symbols and abbreviations used in the text

Transcription

Japanese: A Comprehensive Grammar Is a complete reference guide to modern
Japanese grammar. Accessible and systematic, ft is suitable for students at all
levels, whether independent learners or on taught courses.
Presented in alphabetical order, the grammar points are clear and concise and
put in context by a wealth of authentic examples. The book explores thor
oughly the complexities o f Japanese and fills many gaps left by previous
textbooks. The emphasis throughout is on contemporary Japanese as spoken
and written by native speakers.
Written by experts in their fields, this will provide a lasting and reliable source
for all learners of Japanese.
Features include:
many original examples, taken from a range of Japanese media
comprehensive coverage of colloquial and standard Japanese
clear alphabetical organization for easy reference
extensive cross-referencing
detailed index of Japanese and English terms
Stefan K aiser is Professor at the Institute of Languages and Literatures,
University o f Tsukuba, Japan. Y asuko Ichikaw a is Professor at the
International Center, University of Tokyo. N oriko Kobayashi is Associate
Professor and H ilo fu m i Yam am oto is Assistant Professor, both at the Institute
of Languages and Literatures, University of Tsukuba.
LANGUAGE/LINGUISTICS/REFERENCE
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
29 West 35th Street, New York NY 10001
www.routledge.com
Printed in Great Britain
* FrancV
>
INTRODUCTION
In the indexes and alongside entry headwords a num ber of linguistic technical
term s are used. However, ap a rt from some very basic term s (‘n o u n ’, ‘verb’,
‘adjective’, ‘adverb’, ‘predicate’, ‘m odifier’) an d the names o f a few specific
constructions used in m ost language textbooks (‘passive’, ‘causative’, ‘poten
tial’, ‘intransitive’), the reader should be able to use this book fully w ithout
learning a new set o f technical term inology.
The use o f num erous real Japanese exam ple sentences (with translations)
plus an index o f English translation-equivalents should guide the user to the
correct section(s).
This book is useful, therefore, to bo th the specialist and non-specialist.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
This book is arranged in alphabetically ordered entries (all o f which appear
in the List o f Entries on p. v-xii). A n entry can be a gram m atical term (e.g.
‘A djectival expressions’, ‘A dverbs’, ‘N egative sentences’, ‘N ouns’, ‘Passive
sentences’, ‘Particles’, etc.) o r a Japanese-language item (‘hazu [sentence
ending]’, ‘ni [case particle]’, ‘-sa [nom inalizing suffix]’, ‘wa [final particle]’,
etc.). M ost entries have a num ber o f cross-references to related entries and
sub-entries.
G ram m atical entries often cover a wide g ro u n d (e.g. under ‘A djectival
expressions’ you will find listed (a n d /o r cross-referenced) m any ways of
form ing expressions. All have in com m on the function/m eaning th a t they
can be used like Japanese adjectives (to m odify a noun, or as predicates).
If you wish to consult a specific entry, y o u can search the entry directly
(alphabetically) in the List o f E ntries o r directly in the text, or you can first
check the G ram m ar and F u n ctio n Index (if there is no independent entry,
inform ation m ay be included in one o r several entries). If you w ant to know
how to use Japanese verbs, fo r instance, or how the language works, you can
consult gram m atical entries, i.e., ‘sentence ty p es’, ‘verbs’, ‘vocabulary’, etc.
Language functions
L anguage functions (obligation, com m ands etc.) can be looked up in the
same way, i.e., if you look up ‘com m ands’ in the G ram m ar ami fu n c tio n
Introduction xvii
Index you will find reference to ‘com m ands’, ‘direct com m ands’, ‘indirect
com m ands’, ‘negative com m ands’, etc., as well as the individual entries
applicable to them.
To save space, abbreviated terms such as V and cop. for verb and copula are
widely used. Refer to p. xix-xx for a list o f symbols and abbreviations used
in the text.
English Translation Index
The English T ranslation Index is a list o f w hat Japanese items typically
mean in English (in the m ain text, these translation equivalents are given
in single q u o tatio n m arks). If you w ant to find ou t how to say ‘only’ in
Japanese, you look up ‘only’ in this index, and then refer to the items that
«re listed.
Examples
This book attem pts to give as m any examples as possible, with a minimum
of explanation. All examples (unless m arked ‘%’, which indicates a ‘construed’
or made-up example) are taken from original printed media sources such as
daily newpapers. Where they have been shortened, this is indicated by ellipses,
except for q u o tations that have been given w ithout the preceding and/or
following context.
Wherever possible, examples are arranged so that the shorter and/or easier
examples come first, with the longer/m ore difficult ones following.
Kxamples are given in the original script version, followed by a romanized
transliteration (with ad-hoc spacing/hyphens but w ithout punctuation) and
йп English translation, which should enable you to work out most unknown
words or kanji in the original script version. However, you may also find it
useful to use this book in conjunction with a Japanese-English or English•Jnpanese dictionary, and a A:««/7-English or kanji-Japanese dictionary.
A NOTE ON ROMANIZATION
The rom anization used here is sim ilar to the H epburn system used in m ost
romanized dictionaries, but differs in some respects.
• Λ 'sm all ts u ’ at the end o f a w ord etc. is transcribed as
rendered as ne'.
i.e. -fa о is
• Word boundaries and hyphens are used as appropriate to prevent words
hum becoming too Ιυημ and unwieldy in transcription
xviii Introduction
C O N S T R U C T IO N O F E N T R IE S
G ram m atical items are often used in a variety o f form s (or constructions)
an d /o r meanings. Entries are therefore often divided into a num ber o f sub
entries. Sub-entries are listed w ith their num bers in a contents box near the
beginning o f the entry. This gives you an overview o f the construction o f the
item and enables you to locate the sub-entry y o u require by its num ber.
All you need to do then is to find th at num ber.
There is also a List o f Tables for locating these according to page num ber.
SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS
USED IN THE TEXT
%
X
A
(before example) made-up example
(before example) ungram m atical example
(before cop., P) w ithout a form of copula, w ithout any particle
(see also лсор., ЛР below)
[]
(in example) addition to original text to assist understanding
[]
(in entry or subentry, etc.) occasionally used to m ark the
extent o f a gramm atical structure
[]
after entry: gives the grammatical class (sometimes meaning) of entry,
e.g. wa [focus particle]. W hen referring to other entries, the [] part is
attached only if it is needed to specify that entry, i.e. where there is
m ore th a n one entry o f the same form, i.e. wa [focus particle], wa
[final particle], but -ba.
[J
m arks the entry (and sometimes its translation) in example
m arks translation of entry (in examples it also m arks quoted speech)
*'.. .” m arks literal translation o f entry (in examples it also m arks direct
speech)
*
used for footnotes in tables, etc.
adj.
adv.
AN
С
cuus.
cop.
лсор.
dctn.
fin.
hon.
imp.
Hi
MJ
N
ηεμ
NJ
N moil.
Adjective
Adverb
Adjectival noun
C ounter
Causative
Copula
w ithout a form o f the copula
Dem onstrative
Finite forms
Honorific
Imperative
literally (literal translations are given in “ . . .”)
Mixed Japanese vocabulary
Noun
Negative
Native Japanese vocabulary
Noun-modifying fur ms (also: N-modifying)
хх Symbols and Abbreviations Used in the T ex t
NP
num.
P
ЛР
pass.
pin.
pol.
pos.
pot.
pred.
pref.
prep.
pres.
pron.
Q
S
SJ
suf.
V
V-intr.
VN
V-tr.
WJ
N oun phrase
N um ber
Particle
w ithout particle
Passive
Plain form
Polite form
Positive
Potential
Predicate
Prefix
Preposition
Presumptive
P ronoun
Question
Sentence (this can stand for a sentence, o r a clause)
Sino-Japanese vocabulary (Japanese w ords o f Chinese origin)
Suffix
Verb
Intransitive verb
Verbal noun
Transitive verb
W estern Japanese vocabulary (loanw ords from W estern languages)
1 ADJECTIVAL EXPRESSIONS: NOUN-MODIFYING
Adjectival expressions (like adj. proper, which are one type o f adjectival
expression), describe properties o r qualities ‘w hat sort/kind o f’. M any
adjectival expressions can be used in two ways (see 178, 2): 1) to modify a N
end 2) as a pred.
1.1
1.1.1
1.1.2
1.2
1.2.1
1.2.2
1.2.3
1.3
1.3.1
1.3.2
1.3.3
1.3.4
1.4
1.5
1.5.1
1.5.2
1.6
1.7
1.7.1
1.7.2
1.8
Specialized noun-m odifying words
Noun-m odifying dem onstrative w ords/pronouns and question words
Other specialized noun-modifying words (arayuru, iwayuru, saru, etc.)
N ouns (incl. num ber + counter/pronoun) no noun
N oun 1 no noun 2
Personal pronoun no noun
N um ber + counter no noun
Adverbs/adverbial clauses no noun
Adverb-te no noun
N oun + phrasal particle-te no noun
Clause-te no noun: adverbial clauses modifying nouns
Adjective-stem no noun: oku no, chikaku no, etc.
Adjectives proper + noun
Adjectival nouns na noun
U nconverted adjectival noun na noun
Converted adjectival noun na noun
no-adjective + noun
Verb/verbal noun/adverb-ta noun
Verb-ta, or verbal noun shita noun
Adverb (to) shita noun
N oun ga/no adjective/verb + noun
1.1 S P E C IA LIZE D N O U N -M O D IF Y IN G W O R D S
.
1 1.1 Noun-modifying demonstrative words/pronouns and
question words
Dem onstrative w ords and pron. include words like kono ‘this’, sonna ‘that
kind o f’). Q w ords include dono ‘which?’, donna ‘w hat kind of?’, etc. (for
full details see 44, 167).
.
1 1.2 Other specialized noun-modifying words
(arayuru, iwayuru, saru, etc.)
There is a small num ber of other specialized N-mod. words (arayuru ‘every
possible', iwayuru ‘so-called’, saru ‘the past’, onaji ‘the same’; note especially
llu· use ol 'onaji where I'nglish would use ‘alike’ (example c).
2 Japanese: A Com prehensive G ra m m a r
a
L 'o1·^ о
watashi-tachi wa arayuru mondai о hanashiatta
W e talked about [all possible] problem s.
b [13 U]
z%p>)
tz 0
onaji toshi no otto to wa sannen mae ni shiriatta
She m et her husband, who is the [sa m e ] age, three years ago.
с
[13 U] l j S K '4 ,
J; ?
^ η
й * '-'! i t i a
doyara onaji shimaguni de mo eikokujin no уб na kdchazuki to iu wake ni
wa ikanai уб da
It appears th at even though [we’re] an island nation [alike], we are not
as fond o f black tea as the English.
Note - onaji has other uses too, such as pred. + cop. (example d).
d t&yfrli
- о Х Ь [13 U X L J; ]o
keizai wa dare ga yatte mo onaji desho
The econom y [should be the sam e], n o m atter who runs it
[= the country].
1.2
N O U N S (IN C L. N U M B E R + C O U N T E R /P R O N O U N ) no N O U N
(See 133, 143.)
1.2.1 Noun 1 no noun 2
N1 includes N o f time (see 144.1.4). T he [N I no N2] com binations (= NPs)
often, b u t not always, translate into English as ‘N2 o f N 1 ’ (see 133).
saikin no wakamono
the young of recent times
b [3 I ]
koko no ie no shujin
the m aster/husband o f this house
с [0 «
nihon no seiji
Japanese politics
(lit. “Jap a n ’s politics”)
[a ^ L ] сn i] /■ у
nihon no kamera
a Jap an ese cam era
1.2.2 Personal pronoun no noun
Depending on the pron., personal p ro n . no N translates into English as ‘my/
your/his/her/our/their Ν ’. But see 158 fo r differences in use o f personal pron.
com pared to English.
Japanese: A Comprehensive Gram m ar 3
a [fa]
watashi no shigoto
my job
b
<пЩanata no kuruma
your car
1.2.3 Num ber + counter no noun
Num. + С no is used to m odify N th at require a specific C, whereas those
that lack a specific С use the ‘default’ С -tsu (num. + no). N ote that num.
can also occur after the nouns they refer to, as in exam ple b, where the
structure is N + num. + С no N (see 147, 36, 154).
а [—о ]
hitotsu no chiiki
one area
1.3
Ъ [V У Х —Щ (Offife
renzu ichimai no kakaku
The price o f one lens
A D V E R B S/A D VE R B IA L C L A U S E S no NOUN
1.3.1 Adverb-te no noun
These include a num ber o f adv. ending in -te, such as subete ‘all’, hajimete
‘for the first tim e’, katsute ‘form erly’ (see 4).
a [ t ^ t ] соШ'}
subete no kisei
all restrictions
b [ i i V -tb X ] <r>{
hajimete no jukyo
my first house
с
[ i i l ' s b t ] <n$3lkt-:^ fc0
umarete hajimete no taiken datta
It was [my] first experience ever (lit. “in my life”).
1.3.2 Noun + phrasal particle-te no noun
Phrasal P are often equivalent to prep, in English.
Now
most, but not all, phrasal P can take no (examples a and b) (see also 159).
и [ i & - f £ l t ] ( o m & l i t ■T'-'o
Ncnshu to shite no keireki wa sugoi
His carccr [as a player] is formidable.
b
[ 1 ο ί 2 Y. ( : ^ > v .
t l i „
kono koto ni tsuite no daijin no kangac wa
What arc your | - the minister's! thoughts [on this m atter]?
4 Japanese: A Comprehensive Gram m ar
1.3.3 C lause-te no noun: adverbial clauses modifying nouns
H ere, an ad v erb ial clause ending in the conjunctive form -te (show n
in []) modifies a following N (or N P) by means o f no. The N /N P implies an
action, and S-te indicates ‘how ’ or ‘in w hat state/condition’, etc. the action
takes place. Check the idiom atic translations (also given in []) below.
а
okyaku-san atte no shobai
Business [is something that] [depends on the existence o f custom ers]
(= no business w ithout customers).
b [ f ^ H b t ] <n~< Ы - Л Ц ' И
zakku о seotte no betonamu hitori-tabi
A solitary trip through V ietnam , [shouldering a rucksack],
с Z h x i [ ϋ * £ £ # . Α τ ] wijbjfctilfe < 0
sore demo yutakasa о motomete no toso wa tsuzuku
But nevertheless the flight [in pursuit o f affluence] continues.
d [=--Ьв&£ @miic I t ]
sanjussai о mokuzen ni shite no ketsui de aru
I t’s a decision [made] [with age 30 just around the corner].
1.3.4 Adjective-stem no noun: 6ku no, chikaku no, etc.
The stem form o f adj., ending in -ku, can be used w ith a follow ing no
to m odify a N . However, this is possible w ith only a very small num ber
o f adj., such as oi ‘m any’, chikai ‘n e a r’, toi ‘far, furui ‘old ’, (see 34.1.3,
184.2.3).
а т м г ь я / ? [p(]
kanetsu suru kamera bumu de oku no kishu ga tojo shita
In the overheating cam era boom , m any new m odels have appeared.
1.4 A D JE C T IV E S P R O P E R + N O U N
Adj. proper are nam ed this way because in Japanese there are also adjectival
N and no-adj. (see 1.5 and 1.6).
Adj. p roper always end in -i in their pin. non-past form (which is also the
form under which they are listed in dictionaries) (see 3).
furui kaoku
old houses/an old house
b mi ]
atarashii taiken
a new experience
Japanese: A Com prehensive Gram m ar 5
1.5
A D JEC TIV A L N O U N S na N O U N
1.5.1 Unconverted adjectival noun na noun
AN require the N -m od. form na o f the cop. (see 35).
h [ » * '] ш
shizuka na asa
a quiet m orning
ь [it] ш т
junan na hasso
a flexible way o f thinking
.
1 5.2 Converted adjectival noun na noun
The suf. -teki converts a N (often a tw o-kanji compound) into an AN, which
then modifies a N in the same way as other A N , i.e. by attaching na (see
212, 34).
н
(cf., f f # ‘m ind’)
seishin-teki na tsuyosa
mental strength
ь [д ай ?]
(cf., m m ‘an ideal’)
risd-teki na dansei
an/the ideal male
Mi te N-teki can also modify N directly, without the cop. form na; the whole NP in this case
Ii understood as a compound (examples с and d).
c i&ibtfii] ? m
seiji-teki mondai
political problem s
1.6
ПО-A D JE C T IV E
d
ш
shakai-teki sekinin
social responsibility
+ NOUN
BO-adj. are words with adjectival m eaning that grammatically behave like N,
i.e. they modify o th er N by means o f no.
The main groups o f no-adj. are those NJ colour w ords th at are not adj.
proper (i.e. do not end in -i), and all WJ colour words, plus also a few other
NJ words such as nama ‘raw ’ and hadaka ‘naked’ (see 137), and a select
number o f onom atope (see 153).
« [& ]
—
whiro no takishldo sugata no shinro
the groom in a white tuxedo
b
(nyy^yrf
pinku no furamingo
pink flamingoes
с ( t I > vh 'Y : > 9 ] co,f v 'V
ort-nji ku pinku no poroshufsu
[.in orange oi pink] polo shirt
d [± ] <n* / a
пиши no kinoko
raw m ushroom s
1.7
V E R B /V E R B A L N O U N /A D V E R B -ta NOUN
1.7.1 Verb-ta, or verbal noun s h ita noun
Here, a V /VN th at indicates a state in its -te iru form (as indicated in [] in
the examples below) modifies a N by m eans o f the -ta form (V-ta).
Note - no meaning of completion or past is present in this case (see 187.3.1, 143).
a № £L]
(cf.,
antei shita seikatsu
a secure life
b
h%h\4 (cf.,
hattatsu shita kinniku
well-developed muscles
L T v - 'S ‘life is secure’)
‘muscles are well-developed’)
с 1Ж ^\
J 4 * j H [ * L ] t z f t & t f h b o ( c f .,I S L - r ^ S
‘has the title o f’)
ieie, kigi, yamayama to daishita sakuhin ga aru
There is a work entitled ‘Houses, Trees, M ountains’.
d
i &I l i ]
(Cf . , l ^ L
‘is independent’)
jiritsu shita shokengaisha wa sodatanai
Independent securities firms d o n ’t thrive.
e
£ [a tH l]
af'Jo
(cf., S f e L X v,' ^,‘is aim ing fo r’)
kodomo о katei, chiiki ni kaeso о mezashita gakkd itsuka-sei
The five-day school system, which has the aim o f ‘returning the children
to their hom es and locality’.
1.7.2 Adverb (to) shita noun
M any o n o m atope adv. (see 153) m odify N by m eans o f to shita, or ju st
shita. But note th a t there are also some onom atope which m odify N by
m eans o f no.
Note - despite the -ta form used, no meaning o f completion or past is present w ith (to)
shita.
a [ . b £ L ] tz Z. Y b ' h £ · - 3 /с0 (,i>£ ‘suddenly’, ‘accidentally’)
futo shita koto kara terayama shuji о shitta
By chance I got to know Terayam a Shuji.
b [L ^ b
ί
Y L] /zOfcZ!
&& ( о ( L t ^
‘crisp’)
shakit-to shita hagotae wa atsui natsu ni mo muku
The crisp texture is right for the ho t summer, too.
с [ 3 U L ] tz X ^ c \z % h i(L b о (Ж ‘vague’)
baku to shita fuan ni osowareru
One gets attacked by a vague feeling o f unease.
d
I]
‘cool’)
kawadoko ni suwaru to hinyari shita kaze ga hoho о nadete iku
When one sits down on the riverbed [platform], a cool wind caresses
one’s cheeks.
1.8 NOUN g a /n o A D JE C T IV E /V E R B
+ NOUN
Some N ga/no adj./V com binations have adjectival m eaning as lexical items.
N ga adj. com binations include se ga takai ‘tali’, atama ga ii ‘intelligent’,
etc., and N ga V com binations are settokuryoku ga aru ‘convincing’ and
ninki ga aru ‘po p u lar’.
In N-m od. use, these can use either ga or no, alth o u g h no is far m ore
common.
a
( ^ - > X ^ b < n \ z m ^ L tz i< r >0
se ga takai josei ga oku natte iru no ni taio shita mono
This [introducing larger sizes] is to deal with the fact th at there are
more tall women.
b
n-+ \zbbt£hn о
Ncttokuryoku no aru k6chi ni naru daro
He should turn out to be a convincing coach.
2 ADJECTIVAL EXPRESSIONS: AS PREDICATES
Adjectival expressions can be used as pred. as follows: 1) adj. proper by
themselves, and 2) A N and no-adj. with the addition o f cop.
2 .1 Adjectives proper and (-)nai, -tai, hoshii, etc.
2 .1.1 Adjectives proper
2.1.2 The negative/negative ending nai/-nai, and other gramm atical items
that are formally adjectives
2 2 Adjectival nouns and no-adjectives
2.2,1 Adjectival nouns + copula
2 2,2 no-adjectives + copula
8 Japanese: A Com prehensive Gram m ar
2.1 A D JE C T IV E S P R O P E R A N D (-)nai, -tai, h o sh ii, ETC.
2.1.1 Adjectives proper
Adj. proper are called thus to distinguish them from adjectival nouns (AN )
and no-adj. (see 3, 137).
Adj. pro p er are form ally distinguishable because their pin. non-past form
(also used for listing in dictionaries) ends in -i. There are, however, also a
num ber o f gramm atical and lexical items that end in -i, i.e. are form ally adj.
(see 2.1.2).
Adj. pro p er can be distinguished from A N and no-adj. in function because
they can form a pred. by their non-past and other fin. forms, whereas A N
and no-adj., etc. require the addition o f cop.
a [l< ^ f£ 'L ] v,'D
hazukashii
[I feel] ashamed.
b z c o ^ f c l z l i - y - y ’) —
[ f ] v-'o
kono gakk6 ni wa sararTman no kodomo ga oi
There are m any children o f com pany workers in this school.
2.1.2 The negative/negative ending n ai/-n ai, and other grammatical
items that are formally adjectives
These include items such as -tai (see 189), mitai (see 93), hoshii (see 68), -ppoi
(see 162), rashii (see 169), -te hoshii (see 197) (see also 111).
a Z A s b Z Z l i [ i t ] '-'o
sonna koto wa nai
T h a t’s n o t so.
b
[ i i L] '-'o
watashi datte kodomo ga hoshii
I too w ant children.
C
Ί Z
[otf]
'-'o
hakuryoku wa aru kedo usoppoi
It [= the depiction o f hell] is powerful, but looks a bit fake.
2.2
A D JE C TIV A L N O U N S A N D n o -A D JE C T IV E S
These require the addition o f cop. (see 35).
1 .2.1 Adjectival nouns + copula
AN (also known as na adj. because they modify N with the na form o f cop.)
tMtd to be either NJ (often ending in -ka or -ta), SJ (m ostly consisting o f
two kanji, or equivalent) or WJ w ords (see 235).
AN require form s o f the cop. to form pred. (about A N ni naru, see 186).
i * f i i tz [ Ш Н tz ,
ami wa mada shizuka da
The sea is still quiet.
b 4M№
Ко
Juabi wa kaiteki da
Preparations are going well.
e M i t t · ) 1П
tz о
ulryfi mo tsukurikata mo shinpuru da
Both ingredients and p rep aratio n are simple.
U L 2 no-adjectives + copula
Like A N (and N ), no-adj. require form s o f cop. to form a pred. (see 137,
m
• JtM U [f£] tz a
feama wa hadaka da
The king has no clothes on.
b -ff-f· i i [ # ] tz Ί tz о
shing6 wa aka datta
The traffic lights were on red.
§ ADJECTIVE [PROPER] FORMS
The main adj. [proper] form s are as shown in Table 1. The finite (fin.) forms
Ц1 5) can be used independently as pred., and the N -m od. forms (N-mod.
|pln only), I 4) to m odify N.
Polite pred. are form ed by attac h in g desu (see 35) to the pin. fin. forms.
Note that there are two pol. form s each for yasukunai and yasukunakatta.
Table 1 gives the main adj. form s for yasui ‘cheap’.
Ad| ■stem is used as a written-style conjunctive form, for using adj. as adv.
fwith ноте adj., also as N), and to attach suru/naru. (see 31.1.1, 4.1, 184.2,
INI»)
Ad) •root is used to attach the nom inalizing suffixes -sa and -mi (see 175,
M), aiul also the sentence ending -so (see 182).
Table 1 B asic adjective fo rm s
yasui ‘cheap’
Plain
N -m od. ' Fin. ‘ 1 N on-past:
(pin.
2 Past:
only)
3 Neg.:
4 Neg. past:
’ 5 Presumptive:
6
7
8
9
Stem:
Root:
Conjunctive:
Conditional:
(adj.-i)
(adj.-ta)
(adj. -nai)
(adj.-neg. past)
(adj.-(y)5)
(adj.-stem)
(adj.-root)
(adj.-te)
(adj.-ba)
Polite
yasu-i
yasukat-ta
yasuku-nai
yasu-i desu
yasukat-ta desu
yasuku-nai desu/
yasuku arimasen
yasuku-nakatta yasuku-nakatta desu/
yasuku arimasen
deshita
yasukaro/yasui yasui desho
daro
yasnku
—
yasu
—
yasuku-te
—
yasnkere-ba
—
4 ADVERBS: BY DERIVATION
Adv. are a class o f words that m odify V and other pred., typically indicating
when, how, where, by w hat means, to what degree, etc. the action or state o f
V takes place (see 5).
Note - in Japanese, adv. always come before the pred. they modify.
Form ally, adv. can be divided into six m ain types, depending on w hat word
class they are, or from w hat w ord class they are derived: adj.-stem , A N derived, no-adj.-derived onom atope, V-derived, and N used as adj.
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.4.1
4.4.2
4.4.3
4.4.4
4.5
4.5.1
4.5.2
4.6
Adjective-stem
Adjectival noun-derived adverb
Adverb derived from no-adjective
O nom atope as adverbs
Unchanged
Ending in to
W ith optional to
Before suru/naru
Verb-derived adverbs
Those using the verb-te form
Those formed by reduplicating a verb
N ouns as adverbs
Japanese: A Comprehensive Grammar 11
4.1 A D JE C TIV E -S TE M
Here, the stem -form o f adj. is used as adv. (see 3).
ii
[# < ] t t i c
onaji buhin о tairyo ni кбпуй sureba yasuku kaeru
If you buy the same p art in large num bers, you can buy it [cheaply].
4.2 A D JECTIVAL N O U N -D E R IV E D A D VER B
Adv. derived from A N attach the adverbial form o f the cop., ni (see 35).
klrei ni aratte kara nido-zuke о suru
After you’ve washed it [carefully], you pickle it a second time.
4.3 ADVERB D E R IV E D FROM no -A D JE C TIV E
ao-udj. attach the conjunctive form o f cop., de, to form adv. (see 137, 35).
» ttf-io-ti·у,'** [ f t ]
о
m&sho no sei ka hadaka de neru no ga kuse ni natta
Possibly because o f the heatwave, I ’ve developed a habit of
sleeping [naked],
4.4 O N O M A TO P E AS AD VER B S
M*ny onom atope (= sound symbolism words) can be used as adv.
Not? onomatope are also used in a variety of other ways, with forms of the cop. or suru as
jMVd,, attaching to shita, etc. to modify N, etc. (see 1.7.2, 153).
Depending on the individual o n o m ato p e w ord, it can be used as adv.
Unchanged, attach the adverbial P. to optionally or have it ‘built in’, i.e. end
tel to Before suru/naru, the adverbial form ni of the cop. is required (see 213,
m , 35).
Unchanged:
Ending in to:
Optional to:
.
4 4.1
«
[ i
sukkari ‘completely’, yoboyobo ‘tottering’
chanto ‘properly’, sotto ‘softly’
yukkuri (to) ‘leisurely’, pikapika (to) ‘sparkling’, ‘flashing’
Unchanged
-. t r ') ]
l
b
fz u
•ukkuri nemuke ga samete shimatta
My ulccpincss is [totally] gone.
12 Japanese: A Comprehensive Grammar
4.4.2 Ending in to
a 0 1 '^
higoro chanto nayami о kiite yatteru no
D o you always [properly] listen to his problems?
4.4.3 With optional to
а
[ t f b ' l f b ' Y ] тЬ-з/c0 C ould also be [ΐβ ύ 'ϊβ ύ '] JL'? tz
atama no naka ga pikapika to hikatta
There was a flash o f light inside my head (lit. “The inside o f my head
flashed [like a a sp a rk ]”).
4.4.4 Before suru/naru
Here, the adverbial form ni o f the cop. is required (see 186, 35).
a
[itfiific ]
gorufu о shinai to yoboyobo ni naru
If I d o n ’t play golf, I become [decrepit].
4.5
V E R B -D E R IV E D A D V E R B S
V -derived adv. can be divided into two types: those ending in -te, an d
reduplicated forms (i.e. form ed by repeating the same V).
4.5.1 Those using the verb -te form
These include hajimete ‘for the first tim e’, kiwamete ‘extrem ely’, sugurete
‘exceedingly’, etc.
a
t" [ t i U * T ] ЖА.Г£<п ( i 0
hyakunin isshu de hajimete asonda no wa
W hen did you first play hyakunin-isshu [= card gam e m atching p arts o f
fam ous poems]?
b
[bbtb-1] * m tz 0
sekiyu-gaisha no kait6 wa kiwamete meikai da
The reply from the oil com pany is extremely clear.
4.5.2 Those formed by reduplicating a verb
Below are some examples o f the very limited n u m b er o f such form ations.
N ote th at if the V begins with a consonant th at can be voiced (k, s, t, etc.),
Japanese: A Comprehensive Gram mar 13
voicing often occurs as part o f the w ord-form ation process (kawaru-gawaru
is an example o f this).
osoreru ‘fear’
kawaru ‘change’
miru ‘see’
osoru-osoru ‘timidly’
(cf., osoru-beki ‘frightening’)
kawaru-gawaru ‘in tu rn ’
miru-miru ‘as you look o n ’, ‘fast’
a —К < п Ш ¥ ь \ U b U b \ Ы.<п%Ь^\ < < г> ¥'^¥Ь 0
futari no kao kara mirumiru chinoke ga hiku no ga wakaru
You can see the colour ebbing fast from both their faces.
sanjunen mae gaika fusoku jidai ni osoruosoru sutato shita kaigai ryoko
jiyuka
The liberalization o f foreign travel, which started timidly in the age
when we were short o f foreign currency.
4.6 N O U N S AS AD VER B S
These are mainly N of time (as which they can attach case P), but as adv. of
time they are used w ithout case P, except for ni with certain items (see 5.3).
5 ADVERBS: BY MEANING
By m eaning, adv. can be grouped as shown in the contents box below
(reduplicated form s - such as osoru-osoru - are hyphenated). N ote th at
some adv. can belong to more than one group.
Adverbs o f m anner
Adverbs o f degree
Adverbs and nouns o f time and frequency
Adverbs (nouns) o f time and frequency
Time o f day, days, m onths, years and use o f ni [case particle]
Adverbs/nouns of time with native Japanese and/or Sino-Japanese
forms
5,3.4 O ther adverbs
54
Predicate-selecting adverbs
54.1
Presumptive predicates
5.4.2 Negative predicates
V4.2.1 With negative form present
5.4.2,2 With ellipted negative form
Negative presumptive predicate
4 4.3
S A A Iicsideralive predicate
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.3.1
5.3.2
5.3.3
14 Japanese: A Com prehensive G ram m ar
5.4.5
5.4.6
5.4.7
5.4.8
5.4.8.1
5.4.8.2
Predicate o f com m and
C onditional predicate
Predicate o f appearance an d simile
N on-past form predicates
Intentional
O ther non-past predicates
5.1 A D V E R B S O F M A N N E R
These indicate the w ay som e ac tio n is p erfo rm ed . T hey include kirei ni
‘neatly’, ‘carefully’, sukkari ‘com pletely’, yukkuri ‘in a leisurely w ay’, osoruosoru ‘tim idly’, etc. M any o f these are ono m ato p e by origin (see 153, 4.5.2).
а
[Ф-э < 0 ]
ki ni natte yukkuri nemurenai
I worry, and can’t sleep well (lit. “in a leisurely w ay”).
b —
i b *) £
hitori no seito ga kyotaku no mawari о kirei ni soji shite ita
A pupil was cleaning the area a ro u n d the teac h er’s desk carefully.
5.2 A D V E R B S O F D E G R E E
As their nam e suggests, these in d icate the degree to w hich the w ord they
modify applies.
N ote th at some o f these have o th e r m eanings a n d uses as well (e.g. hotondo
can be used as a N ‘the m ajo rity ’, an d taihen ‘g re at’/k ek k o ‘fine’ as A N ).
Jap an ese has no c o m p a ra tiv e o r s u p e rla tiv e fo rm s like th e E nglish
lo n g [er], lo n g [est]; instead, adv. o f degree like motto ‘m o re’ a n d ichiban
‘most’/mottomo ‘m ost’ are used (see 25).
C om m on adv. o f degree include the following: daibu ‘plenty’, ‘pretty m uch’,
hijo ni ‘very’, hotondo ‘alm o st’, ichiban ‘m o s t’, issai ‘com pletely’, jitsu ni
‘very’, kanari/kekko ‘q u ite’, kiwamete ‘extrem ely’, motto ‘m o re’, mottomo
‘m ost’, sukkari ‘totally’, taihen/totemo/sngoku ‘very’, takusan ‘a lo t’, wazuka
(ni) ‘by a w hisker’, zuibun ‘q u ite ’, etc.
а [Ы Х
totemo yawarakai
[It’s] very soft.
oshu no kiiko ni iku to, jambo wa hotondo inai
W hen you go to E u ro p ean airp o rts, there are alm ost no jum bos.
Japanese: A Comprehensive Gramm ar 15
5.3 A D V E R B S A N D N O U N S O F T IM E A ND F R E Q U E N C Y
5.3.1 Adverbs (nouns) of time and frequency
Some o f these A can also be used as N , w ith case P attached (e.g. asa
‘m o rn in g ’, hiru ‘n o o n ’, yoru ‘n ig h t’, haru ‘sp rin g ’, natsu ‘sum m er’,
aki ‘au tu m n ’, fuyu ‘w inter’, ima ‘now ’, mukashi ‘old tim es’, and certain
num. + С com binations such as sanji(-goro) ‘(about) 3 o ’clock’ (see 147, 36).
Here are the m ore common adv. and N of time and frequency: arakajime ‘in
advance’, hajime ni ‘first’, ima ‘now ’, ‘currently’, ima ni mo ‘any time now ’,
kono aida ‘the o ther day’, kono hodo ‘recently’, kono tokoro ‘lately’, mada
‘not yet’, mamonaku ‘soon’, mare ni ‘rarely’, mata ‘again’, mo ‘already’,
mukashi ‘in the p ast’, oi ni ‘a lo t’, saigo ni ‘last’, saikin ‘recently’, saisho (ni)
‘first o f all’, saki(hodo) ‘earlier’, sakki ‘a little earlier’, sugu (ni), ‘straight
away’, shiba-shiba ‘frequently’, shotchii ‘all the time’, sude ni ‘already’, sukoshi
‘a little’, tabi-tabi ‘often’, tama ni ‘occasionally’, toki-doki ‘sometimes’, tsugi
ni ‘next’, unto ‘lots’, yoku ‘often’, yagate ‘presently’, zutto ‘for a long tim e’.
a
H i,
kare wa ima, dokugaku de chiigokugo о Ьепкуб shite iru
He is currently learning Chinese through self-study.
ь
[ti]
kigyoka ni wa mo sukoshi fukai rikai ga hoshii
One wants a little deep [er] understanding from an industrialist.
8.3.2 Tim e of day, days, months, years and use of ni [case particle]
Com m on ad v ./N include the following: asa ‘in the m orning’, hiru ‘during
the day’, ‘at n o o n’, yiigata ‘in the evening’, yoru ‘at night’, gozen(chii) ‘a.m .’,
gogo ‘p.m .’, and num. + С com binations of time (-ji ‘h o u r’, -fun ‘m inute’.
A bo the days o f the week: nichiyobi ‘Sunday’, getsuyobi ‘M onday’, kayobi
‘Tuesday’, suiyobi ‘Wednesday’, mokuyobi ‘Thursday’, kinyobi ‘Friday’, doyobi
‘Saturday’, etc.) (see 5.3.3 for prefixes such as mai- ‘every’).
The P ni can optionally be attached to items that indicate a fixed time, but
MX to those th at indicate a relative (movable) time, such as куб ‘today’, kin6
'yesterday’, maiasa ‘every m orning’, etc. (see 116.13).
м
о
maiasa, hayaoki desu ne
livery m orning, you get up early, don’t you?
b fr li
ЩЬ' КЪ,,
kai wh maishu gctsuyobi no asa ni hirakareru
The meeting is held [every week on Monday m orning].
Table 2 Adverbs/nouns of time with native Japanese and/or
Sino-Japanese forms
Days
Months
Years
(NJ)
(SJ)
(SJ)
(NJ)
(SJ)
—2
-1
0
+1
+2
ototoi
is-saku-jitsu
sen-sen-getsu
ototoshi
kino
saku-jitsu
sen-getsu
куб
hon-jitsu
kon-getsu
kotoshi
hon-nen
ashita
myo-nichi
rai-getsu
asatte
my5-go-nichi
sa-rai-getsu
rai-nen
sa-rai-nen
kyo-nen
saku-nen
с [M s Ъ Ь И Ь '& Ь 'Я Х t s
Ц С о^О о
asa nantoka dekakete mo yugata ni wa guttari
Even though he som ehow m anages to leave hom e in the m orning, by
the evening he [is] exhausted.
5 .3.3 Adverbs/nouns of tim e with native J a p an e se and/or
Sino-Japanese forms
Some ad v ./N o f tim e have e ith er N J o r SJ form s, or b o th (in SJ w ords,
boundaries between m orphem es (= kanji) are indicated by hyphens). W here
b o th N J an d SJ form s exist, the la tte r are typically used in the w ritten or
form al spoken style (e.g. speeches).
Table 2 gives com m on item s, centred on 0 (= the present day, m onth, year).
N ote also sen-jitsu ‘the o th er d ay ’ (colloquially, kono aida) an d sen-nen ‘the
o ther y ear’. The SJ ro o ts -jitsu/-nichi ‘d a y ’, -getsu ‘m o n th ’ an d -nen ‘year’
also com bine with the prefixes mai- ‘every’, yoku- ‘the following’, and kaku‘every second’, e.g. mai-nichi ‘every d ay ’, yoku-jitsu ‘the following day’, kakujitsu ‘every second d ay ’.
5 .3 .4 O th er adverbs
These include Q w ords (itsu ‘w hen’ etc.), com binations o f Q w ords and the
P demo or mo (see 167), num eral + counter/tim e com binations (see 147, 36),
and adverbially used dem onstrative w ords (see 44).
Exam ple a shows an adverbially used d em onstrative word.
sonna ni aseranakute mo, mada wakai no da kara
You needn’t fret [so ]m u c h , because y o u ’re still young.
5.4
P R E D IC A TE -S E LE C TIN G A D V E R B S
Pred.-selecting adv. are adv. that tend to select (appear together with) certain
types of pred. or pred. extensions (i.e. neg. pred., pres, pred., etc.). Some do
not always com bine with such pred., bu t when they do, they reinforce or
emphasize the m eaning o f pred.
Note - some of these adv. have more than one meaning, and are therefore found in more than
one group.
Below are some o f the more com m on pred.-selecting adv., grouped by the
type of pred. they tend to select (i.e. combine with). In English translation,
adv. and pred. are, wherever possible, translated twice, even at the risk of
making the translations somewhat unnatural.
S.4.1 Presumptive predicates
This group of adv. includes the following: dose ‘anyway’, hyotto shite/shitara
‘possibly’, kitto ‘doubtless’, moshi ka shitara/shite/suruto ‘perhaps’, nan demo
‘apparently’, sazo ‘certainly’, osoraku ‘probably’, tabun ‘in all likelihood’
(see 163, 62, 73, 118).
kitto k6kishin no tsuyoi sakana na no dar5
[Doubtless it is] a fish with a strong sense o f curiosity.
b ZJnd'h [ i o £ ]
[t-L j; 9]o
kore kara kitto suteki na kosei о hakki shi-hajimeru desho
From now on, it [= the town] [should] exhibit some attractive
individuality.
с U'9-tf-] &*&№ \ Π ^ ί \0
d5se tanmei seiken daro
It [should be] a short-lived government [anyw ay],
[4 4
d5mo kokusai shakai de o-hitoyoshi na no wa, nihonjin kurai na no ka mo
shirenai
[It may well be] that the Japanese are about the only ones in the
international society who are easy prey.
с t *->*:] m t i - L l · : [ l i t x - t h
kitto haha wa yorokonda hazu desu
[N o doubt] m other [m ust] have felt happy.
I [ S ' · Y ] 1 A — :s O') i t
Й 'r f i-
h [ (-
' Ία- *·'] ,,
kitto imeji no chigau jibun о hakkcn suru ni chigai nai
[Doubtless] you will discover a sell'with a different image.
5.4.2 Negative predicates
Adv. include the follow ing (see 111): am ari ‘n o t m u ch ’, betsu ni ‘n o t
particularly’, chittomo ‘no t at all’, dose ‘n o t anyw ay’, hotondo ‘alm ost n o ’,
kanarazushimo ‘not necessarily’, kesshite ‘never’, masaka ‘never’, zenzen ‘not
at all’, zettai ni ‘absolutely n o t’.
Note - hotondo can also be used as a N , with case P attached.
5.4.2.1
а
With negative form p resen t
[< fc± 0] [& ] '-'о
jiyii na jikan wa amari nai
There [isn’t m uch] free time.
b [fcr-j-ti·]
< b [& ] v<'0
dose wakatte kurenai
They [w o n ’t] understand [anyw ay].
с
Ι Ι Ϊ Υ Α , Υ ' ] v-' [& ] ν,'ο
oshu no кйкб ni iku to janbo wa hotondo inai
W hen you go to E uropean airp o rts, there are [alm ost n o ] jum bos.
d U S * ']
[£ ]
masaka kindai toshi no hashi ga ochiru to wa omoenai
One [can’t possibly] im agine th a t a bridge in a m odern city would fall
down.
5 .4.2.2 With ellipted negative form
Here, the negative pred. is ellipted (om itted), because it is understood from
the context (see 52.3).
a [ £ $ £ ']
6 Hli0
o r sim ilar is ellipted)
masaka torishimariyaku ni naru to wa
I [never] [thought] th at I ’d be executive president.
b Гэ — и - ; ,« г>-7 7 у V i t D l i i / Ь — >
( ϊ < , Ы '-М
[£ ' 9 t ] j
' o r sim ilar is ellipted)
убгорра no burando mono wa monoton de otona-ppoku, watashi ni wa
d6mo to hanasu
‘E uropean designer clothes are in plain colours and have a grow n-up
feel ab out them , and are n o t [quite] [right] for m e’, she says.
5.4.3
Negative presumptive predicate
Adv. include d6se ‘anyw ay’, masaka ‘h ard ly ’ (see 163).
a
ή ]D
dose wareware wa hitsuy6 nai daro
We are not needed [anyway, I guess],
b
[ i J4>]
[ ΐ ^ ' Π ^ 9]o
kotoshi wa masaka sakunen no yo na koto wa nai desho
This year things [couldn’t possibly] be like [= as bad as] last year.
5.4.4 Desiderative predicate
Adv. include zehi/zehitomo ‘very m uch’, ‘by all m eans’ (see 46).
a i t z I-tfiA] Щ Ь К ' п Ь [ ^ ] 0
mata zehi hataraki ni ikitai
I [very m uch w an t] to go to work again.
5.4.5 Predicate of command
Adv. include dozo/doka ‘please’, zehi ‘by all means’ (see 24, 65.1.1, 69.5).
a A 1£ t
[ί?ΖΛ] a t i A U * [ t T i v ' J o
A-kun mo zehi asobi ni kite kudasai
You [= A-kun] too, [please do] come and visit.
b IZ 'iZ l
[T ^ ']„
dozo go-anshin kudasai
[Please] do n ’t w orry (lit. “feel at ease”).
5.4.6 Conditional predicate
C onditional pred. are used in SI in com pound sentences, indicating a
condition ‘if’ (see 27).
Adv. include the following: d5se ‘anyway’, moshi ‘if’, man'ichi ‘by any chance’,
(•toe ‘even if’.
a [ ϋ ' 9 -й·] f i l ^ b ]
dftse kau nara shinsen de oishii sakana о erabitai
[If] I buy (fish) [anyw ay], I might as well choose fresh and good
fish.
b U t]
[tzb\ т а и , ' .
moshi kinri ga j5sho shitara do naru ka
What will happen [if] the interest rate goes up?
с ♦/<?
[ £ ’-?-£]
l ^ b ] 9 у Y b ^ " - 'b о
watashi? watashi wa ddsc umare-kawaru nara kurage ga ii wa
Me ' [II ] I am to be reborn [anyw ay]. I'd be a jellyfish.
man'ichi otto ga shibo shita baai shakkin ya sono ato no seikatsu ga
shinpai desu
[In the event th a t] my husband [should] die, I ’d be w orried about
debts and how to support m yself afterwards.
5.4.7 Predicate of appearance and simile
These pred. use S endings th at indicate appearance and simile (see 60, 93,
169, 182, 244).
Adv. include atakamo ‘just like’, d6mo ‘rath er’, maru-de ‘just as if’.
a lh/-z¥i]
u ? ] Ha
atakamo shinsain ni atsuryoku о kakeru ka no yo da
[It’s alm ost as if] they [= the audience] are p u ttin g pressure on the ju ry
members.
ь [* л а ч ] —
£ £ » * * * [*»] <o
atakamo isshin ni shite nisho о furu ga gotoku
[It was ju st like] living two lives in one body.
С [ i S T ] t 9 —ΑίΟ il , 7 Z- \ Z^ ' b [ = t ? ] tz - o tz 0
maru-de mo hitori no jibun ga soko ni iru yo datta
[It was ju st as if] another self were there.
d
[ £ '9 t ]
[bl]
nihon-de wa, domo wakai josei ga o-kanemochi de ryok5-zuki rashii
In Jap a n [it rather appears th a t] young wom en are well off and like
travelling.
e [Г Н ]
U ? ] tz0
domo joshi to nomu no wa nigate to iu hito ga oi yo da
[It would appear th at] there are m any who find drinking with their
superior trying.
5.4.8 Non-past form predicates
5.4.8.1 Intentional
V-ru/V-masu can, am ong others, express intention (see 142). Adv. include
kitto ‘definitely’.
а
[ * о £]
[& 0 i - f l o
watashi wa itsu ka kitto muk6da kuniko ni narimasu
One day, I [ΊΙ definitely be] [another] M ukoda K uniko [- female
novelist I.
Japanese: A Com prehensive Grammar 21
S.4.8.2 O ther non-past predicates
Adv. like kitto, domo, dose also occur w ith other non-past forms (and S
endings, such as n(o) da in example d) (see 138, 232).
a [b e ]
1 &6 ] Υ & ϊ ο
kitto yarigai ga aru to omou
I think th at [w ithout doubt] it’s w orth doing.
b [Ь ^ ]>
[ic its lo
kitto капгуб no teiko ga kabe ni naru
[N o doubt] the bureaucrats’ resistance will stand in the way.
tasogaredoki ni naru to sato wa d6mo ochitsukanai
When dusk comes, drinkers [appear] fidgety.
d A £ ! i 4 [£" 9 # ] —
[%λ, / ζ] i ' b о
jinsei wa d5se ichimaku no o-shibai nan da kara
Life is a one-act play anyway.
6 aida [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
Although used to form a conjunctive clause, aida is form ally a N, and is
therefore modified by forms that precede N. As a conjunctive P, aida is used
for time only, in the sense of ‘while’, ‘during’, ‘throughout’, etc. (see 6, 8).
Even when the m ain clause is in the past, the conjunctive clause uses non
past forms, especially -te iru aida with V.
■Ida is often followed by the case P ni o r the focus P wa, bu t can also be
Used w ith o u t any P (exam ple e). N o te also the co m b in atio n aidajii
‘throughout’ (example g).
6.1 Clause 1-positive aida
6.2 Clause 1-negative aida
β.1 C LAUSE 1-P O S IT IV E aida
a » ! [ M]
hatarakeru aida wa hatarakitai
I want to work [while] I am able to.
h«K.'.'Cv'^ [HI
nvmuttc iru aida ni karada ni ihcn ga okite ita
[W hile] he had been asleep, an unexpected change had taken place in
Ins bmlv
с Z η l
[ Щ HU
koshita kiiki ga tsuyoi aida wa nochi no shiiyaku-ka wa muzukashii
W hile this kind o f atm osphere prevails, it is difficult to make m ore
intensive use o f the farm land.
d Ы Г Ь ' Ъ Ш]
wazuka na aida ni bumon no daiichi-ninsha ni natte shimatta
In a very short [tim e] he h ad become the leading figure of his section.
e
<r> [ M '/ c ]
A f f i L l l Cnb&0
fuyu no aida ochikonde ita kibun wa harusaki kara koyo shihajimeru
The feeling o f depression [one has had] [d u rin g ] the winter begins to
lift in early spring.
f
[M] { c ^ i i 4 e a f e a t i * i * o
gekkanshi ga ikkai deru aida ni bangumi wa yonkai hoso sareru
[D uring the period] [in which] the m onthly m agazine appears once, the
program m e is broadcast fo u r times.
g
[ ί Λ '/ ? ^ ] ,
«ο ί> ^' i o & ib<n1E<n J; 9 f z ^ t z 0
shiki no aida-jii raihin no aisatsu mo uwanosora no уб datta
[Throughout] the ceremony, he paid little attention to the guests’ speeches.
6.2 C LA U S E 1-N E G A T IV E a id a
A fter neg. SI, aida also m eans ‘while’, w hereas uchi ni after neg. SI m eans
‘before’ (see 229.1.2).
a W ' b i v ' [pfl] \ z - f H Ь - Ъ Ы ' Г Ы / н Ц Ы г Х I £ i 0
wakaranai aida ni purutoniumu ga dondon tsukurarete shimau
While people are unaw are, plutonium gets p roduced in large quantities.
b
Ш ] i z t W r 3 L ^ 4 k ( й - о Т '. 'б J;
h Z И /с о
shinpai na no wa seiji ga ugokanai aida ni капгуб shugi ga tsuyoku natte
iru уб ni mieru koto da
W h at’s worrying is th at it appears th at while politics is stagnant
bureaucracy is getting stronger.
7 aida [RELATIONAL NOUN]
As a relatio n al N , aida is a ttac h ed to N by m eans o f no [case P], in the
m eaning o f ‘betw een’, ‘a m o n g ’, ‘th ro u g h ’. L ike o th er relational N , aida
itself attaches such case (and/or other) particles, etc. th at are required by the
valency o f the V (see 231, 6, 171).
Note also the set phrases kono aida ( dcofWJ) ‘the other d ay ’, kono kan (Z<D
M) ‘during this period/tim e’ (example a; the reading o f the kanji Щ can be
determined by the context only, i.e. when the meaning is not ‘the other day’
it can be read kan or aida).
а
Й Т 7 ')
Ά*) t h t M & Z L X & b t i X ^ / t 0 \ Z<nЩ], T 7 ' ) t b ' b ~ A
hib 5
^'b h 6 a
gore-to wa jiiroku seiki zenhan kata jukyii seiki nakaba made yaku
sanbyaku-nenkan nishi afurika kakuchi no dorei о atsume okuridasu kichi
to shite tsukawarete ita. [kono kan] afurika kara tsure-dasareta dorei wa
siisenman to iwareru
G ore Island was used for about 300 years from the first h alf of the
16th century to the middle of the 19th century as a station for gathering
slaves from all over West Africa and sending them on. The num ber
of slaves taken from Africa [during th at time] is said to be 20 or
30 million.
b kKY<r> [M] tc—Щ - к Ь Ъ ' Ъ о
fujin to no aida ni ichinan sanjo ga iru
[W ith] his wife, he has one son and three daughters.
e 0^/vCO [& * .'£']
О
nihonjin no aida ni kimazui kilki ga tadayotta
An awkward feeling [am ong] the Japanese hung in the air.
d
Ш^<Г> [ * Л '£ * ]
l η
z £ύ{
taiki to umi rikuchi no aida о mizu ga dono уб ni junkan suru ka о
•hiraberu koto ga kik5 no kaimei ni tsunagaru
The investigation o f how w ater circulates [between] the air and the sea
and land will lead to a clearer understanding of the climate.
8 aida, mae, -nagara, -tsutsu, uchi: COMPARISON
All of the above can link two clauses in the sense o f ‘while’ (excepting mae)
«nd ‘before’ (excepting aida, -nagara and -tsutsu); -nagara and -tsutsu are
■dditionally used in the sense o f ‘even though’. The following sections give a
comparison.
It I •While’
К 2 'Before'
H 1 'l vcn though'
2 4 Japanese: A Com prehensive Gram m ar
8.1 ‘W H IL E ’
aida and uchi ni can bo th be used in the sense o f ‘while’; with uchi ni (and
occasionally also aida, as in exam ple b) the im plication is usually ‘before a
change for the worse occurs’.
a eRo-Cv-'S [M]
nemutte iru aida ni karada ni ihen ga okite ita
While he had been asleep, an unexpected change had taken place in his
body.
ь m i h [M l
hatarakeru aida wa hatarakitai
I w ant to w ork while I am able to.
с
[ Η ] i- t 7 I f X H Z η £v<' 9
ΐΛ 'ο
mokerareru uchi ni mokete окб to iu shisei wa tsutsushinde hoshii
I w ant them to restrain their attitu d e o f ‘L et’s m ake m oney while
we can ’.
d
[7Ъ\
joken no yoi uchi ni han о oshita ho ga ii
Y ou should seal [the agreem ent] while the conditions are good.
Unlike uchi, aida can indicate a period o f time ‘while’, objectively (example
a above). W ith uchi, on the o th e r hand, the im plication is th a t S2 is a
negative outcom e or developm ent.
e
[H ]
giron shite iru uchi ni jikan bakari ga tatte iru
While w e’re arguing, time is slipping away rapidly.
A fter a negative form in SI, aida can also be used in the sense o f ‘while’ (but
uchi in the sense o f ‘before’ is far m ore com m on (see next section (8.2)).
f
Ш \ ί ; Ь I/— К ί h X I ± о t-~<r>tzh 7
fan ga shiranai aida ni toredo sarete shimatta no daro ka
H as he been sold [to another team ] while the fans were unaw are,
I wonder.
-nagara and -tsutsu are lim ited to use in S where the subject is the sam e for
both clauses (= actions). The m ain action being th a t o f S2, the im plication is
that it is carried out while perform ing (constantly or occasionally) a secondary
action.
g s & ' n t z t 1)
nemui me о kosuri-nagara kuko e isogu
I rush to the airport, rubbing my sleepy eyes.
j6dan о majie-tsutsu Okinawa ongaku no kinkyo о katatta
He talked ab out the current state o f Okinawan music, mixing in jokes.
8.2 ‘B EFO R E’
Unlike aida and mae, uchi can follow neg. form s in the sense o f ‘before’
(something adverse happens).
a
< й 'ь й 'и [ H ] K f t f ) i f »
densha ga naku naranai uchi ni kaerimasu
I’m going hom e before the trains stop running.
shiranai uchi ni sanrin ga kaihatsu sarete ita
Before we knew it, the m ountain forest had been developed.
mae, on the other hand, is objectively concerned with the order o f actions.
с C c - t f [ m f ] l-ч
£·
naze shi о erabu mae ni sukui о motomenakatta no ka
Why didn’t he seek help before choosing death?
8.3 ‘EVEN T H O U G H ’
Both -nagara (mo) and -tsutsu (mo) can be used in the sense o f a contrast
‘even though’. W hen mo is present, the meaning is always contrastive. N ote
that unlike -nagara (mo), which can be attached to adj., A N and N, -tsutsu
(ею) attaches only to forms o f V (see 103.2).
a
[O ^ 'b ]
karera wa kanashimi ya kurushimi ga ari-nagara hokori о motte ikite iru
Even though they have sorrows and pain, they live with pride.
•alshQ-teki ni wa jibun de kangaero to ii-tsutsu mo taishoku о unagasu уб
na adobaisu о kurikaeshita
While telling me to make the final decision myself, he repeatedly gave
advice that urged me to resign.
• ANIMATE AND INANIMATE EXISTENTIAL/
LOCATIONAL VERBS
(laterally , iru is used for anim ate subjects (i.e. hum ans and animals) and
aru lor inanim ate ones (those that are not animate). However, iru can also
Iv uwd lor certain inanimate things such as vehicles (example d), and both
♦»« uiul aru in the sense o f ‘having siblings/lamily’ (examples e g) (see 55.10).
soto ni josei ga iru
T here’s a wom an outside.
b
[^ £ ]ο
W ith his wife, he has one son and three daughters.
с Ш № ь Т ;у Т^Ж .% :'&'о Х < Ъ К Ь
oshii kara ajia e shoku о otte kuru hito mo iru
There are people who chase jo b s from Europe tow ards Asia.
d Ш \сг> % т '~'п{ Y ,
l · '] й-'-'о
6shu no кйкб ni iku to jambo wa hotondo inai
W hen you go to European airports, there are alm ost no jum bos.
tohoku shusshin no okusan to no aida ni yonin no kodomo ga aru
W ith his wife, who is from n o rth east Japan, he has four children.
f -f\
[* S l
^ ' i c o Y t Z
о
ко chokkei sonzoku mata wa kyodai shimai ga sunin aru toki wa kakuji
no sozokubun wa aihitoshii mono to suru
W here there is m ore than one child or lineal ascendant, or b ro th er and
sister, each shall inherit equally.
g
[ ί >6]
£ · '4 у) 'У ■·/
у 7') у К ·
rw E & U & fe *
/с0
saishi aru rosserlni wa joyu inguriddo baguman to koi ni ochi kanojo
о hariuddo no eigakai kara ubatta
Rossellini, who was m arried w ith children, fell in love with Ingrid
Bergm an, the actress, and to o k her away from H ollyw ood’s w orld
o f film.
10 APPOSITION OF NOUNS
The relationship between items (usually two, b u t som etim es three or more)
th at are lined up referring to the same entity is called apposition. There are
two ways o f doing this with N , by m eans o f no, a n d by zero (see 133.1.10,
28, 218.3).
Note - in Japanese, the main N is always the second one, w hereas in English the order is
reversed.
10.1.1 A p p o s i t i o n by no
10.1.2 A p p o s iti o n by ze ro
10.1.1 A P P O S IT IO N BY no
a
[<o] $L
daigakusei no musume
My daughter, a university student
с Ш Ш [со] —J?
kokosei no jinan
my second son, a high-school student
b «
[со] Α ϊ ί ϊ Λ
hahaoya no misako-san
M isako-san, the mother
d
[со]
yokozuna no musashimaru
M usashim aru, the grand
cham pion
10.1.2 A P P O S IT IO N BY ZE R O
a #-?■&?> ό -y-b 'J ——iis
[] 4
-у К ·
ί ' 4 'J ^ -у
/-O
saishi aru rosserini wa joyfi inguriddo baguman to koi ni ochi kanojo о
hariuddo no eigakai kara ubatta
Rossellini, who was married with children, fell in love with Ingrid Bergman,
the actress, and took her away from H ollywood’s world o f film.
11 ato [RELATIONAL NOUN]
ato (usually w ritten Щ is a relational N m eaning ‘after’. It can be used by
itself, usually w ith wa, in the sense o f ‘all th at rem ains is . . .’, com bining
with dem onstrative pron. such as sono in the form sono ato ‘after th a t’, or
attaching to N in the form N no ato ‘after the Ν ’.
Note the use before amounts, ato + num. (+ C), where ato is usually written
in hiragana.
1.1 N oun/dem onstrative no ato
1.1.1 N oun no ato
1.1.2 sono ato
1 .2
Clause 1 -ta ato clause 2
1.3 ato + num ber (+ counter)
11.1 N O U N /D E M O N S T R A T IV E no ato
11.1.1 Noun no ato
This translates as ‘after a/the Ν ’.
ii
U >{*]
uritshi no ut<> no shi/.uku na asa
A quit.·! morning a ft it the storm.
b [·> V у - ? —W t]>
Ц- Ь ЩШЬХ' У / ito h < T )¥ —
+£■3 — Xo
shampQ no ato burashi о ate mimi о soji shite tsume о kiru no ga ippanteki na kosu
[Dog beauty parlour:] A fter a sham poo, the norm al course consists of
brushing, cleaning the ears and cutting the claws.
11.1.2 s o n o ato
This expresses the idea o f ‘after th a t’, ‘thereafter’. N o te th at this can also be
read sono go, in which case the m eaning is ‘since’ or ‘subsequently’ (for an
example o f sono go, see 30.1 e).
man'ichi otto ga shibo shita baai shakkin ya sono ato no seikatsu ga
shinpai desu
In the event th a t my husband should die, I’d be w orried ab o u t debts
and how to support myself thereafter.
11.2
C L A U S E 1-ta ato C L A U S E 2
A fter a sentence or clause ending in V-ta (never V-ru), ato is used like a
conjunctive P linking tw o clauses in the sense o f ‘a fte r’ (see also 201).
However, grammatically it behaves like a structural N in th at it can attach a
variety o f case and focus P.
F or differences between S l-ta ato S2 and S l-te kara S2, see 12.
kaisha de hataraita ato suTto homu de ikka danran
After you’ve worked in the com pany, you relax w ith the family back
(lit. “sweet”) home.
b
ii,
ШЙt ^
' 9о
shiho shQshQ о oeta ato wa ryoshin no matsu fukui de bengoshi о mezasu
to iu
A fter finishing his legal training, he aims to w ork as an attorney in
F ukui, where his parents aw ait his return.
shQhen ni wa hi ga kieta ato mo gomu ga yaketa shigeki-shQ ga
tadayotta
Even after the fire had been p u t out, a strong smell o f b u rn t rubber
remained in the vicinity.
d
's X W tr I f a A ]
pasokon kenshQ о shita ato de kaku-ten ni haichi suru
After training them [= new employees] in the use o f personal computers,
they assign them to the various branch offices.
с [глЕ&Оч
a
hitotori kaimono shita ato de hana о kai-motomeru shohisha ga hotondo
to iu
They say th at alm ost all custom ers buy flowers after having done their
basic shopping.
f
f)
6 ± i l- Ш ,
n i. 7 0
shodana ga orikasanaru уб ni taore hon ga chirabaru sama wa maru-de
bakuhatsu jiko ka hogeki о uketa ato no уб
[After earthquake:] The way the bookshelves had fallen on top of each
other and books were scattered everywhere was ju st like the afterm ath
of an explosion or m ortar attack.
11.3 a to + NUMBER (+ COUNTER)
Note that ato ippo in example b literally means “one m ore step”.
11 ist& a i t ' [ A f c - itM lo
tShyobi made ato isshQkan
It’s one more week to election day.
b Ш М t" \ b £ —# ] <r>Y_ Z h T ') 9 1 T I h 0
neifuku made ato ippo no tokoro de ritaia shita
He turned back with only a short distance (lit. “one m ore step”) to go
before conquering [the mountain],
12 ato AND -te kara: COMPARISON
S M b ato S2 and S l-te kara S2 bo th express the idea o f ‘after’. The m ain
diffcrcnce between the two is as follows.
$ l-ta ato S2 is concerned with a simple order of a sequence o f events (exemplc a).
JU-ti* kara S2, o n the o th e r h a n d , e m p h a siz e s th e o r d e r o f a sequence, m o r e
like a te m p o ra l c o n d i tio n for S2. T h u s , in e x a m p le b th e im plica tio n is t h a t
liUHHilaetuiets sh o u ld check o u t th e ir g o o d s first [to m a k e sure there are n o
faults! belo rc releasing them to the m a rk e t.
S l-te kara S2, b u t not S l-ta ato S2, is used to indicate the idea o f ‘it was
such-and-such a length o f tim e after som ething h a p p e n e d ’ (exam ple c).
Similarly, S l-te kara S2 can also be used in cleft sentences (see 201.4).
josei wa chikaku no ginko de genkin о hikidashita ato musuko no ie made
aruite iku tokoro datta to iu
The w om an says that she was ab o u t to walk to her son’s house after
having w ithdraw n some cash from a nearby bank.
b
[ X b ' b \ l c L - Ш Ι λ 'ο
kichinto shirabete kara ni shite hoshii
We w ant them to [put things on the market] after they’ve checked them
out properly.
13 -ba [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
-ba is a conjunctive P, which in SI basically indicates the condition w hich is
necessary for S2 to become possible ‘i f . . . then’; typically, this can be ‘turned
around’ and interpreted as ‘if not, then n o t’. In -ba sentences, the action or
state o f SI or S2, or both, is not controllable by the speaker (see 14).
F o r -ba form s o f V, adj., A N an d N + cop., see co n d itio n al form s listed
under 232, 3, 35.
-ba tends to be used in the w ritten (or formal spoken) language rath er th an
in the spoken style, although there are colloquial contractions th at are used
in the spoken style, such as -kerya instead o f -kereba (see also 50.2).
W ith N and A N , nara is often used instead o f -ba (see 108).
13.1
13.1.1
13.1.2
13.2
13.3
13.3.1
13.3.2
13.3.3
13.3.4
13.3.5
13.3.6
Clause 1-ba clause 2 (clause 2 = non-past)
Necessary c o n d itio n ‘if ’
G eneral c o n d itio n ‘w hen’
Clause 1-ba clause 2 (clause 2 = past): hypothetical
condition
Idiom atic uses
-b aii
Negative-ba + negative
to ieba
so ieba
Verb-ru to sureba
iikaereba, kurabereba, nazoraereba, etc.
13.1 CLAUSE 1-ba CLAUSE 2 (C LA U SE 2 = N O N -P A S T )
13.1.1 Necessary condition ‘if’
-ba implies th at if the condition o f SI is not fulfilled, S2 cannot take place,
tara can also be used in these sentences, bu t to can only be used in examples
a and b (but with a different implication, i.e. in the habitual sense o f ‘always’).
a
[ίί],
<6о
seiseki ga yokereba gokakusho ga dete kuru
If the results are good, a certificate is issued.
b tzt'tzfah
[ i f ] , ш E £ fi l 6 o
dada о konereba muri ga toru
If they throw a tantrum , they get things their way.
с # 0
ii tochi ga areba sugu ni mo utsuru
If there’s a good plot o f land, we’ll move right away.
e
[ίί], n o i ' i i f * >
ba
ganbareba itsu ka wa chansu ga aru
If you try your best, your chance will come some time.
13.1.2 General condition ‘when’
Instead of -ba, both -tara and to [conjunctive P] can also be used in these
sentences.
a
[ii]
ί u is
shogai to wa toshi о toreba kanarazu motsu уб ni naru mono da
A disability is something that everyone gets without fail when getting old.
b
[t i] U L b H l T t ' o
aeba hanashi ga hazumu
When they meet, their conversation is lively.
13.2
CLAUSE 1-ba CLAUSE 2 (C LA U SE 2 = PAST):
H YP O TH E TIC A L C O N D ITIO N
I Icrc, S2 uses the p a s t/p e rf e c t e n d i n g -ta (o fte n in th e f o r m -te ita), o f te n
with an expressio n o f c o n je c tu re o r guessing. T h e c o m b i n a t i o n ind ic ates a
hypothetical (i.e. unrealized) c o n d itio n ‘i f . . . w ould h a v e ’, -tara ca n also be
used in the same sense
a
Ь^'Л / Ь ί I X ^ h [ i f ] ,
shito beruto о shite ireba tasukatta
If he had been wearing a seatbelt, he would have lived.
b I W 'b i ,
h<r>Y b b b - f b . [ i i ]
kore kara mo ano toki a sureba yokatta to kokai suru koto wa
shitakunai
F rom now on, too, I d o n ’t w ant to regret things, thinking that I should
have done things differently th a t time.
13.3
IDIOMATIC USES
13.3.1 -ba ii
-ba ii (lit. “is good if”) indicates the idea o f ‘sh o u ld ’, ‘would be good if ’ or,
in the past tense, ‘would have been good if’, ‘was O K if’, -ba ii can colloquially
be contracted to -rya ii (example d).
Note - ii (+ cop.), etc. can be omitted (examples g-i), in w hich case the meaning can be a
statement (= -ba ii desu), or with question intonation a recom m endation ‘how about’ (see
31.2.1, 140.2.2, 191.4.1).
a tli,
t£hna
dewa, do sureba ii daro
W hat should we do then, I wonder.
b
[ΐίν,ΜΛ]
Lh 0
nenmatsu de shiiri gyosha wa yasumi da shi do yatte shogatsu о
mukaereba ii no ka to tansoku shita
R epair shops being closed at the end o f the year, I ju s t wonder how we
can m ake it to the New Y ear, he sighed.
с '-'-з L x CliS.r'-f#'— A ~7 l· У
[ Ц Ч ^ '] A s X t \ i ¥ „
issho ni sugosu boifurendo ga ireba ii n desu kedo
It’s O K if one has a boyfriend to spend [C hristm as] with.
d frfo-fc -о X-^Z-hf [0
' ? X b A / I S jc&'*'‘b L ' * ' io
yasumi datte nagakerya ii tte mon ja nai rashii
Holidays, it seems, are no t necessarily the longer the better.
e m z fa ti
<r>tzb\
tite70 iz <
watashi ni nireba yokatta no da ga zannen-nagara kodomo-tachi no tsume
wa kiri-nikui
It would have been OK if they’d taken after m e, b u t unfortunately the
children’s nails are hard to cut.
f vatyiLKKb't,
[ίίΙ^ ο /;]0
yonensei ni naru to daigaku wa shii ikkai jugyo ni kayoeba yokatta
Once you got to the fourth year, you just needed to go to university
once a week for classes.
g
[tf]„
biryoku-nagara machi no o-tetsudai ga dekireba
It would be good (= I’d be happy) if I could use my limited abilities to
help the town.
h
[tih
кйкб sae nakereba
If only there w asn’t the airport [= Itami, after opening o f Kansai],
i
[if]?
kentai о nasareba? o-soshiki wa fuyo
How about donating your body? N o funeral needed.
13.3.2 N egative-ba + negative
The com bination indicates the m eaning of ‘m u st’, ‘have to ’ (for m ore
examples and variations o f form, see 50.2).
a t b [tlt-m iittic v -'l z t l
iwanakereba naranai koto wa moshiageta
I’ve told him the things that needed saying.
13.3.3 to ieba
to ieba is used when one thinks o f something or when two things are auto
matically associated with each other (see also 218).
Я
’J — а
?0
kan no o-cha to ieba йгоп-cha о omoitsuku hito ga 6i daro
At the m ention o f tea in cans, many probably think o f Oolong tea.
b Λ [ e '- 'P t l i ] , i£l< ic iiX X V i v v b < ίΛ '
tori to ieba chikaku ni wa suzume ka hato kurai shika inai
Birds? Around here there are only sparrows and pigeons.
13.3.4 80 ieba
This is used w hen the sp e ak e r indicates th a t he o r she h as ju s t recalled som e
tact (by asso cia tio n from the preceding context or o therw ise) ‘co m e to th in k
.tl ιΓ
a з£Ж<7)-Щ$1£2<7) 1 0 ^ " С 4 0 % Д > ' L /с £ ^ ? 0 [·£ 7 v' ' £ t f h
^ И ф Й Т Ъ 7 £ < cont& iz it 6 2 Z t
it < it о /с0
soden no kosho wa kono jiinen de yonjup-pasento gensho shita to iu.
so ieba chikagoro wa teiden de rosoku no sewa ni naru koto mo
sukunaku natta
Breakdowns in electricity transm ission are said to have decreased
by 40 per cent over the past 10 years. Com e to th in k o f it, having
to rely on candles because o f pow er failure d o esn ’t happen m uch
these days.
b [Z 7
If], F ί
h fa o
so ieba F-san wa bessei fOfu datta ne
Com e to think o f it, you [= M r and M rs F] are a couple using different
surnames, right?
13.3.5 Verb-ru to sureba
This is a way o f em phasizing the condition ‘if (a t all)’.
а
[Zthl£]
Ш Я Ь ь 'Ъ о
mondai ga aru to sureba daigaku no kogakubu-banare ga susunde iru
koto to iu kankeisha mo iru
Some o f those concerned say th at if there is a problem , it’s the trend
away from engineering departm ents in the university.
13.3.6 iikaereba, kurabereba, nazoraereba, etc.
These expressions m ean ‘in o th er w o rd s’ (iikaereba) and ‘com pared to ’
(kurabereba and nazoraereba). The difference betw een the last two is th at
w hereas kurabereba is a straig h tfo rw ard co m p ariso n betw een A a n d B,
nazoraereba involves ‘likening’ В to A , or using A to explain B.
a
[ii],
( o £ LX^h< r> t-:a
iikaereba ima no kyoiku genba wa ijime no onshozukuri о shite iru no da
In other words, the classroom s are now hotbeds o f bullying.
b 10 П
[ίί], f t < t l b / : 0
jugatsu no jishin ni kurabereba karukute yokatta
It was a relief th at it was light com pared to the O ctober earthquake.
с Ш З & К Ы 'Ы О г [ i f ] ,
'·' L'a6!c ί, ”
judo ni nazoraereba ijime ni mo ukemi ga aru
If you com pare it to judo, there are safe ways o f being throw n in
bullying, too.
14 -ba, dattara, nara, -tara, to: COMPARISON
-ba, nara (dattara), to and -tara are all conjunctive P indicating a condition.
The fact th at com parison o f their uses is a favourite research topic shows
th at their differences cannot be explained easily.
Things are com plicated by both the fact th at classical usage, which was
different from modern spoken usage, affects formal written m odem Japanese,
and the fact th at there is considerable overlap between the forms. F urther
more, there are com binations o f these particles, such as -tara-ba and (-ta)
nara-ba.
Below is a b rief com parison o f these particles, centring chiefly on their
meanings. A ll examples in this section are made-up examples (the % sign is
omitted).
14.1
14.2
14.2.1
14.2.1.1
14.2.1.2
14.2.1.3
14.2.1.4
14.2.2
14.2.2.1
14.2.2.2
14.2.2.3
14.2.2.4
C om parison o f forms
Com parison of use
Used in the sense o f ‘if’
-ba
nara/dattara
-tara
to
Used in the sense o f ‘when’
to
-tara
-ba
nara
14.1 C O M P A R IS O N OF FO R M S
Table 3 Forms used with conjunctional particles: comparison
lo
-tara
-ba
(V-ru] to
(itdj.-i] to
[N/AN] da to
[V-ta] ra
[adj. -katta] ra
[N/AN] dattara
[V-conditional]
[adj.-conditional]
[cop.-conditional]
nara
[V-ru] uara
[adj.-i] nara
[N/AN] nara
[V-ta] nara
[adj.-katta] nara
[N/AN datta] nara
14.2 C O M P A R IS O N OF USE
In ling lish t r a n s l a t i o n , these P m o s tly tr a n s l a t e as ‘w h e n ’ o r ‘i f ’. T h e
e q u i v a le n ts w i t h o u t ( ) are typical m e a n in g s , but th e o n e s in ( ) a re a ls o
found.
when (if)
when (if)
if (when)
if
to
-tara
-ba
nara/-dattara
14.2.1 Used in the sense of ‘if
14.2.1.1 -ba
The speaker/w riter m akes a p resum ption in SI, a n d states the expected
outcom e in S2 (in this respect -ba differs from nara).
Basically, S l-ba S2 operates w ith the restriction th a t the actor (subject)
can n o t co n tro l the action o f the V or state in eith er SI and S2, o r both.
Below, the + sign expresses ‘co n tro l’, and the - sign, ‘no control’.
x Indicates th a t this is no t a possible sentence.
Sl-ba
+
+
S2
-
[if ]
yasukereba ureru
If it’s cheap, it’ll sell.
-
[ if]
hanaseba wakaru
I f I talk to him, he’ll understand.
+
Ш Н [if ]
takakereba kawanai
I f it’s expensive, I w on’t buy it.
+
[if ] f ?o
yasukereba kau
If it’s cheap, I ’ll buy it.
+
[if ]
anata ga ikeba watashi mo iku
If you go,* I ’ll go too.
+
X i ] / I
[ if ] f t l X b l f Z o
kamera о kaeba kashite ageru
If I buy a cam era I ’ll lend it to you.
Note - * From the subject/actor’s point of view, the action of the second person (you) cannot
be controlled.
When S2 is in the past, the condition becomes hypothetical ‘i f . . . h a d ’.
14.2.1.2 nara/dattara
With nara/dattara, th e p r e s u m p t i o n o f SI d o e s n o t s l a t e th e s p e a k e r ’s
ju d g e m e n t, as w ith -ba. I n s te a d , it t a k e s u p s o m e t h i n ! ’ Imm the p r e v io u s
context or some other, already established, fact, and expresses the meaning
o f Ί don’t really know , but if the assum ption is correct/if what you’re saying
is right’. In other w ords, SI is an assum ption th at is based on something/
som ebody o ther th a n the speaker, and S2 is the speaker’s evaluation or
judgem ent based on th at assumption.
Normally, SI concerns something outside the speaker, and even if it concerns
the speaker, it sounds as if it concerned someone else.
[й * ь], Ш-Щгь to
а
fuman ga aru nara chokusetsu ie
[To someone who seems to be m uttering some complaint:] If you have
something to com plain about, tell me directly!
nara/dattara do n o t express a succession in tim e ‘w hen’ (except in the
com bination -ta nara, which is similar in m eaning to -tara), and therefore
there is no fixed tim e order of SI and S2; often, S2 actually precedes SI:
b & 1 к Ж 1 Х ( H 6 [& b]> Z c o ^ t ^ L X & l f 6 0
ashita kaeshite kureru nara kono hon о kashite ageru
If you’ll return it tom orrow , I’ll lend you this book.
Noun + nara can indicate the topic o f a S, and can be replaced by N wa. The
difference can been explained as a topic raised by someone else (nara), and
by the speaker him self (wa).
14.2.1.3 -tara
When -tara translates as ‘when’, it can basically be replaced by -ba. However,
this is not always possible due to the restrictions on controllability of the
verb in the case o f -ba (see 14.2.1.1).
In -tara sentences, S2 can freely indicate the speaker’s intention (requests,
hortative, etc.). Also, W hen S2 is in the past, it can express a hypothetical
condition.
-tara has a colloquial ring, and therefore in expository and academic prose,
etc. -ba is used instead.
14.2.1.4 to
With to, the conditional meaning o f ‘i f . . . then ..
‘if n o t . . . then n o t . . .’
I* weak, being more like ‘when’ or ‘whenever’, with the result o f SI becoming
apparent (in S2).
й к · . * * * · ' £ I К]. K l N C t t , ,
w»ko о niuKuru to eki wa suf>u desu
When
\
iiii
lin n
that с о п к ч .
i t ’ s j u s l a s h o r t i h s t a i K i - I n I lit· s t a t i o n
With to, the speaker’s intention (expressions o f request, hortative, etc.) cannot
be used.
b
< tz ί ν '
soko о magaru to eki ni itte kudasai
14.2.2
Used in the sense of ‘w hen’
14.2.2.1 to
Essentially, to m eans ‘when’, expressing habitual or n a tu ra l (commonsense)
occurrences in the present or past.
а
[£ ]
gakk6 kara kaeru to mainichi oyoida
W hen I got back from school, I used to swim every day.
to is typically used in the sense th at S2 is noticed or discovered as a result o f
the realization o f SI. In this use, the pred. o f S2 ca n n o t express intention,
i.e. S2 has a different subject than th a t o f S I, or expresses a state, usually in
the past.
ь
[£ ] ·
[tzb] ^ - m ^ x ^ 't z c
ie ni kaeru to/kaettara, tegami ga kite ita
W hen I got back home, there was a letter.
The difference between to and -tara here is th at -tara is colloquial, everyday
language, whereas the effect o f to is m ore dram atic, i.e. it is typically used to
tell some gripping tale, or in w ritten stories.
1 4.2.2.2 -tara
-tara can be used freely in the sense o f both ‘when’ and ‘i f ’, with a colloquial
ring. W ith -tara, S2 can express the speaker’s intention (request, hortative,
etc.), as in exam ple a.
а
[tzb\,
sanji ni nattara, o-cha ni shimasho
A t 3 o ’clock, let’s have some tea.
-tara cannot be used for a time sequence in the past (exam ple b), but it’s O K
in the present tense. N ote th at exam ple d has a n arrativ e (story) ring to it.
A simple sequence o f actions, in the sense o f ‘a n d ’ ra th e r th a n ‘w hen’ is
expressed by -te (example e, see 31.1.3).
b
[ t z b ] ■ & U i i 'l i t z 0
kare wa ie ni kuctturu denwu о kaketa
с щ аь
[tzb]
asa okitara shinbun о tori ni iku
W hen I get up in the m orning, I’ll go and fetch the paper.
[£ ] t $ ; b b '\itz 0
kare wa ie ni kaeru to denwa о kaketa
W hen he got back home, he m ade a phone call.
d т ш -щ ъ
e
[t],
kare wa ie ni kaette denwa о kaketa
H e went home, and m ade a phone call.
