o kaku. (I’ll write back to Uncle Bob.)

write down 1 vt kakitomeru: Kono jusho o kakitomenasai. (Write down this address.)

write in 1 vt (to write on a line or designated space) kakikomu: Douzo, koko ni onamae
o kakikonde kudasai. (Please write in your name here.)

write out 1 vt (to write in detail) kuwashiku kaku: Onamae, jusho, denwa bangou o
kuwashiku kaite kudasai. (Please write out your name, address, and telephone number.)

Japanese Numbers and Counting

Basic Numbers

The simple, standard numbers from one to ten in Japanese are:

1 ichi
2 ni
3 san
4 shi
5 go
6 roku
7 shichi
8 hachi
9 kyuu
10 juu

Above these, yon is preferred for "four" and nana for "seven." (There are a few
exceptions, but shi is avoided because it is also the word for "death." Due to relevant
superstitions, buildings can be found without a fourth floor, room numbers with no fours,
etc.)

11 juu ichi (This is literally "ten, one.")

12 juu ni
13 juu san
14 juu yon
15 juu go
16 juu roku
17 juu nana
18 juu hachi
19 juu kyuu
20 ni juu (This is literally "two, ten." Think of it as "two tens.")
21 ni juu ichi
22 ni juu ni
23 ni juu san

The pattern should now be easy to see. Accordingly:

27 ni juu nana
35 san juu go
48 yon juu hachi
56 go juu roku
63 roku juu san
72 nana juu ni
89 hachi juu kyuu
94 kyuu juu yon
100 hyaku

111 hyaku juu ichi

135 hyaku san juu go
167 hyaku roku juu nana

200 ni hyaku

208 ni hyaku hachi

242 ni hyaku yon juu ni
290 ni hyaku kyuu juu

300 san byaku

350 san byaku go juu

385 san byaku hachi juu go

400 yon hyaku

423 yon hyaku ni juu san

500 go hyaku
600 roppyaku
700 nana hyaku
800 happyaku
900 kyuu hyaku
1,000 sen (or issen)
1,200 sen ni hyaku
1,632 sen roppyaku san juu ni

2,000 ni sen

2,800 ni sen happyaku

3,000 san zen

4,000 yon sen
5,000 go sen
6,000 roku sen
7,000 nana sen
8,000 hassen
9,000 kyuu sen
10,000 ichi man (Not juu sen. Man is the Japanese for units of 10,000. Unlike hyaku and
sen, ichi always precedes man for numbers 10,000 to 19,999.)

17,000 ichi man nana sen

18,570 ichi man hassen go hyaku nana juu

20,000 ni man

25,000 ni man go sen

30,000 san man

50,000 go man
100,000 juu man
200,000 ni juu man
250,000 ni juu go man
1,000,000 hyaku man
2,000,000 ni hyaku man
5,000,000 go hyaku man
10,000,000 issen man
100,000,000 ichi oku (Oku is the next major unit jump when reaching ichi man man, or
"ten thousand ten thousands.")

0 zero or rei

Special Numbers

Fractions & Decimals

A half is hanbun.
A quarter (1/4) is yon bun no ichi, literally "one of four parts."
Three-fourths (3/4) is yon bun no san, or "three of four parts."
Two-thirds (2/3) is san bun no ni, and so on.

A decimal point is called ten, so:

1.5 itten go (ichi and ten are contracted)
2.5 ni ten go
4.78 yon ten nana hachi
11.36 juu ichi ten san roku

Days of the Month

The days of the month are in a group all their own. Some are similar to other numbers
or counters, while some are completely unique. The final ka or nichi means "day." Please
keep in mind that these are not ordinal numbers in the English sense, and cannot be
used to express the order of other things in a series. Take note of each one; there are
some surprises.

The first day of the month: tsuitachi (some people use ippi)
The second: futsuka
The third: mikka
4th yokka
5th itsuka
6th muika (some people use miuka)
7th nanoka
8th youka
9th kokonoka
10th touka
11th juu ichi nichi
12th juu ni nichi
13th juu san nichi
14th juu yokka
15th juu go nichi
16th juu roku nichi
17th juu nana nichi (some people use juu shichi nichi)
18th juu hachi nichi
19th juu ku nichi
20th hatsuka
21st ni juu ichi nichi
22nd ni juu ni nichi
23rd ni juu san nichi
24th ni juu yokka
25th ni juu go nichi
26th ni juu roku nichi
27th ni juu nana nichi (or ni juu shichi nichi)
28th ni juu hachi nichi
29th ni juu ku nichi
30th san juu nichi
31st san juu ichi nichi

Months of the Year

Sadly, the ancient Japanese names for the months are no longer used except in poems
and other special literature. In daily writing and conversation the number of the
month with the Japanese for month (gatsu) is used instead:

January ichi gatsu

February ni gatsu
March san gatsu
April shi gatsu (never yon gatsu)
May go gatsu
June roku gatsu
July shichi gatsu
August hachi gatsu
September ku gatsu
October juu gatsu
November juu ichi gatsu
December juu ni gatsu

Years

Years are expressed in either seireki, the western reckoning, or wareki, which follows
the Japanese eras of the reign of the emperors. In either reckoning, the word for "year"
(nen) follows the year. Years in seireki are expressed the same as any other
number; there are no special abbreviations. This year, 2008, is ni sen hachi nen; 1996
would be sen kyuu hyaku kyuu juu roku nen; 1872 is sen happyaku nana juu ni nen,
and so on.

In the wareki reckoning, this year is the 20th year of the present emperor, and his era
has been named Heisei. In Japanese it is called Heisei ni juu nen. If you were born in
1975, you were born in the 50th year of the Showa Era, or, in Japanese, Shouwa go juu
nen. For year conversions see my Handy Tables of Japanese Years.

If you need to express B.C., use kigen zen before the number: 723 B.C. is kigen zen
nana hyaku ni juu san nen.

Room Numbers & Floor Numbers

Room numbers are usually read one number at a time. Interestingly, zeroes are usually
read maru, which means "circle":

310 san ichi maru

407 yon maru nana
1227 ichi ni ni nana
1502 ichi go maru ni

The floors of a building use kai:

first floor: ikkai

second floor: ni kai
third floor: san gai
fourth floor: yon kai
fifth floor: go kai

Telephone Numbers

Telephone numbers are also often read one number at a time. A very clever invention
the Japanese have, however, is saying no where hyphens usually are. This makes
listening to a long number easier. For example, 067-892-7813 would be read: zero roku
nana no hachi kyuu ni no nana hachi ichi san.

Flight Numbers

Flight numbers use bin:

Flight 26: ni juu roku bin

Flight 183: hyaku hachi juu san bin

Trains and buses use gou after their numbers, not bin.

Counting
There is a set of what could be loosely called "ordinal numbers" which are sometimes
used for counting up to ten items. Similarities will be found between these and the days
of the months introduced above:

1 hitotsu
2 futatsu
3 mittsu
4 yottsu
5 itsutsu
6 muttsu
7 nanatsu
8 yattsu
9 kokonotsu
10 tou

These are used mainly by small children to count things or say how old they are. Adults
will sometimes use these in short requests or replies:

A: Yobi no denchi aru? (Are there any spare batteries?)

