Japanese - Grammar IV - A not-so-short bit about short form verbs

In Japanese there is something called short form. It's called this because it is literally shorter than the "polite" verb conjugations in Japanese. 

 Short form is used a lot in casual conversation. BUT! Short form ≠ Casual. Just because something is short form it doesn't mean it's casual. There are a TON of different verb forms that require short form. Progressive form uses short form; whenever you say something like "X said ______" or "I think ______" you use a short form verb; listing actions uses short form; connecting verbs uses short form, and there are many other situations where you use short form. 

Therefore I felt you should learn short form early in your Japanese-study-career because it'll help a lot with other grammar points to come.

The first thing about short form I'll cover is the short form of verbs. The short form of adjectives will be covered later.

The plain short form of verbs (used for future/continual actions,) is just the dictionary form of the verb (the form you find when you look up a verb in the dictionary.) 

So the short version of: にほん に いきます！ is just にほん に いく！

The plain short version on the auxilllary です is just だ.

すし だ = It's sushi.

Next in the list of short form verbs is the て and た form. This set is the hardest verb conjugation in Japanese (don't be scared though! It just takes a little more memorization than other conjugations.) て form and た form (aka short past form or short form past) are very similar. So once you know one you can easily learn the other.

The ending of the verb determines the change. Here is a table:

て FORM

FOR GODAN VERBS

う、る and つ　・　・　・ become　・　・　・ って　　➔ example: うつ becomes うって

く　・　・　・　・　・　・　・ becomes 　・　・　・ いて  ➔ example: かく becomes かいて

ぐ  ・　・　・　・　・　・　・ becomes 　・　・　・ いで  ➔ example: かぐ becomes かいで 

ぶ、む、and ぬ 　・　・ become 　・　・　・　んで   ➔ example: とぶ becomes とんで

す ・　・　・　・　・　・　・ becomes 　・　・　・して　  ➔example: かす becomes かして

FOR ICHIDAN VERBS

Drop the る and add て  ➔ example: たべる becomes たべて

た form is super easy. Just take the above conjugations and replace て with た and で with だ.

So はなす becomes はなした, およぐ becomes およいだ. And so on.

Using て and た Form

た form (usually) is the short past tense form of the verb. 

もう たべた。 = I already ate.

ともだち　と　いっぱい　はなした！ = I talked with my friends a lot!

かれ は もう かえった か？ = Did he already go home?

もう たべた？ = Have you eaten?

If you'll notice from the last two examples, there is no past-perfect form in Japanese. So "I have already eaten" and "I already ate" translate to the same thing in Japanese.

The short form past tense of the auxiliary だ is だった.

て form has a wonderful variety of uses. One is progressive. If you add いる (informal) or います (formal) onto the end of a て form verb then it becomes progressive.

はなして います = Talking

あそんで いる = Hanging out (lit: playing)

Probably one of the most important usages of the て form is commanding. If you want someone to do something, you use てform.

きて、きて！ = Come on! Come on! (calling someone to join you, etc.)
ちゃんと　いって！ = Just say it!

If you would like to be less forceful and more polite then you add ください (please) to the end of the verb.

すわって ください = Please sit down.

なまえ を かいて ください = Please write your name.

Another usage of て form is connecting verbs.

けさ、あさごはん　を　たべて、がっこう　に　いきました。 = This morning I ate breakfast and went to school.

In this above sentence there are two verbs, "eat" and "go to school." In English if you connect to verbs then both verbs are in the same tense, (like ate and went are both past,) and then use "and" to connect them. In Japanese, you make the first verb (s) て form and then the final verb changes to past, future, whatever. Here is another example:

おんがく　を　きいて、ほん　を　よんで、かいもの　に　いく！ = I'll listen to music, read a book, and go shopping!

て form is not the only way to connect verbs, (there are two more ways,) but it is used often especially for making words like "come back" or "bring with."

To come back = かえって くる = かえる (return) in て form + くる (come)

To go back = かえって いく = かえる (return) in て form + いく (go)

To bring = もって くる = もつ (to hold/have) in て form + くる (come)

To take = もって いく = もつ (to hold/have) in て form + いく (go)

There are many other ways in which て form and た form are used in conjunction with other conjugations (for example, one of the other ways to connect verbs includes た form + another suffix,) but those will be introduced in later lessons.

For now just work on memorizing the て form table above maybe with flash cards or making a table of your own.

Good luck!!

がんばって！！

Japanese - Grammar III - が、も、and で

In Grammar I and Grammar II you learned about some of the particles in Japanese (は、を、に、etc.) Now it's time to introduce the last of the big ones you need for basic Japanese (even intermediate and advanced.) As always, make sure you read over Grammar I and II before reading this post, since the lessons DO build on themselves.

