Download Things to know about Japan

Japanese grammar and
expressions:
Acknowledgements to Patrick Danoy and Marion Monet for this charming
photo taken in Nanzen-ji
Victor Renault
[email protected]
January 2005
Introduction
This paper has been written first for my own personal use in order to
help me in the difficult process of learning Japanese. In a second time I
thought that maybe this document could be useful to other people like me
who wants to learn this language.
In this document, I tried to summarize what I learned from my daily
life in Japan, the Japanese classes I took and from the exchanges I made
with some Japanese people. So this document contains some information I
learned from Japanese teachers and some other that I deducted and thus I
may have made a few mistakes and in that case, I would be grateful to you
if you could just send me an e-mail, the same remark applies in the case
where things may not seem very clear to you.
1
Contents
Introduction
1
1 Adjectives
1.1 The different types . . . . . . .
1.1.1 i suffixed type . . . . .
1.1.2 The other ones . . . . .
1.1.3 Relative Subordinates .
1.1.4 Creating adjectives with
1.2 Combining adjectives . . . . . .
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2 Comparative
2.1 Superiority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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3 Asking and giving preference
3.1 Choices are given . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.1 Asking preference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.2 Giving preference (answer to the previous question)
3.2 Open choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.1 Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.2 Desires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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verbs
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4 The ka suffix
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5 Linking sentences
5.1 The simple ways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2 shi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3 Subordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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6 Verbs
6.1 The present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1.1 The casual one . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1.2 The polite present . . . . . . . . .
6.2 te form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.1 Enumerating events with verbs . .
6.2.2 The past . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.3 The continuous form . . . . . . . .
6.2.4 One form of passive: the form in te
6.2.5 Polite request form . . . . . . . . .
6.2.6 Expressing regrets . . . . . . . . .
6.3 The let’s form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4 Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4.1 The near future . . . . . . . . . . .
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+ aru
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6.5
6.6
6.7
6.4.2 Form in to omoimasu . .
6.4.3 The tsumori form . . . .
6.4.4 The yotei form . . . . . .
Expressing the notion of capacity
6.5.1 Can, being able to . . . .
6.5.2 Try . . . . . . . . . . . .
The imperative form . . . . . . .
6.6.1 Making suggestions . . . .
6.6.2 The nasai form . . . . . .
6.6.3 Imperative in te . . . . .
6.6.4 The strongest form . . . .
The passive . . . . . . . . . . . .
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11
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7 Expressing desires
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8 Obligations
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9 Opinions
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9.1 Asking opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
9.2 Giving an opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
10 On the phone...
14
11 Usefull expressions
15
3
Legend used:
1
A (B)
A [B] C
:
:
B can be used instead of A
the sentence can be either AC or ABC
Adjectives
There are two different types of adjectives in Japanese:
• one can be (generally) recognized thanks to its i ending,
• the other one sometimes also ends with a i but when it is preceding a
noun, the suffix na has to be added to this adjective.
1.1
1.1.1
The different types
i suffixed type
Those adjectives behave like verbs in Japanese. Indeed, depending on
the tense or whether the adjective is in its affirmative or negative sense, it
has a dedicated form.
Present
Past
1.1.2
Pattern
Example
Pattern
Example
Affirmative form
prefix + i
kawai
prefix + katta
kawakatta
Negative form
prefix + kunai
kawakunai
prefix + nakatta
kawanakatta
The other ones
Present
Pattern
Example
Affirmative form
Adj
kantan
Past
Pattern
Example
Adj
kantan
Negative form
Adj + ja (dewa) arimasen
kantan ja arimasen
(kantan dewa arimasen)
Adj + ja (dewa) arimasen deshita
kantan ja arimasen deshita
(kantan dewa arimasen)
Note: The negative adjectival form with dewa arimasen is more polite
than the one with ja arimasen. Another more casual one is ja nai which
past form is ja nakatta.
1.1.3
Relative Subordinates
The relative subordinates play the same role than the adjectives in the
sense that they give an additional information about the noun and thus a
4
subordinate can be used like an adjective by using it as an epithet to the
noun: (the example requires the paragraph 6.2.2 about the past tense)
Pattern
Example
Translation
1.1.4
:
:
:
Adj or Subordinate + Noun wa ...
Watashi ga yonda hon wa omoshiroi desu
the book I read is interesting
Creating adjectives with verbs
It is possible to change a verb into an adjective by:
• using the verb in the past tense (see section 6.2.2) and by putting it
as an epithet to a noun: owaru → owatta yasumi which means the
finished vacations,
• taking the verb in its masu form and removing the masu suffix. The
verb in that is generally added in front of an adjective to add another
information: sumu → sumi nikui (hard to live). This form does not
work for all adjectives, for example, we say: sumu no ga muzukashii
and not sumi muzukashii. For the moment I do not know the rules
telling whether one adjective behave like nikui or muzukashii,
• using the verb in the normal (not polite) present form which will add
a meaning of future: John no ageru boshi = the hat that will be given
to John or the hat to give to John.