B: Hai. Mittsu aru yo. (Yes. There are three.)

However, it will sometimes be preferable to use the correct counter when counting
things, especially in formal settings. The counter for batteries and similar irregularly-
shaped, relatively small objects is ko. Counters are used with the basic numbers which
were introduced at the top of this page. Here is the previous conversation made a bit
more formal:
A: Yobi no denchi arimasu ka? (Are there any spare batteries?)
B: Hai. San ko arimasu. (Yes. There are three.)

There are many of these counters — many more than are mentioned on this page.
These should be considered the absolutely essential ones that you need to learn and
master first. The more counters you memorize and use correctly, the more literate and
fluent you will sound.

ko

Ko was just mentioned. It is used to count things like apples, oranges, blocks, boxes,
and many other things which are pretty much the same size in all dimensions. People
often use ko in place of other counters. If you use ko to count bananas instead of the
technically correct hon, it's no big deal, but using it to count cars or animals would really
show a lack of knowledge.

hon

Use hon for relatively long and narrow things: pens, pencils, rulers, sticks, bottles, etc.
Take note how the pronunciation changes according to the number:

1 ippon
2 ni hon
3 san bon
4 yon hon
5 go hon
6 roppon
7 nana hon
8 happon
9 kyuu hon
10 juppon

Boku wa enpitsu ni hon motte iru kara, ippon kashite ageru. (I have two pencils so
I'll lend you one.)

Note how the number of an item retains its counter even when the name of the item is
known and omitted.

Please keep in mind that this is a general guide and there will be people who use other
expressions. For example, there are people who will say hachi hon instead of happon.
This applies to everything on this page.

hai

Hai is for cups or glasses filled with a drink: ippai, ni hai, san bai:

O-cha ni hai kudasai. (Two cups of tea, please.)

satsu, mai, dai

For the number of books use satsu: issatsu, ni satsu, san satsu, etc.
For flat things like sheets of paper, photographs, and tiles use mai: ichi mai, ni mai, san
mai, etc.
For cars, bikes, and other machines use dai: ichi dai, ni dai, san dai, etc.

Animals & People

Small animals up to dogs use hiki: ippiki, ni hiki, san biki, yon hiki, go hiki
Larger animals from sheep on up use tou: ittou, ni tou, san tou
Birds use wa: ichi wa, ni wa, san wa
Fish use bi: ichi bi, ni bi, san bi

Watashi no itoko wa inu san biki, neko happiki to niwatori go wa o katte imasu.
(My cousin has three dogs, eight cats, and five chickens.)

For people use hitori for one person, futari for two people, and then the counter nin for
three or more:

3 people: san nin

7 people: nana nin
12 people: juu ni nin
65 people: roku juu go nin

Futari no ane to san nin no otouto ga imasu. (I have two big sisters and three little
brothers.)

Telling Time

For time, add ji after the hour and fun/pun after the minutes:

1:25 ichi ji ni juu go fun

3:51 san ji go juu ippun
11:47 juu ichi ji yon juu nana fun

Four o'clock is yoji, not yonji. Also, han (meaning "half") is often used for 30 minutes:

4:30 yoji han

Periods of Time

Although omitted in some cases, add kan to indicate a period of time:

years: ichi nen kan, ni nen kan, san nen kan, etc.
months: ikka getsu kan, ni ka getsu kan, san ka getsu kan, etc.
weeks: isshuu kan, ni shuu kan, san shuu kan, etc.
days: ichi nichi (kan is usually omitted), futsuka kan, mikka kan, etc., following their
names as days of the month.
hours: ichi jikan, ni jikan, san jikan, etc.
minutes: ippun kan, ni fun kan, san pun kan, etc.
seconds: ichi byou, ni byou, san byou, etc.

Kare wa juu ni nen kan doitsu ni sunda. (He lived in Germany for 12 years.)
Chiisai koro, natsu yasumi wa san ka getsu kan datta. (When I was little our
summer vacations were three months long.)
Sono shigoto wa ni jikan han kakarimashita. (That job took two and a half hours to
do.)

Times & Attempts

Use kai to express the number of times something is experienced, tried, or done:

Ni kai toukyou ni ikimashita. (I've been to Tokyo twice.)

Mou ikkai kanojo ni denwa shite miru. (I'll try calling her one more time.)

Kai is also used to show frequencies:

every other day: futsuka ni ikkai

once every three days: mikka ni ikkai
twice a week: shuu ni ni kai
once every two weeks: ni shuu kan ni ikkai
once every three months: san ka getsu ni ikkai
three times a year: nen ni san kai

Bokutachi wa ni ka getsu ni ikkai bouringu o yaru. (We go bowling every two months.)
Watashi wa nen ni ni kai amerika ni iku. (I go to America twice a year.)

Rankings & Placings

Rankings within a group or placings for contest winners use i:

first place: ichi i

second place: ni i
third place: san i

Numbers in Succession

Use ban to show the number of something in a succession:

number one (or "the best"): ichi ban

number two: ni ban
number three: san ban

Ban is also sometimes used instead of i to show rankings.

A Specific Number in a Series

To specifically point out the number of something in a series, add me:

the second person: futari me
the third day: mikka me
the fifth machine: go dai me

Imouto wa migi kara san ban me desu. (My sister is the third one from the right.)

Vague Numbers

a few dogs: inu ni, san biki

4 or 5 students: shi, go nin no gakusei (not yon, go)
around 25 people: ni juu go nin gurai
50 or more: go juu ijou
several years: suu nen kan
hundreds of birds: suu hyaku wa no tori (or nan byaku wa no tori)
thousands of liters: suu sen litoru (or nan zen litoru)

Time Related Nouns and Expressions

Present

the present: genzai

now: ima
today: kyou
this morning: kesa
this afternoon: kyou no gogo
this evening: konban
tonight: konya; kyou no yoru
this week: konshuu
this month: kongetsu
this year: kotoshi

Past

the past: kako

yesterday: kinou
yesterday morning: kinou no asa
yesterday afternoon: kinou no gogo
yesterday evening: kinou no ban
last night: sakuya; sakuban
the day before yesterday: ototoi; ototsui
two days ago: futsuka mae
three days ago: mikka mae
a few days ago: ni, san nichi mae
the other day: senjitsu
last week: senshuu
the week before last: sensenshuu
one week ago: isshuu kan mae
two weeks ago: ni shuu kan mae
three weeks ago: san shuu kan mae
a few weeks ago: ni, san shuu kan mae
last month: sengetsu
one month ago: ikka getsu mae
two months ago: ni ka getsu mae
three months ago: san ka getsu mae
a few months ago: ni, san ka getsu mae
last year: kyonen
August of last year: kyonen no hachigatsu
spring of last year: kyonen no haru
one year ago: ichi nen mae
two years ago: ni nen mae
three years ago: san nen mae
four or five years ago: shi, go nen mae
hundreds of years ago: suu hyaku nen mae
millions of years ago: nanbyaku man nen mae