Grammar Point I - が

が is the topic marker in Japanese. Now I know you may be thinking what the hell does that mean? and it is hard to explain. But I'll try my best, through explanations and examples, to explain what this means.

The topic of a sentence is a lot like the subject of the sentence (thus the infamous Japanese linguistics issue ― the difference between は and が.) But the name itself can be a huge giveaway to the nuance. A subject is just that. The subject. The actor (or doer) of the sentence. A topic is more egotistical you could say. The topic wants, and is, the center of attention. It is, after all, the topic of the sentence. In this sense, が puts more emphasis on the noun than は does. 

Another hint to the nuance between は and が is looking at the ways they are used. One of my Japanese friends once told me that you always use が less when talking in formal Japanese because it's a little rougher and sounds too bold. Look at these examples and see if you can get a feel for the nuance here.

かれ は だいがくせい だ よ。 = He's a college student

かれ が だいがくせい だ よ。 = He's a college student

In the two sentence above the only difference is は and が but the translation changes a little. The second sentence puts emphasis on the fact that HE is a college student (maybe in contrast to someone else.) The first sentence is a lot more natural sounding, but the second version is grammatically correct and this structure is used. When putting both of them into Google using kanji and writing them in quotation marks, the first version came up with about 192,000 hits and the second version came up with about 29,300 hits (search date 9/3/11.)

Here's another example. This uses grammar we haven't covered yet, but don't worry because the translation will give you enough information for the purpose of this example.

ねた ほう が いい よ ね = It would be better if you slept. (You should go to bed.)

Literally this sentence says "The way of sleeping is good." This is often used in comparisons, so this could also mean "Sleeping would be better (than not sleeping.)" You RARELY hear or see は used in the _______ ほう ___ いい pattern. It is almost always ほうがいい and not ほうはいい.
In fact, when I put ほうはいい into Google, it thought I had misstyped something.

ほうはいい DID get a lot of hits, but ほうがいい got seven times more hits.

What does this tell us? That が does indeed put emphasis. In the ほうがいい grammar point, you are saying that X is better than Y. It is usually used for comparisons or saying that X is the best way to go. This is a very emphatic kind of sentence and therefore が is used.

Okay okay, that was a lot of explaining. Now that you hopefully have a better feel for how が differs from は lets look at some usage examples.

きゃ～！それ が すき だ！ = Ohhh! I like that one!　(that + が + liked + is)

あれ？かれ が くる？ = Eh? Is he coming?　（he + が + come?)

Grammar II - も

So how do you say "too" (as in "I'm learning Japanese too!") For that you use the particle も！ も isn't used at the end of the sentence like "too" in English is. It is used just like all the other particles we've learned. You slap that sucker on the end of the noun it's modifying.

Here's an example.

わたし も すし が すき です！ = I like sushi too! (I also like sushi!)

かれ も だいがくせい です。 = He's a college student too. (He is also a college student.)

※ も is also used in other ways, but this is the most common. Other usages will be introduced later.

Grammar III - で

で has two important meanings I'm going to cover here. One is an instrumental meaning and the other is kind of like a preposition.

Instrumental で

One usage of で is to mark the instrumental noun of a sentence. In other words, it translates as "with" or "using." Here is an example:

はし で たべました。 = I ate with chopsticks.

パソコン で べんきょう します。 = I study with a computer.

The "tool" you use to carry out the verb is marked with で.

Prepositional で

The other important usage of で is similar to a preposition. で marks the location of the action. For example:

スーパー で かいました。 = I bought it at the super market.

とうきょう で あそびましょう！ = Let's hang out in Tokyo!

Japanese - 家族 （かぞく）Family

In Japanese talking about family is a little more complicated than it is in English.

Firstly, there are two words for certain family members. Also, you must be specific about your OLD brother or sister as opposed to your YOUNGER brother or sister.

★ First I will give you a list of words that you use in TWO situations ― 1) When speaking about another person's family; and 2) Titles you use for family members (ie the words you use to call your mom, dad,  siblings, etc.) These are honorific expressions, so in order to show respect to other's family, OR to speak to your own family, you use these words.

Father = お父さん　（おとうさん）

Mother = お母さん　（おかあさん）

Older brother = お兄さん　（おにいさん）

Older sister = お姉さん　（おねえさん）

Grandfather = おじいさん

Grandmother = おばあさん

※ NOTE that there are no words for younger siblings in this category. This is because for aunts, uncles, younger siblings, and other extended family there is only one word, regardless of context.