Note: Of course it is possible to combine different verbs together to add
some more information and in that case all the verbs preceding the last one
have to be in the te form (see section 6.2 and 6.2.1): .
1.2
Combining adjectives
When combining different adjectives together, the linking word depends
only on the previous adjective. If the preceding adjective is:
• i -type then the i suffix has to be removed and replaced with te,
• na-type then the de suffix has to added
Pattern
Example
Translation
i type
Adj without i suffix + te
wakate kireina ona
A young and beautiful woman
na type
Adj + de
kireide wakai ona
a beautiful and young woman
Note: kirei is a na type adjective and thus when it is epithet to a noun,
the na suffix has to be added.
5
2
Comparative
2.1
Superiority
Pattern
Example
Translation
2.2
A [no hou] wa (ga) B yori Adj desu
Alice wa Bob yori wakai desu
Alice is younger than Bob
Equality
Pattern
Example
Translation
3
:
:
:
:
:
:
A to B to onaji gurai Adj desu
Alice to Bob to onaji gurai wakai desu
Alice is as young as Bob
Asking and giving preference
3.1
3.1.1
Choices are given
Asking preference
Pattern
Example
Translation
3.1.2
3.2.1
A to B to dochira ga Adj desu ka
konshuu to raishuu to dochira ga hima desu ka
When will you be free, this week or next week?
Giving preference (answer to the previous question)
Pattern
Example
Translation
3.2
:
:
:
:
:
:
B no hou ga Adj desu
raishuu no hou ga hima desu
Next week.
Open choices
Preferences
1. Asking preference:
Pattern
Example
Translation
:
:
:
Noun de Interrogative pronoun ga ichiban suki desu ka.
kisetsu de itsu ga ichiban suki desu ka.
Which season do you prefer?
2. Giving preference (answer to the previous question):
Pattern
Example
Translation
:
:
:
Noun ga ichiban suki desu.
aki ga ichiban suki desu.
Autumn is the season I prefer (I like the most).
6
3.2.2
Desires
Question
Translation
Answer
Translation
:
:
:
:
nani ga ichiban hoshii desu ka.
What do you want the most?
kuruma ga [ichiban] hoshii desu.
I want a car.
The ka suffix
4
This suffix can be used to mean some like in somewhere, something, ...
Pattern
Example
:
:
:
:
interrogative pronoun + ka
dareka (someone)
dokoka (somewhere)
nanika (something)
Forming question
Translation
More example
Translation
5
:
:
:
:
dareka shiranai (desu ka)
Does someone know?
nani o suru ka [wa] mada wakarimasen
I still don’t know what I will do
Linking sentences
This section is about linking different sentences with the notion of addition i.e. the equivalent of and. This seemed useful to me since in Japanese
there are so many different ways to link two sentences with a and.
5.1
The simple ways
The simplest ways to link two sentences with a and meaning are to put
soshite or ga (however ga has sometimes a meaning of but) between the
sentences to link.
5.2
shi
This linking word is used when an enumeration of statements which refer
to a same subject is made. Let’s take these sentences as an example:
There are a lot of people who like sports. Some like tennis, some like football,
some like baseball, some like swimming...
The last part of the example some like tennis, some like... is what I call
an enumeration of statements which refer to a same subject which is in this
case sports. The translation of the example in Japanese is as follows:
takusan hito ga supotsu ga suki desu. tennisu ga sukina hito mo imasu ga
7
(shi) sakka- ga sukina hito mo imasu shi yakyuu ga sukina hito mo imasu
shi suiei ga sukina hito mo imasu...
What is important to notice is that to link the first two sentences of
the enumeration, ga can be used instead of shi but only for the first two
sentences. Afterwards, shi is used for linking. Another important point is
the use of mo which means also.
5.3
Subordinates
Linking two sentences with a that like in I know that you are good is
done with to:
Pattern
Example
Translation
6
:
:
:
sentence1 to sentence2
anata wa tsuyoi to omoimasu
I think you are strong
Verbs
The verbs in Japanese can be divided into 3 groups:
• The third group composed of only two irregular verbs: suru and kuru
• The second one composed of verbs ending with eru or iru and for
which the polite present form is formed by replacing the ru suffix with
masu
• The first one, in fact all the others (also includes some verbs with eru
or iru suffix but for which the corresponding present polite form is
obtained by changing the u suffix into imasu)
6.1
6.1.1
The present
The casual one
The most common form is the dictionary form. Its associated negative
form depends on its suffix which belongs to (tsu, ru, u, su, ku, gu, mu, nu,
bu). So to construct the negative form a little knowledge of the alphabet is
needed, in fact the suffix has to be replaced by the a related form to which
the nai suffix is appended:
The verbs of the second group do not follow the previous rule. The
associated negative form is done by replacing the ru suffix with nai.
