Level 2 - 日本語

~te arimasu

I will cover the use of “~te arimasu” today. You should refer to my other lessons on “~te xxx”. This lesson ill be the end of Level 2 and I am going to start Level 3 Japanese Lesson in my next post.

“~te arimasu” means “something has been done” but past tense will not be used for this case.

Example
The window is closed - Mado ga (shimeru)shimete arimasu
The door is opened - Doa ga (akeru)akete arimasu
The pen is placed on the table - Pen ga teburu no ue ni (oku)oite arimasu
My name is written in the book - Hon ni namae ga (kaku)kaite arimasu

Stay Tune for Level 3 with more interesting lessons.

Conversation

Tony : May I come in - Gomen kudasai
Kobayashi : Yes, who is that? - Hai, Dochira sama desu ka?
Tony : I’m Tony - Toni desu.

Kobayashi : Oh, Tony, welcome. Please come in - Maa, Toni-san, irasshaimase. Dōzo oagari kudasai.
Tony : Sorry for disturbing - Hai, ojama shimasu

John : Please (go in first) - Osaki ni dōzo
Tony : Thanks - Dōmo

Tony : Excuse me - Shitsurei shimasu
John : Excuse me - Shitsurei shimasu

Kobayashi : Please take a seat - Dōzo okake kudasai
Tony : Thank you - Hai, arigatō gozaimasu

Tony : This is John from America - Kochira wa amerika kara no Jon-san desu
John : I’m John, nice to meet you. - Hajimemashite. Jon desu
Kobayashi : I’m Kobayashi, nice to meet you. Regards - Kobayashi desu. Hajimemashite. Dōzo yoroshiku.

Meaning : Gomen Kudasai (May I come in), Dochira Sama (Who - polite form), Irrashaimase (Welcome), Oagari (Rise, Come In - polite form), Ojama (Disturb), Osaki (First), Dōzo (Please), Dōmo (Thanks), Shitsurei (Excuse), Okake (Sit Down), Kochira (This), Kochira (This - for human - polite form), Hajimemashite (Nice to meet you), Yoroshiku (This is something like “All the best” or asking someone for a favor)

~yasui (easy to) & ~nikui(difficult to)

Easy to read - (Yomu)Yomiyasui desu
Difficult to read - Yominikui desu

When converting to “~yasui” or “~nikui”, the hiragana at the end of the verb shall be changed to the “second sound (a i u e o). Yomu >> Yomiyasui, Kaku >> Kakiyasui. Special verbs such as Suru >> Shiyasui, Kuru >> Kiyasui, Miru >> Miyasui. For more information on how to change for other verbs that end with different hiragana words, please go to our Verbs Section.

It’s easier to study in a quiet room - Shizuka na heya wa benkyō (suru)shiyasui desu
Tofu is difficult to eat - Tōfu wa (taberu)tabenikui desu
It’s not difficult to watch in old television - Furui terebi wa (miru)minikuku arimasen

When you are using negative expression, as usual remove the “i” and change to “ku” follow by “arimasen”

Conversation

Kobayashi : How is it? - Ikaga desu ka?
Tony : Please shorten a little bit more - Mō sukoshi (mijikai)mijikaku shite kudasai.
Kobayashi : How short do you want? - Dono gurai mijikaku shimashō ka?
Tony : Please shorten for about 1 centimeter - Mō 1 senchi gurai mijikaku shite kudasai.
Meaning : Ikaga (How - to what extent), Mō (More, Already), Mijikai (Short), Gurai (About), Senchi (Centimeter)

Kobayashi : How many years have you study Japanese? - Nihongo o benkyō shite kara nan nen ni narimasu ka?
Tony : Already 3 years - Mō 3 nen ni narimashita.
Kobayashi : Is it still difficult? - Mada muzukashii desu ka?
Tony : Yes, very. But, it became gradually fun - Hai, tottemo. Demo dandan (omoshiroi)omoshiroku natte kimashita.
Meaning : Benkyō (Study), Mada (Still), Muzukashii (Difficult), Tottemo (Very), Demo (But, However), Dandan (Gradually), Omoshiroi (Fun)

Kobayashi : Your grandfather has been admitted for a week already, right? - Ojiisan ga nyūin shite kara sorosoro isshūkan ni narimasu ka?
Tony : No, 2 weeks but he is better already - Iie, nishūkan ni narimasu ga, mō yoku narimashita.
Kobayashi : Is it. Still haven’t discharge yet? - Sō desu ka. Mada taiin wa shimasen ka?
Tony : Ya, Still not discharge yet - Ee, mada taiin shimasen.
Meaning : Ojiisan (Grandfather), Nyūin (Admit Hospital), Sorosoro (Soon, Within a short time), Taiin (Discharge from Hospital)

~ku narimasu

Sorry, it’s being a while since the last lesson as I was busy helping my wife taking care of my twin babies.

