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こねこがほしいです！
Koneko ga hoshii desu!
I want a kitten!
Desire
We saw how to say 'I want to do something', but we haven't seen how to express desires like 'I want something'. To do this, we will use ほしいです. It is always used with the particle が in this context.
I want a cat.
ねこがほしいです。
Neko ga hoshii desu.
I want a new car.
あたらしいくるまがほしいです。
Atarashii kuruma ga hoshii desu.
ほしい is actually an adjective. It is as if you were saying 'a cat is desirable' meaning you want a cat.
Thus, to use it in the negative and in the past, we will have to conjugate it like a い-adjective. We will see adjectives more in detail in the next lesson.
To do this, ほしい will drop い to acquire く.
ほしく + ないです
*Don't forget that in the negative, が is replaced by は!
I don't want a dog. I want a cat.
いぬはほしくないです。ねかがほしいです。
Inu wa hoshiku nai desu. Neko ga hoshii desu.
For the past, ほしい will lose its い and it will be replaced by かったです.
ほし + かったです
I wanted a cat.
ねこがほしかったです。
Neko ga hoshikatta desu.
In the past negative, ほしい loses its い and is replaced by くなかったです.
ほし + くなかったです
I didn't want a cat.
ねこはほしくなかったです。
Neko wa hoshikunakatta desu.
Some constructions will be used with adjectives in Japanese. It is the case for 'want something' ほしいです, 'to be scared of' こわいです and 'to like something' すきです. English uses verbs, whereas Japanese uses adjectives.
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Already done something
We saw in earlier lessons about もう and まだ, such as もうたべましたか？いいえ、まだです.
This construction only works when you have already completed something right now, such as もうたべました (I already ate).
However, to say that we have already done something or not, as an experience, we will use another construction. Let's view a couple of examples to better grasp the subject!
Have you already eaten the apple?
りんごをもうたべましたか？
Ringo o mou tabemashita ka?
In this sentence, you are asking if I have already eaten the apple (that you probably gave me to eat).
Now, notice this sentence.
Have you ever eaten apples before?
りんごをたべたことがありますか？
Ringo o tabeta koto ga arimasu ka?
In this sentence, you are asking me if I did the experience of eating apples.
To express if we already done something (or not), we will use this construction:
VERB (past casual) 〜た + ことがあります
Have you ever been to Japan?
にほんにいったことがありますか？
Nihon ni itta koto ga arimasu ka?
Yes, I have.
はい、あります。
Hai, arimasu.
No, I haven't.
いいえ、ありません。
Iie, arimasen.
I have never eaten blue cheese before.
ブルーチーズをたべたことはありません。
Buruu chiizu o tabeta koto wa arimasen.
(casual form)
Have you ever eaten blue cheese?
ブルーチーズをたべたことがある？
Buruu chiizu o tabeta koto ga aru?
I have never eaten blue cheese before.
ブルーチーズをたべたことはない。
Buruu chiizu o tabeta koto wa nai.
Sometimes, in casual speech, the particles が and は are omitted.
Have you even swam in the sea?
うみにおよいだことある？
Umi ni oyoida koto aru?
I've never swam in the sea.
うみにおよいだことない。
Umi ni oyoida koto nai.
This construction is rigid, so it won't change depending on if you are stating your own experiences or someone else's experiences.
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Being able to
Luckily for us, how to say that we are able to do something requires a construction almost identical to the construction we just saw with 'already done'.
'To be able (to do something)' in Japanese is できます (できる). To say that we are able to do certain things, we use this construction.
VERB (inf.) + ことができます
Finally, I am able to read kanji!
ついにかんじをよむことができます！
Tsuini kanji o yomu koto ga dekimasu!
For the negative, past and past negative, you simply need to conjugate できる.
(Because) my leg hurts, I won't be able to run.
あしがいたいですから、はしることができません。
Ashi ga itai desu kara, hashiru koto ga dekimasen.
I was successful at entering the building. (I was able to enter the building)
ビルをはいることができました。
Biru o hairu koto ga dekimashita.
I wasn't able to swim.
およぐことができませんでした。
Oyogu koto ga dekimasen deshita.
できる can also stand on its own.
Are you able to speak Japanese?
にほんごができますか？
Nihongo ga dekimasu ka?
In this sentence, we literally ask 'are you able Japanese?' We can omit the verb 'to speak' altogether. This sentence is more natural than asking 'are you able to speak Japanese?'
X にほんごをはなすことができますか？
O にほんごができますか？
Yes, I can a little bit.
はい、ちょっとできます。
Hai, chotto dekimasu.
No, not at all.
いいえ、ぜんぜんできません。
Iie, zenzen dekimasen.
There are some verbs that just do not really work with できる.
For example, the verb わかる (to understand) usually works on its own. In English, you can ask 'are you able to understand Japanese?' But in Japanese, this sounds unnatural. We will mostly ask 'do you understand Japanese?'
Do you understand Japanese?
にほんごがわかりますか？
Nihongo ga wakarimasu ka?
Yes, I mostly understand.
はい、だいたいわかります。
Hai, daitai wakarimasu.
No, I don't really understand.
いいえ、あまりわかりません。
Iie, amari wakarimasen.
You can add in some words to show the degree of understanding that you have in Japanese.
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からだ - body
けんこう - health
あたま - head
かみ - hair
がく - forehead
まゆ - eyebrow
め - eyes
はな - nose
くち - mouth
くちびる - lips
は - teeth
した - tongue
ほほ - cheek
あご - chin
みみ - ear
かお - face
くび - neck
かた - shoulder
うで - arm
ひじ - elbow
て - hand
ゆび - finger
むね - chest
おなか - belly
せなか - back
しり - buttocks
あし - leg/feet
だいたい - thigh
ひざ - knee
つまさき - toe
つめ - nail
だいこつ - skeleton
のう - brain
ずがいこつ - skull
しんぞう - heart
はい - lung
い - stomach
かんぞう - liver
ちょう - intestine
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You have completed lesson 11!
レッシュン11ができました！
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