Future

the future: (near future; a person's future) shourai; (far-off future; science fiction type
of future) mirai
tomorrow: ashita; asu
tomorrow morning: ashita no asa
tomorrow afternoon: ashita no gogo
tomorrow evening: ashita no ban
tomorrow night: ashita no yoru
the day after tomorrow: asatte
the day after the day after tomorrow: shiasatte
two days from now: futsuka go
three days from now: mikka go
a few days from now: ni, san nichi go
next week: raishuu
the week after next: saraishuu
one week from now: isshuu kan go
two weeks from now: ni shuu kan go
three weeks from now: san shuu kan go
a few weeks from now: ni, san shuu kan go
next month: raigetsu
the month after next: saraigetsu
one month from now: ikka getsu go
two months from now: ni ka getsu go
three months from now: san ka getsu go
a few months from now: ni, san ka getsu go
next year: rainen
the year after next: sarainen
April of next year: rainen no shigatsu
summer of next year: rainen no natsu
one year from now: ichi nen go
two years from now: ni nen go
three years from now: san nen go
four or five years from now: shi, go nen go
hundreds of years from now: suu hyaku nen go
millions of years from now: nanbyaku man nen go

Japanese Particles

Particles in Japanese act like the "cement" of a structure, holding the major components
together and serving as indicators for the words they follow or are stuck between. There
are even times when they have their own meaning, usually as prepositions. They can be
friendly at times and pesky at others, and some can even be omitted in familiar
conversation.

This is a general guide for using the particles. I trust that it will serve nicely for daily
conversation and writing, but I really must emphasize general here because of the many
exceptions and surprises that do exist. In fact, there are some exceptions that defy all
reason. While some particles more or less follow certain rules regarding use, others do
not and must be learned "case by case" and remembered as such. I have spent hours
with native speakers trying to get straight, logical answers concerning the strange
behavior of some of the particles, but I often just get blank stares and the "case by
case" answer. I will do my best to point these out, but it will be impossible to cover
everything here.

One thing that is nice about Japanese is that it's not as "grammatically fussy" as English.
If you happen to omit or make a mistake concerning particles, you won't sound as
ridiculous or illiterate speaking this "broken Japanese" as you would if you did the same
thing in English. (That's not meant to be an excuse; it's just to assure you that it's okay
to make mistakes along the way.)

Contents

Subject indicators wa and ga

Direct object indicator o
Indirect object indicator ni
Destination indicator e
Action indicator de
Possession indicator no
Connectors to and ya
Includer mo
Question maker ka
Empasizer yo
Terribly overused ne
Quasi-adjective indicator na
Subject indicators wa and ga

Wa and ga indicate subjects by coming after them. You could say that wa is the
"standard" subject indicator. It indicates the general topic and, if anything, emphasizes
what comes after it:

• Nihon no natsu wa atsui desu. (Summers in Japan are hot.)

In this example, wa tells us that the topic of conversation is summers in Japan, and that
the important thing about them is the fact that they are hot.

• Kimiko wa mainichi eigo o benkyou shite imasu. (Kimiko studies English every
day.)

Here we are talking about Kimiko, and want her diligence concerning English studies to
be made known.

Ga points to "active" subjects, emphasized subjects, and subjects within a larger topic:

• John ga suru shigoto wa muzukashii desu. (The job that John does is difficult.)

In this one, wa tells us that we're talking about a job, and that it's a difficult one, and
ga tells us that it's not just any job we're talking about, but the job that John does.

• Ima Seiko ga shite imasu. (Seiko is doing it now.)

This one, which is a reply to someone's question, needs to point to Seiko as the person
doing whatever, so ga is used. The thing she is doing is already known, so it needs no
emphasis.

Ga is used with simple question subjects in many cases:

• Dare ga kono gyuunyuu o koboshita? (Who spilled this milk?)

• Nani ga tabetai no? (What do you want to eat?)
• Itsu ga ii? (When is a good time?)

And ga is used to emphasize the answers to those questions:

• Tommy ga yatta. (Tommy did it.)

• Gyouza ga tabetai. (I want to eat gyouza.)
• Sanji ga ii. (Three o'clock's good.)

...unless there's something still indefinite about it:

• Gyouza o tabemashou ka. (Shall we have gyouza?)

• Gyouza wa dou desu ka. (How about some gyouza?)
• Rokuji wa dou? (How about six o'clock?)
As you can see, it can really get confusing. More than trying to remember set rules, I've
found that memorizing "set phrases" is the safest way to go, even though it does take
some time. Here's where learning "case by case" becomes necessary, because the
particle used will sometimes change depending on what is being emphasized, as well as
the verb tense and conjugation used.

Ga sometimes indicates "but":

• Watashitachi wa pikuniku o tanoshimi ni shite ita ga, ame ga futta. (We looked
forward to the picnic, but it rained.)

Notice how the three ga's are used here:

• Keeki ga tabetakatta ga, onaka ga ippai datta. (I wanted to have some cake, but
I was too full.)

Wa could replace the third ga here.

As a strange particle quirk, subject indicator wa is always written using the hiragana for
ha. For reference, please see my hiragana table here.

Direct object indicator o

You could call o a "limited use" particle. Its only job is to show us what the direct object
is:

• Jisho o kashite kureru? (Would you please loan me your dictionary?)

• Atarashii kamera o katta. (I bought a new camera.)
• Pizza o tabemashou ka. (Shall we get a pizza?)

However, ga is usually preferred when using the -tai ending:

• Ramen ga tabetai. (I want to eat ramen.)

Also, use ga, not o, before the verbs iru (to be present; to exist), iru (to need), aru,
wakaru, dekiru, and the weird quasi-verb/adjectives suki, kirai and hoshii:

• Bob no heya ni tokage ga iru. (There's a lizard in Bob's room.)

• Boku wa atarashii kasa ga iranai. (I don't need a new umbrella.)
• Shizu wa jitensha ga arimasu ka. (Does Shizu have a bicycle?)
• Kenji no itte iru koto ga wakaranai. (I don't understand what Kenji's saying.)
• Emiko wa ryouri ga dekiru? (Can Emiko cook?)
• Chuuka ryouri ga suki desu ka. (Do you like Chinese food?)
• Tom wa hikouki ga kirai. (Tom hates airplanes.)
• Ano nuigurumi ga hoshii! (I want that stuffed animal!)

It is sometimes easy to confuse the particle o with the o- prefix which is used as an
honorific indicator for some selected nouns, so be careful. Some of these are:
 • o-tenki: the weather
• o-cha: tea
• o-mizu: water
• o-niku: meat
• o-naka: stomach
• o-kuruma: car

These can be very interesting. Some use the o- prefix only in some instances and not in
others. For example, when talking about your own car or cars in general, you would
never use the o- prefix. You will probably only hear it when salespeople or servicepeople
are talking about the car you are going to buy or have bought from them. Some, like o-
tenki and o-cha, are almost always used with the honorific prefix.