14.2.2.3 -ba
In generalizing statem ents, -ba can be used in the sense o f ‘w hen’, but only
in the present, not the past.
a i k i Y h [ti’L fLL V - < < % 6 0
toshi о toreba mienikuku naru
When/as one gets older, one’s eyesight deteriorates.
14.2.2.4 nara
nara cannot be used in the sense o f ‘w hen’.
15 baai [STRUCTURAL NOUN]
A part from its use as a structural N , baai can be used as a regular noun in
the sense of ‘case’ or ‘circumstances’:
shikashi s6mu-ch6 de wa baai ni yotte wa s6ki taishoku no kansho mo
shinakute wa to iu
However, the G eneral Affairs Bureau says ‘Depending on the
circumstances, we also have to recommend early retirem ent’.
However, baai is m ostly used as a structural N in the sense o f ‘in case o f ’,
’w hen’, or ‘if ’. As a structural N , baai is preceded by N -m od. forms o f V,
adj., AN and N, and attaches case and focus P, etc. like other N. baai has a
written or formal ring to it and therefore tends to be used in legal and other
written docum ents (examples d and f).
Гог differences to other items meaning ‘when’ or ‘if’ see 16.
Note th a t, as in the case o f toki, a V p r e c e d in g baai gen e rally uses th e -ru
lo rn i when the actio n has not been c om pleted, and -ta w hen it has. T his also
applies to a small num ber o f -i adj., such as 5i ‘num erous’, sukunai ‘few’ and
nai ‘there isn’t ’. C om pare examples b and с w ith e-g , and h against j.
H ow ever, th e effect o f -ta can also be to m ak e th e baai clause m ore
hypothetical, as in example i.
b
[Щ&]
kyiigyObi ni shiy6 suru baai wa tesuryo hyakusan-en ga kakaru
W hen you use it [= teller machine] on a bank holiday, a handling fee o f
103 yen applies.
sekai-shi о miru baai kindai-ka sunawachi seiyo-ka to suru kangae ga
nihon de wa nagaku tsuzuita
W hen looking at world history, the view th at holds th at m odernization
is W esternization has continued in Japan for a long time.
d
[Щ&]
nihon de umare fubo ga tomo ni shirenai baai wa nihon kokuseki о
mitomeru
If [the child] is born in Japan, and bo th p aren ts are unknow n, it is
granted Japanese citizenship.
= .ΐΊ 4 Z v.' Ί о
ichinichi niju yojikan unten shita baai ikkagetsu atari no denki ryokin
wa mottomo kogata no mono de nihyaku kara sanbyaku-en to iu
They say th at when run for 24 hours a day, the electricity charge per
m onth is 200-300 yen for the smallest type [of refuse converter],
2 Z b sX' b i t h
chichi no iryohi о watashi ga shiharatta baai iryohi ni tsuite watashi wa
iry6hi kojo о ukeru koto ga dekimasu ka
If I have paid my father’s m edical fees, can I have tax deducted for
medical expenses?
X T * bo
bang6 о machigaeta baai no teisei nado mo onsei oto shisutemu ni
shitagatte dekiru
M aking a correction when having dialled a w rong num ber can also be
done via the voice-activated system.
h Γ- f t ^ J ;
[ Щ&]
L t f t t < Η ί v-'j
taten yori kakaku ga takai baai wa ten'in ni o-m6shitsukc kudasai
ΊΓ
the
price is h ig h e r th a n elsew h e re , ple ase i n f o r m o u r
stall'
’
ffl-ircO'ki&'CiL· О
i
t 'U .
Щ
& ? о ·■·
с
[ j f ^ j i : —K < r> -k< r> ht> \,Z U L b¥^-M .^
__ otoko doshi no kaiwa de moriagatchau . . . demo sa otoko no ninzu ga
6katta baai ni hitori no onna no tame ni minna ga sabisu suru hitsuyo ga
aru no ka do ka
.. . the conversation [at after-hours business entertainment] gets
animated between the men. . . . But, when there is a large num ber o f
men, do they all need to entertain one woman, I wonder.
j
[Щ&]
fushoji ga nakatta baai to onaji ni wa susumanai daro
[cases where there has been dishonesty] cannot be dealt with in the
same way as where there hasn’t.
к ^ В 'nс
о
^'Э i*3«о № д ] % Ш < п >V&:&со
[Щ & ] Ы ь Ъ о
chiigoku е no chokkobin ga nai kokunai no chih6 кйкб no kyaku wa s6ru
keiyu no h6 ga benri na baai mo aru
For customers from local domestic airports, where there are no direct
flights to C hina, there are instances where travelling via Seoul is more
convenient.
I
-Ш\<г> [Jf^] iiS 0 !c « i& t£ o
tSjitsu ga nichiyo shukujitsu no baai wa yokujitsu ni jun'en suru
When the day falls on a Sunday or holiday, the session is held on the
following day.
16 baai, toki: COMPARISON
When toki is m ade into a topic in the form o f toki (wa) or toki (ni) wa, toki
indicates a general or habitual condition ‘if’ or ‘always’, baai can be used in
Ihe same way, although baai wa, etc. has a much m ore form al ring than toki
wa, as seen in examples a and b. F o r this reason, baai is often in legal and
other forms of ‘officialese’ (cf., 15 b, d and g).
In example c, toki ni cannot be replaced by baai ni, as the content is too
personal, lacking the officialese tone typical of baai.
« % Κ ψ (θ [ £ M i ] x l·
9L b v,4-c<
kaji no toki wa erebeta о shiyo shinai de kudasai
Please do n 't use the lift when there’s a fire.
b %
? — iiltft] I b ' - ' Z Y . , , [= written notice]
ka«ai no baai wa erebeta о shiyo shinai koto
!>o not use lift in case of lire.
C %
L b / : c
kaji no toki ni watashi no taisetsu na arubamu ga yakete shimatta
M y treasured album was destroyed in the fire (lit. “at the time o f
the fire”).
17 bakari [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
The adverbial P bakari is attached to V, adv., A N , N as well as S in quite a
variety o f forms. The basic m eaning is ‘only’, ‘ever m ore’, but depending on
the sub-entry the resulting range o f m eanings is quite varied, as explained in
the next sections.
17.1
17.1.1
17.1.2
17.2
17.2.1
17.2.2
17.3
17.3.1
17.3.2
17.4
17.4.1
17.4.2
17.4.3
17.5
Verb-ru bakari da
R epeatable verbs
Intensifying verbs
Verb-ta bakari
V erb-ta bakari (+ copula, etc.)
Verb-ta bakari no noun
Verb-te bakari (wa/mo) iru
W ith non-potential predicates
W ith negative potential predicates
N o u n (+ particle) bakari
N o u n bakari + copula
N oun (+ particle) bakari (+ particle)
T ime noun bakari
N o u n phrase 1 (+ particle) bakari de (wa) naku, . . . noun phrase 2
(ni shite) mo . . .
17.6 N oun/clause bakari ka, . . . (mo)
17.6.1 Noun/clause-positive bakari ka, . . . (mo)
17.6.2 Noun/clause-negative bakari ka, . . . (mo)
17.7
N o u n bakari ka to iu to . . . so de wa/mo nai (or similar negative)
17.8
Adverb/clause (to) bakari (ni)
17.9
Adjective/adjectival n o u n bakari no
noun
17.10 Adjective/adjectival n o u n bakari de
wa . .. negative
17.1
VERB-ru bakari da
Usually followed by a form o f cop., bakari indicates th at the action o f a V
whose action is repeatable is taking place all the time, or w ith V whose
action is (de-)intensifying (e.g. takamaru ‘get higher’, fukamaru ‘get deeper’,
tsuyomaru ‘get stro n g er’, yowamaru ‘get w e a k e r’), th at the ac tio n is
(de-)intensifying ‘ever m ore’.
17.1.1 R epeatable verbs
W ith V whose action can be repeated, bakari means ‘ju st keep doing’.
a rJpU ftct'fT tlT o'C iC ^j
[Ц > 0 ]о
keisatsu ni mo nani mo itte nai to kurikaesu bakari
He ju st keeps repeating, Ί didn’t say anything to the police either’.
kocho ni jikiso suru ga matte kure to iu bakari de sannen tatta
He appealed directly to the principal, but he just kept on saying, ‘W ait’,
and three years passed.
с t t i : - Щ гЪ
K 0
sude ni ichibu ga nihon ni t6chaku-zumi de, ato wa nigatsu hajime kara
no hanbai о matsu bakari da
A p ro p o rtio n has already arrived in Japan, and all th a t remains is to
wait for the sales from early February.
17.1.2 Intensifying verbs
W ith (de-)intensifying V (usually form ed by adj.-ku naru/AN ni naru, or
adj.-stem-maru), bakari indicates th at the (de-)intensifying action is ‘ever
more’, ‘increasingly’ so.
a % * e i t i n i i i i i t ' * ) ] t;0
nazo wa fukamaru bakari da
The m ystery deepens ever more.
b Яй& Ш И
fco
seiji fushin wa takamaru bakari da
D istrust in politics is getting ever greater.
eenko о yurusu to ato wa kaze ga yowamaru bakari
If you allow [the other yacht] to go ahead, the wind gets increasingly
weaker.
d №
fc*o
kinnen kenko shiko wa tsuyomaru bakari da
In recent years, health-oriented thinking is getting ever stronger.
9 :i> t 'r - f s j i o t t f - t i 1Ж L < Ь 6 H i* 0 L
konbini ddshi no ky6s6 wa hageshiku naru bakari
The com petition between convenience stores is getting tougher all
Ilie time.
17.2
VERB-ta bakari
A fter V-ta, bakari indicates th at the action o f V has ‘only ju st’ been com
pleted. It can be used as pred., usually w ith the addition o f cop., or to modify
a N by m eans o f no (see 187).
17.2.1 Verb-ta bakari (+ copula, etc.)
In newspaper style, cop. can be om itted (example c).
a T ' s T · - 7 — 1*
t
tz [ t i ύ ' >) t-’h
ajiabumu wa hajimatta bakari da
The Asia boom has only just begun.
b m t)L tz
£*o] tz0
kon'yaku shita bakari datta
He had only ju st got engaged.
tokyo kanrishoku yunion wa sakunen junigatsu hatsuka ni kessei sareta
bakari
The T okyo M anagerial U nion was only established o n the 24 December
last year.
17.2.2 Verb-ta bakari no noun
а Ш Ы К [ΐίύ'*)<η]
kekkon shita bakari no wakai futari no shashin
A photo o f the young couple having ju st got m arried
b Ifr I
atarashii ie wa kansei shita bakari no shataku
Their new hom e is a newly built com pany house.
17.3
VERB-te bakari (wa/mo) iru
Sandwiched between V-te and a form o f iru, bakari indicates that the action
o f V takes place all the time, at the expense o f o th e r things th at could or
should take place ‘just . . . all the tim e’, ‘always’ (see 31.5).
W here the neg. pot. form o f iru (irarenai) is used (17.3.2), the m eaning is
‘can’t just . . . all the tim e’.
17.3.1 With non-potential predicates
a %
[ ХИ' б' *) 4
i t о
ano hito wa tabete bakari imasu
T h a t p e r s o n is e a tin g all th e tim e.
b
['C(fj&‘ 0 '- 'I
= и х [j;)
okasan itsu made mo naite bakari icha dame da
M um , you m ustn’t just keep crying forever.
о
otto wa ie de shogi ya igo no terebi bangumi о mite bakari iru
At home, my husband just watches TV program mes o f Shogi and Go
all the time.
17.3.2 With negative potential predicates
In the pot. form, the m eaning becomes ‘can’t just . . . all the tim e’, ‘can’t
afford to do nothing b u t’.
a Lh' Uf i -f rf o [ Ή ί * ' 0 ti'-'b ift]
shikashi ukarete bakari wa irarenai
However, one can’t just be in the clouds all the time.
b fclltc & h .
l ^ ' b h ] t£i>'-otz0
hitan ni kurete bakari wa irarenakatta
She couldn’t spend all her time grieving [over her husband’s illness].
17.4
N O U N (+ PA R TIC LE) bakari
17.4.1 Noun bakari + copula
Followed by forms o f cop. (in newspaper style, cop. is often om itted at the
end o f a sentence), bakari means ‘is all’, ‘was all’, ‘only’, etc. The implication
with bakari is not ‘only’ in the exclusive sense (for th at, dake/shika are
used), but th at out o f a choice o f two or m ore entities, one is m uch more
represented that one would norm ally expect.
!л examples a and b, for instance, there might well be the occasional female
(example a) or male (example b); the point is that where one would normally
expect a mixture o f the two, one or the other group is predom inant.
•
ЗЛ4 [ t i '^ ') ] t z ^ t z „
kyaku mo ten'in mo dansei bakari datta
Both customers and sales personnel were all male.
b i i ^ f t iffit i
0 ],
hyakkaten no tento de mo genki na no wa josei bakari
At d e p a r tm e n t sto re c o u n t e r s to o , it’s only the w o m e n w h o are
met get ie.
hikanron bakari de wa ikite ikenai
Y ou can ’t live by pessimism alone.
chiho no kigyo ni totte fukyo wa warui koto bakari de wa nai
F o r businesses in the regions, the recession is n o t all bad.
17.4.2 Noun (+ particle) bakari (+ particle)
A ttached to N or [N + P] th at are subjects or objects, bakari can rep lace ga
and o, or alternatively attach them , bakari is added to all o th er case P , such
as ni, e, to, etc. It indicates the idea o f ‘only’ o r ‘all’, in th e sense th a t
som ething is overwhelmingly so.
а Ш
eigo bakari ga gaikokugo ja nai
English is not the only foreign language.
hyomen bakari minai de naimen mo mite hoshii
I w ant you to look not at the surface only, b u t also at the in te rio r
[what’s inside],
с
[ H i ' 1)] i & ^ t z & i * , & A & i& ib X \''Z > o
komono ya togei sakuhin bakari о narabeta mise ga ima ninki о
atsumete iru
Shops th at display nothing but trinkets and item s o f p o ttery are
popular nowadays.
d
[ΐί* Ό ]
■■■
keieisha ga shain ni bakari futan о shiite iru no wa okashii
I t ’s n o t right that m anagers are forcing contributions on em ployees
only . . .
e
I ? tz]
kosho wa eien ni tsuzuku ka no yo da to iu rasen no kotoba wa, anagachi
kocho to bakari wa ienai
The words o f Larsen, ‘N egotiations seem to continue forever’, ca n n o t
necessarily be said to be all exaggeration.
17.4.3 T im e noun bakari
W ith an am o u n t o f time, the m eaning o f bakari is ‘a b o u t’ (exam ple a),
w hereas w ith any other tim e N it serves to em phasize it in the sense o f
‘only’, ‘at least’, etc. (example b).
а Ы ГЬ'Ш Л Ъ
t\< r> ZZb\ Н % -Ы $со2 KcoX i i z & i h a
wazuka sukagetsu bakari mae no koto ga nannen mo mae no koto no yo
ni omoeru
Something th at took place just a few m onths ago seems like it
happened years ago.
kondo bakari wa orinai
This time, at least, we’re not going to quit.
17.5 NOUN PHRASE 1 (+ PARTICLE) bakari de (wa) naku, .. .
NOUN PHRASE 2 (ni shite) mo . . .
Used between N P (and equivalent), this com bination indicates the idea of
‘not only, but also’. Note that a phrase ending in V-te can be used instead of
NP2 (example c) (see 37.7).
a % Й» [ti^ O -Ш й- < ],
[ i]
niku bakari de wa naku yasai mo tabenasai
D on’t eat ju st meat, have some vegetables as well!
b £ . # —istcoBШ
l i ] f t h f a к,
fufu issho no jikan bakari de naku jibun no jikan mo mochitai
I want to have not only time together as a couple, bu t also time for
myself.
с
[{ii*») -CliS: < ]
[t>] « T A . - r f c c i E f c l - t ' - ' S o
sengyo bakari de wa naku reito ni shite mo уипуй suru koto ni shite iru
We’ve decided to im port them (= the fish) not only fresh, but also
frozen.
17.6 NOUN/CLAUSE bakari ka, . . . (mo)
In this use, bakari ka is attached to a N or a S (given below in []), and
signals an addition. S can either end in a pos. or a neg. form (or an expression
tlmt has negative meaning).
Instead of mo, made ‘even’ can also be used (see 86).
17.6.1 Noun/clause-positive bakari ka, . . . (mo)
Here, bakari ka is attached to a pos. form, and thus signals a pos. addition
'not only . . . but also . .
.1 w > Tfi|
[liVr') 4']]ЩзШ [ 1 1 ] v t') ih tc o K
ro*hia wa svnsha bakari ka kaku-gijutsu made uridasu no ka
Is R ussia selling not only ta n k s bu t even n u clear k n o w -h o w ?
inochi ga tasukatta bakari ka okunai de kanjiru kyofu о ajiwawazu ni sunda
N o t only was his life saved, he m anaged not to experience the fright
one feels inside [during an earthquake],
17.6.2 Noun/clause-negative bakari ka, . . . (mo)
In this use, bakari ka is attached to a S ending in neg. form (or an expression
th at has neg. meaning).
bakari ka usually signals a neg. addition ‘not only not, b u t also’, bu t it can
be attached to what am ounts to a double neg., in which case the negs. cancel
each other out, indicating a pos. addition (example b).
a
V,']
Η ]
ίί So
jibun ni awanai makura о tsukaeba tsukare ga torenikui bakari ka
katakori no gen'in ni mo naru
If you use a pillow th at doesn’t suit you, not only does it m ake it difficult
to recover from fatigue, it also becomes the cause o f a stiff neck.
chiigoku no kyodaisa wa kyoi ni naranai bakari ka sekai kakkoku no
toku ni naru
N o t only is C hina’s vastness not a menace, it will be an advantage for
the countries o f the world.
17.7
N O U N bakari ka to iu to . . . so de wa/m o nai
(O R SIM ILA R N E G A T IV E )
This m eans literally ‘if you question if X is all Y, th a t is n o t so’, and is used
as a rh etorical device or way o f p utting things in a som ew hat d ram atic
fashion ‘you may think t h a t . . . , but th a t’s not so’.
If so de mo nai (example b) is used rather than so de wa nai (example a), the
m eaning becomes ‘not necessarily so’.
a
i £ ] [Z ί
aomori no fuyu wa yuki bakari ka to iu to so de wa nai
Y ou m ay think th at A om ori winters are nothing b u t snow, bu t th a t’s
not so.
b
Ι ΐ Ι ύ ' ϊ ύ ' Ζ ^ ϊ E ], H i X - b b ^ h
gendai no wakamono no shokuseikatsu ga ketten bakari ka to iu to so de
mo nai
Y o u m a y th in k t h a t th e e a tin g h a b its o f t o d a y ’s y o u n g a r e all b a d , b u t
t h a t ’s n o t necessarily so.
17.8 A D VER B /C LA U S E (to) bakari (ni)
A ttached to a S (indicated below in []), bakari ni m akes th at S into an
adverbial phrase in the sense o f ‘as i f ’, or ‘alm ost’, m odifying a following
V.
a ί br-iZ hTii'Z]
sara ni kore demo ka to bakari ni barado ga tsuzuku
And further, ballads continue with a vengeance (lit. “as if to say, can
you take more?”).
i Ь / чг ^ Х 0
shoshQ no hizashi ni mabayui bakari ni kagayaite ita choin tojitsu no
howaito hausu
The White House, on the day o f the signing [of the treaty], had been
just dazzling as it glittered in the early autum n sunlight.
sore made wa mina zangyo kotai kinmu shutcho ga otoko no michi to
bakari ni hataraite kita chichioya-tachi datta
Until then, they were all fathers who had worked as if overtime, shift
work and business trips were ‘the way o f m en’.
17.9 A D JEC TIV E/A D JE C TIVA L N O U N bakari no N O U N
When adj./A N bakari modify a N, bakari emphasizes the degree to which
the adj. applies, in the sense of ‘almo st’.
a fe L t-y ^ A h z ,
[t£ύ'*)<η]
sunda mizu no nagare to mabayui bakari no shinryoku ga me ni ukabu
The clear stream o f water and the alm ost blinding new leaves come to
my mind.
b
t 2· i i > ' [ li^ O <?)]
о
kviei ni taisuru susamajii bakari no netsui ni kokoro utareta
I was impressed by his almost frightening passion for management.
17.10 A D JEC TIV E/A D JE C TIVA L N O U N bakari de w a . . . N EGATIVE
Followed by a neg., adj./AN bakari indicates the idea o f ‘not all’, ‘not . . .
|UHt‘. Note that the forms bakari attaches to are А-i and AN na.
u
[liVr') t i l ]
IT h K-v.'].
VBiui bakari de wa shohisha mo kawanai
Consumers aren’t μοίημ to buy Jthinj*s| |ust because they’re cheap.
50 Japanese: A C om prehensive G ram m ar
b i k i x t t o & t c [Hi ' *) f ' i i ]
^h<r>t-:a
kesshite jimi na bakari de wa nakatta noda
He [= fam ous historial figure] was definitely n o t just conservative (in his
tastes).
18 bakari, dake, shika: COMPARISON
These P can all translate as ‘o n ly ’ in some o f th eir uses. F orm ally, shika
differs fro m bakari an d dake in th a t it is used w ith neg. form s, dake
and shika are the only ones th a t can be used together, in the form dake
shika.
a * ) ' / - l· 7
у
У & Ш ^Ш Ь Х '-'Х t,
ШЖ [ / f i t l ύ'] Ш
Z h iX im -7 7 7 'cr,
X b Ъ ύ ' -о h a
rizoto kurabu no kaiinken о hoyu shite ite mo kore made wa doitsu
kurabu no shisetsu dake shika riyo dekinakatta
Even if one holds m em bership o f a resort club, so far one can only use
the facilities o f that same club.
b bbh^X, v O t J f l [ / c t t l i H Û lX
anata tte itsumo yoji no aru toki dake shika denwa shite konai no ne
Y ou only ever ring when you w ant som ething, right?
In meaning, shika is the m ost ‘exclusive’, em phasizing the meaning o f ‘only’
in the sense o f ‘nothing b u t’.
A fter am ounts, shika + neg. (see 180.1.3) and V /V N (see 180.3), shika can be
replaced by dake (da), but neg. needs to be changed to pos.
A fter N , bakari m eans ‘o n ly ’ o r ‘ju s t’ in the sense th a t som ething is
‘overwhelmingly so’ or ‘all the tim e’ (see 17.4.1 for examples), whereas dake
and shika are used in the exclusive sense o f ‘only’.
bakari can be replaced by dake after repeatable V (17.1.1) and in the uses
shown in 17.4.1, 17.4.2 and 17.4.3 (but not w ith am ount o f time (17.4.3 a),
where the m eaning o f bakari is ‘a b o u t’), 17.5 and 17.10.
A fter intensifying V (17.1.2), dake changes the m eaning o f the bakari S as
shown below.
с
t a [9] i ь
о ] tza
seiji fushin wa takamaru bakari da
D istrust in politics is getting ever greater.
d
[ f t i s f c ' t t ] fc'o
seiji fushin wa takamaru dake da
D is tr u s t in p olitics will o n ly g e t g r e a te r.
The context th a t needs to be assum ed for the dake version w ould be
something like “If you were to do this, then the result would only/predictably
be t h a t . .
W hen co m p ared to dake (see 37), dake can be replaced by bakari
in uses show n in 37.1.1.1, 37.6 and 37.7. In use 37.1.2, dake can be re
placed by bakari in example b only, i.e. when used after VN, but NOT other
N.
19 -beki [SENTENCE ENDING]
The S ending -beki attaches to V-ru. However, after suru or VN where suru
gets voiced to VN-zuru, the classical forms subeki/VN-zubeki are still used
(see examples 19.1 c, e and h).
-beki indicates obligation, ‘m ust’, ‘ought to ’ (see 50.3, 62, 63.2, 89, 239.4).
-beki is usually followed by forms o f the cop., but note the classical neg.
-bekarazu, which is occasionally encountered (19.1 h) instead o f -beki de wa
nai. Also, the classical form -beshi is occasionally still found (see examples
19.1 с and d) instead of -beki + cop.
19.1 Clause-beki copula
19.2 Clause-beki noun
19.1 C LA U S E -beki COPULA
•beki is similar in meaning to -ta ho ga ii (-nai ho ga ii in the neg.), meaning
‘should’, ‘ought to ’ (see 63.3).
a % \s7 jL 6
[<£/;]
=t0
sono eiga wa ikkai miru-beki da yo
T hat film you should see once.
ь
[< ^ ]0
senkyo de erabu-beki da
(He [= party leader]] ought to be chosen by election.
l'< il
miseinensha no inshu hoshi no tame sake no okugai jido hanbaiki wa
tcppai su-bcshi
In o r d e r to prevent m in o rs from d r in k in g alcohol, o u t d o o r vending
m a chine s lot alcoholic d r in k s sh o u ld be abolished.
d x-4
[^L ]0
eizu ni kansen shite iru toki wa aite ni sono jijitsu о tsugeru-beshi
If one’s infected with A ID S, one should in fo rm one’s partner o f
th at fact.
e
7 iz ik g -t
ύ\
nihon no gaiko о dono yo ni kaikaku su-beki daro ka
In w hat way should Jap a n ’s diplom acy be reform ed, I wonder.
f :J /tia £ /v C O ± /fc -'i'i> 'K
v-v
kome wa nihonjin no shushoku de ari sokei ni yu'nyii ni fumikiru-beki de
wa nai
Rice is Jap a n ’s m ain staple food, and im p o rtin g should therefore not be
entered into lightly.
g
/ ζ ΐ δ ί ζ ΐ &ϊ h j t i
& № & - τ ΐ Ι Ί ζ ψ h H l i i ] '•'о
rekishi-teki na кбкуб kento-butsu wa буаке no rieki no tame ni
tsukau-beki de kanemochi ga riyo suru кбкуй hoteru ni su-beki de
wa nai
A n historic public building should be used fo r the benefit o f the public,
and n o t be m ade into a hotel for use by the rich.
h
icoli, L ' L M t r N 'b f ] >
suji to iu mono wa mushiro shinzu-bekarazu dewa nai ka
Isn ’t it rather the case th at num bers should n o t be trusted?
19.2 C L A U S E -beki N O U N
W hen modifying N, the m eaning is ‘need to ’, ‘m u st’, and can be replaced by
a double neg. such as -nakereba naranai. N o te th a t -beki here m odifies N
directly, w ithout cop. (see 50.2).
a % £> j
:
И Л
chotto iku-beki tokoro ga aru
T here’s a place I need to go to.
b
[ ^ ] I
mada кепкуй о fukameru-beki kadai ga nokotte iru
There are still problem s on which we m ust do m ore research.
с
b 0 IX $
kongo susumu-beki hokosei wa hakkiri shite kita
T h e d ir e c tio n in w h ic h w e n e e d t o g o f r o m n o w o n h as b e c o m e clear.
20
CAUSATIVE SENTENCES
Causative sentences can be seen as a kind o f sentence conversion, in that to
a non-causative sentence, an extra N P (and the m eaning of causation or
permission) is added. Compare:
% kodomo [ga] gakko ni iku. The child goes to school.
% [oya ga] kodomo [o/ni] gakko ni ika [se]ru. The parents make/let the child
go to school.
In the basic S, the V requires N P ga to indicate the person carrying out the
action o f V. By contrast, the caus. sentence involves an extra NP (the causer)
who influences the actor (or causee) to carry out the action of V. Also, the
valency is changed (the actor is now m arked by о or ni). O f course, not all
these NPs are usually present in a given sentence (those understood from
the context are often omitted).
20.1
20.2
X (person) ga/wa Y (person) o/ni* (verb-intransitive-causative)
X (person) ga/wa Y (person) ni Z (thing) о (verb-transitivecausative)
20.3 X (person/thing) ga/wa Y (thing) o/wa (verb-intransitive-causative)
20.3.1 X = person
20.3.2 X = thing
20.4 Verb-intransitive/verb-transitive-causative-te + performative verb
20.4.1 (First-person) verb-causative-te morau/itadaku
20.4.2 (Second/third-person) verb-causative-te kureru/kudasaru
20.5 Idiom atic uses
Causative sentences can express three meanings or functions: ‘make someone
do som ething’ (coercion), ‘let someone do som ething’ (permission) or subItituting for a V-tr. by using a V-intr. in the causative form. This last function
ii shown below.
•
kankeisha о odorokaseru
amuzc the persons concerned
inxtcud of
b
kankeisha ga odoroite iru
Ihe persons concerned are amazed
th e distinction between a and b is, however, not always clear-cut, even
♦ hon the con text is taken into consideration.
< iittsative V ar e f o r me d from V-ru as in T a bl e 4
Table 4 Causative verb formation
Verb type
Group I
Group II
Group III
Replacement pattern
-u
-aseru
ik-u
nom-u
ka(w)-u
—>
—>
ik-aseru
nom-aseru
kaw-aseru
-ru
—>
—>
—>
-saseru
tabe-ru
mi-ru
kuru
suru
—»
—»
kosaseru
saseru
tabe-saseru
mi-saseru
20.1 X (P E R S O N ) g a /w a Y (P E R S O N ) o /n i* (V E R B IN T R A N S IT IV E -C A U S A T IV E )
Person X (usually ellipted, being understood from the context) exerts influ
ence to allow or force person Y (also often ellipted) to do the action o f the
intransitive verb.
Note* - with V expressing emotion
(odoroku ‘be surprised’, warau ‘laugh’, etc.), only о is used.
a % jfcik [ i i ]
[ £ ] :>f ь [-£] h 0
sensei wa gakusei о kaeraseta
The teacher sent the students home.
b
[£ ]
[ ^ ] bo
gakusei о ichinenkan kigyd de hatarakaseru
They place [= m ake w ork/allow to work] th e students for one year in
a firm.
с
[ic]
[-Й-] ^>0
kawaii ко ni wa tabi sasero
Children one cares about one should send [= m ake go/allow to go] on
errands (= spare the rod a n d spoil the child).
d t M [ £ ] ' k b [-ti]
kazoku о kuwasenai to ikenai shi
I also need to feed (lit. “let e a t”) my fam ily.
e
ν,Λ’
[ £ ] $ i b [-Й-]
chiisai кого kara hito о warawaseru koto ga suki datta
From the time he was sm all, he liked m ak in g people laugh.
f
[£ ]
N ·] - c v 'S o
yosd ijo no katsuyaku ni kankeisha о odorokasete iru
Their [= foreign jockeys’] unexpected success amazes the people concerned.
20.2 X (P E R S O N ) g a/w a Y (P E R S O N ) ni Z (TH IN G ) о
(V ER B -TR A N SITIV E-C A U SA TIV E)
Person X exerts influence to allow o r force person Y to do the action o f
[transitive verb + object].
a %
[ii]
[ic] V f X [ £ ]
[-£] tza
sensei wa gakusei ni sakubun о kakaseta
The teacher m ade the students write a composition.
b z n l k [ i i ] # [ t ] l i l ' i [■*£]„
kono e wa kami о kanjisaseru
This painting makes [you/one] feel God.
с ,&■?- [i:] Ш
Ш
Ш
5 [^] fa'o
musuko ni shisan о sozoku sasetai
I want my son to inherit my property.
20.3 X (P E R S O N /T H IN G ) g a /w a Y (TH IN G ) o/w a
(VER B -IN TR A N SITIV E-C A U SA TIV E)
Here, N P о + the caus. equivalent o f N P ga + V-intr. is used to indicate what
a person or thing/m atter does. The N P о + V-intr. caus. often translates as a
transitive V in English, or sometimes idiomatically.
20.3.1 X - person
a
[£ ]
[■£] A 0 (cf.,
[**] <o*'<)
chiratto honne о nozokaseta
M omentarily, [he] showed (lit. “allowed to appear”) his real concern.
ь
ш
m * [*m x m ^ x <
sozoryoku о hatarakasete kiite kudasai
Please listen using your imagination.
с
[ϋ ] Ψ U ]
[-ti-] t v ' ^ o (cf., Ψ [**] B j b b )
kankeisha wa yume о fukuramasete iru
The people concerned are full o f expectation (lit. “they m ake their
dreams swell”).
d
(Cf „
[**] * o
< Α ΐ Λ '/iiM c [Ц ] й М И [-Й-] X i k i t ¥ £ £ t z
(cf.,
о
[V] m t & )
kyanpu ni itte kumioita namamizu wa futtd sasete tsukau ho ga
unzcn da
It is safer to use the wat e r o n e has d r a w n at the c a m p af ter boiling it.
(/if. " m a k i n g it boil")
20.3.2 X = thing
а
[ £ ] 0C.i· [ ί· ]
[-ti] Х ^ Ъ ^ ' П о
(cf., 0C-¥- [£ {]
kako no shigarami ga kaikaku о okurasete iru to iu
They say th at the fetters o f the p ast delay reform .
b
[ii]
ή
[£ ] Ш>
Ι-й·] X $ t ! k l X b t - - a (cf.,
ϋ ψ ψ [**] Щ & + Ъ )
sengo no nihon keizai wa hoka no shihon shugi-koku no doko yori mo jiyu
to byddd о chdwa sasete hatten shite kita
The postw ar Japanese econom y has developed by blending freedom and
equality m ore than any other capitalist country.
20.4
V E R B -IN T R A N S IT IV E /V E R B -T R A N S IT IV E -C A U S A T IV E -te
+ P E R F O R M A T IV E V E R B
W hen the speaker indicates th a t he has his actio n condoned by others (or
wants it th a t way), the patterns [(1st Person) V -caus.-te morau/itadaku] or
[(2nd/3rd Person) V-caus.-te kureru/kudasaru] are used.
These p attern s can also be used in question fo rm fo r requesting perm is
sion politely, in the form V -caus.-te moraemasen ka/itadakemasen ka
‘m ay I?”, ‘am I allowed to?7kuremasen ka/kudasaimasen ka ‘would you?’
(note th a t morau and itadaku are used only in th e pot. form here). See
203.3.5.
20.4.1 (First-person) verb-causative-te m o ra u /ita d a k u
The com bination means ‘m ay I’, ‘be allowed t o ’.
a Mejsfrs
i t jiko shdkai sasete itadakimasu
Please allow me to introduce m yself . . .
ь
j [-ti-т Ьь-о] x^' ho
ima wa nonbiri sasete moratte iru
At present I’m taking a b reather [= after stepping dow n from a
government post],
с (i o i O f f c l & X b b t ] l i \
№ '\Χ'*> ί *
hakkiri iwasete moraeba gokai ni moto/.uku hihan de aru
If I m a y say thi ngs st r ai gh t , it's a crit icism t h a t is ba s ed on a
misunderstanding.
20.4.2
(Second/third-person) verb-causative-te k u reru /k u d as aru
The com bination means ‘let me’ ‘allow me to ’.
a
<h ]0
hitoban kangaesasete kure
Let me sleep on it (lit. “think about it overnight”).
nande konna koto shika yarasete kurenai no yo
W hy do they allow me to do only such [boring] work?
20.5 ID IO M A TIC U SE S
A num ber o f V (or N-V combinations) use the caus. form idiomatically.
sake о nonde wa shigoto no hanashi ni hana о sakaseta to iu
He says th at each time they had a drink they had a lively conversation
about work.
(hanashi ni hana о sakasu ‘have an anim ated conversation’, lit. “make
blossoms bloom in talk”)
b
A, ( 4 7 )
Ь Г
Ί Г ί ν ,'ί l/c j
b [-£] t t 0
hahaoya no misako-san (47) mo arigato gozaimashita to kotoba о
tsumaraseta
M isako-san (47), the m other, too, could only say ‘thank you very
much’, (kotoba о tsumaraseru, lit. “m ake one’s words choke”)
c
[#]
chizu о miru ni wa jishaku ga kakasenai
For consulting a map, a compass is a must.
(kakasenai = neg. o f the caus. o f kaku ‘to be lacking’)
21
CAUSATIVE PASSIVE SENTENCES
Causative passives are caus. sentences (see 20) with added pass, (see 156).
The pass, example a below can be converted further into b.
nensei ga gakusei о tataseta
The teacher made the pupil stand up.
b % 'T- ‘K0 :f c ± l z
Λ: ϋ- h H l· . ,,
gakusei ga sensei ni tataserareta
Th e stud e nt was m a d e to st and up by the teacher.
5 8 Japanese: A Com prehensive G ram m ar
T able 5 Causative-passive verb formation
Verb type
Verb
C ausative
Causative-passive
Group I
ik-u
ik-ase-ru
nom-u
nom-ase-ru
ik-ase-rareru
ik-as-areru
nom-ase-rareru
nom-as-areru
Group II
tabe-ru
mi-ru
tabe-saseru
nu-saseru
tabe-sase-rareru
mi-sase-rareru
Group III
suru
kuru
sase-ru
kosase-ru
sase-rareru
kosase-rareru
T h e difference between the tw o is th a t the caus. sentence is concerned with
w h a t th e teacher has done to the pupil (fro m th e p o in t o f view o f the
teacher), whereas the caus.-pass, sentence is concerned with how the pupil
w as influenced by the teacher (from the p o in t o f view o f the pupil).
T h e basic m eaning o f a caus.-pass, sentence is ‘be m ade to do som ething
(against one’s will)’, but there are also exam ples where the im plication is a
positive one ‘be given the opportunity to feel/discover som ething’.
C aus.-pass. V forms are form ed as given in T able 5 (see 20, 156).
с
Щ о Л t b h ] /-o
kdtsu jiitai no hidosa ni wa heikd saserareta
I was dum bfounded by how bad the traffic jam s were.
mazu chosha ga odorokasareta no wa daigaku no kdkaisei datta
W hat surprised the au th o r first o f all was the openness o f universities.
e
со'У^гИ,
[iA b 5 h b \ z u i z
Χία
ип'уб sekininsha no b5s5 no tsuke wa kore kara jfimin ga harawasareru
koto ni naru
The citizens will now be m ade to pay th e bill ru n up through the
‘recklessness’ o f those responsible for running it [= local government].
f 1
k t m ^ m z [iL /·-s h ь )
ddshi no shdgen shidai de wa daitdryo ga куйсЫ ni tatasareru koto mo
aris5 da
D e p e n d i n g o n his t e s t i m o n y , t h e p r e s i d e n t m a y be put into ;t critical
position.
22 CLASSICISMS
A form o f language based on classical Japanese (essentially the language of
the Heian period, around the year 1000) called bungo ( XM) was the standard
written form o f Japanese between the Meiji restoration (1868) and the end
of the Second W orld War.
A round the tu rn o f the century, the Tokyo vernacular, kdgo ( a l l ) became
dom inant in som e new spapers and popular fiction as a result of the socalled genbun itchi (‘one form for spoken and written language’) movement,
but bungo’s influence has continued (in much reduced form) to the present
day. F o r instance, haiku (17-syllable poem) and waka (31-syllable poem)
writing is still very popular, w ith weekend newspapers carrying competitive
selections o f recent creations every week; but forms o f poetry use classical
grammar.
22.1 Classical forms
22.2 Classical copula
22.3 Idiom atic uses o f classical forms
22.1 CLASSIC A L FO R M S
In everyday Japanese texts (and to an extent, conversation, too), certain
classicisms crop up occasionally, including the follow ing (the classical
language had separate forms for fin. and N-m od. uses, which have sublequently fallen together). See Table 6 for some com m on equivalents.
For examples, see 50, 80 (-ki), 111.1.1.2 (nashi), 111.1.2.1 (-nu), 111.1.2.3
(■zu, ni arazu), 111.2.4 (zaru).
Table 6 Common classical forms with colloquial equivalents
Class, fo rm
Coll. equivalent
N-modifying
adj.-base-ki
-nu
-zaru
adj.-i
-nai
-nai
lim il
adj.-base-shi
-zu
ni arazu
adj.-i
-nai
de wa nai
-zu
-naidc
22.2 C LA SSIC A L C O PU LA
There also is a classical cop., nari, which is still occasionally found in the
w ritten style, and has a N -m od. pos. form naru N , an d a N-m od. neg. form,
naranu N.
a lil·*?' [ й' 0 ]. ШШ/ 4-ί 'У
(headline)
haruka nari joho haiue
The inform ation superhighw ay - a long way off.
naru N is also found in a num ber o f idiomatic expressions, which include 5i
naru N ‘big’ and ika naru N mo, a m ore form al v aria n t o f donna N demo,
‘no m atter which Ν ’, ‘no N w hatsoever’.
b
tzfao
nihon no h6 ga yutaka to kangaeru no wa 6i naru gokai da ne
I t ’s a grave m isunderstanding to think th at Ja p a n is m ore affluent
[than China].
с N A T O io |£ $ t! c !i
Ь ® Ь]
ie ^ 0
NATO no kakuchd ni wa ikanaru kuni mo kyohi-ken о kdshi
dekinai
N o country whatsover can exercise the right to veto an expansion o f
N ATO.
2 2.3 ID IO M A T IC U S E S O F C LA S SIC A L F O R M S
Classical forms also survive in a num ber o f idiom atic patterns, which include
the following: naranu (see 111.2.2), -nu uchi (see 229.1.2 g), -zaru о enai (see
50.2.5), -zu ni wa irarenai (see 50.3), -neba (naranai) (see 50.2.2 a and h),
-bekarazu (see 19).
23 CLEFT SENTENCES
A cleft S is the result o f splitting a S into two p a rts and reversing the order
for em phasis. In English, the N P moved to the fro n t is em phasized: ‘It is/
was . . . w ho/that . . .’.
In Japanese, it is the second p a rt (the p art after wa) th at is emphasized. This
is in line with the de-focusing function o f wa (see236).
a
Ί
ift-^/c'o
kawaiso na no wa senshu da
I t ’s t he
a t hl e t es w h o a r e t o be pitied.
(cf..
- γ ύ :/ ΐ i h ' i л »■£ ί l·!,. T h e at hl et es a r e t o !h· pitied.)
b u m x b b<r>u]
shinyo dekiru no wa jibun dake
It’s only m yself th at I can trust.
(cf., &
ύ 1Ht I f ] Tb 6 0 I can trust only myself.)
24 COMMANDS
Com mands (which can be pos. or têg.) can use im perative forms as such
(for examples, see 69), but com m only thfe imperative forms o f the perform
ative V kureru (kure) and its m ore form al equivalent kudasaru (kudasai) are
used.
C om mands w ith these perform ative V can be divided into those th at ask
others for som ething ( N o kure/kudasai) and those th at tell others to do (or
not to do) something on their behalf, in which case V-te kure/kudasai is used.
24.1
24.1.1
24.1.2
24.2
N oun/noun verb о kudasai/kure
N oun о kudasai/kure
Verb-te kudasai/kure
Verb-te (ne)
24.1 N O U N /N O U N VE R B о k u d a sa i/k u re
24.1.1 Noun о kud asai/ku re
This can only be used with pos. com m ands, in the sense o f ‘give’ (kure) and
‘please give’ (kudasai).
•
S- [ < n ] „
haito о kure
Give us a dividend!
b
[ ΐ^ Ί ο
sukoshi jikan о kudasai
Please give me some time.
84.1.2 Verb-te kud asai/ku re
Parallel to the difference between -te kure and -te kudasai, kure is m ore
informal than kudasai, and is used between male friends or by senior men to
their subordinates: ‘please do’. The final P ne can be attached to commands
for a softer ring.
This can also be used for neg. com m ands (examples с and d) (see 112.4.4,
203.3.3 & 3.4, 101).
«око loki ni nikagetsu-bun no yachin о harau kara m atte kure
I II pay t w o m o n t h s ' rent at t hat time [ when I get money], so wait.
b b<r>nt
[ t T J l ']o
kind katta no о misete kudasai
Please show me the one you bought yesterday.
с
[ й ' ^ Т Т ^ ' ] fa —о
iki wa tomenai de kudasai ne
D o n ’t hold your breath, please.
d Ш й - Z Y ^ i [ X < H 6 b ] Y, X . 6 ) i : t b h t z 0
yokei na koto о shite kureru na to monku о iwareta
He com plained th at I shouldn’t give him help he d id n ’t ask for.
24.2 V E R B -te (ne)
V-te (ne) can be regarded as an inform al ab b rev iatio n o f -te kudasai (ne),
which is used by both men and wom en to friends, fam ily, children and other
intim ate relations th at are o f equal or lower status o r age (see 202).
F or neg. com m ands, -nai de (ne) (examples с and d) is used (see 112.4.4).
a Л И Ш Х Ь [ Xf a ] a
tomodachi tsurete kite ne
Bring some friends, will you.
b
[Xf a]a
kaisha tsubusanai yo ni ganbatte ne
Try your best so you w on’t m ake the com pany go bust.
с f c k l z u t Ь [й ‘^ т ]
sensei ni wa iwanai de
D o n ’t tell the teacher.
d
о
h i r & h [it»,4-c*a]o
otdsan shiai no chiketto о wasurenai de ne
Daddy, d o n ’t forget the tickets for the m atch.
25 COMPARISON
Com parison typically concerns itself with items th a t have some property or
quality to a larger or lesser degree than one or several others. T hat property
is usually expressed by adj. (in Japanese, A N as well).
Unlike such English form ations as cheap —> c h e ap [e r]/ch e ap [e st], Ja p a n
ese has no com parative and superlative form s o f adj. (or AN). C om parison
(including choice o f alternatives) is therefore effected by different m eans,
some o f which are similar to the English regular form ations [m ore] beautiful/[m ost] beautiful, i.e. adv. o f degree such as motto ‘m ore’ and ichiban/
mottomo ‘m ost’ are used (see 5.2).
The com parative P yori and the structural N h5 also figure prom inently in
com parative S (see 252, 63, 64).
C om parison using yori and/or ho ga
Y yori (mo) X no ho ga adjective/adjectival noun:
X (no ho) ga Y yori (mo) adjective/adjectival noun
25.1.2 Time expression + particle yori
25.1.3 Clause yori
25.1.4 Clause yori hoka . .. negative
25.1.5 idiom: nani yori (mo)
C om parison with adverbs (yori, motto, ichiban) + adjective/
25.2
adjectival noun
yori-adjective/adjectival noun
25.2.1
25.2.2 motto
25.2.3 ichiban/mottomo
25.2.4 hodo
25.2.5 X no naka de (wa/mo) + evaluatory predicate
25.2.6 (A to В to (+ particle)) dochira
25.2.7 dore
25.2.7.1 (A to В to С to . . . noun to) dore
25.2.7.2 X no naka de . . . dore
25.1
25.1.1
25.1 C O M P A R IS O N U SIN G yori A N D /O R ho ga
The most common way o f making a comparison uses the comparative particle
yori ‘more th a n ’, ‘rather than’ and/or the structural N h5 (usually m arked
by the case P ga). h5 m ay be seen as a way o f em phasizing the item it is
modified by (example a literally translates as som ething like “R ather than
pork, beef is cheap”). The com bination indicates the alternative in a choice
o f two.
25.1.1 Y yori (m o) X no ho ga adjective/adjectival noun:
X (no ho) ga Y yori (m o) adjective/adjectival noun
Both constructions m ean ‘X is [adj./AN]-er than Y ’. N o te th at instead o f
edj./AN, V (and V forms with a stative meaning) can also be used.
Comparing the two word orders, Y yori (mo) X no ho ga adj./AN is the more
usual (unm arked) one, X (no ho) ga Y yori (mo) adj./A N having the effect of
emphasizing the com parison (compare examples a and b).
n
U ')] 4-1*1*) [Ϋ ]
butuniku yori gyuniku no ho ga yasui
Heel is e h c a p e r t h a n pork.
64 Japanese: A Comprehensive G ram m ar
b +Й
[**]
[ J: 0 1 ■£»-'------- о
X
l '5 o
gyOniku ga butaniku yori yasui shokuniku shijo de wa konna gyakuten
gensho ga okite iru
Beef is cheaper than pork. This kind o f reversal is happening on the
m eat m arket.
с A m ' c o k [ii]
[J; 0 ] 4 > \
hito no inochi wa chikyfl yori omoi to iu
They say th a t a hum an life weighs heavier th a n the earth.
d
Ш U I) t ]
О ш
kaneko-san no kansatsu de wa dansei yori mo josei no ho ga reisei da
According to K aneko-san’s observation, w om en are m ore level-headed
than men.
25.1.2 Tim e expression + particle yori
This com bination means ‘com pared to ’.
a
U
0]
kino yori yawarakai yo
They [= pears] are softer than yesterday.
b 3 f t i T [ =t 0 ] - δ - ΐ т
λ-Ьа
kore made yori go-moderu fueru
C om pared to before, there will be five new m odels.
25.1.3 Clause yori
Here, two options are considered, w ith the one m ark ed by yori judged the
less preferable ‘rather th an ’.
a
b
[ = t0 l
ima wa mori о miru yori ki о miru toki da
This is the time to look at the trees ra th e r th a n the wood.
U 0],
kaisha ni muri shite tsutomeru yori suki na koto de seikatsu shitai
R ather th an forcing myself to w ork at a com pany, I ’d like to earn my
living doing som ething I like.
25.1.4 Clause yori hoka . . . negative
F o l l o w e d b y a neg. f o r m , t h i s i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e o p t i o n ( t h e c l a u se ) t o
which yori hoka is a t t a c h e d is t h e o n l y vi a bl e p os s i bi l i t y ' t he r e is n o c h oi ce
but'.
a
U O ti* * ] i:
YhbbMn
о
kabu о mochitsuzukeru yori hoka ni te wa nai to akiramekitta hyojo
‘There’s no choice but to keep holding on to the shares’, he said with
an expression o f total resignation.
b
¥Ы*ЬКШ)(
и о к * ' ] [fcV'Jo
dekita bakari no shiten о kido ni noseru tame ni wa gamushara ni
hataraku yori hoka nai
In order to get a newly established branch going, there’s no other way
than to work like mad.
25.1.5 Idiom: nani yori (mo)
Unlike other question words + yori, which express the idea o f ‘m ore . . .
th an ’, question w ord + nani yori (mo) is an idiom atic expression with the
meaning o f ‘above all’, ‘more than anything else’.
a
Ji У ? <r>$-W-b4&'ZYtz0
nani yori insho-teki na no ga kamera no ichi ga hikui koto da
W hat’s impressive above all is the low position o f the camera.
25.2
C O M PA R ISO N W ITH A D V E R B S (yori, motto, ichiban)
+ A D JEC TIVE/A D JEC TIVA L N O U N
25.2.1 yori-adjective/adjectival noun
In this use, yori- acts like a pref., used as an equivalent to the comparative
form in languages like English.
The construction yori-adj./A N itself, an d certain derived N + V/adj.
expressions w ith adjectival m eaning such as antei shite iru ‘be secure’,
settokuryoku ga aru ‘be convincing’, inpakuto ga okii ‘have a big im pact’,
etc. are said to have arisen under influence from W estern languages.
a У- A i i U 0
iciott'io
gemu wa yori-riaru ni natte iru
Games have become more realistic],
b U ' ) & 4 t u U O ' l · * * ] Д .к 0
yori takai se ni yori-chisana ashi ni
[Women have developed] taller figures and smaller feet.
с
[!') 1
chokusetsu toshi no ho ga yori-inpakulo ga okii
Direct investment m a k es the gr ea t er impact.
d “ =t 0
[ J; 0·$·< 1”
yori yoi mono о yori-yasuku о motto ni hiyaku о mezasu
They aim for dram atic im provem ent with the m o tto ‘Better things m ore
cheaply’.
e 44L % Х -^Ш Х
kongo chakko e mukete yori-settokuryoku no aru riyuzuke ga
motomerareso da
In future, it is likely th at a m ore convincing reason will be required for
new construction works.
25.2.2 m o tto
motto ‘m o re’ can be used to m odify adj./A N , b u t also a V phrase such as
o-shigoto nasaru ‘do w ork’ (hon.). N ote also the intensified version motto
motto (see 5.2).
а
ba
karada о ugokasu no ga suki. hito to hanasu no ga motto suki
I like m oving my body. Talking w ith people I like [even] more.
b
J o ] X li
motto motto o-shigoto о nasatte hoshikatta no ni honto ni zannen desu
I w anted her [= late actress] to do lots m ore [good] work, but . . . it’s
such a pity.
25.2.3 ic h ib a n /m o tto m o
As can be seen from the exam ples, ichiban a n d mottomo (b o th m eaning
‘m ost’) also m odify adj. and V phrases besides adj./A N , in particular before
N, i.e. in relative clauses (examples b and c).
а
yukidoke-mae no nadare ga ichiban kowai
Snowslides before the thaw are the m ost frightening.
ь
[-4 ,
ι •ζΑ']
ima ga ichiban shigoto ga omoshiroi jiki da
N ow is the time when w ork is m ost interesting.
kotoshi mottomo kioku ni nokotta dekigoto wa yahari mosho datta
W hat has remained m ost in my m em ory this y ear was the extreme heat.
mottomo
Λ'.ι/ с
l h e r e is a l s o a c o n j u n c t i o n
( e x a m p le d ), w h ic h iiulk-nles a q u alific a tio n o f w h a t
w a s s a u l p r e v i o u s l y ' m i m l y o u ' , ‘h o w e v e r ' . T h i s is u s u a l l y I ' o u i u l a t the- U y n m t i H ' o f a s e n t e n c e ,
iiiul is n o t f o l l o w e d h v .kI) / A N o r V ( s e c "W) S).
α & τν η о ш < п т т ш ьа [ ь ^ ]
l i i i 'o
watashi wa ima nihon no shinbun roku-shurui no hoka ni eiji shinbun о
hitotsu, sorekara amerika no shukanshi futatsu, tonan ajia no eigo no
shukanshi о yomu. mottomo zenbu yomu wake de wa nai
Besides six Japanese newspapers, I ’m currently reading one English
newspaper, two US weekly magazines, and a Southeast Asian
English weekly. [M ind you], it’s no t the case that I read them in
their entirety.
25.2.4 hodo
hodo indicates the degree to which the following V/adj./AN (or cop.) applies
‘as m uch as’ (also gurai/kurai, see 61). It is used w ith neg. or pos. pred.
(see 64).
a Z f r [ ! i£ '] 7 h l A 'd £li$> 0 £-tirA,o
kore hodo ureshii koto wa arimasen
N othing could make me happier (lit. “There is no thing th at is as happy
[for me] as this”).
b
[tatгг]
kurushii toki hodo aisuru taisho ga hoshii n desu. sore ga shoko ni
hitori-gurashi no rojin ga yoku inu о katte iru
One never w ants something to love so much as in difficult times.
A good illustration o f this is th at old people living alone often keep
dogs.
25.2.5 X no n ak a de (w a/m o ) + evaluatory predicate
naka de indicates th a t o f the entity to which naka de is attached, the p art
which follows (m arked by the evaluatory pred.) is ‘is relatively good/bad,
etc. of/am ongst/com pared to X \
a % Э -А Я #< п [ t t " ]
[-4 f
sannin kyodai no naka de taro ga ichiban se ga takai
O f the three brothers, Tar5 is the tallest.
b t f' Jx-f-
y9<r> [ t t ' t ]
[ t t W
U :<*-']
t со σι-— 5„
poricchiren wa purasuchikku no naka de mo mottomo bunkai shinikui
mono no hitotsu
Polyethyl ene is on e o f the most difficult of plastics to degrade.
с KPL
о [t' C-'ii] Ш
1 £
fukyo fukyo to iu ga zenkoku no naka de wa kyushu wa mada genki ga ii
Everyone is saying there’s a recession, bu t K yushu is still in good shape
com pared to the rest o f the country
25.2 .6 (A to В to (+ particle)) dochira
Here, two item s are lined up, joined by the conjoining P to (repeated also
after В). The question w ord dochira gives a choice between these two
alternatives, literally m eaning “A and B, w hich is -er?” (see 167, 215).
a % &L& [ £ ] ? —
[£ ] [И' Ъь]
kocha to k6hl to dochira ga ii desu ka
W hich w ould you prefer, tea o r coffee?
b A [ £ ] -9-Л/ [ £ ] [£% £>]
hito to saru to dochira ga higaisha na no daro
W ho are the victims, one wonders, the people [of the village] or the
[wild] monkeys.
x & x t> i ь & ^ ло
shosen kenryoku k6s6 da to suru to dochira ga tadashii toka tadashikunai
toka itte mite mo hajimaranai
U ltim ately, if it’s a power struggle w e’re dealing with, there’s no point
in arguing w ho’s right or wrong.
25.2.7 dore
25.2.7.1 (A to В to С to . . . noun to) dore
Here, three or more items are lined up, joined by the conjoining P to (repeated
also after C). dore ‘which o f three (or m ore)’ is used if the choice is o f three
or more items.
W hen followed by mo or -te mo, the im plication is one o f ‘all’ or ‘whichever’
(see 167).
Note - the conjoining P to preceding dore can also be the adverbial P to (example c) or the
conjunctive P to (example b), resulting of course in a different meaning. Generally, the written
language (media etc.) often uses patterns that diverge somewhat from language textbooks (and
from such made-up examples as example a)!
N ote how in exam ples b an d d the N are lin ed u p in apposition, w ith
commas in-between (see 10).
a % f t
[ £ ] XA^Hb [ £ ] t b ' c b
¥ —IM f b
sushi to tenpura to sukiyaki to dore ga ichiban su k i desu ka
W h i c h d o y ou like best, sushi, t e m p u r a o r s u k i v a k i ’
b
f t f c ....... о mt<r>9"y Ι ι ' τ ^ - ΐ ^ & Ό ' δ
[ Z h b ] > M l k i t \ Z < r > £ £ * * > 7 t % X ' £ t e l f z < it δ о
(to = conjunctive P)
suiei, tsuri, shokuji no junbi, sansaku . . . zasshi no gurabia peji о mite
iru to dore mo tanoshis6 de sono mama kyanpujo de mane shitaku naru
Swimming, fishing, preparing meals, going for walks . . . If one looks at
the photo pages o f magazines they all look such fun, so one feels like
doing the same at the camp.
с A P E C |# I ·
H—
GDP
l i + = J w - f 'f i t K 'k
[ Y 'h i ]
W ^ J b W & t z о (to = adverbial P)
epekku sankakoku, chiiki no jinko wa nijuichioku rokusen mannin jldlpl
kokunai s6seisan wa jusanch6 yonsen'okudoru boekigaku wa sanch6
yonsen'okudoru to dore mo sekai no hanbun teido no kibo da
The population o f the APEC countries and areas is 2.16 billion, the
GDP is 13.4 billion dollars, and the trade volume is 3.4 billion dollars;
whichever you take, it’s on a scale o f about half o f the world.
25.2.7.2 X no naka de . . . dore
As in 25.2.7.1, the choice is between three or more items ‘which amongst X ’ .
a
о
[ Υ Ή Ь Ш Я T Y 'H ЬЧ а Л Ь'] i &
ХЬЬо
utsutta tentai no naka de dore ga ginga de dore ga kosei ka mo jido-teki
ni shikibetsu dekiru
It can also autom atically distinguish which am ong the heavenly bodies
on screen are galactic and which are fixed stars.
26 COMPLEMENT CLAUSES
W here a simple S has just an NP consisting o f N + P, a S containing a
complement clause has instead a whole clause which has been converted
(nominalized) into an NP by no or koto (see 135, 83), for example, with suki
in example a. The valency o f suki requires the case P ga to m ark the object
o f one’s liking. In the first S, that object (in []) is a N, but the two S follow
ing have one complement clause each (karada о ugokasu no), (hito to hanasu
no), occupying the same slot as sora. Both are made into a N equivalent by
no, as shown in the list beneath example a.
а
\ т Ш '1 Г [<?>]]
нога ga suki. karada о ugokasu no ga suki. hito to hanasu no ga motto suki
I like the sky. I like moving [my) body. Talking with people I like
|oven| more.
% sora
‘the sky’
% karada о ugokasu no ‘m oving the b o d y ’
% hito to hanasu no
‘talking w ith people’
ga suki.
ga suki.
ga (motto ‘m ore’) suki.
D epending on the valency o f V /adj./A N constituting pred., various other
case (and/or focus) P are used. F o r differences between koto and no see 84.
b
[* )]]$ ·J L £ 0
biru ga blru о nomuno о mita
I saw Bill drink beer.
с % [ ^ 0 « ^ 4 {ί . δ U E ] ]
куб shiken ga aru koto о wasurete ita
I’d forgotten th at there’s an exam today.
d
l z n ] ] t t f -f )
Heiwa ga tsuzuku koto о inoritai
I [wish to] pray th at the peace will last.
e &
f
c
o
[со
mosho no sei ka hadaka de neru no ga kuse ni natta
Possibly because o f the heatw ave, sleeping naked has become a habit.
f
[τ··] %-ti'bo
shinsen na no ga hitome de wakaru
Y ou can see it’s fresh at a glance.
27 CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
C o n d itio n al S are com pound S w hich are jo in ed by a conjunctive P or
equivalent th at indicates a condition, in the form [SI conjunctive P, S2]. As
their nam e suggests, SI indicates a condition ‘i f ’, ‘w hen’, etc. for S2.
Conjunctive P include the following: -ba (see 13), nara (see 108), -tara (see
191), -te mo (see 206), to (216) (see also 14).
28 CONJOINING
Depending on the size o f the units conjoined, the following three types o f
conjoining can be distinguished (for details and examples, see also crossreferenced entries):
Conjoining o f nouns see 215, 220, 241, 29.2, 94.4
Conjoining o f clauses see 29.3, 31, 178.5
C onjoining of sentences see 31
29 CONJOINING BY COMMA
A comma can conjoin numbers, items or clauses in the sense o f ‘o r’ or ‘and’.
29.1 Numbers
29.2 Items
29.3 Clauses
29.1 NU M B ER S
With num., approxim ate num bers are form ed by lining up two successive
num., usually SJ, with a comma between them, in the sense o f ‘four or five’,
etc. Note that in com binations like 8, 9 the consonant o f the second num. is
doubled, i.e. hak-ku, and shi is used rather than yon (as in example a).
Depending on w hat’s being counted, appropriate С are attached (see 36).
The two num bers form one unit, and no other conjoining particles can be
used.
a
[,] i A t H H t L j;
kenjin kaigi no menba wa shigonin de ii desh5
As for the m embers o f the wise m en’s committee, four or five should be
sufficient.
20.2 ITEMS
With items lined up in sequence in the sense o f ‘an d ’ or ‘o r’.
Note, however, th a t in example b, although the com m a translates as ‘o r’,
the [A to В to dochira] construction means (see 25.2.6) th at this is in fact also
МП instance of ‘a n d ’.
k i, ya and toka can also be used instead o f a com m a (for examples, see 71,
220, 241).
m
[ ] m x u ш ( ' ь ^ „
hoka ni hitsuyo na no wa s6ry6 hakodai koridai gurai
The only other things required are money for postage, the charge for
(he box and the charge for ice.
b iMl к t J К [ J
с, ·? Ь ШЯ.-С * h „
Afuku tomo JK kokQ-ki no dochira demo scntaku dekiru
l o r both the outw ard and inward journeys, you can select cither Japan
Rail or aeroplane.
29.3 C L A U S E S
This is seen with pairs o f opposites ‘o r ’; toka could also be used instead o f a
com m a (see 71, 220.1).
a
[ 1
shashin ga umai heta wa kankei nai
Being good o r bad at photography d oesn’t m atter.
30 CONJUNCTIONS
These are norm ally used to conjoin S, i.e. they’re found at the beginning o f
a S, but some are also found within S.
C onjunctions connect S in a variety o f m eanings. Some conjunctions o f
addition (see 30.1), conjunctions o f choice (see 30.8), etc., can also be used
between N or phrases.
30.1
30.2
30.3
30.4
30.5
30.6
30.7
30.8
30.9
30.10
30.11
A ddition
Consequence
Im m ediate consequence
C ontrast
Qualification
R eason
Sequence
Choice
Alternative
Paraphrasing
Change o f topic/coming to the p o in t
30.1 A D D ITIO N
In the sense o f ‘a n d ’, ‘besides’, ‘m o re o v e r’, these include soshite, mata,
shikamo, sono ue, sore ni, sara ni, oyobi.
а Щ Ш Ш 'О I f i ' A p T t o
liL -X ],
6]<r>bcо И Й > \
ix z
i to
ry6ri wa ajitsuke ga daiji desu. soshite shun no mono о tsukai sozai no
mochiaji о ikashite koso kenko na ry6ri ga tsukuremasu
In c o o k i n g , s e a so n in g is i m p o r t a n t . A n d , if y o u use things t h a t ar e in
se as on a n d b r i n g o u t the t a s t e o f t h e i ng r e di e nt s , t he n you can m a k e
h ea lt h y dishes.
b
LXf f l
i
. b
hamaguri no kara wa hitotsu to shite onaji moyo no mono ga nai. mata
moto no kataware de nakereba kamiawase ga awanai
There is n o t one shell of the cherrystone clam th at has the same
pattern. M oreover, the shell fits only its original counterpart.
с
t \ ULL-f.
Ш Ш -Ш П U L f c i ' b ,
t
I tza
paiyuto-zoku wa yfibokumin de taezu shikamo chokyori о ido shimashita
kara tsune ni migaru deshita
The Paiutes were nomads, and because they constantly moved, and
over large distances at that, they always travelled lightly.
d -ЗУ'<9 b t f ' r i ^<r>\z,
konpakuto bodi na no ni old na monita da kara besuto anguru ga
sagashiyasui. sono ue ch6jikan satsuei mo raku
Although it has a compact body, because it has a large m onitor the best
angle is easy to find. Moreover, extended filming is easy too.
e
/to W
i o S t
[ZHlz] '}'L<r>b%:Xz_tz$mkX'b'?tzo
sono go tsuma ga kinjo de suterarete ita koneko о hirotte kita. daibubun
makkuro de sore ni sukoshi shiro о majieta mesuneko de atta
Subsequently, my wife picked up a kitten that had been abandoned
nearby. It was a predominantly black female with a little white
mixed in.
f ^ ^ 'ic iia c o ^ L J c itc o J ; ? ( c 2 5 0 / - И к ΉΉΐ ζ$\
тШШ
[3 biz] % - ^ \ ζ ΐ ± 9 7 ·>—#-^cor ί
·9
9 y--¥ % .% \zm xtb o
naka ni wa hinomaru kotsu no уб ni nihyaku gojii metoru hyaku-en ni
hikisagetai to iu sekkyokuha mo iru. sara ni nennai ni wa takushi gy6kai
no disukaunta emukei takushi ga t6ky6 ni shinshutsu suru
There are also some aggressive companies such as H inom aru Transport,
who want to lower [the fare] to one hundred yen per 250 metres.
Furtherm ore, before the end o f the year the discounter o f the taxi
world, M K Taxi, is going to extend its operations to Tokyo.
30.2 C O N S E Q U E N C E
I ndicating the m e a n i n g o f ' consequentl y' , ‘t herefor e’, t hese include da kara,
«ore de. sok o de. shitagatte, sono tame
а
τ f
Ih b 'b h
&¥ь&К¥М ХШ $7Усо^ерХ\
t
*,& ***<
о
Щ
со
V L ¥h ^ fcX ^ 'h a
samusa ni yowai nettai-san no shokubutsu da ga onshitsu de
sodatereba mafuyu ni mo hana ga saku. da kara fuyu kara haru ni
kakete wa yoran no kisetsu de engeiten ni mo karei na irodori no hana
ga afurete iru
It’s a plan t from the tropics which is easily affected by the cold,
but if raised in a hothouse it flowers even in the m iddle o f winter.
Therefore, [the time] from w inter to spring is the season for W estern
orchids, and gardening shops too are full o f [their] gorgeous m anycoloured flowers.
'Ш<г>Щ'$к<г>х n z i 6 \ s ) t a i x \ ± ж ь " < п
daigaku no k6kai koza wa kaisu ga sukunai ue ni tant6 kyoin mo maikai
kawaru koza ga 5i. soko de tsiljo no k6gi no уб ni jiirokkai toshi de jokyii
reberu no k6za о hiraita
University courses for the general public are sh o rt an d often have
different lecturers each time. Therefore, we have established an
advanced-level course th at runs continuously fo r 16 classes, just like
a regular course.
C
ш & п
\L h ¥-oX \
Ь - r M f :: t ί
о
kotoshi wa m6sho datta sei mo ari hokkaido no tomato ga kotosara joto.
shitagatte jusu mo taihen bimi da
Partly because [this summer] was a very h o t one, this year’s
H okkaido tom atoes are especially good. C onsequently, the juice is
very tasty too.
d i У У ) b y - y Jf * l 9
У У / Ь ^ У ^ уА ^ соМ М к Ш ^ Ъ ^ ' о
IX t,
о
tzCOX'il
infuruenza wakuchin wa infuruenza igai no kaze ni koka ga nai. sono
tame wakuchin о sesshu shite mo kaze ni kakatta. kikanakatta no de wa
nai ka to kanjiru hito ga 6i
Influenza vaccine has no effect on colds, only o n flu. Therefore, m any
feel th at even though they h ad a vaccination, th ey [still] caught a cold,
[and] it d idn’t work.
30.3 IMMEDIATE C O N SEQ U EN CE
The sense o f ‘just then’, ‘thereupon’ is indicated by suru to.
a V f h Y . \ Zcoec Df ecDj tbiz,
\thY.\ t< * ii
'*Ж¥Ш А,Х:&Х , i t h A Ϊ Η/ ζ ο
suru to sono hi no yoru no uchi ni t5ky5 e nigetekaetta. suru to sugusama
chichioya ga tonde kite tsure-modosareta.
Thereupon, we fled back to Tokyo th at night. Then father rushed over,
and we were taken back.
30.4 CONTRAST
In the meaning o f ‘however’, ‘bu t’, ‘on the contrary’, the following are used:
shikashi, keredomo, da ga, datte, sore demo, demo, tokoro ga, to wa ie, etc.
£ 3 ^ £ ^ 7 ΖΪ11£.Ι^ύ\ [U 'L ]
a
I V.
о
kodomo о kawaigari-nasai to iu koto wa tadashii ga, shikashi sansai madeni kisoku tadashii seikatsu shukan о tsukesaseru koto mo taisetsu de aru
It’s right to tell people to dote on their children, but it’s also im portant
to make them acquire regular living habits by the age o f 3.
t bh X i K & l 6 0
goka na shanderia mo nakereba akai jutan ga shikareta entoransu horu
mo nai. keredomo watashi ni wa kono kanso na basho ga t6ky6 de
mottomo zeitaku na geki no ba de aru уб ni omoeru
There is no luxurious chandelier, nor an entrance hall with red carpet.
However, for me this simple place feels like the m ost luxurious spot for
[staging] plays.
с Ы/Ш'гу-/') -У
^ % :гк<г>Ш.М,ХЬЬа [£**f] 'АХ.'к^Х t u
и -Г ^ Х Щ ·} ^ ь Л Х' Ь Ь о
biru wa kenburijji daigaku ky5ju rodoho no ken'i de aru. da ga kare to
atte mo hanashi wa subete yakyugaraini de aru
Bill is a Cam bridge University professor, and an authority on labour
law. But when you meet him, everything he says has to do with
baseball.
d
ΪΖ'ίΗΪΖ Ί X]
'J
-f 4 — I X7 ^X
t ^ tz<m±1g
J г [tz-oX\s %l%\Z\'h<r)hbto*>'?tzLtz%L\
dokka iko yo. kotoshi no kurisumasu wa ie de h6mu-patl shiyo tte itta no
wa kimi da ze. datte m6 ie ni iru no akichatta n da mon. ja, harajuku no
omotesando ni de mo iku ka
’l.et's go s o m e w h e r e . ’ ‘It was y o u w h o said t hat this C h r i s t m a s we
»hould h ave a h o u se p a r t y . ’ ‘All right then, let’s go to O m o t e s a n d o in
Haraju ku or som ewh ere.’
7 i:i^ /:iJ :U o /:„
1"СЧ]ч ; u t —
- Мг
А Л /U -ϋ» 9
( &>Ъо
mafuyu de yuki ga chiratsuku yonaka no niji goro kogoe-nagara uma о
hiki kochira ga taores6 ni natta koto mo atta. de mo k6shite isshSkenmei
ni sewa о shite mo uma ga shinjau koto wa yoku aru
T here’ve been times when I pulled the horse around at 2 a.m. in the
middle o f w inter with snow falling, num b with cold, and on the verge
o f breaking down from exhaustion. B ut even w hen I looked after the
horse w ith great devotion like th a t, it often died.
f
——
-Г—Ά
[ZhX'b]
ilO У Ь Л
/g ii—
Г о / c i^ t о
rokuman-en zengo no b6do no hoka butsu uea nado hitotSri soroeru to
jugoman kara nijiiman-en wa kakaru. sore demo shiimatsu to mo naru to
mise wa nijussai zengo no wakamono de gottagaesu
If one gets a complete outfit com prising boots and gear besides a
snow board [costing] aro u n d 60,000 yen, it sets you back at least 150,000
to 200,000 yen. A nd yet, at w eekends the shop is bustling with young
people aro u n d 20 years old.
X ' b 0 i l t s . t 4 h ^ t z a [ ζ ζ ? > ύ {], 4 \
kesshite tema о oshimu koto naku tannen ni tsukuri-agete itta. sore ga
shokunin no hokori de ari jiman de mo atta. tokoro ga ima shokunin to iu
kotoba sae shigo ni naritsutsu ari sono sakuhin wa kiete iku
They used to m ake things scrupulously, sparing no trouble. T hat was
the craftsm an’s pride, and som ething he w ould boast of. But now, even
the w ord craftsm an is going o u t o f use, and their products are
disappearing.
30.5 Q U A L IFIC A T IO N
tadashi, tada, mottomo, etc. in d ic a te the sense o f ‘m ind y o u ’, ‘th o u g h ’,
‘however’.
а
[h/zLl
&iM,UXtbb
fz0
kennai no seisan kanren shihy6 wa kaizen keik6 о shimeshite iru. tadashi
setsubi toshi wa nenkan о tsiijite ugoki ga toboshikatta
The productivity-related indices in the prefecture are showing an
upward trend, but investm ent in equipm ent showed poor movem ent
throughout the year.
b ^ 'Α , /cU
Ш -Λ 91ZU 3.6
[t zt z], ^ C A ! i , я Ш /-0
wakai n da shi betsu ni kata ni hamaru koto wa nai shi kakko tsukete
ikitatte ii to omou. tada ijime wa saitei da. hazukashii
They are young, there’s no need for them to conform , and I think
it’s
OK to m ake themselves look smart. However, bullying is the pits. It
makes you feel ashamed.
b tftz о [ i o E i ] ,
eikoku kara haitta kodomo hangaku ga kanseiry6kin to shite hiromari
joshiki ni natta to iu wake da. mottomo kansei no j6shiki wa Ьаппб de
wa nai
So half-price for children, which came in from England, spread through
government-controlled prices, and became com m on sense. The common
sense o f government control is not universal, though.
30.6 REASON
The m eaning of ‘because’, ‘the reason for’, etc. is indicated
naze ka to iu to, to iu no wa, to iu koto wa, etc.
by naze nara,
a tztz\
!) V ^ > R <Г>ЩпЛ-Н0
[&-£'&£)] ' ' y i o - RV/£i°j £ 9 1 0
& ftcr> % -tz0'btz0
tada pajero mini wa jimuni yori wagon R no taikosha da. naze nara
pajero mini ni wa hont6 no RV shiko to iu yori mo )6y6sha shiko no
kuruma da kara da
Mind you, the Pajero Mini is a rival car for W agon R rather than
Jimny. T hat is because the Pajero M ini is a m ore o f a passenger car
than a real RV car.
[ & - t f > £ ^ 7 £ ] s У - t i-co Z
C O T P e y f c f c s j tz£>cr>fc&i
b '^ tz A 'b tz o
baburu jidai ni wa kigy5 mesena to iu kotoba ga гуйкб shita ga baburu
hSkai to tomo ni shometsu shite shimatta. naze ka to iu to mesena no na
no moto ni kigy6 wa tan ni mono о uru tame no кбкоки о shite ita ni
suginakatta kara da
D u r i n g t h e b u bb l e years, the expr ession ‘business mecenat
(= s p o n s o r s h i p o f the a rt s) ’ w a s p o p u l a r , b ut d i s a p p e a r e d with the
bu r st i n g o f the b u bb l e . T h e r eason is that businesses wer e simply
adver tising to sell th i ngs u nde r the n a m e o f nwcemit.
с
tz b ti'ti
I &ί v\
[ ^ ' 7 < Ο ί ί ] 4 k < r > Z h ^ K ^ ^ x) ^
' ii к
соШ
а Н
Y t-o tz% < r> X b h a
t fzbti'bt£C D X \
£ < r> X h b о
mukashi no hito wa gofuj6 e ittara kanarazu sekibarai shinasai to itta
mono de aru. to iu no wa sono кого chimim6ry6 ga dete wazawai о
motarasu kara na no de sekibarai wa sono mayoke na no de aru
In the old days, people used to say th a t w hen y o u w ent to the toilet
you m ust clear your throat. The reason is th a t because around th at
time o f day the evil spirits o f m ountains and rivers came out and m ade
trouble, and clearing your th ro a t w ould pro tect you from them.
30.7 S E Q U E N C E
This indicates the sense o f ‘first X, then Y ’, ‘th e re a fte r’, which includes
mazu, hajime ni, sore kara, daiichi/ni/san ni [see also 154].
a ' k m z ^ x t ' b l l , [ ί ψ ] V > X i O t k M i , Ufci-] и У Ху'Л^со Z Y iЪ (П
Ύ ίί ο tz ο
kaisha ni haitte kara wa mazu renzu no gijutsu о tsugi ni renzu igai no
koto о kiwameru no ga yume to natta
After I entered the com pany, my dream was first to m aster lens
technology, and then things other th a n lenses.
b
ζ γ ¥ χ $ t z0 m z t t M x * & z 0
3 J: О
fzLfzL'-l 0
1 i i : i o tzQ [ Z H i ' b ] ,
=fc 9 t - & о X о t z a
ika no tsugi wa shiromi no sakana о taberu koto ga dekita. tai to hirame
de aru. akagai no mi ya sayori nado mo taberareru уб ni natta. sore kara
dandan atarimae no okazu ni sakana ga taberareru уб ni natta
After squid, I was able to eat white-fleshed fish. T h at is, snapper
and flounder. I also became able to eat the flesh o f ark shell and
halfbeak. A fter that, I gradually becam e able to eat fish as an ordinary
part o f a meal.
с
3--У -М с о ^ х ^ ^ х ^ ^ б о
^ Μ !± ¥ & < ο 3 : ψ ΐ ζ Η ΐ χ & ^ χ ^ 6 Μ : Μ ί ί - - Ш Ш Л t<r>tz0 [%— \
f aliZcr>A.cr>Mb{ b b ^ ' t z о
I Z Z cd/ ^ c o w 4 ^ - < V ' 4 i]
v-'/i'o [ЩЗ-] lZZ<DA^fi!& f r l z i & l
\ : t z < r > ¥ b b ^ ' t z 0\
b
mishima yukio ga shosetsuka no куйка to iu esse no naka de kaite iru.
watashi ga dazai osamu no bungaku ni taishite idaite iru ken'o wa isshu
moretsu na mono da. daiichi watashi wa kono hito no kao ga kirai da.
daini ni kono hito no inakamono no haikara shumi ga kirai da. daisan ni
kono hito ga jibun ni tekishinai yaku о enjita no ga kirai da
Mishima Y ukio writes in an essay titled ‘The N o v elist’s V acation’:
‘T h e a v e r s i o n I h av e to Da/. ai O s a m u ’s w o r k s is q u i t e strong. Firstly,
I dislike his face. Secondly, I dislike his country-bum pkin sense of
stylishness. Thirdly, I dislike the fact th at he played a p art for which he
was unsuited.’
30.8 C H O IC E
The meaning of ‘o r’ is expressed by mata wa, arui wa, moshiku wa, naishi
(wa), sore tomo, etc. N ote that these are exceptional in th at they commonly
occur in mid-sentence, unlike most other forms classed here as ‘conjunctions’.
а т
ш
°
[ i /Ш]
ί
keiyaku kikanchu wa jika mata wa kaitori kakaku de itsu demo kankin
dekimasu
During the contract period, you can change them into m oney any time,
at the current m arket price or at the ‘buying price’.
b
Щ Ш Ш У. IX ,
IXfr^l^m
IX b h 0
watashi wa kono yonjunen о kaihatsu gijutsusha to shite arui wa keieisha
to shite shigoto ni bott6 shite kita
I have devoted the past 40 years to my work, as technical developer or
as manager.
с
?h\ [ Z H t i ]
keitai denwa no fukyu de koshu denwa no riy6do wa tash5 hetta no dar5
ka, sore tomo keitai denwa no fueta bun ga uwanose to nari tsfiwa no
zettaisii ga z5ka shite iru no ka
Is it th at owing to the spread o f mobile phones the use o f public
telephones has somewhat decreased, or is it that the num ber o f mobile
phones has been added on, increasing the overall num ber o f telephones?
30.9 A LTER NA TIVE
These include ippo de, ippo, taho, etc., in the sense o f ‘on the one hand’, ‘on
the other hand’.