8
tsu
ru
u
su
ku
gu
mu
nu
bu
6.1.2
ta + nai
ra + nai
a + nai
sa + nai
ka + nai
ga + nai
ma + nai
na + nai
ba + nai
The polite present
This is the masu form which, like the previous form, can be formed
In addition to the polite form with masu, all the different verbal forms
have an other polite one. It is also commonly used and is based on the non
polite verbal form (NPVF ) that you want to use:
Pattern
: sentence with the verb NPVF + n desu
Example
: kinou wa tsukaretta n desu
Translation : Yesterday I was tired
The n is used to link the NPVF and desu, mark of politeness.
6.2
te form
This form can be used as the imperative form but it has also a numerous other functions like enumerating a list of actions expressed with verbs.
Once the te form is mastered, a big door has been opened since a lot of
verb forms rely on this one. Indeed this is the basis for the past tense, the
continuous form, the form used to make a polite request (V+tekudasai ), ...,
and certainly a lot of other things I am not yet aware of.
verb suffix
mu, nu, bu
ku
su
gu
verbs from the 2nd group
tsu, ru (includes 1st group verbs in eru or iru), u
Present
shihai o katsu
nihongo o narau
te form
shihai o katte
nihongo o naratte
9
te form
nde
ite
shite
ide
te
tte
Translation
Win the game
learn Japanese
6.2.1
Enumerating events with verbs
The te form is used when you want to express a succession of actions
with verbs regardless of the tense you use.
Pattern
Example
6.2.2
:
:
:
:
:
VB1 te VB2 te ... VBn te + conjugated V (VB = Verb Body)
kinou 8 ji ni okite asa gohan tabete tomodachi aimashita (atta)
Yesterday I woke up at 8 o’clock, I took a breakfast and I met some friend(s)
ashita hataraite restoran de tabete karaoke ni ikimasu
Tomorrow I will work, I will go the restaurant and I will go to the karaoke
The past
To form the past, just replace the e in te by a and that’s it: katte →
katta (I won).
Note: The polite past form is based on the present polite form masu and
is constructed by replacing masu by mashita: kachimasu → kachimashita.
6.2.3
The continuous form
The continuous form is formed by adding to te the suffix iru: yonde →
yondeiru. This is the classical continuous form and to use the polite form,
the same rules used to constitute the polite present form apply here. Thus,
since a verb in its continuous form ends with iru, the polite form is made
by replacing the ru by masu: yondeiru → youdeimasu.
This form is also used to express an action which is finished. For example if
you want to ask whether someone has already eaten, this form can be used
instead of the classical past.
Example
Translation
6.2.4
:
:
sudeni tabeteimasu ka
Have you already eaten?
One form of passive: the form in te + aru
This form is equivalent to the previous one except that in this form, the
subject receive the action. Thus it is one way to express the (continuous)
passive: keki ga tabetearu (tabetearimasu) which means the cake has been
eaten or depending on the context, the cake is being eaten.
6.2.5
Polite request form
One polite form to formulate request is composed of the te form + kudasai : katsu → katte → kattekudasai which means Please win.
10
Another one is described below:
Pattern
Example
Translation
6.2.6
V in te form + itadakemasen ka
kono shinbun o agete itadakemasen ka
Could you please give me this newspaper?
Expressing regrets
Pattern
Example
Translation
6.3
:
:
:
:
:
:
V in te form + shimaimashita
kono pa-ti ni itte shimaimashita
I regret to have been to this party
The let’s form
Pattern
Example
Translation
:
:
:
Verb body + ou (generally the verb body is the verb without its u suffix)
ikou, mirou
let’s go, let’s see
This form has also a more polite form which uses the masu one. This time,
just cut the masu suffix and replace it with masho: ikimasu → ikimasho.
6.4
Future
The future tense does exist and has a specific form. When the action
is coming soon, the present can be used as future but when it is something
which will happen not immediately (right now I don’t really know precisely
what immediately is), the future tenses (ordered by degree of likeliness to
happen) presented below can be used.
6.4.1
The near future
Pattern
Example
Translation
6.4.2
:
:
:
V in te form + shimaimasu
shigoto o owatte shimaimasu
I am going to finish my work
Form in to omoimasu
Pattern
:
:
subject + complement Verb in the let’s form + to omoimasu
(omoteimasu, kangateimasu)
Example
Translation
:
:
ashita tokyou ni iko to omoimasu; souji o shiyou to kangaeteimasu
Tomorrow I will go to Tokyo; I will do the cleaning
This future is almost certain, there are some other forms which likeness
to happen is lower than the previous one.