I might as well mention here that there is a verb conjugation that uses this honorific
prefix. It's o- + Base 2, and has several endings. Here are examples of two:

• Douzo, o-cha o o-nomi kudasai. (Please, have some tea.)

• O-niku wa o-tabe ni narimashita ka. (Did you have some meat?)

These are very polite constructions. Can you sense the honor and respect oozing from
them?

Although this particle is usually written o in romaji these days, in older documents it
may be seen written wo. It's the same particle with the same role, but with an alternate
spelling in romaji. You may also hear some Japanese pronounce it more like wo than o.

Indirect object indicator ni

Ni shows us what the indirect object is — who or what an action is directed to:

• John ni jisho o kashite kureru? (Would you please loan John your dictionary?)
• Susan ni atarashii kamera o ageta. (I gave Susan a new camera.)
• Inu ni esa o yarinasai. (Feed the dog.)

Ni is also a preposition which indicates destinations, places, dates and times:

• Nihon ni kono hako o okuritai desu. (I want to send this box to Japan.)
• John wa Okayama ni ikimashita. (John went to Okayama.)
• Neko wa isu no shita ni iru. (The cat is under the chair.)
• Kare wa suiyoubi ni kuru. (He'll come on Wednesday.)
• Kaigi wa shichi gatsu touka ni arimasu. (The meeting will be on July 10.)
• Bob wa rokuji han ni tsuku. (Bob will arrive at six thirty.)

Ni, not o, is used with the verbs noru (to ride) and noboru (to climb):

• Hayaku! Densha ni notte! (Hurry! Get on the train!)

• Kenji wa jitensha ni noru koto ga dekiru. (Kenji can ride a bicycle.)
• Ki ni noborimashou. (Let's climb up the tree.)
 • Kinou kodomotachi wa yama ni nobotta. (The kids climbed the mountain
yesterday.)

Ni is often combined with wa to show that something exists or is included in the

subject:

• Nihon niwa chiisai shima ga takusan arimasu. (There are many small islands in
Japan.)
• Suzuki-san niwa san nin no kodomo ga imasu. (Mrs. Suzuki has three children.)

Destination indicator e

While not as flexible as ni, e is sometimes used in place of it to emphasize a destination:

• Soto e ikitai. (I want to go outside.)

• Kyou wa doko e? (Where are you going today?) (Yes, the verb can be omitted
here.)
• Ashita bijutsukan e ikimasu. (We're going to the art museum tomorrow.)

As another strange particle quirk, destination indicator e is always written using the
hiragana for he. For reference, please see my hiragana table here.

Action indicator de

Particle de is a preposition that shows us where an action takes place:

• Kyou ie de taberu. (I'll eat at home today.)

• Kodomotachi wa kouen de asonde imasu. (The kids are playing in the park.)

Some exceptions are: Use ni when the verb shows attachment to an object or place,
and o when the action passes a place or intentionally covers a wide area:

• Kana wa ano isu ni suwatte iru. (Kana is sitting in that chair over there.)
• Bill wa Nagoya ni sunde imasu. (Bill lives in Nagoya.)
• Futatsu me no kado o magatte kudasai. (Please turn at the second corner.)
• Kouen o sanpo shimashou. (Let's take a walk in the park.)

De is used for "among":

• Watashi no yuujin de, piano o hikeru hito ga inai. (There is no one among my
friends that can play the piano.)

De also indicates a method:

• Onamae wa pen de kaite kudasai. (Please write your name with a pen.)
• Genkin de haraimashou. (Let's pay with cash.)
• Eigo de hanashite kureru? (Would you please speak English?)

De is sometimes used before ii to say that something is good or sufficient as it is:

 • Kore de ii. (This is okay. [It's good enough.])
• Ashita de ii. (Tomorrow will be okay.)

De is sometimes combined with wa to show that something is done within the subject:

• Tokushima dewa maitoshi yuumei na matsuri ga okonawareru. (A famous festival

is held in Tokushima every year.)

Possession indicator no

This one also has many roles in Japanese grammar. It shows possession:

• Sore wa Keiko no kasa desu. (That's Keiko's umbrella.)

• Jack no inu no namae wa Aki desu. (Jack's dog's name is Aki.)

It can sometimes replace ga, and is used especially in clauses that modify a noun:

• Hontou ni mondai no nai tabi deshita. (It really was a trouble-free trip.)
• Watashi no oshieru gakusei wa, eigo no dekinai ko bakari desu. (None of the kids
that I teach can speak English.)

It comes after some adjectives:

• Kyoto no matsuri ni takusan no hito ga ita. (Many people were at the festival in
Kyoto.)
• Kumi wa midori no fuusen ga hoshii. (Kumi wants a green balloon.)

It makes informal questions:

• Yuushoku wa tabenai no? (Aren't you going to eat dinner?)

• Nanji ni kuru no? (What time will you come?)

And it is also used between prepositions and nouns to make the noun the object of the
preposition. Compare the following sentences:

• Kono tegami wa Yuuko kara kita. (This letter came from Yuuko.)
• Kore wa Yuuko kara no tegami desu. (This is a letter from Yuuko.)

And these:

• Kono tegami o Yuuko ni okuru. (I'm going to send this letter to Yuuko.)
• Kore wa Yuuko e no tegami desu. (This is a letter to Yuuko.)

Note: Ni is not used with no in this way.

Connectors to and ya

These work like "and" in English. Use to to include only what is actually mentioned, and
ya to include other things which are not mentioned but may be relevant or supposed:

• Ashita boushi to undou gutsu o motte kite kudasai. (Bring a hat and athletic shoes
tomorrow.)
• Gakkou ga hajimattara, pen ya nooto ya jisho ga hitsuyo desu. (When school
starts, you'll need things like a pen, a notebook, and a dictionary.)

To also indicates quotes and thoughts, whether they are direct or indirect:

• Jane wa konban gaishoku shitai to itta. (Jane said she wants to eat out tonight.)
• Sore wa totemo ii keikaku da to omoimasu. (I think that's a very good plan.)

Some oddball adverbs use to optionally:

• Ken wa hakkiri (to) kotowatta. (Ken flatly refused.)

• Motto yukkuri (to) hanashite kureru? (Would you please speak more slowly?)

Sometimes to is used to mean "with":

• Dare to kouen ni iku? (Who are you going with to the park?)
• Kimiko wa Sally to issho ni kaimono ni ikimashita. (Kimiko went shopping with
Sally.)

Note: Issho (ni) means "together (with)" and is often used after to. Use it when there's
a chance that to alone might not be clearly understood.

After verbs, to often means "if" or "when":

• Massugu iku to Ritsurin Kouen ga miemasu. (If you go straight you'll see Ritsurin
Park.)
• Watashi wa soba o taberu to byouki ni naru. (I get sick whenever I eat buckwheat
noodles.)

Includer mo

Forgive me for making up my own English, but "includer" just works perfectly here
because mo includes things, the way "also" and "too" do:

• Watashi mo ikitai! (I want to go, too!)

