hi guys ^-^ if you’re wondering about the discord I made a little while back, it’s still up and running! all that’s left is finding some more japanese learning fanatics to join.
of course it will be a constant work in progress, but the dream is that maybe someday it will be filled with a variety of people with the same common goal, all trying to help each other out in the process of helping themselves.
We are currently accepting staff applications and are offering special roles to certain active or more advanced learners. We hope you consider joining! Having a sense of community is so important when it comes to taking on huge goals such as learning Japanese.
I’m also working on getting native speakers to join, so although for now it will be mostly english speakers, hopefully we can change that soon! I look forward to you seeing the server grow into a flourishing community of positivity, motivation, and belief in one another!
あげる・くれる・もらう (giving and receiving) *skipped in this post; look at this post for notes on あげる and くれる
〜たらどうですか？(giving suggestions)
# + も・# + しか + negative (as many as/only)
1. ほしい : EXPRESSING DESIRE
To say you want to do something, we use 〜たい, but to say you want something, a noun, we use ほしい.
ほしい means “desired” and is used to say you want something. It is a い-adjective and conjugates as such.
(Object of desire) が ほしいです。
(Object not desired) は ほしくないです。
ほしい is limited to first person. Here are some ways to say someone else wants something:
(Subject) は (object of desire) を ほしがっています。= subject is showing signs of desiring object.
(Subject) は (object of desire) が ほしいと言っています。= subject said they wanted object.
(Subject) は (object of desire) が ほしいと思っています。= subject thinks that he wants object.
(Subject) は (object of desire) が ほしそうです。= it seems like subject wants object.
Examples:
妹は子犬をほしがっています。
My little sister wants a puppy.
子供の時、いつもニンテンドーDSがほしいが、だれもくれませんでした。
When I was a child, I always wanted a Nintendo DS, but no one gave it to me.
2. 〜かもしれません : EXPRESSING UNCERTAINTY
かもしれません can be used to say something is a possibility but you are not sure what is really the case. The same concept can be expressed with でしょう, but かもしれません sounds more uncertain.
It is placed after short forms of any kind, present or past, affirmative or negative. If a な-adjective or noun precedes it and it is not in past tense, だ is dropped.
Examples:
先生は日本人かもしれません。
The teacher might be Japanese.
あの人は英語が話せるかもしれません。
That person might be able to speak English.
メアリーさんは子供の時、低かったかもしれません。
Mary might have been short when she was a kid.
4: 〜たらどうですか？: GIVING SUGGESTIONS
This can be used to give suggestions but can sound critical. It’s translated as “how about…?” or “why don’t you…?” It follows the past tense short form of a verb.
This cannot be used to suggest NOT doing something. In order to convey this, you can say “(verb in short form) のを やめたらどうですか？” which means “how about you stop doing…?”
Examples:
医者に行ったらどうですか。
How about you go to a doctor?
服を買うのをやめたらどうですか。
Why don’t you stop buying clothes?
5. # + も / # + しか + negative : AS MANY AS/ONLY
も can be used to say “as many as” when describing amount. It implies the number is above expectations and may have a tone of surprise.
しか is used to say “only” when describing few amounts of things. It implies insufficiency and may have a tone of disappointment. When しか is used, the sentence must end in a negative predicate.
Examples:
彼は車を四台も持っていますよ。
He has as many as four cars.
友達は一週間に二回しか学校に行きませんでした。
My friend only goes to school two times a week.
I didn’t have time to make these into separate posts with more detail, so I hope this will do for now. As usual, please let me know if I made any mistakes in my sample sentences! Also, sorry for skipping the third point… It’s just a lot of information and probably needs its own post.
PREFACE: This is a nine part series of some important things to keep in mind while studying Japanese grammar. It’s very different from English, so try not to study it through an “English lens.” To understand grammar points better, it’s really beneficial to learn the characteristics behind Japanese grammar. These notes are taken from A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar.To see the other parts, click here.
PS: I’ve decided to skip part 6 (politeness and formality).
9. Viewpoint
There is more than one way to describe an event, so viewpoint is important when choosing which expressions to use. For example these two sentences express the same event but uses a different viewpoint: 1) A hit B; 2) B was hit by A. In 1, the event is described through A’s perspective while in 2, it is described through B’s perspective.