Today, I will cover “~ku narimasu” which means “become something”.

Example
Enpitsu ga nagai desu + Mijikaku shimasu = Mijikaku narimashita
Long pencil + Shorten it = Became Shorter

For those adjective that “i”, “ku narimasu” should be used otherwise “ni narimasu” shall be used. For example :

Byōki >> Genki = Genki ni narimashita
Sick >> Fine / Well = Became well

Fuyu >> Haru = Haru ni narimashita
Winter >> Spring = Became (Changed) to Spring

Other Usage
I have already became 20 years old - Mō 20 sai ni narimashita
Still haven’t reach 20 years old - Mada 20 sai ni wa narimasen

As usual, for negative answer “ni wa” & shall be used instead of “ni”. For the ~ku narimasu, ~ku arimasen shall be used.

Conversation

Conversation 1
Kobayashi : What did you do day before yesterday? - Ototoi wa nani o shite imashita ka?
Tony : Went to Shibuya for shopping, then watch a drama. - Shibuya e itte kaimono o shite kara, shibai o mimashita.
Kobayashi : What did you buy? - Nani o kaimashita ka?
Tony : I saw sofa & table at the department store near the station but couldn’t find any good ones - Eki no soba no depa-to de, sofa- to te-buru o mimashita ga, ii no ga (mitsukaru)mitsukarimasen deshita.
Kobayashi : What kind of sofa & table you wanted? - Donna no ga hoshikatta desu ka?
Tony : I wished to buy big and beautiful sofa and small square table but only small sofa was available. - Ookikute kirei na sofa- to chisakute shikakui te-buru ga kaitakatta desu ga, chisai sofa- shika arimasen deshita.
Kobayashi : So, you didn’t but anything - Jaa, nani mo kaimasen deshita ka?
Tony : No, I didn’t by sofa & table but I bought a doll for my daughter - Iie, sofa- to te-buru wa kaimasen deshita ga, musume ni omocha o katte kaerimashita.
Meaning : Ototoi (Day before yesterday), Kaimono (Shopping), Shibai (Drama), Sofa- (Sofa), Te-buru (Table), Mitsukaru (Discover / Find), Shikaku (Square), Musume (Daughter), Omocha (Doll)

Conversation 2
Kobayashi : Have you already went for tour? - Mō ryokō shimashita ka?
Tony : Yes, I went to Kyoto & Osaka last month - Hai, sengetsu, Kyōto to Osaka e itte kimashita.
Kobayashi : Is it. Then, is there any other place you wish to visit - Sō desu ka. Sorekara, hoka ni doko e ikitai desu ka?
Tony : I wish to go to Hokkaido & Kyushu - Hokkaidō ya Kyūshū nado e ikitai desu
Meaning : Ryokō (Tour), Sengetsu (Last Month), Hoka (Other)

~tai – “Wish to “ or “Want to”

In my previous lesson, we learned about “hoshii” which means “Want”. “~tai” has a similar meaning but it uses in conjunction with verbs. In other word, it uses as “Want to do something”. The following examples will show you the different usage of “hoshii” and “~tai”.

Usage of “hoshii”
Q : Do you want a new shoe? - Atarashii kutsu ga hoshii desu ka?
A : Yes, I want a new shoe - Hai, Atarashii kutsu ga hoshii desu.

Usage of “~tai”
Q : Do you want / wish to buy a new shoe? - Atarashii kutsu ga/o (kau)kaitai desu ka?
A : Yes, I want / wish to buy a new shoe - Hai, atarashii kutsu ga/o kaitai desu

Can you see the difference? “~tai” is use in conjunction with “kau (buy)” which equaivalent to “kaitai (wish to buy)”. When using “~tai”, you can either use “ga” or “o” for the noun.

Other examples
Want / Wish to drink coffee - Ko-hi- ga/o (nomu)nomitai desu.
Want / Wish to eat cake - Ke-ki ga/o (taberu)tabetai desu.
Want / Wish to watch western movie - Eiga ga/o (miru)mitai desu
Meaning : Kutsu (Shoe), Eiga (Western Movie)

Enjoy today’s lesson ……

Hoshii – Want or Wish

Today, I will cover the use of “Hoshii” which means “Want or Wish”. The usage is very simple as per examples below :

Q : Do you want today’s newspaper - Kyō no shinbun ga hoshii desu ka?
A : Yes, I want today’s newspaper - Hai, Kyō no shinbun ga hoshii desu.