• Yasuko mo atarashii pasokon o katta. (Yasuko also bought a new computer.)

Mo is also used to emphasize "any," sometimes being combined with other particles:

• Ima watashi wa nani mo taberenai. (I can't eat anything now.)

• Kare wa doko nimo ikitakunai. (He doesn't want to go anywhere.)
 • Paul wa nan demo dekimasu. (Paul can do anything.)

Note: There are also elongated mou's that have totally different usages. One is used to
mean "already," and another is used for whining about something:

• Watashi mou shimashita. (I already did it.)

• Mou, anata itsumo osoi! (Oh, you're always slow!)

By the way, mou is what Japanese cows say.

Question maker ka

Ka makes questions, both plain and polite:

• Kodomotachi wa mou tabemashita ka. (Have the kids already eaten?)

• Jennie no kasa o karita ka. (Did you borrow Jennie's umbrella?)

When it comes to making questions, there are both written and unwritten rules that will
keep you wondering. While ka can be used in most instances, there are times when no
is preferred. These can be interchangeable in some cases, but not in others. Both of
them — no ka — are even used together sometimes.

Empasizer yo

Yo is usually used at the end of a short phrase or sentence. Its nuances are not easy to
define, but it generally has two purposes: to emphasize an action, or to brag about one:

• Heya o souji shimashita yo. (I DID clean the room.)

• Eigo no shiken, goukaku shita yo. ([Of course] I passed the English exam.)

Note: As in English, to correctly use the "brag" version you have to keep a straight,
matter-of-fact, "no big deal" face.

Terribly overused ne

The correct place for ne is at the end of a sentence, where it is used to check or request
the agreement of the listener:

• Ashita watashitachi to issho ni ikimasu ne. (You're going with us tomorrow, right?)
• Ii otenki desu ne. (Nice weather, isn't it. [with a falling intonation])

However, like "y'know" in English, too many people have the habit of grossly overusing
ne. I've even heard speeches where it was put between almost every word. Be careful
not to overdo it.
Quasi-adjective indicator na

In the world of Japanese adjectives, there are "true" and "quasi" types. When a "quasi-
adjective" modifies a noun in a straightforward manner, na goes in between:

• Sono mise wa benri na basho ni aru. (That store's in a convenient place.)

• Ooki na inu desu ne. (That's a big dog, isn't it. [with a falling intonation])

Changing na to ni converts quasi-adjectives to adverbs:

• Dare demo kantan ni dekimasu yo. (Anyone can do it easily.)

See my Japanese Adjectives for more.

Na may sometimes be heard here and there in familiar situations as a substitute for ne.
This is considered impolite at best, and should be avoided.

Japanese Prepositions

Due to several recent requests, I have put together this overview of Japanese
prepositions. This should cover the main ones, but please contact me if you can think of
any not listed here. Be sure to see my page on particles, because many of them also
have "prepositional attributes," and it will help explain the difference between the
particles used on this page, for example ni and de.

Naka is used to express inside:

• Neko wa hako no naka ni iru. (The cat is in the box.)

• Keeki wa sono fukuro no naka ni aru. (The cake is inside that bag.)
• Hasami wa hikidashi no naka ni aru. (The scissors are in the drawer.)

When a large room or building is referred to, the no naka is usually omitted:

• Bob wa toshokan ni iru. (Bob's in the library.)

• Bideo dekki wa san maru nana kyoushitsu ni aru. (The VCR is in Room 307.)

Naka is also used for among:

• Yamamoto Sensei wa gakusei no naka de ninkimono desu. (Mr. Yamamoto is

popular among the students.)
• Kono kasa no naka kara erande kudasai. (Please choose from among these
umbrellas.)

Soto is used for the outside of things or places:

• Kodomotachi wa soto de asonde iru. (The kids are playing outside.)

• Neko o soto ni dashite kureru? (Would you let the cat out?)
 • Ayako wa taiikukan no soto de taberu no ga suki. (Ayako likes eating outside the
gym.)

Ue is for things sitting on things, the top of things, as well as above things:

• Jisho wa tsukue no ue ni aru. (The dictionary is on the desk.)

• Tokei wa tsukue no ue ni kakemashou. (Let's hang the clock [on the wall] above
the desk.)
• Ki no ue made nobotta. (We climbed to the top of the tree.)

Shita is the opposite of ue:

• Inu wa teeburu no shita ni iru. (The dog is under the table.)

• Ano hon no shita ni sen en satsu ga aru. (There's a thousand-yen bill under that
book.)

Mae is used for in front of:

• Eki no mae de matte ne. (Wait in front of the station, okay?)

• Jitensha wa ie no mae ni oite kudasai. (Please park your bicycle in front of the
house.)

Ushiro or ura is used for behind:

• Kuruma wa ie no ura ni aru. (The car is behind the house.)

• Hako no ushiro ni nezumi ga iru. (There's a mouse behind the box.)

Soba, yoko, and tonari are used for next to:

• Shako wa ie no soba ni aru. (The garage is next to the house.)

• Miki wa tonari no ie ni sunde imasu. (Miki lives in the house next door.)
• Gakkou no yoko ni kouba ga aru. (There's a factory next to the school.)

Aida shows that something is between two other things:

• Yuubinkyoku wa toshokan to eigakan no aida ni aru. (The post office is between

the library and the movie theater.)
• Watashi no kasa wa reizouko to kabe no aida ni atta. (My umbrella was between
the refrigerator and the wall.)

Mawari is used for around a thing or area:

• Kare no ie no mawari ni tambo ga aru. (There are rice paddies around his house.)
• Bokutachi wa Takamatsu no mawari o doraibu shita. (We drove around
Takamatsu.)

Please note that in the second example above mawari does not mean "around the
perimeter of Takamatsu" only, but "in and around," just the same as the English
equivalent.
Ni shows motion directed towards something:

• Kouen ni ikimashou. (Let's go to the park.)

• Sono okane wa fuutou no naka ni irete ne. (Put that money in the envelope,
okay?)
• Ashita Osaka ni iku. (I'm going to Osaka tomorrow.)

Ni is also used for in, on, at specific times, days, dates, seasons, etc:

• Rokuji ni kite ne. (Come at 6:00, okay?)

• Senshuu no kayoubi ni tsuita. (I arrived last Tuesday.)
• Sen kyuuhyaku hachijuu ichi nen ni nihon ni kita. (I came to Japan in 1981.)

Kara shows motion from something:

• Kono hon o amerika kara motte kita. (I brought this book from America.)
• Ano hako kara ringo o totte kudasai. (Please take an apple from that box.)

Chikai or chikaku ni is used for near:

• Kuukou wa chikai. (The airport is nearby.)

• Watashitachi no ie no chikaku ni takusan no mise ga aru. (Near our house are
many stores.)

Tooi (pronounced like "toy") or tooku ni is used for far:

• Eki wa koko kara tooi. (The train station is far from here.)
• Kare wa tooki ni sunde imasu. (He lives far away.)

