Should べき (beki) + Probably not まい (mai) + Not necessarily からといって (karatoitte) + And やら (yara) + Without doing ず (zu)

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レシピをみずにりょうりをつくられる？

Reshipi o mizuni ryouri o tsukurareru?

Can you cook without looking at the recipe?

Should (べき)

べき is a verbal suffix that is used to express that something needs to be done in a moral obligation or a duty. It has a stronger meaning than ほうがいい or はず. Thus, we will not see it in suggestions.

There are also different forms of べき which will take on different meanings and will have different levels of formality between them.

VERB + べき + だ

VERB + べき + NOUN

With the verb する, you will sometimes see it as するべき, which is the colloquial form, or すべき, which is more formal.

Obligation: you should do

The basic form of べき is to indicate that you should or you must do something. Coupled with the verb だ or です, it shows that you have to do something.

You should/must apologise to her.

かのじょにあやまるべきだ。

Kanojo ni ayamaru beki da.

In this case, it isn't a suggestion, but rather an imperative that you must apologise to the person. べき conveys that there is a duty or an obligation to perform a certain task.

You should study more.

もっとべんきょうすべきだ。

Motto benkyou subeki da.

べき followed by a noun

When べき is followed by a noun, it indicates something we should do.

There are a lot of things I should do.

やるべきことがいっぱいある。

Yaru beki koto ga ippai aru.

Do not use べき for hints or suggestions. As the use of べき is very strong, we cannot use it to make suggestion. It is interpreted as 'you have the obligation to'.

There are other ways to make suggestions to people, but if you use べき to do so, this will sound as a rebuke.

Therefore, べき should be used to indicate what I myself should do, indicate a general rule that everyone should follow, or ask someone their opinion on what you should or should not do.

Hey, do you think I should call him?

ねぇ、かれにでんわをするべきだとおもう？

Nee, kare ni denwa suru beki da to omou?

Using べき in the negative

VERB + べき + ではない

VERB + べき + じゃない

When we change べき into the negative form, it becomes 'shouldn't'.

You shouldn't say things like that.

そんなことをいうべきではない。

Sonna koto o iu beki dewanai.

Using べき in the past

VERB + べき + だった

VERB + べき + ではなかった (negative)

It is possible to conjugate it in the past as well. In this case, it conveys that you feel regret, that you should have done something, but you didn't.

I should have asked her her phone number.

かのじょのでんわばんごをきくべきだった。

Kanojo no denwa bango o kiku beki datta.

Using the particle か with べき

べき can also be used with the particle か.

VERB + べき + か

In this case, this form is expressed when you wonder if you should or shouldn't take any action.

To live or to die.

いきるべきかしぬべきか。

Ikiru beki ka shinu beki ka.

It is possible to use かどうか to emphasise the meaning.

I wonder whether or not I should buy a car.

くるまをかうべきかどうかまよっている。

Kuruma o kau beki kadouka mayotteiru.

Indicating a purpose with べく

Grammatically, べく is the conjunctive form of べき.

But, べく is different than べき.

べく is in fact used to indicate an action performed to achieve a predetermined purpose. It can be translated as 'for the purpose of'.

He entered law school to become a lawyer.

 かれは、べんごしになるべくほうがくぶにはいった。

Kare wa, bengoshi ni naru beku hougakubu ni haitta.

べくもない there is no chance

This expression means 'there is no chance (of something happening)'.

This means that even if you really try hard, there is no way of achieving what you want to achieve.

A drawing cannot be compared to a photograph.

えはしゃしんにはおよぶべくもない。

E wa shashin ni haoyobu beku mo nai.

There is no chance to remember all the kanji.

かんじをぜんぶおぼえるべくもない。

Kanji o zenbu oboeru beku mo nai.

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Probably not まい

まい is used in two ways: assumptions about facts and people, and a strong willingness to not do something.

It can be translated into many things: probably isn't, probably doesn't, won't, must not, or don't intend to.

VERB (ichidan without る) + まい

たべる -- たべ -- たべまい

VERB (godan in infinitive) + まい

いく -- いくまい

Irregular verbs

するまい, but also しまい or すまい

くる becomes こまい

まい is perceived as an auxiliary verb and is used in negative contexts. It has a negative meaning. It is the opposite form of the volition form.

I vowed not to smoke again.

もうにどとタバコをすうまいとちかった。

Mou nido to tabako o suumai to chikatta.

In this case, this expression can be replaced with しないつもりだ (I am not going to do it, I will never do).

にどと + a negative verb form means 'I won't... never again'.

I won't go again.

にどといくまい。

Nido to ikumai.

Never be a slothful person.

けっしてなまけものにはなるまい。

Kesshite namake mono ni wa narumai.

なるまい means そうならないようにするつもりだ, we intend that this does not happen.

This time we won't repeat that.

こんかいはあれをくりかえすまい。

Konkai wa are o kurikaesumai.

I will never climb up and down this hill again.

もうこのさかをのぼりおりすることはにどとあるまい。

Mou kono saka o noboriori suru koto wa nido to arumai.

The prices are expensive, the service is bad, I will never go to this shop again.

りょうきんはたかいし、サービスはさいあくだし、もうにどとあんなみせにいくまい。

Ryoukin wa takai shi, saabisu wa saiaku da shi, mou nido to anna mise ni ikumai.

It is before an important exam, so I won't go out.

だいじなしけんのまえだからあそびにいくまい。

Daijina shiken no mae da kara asobini ikumai.

Assumptions

We use まい to assume that a fact will not or does not occur, a negative assumption.

Nobody ever believes what he says.

かれのいうことなんて、だれもしんじまい。

Kare no iu koto nante, daremo shinjimai.

At this time, I won't be in time for the last train.

このじかんだと、さすがにしゅうでんにはまにあうまい。

Kono jikan da to, sasuga ni shuuden ni wa maniaumai.

It can never get worse than this.

けっしてこれよりわるくなるまい。

Kesshite kore yori waruku narumai.

けっして means 'never'.

Children won't eat such spicy food.

こどもはこんなからいものはたべまい。

Kodomo wa konna karai mono wa tabemai.

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Not necessarily からといって

This expression means 'not necessarily', 'just because', 'even if'. It is used to give a negative opinion about an idea or an action of the person we are talking to.

VERB + からといって

い-ADJ + からといって

な-ADJ な + だ + からといって

NOUN + だ + からといって

からといって is formed of から, which indicates the origin of the criticism, meaning 'given the fact that' or 'it does not mean that'; of と, which is used to signify a quote someone said; and of いって, which is the て form of the verb いう, which means 'to say'.

Just because you failed once, it doesn't mean you will fail again.

いちどしっぱいしたからといって、つぎもしっぱいするとはかぎらない。

Ichido shippai shita karatoitte, tsugi mo shippai suru to wa kagiranai.

In this example, からといって follows the verb しっぱいする (to fail), so it indicates that failing once does not mean that you will fail again. In this case, the expression is used to criticise the idea that the interlocutor has about failing again since they already failed once.

からといって is often seen with とはかぎらない, which means 'not necessarily'.

からといって can also be found with the expression わけではない.

からといって is used to criticise someone's idea or opinion. In that case, we are telling or advising the interlocutor to not take a certain action just because we are in a certain situation.

Just because it is itchy doesn't mean you should scratch it that much.

ゆかいからといってあんまりかかないかたがいいよ。

Yukai karatoitte anmari kakanai kata ga ii yo.

Just because they are children doesn't mean this behaviour is forgivable.

こどもだからといって、 ゆるされるこういじゃない。

Kodomo da karatoitte, yurusareru koui janai.

This sentence means 'just because they are kids, this isn't forgivable behaviour.'

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And やら

やら is an expression meaning 'and' as a conjunction for lists and items, but it is used in various contexts and translations will vary depending on specific situations.

やら has various uses and is positioned in various places in a sentence. It can be found as an adverb combined with a verb, as an adverb combined with a noun, and as a final particle in a sentence.

NOUN + やら

VERB + やら

い-ADJ + やら

な-ADJ + やら

It is also found joined with the particle の to become のやら, with verbs, nouns and adjectives.

やら typically expresses doubt or uncertainty, even dismay or concern.

My daughter plays everyday, I really don't know what she is doing.