I JJMVC'ti,
b T-ft b f t £ ί ϊ Г!С
о
t--u [ - t t ' l t o 1) j i t I T π: if J f t, & ¥ & b h i m x Χ Ι Ζ ί Χ ί Γgendai de wa kokyuhin datta убгап mo supamaketto de urareru hodo
ni natta. ΐρρδ de kiribana to shite baibai sare hana ga owareba sutete
shimau уб ni natta no wa zannen de aru
In our times, the W estern orchid, which used to be a luxury item, is
sold even in superm arkets. On the other hand, it’s a pity th at they are
now sold as cut flowers and people throw them away when the flowers
are finished,
b
« 'C 'J b 'K l— t ]
z m z ti 0 i t
rtij
¥к< пШ Л
о
hyogen shite dentatsu sarerubeki shiso ga mokuhyS de ari ϊρρδ gengo
ga sono mokuhy6 о tassei subeki shudan de aru to iu koto ni narimasu
The goal is ‘A n idea th at needs to be expressed and com m unicated’,
but on the other hand ‘language’ is the m eans to achieve th at goal.
3 0.10 P A R A P H R A S IN G
In the sense o f ‘in other w o rd s’, ‘in sh o rt’, ‘th a t is’, ‘for exam ple’, this
includes tsumari, sunawachi, yosuru ni, tatoeba, iwaba.
а
7
ib 'K f a ' f e S l X l i Z M t t l l z j i H L n
=L=- Г 4 <r>
Ко
kannai ni wa tsukigawari no tenji gyarari mo ari hiroi teien de wa teikiteki ni bunka no saiten mo hirakarete iru. tsumari kono hakubutsukan
wa minzoku ya chiiki arui wa komyuniti no hyakkajiten na no da
Inside, there is a display gallery w ith m onthly changing exhibits, and
in the garden periodic cu ltu ral festivals are being held. In short, this
m useum is an encyclopedia o f peoples and regions, or the com m unity.
gyosei ni wa kitei ni sakidatsu joshiki sunawachi ry6shiki ga kakasenai
A dm inistration cannot w ork w ith o u t the com m on sense that comes
before regulations, in other w ords sensibility.
с α ι ? ϊι < τ ) £ Β Μ ϊ, Φ Β ΐ№ ΐ& β ύ '£ , & £ - Ι Χ £ I). l ^ t ^ l z ]
К i t o
ftJUIwiwt\
Ш ^ Х ' И i t V, ' 0
sorezore no soshiki ya dantai wa seifu kara dokuritsu shite ori y6suru
ni minkan no mono de kigy5 to chigatte eiri katsudo ga mokuteki de
wa nai
The various organizations a n d bodies are independent o f the
governm ent, in short they are private, but unlike businesses their
purpose is not to m ake a profit.
d
7о
nihon no shakai ni wa muy6 no oto ga 6i to iu. tatoeba basu no naka
He says th at in Japanese society there are m any unnecessary sounds.
F o r instance, inside a bus.
e
7
[ n W i* ] I t f t i ' l l o
ΐ$ ϊ i 6 a
wareware no yo na jiikogyo wa iwaba кбкуй benriya. kanarazu yo no
naka ni hitsuyo to sareru
Our kind of heavy industry is in a manner of speaking a high-class
Jack-of-all-trades. Society will definitely have a need for us.
30.11 C H A N G E O F T O P IC /C O M IN G TO TH E P O IN T
In the meaning o f ‘well’, ‘by the way’, sate, tokoro de, de wa, ja, etc. are used.
а Г- - - 7
* Ί
tL io/ij
5
Ч П < Г )Ш Ш < г> ^ Л '~ \Ш Ь ¥ Ь Ь 0
Г#
9
0 ~ [it]
ie o ttiv - 'W C if c S j
7 < tz o tz о
umai sake о nomitakatta dake. so shitara omoi mo kakezu moriagatte
shimatta to 6ta-san to suzuki-san wa kao о miawase warau. sate b6t6
no kaibara ekiken no kotoba ni wa tsuzuki ga aru. hodo yoku nomeba
karada ni ii ga 6ku nomu to hito о gaisuru. sake hodo hito о gaisuru
mono wa nai no de aru to iu kudari da
‘. .. we just wanted to drink good sake. And, unexpectedly, it ended up
becoming quite a party.’ O ta-san and Suzuki-san looked at each other
and laughed. - Well, the words o f K aibara Ekiken quoted in the
beginning have a sequel to them. It’s the passage th at says that drinking
in m oderation is good for you, but ‘W hen you drink lots, it harms you.
N othing harm s people more than alcohol.’
b
-У
КШЪ
fj . L X
Z K X \ J:
* 7 %H6<nt z’0 [ T i i ] ,
Κ ϊ ^ ί Χ/ Β
( <г>Ъ\
umaretsuki kakko ii otoko nante mono wa sonzai shinai. fudan no
doryoku de onore ni migaki о kakeru koto de yoyaku so nareru no da. de
wa d6 yatte migaku no ka
There’s no such thing as an elegant m an by birth. By m aking constant
efforts to polish oneself one finally gets there. O K then - how does one
do the polishing?
c rj;»,v*.£
So
tz о
yoi mizu to yoi kome sae areba yoi sake ga dekiru. sake wa sh6jiki da
kara to ka. ja ore-tachi ga yoi kome о tsukuru kara omae yatte miro tte
keshikaketa n da
He said things like, ‘As long as you have good w ater and good rice you
can make good sake. Sake doesn’t lie, you see.’ ‘Well then,’ we spurred
him on, 'w e’ll make the rice, and you try [making the sake]’.
d
i<r>\k.
W K m iH zfttth h b tztztfX 'iib (,
Ъ ч :Щ |Г
ί £■* i ittz,, Z i l l i Z H b 0 U i i f c
7 ύ\ K itzb Ί h\
( к л с ] , ^ 7 ν, >-) ih ί Η\ ^ tzY. >. >(’ Ή ΐ hc/>,*. fr η , —
^tzb
: >· t r b ') l \t L b -
moto monbu daijin inoue tsuyoshi wa machigai о shiteki sarete jibun no
mugaku о fukaku haji sono ato kokubun no ho ni uchikonda dake de wa
naku monbu daijin ni naru to 6i ni kokugo kyoiku о jujitsu saseta. kore
wa kore nari ni rippa na taido da to omou ga d6 daro ka. tokoro de кб iu
hanashi о kiita toki chiinen ijo no dokusha wa hitotsu omoiataru koto ga
arimasen ka
Inoue Tsuyoshi, the form er M inister o f C ulture, had a mistake pointed
out to him and felt deeply asham ed ab o u t his ignorance; thereafter, he
not only devoted him self to Japanese literature, but when he became
M inister o f Culture he also greatly im proved the teaching o f Japanese
in the schools. I think th a t th a t in its ow n way is a laudable attitude w hat do you [= the reader] think? Incidentally, when you hear a story
like this, aren’t those o f you readers who are middle-aged or older
rem inded o f something?
31 CONJUNCTIVE FORMS
The conjunctive form o f V /adj. (-te/-de) an d A N /N + cop. (de) has several
im portant functions:
to connect or attach various V to m ain V, in order to form perform atives,
aspectual S endings, and the conjunctive P -te kara;
to attac h the focus P wa an d mo to form a variety o f com binations with
following items;
to form com pound S;
as a N P-equivalent (sometimes called ‘g eru n d ’) th a t can attach certain case
and o th er particles such as ga, no, demo, bakari.
There is also a conjunctive-form equivalent, form ed by V-stem or adj.-stem,
used in the w ritten style; o f the above four m eanings, this is used in the first
m eaning only, but has some fu rth er uses, to o (see 178.5, 184).
31.1
31.1.1
31.1.2
31.1.3
31.1.4
31.2
31.2.1
31.2.2
31.2.3
W ith verb/adjective-te an d adjectival n o u n /n o u n + copula-de:
form ing com pound sentences
C om pound sentences w ith stem form s o f verbs/adjectives
W ith verbal nouns: ‘zero conjunctive fo rm ’
C om pound sentences using verb/adjective-te and adjectival noun/
noun + copula-de
C olour words: m odification and addition
Uses o f sentence-te (de) + wa/mo [focus particles]
Verb/adjective/adjectival n o un/noun-te (de)
yoi/ii/jiibun
Verb/adjective/adjectival no u n /n o u n -te (de)
mo ii/-tatte ii
Verb/adjective/adjectival n o u n /n o u n -te (de) wa/cha (ja) + negative
form/expression
31.2.4
31.2.5
31.3
31.3.1
31.3.2
31.3.3
31.3.4
31.3.5
31.3.5.1
31.3.5.2
31.4
31.4.1
31.5
Adjectival noun/noun de wa nai/ja nai
Verb-te (de) wa
Uses o f verb-te (de)
Verb-te ageru, etc.
Verb-te iru, etc.
Verb-te kara
Sentence-te sumimasen/gomen nasai/warui, etc.
Verb-te naranai
After verbs o f feeling
A fter other verbs
[Verb-te no] noun
Verb-te no noun (verb-te modifying noun)
Splitting o f predicate/copula by a ‘sandwiched’ particle
31.1 W ITH V E R B /A D JE C TIV E -te A N D ADJECTIVAL N O U N /N O U N
+ C O PU LA -de: FO R M IN G C O M P O U N D S E N TE N C E S
C om pound S are S which could also be expressed in two separate S. The
meaning o f a and b below can also be expressed in the following
way:
a % Л. fzb t δ о # < te 6 £
futa о suru. akaku naru made musu
Y ou put on the lid. You steam it until it turns red.
b %
futari-gumi wa kuruma de t5s5 shita. fufti ni kega wa nakatta
The gang o f tw o took flight. The couple were not injured.
Note how the tense o f the com pound sentence is indicated only by the
•ccond pred. F o r this reason, the -te form is also som etimes called the
•uspensive form.
With V/adj., this function can also be carried out by the stem forms, in the
written and form al spoken style (speeches, etc.), and ‘zero form s’ with VN
(see 184).
C om pound sentences where the two halves are joined by stem forms indicate
in addition ‘a n d ’, whereas with -te the meaning is wider (see 31.1.3 below).
.
11 1.1 Compound sentences with stem forms of verbs/adjectives
(see 184)
• Л . Л* [ L ] , # < £ 6 1 - ζ ' & ΐ „
futa о shi, akaku naru made musu
You put on the lid, uiul
it | cr;ib| until it turns red.
futari-gumi wa kuruma de toso shi, fufu ni kega wa nakatta
The gang o f two took to flight, and the couple were not injured.
с
[-f ( h a a i [ t i ] i € ^ 0
sapporo wa hinode wa hayaku, nichibotsu wa osoi
In S apporo, the sunrise is early, and the sunset late.
3 1.1 .2 With verbal nouns: ‘ze ro conjunctive form ’
W ith VN, V-stem (shi) can be om itted, as the VN itself implicates an action.
This is found only in the w ritten language, i.e. new spapers (see 234).
a
[J
kuruma wa sono mama toso josei ni kega wa nakatta
The car drove off w ithout stopping, an d the w om an was not hurt.
3 1 .1 .3 Compound sentences using verb/adjective-te and adjectival
noun/noun + copula-de
-te/-de indicates a variety o f m eanings, ranging from addition ‘an d ’, reason
or consequence ‘and therefore’, a n d sequence o f time ‘since’. However, these
are m eanings th at result from th e relationship between the parts o f the S,
and can be expressed m ore explicitly (see 75).
a
[t],
setsunakute, tsurai jiken da
I t’s a distressing and cruel incident.
b X t f — y- Kf * [ T ] , £ 0 b l f
ЬЧШ о
supotsu-zuki de, toriwake sumoguri ga tokui
H e likes sports, and is especially good at skin diving.
с
V'yy b
[ Ό , ^ ΐ > ϊ 4 > '0
dorafuto san'i no yamada hiroshi wa chodaryoku ga atte, ashi mo hayai
Y am ada Hiroshi, who was th ird in the draft, has long hitting power,
and fast legs, too.
d
1L [ t ] ,
jikken ya suraido eisha о tayo shite, wakariyasui
It [= the course] is easy to follow , using a lot o f experiments and slide
projections.
e Z h t {±ihx\
sore mo umarete hajimete no taiken datta
Also, it [= cutting glass] w as a first for m e (lit. “first time since I was
born” ).
31.1.4 Colour words: modification and addition
N ote that although colour words use their -te form to m odify another adj.,
when joining colours in the sense o f ‘and’, -te cannot be used. Instead, their
noun form is used, joined by to [conjoining Р].
M odifying another adj.:
a —У - Н К
# < [ τ ] S l'-'ic O /f
ichimetoru kurai horu to akakute katai tsuchi no so ni butsukatta
When we h ad dug [to the depth of] about a metre, we came upon a
layer o f red, h ard soil.
Colours A and В :
b
[£ ]
iro wa ao to enji no nishoku
It comes in two colours, blue and dark red.
31.2
U SES O F S E N TE N C E -te (de) + w a /m o [FO C U S PARTICLES]
31.2.1 Verb/adjective/adjectival noun/noun-te (de) yo i/ii/ju b u n
W ith pred. like yoi/ii ‘good’, jubun ‘sufficient’, the com bination indicates
sufficiency (that the state indicated by adj./A N/N ‘is O K ’, ‘is sufficient’), or
recom m endation, i.e. th at the course o f action indicated by V-te is/isn’t
recommendable.
a ? ' №
¥ [τν-Ί
han о osu dake de ii
All you need to do is put your seal on it.
b
Х < п кЖ И [ t <£]
kome ga yoso ijo no daihosaku de yokatta
Thankfully, the rice harvest was a bum per harvest beyond expectation.
31.2.2 Verb/adjective/adjectival noun/noun-te (de) m o ii/-tatte ii
•te mo ii, etc. is used to give (or ask for) permission to carry out the action
o f the V it is attached to (‘it’s OK i f ’, ‘you m ay’ and in questions ‘is it OK
Instead of V-te/de mo ii only (but not in questions!), an even more colloquial
variant -tatte/-datte ii can be used.
.1 %
koko wa oyoide mo ii desu ka
Can one swim here?
b К l / X f Ο [ τ ΪΛ '] П ?
doresu katte mo ii
Is it O K if I buy a dress?
с ? 'J X - 7X i i L ^ 4· L
V'o
kurisumasu wa donna sugoshikata о shitatte ii
Y ou can spend C hristmas any way you like.
3 1.2 .3 Verb/adjective/adjectival noun/noun-te (de) w a /c h a (ja)
+ negative form/expression
Here, -te wa (or its variant -cha) or -de wa (variant -ja) is followed by a neg.
expression such as naranai, ikenai, dame, etc. The com bination expresses the
idea o f ‘m ust’, ‘have to ’.
It can be attached to either pos. form s (exam ples a and c) o r neg. form s
(example b) (see 210.3, 210.4, 50.2).
a
[ Х И Ъ ь Ъ ] v,'0
shumi wa shigoto ni natte wa naranai
[One’s] hobby m ust not tu rn into one’s job.
b Xto Ь L ( [ & ( £> ■«f’ /с Л ]
omoshirokunakucha dame da to iu
‘It has to be interesting’, he says.
kijo no benkyo dake de wa dame
L earning about things just from books (lit. “on the desk”) is no good.
3 1 .2 .4 Adjectival noun/noun d e w a n a i/ja nai
de wa nai/ja nai is the neg. form o f the cop. (see 35, 111.1.3.1).
a
L jp H [LT ■¥>=£] ^40
yasukunakereba oshare ja nai
If it isn’t cheap, it’s not fashionable.
31.2 .5 Verb-te (de) w a
V-te (de) wa joins two different V to indicate repeated action, i.e. th a t the
com bined action occurs over and over again (see 210).
a %
[ Ή ί ] ί&ζ,
nami ga yosete wa kaeru
The constant m otion of the surf (//7. “The waves keep coming in and
going out ” )
[Xl i ]
chotto kuchi ni shite wa tsugitsugi to haizara e
He smokes them briefly [each time], and then one after the other
[stubs them out] in the ashtray.
31.3
U SE S O F V E R B -te (de)
31.3.1 Verb-te ageru , etc.
With the addition o f performative V like ageru, V-te forms performatives like
-te ageru (see 195)/hoshii (see 197)/kudasai/kureru/morau (see 202, 203, 207),
although with inform al com m ands, kudasai, etc. can also be om itted (see
also 24).
а
[ХШ]
okashi о katte ageru
I ’ll buy you sweets.
Ъ0
31.3.2 Verb-te iru, etc.
V-te forms aspectual S endings like -te aru (see 196)/-te iku (see 198)/-te iru
(see 199)/-te kuru (see 204)/-te oku (see 208)/-te shimau (see 209).
a
i f о [ Х Л]
itsu ka mata itte mitai
Sometime, I ’d like to go again.
31.3.3 Verb-te kara
This com bination indicates the idea of ‘after’, ‘once’ (see -te kara).
toshi о totte kara wa machi no h6 ga kurashiyasui
Once you’re old, it’s easier to live in tow n .. . [than the country]
11.3.4 S entence-te s u m im as e n /g o m e n n as ai/w a ru i, etc.
Followed by an expression of apology, the com bination m eans ‘sorry for
,.
For apologizing about something that took place in the past, apologies
With past forms are used. This use is also found with conjunctive forms of
• d j , and A N / N + cop.
benji ga okurete sumimasen
Sorry for the late reply (lit. “ replying late” )
b
if
* < [t
ГЛ .1
U-/U.
*M.*-kusakute sumimasen
Surrv I smell o f sweat
31 .3 .5
Verb-te n aranai
31.3.5.1 A fter verbs o f feeling
A fter V o f feeling (kanji/ki ga suru ‘have a feeling’, oshimareru ‘to be
regretted’, omoeru ‘be felt’, -te naranai indicates th at one ‘can’t help having
th at feeling’ (see 183).
а
Λ LΛ
b & ] '“'о
бе kenzaburo-shi ga noberu bungakusho jushosha ni kimari niwaka ni
chosaku ga uredashita to iu ga nihonjin no bunka kyoju no arikata о
tantekini sbimesu hiniku na gensho to omoete naranai
It is said th at when Oe K enzaburo was given the N obel prize his w orks
suddenly began to sell; I can’t help feeling th a t this is a phenom enon
th at epitomizes the way the Japanese im port culture.
b Н Ш ^ ^ Ж ^ Х ^ б J: Ί Ъ [Ж,£г L X &' ь &’] v'o
nani ka junjo ga chigatte iru уб na ki ga shite naranai
I can’t help feeling th at som ehow the order o f things is wrong.
kansai zaikai ni totte oshimarete naranai
F o r the K ansai economic world, [his death] is a great loss (lit. “one
cannot but regret [his death]”).
3 1.3 .5 .2 A fter other verbs
A fter o th er V, te (wa) naranai indicates prohibition ‘m ust n o t’.
a
\.'β < η ζ ζ ί:ΐ£ ύ '* > ζ 0
haijin wa mainen genbaku-ki no na de wasurete naranai hi no koto о
tashikameru
Every year the haiku poet confirm s the day n o t to be forgotten, in the
nam e o f the anniversary o f the atom ic bom b.
3 1.4 [V E R B -te no] N O U N
W hen V-te no modifies a following N , it functions like a NP.
31.4.1
Verb-te no noun (verb-te modifying noun)
For details and examples, see l . 3.3, 133.1.13, also ,‘v‘vX.?
31.5 S P L IT T IN G O F P R E D IC A TE/C O PU LA BY A
‘S A N D W IC H E D ’ PARTICLE
The form s th at get split include -te/de aru/iru, and the cop. de aru, as da
cannot be split any further.
Splitting P include mo and wa 17.3, 42.3, 94.3, 94.7, 94.8 and 236.5.3.2,
236.5.3.3).
Example a is an instance of de aru being split by the P mo, which adds the
sense of ‘also’.
а 'АЖгяЬ'Ь*) [ t U o ] До
chichioya no kawari de mo atta
He was also a father-substitute.
32 CONJUNCTIVE FORMS AND PARTICLES:
COMPARISON
Conjunctive forms and P join clauses in the sense o f ‘an d ’. They include the
following: -te, stem forms, shi, -tari (see 31, 179, 184, 192).
32.1
32.2
32.3
32.4
Stem forms
-te/de
shi
-tari
32.1 STE M F O R M S
Stem form s o f V and adj. always m ean ‘an d ’ when joining clauses into
com pound sentences.
a - / v M i i i - t ' [i& fc L ],
futari-gumi wa kuruma de toso shi, fiifu ni kega wa nakatta
The gang o f two took flight, and the couple were not injured.
b
[-¥-<], а т а & ' о
In Sapporo, the sunrise is early, and the sunset is late.
With VN only, it is also com m on to drop shi, the conjunctive form of suru.
However, this is found only in the written language, such as newspapers (see
234).
с
М
The car drove olT without stopping, and the woman was not hurt.
3 2.2 -te /d e
-te/de can also be used in the sam e way in the sense o f ‘a n d ’ (exam ple a),
but depending on the context can indicate a wider range o f m eanings when
form ing com pound S. In exam ple b, the im plication is one o f reason ‘and
therefore’, and in example c, the im plication is one o f tim e sequence ‘since/
after being b o rn ’ (see 31).
a X t f - y i f b [T ], M b i t rf r»DJ
supotsu-zuki de, toriwake sumoguri ga tokui
H e likes sports, and is especially good at skin diving.
b
[t],
jikken ya suraido eisha о tavo shite, wakariyasui
It [= the course] uses a lot o f experiments and slide projections, and is
therefore easy to follow.
с к h i [ ± i h x ] itLbbxtnfcSjkK'ifr 0
sore mo umarete hajimete no taiken datta
Also, it [= cutting glass] was a first for me (lit. “first time since I was
b o rn ”).
32.3 shi
U sed between clauses, shi signals an addition ‘a n d ’, ‘and (m oreover)’. It
is used when giving reasons, excuses, etc. (often m ore than one). Exam ple
a has tw o instances o f shi attac h ed to the tw o reasons (or m otivations)
given.
Examples b and с have only one instance o f shi, but give a second reason in
different form , using N + wa/mo, respectively.
Exam ple b is a politician’s reply to being asked a b o u t the influence o f a
scandal on the stock m arket, and example с explains why the speaker thinks
th at in times o f recession live shows don’t necessarily prosper.
a
[L],
[Ll, i ] - y ^ ^ X ± b
wakai n da shi betsu ni kata ni hamaru koto wa nai shi kakko tsukete
ikitatte ii to omou
I think it’s O K to m ake themselves look sm art - they are young, and
there’s no need for them to conform .
b Z < n ^ d r i i l i i m & L / - z [ L ] , —tiLZi&Z
kono jiken wa hobo shiisoku shita shi nido to okoru koto wa nai
This incident has more or less ended, and will never happen again.
с
t'fi Я /
t
v
-
[I], ^ i , H ‘b i n 0
ie de nekorogatte terebi demo mite iru h6 ga raku da shi o-kane mo
kakaranai
Lying down at hom e watching TV is easier, and doesn’t cost anything
either.
32.4 -tari
In its use after V only, -tari indicates a range of actions or activities th at
are perform ed by the same person, in which use it often translates as
‘and’.
-tari is mostly used twice in a sentence [Л-tari β -tari suru (‘do things/things
are like A and/or 5 ’)], -tari suru can be used by itself (with the implication of
‘things like’), and examples without suru (example b) are found too.
а Ш И,
[/;» )],
[A O tsl
tatoeba, modoken wa hito ni hoetari, kamitsuitari suru koto ga nai
F o r instance, guide dogs don’t do things like barking at people and/or
biting them.
sangyo no honrai no yakuwari wa mono ya sabisu о tsukuttari hanbai
suru koto de aru
The original role o f industry is to make things and services, and sell
[them],
33 CONTRAST EXPRESSIONS: COMPARISON
A contrast can obtain between N or NP, or between clauses.
33.1
33.2
33.2.1
33.2.1.1
33.2.1.2
33.2.1.3
33.2.1.4
33.2.2
C ontrast between nouns or noun phrases
C ontrast between clauses
ga and keredomo
W eak contrast
Weak contrast in noun-m odifying clauses
Introducing a comment or request
Differences
-nagara (mo), -tsutsu (mo), noni, ga and keredomo
33.1 C O N T R A S T B ETW E EN N O U N S O R NOUN P H R A S E S
This is effected by wa (see 236.5), including combinations with conjunctive
I*
33.2
C O N T R A S T B E TW E E N C LA U S ES
C ontrast between clauses can be indicated by the conjunctive P ga (see 56),
keredomo (see 79), -nagara (mo) (see 103), noni (see 140), and -tsutsu (mo)
(see 225) (see also 8, 88).
33.2.1 g a and kere d o m o
33.2.1.1
W eak contrast
Both express a weak contrast between two clauses (often in the form [N wa
ga/keredomo, N wa], ‘b u t’.
koibito ni wakare wa aru kedo tomodachi ni wakare wa arimasen
Lovers can split up, but not friends.
3 3.2.1.2 W eak contrast in noun-modifying clauses
Both can be used in N -m od. sequences (in [], i.e. both adj./V connected by
ga/keredomo m odify the final N), usually w ithout a com m a (and accom
panying com m a intonation in speech).
a [ t t L [ £ f]
isogashikatta ga ii ichinen datta
It was a busy but good year.
mazushii keredomo mura ichiban no hatarakimono
She’s p o o r but the hardest w orker in the village.
3 3.2 .1 .3 Introducing a com m ent or request
Both can be used to introduce a com m ent or request. B oth can be used in
unfinished S.
a
ГС**,
Mo
toku ni yotei wa nai keredo. ja asa juji ni kite kudasai
‘I d on’t have anything particular to d o .’ ‘In th at case, come at
10 a.m .’
b
.......j
ima no azana de wa fuben da keredo to furuku kara no na о oshimu кос
mo 6i
There are also many who arc sorry to see the old names j o , saying,
‘The old locality names are impractical but . .
33.2.1.4 Differences
T he co n trast expressed by ga can be so weak th a t SI ga is m ore like a
preamble to S2, translatable as ‘an d ’, or rendered just with a colon.
а
[* г]ч
takeuchi-san wa bvoin ni hakobareta ga atama nado о tsuyoku uchi jutai
Takeuchi-san was taken to hospital; he’s in intensive care, having hit his
head severely.
ь т т т Ш б
[$ *],
ryoshin wa rikon suru ga hahaoya wa sakka to saikon suru
The parents are getting divorced, and the m other is rem arrying a writer.
33.2.2 -n a g ara (m o), -tsutsu (m o), noni, ga and kere d o m o
-nagara/-tsutsu (mo) and noni express a stronger co n tra st than ga and
keredomo, in the sense o f ‘even th o u g h ’. -nagara/-tsutsu (mo) are mostly
used in the written (or formal spoken) language, usually about third persons,
whereas the others are more colloquial. -nagara/-tsutsu (mo) express a factual
contrast, whereas noni indicates a m ore subjective or em otional contrast.
This is particularly evident in the use o f noni in unfinished sentences, where
it expresses disappointm ent or regret (140.2).
34 CONVERSIONS
There is a num ber o f productive ways o f converting w ords into different
word classes by attaching suf., or the V suru.
34.1
34.1.1
34.1.2
34.1.3
34.2
34.3
34.4
34.5
34.5.1
34.5.2
Adjective/adjectival noun
noun
Adjective-root-sa
Adjective-root-mi
Adjective-stem (-ku)
Verb —»noun-kata, -yo
C l a u s e ^ noun
N oun/W estern Japanese-adjective -"►adjective
N o u n /v erb -su ru —>noun
Sino-Japanese/W estern Japanese suru nouns
Using verb-stem of many verbs
34.1 A D JE C TIV E /A D JE C TIV A L N O U N -► NOUN
34.1.1 Adjective-root-sa
This formation is very productive, being possible with just about every
.»il|ccti\e (see I VS)
34.1.2 Adjective-root-mi
Some adj. p ro p er also have N -form s ending in -mi. These are derived by
adding -mi to adjective-root. Exam ples include tsuyomi ‘strength’, yowami
‘weakness’, kayumi ‘itch’.
W hereas the -sa form s are sim ple nom inalizations, the -mi form s tend to
have some idiomatic meaning. C om pare the examples below for the difference
between tsuyosa ‘strength’ (example a) and tsuyomi ‘strength’, ‘strong point’
(example b).
а
[®ί]
Ί /i'o
j6rokuju no midori wa gent6 о norikoeru inochi no tsuyosa о sh6ch6 suru
no da s6 da
The green o f evergreen trees is said to sym bolize the strength o f life in
getting th rough severe winters.
b t t V W t 0 39 8 ' <V? ><D [ &Л] Ю— ? 0
h6fu na gy6mu sofuto gun ga kyuhachi pasokon no tsuyomi no hitotsu
The rich array o f business softw are is one o f the strong points o f the
98 PC.
34.1.3 Adjective-stem (-ku)
A very small num ber o f adj. also has a noun form which uses the adj.-stem
form, -ku. This is lim ited to a select num ber o f A th a t express distance or
time, toku ‘distance’, chikaku ‘vicinity’, furuku ‘o f o ld ’ and oku ‘plenty’.
Note 1 - in its N form (as opposed to its adj.-ku use, see N otes 2 and 3),
modify other N by means of no in the sense o f ‘many’.
oku is used
only to
t5ku, chikaku and furuku can also attac h o th e r case o r focus P besides
modifying other N by m eans o f the no.
Note 2 - these forms can of course also be used as conjunctive form equivalents of adj. (see
31.1.1).
Note 3 -
chikaku can also be used as an
a -k№ ± [2t<]
adv. in the sense of ‘soon’,
b i h i Г-Ж,
< £ -
josei wa chikaku no gink6 de genkin о hikidashita ato musuko no ie made
aruite iku tokoro datta to iu
The w om an says th at she was about to w alk to her son’s house after
having w ithdraw n some cash from a nearby bank.
b i£<
<fc 0 [ i i < ] ^ b l L/ Ш ?
chikaku ni iru yori t6ku kara mita ho ga medatsu
It [= the clock] is more impressive when seen from a distance rather
than close to.
34.2 VE R B -> N O U N -kata, -yo
F o r details and examples, see 78, 245, 184.
3 4.3 C LA U S E -> NOUN
F o r details and examples, see 83, 135, 218.
34.4 N O U N /W E S T E R N JA P A N E SE-A D JEC TIV E ^ A D J E C T IV E
Attaching -teki is a very productive way o f forming adj. from N and W J adj.
(see 212). A nother productive suf. is -ppoi, indicating appearance (see 162).
Note - there are quite a few Japanese equivalents of the English expression ‘Japanese’, which
include the following: nihon no, nihonshiki no, nihongo no, nihonjin no. See the following examples
for the differences.
a %0
/ 7
nihon no kamera
A Japanese cam era
b %0
(C O ) M U
nihonshiki (no) toire
A Japanese-style toilet
с
d %a
nihonjin no tomodachi
A Japanese friend
nihongo no shinbun
A Japanese [language] newspaper
34.5 N O U N /V E R B -s u ru - » NOUN
There are two ways o f converting V into N.
34.5.1 Sino-Japanese/W estern Japanese suru nouns
Using SJ and WJ N th at can attach suru (i.e. N w ith a verbal m eaning)
w ithout the suru.
a
ХА Ю [ЪШ]
tainai-dokei ya seitai rizumu no кепкуй wa ddbutsu demo susunde iru
[Research] into body clocks and organic rhythm s is progressing with
animals, too.
34.5.2
Using verb-stem of many verbs
Using V-stem (the N form o f m any V) to form VN. This conversion is
possible with m ost V whose action can be controlled by the actor. VN are
especially com m on in the pattern [verb-stem ni iku/kuru] (see 116.10).
a i A t f V [^4^] i ^ f *
(cf., № ( ‘to w ork’)
1 very much want to go to [work] again
Table 7 Forms of the copula
1 Non-past
2 Past
3 Negative
4 Negative-past
Plain
P olite
Learned-plain
Learned-polite
da, 0 (zero),
na, no
dat-ta
dewa-nai
ja-nai
dewa-nakatta
desu
de aru
de arimasu
deshita
dewa-arimasen
ja-arimasen
dewa-arimasendeshita
de nakatta
ja-arimasendeshita
de atta
de (wa) nai
de arimashita
de (wa) arimasen
—
—
—
deshi-te
—
de atte
de areba
de aru nara
de arimashite
—
ja-nakatta
5 Adverbial
6 Conjunctive
7 Conditional
ni
de
nara
de (wa) arimasen
deshita
35 COPULA
The cop. is a gram m atical w ord th at is used in a sim ilar way to English ‘is’
‘are’, etc. It is always preceded by another w ord or w ord/P com bination, i.e.
it functions like an inflectional ending. Form s o f V and adj. can com plete a
sentence w ith an inflectional ending, but A N an d N usually require cop.
35.1
35.2
35.2.1
35.2.2
35.2.3
35.2.4
35.2.5
35.2.6
W ays of saying ‘is/am /are’
Plain non-past forms: da, 0 (zero), na, no
da
0 (zero)
no
na
Adverbial form o f copula
Presum ptive/-tara/-tari form s o f copula
35.1
W A Y S O F SA Y IN G ‘IS /A M /A R E ’
C om pare different ways th at ‘is/am /are’, etc. can be expressed in Japanese
as follows (for m ore details, see 178).
Adj.
N
AN
PLACE
%0
okii
nihonjin da
shizuka da
· £>■?>„ ie ni iru/aru
о
It/h e/sh e’s big.
T hey’re Japanese.
I t’s/they’re quiet.
It/he/she’s in the house.
35.2
PLAIN N O N -P A S T FO R M S: da, 0 (ZE R O ), na, no
35.2.1 da
da is used clause- or S-finally, and is often replaced by 0 (zero) if nothing
follows. It is never used before ka (and constructions using ka such as ka mo
shirenai) in the standard language, nor before S endings o f appearance such
as mitai, rashii, -so yo, and others (hazu, tsumori, etc.).
35.2.2 0 (zero)
Conversely, 0 is obligatory before ka (and constructions using ka such as ka
mo shirenai), mitai, rashii, -so, yo, and others (hazu, tsumori, etc.).
a H'eL''4 U Ф Ί t z L []
kiroi jfitan mitai
They [- wild flowers] are like a yellow carpet.
Note - whereas inflectional endings of V/adj. can be used as pred. and to modify N, AN and N
usually require cop. to be attached. However, the newspaper and other written styles tend to
omit the cop. (da, etc.), as example b illustrates.
b Ь ь Ь ю ' & ю Ш ' Ъ Щ По
arashi no ato no shizuka na asa
A quiet m orning after the storm.
35.2.3 no
This is used as the N-mod. form o f no-adj. (see 1.6) and certain onom atope
(see 153.2).
F or N (but not A N ), no is also used before structural N like yo. Compare:
a А У 7 V [<0]
(4У7\/ = Щ
infure no уб na mono
It’s {lit. “som ething”) like inflation
b
[й ] X i T t o ( # = AN)
tokuch6 no aru kao wa toku na уб desu
It appears th at [having] a distinctive face is an advantage.
Note - before the case particle no (incl. combinations like
instead, na is used (see 35.2.4).
no de, noni, etc.), no is never found;
35.2.4 na
na is used as a N-mod. form bet ore no (incl. the com binations no da, no de,
noni, etc.); also always alter AN before all N.
i ev' 0 z h ¥ S № , Y L h t - n [ й ] <nt-:0
onaji koto о shite mo chiigoku no ikari wa nihon ni yori kihishikn
mukerareru. ii mo warui mo nai. kore ga genzen to shita jijitsu na no da
Even when we do the same thing [as the US], C h in a expresses her anger
m ore strongly tow ards Japan. I ’m not saying it’s good or bad. I t’s an
indubitable fact.
b Аа<Г)Х,<Г)ЩЬ' [ й ] ЦгД'о
yama no ue no shizuka na tera da
I t’s a quiet temple on the to p o f the m ountain.
35.2.5 Adverbial form of copula
W hereas da (and o th er form s o f cop.) indicate a state, a change o f state
(including ‘fu tu re’ events like ‘w ant to be’ or ‘intend to be’) require no t da,
but the adverbial form o f cop., ni. This is m ost com m only found with the V
suru ‘d o ’ and naru ‘becom e’ (see 186).
а
[ U i e -э]
0
kongetsu mikka, Sat6-san wa sanjus-sai ni natta
On the 3rd o f this m onth, Sato-san turned 30.
b &1гу'А±.ШШ1'?— 4М Ы гЫ £ [ U l ] / z \ . \
dasu ijo wa chiiki de ichiban ureru mise ni shitai
As long as I open it, I w ant to m ake it a shop th a t sells the best in the
area.
3 5.2 .6 P resum ptive/-tara/-tari forms of copula
A lthough n o t given in Table 7, one can also distinguish a pres, form (dar6,
desh6, de aro, de arimash6, see presum ptive forms: daro/desho), a -tara form
(dat-tara, deshi-tara, de arimashi-tara) and a -tari form (dat-tari, de at-tari,
see 192).
36 COUNTERS
Num bers are typically used to count N , in sim ilar fashion to English ‘a cup
o f te a ’ or ‘five head o f cattle’. A lthough some N can be counted by num .
using the ‘default’ С -tsu and -ко (see Table 8), m any N require a specific С
in the com bination [num. + С].
There is a m ultitude o f С in Japanese, and some books list a large num ber
of them, including a counter for furniture (-kyaku). However, in everyday
language -tsu or -ко is used for tables and chairs, and one can get by with a
relatively small number, which are given in Table 8.
Note 1 - there is also a number of items that are used to count money ( ¥ -en, $ -doru . £
-pondo, etc.) and others that are used with figures, such as % (pasento) or the Japanese 10%unit, -wari.
Note 2 - there are some differences between the ‘default’ С -tsu and -ко, i.e. -tsn is attached to
NJ num. up to 9 only, whereas -ко attaches only to SJ numbers, -tsu can be used with abstract
items such as thoughts, but -ко is limited to concrete objects only (such as landmines, ex
ample d).
а
I— A
0
gaikoku de wa hatsugen о tsutsushimu no ga hitotsu no kangaekata da
One thought is th at [Japanese politicians] refrain from making
statements abroad.
-hai is mostly used for cupfuls and glassfuls, and -hon for tubular objects
such as bottles (example 36.3 a), flowers, trees, pencils, hairs, etc., but also
trousers and even phone calls (example 36.4a). -mai counts flat objects such
as sheets o f paper, coins (for coins, -ко is also used), CD s, bills, tickets
(example 36.3 b), but also doors (example 36.1 a), shirts, kimonos, etc.
Animals are counted with -to or -hiki, with -to being used for larger species,
such as cows, horses and pigs. N ote that the size does not m atter, e.g. piglets
and calves are still counted with -t5 (examples b and c).
b /V [Щ] c o -f-7 ? £ d iM $ -± 6 c D lZ fjiij7 L /i0
hatt6 no kobuta о shussan saseru no ni seik6 shita
They succeeded in m aking it produce eight piglets.
с
Ш] irP lf
niju hekutaru no h6bokuj6 de seigyQ koushi awasete yonjiisanto о shiiku
shite iru
On the 20ha. dairy farm, they are keeping a total o f 43 grown cattle
and calves.
d &
Ψ
&
Ψ
fi—
[i i ] UJiJ&o
funs6chitai ni umerareta mama no jirai wa ichioku issenman-ko ni noboru
The [number of] landmines still buried in conflict areas am ounts to
110 million.
Note 3 - С of time and measurement count themselves, i.e. they don’t count other N.
e CCO— ["£']
(fiot —
kono ichinen de nibai ni fukuranda
[In] the past year, it has doubled.
f
(not
пущбгуб wa ikkai-ken de nanahyaku-en
The entrance fee is Y700 for a single ticket.
N o te 4
( h e C o f l i m e , -ji, is u s e d t <> i n d i c a t e t h e t i m e , lull w h e n M
co u n te d
C o m pa re
-ban is a d d e d ,
the h o u r s a re
Table 8 Common number and counter combinations
Counter
Number
ichi
hito-
ni
futa-
san
mit-
shi
yo(t)-
g°
itsu-
roku
mut-
shichi
nana
hachi
yat-
kyu/ku
kokono-
ju
roppun
nanafun
bappun
hachifun
kvufun
juppun
jippun
juppondo
jippondo
juppon
jippon
jukkagetsu
jikkagetsu
jukkai
jikkai
jukko
jikko
to
yondoru
doru
5;
en
yoen
'¥)
sanpun
ippun
fun
yonpun
; minutes)
kyupondo
nanapondo
yonpondo
pondo
lb. or £)
sanbon
ippon
hon
yonhon
roppon
yonkagetsin
rokkagetsu
kyiihon
nanahon
happen
rokkai
nanakai
hachikai
rokko
nanako
hakko
kyuko
убка
kyfimai
kumai
kokonoka
bottles, etc.)
kagetsu
ikkagetsu
months)
sangai
sankai
kai
storeys)
yonko
ikko
ко
.ickiult counter)
mai
yonmai
nbjects)
nichi
ichinichi
tsuitachi*
futsuka
mikka
yokka
itsuka
muika
nanoka
nanuka
toka
yonin
humans)
yonen
nen
years)
pasento
I”·.)
ippasento
vonpasento
juppasento
jippasento
iP!»ii
P«l»
yonpeji
roppeji
nanapeji
happeji
hachipeji
kyupeji
iuppeji
jippeji
—
—
—
—
—
—
nanasai
hassai
pagest
ri
hitori
futari
humans)
sai
issai
years o f age)
satsu
issatsu
yonsatsu
nanasatsu
hassatsu
kyusatsn
issho
yonshu
nanashn
hasshii
kyushu
itto
yonto
nanato
hatto
kyflto
bound objects)
shu
Keeks)
to
large animals)
tsu
hitotsn
futatsu
jikko
jussai
jissai
jussatsu
jissatsu
jusshu
jisshu
jutto
jitto
mittsu
yottsu
itsutsu
muttsu
nanatsu
yattsu
kokonotsu
—
mitsuki
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
sanba
yonwa
default counter: N J numbers only)
hitotsuki
tsuki
futatsuki
months}
»a
birds i
»ari
yonwari
juppa
jippa
kyiiwari
1 10е t. unit)
Wiles * Only used in the meaning of the first o f the month.
The table lists some com m on counters and the way they combine with numerals. Only those com binations which involve sound
change, irregular form ation or only one o f two regular ways o f form ation are listed (the rem ainder is predictable, consisting o f the
num eral (ichi, ni, etc.) given at th e to p plus the form o f th e counter given in the vertical left column). N ote, however, th a t the
pronunciation, especially o f the syllabic n, varies according to its phonetic environment; for instance, before b and m, it is pronounced
as m. Com binations with nan- how many are the same as those with san three.
W ith counters expressing time (fun, nen, etc.), the suffix -kan can be added (optionally in the case o f byo, fun,nen, nichiand shii) to
indicate duration o f time. F o r instance, goji on its own m eans 5 o ’clock, whereas gojikan means five hours. N ote, however, th a t whereas
the m onths o f the year (January-D ecem ber) are counted ichigatsu, nigatsu, etc., one month is ikkagetsu, to which -kan can be added.
The days of the m onth from the 11th onw ards are as follows, in so far as they are irregular:
14th
19th
jiiyokka
jiikunichi
20th
24th
hatsuka
nijiiyokka
g —Щ
ichiji
‘1 o ’clock’
h
ichijikan
‘1 h o u r’
O ther С o f time can be used in the sense o f ‘period o f tim e’ by themselves,
and adding ?A -kan does not change th at m eaning, bu t makes it m ore explicit.
i % Ξ - Ύ о h0
j %
sanjuppun matta
fc0 sanjuppun-kan matta
‘I waited 30 m ins.’
‘I w aited for (a period of)
30 m ins.’
N um . + С is used to count N in the follow ing ways.
36.1
36.2
36.2.1
36.2.2
N u m b er + counter no noun
N u m b er + counter + particle
O ne num ber only
Tw o num bers, separated by com m a or hyphen: approxim ate
num bers
36.3 N o u n (+ particle) [num ber + counter] verb
36.4 N o u n [num ber 1 + counter] (particle)
36.5 N u m b er + counter with ellipted
noun
36.5.1 N u m b er + counter + particle w ithout modified noun
36.5.2 N u m b er + counter w ithout m odified noun
36.1 N U M B E R + C O U N T E R n o N O U N
N um . + С can precede N with the P no attached.
a -£ c o Jy c
со
sono oku ni ni-mai no doa ga miete iru
B eyond her [= female figure in painting], tw o doors are visible.
3 6 .2 N U M B E R + C O U N T E R + P A R T IC L E
36.2.1 O n e number only
a [.=№]
iziifefagg& n'& H lF t'kio
san-gai ni wa shukuhaku-kyaku ky6tsu no yokuj6 ga aru
O n th e th ird level is a b ath for jo in t use by lodgers.
3 6 .2 .2 T w o numbers, separated by com m a or hyphen:
approxim ate numbers
T w o c o n s c c u t i v e n u m . , u s u a l l y s e p a r a t e d b y a c o m m a (but p m n o u n c e d as
o n o u n i t ) , o r less c o m m o n l y b y a h y p h e n ( e x a m p l e i ) ·πι· o n e w a y o f
expressing approximate num. (see 29, see also 147 for other ways of expressing
approxim ate num.).
а Г£Ь\ Z Z [ i , *;%-]
daga koko goroku-nen de kazamuki ga ippen shita
However, in the past five or six years the situation has changed
completely.
ъ №
-
ϊ
A * [ i ,
n a & iik io
tabi ni deru to hitobito wa futsfi no goroku-bai no okane о tsukau
W hen they go on a trip, people spend five or six times as much money
as usual.
с jf c f c t S
ΊΒίΑϋίΛ'Λο
ketsui suru made-ni wa nisan-shQkan nayaminuita
He worried for several weeks before he m ade up his mind.
36.3 N O U N (+ PARTICLE) [N U M B E R + C O U N TE R ] VER B
N ote th at [num. + C] can also be placed between [N (+ P)] and V.
a % I
(
c
f
.
,
biru о san-bon kudasai
Three bottles o f beer, please.
b
< fc'5»,*)
[Η ίϋ
ichiban yasui tenj6 sajiki-seki о ichi-mai katta
I bought one ticket for an upper circle seat, which is the cheapest.
36.4 N O U N [N U M B ER 1 + C O U N T E R ] (PA R TICLE)
[Num. + C] can be sandwiched between N and P. N ote that only num. ‘one’
is used in this sense, which in negative S has the implication o f ‘just one’, ‘a
single . . . ’.
ЯП,
[—£ ] £»->„ i A , * c z i : 6 tt t 8 L b b - , f z . j 0
rikon gen'in wa otto no kimama de fuantei na seikatsu-buri. гуокб ni
dekakeru to itte wa sQkagetsu ie о akeru. sono kan denwa ip-pon nai.
sonna koto ga nando mo atta
T h e r ea son f or t he d ivor ce w a s t h e h u s b a n d ’s i r re gu la r lifestyle. ‘H e
wou l d say h e ’d go o n a trip, a n d sl ay a wa y f r o m h o m e for mo nt hs .
D u r i n g t h a t time, there w o u l d n ' t be a single p h o n e call. T h a t sort o f
thing h a p p e n e d т и п у times '
104 Japanese: A C o m p reh en sive G ram m ar
b
[—
£J Lt
happa ichi-mai о mite mo shikata ga nai
T here is no point looking a t a single leaf [= satellite pictures need to
show m ore than that].
с Ъ У Х [—
■f-рЗо
renzu ichi-mai no kakaku wa niman nisen-en
T h e price for one lens is ¥ 2 2 ,0 0 0 .
3 6 .5
N U M B E R + C O U N T E R W IT H E L L IP T E D N O U N
36.5.1 N um ber + counter + p artic le without modified noun
W here the context m akes it c le a r w hich N they refer to, num . + С can be
used w ithout the N they count.
a
7X
'«'h'b'b
[—
£. *f c_Uf £i 0U — Я П < b
Ί t£о
seimitsu na irasuto wa . . . ik i о nomu hodo utsukushii. ichi-mai о shiageru
no ni ikkagetsu kurai kakaru so da
T he accurate illustrations . . . are breathtakingly beautiful. A pparently it
takes ab o u t one m onth to fin ish one.
3 6 .5 .2 N um ber + counter w ith o u t modified noun
T his is also found w ithout P a tta c h e d .
Y - V X b h o [—
^ i W J Z t t ^ - Z - f e y 'A _ti4>40
kono sochi wa raberu to FD о shotei no ichi ni oki suitchi о osu dake de
haru koto ga dekiru. ichi-mai haru no ni nibyo de sumi, tesagyo ni kurabe
ni-bai ijo hayai.
W ith this apparatus, one p lace s the label an d the F D [= floppy disc] on
th e prescribed spot, and c a n p aste it ju st by flicking a switch. Pasting
one [= label onto a c o m p u ter disk] is done in tw o seconds, which is
m ore th an twice as fast as d o in g it by hand.
37 dake [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
dake is an adverbial particle w ith the basic m eaning o f ‘only’ (see 18). It is
used in variety o f ways and m ean in g s, as listed below.
37.1
37.1.1
Noun dake (particle) predicate
Noun dake particle
37.1.1.1
37.1.1.2
37.1.2
37.2
37.3
37.4
37.5
37.6
37.7
37.8
37.8.1
37.8.2
37.9
Replaceable by bakari
N o t replaceable by bakari
N oun/verbal noun dake (no particle)
N oun dake no noun
N oun dake (+ copula)
Clause bun dake
Verb (to iu) dake copula
Clause dake de (wa) nai
N oun 1 dake de (wa) naku . . . noun 2 mo/ga
Clause 1 dake clause 2
Clause 1 dake de clause 2 predicate-positive
Clause 1 dake de wa clause 2 predicate-negative
Clause dake ni
37.1 N O U N d a k e (PA R TICLE) PR E D IC A TE
In this use, dake is inserted betw een a N and the case P required by the
valency o f pred. However, o/ga can be omitted.
W here no case P is required in the first place, as after N o f time (yoru
‘night’, etc.), dake is attached to N directly.
37.1.1 Noun d a k e particle
37.1.1.1 R eplaceable by bakari
W hen used in the sense o f ‘ju s t’, o r ‘ju st . . . all the tim e’, dake can be
replaced with bakari.
a SkM Ш П
seifu dake ga warui wake de wa nai
It’s n o t ju st the government th a t’s at fault.
kokoro wa kimaranai mama jikan dake ga sugite iku
While I remain unable to m ake up [my] mind, time just keeps passing.
с
[/-ftt]
keishiki dake о mite ite mo honshitsu wa rikai dekinai
If you look at the form alone, you cannot grasp the substance.
37.1.1.2 Not replaceable by bakari
In the m o r e exclusive sense o f ‘just o n l y ’, ‘n o t h i n g b u t ’, dake c a n n o t be
replaced by bakari.
а
[ £ 'l t ]
jibun no tame dake ni ikitai
I w ant to live only for myself.
ь
[m n
I f-o
sakunen dake de yaku yonjussha ga shinsetsu shita
A bout 40 com panies were established ju st last year.
с tztztoSL [fc'lt] ' C i i M i f h b ' t t ' - ' o
tada seido dake de wa hito wa ugokanai
People d o n ’t take action w hen there is nothing b u t a system [in place].
3 7.1 .2 Noun/verbal noun d a k e (no particle)
In examples a and b, о is ellipted (omitted), w hereas example с has a time N,
which takes no particle in the first place, bakari can replace dake after VN
(example b) only.
а Щ - [fc'lt]
n KbfLibo
gaiyo dake kikeba nichibei ni chigai wa nai yo ni mo mieru
If you ju st listen to the outline, it looks as if th ere are no differences
between Jap a n and the US.
^ 'о
buka ni shiji dake shite shigoto shita yo na ki ni natte iru kanrisha wa
iranai
We d o n ’t need adm inistrators who think th e y ’ve done a jo b ju st by
giving instructions to their subordinates.
с ^ \'J S h t> h ^ h b b ,
ϋ ο -с < s 0
kaisha ni tsutomeru katawara shumatsu ya heijitsu no yoru dake kayotte
kuru
H e w orks in a com pany and comes only on w eekends and weekday
nights [to the research institute],
37.2
NOUN dake no NOUN
In this use, dake cannot be replaced by bakari.
a i T f [fc'tt] wAMfc'o
kotoba dake no ningen da
He is [“a person who is”] all talk.
b
[A-It]
saikon wa o-tagai dake no mondai de wa nai
R e m a r r i a g e is n o t a m a t t e r w h i c h c o n c e r n s j u s t t h e t w o o f us.
с
[tz i t ] c o x ^ y x c o A i i i ,
matte iru dake no sutansu no hito wa m6 kekko
[We’ve] h ad enough o f people with ju st a ‘wait-and-see’ stance.
d
; 0 2ЫЫГ [/i'4 t]
9c
kokubetsu-shiki wa kojm no ishi ni yori kinshinsha dake no missf) de okonau
In accordance with the wish of the deceased, the funeral is held as a
private cerem ony for the next-of-kin only.
37.3 N O U N d a k e (+ COPULA)
W hen used as pred., N dake attaches cop., (although in practice it is often
omitted). This is commonly used with cleft S (see 23). gurai can also be used
instead o f dake here, although dake has a more restrictive ring, i.e. ‘only’ as
opposed to ‘ab o u t the only’ (see 61.1.3).
a FZH [ / ; 't t ] t '- f j £
sore dake desu to kippari
‘T h at’s all’, [he] said flatly.
jitaku de nonbiri suru no wa shogatsu sanganichi dake
The only time I relax at hom e is the first three days o f the new year.
37.4 C LAU SE b u n dake
bun is a N m eaning ‘rate’, and in com bination w ith dake indicates th at a
state (a clause ending in an adjectival expression) applies ‘in proportion to ’
or ‘to the extent o f S’ of the clause to which it is attached (see 2).
а
[fc*tt] м т ш ж т ^ Ь о
ηΐηζϋ ga 6i bun dake ningen kankei wa fukuzatsu ni naru
As the num ber o f persons [sharing accom m odation] is large, hum an
relationships become proportionally complex.
issho ni iru jikan ga sukunai bun dake shinken ni musuko to muki-aeta
It was because we had so little time together th at I was able to face
my son m ore seriously.
37.5 VE R B (to iu) dake C O PU LA
A f t er V, dake ( u s ua l l y f ollowed by a f o r m o f t he c o p. ) indicat es t h a t t h e
action o f V is ‘all one/it, etc. do cs / ac h i eve s’, flake c a n be reinforced by tada,
as in e x a m p l e b.
N o te also the com bination V dake de sumu (see also 31.2 for sim ilar uses
of cop.).
a ΪΖϊύ'ο
[tz\j]0
s6 ka. hont6 ni iku no ka to kantan ni kotaeta dake
All [he] did was reply briefly, Ί see. Are you really going?’
b
< X ....... 0 t z t m b [fc' tt] T t i o
daiji na toki ni yaku ni tatanakute . . . tada ayamaru dake desu yo
H aving been useless when it m atters . . . all I can do is just apologize.
keikan ya ikimono-tachi о nagameru dake de mo tanoshii
Just looking at the sights and the [wild] life is fun.
d
i i - fey
[£4t] Х Ш - о
kasetto-shiki ni hamekomu dake de sumu
All you have to do is insert it [= the w ater filter] like a cassette.
3 7 .6 C L A U S E d a k e de (w a) nai
W ith a following neg., the m eaning is ‘n o t o nly’, ‘no t merely’,
soi kufu wa meka dake de wa nai
It is n o t only the m anufacturers who are creative and resourceful.
b
Ъ [ £ T t t " i i й > '] <r>tzQ
shokurin wa midori о kaifuku suru dake de wa nai no da
R eforestation does no t merely restore the greenery.
3 7.7 N O U N 1 d a k e de (w a) n aku . . . N O U N 2 m o /g a
A ttached to N (or NP), this indicates the m eaning o f ‘not only, bu t also’,
bakari can be used in exactly the same way (see 17.5).
a * [tz И Х Ъ < ]
[t>]
губ dake de naku shitsu no men de mo sai wa okii
The difference is considerable, n o t only in quantity, bu t also in
quality.
b ЙИФ- [ t z t f X b ( ]
CD#*·
nikutai dake de naku seishin no wakasa о tamotsu koto ga juyo
It is im p o rtant to m aintain youthfulness in spirit as well as in body.
с Ъ Р If'HX'li* (
ЛH¥Xb6o
onsei dake de wa naku senmei na dogaz6 mo okuriau koto ga dekiru
O n e c a n t r a n s m i t no t o n l y s o u n d , b u t al so c l e a r m o v i n g images.
d
:f£ [ f c - l t 'C f c a ,
14]
o-toshiyori wa mi no mawari no sewa dake de naku hanashi-aite mo
motomete iru
Elderly people are looking not only for someone to take care o f them,
but also for someone to talk to.
3 7.8 CLAUSE 1 d ak e C LAUSE 2
37.8.1 Clause 1 d ak e de clause 2 predicate-positive
de is the conjunctive form o f cop., m aking SI a condition for S2 in the sense
of ‘just by doing S I’, ‘doing SI is all you need to d o ’, bakari cannot be used
in this way.
а Ш < п т V Z l z & t f c t i [ f c 'tt- d
katei no terebi ni setsuzoku suru dake de gazo to oto о d6ji ni saisei
dekiru
All you do is hook it up to your television at hom e, and you can play
back images and sound simultaneously.
b -к ш ъ x O
[fc'tt-C]
josei wa chotto y6fuku о kaeta dake de kibun ga maemuki ni naru
Women get a positive feeling ju st from changing their clothes.
37.8.2 Clause 1 d ak e d e w a clause 2 predicate-negative
de is the conjunctive form of cop., m aking SI a condition for S2 in the sense
th at SI is insufficient for S2 to happen: ‘just by doing S I ’, ‘if all you do
is . .
yasui dake de wa sh6hin wa urenai
Products d o n ’t sell just by being cheap.
chiri-teki ni chikai dake de wa keizaiken nado naritatanai
Just because [certain countries] are in geographical proxim ity does not
mean th at an economic bloc is feasible.
37.9 CLAUSE d ak e ni
T h is indicat es a n e m p h as i z e d r ea s o n ‘all the m o r e so b e c a u s e ’, ‘precisely
bec au s e-.
a
[f c' t t i ch
zenrei ga nai dake ni dore dake dashitara ii no ka kento ga
tsukanakatta
Because o f the lack of precedent, we h ad no idea how much
[severance money] we should pay.
b
[ / i 't t ic ]
daishizen no naka de no kyogi dake ni namakizu ga taenai
As m ight be expected from an o u td o o r contest [cycle racing], h e’s
always bruised and raw.
ikuji куйка о toreba chiisho kigyo dake ni genshoku fukki no hosho
wa nai
As it’s a small-sized business, if you take leave o f absence for childcare,
there is no guarantee o f getting back your form er post.
38 dattara [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
(See 191)
39 datte [FOCUS PARTICLE]
The focus P datte is attached to N /pron. as a m ore colloquial and em phatic
equivalent to the focus P mo (see 94.1, 94.6.1).
Note - there is also a conjunction datte (used on its own, at the beginning of a sentence, in the
sense of ‘but’) (see 30.4).
a fa [ b t ]
watashi datte kodomo ga hoshii
I too w ant children.
ь —
[ лг о- с] i £*$»<'<
niman-en-dai datte mada takai kurai da
[A price in the] 20,000-yen range is still to o high.
40 de [CASE PARTICLE]
The basic function o f the case particle de is to m ark the location or m eans of
an action. It often translates into an English preposition (‘in’/‘at7 ‘by7‘with7
‘fo r’, etc.). Some further uses are given below.
N o t e t h a t b ef or e N , [ni no N ] is n o t p os s i b l e , i n s t e a d |dc no N] is used. In
o t h e r w o r d s , de no N can in this c a se e x p r e s s a s t a l i \ c Ιοι-.itmn (see 1 16),
although this is limited to N th at have verbal or adjectival m eaning (see
40.1.2 for details).
For the com binations de + yoi/ii/jfflnin, etc. see 31.2. See also 37.5 d.
40.1
40.1.1
40.1.2
40.2
40.2.1
40.2.2
40.3
40.4
40.5
40.6
40.6.1
40.6.2
40.7
40.8
Active o r stative location
N oun de predicate: active location
N oun de no noun: active o r stative location
M eans or method of action o f verb
W ith action verb
W ith verb of information: source o f inform ation
Indicates basis for judgem ent
N oun de shirareru
N oun (noun = time expression) de
M arks the extent of people involved in the action o f verb
N o u n (noun = individual(s)) de
N oun (noun = organization) de: m arks a topic
N o u n (noun = am ount) de: m arks unit or total
Indicates reason
40.1 A C TIV E O R STATIVE LO C A TIO N
Depending on whether pred. is dynam ic or stative, de indicates active or
stative location. In English, both translate as ‘in’, ‘a t’.
40.1.1 Noun de predicate: active location
This indicates the place where the action o f V takes place.
а Ь И Ь H l/X b 7 > [ t ]
im b 0
motomoto resutoran de shokuji suru no wa suki
I’ve always liked eating [in] restaurants.
b
[t]
osaka daigaku de hakk6 kogaku о mananda
He studied ferm entation engineering [at] O saka University.
40.1.2 Noun de no noun: active or stative location
This indicates the place to which an action or state applies. N ote that this is
limited to N th at have verbal or adjectival meaning implied, and would take
de anyway.
a /£Щ ['( &')]
(cf.,
tcntft de no ninki mo jftjii da
l·:) „
Its p o p u l a ri t y in the s hop s is ;\lso jircal (el'., is popular in the shops).
b z h i sz r > m [tw]
kore ga kono kuni de no yarikata da
This is the way things are done in this country (cf., things are done in
this country).
40.2
MEANS OR METHOD OF ACTION OF VERB
W ith action V, the m eaning is ‘by’, ‘w ith’, ‘th ro u g h ’, etc. whereas with V of
in fo rm a tio n th e m ean in g is ‘fro m ’ o r ‘t h r o u g h ’ som e m ed iu m o f
com m unication.
40.2.1 With action verb
a I t * '9
["C] i t * So
karui ue katei no sentakuki de araeru
It’s light, and m oreover one can m achine w ash it (lit. “wash [by]
m achine”) at home.
b ΐШ И Л * [t-J i i f
j6h6 wa kane de wa kaenai
You can ’t buy inform ation [with] money.
с m m , ъ н ь х п щ . (ίο )
[-с] Ш 5 о
kaze wa uirusu no himatsu kansen de densen suru
Colds spread [through] viral droplet infection.
40.2.2 With verb of information: source of information
W ith V o f inform ation like shiru/wakaru, etc., de can indicate the source of
the inform ation, or the m eans by which one learns/understands som ething.
a * U t [X]
It A: о
hodo de shitte iru dake da
I only know it from the news.
ь ■ ■ ■ г у ' г - ы т . [ t- ]
anketo ch6sa de wakatta
. . . becam e clear through a survey.
40.3
INDICATES BASIS FOR JUDGEMENT
This translates as ‘according to ’, ‘by’, etc.
a
[T ]
о
takasa wa suitei de yaku rokujus-senchi
T h e h ei g h t is a b o u t 6 0 c m by es limate.
ь H r# itw a * — a [ t ]
shinsen na no ga hitome de wakaru
You can see it’s fresh at a glance.
с k r f i L [ t i i i , Щ&Х. 0 i - k \ i < r > ^ ¥ ' ^ t £ a
kaneko-san no kansatsu de wa dansei yori mo josei no ho ga reisei da
According to K aneko-san’s observation, women are m ore cool-headed
than men.
40.4 NOUN de shirareru
W ith the pass, o f the V shiru, indicates what som ething/body is ‘known fo r’.
а
[ T i t f abf oho
seijitsu na hitogara de shirareru
He is know n for his sincere personality.
b &Шз ->Щлщи. [T i ^ b h b f S r ; c
jikasei tofu no ry6ri de shirareru mise da
I t’s a restaurant th at is known for dishes of hom em ade bean curd.
40.5 NOUN (NOUN = TIME EXPRESSION) de
This indicates the time or period over which action o f V takes place/is
completed ‘in ’, ‘over’, ‘as o f’.
a
[ T i ~\%\'-ШГь L t £о
kono ichinen de nibai ni fukuranda
p n ] the past year, it [the num ber o f buyers for foreign parts] has
doubled.
ь - я - a # [ т -i m i t S o
ichigatsu tsuitachi-zuke de shiinin suru
He takes up the position as o f January 1st.
с
[ T i A ‘> ' l fco
kumiai-su wa ninen renzoku de gensho shita
The num ber o f unions decreased [for] two years in succession.
d 5*4- [T ]
kotoshi de shihan seiki ga sugita
This year, a quarter of a century has passed.
40.6 MARKS THE EXTENT OF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE
ACTION OF VERB
I'hc N to which dc a t tac h es can refer to either i ndivi duals o r or ganizati ons.
40.6.1 Noun (noun = individual(s)) de
Here, de m eans ‘by’ or ‘w ith’ w hen the noun refers to individuals.
a
['C"]
о
jibun no hy6ka wa jibun de suru mono
M y own assessment is som ething I do myself.
b
[T ]
jugyoin nanaju-nin de sutato suru
We will start with 70 employees.
40.6.2 Noun (noun = organization) de: marks a topic
A lthough de can be interpreted as m arking the place o f action here, it is
similar in use to the particle wa in th at it is custom ary to m ark the topic o f
the sentence with de if the topic is an organization. In other words, to m ark
organizations th at are topics, de (wa) tends to be used ra th e r than ju st wa
(see 236.4).
а Щ Щ - Ы [T ]
dosho nado de gen'in о shirabete iru
The said police station, am ong others, is looking into the cause.
b ЩЩоЩ [ T ]
IX's'Zo
do-dobutsuen de wa shiin wa r6sui to shite iru
The said zoo views the cause o f death [of the animal] as old age.
40.7 NOUN (NOUN = AMOUNT) de: MARKS UNIT OR TOTAL
Here, de m arks a unit or a total.
а
[ t ] -tW flo
nyujorvo wa ikkai-ken de nanahyaku-en
The entrance fee is ¥ 7 0 0 fo r a single ticket.
ь
[-г] + л .-» м x h b o
zenbu de jiihachi saizu aru
In all, there are 18 sizes.
40.8 INDICATES REASON
In com pound S (SI de S2), de can indicate the reason for S2. (See 75, 139,
190).
а
[T ]
9 /? „
kotoshi wa tenk6 fujun de yama ni wa nao yuki ga 6i so da
T h is year , [ o w i n g t o ] b a d w e a t h e r , t h ey sa y t h a t t he r e is still a lot o f
s n o w in the m o u n t a i n s .
Note - de (the conjunctive form of cop.) is often used in similar contexts (for an example,
see 41).
41 de [CASE PARTICLE] AND de [CONJUNCTIVE FORM
OF COPULA]: COMPARISON
The case P de m ust not be confused with the pin. conjunctive form o f the
cop., especially as they can appear in similar-looking types of sentence, (see
35) cop. de usually appears in wa-de-type sentences which could be ended as
an independent sentence w ith da/desu/datta/deshita, etc. C om pare the
following:
а
[T ], f
0
kanetsu suru kamera biimu de 6ku no kishu ga tojo shita
[In ] the m ad craze for new cameras, m any new m odels have appeared,
(de = case P)
b 1 Щ?A Z & z . h - k i i l i 65. 0% [ T ] ,
ichijikan to kotaeta josei wa rokujiigo-pasento de dansei no bai
chikai
(The ratio o f) women who replied ‘1 hour’ [w as] 65.0%, nearly
double th at o f men. (de = conjunctive form o f cop., cf., b ' below)
b' % 1 Ф М Е & £ Л :* ‘1£Й 650% [ЛГ-эЛ]о U * U i)
ichijikan to kotaeta josei wa rokujiigo-pasento datta. (korewa) dansei no
bai chikai
[The ratio of] women who replied ‘1 h o u r’ [was] 65.0%. [That is]
nearly double th at of men.
Note - in combinations like de yoi/ii/jubun, de is also the conjunctive form of cop. (see 31.2).
42 demo [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
demo must not be confused with de mo [case P] + [focus Р]. In the latter case
mo can be taken away without changing the logical m eaning o f the sentence,
demo, on the other hand, is one (non-detachable) unit th at indicates the idea
o f ‘for instance’, i.e. an item is specified that could be replaced by a similar
one w ithout changing the m eaning (note, however, the use of demo w ith
question words, where this test does not work (see 167). Examples a and b
show instances where mo can be detached.
a v'T-H/vM [Т Ч ]
(cf., AM [T ] &fL
ί/.ure ningen de mo hakken sareru kano-sei wa aru
T h e r e is a possibility that s o o n e r o r later it [= the b o d y clock] will be
discovered in h u m a n s , too.
b Ь
[ ti]
(cf., —
[ t ] 5 to )
mo sukoshi chiisakereba nisen gohyakuman-en demo tatsu
If it [= the house] were a little smaller, it could be built even for
25 m illion yen.
A nother difference between de mo and demo is th a t the latter can attach to
other case P, such as kara, ni, to, etc.:
с ЙЛ 4 t COt i а
7
t£?> I b \ r z - b ' b [ 1 4 ] # . 0 -M i * „
yoi mono wa nihon daroO ga 6shQ daro ga doko kara demo toriireru
We take good products from anyw here, w hether it’s Japan or
Europe.
F o r a com parison with other P used in the sense o f ‘even’, see 43.
42.1
42.1.1
42.1.2
42.1.3
42.2
42.3
42.4
42.4.1
42.4.2
42.4.3
42.5
N o u n (particle) demo
N o u n demo + positive predicate
N o u n demo + negative predicate
N o u n to demo + verb o f com m unication
N oun dake demo
Adverbial clause-te demo
Q uestion w ord + demo
Question w ord (+ particle) demo
N oun-m odifying question w ord + noun demo
donna ni . . . demo
Idiom atic uses
42.1 NOUN (PARTICLE) demo
42.1.1 Noun demo + positive predicate
This indicates the idea of ‘even’, mo can also be used here, with less emphasis
on the idea o f ‘even’.
а Гz 7 L
[ti> ]
о
ко shita henken wa ima demo nokotte iru to shiteki suru
‘This kind of prejudice rem ains even now ,’ he points out.
b
[tЧ ].
$H 60
gojuman-en о shitamawatta baai demo futsO yokin to onaji kinri ga tekiyo
sareru
liven w h e n [the bal ance] falls b e l o w h a l f a mil li on yen, the sa me r a t e of
interest appl ies as for o r d i n a r y depos i t s.
42.1.2 Noun demo + negative predicate
W ith a neg. pred. demo indicates the meaning of ‘not even’, mo, sae and sura
co uld all be used instead o f demo; mo w ith less em phasis, sae/sura with
m ore.
а
[Т Ч ]
mukashi no ishihara yiijiro toka misora hibari demo hyakuman-mai wa
urete inai
N o t even the old Yujiro Ishihara and H ibari M isora [albums] have sold
a million.
b 7 - l· £ 0 *
[T"&]
К + Д. / > h l i h t *) H & '-'b Lv-'o
terebizuki no kodomo demo nyiisu ya dokyumento wa amari minai
rashii
It seems th at n o t even children who like TV w atch news and
docum entaries much.
42.1.3 Noun to demo + verb of communication
Sandw iched between N + quotation P to and a V o f com m unication, this
indicates a non-comm ittal or unsure way of putting something ‘for instance’,
‘perhaps’.
a
b in
[ £ Τ' t> ]
kokoro no sukima о umeru уб na hon to demo yobenai daro ka
C o u ld n ’t one perhaps call it a book that heals a broken heart?
b ifflf <nfa<r>®.hЧ Ш ί ϋ Τ π ζ , ; #рж [ £ Т Ч ]
Ί b 'a
hosomi no karada no sen ga кубсЬб sarete iru yanagigoshi to demo iu no
daro ka
The line o f her slim body is emphasized. This is w hat one might call
‘willow hips’ (= a slim figure), I suppose.
42.2
NOUN dake demo
This expresses the idea of ‘ju st’, ‘even ju s t’ (see 37).
a
[AittT"*)]■··
semete kotsiihi dake demo
If even just the transportation expenses (could be paid) . . .
b [ A 'l t - f t l -S.'ftffl m t h l i
kono shuyo yon-gy6shu dake demo san'oku-cn о koeta уб da
It a p p e a r s t ha t [the d o n a t i o n s by] j ust these four ma i n types o f indust ry
e x c ee ded t hr ee h u n d r e d million yen
118 Japanese: A C om prehensive G ra m m a r
42.3 ADVERBIAL CLAUSE-te demo
demo can be sandwiched between an adverbial clause and the pred. it modifies,
in the sense o f ‘even if it m eans d o in g ’, ‘for instance’ (see 31.5).
а
ь. Φ
η
ΐ :
?
i
[ττ4 ] Ш о
kokunai kikan кйкб ga кбЬе ni utsutte mo itami о komyOta ya sesuna-уб
to shite demo nokosu
Even if the dom estic hub airp o rt m oves to K obe, we will retain Itam i
as, for instance, [an airport] for com m uters or Cessnas.
b
tz i I
ζ> f i ' X
i
i> i i W J
^ о
ό
[XX'i]
X i i i i ύ* ь
^ 'o
bijutsu to iu mono wa damashite demo ii kara tanin ni sakuhin о ika ni
nattoku saseru ka de kimaru mono to itte habakaranai
He doesn’t hesitate to say ‘A rt [business] is decided by how you
convince others o f the w ork, even if it m eans cheating them ’.
[ t t t ] ί ί ϊ ύ' $· °6 £ · # £ < ί£ ο
kyQjQ yonen-san ga kiroku-teki na h6saku ni natta hanmen ureyuki mo
warui to atte nesage shite demo sabakazaru о enaku natta
While ’94 was a bum per harvest [rice] w asn’t selling well, and therefore
we had to get rid o f it, even if it m eant low ering prices.
42.4 QUESTION WORD + demo
42.4.1 Question word (+ particle) demo
The com bination o f a question word and demo results in a variety o f meanings
depending on the question w ord, including ‘every’, ‘any’, ‘no m a tte r’ (see
Table 23, 167).
N ote especially how particles like ka an d ni are ‘sandw iched’ between the
question w ord and demo (exam ples d an d e).
a
Ш хь] - lit о
akaboshi-san wa eigy6 kara furo s6ji made nan demo konasu
A kaboshi-san handles everything [in the hotel], from operations to
cleaning the bath.
b t o t < И 6 £ 2 ? > 0 {& h l i \ I v - O t - 4 ] № * & t 6 o
katte kureru tokoro ga areba itsu demo кубкуй suru
If t he r e ar e places that will b u y f r o m us, w e ’ll su pp l y a n \ lime
с [и-э- f t ] ,
l/i'n 'C -t], m ^ r z l l Z t c Z t r t i Z Z W b b o
itsu demo doko demo dare demo sake ya tabako nado о kau koto ga
dekiru
[In Japan,] anybody can buy alcohol and cigarettes any time, any place.
d W V U i'X ' i 1 t k b i A X r b Λ/ο
nanmai ka demo e о misete goran
Go ahead and show me even just a few pictures.
e Щ Щ Ь [iriu -c t] Ш ьЬЪ К ьЬ& У Щ Х 'ЬШ Х Ь b 0
kichikyoku о doko ni demo тбкегагеги tame chikagai demo tsiiwa
dekiru
Because the base station can be set up anywhere, one can use the
[mobile] telephone even in an underground mall.
42.4.2 Noun-modifying question word + noun demo
Q words used before N include dono and donna, w ith the com bination
m eaning ‘every’ (see Table 23, 167, Table 9). mo can also be used in the
same sense.
a [£V>] £ £ [ t U
dono shibai demo zenhan ni shinki-kusai tokoro ga aru
Every play has a tedious part in the first half.
42.4.3 donna ni . . . demo
Here the m eaning is ‘no m atter how ’ or ‘even’. N o te th at demo can be
positioned quite a long distance away from the question-word, as in example
b (see 167.2.1.2).
a W l l i [£**,£{::] l
> [Xi]
seifuku wa donna ni shareta dezain demo kaisha no mono
Uniforms, no m atter how sm art the design, belong to the company.
b
Cl
[ft]
! i Щ C0
donna ni yochokin о takuwae manshon о konyuzumi no dokushin kizoku
demo j6ky6 wa onaji
The situation is the same, even with single people with large savings
and an apartm ent already purchased.
42.5
IDIOMATIC USES
I d i oma t i c e x p r e s s i o n s with dem o inc l ude sukoshi dem o ‘even a little’ a n d
пика demo ‘o f / a m o n g ’.
sukoshi demo denkidai о heraso to shite iru
W e’re trying to reduce our electricity bill, even by just a little.
b IM ,
b 'U 't ]
о
kenshiki hinkaku ni sukoshi demo chikazukitai to omotta
I th o u g h t th at I wanted to com e into contact w ith discernment and
dignity, even in a m inor way.
43 demo, made, mo, sae, sura: COMPARISON
These P can all m ean ‘even’. H ow ever, mo is used in this sense only in
certain uses (see 94.2, 94.3 an d 94.8 (after V /adj.-te)). In several uses (see
94.2.2, 94.2.1.2 and 94.3), sae/sura can be used instead o f mo. In 94.6.1, mo
can be replaced with demo. In 94.7, sae/sura could be used instead o f mo,
but w ith the m eaning o f ‘even’, no t ‘also’.
demo can be replaced with the w eaker mo in uses 42.1.1 and 42.1.2, and by
sae and sura in 42.1.2.
made can be replaced by sae a n d sura in uses 86.2 a and b (mo is also
possible, b u t only in the sense o f ‘also’), bu t not after am ounts (see 86.2c).
sae can be replaced by the w eaker mo in uses 176.1.1 (neg. S only, w ith pos.
S mo m eans ‘also’, not ‘even’) and 176.1.3. sae can be replaced by sura in all
its uses, except in uses sae 176.1.4 (but only w ith N-suru V) and 176.2.
sura can be replaced by sae in all uses, an d by mo in uses 185.1 and 185.2
(neg. S only; in pos. S the m eaning of mo w ould be ‘also’), 185.1.2 and
185.3. In 185.1.1.1, made can also be used instead o f sura, and in 185.1.3
sura mo can be replaced w ith sae mo and made mo.
44 DEMONSTRATIVE/QUESTION WORDS AND
PRONOUNS
W hen used to point at things, dem onstrative w ords/pron. m ake a three-way
distinction, which is based on proxim ity to the speaker or listener: ко- ‘this’
(near speaker), so- ‘th at’ (near listener) and a- ‘th a t over there’ (distant from
both). The endings attached differ according to w hether what is referred to
is a thing or place, is used by itself like a N o r to m odify a N, etc.
However, dem onstrative w ords/pron. are also used to refer to previous or
following context, where the above three-way distinction does not apply to
in quite the same way - refer to the examples in 45.2.
Q uestion (or interrogative) w ords + pron. (beginning with the syllable ‘do-’,
which is equivalent to English ‘w h~’) share the same endings as the ko-/so-/
a- series (see 167, 164).
Table 9 ko-so-a-do sets of demonstrative pronouns and question words
ko-
so-
fl
do-
meaning (ko-ldo-)
kore
kochira*
sore
sochira
are
achira
dore
dochira
(konata)
koko
(sonata)
soko
anata
asoko
donata
doko
koitsu
soitsu
aitsu
doitsu
‘this/which (one)’
‘this/which
(direction)’
‘this/which (one) of
two’
‘this/which (person)’
‘you/who (polite)’
‘this/which (place)’,
‘here/where’
‘this fellow’
[male informal use]
N-modifying
kono
k5iu
koitta
konna
sono
soiu
s6itta
sonna
ano
aiu
aitta
anna
dono
doiu
doitta
donna
‘this/which N ’
‘this/what kind of N ’
Adverbial
кб
konna ni
so
sonna ni
a
anna ni
d5
donna ni
‘like this/how’
‘this much/how
much’**
N-equivalent
kono уб ni
konna fu ni
dono уб ni
donna fit ni
Notes * colloquially kotchi, sotchi, atchi, dotchi.
** indicating degree; cf., ikura ‘how much (money)’
Others include dare ‘w ho’, dochira ‘which’, dore ‘w hich’, itsu ‘when’, ikura
‘how m uch (m oney)’, nani ‘w hat’ (see 167 and Table 23).
One o f the differences between dore and dochira is its use in com parative
sentences, where dochira refers to a choice of two items, and dore of three of
more (see 25).
45 DEMONSTRATIVE WORDS AND PRONOUNS: USE
45.1
Demonstratives: spatial/tem poral reference
45.2 Demonstratives: discourse reference
45.2.1 Preceding context: kono/sono/ano noun, kore, sore, are, ко iu, кб
itta, konna, sonna, anna
45.2.2 Following context: konna
45.1 DEMONSTRATIVES: SPATIAL/TEMPORAL REFERENCE
D em onstratives are used to p o in t at, or refer to, persons, places, time, and
things. N ote especially example c, where kono expresses the literal m eaning
o f “these 22 years”, i.e. ‘the past 22 years’.
a & z . l i [Zco] ^ — y c o ^ ' f l z i b I) i f 0
kotae wa kono peji no migishita ni arimasu
T he answer is [found] on the lower right o f [th is] page.
b [i« ]
sono toki kakete itadaita kotoba wa ima demo watashi no takaramono no
уб ni natte iru
I still treasure the words people said to me at [those] times [when I
needed help with my pottery],
с [ico] —
*h0
kono nijQni nenkan ganjitsu daro ga gaikoku ni iy6 ga maiasa kakasazu
rokkirometoru aruite kita
F o r [the p ast] 22 years, I’ve walked 6km every m orning w ithout fail, be
it New Y ear’s Day, [at home] or abroad.
d г
Г
[
&
с
о
]
Λ,/ d - o X b ^ X U h ^ L X t l \ 0
tonde iru hik6ki о minagara ano hikoki no enjin wa ore ga tsukutta n da
tte itte mitai n desu yo
L ooking at a flying aircraft, I ’d like to say ‘I m ade the engine o f th at
aircraft’.