Mukai is used for opposite something:

• Honya wa kouen no mukai ni aru. (The bookstore is opposite the park.)

• Kanojo wa gakkou no mukai ni sunde imasu. (She lives across from the school.)

While mukou is used for beyond:

• Minato wa hoteru no mukou ni aru. (The harbor is beyond the hotel.)

• Shokudou wa kaigishitsu no mukou ni arimasu. (The cafeteria is on the other side
of the conference room.)

Japanese "Bikkuri Adverbs"

In Japanese there is an interesting set of adverbs which are all made up of four
hiragana, the second of which is the small tsu, which "doubles" the following consonant,
and the fourth of which is ri. I have asked a few Japanese if there is a name for this set
of words, but have received only negative replies, which is surprising to me because
there are so many of them. Since I feel that they need a name, and since it is surprising
to me that they don't have one, I have decided to call them "bikkuri adverbs" because
bikkuri means "surprise" and is itself a good example of one.

As with most points of grammar, there are exceptions. I call these adverbs because of
the role they play in most Japanese constructions. Some of these are seen or heard as
adjectives; some are combined with the verb suru (usually as shite iru or shita) to
create adjectives. Some are "specialized" and only appear with a certain verb as a set
phrase. Some of these are followed by to when used by some people. (The optional to
does not change the meaning.) Some don't sound right unless they are followed by to.

There are a couple in here that are not adverbs, but I included them because they fit the
pattern.

I have create three groups. Group 1 is what I would call the "everyday group": the ones
which are used the most and so should be learned first. The ones in Group 2 should be
tackled next. They are also used often enough, but not as often as the ones in Group 1.
I would call Group 3 the "obscure group." I personally have rarely or never heard these
used, but they are in the dictionary. The words are arranged in Japanese alphabetical
order within each group, followed by an example sentence or two.

The "groupings" have been done totally from my own experience. Your experience with
the language will most likely be different to a certain degree. Good luck!

Group 1

gakkari: to be disappointed

• Sean wa shiken o subeta kara gakkari shite iru. (Sean is disappointed because he
failed the exam.)

gussuri: to sleep soundly

• Sakuya gussuri nemashita. (I slept great last night.)

shikkari: strong, firm, solid

• Shikkari shite kudasai. (Get a hold of yourself. / Snap out of it. / Don't die.) (This
is always said to dying people in movies and dramas.)
• Shikkari shita hako aru? (Do you have a sturdy box?)

sokkuri: just alike; identical (or close to it)

• Kanojo wa Michiko ni sokkuri. (She looks just like Michiko.)

hakkiri: clear; plain; distinct

• Iitai koto o hakkiri iinasai. (Clearly say what you want to say.)
• Kare wa hakkiri kotowatta. (He distinctly refused.)
bikkuri: to be surprised

• Mayonaka denwa ga natta node, bikkuri shita. (I was surprised because the phone
rang in the middle of the night.)

pittari: tightly; fit perfectly; exactly

• Kono boushi wa pittari au. (This hat fits perfectly.)

yappari (slang form of yahari, and not an adverb): as expected; of course

• Yappari, Kumiko wa okurete kita. (As usual, Kumiko came late.)

• Yappari... (It figures...) (used to show that something dreaded has happened)

yukkuri: slowly; taking one's time

• Douzo, yukkuri shite kudasai. (Please relax and make yourself at home.)
• Motto yukkuri hanashite kudasai. (Please speak more slowly.)

Group 2

assari: simple, light, frank; light (food)

• Ojii-san wa assari shita tabemono ga suki. (Grandpa likes light, simple food.)
• Kanojo no seikaku wa assari shite iru. (She has a frank personality.)

ukkari: carelessly, absent-mindedly; by mistake

• Sumimasen. Ukkari shite jisho o wasureta. (I'm sorry. I carelessly forgot my

dictionary.)
• Kanojo wa ukkari shite machigatta densha ni norimashita. (She took the wrong
train by mistake.)

gisshiri: tight, full, close

• Kyou no densha wa gisshiri desu ne. (The train is packed today, isn't it?)

kitchiri: punctually, sharp

• Kitchiri shichiji desu. (It's now seven o'clock sharp)

• Sono tokei wa itsumo kitchiri desu yo. (That clock is always right on.)
• Kare wa kitchiri juuji ni kita. (He arrived at ten exactly.)

kossori: secretly, quietly

• Ano futari ga maiban kossori atte iru. (Those two meet secretly every night.)
• Kare wa jugyouchuu kossori zasshi o mite ita. (He was hiding a magazine and
looking at it during class.)
sappari: neat, clean, orderly; frank, open; refreshed; entirely, completely (usually with
negatives)

• Sappari shita hito ga suki. (I like frank, uncomplicated people.)

• Ofuro ni haitte sappari shita. (I took a bath and now feel refreshed.)
• Tanaka-san no iu koto wa sappari wakaranai. (I can't understand a word Mr.
Tanaka says.)

shakkuri: (noun) hiccup (hiccough)

sukkari: completely, all

• Aa! Sukkari wasureta! (Oh, no! I completely forgot about it!)

• Kanojo wa sukkari kawatte shimaimashita yo. (I tell you, she has completely
changed.)

sukkiri: neat, clear, refreshed

• Sachiko no heya wa sukkiri shite iru. (Sachiko's room is neat and tidy.)
• Kare no iu kotoba niwa itsumo sukkiri shinai tokoro ga aru. (There's always
something unclear in everything he says.)

tappuri: full; plenty of...

• Tabemono ga tappuri aru yo. (There is plenty to eat.)

• Jikan tappuri aru. (We have lots of time.)

battari: suddenly; with a thud; to run into someone unexpectedly

• Kouen de Suzuki-san ni battari atta. (I ran into Mrs. Suzuki in the park.)
• Kare wa battari taoreta. (He suddenly fell over.)

bisshori: get wet, soaked

• Kasa o wasureta node, bisshori nureta. (We forgot our umbrellas, so we got
soaking wet.)

yuttari: easy; comfortable; relaxed

• Kore wa hontou ni yuttari shita heya desu. (This really is a comfortable room.)

Group 3

uttori: entranced, fascinated

• Mina wa kanojo no subarashii ensou ni uttori shimashita. (Everyone was entranced

by her wonderful performance.)
ottori: gentle, quiet, calm

• Bob wa ottori shite imasu. (Bob is an easy-going guy.)

kakkiri: prompt, sharp; exactly (same as kitchiri)

• Kono jitensha wa kakkiri san man en deshita. (This bicycle cost exactly 30,000
yen.)
• Watashi no hikouki wa goji kakkiri ni touchaku shimashita. (My plane arrived right
at five o'clock.)

gakkuri: collapse; break down

• Shiken no kekka de Kenji wa gakkuri kita. (Kenji collapsed in shock after finding
out about the exam results.)

gasshiri: stout, strong, solid (same as shikkari)

• Kono furui isu wa totemo gasshiri dekite imasu. (This old chair is very sturdy.)

gatchiri: firmly, securely (usually used in connection with being tightfisted in money
matters)

• Ichirou oji-san wa saifu o gatchiri nigitte iru. (Uncle Ichirou is tight with his
money.)

kikkari: exactly, punctually (same as kakkiri)

• Hachiji kikkari ni demashou. (Let's leave right at eight o'clock.)

kippari: definitely, positively; (refuse) flatly

• Bob no teian wa kippari kotowarareta. (Bob's suggestion was flatly refused.)