むすめはまいにちゲームばかりして、なにをしているのやら。

Musume wa mainichi geemu bakari shite, nani o shiteiru no yara.

In this example, やら shows the concern of the parent about what their daughter is doing.

I cannot remember where I put my passport.

どこにパスポートをおいたのやら、おもいだせない。

Doko ni pasupooto o oita no yara, omoidasenai.

Here, the use of やら conveys a feeling of concern as to where you put your passport. This sentence without やら can work, but this feeling of deep concern would not be conveyed.

My friend always seems to be in a bad mood. I really don't know why he is dissatisfied.

ともだちはいつもふきげんそうだ。いったいなにがふまんなのやら、わからない。

Tomodachi wa itsumo fukigensou da. Ittai nani ga fumanna no yara, wakaranai.

Here, you express concern over why your friend is always in a bad mood. いったい in this sentence means 'on earth' as in 'I don't know why on earth he is dissatisfied'.

やら〜やら for lists

Do you remember the particles や and など? Well, やら can also be a substitute for these.

It is used in cases where the situations are similar to one another.

In the wallet, there are cards, receipts, etc.

さいふのなかにカードやらレシートやらがはいっている。

Saifu no naka ni kaado yara reshiito yara ga haitteiru.

It is also used in union with verbs.

Yesterday, between the rain and the strong wind, we didn't go anywhere.

きのうはあめがふるやらつよいかぜがふくやらで、どこへもいかなかった。

Kinou wa ame ga furu yara tsuyoi kaze ga fuku yara de, doko e mo ikanakatta.

The contexts in which やら〜やら is used are often negative in nature, describing unpleasant situations or situations difficult and annoying to deal with.

Your room is cluttered with books and clothes. Please, clean that up.

あなたのへやはほんやらふくやらでちらかっている。そうじしてください。

Anata no heya wa hon yara fuku yara de chirakatteiru. Souji shite kudasai.

Differences between やら〜やら and や and たり〜たり

They might be synonyms, but や can only work with nouns and expresses a non-exhausting lists of things. たり〜たり expresses a chain of actions, attached to verbs to say that we did this, and we did that. It is the verb counterpart of や.

In the case of やら〜やら, as mentioned, it will be used in unpleasant situations and will be used with both nouns and verbs.

どうやら it seems that

どうやら, as an adverb, means 'apparently' or 'evidently'.

どうやら combined with a verb means 'it seems that'.

Apparently, there has been a misunderstanding.

どうやらごかいがあったようだ。

Douyara gokai ga atta you da.

Apparently, there will be rain tomorrow.

どうやらあしたはあめらしい。

Douyara ashita wa ame rashii.

Other examples:

I do not understand what my daughter might think about recently, even though I am a woman myself.

さいきんむすめがなにをかんがえているやら、おんなのわたしでもわからない。

Saikin musume ga nani o kangaeteiru yara, onna no watashi de mo wakaranai.

Let's dissect this sentence since it is a long one.

さいきん is 'recently'. むすめ is 'daughter'. なにをかんがえている is 'what to think about'.

おんなのわたし is 'me as a woman'. でも here is like 'even if'. わからない is 'to not understand'.

What should I do now?

これからどうしたらよいのやら。

Kore kara dou shitara yoi no yara.

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Without doing ず

The auxiliary verb ず is similar to ない. We all know by now (I hope!) that ない is the negative form of verbs in the casual form. While ない is the most used form of the negative, ず, albeit being a very formal way of saying the negative, will still be used in certain situations.

Ichidan verbs

たべる -- たべ -- たべず

みる -- み -- みず

I went to work without eating breakfast.

あさごはんをたべずにしごとにいきました。

Asagohan o tabezu ni shigoto ni ikimashita.

Godan verbs

You have to change the う sound to its あ sound to form the negative.

よむ -- よま -- よまず

いく -- いか -- いかず

のこる -- のこら -- のこらず

おもう -- おもわ -- おもわず

Irregular verbs

する -- せず

くる -- こず

As mentioned, ず behaves like ない as a verb ending to express the negative. ない will be the most common, as ず is part of the classical Japanese, which was spoken centuries ago. This is why we can see this auxiliary in stories or TV shows that take place in the past in Japanese.

However, it is still in use in some situations, such as in very formal contexts or in written material, such as poetry and such.

When we add  に after ず, it forms the meaning 'without doing'.

You said it without thinking.

なにもおもわずにいいました。

Nanimo omowazu ni iimashita.

Cooking without looking at the recipe.

レシピをみずにりょうろをつくる。

Reshipi o mizu ni ryouri o tsukuru.

I thought I would teach you this auxiliary even though we do not encounter it much anymore. But in case you watch anime or TV shows that take place in the past, you will now know what it means if you encounter it there!

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You have completed lesson 31!

レッシュン31ができた！

Even so それにしては (soreni shite wa) + Kind of, for now いちおう (ichiou) + Absolutely not でもなんでもない (demo nandemo nai)

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いちおうかんじをおぼえてみる！

Ichiou kanji o oboetemiru!

I will try to remember the kanji!

Even so それにしては

それにしては is an expression meaning 'even so', 'notwithstanding' or 'nevertheless'. The word それ in it comes from the demonstrative 'that', which is far from the speaker, but close to the listener. You will find it in many other expressions:

それから (after that)

それで (so)

それはそうと (anyway)

それに (in addition)

それにしては is seen in sentences like despite A, we must consider B.

SENTENCE + それにしては + SENTENCE

Summer is always hot, and yet (this year) is cool.

なつはいつもあつくて、それにしてはすずしい。

Natsu wa itsumo atsukute, sorenishitewa suzushii.

They say a storm is approaching, but nevertheless, it is quiet.

あらしがちかづいているというが、それにしてはしずかだ。

Arashi ga chikadzuiteiru to iu ga, sorenishitewa shizuka da.

NOUN + にしては

それ can be replaced by a noun. In this case, it is used to make comments about people and situations with a bit of irony.

Despite being a Sumo wrestler, his body is small.

すもうとりにしては、からだがちいさいよね。

Sumou tori nishitewa, karada ga chiisai yo ne.

The first example can also be formed this way.

Despite being summer, it is cool.

なつにしてはすずしい。

Natsu nishitewa suzushii.

That transfer student is really good at Japanese, despite being a first year.

あのりゅうがくせいは、いちねんせいにしてはずいぶんにほんごがじょうずです。

Ano ryuugakusei wa, ichi nen sei nishitewa zuibun nihongo ga jouzu desu.

それにしても

This expression will be used a little bit differently than それにしては. Let's view it with examples to better understand!

Summer is always hot, and yet (this year) it's too hot.

なつはいつもあつくて、それにしてもあつすぎる。

Natsu wa itsumo atsukute, sorenishitemo atsusugiru.

Even though we observe that the temperature in summer is always hot, we also make the observation that this year's summer is too hot. それにしても will be used to convey observations that go beyond what is expected.

I understand when you say it is a good product. Nonetheless, isn't it a bit expensive?

いいしなだというのはわかる。それにしても、ちょっとたかすぎやしないか？

Ii shina da to iu no wa wakaru. Sorenishitemo, chotto takasugiya shinai ka?

NOUN + にしても

We can also use it with nouns.

It is warm, even though it is winter.

ふゆにしてもあたたかい。

Fuyu nishitemo atatakai.

Both.... and

にしても can also state the expression 'whether it is A, whether it is B'.

VERB (inf.) + にしても + ....

VERB (inf.) + にしても

You are good at both reading and writing kanji.

にほんごのかんじはよむにしてもかくにしても、じょうずだ。

Nihongo no kanji wa yomu nishitemo kaku nishitemo, jouzu da.

NOUN + にしても + NOUN + にしても

You are good with both hiragana and katakana.

ひらがなにしてもカタカナにしてもじょうず。

Hiragana nishitemo katakana nishitemo jouzu.

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Kind of いちおう

The expression いちおう means 'kind of' or 'more or less', and is used often to make a sentence more polite and humble, especially when talking about ourselves.

However, in some contexts, too much humility using いちおう can have the opposite effect, so be careful when using it.

Using いちおう when referring to ourselves

In most situations, in Japanese, it is better to use ambiguous expressions. This allows us to never be too direct when stating something about ourselves. This is called  けんそん (humility).