45.2 DEMONSTRATIVES: DISCOURSE REFERENCE
O ne im p o rtan t use o f dem onstratives is to refer to previous or following
context.
45.2.1 Preceding context: kono/sono/ano noun, kore, sore, are, кб
iu, кб itta, konna, sonna, anna
In general, the a- series is often used to refer to som ething th at is shared
knowledge between speaker/listener, w riter/audience, etc. (example i).
konna/sonna/anna sometimes refer back to previous context in a critical way
(example f, etc.).
N ote also the use of sonna before personal pron. (example h), and relational
N (example j), which is som ething you do not find in English.
a =
Η
-
Λ
.
Ι
Μ
4
ϋ
Γ
*
>
£ * i
sanjOhachioku-nen mae no koto da. kono кого no kaisui no губ ya
kagaku sosei wa genzai to amari chigai wa nakatta
3800 million years ago. A t th at time, there w asn’t m uch difference to
now with regard to things like the am ount o f ocean water and chemical
make-up.
b
r # A * J -7— и
ο
[ * * ι] Ш А А й * *
Ш о χ Л /с о
masa ni seiki-matsu о shocho suru ka no уб na satsujin-bon bimiu. sore о
yomi-tagaru gendaijin no shinri о sagutte mita
There’s a veritable [non-fiction] m urder book boom . W e’ve looked into
the psychology o f contem porary people, who w ant to read these
[= m urder books],
с [ b h ] ν'λ%^ k<V%t!l<r>t' <Xi{i k - 5 . - ? X l £ - o X ....... 0
are irai shima no katsud6 no subete ga tomatte shimatte . . .
Since th at time [of the earthquake], all activity on the island has come
to a stan d still. . .
■■■[2 ή v-'7] / v i A # Q£-lZ%LX^' Z<Dfz0
wazuka hyakunanju-en to iu tetsud6 ya basu ryokin mo ukatsu ni
shiharaenai gaku ni chigainai. . . kf> iu hito mo ozei nihon ni kite iru no da
N o doubt, [for her] a train or bus fare of a mere hundred and
something yen is an am ount th at is not easily affordable .. . Lots of
people [like this] have come to Japan.
e
b I)
I ^ b
Ш - о Х < 6 ± ί fclfi 1***1- [ 2 i
-U c iiJ L tf if c o
ishiki ga hakkiri shite iru no ni karada ga ugokanai, nani yara osoroshii
mono ga jibun о osotte kuru уб na kanji ga suru. ko itta sh6j6 mo K-san
ni wa mirareta
You can’t move your body even though you are fully conscious, and
you feel as if something terrible is going to attack you. [That kind o f]
symptom, too, was observed with K.
f f t f t f T i * {2 L b ] t m x i i ,
X'bbô
shokan kancho ga konna ninshiki de wa, tokushu hojin kaikaku wa dekinai
If the authorities in charge have [such [= insufficient]] understanding, a
reform of special administrative corporations is impossible.
g a ffili& fb A ftt
[ U i ] Ш Ь ^ Х ' U 7o
riso wa okugai da kedo t6kyo ni wa sonna basho nai desho
T h e ideal [place for o u r rural d a n c e | is o u t d o o r s , but in T o k y o t here
i sn ’t [ t h at sort o f ] space, I think
h W ht^Z hX -T -xbhX & L X , т ш -^ (ГА''У)
\b tz L o t i M i X t f a ]
lc*l< 2®-0
co-fe'j 7 f \
ft0
l* c L * A '\$L-k i ^ X ll- g : ·? tz h -Шг^со h y - / y y i — t z a
shSbu-dokoro de k6su о machigaete asari junko (daihatsu) ni tsuzuku
nii. watashi tte manuke desu ne no serifu de ichiyaku zenkokuku no
ninkimono to natta. sonna kanojo mo ima de wa d6d6-taru sekai no
toppu ranna da
A t the decisive m om ent she to o k the w rong course an d ended up
second behind Asari Junko (D aihatsu). H er w ords ‘I ’m a bit thick,
aren’t I?’ m ade her instantly fam ous nationw ide. [She (lit. “th at sort o f
she”)] is now w ithout question one o f the w o rld ’s to p runners.
i У· - ; ! ) — <τ>υ—
у
[ & h ] a m & i X i k t Ή — K<r>feWz0
sakka no warudo kappu are wa kuni о daihyo suru jiiichinin no ketto da
The soccer W orld Cup, [ t h a t j ’s a battle [fought by] 11 men
representing their country.
j [£ Α Λ ·] t , Z h l £ Y' Jzb <
sonna naka, kore hodo okikute medatsu tokei mo mezurashii
A m ong such [clocks at well-know n m eeting points], there are few clocks
th at are th at large and noticeable.
45.2.2 Following context: konna
konna can also be used to introduce things that are m entioned in the following
context:
а
ZYtt-?X ^tz
aru danshi daigakusei ga konna koto о itte ita.
A certain male university student said [this]:
b U A ,£ ] M L B ^ X t t z
konna shushi no bunsho da
I t’s a docum ent with [this kind o f] content:
46 DESIDERATIVE SENTENCES
D esiderative S are S th a t indicate w hat som ebody w ants to do, have, or
wishes (an) other(s) to do. S endings like -tai (to omou) (see 189), -(y)o to
omou/kangaeru (see 249) indicate w hat the speaker w ants to do; the adj.
hoshii (see 68) indicates w hat the speaker w ants to have; and the S ending
-te hoshii (see 197) indicates w hat the speaker w ants others to do for his/her
benefit (see also 57).
Note
w i t h - t a i a n d h o s h i i , b o t h t h e c a s e I’s ц а a i u l о t a n I»· u. c«l
ιμ·ι·
^
V MX 1)
47 de wa [SOURCE OF INFORMATION]
Other th an being simply a regular com bination o f de [case particle or cop.]
+ wa [focus particle], de wa also has the specialized use o f indicating source
o f inform ation (see 181.3). In this use it is synonym ous with ni yoru to and
ni yoreba, b u t can only be added to non-hum an sources (see 131).
а % т V t: T 'ii
terebi de wa
according to the TV
But not
b % Suzuki-san de wa
W ith hu m an sources, hanashi or an other appropriate N (shirabe, etc.) m ust
be inserted.
с H f f f l L t n U [ t - 'ii ] 4 T'< V)V*£*:\±
Z £ X ' 3 L $ k l X ^ b [Z ? ] t za
amano gikan no hanashi dewa apareru nado wa JIS о genmitsu ni
mamotta fuku wa urenai to made shucho shite iru s5 da
A ccording to w hat technical officer Am ano says, garm ent
[maufacturers] even claim th at clothing that follows the JIS
[= Jap an Industrial Standard] to the letter doesn’t sell.
48 DIALECT FORMS
Japanese h as a lot o f dialect variation, although the m edia are having the
effect o f levelling the differences. The K ansai dialect o f the K yoto/O saka
area is encountered sometimes in writing (i.e. fiction) and films (esp. gangster
movies), a n d is also quite ubiquitous on TV, w ith the abundance o f ‘TV
talents’ from the Kansai area. M ost Japanese are quite familiar with its char
acteristics, an d especially am ong the young in Tokyo it is quite fashionable
to throw in some Kansai forms, partly due to the abundance of popular TV
talents from K ansai who appear on national television.
In Table 10 are some common variants, com pared to standard usage.
Some o th er general tendencies:
Long vowels are shortened
do ‘how’
dar5 (-(y)5 form of cop.)
no
—> do
—» yaro
n
D o u b l e c o n s o n a n t s ar e of ten c h a n g e d to single c o n s o n a n t s (wi th a c c o m
pany i ng vo w e l changes).
Table 10 Some standard/Kansai dialect forms
Standard
Kansai
yo
ne
zo
da
daro
ii
to [quotation P]
to iu N
Y-nai
V-masu
V-mashita
V-te irassharu
—»wa (by men also)
—»nen
—* de
—» ya
—» yaro
—» ее
—»usually omitted (except set phrases and before chigau)
—»iu N
—»Y-hen*
—»Y-haru
—> V-hatta
—>V-te haru
Note * -hen is usually attached to the same forms as -nai, but note kama-hen
below, which is a contraction of kamawa-hen. Note also sehen, which is the
form derived from suru, equivalent to shinai in standard Japanese (for an
example of sehen see 115 c).
itte
—*
katte
—»
shimatte —»
iute
k5te
shimote
But note detotta, a contraction o f dete otta (oru/otta is the Kansai equivalent
o f iru/ita).
Some fixed expressions include the following:
arigato
n ja nai ka
sumimasen
ikura
taihen
> 5ki ni ‘th an k you’
—» n to chau/chaimasu ka ‘isn’t it’ (a contraction o f no to
chigau)
—* sunmahen ‘sorry’
—> nanbo ‘how much’
—* erai ‘very’
M ost o f the above-mentioned features can be found illustrated in the examples
below.
a l b [^ /v ]
kawa-hen ka
W on’t you buy?
b
ГП М Щ Ь .
[^ ] [^ ]j0
nanigoto ka to tazuneru to dare ka taore-hatta n ya
W hen we asked w hat was happening [we were told] ‘Som ebody’s
collapsed’.
с Щ & Х ^^ [Xlib] Ш < Ы £рШ /»Х \
[^ ],
£ & » .'£ I / t o
akashi de yatte haru hiruami no kiji о yonde kassei-ka no kimete wa kore
ya to omoimashita
Reading the article about the daytim e fishing they’re doing in Akashi,
I thought th a t’s the way to revitalize things.
d
[й-АлГ]
Ж [] [ ^ ? τ ]
Ш рЩ Ь
i'o
dojo ga nai tokoro de nanbo zenkoku hasshin ya iute mo kakegoe daore
ni owaru n to chigaimasu ka
N o m atter how m uch you m ight say (lit. “giving out inform ation to the
whole co untry”), where the ground’s not prepared, it’ll be just a shout
with no reaction.
e
Ж
^ t z b Γ [ £ ίΛ ']
[ t i i O ] i t [& & ]j fi L X
[ v . '7 t l
Z o ib ll Ш & 1 Х ( i t t t ) fc U ie lifiJ
( ^ ') o
.
kyoto yattara erai Ьепкуб shite harimasu na nante iute kureru kedomo
kotchi wa benkyo shite(makete) okunnahare (warai)
If it were K yoto, people m ight say to me ‘Y ou are very cheap!’, but
here they say ‘M ake it cheaper!’ (laughter).
f
[XU6]
0
[^ ]
X k tL IX [L U ]o
sunmahen soko ni suwatte haru hanayome-san ga anmari kirei na mon ya
kara yosomi shite shimote
Sorry, the bride sitting there is just so beautiful, I just couldn’t help
gazing at her.
g rs r^ L /h c o j
0ЯР-;Н ['■''AJ [ b ]
[& * ]j
d6 shita no to кое о kakeru to yappari kaerehen wa na to tsubuyaku
dansei
W hen I asked ‘W hat’s the problem ?’, a m an m uttered ‘C an’t get home,
after all’.
h
is is *
|c ] 0- д №
ЬгШ-\~Щ^Ь1- э Х ^ Ь 0
kansaiken igai no shusshinsha no aida de ichiban ki ni irarete iru
osakaben wa maido oki n i . . . nii wa sukki ya nen san'i ni wa kawahen to
atatakami no aru kotoba ga j6i ni agatte iru
The most popular Osaka dialect am ong those from areas other than
Kansai was maido oki ni (‘thanks every time’) . . . In second position
was sukki ya nen ‘you like it, d o n ’t you’), and in third, kamahen ‘I d o n ’t
mind', all warm-hearted expressions.
i
Ж
tt n \
^ ш г - t
t z b [£ '] \ Ъ Ъ \
ГЛ+^Х-Ш П I z t 6 l i 7 * ! I I I ]
? ] j r z h t , - т х ъ ъ т ^ у * - ) \ , ¥ ь ы & & ш гс< г> 'ш ь)ъ \'‘'
Х Ш Ж . Я н Ь Х Ш ' ' ' [] ' ' ' H k M i f c
[ t ] j a —$ 7 T 4
у x— о
senshii no sdkai de deta mondai ya kedo sekkeiryo no futan haibun wa
sen'yfl menseki о kijun ni shitara do yaro ka sanjukko de atamawari ni
suru h6 ga ее n to chau sore to ikkai de senyuchi ni manhdru ga aru
kumiaiin wa sono bun waribiite nedan kimete hoshii iu teian mo detotta
de koporatibu hausu
‘This is a point th at was raised in last w eek’s general meeting: how
ab o u t basing the share o f the planning fee on the area occupied?’ ‘Isn’t
it better to pay an equal share for each o f the 30 houses?’ ‘There was
also a proposal by those association m em bers whose land has a
m anhole at ground level, th a t they w anted som ething taken off the
price on th at basis.’ [corporate housing],
49 -domo [SUFFIX]
A ttached to N and pron. th at refer to persons, -domo indicates plural. W hen
attached to first person pron. (usually watakushi), -domo has a hum ble ring.
W hen used with third persons, it indicates a feeling o f contem pt or belittling.
Note - where the same plural is used twice in a sentence, the second one is usually formed by
different means, for stylistic reasons, (see 188, 168, 158, 145).
49.1 First person (watakushi)-domo
49.2 T hird person-domo
49.1 FIRST PERSON (watakushi)-domo
watakushi-domo means ‘we’ and is used in form al situations, often by persons
representing an organization (com pany, political party, hospital, etc.).
a f a [ I T t ] iiS f ic T 0 i
watakushi-domo wa ya ni kudarimashita
We have become the opposition.
b
fa
[ £ 4 ]
0 £
L J: ? „
watakushi-domo de yarimasho
We (= o ur com pany) will take it on.
С
fa
[£Ч1
й
й
с
и
ш
&
я
,
о
watakushi-domo no mise ni wa bodai na kazu no o-kyaku-sama
ga raiten suru
An enorm ous num ber o f custom ers visits our shop.
49.2
THIRD PERSON-domo
Attached to N, -domo gives the plural a ring o f contem pt. In example b, the
implication is that the other cats are useless or inferior, com pared to the old
cat.
а
m i t [£ Ч 1
Af0
jeshl-ra wa soko de ju о tori akut6-domo ni hangeki о hajimeru no da
At that stage, Jesse and his m en take their guns and begin to fight the
baddies.
b С
№ [£ 4 ]
о
со
yoru, neko-domo ga furuneko ni sono gokui о kiku. furuneko wa sorezore
udejiman no neko-tachi no itaranu tokoro о oshie
A t night, the cats ask the old cat about the secret [of catching rats].
The old cat tells the cats, each o f w hom takes pride in her abilities,
where they fall short, and . . .
50
DOUBLE NEGATIVES
Double neg. are widely used in Japanese. There are three types: double neg.
proper, which are a rhetorical device (e.g. ‘it’s not that I don’t . . . ’), neg. con
ditionals (‘m ust’, etc.), and the phrase V-zu ni wa irarenai ‘can’t help doing’.
As negatives cancel each other out, resulting in a positive meaning, they can
be seen as an alternative way o f expressing things, which in meaning ranges
from tentative to emphatic.
Double neg. can consist o f two neg. forms (incl. the negative adjective nai
‘there isn’t ’), o r a negative form following a lexical w ord th at has neg.
meaning, such as chiisai ‘little’, sukunai ‘few’, yasui ‘cheap’, etc.
50.1
50.1.1
50.1.2
50.1.3
50.1.4
50.2
50.2.1
50.2.2
50.2.3
50.2.4
50.2.5
50.3
D ouble negatives proper
Negative noun wa nai
nai/verb-nai de wa/mo nai
-nai de wa nai ka
Adj.-ku (wa) nai
Negative conditionals
Negative conditionals + negative
Negative conditionals (with ellipted negative)
Negative conditionals followed by other negative expressions
Negative conditionals + -mai (negative presumptive)
Negative conditionals: verb-zaru о enai
Verb-zu ni (wa) irarenai
50.1 DOUBLE NEGATIVES PROPER
(See also 115)
50.1.1 Negative noun wa nai
This is a n em phatic way o f expressing positive states such as ‘alw ays’,
‘everyone’ by using two neg.
a
b
ti& o -t
L [й -ν-Ί ЕШ [ £ ^ ] 0
e о minai hi wa atte mo kenchiku о minai hi wa nai
Even though there are days when I d o n ’t look at a painting, there are
no days when I don’t look at architecture.
Λ [Λ] t l i
[й‘Ч о
me о hosomenu kata wa nai
There is no one who doesn’t narrow their eyes [with delight],
50.1.2 nai/verb-nai de wa/mo nai
Lit. “it’s n o t the case t h a t . .. doesn’t ”, etc.: this is a tentative way o f express
ing a positive state o f affairs ‘a b it’, ‘som e’.
а
[bi'b
chQshd-gawa no kimochi mo wakaranai dewa nai
We do have some sym pathy for the feelings o f small and m edium
businesses.
b Wl S ^ <o-> —
Ъ j; о £ V 9 ' / 9 L
matasaki no shin ni wa chotto zokuzoku shinai demo nai
The scene [in the film] where the legs are to rn a p a rt feels a bit creepy.
kaikai-mae ni wa sameta кое ga kikoenai dewa nakatta
Before the congress, some sensible opinions were heard.
50.1.3 -nai de wa nai ka
In question form , double neg. are a way o f m ak in g a point forcefully or
aggressively (see 114.7).
a
ί0JLiSL
Ь со [Ό 'ίί
osokare hayakare jin'in no minaoshi ga hajimaru no de wa nai ka
Sooner or later, a reconsideration o f personnel will surely begin.
ь
£ ibbbK tbo
sore ga mamorarenai de wa nai desu ka to ikari о arawa ni suru
‘T h a t [ p r o m i s e t h a t t h e p e r f o r m a n c e s will b e strictly local] will n o t be
kept , r i g h t ? ’ he said, m a k i n g his a n g e r d e a r .
50.1.4 Adj.-ku (wa) nai
An adj. with-neg. meaning plus neg. makes for a somewhat emphatic way o f
expressing a positive content, in the sense o f lit. “not few”, i.e. ‘quite a few’,
etc.
a
[> '& < icv-Ίο
baikyaku ni saishi chika geraku ni nakasareta tokoro mo sukunakunai
W hen selling, quite a few places suffered from the drop in land prices.
50.2
NEGATIVE CONDITIONALS
These are found in many com binations between A and В below; literally,
they all m ean “it won’t do”/“it’s no good (= B) if no t (= A )”, i.e. ‘m ust’.
Table 11 Negative conditional combinations
A
В
Neg. condition!informal var. *
Second neg. (often om itted)
-nakereba
-nakute wa
-nai to
-neba
naranai
ikenai
ikan
dame
/-nakya
/-nakucha
/-nya
N ote * Can be lengthened to nakya, etc.
50.2.1 Negative conditionals + negative
a
[ X li? '/ ] о
papa to hanashite wa dame
Y ou m ustn’t talk with daddy.
hon о yomanakute wa naranai
W e need to read the book.
с t b
{fДо
iwanakereba naranai koto wa moshi ageta
I’ve told him the things that needed saying.
kigyo no shakai-teki sekinin kara itte mo tsuzukenakya ikan
Wo must continue, also from the point of view o f the com pany’s
responsibility towards society.
e к< ъШ № ь№ \ьт ^х\
[ h i i i b i '- i
sono kokorozashi wa bokura ga hikitsuide gyokaku wa yaraneba naranai
W e need to carry on his [= late MP] intentions, an d carry out
adm inistrative reform.
f
L i* U
[ i t < t w i r t i e l i 'o f c o
shikashi hoka no kanosei mo kangaenakute wa naranakatta
However, we had to consider other possibilities, too.
g
: ^ M X ' $ - ^ X [ii: <
h' bffijfrho
konpanion wa zutto egao de tatte nakucha ikenai kara tsukareru
[Being a] com panion is tiring as you need to be standing all the tim e
with a smile on your face.
h ( y u - t ' > h £ ) r t b [it (
it, i 0
(sorya = sore wa)
(purezento o) yaranakucha ikan na sorya to niyari
T il have to give her (a [birthday] present), w on’t I ’, he smirked.
i
L ^' Z. £ £ JC’ b [ { - ^νΛ ^'Α /]4···
tonikaku atarashii koto о yaranya ikan
A t any rate, we m ust do som ething new . . .
50.2.2 Negative conditionals (with ellipted negative)
The second neg. (В) is frequently om itted in speech and when indicating the
content o f one’s thoughts.
a
ь [ta iilo
ima yaraneba
We m ust do [it] now.
b $ m i x i > b h [fc ^ lo
nattoku shite morawanya
We m ust get people convinced.
с -g j& m z M L r r i t z t ' ^ x ?
[ i c ^ —3 i f —J
kishadan ni taishi d6 suru ka tte kimenya na
To the press corps [he said] ‘W hat are we going to do? W e’ve got to
decide . . .’
imasara kaeru wake ni wa ikanai desho. hokori о motte yaranai to
W e can ’t change things now. W e m ust do it [ - form ing a cabinet] w ith
pride.
e
|t e < t u b
Ьепкуб shinakute wa
W e m u s t s t ud y it |= the p r o p o s a l ]
‘i----------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------- ^
f i t w i c m - [ i . '{ ^ ] j 0
mazu kyoshujo ni ikanakucha
First o f all, I need to go to driving school.
g /tnz,
tabako yamenakya
I must stop smoking.
h
[tatflo
dainS no уб ni sozo-teki de araneba
It [= the Council] m ust be creative like the brain proper [= not
mechanical like the cerebellum].
50.2.3 Negative conditionals followed by other negative expressions
a £ 0£
[£ ^ ]0
torimatome wa hayaku yaranai to imi ga nai
There’s no point unless we settle m atters quickly.
50.2.4 Negative conditionals + -mai (negative presumptive)
-mai is a neg. pres, ending, which has the same meaning as nai daro (see 89,
163).
a
[fal£] i h [ i ^ ' L
oi ni jikai seneba narumai
N o doubt we m ust take great care [not to repeat the same mistake].
nihon no keizai shisutemu о kaete ikaneba naranai daro
W e’ll probably need to change Jap an ’s economic system.
50.2.5 Negative conditionals: verb-zaru о enai
V-zaru is a classical neg., and the com bination V-zaru о enai literally means
“cannot n o t”, i.e. ‘m ust’, ‘have to ’. It has a more written/form al ring than
combinations like nakereba naranai (see 50.2.1).
а ' Ь й‘ b b [ ί Ь ί £ i '] 0
o-kyaku-sama ga iru nara yarazaru о enai
If there are customers, we have to [provide it = the service].
ь ·*—e x c r > h i ) i r b i i b ^ x z
sabisu no arikata mo kawatte kozaru о enai
T h e way service is [provided| mus t changi· loo.
kaigo no tame ni shigoto о yamezaru о enakatta
She h ad to quit working to look after the hom e.
50.3 VERB-zu ni (wa) irarenai
A ttached to the neg. V-base, this com bination consists of the w ritten/form al
style neg. conjunctive ending -zu ni (equivalent to colloquial -nai de) + the
negative pot. form o f iru, together m eaning literally “cannot exist w ithout
doing” , i.e. ‘can’t help doing’ (see 183).
а Гf - / z \ it-tfjJ'/'g& ffci
tada naze ka sake о nomazu ni irarenakatta to furikaeru
‘B ut for some reason I couldn’t help drin k in g ’, he recalls.
V
f ih.it] < i e ^ ^ j
mono wa jubun sugiru gurai motte iru ga nani ka monotarinai. chlsana
hana demo sodatezu ni wa irarenaku natta to hanasu
Ί have plenty o f m aterial things, bu t d o n ’t feel fulfilled. I can’t help
w ith raising even a small flower now ’, she says.
51 e [CASE PARTICLE]
T he case P e (w ritten ^ ) indicates a direction o r goal ‘to ’, ‘to w ard s’. It
overlaps w ith ni [case particle] to a considerable extent (see 116).
51.1
51.2
51.3
51.4
W ith verb o f m otion
W ith ellipted predicate
N o u n e no noun
N o u n e to verb/verb phrase
51.1 WITH VERB OF MOTION
W ith V o f m otion, e can be used instead o f ni to m ark a core case (dative of
direction). Whereas ni indicates the goal o f a m otion, e is said to be concerned
m ore w ith the direction tow ards the goal, b u t in practice the two are often
interchangeable (see 116).
Note - in all of the examples in 51.1, e can be replaced by ni.
A n u m b e r o f ver bs typically t a k e ni. T h e s e i n c l u d e ver bs o f arriving, p ut t i n g
a n d p o s t u r e (tsuku, oku, noru, suwaru, tatsu)
bu t n ot e e x a mp l e s a + b for
exceptions!
Japanese: A Com prehensive Grammalr 135
This is also the case in the sense o f beneficiary o r recipient o f an object
or action, except when no is attached, in which case only e no is possible
(see 51.3).
Verbs o f entering and inserting (hairu, ireru, etc.) m ostly take ni. However,
despite w hat m ost textbooks say, they can also take e (examples c-e), w ithout
any change in meaning.
a J i ) , % Z [ ^ ] M ho
sa soko e suware
Right, sit down there!
ьш ,
ш
ы
о
saikin kyokasho о ie ni mochikaerazu ni gakko e oite iku seito ga 5i
These days there are lots o f pupils who don’t take their textbooks
home, b u t leave them at school.
с JR [ 'Ч ^ 6 <
7)li^-1&coZZ>0' bcoô
je aru e hairu no wa kodomo no кого kara no yume
Entering JR [Japan Rail] has been a dream since childhood days.
d ^ y Ь ЪФ'Щ [ ^ ]
7···
petto о sunaba e irenai уб
D o n o t let pets into the s a n d p it. . .
naka e irero to kyohaku
. . . he threated him, saying ‘L et me in’.
f k ы
Ж б ' у г - i m —& x \
shima e wataru tsua wa shu ikkai de maikai hobo manseki to iu
They say th at tours to the island take place once a week, and are m ore
or less fully booked each time.
kono jiki no keireki wa kuhaku da jitsu wa daigaku e itta n desu
H er CV for this period is blank. ‘Actually, I w ent to university.’
h
Ы fifc L fc o
rokugatsu ni nagoya e chakunin shita
In June, he arrived at his post in Nagoya.
i
Ы
kumiaiin e wa reito no mama кубкуй suru
To co-op members they provide them [eels] frozen.
j
£ψΐ.ί£'ϊ L X ± i h ,
£' Z [ ^ ] i f L
1
kuroji wa do shite umare doko e itte shimultu no ku
H o w did the s ur pl us arise, a n d wher e did it μο7
51.2 WITH ELLIPTED PREDICATE
W ith ellipted pred., e also indicates direction or goal.
a - h—
y КЛ/—A [ ^ ] 0
juichiji-han gurai ni wa beddo гйши e
By ab o u t 11:30, [he heads] for the bedroom .
He smokes them briefly, and then [stubs them out] in the ashtray one
after the other.
In new spaper-style headlines, ni indicates plans, or developm ents. In this
use, e cannot be replaced by ni.
с ' <*- X ? Χ Μ Μ ύ ' Μ ψ [^ ] o
pakisutan daitoryo ga hochfl e
P akistani president set to visit C hina
d
S. +
Mo
tai myanma kara tennengasu кбпуй e
[Plans] to buy natural gas from Thailand and M yanm ar
51.3 NOUN e no NOUN
To m odify a N, e is used instead of ni; the com bination ni no N is not found,
but it is n o t possible to explain every instance o f e no as a conversion from
ni, as examples с and d show.
а
Ь й ]
о (cf., Ш Я П [i^] ittfa + S )
shinki bunya e no shinshutsu mo sagutte iru (shinki bunya ni shinshutsu
suru)
T hey are also looking to expand into new areas.
b
(cf., L - Ψ Ι Χ
[{=] t o
E-saizu kara L-saizu e no kirikae о isogitai (cf., L-saizu ni kirikaeru)
W e’d like to speed up the changeover from E size to L size.
C %Uf h w ] » ] U ^ / : o (cf., i V f - H m t h )
kiji e no hihan mo atta (cf., kiji о hihan suru)
T here were also criticisms o f the article.
d * * U i4
sore wa nihon e no keikoku de mo aru
T his [= the bipolarization o f political parties in the 11S] is also a
w arning for Japan.
51.4 NOUN e to VERB/VERB PHRASE
[N e to] is used to describe the m anner in which some change (indicated by
a V/V phrase o f change) takes place. Again, ni to is no t found (see 213).
а
'SIbo
bunmei wa naze ka nishi e to mawaru
F o r some reason, civilization moves westwards.
b
fU tb ib ib /z о
pasokon ga terebi e to henshin о hajimeta
The PC h as begun to change into a TV.
52 ELLIPSIS
Ellipsis in Japanese is a tricky issue, because it’s sometimes not clear whether
something is om itted or whether it’s not needed in the first place. Personal
pron., which are frequently absent (e.g. example 52.1a) are a case in point.
They exist, b u t are only used when required for purposes such as clarification,
emphasis, etc. They are therefore not included under ellipsis.
Also, when com pared to English, Japanese ‘lacks’ certain gram m atical
features, such as the article (definite and indefinite), and relative pronouns,
which therefore by definition cannot be ellipted.
Ellipsis here refers to a sentence where some p art (ranging from a case or
focus P to a pred.) is missing, the m eaning o f which can, however, easily be
recovered, either from the context or because that p art tends to be om itted
customarily (see 55.3).
Where a verb would be repeated in English, it is usually ellipted (or substituted
with words like ‘d o ’ or auxiliaries such as ‘will’ ‘m ight’, etc. in English. In
Japanese, where there is a sense o f ‘also’, this can be conveyed by using the
focus P mo (see 94.1.2). W here an addition is indicated, the first verb can be
om itted (see exam ple 53.2 g), because in Japanese the object of a sentence
comes before the verb.
Note also the use o f the adverb so: ‘in th at way’, ‘so’ to substitute for a full
pred., norm ally used (ju st like ‘so ’ in English) when replying to o th ers’
comments.
a
fa t U?]
nihon wa sekai-teki na shiya о motanakereba ikenai to omoimasu. watashi
mo so omoimasu.
Ί t hink t ha t J a p a n needs to view things globa l l y . ’ ‘I t hink so t o o . ’
52.1 Ellipsis o f particle
52.2 Ellipsis o f noun
52.3 Ellipsis o f predicate (whole or part)
52.1 ELLIPSIS OF PARTICLE
The P o, wa and ga are often ellipted in inform al speech; ellipted о and wa
are often indicated by com m a intonation (and by a com m a in writing) (see
148.1.2, 236.4.1.2, 55.2).
a f z l £ Z [4] ί Λ ί ϊ ^ ο (= ellipsis o f о)
tabako yamenakya
I m ust stop sm oking (lit. “ stop tobacco”).
b it if - [ J b 0 ί-£λ/*ί>\, (= ellipsis o f wa [focus P])
shigoto arimasen ka
Isn’t there any work?
с
А/ []
X 2
(= ellipsis o f ga [case P])
kon'ya wa otosan kaette konai no
T onight, hubby’s not com ing home.
52.2 ELLIPSIS OF NOUN
N can be ellipted in Japanese in a way similar to English to avoid u n n e c e s
sary repetition. However, whereas in English the second N is usually ellipted,
in Japanese it is the first one.
In exam ple a, the N after the first gotoki is ellipted (om itted) because it is
identical to the second one.
C ounters [num. + C] can also be used w ithout the N they count where the
context m akes it clear which N they refer to (exam ple b) (see 36.5)
а
tb ь
r ^ ^ [], Щ - ^ х ^ ь ¥<F>r £ m
i
seijika to kanryo ga taito de aru ka no gotoki arasotte iru ka no gotoki
jotai wa shizen de wa nai
A state o f affairs where politicians and adm inistrators seem on an equal
footing, and seem to com pete, is unnatural.
£ ? f-o
seimitsu na irasuto wa . . . iki о nomu hodo utsukushii. ichi-mai о shiageru
no ni ik-kagetsu kurai kakaru so da
The accurate illustrations . . . are breathtakingly beautiful. A pparently i(
takes ab out a m onth to finish one.
52.3 ELLIPSIS OF PREDICATE (WHOLE OR PART)
The pred. (or p art o f it) that may be assumed to be ellipted is given in brackets
below (see 5.4.22, 50.2.2, 55.3, 51.2, 116.3, 94.1.2, 107.6, 148.1.3, 236.4.2.2).
a ί ϊ
it b Z t i По (= & b it
h , etc.)
masaka torishimari-yaku ni naru to wa
I’d never [have thought] th at I’d be executive president.
b k
[]0 (= < M x£, etc.)
He smokes them briefly [each time], and then one after the other
[stubs them out] in the ashtray.
с [fc-i> < ^>]
(= 8t^> l , etc.)
ofukuro ni hanataba о
Flowers for [mum]!
d
K tc o ii-t/
faizim 'ib
[]o (=
etc.)
yoroppa no burando-mono wa monoton de otona-ppoku, watashi ni wa
dftmo
E uropean designer clothes are in plain colours and have a grown-up
feel ab o u t them , and are no t quite [right] for me.
e i
< X b []4
о (=
etc.)
sonna ni aseranakute mo, mada wakai no da kara
Y ou needn’t fret so much, because you’re still young.
f f z l i Z , Ъ а Ь Ъ Ь * []0 (=
tabako yamenakya
I m ust stop smoking.
etc.)
g & а ш а ь ш . 1 х & х ' [ ],
<i U l / : »
(= i i ' t ' ^ / i (
etc.)
niku wa dobutsu о koroshite made to omou no de taberu koto ga
sukunaku narimashita.
I do n ’t eat m uch m eat now, because I feel th at [I d o n ’t w ant to eat it] if
it means killing animals.
h
[ ] ч
< η ύ ψ γ ^ ^ / · ζ 0 (= )№ Λ δ)
kaisha ni haitte kara wa mazu renzu no gijutsu о tsugi ni renzu igai no
koto kiwameru no ga yume to natta
Af t er I e n t e r e d t h e c o m p a n y , m y d r e a m was first t o m a s t e r lens
t e ch no l og y , a n d then things o t h e r t h a n lenses.
53 FORMS OF ADDRESS: FAMILY (OWN AND OTHERS’)
As with non-family, instead o f personal pron. other form s o f address/reference
are frequently used (see 158).
53.1 Address
53.2 Reference
An im portant distinction in use depends on w hether one is addressing others,
or referring to them.
W hen referring to others, an in g ro u p -o u tg ro u p distinction is also applied.
This distinction requires th a t tow ards outgroup listeners, members o f one’s
own group are referred to w ith o u t hon. pref. (o-/go-) and/or personal suf.
(-san/-sama, etc.), as in examples 53.2 b, d, f and h -j. However, note the use
o f the words for mother/father(o-)tosan/chan/(o-)kasan/chan, and also papa/
mama, by parents tow ards their children like first person personal pron.
(example 2 c), where this rule does not apply. W ives/husbands also commonly
use (o-)t5san/(o-)kasan and v arian ts to refer to th eir m arriage p artn e rs
(example 2 a). Also, children need to learn the address/reference distinction,
and often fail to distinguish them (example 2 g) (see 158, 160.4).
The choice between o- and go- depends on w h eth er the w ord the pref. is
attached to is W J or SJ vocabulary (see 235). Exceptions include o-josan and
o-bot-chan.
W here names are used for addressing, the general rule is to attach -san, etc.
for seniors, and nothing (except for intim ate children, etc., -chan/-kun) for
those ju n io r to the speaker.
Note 1 - older-generation husbands also use oi (‘say’, ‘hey’) to address their wives (example
53.2 1), and wives (or girlfriends) often use ne (Ί say’) tow ards their husband (boyfriend), in a
variety of intonations (example a).
а Г [*а£]ч
А,Ъь2г>Ъ<г> f
r
y
-
JD ψ Θ
iih c o
ne hairu n nara kotchi no hoteru ga ii na. heijitsu no gogo shichi-ji tsure
no dansei to ude о kunde ita wakai onna no ко ga kyosei о ageta
‘Look, if we go to [a love hotel], then I’d like this one’. A round 7p.m.
on a weekday, a young girl who had been w alking arm in arm w ith her
male com panion, raised her voice coquettishly.
Note 2 - when there is no need to make the in/outgroup distinction or to use honorifics, as in
narrative text or when referring to historical or fictional figures, the terms in the first column in
Table 12 (but not the ones in brackets) are used, excepting the w ords for husband and wile,
where only tsuma and otto are normally used (example 53.2 e), although depending on such
situational factors as the speaker-listener relationship, form ality, e t c . . t h e terms in the l ast
columns are a l s o used (example 53.2 a) .
53.1 ADDRESS
a [fc K S A ,, JS # 5 А,],
l b ·)
η Г 3T».'i L] Л 0
otosan okasan nagai aida arigato gozaimashita
F ather, m other, thank you for all [you’ve done] all these years.
b ie b [ * * v ] , -f-< f M L ie J:0
na oyaji hayaku inkyo shi na yo
Come on, dad, retire soon, will you.
с
( ·ζ>]4
о
ofukuro shinu na yo
[M u m ], d o n ’t die!
53.2 REFERENCE
а
[fc K S A ,]
konya wa otosan kaette konai no
Tonight [h u b b y ]’s not coming home.
b Г[5С]
£ ^ ·)0
chichi wa kaibogaku no idai na sensei datta to iu
She says ‘[F ath er] was a great anatom ist’.
с
[JS5Q.SA,] ^ [J S # 5 A,]
donna koto ga attemo otosan to okasan wa mamotte yaru
N o m atter w hat happens [daddy and m um my] will protect you.
d [ # b t ] n m z a m z [&,*.< h \
oyaji no haka ni wa sude ni ofukuro ga haitte iru
M um is already interred in daddy’s grave.
e [й^> < h \
ofukuro ni hanataba о
Flowers for [m um ]!
danshi seito ga ofukuro ni oshiete yaro to yorokonde ita
. . . a male pupil rejoiced, saying ‘I’ll tell [m um ] [that the nutritional
value o f spinach is in the roots]’.
g Гt, ? '}' I I tz b , ->*<>) 7 со [ Ш £ b 5 A,]
<J £ ^ ' 7 0
mo sukoshi shitara shiberia no obasan no tokoro ni iku to iu
‘Soon, I’ll go to [my grandm other]’s place in Siberia’, he said.
h elMK [ i A ]
£ * M f r L i L tz„
sakuncn shujin to rikon shim ashita
Last year, I got divor ced f r o m [ m y h u s b a n d ]
Table 12 Address forms: family
Relation
Speaker’s family
Addressing
Referring
(my . . .)
—
—
go-kazoku
ryoshin
—
—
go-ry5shin
chichi (oyaji)
Ш К 5 A/*
U · « Ш 5 As)
o-t6san
family
kazoku
parents
Listener!third person’s
family
Referring
(your . . . , someone
else’s . . .)
tfiM.
father
&Xi As
(o-)tosan*,
oyaji(-san)
papa
A,
<h
mother
haha (ofukuro)
(o)ka-san*
ЗоЛ* (
o-ka-san
J As
ofukuro-san
~7~7, ~7 X —
mama, mami
older brother
A/*
5L
(o-)niisan*
ane
(o-)nesan*
o-nesan*
#
otdto
(name)
(name)
ot6to-san
imdto
(name)
(name)
older sister
younger brother
A/*
younger sister
brothers
(& sisters)
fcJSLJA,
o-niisan*
ani
m ipiAs
ifriAs
im6to-san
~яЛ
ЯЛ
—
kySdai
—
go-ky6dai
—
ЩЩ-
shimai
—
go-shimai
kodomo
(name)
(name)
o-ko-san
sisters
child(ren)
son(s)
A,
(name)
Ж- Ti As,
Ϋ As
(name)
musuko-san, o-botchan
musuko (segare)
Japanese: A Com prehensive Gram mar 143
Table 12 (Cont’d)
Relation
daughter(s)
Speaker’s family
Referring
(my . . .)
Addressing
Ж
(name)
(name)
musume
grandfather
aunt
cousin
(fc) l > ' ί Ay*
(o-) jl-san*
sobo (ba-san)
(o-) ba-san*
o-ba-san
#-
(name)
(name)
o-mago-san
ίχΧ · -faK
fc I'.i Aj*
oji
o-ji-san*
$ Ay
Ш i Ay
U w Л/
o-ji-san
Ш ·Ш
fctf 5 Ay*
J Л/
o-ba-san*
o-ba-san
V' £ Z
(name)
(name)
(o-)itoko-san
(name)
(name)
oi-go-san
(name)
(name)
mei-go-san
m
Ш
mei
husband
i£
oba
oi
niece
0-jl-san
( fc) is h i Ay*
itoko
nephew
musume-san, o-j6san*
sofu (jl-san)
mago
uncle
H i Ay, Ш $ А у
iix
grandmother
grandchild
Listener/third person’s
family
Referring
(your . . . , someone
else’s . . .)
0J [ \ A ,
' ' X , У— ') У
shujin (danna,
otto, hazu,
darin)
mz' $Ay
MZ' 5 Ay
b b t z , HL,
•TJlA, ЕА уЫ А у*
go-shujin, danna-san*
anata, otdsan, papa
name
surname
wife
ЗЗД, Ч А У ,
# 5 Λ,. #
^\
-7 -7 ,
kanai (waifu,
ka-chan,
tsuma)
o-kachan,
mama
J Ay,
Л- ί /С*
oku-san*
name
Note * -chan often replaces -san when referring to others’ children, and when
children address their kin. Instead of -san, the superpolite -sama can be used
for reference to others’ kin.
Some of the above forms, such as oyaji and ofukuro, are only used by men
in informal contexts.
kanai to issho ni sumu tsumori desu
I intend to live [there = in the official residence] w ith [m y wife].
j [ШШ]
W t& ^ L o
kazoku о kuwasenai to ikenai shi
I also need to feed [my family].
к [Λ-SA,] £г [ d ' i A J <nî.co^-Xf
< й‘
9 <0
Stiif
& Ι ^ Ζ Ζ Χ Ί 1 Ζ ό > '? / ζ 0
oku-san ga go-shujin no kaisha no kuruma de kaimono ni iku nado to iu
no mo sahodo mezurashii koto de wa nakatta
I t’s w asn’t th at unusual [in the old days] for the wife to go out
shopping in the husband’s com pany car.
Х ^ Ъ Ь К Ь ' Ь Ц - К K A s Y i ' l X < f r l ] ------ ,
[A ] * f [ # ] i z j & i t l о
oi shigoto de tsukarete iru n da kara hayaku nan to ka shite kure yo
osanai waga ко ga muzukaru to otto ga tsuma ni monku о iu
‘Hey, I ’m tired from work, so do som ething a b o u t him right aw ay’,
the husband complains to the wife when their little son gets fretful.
1 Г [£ \,']ч
54 FORMS OF ADDRESS: NON-FAMILY
W here a title (sensei ‘teacher’, ‘M P ’, or daijin ‘governm ent m inister’) can be
used, nam es are often avoided. W here names are used, suf. like -sama, -san,
-kun and -chan are usually attached (see 158).
a
[A g ]
kono koto ni tsuite no daijin no kangae wa
W hat are your [= the m inister’s] thoughts on this?
b [fc k ],
ХИЖЖХЬ
tJ
sensei konna ni atsukute wa jugyo dekinai yo. uchikiro yo
Sir, if it’s this hot we can’t have classes! L et’s finish!
с 4
— [ 5· Λ>]> Z ^
kyadl-san kotchi e yotte
Caddy, come over here.
d А ш
Y ou [- A-kun] too please do com e and visit.
55 ga [CASE PARTICLE]
ga generally m arks the subject o f a S (but with certain pred. it translates into
Hnglish like an object).
ga is often contrasted with wa [focus P], and the distinction in use of the two
is said to be one of the m ost difficult problems facing the foreign learner of
the language (see 238).
Depending on the type of sentence, ga also contrasts with some other case P
(see 55.4, 55.5).
55.1
55.2
55.3
55.4
55.5
55.6
55.7
55.8
W ith one-place verb/adjective
W ith ellipted ga
ga in potential sentences
ga in desiderative sentences
ga in passive sentences
ga emphasizing the preceding subject noun/noun phrase
ga in comparative/superlative sentences: m arking the preferred
item (= subject)
55.8.1 N o u n ga
55.8.2 A dverbial clause-te ga
55.9
ga attached to question words in subject position
55.10 (N oun ni) ga aru/iru: ga in existential/locational sentences
55.11
ga in ‘double-subject’ (noun wa noun ga) sentences
55.12 ga in ‘double-subject’ (noun wa noun ga) sentences with ellipted
n oun wa
55.13 ga m arking the subject in a noun-m odifying clause
55.13.1 Com plement clauses
55.13.2 Relative clauses
55.14 ga m arking a nominalized clause
55.1 WITH ONE-PLACE VERB/ADJECTIVE
W ith one-place (i.e. intransitive) V, o r adj., ga m arks the subject o f a
spontaneous happening or phenom enon (examples b -f). wa, on the other
hand, is typically used in considered statements (example a) (see 236, 231).
a 0 ^ [ii]
0 "Cti,
/-ТИД b ч>6-|4: U h (= considered statement)
nihon wa yutaka ni natta. zeitaku na jidai no machi-zukuri de wa ima
made to chigatta shiten ga hitsuyd ni naru
Jap an has become affluent. One needs a different stance [= from before]
about im proving one’s tow n in times o f luxury.
b 'Ж [ £ ;]
(= spontaneous happening)
namida ga deta
T e a r s c a m e to my eyes (lit. “ tear s c a m e out").
C $
[£ * ] 8fr< i o / ; 0
sora ga kuraku natta
The sky darkened.
d Щ [4 1 m u $ i L/Co
atarna ga konran shite kimashita
I’m confused (/гг. “my head has got confused”).
e ЩП [**]
jikan ga tomatta yo datta
It was as if time had stopped.
f
[¥] fr o h 0
nihonkai-gawa de wa yuki ga futta
On the Jap an Sea side, it snowed (lit. “snow fell”).
55.2 WITH ELLIPTED ga
Colloquially, ga is often ellipted.
а
[] ^ · Π ί ν ^ 0
kon'ya wa otosan kaette konai no
T onight, hubby’s not com ing home.
55.3 WITH ELLIPTED PREDICATE
W here the context makes it clear w hat the m eaning is, pred. can be ellipted.
a
h b [4 {L £e-tfo
shikashi dare ga naze
But who [did this], and why?
55.4 ga IN POTENTIAL SENTENCES
ga in a pot. S usually m arks the N P th at w ould be m arked by о in its n o n
pot. counterpart. In English, this translates as the object o f a pot. V. N ote
that in pot. S also using the com parative ho ga (exam ple c), ga is used twice
in a sentence.
The effect o f wa in these sentences w ould be to im ply a contrast (see 161,
236.5).
a
[4 f]
katsu gorufu ga dekinai
I can ’t play winning golf.
b
f t И Ш [ 4 1 T * 'i-v
mo atsui tokoro de wa kenkyu ga dekinai
I c a n' t d o research in hot climate's (/// "pl.n i··. I , m\ m o t e
с *7 Ί К
[4 1 5?J L Л h h Λ t£о
waido na gamen no ho ga ugoki ga tanoshimeru tame da
This is because movement can be enjoyed better on a wide screen.
55.5 ga IN DESIDERATIVE SENTENCES
In desiderative S (hoshii/-tai), ga m arks the object o f desire (see 46, 68, 189).
In English, this translates as the object o f a desiderative V. The effect o f wa
in these sentences would imply a contrast (see 236.5).
A lternatively, the object o f desire in these sentences can be m arked by о
(see 148.3, 46).
a
РУЖ [4 1 i i U 'o
nani ka shigeki ga hoshii
I w ant some stimulus.
b
[4 1
hon о goroku-satsu kaku jikan ga hoshii
I w ant the tim e to write five or six books.
с Ιίύ 'Ώ -ίίψ · [4 1 Jr f) ^ ' o
hoka no shigoto ga yaritai
I w ant to do a different job.
d
[4 1 JLfc'-'o
sugoku okii. hayaku hik6ki ga mitai
It [the airp o rtj’s so big. I w ant to see the aeroplanes soon.
e
[4 1 %-(&>)
kaigai no hanno ga hayaku shiritai
I want to find out quickly about reactions abroad.
f
[4 1
niku ya o-kashi ga tabetai to warau
Ί w ant to eat m eat and cakes’, she laughs.
g
L J: (C iitf Ь =t 9
[4 1 L /c ^ '0
issho ni warai issho ni nakeru yo na kekkon ga shitai
I w ant a m arriage where we can laugh and cry together.
55.6 ga IN PASSIVE SENTENCES
In a pass. S, ga m arks the N P th a t w ould be m arked by о in its active
counterpart (see 156).
a i A , 1 > Κ/1-τ t & f c S k / l n . L # [4 1
mata indoyo de mo kaisui ondo no joshfi да hftkoku sarete iru
F u r t h e r m o r e , ill the I ndi an O c e a n a rise in the sea t e mp e r a t u r e has
been r e p o t t e d
h
i
[ 4;]
о
boku hitori ga mitomerareta n ja nai
I w asn’t the only one to receive recognition.
55.7 ga EMPHASIZING THE PRECEDING SUBJECT NOUN/
NOUN PHRASE
ga emphasizes the N or N P it is attached to (show n in []), in the (implicit)
sense o f ‘nothing else’; this is one o f the m ajor differences between ga and
wa in subject position, the latter having the effect o f subduing the N /N P it is
attached to (see 236).
a
kore ga ichiban oishii tabekata desu
This is the best way o f eating [it],
b [Ι Ϊ ΥΑ. Υ: ] [**]
о
hotondo ga katei no shufu da
A lm ost all are housewives.
ha z v it,
[*«'] A trL -C v -'S o
keisatsu-cho ni yoru to kotoshi ni haitte ijime ga gen'in to suitei sareru
kodomo no jisatsu jiken wa misui о fukume kei hak-ken okita. kono uchi
roku-nin ga shib6 shite iru
A ccording to the police agency, this year there has been a to tal o f eight
cases o f child suicides, including attem pted ones, which are assum ed to
have been caused by bullying. Six o f them have died.
d
' ' 7 ^ 1 & £'] [**]
ti'o
kyabetsu tamanegi ninjin hakusai nado ga omo na hinmoku da
C abbages, onions, carrots, Chinese cabbage, etc. are the m ain items.
55.8 ga IN COMPARATIVE/SUPERLATIVE SENTENCES: MARKING
THE PREFERRED ITEM (= SUBJECT)
Similar in effect to its use in 55.7, ga m arks the item singled out as having
some property or quality to a larger/the largest extent in com parative (often
together w ith ho) and superlative S (see 25.1.1, 25.2.3, 252).
55.8.1 Noun ga
butaniku yori gyiiniku no ho ga yasui
НееГ is c h e a p e r t h a n p o rk .
b
[ δ 4]
------0
gyiiniku ga butaniku yori yasui
Beef is cheaper than pork.
с 4" [**] —$ s
ima ga ichiban shigoto ga omoshiroi jiki da
Now is the tim e when work is m ost interesting.
d & Щ . [**] — & L & X l r 0
o-kyaku-sama ga ichiban shojiki desu
The custom er is frankest.
55.8.2 Adverbial clause-te ga
ga can attach to an adverbial clause ending in the conjunctive form (in []),
which can function in the same way as a NP. The -te clause in [] indicates a
state (see 1.3.3).
a Jc3о ii”0 [ · €
·ζ>о X 4f] —4ih?
yappari fufu sorotte ga ichiban
After all, husband and wife [= going to the movies] together is best?
55.9
ga ATTACHED TO QUESTION WORDS IN SUBJECT POSITION
In Q th at have a Q word as subject, the Q w ord always attaches ga, never
wa (there are some exceptions to this, but this is lim ited to set expressions
such as nani wa nakutomo ‘in any case’, nani wa tomo are ‘whatever else’, or
‘above all’, etc.). Example a shows the latter case.
x b 7 -y 7
а Хг К>
b) X$&Ltz b H ' i £
xubon no nihon no ashi о sutorappu (nunoberuto) de musundara do naru
ka? nani wa tomo are aruki-nikuku naru koto dake wa kakujitsu da
W hat happens if you tie the two trouser legs together with a strap
(a cloth belt)? W hatever else, it becomes m ore difficult to walk.
After Q w ords, m uch like the use o f ga in 55.7 and 55.8, the effect is to
emphasize the where/what/who, etc. N ote also the com bination [Q word mo
ga] ‘every’, and [Q word ga . . . -te/de mo] (see 164.5, 167.2.1.1).
b H [**] M f t f c w K
nani ga m ondai na no ka
What is the problem?
с
[£>']
haikei ni wa nani ga aru no ka
W h a t is in t h e b a c k g r o u n d (to this]?
d
[¥ ]
^Ъ<г>КЪ ί ύ \
ajia josei no nani ga nihonjin ni ukete iru no daro ka
W hat is it about Asian w om en th a t m akes them popular with the
Japanese?
e F^-Jr b a , s<—%\ \Щ [£ г]
1^J0
yukihiko baka nani ga baka da yo1
‘Y ukihiko, you fool!’ ‘W hat do you m ean, “fool”?’
f —f r t z f r [£ }]
ЪГ- Ж- у Х Ъ / ъ К ------о
ittai dare ga капе о haratteru to omotteru n da
W ho the hell do they th ink is paying! [= we are!]
g
[£*'] JT o 'C t)|o ]U 'C 'L j;o
The econom y should be the sam e, no m atter w ho runs it.
h f zf r [**] J L t t X. < ЪЪ 'Ъ
dare ga mite mo yoku wakaru shizen na jinji о yaru
His staff appointm ents are natu ral, understandable by all.
ί
tzh · [£ г]
chQkobuhin о dare ga kau no ka
W ho is going to buy second-hand parts!
55.10 (NOUN ni) ga aru/iru: ga IN EXISTENTIAL/LOCATIONAL
SENTENCES
This indicates existence or possession, and location (see 116.4, 116.5, 178, 9).
a
Щ [£ }]
tsuma to ninan ga iru
[He has] a wife and two sons.
b Z c o & t [ic] l i t * [д г]
kono hatsugen ni wa omomi ga aru
This statem ent has weight.
с Ш Π :] r а
ie гг [**] ь ь а
chosho ni nihon jido engekishi nado ga aru
Am ong his books is ‘A history o f child acting in Jap an ’.
d a n [ic ]
[ * г] 3b Ъ о
sangai ni wa shukuhaku-kyaku kyotsii no yokuj6 ga aru
O n the third level is a b ath for jo in t use by lodgers.
55.11 ga IN ‘DOUBLE-SUBJECT’ (NOUN wa NOUN ga) SENTENCES
This is a common S type in Japanese (see 17 8 .1.8), and is known as ‘double
subject’ S because both wa and ga m ark NI* that an· tMimimalical subjects.
However, the first NP-wa is m ore like a topic which is followed by a [NP-ga
pred.] com m ent (see 236.8) and the second can look like an object in English
translation, as in example 55.12 a.
a M X [ i i ] IS A [£>']
kodai wa kojin ga shutai datta
In antiquity, the individual was central.
b Х - Ч v t f e f a [ ii]
Ш [£>1
supein to hamamatsu wa kyotsOko ga 6i
Spain and H am am atsu have a lot o f things in common.
с
[W] Ш \ [**] i v ' 0
itaria to girisha wa tokei ga nai
For Italy and Greece, there are no statistics.
d 4 s# со 7" H r у Ь [ i i ] ,
[ £ г] t)-y \
0
kotoshi no purezento wa papa ga kashimiya no mafura
F or this year’s [Christmas] present, hubby [gets] a cashmere muffler.
55.12 ga IN ‘DOUBLE-SUBJECT’ (NOUN wa NOUN ga) SENTENCES
WITH ELLIPTED NOUN wa
a r $ [**]
f r b m ' t n [a*]
A £ t £ t c o [**]
sora ga suki karada о ugokasu no ga suki hito to hanasu no ga motto
suki
‘[I] like the sky. [I] like moving my body. Talking with people [I] like
even m ore.’
55.13 ga MARKING THE SUBJECT IN A NOUN-MODIFYING
CLAUSE
The subject o f a N-mod. clause (shown in []) is usually m arked by ga or no
in both com plem ent clauses (55.13.1) and relative clauses (55.13.2) (see 26,
133.2, 143).
55.13.1 Complement clauses
а Г[ £ # 45- [£>']
seizonsha ga ita koto wa кбип datta to hanashite iru
They are saying, ‘It was lucky th at there were survivors’.
55.13.2 Relative clauses
The lirsl e x a m p l e below has first a N - m o d . cl ause (in []) m a r k e d by ga, t hen
a n o t h e r N - m o d . clause (in ||) m a r k e d by no.
а
%l/ z ] Z I U Z I A [со] о <
dare mo kare ga kita koto ni ki no tsuku mono wa inakatta
There was nobody who noticed th a t he had come.
b [Ж Й Л З Ы ! [**] i t i 6 ] f c > c c o f ^ : i i g ^ [со]
gaikokujin hanzai ga fueru saidai no haikei wa nihon no yutakasa da
The biggest reason why crim es by foreigners are on the increase is
Jap a n ’s affluence.
55.14 ga MARKING A NOMINALIZED CLAUSE
Like no, ga can also m ark a nom inalized clause (com plem ent o r relative
clause) th at occupies subject position in the S (see 26, 133.2, 143).
a
- f b со] [£ г] fa<F>tfc^-tzо
ii enso о suru no ga watashi no shigoto da
Giving a good perform ance is my job.
b ^ L 'A w -jH fetifcl, H b Z Y .
i-f\
-f-ftco-fr J R - t t t V & b k i h b 'b f L
[Ш
icco] [ a f] * N » t"
ЬЪо
ijime no sekininsha-sagashi mo saru koto-nagara kodomo no sekai de nani
ga ushinawareta ka о mitsumeru koto ga daiji de wa nai ka. mazu me о
mukeru beki na no ga toshi de aru
I t’s one thing to look for those responsible fo r bullying, but it’s also
im p o rtan t to take a hard look at w hat has gone missing from the
children’s world. W hat we need to direct o u r attention to first are
the cities.
С
Ш
I
0 ё р $ м i
CO]
[¥ ],
J] λ
7
С0 1 & Ж > И 6 Л ' -
H tza
W h at’s interesting above all is the low position o f the camera.
56 ga [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
ga basically expresses a weak co n tra st between tw o clauses, SI and S2 ‘b u t’
(see 79, 140, 33).
56.1
56.2
56.3
56.4
56.5
Clause
Clause
C lause
C lause
Clause
1 ga, clause 2 N cop. ‘b u t’
1 ga, clause 2
1 ga, clause 2 expressing ‘a n d ’ or
1 ga. (. . .) in unfinished sentences
1-presumptive ga clause 2-presum ptive ца ;икчтЫа1 clauses
56.1 CLAUSE 1 ga, CLAUSE 2 N COP. ‘BUT’
This is a N -m od. sequence (indicated in []) where two clauses are linked by
ga in the sense o f ‘N (which is/was) A but B \ In writing, this use is usually
distinguished from that shown in 56.2 below by the presence o f a com m a in
the latter.
a
[£ г]
isogashikatta ga ii toshi datta
It was a busy but good year.
56.2 CLAUSE 1 ga, CLAUSE 2
Unlike 56.1, in this use ga ‘b u t’ links are two clauses with separate pred. (i.e.
the content o f these sentences could equally be expressed in two separate
sentences). A comma is usually present in writing.
а Щ—Щ Ш ' Ъ ' Ъ
b’ y -i Τ'ϋΙ&ΐΙΙ/ϊ'ο
yaku ichijikan kakaru ga doraibu wa kaiteki da
It takes ab out one hour, but it’s a pleasant drive.
b Ш и ъ
[ * г]ч
ryori wa chotto karai ga nakanaka no aji da
The dishes are a little spicy, but quite tasty.
с
[* г1,
sanka wa тигуб da ga jizen moshikomi ga hitsuy5
A ttendance is free, but one needs to apply in advance.
gijutsu-teki ni wa muzukashi uta desu ga mina nesshin deshita
Technically it’s a difficult song, but everyone was enthusiastic.
56.3 CLAUSE 1 ga, CLAUSE 2 EXPRESSING ‘AND’ OR
In some contexts, the force o f ga is so weak th at it is m ore appropriate to
translate it as ‘and’, or use a semicolon.
a
[£>'],
· Г-у К
-г > tz Ί h 'C '* ' Ί о
yonju nananen ni beikoku ni watatta ga kare no sain6 о ichihayaku
mitomcta no wa ben! guddoman datta to iu
In ’47 he went lo the US, and it was Benny G oodm an who was the first
to discover his talent, it is said.
b
A i c b '- '/ i
; б о # ^ ц t t- Ж <
<nb\
kotoshi no jidosha gyokai wa teikakakusha Ьйтп ni waita ga kono keik6
wa mada tsuzuku no ka
In this year’s car business low-priced m odels were all the rage; is this
trend going to continue?
56.4 CLAUSE 1 ga. (. ..) IN UNFINISHED SENTENCES
S w here S2 is left un said (im plied) are co m m o n ly used, especially for
introducing requests, to test the listener’s reaction, bu t also to im ply th at
realization o f S2 is not possible o r realistic.
a b J; о
L· [ ¥ ] ........ 0
chotto sumimasen ga
Excuse me.
b b x о
chotto o-ukagai shitai n desu ga
C ould I ask you som ething.
с
[ £ ] ........ о
oboete inai n desu ga
I d o n ’t remember.
56.5 CLAUSE 1-PRESUMPTIVE ga CLAUSE 2-PRESUMPTIVE ga:
ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
H ere we see ga repeated twice (or three tim es, as in example h) after pos.,
or pos. an d neg. hortative o r presum ptive form s, the com bination form s
adverbial clauses in the sense o f ‘w hether . . . o r’, ‘regardless o f’ (see 163,
172).
а [ Ш А ' X Ί г'А-'£'-''г!г]ч A L t z ' & S ' l U b '' ? ΐζ 0
kare ga iy6 ga imai ga taishita chigai wa nakatta
W hether he was there or n o t did n ’t m ake [or w ouldn’t have made]
m uch difference.
b [ / ! £ < L' d ΐ ¥ Ш \ I
Ί **] Щ ъ т х - Ь % J t- t Ь о
ashi о kujikd ga tento shi у δ ga nani ga nan demo kanso suru
W hether I sprain m y foot, o r fall, I’ll com plete [the m arathon], no
m atter what.
soto ni kiy6 ga uchi ni kiy6 ga kiru hito shidai to itta tokoro
W hether one wears [clothes] inside or out is up to the person wearing
them, 1 guess.
d w Ю—
H h l *9ЬИ lz% X i b s]
$ -Г Л + О у - ь
) \ , ^ χ $ fz0
kono nijfini-nenkan ganjitsn daro ga gaikoku ni iy6 ga maiasa kakasazu
rok-kirometoru aruite kita
F o r the past 22 years, I’ve walked 6km every m orning w ithout fail,
be it New Y ear’s Day, [at home] or abroad.
e I v - 't w i i \ъ % .г - : ь п ъ гш \ г - : ь п ъ Л ,
yoi mono wa nihon dar6 ga 6shQ daro ga doko kara demo tori-ireru
We take good products from anywhere, w hether it’s Japan or
Europe.
f t Z L M i X ' t ' - ^ l i f Z c o j S X ' i , [ k i l K t fc
Ш -ii
sukoshi mae made biru wa doko no mise de mo tairy6 ni каб ga shoryo
daro ga kakaku wa meka kibo kakaku datta
U ntil a short time ago, in every shop the price o f beer was the price
requested by the m anufacturer, regardless o f w hether you bought a lot
or a little.
g —
f
r
i
t
[ Ш & Ь Х ^ ' Х ί ίίΑ 'ίνΛ **]
» ]* ιδ U
futari no aida ni ai ga naku nari arasoi ga hageshiku nareba kekkon shite
iy6 ga imai ga wakareru shi wakareru-beki da
If love’s gone and the fighting gets worse, a couple will split, and ought
to do so, whether they are m arried or not.
h
¥ K l i [0] (L
<T)9>r; -3tz.h i
fcv-' L '-' t <n & K— > Y tb I X ,
><— yY .% .ho
ry otei nado ni wa shun no takenoko daro ga sansai no chinmi daro ga
кбка na sakana daro ga oishii mono о don to dashite o-kyaku-san kara
wa takai okane о ban to toru
. . . they deliver lots o f delicious things to places like Japanese
restaurants, whether seasonal bam boo shoots, prized wild vegetables or
expensive fish, and charge them plenty o f money.
57 -garu [SUFFIX]
-garu indicates th at some feeling is openly displayed, usually by persons
other than the speaker. The suffix -garu can be attached to the stem forms
o f A and AN (лсор.) that express a feeling or attitude, to the stem form of
the S-ending -tai (which in turn attaches to V), and the stem form of the adj.
of desire hoshii Note that -garu itself works like a G roup I verb.
57.1 Adjective/adjectival noun-stem -garu
57.2 Verb-tagaru
57.3 hoshi-garn
57.1 ADJECTIVE/ADJECTIVAL NOUN-STEM-garu
Adj ./A N to which -garu attaches are lim ited to those th at express a feeling,
i.e. omoshiroi (besides the m eaning o f ‘interesting’) also m eans ‘to show an
interest in ’, and fushigi na ‘to feel m ystified’, -garu adds the nuance th at the
subject visibly or audibly displays such feelings.
а
о
kodomo-tachi ga ichiban omoshiro-gatta no wa origami
W h at the children showed m ost interest in was origami.
kawaigari-уб wa kodomo-nami
They lavish affection [on pets] as if they were their children.
h z. y.
с
ь
b i'- 'o
kokumin ga iyagaru koto mo hitsuvo ga areba yaranakereba naranai
If necessary, we m ust also do things th a t the people express dislike
for.
d ¥ ^x
r t- : 'c % ^ X ^ h \
[ Ъ & Ш : ь ] k itz
a ^ A t£ b \
ί & X l i£ b i ^ 0
katsute anzen to mizu wa tada da to omotte iru to gaikokujin ni fushigigarareta nihonjin da ga mizu ni kansuru kagiri kono kotoba wa mo
atehamaranai
In the past, foreigners used to be mystified a t the Japanese, saying ‘they
think th a t safety and w ater com e free’, b u t w ith regard to w ater these
w ords no longer apply.
57.2 VERB-tagaru
A ttach ed to V-tai, -garu usually indicates th a t a second person, o r m ost
com m only a third, ‘want(s) to ’ (see 189). N o te, however, example g, where
the speaker uses -tagaru ab o u t himself!
[ # Л /:Ы
X ν-'-Β
kimi ga yame-tagatte iru to iu hanashi о kiita no da kedo
I’ve heard that you w ant to quit.
b
[Ш *хЬЬ! ь \ й-ν-'ο
nihon гуокб no kankeisha wa kono mondai ni fure-tagaranai
The people at Japan Travel are unwilling to com m ent on this problem.
с i
[ l /с л ] δ 0
uchi no shain wa gijutsusha ga taihan de sekkei mo ganj6 ni shi-tagarn
O ur staff are mostly technicians, and therefore w ant to make designs
sturdy.
oya ni mo ky6shi ni mo ijime no jijitsu о kakushi-tagaru
[The children] w ant to hide the fact th at they are being bullied from
b oth paren ts and teachers.
e
[ktzb^ ] X ^ b a
aitsn wa bn о de-tagatte iru
He w ants to leave the section.
b ] й-'-'о
hahaoya wa kitanai kotoba ha ganran shite iru to kodomo о kyogijo ni
ikase-tagaranai
M others feel that the place is aw ash with foul language, and don’t w ant
to let th eir children go to the stadium.
g I t Ш
LT № 4
>) c o l η Ш & 1
Y t> \
jishin о hydshite nan demo shite mi-tagarn kokishin no katamari no уб na
seikakn to ka
Assessing himself, he says things like ‘M y nature is curiosity
personified, wanting to try everything’.
57.3 hoshi-garu
W hereas hoshii [adj.] usually indicates w hat first persons (or second persons
in questions) want, hoshi-garu is used for the w ants o f third persons.
a К -i 'У « n t —'r X b 7
К A '> Ά £ [ i i
Х^Ьа
doitsn no okesutora wa ima doitsujin о hoshi-gatte iru
G erm an orchestras at present w ant [to employ] Germans.
b
[ i i L * J^ ] X
Г 7 ^ Ш Т у
Y^XtXX
ima nihon ga hont6 ni kodomo о hoshi-gatte iru no nara afurika ya t6nan
ajia no kodomo-tachi о hikitotte sodatete mo ii to omou
If J a p a n really w a n t s [more] c hi l dr e n n ow , I t h i n k p e o p l e s h o u l d a d o p t
a n d r ai s e chi ldr en from Afr ica o r S o u t h e a st Asia.
с
b 3 у a
X \ }%%%/>*& IZ
[ i i L ^ fo ] Х^'Ъ<7>\±7
У fz 0
mono no jidai kara kokoro no jidai e to iwareru naka de sh6hisha ga tokn
ni hoshi-gatte iru no wa knruma ya jiitaku nado no mono da
In the m idst o f the supposed shift o f em phasis o f o ur age from objects
to spiritual m atters, w hat consum ers really w an t are objects like cars
and housing.
58 -gata [PLURAL SUFFIX: HONORIFIC]
T o express an hon. plural, -gata (rath er th a n -tachi) is usually attached to
the title o f persons o f higher social status (sensei ‘teacher’, ‘professor’, ‘m em
ber o f parliam ent’, ‘politician’, etc.) and form s o f address ending in -sama
(hon. equivalent o f -san). However, -tachi can also be used (see 188, 53, 54).
a
[# ]
ZH fztfxaM i#.
й-'-'о
daigaku no sensei-gata wa utsukushii shizen о ky6ch5 shite ita ga sore
dake de wa hito wa konai
The academ ics at the university were stressing the beautiful natural
surroundings, but th a t’s n o t enough to a ttra c t people [= students].
b M t,
ί c o t 'i i
Ш со^Ц1)Г£0
kvokasho fukudokuhon fukukyozai wa shihan no mono de wa naku senseigata no tezukuri da
Textbooks and supplem entary texts an d m aterials are not com m ercial
products b u t handm ade by the teachers.
с ¥ ι ύ \ Z 2 l z & b h 6 M M . W ] b & ^ l X ^ ' h t z ’ b /iv-'o
ddka koko ni orareru okusama-gata mo anshin shite itadakitai
W e also w ant you wives w ho are here n o t to w orry [about your
husbands getting the sack],
d
X h i t z [¥fz] i r f t l X ^ ^ i t t ^ ' t l f z
'}'% -tz1bl± m fL l £ l f z a
ohiraki no toki k6reisha-tachi wa anata-gata о aishite iru to iimashita ga
sh6nen-tachi wa mushi shimashita
A t the end [of the gathering], the old people said ‘W e love y o u ’, b u t the
youths ignored it.
e •••£cT)£
tz< n\i, f c k Ш
[ b ] f { <r>
i / з-У \ - ) V- ?yt z, Z t ^ X ^ ' i z Z Z X - f o
sono toki hijo ni insh6 ni nokotta no wa sensei-gata ya shuei-san-ra 6ku
no hitobito ga watashi ga nihonjin da to wakaru to siincnmuc ni purinsu
ga orarcta ga hijo ni jentoruman da to itte ita koto desu
. . . what impressed me very much at the time was th at m any people
such as the professors and the porters, once they realized I was
Japanese, told me that some years ago the prince was here and that
he’s a real gentleman.
59 -goro [SUFFIX]
-goro is a suf. th a t attaches to N and adj. indicating a point o f time (incl.
seasons) only. It indicates th at the point o f time is approxim ate. Like other
N /A o f time, the particle ni can optionally be attached to goro (see 61, 64,
81, 116.13).
kongetsn jQgonichi-goro ni tsuma о koroshita ntagai ga motarete iru
He is suspected of having killed his wife around the 15th o f this
month.
ь д о о о ^
ti—
nisennen-goro ni wa ichinichi yonjuppon no ressha ga ипкб saremasn
A round the year 2000, 40 trains per day will be run.
futsuka gozen reiji sanjOnifun-goro kantonanbu chiho de jishin ga atta
A round 12.32am on the 2nd, there was an earthquake in the South
K anto area.
d m i - m [z'ziz]
ш и
Ί УШ<г>ШШК^Ь'^А,Г£а
asa wa roknji-goro ni wa okite gakko ni mukai jugyo ga owatta ato wa
geshuku de supeingo no Ьепкуб ni uchikonda
In the m orning he got up by around 6 and went to school [to teach],
and after the end o f classes he immersed him self in the study o f Spanish
in his room .
e (IЩЮ
К— > Ы п Ltz0
d6jitsu gozen niji kara sanji-goro don to mono ga taorern уб na oto ga
shita
Between ab o u t 2 and 3 a.m. (on th at day), there was a sound as if
something had toppled over.
f
ic ii^ L O ^ [ Г З ]
b ζ>о
shusseisQ kyuzo no haikei ni wa kyOjQnen-goro kara hajimatta uedingu
bfimu ga aru
Behind the sudden increase in births there is the wedding boom that
start ed a r o u n d ,(>0.
60 gotoshi [STRUCTURAL NOUN]
gotoshi is like a N in th at it is preceded by the case P no (and occasionally
still the classical genitive P ga), b u t inflects like a classical adj., ending in -shi
(fin. form) and -ki (N-mod. form ) (see 22). It can nowadays also be followed
by form s o f the cop.
Like уб, gotoshi indicates a simile (likening tw o things or situations) in the
sense o f ‘like’ (see 243).
60.1
60.2
60.3
60.4
gotoshi (+ copula)
N o u n no gotoki noun
Sentence ka no gotoki noun
Noun-gotoki + particle
60.1 gotoshi (+ COPULA)
gotoshi can be attached to N + no, [Sentence]-verb ending in V-ru + ga, or
the adj.-i classical equivalent adj.-ki + ga (see 22) in the set phrase atte naki
ga gotoshi (example c), which is a w ritten-style equivalent o f atte nai уб na
mono ‘virtually non-existing’ (see 243.2.3).
a
[ r ^ L ] tz о
muzukashii seikyoku da kedo kokoro wa tesseki no gotoshi da
I t’s a difficult political situation, b u t m y resolve is like steel.
b
< ¥ [ Z' Z L]x
Y-tl о
jinsei wa omoni о oite toki michi о yuku ga gotoshi ga ima no shinkyo
to iu
H e said, ‘M y feeling at the m om ent is th a t life is like going along a
ro ad w ith a heavy burden’.
с
^ 9 ')
tzll¥0
ore no inaka ja tanjobi ya kurisumasu nante atte naki ga gotoshi da kedo
In m y p a rt o f the country, events like birthdays and C hristm as are
virtually non-existent.
60.2 NOUN no gotoki NOUN
This indicates the idea o f ‘like’, m aking a simile in the same way as N no уб
na N (see 243.2.4).
a
i
J; h
z ' n * i<n]
izure mo kado no tanjun-ka ni yoru m6s6 shinwa no gotoki mono to sareru
Both [‘supplysiders’ and ‘strategic tra d e rs’] arc said to Iu· som ething like
a delusion or myth, caused by oversim plification
b
Z Yi% pC ?ib% M lz< n-iibh, [ v 'i - y b r r - X ^ - c o
ir'& bizzizitzо
doknsha wa chosha no todomarn koto о shiranu hass6 ni noserare jetto
kosuta no gotoki kairaku о ajiwan koto ni naru
The reader is made to ride on the au th o r’s boundless [flow of] ideas,
and ends up enjoying himself like being on a jetcoaster.
60.3 SENTENCE ka no gotoki NOUN
The com bination N/S ka no gotoki N is equivalent to the m ore colloquial N
ka no уб na N ‘as if’ (see 243.4.2). In example b, the N after the first gotoki
is ellipted (om itted) because it is identical to the second one.
a
Щ] W % & t£0
kokkai giin no meiyo о kizutsukeru ka no gotoki shitsumon wa zannen da
A question th at looks as if [posed to] dam age the reputation o f an M P
is regrettable.
b
Ι Ψ - τ > χ ^ 6 ύ' <ηζΎ*№Μ]
seijika to капгуб ga taito de aru ka no gotoki arasotte iru ka no gotoki
jotai wa shizen de wa nai
A state o f affairs where politicians and adm inistrators seem on an equal
footing, and seem to compete, is unnatural.
60.4 NOUN-gotoki + PARTICLE
In this use, gotoki is used like a suf., with a pejorative ring, in the sense o f
‘someone/something like’. The P following gotoki is the one required by the
valency o f the V.
а [Ж Ш А Г ^ М с ] f t &f r b ' Zf r o
gaikokujin-gotoki ni nani ga wakarn ka
How can a foreigner possibly understand [= m y paintings]?
b
Г i j Z l ' c b t ] A * * " ^ b <n
medaka-gotoki de hito ga yoberu no ka ne
Can we attract visitors with som ething [as lowly as] medaka
[= a small freshwater fish]?
61 gurai/kurai [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
gurai (or kurai) is as an adverbial P that is attached directly to N (including
N of am ount, am ount + counter, and N o f time), and to N-mod. forms of
V/ailj./AN. It indicates an approxim ate am ount, or an extent (see 59, 64).
C om paring gnrai/knrai and goro, gnrai/knrai is m uch wider in use th a n
goro. A fter time N , goro indicates an ap proxim ate point o f time, whereas
gurai indicates an approxim ate period o f time. The difference between kurai
and gurai is th at kurai has a slightly m ore form al ring.
61.1
61.1.1
61.1.2
61.1.3
61.1.4
61.1.5
61.2
61.2.1
61.2.2
61.2.3
61.2.4
61.2.5
61.2.6
61.2.7
N o u n (am ount, etc.) gurai/kurai (wa)
N um ber + (counter) gurai/kurai
gurai/kurai shika negative
Cleft sentence no wa noun gurai/kurai (copula)
(semete) noun gurai/kurai wa
N o u n phrase gurai/kurai
Clause gurai/kurai: indicating an extent o r degree
Clause gurai/kurai predicate
Clause gurai/kurai da
Clause-im perative to gurai/kurai
Clause gurai/kurai no noun
Clause gurai/kurai de
Clause gurai/kurai ga (ch6do) ii
Verb gurai/kurai nara
61.1 NOUN (AMOUNT, ETC.) gurai/kurai (wa)
61.1.1 Number + (counter) gurai/kurai
A ttach ed to am ounts [num. (+ C)] including tim e, gurai/kurai indicates
th at the am ount or period o f tim e is approxim ate ‘approxim ately’, ‘ab o u t’.
N o te the com bination gurai wa, which has the im plication o f ‘at least’ th at
am ount.
а
f t [<%'-']
(/c£-?
= Af io 'Cf ci tx )
haha yo ippun gurai damattore
M other! Shut up for a m inute or so.
b
[< b ^ ] A X A K h i o
kono naikaku wa ninen kurai daijobu daro
I suppose this cabinet will be all right fo r a b o u t tw o years.
с
[ C b '- 'l j
gesshu wa juman-en gurai to iu
She says th a t her m onthly incom e is ‘ab o u t 100,000 yen’,
d
[< % 4 n
ima no nanajus-sai wa meiji jidai no gojOroku-siii gurui
Being 70 n o w is e qu i v a l e n t t o b ei ng a b o u t Sii iliumi·
tin·
Meiji era.
h t u t - f ¥ \ a Г—щ- [<%\,л] \ ± ¥ ¥ h t - : h i jo
kigyo no risutora ya gink6 no fury6saiken no sh6kyaku nado ni
dono kurai no jikan ga kakaru to mimasu ka. ninen gurai wa kakaru
daro
‘How long do you think it’ll take for com panies to restructure and
banks to sell off their bad debts?’ ‘It should take at least two years.’
61.1.2 gurai/kurai shika negative
In com bination with shika . . . neg. ‘only’, gurai/kurai indicates that the N is
‘about the only N ’ (see 180).
a
η
i '- 'o
nagoya to iu to kin no shachihoko gurai shika omoiukabanai
A t the m ention o f Nagoya, about the only thing th at comes to mind
are the gold dolphins [on top o f the castle roof].
b f e t [< C,v-'L*‘] £ $ * * * & < ,
Cto
капкб kurai shika sangyo ga naku sore de watashi mo hoteruman ni natta
no desu
Tourism is about the only industry [here], and so I too became a
hotel m an.
й-'-'о
yakan wa toire no toki gurai shika mizu о tsukawanai no de hotondo
komatte inai
[W ater restrictions] D uring the night, I have alm ost no problems as
ab out the only time I use w ater is for the toilet.
61.1.3 Cleft sentence no wa noun gurai/kurai (copula)
Here, gurai/kurai indicates that the N (item/s) it is attached to is/are ‘about
all’ there is to it, ‘only’ (see 23).
a [
!