Here are some rules regarding viewpoint that are generally universal:
The viewpoint should be consistent within a sentence.
When the sentence includes “A’s B” (for example, John’s wife), the speaker is taking A’s viewpoint rather than B’s.
When the speaker empathizes with someone, the speaker tends to take that person’s viewpoint.
The speaker usually describes events from his own viewpoint when he is involved.
Here are some rules regarding viewpoint that are specific to Japanese:
Giving and receiving verbs require certain viewpoints depending on the verb
やる / あげる: to give; requires the giver’s viewpoint or a neutral viewpoint
くれる: to give; requires the receiver’s viewpoint
もらう/いただく: to get/receive; requires the receiver’s viewpoint
For the verb くる (to come), the arrival point is somewhere close to the speaker’s viewpoint. Similarly, for the vern いく (to go), the departure point is somewhere close to the speaker’s viewpoint.
Example:
(If speaker is currently in Japan)
私は来年アメリカに行きます。わたしはらいねんアメリカにいきます。
not私は来年アメリカに来ます。わたしはらいねんアメリカにきます。
I will go to America next year.
not I will come to America next year.
When adjectives like ほしい (want/desirable) うれしい (happy) and かなしい (sad) are used with a third person subject, the speaker is empathizing with that person. It implies the speaker is taking the viewpoint of that person.
Example:
通りがかりの人が嬉しい。とおりがかりのひとがうれしい。(** incorrect **)
A passerby is happy.
This sentence is incorrect because the speaker is unable to empathize with the subject.
When じぶん (self) is used, the speaker tends to empathize with who じぶん is referring to, implying the speaker is taking the viewpoint of that person.
Here’s another worksheet for you guys! These verb conjugations are all introduced in Genki I: short form aka the dictionary form, long form aka ます form, negative short form, past tense short form, and te-form.
Just write the verb you want to practice conjugating on the left most column and write their conjugations! You can check your answers by searching the dictionary form of the verb on jisho.org and clicking “show inflections” under the entry.
I made a guide to conjugation here. Te-form is missing but te-form is basically past tense short form except with て as た or で as だ.
PREFACE: This is a nine part series of some important things to keep in mind while studying Japanese grammar. It’s very different from English, so try not to study it through an “English lens.” To understand grammar points better, it’s really beneficial to learn the characteristics behind Japanese grammar. These notes are taken from A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar. To see the other parts, click here.
PS: I’ve decided to skip part 6 (politeness and formality).
8. Sound Symbolism
Giseigo (onomatopoeia) and gitaigo (words that depict psychological states) are integral in spoken and written language, even for adults. Sound symbolism is an adverb that is sometimes followed by the quotation marker と and a verb that co-occurs with the sound.
Voiceless consonants tend to represent something small/light/pretty while voiced consonants represent something big/heavy/dull:
きらきら(と光る) : shine sparklingly
ぎらぎら(と光る) : shine dazzlingly
ころころ(と転がる) : small object rolls
ごろごろ(と転がる) : heavy object rolls
ぽたぽた(と落ちる) : small amount of liquid drips
ぼたぼた(と落ちる) : large amount of liquid drips
Consonants “k” and “g” tend to represent hardness, sharpness, separation, and sudden change:
くっきり(と見える) : be clearly visible
きっぱり(と別れる) : separate from people once and for all
ぽっくり(と死ぬ) : die suddenly
Consonant “s” tends to represent a quiet state. “Sh” consonant seems to represent some quiet human emotion:
しとしと(と降る) : rain quietly
しんまり(と話す) : talk quietly/intimately
しょんぼり(とする) : be despondent
Consonant “r” tends to represent fluidity and slipperiness:
つるつる(している) : be slippery
ぬるぬる(している) : be slimey
Consonants “m” and “n” tend to represent tactility, warmth, and softness:
むちむち(している) : be plump
なよなよ(としている) : be slender and delicate
“P” tends to represent explosiveness, crispiness, and suddenness:
ぴん(とくる) : come in a flash
ぷい(と出て行く) : leave suddenly
“Y” tends to represent weakness, slowness, and softness:
よぼよぼ(になる) : become senile
よれよれ(になる) : become worn out
ゆっくり(話す) : speak slowly
やんわり(と言う) : tell softly
“U” tends to represent something that has to do with human physiology or psychology:
うずうず(する) : itch for action
うんざり(する) : be fed up with
“O” tends to represent something negative with regard to human psychology:
おずおず(している) : be nervous and timid
おどおど(している) : be very nervous
For the complete list of examples, see A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.