For instance, you studied Japanese thoroughly, you practised a lot, and now you consider your Japanese to be good. In Western cultures, it is okay to say that you are good at something (your tone will tell us if you are bragging or not), but in Japan, we never say such thing about ourselves. We won't be as direct.

I am good at Japanese.

にほんごがじょうずです。

Nihongo ga jouzu desu.

We would never say it that way in Japan.

In this case, いちおう makes the sentence more humble.

I can more or less speak it.

いちおうちょっとできます。

Ichiou chotto dekimasu.

It conveys the idea that you cannot speak the language fully, but you understand fairly enough to get by.

This is also why we tend to refuse compliments by saying 'no, not really'. If we reject your compliments, we are actually being polite, but it might sound rude for Westerners.

Using いちおう to brag

As mentioned, いちおう can have the opposite effect of humility.

I graduated from university.

わたしはだいがくにそつぎょうしました。

Watashi wa daigaku ni sotsugyou shimashita.

わたしはいちおうだいがくにそつぎょうしました。

Watashi wa ichiou daigaku ni sotsugyou shimashita.

At first glance, it seems that the use of  いちおう makes it more humble, but in reality, in this context, it actually puts emphasis on the fact that you graduated. It sounds a bit like 'Well, I actually graduated from university'. It sounds like you are bragging or that you are putting yourself above people who might not have graduated from university.

In most cases, the tone and what is said after いちおう will tell you if the person is bragging or not.

Indication that you will try to do something

いちおう can also indicate that you are unsure of your abilities and you will try to do it anyway.

Some view the use of いちおう in this context as an excuse to do poor work.

Have you finished that job yet?

れいのしごとはもうできた？

Rei no shigoto wa mou dekita?

Yes, I am more or less done.

はい、いちおうできました。

Hai, ichiou dekimashita.

In this case, you are done with the work, but maybe the work is not perfectly done.

You can also use いちおう to say that you will try to do something, but don't promise that it will be perfect.

I'll try.

いちおうやってみる。

Ichiou yatte miru.

I'll try to make Okonomiyaki.

いちおうおこのみやきをつくってみる。

Ichiou okonomiyaki o tsukutte miru.

In these sentences, you say that you will try, but you are unsure if the final results will be perfect.

Asking a favour with いちおう

いちおう can be used when asking for favours if you do not want to put too much pressure on the person.

Could you give me an answer by tomorrow?

いちおう、あしたまでにへんじをくれる？

Ichiou, ashita made ni henji o kureru?

いちおう to mean more or less

In its raw meaning, いちおう will be translated to 'more or less'.

I managed to more or less pass the exam.

いちおうしけんにうかりました。

Ichiou shiken o ukarimashita.

You can more or less make a living with 80 000 yen a month.

つきはちまねなればいちおうせいかつはできる。

Tsuki hachi man en areba ichiou seikatsu wa dekiru.

いちおう to mean for now

いちおう can also have the meaning of 'for now'. 

I'll give you 2000 yen per hour for now.

いちおうにせんえんわたしておくね。

Ichiou ni sen en watashite oku ne.

And with that, the meeting is over for now.

これでいちおうかいぎはおわりです。

Kore de ichiou kaigi wa owari desu.

いちおう to mean anyway

Finally, いちおう can mean 'anyway'.

Anyway, I'll go check.

いちおう、しらべておきます。

Ichiou, shirabete okimasu.

Can you give me your contacts, in case you need?

いちおう、れんらくさきをおしえてくれる？

Ichiou, renraku saki o oshiete kureru?

As you can see, いちおう can have different meaning depending on the context and sentences.

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Absolutely not でもなんでもない

The expression でもなんでもない is used to put a lot of emphasis on the fact that something is not what it is.

Let's see the parts that makes up this expression:

でも: puts into contrast what was previously indicated

なん: means 'what' and emphasises the negation

でも: the second でも will emphasise even more the sense of contrast

ない: is the negation to say 'is not'

Other expressions such as べつに and ぜんぜん can also be used to say 'absolutely not'.

I don't like it.

すきじゃない。

Suki janai.

I absolutely don't like it.

すきでもなんでもない。

Suki demonandemonai.

NOUN + でもなんでもない

な-ADJ + でもなんでもない

I can reassure you I am not lying.

うそでもなんでもない。

Uso demonandemonai.

This sentence can also be translated as 'I am absolutely not lying' or 'this is absolutely not a lie'.

This guy is absolutely not my father anymore!

あいつはもうおやでもなんでもない！

Aitsu wa mou oya demonandemonai!

These documents are really nothing important.

そのしょるいというのはたいせつなものでもなんでもない。

Sono shorui to iu no wa taisetsuna mono demonandemonai.

It has absolutely no value.

かねめのものでもなんでもありません。

Kaneme no mono demonandemo arimasen.

(Polite form)

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You have completed lesson 32!

レッシュン32ができた！

Have the nerve to do やがる (yagaru) + In my own way なりに (narini) + In succession つぎからつぎに (tsugi kara tsugi ni) + Do a favour 〜てやる (〜teyaru)

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じぶんなりにべんきょうすること。

Jibun narini benkyou suru koto.

To study in our own way.

Have the nerve to do やがる

This verb suffix is a very colloquial slang that you will certainly hear in anime or see in manga, meaning 'to have the nerve to', 'to have the courage to' or 'to dare'. It often shows disdain or contempt towards the interlocutor for doing certain actions, somewhat like 'you dare do that?!'

やがる is a suffix attached to the stem of verbs.

VERB (stem) + やがる

する -- し -- しやがる (dare to do)

いう -- いい -- いいやがる (dare to say)

きる -- きり -- きりやがる (dare to cut)

やがる is in fact never used in everyday language. That is why you will never find it in normal conversation. Saying it even to your friends is very rude. You will find it mostly in TV shows, anime or manga, because it is a very rude way to show defiance. 

This guy dared hanging up in the middle of a conversation.

あいつははなしのとちゅうででんわをきりやがった。

Aitsu wa hanashi no tochuu de denwa o kiriyagatta.

やがる is somewhat the rude counterpart of くれる; while くれる indicates an action seen in a positive light, やがる instead indicates a negative action.

Another way of saying 'to dare' is よくも. You will also hear it in anime.

Don't try and tell me that!

いいやがって！

Iiyagatte!

He also dared to destroy my castle!

うちのしろもぶっこわしやがって！

Uchi no shiro mo bukkowashiyagatte!

You had the guts to lose against that guy!

あんなやつにまけやがって！

Anna yatsu ni makeyagatte!

Don't you dare come back here!

おとといきやがれ！

Ototokoi kiyagare!

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In my own way なりに

The expression なりに means 'in the way of' or 'in a manner of'. It indicates an action done following one's own directions or the directions of someone else to the letter. It also conveys the meaning of doing something to one's best abilities.

NOUN + なりに

VERB (infinitive) + なりに

い-ADJ + なりに

な-ADJ + なりに

Do exactly as your parents say.

おやのいいなりになる。

Oya no ii narini naru.

In the same vein, it has the same meaning as とおりに.

Do as others say.

ひとのいいとおりにすること。

Hito no ii toori ni suru koto.

My own way

じぶんなりに

Jibun narini

I think he is engaging in his own way.

かれはかれなりにいっしょうけんめいやっているのだとおもいます。

Kare wa kare narini isshoukenmei yatteiru no da to omoimasu.

At the sport event, my friend was slow to walk, but despite his slowness, he did his best.

うんどうかいでは、ともだちはあしがおそいがおそいなりによくがんばっていた。

Undoukai de wa, tomodachi wa ashi ga osoi ga osoi narini yoku ganbatteita.

In this case, おそいなりに means 'as slow as he was' or 'despite being slow'.

Even if we have no motivation, we can live without it.

やるきがなくても、ないなりにいきていける。

Yaru ki ga nakutemo, nai narini ikiteikeru.

This sentence means that we can live as is, in a way of not having motivation.

I worked hard, even though I wasn't good.

へたでもへたなりにがんばった。

Heta demo heta narini ganbatta.

This sentence means that even in the way of not being good, we worked hard.