11
6.4.3
The tsumori form
Pattern
Example
Translation
6.4.4
:
:
:
sentence tsumori desu
kuruma o kau tsumori desu
I will buy a car (maybe 80% sure)
The yotei form
Another future which is a little bit less likely to happen:
Pattern
Example
Translation
6.5
6.5.1
:
:
:
sentence yotei desu
kuruma o kau yotei desu
I am planning to buy a car
Expressing the notion of capacity
Can, being able to
This verbal form is equivalent to the can, being able to. 2 cases have to
be distinguished:
1. the verb is ending with eru or iru: in that case the u suffix is replaced
with areru. Taberu → Taberareru
2. In the other cases, the u suffix is replaced with eru: yoru → yoreru.
Note that the verb in this form is ending with eru and consequently,
the polite form is formed by changing the ru into masu: yoreru →
yoremasu. Exception: suru → dekiru (dekimasu) = being able to,
can
6.5.2
Try
In Japanese, there is a dedicated form to express the attempt to do
Pattern
: V in te form + miru
Example
: oyonde miru
something:
Translation : I try to swim
6.6
The imperative form
The imperative has several different forms going from very polite to
impolite. Here are the different forms ordered from the most to the less
polite.
6.6.1
Making suggestions
Pattern
Example
Translation
:
:
:
complement V + tekudasai
jisho o kashitekudasai
Could you please lend me your dictionary?
12
6.6.2
The nasai form
The form described below can a little bit rude when used with strangers
and should be used with friends. It is composed of the verb in the masu
form from which the masu suffix is replaced with nasai :
Pattern
Example
Translation
6.6.3
:
:
:
complement VB + nasai
anata no heya o katazukenasai (katazukeru = tidy up)
clean your room
Imperative in te
This form can go from a gentle order to a really rude one depending on
the tone in which the sentence containing the te form is used.
6.6.4
The strongest form
Now we are going to see the imperative form which can be the rudest
depending on the situations. In fact, this form is also used to give some
encouragements:
6.7
The passive
There are several possible ways to express the passive:
• V in te form + aru (see section 6.2.4)
• V in the same form than the one used to express the notion of capacity
(see section 6.5)
I will just talk about the second form since the first one has been previously further explored:
Example
Translation
7
:
:
yobu → yobareru
to call → to be called
Expressing desires
This corresponds to: want to or would like to + Verb. This form is based
on the masu form: take the masu form, cut the masu ending and put tai
instead: tabemasu → tabetai, shimasu → shitai.
13
8
Obligations
To express the notion of obligation which corresponds to the must and
have to, one expression is used in Japanese which has several equivalent
forms. This notion of obligation has a slight negative meaning in the sense
that is implies that the obligation is something you would not have done if
you had been given the choice. The commonly used form uses the negative
non polite present form from which the i suffix is removed (NPPF ) and
replaced with kerebanaranai (or kerebanarimasen). All the patterns I know
are described below and ordered by the degree of politeness:
Pattern
:
:
:
:
Examples
Translation
9
Object
Object
Object
Object
:
:
:
:
:
+
+
+
+
NPPF
NPPF
NPPF
NPPF
+
+
+
+
kerebanaranai
kute wa kerebanaranai
kuchanaranai
kucha
jimusho ni ikanakerebanaranai
jimusho ni ikanakute wa naranai
jimusho ni ikanakuchanaranai
jimusho ni ikanakucha
I have to go to my office
Opinions
9.1
Asking opinion
To ask for an opinion, dou desu ka can be used and ikaga deshou ka in
a more polite way.
9.2
Giving an opinion
Pattern
Example
Translation
10
:
:
:
subordinate [no o] to omoimasu
Tom ga mada kaete kuranai no o to omoimasu
I think that Tom hasn’t come back yet
On the phone...
The first thing to say when you catch a phone call is moshimoshi. Then
if you want to talk to a particular person, for example to your best male
friend, let’s call him John, here are the different ways of doing so:
• Johnsan onegaishimasu
• Johnsan to hashimasu ka
• Johnsan irasshaimasu ka
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Usefull expressions
• nanode: suffix adding a notion of consequence followed by a sentence
in the negative form: hayakuchinanode wakarimasen deshita - since
he spoke very fast, I did not understand.
• sanpo suru: to take a walk. niwa o sanpo suru: to take a walk
around the garden. niwa e sanpo suru: to take a walk in the garden.
• shika: only (used in negative sentence): kare ga 100en shika arimasen - He has only 100 yens.
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