Here are some example of proper and improper use of these words.

CORRECT USAGE 

✔ やまださんの　おとうさんは　アメリカに　います。 = Yamada's father is in the US.

       Since you're speaking of another person's father, you use おとうさん

✔ おとうさん、いこうよ！ = Dad, let's go!

       Since you're addressing your own father, you use おとうさん

INCORRECT USAGE (※ Is speaking to someone not in your direct family, like a brother, sister, etc.)

✗ おとうさんは　アメリカに　います。 = My father is in the US.

You will also often hear mothers (and fathers) refer to themselves as おかあさん (and おとうさん) when speaking to their children. 

ANOTHER SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE!!! These words are not supposed to be used when talking about your own family to others according to "proper" (or "prescriptivist") Japanese. However, in casual situations you will often hear people use these words when referring to their own families. It's okay to do so informally. :-)

★ Second, I'll give you the lists of words that are used ONLY when speaking of your own family to others who are outside of your family.

Father = 父　（ちち）

Mother = 母　（はは）

Older brother = 兄　（あに）

Older sister = 姉　（あね）

Grandfather = 祖父　（そふ）
Grandmother = 祖母　（そぼ）


★ Lastly I'll give you the family terms that can be used in either situation!

Younger brother = 弟　（おとうと）
Younger sister = 妹　（いもうと）
Cousin = いとこ
Nephew = 甥　（おい）
Niece = 姪　（めい）

To add "in-law" to the title, place 義理の （ぎりの） before the noun.
Ex: 義理の父 Father-in-law
義理の is also used for "step____" so 義理の父 could also mean step-father depending on the context.

Japanese - Colors 色 （いろ）

I decided to make a separate post on colors 色（いろ）！☆ 

This should be super short because colors are fairly simple.

Colors (in NOUN form)

Red　＝　赤（あか）

Orange　＝　オレンジ色（オレンジいろ）

Yellow　＝　黄色（きいろ）

Green　＝　緑（みどり） or 緑色（みどりいろ）

Blue　＝　青（あお）

Purple　＝　紫（むらさき）

Black　＝　黒（くろ）

White　＝　白（しろ）   

Brown　＝　茶色（ちゃいろ）

Grey　＝　鼠色（ねずみいろ）

Pink　＝　ピンク

Colors (in ADJECTIVE form)

Usually colors in adjective form are pretty easy.

For RED, BLUE, BLACK, and WHITE just add an い on the end.

Example： I like red = あか が すき です。(あか is a noun)

                  I have a red shirt = あかい シャツ が あります。(あかい is an adjective)

For all other colors, treat the noun form as a の adjective (add a の before the noun)

Example： I like green = みどり が すき です。(みどり is a noun)

                  I have a green shirt = みどりの　シャツ　が　あります。(みどり is an adjective)

                  My shirt is green = わたし の シャツ が みどり です。(みどり is an adjective)

Yellow is kind of special and can be used either way. 黄色 can either take an い or be treated as a の adjective.

Japanese - Top 225 words you should know!

Here's a list I made of the top 225 words (unless I miss counted....) you should probably know when you're studying Japanese. A lot of these you'll find in a textbook, but some of them you won't. I added the kanji and the reading (unless the kanji is not commonly used.) 

Enjoy! (^-^)

Key words/phrases (12 words)

Yes　　→　　はい

No　　→　　いいえ

Hello　　→　　こんにちは

Goodbye　　→　　ではまた

Sorry　　→　　ごめんなさい

Exuse me　　→　　すみません

Thank you　　→　　ありがとうございます

Please　　→　　お願いします (おねがいします)

Please　　→　　ください

Pleased to meet you　　→　　はじめまして

It was nice meeting you　　→　　よろしくお願いします

Pronouns (17 words)

I/me　　→　　わたし

I/me (informal for boys)　　→　　ぼく

I/me (informal for girls)　　→　　あたし　

You　　→　　あなた

You (informal)　　→　　きみ

He/him　　→　　かれ

She/her　　→　　かのじょ

We　　→　　わたしたち

We (informal for boys)　　→　　ぼくら

We (informal for girls)　　→　　あたしたち

You (plural) 　　→　　あなたたち

You (plural informal)　　→　　きみら

They　　→　　かれら

This　　→　　これ or この+noun

That　　→　　それ or その+noun

That (over there) 　　→　　あれ or あの+noun

Which　　→　　どれ or どの+noun

Counters (10 words)