Yes, I want a cheap stereo - Hai, Yasui sutereo ga hoshii desu.
No, I do not want a cheap stereo - Iie, Yasui sutereo wa hoshiku arimasen.
Meaning : Shinbun (Newspaper), Yasui (Cheap), Sutereo (Stereo)

Conversation

Conversation 1
Kobayashi : I am hungry - Onaka ga (suku)sukimashita ne.
Tony : Yeah, very - Ee, tottemo.
Kobayashi : So, let’s go and eat at the nearby Soba restaurant - Jaa, chikaku no sobaya e (taberu)tabe ni ikimashou.
Meaning : Onaka (Stomach), Suku (Hungry), Tottemo (Very), Chikaku (Nearby), Sobaya (Soba Restaurant), Soba (A type of Japanese Mee)

Kobayashi : Don’t you plan to visit my house this Sunday? - Kondo no nichiyoubi, uchi e (asobu)asobi ni kimasen ka?
Tony : Yes, thank you. Is it near from here? - Hai, arigatou gozaimasu. Koko kara chikai desu ka?
Kobayashi : Yes, it takes 15 minutes by walk - Hai, (aruku)aruite 15 fun gurai desu.
Tony : I see, can you write me your address? - Naruhodo, juusho o (kaku)kaite (morau)moraimasen ka?
Kobayashi : Yes - Hai.
Meaning : Kondo (This time), Nichiyoubi (Sunday), Arigatou Gozaimasu (Thank You), Koko (Here), Chikai (Near), Aruku (Walk), Naruhodo (I see), Juusho (Address), Morau (Receive / Get)

Kobayashi : Isn’t this room hot? - Kono heya, (atsui)atsuku arimasen ka?
Tony : A bit hot - Chotto atsui desu ne.
Kobayashi : So, shall we open the window? - Jaa, mado o (akeru)akemashou ka?
Tony : No, please switch off that stove - Iie, sono suto-bu o (kesu)keshite kudasai.
Meaning : Kono (This), Heya (Room), Atsui (Hot), Chotto (A bit), Akeru (Open), Suto-bu (Stove), Kesu (Switch Off)

Kobayashi : Shall i make you coffee? - Ko-hi- o (ireru)iremashou ka?
Tony : Ya, Please - Ee, onegai shimasu.
Kobayashi : Milk and sugar, how would you prefer? - Miruku to satou wa dou shimashou ka?
Michael : No sugar but please add a little bit of milk only - Satou wa irimasen ga, miruku dake, sukoshi irete kudasai.
Kobayashi : How about you, Tony? - Toni san wa?
Tony : I like black coffee more - Watashi wa burakku no hou ga suki desu.
Kobayashi : Yes, understood. Only milk for Michael amd black for Tony - Hai, wakarimashita. Maikeru san wa miruku dake de, Toni san wa burakku desu ne.
Meaning : Ireru (Put in), Onegai Shimasu (Please - requesting for a favour), Miruku (Milk), Satou (Sugar), Dake (Only), Sukoshi (A little), Burakku (Black - for coffee use)

Certain words cannot be translated with their actual meaning in English. So I change a little to make it easier to understand.

~mashou – Let’s

“~mashou” means “Let’s do something”. For example : Let’s play (Asobimashou). It is as simple as ABC

Examples
Kobayashi : Today, where do you go? - Kyou, doko e (iku)ikimasu ka?
Tony : I will be going to Shinjuku - Shinjuku e ikimasu
Kobayashi : How about you? - Anata wa?
Michael : I will be going to Shinjuku too - Watashi mo Shinjuku e ikimasu
Tony : Then, let’s go together - Jaa, issho ni ikimashou ka?
Michael : Alright, let’s go - Ee, ikimashou
Meaning : Kyou (Today), Doko (Where), Issho ni (Together)

Other Examples
Let’s drink coffee at the coffee shop - Kissaten de ko-hi- o (nomu)nomimashou
Let’s erase off the words on the blackboard - Kokuban no ji o (kesu)keshimashou
Let’s sing Japanese songs - Nihongo no uta o (utau)utaimashou
Meaning : Kissaten (Coffee Shop), Kokuban (Blackboard), Ji (Words), Kesu (Erase), Uta (Songs), Utau (Sing)