These translations, as you might notice, are not exactly 100% what the Japanese sentences convey. That is the downside of languages. We cannot always translate exactly what a sentence means in another language. The best we can do is to explain what the sentences really mean, so you can grasp the real meaning of a sentence in Japanese.

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In succession つぎからつぎに

The expression つぎからつぎに means 'one after the other'. It indicates that an action is repeating itself and keeps happening over and over again.

つぎからつぎに is formed of つぎ, which means 'next'; から, which is the particle to say 'from'; つぎ, which is repeated here again, and に, which is the particle meaning 'after this'.

You will see mostly this expression in a succession of actions.

A + つぎからつぎに + B

One after the other, a series of too many things is taking place.

つぎからつぎにいろんなことがおこりすぎる。

Tsugikaratsugini ironna koto ga okorisugiru.

One problem after another is unexpectedly coming.

つぎからつぎにやっかいなことがまいこんでくる。

Tsugikaratsugini yakkaina koto ga maikondekuru.

The flow of tears continued unabated.

なみだがつぎからつぎにあふれてくる。

Namida ga tsugikaratsugini afuretekuru.

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Do a favour 〜てやる

This expression is used with the 〜て form of verbs and the verb やる. Together, it can mean two things: doing a favour to someone, similar to あげる, or stating an intention or goal you intend on achieving, or an action that you intend to perform.

This expression, in both cases, can be very direct, thus sometimes being considered rude when accompanied by certain verbs.

A little history about this expression!

Originally, 〜てやる was used when an action was done to an animal or a plant (like feeding). The original intention was to mean that the thing you performed an action on was inferior to you. あげる was instead used if we were performing an action with a human being.

But overtime, people started to use あげる more and more, stating that it sounded better than やる. It was less direct and rude.

Nevertheless, the use of やる is less so today to mean that you will do someone a favour. We will use it with animals instead of humans.

I taught my dog how to sit properly.

わたしのいぬにちゃんとざすわるのをおしえてやった。

Watashi no inu ni chanto zasuwaru no o oshiete yatta.

Don't worry. I'll feed him for a year.

しんぱいするな。いちねオレがたべさせてやる。

Shinpai suru na. Ichi nen ore ga tabesaseteyaru.

In the case of human beings, あげる is preferred.

I taught my cousin how to play guitar.

いとこにギターをはじくのをおしえてあげた。

Itoko ni gitaa o hajiku no o oshiete ageta.

Declare an action you will do

The second use of this expression is the most used one, especially in anime and manga.

I'll become a Major League player in two years!

にねにないにだいリーガーになってやる！

Ni nen inai ni dai riigaa ni natte yaru!

I'll beat him in your place.

ぼくがかわりになぐってやろ。

Boku ga kawari ni nagutte yaro.

Even in this form, 〜てやる is best to be avoided in everyday conversations, because it is very direct, thus, you will sound rude if you use it. Nonetheless, it is very used in anime and manga, thus, it is important to view this form as well.

I'll defeat you!

ぶっとばしてやる！

Buttobashite yaru!

I'll kill this guy!

あいつをころしてやる！

Aitsu o koroshite yaru!

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You have completed lesson 33!

レッシュン33ができた！

And, with this, you have completed all the lessons I was planning to do on this blog!

But don't worry, other articles will come up now and then, especially some articles about Japanese culture that will be good to know accompanied by more knowledge about the language, and some articles where I explain more in depths some parts that people had trouble with.

I will probably find out other things to talk about that I forgot, so be sure to check the blog from time to time to see if anything new came up! If you are done with the entire lessons, I strongly invite you to look up the articles that might have more explanations on a specific subject. I am also planing on writing articles to make you practice reading and other things similar!

Enjoy continuing to learn and don't forget! Even after several years of studying, you will always learn something new!

よくがんばったね！

How many (いくつ), how much (いくら) and which (どれ、どちら、どっち、どんな)

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ねこといぬと、どっちがかわいい?

Neko to inu to, docchi ga kawaii?

Which is cuter, a cat or a dog?

How many いくつ

Yeah! Another lesson! Are you happy?

I actually noticed I totally forgot to teach about these question words that I find really important too! 

ほんとうにごめんなさい!!!!

But here they are! And along the way, I think I will finally be able to find something else to teach, so make sure that you stay tuned on this blog!

いくつ means 'how much' and sometimes, 'how old', but for the latter, you should stick to なんさい. We will see how and when to use いくつ. It isn't too difficult, because it is sensibly used like in English.

How many do you want?

いくつほしいですか？

Ikutsu hoshii desu ka?

This is an extremely useful sentence that can be used in a variety of situations. 

Do you remember ほしい, the word to use to express desire? To answer this question, you will need the numbers and counters.

How many prefectures are there in Japan?

にほんには、けんがいくつありますか？

Nihon ni wa, ken ga ikutsu arimasu ka?

Where to place いくつ in the sentences will always depend on what there is in the sentence. In this case, the location comes first, then the subject, then いくつ and the verb.

You can also add the honorific お in front of いくつ to make your sentences more polite.

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How much いくら

いくら is only used to ask 'how much' as in the amount of money.

How much is it?

いくらですか？

Ikura desu ka?

How much is this bag?

このかばんはいくらですか？

Kono kaban wa ikura desu ka?

This phrase will be really useful for you if you go shopping in Japan!

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Which どれ、どちら、どっち、どんな

These words look complicated, but do not worry! We will see them one by one!

どちら and どっち

Let's start by these!

They mean 'which' and are used when comparing two things.

どちら will be used in more polite situations, whereas どっち will be used in a more casual way.

Which is cuter, cats or dogs?

ねこといぬと、どちらがかわいいですか？

Neko to inu to, dochira ga kawaii desu ka?

Which do you want, chopsticks or forks?

はしとフォークと、どっちがほしい？

Hashi to fooku to, docchi ga hoshii?

どれ

どれ means 'which' and is used to compare three things or more.

Of all the Japanese food, which one is the best?

わしょくのなかで、どれがいちばんおいしいですか？

Washoku no naka de, dore ga ichiban oishii desu ka?

わしょく is 'Japanese food', なか here means 'within' or 'inside', so 'within all the Japanese food' and いちばんおいしい can be translated as 'the most delicious'. いちばん means 'first'.

In answering these questions, we will use this construction that we learned already!

Cats are cuter.

ねこのほうがかわいいです。

Neko no hou ga kawaii desu.

I want chopsticks.

はしのほうがほしい。

Hashi no hou ga hoshii.

Curry is the most delicious.

カレーのほうがいちばんおいしいです。

Karee no hou ga ichiban oishii desu.

どんな

どんな means 'what kind', so its meaning is a little bit different, but is in the same category of words.

You can use it to ask what kind of food you like, what genre of movie you prefer and so on.

What kind of job do you do?

どんなおしごとをするのですか？

Donna oshigoto o suru no desu ka?

What kind of country is England?

イギリスはどんなくにですか？

Igirisu wa donna kuni desu ka?

What kind of food do you like?

どんなたべものがすきですか？

Donna tabemono ga suki desu ka?

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おわり

Explanation on particles

 ___________________________________________________________________

More explanation on particles!

I thought I would dedicate a post to particles. I know we have seen a lot of them on the surface, but I just wanted to create this post to clarify what they are specifically. I explained in each articles the particles seen in each lessons, but I hope this article in specific will help you understand particles more and give you a list of them for you to study.

There are around 188 particles in Japanese (this number also include the multiple usage one particle can have, so really it isn't exactly 188!) Of course, I taught the ones that we use the most and some of them are not quite viewed as particles, which mean, probably, there are less than 188. But let's just review the ones we have seen so far.

The particle は

This particle, pronounced わ but written は, is the topic marker. I don't really like to say that it is the subject, because the particle が can also demonstrate the subject. A lot of people ask me the difference between は and が, so I will start by explaining what は consists of, and what が consists of, then I will try to explain the difference between the two.

As a topic marker, は will be attached to a noun or noun sentence which will be the topic of the sentence. For instance, if I say 'this cat is cute', 'this cat' will be the topic of the sentence (or the subject).

このねこはかわいいです。

Kono neko wa kawaii desu.

My cat is cute.

わたしのねこはかわいいです。

Watashi no neko wa kawaii desu.