PREFACE: This is a nine part series of some important things to keep in mind while studying Japanese grammar. It’s very different from English, so try not to study it through an “English lens.” To understand grammar points better, it’s really beneficial to learn the characteristics behind Japanese grammar. These notes are taken from A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar. To see the other parts, click here.
PS: I’ve decided to skip part 6 (politeness and formality).
7. Sentence Final Particles
Placed at the end of a main clause, sentence final particles indicate the function of the sentence or expresses the speaker’s emotions. Some are used exclusively by male or female so these particles can also express masculinity or femininity.
か:makes the sentence a question
山田さんは先生ですか。やまださんはせんせいですか。
Is Yamada is a teacher?
ね: used to ask for confirmation or to soften requests/invitations
山田さんは先生ですね。やまださんはせんせいですね。
Yamada is a teacher, isn’t he?
一緒に行きましょうね。いっしょにいきましょうね。
Let’s go together, shall we?
な: used as the negative imperative marker when used with informal nonpast verbs; sometimes used like ね when used with informal declarative/invitational sentences (this function is only used with men)
こっちへ来るな。こっちへくるな。
Don’t come this way.
一緒に行こうな。いしょにいこうな。
Let’s go together, shall we?
よ/ぞ/ぜ:used for assertion (”you know” “believe me” “I’d say”); ぞ and ぜ are exclusively for males; よ and ぜ can be used in invitational sentences
私は知りませんよ。わたしはしりませんよ。
I don’t know, believe me.
おれは負けないぞ。おれはまけないぞ。
I won’t lose!
今晩は飲もうよ。/今晩は飲もうぜ。 こんばんはのもうよ。/こんばんはのもうぜ。
Let’s drink tonight!
わ:used in declarative sentences to give a feminine flavor and sometimes express a light assertion (used in both formal and informal speech); can be used with ね and よ but not か
私はまだ十八ですわ。わたしはまだじゅうはちですわ。
I’m still eighteen.
私も行くわよ。わたしもいくわよ。
I’m going too.
ね/な/わ:used in exclamatory sentences; ね can convey the idea of confirmation; な is usually used by men but can be used in conversation by young women; わ is used only by women
きれいだねえ。(male) きれいだわねえ。(female)
Isn’t it pretty!
かい/だい: かい is used to mark yes/no questions and だい is used to who/what/when/where/why/how questions; both used in informal male speech
これは君の本かい。これはきみのほんかい。
Is this your book?
これはだれの本だい。これはだれのほんだい。
Whose book is this?
の: replaces んですか/のですか; used in informal female speech as a question marker
パーティーに行かないの？ パーティーにいかないの？
Aren’t you going to the party?
かしら/かなあ: expresses speaker’s uncertainty about a proposition; かしら used by females and かなあ used by males
I made this worksheet for myself to practice writing kanji given the reading, and I thought I would share it with you guys! Keep in mind these are just a selection of the kanji vocabulary from the lessons, not all of them.
You can add any frequency adverb such as 毎日(everyday)、よく(often)、andときどき (sometimes) to a sentence to descibe how often you do something.
EX:
私はときどき喫茶店に行きます。
I sometimes go to a coffee shop.
Two adverbs which describe how infrequent an activity or an event is: せんぜん (never; not at all) and あまり (not often; not very much). These adverbs anticipate the negative at the end of the sentence. If you use せんぜんorあまり, in other words, you need to conclude the sentence with ません.
So today I’m going to try to break down the most common Japanese particles, what they do, complete with examples and other fun stuff. All gifs come from Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese, which is one of the best places to learn Japanese grammar. Feel free to check it out!
Ready? Okay. Let’s go.
は (wa)
は is used to mark the topic of a sentence, and is usually translated as “is” or “as for” or “are”. Here is an example:
チコリータはかわいいですね？
chikoritawakawaiidesune?
Chikoritaiscute,isn’t he?