[ CbV' l o
hoka ni hitsuy6 na no wa s6ry6 hakodai k6ridai gurai
The only o ther things required are money for postage, the charge for
the box and the charge for ice.
b
[<*Слч] tz о
kaeru no wa ichibu no cki no shinkanscn homu da
A b o u t t h e o n l y place y ou c a n b uy it [- the ma ga z i n e] is o n the bullettrain p l a t f o r m o f some stations.
61.1.4 (semete) noun gurai/kurai wa
wa adds the idea o f ‘at least’ (see 236.6), which is often reinforced by the adj.
of degree semete ‘at (the very) least’. This is used in situations w here the
speaker w ants to emphasize th a t surely he o r she is no t asking too m uch.
a [-tirA'C]
[tz0
semete densha no naka kurai wa yukkuri shitai mono da
I w ant to tak e it easy, at least on the train.
b Ь 4 \/<r>?]c [< i , W i ] й?*
toire no mizu kurai wa amamizu о tsukaenai mono ka
W hy can ’t rainw ater be used, at least fo r w ater in the toilet?
61.1.5 Noun phrase gurai/kurai
This gives the N P to which gurai/kurai is attach ed a belittling ring ‘doesn’t
am ount to m uch’.
a
[< ί Λ ']
yatte mireba chori taoru no sentaku kurai taishita koto de wa nai
W hen you try doing it, laundering the kitchen towels doesn’t am ount to
much.
61.2
CLAUSE gurai/kurai: INDICATING AN EXTENT OR DEGREE
61.2.1 Clause gurai/kurai predicate
This indicates th at the pred. applies ‘to a . . . extent/degree’, ‘so . . . th a t’ (see
64).
а [ЯЖ&]
[<
migoto na kurai nani mo nai
[The place] is so em pty th at it’s spectacular.
b
E t i J S j t f c '''] [<
majika ni teinen ga sematte iru to wa omoenai kurai кепкб de aru
H e is in such good health th a t it’s h ard to believe his retirem ent is close
at hand.
61.2.2 Clause gurai/kurai da
A tta c h e d to S th a t express insufficiency o r co m p ariso n , gurai/kurai
em phasizes this insufficiency o r the com parison ‘if anything’ (see 64).
a
[< b ^ t z ] о
mada tarinai kurai da
I t ’s not q n i t c e n o u g h yet.
Japanese: A Com prehensive Gramm ar 165
b W I № W c ] [< ί Λ '£ ] ο
taisaku wa oso-sugita kurai da
The counterm easures were practically too late.
С
Ш t)
6
Ϊ ^
[{
mawari no doro nado no oto no ho ga urusai kurai datta
The noise from the nearby roads were just ab o u t louder [than the
sound o f planes landing at the airport],
61.2.3 Clause-imperative to gurai/kurai
After a qu o ted S ending in the im p., the m eaning is ‘say at least’.
oboete oke to gurai itte yare matsui-kun
M atsui-kun, tell them at least ‘Rem em ber this!’
61.2.4 Clause gurai/kurai no noun
When used to modify N, the im plication is th at the modifying section is the
minimum th a t is required for the N ‘akin to ’, ‘no less th a n ’.
anzen ni wa jiibun-sugiru kurai no y5i to chili о kokorogakeru koto
F or safety, it is necessary to aim for m ore th a n adequate preparation
and attention.
b # i i [—
К
?о
kimi wa ichinenkan kinshin suru kurai no hansei ga hitsuyo dar6
You probably need as m uch reflection on your past conduct as
confinement at home for a year [would give you],
с
[CiA'co;:
tto
shitsugyoritsu ga san-pasento to iu no wa kiseki ni chikai gurai no koto
desu
The fact th a t the unem ploym ent rate is 3 per cent am ounts to a miracle.
61.2.5 Clause gurai/kurai de
With de, the conjunctive form o f the cop., attached, the com bination means
‘just because’ (see 35)
а йКд, [ ».»■?! flLCIi I £i>\,
nemui kurai dc shini wa shinai
N o o n e dies just o f sleepiness.
b
M i& K ff-o /t [<
nAslfjVbtl/to
kodomo-tachi to kaiyukan ya yuenchi ni itta kurai de nonbiri
dekimashita
I had a relaxed time. Just ab o u t all I did was go to A q u a W orld and
the am usem ent park with m y children.
61.2.6 Clause gurai/kurai ga (chddo) ii
This indicates th a t the situation o r state m entioned is the least th a t one
would expect ‘ju st about right’.
a
[<
kodomo wa sukoshi kega о suru kurai ga ii
I t’s ju st ab o u t right for a child [to be active enough] to get a few cuts.
b К " ь ^ ^ Ъ ± ? £ ’v . '4 o (ffc)
otoko wa namaiki gurai ga ch5do ii
M en who are cocky and brash - no m ore, no less - are ju st right.
(song)
61.2.7 Verb gurai/kurai nara
The com bination m eans ‘If it m eans doing . . . , I ’d ra th e r’ (see 108).
a r s |j
fz/Jtotf-o
tb
[< b ^ ^ b ]
Н И £Jo
опкб wa shm no itchi shita jinbutsu-hy5. kenka wa zettai ni shinai. suru
kurai nara oriru
The people around him judge his personality to be ‘affable’. ‘H e never
gets into fights. H e’d sooner give in [than fight].’
b ^Л Л ^Ь
U
kegawa о kiru gurai nara hadaka no h5 ga mashi
I would rath er go naked th an w ear a fur.
62 hazu [SENTENCE ENDING]
hazu is originally a structural N , and is therefore preceded and followed by
forms and P th at precede and follow N.
hazu expresses the speaker’s conviction regarding the likelihood o f an action
or situation occurring, on the basis of some objective inform ation, knowledge
or com m on sense: ‘is supposed to ’. The speaker is n o t sim ply m aking a
guess, as with the more subjective daro or kam oshirenai (see 240).
62.1
62.1.1
62.1.2
62.1.3
62.1.4
62.1.5
Clause hazu
Clause hazu da
Clause 1 hazu da ga, clause 2
Clause hazu datta/datta ga /datta noun/datta
Clause hazu ga/wa nai
Verb-nai hazu ga/wa nai
62.1 CLAUSE hazu
62.1.1 Clause hazu da
Completing a S with a form of cop., this means ‘is/can be expected’, ‘should’,
‘ought to ’. W hen applied to past-tense situations, hazu da is attached to the
-ta form (example e).
a
ΐ iu r ti] 0
gaikoku-san-mai ga yasukereba kau hazu da
If foreign rice is cheap, people ought to buy it.
b
[ i i Г ] tz„
eibun no ronbunshi nara sekaiju no kagakusha ga me о t6su hazu da
If it’s [published] in an English-language journal, scientists throughout
the w orld can be expected to look at it.
с
[ l i t ] tz о
heiwa no kirai na ningen wa inai hazu da
There ought to be no hum an being who dislikes peace.
d
[ t i T ]
t
-:0
kodomo-tachi mo tenk6 wa tsurai hazu da
Changing schools m ust be hard for the children, too.
e .1 <П1$Ж £
ьпь
« 0 ^ tz О tz [ n r ] tz о
kono genj6 о kaeru no ga seiji kaikaku no mokuteki datta hazu da
To change this situation [of there being too m any MPs] should have
been the aim o f political reform.
f
i
X ? i c — ί φ - со
[ i i r ]
t fо
heiwa shugi to kokusai shugi wa honrai, koin no uraomote no уб ni ittai
no hazu da
Pacifism a n d i nt e r na t i o na l i s m o u g h t t o have bee n o n e a n d t h e s a me
t hing f r o m t he begi nning, like the t w o sides o f a coin.
62.1.2 Clause 1 hazu da ga, clause 2
In com pound S joined by the conjunctive P ga, SI and S2 are contrastive in
nature (see 56).
a r £ ! i i £ i £ t & J [ t i - f ] fci* . 7 7 - у 7 * - ) 1 с о Щ > ) Х И & Ь & ¥ Ъ 0
hikari wa chokushin suru hazu da ga, burakku horu no mawari de wa
hikari mo magaru
Light is supposed to travel straight, but in the vicinity o f a black hole,
light also curves.
b
i “i t " <r> [ l i t ]
osaka ga sekai ni hokoreru no wa shoku no hazu da ga, sore о shitte iru
gaikokujin wa sukunai
W hat O saka can boast ab o u t to the w orld is its food, but there are n ’t
m any foreigners who know this.
( K ^ b ^ tz
с
[liT]
tzijK - k i i l z l i t f z i i L i X U
iC'-'o
kindai ni natte hdkensei wa tokku ni owatta hazu da ga, josei ni wa mada
kindai wa nai
W ith the advent o f the m odern age the feudal system is supposed to
have long ended, but for w om en there is as yet no m odern age.
62.1.3 Clause hazu datta/datta ga/datta noun/datta
Here, the co n trast is either im plied, or m ade clear in the rem ainder o f the
sentence ‘was supposed to . . . (but actually)’.
a ». 3KS; t i r l t i Kl dr —
[ti-f] t z ^ t z Q
jishin sae nakereba futari sorotte gakk6 ni kayotte ita hazu datta
If there h a d n ’t been the earthquake, the two were supposed to go to
school together.
b
[ I l f ] t z ^ t z t f ........о
kanojo wa shiawase na kekkon seikatsu о okutte iru hazu datta ga
She was supposed to have been leading a happy m arried life, bu t . . .
с
М & Ш Ж е Л 'Х - а ,
lb tz 0
Л/ g t S
[tit*]
JR nagoya ekibiru de wa, shutten suru hazu datta jimoto no matsuzakaya
ga tettai о kimeta
In the JR Nagoya building, the local |(irm | M atsuzakaya, which was
supposed to open a shop, decided to w itluhaw
62.1.4 Clause hazu ga/wa nai
W ith th e case P ga o r the focus P + neg., the meaning is ‘can’t (possibly)’. As
hazu ga nai carries a stronger conviction than hazu wa nai, the difference can
often b e rendered in translation by adding ‘possibly’ for hazu ga nai.
а
0
homukvoku ga fubi na shorui о uketsukeru hazu ga nai
T he L eg al Affairs Bureau can’t possibly accept docum ents that are not
in o rd er.
b
[t il*
sekai-boeki-kakudai ga warui nyiisu de aru hazu wa nai
A n ex p an sio n o f w orld trade can’t be bad news.
ichinen tarazu de yottsu no naikaku ga dekiru yo na kuni о sekai ga
shin'y6 suru hazu ga nai
T he w o rld can ’t possibly be expected to trust a country that has had
fo u r governm ents in less than a year.
d ■ ■ ■ Х Ж п Ш ^ ^ ь И 'Х . b f r 0 Г ;
£_lo
r * A ,ie
Γ
Μ
^
ί , Ή
ί : ,
tairyii no shiry6 ga okurarete kita. koko no seisan-sei wa odoroku hodo
takai. nihon mo minarae. sonna hazu wa nai to saisho wa omotta ga
shiryo о yomu uchi ni hont6 da to kangaenaoshita
I was sent a large am ount o f m aterial. ‘The productivity in this
co m pany is am azingly high. Japan should learn from this.’ In the
beginning I thought, ‘T hat can’t possibly be’ but as I was reading the
m aterial, I changed my mind.
.
62 1.5 Verb-nai hazu ga/wa nai
The co m b in atio n V-neg. and hazu ga/wa nai usually am ounts to a positive
m eaning ‘m ust surely’, ‘can’t b u t’ (see 50).
a
f
ь [itW i'fli& '-lo
seifu ga itsu made mo yakusoku о mamoranai hazu wa nai
The governm ent c a n ’t go on forever not keeping its promises.
b - Д - 7 Т ; 1) - , M A f v' 9 t f
11 'о
^ /:f
fft Л Ь * спт ш i f c t t
' [ii-f
V'lo
nyQ famiri tomodachi fiifu to iu kotoba о umidashite itta katei de sodatta
kodomo-tachi ga sono eikv5 о ukenai hazu ga nai
C h i l d r e n w h o wore raised in a h o us e h o l d that p r o d u c e d expressions
like N e w F a m i l y a n d I l u s b a n d - a n d - W i l e - a s I riends, mu st surely be
inll ueti ccd b y it.
63 h5 [STRUCTURAL NOUN]
As a stru ctu ral N , h5 is preceded and follow ed by the form s th a t precede
follow N.
The basic m eaning o f ho as a lexical N (3j) is ‘a re a ’ o r ‘direction’, b u t as a
structural N , h5 (usually followed by the case P ga) indicates the preferred
item or course o f action.
This is effected by em phasizing the preferred item (by m eans o f h5 ga) when
two items, courses o f action, etc. are (explicitly o r implicitly) being com pared.
63.1
63.2
63.3
63.4
N o u n /n o u n phrase no ho ga
Clause-verb ho ga adjective/adjectival noun
Clause-verb/adjective/adjectival noun ho ga ii/yoi/m ashi da
Verb/adjective/adjectival noun h5 copula
63.1 NOUN/NOUN PHRASE no ho ga
Like any other N, ho is attached to a N or N P by m eans o f no (see also 25,
252).
а
0
i] — <F> [-fr]
yakyQ yori sakka no h5 ga omoshiroi
Soccer is m ore interesting th an baseball.
ь Щ&п i t ] t f t e & i z i i K — x z x i t Z o
dansei no ho ga okane ni wa riizu na уб da
[C om pared to women] m en seem to be m ore careless with money.
с
[3f] ii1
shakai shugi jidai no seikatsu no h6 ga yokatta
Life was better during socialist times.
d
\if]
toshi о totte kara wa machi no ho ga kurashiyasui
Once yo u ’re old, a town is easier to live in [than the country] . .
.
63.2 CLAUSE-VERB ho ga ADJECTIVE/ADJECTIVAL NOUN
D epending on the context, this can indicate the idea o f ‘doing . . . is adj./
A N -er’ o r ‘doing .. . w ould be adj./A N -er’.
ie de nekorogatte terebi demo mite iru h5 ga raku da shi o-kane mo
kakaranai
Lying down at home watching TV is easier [than going to a show], and
d o e s n ’t cost anything cither.
kore dake kenpi о tsugikonde umaku ikanai ho ga okashii
Considering all the prefectural funds going into [the project], it would
be strange if it didn’t succeed.
63.3 CLAUSE-VERB/ADJECTIVE/ADJECTIVAL NOUN h5 ga ii/yoi/
mashi da
Follow ed by evaluatory ad j./A N such as ii/yoi ‘g o o d ’ and mashi da
‘preferable’, this is used for recom m ending a course o f action, or stating a
preference ‘you should’, ‘is better/preferable’.
V often use the ending -ta (which indicates not p ast bu t com pletion here)
before ho, bu t -te iru and -ru are also found (in the neg., -nai is used).
a
V i]
ishi ni kuwashiku mite moratta ho ga ii daro
Y ou’d better have a thorough check-up by a doctor.
b
Ш
jinin suru no nara hayaku jinin shita ho ga yoi
If he resigns, then he should do so soon.
saifu no himo wa yappari josei ga nigitta h6 ga ii
Is it in the end better if wom en control the purse strings?
d
Ш
„
koritsu о kangaeru to kaitai shite nani ka atarashii mono о tateru ho ga
kantan da
W hen you consider efficiency, it’s easier to dism antle them [= historic
buildings] and build something new.
e
[# ]
кап wa mochihakobu no ni karui hd ga ii
Cans are better light, for carrying them around.
f ψ /LX-if^ Z 7,
It]
heibon de кеккб heibon de shiawase na h6 ga haruka ni ii
M ediocre is fine, it’s far better to be mediocre and happy.
g
V f ] i si U
kegawa о kiru gurai nara hadaka no h6 ga mashi
I’d rather be naked than wear a fur.
63.4 VERB/ADJECTIVE/ADJECTIVAL NOUN h5 COPULA
T h is indic ates a tendency, c o m p a r e d to o th e r p eo p le o r entities t h a t a r e n o t
explicitly m e n tio n e d : ‘on the . . . sid e -, ‘relatively', ‘te n d to'.
a
[# ] l a
watashi nanka otonashii ho yo
I’m on the quiet side, you know.
ь
I
t
u
i
[ ii? ] x-tt'o
jibun kara susunde atarashii tomodachi о tsukuru ho desu ka
D o you tend to go out o f y our way to m ake new friends?
64 hodo [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
hodo is attached directly to N , and to the form s o f V /adj./A N th at precede
N.
hodo and the w ord it is attached to together fo rm an adverbial phrase, i.e.
m odify a following V /adj./A N o r the cop., indicating the degree to which
the following V/adj./A N (or cop.) applies ‘ab o u t’ (see 25, 61).
64.1
64.1.1
64.1.2
64.1.3
64.2
64.2.1
64.2.2
64.2.3
64.3
64.3.1
64.3.2
64.3.3
64.3.4
64.4
64.4.1
64.4.2
64.4.3
64.5
64.5.1
64.5.2
N u m b er + counter hodo
N um ber + counter hodo (+ particle) predicate
N o u n (or noun phrase) wa . . . num ber + counter hodo (da)
N um ber + counter hodo no noun (noun-m odifying)
N o u n hodo noun (indicating an extent)
N o u n hodo (. . . noun) (predicate-negative)
N o u n hodo noun (predicate-positive)
Idiom atic use o f noun hodo predicate
Verb/adjective hodo
Verb/adjective hodo (predicate-positive)
Verb/adjective hodo no noun
Verb/adjective hodo da
Verb/adjective hodo (predicate-negative)
(Verb/adjective-ba) verb/adjective hodo
Verb/adjective-ba verb/adjective hodo (w ith repeated verb or
adjective)
Verb/adjective hodo
Verb hodo ni predicate
N o u n hodo . . . mono/koto wa nai
hodo . . . mono wa nai
hodo . . . koto wa nai
64.1
NUMBER + COUNTER hodo
A t t a c h e d t o n u m . + c o u n t e r , hodo, like gurai, i n d ic a l c s a n a p p r o x i m a t e
a m o u n t ‘a b o u t ’ (see 61, 147, 36).
64.1.1 Number + counter hodo (+ particle) predicate
a
[ UK ] il l h h t z h l f r o
takasa gometoru hodo wa aru dar5 ka
The height [of the building replica] might be about five metres.
ь «f&4 tfi+A [tatjr] tttt s0
kenkyukai wa junin hodo de kosei suru
The research society will be form ed by about 10 people.
с
[taIT] 4'VX*pr,<.
gokiro no kosu о ichijikanhan hodo kakete yukkuri aruku
They walk the 5-km course slowly, taking about an hour and a half.
64.1.2 Noun (or noun phrase) wa . . . number + counter hodo (da)
In equational S, the meaning is ‘A is about B \ The N can be a simple N , a
N P (N no N, etc.), or a nom inalized N (V + no, etc.).
а ЯДЮ4Н1 [ i i ] —Ж А + А [t i£ ']
genzai no kaiin wa nihyakugojfl-nin hodo da
There are currently about 250 members.
b —а с о т ш [ i i ] # Д —^ A [J iir] t-:0
ichinichi no j6k5kyaku wa genzai ichimannin hodo da
A t present, the num ber o f passengers getting on and off in a day is
about 10,000.
с
[ii] —
[ ! ϊ £ ”] t-:0
hataraku no wa ikkagetsu no uchi hantsuki hodo da
He works ab o u t two weeks out o f every m onth.
64.1.3 Num ber + counter hodo no noun (noun-modifying)
When m odifying a N , the m eaning is ‘o f about’, ‘o r so’.
nijuncn hodo no aida ni nani ga kawatta no daro
I wonder w hat has changed over the past 20 years or so.
ь JLf t i z f c &b ь H t - ;& [tatгг]
kugatsu ni yasumi о moratte nihaku hodo no гуокб о kangaete iru
I’m thinking o f taking some time off in September and going on a trip
of about [three days and] two nights.
с M f t a u i i — a-N & [ ι ϊ ^ Ι
kaikanbi ni wa ichinichi jukkumi hodo no kyaku ga otozureru
Oil the d a y s w h e n the m u s e u m is o p e n , a b o u t ten g r o u p s o f visitors
c o m e per d ay .
64.2
NOUN hodo NOUN (INDICATING AN EXTENT)
64.2.1 Noun hodo ( . . . noun) (predicate-negative)
This indicates the m eaning o f ‘no t as .. . as’. The pred. is either neg. o r has
neg. meaning.
a Zh
[£H \ X 't о
kore hodo takokuseki na ginko mo mare desu
There are very few banks th at are as m ultinational as this.
b
[Ii*:*]
[& 4 0
nihonjin kara mireba chugokujin hodo tegowai aite wa inai
F ro m the point o f view o f the Japanese, there are few [negotiating]
p artners who are as tough as the Chinese.
с
Zh
A b <X Ш
i\ &
sonna naka, kore hodo okikute medatsu tokei mo mezurashii
A m ong such [clocks at well-known m eeting points], there are few clocks
th at are so large and noticeable.
d Х Ь Ъ Ш й Х г Ъ - К . [IIIT ]
[& ^ ]0
donna dobutsu demo inu hodo baraeti ni tomu rei wa miataranai
There is no other kind o f anim al as rich in variety as the dog.
64.2.2 Noun hodo noun (predicate-positive)
W ith pos. pred., the m eaning is ‘m ore th a n ’, ‘to the extent th a t’.
a
[! i£ l
6*t%L01£ k L ' ' ' A , X " t o
kurushii toki hodo aisuru taisho ga hoshii n desu
One never wants som ething to love [= a pet] as m uch as in h ard times.
b
[li^ l
ic6a
haha no inai hito hodo haha e no omoi wa tsuyoku naru
N o one has stronger feelings tow ards his m o th er th an som eone who
doesn’t have one.
64.2.3 Idiomatic use of noun hodo predicate
Idiom atic uses include expressions like yama hodo ‘lo ts’, sayings, etc.
a I f a ' Z Kl£d< [US;'] h b a
shitai koto wa yama hodo aru
There are heaps o f things I w ant to do.
b
[ti^ l b b a
wakaranai koto wa yama hodo aru
T h e r e a re lots o f th in g s 1 d o n ’t u n d e r s ta n d
64.3
VERB/ADJECTIVE hodo
64.3.1 Verb/adjective hodo (predicate-positive)
Here, hodo is modified by a N -m od. clause ending in the same forms th at
are used before N (note the classical neg. forms -nu instead o f -nai, example
e). Together with hodo, this forms an adverbial clause in the sense o f ‘so . ..
th at’ (with pos. pred.).
a
[! i£ l
yasusugiru hodo yasui
It’s so cheap th at it’s alm ost too cheap.
b
[ i i £'] -U-V'o
odoroku hodo amai
I t’s amazingly sweet.
с m m t't
koshi о nukasu hodo odoroita
I was so surprised that I could hardly move.
d
[!i£ l a u : 0
nakete kis5 na hodo kando shita
I was m oved so deeply th at I alm ost cried.
e AN\r>fc-li§k.z. Ъ -КЛ [ l i i f ] ^
ЬX ^ Ь0
ningen no karada wa kazoekirenu hodo oku no saibo de dekite iru
The hum an body is m ade up o f innum erable cells.
64.3.2 Verb/adjective hodo no noun
W hen m odifing a N , the m eaning is ‘a N that is so . . . th a t’.
а £Л>'1Л'
еоЗШ Д 'о/'о
mabushii hodo no egao datta
It was a smile that was virtually dazzling.
b
[ia r]
с о ^ х л : 1) t z - v t z a
kaijo no daikyoshitsu wa tachimi ga deru hodo no seikyoburi datta
The [event in the] large auditorium (lit. “at the venue”) was so well
attended th at there was standing room only.
hata kara mireba koibito to mimachigaeru hodo no shinmitsu na
k6saiburi da
T o the in n o e c n t b y sta n d e r, th e ir frie n dship lo o k s so in tim ate t h a t
they m ight be m istak e n for sw eethearts.
64.3.3 Verb/adjective hodo da
As the pred. o f an equational S, V/adj. hodo da m eans ‘A is В to an extent
th at’.
a
tzo
gijutsuryoku no shinpo wa odoroku hodo da
The advances m ade in technical skill are am azing.
b m trp <
')
6
fc'o
machi о aruku sararlman no sugata wa kazoeru hodo da
There are so [few] white-collar workers w alking aro u n d tow n th at you
could co unt them.
с
ζ ζ η % Ά ΐ ϊ — ^ ί Ι τ % ^ [ ί ί ^ 'Ί ΛΓο
soto wa mosho demo koko no kion wa jiisando de samui hodo da
Even if there’s a heatw ave outside, the tem perature in here, at thirteen
degrees, still feels cold.
64.3.4 Verb/adjective hodo (predicate-negative)
W ith neg. pred., the m eaning is ‘n o t as . . . as’.
a l^ U
Z h l i v T t l [ΙΪ¥]
shikashi sore wa kuchi de iu hodo kantan na koto de wa nai
[M aking clothes th at custom ers buy regardless o f price] However, th a t’s
easier said than done.
b
t - g b h ^ '‘' б [ i i i r ] i6 < ie v 'o
michi wa hiroi shi kijtsu mana mo iwarete iru hodo waruku nai
The streets are wide and people’s driving m anners are no t as b ad as
they are said to be.
josei wa honto ni igaina hodo dansei no sukina mono о shiranai
I t’s quite incredible how little wom en know ab o u t the things m en like.
64.4 (VERB/ADJECTIVE-ba) VERB/ADJECTIVE hodo
64.4.1 Verb/adjective-ba verb/adjective hodo (with repeated verb or
adjective)
Here, a V o r adj. is repeated, first in the -ba form , then in the N -m od. form,
in the sense o f ‘the m ore . . . , the -er’ (see 13).
a £ * W < >)tr [ t h i i t i i i z r h
machizukuri о sureba suru hodo machi ga waruku naru
T h e m o r e y o u ‘e n g i n e e r ’ a t o w n , th e w o rs e it gets.
b МЩд'
t t f t i i ' A i W i£ ']
soshiki ga okikereba okii hodo kettei wa osoi
The larger an organization is, the longer it takes to m ake decisions.
с l
+
i
i
&
V
o
keikaku tassei wa hayakereba hayai hodo ii
The sooner we achieve the plan the better.
d
nihon seifu no taido о shireba shiru hodo ikari ga takamatta
The m ore I got to know the attitude o f the Japanese government, the
angrier I became.
e
Ш Ш Ш 1 [P -X lit-A iYlY
„
jutaku wa kenchikugo nensu ga tateba tatsu hodo iji hiyo ga kasamu
The older a house gets, the greater the cost o f m aintaining it.
64.4.2 Verb/adjective hodo
W ithout repeated V or adj., the m eaning also w orks out as ‘the m ore . . . ,
the -er’.
korei-ka ga susumu hodo iryohi wa fukuramimasu
The further the ageing o f society progresses, the bigger the medical
bills get.
b n/
[ίϊϊΤ ] ' Ш ± Ь <
:А Ь Щ М К Ь Ь о
kome wa kion ga takai hodo shohiryo ga heru keiko ni aru
Higher tem peratures m ake for less consum ption o f rice.
64.4.3 Verb hodo ni predicate
This m ay be regarded as a variant o f 64.4.1 and 64.4.2, ‘the m ore . . . , the
m ore’.
a b'b
η i U b 1t b t < £ 0
kamu hodo ni umami ga dete kuru
The longer one chews the better it tastes.
64.5
NOUN hodo . . . mono/koto wa nai
64.5.1 hodo . . . mono wa nai
hodo . . . mono wa nai e x p r e s s e s th e m e a n i n g o f ‘n o t h i n g b e t t e r t h a n ’
(see % ).
а « Й
[H IT] f l u c g l v 't w t t i e v 'o
kinu seihin hodo karada ni yoi mono wa nai
There is nothing better for the body than silk products.
b —
[ i i £’]
ippo tsiiko no kaigi hodo taikutsuna mono wa nai
There is nothing as dull as a one-way m eeting ( - where all the
com m unication is from one direction only).
64.5.2 hodo . . . koto wa nai
Here, the m eaning is ‘never . . . m ore th a n ’ (see 64).
a 4 ^ [ i i ^ 'L
kotoshi hodo natsuyasumi ga machidoshikatta koto wa nai
I ’ve never looked forw ard to the sum m er holidays as m uch as I did
this year.
65 HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE FORMS (SUBJECT- AND
OBJECT-HONORIFICS)
In com parison to ‘ordinary’ o r unm arked forms expressing the same cognitive
m eaning, hon. forms and hum ble forms both elevate the listener o r referent
in relation to the speaker. T he assum ption behind this is th a t persons o f
senior/higher social status th a n the speaker are linguistically trea ted as
superiors.
H on. form s are distinct from the pol. ending -masu, b u t in practice often
com bine, especially when used as pred. (i.e. m any form s given below are
often used in their -masu form (see 91, 66).
65.1
R egular honorific form s
65.1.1 o/go-verb-stem ni naru
65.1.2 Clause-te (de) irassharu
65.1.3 Passive honorifics
65.2
R egular hum ble forms
65.2.1 o/go-verb-stem suru
65.2.2 Clause (-te/de) gozaimasu and (-te/de) orimasu
65.2.2.1 gozaimasu and adjective-u gozaimasu/mashita
65.2.2.2 N oun/adjectival noun/clause de gozaimasu
65.2.2.3 -te/de oru/orimasu and orimasu
65.3
Irregular honorific and humble verb forms
65.1 REGULAR HONORIFIC FORMS
There are two regular hon. form ations, o/go V-stem ni naru and pass.-form
hon. (see 156.8). Verbs th a t have special (irregular) form s do n o t usually
have regular equivalents (see 65.3).
65.1.1 o/go-verb-stem ni naru
In this structure, V-stem is sandwiched between o/go and ni naru. In the case
o f VN (see 234), ni naru replaces suru.
The choice between the hon. pref. o- and go- basically depends on whether
the item they attach to is N J (o-) or SJ (go-) vocabulary (see 235), but there
are some exceptions, such as o-denwa (‘telephone’), which is SJ.
By replacing ni naru with kudasai, i.e. in the form o/go-V-stem kudasai, a
pol. com m and is formed, which is commonly used (see 69.5).
F o r an example o f o-V-stem-ni naru + attached pass, hon., see 65.1.1 d.
а [ИЩ-аЫ^й'-z>] h<D\i. t о f c v 'i v 'o (cf., Щ-£> Ь ‘quit’)
o-yame ni natta no wa mottainai
It’s a waste th at he quit.
b ^
cti]
(cf.,
‘d o ’)
yaritai kata ga ireba o-yari ni nareba ii
If there’s anyone w ho’d like to give it a try, let them.
In the m edia, o/go-V-stem ni naru (but also pass, hon.) is often used with
reference to mem bers o f the Im perial family, although some newspapers
have largely abandoned the practice.
Note also th at in super-hon. usage, (o/go- V-stem ni) naru can be used in the
pass. hon. form (o/go- V-stem ni) narareru to m ake it even more polite.
C
d
[fc/'έΐ i 0 \Z & -z>] f z Z Y.
1 0 (cf., ίέ) ί h ‘stay’)
sh6wa tenno mo o-tomari ni natta koto ga aru to iu
They say th at the Showa em peror too has stayed.
h i t „
(cf., - ^ $ L z . t 6 ‘plant in person’)
ryoheika wa sankasha to tomo ni naegi о o-teue ni nararemasu
Their M ajesties will personally plant the seedlings together with the
participants.
N o t e t h a t t h e r e a r e s o m e fixed e x p r e s s io n s t h a t l o o k like o/go V - s t e m ni
naru, b u t a r e in fac t n o t ( e x a m p l e e). A ls o n o t e e x a m p l e f, w h e r e th e
ex p re ssio n sankS ni naru ‘be u s e fu l’ (not sanko suru!) is m a d e h o n o rific by
a t ta c h in g the pref. go-.
e&A J с£ИЙгз£((o-sewa ni naru ‘be taken care o f ’)
iroiro na hito ni o-sewa ni natta
I was looked after by all sorts o f people.
f
-7 b' Q
kanko kankeisha no katagata go-sanko ni natta daro ka
[Advice how to advertise a local area for sightseeing] H as [our advice]
been useful for you people in the sightseeing business?
65.1.2 C lause-te (de) irassharu
In hon. use, -te/-de iru is regularly changed to te/de irassharu, an d da/desu
to de irassharu (see 199, 35).
On irregular -masu and im perative forms, see 65.3.
а
[ Τ ν 'ί , ο
iU :ih 0
anata taihen komatte irasshaimashita yo ne
Y ou were greatly em barrassed [at the time], w eren’t you.
b
["C *'4 h
x
L -ϋ» -z>] X , оЫ ’Я -з
<ь
sengetsu o-mimai ni itta toki ni wa genki ni waratte irasshatte kanarazu
kaette kuru to shinjite ita no ni
W hen I visited him last m onth, he was laughing and in good spirits,
and I believed that he’d definitely come back.
с & & &<,
L ■¥>'<'] i t < r > x \
ОсЩь
ш ь ь н ъ z y u r n t i x n 1) t t B
o-kokorozashi takaku kodoryoku ni afureru o-futari de irasshaimasu no
de kanarazuya subarashii go-katei о o-kizuki ni narareru koto to
kakushin shite orimasu
As b o th are o f noble m ind and brim m ing w ith activity, I’m convinced
th at they will surely build a wonderful family.
65.1.3 Passive honorifics
Pass, form s (for the form s see 156) can be used as a slightly less polite hon.;
this is particularly popular w ith the younger generation.
H ow ever, in com bination w ith o/go-ni naru, -te orimasu in the pass. hon.
form m akes for a super-hon. form (see 65.2.2 re -te orimasu).
a 28 0
[ H]
niju hachinichi wa ongaku о kiitari dokusho о shite sugosarcta
T he 28th she [= a m em ber o f the Imperial family] spent (doing things
like] listening to music and reading.
b
I ft] h Z Y - b h h o
go-jishin ni taisuru keibi ga kibishi-sugiru to kans6 о morasareta koto
mo aru
He [= a m em ber o f the Im perial family] once com m ented that he felt
th at he was being guarded too strictly.
с
L ^ 'i
ft'coflfc
X ^ 'iti']
[p trt'lfb h ] h a
dochira kara irasshaimashita ka dono teido nyuin sarete imasu ka nado to
кое о kakerareta
She addressed people with questions like ‘W here do you come from?’
and ‘H ow long have you been in hospital?’
Note - compare the above hon. uses to the following example o f pass, use (see 156).
d f
c
t f
A
S
ttJSL bbiIt I t b h ] ,
obasan ni seki о yuzuttara nando mo orei о iware oriru sai ni wa saikeirei
sarete tomadotte shimatta
A fter I ’d given my seat to the old woman, she thanked me m any times,
and I was really em barassed when she bowed deeply as she got off the
train.
65.2
REGULAR HUMBLE FORMS
65.2.1 o/go-verb-stem suru
The regular hum ble form ation takes the form o f o/go-V-stem suru (for extra
politeness, suru can be changed to itasu, see 3 below).
The choice betw een o- and go- is conditioned by the same factors as
m entioned above under 65.1. V th at have special (irregular) forms do no t
usually have regular form ations (see 65.3).
a N ri-ii r U i 'b < [fc ^ z H 't] Χ ^ ' ^ ' < η Χ \
J o £ ^ ή Z К X"....... J
tJb6o
toki ni wa shibaraku o-ai shite inai no de go-aisatsu to iu koto de to iu
wake no wakaranai meimoku mo aru
On occasion, people come under the flimsy pretext o f ‘I haven’t
seen you for a while, so [I’d like to see you] to extend my
greetings . . .’.
b *]%#«■
I]
fukutoshu о o-negai shitara sugu ni natte kureta
When I asked (him to hc| deputy party chairm an, he took it on right
away.
с
I
[f c J S ltL L
£ [ f c b ^ ' l ] /:V'„
o-kvaku-sama ni wa hyoji to tekigo shinai seihin о o-todoke shi tadai na
meiwaku о kaketa koto о o-wabi shitai
I w ant to apologize for having delivered to o u r custom ers a pro d u ct that
does n o t m atch the labelling, and for having inconvenienced them greatly.
65.2.2
Clause (-te/de) gozaimasu and (-te/de) orimasu
gozaimasu is humble for aru, and orimasu for iru. Similarly, -te (-de) gozaimasu
is used instead o f -te aru (see 196), -te gozaimasu instead o f iru (see 199), de
gozaimasu instead o f da/desu (see 35), and -te orimasu for -te iru.
F o r irregular -masu and imp. form s see 65.3.
65.2.2.1 gozaimasu and adjective-u gozaimasu/mashita
gozaimasu is the humble equivalent o f aru/arimasu. N ote also the som ew hat
archaic com bination adj. -u (o + u = δ) gozaimasu (the adj. ending -u is a vari
ant o f -ku), which is still used, especially by elderly ladies, but also in greetings
such as arigato gozaimasu, o-hayo gozaimasu, o-medet6 gozaimasu, etc.
Note - when referring to events that are already completed,
-mashita is used rather than -masu.
a
/ t M M t b Ъ' ИЪ Z Г £ < (с [ Г
L 0\
hakuju о mukaeta kanso о kikareru to toku ni gozaimasen
W hen asked about his thoughts on having reached the age o f 99,
[he replied] Ί don’t really have any’.
b
Г£<
Α,αΐ
ni shippai shita to iu hanashi ga aru ga. mattaku gozaimasen.
. . . there’s talk th at you m ade a m istake in . . . ‘T h a t’s no t at all so’.
с
Гi f
[.Г $ Ч ч £ Ь ]
....... j
куб wa nani kara hajimaru n ja. mazu saisho wa kakugi no mae ni
kakuryokaigi ga gozaimashite soko de no omo na tema wa
(P M ) ‘W h at’s on first today?’ (Secretary) ‘F irst, before the C abinet
m eeting there is a M inisterial conference; the m ain topic there is . . .’
d № i r y v 'i I] ft0
warD gozaimashita
Sorry (lit. “It was b ad o f m e”).
e
I t i i b T Y 7 Г 3 4 1] Λ,,
daisanshi tanjo omedet6 gozaimashita
C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s o n th e b ir th o f y o u r Ih iul rhiUI
f r^g
\ b * )¥Υ. η r i 4 ' i ]
t J
—
honjitsu wa watakushi no sogi ni go-shusseki itadaki arigato gozaimasu to
kojin ga sukurm ni tojo shi kaisosha ni wakare no aisatsu о suru
W ith the words ‘Thank you for attending my funeral today’, the
deceased appears on the screen, and gives a farewell speech to the
funeral guests.
6 5.2.2.2 Noun/adjectival noun/clause de gozaimasu
de gozaimasu is hum ble for da/desu (strictly speaking, de aru/arimasu is
converted into de gozaimasu, which is used in place o f da/desu).
Note th at wa can be ‘sandwiched’ between de and gozaimasu for contrast/
emphasis (example d) in the same way as between de and forms o f cop. (see
236.5.3.3).
In fairy tales an d some other form s o f literature, no de gozaimasu is also
used instead o f S endings such as n/no da/desu.
F or irregular -masu and imp. form s, see 65.3.
a
f 0
migite ni miemasu no wa nijojo de gozaimasu
W hat can be seen on the right is N ij5 Castle.
b
Г \,ч £ » Т ч
[ Т Г ;* Ч '£ ] t J
о
sore wa hanran ka to iu δ ni koshaku wa kotaeta. ie heika kakumei de
gozaimasu
To the king’s question ‘Is this an uprising?’ the duke replied, ‘No, Y our
Majesty, it’s a revolution’.
с
U Г Б * * [ T r y v 'i t l J
Ш Ш -ш r r f c ij
sansedai dokyo jidai ni wa yome wa shiitome ni o-shokuji de
gozaimasu to tsugeta ga kakukazoku de wa go-han yo de mo sunde
shimau
In the times when three generations lived under one roof, the wife
would say to the m other-in-law ‘Y our dinner is served’, but in the
nuclear family ‘Dinner!’ is sufficient.
d W illtiZ L L 'y [t'tiryv'il - m
i i .......
hanahada sen'etsu de wa gozaimasu ца jikoshokai sasete itadakiniasu
Please p erm it me (lit. "It is to ta lly o u t o f o r d e r o f me to d o so, b u t
allow m e ") to in tro d u c e m y self . . .
t 0
otoko wa sore made-ni sonna utsukushii onna no hada о mita koto
ga nakatta no de gozaimasu
The m an had never before seen a wom an with such beautiful
skin.
65.2.2.3 -te/de oru/orimasu a n d orimasu
-te/de orimasu is the hum ble equivalent to verb-te/de iru/imasu. N o te how
nado causes the insertion o f an ‘extra’ shite ori in example f; the non-hon.,
non-form al equivalent w ould be hone о ottari shite ite, i.e. orimasu is used
instead o f iru (see 192, 103.3).
Note - the imperative plain form -te ore (example a) is used as an imperative form of -te
(-te iro being not a standard form), and does not have any hon. meaning.
a
[Hbh (/zi^ i:b = i f b
haha yo ippun gurai damattore
M other! Shut up for a m inute or so.
ь
[tfc o ± ti»
tsurisen ga fusoku itashite orimasu
We are short o f change.
с ' A t h F ') > 7
iru
[ X&h ] )
ДL
hieta dorinku о hanbai shite orimasu
W e’re selling cold drinks.
d b f c ( # i ; [ t f c o i-a·] λ,ο
mattaku zonjite orimasen
I know absolutely nothing [about it].
e
[-T fcO L
b i t c , h itv.' Ш Г - : о h ,
denwa ya sh6kaki mo yuka ni korogatte ori te ga tsukerarenai jotai
datta
Telephones and fire extinguishers too were lying on the floor, and
[the place] was in a state where we couldn’t do anything.
yuki-chan wa by6in ni hakobareta ga atama no hone о oru nado shite ori
yaku nijikanhan-go ni shib6 shita
Y u k i - c h a n w a s ta k e n t o h o s p it a l b u t h a d a f r a c tu r e d skull a n d d ie d tw o
a n d a h a l f h o u r s later.
65.3 IRREGULAR HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE VERB FORMS
A num ber o f commonly used V th at refer to a person’s action are not used
in their regular hon. form; instead, a different ‘specialized’ hon. V is used
(some hon. V can be used for m ore than one action: meshiagaru is used for
both eating and drinking, and irassharu is used for coming, going, and being
there).
Table 13 shows the m ore com m on o f these irregular V (for slots where no
irregular verb exists, regular form ations are given in brackets).
N ote also th at the following am ong the verbs below are irregular in forming
their -masu form and imp. form. This also applies when they are used with
V-te (see 65.1.2 and 65.2.2 above).
honorific verb
gozaru
irassharu
kudasaru
nasaru
ossharu
-masu f o r m
gozai-masu
irasshai-masu
kudasai-masu
nasai-masu
osshai-masu
imperative form
irasshai
kudasai
nasai
osshai
As seen already above (65.1.2 and 65.2.2), m any o f the above forms can in
turn be used to replace the second V in [V-te + V] combinations, such as -te
iru into -te irasshaimasu/-te orimasu, and -te kuru into -te irasshaimasu/-te
inairiina.su. etc.
а [ Г Е К й О ] i Ifzd'o
go-ran ni narimashita ka
Have you seen [it]?
ь
[ г е с ^ о ] t--0
tsuzuite heika wa bekkan no hyohonkan ni ido shi, gyorui hyohon о
go-ran ni natta
Thereafter, His M ajesty m oved to the Specimen H all, which is a
separate building, and looked at fish specimens.
fush6 sareta katagata ni wa kokoro kara no o-mimai о m6shiagetai
To those w ounded, I’d like to extend my heartfelt wishes for their
recuperation.
d
••■ ftlN i.i: t e f
x&t)£f о
kabuki ni mo tokidoki o-ide itadaite orimasu
. . . o c c a s io n a lly he [= Im peria l F a m ily m em ber] h o n o u r s us w ith a visit
to the K a b u k i.
Table 13 M ajor irregular honorific and humble verbs
Ordinary
Honorific
Hum ble
ageru
‘give’
aru
‘be’, ‘have’
au
‘meet’
deru
‘attend’
iku
‘go’
iru
‘be’
kudasaru
sashiageru
o-ari desu
gozaru
(o-ai ni naru)
о-me ni kakaru
(o-ai suru)
(o-de ni naru)
—
irassharu
o-ide ni naru
irassharu
o-ide ni naru
orareru
ossharu
mairu
iu
‘say’
kariru
‘borrow ’
kiku
‘ask’
kiru
‘wear’
kuru
‘come’
miru
‘see’
miseru
‘show’
morau
‘receive’
motsu
‘have’
neru
‘go to bed’,
‘sleep’
nomu
‘drink’
omou
‘think’
(o-kari ni nara)
(o-kiki ni naru)
oru
iru
m6su
moshiageru
haishaku suru
(o-kari suru)
ukagau
uketamawaru
(o-kiki suru)
o-meshi ni naru
irassharu
o-ide ni naru
o-ide itadaku
o-koshi ni naru
mieru
o-mie ni naru
go-ran ni naru
mairu
(o-mise ni naru)
о-me ni kakeru
(o-morai ni naru)
itadaku
chodai suru
(o-mochi suru)
motte oru
—
o-mochi da
motte irassharu
o-yasumi ni naru
o-agari ni naru
meshiagaru
(o-omoi ni naru)
haiken suru
itadaku
zonjiru
Table 13 (C o n t’d )
Ordinary
Honorific
Humble
shinu
‘die’
shiru
‘know’
shiru
‘know s.o.’
suru
‘do’
o-nakunari ni naru
naku naru
go-zonji da
go-sh6chi da
go-zonji da
zonjiru
zonjite oru
zonjiageru
nasaru
sareru
o-yari ni naru?
o-agari ni naru
meshiagaru
o-tazune ni naru
itasu
taberu
‘eat’
tazuneru
‘ask’, ‘visit’
itadaku
ukagau
e
[Ж LJt-tf] h О4
Lv-'ЯДйО fc i f t H t
^ 'i t o
kimono no o-kyaku-sama ni napukin о sashiagetari josei rashii kikubari ni
mo ki о tsukaimasu
I provide napkins for people in kim onos, and try to pay attention to
things in a female sort of way.
f
о
[ t i '- O ] £ L f - 0
yakimono о hajimete yonjuhachi-nen tsuchi to no tatakai о zutto
tsuzukete mairimashita
[It’s] 48 years since I’ve taken up pottery, and I ’ve continued the
struggle w ith the clay all the way.
66 HONORIFIC AND HUMBLE NOUNS
Honorific and hum ble N can be divided in N th at refer to a person, N that
refer to people’s actions, and N th at are used as euphemisms.
66.1
66.1.1
66.1.2
66.2
66.3
66.4
N ouns referring to a person
W ithout honorific prefix
W ith honorific prefix
N ouns referring to a person’s actions or belongings
N ouns used as euphemisms
N ouns used when speaking to children
66.1 N O U N S R E F E R R IN G T O A PE R S O N
66.1.1 Without honorific prefix
T o refer to a person, apart from titles and pron. the honorific equivalent of
hito, kata, can be used in the singular, and the reduplicated katagata for the
plural (see 54, 158).
а
Ш Ко
taihen кепкб na kata da
He is a very healthy person.
b № М -Ш Л<п [ # * ] ч
о
капкб kankeisha no katagata go-sank6 ni natta daro ka
[Advice on how to advertise a local area for sightseeing] H as [our
advice] been useful for you people in the sightseeing business?
66.1.2 With honorific prefix
The hon. pref. o/go- (the choice is m ainly co n d itio n ed by the type o f N
attached to, i.e. o-NJ and go-SJ (see 65.1.1)) can be attach ed to N in the
sense o f ‘y o u r Ν ’, and also to reflexive pron. (—») like jishin to m ake them
hon. (example c)
F o r address and reference, these pref. are also a ttac h ed to som e fam ily
term s (see 53).
a 4\
[ Z M M ] to i
t: b &·)%>)
&bh
h<nt-:z> ϊ
ima hatsubon о mukae go-shinzoku no moto e anata wa hitotoki o-kaeri
ni natte orareru no daro to omoimasu
N ow, on the occasion o f your first Bon festival, I believe th at you have
returned for a short time to your family.
ь
( u ^ * ) с г
т ж тхи r r m j
sansedai dokyo jidai ni wa yome wa shutome ni o-shokuji de gozaimasu
to tsugeta ga kakukazoku de wa go-han yo de mo sunde shimau
In the times when three generations lived under one roof, the wife
would say to the m other-in-law ‘Y our dinner is served’, but in the
nuclear family ‘D inner!’ is sufficient.
go-jishin ni taisuru keibi ga kibishi-sugiru to kans6 о morasareta koto
mo aru
H e [= member o f the Im p e r ia l family] o n c e c o m m e n t e d th a t he felt th a t
lie (lit. “ H o n o rific h i m s e l f ” ) w as hcinp ) 4 i a u l n l itu> strictly.
66.2 NOUNS REFERRING TO A PERSON’S ACTIONS OR
BELONGINGS
These are typically used in o/go-V-stem ni naru and o/go-V-stem suru, where
V-stem is a VN. W ith o/go-V-stem ni naru/kudasai, the VN refers to the
subject’s actions, and with o/go-V-stem suru to an action the subject performs
for a second/third person (see 65.1.1, 65.2.1, 69.5).
66.3 NOUNS USED AS EUPHEMISMS
These are m ostly N that have to do with eating, drinking and toilet, etc. in
general, i.e. they do not refer to anyone’s action. Typically, these N attach
the pref. o- and go-, and some also contain hon. V elements. They fall into
three m ain groups as follows:
o-cha ‘te a ’, o-hashi ‘chopsticks’, o-miyage ‘gift’, o-tearai ‘toilet’, o-sake
‘alcoholic drink’, o-kane ‘m oney’, o-tsuri ‘change’,
go-fujo ‘toilet’, go-han ‘food’, ‘m eal’.
o-meshimono (this is hon. for kim ono) ‘apparel’, mesu being an irregular
hon. V for kiru).
66.4 NOUNS USED WHEN SPEAKING TO CHILDREN
M others an d other, usually female, siblings o f sm all children often use
‘children’s talk’ when conversing. Examples include parts o f the body like omeme ‘eyes’ and o-tete ‘hands’ (instead o f me and te), nouns that are normally
used to denote an action (even when suru is not attached), such as an'yo
(suru) ‘w alk’, nenne (suru) ‘sleep/go to sleep’, o-shikko (suru) ‘pee’. The last
one has gained common currency, even among men (in informal situations).
67 HORTATIVE: VERB-(y)6 [SENTENCE ENDING]
H ortative expresses proposed action ‘shall I/we’, or an invitation to do
som ething together ‘let’s’, and therefore can be attached only to V th a t
express an action that can be controlled by the speaker.
F or this purpose, the ending -(y)o is used, attached to V. The com bination
V-(y)5 is the plain-form equivalent o f V-mash5 ‘let’s’ etc. (see 91).
A p a r t f r o m th e h o r ta tiv e m e a n in g , -(y)o c a n also b e u s e d in th e pres, sense,
w h ich is a s u p p o s i t i o n a b o u t w h a t m ig h t h a p p e n o r b e th e case. H e r e , n o
restric tio n a b o u t c o n tro llab ility o f th e actio n o f V a p p lie s (see 67.1.4, 163,
246 50).
The e n d in g -(y)o is a tta c h e d Ιο V as sho w n below:
G roup I:
change final -u to δ
G roup II: attach уб to V-stem
G roup III: kuru
—»koy5
suru —>shiyo
Note - polite sentence ending:
67.1
67.1.1
67.1.2
67.1.3
67.1.4
67.2
67.2.1
67.2.2
-masu —>masho.
Sentence-verb-(y)5 in statem ents
Invitation
Offering one’s services
Suggesting rules o f conduct
Presum ptive m eaning
Verb-(y)5 in questions
V erb-(y)δ ka: offering
Verb-(y)5 ka to/tte
67.1 SENTENCE-VERB-(y)5 IN STATEMENTS
A part from the speaker inviting others to jo in him o r her in some action,
-(y)5 is also com m only used in slogans, to offer o n e ’s services, and when
suggesting to the public (or o th er groups o f people) the correct rules o f
conduct (see 67.1.3).
67.1.1 Invitation
This translates simply as ‘let’s’.
a f o i ' U f Z i ] I 0 ( £ '- ? £ '=
dokka ik6 yo
L et’s go somewhere.
b
C
9 ]0
sa ikiinashf)
Come on, let’s go.
i
h
± L n ] o
rainen mata aimash6
L et’s m eet again next year.
d ШЩ,t i Г
endai wa jinsei о donyoku ni ikiy6
The subject o f the lecture is ‘L et’s live our lives greedily’.
kodomo о katei chiiki ni kaeso о mezashita gakko itsukasei
T h e five-day school system , w h ic h has the aim of ‘L o t’s r e tu r n th e
c h ild re n to th e h o m e a n d th e neighbm ithiH H l'
67.1.2 Offering one’s services
This translates as ‘I/we will’, ‘let m e/us’. N ote th at ga or kara can be used
to m ark the p erson/s m aking the offer, but wa cannot be used (see 74.6,
238).
otaku no inu no shashin de karenda о tsukurimash6
W e’ll m ake [you] a calendar from photos o f your dog.
ь
i i n i o
tarinai bun wa watashi ga kangaemash6
I’ll do som ething about the shortfall [in funds],
с
'у Г<Г)^т Ш\
mm
Ί 'J
l i L n l o
sekai gink6 no higashi ajia no kiseki to iu rep6to no naiy6 wa watashi
kara kantan ni setsumei shimash6
Let me explain briefly the content o f the W orld B ank’s report ‘The East
Asian M iracle’.
67.1.3 Suggesting rules of conduct
T his is used to tell o th ers w h a t they should do, couched in a way
th at suggests th a t it should be done together ‘one/you should’ (see 19,
63.3).
a &t&li z. i A te
Lι ΐ L
jaguchi wa komame ni shimemash6
The tap should be turned off diligently.
b T 't
[fa-Ml i l i 9]o
maika no tsukin wa jishuku shimash6
People should refrain from com m uting in private cars.
67.1.4 Presumptive meaning
Here, the -(y)5 form is used as an equivalent o f V dar5 ‘should’, ‘m ay’. This
pres, is largely restricted to the form al spoken and the written language (see
presumptive form s and endings). Occasionally, the old-fashioned form s Akar5 (= A-i dar6) and V-tar5 (= V-ta dar6) are still encountered (for examples
see 163).
а 5 Ш £ 1 "С—
H , (=
9 ] 0)
shiryft to shite ikkyQ no kachi ga aro
As a h istorical d o c u m e n t, it s h o u ld have first-rate- im p o rta n c e .
b ■ £ & . < ? > ■ > ? $ ikt
η ]0
josei no yaru ki о ika ni hikidasu ka ga kigy6 keiei no juy6 na kagi о
nigiru jidai ga коуб
The tim e m ay come when how to get wom en to take a keen interest in
their w ork will be an im portant key to business m anagem ent.
67.2
V E R B -(y )5 IN Q U E S T IO N S
67.2.1 V e rb -(y )6 ka: offering
This translates as ‘shall I/we?’.
a
[!£ L i L «t Ί b ' \ ....... о
nani hanashimash6 ka
W hat shall I talk about? . . .
tenisu nante yatta koto wa nai ga hitotsu ch6sen shite miy6 ka
I’ve never played any tennis before, but m aybe I ’ll give it a try.
67.2.2 V e rb -(y )6 ka to /tte
Follow ed by a V o f com m unication like hanasu ‘discuss’ or omou ‘th in k ’
etc., this indicates the m eaning o f (discuss, etc.) ‘w hether I/we should/
m ight’.
7 4 - о
t
'i T 'c o a t i ,
ψ t X = - - 7 V Y \ z ffiZ i b t ]
..............о
kurisumasu chokuzen no shiimatsu ni wa minna de yokohama ni itte
oishii keki de mo tabete burabura suru. ibu no hi wa tomodachi no ie ni
atsumatte onna no ко gonin de nabepatf. sono yokujitsu wa dizunlrando
ni ik6 ka tte hanashite iru n desu
On the weekend directly before Christm as, we’ll go to Y okoham a, have
some tasty cake and walk around. On the Eve, we’ll gather at a friend’s
place and have a hot-pot p arty am ong us five girls. W e’re discussing
w hether we m ight go to D isneyland on the following day . . .
68 hoshii [ADJECTIVE OF DESIRE]
T h e adj. hoshii indic ates th e o b je c t o f th e s p e a k e r ’s d e s ire o r wishes. O b j e c t ’
in c lu d e s th in g s , p e r s o n s ( c h il d r e n a n d o t h e r p e o p l e th a t c a n b e l o n g t o o n e
o r o n e ’s o r g a n iz a tio n ), tim e, m o n e y o r o th e r d esira b le s. T h e object is usually
m a rk e d by ga, but o cc as io n ally о is also fo u n d (see
^ \ ^7, 148.3, I97).
Typically, hoshii is used o f the first person in statem ents, and second person
in questions, but examples o f third person use are also found, even though it
is more usual to use hoshi-garu for third persons (see 57).
68.1 Present
68.2 Past
68.1 PRESENT
a %
[ f i l l v,\,
okane ga hoshii
I w ant money.
b
[ t i l ] ν,Λ?
tanj6bi ni nani ga hoshii
W hat do you w ant for your birthday?
Г * ; # # со— KtfZtni/Xrbb [ t i L ]
с
terebi de mo kenkyii ga sh6kai sare shutsuensha no hitori ga kono
shisutemu о hoshii to hanashite ita
[The virtual organism system] was shown on TV, too, and ‘one o f the
people on the program m e said he wanted this system ’.
68.2 PAST
Like -te hoshikatta, hoshikatta can indicate both desires th at have been
fulfilled and those that were left unfulfilled (see 197.1.2).
a
[Ιϊΐό '^/ζ]]
Z
fit
jibun no kokoro no ochitsuki-basho ga hoshikatta koto ga ninshin ganb6
no gen'in datta to iu
She says th at the reason for her wish to become pregnant was that
‘I wanted a place for my heart to settle dow n’.
b i] ') 7 * ) b =- Tk %<r >- ? —
Ρ>φ/υύ{ [ΐ i U ' o / : ]
3ri / ?$t c<DX\
ί> b
/
Z H
0
<r>Lt£0
kariforunia shusshin no masa-san wa mekishiko-kei na no de mekishiko
kara no akachan ga hoshikatta ga d6seiaisha wa y6shi ga moraenai koto
ga wakari namida о nonda
M a r th a , w h o is from C a lif o r n ia a n d o f M e x ica n e x tra c tio n , th e re fo re
w a n te d a M e x ic a n b aby, but h a d to give u p w h en she learned t h a t
lesbians are not allow ed to a d o p t children.
69 IMPERATIVE SENTENCES
Im perative sentences typically use the imp. form o f V (see 232) for pin. imp.
Pin. imp. are used on some traffic signs ( i t t b tomare ‘stop!’), by robbers,
for yelling slogans in dem onstrations, etc., bu t also to an extent in inform al
com m unication between males.
F o r ‘softened’ im peratives, yo [final P] is attached. ‘F am iliar’ im peratives
involve adding final P such as na (yo) to V-stem.
Note - Japanese imp. can be used with a subject present (examples a-с). Since this is not
possible in English, this cannot be translated as an imperative (see also 22, 100, 113).
a
r? h°— ί [ £ b
ί ν' Λ] [= w ritten notice on copier]
gakusei wa kopi о toranai de kudasai
Students m ust not take copies
b Г’ z < n £ . g . № i % <
[ 0 4 U 1 [ SJ Ss L ho
koko no seisan-sei wa odoroku hodo takai. nihon mo minarae
‘The productivity in this com pany is amazingly high. Jap an should
learn from this.’
с iftii]
kanryo wa kabu ni te о dasu na
B ureaucrats shouldn’t dabble in shares!
Pol. im p. o r com m ands attach perform atives such as kudasai to V-te, bu t
inform ally V-te is also used by itself, especially by w om en (see 24.2).
69.1
69.2
69.3
69.4
69.5
Plain imperatives (im perative forms)
‘Softened’ plain im peratives (imperative form + yo [final particle])
‘F am iliar’ imperatives (verb-stem + na/na yo)
Classical-form imperatives
Polite imperatives and com m ands: -nasai, -te kudasai, o/go-V-stem
kudasai
69.6 Indirect imperatives or com m ands
69.1 PLAIN IMPERATIVES (IMPERATIVE FORMS)
Imp. form s are derived from V -non-past as given below (see also 232).
a -f-ξ* № f ^ > ]o
te о agero
H ands up!
b —f tИ l i A l h
ichioku-en harae
Pay one hundred million yen!
с № ' * · £ * [&·β·1ο
shizuka na sora о kaese
d
Ciivc us b a c k a quiet sky!
minoshirokin о yoi shiro
Bring a r a n s o m 1
Table 14 Imperative verb formation
Replacem ent pattern
Verb type
G roup I
G roup II
->
ik-e
nom-e
ka(w)-e
-ru
->
->
-ro
—
koi
shiro
kure
tabe-ru
mi-ru
G roup III
-e
-И
ik-u
nom-n
ka(w)-u
kuru
suru
kureru
->
tabe-ro
mi-ro
69.2 ‘SOFTENED’ PLAIN IMPERATIVES (IMPERATIVE FORM + yo
[FINAL PARTICLE])
F o r the softer form o f pin. imperatives, the final P yo is added (see 242).
a i t [Л ^ Л 0
kite miro yo
Try it on.
с х Д , [Л -й-Ло
genki dase yo
Cheer up.
ii kara hayaku kai ni ike yo
Never m ind, just go and buy it.
d [¥Ш Ь1]0
ganbare yo
Keep going.
69.3 ‘FAMILIAR’ IMPERATIVES (VERB-STEM + na/na yo)
Pin imp. w ith an intim ate or fam iliar ring are form ed by using the com
bination V-stem + na (yo) (see 100, 101, 242).
a
ц - к Ш i [i-t lo
ь ал, {
a * [iilo
ofukuro shinu na yo
M um , d o n ’t die!
69.4 CLASSICAL-FORM IMPERATIVES
Imp. fo rm s f r o m th e classical la n g u ag e are still used in th e w ritten lan g u ag e ,
o r f o r m a l s p o k e n style. S u ch f o r m s exist o n ly fo r G r o u p II V a n d t h e
irregular V s u m . F o r G r o u p II V erbs, the final - r o is replaced with -yo. F o r
su m , the fo rm is scvo
a
[ & if =t]0
kenmei о zenbu ageyo
Give the nam es o f all the prefectures.
b
a
к<т>ЩХ [Щ&-£ =t]o
mafia ni horitsu wa iranai. sono ba de shasatsu seyo
N o laws are needed for the M afia. Shoot [them] on the spot.
С
i - f
sono omoikomi о mazu suteyo
D iscard th at preconception first o f all.
69.5 POLITE IMPERATIVES AND COMMANDS: -nasai, -te kudasai,
o/go-V-STEM kudasai
Pol. im p. are form ed by attach in g the pol. ending -nasai to V -stem , and
commands by adding kudasai to V-te, or using o/go-V-stem kudasai (examples
с and d). T he rules for attach in g o/go- are set o u t in 65.1.1 (see also 24,
202.1.2).
a
I
Ыу'УУХЬ
naitenai de heya no soji demo shinasai marason demo shinasai
‘D o n ’t cry, clean up your room o r som ething.’ ‘G o for a run or
som ething.’
b Α ^ ΐ , -tf'tA
^ ]0
Y ou [= A-kun] too please do com e and visit.
с £'") k \ [ r ^ T ^ ' L
dozo go-anshin kudasai
[Please] d o n ’t worry (lit. “feel at ease”).
d Z’ i Z \
[fcHRO <
L
dozo yasuraka ni o-nemuri kudasai
[Please] rest in peace.
69.6 INDIRECT IMPERATIVES OR COMMANDS
Indirect (o r quoted) com m ands are usually given in their com m unicative
content only, by ‘reducing’ any pol. forms to pin. ones. Thatm eans that a
com m and in the form -te kudasai ‘please’ isrcilmvil lo a pin. imp. (see
203.3.2).
a fAf\<T)X.n\z
It] t V 'o /cjD ffli'b iO T 'l/ -У У + - Ш
< *0ч
izen no уб ni hayaku yome ni ike to itta shui kara no puressha mo
yowaku nari josei mo nattoku dekiru ikikata о shitai to kangaeru уб ni
natta shoko
This is p ro o f th at the pressure from the family to get married quickly
has weakened, and women too now w ant a way o f life they find
acceptable.
70 INVERSION
Inverted S are S where the order o f constituents is reversed, usually to place
em phasis on the p a rt th at is b ro u g h t to the beginning o f the S. It is no t
really possible to im itate the effect o f this in English translation, where the
word order is different.
a
Zcoirb'jflia
nan da sono iikata wa
W hat sort o f language is this! (= M ind your language!)
b
£ С
oboete oke to gurai itte yare matsui-kun
M atsui-kun, at least tell them, ‘Rem em ber this’.
с Г( 7 l / - V ' s Ь &)
К 0 ^ ]j
'Jo
(purezento о) yaranakucha ikan na sorya to niyari
T il have to give her (a [b’day] present), w on’t I’, he smirked.
(sorya = sore wa)
d
----------- 0
I-A, tz ? ШШ tz i f ; ]
kitsuensha-ritsu nihon ni najinda gaikoku tabako
Percentage o f smokers [of foreign brands is rising]: foreign cigarettes have people got used to them?
с
iMtcъ Ш о
sekai с hirogeyo gorin no kando
The exilement o f the Olympics - let’s spread it to the world.
71 ka [CONJOINING PARTICLE]
ka conjoins Ν/ΛΝ in the sense o f ‘o r’ (see 29.2).
kit can optionally be repeated alter the second item. The resulting (conjoined)
NP (shown in 11) can attach ease I’ like any other NP.
а
H iM U L [$*]
purezento wa hanataba ka tojiki о yoi shite iru
F o r presents, they use flowers or pottery.
kion wa heinen-nami ka heinen yori takai tokoro ga 6i
There are m any places where tem peratures are average for the tim e o f
year or above.
с
[4*1 t°+TK ^ f t i )
Ь -C— -
zensai to pasuta ka piza tezukuri dezato de nisen nanahyaku-en no
k5su
A ¥ 2 ,700-course consisting o f an entree and p asta o r pizza, and a
hom em ade dessert.
Note - examples such as d appear to consist of N ka, but this is in fact the question
(replacing cop.), indicating an indirect question ‘whether . . . or’ (see 164.11, 166.1.2.5).
d
P ka
т ~ [ш [и ш
м
6 соi ± m i ^ o
ima no jiten de ichigai ni yuri ka furi ka о handan suru no wa muzukashii
A t this point in time it is difficult to m ake an unconditional judgem ent
as to advantage or disadvantage.
72 ka [QUESTION PARTICLE]
The question P ka is used in a variety o f ways. By attaching it to a statem ent,
it can indicate a direct question (unlike in English, no change in w ord order
is required) or, by em bedding the question in an o th er sentence, an indirect
question see 164.3, 164.5, 164.6, 166.1.2.5.
W hen ka is attach ed to qu estio n w ords, it gives the question w o rd an
indefinite m eaning (see 167.1).
ka is also used in sentences th at look like questions bu t function differently,
such as rhetorical questions, etc. (see 165).
73 kamoshirenai [SENTENCE ENDING]
M ade up o f the question P ka, the focus P mo and the neg. pot. form o f the
V shiru, this literally m eans ‘one cannot know i f ’, but is used as a S ending
indicating the idea o f ‘p robably’, ‘possibly’, or ‘m ight’ (see also 118).
kamoshirenai is a t t a c h e d t o V /ad j.-fin . A f t e r A N / N + c o p ., t h e f o r m s a re
A N / N + co p . except t h a t kamoshirenai deletes a p r e c e d in g da. kamoshirenai
can also be attac h ed to th e S e n d in g n(o) da, w here а ц а т it deletes a prec ed in g
da ( e x a m p le a).
a
J; ή £ intz'j/zf) [d't U i V ' L
otera ya kyokai no уб na mono datta no kamoshirenai
It m ay have been something like a temple or a church.
<
[4 4
hanashi wa wakatta. de wa ittai do sureba ii n da? to omou hito ga
sukunakunai kamoshirenai
There m ay be quite a few who think ‘I understand the idea.
W hat is it then that I need to do?’
С
7 7 У
У
Ί
U '= t 9 / c o
i , z h £ № / i z i : i !t i . 6
[d ‘ t> L * i £ : ^ ] 0
marason no baai nii kipu to iu sakusen wa shiroto no sozo ijo ni
muzukashii уб da. kigyo ni tsuite mo kore to nita koto ga ieru
kamoshirenai
In a m arath on, the strategy to keep in second place seems harder than
the laym an would think. One could probably say similar things about
business.
74 kara [CASE PARTICLE]
kara m arks the point o f origin o r departure o f the action o f a V ‘from ’. It is
mostly attached to N o f time or place, or other N th at can be used with the
idea o f ‘from . . . to ’, kara is often used in com bination with made ‘to ’ or e
‘tow ards’ (see 85, 51). N ote th at unlike other case P, kara can be followed
by ga/o.
74.1
74.1.1
74.2
74.3
74.4
74.5
74.6
74.7
74.8
N oun/dem onstrative pronoun kara
N o u n kara no noun
N o u n kara naru
N o u n kara tsukuru/dekiru
N o u n kara + verb o f m otion (deru/oriru)
Indicating reason (koto kara, riyu kara, etc.)
N oun /p ronoun kara (noun/pronoun = person)
Indicating the agent in a passive sentence
Idiom atic uses
74.1 NOUN/DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN kara
Λ I'lcr tim e a n d place N o r d em . p r o n ., kara tr a n s l a te s a s ‘f r o m ’, b u t a f te r
oilier N a ls o v ariously as ‘out o l” , ‘c o m p a r e d t o ’, ‘a g a i n s t ’.
а
tt'b ]
shogakko gonen kara sakka о hajimeta
H e started soccer in year 5 o f prim ary school.
b i +Θ tt'b ] -Ш Ш Ъ Х и Ь Ъ о
sanjunichi kara shiken un'yo о hajimeru
F rom the 30th they will start a trial run.
с
[ ¥ b ] * —>J-T [ i t ] ,
arasuka kara hon misaki made
F ro m A laska to Cape H orn.
d z h [ ¥ ь ] b {—
i p ( i t ! t £ „
kore kara ga ichinenju de ichiban mizu о oku tsukau jiki da
F rom now on is the time when [people] use the largest am ount o f w ater
in the whole year.
e
a [¥b] —
[it],
kikan wa kyujugonen ichigatsu yokka kara nigatsu muika made
The period is from 4 January to 26 F ebruary ’95.
f 7
[¥b]
[^ ]0
kuruma no machi kara seikatsusha no machi e
F ro m a tow n for cars tow ards a tow n for those living there.
g
[ b ' b ] A. I'N] Z f c t Z Z H l i i L g - j Y t m - f b о
gijutsu о hito kara hito e to tsutaeru koto wa juy6 to setsumei suru
‘It is im portant to pass on know-how from person to person’, he explains.
h
[¥b]
nanmai kara demo кбпуй dekiru
One can buy them [= shares] in any quantity [= there is no m inimum],
i
t z { b ' b \ t
b
i К 'У Ш Ао
tada zentai kara sureba joshi wa mada sh6suha
[Governm ent ministries are now hiring females] However, seen against
the to tal [of public servants], women are still in the m inority.
74.1.1 Noun kara no noun
In N -m od. use, the m eaning is the same as in 74.1.
a l b,
ti^ H l [ ¥ b ] <г>Щ?^$аГ-:о
uchi kyuwari chikaku wa beikoku kara no yunyuhin da
N early 90 per cent [of products] are im ports from the US.
b 'f 'H [ b ' b ] < η ψ ^ ϋ :Α '} ' I tz 0
chuto kara no gakusei wa gensho shita
S tu d e n ts fro m the M id d le F a s t hav e d e e re a s e d in n u m b e r.
74.2 NOUN kara naru
W hen N = com ponent, the m eaning o f kara naru is ‘consist o f’.
а
\ ¥ b i b \о
jorei wa junij6 kara naru
The by-law consists o f 12 articles.
b
[ h * i - z >]
kaisetsuhen to jissenhen kara natte iru
It [= the m anual] consists o f a com m entary and a practical part,
katei to iu kotoba wa ie to niwa kara natte iru
The word katei (home) consists o f katie (house) am d tei/niwa (garden).
d
-C^'So
shinai ryokin wa tsuwary6 to kihonry6 kara natte iru
The local charge consists o f a call charge and a basic fee.
74.3 NOUN kara tsukuru/dekiru
Where N = m aterial, the m eaning is ‘m ake from ’, ‘m ade o f’.
a
U ' b f N ] tz-Ш'Жо
arumanyakku wa bud6shu kara tsukutta joryushu
A rm agnac is a distilled alcoholic drink made from wine.
nichibei kankei wa mittsu no hashira kara dekite imasu
Japan US relations consist o f three mainstays.
Note - there are cases that look like kara dekiru at first sight (example c), but turn out to be a
different use, belonging to 74.1, as kara dekirn is attached to a time N.
С
L- С О Щ Н Z C O Z Z
[A'bX'b]
о
gyoji ya yobidashi no genkei mo kono кого kara dekita to iu
The archetype o f the gydji and yobidashi [in Sumo] too came into being
from th at time, they say.
74.4 NOUN kara + VERB OF MOTION (deru/oriru)
W ith V o f m o t i o n like deru ‘le a v e ’, ‘c o m e o u t ’ a n d oriru ‘a l i g h t ’, ‘c o m e
d o w n ’, kara in d ic a te s th e p la ce o n e gets d o w n f r o m o r leaves. T h e s a m e V
c a n also ta k e th e P o. W ith s o m e N , such as doa, naka a n d toire, o n ly kara
is possible. W i th o th e rs , e.g. ie ‘h o u s e ’, th e n u a n c e is d iffe ren t in t h a t ie о
deru m e a n s ‘leave h o m e ’, w h erea s ic kara deru ‘c o m e /g o o u ts id e ’ (see 148.5,
149).
a
[ ¥Ь] кХ & Ы '-Ъ Ъ L tza
mura kara dete rippa ni naru n da
Y ou should get out o f the village and m ake a career.
b
i K%L [ ¥ b ] & X b
shmpaiso ni ie kara dete kita hito mo iru
There were people who came out o f their houses, looking w orried.
с
[¥b]
tzY. b l i ^ b , i > b t z 0
kapuseru kara orita toki wa furafura da
[A stronaut’s training] W hen you step out o f the capsule, you stagger.
d —AcOpgvUr'f' U ' b ] tfct ί X t £ l ¥ t f X b t za
futari no r6jin ga naka kara dete kite hanashikakete kita
Two old m en came out and started talking to me.
7 4 .5 INDICATING REASON (ko to kara, riyG kara, ETC.)
This is used with a limited num ber o f N , such as koto and riyfl, both m eaning
‘reason’ in this context.
a
X. !)
Ш Х 'Ж 31$Ь Х
btza
sashimi ga hamachi yori himochi suru koto kara takane de torihiki
sarete kita
Because it [= kanpachi fish] keeps fresh longer th an hamachi, it has
been traded at high prices.
b
[¥ь]
kenkojo no riyu kara yokoyama ryoichi shacho wa torishimariyaku ni
shirizoku
F o r reasons o f health, president Y okoyam a R yoichi moves dow n to
director.
tokyo no niten ga кбсЬб na koto kara zenkoku tenkai о keikakuchu da
Because the two stores in Tokyo are doing well, they are planning to
expand nationwide.
d
>-'<
|> ь ]
keizai seisai ni wa ikutsu ka no riyu kara shinch6ron mo aru
F o r several reasons, some are cautious ab o u t economic sanctions.
7 4.6 NOUN/PRONOUN kara (NOUN/PRONOUN = PERSON)
W h e n kara is a tta c h e d to a p e r s o n a l N o r p ro n ., it indicates the p e r s o n w h o
initiates a n ac tio n , v e n tu re s a n o p in io n . i-U
a f a [ ¥ b ] c r i r t h t ^ i 0 t i i '- 'o
watashi kara kuchi о dasu tsumori wa nai
I have no intention o f interfering from my end.
b fa [ i ' b ]
watashi kara iwasereba kokuren ni wa mittsu no shimin ga imasu
According to my opinion (lit. “If you let me say it from my end”), there
are three [types of] citizens in the U N .
74.7 INDICATING THE AGENT IN A PASSIVE SENTENCE
In a pass, sentence, kara indicates the agent ‘by’, which is m ore com m only
indicated by ni (see 156, 116.9).
a
[¥b\
t% (0
aru seinen wa genchi no hitobito kara kamisama no уб ni shitawarete ita
to odoroku
‘Some boys were idolized by the locals like gods’, he said in amazement.
b Ж [¥b]
l o t l i H i l /■-„
kimi kara boku no tenkinsaki no koto о kikarete komatte shimaimashita
I was perplexed when asked by you about the place o f my new posting.
74.8 IDIOMATIC USES
This includes expressions like kokoro kara and ima/kore kara.
а
И > ь ] *8911 i t o
minasan no go-shusseki о kokoro kara kangei shimasu
I welcome the attendance o f all o f you from [the bottom of] my heart.
b [ Z b ¥ b ] jf{ 0
kore kara iku
I’m com ing (lit. “going”) right now.
с [2h¥b]
kore kara ens6 suru kyoku wa
The piece we’re going to play now . . .
d Г&'Й'Ь № ¥ ь ]
*) tz]
jibun mo ima kara shinu tsumori da to hyakut6ban tsuh6 ga atta
There was a call to an emergency num ber saying ‘I intend to kill myself
(lit. “die”) now to o ’.
75 kara [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
In SI kara S2, kara basically in d ic a te s the reason fo r the ac tio n o r sta te o f
S2. In use 75.1, node can also be used in so m e cases (see 139).
The form s preceding kara are usually pin final form s, although desu/-masu
forms are com m on in speech.
75.1
75.2
75.3
75.4
75.5
75.6
75.7
75.8
C lause 1 kara, clause 2
Idiom atic use
C lause 1 no wa, clause 2 kara copula
Sentence kara
C lause 1 no/n da kara, clause 2
Clause 1 kara koso clause 2
C lause 1 kara ni wa clause 2
Clause 1 kara to itte clause 2-negative
75.1 CLAUSE 1 kara, CLAUSE 2
SI kara gives the reason or cause for S2 ‘as’, ‘since’, ‘so’. In some uses (a, с
and d), kara can be replaced by node. H ow ever, this is n o t possible in
examples b and e (where the reason is em phasized), and examples g and h,
where S2 is a subjective statem ent, an invitation, em phatic statem ent, etc.
(see 139).
Note - in example b the neg. pred. is a negation, not o f
kakaku ga yasui kara urete iru.
urete iru but
o f the whole clause,
a f i 'o / : [i'b ]
yasukatta kara zuibun ureta
Because they were cheap, they sold pretty well.
b W
f n
[i'b ]
kakaku ga yasui kara urete iru no de wa nai
The reason it’s selling is n o t because the price is low.
с
[i'b ]
L^'o
tenkabutsu mo nai kara shinsen de oishii
There are no additives, so it’s fresh and tasty.
d
| > b ] , X Ь l/ Х й Ь Д <
shigoto wa tanoshii kara sutoresu wa mattaku nai
I enjoy the work, so I ’m n o t stressed at all.
e
\¥ b \
suki da kara nikukatta
I hated her [precisely] because I like her.
f
и ь ъ ' с —т - : H ' b ] Ш Э й Ч И ' П о
gakko da to minna to issho da kara benkyo ga hakadoru
In sc h o o l, o n e m a k e s p r o g r e s s w ith o n e ’s s tu d ie s Ix-causc o n e d o e s
th in g s w ith the o th e rs.
g V T R tm n /tz i t r n
L i t [¥ь] f
buitlaru ga kowareta s6 desu ne. yasuku shimasu kara kaimasen ka
I hear th at your video’s broken down. I’ll m ake it cheap, so how about
buying one?
h
Y.t-1 [ ¥ b \ IQ 1)
hont6 no koto da kara okorimasen yo
I t’s the tru th , so I’m not getting upset.
75.2 IDIOMATIC USE
In this use only a weak reason is implied.
Ж
a V'V' [ i ' b ]
ii kara hayaku kai ni ike yo
Just get on with it and go buy it.
b 1 9 3 7 ^ 1 2 fl£ ift/c [ ¥ b \ t l 63ô
sen kyiihyaku sanjiinana-nen jiinigatsu umare da kara m6 rokujiisan-sai
He was b o rn in December 1937, which makes him already 63.
75.3 CLAUSE 1 no wa, CLAUSE 2 kara COPULA
Ending a cleft S kara indicates ‘the reason why’ (see 190.1.3).
a
S o i H t fcie-s/ciOH, 9Ут%§Х<Ы№ША,Г£ [¥b] t'to
sh6setsu о kaku kikkake to natta no wa gaikokugo de shosetsu о yonda
kara desu
The reason why I started writing novels is because I read novels in
foreign languages.
b «№#■/=
T f e ί h |£ -к г г у i f у U jfc n M ik Ь \
[ i'b ] -riifcv-'o
ί Η X ^ ' Ь Т Щ %.Ъ Щ ^ '
[ 4 'Ь ] fi-o
kenkyiisha-tachi ga chiimoku suru no wa tan ni mezurashii kara de wa
nai. genshi no chikyii de okita kyodai mangan kosho no tanj5 ga koko de
saigen sarete iru kan6sei ga takai kara da
The reason why researchers pay attention [to the m ineral deposit] is no t
just because it’s unusual. It is because there is a strong possibility th at
the birth o f gigantic m anganese deposits th at happened in prehistoric
times has been replicated here.