In both sentences, the topic of the sentence is 'this cat' and 'my cat'.

は can also be used to mark a noun sentence as the topic.

In Japan, we can drink alcohol in parks.

にほんには、こうえんでおさけをのめる。

Nihon ni wa, kouen de osake o nomeru.

In this case, にほんには is the topic of the sentence, because we put emphasis on the location where we can drink in parks. Where is it allowed to drink in parks? In Japan.

In Canada, we cannot drink alcohol in parks.

カナダには、こうえんでおさけをのめない。

Kanada ni wa, kouen de osake o nomenai.

Here, again, we put emphasis on the location, カナダには. Where is it forbidden to drink alcohol in parks? In Canada.

Even though there is the particle に, we add は to make it the topic of the sentence.

As は has also the ability to put emphasis on a word in a sentence, you will see some constructions like this:

It snowed yesterday, but today it is melting.

きのうゆきがふったけど、きょうはとけている。

Kinou yuki ga futta kedo, kyou wa toketeiru.

In this case, it does not mean that today is melting. 'Melting' still refers to the snow that is now melting today. I just put an emphasis on the word 'today' to say that it was snowing yesterday, but today the snow is already melting.

And of course, は will also be used with pronouns when it is the subject of the sentence.

I like cats.

わたしはねこがすきです。

Watashi wa neko ga suki desu.

In this sentence, it is simple to understand that the subject of this sentence is わたし. Who likes cats? I do.

We also saw that は can also act as the object particle for verbs in the negative form. Keep in mind that this is not always the case, however. We just like to put emphasis on the negative things.

One example where we can see this is with the verbs います (いる) and あります (ある) in their negative forms, いません (いない) and ありません (ない).

I have money.

おかねがある。

Okane ga aru.

I don't have money.

おかねはない。

Okane wa nai.

I drink tea.

おちゃをのみます。

Ocha o nomimasu.

I don't drink tea.

おちゃはのみません。

Ocha wa nomimasen.

In these cases, は is used here to emphasis that you don't have money, or you don't drink tea.

We will compare these two sentences: I do not drink tea every morning.

まいあさ、おちゃはのみません。

Maiasa, ocha wa nomimasen.

まいあさは、おちゃをのみません。

maiasa wa, ocha o nomimasen.

In the first sentence, we can understand that it is not tea that you drink every morning (it might be something else, like coffee).

In the second sentence, we understand that you drink tea, but not every morning.

Review: the particle は is a topic marker that designate what is the subject of the sentence. It id also used to put emphasis on a word or group word.

The particle が

が, much like は, is a subject particle, or topic marker, but its use differs from は. I will explain how we use it, and then I will explain the difference.

First off, が will be used with some verbs, such as います and あります as we saw early on, but also with adjectives like すき, きらい and こわい to express that we like, hate and are scared of something.

There is a book on the table.

つくえにほんがあります。

Tsukue ni hon ga arimasu.

I like cats.

ねこがすきです。

Neko ga suki desu.

I hate spicy things.

からいものがきらいです。

Karai mono ga kirai desu.

I am scared of sharks.

さめがこわいです。

Same ga kowai desu.

Also, intransitive verbs will require が. Do you remember what is an intransitive verb? It is verbs where the subject is not going to be the one making the action.

I opened the door vs. the door opened.

(transitive vs. intransitive)

'I opened the door' is transitive because I did an action on the door. 'The door opened', on the other hand, is intransitive, because nobody did an action on the door. The door just opened (change of state).

Transitive verbs will require the particle を whereas intransitive verbs will require the particle が.

I opened the door. (transitive)

ドアをあけた。

Doa o aketa.

The door opened. (intransitive)

ドアがあいた。

Doa ga aita.

I will start class. (transitive)

じゅうぎょうをはじめる。

Juugyou o hajimeru.

Class will start. (intransitive)

じゅうぎょうがはじまる。

Juugyou ga hajimaru.

I understand Japanese. (intransitive)

にほんごがわかります。

Nihongo ga wakarimasu.

The verb わかります is intransitive in Japanese, because the subject, that is supposed to be わたしは but is not there because we do not use pronouns in Japanese, does not have any effect on the object, which is 'Japanese'. The state of the Japanese language will not change depending on whether or not I understand it, unlike with the verb あける (to open) which will change the state of the door.

So, what is the difference between は and が? 

Let me explain with examples.

The book is on the table.

ほんはつくえにあります。

Hon wa tsukue ni arimasu.

A book is on the table.

ほんがつくえにあります。

Hon ga tsukue ni arimasu.

The shark is scary.

さめはこわいです。

Same wa kowai desu.

Sharks are scary.

さめがこわいです。

Same ga kowai desu.

As は is a topic marker, the sentences using は are an indicator that we know what we are talking about. In the first sentence, we understand that 'the book is on the table'. We know which book we are talking about. Maybe we are looking for a book about dinosaurs, for instance. In the third sentence, we know which shark we are talking about. Maybe we are visiting an aquarium and the shark in one tank is scary to us.

In the second and fourth examples, the ones with が, we are talking about things in general. There is a book on the table, but we don't know which in specific. There is no specification given to us as to which book is on the table. We just know there is a book on the table. Yet again, in the fourth sentence, there isn't one specific shark that is scary. All of them are or can be.

Are you starting to notice the difference between the two?

Do not think, however, that は is for specific things and が is for unspecific things, because it does not always work that way.

In the case of intransitive verbs, it isn't possible to use は.

X ドアはあいた。

X Doa wa aita.

This example, for instance, does not work, because the door did not perform any action. It just opened.

Same with the verb わかります.

X にほんごはわかります。

X Nihongo wa wakarimasu.

Here again, this sentence does not work, because it isn't Japanese who understands. It is I who understand Japanese.

Just a quick intervention: in this case, we cannot use the particle を either, because the verb わかります is intransitive.

Also, question words such as who, what, where, etc, will typically need the particle が, as in:

Who is coming?

だれがきますか？

dare ga kimasu ka?

As I was saying earlier, do not think that が is for unspecific things, because sometimes, it can be used to specify something.

Anya is American.

アニアはアメリカじゃんです。

Ania wa amerika jin desu.

Who is american?

だれがアメリカじゃんですか？

Dare ga amerika jin desu ka?

Anya is American.

アニアがアメリカじんです。

Ania ga amerika jin desu.

In the first sentence, we used は to show that Anya is American. It can be a statement without context.

In the second sentence, we asked who is American among all of us. And we answered using the particle が to specify that it is Anya who is American. In this case, we just retook the particle there was in the question to answer it.

We also saw が as the conjunction word 'but' but I wouldn't say it is a particle in this case. I would say it is only a conjunction.

Review: the particle が is also a subject particle, but が will be used with intransitive verbs and other state verbs like います and あります. It will also be used with adjectives 

such as すき, きらい and こわい.

The particle を

The particle を, pronounced お but written を, is an object marker. Some action verbs will require the use of it.

I am eating curry.

カレーをたべています。

Karee o tabeteimasu.

I am reading an interesting book.

おもしろいほんをよんでいます。

Omoshiroi hon o yondeimasu.

I will drink beer.

ビールをのみます。

Biiru o nomimasu.

I want to sing this song.

このうたをうたいたい。

Kono uta o utaitai.

I heard the sound of birds.

とりのおとをきいた。

Tori no oto o kiita.

As explained earlier, transitive verbs will often require the particle を.

Do not translate this particle as meaning 'a' or 'an' or 'the' in English. Remember that there is no articles in Japanese and particles are not articles. They are there to indicate to us the meaning of a sentence.

Review: the particle を is the object marker. A lot of action verbs require it.

The particle へ

The particle へ, pronounced え but written へ, is a directional particle. It usually tells us we are going into the direction of something.

I am going to Japan.

にほんへいきます。

Nihon e ikimasu.

As explained in the lesson about it, a lot of people will still use the particle に in this example. Technically speaking, we are supposed to use へ as a departure and に as an arrival.

 

I went to Japan.

にほんにいきました。

Nihon ni ikimashita.

You will also find へ in greetings.

Welcome to my home!

わたしのいえへようこそ！

Watashi no ie e youkoso!

Review: the particle へ is used to show the direction we are heading.