• Kanojo wa kippari to henji shimashita. (She gave a definite answer.)

kukkiri: distinctly, clearly

• Kyou wa Fuji-san ga kukkiri to mieru. (Today Mt. Fuji stands out clearly.)

guttari: be dead tired

• Mou guttari da. (I'm dead tired.)

• Kare wa guttari to beddo ni taoreta. (He collapsed exhausted onto his bed.)

kokkuri: nod; doze (Kokkuri is usually doubled when used. It conveys the motion of
"nodding off.")

• Ano gakusei wa jugyouchuu kokkuri kokkuri shite ita. (That student was dozing off
during class.)
gossori: all, entirely

• Houseki ten ni dorobou ga hairi, houseki o gossori nusunde ita. (A thief broke into
a jewelry store and stole everything.)

kotteri: thick, heavy, rich (opposite of assari)

• Bataa o tsukatta ryouri wa kotteri shite iru. (Food made with butter is rich.)

zakkuri: thick and rough

• Kare wa zakkuri shita fuku ga suki. (He likes roughly made clothes.)

shikkuri: exactly (usually used negatively)

• Bokutachi wa shikkuri shinai. (We don't get along well.)

jikkuri: closely; without hurry

• Jisho o tsukatte, jikkuri shiraberu no ga taisetsu. (Using your dictionary and

studying carefully without hurry is important.)

shittori: gentle, graceful; moist, damp

• Watashitachi wa shittori shita funiki de hanashita. (We spoke together in a quiet

way.)
• Shibafu wa ame de shittori nurete iru. (The lawn is wet from the rain.)

suppari: flatly; once and for all

• Kare wa tabako o suppari yameta. (He quit smoking completely.)

suppori: cover one's head completely

• Kimiko wa suppori zukin o kabutte ita. (Kimiko covered her head completely with a
hood.)

chakkari: nervy, cheeky

• Kanojo niwa chakkari shita tokoro ga aru. (There is something shrewd and cheeky
about her.)

choppiri: a little bit (slang for chotto)

• Obaa-chan wa ame o choppiri kureta. (Grandma gave me just a little candy.)

tekkiri: surely, beyond doubt

• Tekkiri Bob wa issho ni iku to omotta. (I was certain that Bob would go with us.)
deppuri: portly, plump

• Sore wa deppuri futotta neko desu ne. (That's a fat cat, isn't it?)

dosshiri: composed; dignified

• Kare wa itsumo dosshiri shite iru. (He is always composed.)

nikkori: smile at; beam at

• Kanojo wa nikkori shite aisatsu shimashita. (She greeted us with a smile.)

nettori: sticky; clammy

• Kare no te wa nettori shite kimochi warukatta. (His hands were clammy and felt
gross.)

nossori: heavily; sluggishly

• John wa nossori okiagatta. (John got up sluggishly.)

pattari: abruptly, suddenly

• Kare wa kanojo to pattari tsukiawanakunatta. (He suddenly stopped seeing her.)

patchiri: having bright eyes or eyes wide open

• Yumiko wa me o patchiri aketa. (Yumiko opened her eyes wide.)

hissori: quiet, silent

• Machi wa kurakute hissori shite ita. (The town was dark and quiet.)

hyokkori: by chance (like battari); unexpectedly

• Kinou kaimono shinagara hyokkori Nagao-san ni atta. (Yesterday I ran into Mr.
Nagao while shopping.)
• Kenji wa hyokkuri boku no ie ni kita. (Kenji came to my place unexpectedly.)

puttsuri: entirely; utterly

• Kanojo kara no renraku wa puttsuri nakunatta. (All communication from her totally
ended.)

bettari: sticky; thick

• Ano futari wa itsumo bettari shite iru. (Those two are always together.)

bettori: soaked; covered with

 • Kare no shatsu wa bettori penki ga tsuite ita. (His shirt was covered with paint.)

pokkiri: only; no more than

• Watashi wa gohyaku en pokkiri shika motte inai. (I've only got 500 yen with me.)

pokkuri: to die suddenly

• Kare wa pokkuri shinimashita. (He died suddenly.)

hossori: slim; slender

• Kanojo wa hossori shite imasu ne. (She's slim, isn't she?)

potteri: plump; chubby (opposite of hossori, same as deppuri)

• Potteri shita inu desu ne. (That's a chubby dog, isn't it?)

misshiri: hard, earnestly, severely

• Sensei wa gakusei ni eigo o misshiri oshieta. (The teacher earnestly taught the
students English.)

mitchiri: hard, earnestly, severely (same as misshiri above)

mukkuri: get up suddenly (opposite of nossori)

• Neko ga mukkuri okiagatta. (The cat got up suddenly.)

mutchiri: portly, plump (same as deppuri and potteri)

muttsuri: glum; sulky

• Kare wa kanojo no kotoba o kiitara, muttsuri damatte shimatta. (After listening to

her, he became moody and silent).

mekkiri: considerably; remarkably

• Saikin mekkiri samukunatta. (It has recently become quite cold.)

A Very Short Study in Modern Japanese

As each year goes by, we see more and more English being adopted into the language,
and true Japanese disappearing. It's a sad fact of life. Besides tackling the grammar,
vocabulary, and writing systems, students of Japanese must become familiar with the
ways foreign words, especially wasei eigo (Japanized English), are used, because they
really are used a lot. An excellent example of this is a label I found recently on a bread
product.
 This is from a small bread roll, a "Milk France" bread roll. I
wouldn't call it french bread, because it doesn't look, feel, or taste like french bread. In
fact, it's a cream-filled snack roll — pretty good, but definitely not like any french bread
I've ever tasted.

Anyway, take a look at the writing at the bottom of the label. Directly under FRANCE it
simply says, in white katakana1, the same thing that's written above: MILK FRANCE.2
And under that is the following sentence:

The amazing thing about this sentence is that there's very little Japanese in it. To
illustrate this I have colored the English or English-based words blue, the Japanese red,
and the one word which is neither green. In Roman letters this sentence would look like
this:

Sofuto na furansu pan ni, miruku fuumi no kuriimu o sando shimashita.

Though the English words in blue are probably unrecognizable to beginners, they are
soft, france, milk, cream, and sandwich, but are written in romaji 3, which show pretty
much how they are pronounced in Japanese or by the Japanese. 4 The Japanese have the
tendency to shorten longer English words to suit their fancy, which is why "sandwich"
becomes sando.5 The only Japanese word here is fuumi, which means "flavor," and the
overall structure is Japanese, making necessary the use of particles na, ni, no, and o,
which indicate adjectives and objects.6 Shimashita at the end simply indicates past
tense. The word pan means "bread," which Japan borrowed from the Portuguese.