75.4 SENTENCE kara
W ith o u t S2, th e im plication ca n be th a t it is u n d e r s to o d from the co n te x t o r
situ a tio n , o r it ca n a p p e a l to the listener in the sense o f ‘you see’.
a A tiA ,
[¥b]a
hito wa hito jibun wa jibun da kara
O thers can do as they like, I go my own way (lit. “People are people,
I am I, you see”).
b A Pflii l U t A , ,
B l i t 'S
[i'b ]0
ningen wa shosen fuko no naka de shika shinjitsu о manabu koto wa
dekinai no da kara
Ultim ately, people can only learn the tru th from a position o f being
unhappy, you see.
С
[ ¥ b ] a
nanishiro totsuzen deshita kara
[His death] was so unexpected, you see.
d Ъί о
ί i t [i'bh
chotto matte kudasai. o-cha о irete kimasu kara
Please w ait a little. I’ll m ake some tea.
75.5 CLAUSE 1 no/n da kara, CLAUSE 2
This is a m ore em phatic varian t o f kara (see also 139).
a —A f l b t [ c o / z 0 ' b l
hitori de kurasu no da kara sonna ni hiroi heya wa iranai
As he will be living alone, he doesn’t need such a large room .
b 9 -£ A & [ / v f c i ' b ] ,
nihonjin nan da kara itsu demo kaereru
I ’m Japanese, so I can always go back home.
75.6 CLAUSE 1 kara koso CLAUSE 2
Here, the reason is em phasized in the sense o f ‘precisely because’, ‘for the
very reason th a t’ (see 82).
a
[¥bZ%]
kono hon wa watashi ga kono mura no jiinin ja nakatta kara koso
kaketa
I was able to write this book precisely because I w asn’t living in this
village.
b
[i'bZk]
< lz& blt6o
bukka ga yasui kara koso zeitaku ni kurascru
I t ’s f o r th e very r e a so n t h a t th in g s a re c h e a p th a t y o u c a n live in
lu xury.
Japanese: A Com prehensive Gram m ar 2 07
75.7 CLAUSE 1 kara ni wa CLAUSE 2
This indicates a reason in the sense th at S2 is expected as a consequence o f
the action o f SI ‘so’, ‘since’.
a
?> £ ΊΓо / с
-‘с Ь о
yaru to itta kara ni wa yaru
I said I’ll do it, so I will.
b B J i t b |> b i i t i ] n & ¥ l h b < r ) t i h io
hantai suru kara ni wa riyii ga aru no dar6
Since you oppose it, you m ust have a reason.
75.8 CLAUSE 1 kara to itte CLAUSE 2-NEGATIVE
Followed by a neg. S2, this indicates th at something is not going to happen
ju st because o f the state o r resu lt o f S2 ‘n o t . . . ju st because’, ‘d oesn’t
necessarily m ean th at’, ‘may be . . . but that doesn’t m ean th at’ (see also 218).
The idea o f ‘n o t necessarily’ can be reinforced by to wa kagiranai ‘n o t
necessarily’.
a
Ю о Ъ i c o t 'i i O r ^ o
kodomo ga dekita kara to itte kawaru mono de wa nai
This [sharing o f responsibilities] is no t going to change just because I
got pregnant.
doryoku shita kara to itte zen'in ga shiai ni shutsuj6 dekiru to wa
kagiranai
Having tried hard doesn’t necessarily guarantee th a t everyone can play
in the match.
с
jinko ga fuenai kara to itte arata na shisetsu ga iranai wake de wa nai
Just because the population is no t growing doesn’t m ean that we d o n ’t
need any new facilities.
76 -kare [ADJECTIVAL ENDING]
-kare is an adj. form which is used in set phrases with pairs o f opposites, like
6i/sukunai or hayai/osoi.
a iilc/A fcco P W li, I
f
i
'
t
l
z
Ъа
gyaku ni kanton no mondai wa бкаге sukunakare dairen ya shanhai ni mo
ky6tsu suru
C o n v e rsely , th e p ro b le m s o f C a n t o n a p p ly [ m o r e o r less] to D a li a n a n d
S h a n g h a i too.
osokare hayakare jin'in no minaoshi ga hajimaru no de wa nai ka
[Sooner or later], a reconsideration o f personnel will surely begin.
77 -karo [ADJECTIVAL ENDING]
This is an old-fashioned equivalent o f the pres, ending adj.-i dar5 (see 163.2).
78 -kata [NOMINALIZING SUFFIX]
A ttached to V-stem, the suf. -kata converts the V it is attached to into a N
with the m eaning o f ‘way o f doing’ (see 34).
a Z H ¥ — fcfcv-'Lv.' H t - 'i # ] t - t o
This is the best way o f eating [it].
b Z H i sZ<r)a t -ίθ [ Ϋ 1)· #] t z Q
kore ga kono kuni de no yarikata da
This is the way things are done in this country.
с 'g’f '/ J i c i i 'g 'f '/ i i o [ * 0 # ] а г<И i t i ' b o
hyakkaten ni wa hyakkaten no uri-kata ga arimasu kara
D epartm ent stores have their own way o f selling things, you know.
d
[ f t o # ] iс о ^
t
ян- „
eigo ni yoru haiku no tsukuri-kata ni tsuite k6enkai nado о moyoosu
They give classes in how to com pose haiku in English.
e
[ Д 1) # ] i i t ί ί
y6san пбка no herikata wa susamajii hodo da
The rate at which silk farm ers are disappearing is appalling.
79 keredomo (kedo/kedomo/keredo) [CONJUNCTIVE
PARTICLE]
keredomo is a conjunctive P th a t joins two clauses in a sense o f co n trast
‘b u t’, ‘however’, kedo, keredo and kedomo are colloquial variants.
79.1
Clause 1 ke(re)do(mo) clause 2
79.1.1 Clause 1 ke(re)do(mo), clause 2: with com m a
79.1.2 C l a u s e 1 ke(re)do(mo) c la u s e 2: w it h o u t c o m m a
79.2
79.3
I n t r o d u c i n g a c o m m e n t o r req ue st
C l a u s e I ke(re)do(m o) (. . .) in unfinished sm tm rc s
79.1 CLAUSE 1 ke(re)do(mo) CLAUSE 2
This indicates ‘b u t’, ‘however’, ‘although’ (see 56, 140).
79.1.1 C lause 1 ke(re)do(mo), clause 2: with com ma
W hen there is a com m a between SI and S2, SI can usually be understood to
indicate a qualification for S2.
shigoto wa kibishii keredo yarigai ga aru
The work is hard, but it’s rewarding.
t6san о kirai de wa nai keredo rikon suru shika nai yo
She doesn’t dislike daddy, bu t divorce is the only choice.
с
it-p-C
nagai tabi de tsukareta kedo itte yokatta
I ’m tired from the long trip, b u t I’m glad I went.
d
[1 |* гЕ Ч ]ч k h t ' M r t x - i & 6 o
kowai keredomo sore ga miryoku de mo aru
It’s [a] frightening [town], b u t th a t’s also its attraction.
79.1.2 Clause 1 ke(re)do(mo) clause 2: without com ma
W ithout a com m a, the im plication is usually one o f contrast.
a t L X ^ 6 [tt^ l Ш 1 / : <
aishite iru kedo kekkon wa shitakunai
I love you, b u t I don’t w ant to m arry you.
b f'<— Ш йл '
depato wa takai keredo benri
D epartm ent stores are expensive bu t convenient.
с β^χ-f Ί
η
nihon de iu puro to iu no wa surudoi keredo semai n desu ne
Those called professional [reseachers] in Japan are sharp but narrow
[in specialization],
79.2 INTRODUCING A COMMENT OR REQUEST
In Unglish, this often indicates a p r e a m b le lor S2. It o fte n tran slate s as tw o
sentences.
210 Japanese: A Com prehensive Gramm ar
kaoiro warui kedo daij5bu ka ne
Y ou look pale - are you OK?
\Z%
minna wa raishun sotsugy5 suru keredo jibun mo hayaku gakk6 ni
kayotte rippa na gijutsu о minitsuketai to типе о fukuramasete ita
‘Everyone’s going to graduate next spring; I, too, w ant to go to school
and learn proper skills’, he said expectantly.
с I
b
warui kedo hotaruike ni wa ikitai to wa omowanai
I’m sorry, I don’t feel like going to H otaruike.
79.3 CLAUSE 1 ke(re)do(mo) (. . .) IN UNFINISHED SENTENCES
In unfinished S, ke(re)do(mo) conveys a nuance o f interacting with the listener.
Depending on the context, this ranges from ‘you see’, ‘m ind you’, etc. to an
implied S2. A fter -ba ii, it indicates a hypothetical condition ‘would be good
if’. Here, ga can also be used, b u t noni cannot be used in the same m eaning
(see 13.3.1, 56.4, 140).
a
9 Ά Κ Υ . , n - 9 i , g o t i t [tt t i t l bo
dame da dame da to itsumo omotte imasu keredo ne
I always think I ’m no good, you see.
b ^Ц-ХмзЩ- ^ i L X ^
■n^X <
A/T L X 7
[ I f H Z ’h ± A . l i № i 2 U z 4 : ¥ X - b X l £ ' > h i ' b
i - a -λ,ο
Li 7
kotoshi de yonenme nan desu keredo. shujin wa funinsaki de onna ga
dekite shimatta kara kaette kuru yosu wa mattaku arimasen. rainen ni
naru to jid6teki ni rikon sarete shimau n desh6 ka
[Introduction o f five-year separation clause.] I t ’s the fourth year this
year, you see. M y husband has found a w om an at his posting and
shows no signs o f returning home. Will I autom atically get divorced
next year?
с l§] U J; 7 (- L t < h t l i t
.......0
onaji yo ni shite kure to wa iwanai keredomo
I t’s n o t th a t we’re asking to be treated in the same way [as other w ar
victims], b u t . . . [something should be done].
d —&%iz'diz't#—1 У U >
i~ [ 1 ^ 1 ,
issho ni sugosu b6ifurendo ga ireba ii n desu kedo
I t’d be nice to hav e a b o y frie n d to spend |( li n s i m a s | with.
e
L /iiO ti,
fcj ;6'ί>0 r ^ u t £ < t
sukinheddo ni shita no wa tonikaku medachi-takatta kara. fuyu wa
samukute taihen desu kedo to warau
The reason why he became a skinhead was because he ‘just wanted
to attract attention’. ‘M ind you, in winter you feel terribly cold’, he
laughed.
&‘ J
n t£ ']o
okasan. tomodachi no tanj6 pati ni yobarete iru n da kedo itte ii ka na.
ii kedo. itsu
‘M um , I ’m invited to a friend’s birthday party - is it O K to go?’ ‘Sure.
W hen [is it]?’
80 -ki [CLASSICAL ADJECTIVE ENDING]
This is the classical equivalent o f adj.-i before a N. It is still used for a stylish
effect, m ostly in headlines or in the titles o f m ovies o r books. In titles o f
books and movies, utsukushii N and subarashii N alm ost invariably become
utsukushiki N and subarashiki N.
а
[ ί ] % (= headline)
tanegashima - uchu to ikiru utsukushiki shima
Tanegashim a - a beautiful island th at lives together with outer space
b*«ti Ш
a
subarashiki hi
One Fine D ay (= title o f 1996 Hollywood film)
с ? з -\-£ -? к Х & -к 1 'Ж х b
Γ£· [ £ ] x — x j
i s ^·%-χ°&&^\-\&%-0
yonjiigo-sai de shach6 ni batteki sareta wakaki csu mo kotoshi de zainin
juyonen
The ‘young ace’ who was chosen as com pany president at the age o f 45
has this year been in his post for 14 years.
d
ш к ib]
о
dokushin jidai ga nagaku saikin yoki patona о eta
Having been single for m any years, she has recently found a congenial
partner.
Certain com binations are best seen as idioms:
e £ [* ] λ [ ί ] e ftfy jy *
Y tb h
6 Ii
furuki yoki jidai no shanson о kikitakereba nihon ni ike to iwareru hodo da
People even say that if you want to hear chansons o f the good old
clays, μο to Japan.
81 кого [TIME NOUN]
Like toki, кого is used as a N o f time, and as such can be m odified by V/
adj./A N and N + no, and attach case, focus and other P.
C o m pared to toki, кого indicates an ap p ro x im ate tim e, b u t o ften also
translates as ‘when’, like toki. N ote the com m on com binations osanai кого
‘when very young’, chiisai кого ‘when sm all’, wakai кого ‘when young (late
teens to early twenties)’, kodomo no кого ‘when y oung’ (see the following
examples).
81.1 Adj ective/verb кого
81.2 N oun/dem onstrative no кого
81.1 ADJ E C T IV E /V E R B ко го
a
[Z?>]
0
washira wakai кого wa modoshinagara Ьепкуб shita mon ja to
toshiyori
‘W hen we were young, we used to learn [drinking] while throw ing u p ’,
said an old man.
b
\Z h \
T-\y\ +
<t
amerika wa osanai кого kara terebi no naka ni ari ikanakute mo
wakaru
A m erica was on TV from the time we were sm all, and can be
understood w ithout going [there].
daigaku ni haitta кого mada kaigai tok6 ga jiyii ka sarete inakatta
W hen I entered university, we weren’t free to go abroad yet.
81.2 N O U N /D E M O N S T R A T IV E no ко го
a
[Z?>] £ч f t / C t
watashi no kodomo no кого о oshiete okitai no desu
I w ant to tell about the tim e when I was a child.
b
Z U t z о z<n \ z h \
£ &ί 0
i i .W i
lza
sanjiihachioku-nen mae no koto da. kono кого no kaisui no губ ya
kagaku sosei wa genzai to amari chigai wa nakatta
3800 m illion years ago. A t this time, it w asn’t m uch different
to now with regard to things like the am ount o f sea water and [the
w orld’s] chemical make-up.
82 koso [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
koso attaches to a variety o f items: N (+ P), nom inalized clauses, koto and
no [nominalizers], and forms conjunctive P such as -ba/nara/kara/-te (see
13, 31, 32, 75, 108), and such conjunctions as da kara and sore de.
koso adds emphasis to the NP, conjunction or conjunctive clause it is attached
to (but note th at it is not used for everyday situations). English translations
for koso vary, from ‘indeed’ (82.1.1 a, c), ‘exactly’ (82.1.1 b), a cleft sentence
‘is . . . th at’ (82.1.1 e, f), to nothing (82.1.1 d).
82.1
82.1.1
82.1.2
82.1.3
82.1.4
82.2
82.2.1
82.2.2
82.2.3
82.3
82.4
N oun koso: emphasizing noun (or noun phrase)
N oun koso (+ particle)
N oun + particle koso
Time noun + koso (+ particle): em phasizing the time noun or clause
N om inalized clause koso: emphasizing the nom inalized clause
C onjunctional clause koso: emphasizing a condition
C onjunctional clause -ba/nara koso
C onjunctional clause -te koso
C onjunctional clause -kara koso
C onjunction + koso: emphasizing the conjunction
N oun/verbal noun koso sure, noun koso are, noun/verbal noun
koso, verb/adjective ga/mono no: emphasizing a contrast
82.4.1 N oun/verbal noun koso sure
82.4.2 N oun koso are
82.4.3 N oun/verbal noun koso verb/adjective ga/mono no
82.1 N O U N koso: E M P H A S IZIN G NOUN (OR N O U N PHRASE)
82.1.1 Noun koso (+ particle)
koso usually replaces case P like ga/o, and focus P like wa, but occasionally
these are retained after koso.
a #
b- t —о
tsuma koso sairy6 no patona
My wife is indeed [my] best partner.
josei no noryoku hakki koso kore kara no kigy6 no seisui о kimeru
How women exercise their abilities is exactly w hat will determine the
rise and fall o f future businesses.
с Щ U -е]
kiku koso nihon no shokuyfi-bana de aru
The chrysanthem um is truly the edible flower o f Japan.
d iJ R E X d i —У [ Z k ]
X>mo
shizen to supotsu koso seicho no bitaminzai
N atu re and sports are the vitam ins for growth.
sogo no shinrai koso ga wareware о heiwa ni michibiku
M utual tru st is the thing th a t will lead us to peace.
f Г**. U * l i ]
о
aki koso wa shobu desu to chikara ga hairu
‘It is au tu m n th at will tell the tale’, she stresses.
8 2.1 .2 Noun + particle ko so
Case P o ther than ga/o are retained before koso.
a Z<n\f&,
%т>‘) У Ч 7 Ч - ¥ b b 0
kono sakuhin ni koso shin no riarifi ga aru
In this w ork [of art] lies true reality.
ь г
lizzk]
seikan na kao ni koso hige wa niau
‘A fearless face is just the kind th at a beard suits.’
с
zcom,
joho tsushin wa shutoken nado to kyori-teki na handi no aru kasochi de
koso sono kino ga ikaseru
Inform ation com m unications can be put to best use precisely in rem ote
areas, which have the [“distance”] disadvantage o f being away from the
capital area.
d r# <
( i z & b t j f r&o
г^л [ ¥ b z k ]
Ζ’Ζ Ζ 4 Φ π ί . ύ ' ϊ ΐ ζ ΐ ί - ο Ί 1 6 1 ί ψ Χ & 6 0
yasukute mo kekko zeitaku ni kurasu chie. arui wa yasui kara koso
zeitaku ni kuraseru to iu goriteki seishin. sore sae areba nihonjin wa
kondo koso honmono no yutakasa ni chikazukeru hazu de aru
K now ing how to live in relative luxury even th o u g h one doesn’t spend
m uch m oney, the rational spirit o f [knowing that] one can live in luxury
precisely because one doesn’t spend m uch m oney - as long as the
Japanese have th at [ability], they ought eventually to come close to
[living in] real com fort this time round.
8 2.1 .3 Tim e noun + kos o (+ particle): em phasizing the
time noun or clause
Attached to N of time, koso emphasizes the time N. nr the whole time clause.
ima koso chansu torai de aru
N ow is the time for opportunity to present itself.
ь m
u * w ] 0
rainen koso wa
N ext year [or never]!
с -Щ /пЩ [ Z Z ]
о
fukyo no toki koso kakushin-teki na sozo ga hitsuyo da
A recession is the very time th a t innovative creation is needed.
kondo koso wa kanarazu kansei sasemasu
This time I will finish it, w ithout fail.
e
L /c o t z0
X 'tfa 0
sakunen wa fukyo ni yarareppanashi datta. kotoshi koso wa yoi toshi ni
natte hoshii desu ne
All o f last year, I was hit by the recession. This year I w ant to be a
good year, right?
82.1.4 Nominalized clause koso: emphasizing the nominalized clause
a
[ d £ ] ЫлКо
jimi demo nagaku tsuzukeru koto koso taisetsu da
Even if [one’s way of doing things is] quiet and unpretentious, it’s
keeping at it for a long time th a t’s im portant.
b H i l i ^ z z [ZZ] ftbbH ib-< btz0
nani mo shinai koto koso semerareru-beki da
It’s taking no action at all th at m ust be criticized.
82.2
C O N JU N C TIO N A L C LA U S E koso: E M P H A S IZIN G A
C O N D IT IO N
82.2.1 Conjunctional clause -b a /n a ra koso
a n ' ) m ' m b t b '> t z b ,
X ' - f I t K fa0 ( k ^ t z J r I lf =
mawari no rikai ga attareba koso desu kedo ne
It was only because I had the understanding o f the people around me.
b
: 7 г > й Ш '* > Н
tz?>n„
tashika ni fan no shicn ga areba koso daro
No doubt this [-- charity activities! is |possible| because of the support
of the |h orse-rad»n| enthusiasts.
с
[ti*- ·£]s Шt i # b ii'-'o
kyoshin nareba koso me wa kumoranai
It’s precisely because he’s open-m inded th at can see [things] clearly.
8 2.2 .2 Conjunctional clause -te koso
After a clause ending in V-te, koso emphasizes the state or condition indicated
by S-te, in the sense o f ‘only i f ’, ‘only when’.
a
[XZi]
ί <ν α
tsuri wa yahari tsurete koso tanoshimeru mono
Fishing is, after all, som ething th at can only be enjoyed if you actually
catch something.
b 9
У
3
[ X Z k ] &,*) $-~r>i<ntz¥bo
tango wa futari no iki ga atte koso naritatsu mono da kara
I t’s because the tango only w orks when both people are perfectly
co-ordinated.
с Г|s] (J.'fa] Ml r L [X Z к ] А Щ\ h X "
onaji jikan о sugoshite koso fufu ga jiron de fujin dohan no funin
T heir philosophy being ‘M arried couples only qualify as such if they
spend tim e together’, when the husband is transferred to a new post,
the wife goes along.
d
[XZi]
hanabi wa yozora о bakku ni hana-hiraite koso utsukushii
Firew orks are beautiful only if they blossom against the background of
the night sky.
82 .2 .3 Conjunctional clause -k a ra koso
Here, koso is used to em phasize a reason ‘precisely because’.
a
[¥b Zk]
furui kara koso atarashii
They [= antiques] are novel precisely because they’re old.
b SШ ¥ Ь Ъ [ b ' b Z Z ]
hb<r>fza
kokkan ga aru kara koso haru no torai ga matareru no da
I t’s because there is a time o f bitter cold th at we look forw ard to the
arrival o f spring.
с i ti^ t'X L '^ tt t z T —-?tz [ ί ' ί , : ^ ] ,
4
jibun dc mitsukcta tcma da kara koso ki nkyfisha wu netchO suru
It is because they themselves came up vsitli tlu-n Mih|ects of research
t h a t s c h o l a r s μιΊ a b s o r b e d | m t l u- n u n i i |
d L ' l Ъ-ktz l ¥ b Z %] Iff I V# t 4 ;t i 6 Щ \Г-:о
mushiro onna da kara koso atarashii taiken ga dekiru jidai da
If anything, this is an era in which you can undergo new experiences for
the very reason that you are a woman.
82.3 C O N JU N C T IO N + koso: EM P H A S IZIN G T H E C O N JU N C TIO N
a
[/ζύ'ί,Ζ ί],
Z<r>âbvM £ b ,h < r> tih ί о
daiku wa heiwa e no kikyu to ningenai ni michita sakuhin to iwareru.
dakara koso kono kyoku ga erabareta no daro
[Beethoven’s] N inth is said to be a w ork full o f desire for peace and
love o f hum anity. I suppose th a t’s the very reason this piece [of music]
was chosen.
b H b x z i ] , % ii< r> % % ¥ h b a
sore de koso kyoryoku no imi ga aru
T h at’s ju st why there is m eaning in co-operation.
8 2.4 N O U N /V E R B A L N O U N k o s o sure, N O U N k o s o are,
N O U N /V E R B A L N O U N koso, V E R B /A D JE C T IV E да/m o n o no:
E M P H A S IZ IN G A C O N T R A S T
The forms sure/are are classical forms expressing a contrast; in com bination
with koso only, these forms are still found in the m odern language, ga/mono
no are conjunctions o f contrast ‘b u t’, ‘although’ (56, 95.1).
N ote how w ith V N such as kansha suru ‘be thankful’ (example 82.4.1 a) and
funayoi о suru ‘get seasick’ (example 82.4.3 b), koso is ‘sandwiched’ between
N and suru (replacing the case particle o).
82.4.1 Noun/verbal noun ko s o su re
а
fe'H iJjS U ie v 'o
kin-san wa saifu о kakushita пубЬб ni kansha koso sure ikari wa kanjinai
[In the rakugo story, a fisherman finds a wallet full o f money, but his
wife hides it and tells him it was a dream to save him from turning into
a drunkard:] K in-san may feel grateful tow ards his wife, who hid the
wallet; he certainly feels no anger.
82.4.2 Noun k o s o are
a
[ Л Ж
,
Г£И\<пЦ-Ь
L X ^ 60
teido η» sa koso are dare no mimi mo me kara no jftho о sanko ni shite iru
There may he dil'lerenees in degree, hut everyone’s ears refer to
inlotm alion eoining from Ilie eves
8 2 .4 .3 Noun/verbal noun k o s o verb/adjective g a /m o n o no
(See also 56)
a
[--£ ]
[£ г],
7 Я 7 tz о
kuruma koso 6i ga hodo wa garagara da
As m any cars as there are, there are very few people on the pavem ents.
funayoi koso shinakatta ga karadaju ga shio-mamire ni natta
T hough I d idn’t get seasick, my whole body got covered in salt.
83 koto [NOMINALIZER]
koto is a lexical N ‘thing/fact’, which is also used as a nom inalizer (about
the function o f nom inalizers see 135). It is preceded an d followed by the
forms th a t precede and follow N.
83.1
83.2
83.2.1
83.2.2
83.3
83.3.1
83.3.2
83.3.3
83.3.4
83.3.5
83.3.6
83.3.7
83.3.8
83.3.9
83.3.10
83.3.11
83.3.12
83.3.13
83.3.14
Lexical n o u n ‘thing(s)’
Nom inalizer
W ith num ber o f times
W ith other predicates
Idiom atic uses
Clause verb-ru koto ga dekiru
Clause verb-ta koto ga aru/nai
Clause verb-ru koto ga aru/nai
Clause verb-ru koto naku, . . .
Clause koto de, koto kara, koto mo atte
Clause koto ni suru
Clause koto ni naru
koto ni (adverbial phrase)
Q uestion w ord koto (daro) ka
Sentence koto
Sentence koto da
Clause wa . . . clause koto da
Clause-verb-ru koto (wa) nai
N o u n no koto
83.1 LEXIC AL N O U N T H IN G (S )’
In Japanese, no distinction can be m ade between N modification and relative
clauses (see 143), as both take the form o f m odifying clause (given below in
[]) + N.
a i/X r
U ^ ] ilk i
shisutemu no minaoshi wa hitsuyo da ga koto wa so kantan de wa nai
Λ reconsideration of the s\stem is needed, but thini’s are not so simple.
ima shika yarenai koto о isshokenmei yaritai
I w ant to do things I can only do now as m uch as I can.
с
[ζκ]
kaisha ni muri shite tsutomeru yori suki na koto de seikatsu shitai
R ather th an force myself to w ork for a com pany, I ’d like to earn my
living doing things I like.
d [ Z b l l H ' i b 1> ' ] [ ; £ ] l i & *) i-tf/Co
kore hodo ureshii koto wa arimasen
N othing could make me happier (lit. “there is nothing th at’s as joyful
as this”).
83.2
N O M IN A LIZE R
83.2.1 With number of times
a Zb [it-c]
U £ ] -fcs/0
kore made-ni genchi ni wataru koto nanakai
So far he has been to the country seven times.
83.2.2 With other predicates
In this use, koto indicates the m eaning o f ‘th a t’, or ‘doing’.
a [ 3 h b Z b —A X i ' S λ ,T v ' /с] [ d i : ] ¥ l £ ¥ l £ ¥ l ( i ^ f z 0
arekore hitori de nayande ita koto ga bakabakashiku natta
I feel stupid now having w orried by myself about all sorts of things.
b
U £] ¥b¥^tza
mfi sukoshi yasuku shinai to urenai koto ga wakatta
We've realized th at it w on’t sell unless we m ake it a bit cheaper.
с Г'Ч
Ы
t', &®со%а&Ц.ЬХ ( bo
haiteku no chikara о kariru koto de shizen no chie mo ikite kuru
Through using the power o f advanced technology, one’s natural
resourcefulness gets activated too.
d |
<] [ ’ £ ]
<<i ^ X ^ b 0
mftretsu ni hataraku koto no imi о miidashinikuku natte iru
It has become difficult to find a m eaning in w orking like a Trojan
( lit. “furiously”).
83.3
ID IO M A T IC USES
Noli· that instead оГци. wa/tno can also lie имч!
83.3.1 C lause verb-ru koto g a d ek iru
After clauses ending in V-ru, koto ga dekiru indicates pot. ‘can’, ‘be able to ’.
This is one o f several ways o f form ing a pot. S (see 161).
a
¥Х 'Ъ Ъ 0
dobutsu ya shizenbutsu wa naze ka hito no kokoro ni hairikomu koto ga
dekiru
Anim als and [other] things in nature can som ehow w ork their way into
people’s hearts.
b i i b f z l £ ¥ l)
i T * i C v ,\ ,
umareta bakari no ко wa jibun de wa do suru koto mo dekinai
A new ly-born child is incapable o f doing anything by itself.
8 3.3 .2 Clause verb-ta koto g a a ru /n a i
A fter V-ta, koto ga aru/nai m eans ‘have the experience o f ’, ‘have n o t/
never’.
a
U £ ] ll&6lf£\
maruchimedia inimi ni shita koto wa aru kedo ittai nani
M ultim edia? I ’ve heard it before, but w hat on earth is it?
b l £ ( l i t /? & & £ .£ L'o <
U i:] ¥ Z ^ a
boku wa mada ryugakusei to jikkuri hanashita koto ga nai
I haven’t as yet had a proper chat with a foreign student.
с
o tifc /c [ - £ ] ¥ h ^ h a
shogakusei no кого kurasu no shinbun iin о katte deta koto ga atta
W hen I was a prim ary school pupil, I once volunteered to be a m em ber
of the new spaper committee.
83.3 .3 C lause verb-ru koto g a a ru /n a i
A fter a clause ending in V-ru, this indicates that som ething happens, o r can
happen, ‘occasionally’, ‘som etim es’ or, in the neg., ‘never’.
a & ¥ & - ? t-.Y. Ъ И - Щ Щ 1 г ^ ¥ ^ ¥ Ь U ^ ] ¥ b h a
ame ga futta toki wa ichijiteki ni kion ga sagaru koto ga aru
A fter it has rained, the tem perature can drop tem porarily.
hawai ya kariforunia no kaigan made ashi о nobasu koto mo aru
Sometimes he goes as far as Hawaii or the C alifornian coast [to surf].
с >1
ii
L /:U
[ -I К ]
kono jiken wa hobo shtisoku shita shi nid» to okoru koto wa nai
This incident has more or less ciuled, a m i \ull tu-wi happen again.
83.3.4 Clause verb-ru koto naku, . . .
A fter a clause ending in V-ru, koto naku (a neg. conjunctive equivalent o f
koto ga nai) m eans ‘w ithout doing’.
а
+
U £]
ayako-chan wa ishoku shujutsu о ukeru koto naku kono yo о satta
A yako-chan left this world w ithout receiving a transplant operation.
tagai ni kotoba о kawasu koto mo naku oshidamatta mama datta
[The families o f the victims] kept silent, not saying anything to each
other.
83.3.5 Clause k o to de, koto kara, k oto m o atte
koto de ‘due to ’ and koto kara ‘from the fact th a t’ are com binations o f koto
and case P indicating a reason. V-te can also indicate a reason, and in
com bination w ith the focus P mo, koto mo atte m eans ‘partly because’.
а Ц -У % Ь *А 0 ,
U £ ] t , Ш \и ± е т к Ж А ;К о
nenshosha ga heri ronensha ga fueta koto de korei-ka wa kakujitsu ni
susunda
Due to the decrease in the young and the increase in the old, the ageing
[of society] has definitely advanced.
(sutego) hesonoo ga tsuite ita koto kara seigo ma mo nai to mirareru
(A bandoned baby) F rom the fact th at it still had [part of] its umbilical
cord, it is thought to have been [abandoned] soon after birth.
с
' X ^' Ъ [ i ϊ ] t i n t ,
seiten ga tsuzuite iru koto mo atte pQru ya kaisuiyoku-jo wa
daiseikyo da
For reasons like the continued good weather, swimming pools and
seaside resorts are doing great business.
83.3.6 C lause k o to ni suru
This com binations means ‘decide to ’, ‘m ake a point o f ’ (see 186).
a t : t ,
l ^ K ] lz l / t 0
soko dc heijitsu no yoru wa dekiru kagiri zen'in de yushoku о toru koto
ni shita
Therefore, we decided to have dinner together on weekday nights as
often as possible.
b
[ : E ] ic L ^ w ii^ jS S A f o ^ o
tsuma ni nani mo iwanai koto ni shita no wa tozen datta
T hat I decided to say nothing to my wife was natural.
с flL /^ Z iZ Z li& briz,
U £ ]
lz U
? 0
taningoto to wa omowazu ni higoro no unten о kaerimiru koto ni shiyo
L et’s n o t think th at this is som ething th at concerns only others, and
m ake a point o f rethinking o u r everyday driving.
8 3.3 .7 C lause k o to ni naru
naru m eans ‘happen naturally’ or ‘come about’, and the com bination m eans
‘be decided’, ‘come ab o u t’ (see 186).
a
U K ] (: b / : 0
ninenhan о sugoshita hamamatsu о hanareru koto ni natta
It came ab o u t th at we left H am am atsu, where we h ad spent two years.
b
*ЛЦ1]Ч Ж .фЫ М а.-ГЬ U
judai no musume futari to watashi ga sono aida kaji о buntan suru koto
ni natta
It was decided th at during this time my two teenage daughters and I
should share the household chores.
8 3.3 .8 k o to ni (adverbial phrase)
This is used as an adverbial phrase in the sense o f ‘to m y/our delight’.
а
[zziz]
ureshii koto ni sono daihoru ga man1in ni naru hodo hito ga kita
To my delight, so m any people came th at th at big hall was full.
8 3.3 .9 Question word koto (d a ro ) ka
Q w ord koto (daro) ka indicates em otion, positive or negative.
a У-У·- h i M l f h l i [ΖΤΑ,Κΐζ]
byoin de konsato о kikereba donna ni subarashii koto ka
H ow wonderful it would be to be able to listen to a concert in hospital!
8 3.3 .1 0 Sentence koto
This is used in oral orders and w ritten notices, in the sense o f ‘you should’,
‘you m ust’.
а * л , ш , <m,
u £]
shimci shokugyo jOsho denwabango о mciki no koto
W rite clearly your family and given name, occupation, address and
telephone no.
Japanese: A Com prehensive Gram mar 2 23
b
U£]J Z
mazu wa shikkari mamoru koto to shubi no scibi ni yonen ga nai
He is busy reorganizing the defence, saying ‘The first thing is to defend
properly’.
83.3.11 Sentence koto da
This is used for giving advice ‘you/he etc. should’, ‘you/they etc. m ust’.
tonikaku mekajishin ga kosuto kyosoryoku о tsuyomcru koto da
A t any rate the m anufacturers themselves m ust raise their cost
competitiveness.
b
U £/-£■] i 0
kono seiken о nagamochi saseru kotsu wa senkyo no hanashi о shinai
koto da yo
The secret o f m aking this governm ent last is not to m ention elections.
83.3.12 Clause w a . . . clause k o to da
koto da is used to com plete a cleft S o r equational S. A fter V, to iu can
optionally be inserted before koto (see 23).
a H i
Z [ii]
U f c f c lo
nani yori daiji na koto wa hanashiai de kaiketsu suru to iu koto da
The m ost im portant thing is to find a solution through talks.
b
Ш<г> [ i i ]
[ w & i z f t t ) f a ' ] t t i U £ / - - '] 0
ichiban komaru no wa sofu ga inaka ni kaeritai to iu koto da
The m ost troublesom e thing is th at grandfather says, Ί want to go back
to the country’.
с
[ ii ] 1982^-<0
saisho ni sono shima ni itta no wa senkyuhyaku hachijuni-nen no koto da
It was in 1982 th at I first visited th at island.
83.3.13 Clause verb-ru koto (w a) nai
After clauses ending in V-ru, koto (wa) nai indicates the meaning o f ‘there is
no need to ’.
a
U ^ ii^ 'L
narcnai koto о muri shite made yaru koto wa nai
There is no need to force oneself to do things one isn’t used to.
b
(ОСо
ima sara kekkon shite wazawaza kuro suru koto mo nai noni
A fter all these years, w hat’s the point o f getting m arried and m aking a
hard tim e for herself?
8 3.3 .1 4 Noun no koto
This is used in the sense o f ‘a b o u t’, usually w ith verbs o f com m unication
such as hanasu ‘talk’, etc. and verbs o f knowing such as shiru ‘get to know ’,
etc.
a
[ ’ £] ^ L ^ / : 0
shorai no koto о hanashiatta
W e talked about the future.
b
[ z j ; ] £ j;
к itzo
ningen no ho mo inu no koto о yoku shitte kara kau hitsuyo ga ariso da
It seems th at hum ans need to keep dogs once they’ve got to know
them.
84 koto AND no [NOMINALIZERS]: COMPARISON
Beside koto, the other m ain nom inalizer is no (see 135). Their use overlaps
to some degree, bu t the following tendencies can be stated.
84.1 In cleft and equational sentences
84.2 In com plem ent clauses
84.1 IN C L E F T A N D E Q U A T IO N A L S E N T E N C E S
If a cleft o r equational S takes the form [S koto/no wa . . . S2], then S2 can
only use koto da (see 84.3.12).
8 4.2 IN C O M P L E M E N T C L A U S E S
In com plem ent clauses, either no o r koto can be used. W hen th e pred.
following the nom inalizer expresses perception (i.e. miru ‘see’, mieru ‘be
seen’, kiku ‘h ear’, kikoeru ‘be heard ’, kanjiru ‘feel’, etc.), no is used, except
when kiku is used in the hearsay m eaning, in which case koto is used. As a
general tendency, no indicates th a t the com plem ent clause is im m ediate or
concrete, whereas with koto it is m ore abstract, as lor instance ‘the fact th a t’
(sec 26, 135).
C om pare the following.
[со]
Hanako ga piano о hiku no о kiita
I heard H an ako play the piano.
b
U £ ] £ W v,*A0
Hanako ga piano о hiku koto о kiita
I heard th at H anako plays the piano.
85 made [CASE PARTICLE]
As a case particle, made m arks the endpoint o f the action o f V ‘to ’. Made is
usually attached to N o f time o r place, and often used in com bination with
kara ‘from ’ (see 51; see also 74 for examples indicating a range, involving
b o th kara an d made). N ote th a t like kara, made can also be followed by
ga/o.
Note 1 - there is also a focus
(see 86, 87).
Note 2
P made which indicates a degree or extent, and a case P made-ni
- made can either replace the case P ga and o, or attach them (made ga, made o).
85.1
85.1.1
85.1.2
85.1.3
85.1.4
85.1.5
85.1.6
85.2
85.2.1
85.2.2
Nounm ade
Place n oun made (particle)
Time n oun made (particle)
N oun kara noun made
(N oun kara) noun made no noun
N um ber (+ counter) made
Address, tel. no., etc., made
Verb made
Verb-ru made
Idiom atic use: iu made mo nai/naku
85.1 N O U N m ade
85.1.1 Place noun m ade (particle)
This indicates an endpoint in space ‘to ’, ‘until’.
a JK [ i t ]
eki made aruite gofun
It’s a five-minute walk to the station.
b Λ/ν i T t ' t [ i t ] T ') t v,>< „
АЛЛ" t -Я
b iλΛ,Λ'ο
minna de shokudfi made orite iku. shinbun о minna de nozokikonda
They all went down to the canteen. They all looked at the newspaper.
С
[it-] Ш Ш Ь о
ryogoku kara reinbo-burijji made о ofuku suru
[The boat] makes a return trip from Ryogoku to the R ainbow Bridge.
d
? [ i t ”]
ano куигуб no тикб made ga nihon-muke no kabocha-batake desu
All the way to the other side o f th at hill are fields o f pum pkin for the
Japanese m arket.
85.1 .2 T im e noun m ad e (particle)
This m arks an endpoint in tim e ‘to ’, ‘until’.
а
Ш И t]
т $Ш о
-7 ^-7 7 А
Ltaîc® #. ХЯЫ М лпХ
? y -т а T t i x m m i - b f f i & i k o
nisai no toki ni senkyoshi no chichi to rainichi. кбкб made о nihon de
sugosu. kanpeki na nihongo о hanasu.sono go furuburaito shogakusei to
shite nihon ni ryOgaku bei heiwabutai no borantia to shite kankoku ni mo
taizai shita
A t age 2, he came to Jap a n w ith his father, a m issionary. H e lived in
Jap an until high school. H e speaks perfect Japanese. Later, he cam e to
Jap an as a F ulbright scholar, and had a stay in K orea as a volunteer in
the US peace corps.
b "J ') — 13.%-Щi t [ i T ] % jT' ί Ь 6 о
tsuri wa toshiake made tenji sareru
T he C hristm as tree will be on display until the New Year.
С т ш ю я , < [ i t ] ^ ί ir v v
giron wa yoru osoku made tsukinai
T he discussion continued till late.
d Ш Л Ш Ъ —П [ i t ] И Ш о
seikyoku fuan mo nigatsu made wa nokoru
The political instability will rem ain until F ebruary at least.
8 5.1 .3 Noun kara noun m a d e
In com bination with kara [case P], this indicates a range in space o r tim e
‘from . . . to ’ (see 74).
а - Я - Э [i'b ] Л Я + Л в [ i t ] Ш / γ —
nigatsu tsuitachi kara sangatsu jugonichi made кепкуй (ста о boshu suru
Wc invite the submission o f research topics from February 1st to
M arch 15th.
b
[¥b]
Щ чэУ Ъ [ i t ] № t b a
kippu wa gozen jfiji yonjfigo-fun kara gogo ichiji yonjup-pun made hanbai
suru
Tickets will be on sale from 10.45 in the m orning to 1.40 in the
afternoon.
с
[¥b]
[ i f ] tK S -b b ,
0 £ L t^ £ 0
onsengai no hashi kara hashi made yuki ni umore hissori to shite iru
The h o t spring district looks deserted, covered in snow from one end to
the other.
d + » J fc tfifc T -№ U ' b \
[if]
jukkaidate de chika ikkai kara chijo sangai made ga chiishaj6
I t’s a 10-storey building, and B1 to 3F is parking.
85.1 .4 (Noun kara) noun m a d e no noun
The m eaning is the same when used to m odify N (‘from ’) ‘to ’,
a 401 [if]
yonjussai made no wakate sakka no hakkutsu to ikusei ga mokuteki da
The purpose is to scout out an d nurture young writers up to the
age o f 40.
b
[ i f ] соШ А ,
nigatsu ni shfinin shi kotoshi rokugatsu-matsu made no kikan kv5dan ni
tatsu yotei da
H e plans to assume the post in February and to teach for the period
until the end o f June o f this year.
85.1.5 Num ber (+ counter) m a d e
This incidates the m axim um am o u n t th at is possible o r will be accepted
‘up to ’.
a
[if]
nihyakuman-en made yushi suru
They lend [people] up to two million yen [= educational loan].
b —f c c o t i ^ f 3 - K [ i f ]
ichimai no hagaki de sannin made 6bo dekiru
With one postcard up to three people can apply.
с Й /Ш Л Д [ t t ]
kakudo yaku godo made no sakamichi о noboreru
|Toy:| It can climb gradients o f up In *> per cent
8 5.1 .6 Address, tel. no., etc., m ad e
This is com m only used to indicate an address/tel. no., etc. to be contacted
by potential customers etc.
а
f 06-362-1245 [ i f ]„
denwa wa seny6 de reiroku sanrokuni ichimyong6 made
F o r telephone, contact the dedicated line on 06-362-1245.
b
(052-231-1115) [ i f ] D
toiawase wa d6shiten zerog6nI nlsan'ichi ichiichiichig6 made
Please [direct] inquiries to the same branch (052-231-1115).
8 5.2
V E R B m ade
85.2.1 Verb-ru m ade
A fter V, made indicates an endpoint or time o f action ‘until’.
a Λ ^ ζ ί U # < &S [ i f ] Ш о
futa о shi akaku naru made musu
Y ou p u t on the lid, and steam it [= crab] until it turns red.
b ЛА [it-]
shinu made k6kai wa shinai
I will n o t m ake it [= the w ork o f art] public until I die.
с
....... 0
[if]
seifu ga nani ka о yaru made matsu shika nai
All we can do is wait until the government does som ething . . .
d
Ъ Ж Щ К Ъ Ъ [ i f ] Ш ^ Х b tz о
karoshi to iwareru уб na jotai ni naru made hataraite kita
H e has w orked him self into a condition sim ilar to w h at’s know n as
death from overwork.
e —
[if],
nisai kara jussai zengo de shinu made shika no mesu wa maitoshi ко
о umu
F ro m the time they’re 2 years old until they die aro u n d the age o f 10,
does produce offspring every year.
8 5 .2 .2 Idiomatic use: iu m a d e m o n a i/n a k u
This com bination is used in the sense o f ‘goes without saving',
tza t
&1Ш!С£ 0 ¥¥-otz<r>\± [ : g ? i t 4 & ] vv
tateana ga sukitai no kofun de aru koto о shokodateru nendo no so ni
tsukiatatta. sugu ni honkaku-teki na hakkutsu ni torikakatta no wa iu
made mo nai
. . . the vertical shaft hit a loam stratum th at constituted proof th at
[we were dealing with] a Scythian burial m ound. It goes w ithout saying
th at we im mediately started a proper excavation.
b
iLv'i
[ t i i X ' b
*] <
beiseifu wa mottomo (sannyii no) muzukashii shij5 to kenmei ni torikunde
iru. iu made mo naku sore wa nihon da
.. . the US government is m aking efforts to grapple with the most
difficult m arket (to penetrate). Needless to say, th a t’s Japan.
86 made [FOCUS PARTICLE]
made is a focus P th at attaches to N, N + P, and adverbial clauses. It can in
turn be followed by case P th at are required by the valency of pred.
made indicates the m ost unlikely item, or extent, th a t applies to a situation
or action ‘even’, ‘so far as’, ‘as m any as’, etc.
86.1 N oun made (+ particle)
86.2 N oun + particle made
86.3 Adverbial clause made
86.1 N O U N m a d e (+ PA R TIC LE)
a Zm ?
[ i T]
kono uchi rokkan made о gemuka shita
O f these [= volumes o f a novel], they have turned as m any as six
volumes into game software.
b & £ £ & £ £ [ i t - · ] Ь{&ЖЖКо
tetsu о kitaeru tame no fuigo made ga jikasei da
Even the bellows for forging the iron are self-made.
C « f l f c u f l i f t i p r [ i f ] <Mito
jissai ni sei/δ bunion de wa mujin kojo made arimasu
In fact, in the m anufacturing division there is even an unmanned
workshop.
2 30 Japanese: A Comprehensive Gram m ar
8 6 .2 N O U N + PA R TIC LE m a d e
а
[it-] Tu¥->X^ba
Ьубкоп wa shogakko ni made hirogatte iru
The roots o f the disease extend all the way dow n to the elem entary
schools.
b
[ i t ']
naze nihonjin wa yoka ni made manyuaru о mochikomu no dar6 ka
W hy do the Japanese bring m anuals even to leisure [activities]?
с
[{ сi t - ]
kotoshiju ni niten о shinki shutten shorai wa jutten teido ni made fuyasu
kangae
They’re planning to open tw o new restaurants in the course o f this year
and increase [the num ber o f restaurants] to as m any as 10 or so in the
future.
8 6.3 A D V E R B IA L C LA U S E m ade
W hen made is attached to an adverbial clause ending in V-te, the com bination
m eans ‘going to the extrem e o f doing’, ‘even at the expense o f d o in g ’ (see
also 42.3).
а
I X [ i t '] Ш Л t
t z Z η * ‘0
okutan'i no to shi о shite made n6gy6 о suru hito ga iru daro ka
D o you really think there are people who engage in farm ing even if it
m eans investing hundreds o f millions o f yen?
b - f c < 5 / ,e o f c £ - £ & . o t [ i t - ]
takusan o-kane о tsukatte made apiru suru koto wa nai
. . . there is no point appealing [to the electorate] at great expense
(lit. “a t the expense o f using a lot o f m oney”).
с
I X [ i t - ] , £ , S 7 iO t \
z }1Ъи} ' Ъ < fr 0 i I tza
niku wa d6butsu о koroshite made to omou no de taberu koto ga
sukunaku narimashita
I d o n ’t eat m uch m eat now, because I feel th a t [I d o n ’t w ant to eat it] if
it m eans killing animals.
87 made-ni [CASE PARTICLE]
made-ni is a case P th at indicates the endpoint in time or space over which
an action extends, like made by itself. The difference be! ween made-ni and
made is th at made-ni is concerned with the cut nil point, i.e. indicates a
deadline when referring to the future, or the idea o f ‘up to (now)’ when used
with past tense.
87.1
87.1.1
87.1.2
87.2
87.2.1
87.2.2
N oun/dem onstrative pronoun made-ni
Time noun/dem onstrative pronoun made-ni
O ther nouns made-ni
Verb made-ni
Verbal noun made-ni
Verb-ru made-ni
87.1 N O U N /D E M O N S T R A T IV E PR O N O U N m ad e-n i
87.1.1 Tim e noun/demonstrative pronoun m ad e-n i
This phrase m eans ‘by’, ‘up to ’.
a —x
[ i t 'i c ]
nisan-nichi mae made-ni yoyaku ga hitsuyo da
Reservations need to be m ade n o later than tw o or three days in
advance.
b
[iffc ]
„
rainen nigatsu-matsu made-ni kaisha о seisan suru
We’re going to liquidate the com pany by next February.
с
[iflc ]
< % .b b 0
konseiki-matsu made-ni chfigoku shakai wa 6kiku kawaru
Between now and the end o f the century Chinese society will change a
great deal.
d zm [ i t с ]
kore made-ni mo nando mo ashi о hakonda basho datta
It was a place I’d been to m any times till now.
e
[ it- C ] Λ & βτΛ νΛ Λ ζ*:
kore made-ni fuzokuten de hataraita koto wa nai
Until now she has never worked in a nightclub.
f
[iti:]
Afuku hagaki de kugatsu jurokunichi made-ni m6shikomu
One applies by return postcard by September 16.
87.1.2 Other nouns m ade-ni
A lthough daigaku ‘university’ in exam ple a is not a time N as such, the
implication nevertheless is one o f time.
a Χ ί ψ U t 'i c ]
X L i г>Ь<г>Ь'Ъ0
daigaku made-ni moetsukite shimatta no ka na
H e m ay have burnt out by [the time he reaches] university.
b
! i£ A ,£ 'J i l l % <%v,4 [ i t - i c ] Ш L t v -'δ ο
josei ga oi ga hotondo kami wa kata gurai made-ni mijikaku shite iru
There are m any women, but m ost keep their h air short to about
shoulder length.
8 7.2
VE R B m ade-ni
W hen attached to V, made-ni can follow a N -suru-type V in its N -form , i.e.
w ith o u t suru, o r a V in its plain non-past form . T he m eaning is ‘u n til’,
‘before’ or ‘by’.
87.2.1 Verbal noun m ade-ni
a Tk'X'Slit [ i T i : ]
Wi'b'b0
keiky6 kaifuku made-ni wa mada jikan ga kakaru
It’ll still take time for the econom y to recover.
b
[ΪΤ Ί :]
о h *аа
toha mondai no ketchaku made-ni hakkai no t6hy6 ga hitsuy6 datta ne
It took eight ballots for the faction problem to be settled, didn’t it?
С
, &Л. [ i t - i c ]
о
genzai wa nijiihachi gydsha no kamei ga kimatte ori hossoku made-ni
yonjii gyosha ni suru
A t present, affiliation o f 28 dealers has been agreed, and by start-up
time we will m ake it 40.
8 7.2 .2 Verb-ru m ade-ni
a
[iff-]
mizu wa atatamaru made-ni jikan о y6shi sameru no ga osoi
W ater requires time to heat up (lit. “until it h ea ts”), and is slow to
cool down.
b
с
[itc ]
'h0
ketsui suru made-ni wa nisan-shiikan nayami nuita
H e worried for several weeks before he m ade up his mind.
iib 'Z
[ itl:]
so naru made-ni bijutsu wa oyoso hyaku gojunen gurai kakatta
It took approxim ately 150 years for art to develop in that way
|= expressionism).
88 mae [RELATIONAL NOUN]
mae is a N indicating a relative position, either in time o r space ‘in front o f ’,
‘before’. Like other N, it can be used after other N (usually in the form N no
mae (ni)), but it can also attach directly, like a suf., especially after N o f time,
mae can also attach to clauses, in the sense o f ‘before doing’ (see 171, 11).
88.1 N oun (no) mae
88.2 Clause verb mae
88.1 N O U N (no) m ae
a —Щ.П Ш
isshOkan mae ni shinchiku shita bakari datta to iu
[Earthquake:] They say th at the [destroyed] building had been
completed only a week ago.
b
kurisumasu mae ni mo s6kan sareru
They will be deported as early as before Christmas.
geshuku de mo kinjo no sh6ten de mo rajio no mae ni wa hito ga iru
In apartm ent houses and the shops in the vicinity, there are people in
front o f the radio.
88.2 C LA U S E V E R B m ae
a & Ό [ ί ί ί ] ic4
fc<F>¥0
naze shi о erabu mae ni sukui о motomenakatta no ka
Why didn’t he seek help before choosing death?
t'-'o
naiv5 о setsumei suru mae ni sanka shita kaobure о niita ho ga sono
mokuteki ga wakariyasui
Before explaining the content [of the conference], it’s easier to
understand its purpose by looking at what sort o f people were there.
89 -mai [SENTENCE ENDING]
-mai is attached to Verb-non-past. Exceptions are dekiru, kuru/suru, and the
(iro u p И-type V caus. ending -(s)aseru, where V-stem is used.
Note especially the combination -neba/-nakereba narumai, which is equivalent
to the more colloquial nakcreba naranai daro (see 50).
-mai is used in two meanings: neg. pres, and negative desiderative. W ith the
exception o f V-mai shi, both have a form al/w ritten language flavour.
The fo rm er is attached to pred. th a t indicate a state, the latter to pred.
whose action is intentional, i.e. can be controlled by the subject (see 163, 46).
89.1
89.1.1
89.1.2
89.1.3
89.1.4
89.2
N egative presumptive
Verb-mai
Verb-mai ni
Verb-mai shi
Sentence-neba/-nakereba narumai
Negative desiderative
89.1 N E G A T IV E P R E S U M P T IV E
Instead o f -nai daro, the som ew hat archaic bu t concise ending -mai can be
used.
89.1.1 Verb-m ai
This is a w ritten style equivalent o f -nai daro ‘ou g h tn ’t ’, ‘no d o u b t’.
a -H & tA W frL [ i ^Jo
kokumin mo nattoku shimai
. . . the people are unlikely to be convinced, either.
b
Ш 'сч&ъ [i4 o
shitte oite mo son de wa arumai
There shouldn’t be any h arm in knowing this.
с "$ & № £ ”
Ы ?it< M h b U 4 0
senso shuketsu no sengen mo so toku wa arumai
A declaration o f ‘end o f hostilities’ oughtn’t to be th a t far away.
89.1 .2 V erb -m ai ni
-mai ni is used in sentences with contrastive meaning (ni has the same meaning
as noni) (see 140).
a fclft/·-£>>
t i i i k # .
l i t i v - '0
bit'*'
[ i w c l o
omae-tachi, mukashi wa donna kurashi datta ka shiri wa sumai. shittereba
sonna iikata wa dekimai ni
You girls d o n ’t know how we lived in the old days. If you did, you
wouldn’t make [critical] com m ents like that.
89.1.3 V erb-m ai shi
This is used is used to m ake a p o in t th a t the speaker thinks should be
patently obvious.
sonna baka na. miseinen ja arumai shi. ginko dake tokubetsu ni son о
kabure to iu horitsu demo aru n desu ka ne
How ridiculous. They [= banks] are n o t m inors [= devoid o f
responsibility], you know. Is there a law or som ething th at states th at
only ban k s should make special losses?
89.1.4 S en ten ce-n eb a/-n akereb a narum ai
Literally, this m eans ‘unless I/we do . . . , it presumably won’t do’, i.e. ‘m ust’
(see 50).
a
ί '- Ί ο
δϊ ni jikai seneba narumai
N o do u b t we m ust take great care [not to repeat the same mistake],
shincho ni handan shinakereba narumai
We no d o u b t need to m ake a careful judgem ent.
89.2
N E G A TIV E D E S ID E R A TIV E
-mai can also express a neg. desiderative, i.e. w hat the speaker doesn’t want
to do (see 46, 224.3, 189).
а
5 Ζ & Λ ί ζ ϋ - , χ ί [iv -'lo
furusato kagawa ni kaette kimai
I have no intention o f returning to my home [prefecture of] Kagawa.
kako о wasuresasemai to iu chiigoku tokyoku no ishi wa meikai da
The intention o f the Chinese authorities o f no t wishing to allow the
past to be forgotten is obvious.
с MfrlltytbX
[i^ ]
Z nS Zj &i b' b f co
jibun wa tsutomete medatsumai to no hairyo kara da
[N ot giving public lectures] is because o f his wish to attract as little
attention as possible.
90
mama [STRUCTURAL NOUN]
mama is a structural N, which m eans th at it is preceded and followed by the
same form s as other N. However, it differs from other N in th at it can also
be used w ithout any P attached.
mama indicates that a state rem ains without any change, which in translation
comes o u t as ‘still’, ‘w ithout ad d itio n ’, ‘unchanged’, etc. The im plication
usually is th at norm ally you w ould expect some change, o r som ething to be
done ab o u t the state, bu t th a t has not happened yet.
D epending on the form o f cop. attached to mama, it can be used as pred.,
adverbially or like a conjunctive P.
90.1
90.2
Clause-ta/adjective-i mama + copula
N oun/no-adjective/dem onstrative pronoun no mama (Aparticle/
Acopula): adverbial use
90.3 U sed like a conjunctive particle
90.3.1 Clause verb-ta/adjective-i/adjectival noun na mama
90.3.2 Clause verb-ru mama ni
90.1
C L A U S E -ta /A D J E C T IV E -i m am a + C O P U L A
A ttached to clauses ending in V-ta, adj.-i (including the negative nai/-nai) or
N no (including N sono mama) mama m eans ‘still’ ‘unchanged’.
a
[ i i ] t£о
shakkin wa nokotta mama da
The loan still remains.
b
[ i i ] tza
kyogi wa heikosen no mama da
The discussions m ade no progress (lit. “are still on parallel course”).
с
[ i i ] /со
shukuchoku-shitsu no kake-dokei wa gogo kuji nijuppun о sashita
mama da
[After earthquake:] The hands o f the wall clock in the nightw atchm an’s
room are still pointing at 9.20 p.m.
d
[ ii]
funso chitai ni umerareta mama no jirai wa ichioku issenman-ko ni
noboru
The [num ber of] landm ines that are still buried in conflict areas am ount
to 110 million.
e
i]
ν ,^ τ « ίί
'«'Й'о
shikashi katei saien de yukibutsu sono mama о tsukatte iru tokoro mo
oi no de wa nai ka
However, surely there are m any household vegetable gardens th at use
organic m atter just like th at [= w ithout adding anything],
f JLfc [ i i ] , f &Vf z [ i i ] «ч
mita mama kanjita mama о sunao ni jiinana moji ni gyoshuku suru
I compress w hat I ’ve seen o r felt straighforwardly into 17 syllables
(= haiku).
g
&v-' [ i i ]
fumin ni nayamasarete ita waiko-san wa nemurenai mama ni jitaku no
niwa ni deta
Y-ko-san, who had been suffering from insom nia, went out into her
garden at hom e w ithout being able to get to sleep.
h Ш;<Г>\Щ\<Г> [ i i ]
kako no taisei no mama de wa кепкуй ga susumerarenai
We can’t carry out any further research under the old system.
90.2 N O U N /n o -A D JE C T IV E /D E M O N S T R A T IV E PR O N O U N no m am a
(APA R T IC L E /ACOPULA): A D VER B IA L U SE
Attached to N , no-adj. and N -m od. dem onstrative pron., mama modifies a
following V or V phrase. N ote the com binations kono/sono/ano mama.
a **rl
[ i i ] Ш пГбо
tatemono wa genkei no mama hozon suru
The building will be preserved in its present form.
b
±<r>
[ i i ]
nama no mama usuku kitte age shio о furu to oyatsu ya sake no sakana
ni naru
If you cut [arrowhead bulb] thinly in its raw state (= w ithout cooking it
first), deep fry it and sprinkle salt on it, it can be eaten as a snack o r as
an accom panim ent to drinks.
С ♦ l i t i ' ) [ i i ] i&fc.
The car
drove off w ithout stopping; the w om an was no t hurt.
00.3 USED LIKE A C O N JU N C T IV E PA RTICLE
Used lit the torm [S 1 mama S2|, mama fiiiKtions like a eonjunclive P.
90.3.1 Clause verb-ta/adjective-i/adjectival noun na m am a
A ttached to clauses ending in V-ta, mama indicates th at a state or situation
rem ains unchanged although it ought to change o r m ay be expected to
change.
a %
[ii],
nihon de wa kutsu о haita mama ie ni agatte wa ikenai
In Jap an , you m ust no t enter a hom e with your shoes on.
b %
h [ i i ] i & i x <h f r ' o
watashi no jisho о karita mama kaeshite kurenai
H e’s borrow ed my dictionary and will no t give it back.
с
[ii]
S H U f v X - f /·.£ ■ « « ·I
hon о uwamuki ni shita mama kopT dekiru fukusha shisutemu о
kaihatsu shita
They have developed a copying system where you can copy a book
face u p [= w ithout having to tu rn it upside down].
d
[ii]
nogyo no sakiyuki ga fuan na mama arata na jigyo ni te о ageru ki
wa nai
W hile the future o f agriculture is uncertain, we have no intention o f
volunteering for new projects.
9 0 .3 .2 Clause verb-ru m a m a ni
A ttached to clauses ending in V-ru, mama ni indicates th at the subject or
agent perform s the action o f S2, in compliance w ith some outside approach
or stim ulus w ithout attem pting any resistance. The outside ap p ro ach or
stimulus can be w hat one is told, w hat one’s feelings dictate, etc.
a
%
[iic ]
ki nomuku mama ni ie no chikau оsanpo suru
I go for walks in the vicinity o f the house [choosing the course] as my
whim dictates.
b % t b h i , [ i ii-]
iwareru mama ni okane о kashita
I lent the money as requested.
с
[iii:] Φ?Φi
kokoro no hossuru mama ni уйуй to ikirareta bokka-tcki na jidai wa
toku satta
The idyllic age, where о no could live a life o f leisure lo one’s heart's
content, has long gone.
d Шг б ь НЬ [ i i U l
h i f < l z j Ef r $ r £ . ^ / t &$ k $ r &
susumerareru mama ni tsuitsui sakazuki о kasane ageku ni shotai о
ushinatta keiken о motsu hito mo oi no de wa
N o do u b t there are many who against their better judgem ent have one
drink after another in com pliance with w hat’s offered to them, and end
up unconscious.
91 -masu [POLITE ENDING]
F o r polite form s of V, the polite ending -masu is attached to V-base, i.e.
G roup I iki-masu, kai-masu, etc.; G roup II tabe-masu, mi-masu, etc.; G roup
III, shi-masu and ki-masu (see 232).
-masu form s belong to the same polite style as the desu-form o f the cop.
They are usually restricted to the spoken language, in ordinary conversation
with strangers o r those who are n o t intimate.
-masu itself inflects as follows (form s in () are archaic, but still occasionally
encountered):
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
N on-past
Past
Neg.
Neg-past
Imperative
Stem
Conjunctive
Conditional
-masu
-mashita
-masen
-masen-deshita
-mase (-mashi)
—
-mashite
(-masureba)
Note - the N-mod. use o f -masu (-masu N ) and the conjunctive form
restricted to the formal language of letters and speech-making.
-mashite are
largely
A part from its use as the equivalent o f the -nai form , -masen is also used to
make some S endings polite: kamoshirenai ^kamoshiremasen. Likewise, the
neg. form o f the neg. adj. nai (arimasen) is also applied to such S endings as
ni chigai nai, which becomes ni chigai arimasen (see 118).
92 -mi [NOMINALIZING SUFFIX]
(See 34.)
93 mitai [SENTENCE ENDING]
I’he S ending mitai is used in informal language, in place of more formal yo,
sfi and rashii. It indicates appearance oi simile (like other S endings of
appearance and simile, mitai can be ‘reinforced’ by adv. like maru-de ‘just
like’ (see 5.4.7).
mitai can be followed by a form o f cop. (e.g. mitai da/desu), but in line with
its colloquial nature often ends a sentence by itself.
The form s mitai is attached to are pin. form s (a fter A N and N , w ith o u t
cop.), mitai itself changes its endings like an AN.
mitai needs to be distinguished from mitai (the -tai form o f -te miru th a t is
attach ed to V-te (see 205, 189). P ast tense form s can precede mitai ‘like
having . . . -ed’, bu t can also follow it ‘was like’.
Being a m ore colloquial variant o f yo [S ending], mitai can be replaced (in
uses 93.1 and 93.4 only) by yo, bu t rashii can only be used in those examples
in 93.1 where mitai can be interpreted as indicating hearsay (93.1 с a n d g),
where so [hearsay] and to iu could also be used (see 169, 181, 243, 218).
93.1
93.2
93.3
93.4
Sentence mitai (copula/na n da)
Clause 1 mitai de, clause 2
Clause mitai ni, predicate
Clause mitai na noun
93.1 S E N T E N C E m itai (C O P U L A /n a n da)
This m eans th a t some thing, situation or person, etc. ‘seems like’, ‘is like’
another.
а
[ АЛЛ' ] t U
maguro no toro mitai desho
I t’s like fatty tuna, isn’t it.
ь
* £ л '1 ;ц >
? t - .L
kiiroi jiitan mitai
They [= wild flowers] are like a yellow carpet.
С
Ф -Е Н 2 i t ?
[A /'- '- ']
t£ 0
konkai wa chigau mitai da
This time it seems to be different.
d
[ А Л л 'Ь
gaikoku ni kita mitai
I t’s like having come to a foreign country.
e r ^ '7 ,
L b \ г 7 A,n ЙАИ)v/iiro <
/, [ A A i '] |„
do niau kashira - un, kckko kubi ga hosoku miiru mitai
‘How docs it look? Docs it suit im·?' 'iim , H seems to make your nock
look quite slender.’
f
ъ
ь
к
^
я
ж
х
и
в
с
[Λ /ιν -Ί ο
nandaka sapporo de wa hi no kureru no ga hayai mitai
Somehow in Sapporo it seems to get dark earlier.
g
[л /с ^ ]0
kukkingu wa sutoresu kaisho ni mo yakudatte iru mitai
Cooking seems to help get rid o f stress, too.
h JK -lti
[ Λ / ; '- '] &A//c J;teo
ekichosan no heya mitai na n da yo ne. katagurushii n desu yo
It’s like a station m aster’s office, isn’t it. I t’s [too] stuffy.
93.2 C LA U S E 1 m itai de, C LA U S E 2
Besides being used in com pound S, mitai de (de is the conjunctive form of
cop.) can also be used to finish a sentence, leaving S2 to be understood from
the context ‘ju st like . .. , (and . . . ) ’.
a [Ϊ&Χ]
[Л/t^X]
maru-de supai eiga mitai de omoshirokatta ne
It was ju st like a spy movie, and very interesting.
b Y’ i i x
ы
7 1л / с ^ х 1
doshite mo shokuyoku ni makete shimau mitai de
[Children] ju st seem to be unable to resist (lit. “get defeated by their
appetite”) [and end up eating between meals],
93.3 C LA U S E m itai ni, P R E D IC A TE
mitai ni (ni is the adverbial form o f the cop.) is the adverbial form o f mitai
da, used to m odify pred. ‘like’.
а
[ Л / i W ']
dore mo tanpen shosetsu mitai ni omoshiroi
All [= jottings on the postcard] are interesting, like short stories.
b M 7 O f7 -> 3 >
[ Λ / Ί '- 'ί : ] ,
geino purodakushon mitai ni, denwa ga hikkirinashi ni kakatte
kimasu
The phone rings continuously, like in a showbiz office.
9 3 .4 C LA U S E m ita i na N O U N
This is used to make a simile 'like', ‘such as’, when com paring a situation to
another situation, state or object.
a
....... 0
Ib b i,# .
[ л /с ^ ] i e ^ a - г L /t0
are irai shima no seikatsu no subete ga tomatte shi matte . . . maru-de,
seishi eiga о mite iru mitai na mainichi deshita
Since th at time [of the earthquake], all activity on the island has com e
to a standstill . . . Every day was just like looking at movie stills.
ь Щ [ λ / ϊ '- Ί % $ ^
ь i '- 'o
yofuku mitai na sasai na riyii de otosarecha tamaranai
The last thing I want is to be rejected [in a jo b interview] for some
trifling reason such as the clothes [I’m wearing],
94 mo [FOCUS PARTICLE]
Like wa, the focus P mo replaces the case P ga (b u t n ote mo ga a fte r Q
words, see 94.6) and usually о (but о mo is found), and is added to others.
Like wa, mo can also be inserted between form s such as -te iru, adj.-ku nai
and de aru.
W hereas wa is separating or exclusive in nature, mo is inclusive. In its basic
use, it tran slates as ‘to o ’ o r ‘also ’, b u t when used w ith neg. it serves to
emphasize w hat is negated (see also 43).
94.1
94.1.1
94.1.2
94.2
94.2.1
94.2.1.1
94.2.1.2
94.2.2
94.3
94.4
94.4.1
94.4.2
94.4.2.1
94.4.2.2
94.5
94.6
94.6.1
94.6.2
94.7
94.8
94.9
N o u n (particle) mo
N o u n (particle) mo predicate
N o u n mo
N o u n = am ount
W ith positive predicate
W ith negative predicate
A fter other nouns
Verb-te mo negative predicate
W ith two or m ore items
W ith positive predicate
W ith negative predicate
A fter noun
A fter adjective
Time noun ni mo
A fter question words
After question words, with positive predicate
After question words, with negative predicate
N oun de mo aru
-te (de) mo
Idiomatic uses
9 4 .1
N O U N (PA R TIC LE ) mo
H ere, mo m eans ‘to o ’, ‘also’.
9 4 .1 .1 Noun (particle) m o predicate
а
^ 'o
nedan mo yasui
T he price is cheap, too.
b
kono fuyu mo nabe no ureyuki ga kocho da
T his winter, too, casserole dishes are doing well.
с
z j i
J
K
O
Щi 0 c a a H i ' f f
7 о Ш к [ί,] Ш Г -:о
koshita hanzai gurQpu wa fuho taizaisha ga hotondo de torishimari ni wa
konnan ga tomonau. joho ni mo binkan da
T his kind o f crime syndicate consists alm ost entirely o f people staying
in the country illegally, and so they are difficult to control. They are
sensitive to inform ation, too.
9 4 .1 .2 With ellipted predicate
a
η <Г>Ъ(1&ХХ { h a -------η ±\ , vf cS
А [ 4 ] 0 { b b ' h /v = Ы ' Ь
nihongo no wakaran nihonjin nado to iu no ga dete kuru. nihongo no umai
beikokujin mo
[In a world w ithout frontiers] There will be Japanese who don’t
u n derstand the Japanese language. A nd Americans who are good at
Japanese.
9 4 .2
NOUN mo
9 4 .2 .1 Noun = amount
A fter am ounts, mo emphasizes the am ount (with pos. and neg. pred.).
9 4 .2 .1 .1
With positive predicate
T his is used to indicate an unexpectedly large am ount ‘as many as’ etc.
u
НЛ-ЪгН l b \
tochu nanjukkasho mo no hashi о watatta
O il the way we crossed dozens of bridges.
9 4.2 .1 .2 With negative predicate
W ith negative pred., the m eaning is ‘not even’, o r ‘no t either’.
a 4 S i —A [t>]
ima wa hitori mo nokotte inai
N ow, there isn’t even a single person left.
b
7
ίΛ 'ο
[t]
kaiin toroku о shite iru hito ga hyakunin-jaku annaijo о sashiageru hito
ga sanbyaku-nin kurai. kaisoku ya kaihi mo arimasen
The num ber o f registered m em bers is just under a hundred. People
w hom we send inform ation num ber about 300. There aren’t any
m em bership fees or statutes, either.
94.2.2
After other nouns
A fter N n o t indicating an am o u n t, mo can also im p art the m eaning o f
‘even’.
а
t it] i«
Ct<nfc^fz0
kondo no fukyoki ni okeru zaisei no shutsudo kibo wa daiichi-ji sekiyu
shokku-ji о mo shinogu mono datta
The m agnitude o f public finances m arshalled in the present depression
exceeded even the time o f the first oil shock.
94.3 V E R B -te m o N E G A T IV E PR E D IC A T E
N ote how mo can be sandw iched between -te (or V-stem, the conjunctiveform equivalent) and iru, suru (see 94.7, 31.5).
а Ш ^ Х [& ]
ft0
omotte mo inakatta
It never even occurred to me.
b
Ъ Ь Ч Ш 1 г Ъ Ъ Л ; Х & ^ [Ъ] L i b f c .
masaka jibun ga yusho suru nante omoi mo shinakatta
I never even im agined th at I ’d win.
9 4 .4 W IT H T W O O R M O R E IT E M S
94.4.1 With positive predicate
а
It]
W f f t [ ί ] MJ L'
gcijutsuka mo kagakusha mo onuji
Λ it ist s anil scientists arc the same v u i
b
[t>]
[ t , ] ifc1*0
kane mo dasu ga kuchi mo dasu
They give m oney but also meddle [in our affairs]
94.4.2
With negative predicate
This indicates the idea o f ‘neither . . . n o r’.
94.4.2.1 A fter noun
a Y Z b b K * p £ u t i - r l / t : l b ] 7 y ' i [ Ь] Ш [ t ]
tokoro ga heya ni wa terebi mo rajio mo denwa mo nai
However, in the room there is neither TV nor radio n o r telephone.
94.4.2.2 A fter adjective
a % m ± % { U ] * < U ] iCV'o
kiko wa atsuku mo samuku mo nai
The clim ate is neither hot nor cold.
94.5 T IM E N O U N ni mo
In journalistic writing, mo is often used to emphasize proxim ity o f time: ‘as
soon as’, ‘as early as’.
a
ic [t,]
nijOhachi-nichi ni mo happyo suru
They are going to announce it as early as the 28th.
ь я й и u i | x i t , л-п т т ь
getsunai ni mo chakko shite jOgatsu kado о mezasu
They will start building within the m onth, and aim to have [the plant]
running in October.
94.6 A F TE R Q U E S T IO N W O R D S
A fter question words, too, mo can be used with either pos. or neg. pred.;
with pos. pred. the com bination m eans ‘any’ or ‘every’, with neg. pred. ‘no
(one/thing, etc.)’ (see 167).
94.6.1
After question words, with positive predicate
a ta x U ] f r - K \
dare mo да ichido wa idakiso na у ипн- da
This is a dream that everyone is likely lo entertain once.
94.6 .2
After question words, with negative predicate
а Ць\$£Л<Г) i
О
Г
[t]
Z
J ;j0
watashi wa shibai no umai yakusha ja arimasen. dare mo so
omoimasen yo
‘I ’m n o t an actor w ho’s good on stage.’ ‘N obody thinks so.’
b
[t>]
shibo shita gonin wa izure mo gaisho nado wa nakatta
N one o f the five people w ho died had any external injuries.
9 4 .7 N O U N d e m o aru
Here, mo is sandwiched betw een de (conjunctive form o f the cop. da) and
aru; the com bination also functions as a cop., w ith the added m eaning o f ‘is
also’, ‘is at the same time’ (see also 94.3).
a 1Ш.<т>Ь-Ь*)Х [ t , ] b
chichioya no kawari de mo atta
He was also a father-substitute.
b
[t>] h b a
kitsuke no kyoshi de mo aru
She is also a teacher o f how to dress [in kimono],
9 4.8 -te (de) m o
W hen mo is used instead o f cop. + wa, the im plication is ‘not necessarily’,
whereas after V/A-te, the m eaning is ‘even’, mo is also used in phrases like
-te/de mo i i ‘it’s OK if’ (see 31.2).
a k i X ' [t>]
(cf., ί
so de mo nai
T h at’s n o t necessarily so.
[ t i ] ic'-'o T h a t’s no t so.)
b 7 ,9 -Ъ ^ 'Х
[t>] M - X Z i t A . J;0 (cf., ν,'-С [ i i ] f c x n t b o
= If there’s a star, we can’t win.)
suta ga ite mo katemasen yo
Even w ith a star [in the team] we can’t win!
9 4.9 ID IO M A T IC U SE S
a [ - 0 i - f <]
ichinichi mo hayaku otto no кос ца kikitai
1 want to hear my husband's voice [;ts soon ;is possible]
b r«#p.JFJ:0 [ f c i H ]
keizaikai yo. omae mo ka to omotte shimau
One feels ‘[Y ou too], business world?’ (V ariation on Caesar’s ‘Et tu,
Brute?’ from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar)
C
(fffiJ:
0)
[— *
ь
t]
Ш Im&x
-> 3 -y ?
h r,
(yoso yori) ippo mo niho mo kotai shita hanketsu de shokku da
W e are shocked by the verdict, which has reversed [what was expected]
[by several steps/degrees].
d
Ltz.^%i<T>tia
ii mo warui mo nai. kore ga genzen to shita jijitsu na no da
I t’s neither good nor bad. I t’s an indubitable fact.
95 mon(o) [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
As a conjunctive P, mon(o) expresses a contrast.
95.1 Clause 1 mono no clause 2
95.2 Clause 1 mono о clause 2
95.1 C LA U S E 1 m o no no C LA U S E 2
In this construction, mono no m eans ‘whereas’, ‘while’ (see 140, 56, 103).
kabuka wa josho shite iru mono no keiki wa teimei ga tsuzuite iru
A lthough share prices are rising, the recession is continuing.
fusetsu no eikyo de ichibu no rosen ni okure ga deta mono no oki na
konran wa nakatta
There were delays on some lines due to the influence o f the snow and
wind, but there were no m ajor disturbances.
с
[i« < o ],
сСХ^'бо
kennai keiki wa tenpo wa kanman na mono no kaifuku keiko о jizoku
shite iru
Business in the prefecture is slow (lit. “in tem po”), but the recovery
trend continues.
95.2 C LA U S E 1 m o no о C LA U S E 2
This means 'b u t', 'although', and is used typically in the form -ba ii mono о
‘should have . . . . but' (see I M
shingai nara kotowareba ii mono о ukete shimatta
If he thought it ‘unexpected’ he should have turned it
[= the premiership] down, but ended up taking it on.
Note - the combination mono о itself can also be
+ о [case P] (see 97, 98).
mono [lexical N] + о [case P], or [nominalizer]
96 mon(o) [FINAL PARTICLE]
As a final P, mon(o) is basically used in two ways, S-finally and at the end of
SI in complex S.
96.1
96.1.1
96.1.2
96.1.3
96.1.4
96.1.5
96.1.6
96.1.7
96.2
96.2.1
96.2.2
96.2.3
96.2.4
96.2.5
96.2.6
96.2.7
Sentence-final use
Sentence mon(o) (da)
gurai no mon(o) (da)
Sentence da mon(o)
Sentence-tai mon(o) da
Sentence-ta mon(o) da
nai mon(o) daro ka
Sentence-verb-ru mon(o) ka
In com pound and complex sentences
Sentence mon(o) de . . .
hayai mon(o) de, clause 2
Clause 1 mon(o) da kara, clause 2
Clause 1-(verb-potential) mon(o) nara, clause 2
Clause l-(y)o mon(o) nara, clause 2
Sentence-ba + ii to iu/tte mon/mono ja/dewa nai
Clause 1-te/sore kara to iu mono clause 2
96.1 S E N T E N C E -F IN A L USE
96.1.1 Sentence m on(o) (da)
A ttached to statem ents, mon (da) em phasizes the statem ent in the sense
o f ‘you see’. [S] mon tends to be used by w om en, a n d [S] mon da by
men.
a ^
“Ш&” £ li,S
[ t L ] ( Ά ■-ζ i t ^ = ,& о X ^ ic V.ч)
kono shigoto fuzoku to wa omotti' nai mon
I d o n ’t think o f this job | working in ;ι ιη.ΐΝ^ιμι· parlour] as 'im m oral’,
you know.
b ЩЦ)' А Х К Ш Ъ ^ [ i L t z ] C}
sozo ijoni muzukashii mon da
[The work] is a lot more difficult than I imagined.
с
4
h v ic A tf- fb [bLtz]a
borantia nante hima na hito ga suru mon da
Volunteer [work] is something th at people with time on their hands d o .
96.1 .2 g urai no m on(o) (da)
This is used in the sense of ‘th a t’s about it’ (see 61).
a ■ ■ ■ b i H Q b , fcjfeW H п £ Ш Ь & Ь - £ Х ' ‘' Ъ ' ‘'о fc E * 5 Л/<* v,'
U / ^ ] tz о
mo nannichi mo kazoku igai no mono to kao о awasete inai. oishasan
gurai no mono da
. . . for m any days now, [the sick child] hasn’t seen anyone outside the
family. The doctor is about the only exception.
96.1.3 Sentence d a m on(o)
Often used in com bination with datte, da mon/mono (usually preceded by n,
i.e. in the form n da mon/mono) is typically used by children and teenagers
when complaining. It is not really translatable, but perhaps ‘. . .! (+ context)’
comes close.
a f z ^ X , t> 9
v·»7^ <j>
jf, 0 /·- ь [ f z bAi \ о
datte mo ie ni iru no akichatta n da mon
But, I’ve got bored with being in the house . . . !
b tz^Xt,
[fzb/v]о
datte minato no chikaku ni wa mitari asondari suru tokoro ga nai n
da mon
But, near the p o rt there is nowhere to see or have fun . . . !