The particle に

に has a lot of functions as we saw throughout the lessons. We use it for locations or date and time.

There are a lot of books at the library.

としょかんにほんがたくさんあります。

Toshokan ni hon ga takusan arimasu.

Here, としょかん is the location.

I am going to work at 8 c'lock.

はちじにおしごとにいきます。

Hachi ji ni oshigoto ni ikimasu.

Here, we have one date and time, はちじ, and one location, おしごと.

に will also be used with movement verbs, such as のぼる (to climb), のる (to ride), いく (to go) and くる (to come).

I climbed Mount Fuji.

ふじざんにのぼりた。

Fujizan ni noborita.

Each day, I ride the train.

まいにち、でんしゃにのります。

Mainichi, densha ni norimasu.

I am going to the hospital.

びょういんにいきます。

Byouin ni ikimasu.

Are you coming to the party?

パーティーにくる？

Paatii ni kuru?

に can also signify 'to' such as 'to me'.

I gave chocolate to my dad.

ちちにチョコレートをあげました。

Chichi ni chokoreeto o agemashita.

You will also find に in some adverbs, but I wouldn't say it is a particle in this case, just a part of a word.

Review: the particle に shows the destination or arrival, and will be used to designate a location or a date and time. It will also accompany a lot of movement verbs.

The particle で

で is the instrumental particle that means 'by the means of'. It will often be used with action verbs.

I eat with chopsticks.

はしでたべます。

Hashi de tabemasu.

I went by train.

でんしゃでいきました。

Densha de ikimashita.

If we use a location with an action verb, we will use で instead of に.

We can drink in parks.

こうえんでおさけをのめる。

Kouen de osake o nomeru.

Why is it that we use で and not に? に is a particle that designates locations only when it is coupled with a movement verb or a state verb, like います and あります. It isn't used with action verbs, like in the example above. When you see an action verb, you will see the particle で to designate where the action is taken place.

In this sentence にほんには、こうえんでおさけをのめる, we do have the particle に following 'Japan'. In this case, Japan acts as a general place where it is possible to drink alcohol in parks, but it isn't the location where people are doing the action of drinking alcohol. The location where the action is done is in the park (even though technically it is parks IN JAPAN). So, こうえん (park) will take the particle で to show that the action is done in the park. Japan will take the particle に as it is a general location.

Another example:

It is impossible to buy a house in town.

まちでいえをかうのはむりです。

Machi de ie o kau no wa muri desu.

There are some verbs however that are difficult to conclude if they are really action verbs or not. Take the verb 'to sit' for instance.

I sit on the chair.

いすですわります。

Isu de suwarimasu.

いすにすわります。

Isu ni suwarimasu.

A lot of people confuse the two, because in their heads, 'to sit' is not really performing any big action. But I would say that 'to sit' is indeed an action verb. So, で would be used in this example.

Review: the particle で is either used to show the method with which an action is done (like 'I go by train', 'I eat with chopsticks') or it will be used with locations to show where an action is taken place.

The particle の

The primary function of の is the possession. It is like the apostrophe in English.

Sakura's book

さくらのほん

Sakura no hon

My cat

わたしのねこ

Watashi no neko

My cat's name is Mochi.

わたしのねこのなまえはモチです。

Watashi no neko no namae wa Mochi desu.

It can also tell the origin of an object.

Japanese food

にほんのたべもの

Nihon no tabemono

Swedish furniture

スウェーデンのかぐ

Suueeden no kagu

We also saw that の can be used to nominalize a verb or parts of a sentence. I am not sure if we would still treat it as a particle in this function since it is coupled with は.

Baking a cake is fun.

ケーキをつくるのはたのしい。

Keeki o tsukuru no wa tanoshii.

Review: the particle の has the primary function of the possession and a nominalizer.

The particle も

The particle も is very straightforward as it means 'also'.

Yukito is a university student. Touya is also a university student.

ゆきとはだいがくせいです。とうやもだいがくせいです。

Yukito wa daigakusei desu. Touya mo daigakusei desu.

If Sakura goes, I am also going.

さくらがいったら、わたしもいく！

Sakura ga ittara, watashi mo iku!

We also saw in some sentences that it can act as 'even if' or 'no matter'.

No matter if Anya gets told many times, she is not willing to study.

アニアがかどいわれても、べんきょうしようとしない。

Ania ga kado iwarete mo, benkyou shiyou to shinai.

In this case, 'even if' is not a conditional, but rather it means 'no matter'. You will see も in these cases.

Even if I try to eat octopus, I (still) hate it.

たこをたべてみても、だいきらい。

Tako o tabete mite mo, daikirai.

Review: the particle も means 'too' or 'also' and can replace the particles は, が or を to avoid repetition. It can also be used as the expressions 'even if' or 'no matter'.

The particle と

The particle と is also straightforward as it means 'and', as in 'Sakura and Chiharu'.

Yukito and Touya are university students.

ゆきとととうやはだいがくせいです。

Yukito to Touya wa daigakusei desu.

You will often see it in expressions like といっしょに, which means 'together'.

I will play together with Yukito.

ゆきとといっしょにあそびます。

Yukito to issho ni asobimasu.

This sentence can also be translated as 'Yukito and I will play together'.

It can also mean 'with'.

I am studying with Chiharu-chan.

ちはるちゃんとべんきょうしています。

Chiharu-chan to benkyou shiteimasu.

Review: the particle と means 'and' and will connect generally two or more nouns. 

The particle や

The particle や also means 'and' but for non-exhaustive list of things. It is often paired with など to say 'and among other things', but it doesn't have to be.

I bought a pen, an eraser and a pencil.

ペンやけしゴムやえんぴつをかいました。

Pen ya keshigomu ya enpitsu o kaimashita.

The use of や tells us that these three things are not the only things you bought.

If we use と instead of や in this sentence, it would mean that we only bought a pen, an eraser and a pencil.

Review: the particle や functions a bit like the particle と but it will connect nouns to make a non-exhaustive list, meaning the list include this or that item, among other things.

The particle か

The particle か is a simple one. It is used primarily in questions.

What is this?

これはなんですか？

Kore wa nan desu ka?

It is placed at the end of a question, thus making it the question marker.

か can also mean 'or', but in this case, I am not sure if we can say that it is a particle. It is just a word meaning 'or'.

Review: the particle か is a question marker, placed at the end of a question.

The particles から and まで

I put them together, but keep in mind that they do not need to be used together.

から means 'from' and まで means 'until' or 'to'.

I walked from work to my house.

おしごとからいえまであるきました。

Oshigoto kara ie made arukimashita.

I received a gift from mother.

ははからプレゼントをもらいました。

Haha kara purezento o moraimashita.

I have to walk to the Ikebukuro Station...

いけぶくろのえきまであるかないと。。。

Ikebukuro no eki made arukinai to....

We also saw that から can mean 'because', but in this case, it isn't a particle.

Review: the particle から designates the departure point, meaning 'from' and the particle まで designates the arrival, meaning 'until' or 'to'. They can work for locations as well as time.

The particles よ and ね, and others

The particle よ is used to put more enthusiasm into what you say.

Today is a good day (temperature)!

きょうはいいてんきですよ！

Kyou wa ii tenki desu yo!

The particle ね will roughly be translated as 'isn't it?'

Today is a good day (temperature), isn't it?

きょうはいいてんきですね！

Kyou wa ii tenki desu ne!

You will also see some other end-of-sentence particles in casual speech.

ぜ and ぞ are particles acting like よ, but are often more used by boys.

わ will be the feminine counterpart of these two particles.

Gotta catch 'em all!

ポケモンゲットだぜ！

Pokemon getto da ze!

So, let's go!

じゃ、いくぞ！

Ja, iku zo!

This is wonderful!

すばらしいですわ！

Subarashii desu wa!

な is another end-of-sentence particle, somewhat acting like ね, that you might hear in casual speech.

We cannot do anything about that, now can we?

しかたないな。。。

Shikatanai na...

さ is another one that will be used somewhat to put emphasis on something.

That's because I am by your side.

そばにいるからさ。

Soba ni iru kara sa.

ば is another one that will be used, most often when we are angry or when we call someone numerous times, but that person is not answering us.