Yes I know, I’m a sucker for leaf-type starter Pokemon, you will hear me mention them a lot
My geekiness aside, you can see how は was used, correct? Just like the word “is”, は marked the subject (in this case, Chikorita) of the sentence, so that we knew what it was that was so cute (or whatever other adjective you want to use to describe the subject). Usually, this is described as a state of being.
Here is another example:
名前はバターマフィンです。あなたは？
namaehabuta- mafuindesu.anatawa?
My nameisButter Muffins.What’syours?
Literally translating the last sentence (あなたは?) would be “You are?” or “Who are you?”. Again, it is asking for a state of being, but instead of an adjective, it is asking for the persons name. Say, that person’s name was John. They are being John, so to speak.
One, is to simply mark a question. Here is an example:
バットマンは実際にブルース・ウェインですか
batto manwajissainiburu-su ueindesuka
IsBatmanactuallyBruce Wayne?
When there is か at the end of a sentence, you don’t need to use a question mark. Simple, right? But there is another way to use か, and although similar, it is usually translated differently.
黄色い男はバートかアーニーか
kiiroi otokohaba-tokaa-ni-ka
Isthe yellow manBertorErnie?
Before you comment anything, yes I know the difference
It is used like the word “or” as well. Just put か at the end of both options, and you can ask an either/or question. Again, か is a very simple particle.
At this point I have decided that as a person who hates scrolling through super long posts unless they are super interesting, as well as myself being a person who’s crappy computer is freaking out at a post with two gifs in it, I will have to stop here. I have 5 more particles written up in a word document, I guess I will do just two of them a day (a little series, yay!). They will be put into their own little section of the directory, if you miss a post.
They’re not great, but it’s a work in progress… I did them in a semi-visual style of learning. If something is confusing please feel free to message me.
It’s easy to get the meaning of the individual words through an addon like Rikaichamp(https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/rikaichamp/) and, if you still don’t understand the meaning of the sentence, just click “language switcher“ and it will give you the translation. I don’t recommend it though. As Matt from MIApproachsays, «Growing your capacity to tolerate ambiguity is essential to making rapid progress. Unfortunately, tolerating ambiguity often doesn’t come naturally. Most of us have grown up in a culture that places a lot of value on “understanding things.” Because of this, for most people, being able to tolerate ambiguity is a skill that must be actively cultivated over time.»
On Episode 2 of the Writing Business Japanese Series, we’re going to check inventory, or stock levels. This email can be used and adjusted when you’re looking to place an order for a large quantity of products from a company who you have been in touch with in the past, but want to make sure they have it in stock.
Subject: 〇〇の在庫についての問い合わせ
田中 様
いつもお世話になっております。
（株）BENKYOGOの山田です。
早速ですが、〇〇の在庫についてお問い合わせしたく
ご連絡させていただきました。
つきましては１００個注文したいのですが、
在庫はございますでしょうか。
急なお願いで大変恐縮ですが、折り返しご回答よろしくお願いいたします。
山田
Let’s take a look at the mail in more detail.
Subject: 〇〇の在庫についての問い合わせ
The subject line should be short and sweet. We use 問い合わせ here to mean ‘enquiry’. In an email’s subject, you can use the phrase [insert topic]についての問い合わせ to give a clear idea about what your enquiry is.
いつもお世話にっております。
This literally means something like “You’re taking care of me”, but in business terms it’s a standard greeting. “ーておます” is used here, which indicates this is a business relationship that is already established. If you are making a new connection, it is sometimes better to say ‘お世話になります’.
（株）BENKYOGOの山田です。
（株）here is the shortened version of 株式会社 – incorporated company. When talking about your own company, you can use the shortened version, but be sure to use the full version when referring to another company.
早速ですが、〇〇の在庫についてお問い合わせしたく ご連絡させていただきました。
Once again we are using 問い合わせ, however, here we are using it as a verb. We are actually saying, “I want to enquire about…[insert topic], so I’ve contacted you”. However, in order to link the new sentences, we use the stem form of したい which becomes したく.
ご連絡させていただきました literally means “you have given me permission to contact you”, but in reality it is a polite way of saying “so, I’m contacting you.”
つきましては１００個注文したいのですが、 在庫はございますでしょうか。
State how many items you need. Then, ask if they have it in stock. ございます is both the humble and respectful form of ある – to have. Therefore you can say:
蔵庫がございます – “we have the stock”, when talking to a customer,
or 蔵庫はございますか – “do you have the stock?”, when talking to a vendor.