с Χ φ . ΐ ζ & ^ Χ —λ . < η ψ ΐ ζ Ρ Ι \ . * ΐ ζ £ 1 £ £ Ζ ^ гt z ^ X s
til 1
\tzt< n \\a
fushin ni omotte hitori no ко ni toitadashita tokoro datte gakko no toire
ja oshiri ga araenai n da mono
The teacher thought it strange [that some pupils had soiled their
trousers] and asked one o f the children. The reply was ‘But I can’t wash
my bottom in the school toilet [unlike at home]!’
9 6.1 .4 Sentence-tai m on(o) da
This is used for general statem ents about the way one ideally would like
things to be ‘would really like to' (see IK1))
yahari kodomo ni wa genki ni soto de asonde moraitai mono da
A fter all, one does w ant one’s children to play energetically outside.
b
Е11|Гсо£#£!1лЁЬ
mo ichido nichijo no seikatsu о minaoshitai mono de aru
I really w ant to take another good look at our daily life.
96.1.5 Sentence-ta m o n(o) d a
This is used when recalling the past w ith a feeling o f nostalgia ‘used to ’,
often together with mukashi wa ‘in the old days’.
a
[ / : U ] tz о
mukashi wa haru to aki dake shobai shita mon da
In the old days, we used to do business only in spring and autum n.
b
3
4
[h t< D tz\0
chlsai kodomo wa toshiue no ко kara asobi о osowatta mono da
The small children used to be taught games by the older children.
9 6.1 .6 nai m on (o) d ard ka
In neg. Q form , this is used as a rhetorical device ‘m ight there n o t’ (see
114.7, 163.3.4).
nani ka atarashii betsu no jinsei wa nai mono daro ka
M ight there not be a new and different life, I wonder.
9 6.1 .7 Sentence-verb-ru m o n (o ) ka
This indicates a rhetorical Q ‘certainly n o t’ (see 165.1).
a lU t-C fc S [ b < o i'] 0
makete naru mono ka
I ’m not going to lose! (lit. “Losing will do? N o way!”)
9 6.2
IN C O M P O U N D A N D C O M P L E X S E N T E N C E S
In com pound and com plex S, mon(o) is used at the end o f SI, including
sentences where S2 is ellipted (understood from the context).
96.2.1 Sentence m on(o) de . ..
Being an unfinished sentence, this is often used to m ake unenthusiastic or
non-com m ittal statements. The phiase itself is equivalent to ‘you see . . .’.
a
Y—
/C'C].......
watashi gemu yaranai mon de
I do n ’t play games, you see . . .
b
[ Ь Л . Х 1 Х ] fa] £■■■
kogeki suru no wa iya na mon deshite ne to
.. . [he] said ‘G oing on the attack is something I d o n ’t like, you see’.
96.2.2 h ayai m o n (o ) de, clause 2
Often used in com bination with mo, this idiomatic com bination emphasizes
the rapid passage o f time ‘already’.
a
Ы ± 1 Х t 7 7% -Blz^-?X\,'/t0
hayai mono de nyusha shite mo shichinen-me ni haitte ita
Time passing so fast, it was already the seventh year since I had entered
the company.
96.2.3 Clause 1 m on(o) d a kara, clause 2
Like the conjunctive P kara, this com bination indicates a reason; mono
serves to emphasize the reason ‘you see . . ., because’ (see 75).
а
Y f c l l Ί £ IX
<h /z A . X t f a o
kokyu konnan de kotoba ga denai mono da kara te to me de hisshi ni
arigato to tsutaeyo to shite kureta n desu ne
Y ou see, as he could not talk due to breathing difficulties, he tried his
hardest to convey ‘thank you’ w ith his hands and eyes.
b
-?-№ cD 2Z> , t - V X ^ i k L / i
Щ
Lt - - a
hisashiburi ni netsu dashite hitori de neta mon da kara kodomo no кого
kaze de netsu dashita toki о omoidashita
Because I h ad a fever, som ething I had n ’t had for a long time, and
went to bed alone, I rem em bered the times when I h ad had a fever
because o f a cold.
9 6.2 .4 Clause 1-(verb-potential) m on (o ) nara, clause 2
Used with the sam e V-pot. (or a pot. V with sim ilar meaning) repeated,
mono emphasizes the condition indicated by nara ‘i f you can’ (see 108).
a К'Ь-Ъ [t>£0& 'b],
Ь0
yarcru mono nara yatte miro. jisha nareai ца tenka ni akiraka ni naru
(ίο ahead and try (lit. “ if you can do it, give it a try’’) [but] the
conspiracy between the l.l’l) and the Social Party will be obvious to all.
b Ш X'bb [ b n i b h Ш
ЛХШ '-'Х&То
mijikaku dekiru mono nara mijikaku su beku doryoku shite hoshii to
omou
If they can speed things up (lit. “shorten them ”), I’d like them to try.
9 6.2 .5 Clause 1-(y)6 m o n (o ) nara, clause 2
This indicates a hypothetical condition ‘if you were to do anything like’ (see
247).
a
[ J: ? i w ic
yucho ni sake nado nonde iyo mono nara mattaku shuzai ni naranai
[Foreign correspondent:] If you were to hang aro u n d idly having drinks
etc., you w ouldn’t be able to collect any news.
96 .2 .6 Sentence-ba + ii to iu /tte m o n /m o n o ja /d e w a nai
This m eans ‘not necessarily’, -ba ii is colloquially often contracted to -rya ii
(see 13.3.1).
a ΦΚΑ tz
X
-jSbtt
b L'- 'o
yasumi datte nagakerya ii tte mon ja nai rashii
Holidays, it seems, are not necessarily the longer the better.
96.2 .7 Clause 1 -te /s o re k ara to iu m o n o clause 2
Here, to iu mono is used to emphasize kara ‘since’, in the sense o f ‘ever since’
(see 75).
a ‘H&
ь ъ т & ш и 'х
shosetsu teito monogatari no hitto de куаккб о abite kara to iu mono
hotondo yasumu ma mo nakatta
Ever since he was throw n into the limelight through the popularity o f
the novel Teito Mononogatari, he’s hardly had tim e to rest.
b
IX [ ¥ h £ ^ i b < o ] А&ИтЬР&Чо
onsen shisetsu о opun shite kara to iu mono ninki wa unaginobori
. . . ever since they opened a ho t spring facility, their popularity has
been rising fast.
с Ο ι [¥b
6 t z i b l z M li t l z J L tn i z & i
'■ i L t z 0
sore kara to iu mono tsuma ya sono ryoshin о settoku suru tame ni
hinpan ni kyiishii ni ashi о hakonda
Ever since [his divorce], he has visited Kyushu frequently in order to
convince his wile and her parents [to allow him access to his son|.
97 mon(o) [LEXICAL NOUN]
Used in the m eaning o f ‘thing’, mono (colloquially often contracted to mon)
is a lexical N . As such, it is preceded and followed by forms that precede/
follow N.
97.1
97.1.1
97.1.2
97.1.3
97.1.4
97.1.5
97.1.5.1
97.1.5.2
Lexical noun
mon(o) = thing
In generalizing statem ents
N oun/sentence-no (to) wa/tte . . . evaluatory adjective mon(o) da
Sentence mono de wa nai
sono mono
N o u n sono mono particle . . . predicate
N oun/adjectival noun sono mono
97.1 LEXIC AL N O U N
As a lexical N , the use o f mon(o) ‘thing’ ranges from reference to things and
goods, via indicating th at a generalizing statem ent is m ade, to the phrase
sono mono ‘itself’.
97.1.1 m o n (o ) = thing
a fcv,' Lv-' [ t<n\
i I x ?o
oishii mono о tabe ni ikimasho
Let’s go and eat something nice.
b
ИИЁС,- [ t i o ] ii & & X t <£
ningen ga ichiban nozomu mono wa jiyu desu yo ne
W hat hum ans want most is freedom , isn’t it.
ХЪ т йб [ U ] Ъ Л . Х Ъ ^ Ю 1 * 2 0
nihon no kigyo kara kaisha no nohau о utte hoshii to moshikomareta koto
ga aru. demo uru mon nante nai no yo ne
W e’ve been asked by Japanese businesses to sell their com pany’s
expertise. But they don’t really have anything to sell, right?
97.1.2 In generalizing statements
a
£>.'·)
[ t c f t ] 1.1ЙЛ L
kanc to iu mono wa osoroshii
Money is ·ι Irifjlitenin)-'. Ιΐιίημ.
ь
-feb' U a , ]
=to f ^ \ ± h t - : t z t - : — %.
o-kvaku-sama ga ichiban shojiki desu. amai mon ja nai desu yo. wareware
wa tadatada isshokenmei tsutomeru dake desu
The custom ers are very straightforw ard. They’re n o t easily deceived.
All we [can] do is to try and w ork as hard as we can.
9 7.1 .3 N oun/sentence-no (to) w a /tte . . . evaluatory adjective
m o n (o ) da
In a topic-com m ent sentence, mono/mon da gives em phasis to pred. in the
sense o f ‘really’. The topic can be indicated by wa, to wa, or tte.
а Щ .Щ
kazoku to wa arigatai mono da
Fam ily is really som ething to be thankful for.
b Ш Ш Ш А , Х \ f & t z n ] ii
ochiba о funde sanpo suru no wa ii mono da
Taking a walk (lit. “stepping”) on the fallen leaves feels really good,
с ■••Г[£—Я ]
A ,/;]
£!& L % < h.£W ii, £ —
Ίв
plsu tte ii mon da na to kanjirareru no wa pTsu gohan de aro
. . . [one food] where one feels th a t peas are really som ething nice is rice
with peas, I think.
97.1 .4 Sentence m o n o de w a nai
A ttached to a statem ent, mono de wa nai gives it a generalizing ring ‘no t
something th a t’, ‘naturally’ ‘can’t be expected to ’.
a i
< I) \ ± Ш % - Ш Х Х Ь b [ i 00X41 & 4 o
machizukuri wa kenchikuka dake de dekiru mono de wa nai
Creating a town is no t som ething th at can be done by architects
alone.
b
t w t i n i i ' - ' i U A ,U > £ ^ ]0
tokoro ga yo no naka so umaku iku mon ja nai
However, things don’t go as planned in this world.
9 7.1 .5 s o n o m ono
sono mono gives emphasis to what precedes it. i.e. a N or NP, or an adjective/
ΛΝ.
97.1.5.1 Noun sono mono particle . . . predicate
A ttached to N or N P, and followed by the case P required by the valency
o f V, sono mono em phasizes th e preceding N in th e sense o f ‘itse lf’,
‘per se’.
denshimeru sono mono wa kesshite atarashii gijutsu de wa nai
Electronic m ail per se is no t a new technology at all.
b ft K w iw ]
ju sono mono ga warui wake de wa nai
It’s n o t the case th at guns themselves are to blame.
с
i :A b t a
yakuin no kazu sono mono о herasu
We are going to reduce the actual num ber o f officials.
97.1.5.2 Noun/adjectival noun sono mono
This also provides emphasis ‘the very Ν ’.
seiji wa honrai zeikin sono mono
Politics is by [its] nature tax itself.
taicho ichimetoru ni-san-senchi aru mebachi no atama о ichijikan kakete
yakiageta kabutovaki wa gokai sono mono
The kabutoyaki, the roast head o f a big-eye tuna w ith a body length o f
1.2 to 1.3m cooked for an hour, was quite spectacular.
98 mono/mon [NOMINALIZER]
In this use, mon(o) is similar to no [nominalizer] (see 135).
a
tz
& ^fCitLA/ZcV-lto
ikutsu ka no sentakushi no naka kara ichiban joken ni atta mono о shizen
ni eranda dake
From several choices, I just naturally selected the one th at suited the
conditions best.
99 MORPHOLOGY
Japanese m orphology is of the agglutative type, i.e. V and other inflected
items often attach quite a number of separable elements, l or instance, besides
the pin. neg. ending -nai, the neg. form o f V can also attach the causative/
pass, (or hon.) endings -(sa)seru/(ra)reru. F or this reason, it is useful to refer
to some o f the above forms as a ‘base’. F o r instance, the ‘V-neg. base’ is the
form o f verb to which (am ong others ) -nai attaches.
а
tsukan-sa-se-rare-ta-so da
apparently [he] was m ade to feel acutely . . .
This can be analysed as follows:
V: tsQkan-suru ‘feel acutely’, nai-base = tsOkan-sa
C ausative ending -se
Passive ending -rare
Past ending -ta
Sentence ending -so [hearsay]
100 na (yo) [FOLLOWS VERB-STEM]: FAMILIAR
IMPERATIVE
Attached to V-stem, na (yo) is used for ‘familiar’ imp. These are used (mostly
by males) tow ards younger m em bers o f family, between schoolfriends, etc.
(see 69.3).
a £*>***
L [&J:]o
b
ί
'Jy<y<t£ U
-f-<
koko о shitai toki ni jiji baba nashi to wa iwanai kedo so na n da yo
hayaku ki ga tsuki na yo
There is no saying ‘W hen you w ant to be filial, your parents are already
gone’, b u t th a t’s the way it is, come on, wake up to it!
101 na (yo) [FOLLOWS VERB-ru]: NEGATIVE IMPERATIVE
A ttached to V-ru, na indicates a neg. imp. ‘d o n ’t ’. U sed by itself, it is quite
rude, and is therefore limited to such situations as the arm y and other male
bastions, and irate rem arks to strangers. The com bination na yo, on the
other hand, gives the imp. a fam iliar or friendly ring. N ote also the inform al
contraction V-ru na —*V-nna (101.2 c).
101.1
na
10 1 .2 n a y o
101.1 na
a
[£c]0
osu na
D on’t push!
b
Ь [f t]0
densha no naka de ichaicha suru na
D on’t fondle [each other] on the train!
kanryo wa kabu ni te о dasu na
Bureaucrats shouldn’t dabble in shares!
d r u f c f c S * [ftlo
Shinpai nasaru na
D on’t worry, please!
101.2 na yo
ofukuro shinu na yo
M other, do n ’t die!
b
[ ic«t]0
ii to iu made shinu na yo
D o n ’t die until I say so!
с • •• r& S tA ,
muri sun na yo
. . . do n ’t overexert yourself!
ikinari hen na mono о okuru na yo
‘D on’t ju st send som ething strange all o f a sudden.’
102
nado [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
nado is basically used as an adverbial P, bu t can also be used to modify a N
by means o f no o r to iu (see also 241).
102.1
102.1.1
102.2
102.2.1
102.2.2
102.3
N oun nado
N oun nado
Noun nado
Noun nado
Noun nado
Verb nado
particle . . . predicate
. . . noun
noun/noun phrase
no/to iu noun
102.1 N O U N nad o
Attached to N , nado indicates th at the item(s) m entioned is/are representative
samples, with further ones being implied ‘for example’, ‘am ong others’, ‘and
so on ’.
102.1.1 Noun n ad o particle . . . predicate
nado is sandwiched between the N and the case (or other) P required by the
valency o f V. N ote that pred. can be a final pred., or the pred. o f a subordinate
or co-ordinate clause.
а Щ
| : ГШЦ] Ц1Л\
[&£*]
daihyosaku ni sakuragawa hanaikusa ugetsu monogatari nado ga aru
Representative works include [am ong others] Sakuragawa, Hanaikusa
and Ugetsu Monogatari.
ь
[£ £ i
ί
it s о
keiyakusha ni wa udedokei nado о okuru
They give wristwatches [and w hatnot] to the contracting parties.
с 1Щ0 И к З Ш
[ ££' ]
? Ь
I
mawari wa osoji nado ni oisogashi da kedo bokura no toshikoshi junbi
wa kaiteki da
[Everyone else in] the neighbourhood is very busy w ith general
housecleaning [and w hatnot], b u t our year-end preparations are
quite pleasant.
d
[ ie ir ]
hachinohe shinai nado de wa dansui ga tsuzuki shimin seikatsu ni eikyo
ga dete iru
In the city o f H achinohe [for instance], the w ater supply remains
shut off, and the living conditions o f the tow nspeople are being
affected.
102.2
N O U N n ad o . . . N O U N
102.2.1 Noun n ado noun/noun phrase
Modifying a N or a NP, nado serves to give concrete examples o f the content
o f that N or NP.
a ' ' t . fl *ψ\ί% [ £ £ ']
/ -- - - i V' J -1 >'
hamo kaki ryori nado kisctsu menvii πιο fuyasu koto о kentochii da
Wc arc presently looking into tlu· possihilm ol adding seasonal menus
of [lo r example] sea eel ami owu-t 11i-.lu··.
b
t f t f U ilJb
sude ni jiigatsu kara miyagi fukushima nado yonken de hanbai shite iru
Since October, we have already been m arketing [our product] in four
prefectures, [including] Miyagi and Fukushim a.
kongo wa borantia no ikusei nado sofutomen no junbi ga kadai ni naru daro
In the future, the task at hand will probably be to set up the ‘soft’ side
- for instance, training volunteers [etc.].
102.2.2 Noun n ad o no/to iu noun
Similar to 102.2.1, the N nado is attached to serve as one or several example/s
o f the content o f the modified N.
a
Ш Ш Ш <»&-§- [& £V?]
tomorokoshi wa hinshu kairyo saibai gijutsu no kaizen nado no doryoku
ga tsuzuite iru
W ith respect to corn, efforts continue to be m ade [in areas like]
improving strains and cultivation techniques.
b
о
nue wa kao ga saru do wa tanuki shippo wa hebi nado to iu kaibutsu
de aru
The Japanese chim era is a creature [with [features] like] the face o f a
monkey, the body o f a tanuki [raccoon dog], and the tail o f a snake.
102.3
VE R B n ado
Here, nado is attached to examples o f actions taken and m eans ‘such as
doing’, as a m ore form al/w ritten equivalent o f -tari (see 192).
Note how the Y can attach an ‘extra’ shite (ori) after nado (examples a and b).
a
[ i e гг] ь х ^ ^ ш ъ & н ь х ^ ^ о
PR chirashi о sakusei suru nado shite jimoto no kyoryoku о motomete
iku
W e’ll draw up PR flyers and do o ther such things to request
co-operation at the local level.
ь ш
ъ <■
ш ь
ix a
yuki-chan wa byoin ni hakobareta ga atama no hone о oru nado shite ori
yaku nijikanhan-цо ni shibft shita
Yuki-chan was taken lo hospital but had a broken skull, and died two
and a half hours later
с
Ш ? $ Ш £ p -tfe i- C v -'δ ο
sOpa ga eigyo jikan о encho suru nado gyotai-kan kyoso mo okite iru
C om petition in business conditions is also taking place - for instance,
grocery stores are extending their hours o f business and so on.
103 -nagara [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
-nagara has two m ajor uses, linking simultaneous actions ‘while’, and actions
th at are contrastive in nature ‘even though’. In the second use only -nagara
can attach mo.
103.1 Clause 1 verb-stem -nagara clause 2
103.2 Clause 1 verb-stem /adjective-noun-m odifying/adjectival n o u n /n o u n nagara (mo) clause 2
103.1 C L A U S E 1 V E R B -S T E M -n a g a ra C LA U S E 2
-nagara indicates th at two concurrent o r simultaneous actions are perform ed
by the same person (or subject) in the sense o f ‘while’. VI can be a durative or
repeatable V, but no t an instant V, i.e. in example a -nagara cannot be used.
a % X fa /tib litb ) [ i ¥ b ] U l h 0
Xwatashitachi wa suwari-nagara hanashita
Instead, this would be expressed by V I-te, V2 (see 31.1):
b
[t] U l f z 0
watashitachi wa suwatte hanashita
We talked while sitting down.
O ther conjunctive P th a t tran slate as ‘w hile’ are aida, -tsutsu, and uchi
(see 8).
Japanese being a V-final language, the main V or V phrase is S2. N ote that
in English the word order is usually reversed, with the m ain V com ing first.
с
Co
nemui me о kosuri-nagara кйкб e isogu
I rush to the airport, rubbing my sleepy eyes.
shogakko no kyoshi о shi-nagara jimotoshi ni rensai shosetsu о kaita koto
mo aru
Once he wrole serial novels for a local new spaper while working as a
primary school teacher.
103.2 C LAUSE 1 V E R B -S T E M /A D JE C T IV E -N O U N -M O D IF Y IN G /
A D JE C TIV A L N O U N /N O U N -n ag a ra (m o) C LA U S E 2
This indicates a contrast ‘even though’ (see 140, 56, 79, 33).
The actions or events before and after -nagara are contrastive in meaning.
а
[ b ^ b ] Щ-t)
kare-ra wa kanashimi ya kurushimi ga ari-nagara hokori о motte ikite iru
Even though they have sorrows and hardship, they live with pride.
b
iMLX^Zo
afureru joho no shigeki о uke-nagara mo taikutsu shite iru
Even though [m odem man] is exposed to the stimulus o f abundant
inform ation, he is bored.
wakai-nagara jiki shacho to no yobigoe mo takakatta
T hough he was young, there were m any calls for him to be the next
company president.
d
[t £bsb i ] ^ % К \ М ^ Х Ъ h a
kakei no shohi shishutsu ga odayaka-nagara mo chakujitsu ni uwamuite
kita
The household spending outgoings were steadily im proving, albeit slowly.
e Ж Ш л & Ш l ^ ¥ b ] i ‘ < I * < E I t v - 'S o
hachijussai no korei-nagara kakushaku to shite iru
Despite her advanced age o f 80 she is full o f vigour.
103.3 ID IO M A T IC U SE S
As part o f a lexical expression, -nagara forms an adverbial expression (some
expressions require ni/ni shite after -nagara). W hen used to modify N , the
particle no is attached. Translations are idiomatic.
biryoku-nagara machi no o-tetsudai ga dekireba to hofu о katatta
He talked ab o u t his aspirations, saying ‘[I’d be glad] to be o f help to
the town [with my limited abilities]’.
b [f%feb:bsb ] z<r>fc%<r>j§Ml
zannen-nagara kono byoki no gen’in wa mada wakaranai
[U nfortunately], the cause o f this disease is still unknow n.
с ***** [ ЖЪ Ь ! ьГ-]
shacho ga namida-nagara ni shazai shita ga kaijo wa omokurushii mOdo
ga shihai shite ita
The com pany president apologized [in tears], but in the hall a strained
atmosphere prevailed.
d
I X ] Т У ') J]
*) € Ί t z0
i-nagara ni shite afurika о taiken dekiru bangumi ni nariso da
It should be a program m e where you can experience Africa from your
armchair.
e
№ f) f c l f b t i t z 0
fushosha no kyiishutsu kunren ga honban sa-nagara ni
kurihirogerareta
The practice for rescuing the injured took place [as if] real.
f [■щ'&'^ь] <ъ%0\Ц; *£'<"/
v
Ьо
mukashi-nagara no kanso na pakkeji mo ninki ga aru
Simple packaging [as o f old] is popular, too.
g
umare-nagara no hikan shugisha (peshimisuto) mo oputimisuto ni henshin
dekiru
Even [b o rn ] pessimists can change to optimists.
104 (-)nai [NEGATIVE ENDING/NEGATIVE ADJECTIVE]:
FORMS
There is b oth a neg. adj. nai ‘there isn’t ’ (i.e. the opposite o f aru or iru ‘there
is’), and a neg. ending -nai. B oth inflect like adj. (see 3), bu t note th a t the
neg. ending -nai has two conjunctive forms, -naide and -nakute, as shown in
Table 15 (for differences in use see 112).
In colloquial language, especially the language o f m en from Eastern Japan,
(-)nai is often pronounced as ne.
Table 15 Form s of the negative adjective nai/negative ending -nai
Finite
N-mod.
(Plain only)
Plain
P olite
1 Non-past
2 Past
3 Neg.
na-i
nakat-ta
naku-nai
4 Neg.-past
5 Stem
6 Root
nakunakat-ta
naku
nu
na-i desu
nakat-ta desu
naku-nai desu/
naku arimasen
naku-arimasen-deshi ta
7 C onjunctive
8 C o n d i ti o n ; '!
ииксгсЬи
а &&Ч —
h i ' L о w [ fa z .]0 (V- о d ίί ^' = no way will V)
aa nido to uwaki nanka shikko ne
Yeah, there’s no way he’s gonna cheat on his wife again.
Note ~ There are some lexical items ending in -nai, which do not have negative meaning, such
as sukunai ‘few’ and tsumaranai ‘boring’.
105 naka [RELATIONAL NOUN]
The relational N naka is sim ilar in m eaning to the English prepositions
‘am ong’, ‘in’, ‘inside’ (see 171, 230).
dansei no naka ni wa migakanai hito mo iru ga
Am ong m en, there are people who d o n ’t brush [their teeth], b u t . . .
b
[ i 3]
£ b ¥ h h < r > X - to
kokoro no naka de wa naite iru toki ga aru no desu
. . . there are times when I cry inside my heart.
с 9
A
[ i 3]
X η
$ -& 6
0
taimu kapuseru no naka ni hairikonda yo na sakkaku о oboesaseru
[The exhibition] makes you feel as if you have entered a time capsule.
106 nanka [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
nanka is very similar in use to nante (see 107). Like nante, it places emphasis
on the N or V etc. preceding it, with either a pos. or neg. implication ‘such
a thing/place as’. Often there is no need to translate it, its force being clear
from the context (see also 102).
The difference to nante is th at nante attaches mainly to N th at are subjects
and objects (replacing the case P ga/o), whereas nanka can also attach to
other cases. It can attach case P like de, ni, yori; can be sandwiched between
ni (adverbial form o f cop.) and naru; and between an adj. and its neg.
ending, nanka is also used before pred. in the sense of ‘somehow’.
106.1
106.2
106.3
106.4
106.5
Noun nanka + negative
Noun nanka + rhetorical question
Noun nanka + positive
Verb/adjcctive nanka (negative)
nunкa + predicate
106.1 N O U N n an ka + N E G A T IV E
This indicates th at the N to which nanka is attached is belittled, slighted or
emphasized ‘and such like’, ‘any such’, etc.
a Щ
[QAyi *]
betsu ni himitsu nanka nai
There aren ’t any particular secrets or anything.
kochira no iken nanka kikimasen yo
They w on’t listen to the likes o f our opinions, I tell you!
с Х * °—"У К ^Ш
supotsu ni gakureki nanka kankei nai
In sports, academ ic background and all th at doesn’t m atter.
boku wa kane nanka kasegitaku mo nai shi sensei da nante yobaretaku
mo nai
I have no desire to m ake m oney or anything like th at, and I don’t w ant
to be called a teacher either.
e в^ХИФ?
7' sl i f zh—
^X6Zi Hi X- b^^\
nihon de wa sarariman wa dare hitori gotei nanka tateru koto wa
dekinai
In Japan, no white-collar w orker can build a great big fancy house.
106.2 N O U N n an ka + R H E T O R IC A L Q U E S T IO N
The m eaning im parted by nanka is the same as in 106.1.
a m [ i^ * ] х 'к ^ х ^ ъ ъ 'о
e nanka de kutte ikeru ka
D o you expect one can m ake a living from painting!
106.3 N O U N n an ka + P O S IT IV E
With pos. pred., nanka is also used in a belittling or em phasizing sense; after
first person pron., the im plication is usually one o f m odesty ‘such a person/
thing/place/time as’.
a fa [ f t / u / r ]
f c fc fc l» .'# !
.t.
watashi nanka otonashii ho yo
I’m o n th e qu iet side, you k i u m
b
[й ^ * ]
kobo nanka uso bakkari
Public advertisem ents for posts are a total fake.
с rU t*
[ 4 ^ ‘] i t £
6 £ 7,
terebi nanka ketobaseru уб ashimoto ni okeba ii
Something like TV should pu t be on the floor, so th at one can kick it.
d -9-7 ' )— ■
<
t>t λ
sararlman to беги bakkari no disuko nanka taikutsu da mono
Discos with ju st male and female com pany workers are boring, you see
[= so we tried something else],
e ГйМИ
yofuku nanka nan demo ii to iitai no da
I want to state [= by the way I dress] ‘Clothes are o f no concern to m e’.
f
r » | [ i u - ] J; 0 -v# >
^ i 0
uoichiba no kakki ni fure ginza nanka yori nippon о jikkan dekita yo to
warau
M entioning the energy o f the fish m arket, ‘I’ve got a m uch m ore real
feel about Jap an than [having gone somewhere] like G inza’, he laughs.
g
it')
kuchi no warui K-san wa orinpikku nanka mattaku kanshin ga nai to itta
The foul-m outhed K -san said, ‘I haven’t the faintest interest in the
Olympics’.
106.4 V E R B /A D JE C T IV E n an ka (N E G A TIV E )
Sandwiched betw een conjunctive form s (-te form s and conjunctive-form
equivalents) o f V/adj. and iru, nai, etc., nanka emphasizes the meaning o f V/
A + iru/nai, etc.
а
[£A/;6‘] v ^ 4 C 0 o
watashi wa betsu ni gaiken ni kodawatte nanka inai no
I’m not particularly concerned about my appearance.
doka watashi no shucho ni sando sareta kata wa kiyoku nanka nai ippyo о
Those who agree with my position, please [give me] your tarnished
(lit. “far-from -clean”) vote . . .
106.5 n an ka + PR E D IC A T E
When modifying a pred., nanka imlii ales tlie idea o f ‘s o m e h o w ’
a
[ 4 ^ ‘] t U ^ / : 0
otosan boku ga udezum6 de katte shimatta toki nanka sabishikatta
Daddy! W hen I defeated you at arm-wrestling, I felt som ehow lonely.
b Γ’ ίΟ/ν,
ic o tz’(
L
£ 7о
kono hito nanka monosugoku shiroto da na to iu insh6 о motte shimau
One gets the im pression th at this person is somehow unbelievably
amateurish.
107 nante [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
nante gives em phasis to the N or V, etc. preceding it, w ith either a pos. or
neg. im plication ‘such a thing as’. O ften there is no need to translate it, its
force being clear from the context (see 102, 106).
107.1
107.2
107.3
107.4
107.5
107.6
N oun nante + negative
N oun nante + positive
nante + (iu) mono/koto/no/noun wa + predicate
Clause nante
Q uoted speech or thought nante
nante w ith ellipted predicate
107.1 N O U N nante + N E G A T IV E
With a neg. pred., nante emphasizes th at the proposition o f the sentence is
out o f the question or ridiculous for the speaker, or th a t he/she never even
considered it before ‘no such person/thing/place/tim e’.
а Ц-Ш} [ ЪЛ. Х]
nenrei nante kazoeta koto mo nai
I’ve never counted my age.
b & № z:zizft-3 X
l О ЛЛ'Г/Г [ % A , X ]
i.'H 0
sekaijO doko ni itte mo butaniku ga gyflniku yori takai tokoro nante nai
No m atter where you go in the world, there is no place where pork is
more expensive than beef.
с
* i i^ /v o
') l i t
Л,)
ningcn no chikara nante sonna ni kawaryu shimasen
( D o n 't be ridiculous,] p e o p l e ’s abilities d o n ’t vary th a t m u c h .
= t b
1 07.2 N O U N n an te + PO SITIV E
W ith a pos. pred., nante singles ou t (or em phasizes) the N (or N P) it is
attached to as something specially attractive or frightening etc. ‘such a person/
thing/place/time as’.
a £ ( к Ш Ш [й - λ , τ ] f c t j i l o
toku ni hoshi furu yoru nante saiko yo
Especially, nights with shooting stars are great, you know!
b Γ ί * 4 - f o b + b n p [й - λ , τ ] f t i f - A: ) }
ma akachan no кое nante nannenburi to r6fufu ga kand6 shita
omomochi
O h my, how m any years has it been since we’ve heard a baby’s voice’,
said the elderly couple, with an em otional look on their faces.
с
[*A. X]
о
mugon no seikatsu nante ky6fu desu yo ne
H ow dreadful a life w ithout w ords w ould be, w ouldn’t it?
107.3 nante + (iu) m o n o /k o to /n o /N O U N w a + PR E D IC A T E
Here, nante often im parts a belittling nuance ‘such a thing as’.
а
l*A ,X ]
ь<п
mukashi wa hensachi nante mono wa nakatta
Form erly there was no such thing as ‘deviation value’ [in the exam
system],
b
\tiL X \ ^ j b e o lith <
ь
kyokasho nante iu mono wa nagaraku tsumaranai no ga atarimae datta
It was taken for granted th at a textbook was som ething th a t was
long and tedious.
1 07.4 C LAUSE n an te
Depending on w hether pred. is pos. or neg., the meaning is ‘something like’
or ‘anything like’, b u t is often best no t translated.
а
Ζ / ν & Κ η Η Ι ' . ' [& Л /Т ] Ф)ьЬХ0
gakko ni itte konna ni ureshii nante hajimete
It’s the first time I’ve been so happy to be at school.
b4г#Гt i [ ЪА уХ] £ X ί,& Λ & ό 'ο / ίο
hajime wa geijutsu da nante totemo omoenakatta
At first, it just didn't feel like art.
с
[ Ъ Ь Х \ v 'b icv '-C o
otosan 1110 benkyo shinasai nante iwanai de
Daddy, please don’t tell me to study any more.
d ΓίίίΝ
ZLiZtlzib
l*A,Xh
masaka konna koto ni naru nante to odoroita hyojo datta
Ί never th o u g h t it would come to this’, [the relatives o f the hostage]
said with a shocked look.
e
Y t 6 [ i / v X ] Ζ Α , Χ Λ Ϊ сv '0
daigaku о doroppuauto suru nante tonde mo nai
D rop out o f university? O ut o f the question.
107.5 Q U O T E D S P E E C H O R T H O U G H T nante
This gives em phasis to the qu o ted speech or th o u g h t (direct or indirect)
‘saying/thinking things like’.
a r^ iic —
Aj X] νΛ η H r/vt ^' f ca
kaisha ni issh6 tsukusu ki wa nai nante iu shinjin mo ita
There were even some new employees who had the nerve to say, ‘I have
no intention o f devoting my whole life to the com pany’.
b
I Z&X]
о
betsubetsu ni sumu nante kangaerarenai
Living ap art is unthinkable.
с
о tz
ЦА.Х]
<i& z
t'CUio
mukashi wa doko no daigaku ka nante kankei nakatta. tokoro ga
kaisha ga okiku naru to ichiryu daigaku no gakusei ga kite tsui saiyo
shite shimau
In the old days, it didn’t m ake any difference which university
[applicants came from]. But as the com pany gets bigger, students
from first-rate universities come [to apply], and you end up employing
them.
107.6 n an te W ITH ELLIP TED P R E D IC A T E
The meaning of pred. being clear from the context, this indicates the meaning
of ‘fancy (that)’, ‘can you believe it?’, ‘how can they’.
a
/v Ъ
ί:1& U f Г b [ i / Л |
konna fukyo no jiki ni ncagc suru nunlc
How can they raise prices d u nny this |trrn h le | recession?
b
I)
[ %/ v X ] 0
ί *-'j Γ/ i ' o t i i
josei ga tomari de гуокб da nante. abunai kara yamenasai. datte m6
nijiirokusai yo. sukoshi wa jiyO ni sasete
‘A wom an going on an overnight trip? Cancel, it’s too dangerous.’
‘But, I’m 26 already! Give me a bit o f freedom .’
с
b l * L X \J
konna tokoro de happ6 jiken ga aru nante to кое о furuwaseta
‘How could there be a shooting incident in a place like this?’ she said,
with a trem or in her voice.
108 nara [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
Like -ba, dattara, -tara and to, nara indicates a condition, and often translates
as ‘if ’. N ote especially use 108.1, which is particular to nara and dattara (i.e.
-ba, -tara and to cannot be used in this way).
nara (like its m ore colloquial variants (n) nara and (n) dattara) is attached to
V and A, and N /A N as follows.
V-ru/A-i (n(o)) nara
N /A N nara
108.1
108.2
108.3
108.4
108.5
108.6
108.6.1
108.6.2
108.6.2.1
108.6.2.2
108.6.2.3
108.7
(Past: -ta (n(o)) nara)
(Past: noun datta (no) nara)
T aking up w hat someone else has said
Clause 1 nara(-ba) clause 2: replaceable by -tara
Clause 1 is a condition for clause 2 to take place
Clause 1 and clause 2 expressing a contrast
Clause 1-ta nara (clause 2 = past)
Idiom atic expressions
onaji/dose verb-ru nara
W ith same verb repeated
Verb-ru nara verb-te miro
Verb-ru mono nara verb-tai
Verb-(y)5 mono nara
N oun nara, where nara functions like wa [focus particle]
108.1 TA KING U P W H A T S O M E O N E ELSE HAS SA ID
kaisha ni monku ga aru nara jibun de kaete mitara
If you have com plaints about the com pany, how about changing it
yourself?
bifc££v^9
t ' i I X ί V '/: < i ^ K t i со [Ί· b] ,
deru to iu nara doshite mo itakunai to iu no nara shikata ga nai
If he says he’ll leave [the Party], and doesn’t w ant to stay under any
circum stances th at can’t be helped.
с *7 A
λ Ц ь ] ^$ ftZ c o fe K % ifzb X 0
waiesu-san nara kesa kono mise ni kita wa yo
If yo u ’re looking for W yeth, he came to my shop this morning.
d
X,
.......
sonna ni takai nara otaku de kawanai kara ii desu yo to iu taido
[The attitu d e of:] if it’s th a t price, no thanks, I w on’t buy it at your
shop . . .
108.2 C L A U S E 1 n ara(-b a) C L A U S E 2: R EP LA C EA B LE BY
-tara
Here, the hypothetical nature o f SI is weak, being m ore like an established
fact.
a z
< Ць]>
kore ijo niizu busoku ga tsuzuku nara kokora no ine ga dame ni naru no
mo jikan no mondai da
If the w ater shortage continues any longer, it’s only a m atter of time
before the rice plants around here are ruined.
b
l i b ] , h >)
7 £
chokusetsu atta nara arigato to iitai
Once I’ve m et her in person, I w ant to say thanks.
с Ъ Я П Ш Ь Hb],
hyakuman-en azuketa nara sannen-go no uketori-gaku wa hyakujuman
nisen-en
If one has invested one million yen, the am ount one receives after three
years is 1,102,000 yen.
d
l/tibtfh
>)'4*>7<ηΧ
Ί i % f t b X \ П- ^ b W * ) Ь Ъ п К х Ъ М Л Ъ 2 Z Ш ь Ь Г г ^ а
shikashi sekkaku shizen о motomete yagai ni kita naraba higaeri
haikingu no уб na kimochi de kuruma kara ori jibun no ashi de sansaku
suru koto о susumetai
However, if people have come all the way in search o f nature, I would
recommend they get out o f the car anil tiavd on loot, like on a one-day
hiking trip.
^rZL— y
saisho reisui de aranetsu о totta nara tappuri кori о ireta mizu ni
utsushiire kyutto hiyasu
After you’ve cooled off the first heat [of the dumplings] in cold
water, you p u t them in w ater with plenty of ice, and m ake them
really cold.
f
[ib]
burandohin ya yflmeiten de katta no nara sugu wakarimasu yo
If it’s a well-known brand or one [= a diamond] th a t was bought
in a reputable shop, you check [the price] easily.
g
Г Г 7 Л /А [ %b ] * < i j £j*diL-tv,'A =o
kin'yii kikan wa daburu ё nara anshin to yudan shite ita
. . . m onetary institutions were off their guard, thinking th at if they’re
[rated] double A, there’s nothing to w orry about.
108.3 C LA U S E 1 IS A C O N D IT IO N FO R C LA U S E 2 T O
TAKE PLACE
Usually, S2 (if it takes place) precedes SI in time.
а 3-го<Г>ШУ
&7
mittsu no negai ga kanau nara nani о nozomu ka
If you could have three wishes fulfilled, what would you ask for?
b
[ib], П
7о
kimi ga yorokobu nara daiya no yubiwa datte katte ageyo
If it makes you happy, I’ll even buy you a diam ond ring.
v - 'T t t e о
josei ga anna ii jinsei о okureru nara kondo wa danzen josei ni umarekawaritai desu ne
If women can have such good lives, I definitely w ant to be reborn as a
woman next time.
d
C
AX' M< [й -ь ],
A„
furutaimu de hataraku nara kodomo wa unde mo hitori
If I was to work full time, I’d have one child at m ost.
[itb]
w -э
nf hairu n nara kotchi no holeru ga ii na
l o o k , if we go |to a love h otel|, th e n I'd like this one.
f ГЗ Ы Ь ¥ ^ < г > Ъ У 9 $ L l i b ]
■■■(■CL x = T L t
ί
- C J S - C L jU
Г . Ш £ Ь ;у - У
)
anata ga honto no santa-san nara dekiru desho to nedaru shin
The scene where [the girl] asks [to be given a b ro th er and father]
with the w ords ‘If you’re the real Santa, you should be able to do
it’ . . .
108.4 C LA U S E 1 AND C L A U S E 2 E X P R E S S IN G A C O N T R A S T
‘If on the one han d . . . , then on the o ther’.
a
( Hb],
о
tokyo ga obei о muku nara kansai wa ajia e no genkanguchi to narubeki da
If T okyo looks to the West, then K ansai should becam e the gateway to
Asia.
b Ж ^ к Ъ {ЩьЬЪ
rijicho ga yameru nara watashi mo yameru
If the chairm an is going to quit, then I will too.
с Ы
l i b] , Ί ο
aite ga takkuru renshii о hyakkai yaru nara kotchi wa nihyakkai yatta n da
If the rival team practised a tackle 100 times, we’d do it 200 times.
108.5 C L A U S E 1-ta nara (C L A U S E 2 = PAST)
This indicates a hypothetical condition, although S2 can be left unsaid
(example a).
N ote the com bination kari ni . . . nara ‘supposing th a t’, ‘assum ing th a t’.
a
<h l f z i b ] a
kimi ga koko ni ite kureta nara
If you’d only stayed here.
b [ f e i:] , и С Л Ш Ж ' И н
I t z i b ],
kari ni ijime to ninshiki dekite ita nara gakk6gawa wa donna taio ga
dekita no ka
Supposing th at they’d perceived things as bullying, w hat would the
school have been able to do ab o u t it?
[A ib l
11 ЪЩ м& Ь
konpytita yori pairotto no soju о yiisen saseru boingu-sha no kokiiki datta
nara konkai no уб na jiko wa okinakatta to iu iken wa aru
There are some who feel that had it been a Boeing plane, which gives
priority to the pilot’s control rathei than the com puter, this accident
w o u l d n ' t have happened
108.6
ID IO M A TIC E X P R E S S IO N S
108.6.1 o n a ji/d o s e verb-ru nara
This has the m eaning ‘if . . . anyw ay’.
a IЩIS i lb & [&"ь]ч
onaji momeru nara ima mometa ho ga ii
If we’re going to have a dispute anyway, we m ight as well have it now.
b Щ
·) [&‘ ь]ч
h if
X v,\v,40
onaji harau nara гбп о haratta ho ga shisan ga nokotte ii
If one pays anyway, it’s better to pay off a loan, in w hich case property
remains.
onaji hataraku nara jibun no suki na koto о shigoto ni shita ho ga yarigai
ga aru shi tanoshii
If one works anyway, doing a job one likes is more rewarding and enjoyable.
108.6.2 With sam e verb repeated
108.6.2.1
Verb-ru n a ra verb-te m iro
This involves a repetition o f the sam e V, flanked by nara and -te miro,
literally m eaning “if you do, then ju st try ”, i.e. ‘I ’ll be ready for you!’
a
rjjts [ i t , ] | . [ t A ^ j
z £
HM/SffiiOi-frti.'ftlZ'?%ύ {&coX' i i %
'‘'fro
ogata-ten shinshutsu ni taisuru kikikan о kuru nara kite miro to mukaeutsu kigai ni kaeru jimoto shoten ga fueru koto ga kekkyoku wa
shotengai no kassei-ka ni tsunagaru no de wa nai ka
I think th at the emergence of m ore local shops which stop panicking
about the arrival o f large retailers and adopt an attitude o f defiance
such as ‘Y ou come and we’ll be ready for you’ will in the end revitalize
the shopping streets.
108.6.2.2 Verb-ru m o n o n ara verb-tai
This is one way of emphasizing the condition, with a repeated Y (see 96.2.4).
a
Ζ / ^ Ш ft,
shinkumi no kantoku wa suki dc yatte iru n ja nai. konna kengen kaeseru
mono nara kaeshitai
Supervisin g the credit asso cia tio n s is nut s o m e th in g we e njoy doing.
W e il l a t l i e i g i \ e u p t i n s p o w e i il w e t n u M
108.6.2.3 Verb-(y)o m o n o n a ra
This indicates a hypothetical condition ‘if you were to do anything like’ (see
96.2.5, 247).
ukatsu ni te о daso mono nara, okega shi-kanenai
If you were to dabble [in the stock market], you m ight get your hands
burned badly.
108.7 NOUN nara, WHERE n ara FUNCTIONS LIKE w a
[FOCUS PARTICLE]
Here, nara can be replaced w ith wa, except when nara is used twice (wa in
the sense o f topic can be used only once in a sentence).
a 1UL5
lib]
b i ^ l i t ' -Ж L i 'o f c o
shindo go made no jishin nara narekko da ga konkai no yure wa kako to
kurabemono ni naranai hodo hageshikatta
A n earthquake up to an intensity o f 5 is som ething one’s used to, but
this trem or was so violent th a t it defies all com parisons w ith the past.
b '< '/ -3
lib],
pasokon tsushin ni nareta hito nara gofun to kakaranai
Someone who is used to com m unicating by com puter can do it [= order
through the Internet] in less th an five minutes.
с
[ib],
kankokyaku aite nara gifutoyo nara takaku ureru
If the buyers are tourists, and it’s [bought] as a present, it’ll sell for a
good price.
109 NATIONALITY
The names o f m ost regions and countries (other than those from /шл/г-using
areas) enter Japanese in katakana, but for some, kanji are used in certain
cases, such as
(nichibei kankei, U S -Jap an relations) and other com
binations (see Table 14 for other instances). N ote th a t the kanji for Japan in
such expressions comes before the other country, ju s t as Anglo- does in
English.
The names o f regions/continents are shown in Table 16.
a + 0
ύ I? σ > ГХ · Ψ - \ Β
tftka wa koronbusu no bei-tairiku hakken о kinen suru koronbusu de
The l()th is Columbus Day in celebration of C olum bus’s discovery o f
tlu· American continent.
Table 16 Names o f regions/continents
Con tinen t/region
Standard version
Alternate version
Asia
Southeast Asia
Europe
N ear and Middle East
America
N o rth America
South America
Oceania
7 v 7 asia(jin)
М Т у Т ton an ajia
Э — σ -y/ < yoroppa
ή’ϊάΐΜ. chukinto
7 1 ' ) i] amerika
Ά -Τ / ') t/ kita amerika
i$ j 7 / 'J t) minami amerika
ί -fe T У T oseania
Ш. OH) 5(shfl)
^ bei
Jh^-hokubei
nanbei
taiyoshti
Table 17 Names o f countries (selection)
Country
N ative person/language
Common compounds
China
Taiwan
Hongkong
Korea
Japan
ÎSl (A · t§) chiigoku(iin/go)
о
(A · Ш) taiwan( jin/go)
(A) honkon( jin)
ШШ (A · Ш) kankoku(jin/go)
0
(A* · W**) nihon( jin/go)
nippon( jin/go)
0 't’ nitchii
US
T
UK
Ί i'JX
France
Germany
7 7 > X ( A · t§) furansn(jin/go)
К ί "J (A · Щ doitsu(jin/go)
Italy
Russia
India
Pakistan
Australia
Brazil
A9
T (A · Щ itariaf jin/go)
σ -> 7 (A · si) roshia( jin/go)
4 > К (A) indo( jin/go)
O r 7 , 9 У (A) pakisutan( jin/go)
ί — X h 7 'J T (A) osutoraria(jin)
7 :s >1 (A) burajiru(jin)
Я (A) amerika(jin)
(A) igirisu(jin)
0 ^ nikkan
0 * , 0<f»4 0 $ ! 4 etc.
nichibei, nitchii, nichidoku
also fa wa (W fa eiwa,
fa#r waei, etc. for
dictionaries)
0*beikoku, beigo, eibei, nichibei
0$k
eigo,
nichiei, eibei
0i^s nichifutsu
0 Й , Й -ίΑ nichidoku,
dokufutsu
Ψ i
0 o (0 ® nichiro
ip in
inpa
ΘΊ: nichigo
0-(Й nippaku
N otes * also # A hojin (written language only)
** also
kokugo (except for the school subject ‘Japanese’, used in
written language and combinations only)
b [1Ш
Ш .
O F,
ei-bei ni honsha о oki doitsu cheko indo nihon ni shiten о mokete iru
They have head offices in the U K and the US, and branch offices in
Germ any, Czechoslovakia, India and Japan.
с
(4 5 )
[#,, Ш
Й
iClT-C'Ш
Л
ft^ A = 0
shefu no Ono Yoshimasa-san (45) wa nijuyonen-kan futsu i ryoriten nado
de shugyo о tsunda
The chef, O no Yoshim asa (45), trained for 24 years in Italian and
French restaurants.
d liltitM ]
l% f'|_ h if (headline)
gorengin ga ichi-pasento riage
A ustralian Federal Bank raises interest rates by 1%
e
i i % ii [ a n ] (headline)
sekai no antei kagi wa nichi-ro
F o r the w orld’s stability, the key is Japan-R ussia [relations].
f Z L X , T [# ;£ A ]J
soshite honkonjin wa kihon-teki ni rakutenka ga oi
M oreover, m ost ‘H ongkongites’ are basically optimists.
g M
]
£
b7"i
beikoku to in-pa ryokoku no kyogi wa sutato rain ni tatte iru ni suginai
N egotiations between the US and (lit. “the two countries o f ”) India
and P akistan have only reached the starting line.
h
W b n tzo
poketto-ban eiwa jiten ga tenji de wa hyakusatsu ni mo naru no da
A pocket edition o f a Japanese-E nglish dictionary increases to 100
volumes in Braille.
i 7 i ')
-кМ-Т^Щ [#^А]
(headline)
iiripin taima shoji hojin ni shikei hanketsu
Philippines: death penality for Japanese possessing cannabis
j
\Ш Ь\ z& 'X
<£>■?>о
sabisu to iu kotoba о kokugo jiten de hiku to hoshi toka nebiki to kaite aru
W hen you look up the w ord sabisu in a Japanese dictionary, it gives
[meanings like] ‘service’ and ‘reduced price’.
110 ne [FINAL PARTICLE] (ALSO nfi/nfi/na)
A tta ch e d to S that are sta te m en ts (also e \i Lunations, etc.), ni· (an d its v aria n ts
in· and na/nft. the form er em ph.itu ill.- Ι,ι ΙΙ.ί m n s t h m ale usa)’e) are basically
Japanese: A C onprehensive Gram mar 277
used for soliciting agreem ent from the listener, bu t in the form fa о ne'
(example 110.1c) can also express anger or frustration.
ne, etc. can also be used for talking to oneself, especially in the form na.
110.1 Sentence ne
110.2 Question ne
110.1 S E N T E N C E NE
D epending on the type o f S, statem ents end variously in fin. forms o f V
and adj., A N and N + cop., or with the S ending (na) n(o) da or its variant no,
yo [Final P], or -te used in the sense o f ‘you see’ (see 112.3.5, 134, 138, 242).
a i ί к ή tz [fa]0
umasf) da ne
Looks delicious, doesn’t it.
b f e d ή tz [fa]a
isogashis6 da ne
Y ou look busy.
с
L
[fa o ]o
musume о zenzen shin'yo shinai no ne'
Y ou do n ’t tru st me [= your daughter] at all, do you!
d -?> -> a > K L X , t z t z X
[&]o
manshon nante tada de mo sumu ki nai na
A n apartm ent house? I don’t feel like living there even for free.
e
Г и и [ici> ]j
„
s6 kiite minna kara ii na to kans6 ga moreta
Hearing this, all gave vent to their feelings, saying ‘H ow nice’.
f
[& * ]„
yake ni omoi na
It’s bloody heavy!
g
[5ci>]j r$ ;h ,\'+£%fetz [fr]j„
6kii na kirei na кикб da ne
‘How big!’ ‘I t’s a beautiful airport.’
h
i
7
7
[й]о
maruchi media mo wakatta уб na wakaranai уб na kotoba da na
M ultimedia too is a term that one thinks one understands but doesn’t
really.
i t : h i : t U n t ' c < -c [ h ]
dare ni mo hanasi'iiakulc no
I can't
k-ll a n \ п т ·
\m i
м_ч-
110.2 Q U E S T IO N ne
A ttached to Q (pos. or neg.) ending in the Q P ka, the resulting m eaning is
one o f wondering or supposing. F o r m ore examples, see 114.5, 165.
а
о
shukaku wa shichigatsu-matsu ka na
The harvest will be at the end o f July, I suppose.
111 NEGATIVE SENTENCES
Negation is formally expressed by the neg. forms o f V (see 232), adj. (see 3)
and A N /N (see 35) which end in -nai or de wa/ja nai in the plain form.
F o r variants o f -nai (-n, nu, zu, . . .), see 111.1.2.
Like V-ru, V-nai can also indicate intention or future (example a).
a № M lz e 4 n z i i f l r C , [ 5 t n ] 0
zettai ni nihon ni wa kaeranai
N o m atter what, [I] will no t go back to Japan.
There is also a neg. adj. nai ‘there isn’t ’, ‘haven’t ’ (see 104).
Both the neg. ending -nai (and its variants -nu, -n) an d the adj. nai can be
used as pred. and before N and structural N (see 111.1.2).
111.1
111.1.1
111.1.1.1
111.1.1.2
111.1.1.3
111.1.2
111.1.2.1
111.1.2.2
111.1.2.3
111.1.3
111.1.3.1
111.1.3.2
111.1.4
111.2
111.2.1
111.2.2
111.2.3
111.2.4
Simple negative sentences
Negative existential/possessive sentences
N o u n + case and/or focus particle nai
N oun -h case an d /o r focus particle nashi
wa in negative sentences
V ariants o f the negative ending -nai (-nu, -n, -zu, . . .)
-nu
-n
-zu
Negative equational sentences
de wa nai, etc.
ni arazu (= de wa nai)
Negative questions
Noun-m odifying uses
-nai/-nu noun
A naranu В
Idiom atic use: omowanu noun
-/aru noun
111.1 SIM P LE N E G A T IV E S E N T E N C E S
111.1.1 Negative existential/possessive sentences
111.1.1.1 Noun + case and/or focus particle nai
The meaning here is ‘there isn’t ’.
а
[ i '- 'L
watashi wa ninki ga nai
I am n o t popular (lit. “I have no popularity”).
b
[frn ]0
chQshaj6 wa nai
There is no parking space.
111.1.1.2 Noun + case and/or focus particle nashi
The meaning is again ‘there isn’t ’.
nashi is a written-style equivalent o f nai, and is often used w ithout the case
particle ga, in line w ith the com pressed n ature o f this style. N ote espe
cially th at in the form N nashi de an d nashi no, no P can be used before
nashi.
a
[й ‘ L ]0
nyflkaikin nashi
N o joining fee.
b г и ь ' Ш Я Н [& L ]0
terebi mo shinbun mo nashi
N o TV or newspapers.
с
ЯМШ
[itLL
[£c L],
Ш Ь
[ i l l
doky6 wa nashi o-shoko wa nashi koden mo nashi
[Funeral] T here’s no sutra-chanting, no incense-burning and no
condolence m oney either.
d
У Ф — bj ' c ^ i < r ) ^ : ^ - b i \ ^ t z Z ' c b i b b o
A9 [ it]
T - f o <r>
nikusei konsato to iu no о tegaketa koto ga aru. maiku nashi de utau no
de aru
W e’ve done some ‘natural-voice [pop] concerts’. One sings w ithout a
microphone.
111.1.1.3 wa in negative sentences
( S i x 2.V>.)
N o te also how wa can colloquially be shortened to ya, attach ed to the
consonant o f the preceding syllable (i.e. ri wa —» rya), etc. (example b).
a
[ i i ] £ > \ |0
keiretsu no mondai ga ashikase ni natte iru no ka sonna koto wa nai
Is the keiretsu [affiliation o f companies] ham pering [developments]?
‘T h at’s n o t so’.
Note - wa can also be sandwiched between VN and some other forms (see example b; see also
236.5.3.2)
Ъ K f t n i j K L X b L W M
Li-tiXo
ningen no chikara nante sonna ni kawarya shimasen
People’s abilities don’t vary th at much.
111.1.2
Variants of the negative ending -nai (-n u , -n, -zu, . . . )
111.1.2.1 -n u
-nu is a written-style variant o f -nai (but note that some idiomatic expressions
such as [omowanu N ] ‘unexpected’ cannot be changed into omowanai N).
a m i [й ]
nemurenu yoru ga tsuzuite iru
Nights when one can’t sleep [because o f the heat] continue.
b
I f i [ Л ] 0 (see 73)
aki no otozure wa zongai hayai ka mo shirenu
The com ing o f autum n can be surprisingly sudden.
111.1.2.2 -n
-n is a spoken v arian t o f -nai, used by men. N o te especially the form sen
instead o f shinai.
a * & £ E B [ a, ] o
keizai dantai no yakuwari wa ikan
The role o f the Federation o f Econom ic O rganizations is no good.
b £ 4 1: & ! * · £ [ L ] $ \ | 0
sh6jiki ni hakuj6 sen ka
Just make a frank confession, w on’t you.
111.1.2.3 -zu
-zu is m o stly used as the w ritten style iu>· co n ju n c tiv e f o rm , but ca n a ls o be
used to en d a neg. S, especially m n ew .p .ip e i h e a d lin e s anil sayings etc.
G roup I/II V attach -zu to the same form s as -nai (note especially the form
arazu for colloquial nai); for the G roup III verbs kuru and suru, the forms
are kozu and sezu.
а А
[f]o
interu no yui wa ugokazu
The predom inance o f Intel is unshaken.
b o y rftlil
[ t i c (headline)
roshiaki tsuiraku, hojin itai hakken dekizu
Russian plane crashes, no Japanese bodies (lit. “can be”) discovered.
с
2 f\ t i ~7'V У K-ti: [ T ] 0 (headline)
yunyumai nigatsu wa burendo sezu
Im ported rice - no blending in February.
d
JL U L $ ‘
[Г ]о
hyakubun wa ikken ni shikazu
Seeing is believing (lit. “ 100 hearings do no t rival one viewing”).
111.1.3
Negative equational sentences
(See 178.1.7)
111.1.3.1 de wa nai, etc.
(See also 236.2)
a
i
[t" iii^ ]0
denshi meru sono mono wa kesshite atarashii gijutsu de wa nai
Electronic m ail per se is no t a new technology at all.
b
[tu in ]n
shisutemu no minaoshi wa hitsuy6 da ga koto wa s6 kantan de wa nai
A reconsideration o f the system is needed, but things aren’t that simple.
с 7СЖ
jodan de wa nai
[It]’s no joke.
111.1.3.2 ni arazu (= de wa nai)
ni arazu can be used as a written-style equivalent o f de wa nai (ni here is the
conjunctive form o f the cop.).
a
i)
[iz£> h ψ ] „
j ib u n w a n in n i a r a / .u
I'm not the p e r s o n for the job.
b
-y
A U z J b b - f ]0 ( i z J b b - f Ay l i = X i
i m ti)
wakai kappuru ya onna ni arazunba hito ni arazu
It you’re n o t a young couple o r a female, you d o n ’t count (lit. “you’re
no t hu m an ”).
с — ¥Lht-l<r>
\
^
[ C i b f l
ikken tada no yakuza eiga daga, sa ni arazu
A t first glance it’s ju st an ordinary yakuza film, b u t th a t’s not so.
111.1.4 Negative questions
Neg. Q are Q ending in -nai (ka/no) (see 114).
111.2
NOUN-MODIFYING USES
111.2.1 -n a i/-n u noun
Like its m ore colloquial equivalent -nai, -nu can also be used to m odify
N.
a
г [& Ч
totemo zenbu wa taberenai губ da
It’s [such a large] am ount th a t one can’t possibly eat it all up.
b Z L X J c i i t l i & l [A ] i i ^ i t L / c | 5 ^ c
soshite josei to wa omoenu hodo hattatsu shita kinniku
And their [= female swimmers’] muscles are developed to a degree
where yo u ’d hardly believe they’re women.
111.2.2 A n aran u В
A naranu В (‘В ra th e r than/as opposed to A \ ‘n o t A, b u t В ’) is used to
com pare w hat is often a newly coined expression th at is created by twisting
a familiar one.
а Щ
[ й 'Ь й ]
cho no naka ni mo wataridori naranu wataricho ga iru
Am ongst butterflies, there are m igrating butterflies, as opposed to
migrating birds.
b Ι3 4Λ '■!
7 / Ч
<& I X < h 6 a
n i h o n - tc k i n a r a n u a m e r i k a - t c k i k o ie i t o w a n a n n a n o k a о t e g i w a y o k u
o s h i c tc k u r e r u
It in f o rm s us efficiently w hat Л п н - т an m a n a g e m e n t , as o p p o s e d to
Ja p a n e se , is.
111.2.3 Idiomatic use: o m o w anu noun
This phrase m eans ‘unexpected Ν ’. N ote th at omowanai cannot be used in
the same context.
а [& Ъ Л ]
omowanu hapuningu ni jonai ga waita
The audience got excited at the unexpected happening.
111.2.4 -zaru noun
-zaru is a classical N-m od. form o f -zu. A part from the com m on phrase Vzaru о enai ‘m u st’, it is used occasionally in the w ritten style and m ore
commonly in titles o f books, films, headlines, slogans etc.
N ote example g, where -zaru attaches -beki, with the com bination functioning
like a double neg. ‘m ust’ (see 19.2, 50.2).
а ГffiCy [ ί Ь ] Щ\ (film title)
kaerazaru kawa
River o f No Return
b Щ И п , [ £ '£ ]
(film title)
yurusarezaru mono
The Unforgiven
с f
i
t z v p i [У & ] г Ш
(slogan)
sekinin aru seiji tayumazaru kaikaku
‘Responsible politics, relentless reform ’
d i t P f c i l i Z L l f [ * £ ] «S bL
sugitaru wa oyobazaru ga gotoshi
T oo m uch is the same as too little (lit. “Too m uch w ater drowns
the miller”).
wa ga sha ni kakubekarazaru hito nante inai
In our com pany, there’s no such thing as an indispensable
person.
f
[ЗГ *] ' C l z b ^ h b ' f ,
ь ^ 'o
konomu to konomazaru to ni kakawarazu sore ni miatta sekinin о
ninawancba naranai
Like it o r n o t, it |= J a p a n ] needs to a s s u m e the r esp o n sib ility th a t is
c o m m e n s u r a te [with its position].
g t b
[S£]
j £ΐ£/-<4 ΘipL iO tti-ti · 't'i.f iiO
b / z Z H ЪШШ11--о
y a r a z a r u - b e k i k o to w a y a r a n a k a t t a t o n o b e n ic h ig in n o d o k u rits u -s e i
c h ii r i ts u - s e i n o i ji n i t s u t o m e t e k i t a k o t o о к у б с Ь б s h i t a
H e stated, ‘W e didn’t do anything we shouldn’t have done’,
emphasizing th at he had w orked to m aintain the independence and
neutrality o f the Bank o f Japan.
112
NEGATIVE CONJUNCTIVE FORMS
The neg. adj. n a i and neg. ending - n a i have both n a k u t e (and the stem -form
as w ritten-form equivalent) and - n a i d e as th eir conjunctive form s.
Instead o f - n a i d e , - z u is also used in w ritten language (see 31, 104).
naku
The use o f these forms to add other V or clauses is shown in the following
sections.
112.1
112.2
112.2.1
112.2.2
112.2.3
112.3
112.3.1
112.3.2
112.3.3
112.3.4
112.3.5
112.4
112.4.1
112.4.2
112.4.3
112.4.4
112.5
112.5.1
112.5.2
112.5.3
112.5.4
N oun/s6 de wa/ja naku naru
N o u n + particle naku(te)
A de wa/ja naku(te), В
N o u n de wa/ja naku(te), . . .
A/N-dokoro de wa naku, . ..
Verb-nakute
Verb-nakute (mo) yoi/ii/daijobu
Verb-nakute gomen/sumanai, etc.
N o u n + particle/clause nakute wa (negative)
N o u n narade wa
N o u n + particle/clause nakute ne
Verb-nai de
In com pound sentences
M odifying predicates
V erb-potential-nai de iru
Verb-nai de (kudasai/kure/hoshii/moraitai)
Verb-zu (ni): written-style negative conjunctive form
-zu, . . .
Verb-zu ni (= -nai de)
Verb-zu ni iru ( - -nai de iru)
Verb-zu-jimai da
112.1
N O U N /S 6 d e w a /|a n ak u naru
- n a k u is used to a t t a c h the V n a r u
w it h th e
bi-ionu·', or the ad v . s 6 ‘this w a y ’, ‘s o ’,
c o m b in e d m e an in}-' I n - in r \ r . r . r to h<·'. ‘be n o lo n g e r ’.
a
fro ]
gan wa fuji no yamai de wa naku natta
Cancer is no longer an incurable disease.
b
k i
J: Ί
dakara kondo wa so ja naku naru hajimari de wa nai desho ka
So, I w onder if this time m ight be the beginning o f things no longer
being the way they were [= citizens being expected to be passive].
1 12.2
N O U N + PA R TIC LE n ak u (te )
nakute is the neg. conjunctive form o f the neg. adj. nai ‘there isn’t ’ (in the
w ritten style, naku is often used instead). The m eaning is ‘w ithout’, ‘free
from ’, ‘n o t . . . a n d ’.
a
[fr < X ]
'-'o
kuse ga nakute yoso ijo ni nomiyasui
I t’s free from peculiar tastes, and easier to drink than expected.
b M ' A l i [fr < ] 4 k b i f f l t
keganin wa naku okina konran mo nakatta
N obody was injured, and there w asn’t any m ajor disturbance.
с ш т , H tx iliib b 1 [<ϊ < ]
о
jiko toji kaijo wa nami ga naku shizuka datta
A t the time o f the accident, the ocean was calm and sm ooth (lit. “free
o f waves”).
112.2.1 A d e w a /ja n aku (te), В
This indicates the sense o f ‘no t A, bu t B \
a
jobu na dake de wa nakute utsukushii ha о
[One should have] teeth th at are n o t only strong, bu t [also] beautiful.
b
[L > & < -C ], ^ L X ' t a
pianisuto no inochi wa te ya yubi dake ja nakute kokoro nan desu
The life o f a pianist in is not the hands or fingers, b u t the heart.
с
F 'H c [ T i i i < h F W -'J Z i m i f c о
doruyasu de wa naku endaka da to kyocho shita
‘It’s not th at the yen is low, but the dollar is high’, he emphasized.
d
η · · · Γ / ' - 7 [ I' V b < X 1
hSfu tte nani hafu ja nakute daburu yo
‘W h a t ’s h a l f [ - b r c e d |? ’ ‘Y o u ’re n o t “ hall”’, you k n o w , y o u ’re “ d o u b l e ” !’
( by h av in g p a r e n ts fro m tw o diflon-nt c u lliu c s|
112.2.2 Noun d e w a /ja n aku (te), . . .
As a neg. equivalent o f de, . . . , this m eans ‘no t N, a n d ’ (see 31).
a f b W J [X'liHh
watashi wa seijika de wa naku tokubetsu na ideorogi о motte inai
I’m n o t a politician, and d o n ’t have any particular ideology.
112.2.3 A /N -d o k o ro d e w a n aku , . . .
This expresses th at some state is o f a surprising degree ‘you m ust be joking’,
‘far from it’.
a
< ],
kurai dokoro de wa naku mo makkura
Dark? Y ou m ust be joking, it was pitch-black!
b
[ F Z Z - C l i * < ], Я ч Ы с Ъ '? t'- '- S o
кбуб dokoro de wa naku fuyuyama ni natte iru
F ar from [having] coloured leaves, the m ountains are covered in snow.
112.3
V E R B -n ak u te
112.3.1 V e rb -na ku te (m o) y o i/ii/d a ijd b u
This indicates permission n o t to do something: ‘it’s O K if you don’t ’, ‘you
needn’t ’ (see 31.2.2).
а Г а д а ^ ; £ [fr< -C] V'V'J
„
ashita kara konakute ii to iwareta
I was told ‘Y ou needn’t come from tom orrow ’.
b
[ie < -Cl
okome wa kaidame shinakute mo daij6bu desu
There is no need to hoard rice.
с Z L H z & b [ £ < - C l t>,
sonna ni aseranakute mo mada wakai no da kara
You needn’t be so im patient; you’re still young.
d
[% < X] t L ' o
furo о wakasu netsu mo sukunakute sumu
One also needs less heat to warm the water for a bath [= using waste energy].
112.3.2 V erb -naku te g o m e n /s u m a n a i, etc.
Like its c o u n t e r p a r t using the pos ι οπμιικ ίίνο lo r m (see 31.3.4), this is used
lo r apologies: ‘s o r ry for not h a u n v ilo n r '
а ШЖЬ
< X]
shushoku shinakute gomen ne
Sorry I haven’t found a job.
b
[£<- C]
gokitai ni soenakute sumimasen
I ’m sorry n o t to have met your expectations.
112.3.3 Noun + particle/clause n a k u te w a (negative)
W ith ellipted second neg., the m eaning is usually ‘m u st’ o r ‘w ithout’ (see
50.2.2).
a AM HSfejU* [ * < -C t i l
ningen wa sanso ga nakutewa ikite ikenai
M an cannot live w ithout oxygen.
b X' b,
r - tf C l [< i< -C { i]j0
demo unda kara ni wa kodomo о shiawase ni shinakute wa
But, now th a t yo u’ve had a child you have to m ake him happy.
eigakan wa gakko de wa nai. mazu miru hito ga tanoshimenakute wa
A movie th eatre is not a school. A bove all, the viewers have to be able
to enjoy themselves.
112.3.4 Noun n a ra d e w a
narade wa is a classical equivalent to m odern de (wa) nai to ‘unless is’; it is
used in the sense o f ‘no t possible unless’, ‘the hallm ark o f ’.
а
[ibX'li]0
harawata no nigami wa shinsen na ayu narade wa
The bitter [and delicious] taste o f the entrails is the hallm ark o f fresh
sweetfish [= is w hat you get only w ith fresh sweetfish],
112.3.5 Noun + particle/clause n a k u te ne
In the form nakute, ne is used to com plete a S in the explanatory sense o f
‘you see’. T he second half o f the sentence, which is ellipted or ‘understood’,
implies som ething like komatte iru ‘I ’m in trouble’ (see 110).
a &l0{f I [&· < X ] *a0
niku ga kaenakute ne
We can’t buy any meat, you see.
b
[& < X )
shuchuryoku ga nakute no
H e lias n o a b i lity to c o iu rn tia U · , von мч·.
с
[υ>£<τ]
(see 239)
ryotei ga warui to itta wake ja nakute ne
I didn’t say th at Japanese restaurants are to blame.
112.4
V E R B -n ai de
-nai de is the o th er neg. conjunctive form o f the neg. V ending -nai. It has
four uses, as shown below (com pare with the uses o f -nakute in 112.3).
112.4.1 In compound sentences
W hen joining two clauses in a com pound S (which could easily be expressed
in two separate S - see also 31.1) the m eaning is ‘not . . . a n d ’.
a
I [ £ v, *t ]
t l f ' ’ X < foJ £
I h l i £ t-:o
shinpai shinai de tsuyoki de itte kure to shingen shita hodo da
W e went so far as to suggest, ‘D o n ’t worry; ju st take the bull by the
horns’.
b ΓΕ1
b [ f r '- 't· ] t
ί
л_|0
nikkeijin ni wa sugu kaeranai de motto inasai to iitai
‘To [foreigners] o f Japanese descent I w ant to say, d o n ’t go back hom e
so soon, stay longer.’
с rj& m :
l
Г-77У
I
J'-Mc
naite nai de heya no soji demo shinasai marason demo shinasai
‘D o n ’t cry; clean up your room or som ething.’ ‘G o for a run or
som ething.’
112.4.2 Modifying predicates
This expresses the idea o f ‘w ithout (doing)’.
anta ga ketsudan shinai de do suru
If you d o n ’t decide, who will? (lit. “W hat are we going to do w ithout
your deciding?”)
b
i l , z ^ ^ t z < n i i 5 0 t y X ¥ b o k b t X ' l iA jt,
f t i ' b [ f r '- 'T ]
y a k u s h a g a o m o s h iro i to o m o e ru у б n i n a tta n o w a g o ju s u g ite k a r a . s o re
m a d e w a j in s e i w a k a r a n a i d e y a t t c t a k a r a
It was after 50 that I was able to begin to think that acting was fun.
Until then, I had led my life without um loistanding things, you see.
112.4.3 Verb-potential-nai d e iru
Literally “be in a state w ithout being able to ”, this combination means ‘be
unable to ’.
а
У,
fco
tokubetsu na rei de wa to imada ni odoroki о kakusenai de ita
‘Isn’t it a special case?’ he said, even now unable to conceal his surprise.
b
So
yakusoku wa mada hatasenai de iru
He is still unable to fulfil his promise.
112.4.4 Verb-nai de (ku d as ai/ku re /h o sh ii/m o ra itai)
The p attern V-nai de can be followed by a request (kure/kudasai/hoshii/
moraitai), although these forms are often ellipted.
kudasai/kure is used for neg. commands, but as kudasai/kure is often ellipted
(or ‘understood’), the command frequently ends in -te (ne) or -te (ne). W ithout
kudasai/kure, the com m and has a m ore informal and intimate ring ‘don’t ’
(see 24, 110).
W ith hoshii and moraitai, the m eaning is one of request (see 173, 189).
a ,§ ,!iJu 6 [ i v ' - t ] Τ ί ν Φ - ο
iki wa tomenai de kudasai ne
Please d o n ’t hold your breath.
b - т Ч —Ш * [ie ^ 'T lo
mam! ikanai de
M ummy, d o n ’t go.
с ζ < η ψ ύ { Гf c k l z i i t b [ i ^ T ] j
о
sono ко ga sensei ni wa iwanai de to watashi ni te о awaseru
T he child said beseechingly (lit. “clasped her hands towards me”),
‘D on’t tell the teacher’.
kaigo ni wa denai de hoshii
1 do n ’t want you to attend the meeting.
e Л 1Ш < h itU ib
[ f c v 't l
U n /c u ,,
kesshite koshikudakc ni naranai de moraitai
1 d o n ’t w a n t y o u to lose y o u r nerv e o n any account.
112.5
V E R B -zu (ni): W R IT T E N -S T Y L E N EG A TIV E
C O N JU N C T IV E FORM
This is the w ritten-style equivalent o f -nai de (see 112.5.2). The difference
between -zu and -zu ni is th at -zu joins two clauses in the sense o f ‘n o t . . . ,
b u t’ or ‘n o t . . . , and’ (see 112.5.1), whereas -zu ni modifies pred. in the sense
o f ‘w ithout’ (see 112.5.2).
112.5.1 -z u ___
-zu joins two clauses in the sense o f ‘n o t . . . , b u t . . .’ or ‘n o t . .. , and . . .’
a
[T I
(= igrtfiev'-C)
chfikamen о abura de agezu, yudete fukurozume shita
We have packaged Chinese noodles boiled, not deep-fried in oil.
b M fr& frntoW iJti'JSii' [f]>
(=&¥Ъ(Х)
nettai urin no naibu wa hikari ga todokazu igai ni shizuka na no da
Light doesn’t penetrate the inside o f a tropical rainforest, and it’s
surprisingly quiet.
с £itir
[T l·
U LfcZ
<X t
b 0
(=
namae о shirazu hanashita koto ga nakutemo aisatsu о suru
He says hello even if he doesn’t know the name, and hasn’t talked
[to the person] before.
112.5.2 Verb-zu ni (= -nai de)
Here, V-zu modifies a following pred. in the sense o f ‘w ithout (doing)’.
а Щ Х Ш Ъ & Ь [ T ic ] i& fclfc o
otoko wa nani mo torazu ni toso shita
The m an fled w ithout taking anything.
b
[T ic ]
L f r i '- 'o
tsumaranai koto о kangaezu ni Ьепкуб shinasai
D on’t think silly thoughts, and get on with your studies.
с
[ T ic ] Т ь Т ь З № г£ £ о
memo mo mizu ni surasura sfiji ga deru
W ithout even consulting his notes, figures flow sm oothly [from his
mouth],
d ·£ >)
H ti-ti- [ T i- ] .
urikomu koto wa sezu ni shizen ni to iu koto rashii
T h e in te n tio n seem s to leave th in g s [= selling sa k e in India] to the
m a rk e t, w ith o u t p u s h in g it.
A lte r tim e e x p r e ss io n s, -zu ni сап т о л п tin- eq u iva len t o f -nai uchi ni ‘b e f o r e ’
(see 2 2 ‘)).
e Щ-Ц-tz-h [ T i ; ]
Шl/ Щ l i i - k l z 0
hantoshi tatazu ni senpai yonin о tobikoshi shacho ni
Before six m onths had elapsed, he rose over the heads o f four o f his
superiors to become com pany president.
1 12 .5.3 Verb-zu ni iru (= -nai d e iru)
This is the equivalent o f -nai de iru ‘unable to ’ (see 112.4.3).
a
К Ш 'Ь Ы Ш Ы (,
[Т с ]
акапЬб no toki ni dakareta kioku mo naku chichi no aijo о jikkan dekizu
ni ita
I didn’t even have any recollection o f being held when I was a baby,
and I was unable to feel my father’s love.
1 12 .5.4 V erb -zu-jim ai da
This consists o f th e neg. ending -zu a n d the stem -form o f the V shimau
(voiced), a com bination th at means ‘end u p ’ (see 209). It indicates that one
ends up not doing som ething one was going to do or w anted to do.
kekkyoku wa o-furo ni hairezu-jimai
In the end I was unable to take a bath.
b
[ i b - f C i 4 t£ ^tz0
aa куб mo soto ni dezu-jimai datta
Ah, I ended up n o t going outside again today.
113
NEGATIVE IMPERATIVES: nakare
A part from the usual way o f forming neg. imp. (see 101), there is a writtenstyle form, nakare, th at is used as will be shown in this section.
113.1 nakare
113.1.1 Verb-ru nakare
113.1 n akare
113.1.1 Verb-ru n a k a re
nakare is a classical im p. fo rm o f nai t h a t is o f te n use d in t h e m e d ia, etc.
w h e n a d d r e s s i n g th e r e a d e r . It is a t t a c h e d to V-ru a n d h a s th e g e n e ra l
m e a n in g o f ‘d o n ' t ’.
а Г’
[ϋ»ίχ]0
kore ga pajama to odoroku nakare
Y ou m ay n o t believe it, bu t these are pyjamas! (lit. “D o n ’t be taken
aback, saying, ‘A re these pyjamas!’ ”)
b
l% ¥ b ]о
o-senchi to warau nakare
D o n ’t laugh, calling me sentimental.
114
NEGATIVE QUESTIONS
Neg. Q are Q th at end with a neg. form , such as nai (ka), nai no (ka), -masen
(ka), etc. (see 164).
114.1
114.2
114.3
114.4
114.5
114.6
114.7
By intonation only
Ending in no (+ intonation)
Ending in question word + no
Ending in the question particle ka
Ending in -nai ka na/na/ne
Ending in -nai mono ka
Questions ending in (positive/negative) de wa/ja nai (ka/no/
kashira)
114.7.1 Questions ending in de wa/ja nai (ka/no/kashira)
114.7.2 Questions ending in -nai (n) ja nai (ka/no/kashira)
114.7.3 Questions ending in -nai de wa nai ka
114.1 BY IN TO N A TIO N O N LY
a
l i b 1) U-tf-A,?]
aji ni kawari wa arimasen
The taste h asn ’t changed?
chotto mite minai kore tte asai shinpei no shashin jan
‘W on’t you take a look [over here]?’ ‘T h at’s a photo by Asai Shinpei,
isn’t it!’
114.2 E N D IN G IN no (+ IN T O N A T IO N )
;i V h
I$L-v.'«n?] K r L n * . , , (see 70)
kawanai no atarashii kurumu
A r e n ’t y o u g o in g to buy
o ih
·'1 Λ
ιη·\4 i .и
I
iiu m u
b
[&v,\co]0
papa rekishi wa yoru tsukurareru tte kotoba shiranai no
Daddy, do n ’t you know the saying ‘H istory is m ade at night’?
1 14 .3 E N D IN G IN Q U E S T IO N W O R D + no
a i f < ic ii [ £ ' 7 I X ]
[$ > O lo
boku ni wa doshite otosan ga inai no
W hy do n ’t I have a father?
1 14 .4 E N D IN G IN T H E Q U E S T IO N P A R TIC L E ka
N o te th a t w ith V th a t express an action, the m eaning is usually one o f
invitation to do som ething ‘how ab o u t’ (example b).
a $j< [ i v ' t t i ' J o
takakunai desu ka
Isn ’t it expensive?
b —
Ь *7— 9 Η Έ 0
issho ni nogyo nettowaku о tsukurimasen ka
H ow about joining with us to form an agricultural network!