Now, if we convert all this to English while keeping the Japanese order and colored
elements, it would look like this:

Soft france bread in, milk flavor cream sandwiched.

A very interesting and often convenient point about the Japanese language is that a
sentence can have its subject omitted and still be correct. This sentence is a good
example. Finally, starting with the implied subject we, let's now complete the translation
into English while retaining the color coding:
We sandwiched milk-flavored cream inside soft french bread.

We sandwiched milk-flavored cream inside soft french bread. Sentences like this
on food packages are very common here — lots of "katakana English" and very wordy.

I believe this is a great example of how Japanese works. Though a simple sentence, it
shows concisely and accurately the roles and association of kanji, hiragana, and
katakana, the three Japanese writing systems. Kanji are used to write the core words,
when they are not replaced with English or other foreign vocabulary; katakana are used
to write those foreign words when they are used; and hiragana act as "grammatical
cement," indicating the role of the core words and giving verbs their conjugations.7

As we can see, six of the seven core words here are not Japanese, which is why there
are many more katakana than kanji. But this is the direction that Japanese is going, for
better or worse. You used to hear that one needs to know around 2,200 kanji in order to
read a Japanese newspaper, but if the popularity of foreign words continues to increase,
we may see that number shrink.

Students of the language need to not only learn the writing systems, words, and how to
put them together, they also have to re-learn their own language in order to successfully
make it work as a vital element of modern Japanese.

Notes

1. Katakana is the Japanese alphabet used mainly to write foreign words and names.
For more click here.

2. Almost all consumer goods in Japan have the product name written in both English
and Japanese on the package. The English shows that they are making some effort
towards "internationalization," and since most people ignore or can't read the
English, Japanese is necessary in order to maintain product identity.

3. Roman letters. For more click here.

4. Sadly, too many Japanese think that this is how English is really pronounced,
creating problems when attempting conversation with native speakers. To be fair,
though, this is a two-way problem: most native English speakers don't pronounce
Pokemon or karaoke correctly, either.

5. For more examples click here.

6. For more see my Japanese Particles.

7. Please see Alphabets for a more in-depth look.

About You and Name Suffixes

In Lesson 9 of my Japanese Verbs anata is introduced in the last example sentence as

meaning "you." Actually, the word "you" is not used in Japanese as often as in English,
especially when talking to an individual. Once a person's name is known, it is usually
used in place of "you" (as a native English speaker would consider it) when speaking to
that person, which may sound a bit childish until you get used to it. For example, an
English speaker usually wouldn't turn to his friend Bob and ask, "What does Bob want to
eat for lunch?" but in Japanese that is exactly what you do.

Additionally, names are usually not used alone. "Name suffixes" are attached depending
on the person and situation. The ones you'll hear the most are san, sama, chan, and
kun. Generally speaking, san is the "default" suffix for a person when none of the others
are suitable. You will most likely want to use san with neighbors and business associates
that you see regularly but perhaps not every day. San denotes friendliness and perhaps
even familiarity while still including at least a touch of respectful distance.

Sama is an "honorific" suffix which is attached to the names of superiors or people you
want to show special respect to, real or pretended. Customers who go into new car
dealerships will have the luxury of hearing sama added to their names — for a while, at
any rate. After the sale is made, time passes, and the car is brought in for routine
checks or service, the customer will find that he or she is no longer a "sama," but is now
a "san." This is normal and good, however, because san shows that a closer, more
familiar (and, hopefully, a more trusting) relationship has been created between
customer and service provider.

Among close friends and family members chan is usually heard. Parents add chan to
their children's names, and children add it to the words for father, mother, grandfather,
grandmother, older brother or sister (but not younger), aunt, uncle, etc. Customarily,
within families chan is added to the first names of those younger than yourself and to
the names of cousins, but to the title of those older. Also, names are often shortened
before adding chan. For example, a girl named Emiko would probably be called Emiko-
chan or Emi-chan by older family members, cousins, and playmates, as well as
classmates and co-workers later in life. A boy named Hiroki might go by Hiro-chan
unless he's going by Hiroki-kun or Hiro-kun. For those older, these are commonly used:

• otou-chan (dad)
• okaa-chan (mom)
• ojii-chan (grandpa)
• obaa-chan (grandma)
• onii-chan (elder brother, older neighbor boy)
• onee-chan (elder sister, older neighbor girl)
• oji-chan (uncle, adult male neighbor, friend's father)
• oba-chan (aunt, adult female neighbor, friend's mother)

Chan is also used with the names of pets, and even sometimes with special possessions
and things like dolls, toys, bicycles, cars, etc.

Among male friends kun is used as the name suffix, unless an individual prefers chan.
Teachers add kun to the names of male students, chan to female students. Bosses add
these to the names of subordinates sometimes, though san is probably more common
for females. Family customs, company size and type, and personal preferences all come
into play when choosing these suffixes.
As a safe rule, use san with colleagues' names and older girls, kun with boys, and chan
with younger girls. You most likely won't use sama unless you meet a company
president or owner. Even then, their title, such as shachou (company president) will
normally be used instead of a generic suffix. Being observant and attentive will be the
best guide for mastering name suffixes for the people you work with or know. And, you
can always ask.

Now, let's get back to you. Again, "you" normally wouldn't be used when speaking to an
individual when his or her name is known. If I wanted to ask my student Hiroki if he did
his homework, the literal translation of the English sentence "Hiroki, did you do your
homework?" would be: "Hiroki, anata wa anata no shukudai o shimashita ka", where
anata is used for "you." This Japanese would be understood, of course, but would also
sound very stiff, formal, and very odd. A native Japanese speaker would never use this
kind of construction. The natural Japanese would be:"Hiroki-kun wa shukudai o
shimashita ka," where the name of the person is used in place of the subject you. So,
even though I used anata in Lesson 9 of Japanese Verbs, it is seldom actually used in
daily conversational Japanese.

It's when speaking to groups that "you" becomes useful. Anatatachi could be used, but it
conveys a certain distance, even displeasure: a teacher reprimanding a class might use
this. So, the one left would be kimitachi, which shows familiarity, even some affection,
toward the group concerned. There may be a certain feeling of "being talked down to"
when kimi or kimitachi is used, but as long as the situation and the relationship between
speaker and listener(s) warrants it and makes it sound natural, there's no problem.
When I first came to Japan and was only several years older than my students, I really
didn't feel comfortable using kimitachi, but now that I'm old enough to be their father it
feels very natural and fitting. I would not use this with a class of people my age or older,
I'd probably use mina-san (everyone), which is the best choice when talking to large,
mixed groups.

Japan, for better or worse, puts a lot of emphasis on a "vertical society" — knowing
whether or not a person is above (me-ue) or below (me-shita) yourself. Much more
could be said concerning all the various words and "levels" used when addressing
others, but this should suffice for most students of Japanese for the first year or so.