So, Hisoka.... Hisoka.... Hisoka!

ね、ひそか。。。ひそか。。。ひそかってば！

Ne, Hisoka... Hisoka... Hisoka tte ba!

Sometimes you will see two particles together to convey different feelings to a sentence.

Today is a good day, right?

きょうはいいてんきですよね！

Kyou wa ii tenki desu yo ne!

Here, you cannot invert the particles.

Eeeh, you ate my cake? But I made it for myself!

ええ、わたしのケーキたべた？じぶんのためにつくったのに！

Ee, watashi no keeki tabeta? Jibun no tame ni tsukutta no ni!

As you can see, these end-of-sentence particles are there to convey certain feelings to sentences that would otherwise just be sentences.

It will take some time for you to master the use of these particles, as this phenomenon does not exist in English (generally our tone and word choices will affect our speech), but in Japanese, the use of end-of-sentence particles will help put more feelings into what we say.

Review: the end-of-sentence particles exist to put more feelings or vigour into what we say. We can change the mood of a sentence by adding these.

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I hope I was able to explain clearly what particles are all about. I know that certain particles are a challenge for people, so I hope In was able to clarify some of them for you!

Do not hesitate to send me questions if ever you don't really understand something! It will be my pleasure to explain more in detail.

All about verbs in Japanese!

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So, we saw a lot of verbs while going through the lessons. In the lesson about casual speech, we saw briefly how verbs are constructed and how they are conjugated. It has come to my attention, however, that some wanted more explanation on verbs. Well, this is exactly what I will do in this article!

So, in Japanese, we have three types of verbs. If you remember, we had the ichidan verbs, the godan verbs, and the irregular verbs. 

Ichidan Verbs

Ichidan verbs are the easiest to conjugate, so we will start with them. They are often called る verbs, because they will all end in る in their infinitive form or dictionary form (the dictionary form is the form you will find verbs in if you look them up in a dictionary).

Here are some examples of ichidan verbs:

たべる - to eat

おきる - to wake up

みる - to see, to look. to watch

みつける - to find

まける - to lose (a match)

わける - to divide

いきる - to live (be alive)

あける - to open (transitive)

みとめる - to admit

こたえる - to answer

These verbs will be relatively easy to conjugate because we will simply take the stem of the verb and then plug in the verb ending we need. The stem is what is left of the verb once we remove the final syllable る. This means that the verb stem won't change or be affected.

たべる -- たべ

おきる -- おき

みる -- み

みつける -- みつけ

For any verb ending, you just need to plug it to the verb stem.

たべます

たべません / たべない

たべました / たべた

たべませんでした / たべなかった

たべて

たべましょう

You see that we keep the verb stem as is and we only attach the different verb tense endings.

The volition form (let's) in casual speech for ichidan verbs is formed by adding よう to the verb stem.

たべよう

おきよう

みつけよう

みよう

To give orders more explicitly, for ichidan verbs, the final る syllable will become ろ.

たべろ

おきろ

まけろ

みろ

So, ichidan verbs, or first-class verbs, are verbs which the stem is not affected and will stay as is. They always end in る in the dictionary form. Keep in mind, though, that some verbs end in る, but are godan verbs. How do you spot the difference? You will see it once the godan verbs are conjugated.

Godan Verbs

Godan verbs are a little bit more complicated to conjugate. With godan verbs, the stem of the verbs will be affected by all verb tense endings. There are nine possibilities of verb endings in godan verbs: う, く, す, つ, ぬ, む, る, ぐ and ぶ. This is why we call them う verbs, because they all end with the sound う.

Godan verbs will change depending on their dictionary form. The stem of the verbs will thus change, which makes godan verbs a bit more challenging to conjugate.

Here are some examples of godan verbs:

かう - to buy

かく - to write

はなす - to speak

まつ - to wait

しぬ - to die

よむ - to read

つくる - to make

およぐ - to swim

あそぶ - to play

The ます, ません, ました, ませんでした and ましょう forms

To form any of these endings, the dictionary form う sound will change into a い sound.

かう -- かい -- かいます

かく -- かき -- かきます

はなす -- はなし -- はなします

まつ -- まち -- まちます

しぬ -- しに -- しにます

よむ -- よみ -- よみます

*つくる -- つくり -- つくります

およぐ -- およぎ -- およぎます

あそぶ -- あそび -- あそびます

*つくる is a godan verb appearing as an ichidan verbs. We can see that this verb behaves like a godan verb, because of the stem changing. 

Here is a list of godan verbs that look like ichidan verbs:

https://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/which-godan.html

The ない and なかった forms

In the negative casual forms ない (present tense) and なかった (past tense), the う sound will change into a あ sound.

*かう -- かわ -- かわない

かく -- かか -- かかない

はなす -- はなさ -- はなさない

まつ -- また -- またない

しぬ -- しな -- しなない

よむ -- よま -- よまない

つくる -- つくら -- つくらない

およぐ -- およが -- およがない

あそぶ -- あそば -- あそばない

*In the case of verbs ending in う like かう and あう, the あ sound will be わ. This is due to the past 'wu' sound that does not exist in Japanese anymore. かう and あう were once pronounced 'kawu' and 'awu', thus requiring the sound わ. The わ sound remained, while the sound 'wu' disappeared.

Thus, it is かわない and not かあない.

The た form (past tense)

Once again, to form the past tense in casual speech, the endings will change depending on the dictionary form endings.

かう -- かった

かく -- かいた

はなす -- はなした

まつ -- まった

しぬ -- しんだ

よむ -- よんだ

つくる -- つくった

およぐ -- およいだ

あそぶ -- あそんだ

In the case of verbs ending in う, つ and る, the ending will be った.

In the case of verbs ending in く and す, the ending will be いた and した.

In the case of verbs ending in ぬ, む and ぶ, the ending will be んだ.

In the case of verbs ending in ぐ, the ending will be いだ.

The て form

The て form will be the same as the た form.

かう -- かって

かく -- かいて

はなす -- はなして

まつ -- まって

しぬ -- しんで

よむ -- よんで

つくる -- つくって

およぐ -- およいで

あそぶ -- あそんで

The case of the verb いく (to go)

The verb いく is irregular in this case. It will behave much like verbs ending in う, つ and る when in the た form or て form.

いく -- いった

いく -- いって

The volition form

The volition for the casual form with the godan verbs will require the sound おう. So, the う sound will change into a お sound.

かう -- かおう

かく -- かこう

はなす -- はなそう

まつ -- まとう

しぬ -- しのう

よむ -- よもう

つくる -- つくろう

およぐ -- およごう

あそぶ -- あそぼう

Finally, to give orders more explicitly, the godan verbs will require the sound え.

かう -- かえ

かく -- かけ

はなす -- はなせ

まつ -- まて

しぬ -- しね

よむ -- よめ

つくる -- つくれ

およぐ -- およげ

あそぶ -- あそべ

So, the godan verbs, or the fifth-class verbs, are verbs which the stem will change depending on their dictionary form endings. For this reason, they are a bit more complex to conjugate than ichidan verbs, but they do follow a pattern.

The irregular verbs する and くる

する and くる are the only two irregular verbs in Japanese.

For the ます, ません, ました, ませんでした and ましょう forms:

する -- し -- します

くる -- き -- きます

For the ない and なかった forms:

する -- し -- しない, しなかった

くる -- こ -- こない, こなかった

For the た and て forms:

する -- し -- した, して

くる -- き -- きた, きて

For the volition form:

する -- し -- しよう

くる -- こ -- こよう

For explicit orders:

する -- し -- しろ

くる -- こ -- こい

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If you still have questions about verbs, do not hesitate to reach out!

Special article: Kanji 漢字

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In my welcome article at the very beginning of this blog, I said I wouldn't teach kanji, because it would be very hard to do so in a blog, since you have to take into consideration the stroke order, the radicals and of course, the writing, because we do not write kanji like the computer writes them.

So, if I was to show you a kanji right now, it wouldn't be exactly how we write it, because the computer has a way of writing them as if the lines were very straight and rigid.

But that won't hold me back from explaining to you what kanji are, how and when to use them, and all their cool aspects.