急なお願いで大変恐縮ですが、折り返しご回答よろしくお願いいたします。
Finally we apologise for the sudden request (急なお願い) and request their response (折り返しご回答).
折り返し means return, and is used most commonly in the phrase – 折り返しお電話いただけますか。- “could you call me back?”
Here it means, could you return your answer to my enquiry? i.e. can you reply to me?
In our ぶんぽうご Real Japanese Grammar series, Nani and Mani are deep diving into the textbook grammar required for the JLPT, throwing out the stuff you’ll never use, and teaching you how to speak authentically whilst expressing your own personality.
⭕️ You WILL:
- Understand grammar in real life context - Be told when and where to forget the BS - Get to listen to 2 random people free-talking about Japanese grammar
❌ You WON’T:
- Sound boring when talking to your Japanese friends - Say anything rude to your Japanese boss - Speak like you’re fresh outta your favourite anime
We don’t claim to be experts, we’re just 2 Japanese speakers (one native, one second language) chatting about the DO’s and DON’T’s of Japanese grammar in the 21st century. Keep up, textbooks!!
VERB STEM + 始める - BEGIN TO DO SOMETHING, START TO DO SOMETHING——————————————————————– See all JLPT N4, N3, and N2 grammar revision points HERE ——————————————————————–
Grammar 文法：
Verb (stem) + 始める
The stem of a verb is the masu-form of the verb without the ます ending. E.g. 食べます -> 食べ, 飲みます -> 飲み, 行きます -> 行き.
Add 始める to the end of these stems to form the meaning ‘begin to’.
Meaning 意味：
This grammar point is used when you are describing a verb that begins to be enacted. For example, to begin to walk, to begin to talk, to begin to study, and so on.
Examples 例え：
日本では、冬になると 雪 が 降り始めます。 In Japan, when it becomes winter, snow begins to fall.
降り始めます is made from the verb 降る (to fall), the stem of which is 降り, with 始めます added.
私の妹 は １歳 の 時、歩き始めました。 When my little sister was 1 year old, she began to walk.
On Episode 1 of the Writing Business Japanese Series, we’re looking at how to ask for a quotation. This email can be used and adjusted when you’re looking to get a quote for a certain number of products from a company who you have been in touch with in the past. If it’s the first time emailing, be sure to introduce yourself!
The subject line should be short and sweet. In this case, ‘request for a quote’.
いつもお世話にっております。
This literally means something like “You’re taking care of me”, but in business terms it’s a standard greeting. “ーておます” is used here, which indicates this is a business relationship that is already established. If you are making a new connection, it is sometimes better to say ‘お世話になります’.
早速ですが、弊社では新たな製品の購入を検討しております。
The next sentence is “Sorry for getting right to it, but we’re considering purchasing some of your new items.” The key word here is 早速ですが, which is a way of indicating that you are about to jump right into the main topic of the email.
つきましては、下記の内訳でお見積もりをいただければ幸いです。
記
品名：〇〇 数量：〇〇個
以上
The recipient needs to know what they’re quoting for, so you have to give them an itemized breakdown (内訳). By using ‘下記’, you’re saying that you want a quote for the following. When using 下記, you must follow the sentence by starting a list with ‘記’, otherwise the person doesn’t know where to look. So literally, “I’d like a quote with the breakdown as follows, below the 記’
お手数ですが、本日中にお送りいただければ幸いです。
You can include a deadline. Although お送りいただければ幸いです sounds like a tentative deadline, it’s always best to just follow the deadline, and apologise if you can’t make it. Remember, Japanese people aren’t often direct when making requests…
お忙しいところ恐縮ですが、よろしくお願いいたします。
The final keyword is ‘恐縮’ - this means ‘I’m terribly sorry’ and is used frequently at the end of business emails to politely say sorry for taking up the recipient’s time.
KEY WORD LIST
お世話になる: I’m indebted to you 早速 sudden 弊社 our company (formal) 新たな new 製品 product 購入する purchase 検討する considering 下記 the following 内訳 itemized 幸い appreciative 品名 product name 数量 quantity 以上 that’s all お手数ですが、 sorry to trouble you, 本日中 within today, by the end of today お忙しいところ while you’re busy 恐縮 sorry