One　　→　　一つ（ひとつ）

Two　　→　　二つ（ふたつ）

Three　　→　　三つ（みっつ）

Four　　→　　四つ（よっつ）

Five　　→　　五つ（いつつ）

Six　　→　　六つ（むっつ）

Seven　　→　　七つ（ななつ）

Eight　　→　　八つ（やっつ）

Nine　　→　　九つ（ここのつ）

Ten　　→　　十（とお）

Weekdays (10 words)

Monday　　→　　月曜日（げつようび）

Tuesday　　→　　火曜日（かようび）

Wednesday　　→　　水曜日（すいようび）

Thursday　　→　　木曜日（もくようび）

Friday　　→　　金曜日（きんようび）

Saturday　　→　　土曜日（どようび）

Sunday　　→　　日曜日（にちようび）

Week　　→　　週間（しゅうかん）

Weekend　　→　　週末（しゅうまつ）

Weekday (business day) 　　→　　平日（へいじつ）

Nouns (100 words)

0　　→　　ゼロ

1　　→　　一（いち）

2　　→　　二（に）

3　　→　　三（さん）

4　　→　　四（し／よん）

5　　→　　五（ご）

6　　→　　六（ろく）

7　　→　　七（しち／なな）

8　　→　　八（はち）

9　　→　　九（きゅう／く）

10　　→　　十（じゅう／とお）

100　　→　　百（ひゃく）

1,000　　→　　千（せん）

10,000　　→　　万（まん）

Color　　→　　色（いろ）※ For more on how to use colors as adjectives see the Colors entry