Long time ago, there was a time in Japan where we didn't use hiragana or katakana, so we would use kanji. Yes, even for the particles! Kanji were imported from China, from the Chinese hanzi (even Korea at one point was using kanji and not their hangul system, which came later). Hiragana and katakana came much later, first invented by the women of the court to help children in their education and to facilitate reading and writing. Learning all these kanji, matching them with the Chinese pronunciation was starting to get daunting... because of course, Chinese and Japanese are very different in their pronunciation, so the kanji back in the day had to be used to give a meaning to a word, but at the same time, they had to represent the Chinese equivalent sound. For instance, they would use a kanji for the particle は that would make the same sound in Chinese, 'wa'. At the same time, however, the same kanji could have a Japanese pronunciation.

This is why today kanji have two readings: the on-yomi, which is the Chinese reading, and the kun-yomi, which is the Japanese reading. 

Take this kanji for instance 人, which is the kanji for 'person'. It has three pronunciations: じん and にん, which are on-yomi readings and sound a little bit like the Chinese word 'rén' which also mean 'person' and is the same kanji in Chinese; and ひと, which is the kun-yomi reading and is how you would pronounce it in Japanese.

Normally, you will see that on-yomi readings do not stand on their own. To say 'person' as a word in Japanese is ひと. But you will see じん and にん as parts of words like for instance 日本人 (にほんじん - Japanese person) or 人間 (にんげん - human). If you see the kanji 人 on its own, it most likely will be pronounced ひと and will mean 'person'.

What is very difficult for foreigners (and Japanese people too) when studying kanji (notwithstanding the fact that there are many of them) is how one single kanji can have multiple pronunciations. The kanji 生 has up to nine or ten different pronunciations! Not only do you have to learn at least 2000 kanji to be able to manage in Japan, but you also need to learn all of these pronunciation possibilities.

Now, I will be very honest with you, if you do not live in Japan, learning all 2000 kanji is downright impossible. (There are also more than 2000 kanji, there are tens of thousands of them.) But if you do not live in Japan and you still want to be able to read manga and books, I will say that you do not need to learn all 2000 kanji. Many manga and books, especially those for children, have what we call furigana, which are hiragana written on the side of kanji so that kids can read them. 

Kanji are really there only to give a meaning to a word. You can easily read and write entirely in hiragana. But in Japanese, there are many words written and pronounced the same, so kanji will help us figure out which word we are talking about.

The word しろ, for example, can mean two different things: either the colour white or a castle. In hiragana, we will not know exactly which of the two words it means, unless we put it into context. But if we write it in kanji, we will know.

しろ written with this kanji 白 means 'white'. しろ written with this kanji 城 means 'castle'. 

Kanji will also help us read, believe it or not. As a person learning Japanese for the first time, you might have had trouble distinguishing words in a sentence, due to the fact that we do not separate words in Japanese. Mind you, a sentence written completely in hiragana can also confuse me. But with kanji, it will be easier to recognise words as most of them will be separated by particles, and particles cannot be written in kanji.

イギリスには、色々な城を見ました。

(イギリスには、いろいろなしろをみました。)

I saw many castles in England.

You see how much clearer it is? Even though kanji are hard to learn, they make reading sentences easier, and for someone who learns Japanese for the first time, you can now see that いろいろな is a word (adjective for 'various), that しろ is a word (castle) and that みました is another word (saw). So, you will see that kanji will form words, or parts of words, like in the example 見ました. The verb endings are generally not written in kanji.

It is highly possible that you will be able to recognise many more kanji than how many you can write down. Do not worry, it happens to people in Japan too. So, you will have an easier time reading than writing. With technology and the fact that we barely write down things anymore since we use computers, it is obvious that our ability to memorise how a kanji is written will fade overtime. Unfortunately, this is the reality. But if you text someone using your phone, you will be able to recognise kanji, so you will still be able to write to people. Just writing things down by hand might be more difficult.

For instance, I am able to recognise this kanji 曜; this is よう as in げつようび, かようび, etc (the days of the week). But do not ask me to write it down, I wouldn't be able to...

But Panda-sensei, is there any trick or easy ways you can give us to study kanji?

Unfortunately, there are no better ways or worse ways to learn kanji. I am afraid that a big chunk of kanji study relies on memory alone. So, drills will be your friend. 

There are still many tricks and ways you can identify and learn kanji in an easier way. Kanji are made up of radicals, which are the parts that make a kanji, and more often than not, they can give you a hint as to what a kanji could possibly mean.

猫 - This kanji is ねこ (cat). 

The radical to the left actually means 'animal'. So, you know from this radical that it can potentially be an animal of some sort. I say 'potentially' because this is not always the case.

The radical on the right side is なえ which means 'sapling' which has little to do with cats. But another way to pronounce it is みょう, coming from the Chinese onomatopoeia of 'meow'. It doesn't quite work in Japanese, but you get the idea. So, altogether, this kanji means 'the meow animal', which is a cat.

This kanji makes sense, but others might not make as much sense. Take the kanji for fish for instance:

魚 (さかな)

The strokes underneath the main radical means 'fire', which, I mean, fish live in water... but you can grill a fish... so maybe this kanji does make sense after all...

If we put the kanji 人 (human) with 魚 (fish), it becomes 'mermaid' (にんぎょ).

In some cases, grouping kanji will give you another meaning.

This is the case for 木 (き) which means 'tree'. 

If we add two more we get this kanji 森 (もり) which means 'forest'.

火 (ひ) means 'fire'.

炎 (ほのう) means 'flame' or 'fire' as in 'a fire broke out'.

Knowing the radicals and what they mean can actually help you in recognising and comprehend kanji. Kanji is the most difficult part when it comes to learning Japanese. In fact, Japanese has been deemed the most difficult language to learn for English people, because of the nuances the language can bring but also because of kanji. It is even harder than Chinese, because Chinese hanzi are simplified and have up to two pronunciations per hanzi, which make them easier to learn. Japanese kanji are not simplified. We kept the original writing.

But if you buy the book Kanji Look and Learn, they give you really good mnemonic tricks in order to remember kanji. I remember one in particular, the kanji for ぶた, which means 'pig' 豚. The radical to the left is 'moon' and the radical to the right kind of looks like a pig. So, a pig looking at the moon. This is the mnemonic trick for this kanji.

Also, you can buy plenty of manga in Japanese on Ebay, this is where I get mine (I hate manga in English, they never get the translation right... the French translation of manga is actually better...) I would say to start with manga that are more geared towards children, as maybe manga that are more for adults won't have furigana on the side of kanji.

Manga may also be harder to read because of all the slang. I might actually write an article about how they speak in manga since in a lot of them the writing is quite special...

One manga, however, that I recommend that is easy to read is Cardcaptor Sakura. It is short and sweet, not too many slang, and you will have both the polite form and the casual form of the language. I feel that Sakura is one anime that is the closest at representing how people speak in everyday life, because (I hate to break it to you) people in real life do not speak like in anime. Anime and manga are entertainment, so people take a lot of liberties and play a lot with the language. This is why Japanese people can tell that you have been learning Japanese with anime. Your Japanese won't sound as natural or 'real'.

Also, one anime I recommend to practise your listening skills is Chi's Sweet Home. It is for toddlers, but for people who are starting to learn Japanese, I think it is a good way to practise if you watch it without subtitles and try to figure some words out.

This is basically what I do when I am learning another language. I watch children shows without subtitles and I read super easy children books. The real big problem is the speaking, because most people do not have a person with whom to practise. 

To go back to kanji though, one thing we did as kids to learn them is drills. You can actually search online to acquire some books that will allow you to do these drills. I am sure there are some books that will also teach you the kanji we learned in first grade, second grade, third grade, and so on. I believe in first grade, we learn about 82 kanji, and then around 100 or more each year, until the end of high school. 

As I mentioned, drills are probably the number one method people take to learn kanji as it is all memory retention. Like a language, you need good memory to remember words and grammar structures. There is no magical way that will make you learn and retain every kanji in a matter of seconds. Keep in mind that it takes people 12 years in total to learn the 2000 kanji. And also keep in mind that a 15 year-old in Japan still cannot read a newspaper comfortably when you probably were able to when you were 12 in English. 

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If you have any question about kanji, it will be my pleasure to answer!

If you are determined to learn kanji, I will wish you good luck in your studies!