Red　　→　　赤（あか）

Orange　　→　　オレンジ色（オレンジいろ）

Yellow　　→　　黄色（きいろ）

Green　　→　　緑（みどり）

Blue　　→　　青（あお）

Purple　　→　　紫（むらさき）

Black　　→　　黒（くろ）

White　　→　　白（しろ）

Person　　→　　人（ひと）

Man　　→　　男（おとこ）

Woman　　→　　女（おんな）

Child　　→　　子供（こども）

Family　　→　　家族（かぞく）

Siblings　　→　　兄弟（きょうだい）

Parents　　→　　両親（りょうしん）

Grandparents　　→　　祖父母（そふぼ）

     ※ For family member words please see the separate entry on Family Terms

Animal 　　→　　動物（どうぶつ）

Cat 　　→　　猫（ねこ）

Dog 　　→　　犬（いぬ）

Country　　→　　国（くに）

City　　→　　都会（とかい）

Town　　→　　町／街（まち）

Japan　　→　　日本（にほん or にっぽん）

Japanese (language) 　　→　　日本語（にほんご）

Japanese (person) 　　→　　日本人（にほんじん）

The US　　→　　アメリカ

Korea　　→　　韓国（かんこく）

China　　→　　中国（ちゅうごく）

English (language)　　→　　英語（えいご）

Food　　→　　食べ物（たべもの）

Rice (cooked)　　→　　ご飯（ごはん）

Meat　　→　　肉（にく）

Vegetables　　→　　野菜（やさい）

Fruit　　→　　果物（くだもの）

Drink　　→　　飲み物（のみもの）

Water　　→　　水（みず）

Tea (green)　　→　　お茶（おちゃ）

Coffee　　→　　コーヒー

Chopsticks　　→　　箸（はし）also お箸（おはし）is more polite

Menu　　→　　メニュー

Restaurant　　→　　レストラン

Bill (check) 　　→　　お会計（おかいけい）or just 会計

Money　　→　　お金（おかね）

Credit card　　→　　クレジット･カード or just カード

Cash　　→　　現金（げんきん）

Change (coins) 　　→　　小銭（こぜに）

Change (difference) 　　→　　おつり

Shopping　　→　　買い物（かいもの）

Supermarket　　→　　スーパー

Business man　　→　　サラリーマン

Company　　→　　会社（かいしゃ）

Job (full-time) 　　→　　仕事（しごと）

Job (part-time) 　　→　　アルバイト or just バイト

House　　→　　家（いえ）

Home (one’s own) 　　→　　家（うち）

Home (someone else's) 　　→　　お宅（おたく）

Building　　→　　建物（たてもの）

Shop　　→　　店（みせ）

Car　　→　　車（くるま）

Plane　　→　　飛行機（ひこうき）

Train (electric)　　→　　電車（でんしゃ）

Road　　→　　道（みち）

Station (train) 　　→　　駅（えき）

School　　→　　学校（がっこう）

College (4 year) 　　→　　大学（だいがく）

College (2 year) 　　→　　短大（たんだい）

Graduate school　　→　　大学院（だいがくいん）

Student　　→　　学生（がくせい）

Pupil　　→　　生徒（せいと）

Teacher　　→　　先生（せんせい）

Professor　　→　　教師（きょうし）

Homework　　→　　宿題（しゅくだい）

Class　　→　　授業（じゅぎょう）

Test　　→　　テスト

Exam　　→　　試験（しけん）

Pen　　→　　ペン

Paper　　→　　紙（かみ）

Book　　→　　本（ほん）

Novel　　→　　小説（しょうせつ）

Textbook　　→　　教科書（きょうかしょ）

Paper/essay　　→　　作文（さくぶん）

Computer　　→　　コンピューター

Phone　　→　　電話（でんわ）

Cell phone　　→　　携帯 電話（けいたい でんわ） or just けいたい or ケータイ

Number　　→　　番号（ばんごう）

Question Words (10 words)

What　　→　　何（なに）

Who　　→　　誰（だれ）

When　　→　　いつ

Where　　→　　どこ

Why　　→　　どうして

Why　　→　　なぜ

Why　　→　　何で（なんで）

How　　→　　どう

How many　　→　いくつ　

How much　　→　　いくら

Verbs (21 words)

To be (is/am/are)　　→　　です (not actually classified as a verb in Japanese – different conjugations)

To be/exist (animate objects)　　→　　いる (ichidan/ru verb)

To be/exist/have (inanimate objects)　　→　　ある (irregular negative tense)

To do　　→　　する (irregular)

To go　　→　　行く (いく) (irregular short form)

To come　　→　　くる (irregular)

To say　　→　　言う (いう)

To listen/hear (also used as “to ask”)　　→　　聞く (きく)

To eat　　→　　食べる (たべる) (ichidan/ru verb)

To drink　　→　飲む (のむ)　

To talk　　→　　話す (はなす)

To meet　　→　　会う (あう)

To learn　　→　　習う (ならう)

To teach　　→　　教える (おしえる) (ichidan/ru verb)

To study　　→　　勉強する (べんきょうする) (suru verb)

To sleep　　→　　寝る (ねる)

To wake up　　→　　起きる (おきる) (ichidan/ru verb)

To buy　　→　　買う (かう)

To walk　　→　　歩く (あるく)

To have/hold　　→　　持つ (もつ)

To wait　　→　　待つ (まつ)

Adjectives (35 words)

Good　　→　　いい　(irregular)

Bad　　→　　悪い　(わるい)

Big　　→　　大きい　(おおきい)

Small　　→　　小さい　(ちいさい)

Hot (weather) 　　→　　暑い　(あつい)

Cold (weather) 　　→　　寒い　(さむい)

Hot (to the touch) 　　→　　熱い　(あつい)

Cold (to the touch) 　　→　　冷たい　(つめたい)

Thin　　→　　細い　(ほそい)

Fat　　→　　太い　(ふとい)

Light (weight) 　　→　　軽い　(かるい)

Heavy　　→　　重い　(おもい)

Light (<->dark) 　　→　　明るい　(あかるい)

Dark　　→　　暗い　(くらい)

Easy　　→　　簡単　(かんたん) (na adjective)

Easy　　→　　易しい　(やさしい)

Hard　　→　　難しい　(むずかしい)

Nice　　→　　優しい　(やさしい)

Fast　　→　　速い　（はやい）

Slow/Late　　→　　遅い　（おそい）

Early　　→　　早い　（はやい）

Long　　→　　長い　(ながい)

Short (height)　　→　　低い（ひくい）

Short (length)　　→　　短い　(みじかい)

Mean　　→　　ひどい

Sleepy　　→　　眠い　(ねむい)

Healthy/energetic　　→　　元気　(げんき) (na adjective)

Like (not a verb like in English) 　　→　　好き　(すき) (na adjective)

Dislike (not a verb like in English) 　　→　　嫌い　(きらい) (na adjective)

Nasty　　→　　嫌　(いや) (na adjective)

Beautiful　　→　　美しい　(うつくしい)

Pretty　　→　　きれい (na adjective)

Cute　　→　　かわいい

Awesome　　→　　すごい

Awesome/Dangerous　　→　　やばい

Other (10 words)

Very　　→　　とても

Super (slang) 　　→　　チョー

Properly　　→　　ちゃんと

Slowly/Leasurely　　→　　ゆっくり

More　　→　　もっと

Yet/still　　→　　まだ

Already　　→　　もう

Seriously (casual)　　→　　まじで

Ah I see (used during conversation) 　　→　　なるほど

“ne” (used at the end of sentences to get a response/agreement from the other party) 　　→　　ね