с
b*)
shigoto arimasen ka
G o t any work?
1 14.5 EN D IN G IN -nai ka n a /n a /n e
ka na is a com bination o f the question P ka and na, a variant o f the fin. P
ne. The com bination expresses w ondering o r guessing, in the fashion o f
thinking out loud. A lthough ka na by itself doesn’t usually ask for a reaction,
with moraenai it does (example d). na can be lengthened to na (example d)
(see 114.7, 207.3.2).
Note - ka ne is mostly used in a different way, for extracting a reaction from someone else
(example e).
kaisan wa sarainen iko ja nai ka na
The dissolution [of the Diet] should be the year after next or
beyond.
rainen wa yatto kaifuku о jikkan dekiru toshi ni naru n ja nai ka na
N ext year m ig h t be th e year w h e n w e c a n finally feel th e [economic]
recovery.
kozukai no hanbun wa shain to no nomidai ni kiete iru n ja nai
ka na
A bout h alf o f my pocket m oney goes on drinking w ith the
employees.
d ^ b tz Lco^jK-ί, Z L t i
Γ /ίΑ /:'* ,
^
l ь z.
*]j
ZCD^c* 7 'J — i i l t - 'f ’ & ί ' 7 - > τ - ? 5 : λ ί ; > ί ) J
watashi no shashin mo konna kirei na tokoro ni kazatte moraenai
ka na. damedame kono gyararl wa keyaki ga men tcma na n da
kara
Ί wish I could have my photo also displayed in such a beautiful place.’
‘N o way, the m ain theme o f this gallery is Zelkova trees.’
e ί Η > [fcv-'iW ah 3 F 5 /,0
so ja nai ka ne tora-san
Isn’t th at right, Tora-san?
114.6 E N D IN G IN -nai m o n o ka
This means ‘is there no t some w ay’ (see 96.1.6).
a
1*4
ь
lit* '4 i>
toire no mizu kurai wa amamizu о tsukaenai mono ka
W hy can’t rainw ater be used at least for water in the toilet?
b # 4 rc f c n L » < '4 M f c f c iio < H [ic v ,4 < o * ‘]o
anzen de oishii yoshokugyo wa tsukurenai mono ka
Isn’t there som e way to breed fish th at are safe to eat and taste
good?
114.7 Q U E S T IO N S E N D IN G IN (P O S IT IV E /N E G A T IV E )
d e w a /ja nai (ka /n o /ka sh ira)
These are a kind o f rhetorical device similar to so-called tag questions (‘w on’t
it’, ‘will you’, etc.) in English. These are used after pos. (114.7.1) and negative
(114.7.2 and 114.7.3) forms. O f the last two, the 114.7.3 form s have a m ore
formal ring.
114.7.1 Questions ending in d e w a /ja nai (k a /n o /k a s h ira )
a « . ''> * C M
isso shTemu о yamete mo yoi no de wa nai ka
W e m ig h t as well s to p a d v e r tisin g it (o u r p r o d u c t o n TV ], m i g h t n ’t
we?
114.7.2 Questions ending in -nai (n) ja nai (k a /n o /k a s h ira )
a
[ £ > 'L >
('тТЬ'
= '-rfh'b &'<')
kedo yatte minai to donna mon ka wakannai ja nai
But, unless I try, I w on’t know w hat it’s like, right?
gekisaku dake de tabete iru hito wa inai n ja nai ka
There is no one w ho can m ake a living ju st from writing plays,
is there?
с
η iLt£,
[£ > 'A ,L >
й.-'-'со?]
jibun wa ко nan da to iu kachikan ga mattaku kakuritsu sarete
inai n ja nai no
They do n ’t have any values about w hat they’re on about, don’t you
agree?
d -f-Шю /'ztbcO'J'gft&'flfS.&Ml A i i '- '1 [ ί ι^ 'λ , U ^
L b]a
shison no tame no shogaku na futan о kirau hito wa inai n ja nai
kashira
I wouldn’t think th at there’s anyone w ho’d object to footing a small bill
for his descendants.
1 14 .7.3 Questions ending in -nai d e w a nai ka
so suru to kabuka wa kaette sagaru kamo shirenai de wa nai ka
In th at case, the share price m ight rath er drop, m ightn’t it?
nihon de mo hotondo fukyu shite inai de wa nai ka
Even in Japan, it [= high-definition TV] has practically no popular
support, has it?
115 NEGATIVE QUESTIONS: HOW TO ANSWER
Neg. Q and how to answer them are an oft-discussed characteristic o f the
Japanese language (as in example a).
T h e rule given in te x tb o o k s , etc. is t h a t in reply to a n e g a tiv e Q y o u an s w e r
in th e neg. ( i n t r o d u c e d w ith hai = yes!) if th e p red . m a tc h e s th e neg. (‘yes,
w h a t y o u ’re su g g e stin g is q u ite right, I d i d n ’t ’), w h e re a s if th e pred. is pos.
( a n d th e re fo re d isa g re e s w ith the neg. fo rm used in th e q u e s tio n , y ou begin
y o u r reply witli no (iii·) ( ‘no, w hat y o u ’re suw,estin>>, is w ro n g , I d i d ’).
a в Ь & Х . Э Щ п & Л ' ? rii»,\] Z
b vA \ z i b ^ ¥ h b a
nihongo to eigo no hyogen de hai to He ga gyaku ni naru baai ga aru.
nihonjin ni eiga о mimasen deshita ka to hitei gimonbun de kiitara kotae
wa He mimashita hai mimasen deshita
In Japanese and English expressions, there are cases where ‘Yes’
and ‘N o ’ are reversed. If you ask a Japanese using a negative
question ‘D id n ’t you see the movie?’, the answer is ‘N o, I did’,
‘Yes, I d idn’t ’.
b r u -y J p - C t i )
l-t-lju
^ .y
- A t - T j Ζ * ο ϋ ”0 ο
(mikkl ni wa) daiyaku wa inai n desu ka. onaji hito ga yatte iru wake ja
nai n desho to iu chiji no toppi na shitsumon ni mo iie mikkT wa sekai de
tada hitori desu to kippari
In reply to the governor’s eccentric question ‘Is there no understudy
[for Mickey]? I t’s not always the same person who perform s him,
is it?’, she said firmly, ‘N o, there’s only one M ickey [Mouse] in the
w orld’.
However, reality doesn’t always conform to the textbook explanations
(examples с and d).
с
Ite \ т ш ш
o t , Ш !--£— Ά ,ίο!? t i i \
J
chubu denryoku mie-shiten ga rokugatsu shuyo shinbun rokushi no
mieken-ban ni dashita genshiryoku hatsudensho tte bakuhatsu sehen no
hai daijobu desu to no shinbun kokoku ni tsuite
A bout the new spaper ad th at C hubu Electricity placed in June
in the Mie prefecture versions o f the six m ajor dailies ‘A ren’t the
atomic power stations gonna explode?’ ‘N o (lit. “yes”), it’s
OK’, . . .
d
Г’ a, &Α ΐ^ Λ <r>
ί-£ λ ,ό \ι
M
j
ί с—A
„
yohodo toku de nai to norimono wa tsukaimasen. konna hitogomi no
kaikaishiki ni hitori de kite kazoku no kata wa shinpai shimasen ka.
iie zenzen
Ί d o n ’t use transport unless I have to go really fa r.’ ‘D on’t your people
worry [about you], coming by yourself lo an opening ceremony this
crowded?’ ‘No, not a b it.’
N ote
r h e t o r i c a l n e g . О s u c h a s n o d r н м ( mi l k u )
О (мч· e x a m p l e s c* a t u l О
>ч>
( h i t Ι Ι Ί 7) ar e a n s w e r e d like p o s
e - ш
,
Г аи,
h L T tJ o
uriagezei shohizei ni hantai no tachiba datta no de wa hai dogiteki
ni yurusenakatta n desu
. . weren’t you opposed to sales tax and consum ption tax?’
‘Yes, I couldn’t approve of it m orally.’
f 1ЧА/&!
Ifa {
Ь <г>Х'\±^'Ь'\ Γ ίίν \
Ш .т * ь Α Μ ίτ ,
i-a x jo
sonna ni daiji na mono nara seibutsu ni amaneku sonzai suru no de wa
nai ka hai biseibutsu kara ningen made kono koso о motanai seibutsu wa
arimasen
‘If it’s such an im portant element, w ouldn’t it exist in all living things?’
‘Yes, from micro-organism s to hum ans, there’s no organism that hasn’t
got this enzyme.’
116
ni [CASE PARTICLE]
ni is a case P th at indicates location, direction (see 51), goal, purpose and
o th er indirect objects. In English tran slatio n , ni often translates as a
preposition (‘to ’, ‘for’, ‘over’, etc.).
Note 1 - the combination
ni no N
does not exist (see 40).
Note 2 - the adverbial form o f the cop. also takes the form ni; when used after N, this
commonly seen in the combinations N ni suru and N ni naru (see 186).
116.1
116.2
116.2.1
116.2.2
116.3
116.4
116.4.1
116.4.2
116.5
116.5.1
116.5.2
116.6
116.7
116.8
116.9
116.10
116.11
ni is
W ith three-place verbs
W ith two-place verbs
Verbs of m otion
Other two-place verbs
Stative location
N oun wa noun ni predicate
N oun ni noun ga predicate
N oun ni noun ga/wa aru/iru (and negative): possession
W ith iru
W ith aru
. . . N oun ni aru/nai
N oun ni noun ga verb-potential/noun ga noun ni verb-potential
N oun ni verb-passive (or pseudo-passive)
N o u n ( n o u n = p erson) ni v erb -c a u sa tiv e
V erb -stem n o u n ni iku/kuru
V erb 1 ni verb l- p o te n tia l-n e ^ a tiv e (betw een r e p e a te d identical
verbs)
116.12
116.13
116.14
116.15
116.16
116.17
116.18
Verb ni wa + adjective/adjectival noun
Time expression ni
T im e/am ount ni num ber + counter
N oun ni
Verb/verbal noun ni wa
N o u n (noun = person) ni wa
N o u n (+ counter) ni noun (+ counter)
116.1 W IT H T H R E E -P L A C E V E R B S
M any three-place V take the case fram e ga-o-ni, where ni m arks the indirect
object. The ga-phrase, and sometimes the o-phrase are ellipted. W hen the niphrase is moved to the beginning o f the sentence (fronted), it often attaches
wa (see 236.1.2).
а Ш Ш
[!c]
о
keiyakusha ni wa udedokei nado о okuru
To the contractors, [they] send wristwatches and suchlike.
b Ш H e] t e - e r t i i f c t t i t '- 'o
кашгуб ni makasete wa okenai
We can’t leave [things] to the bureaucrats.
с Гп'/ χ ί Ί -
[ic] U X W / J f f l L i b X i j r f t f c ’o
purojekuto ni wa roppyaku-nin teido о ateru hoshin da
The policy is to assign about 600 people to the project.
116.2 W IT H T W O -P L A C E V E R B S
A num ber o f two-place V construct w ith the case fram e ga ni (the ga-phrase
is often ellipted).
116.2.1 Verbs of motion
ni m arks the goal o f a V o f m otion or the p a rt (including also N o f time,
example e) affected by its action.
а
[ ί- ]
gakko ni ikitai
I w a n t to g o t o school.
b
[ ! :]
ruishun todai ni utsuru
Next year, lie m o v e s lo Tok\<> I
iiiw im u
C
[ic]
А О
mazu furo ni hairitai
First, I w ant a b a th (lit. “want to enter a b a th ”).
d Д. [lz]
ashi ni chi ga tobichitte ita yo
He had blood splashed over his legs (lit. “Blood had splashed over his
legs”).
e ^эП [К]
L X ^ J д'тсН&' <
shigatsu ni hairu to itten shite kome ga urenaku natta
N ow we’ve entered April, rice is suddenly not selling any longer.
116.2.2 Other two-place verbs
These include oku ‘p u t’, oyobu ‘reach’, niru ‘resemble’ (see 231).
a Z’Z [ic]
I/
doko ni daigamen terebi о oku no ka
W here does one p u t a large-screen TV [in a small Japanese home]?
b Li*L,
[tc]
shikashi mada kozui wa zen'iki ni oyonde inai
However, the flood is not affecting the whole region yet.
с
[ iz]
* fca
beikoku ni nite kita
[The market] is now similar to the US.
Note - the V (M-6 ■'■'?>) ‘need’ takes ni to m ark what something is needed ‘for’ (example d).
d
[iz] i± ? 'У [**]
zakku no tsumekata ni wa kotsu ga iru
Packing a rucksack requires skill, (lit. “skill is needed for packing a
rucksack.”)
116.3
W ITH E LLIP TE D P R E D IC A TE
W ith ellipted (= om itted) pred., the im plication is th a t the action o f the
missing V has happened (see 52).
a I )
ic,
[C L
yori takai se ni yori chiisa na ashi ni
[women have developed] taller figures and smaller feet.
b
2
[(-I.,
kinki chiho futsuka Isuzuki no hadazamui asa ni
I'hc K inki region |h a s l'aced| the se c o n d cold m o r n in g in succession.
116.4 S T A T IV E LO C A TIO N
W ith stative V, ni expresses stative location (for dynam ic location see 40).
Stative location can be expressed in two ways, using the pattern (wa-) ni V,
or ni-ga V.
116.4.1 Noun w a noun ni predicate
a JfcHli*. [ i i ] iM ? [ t- l
keidanren wa tokyo ni aru
The K eidanren (Federation o f Econom ic O rganizations) is in Tokyo.
b
[ii]
Uz] b * ) i . f 0
kotae wa kono pcji no migishita ni arimasu
The answer is [found] at the b o tto m right o f this page.
116.4.2 Noun ni noun ga predicate
This indicates existence or location (see 55.10, 9).
а
[ i- ]
[ £ f] '-'S o
There is a w om an outside.
b S f t [U ] iiS t e £ & i i « o > S J t [ i i b b o
sangai ni wa shukuhaku-kyaku kyotsu no yokujo ga aru
On the third level is a bath for jo in t use by lodgers.
116.5 N O U N ni N O U N g a /w a a ru /iru (AND N E G A T IV E ):
P O S S E S S IO N
This indicates possession, iru is norm ally used with anim ate subjects, and
aru with inanim ate ones (b u t see 9 for exceptions).
116.5.1 With iru
a !f< [U] H Z ’ ! Ι Χ & Χ Ϊ Α . |**1 v.'iev,4W0
boku ni wa doshite otosan ga inai no
W hy d o n ’t I have a father?
b
[U ]
[**]
W ith his wife, he has one son and three daughters.
116.5.2 With aru
Note especially examples с atul d. whore the relation between N ni and N ga
(both inanim ate) is not one ol Ii.imih·', tint ‘including’.
a Z c o f c t [C ] l i t * [ ¥ ] h b a
kono hatsugen ni wa omomi ga aru
This proposal has weight.
b Ί 9 > ) Т Х " И Ш М [ ί: ] W
[¥]
itaria de wa daitoryo ni kaisanken ga aru
In Italy, the president has the right to dissolve [parliament].
с
[c l ш
[**] ь ь 0
jiba sangyo ni orimono ga aru
Local industry includes textiles.
d Ш П [С ] r « ;ilj W j \ Ш Ы Ь \ ic ir Ur] b b 0
daihyosaku ni sakuragawa hanaikusa ugetsumonogatari nado ga aru
Representative works include Sakuragawa, Hanaikusa and Ugetsu
Monogatari.
116.6 . . . N O U N ni aru/nai
A ttached to a N P indicating a state or tendency, the resulting m eaning is
‘be/not be in a state o f . . ‘have a tendency to ’, etc.
a
z.i
i ' W A S P i i [ i d
Ь Ь а
tatoeba W A S P wa shoshika keiko ni aru
F o r instance, W ASPs (= White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) have a
tendency to have fewer children.
b
[{-] Ь Ь 0
shikoku e no kigyo shinshutsu mo ashibumi j6tai ni aru
The advancem ent o f businesses into Shikoku too is in a state of
stagnation.
1 16.7 N O U N ni N O U N ga V E R B -P O T E N T IA L /N O U N ga N O U N ni
V E R B -P O TE N TIA L
W ith dekiru and other pot. V, ni indicates the agent (person or personalized
entity who can do the action) o f the V. B oth [ni-ga V-pot.] and [ga-ni Vpot.] are used (see 161).
a
[iz]
[ ¥ ] X ЬЪ<Г>Ъ\
honto ni jibun ni shigoto ga dekiru no ka
Can I really do w ork [properly]?
b f aH-t zt, [ ( : ] Щ l ¥ ]
X b6¥% l/-z^ < D X -f„
jibun-tachi ni nani ga dekiru ka kangaetai no desu
W c w a n t to t h in k a b o u t w h at we c a n do.
dekiru ‘c o m e in to being, ac q u ire ' also c o n s tru c ts the s a m e way:
с & £#< 2 z
- A [ie ] l i p < <
d K K [**] t b ft о
e о kaku koto о tsujite futari ni wa oku no yujin ga dekita
The couple have m ade m any friends through their painting.
116.8 N O U N ni V E R B -P A S S IV E (O R P S E U D O -P A S S IV E )
Here, ni m arks the agent o f a pass, sentence ‘by’; w ith spontanous pass. V
like shireru ‘become know n’ it translates as ‘to ’ (see 156.7).
а
[tc] Ш Ь Н б о
baku to shita fuan ni osowareru
One becomes gripped by a vague feeling o f unease.
b ^ с о Ж Н [te ]
^ U tc o ^ tb lz s L ^ X ^ 'Z o
jidai no nagare ni torinokosare horobi no fuchi ni tatte iru
They [= kiwis] have been left behind by the passage o f time, and are on
the verge o f extinction.
с
[ic]
Hi&trJHtZo
masukomi ni shiretara taihen da. dono gurai no kachi ga aru n da. seii о
misero
If it [= leaked patient info] becomes know n to the m edia, there will be
trouble [for you = hospital]. H ow m uch is it w orth [to you]? M ake me a
decent offer!
116.9 N O U N (N O U N = P E R S O N ) ni V E R B -C A U S A T IV E
In some types o f causative sentences, ni m arks the person who is forced or
allowed to do the action o f V (see 20.1, 20.2).
a ^ l i - k ^ - [tc ]
[£ ]
ί
яЖ 0
ima wa joshi ni mo danshi to onaji yo ni kyoiku о ukesaseru jidai
N ow is an age when people give girls an education in the same way
as boys.
116.10 V E R B -S T E M N O U N ni iku /kuru
V-stem N ni iku/kuru indicates the purpose o f the action o f the V ‘go/come
to d o ’.
a i f c & V 'W i b [(-]
I very m uch w ant to go to work again.
b 4-0 1
[£ ] f. L I Г
куб wa musuko to musiimc no bun о kui ni kimashita
T oday I’ve c o m e to b uy so m e |p illo w s | lo r my d a u g h t e r a n d son.
с
X
[i:]
t I n ttlo
ncngan kanatte o-rei mairi ni kuru kata mo 5i desu yo
There are also m any who come to worship because they had their
prayers answered!
Note - the combination asobi ni kite kudasai {lit. “please come to play”) is a commonly used
idiom in the sense o f ‘please visit us’ (example d).
d А Ж *>■&&&.& [ i d
Y ou (A-kun) too, please come an d visit.
116.11 V E R B 1 ni V E R B 1-P O T E N T IA L -N E G A T IV E (B E TW EE N
R E P E A T E D ID EN TIC A L V E R B S )
In this use, ni + V2, which is in the potential form o f the same verb used in
V I, adds em phasis to VI (see 172).
a [ ii< [ i d
l a
naku ni nakenai yo
It’s too sad even to cry (lit. “I can’t even cry”).
ь [ t i [id
iu ni iwarenai tsurai jikan о sugoshita koto wa jijitsu
I t’s a fact th a t I experienced an indescribably h ard time.
с
[id
baburu-ki ni копуй shita mochiie wa tomen wa uru ni urenai jotai
The situation is th at for the time being people just can’t sell the houses
they acquired during the bubble period.
116.12 V E R B ni w a + A D JE C T IV E /A D JE C TIV A L N O U N
Adj./A N are evaluatory adj./A N like yoi/ii ‘good’, benri ‘convenient’, fuben
‘inconvenient’, etc.; the resulting meaning is ‘good/convenient for’.
a £ v ,\ ^
[i-ti]
oi yamai shi ni tsuite kangaeru ni wa yoi jiki de aru
It’s a good time to think about old age, sickness and death [= Bon festival],
b
[ ί:ϋ ] i v '? Ί < yT t-:0
honkaku-teki na yGchi katsudo о susumeru ni wa yoi taimingu da
It’s good tim ing for prom oting full-scale activities for attracting
[visitors to the them e park].
с I t <'!:а£,Л/^м
[U li]
T
&
K
o
sugu ni yomitai to iu dokusha ni wa fuben da
F o r rea d ers w h o w a n t to read ja h o o k | straig ht a w a y it’s in c onvenie nt
[- mail o r d e r o f books].
116.13 T IM E E X P R E S S IO N ni
W ith time expressions, ni indicates a fixed time ‘a t’, ‘o n ’, as opposed to a
relative time (see 5.3.2).
a
[!-]
„
shosai wa ichigatsu futsuka ni akiraka ni naru mitoshi da
Details are expected to become clear on January 2.
116.14 T IM E /A M O U N T ni N U M B E R + C O U N T E R
This indicates ‘once per tim e/am ount’, ‘X out o f Y ’. W hen wa is attached to
num ber + counter, the im plication is one o f ‘at least’ (examples b a n d c)
(see 236.6).
a A + z t n x Ш Ц —Ц- [ |c ] —
ichigo no shiikaku wa ichinen ni ikkai
The strawberries are harvested once a year.
b AiiikiS. [jc] —©tiSfcS-ifc-t
b a
hito wa shogai ni ikkai wa ie о tateru
M an builds a house at least once in life.
с
'
c
h
b
V
'
&
V
f
l
П [ t : ] —SL
uchi no otosan wa to-aru eiga nakama no sakuru ni haitte iru. tsuki ni
ichido wa kaigo ga atte yokujitsu wa kanarazu futsukayoi da
My husband is a member o f a certain film-buff club. They have a gathering
at least once a m onth, and on the day after he always has a hangover.
d
< r > iu ]
mochikabukai kanyusha-su wa yaku nihyaku yonjii kyuman-nin. kore wa
jojo kigyo jugyoin no gonin ni futari ni ataru
The num ber o f people who have joined shareholding societies is ab o u t
2 m illion four hundred and ninety thousand. This am ounts to 2 o u t of
5 employees o f listed enterprises.
116.15 N O U N ni
C ertain V, such as the ones in the exam ples below, take ni to m ark the
cause o f their action. This variously translates as ‘a t’, ‘due to ’ ‘because o f N ’
(see 2 3 1).
a
**
[ ( ;] # £ ^ 1 Г Л * Ш ^ |И |Л '1 Г С Л ч \
atsusa ni ne о ageta no wa niiigen dake <lc nai
I t ’s not o n ly lu im a n s w h o s n l l r m l I m m the h e a t [= b r o ile r c h i c k e n s to o
laid few er eggs].
b
[ic]
omowanu hapuningu ni jonai ga waita
The audience got excited at the unexpected happening.
116.16 V E R B /V E R B A L N O U N ni w a
C ertain V, including the ones in the examples below, take ni wa to m ark
the purpose or cause of their action, which translates as ‘for’, ‘in order to ’
(see 231).
a
[ c t i ] -Sfce
it
chizu о miru ni wa jishaku ga kakasenai
F o r looking at the map, a com pass is a must.
(kakasenai = neg. of the caus. o f kaku ‘to be lacking’)
yamaguchi-gumi no tokyo shinshutsu ni wa kanto no b6ryokudan mo
shinkei о togarasete iru
K anto [area] gangster organizations are getting nervous {lit. “m aking
their nerves sharp”) because o f the advance o f the Yamaguchi-gum i
into Tokyo.
116.17 N O U N (N O U N = P E R S O N ) ni w a
This indicates the idea o f ‘fo r’ (see also 126).
a \k. [ i c t i ]
T ^ to
kare ni wa kane ga subete
F o r him, m oney [is] everything.
116.18 N O U N (+ C O U N T E R ) ni N O U N (+ C O U N T E R )
This is used like a conjoining P to enum erate items in the sense of ‘plus’,
‘an d ’ (see 2 8 ,7 1 ,2 1 5 , 220,241).
а
S' +■
[C L Я У — > —
shojihin wa shatsu ichimai ni supun ippon to sara ichimai dake
[His] belongings [are] only one shirt, plus one spoon and
one plate.
b X У y>l· Ь'ГЧ — sarfa [(:]
emerarudo gurin no umi ni shiroi sunahama
An emerald-green sea atut a white satulv beach.
117 ni atatte [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
This is equivalent to English expressions like ‘on the occasion o f’, ‘w hen’,
‘in’, ‘fo r’ (see also 159).
117.1
117.2
117.3
117.4
117.5
N o u n ni atatte (wa/mo)
N oun ni atatte no noun
Verb ni atatte
Verb ni atari
ni atari [phrasal particle] and (ni) atari (conjunctive form /verb-base
o f (ni) ataru): com parison
117.1 N O U N ni a ta tte (w a /m o )
а Ш
[ i z b t z ' i - C]
baikyaku ni atatte tatemono wa jokyo suru
A t the time o f selling [the land], they will remove the buildings.
b
\Khh^X\
>) T L X ^ 6 a
saikai ni atatte tsukerareta kibishii joken о kuria shite iru
W e’ve cleared the strict conditions [= of stock increases] im posed on the
reopening.
с ш
\ \ z h h - > x \ \ т т < г > ш . ь 1ь ь а
riyo ni atatte wa zaidan no shinsa ga aru
F o r using [the facility] one has to undergo (lit. “there is”) screening by
the foundation.
d
\\'~ b h ^ x \ t ,
i о
saikosai hanketsu ni atatte mo tokubetsu na kangai wa nai to iu
He says th a t he has no particular feelings regarding the high court
decision.
e
llzb/t-yX]
sono botsugo hyakunen ni atatte samazama na shomotsu ga shuppan
sareta
On the 100th anniversary o f his death a variety o f books were
published.
117.2 N O U N ni a ta tte no N O U N
a J
1 <n Ш Ь , # г < а н ю г л - с * . ' * , ,
.Ι-гТци setsuritsu ni atatte no shuwan о takaku h yoka sarete iru
llis clout in setting up the I le agu e is highly r e g a rd e d .
117.3 VE R B ni ata tte
а
\K b h ~ > x\ t t z n ' S . - t t h o
—кяЯЦ'-'б 3 £ it < 4
d
£ ^ 'С & И ’Н Ц \
£0
kanojo wa kono hon о kaku ni atatte mazu ко sengen suru. tetsugaku to
iu kotoba о issai mochiiru koto naku tetsugaku о kataru koto ga dekiru
no de nakereba sore wa tetsugaku de wa nai to
R egarding the writing of this book, she proclaims the following. ‘If you
can’t talk ab o u t philosophy w ithout using the w ord philosophy at all,
then th a t’s n o t philosophy’.
117.4 VE R B ni atari
a
[ \ z h h f) ]
tS o
bangumi кубкуй sabisu о tenkai suru ni atari kaiin soshiki о hossoku
suru
F or developing the program m e supply service, they will set up a
membership organization.
117.5 ni atari [PH R ASAL PARTICLE] A ND (ni) ata ri (C O N JU N C T IV E
F O R M /V E R B -B A S E O F (n i) ataru): C O M P A R IS O N
The phrasal P ni atari is not to be confused with the conjunctive form o f the
V (ni) ataru ‘correspond (to)’, ‘fall (on)’:
a =.—
[ K & h i J h % & 1 Ъ : й * £ ,% Ж с & 1 й 1 Х < 6 0
san kara rokugatsu wa sanranki ni atari zesshoku shinagara asase ni id6
shite kuru
M arch to June being their spawning time, they stop feeding and move
to the shallows.
118 ni chigai nai [SENTENCE ENDING]
A ttached to S, ni chigai nai indicates th a t the speaker is guessing w ith
conviction, i.e. is convinced th at his statem ent is true ‘no doubt is’, ‘m ust
be’. The form s to which ni chigai nai is attached are the form s used before
N, except th at A N /N are used minus cop.
T h e difference b e tw e e n this f o r m a n d hazu (see 62) is t h a t w h erea s hazu is
used w hen the s p e a k e r bases the guess o n so m e evidence (including c o m m o n
sense), ni chigai nai c a n be used w ith m o r e su bjective guesses t h a t a re n o t
necessarily b a c k e d up by evidence (sec 73, 163).
a
0 £ t0'C Zt\
i L < \ i % ') '>*<η&&.Κ
^ 'h Z - Y - tfb b
ТУ~7*7
(am phora) о
s e iy o n o t o j i k l n o r e k i s h i о t a s h o n a r i t o m o k a j i r u k a m o s h i k u w a g i r i s h a
n o r e k is h i n i k y o m i о m o tte i r u k a t a n a r a k iita k o to g a a r u n i c h ig a i n a i.
A n p h o ra .
Anyone who has read anything ab o u t the history o f W estern ceramics,
or has the slightest interest in the history o f Greece, will have heard this
[word] before: ‘am phora’.
[{C
s o re w a k a n s a i к й к б n o h a b u к й к б - к а n i to tte h ito ts u n o 6 k i n a s h o g a i to
n a r u n i c h ig a i n a i
T h at [= the expensive landing fees] will w ithout d o u b t be a big obstacle
to K ansai becom ing a hub airport.
с
is ЛХУг'усоП
ϊϊ-ό'Ή Ζ
c h ik y u k a r a w a s h d t o t s u о c h o k u s e t s u k a n s o k u d e k i n a i t o i w a r e t e m o
te n m o n fa n n o m e w a y o z o ra n i s o s o g a re ru n i c h ig a i n a i
Even if told th at the clash cannot directly be observed from the earth,
am ateur astronom ers will no doubt have their eyes fixed on the night sky.
d ■ № ! - Л & т < п Ш Ж Ш а 4 ^ £ L*b и b И * X { Ь [ I: t>Ь *V.' i V,Ίο
s e k a i is a n to r o k u n o k a n k o к б к а w a k o n g o jiw a jiw a to d e te k u ru n i
c h ig a i n a i
The tourism effect o f being registered as a W orld H eritage [site] will no
doubt appear gradually from now on.
n a n i k a a t t a n i c h ig a i n a i t o s h a n a i d e w a o s a w a g i
There was quite an uproar in the com pany th a t ‘som ething m ust have
happened’.
119 ni hanshi(te) [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
ni hanshi(te) indicates the idea o f ‘co n tra ry to ’, ‘inversely to ’ (see 159,
125).
a fS
UziKlX]
yoso ni hanshite saiban wa nagabiki gcnkoku no hotondo ga ima ya
gojudai da
Contrary to expectations, the trial d r a p e d on, and most of the
plaintiffs are now in their fifties
b
[ I ZJSLI X]
k o n k a i m o k is h o c h o n o t6 s h o y o s 6 n i h a n s h ite ts u y o i s e ir y o k u о ta m o tta
m a m a n i n a tt e iru
This time too, contrary to the initial expectations o f the W eather
Agency, [the typhoon] has m aintained its strength.
с m&<D V У v
[ ίZ 0 L I X ] ^
9 У Ш *'У & ( Ъ О X ^ До
d 5 s h a n o re n ji w a k in 6 n i h a n s h ite n e n n e n b o ta n r u i g a s u k u n a k u n a tte
k ita
Inversely to the [number of] functions o f their m icrowave ovens, the
num ber o f controls have become fewer every year.
120
ni kakete [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
A ttached to N o f time or place, n i k a k e t e indicates th at the action or state of
the pred. extends over the tim e o r a rea to which n i k a k e t e is attached
‘(extending) over’, ‘to ’ (see 159, 85).
W hereas m a d e does n o t specify th a t the time or place it is attached to is
included in the m ention, n i k a k e t e does.
Note - when attached to other N,
‘concerning’.
1 2 0 .1
n i k a k e (te )
120.1.1
120.1.2
n i k a k e (te )
1 2 0 .2
n i k a k e te w a /m o
ni kakete wa/mo has a different meaning:
predicate
[phrasal particle] and
com parison
120.1.3 n i k a k e t e n o noun
‘when it comes to’,
n i k a k e t( te )
(n i) k a k e ( t e )
[verb-stem]:
120.1 ni kake(te)
120.1.1 ni kake(te) predicate
а зЭЖ
i n £ π η0
s h u m a ts u n i k a k e t e a m e n o s h in p a i w a n a i to iu
Over the weekend, there is no chance o f rain, they say.
b i)
[izt'tfX]
£TSo
k a ra su w a h a ru k a r a sh o k a ni k a k e te su z u k u ri о su ru
Crows build their nests from spring to early summer.
taifu ga sekkin suru yukoku ni kakc sara ni eikyo ga hirogaru mikomi da
Over the evening hours, when the typhoon closes in, its influence is
expected to spread even wider.
120.1.2 ni kake(te) [phrasal particle] and (ni) kake(te) [verb-stem]:
comparison
Note th at n i k a k e ( t e ) , when not attached to a N o f time or place, can also be
the stem form o f the V k a k e r u ‘p u t before’ (a com m ittee etc.), which takes
the particle n i to m ark the com m ittee, etc.
k u g a ts u n o to s h i k e ik a k u s h in g ik a i n i k a k e h a y a k e r e b a ra in e n d o n i m o
jig y o n i c h a k u s h u s u r u
They will p u t it before the Tow n Planning Com m ittee in September,
and m ay start w ork as early as next fiscal year.
120.1.3 ni kakete no noun
n e n m a ts u n i k a k e te n o z o k a n i k i ta i s h ita i to h a n a s u
We hope for (lit. “wish to see”) an increase over the end-of-year
[period].
t o k u n i k a n t o k a r a s h i z u o k a - k e n n i k a k e t e n o c h i i k i n i s h u t t e n о s h iic h ii
sa se ru
They will especially concentrate outlets in the area from K anto to
Shizuoka prefecture.
jo se i n o k u b i k a r a m u n e n i k a k e t e n o sh iw a ta r u m i о fu s e g u h a ta r a k i g a a r u
[The cream] has the effect o f preventing the wrinkles and sagging
extending over the area from w om en’s neck to breasts.
120.2
ni kakete w a/m o
The sense here is ‘when it comes to ’.
a £ £ 5 4
[ ΐ ζ ύ Ί ϊ Χ ] ti, 7
s h o j i k i- s a s o t c h o k u - s a n i k a k e t e w a m a r e s h i a g a i c h i b a n d a t t a
W hen it comes to honesty and openness, M alaysia cam e out on top
[of the A PEC politicians],
b
: X |:
ti0
! 2£ τ i
-■7VLtzИ Ш к
* ^ ii i t \ >■'t
Ь„
shikashi sabisu ni kakete wa nihon no shoten wa totemo kanawanai.
saikin 6pun shita hikaku-teki okina shoten ni wa mazu isu ga aru
However, when it comes lo service, Japanese bookshops are no m atch
at all Ifor US ones]. In a rclaluclv latye bookshop that opened recently,
there are chairs, for statU is
121 ni kanshi(te) [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
n i k a n s h ite
indicates the idea o f ‘concerning’, ‘ab o u t’, ‘w ith respect to ’, ‘as
regards’.
The difference between n i k a n s h i te , n i t s u i t e and о m e g u t t e is that whereas n i
is attach ed to some topic o r problem th at is to be dealt w ith or
considered/talked about, n i t s u i t e m ore narrowly refers to the topic of some
com m unication, о m e g u t t e , on the other hand, usually refers to something
th a t people argue about (see 159, 127, 150).
k a n s h ite
1 2 1 .1
n i k a n s h i ( t e ) ( w a /m o )
121.2
ni k a n su ru
noun
121.1 ni kanshi(te) (wa/m o)
a B W *
[CKILtl
k o k u s a i k y o r y o k u n i k a n s h i t e n i h o n w a y o s o ijo n i k i t a i s a r e t e i r u
As regards international co-operation, expectations tow ard Japan are
greater than expected.
k e i k i t a i s a k u n i k a n s h i k o n o n i s a n n ic h i - c h i i n i o w a k u о s h i m e s h it a i
. . . with respect to measures to revive the economy, [he said], ‘I’d like
to give an outline within the next tw o or three days’.
с
u m ix l
m a t a п б у а к и n o s h iy o n a d o n i k a n s h i t e m o c h 6 s a s u r u
We will also survey the use o f agricultural chemicals.
121.2 ni kansuru NOUN
a
о
k a n e n i k a n s u ru n a y a m i w a ts u k in a i
There’s always something to w orry about where m oney is concerned.
b
7 7 > X t 'E l i .
I i z mt 6 ]
(
£X^6a
fu ra n s u d e n ih o n n i k a n s u r u h o n w a o k u d e te iru
In France m any books on Japan are published.
122 ni kawatte [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
ni kawatte indicates that some thing (or person) replaces some other thing/
person ‘in lieu ol ", ‘replacing.' (see I 59).
1 2 2 .1 n i k a w a t t e / n i k a w a r i
122.2
ni k a w aru
noun
122.1 ni kaw atte/ni kawari
а
[izi'b^X ]
Ι Χ Ζ ^ Ϊ ϋ Χ
9
j i k a y o s h a n i k a w a t t e b a s u о s h ir n in n o a s h i t o s h i t e t e i c h a k u s a s e y o t o
kenm ei d a
They are trying hard to establish the bus to replace the private car as
the citizens’ means o f transport.
b Ш
[ f e f 'v M ] &$b*-<b*SJL<ngLlz------о
Z b ta & b l· <Jf-lztZB
g a k k i n i k a w a r i j i d o s h a g a m e i s h u n o z a n i. h a m a m a t s u о c h ii s h i n t o s u r u
s h i z u o k a - k e n s e i b u c h ik u d e k o n n a h a n a s h i о y o k u m im i n i s u r u
The car has replaced musical instrum ents as the leading product
[of the area]. This is som ething you hear often in the western region
of Shizuoka prefecture centring on H am am atsu.
122.2 ni kawaru NOUN
W hen m odifying N, the V
( n i) k a w a r u
‘in place o f ’ is used,
a
m a n y u a ru n i k a w a ru m o n o g a iru
We need som ething in lieu of a m anual.
b
Uzftbb 1
* ‘£ Ш 1 Х ' > ' Ъ о
s o re n n o k y iii n i k a w a r u a ta r a s h ii k y o i g a s u g a ta о a r a w a s h ite ir u
A ‘new m enace’ is m anifesting itself in place o f the Soviet menace.
123 ni oite [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
n i o i t e can be regarded as a w ritten or form al equivalent o f
although it is n o t always replaceable with d e (see 159, 40).
When modifying a
more common).
N,
123.1 ni oite (wa/mo)
123.2 ni okeru noun
123.3 ni oite no noun
both
ni o k e ru
and
n i o i te
de
‘in’, ‘a t ’,
can be used (the form er is far
123.1 ni oite (wa/m o)
w a t a s h i w a j in s e i t o b u n g a k u n i o i t e w a t a n a b e k a z u o n o d e s h i d e s u
I am, in life and in literature, a pupil o f W atanabe Kazuo.
k o n g o m o b a n g u m i s e is a k u n i o ite w a c h o s a k u k e n о so n c h o sh ite ik u
In the future too we will respect copyright in producing our
programmes.
с tii 0
[ С Й ^ 'С ]
y a h a r i r e n 'a i n i o i t e m o j o s e i g a y u i n a n o d e w a n a i k a
As you m ight expect, women are dom inant in love, too, aren’t they
[= M en wearing wedding rings to show they’re faithful to their women]?
123.2 ni okeru NOUN
а
ЬЛ/П [ ! С Ш £ ]
80% o
t o r u k o n i o k e r u s e ijin s h i k i ji - r i ts u w a y a k u h a c h i j u p - p a s e n t o
The adult literacy rate in Turkey is about 80 per cent.
b ?Ш Ч ^Ш [C fc tt£ ] ' 4
m o n d a i w a c h ii g o k u n i o k e r u h a i t e k u n o r e b e r u d a
The problem is the level o f hi-tech in China.
123.3 ni oite no NOUN
a
[fc fc v -'O <г>%Щф.Па
h its u y S n a k o t o w a к е п к у й k a i h a t s u n i o i t e n o j ii n a n - s e i d a
W hat’s necessary is flexibility in research development.
124 ni saishi(te) [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
A lthough (like other phrasal P ) n i s a i s h i ( t e ) is attached to N, these are VN
(usually tw o-kanji SJ words), i.e. have verbal m eaning ‘built in’, n i s a i s h i t e
indicates the idea o f ‘at (the time o f)’, ‘in’, ‘in case o f ’ th at action (see 159,
234).
а Ш . Ш
[U lfcL-Cl r&j ¥
ГА]
jQ ra i s e n k y o n i s a i s h i t e t 6 k a h i t o k a g a y o k u m o n d a i n i n a t t a
In the past, ‘p arty’ versus ‘person’ was often a problem in elections.
ь ·*£» i i z m i v
baikyaku ni saishi chika gcraku ni nakasareta tokoro mo sukunaku nai
At the time of selling, quite a lew places suffered from the drop in land
prices.
f u r a n s u n y u k o k u n i s a i s h i s e iji b o m e i n o s h i n s e i n a d o w a s h i t e i n a i t o i u
They say th a t at the time o f entering France, he did n ’t apply for
political asylum.
d
[ ic f itL -с] а ш и & х Χ
,
Χ
Λ
-
Τ
ί
0
n y u k y o n i s a i s h i t e w a h o s h o k i n t o s h i t e j u m a n g o s e n 'e n о m a c h i n i
sh ih a ra u
A t the time o f occupation, you pay the tow n ¥105,000 as security.
125 ni taishi(te) [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
indicates th at some action or state is directed ‘against’or ‘tow ards’
the N to which n i t a i s h i ( t e ) is attached. In m eaning, n i t a i s h i t e ranges from
‘against’ to ‘to w ard s’, ‘fo r’, ‘in ’, ‘in co n trast to ’, etc. Before N , b o th n i
t a i s u r j i and n i t a i s h i t e are used.
n i ta is h ite
N ote the difference to n i h a n s h i t e , which is m uch narrow er in m eaning and
use ‘contrary to ’ (expectations etc.) or ‘in inverse proportion to ’ (see 159, 119).
a
[ U H I X ] Ш а /с о
d o ru w a m a ru k u n i ta is h ite z o k u s h in s h ita
The dollar continued to gain against the m ark.
o to k o w a s h ira b e n i ta is h i m o k u h i о ts u z u k e te iru to iu
The m an is said to be keeping silent in the face o f the questioning.
h a t a r a k u t a m e n o t o k a i n i t a i s h i c h ih o w a s h iz e n g a i p p a i
In contrast to the big city, [which is] for work, the regions are full o f
nature.
d ilM m [ Ш 1 Х ]
li~ to ifc lR fc iiL A o
k is h a d a n n i ta is h ite w a is s a i c h in n io k u о to s h ita
He m aintained total silence to the press.
125.1
125.2
ni ta is u ru
noun
noun
ni ta is h ite n o
125.1 ni taisuru NOUN
a
[izMtb]
t
kodomo ni taisuru aij<~> wa mnchiron iiru
O f course I have love lor ins clnltlieii
b lit* [ I ' - n t i ] \Ш Ь Ш Г - :0
ts u k a n i t a is u r u s h in n in m o ta is e ts u d a
F aith in the currency is im portant too.
с
It
k o k y o j ig y o n o s a k i y u k i n i t a i s u r u f u a n m o t s u y o i
There is also a strong feeling o f unease regarding the future [prospects]
for public works.
125.2 ni taishite no NOUN
a Щ р -φ [ i z t i i x ]
to c h iji n i ta is h ite n o h y o k a w a m a d a w a k a r a n a i
The rating o f the m etropolitan governor is still unknow n.
126 ni totte [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
A ttached to N and pron. indicating persons (or organizations), n i t o t t e
indicates th at some action or state takes place ‘for’ the person(s) or organiza
tio n s ) (see 159).
126.1
126.2
126.3
n i to tte
n i to ri
ni to tte n o
noun
126.1 ni totte
a № [U fco -C ]
b o k u n i t o tt e d a ig a k u w a jiy u k e n k y u n o b a d e su
F o r me, the university is a place for unfettered research.
b Я Ш Х ’к - Ь Ь [ I : b t l
i<r>K„
d o r o w a ik im o n o n i t o tt e sh i n o w a n a n a n o d a
R oads are a ‘death tra p ’ for living things.
с L i‘U
sh ik a s h i rv o k o s h a n i to tte w a a ru k iy a s u i m a c h i d a
However, for the traveller it is a tow n th at is easy to walk
[around].
ко shita tenkai wa kita chosen ni totte mo tokusaku de wa nai
This development is not good lor North Korea either.
126.2 ni tori
a nu
0]
w a ta s h i n i t o r i o n g a k u k a n to k u w a h a jim e te
F o r me, m usical directorship is a first.
126.3 ni totte no NOUN
а
[
i
<r>TVTt£0
6 sh u k ig v o n i t o t t e a f u r ik a w a iw a b a n ih o n k ig y o n i t o t t e n o a jia d a
F o r E uropean business Africa is so to speak [what] Asia [is] for
Japanese business.
127 ni tsuite [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
is used w ith pred. o f com m unicative activity (talking, w riting,
thinking, etc.), and indicates w hat th a t activity is ‘ab o u t’ or ‘o n ’. It is similar
in meaning and use to n i k a n s h i t e , b u t n i k a n s h i t e is m ore widely used in the
sense o f ‘concerning’ (see 159, 121, 150, 83.3.14).
n i ts u ite
As the first exam ple shows, n i t s u i t e (but no t n i k a n s h i t e ) can be used for
titles o f theses and essays etc. (for m ore about differences between the three
phrasal P, see 121).
127.1
127.2
127.3
n i ts u ite
n i tsu k i
n i ts u ite n o
noun
127.1 ni tsuite
k a ig a i n i o k e r u jo s e i n o s h o k u b a k a n k y o n i ts u ite to iu s a k u b u n о
te is h u ts u s h ita
She subm itted an essay entitled O n the work environm ent o f women
overseas’.
b
U S - а / > h X °t0
so n o k e n ni ts u ite w a η δ k o m e n to d e su
On that m atter, it’s no comment.
с
IC o ^ 'X ] a t:'7
&
%
£
X
* r b \ .
s h o h i/c i ni ts u ite w a d 5 ο - k a n g a c d e su k a
What arc your thoughts on tin· i misumption tax?
127.2 ni tsuki
This is a bookish v arian t o f n i t s u i t e , and should n o t be confused with
which is a separate phrasal P (see 128).
ni
ts u k i,
Note - ni tsuki can also be the conjunctive form o f the V
position’, etc., which also takes the particle ni.
tsuku‘reach’,
‘arrive’, ‘take up a
а ш т ж ? ш т ж < п ш а ir - ^ ь ] я н ш ш и * ^ \
c h ik y u k a n k y o m o n d a i k a i k e t s u n o к т к у й - s e i n i t s u k i k u r i k a e s u h i ts u y o
w a nai
There is no need to reiterate the urgency o f solving the earth’s
environmental problems.
b z n x η ^ % Y ^ ^ h Z Y.
L±lf60
&b
k o n o у б n a j it a i t o n a t t a k o to n i ts u k i ta ih e n ik a n n i z o n z u ru to to m o n i
f u k a k u o w a b i о m o s h ia g e ru
[= finance com pany employee indicted for illegal doings:]
W e deeply regret th a t this has happened, and offer our sincerest
apologies.
127.3 ni tsuite no NOUN
а
—
A —X t i 0
k o n p y u ta n i ts u ite n o k a iw a w a su m u z u d a
His conversation about com puters is well informed.
128 ni tsuki (PHRASAL PARTICLE]
U sed between u nits o r am ounts, the p h rasal P n i t s u k i indicates ‘(u n it/
am ount) per’, ‘for (unit/am ount)’. A ttached to other N, it m eans ‘owing to’
(see 159).
128.1 U nit/am ount n i t s u k i
128.2 O ther noun n i t s u k i
128.1 UNIT/AMOUNT ni tsuki
In this use, n i t s u k i m eans ‘u n it/am o u n t p er’, ‘for u n it/a m o u n t’. See also
116 .14 for expressions like ‘times per period’, etc.
a - H [{ - > >]
i i lL]
ikkai ni tsuki sanbyaku-en da
It's ΥΉΗ) л μη.
b — X f / v K G c c [ jC O * ] 4
h i to b i n r o p p y a k u c c n i t s u k i i c h i k i r o g u r a m u n o t o m a t o о t s u k a t t e i r u
F o r one bottle [of] 600cc, they use one kilogram o f tom atoes.
128.2 O THER NOUN ni tsuki
A ttached to N o th er th an units o r am ounts,
‘owing to ’.
ni ts u k i
indicates a reason
x\r.f&ztx i b t ' · ·
w a t a s h i n i w a c h 6 - k i k a n r u s u n i t s u k i y u k k u r i s h i g o t o d e k im a s u . g o s s o r i
m o tte i t t e t o k i k o e te s h im a tte
To me, [= the recorded message giving dates o f absence from home]
sounds like O w in g to my extended absence from hom e, you [= the
burglar] can w ork at your leisure. Take plenty’ . . .
Τ Ψ 4 > tils] U t£a
m a r i n j a n b o g a d a i-k 6 h y & n i t s u k i k y u k y o d o n y u g a k i m a t t a m o n o d e
d e z a in w a o n a j i d a
It was suddenly decided to introduce [this aircraft] because o f the
popularity o f the ‘M arine ju m b o ’; the design is the same.
129 ni yoreba [PHRASE]
Identical to
n i y o r u to ,
indicating source o f inform ation (see 131).
130 ni yori [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
n i y o ri
is a form al and less com m on variant o f n i
y o tte
(see 132).
131 ni yoru to [PHRASE]
(less commonly n i y o r e b a ) is added directly to N to indicate source
of information ‘according to ’. Because such situations, by their nature, express
hearsay, it is norm al to complete the sentence with s 5 (examples a, d and e)
or r a s h i i (exam ples b and c); in English, this use o f s 5 an d r a s h i i is not
normally translated.
ni y o ru to
Synonymous is the combination d e w a (for restrictions on its use in
comparison to n i y o r u t o and n i y o r e b a . see 47).
R a th e r th a n so or r a s h i i, o r d i n a r y V h u m s a rc also used (e x a m p le f ) , w hich
is sim ilar to l.nglish usage.
-tte is too informal to be used in source of information sentences.
Note 2 - ni yoru to and ni yotte are often confused by English speakers because they sound
similar, and both are translated as ‘according to ’. They are not interchangeable, ni yoru to
expresses source of information, while ni yotte expresses basis of difference.
Note 1 -
a
[izltili],
¥ $ : & * ) - Т Ы . , №<?>%& M <»№.&
f c ^ f - S T L - C < SJ U ? ]
ti0
ta m u ra -s a n n i y o re b a a ru ry u ts u g y o s h a g a y a s u u ri s u ru to h o k a n o
g y o s h a m o s o n o n e d a n d e u r ita i t o у б Ь б s h ite k u r u sd d a
According to Tam ura-san, ‘W hen one distributor sells [something]
cheaper, the others also ask to sell it at th at price’.
b
[ t 'i i ] ,
[bl ]
iy o s h o n o s h i r a b e d e w a , s o h o n o a n z e n f u - k a k u n i n g a g e n 'i n r a s h i i
According to the Iyo Police Station enquiry, the cause appears to be
both parties’ failure to check th at it was safe to proceed.
с ШШ- [ К 1 6 Я] ,
H h [ b I ] v '0
/Ж?
m a e b a s h i-s h o n i y o r u to , y o n e d a - s a n w a h ito r i d e a y u ts u r i n i k ite k a w a n i
h a itte te n to , n a g a s a r e ta ra s h ii
According to M aebashi Police Station, M r Y oneda apparently came
alone and got into the river to fish for sweetfish; [he then] fell over and
got washed away.
< ч М Ь ) t>
9
] fc'0
t a k e d a - s a n n i y o r u t o y o k u u n d d s u r u t a m e k i n s e n 'i g a s h i m a t t e s h ib o
n o s h i t s u g a y o k u h a z a w a r i m o ii s d d a
According to T akeda-san ‘Because they [= pigs] move around a lot, the
muscle fibres are tight, the fa t’s good quality, and the texture’s good to o ’.
e ч т п
tio
[Ζί ]
t o - k y o i k u - c h o n i y o r u t o k o n g o j i i n e n - k a n n i s h i n g a k u s u r u s e i to - s u w a
y a k u s a n w a r i h e ris o d a
According the M etropolitan E ducation Agency, the num ber o f pupils
who go on to high school during the com ing 10 years is likely to
decrease by 30 per cent.
i
Я ^ fb 'b H k b V '^ tL i ^ t z 0
a ic h i - k e n k e i a n j o - s h o n o s h i r a b e n i y o r u t o f u t a r i - g u m i w a k o i k e - s a n - r a
n o m a e n i to b id a s h i m a e о h a s h itte i t a ts u m a n o jite n s h a n o k a g o k a r a
fu k u ro о h itta k u tta
According to the Aki station of the Aiehi Prefectural Police, the two
jumped in front of the Koikes, and snatched the bag from the bicycle
basket of the wife, who was riding in front.
132
ni yotte [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
expresses two m eanings: the m eans or cause th ro u g h w hich an
action o r developm ent takes place (‘th ro u g h ’, ‘o f ’, ‘in accordance w ith ’,
‘due to ’), and, in S with pred. o f change o r difference, n i y o t t e ( w a / m o )
means ‘depending o n ’ (see 159, 156.5).
n i y o tte
Note - ni yotte and ni yoru to are often confused by English speakers because they sound
similar, and both are translated as ‘according to ’. They are not interchangeable, ni yoru to
expresses source of information, while ni yotte expresses basis of difference.
132.1
132.1.1
132.1.2
132.2
n i y o tte
(means or cause)
noun
y o t t e ( w a /m o ) predicate o f change/difference
n i y o tte
ni y o ru
ni
132.1 ni yotte
This indicates a m eans o r cause ‘th ro u g h ’, ‘w ith ’, ‘ow ing to ’. A fter N
indicating a wish or request, the m eaning is ‘in accordance w ith’.
132.1.1 ni yotte (means or cause)
a 'i O b
[C b t]
ib e n t o n i y o t t e r e n t a i k a n g a u m a r e r u
Solidarity is created through [staging] events.
[ C l o t ] j£ lz llt n - ¥ % r ik t 6 0
b
sh ik k e n i y o tte k a b e n i w a k a b i g a h a sse i su ru
Owing to the hum idity, m ould grows on the walls.
с
[ic « to -C ] @ & 0 3 £ # И Я И . Ъ / г Ъ 7 о
to m e i - d o о t a k a m e r u k o t o n i y o t t e k o k u m i n n o r i k a i w a f u k a m a r u
d a ro
Through increasing transparency, the understanding o f the people
should deepen.
d
[(с J: 0 ] f t b b ^ 0
k o k u b e t s u - s h i k i w a k o j in n o k i b o n i y o r i o k o n a w a n a i
In accordance with the wishes o f the deceased, no funeral will be held.
132.1.2 ni yoru noun
dcnwa ni yoru sodan mo ukorii
T h e y a ls o
accept
c o n s u lta tio n s
In
te le p h o n e
m a ta n ih o n to n i y o r u m a k i y a w a r a n o s a id a n m o jits u e n su ru
They also dem onstate the cutting o f firewood and straw [sheaves] with
Japanese swords.
132.2 ni yotte (w a/m o) predicate of change/difference
W ith pred. o f change/difference,
n i y o tte (w a /m o )
а
m eans ‘depending o n ’.
[ |: Ь * С ]
s h i g a is e n n o e i k y 6 n o a r a w a r e - k a t a w a s e i b u ts u n o s h u n i y o t t e k o t o n a r u
The way the influence o f UV rays appears differs according to the type
o f organism.
b Λ /ί l i ?
[ i d 0] % .b h a
ta k a s a w a k o n te n a n o k a z u n i y o ri k a w a ru
The height [of the warehouse] differs depending on the num ber of
containers [it holds],
с
о
n a ite i- s h a - s u w a g y o s h u n i y o r i m e ia n g a w a k a r e ta
The num ber o f inform al [job] offers differed according to business type.
d j8f& [ | : b t ]
ИЯ'УЯ- ' ί £
s h S h in n i y o t t e w a k a u b 6 i y o r i y a s u k a t t a
Depending on the item, it was cheaper than Cowboy [= a cheap chain
store].
133 no [CASE PARTICLE]
is a case P th at can be used either as genitive (or associative) P between N
and N-like units, or subject m arker in N -m od. clauses (see also 137).
no
133.1
133.1.1
133.1.2
133.1.3
133.1.4
133.1.5
1 33. 1.6
133.1.7
133.1.8
133.1.8.1
133.1.8.2
133.1.4
Genitive or associative particle
N oun 1 n o noun 2
N oun 1 n o noun 2 (noun 1/noun 2 = time noun)
N oun 1 n o noun 2 (noun 2
= verbal noun)
N oun 1 n o noun 2 (noun 1
= noun o f quantity (+ counter))
X - b u n n o Y ( Y - num ber): indicating a fraction
D em onstrative pronoun n o noun
N oun 1n o noun 2 (noun 2
= relational noun)
Noun 1n o noun 2 (noun 2
= nominalized verb or adjective)
Noun 1n o noun 2 (noun 2
= verb-stem -kata)
Noun 1no noun 2 (noun 2 = adjective/adjectival noun-root-sa)
Noun 1 ya noun ?. nado no noun 3
133.1.10
133.1.11
133.1.12
133.1.13
133.2
N oun 1 n o noun 2 (noun 1 = noun 2 (apposition))
N oun 1 particle n o noun 2: ‘condensed’ noun-m odifying phrase
Indirect quotation t o n o noun
Verb-te n o noun
M arking subject in a noun-m odifying clause
133.1 GENITIVE OR ASSOCIATIVE PARTICLE
133.1.1 Noun 1 no noun 2
Used to modify a following N (N2) with a preceding N (N1), N1 n o describes
N2 in a variety o f m eanings, including location (exam ple a), ow nership
(example b), authorship (example c), place o f pro d u ctio n o r provenance
(example d), m aterial m ade of, genitive proper (example e), and m any more.
This is why n o is som etimes called an ‘associative p artic le’, i.e. a P th a t
connects N and N-like units in a wide variety o f m eanings; m ost typical is
perhaps the m eaning shown in 133.1.10 - examples o f apposition o f the two
N. N ote th a t the m ain (or m odified) N is always N 2 (for various ways o f
expressing ‘Japanese Ν ’, see 34.4).
Note - there are examples where there is more than one N + no, i.e. N1
i), or even N1 no N2 no N3 no N4 (example j).
а Ш. [ n ]
eki no denw a
a/the phone at the station
b
[<n] ^
w a ta s h i n o t a k a r a m o n o
my treasure
с
[<F>]
o e k e n z a b u r o n o s h o s e ts u
a/the novel by Oe K enzaburo
d
Θ
[<n] ij / у
n ih o n n o k a m e r a
a Japanese cam era
e 0
l<r>]
n ih o n jin n o s h u s h o k u
th e s ta p le f o o d o f th e J a p a n e s e
Г к [с/)] ίΗ ϋ -b
onna no benjjoshi
a female law yer
no N2 no N3 (example
g
y u n ih S m u n o n o m o t o s h u
pitcher N om o in uniform
h
[<n] Ш
z e ik in n o m o n d a i
the tax problem (s)
i
[со]
[со]
n ih o n n o ju ta k u n o s e m a s a
the smallness o f Japanese homes
j
- i m b t -Ж [со]
{ « ‘ Oo
[со] Ш
[со] g£Ml£,
k e k k o n s h ita a to n o C -k o -s a n n o s a ik in n o w a d a i w a o tto y a k o d o m o
n a d o k a te i-n e ta b a k a r i
C -ko’s recent conversation topics since she got m arried . . . are all
‘dom estic’ ones ab o u t her husband and the children.
133 .1.2 Noun 1 no noun 2 (noun 1/noun 2 = time noun)
E ither N1 or N2, or both, can be time N.
а Ш
[со] 10П Z b
b g e t [со]
-t*
ra in e n n o ju g a ts u g o ro
n ic h iy o n o sh 6 g o su g i
around O ctober o f next year
p ast noon on Sunday
d JJL& [ w ] JR.®
s a ik in n o w a k a m o n o
g e n z a i n o jo ta i
the young o f recent times
the present state
133.1.3 Noun 1 no noun 2 (noun 2 = verbal noun)
Here, N2 is a VN, i.e. implies an action (V-ing).
a
[<?)] f L i t f c i i o ·£».'*„ (cf., W & t Z ‘m ake’)
k o n o k 6 j 6 d e w a h a m u n o s e iz S о o k o n a t t e i r u
In this factory they m ake (lit. “engage in the m aking o f ”) ham.
b Slojt&L/cli**') T \
(cf.,
‘put in order’)
h i k k o s h i t a b a k a r i d e h e y a n o s e i r i g a d e k i t e in a i
As he has just m oved, the room hasn’t been put in order (lit. “the
ordering of the room hasn’t been achieved”).
133.1.4 Noun 1 no noun 2 (noun 1 = noun of quantity (+ counter))
Apart Irom num. an d/or ( \ some adv. o f degree can also be used in this way
(see I47. U,. S.2).
a 100 Я [<d] te7-f-
b 1 0 A Ι*>] ΐ ί *
h y a k u e n n o k itte
ju ssa i n o k o d o m o
a hundred-yen stam p
a 10-year old child
с — & [w ]
d 60 7 -у b [ я ]
ic h id a i n o s h in s h a
r o k u ju w a tto n o d e n k y u
a/one new car
a 60W light bulb
e — 5 \<n\ Д Л
f
i A, [ n \
Y
h ito ts u n o k o k o r o m i
t a k u s a n n o p u r e z e n to
an/one experiment
m any presents
133.1.5 X-bun no Y ( Y = number): indicating a fraction
L iterally, the m eaning is “ Y o u t o f X p a rts” , and is used to indicate a
fraction.
a = .# [w ] —
sanbun no ni
two-thirds
b
[w ] —
ju b u n n o ic h i
one-tenth
с
[<d \
zj
Z&lt'o
k o p p u h a n b u n n o m iz u о h a n b u n s h i k a n a i t o k a n g a e r u k a h a n b u n m o a r u
to o m o u k a
W hether to think o f half a cup o f w ater as ‘only h a lf’, or to feel that
‘there’s as m uch as h a lf’.
133.1.6 Demonstrative pronoun no noun
Instead o f N1, a dem onstrative pron. is used, which in Japanese functions
similarly to a N (see 45).
a - -
[w ] f w i A
b Zhb
[w ] Р Щ
k o k o n o ie n o s h u j i n
k o re ra no m ondai
the m aster o f this house
these problem s
133.1.7 Noun 1 no noun 2 (noun 2 = relational noun)
The meaning of
no
N2 is similar to preposition
а Ш [<?>]
hako no naka no ring»
(the) apples in the box
+
N in English (see 171).
b - f - Г Л ' [со]
te b u ru no u e n i k 6 h l k a p p u о o k u
H e puts the coffee cup on the table.
133.1.8 Noun 1 no noun 2 (noun 2 = nominalized verb or adjective)
133.1.8.1 Noun 1 no noun 2 (noun 2 = verb-stem -kata)
nominalizes a V in the sense o f ‘way o f doing’ (see 78, 34.2).
-k a ta
a i i L [w ]
h a sh i no m o c h i-k a ta о re n sh u su ru
They practise (lit. “the way o f ”) holding chopsticks.
b
[со] ф 0 -frliX <
y am a g u ch i n o y a ri-k a ta w a y o k u n a i
Yam aguchi’s way o f doing things is no good.
133.1.8.2 Noun 1 no noun 2 (noun 2 = adjective/adjectival
noun-root-sa)
-sa
nominalizes
and
A
а $М тύ Η Ϊ /и [w ]
AN
(see
1 7 5 , 3 4 .1 .1 ) .
(cf., i > ' 1‘heavy’)
г у о к б k a b a n n o o m o -sa о h a k a ru
They check the weight o f the travel bag.
b JMcwflW® [<d \
(cf., ΛΛ' ‘high’)
to k y o no b u k k a no ta k a -s a ni w a o d o ro k u
One is amazed at the high level (lit. “height”) o f prices in Tokyo.
с
L t i - .
[ 5 ] Д*о (cf.,
s a i g o n i k y d c h o s h i t a i n o w a s h im in n o
‘im portant’)
к о е n o ju y o -sa d a
Lastly, w hat I’d like to emphasize is the im portance o f the citizens’
voice.
133.1.9 Noun 1 ya noun 2 nado no noun 3
Here, N 3 is modified by a N P consisting o f two N linked by
the sense o f ‘N like . .
‘N such as’ (see 2 4 1 , 1 0 2 ).
u ' i f — · ^ -i > b &
уa
and
nado
[w ]
p a s u t e r u y a f in g a p e in t o n a d o n o s h in - s e i h in
new
b
I-.'
products like pastels and finger paint
hv
,
f
,
f-χ z'
p i k a s o y a g o h h o n a d o n o с g a k a z a r a r e t e ir u
P aintings by P ica sso a n d |V ; m | ( i o g h , a m o n g o th e rs, arc displayed.
in
133.1.10 Noun 1 no noun 2 (noun 1 = noun 2 (apposition))
N1 and N2 refer to the same entity; as the m ain N is N2, [NI n o ] modifies it,
giving further inform ation as to its status, identity, etc. This device, which
functions like an apposition, is used when the speaker or w riter assum es
th at the listener or reader doesn’t know this inform ation (see 10).
a % [w ] iL& jg
o to to n o m a s a o -k u n
M asao-kun, the younger brother
b
[ю ]
d e n s h i b u h i n n i e k a n o m u r a t a s e i s a k u s h o d o k u j i s e i h in о t s u g i t s u g i t o
k a ih a ts u s h ite iru
M urata Seisakusho, the electrical parts m anufacturer, is rapidly
developing products unique to them.
133.1.11 Noun 1 particle no noun 2: ‘condensed’ noun-modifying
phrase
W here a statem ent contains a N + P com bination indicating the direction
or place o f action, or participants, etc. in the action (P = case P other th an
g a / o , including also phrasal P such as t o s h i t e ‘as’), this can be ‘condensed’
to a N -m od. Phrase [NI P n o ] N2.
a
[со ]
c h ic h i k a r a n o d e n w a
There was a phone call from
father
—»A phone call from father
Note
b
-^ 5 0
h
c h ic h i k a r a d e n w a g a a t t a
- where P in the modifying phrase is ni, it gets regularly converted to e (see 51.2).
[<d \
to m o d a c h i e n o te g a m i
to m o d a c h i n i te g a m i о k a k u
A /the letter to a/the friend
(<—write a letter to a friend)
A)
с X f i ' b [со] ф й
d
с
c h ic h i k a r a n o d e n w a
c h ic h i k a r a d e n w a g a a t t a
A phone call from father
(there was a phone call from father)
[cO] Ψ '7 > Τ Ί T'ib%
7 > r -f T t e i b b t b )
k a ig a i d e n o b o r a n tia k a ts u d o
k a ig a i d e b o r a n tia k a ts u d o о s u ru
voluntary activities abroad
(engage in voluntary activities abroad)
[с о ]
H i - O L · I-
Ι
Ac/ ) . ,
otosan e no purczento wa hcrutn ni kittu-lu no
As lor (lie present for l'atlu-i. we dei nli-d on л tie.
h ito to n o s h ita s h ii ts u k ia i w a g o se n n e n te id o n o u m a y a n e k o n i k u r a b e r u
to z u tto n a g a i
[Dogs:] Close relations with m an have been much longer com pared to
horses or cats, which [have been] only about 5000 years.
g
[w ]
k y o s h i to s h ite n o ta c h ib a k a r a ir o ir o chQ i о s h in a k e r e b a n a r a n a i
F rom the standpoint o f a teacher, one m ust pay attention to a variety
o f things.
133.1.12 Indirect quotation to no noun
An indirect q u o tation + quotation P t o serves to m odify a following N by
means o f n o in the sense o f ‘th a t’, ‘to the effect th at’, ‘stating th a t’ (see 217,
178.4.2.2).
a
[со]
k a is a n su b e k i to n o ts u y o i ik e n g a a t t a
There were strong views, stating th at it [= the Diet] should be
dissolved.
b
[<d \
k u r u h i t s u y o w a n a i t o n o h e n ji о u k e t o t t a
I received an answer to the effect th at there was no need to come.
133.1.13 Verb-te no noun
The modified N indicates an action th at to o k place as a result o f the action
o f the modifying V - t e phrase, ‘after doing V ’ (see 31.4.1).
a
[w ]
&WLt£oiz<ntz?}i0
iro iro k a n g a e te n o jis a ts u d a tt a n o d a r o
It probably was a suicide [that to o k place] after considering a variety
o f things.
b
[cr>\
jfe t-C to
o y a to h a n a s h ia tte n o k e tte i d e su
It is a decision [made] after consultation with my parents.
133.2 MARKING SUBJECT IN A NOUN-MODIFYING CLAUSE
5» com m only m arks the subject in a N-m od. clause (shown below in []),
which can be a complement clause or relative clause. In this use, no can be
toplaeed by ga (see 55.13, 2(i, 143).
a [ # [ю ]
о
h a h a n o t s u k u r u r y o r i g a i c h i b a n o is h ii
The food th at m other makes is the tastiest.
b [Ί7ν
[ w]
iw a s h i n o o i s h i i k i s e t s u n i n a t t a
The season when sardines are tasty has started.
с
[<n\
f u r a n s u g o n o w a k a r u h i to w a s u k u n a k u n a i
There are quite a few people who understand French.
134 no [FINAL PARTICLE]
is an inform al variant o f the S ending n ( o ) d e s u or n o d e s u k a , depending
on whether the intonation is falling or rising (see 138). The form s preceding
n o are N -m od. forms.
no
134.1
134.2
134.3
134.4
Indicates a question (rising intonation)
Shows understanding (falling intonation)
Gives or requests an explanation (falling/rising intonation)
Verb/adjective n o verb/adjective n o
134.1 INDICATES A QUESTION (RISING INTONATION)
Questions ending in
а
no
have an intim ate or fam iliar tone (see 164.2).
\<n\o
d o k o e ik u no
W here are you going?
b
[ ю] а
o k o tte ir a s s h a ru n o
Are you angry?
с
[W ]0
o td s a n s h a c h d n i n a ru n o
Daddy, are you going to be com pany president?
d ¥ Ί I Ac [<n]a
d o s h ita no
What’s the matter?
с '■>''>
( b t i 6 '■ ( ,V # W , 'л.4 ' [«'>]..
papa rekishi wa yoru tsukiirarcru tte kotobu shiranai no
Daddy, don't you know tIu* ν;ι \ ιιι^ ΊΙιΜοιγ is made at night’?
134.2 SHOWS UNDERSTANDING (FALLING INTONATION)
This indicates the speaker’s understanding o f some situation, or o f something
said by someone else.
a \ Z < n ' ) v ? \ — 5 lO O flA o T o J ^
[co]0j
k o n o rin g o h ito ts u h y a k u e n d a tt e s o n n a n i t a k a i n o
‘These apples are ¥100 a piece, it seems.’ ‘T hat expensive, are they?’
b hh,
i
a so n a no
Oh, I see.
134.3 GIVES OR REQUESTS AN EXPLANATION (FALLING/RISING
INTONATION)
This is used m ainly by women, sometimes with
a
yo
added.
[со]!?
ita i no
Does it hurt!?
b
ί-,
[<n\ I 0
k o n o k e k i w a ta s h i g a ts u k u tta n o yo
I’ve m ade this cake!
C
l^ L
m a ta A -k o -s a n c h ik o k u n a n o
Is A-ко late again?
d
[co]0
k o n 'y a w a o t o s a n k a e t t e k o n a i n o . u f u f u
Tonight, hubby’s no t coming home. Нее hee.
134.4 VERB/ADJECTIVE no VERB/ADJECTIVE no
I n this use, n o is attached to pairs o f V/A o f opposite meaning. The effect of
this colloquial use is placing emphasis on the first m em ber o f the pair.
i
a
Λ ,ή
[w ]
±$6
[с о ]
п, кМгЬ'Ыг'Ьо
k a n o jo w a i ts u m o s h i n u n o i k i r u n o t o o s a w a g i о s u r u
She’s always m aking a racket, saying she’s gonna die.
b
i t t L i o / : 0 i f v ' [с о ]
X Lt
ί
[c o ]4
t
Л„
h a s h ira ni a ta m a о b u ts u k e te s h im a tta . ita i n o ita k u n a i n o s u k k a r i
n e m u k e g a s a m e te s h im a tta
I hit my head on a pole. It was .w painful, I am wide awake
(/if. “my sleepiness is totally gone").
135
no [NOMINALIZER]
As a nom inalizer, n o attaches to a S (ending in a N -m od. form, i.e. with A N ,
AN -na is used) and converts it into a gram m atical N -equivalent (NP) (see
84). C om pare the pairs o f sentences (a, b and c, d) for examples o f how this
works.
a %
h a jim e te k a n o jo n i a t t a
I m et her fo r the first time
b %
[со]
h a jim e te k a n o jo n i a t t a n o w a b a s u n o n a k a d a tt a
It was inside a bus th at I m et her for the first time.
с % f f l t H i i 'X
ta n a k a - s a n g a п у ш п s h ita
T anaka-san was hospitalized
d % ^
5:
fz [ю]
ta n a k a - s a n g a n y u in s h ita n o о s h itte im a s u k a
D o you know th at T anaka-san was in hospital?
The first type o f S containing a N P is called a cleft S, and the second one, a
com plem ent S (see 23, 26, 178.4.3).
135.1
135.2
135.3
135.3.1
135.3.2
135.1
Sentence n o w a . . . copula: nom inalizer in a cleft sentence
N o u n to iu n o w a
Sentence n o (nominalizer in a com plem ent clause)
Sentence n o + verb o f perception
Sentence n o + other predicate
SENTENCE no wa . . . COPULA: NOMINALIZER IN A
CLEFT SENTENCE
(See 23.)
a VotiLd'jLicib'otz [со] \ l ^ % t z ^ t z ¥ b t z 0
k a re g a k o n a k a tta no w a b y o k i d a tta k a ra d a
It was because he was ill that he didn’t come.
b Ф г Ъ [со] ( i,
^
^
^
.'-У. t-:„
tashika na no wa kiki wa sattc inai to iu koto da
What is certain is that the crisis is not ovci
с
T
'j—
[со] i i,
t —.«tA-'c
r e fe r ! n i m u k e r a r e r u f a n n o m e g a h iy a y a k a n a n o w a d o n o s u p o ts u
d e m o is s h o d a
T hat the fans’ attitude tow ards the um pire is frosty applies to
any sport.
135.2 NOUN to iu no wa
This is often used for definitions, or definition-like com m ents (see 218).
а
( ХШ ΙΛ ' t <r>tz0
[со]
j in s e i t o iu n o w a o m o s h i r o k u t e k a n a s h i i m o n o d a
Life (lit. “this thing called life”) is a fascinating and sad thing.
135.3 SENTENCE no (NOMINALIZER IN A COMPLEMENT CLAUSE)
(See 26, 83.)
135.3.1 Sentence no + verb of perception
Here, the object o f the V o f perception is m ade into a complement clause. It
indicates th at some happening or state is seen/heard/felt.
The P attached to the nom inalized clause depends on the valency o f the V:
m ir u ‘see’, k i k u ‘hear’, etc. take o; m ie r u ‘be seen’, k i k o e r u ‘be heard’ take g a ;
a n d k i g a t s u k u ‘notice’ takes n i.
а
[w ]
£ jL /c o
k a n o jo g a r e s u t o r a n n i h a i r u n o о m i t a
I saw her enter the restaurant.
b
UA ¥ f L L h a
h i k o k i g a t o n d e i r u n o g a m ie r u
One can see the aeroplanes fly.
[со]
с %
ЬЩ2.1Ьа
k o to ri g a n a ite iru n o g a k ik o e ru
The singing/song o f the birds is/can be heard.
d %
1
$ ^ ' [со]
k o d o m o n o k a r a d a g a su k o s h i a ts u i n o n i k i g a ts u ita
I noticed th at the body of the child was a little hot.
e
[со]
d a k y Q g a u c h ii k a n о y a b u r u n o g a m i e t a
I could sec the [base|ball break through the middle right [defending] space.
f Ш кЪдЧИ
[w ] V f L t b I i X b b o
k a n r y o - ta c h i g a h o k u s o -e m u n o g a m ie ru y o d e a r u
Y ou can alm ost see the bureaucrats chuckling to themselves [with delight].
g
[со]
w a t a s h i n i w a s e ic h o s h i t a k o d o m o - t a c h i g a k o n n a h a n a s h i о s h i t e i r u n o
g a k ik o e m a s u
I hear [my] grow n-up children talking as follows.
135.3.2 Sentence no + other predicate
(F or m ore examples, see 26).
a %8fci£»£-jL& [со] ЬЩЪГ-:0
e ig a о m iru n o g a s u k i d a
He likes watching films.
Ъ
[<n] life
k a n ji о o b o e ru n o w a c h o tto ta ih e n d a
It is a little h ard remem bering (the) kanji.
с %
[со]
k in o jis h in g a a t t a n o о s h i r a n a k a tt a
I didn’t know there was an earthquake yesterday.
d
[w ] (d/ffc
k o d o m o g a n a k u no w a s h ik a ta n o n a i k o to d a
T hat children cry can’t be helped.
136 no [PRONOUN]
can be a pro n . th at substitutes for a lexical N , referring to a thing or
a person (or anim al) in the sense o f ‘the one(s)’. In this use, n o is modified
like any o th er N by a N -m od. clause, in the same form s th a t are used to
m odify N . n o itself attaches the sam e case or focus P th a t the lexical N
would (see 136, 98).
no
а * * » « ' [<r>] « 5 0 0 Р З ч
[w ] i i 3 0 0 f l t - t o
o k i i n o w a g o h y a k u - e n c h ii s a i n o w a s a n b y a k u - e n d e s u
The big ones are ¥500, the small ones ¥300.
b ^ C O ^ ffo/c [со] J - W t T i ' - ' o
k in o k a t t a n o о m is e t e k u d a s a i
Show me the one you bought yesterday.
C
[CO]
( Ι ^ ί Λ , / ϊ ',
korc о kuita no wa hayashi-sun du
T h e o n e w h o w r o t e t h i s is l l a \ a s l u s. m
Note
-
where
no replaces the modified N in the
sequence N
no N, no is used only once:
d % J - i f f l H [Ю]
Y a m a d a -sa n n o k a s a
Y am ada-san’s um brella
e % Z n i ' S l i d i W S A , [со] T t o
k o n o k a s a w a y a m a d a -s a n no desu
This um brella is Y am ada-san’s.
137
no-ADJECTIVES
n o - a d j . com prise a group o f w ords w hich have adjectival m eaning, but
gram m atically behave like N, i.e. they attach n o when m odifying N and
other forms o f the cop. (see 35). They include a few N J words like n a m a ‘raw ’
and h a d a k a ‘n ak ed ’ and also m any onom atope words (see 153, 1.6, 2.2.2).
137.1
137.2
137.2.1
137.2.2
137.3
Noun-m odifying: no-adjective no
Adverbial use
no-adjective n i: change o f state
no-adjective de: state
no-adjective copula: predicate use
137.1 NOUN-MODIFYING: no-ADJECTIVE no
a
[± w ]
J f -y
n I z'M frlX HZ
90
n a m a n o k in o k o m o g o -s h o k a i s h ite о к б
I will also introduce raw m ushroom s.
ь ш
_mm> i t » ]
rx a u
m u s h ia ts u i y o r u jo h a n s h in h a d a k a n o o to k o - ta c h i g a m ic h ib a ta d e
m e ib u ts u n o h i n a b e о t s u t s u k u
On a steamy night, m en with bare torsos are eating the local speciality,
firepot, by the roadside.
137.2 ADVERBIAL USE
137.2.1 no-adjective ni: change of state
I n this use, n o - a d j . attach
o f state (see 186).
su ru
or
n a ru
in their
n i-fo rm ,
to indicate a change
u [Ж !:]
h a d a k a n i n a r e b a n in g e n w a m in a o n a ji
Without clothes (lit. “when they become naked”) people are all the
same.
b
ί
Ш к] $ П 6
'Щ
" о
s h i i s h o k u k a t s u d o t o w a k o r e m a d e i k i t e k i t a m ju - n e n g a m a r u h a d a k a
n i s a r e r u s e i ji n - s h i k i
Looking for w ork [after university graduation] is a ‘com ing of
age cerem ony’, where you’re stripped o f the 20 years you’ve lived
so far.
137.2.2 no-adjective de: state
This indicates a state in which the action o f V takes place.
a
ύ \ [ i k t ] 4г< Ъ
k a n e ts u ry o ri n i m o m u k u g a n a m a d e ta b e ru to n a s h i n i n ita a m a s a to
sh o k k a n g a a ru
It (yacon) is suitable for cooked dishes too, but when you eat it raw it
has a sweetness and texture sim ilar to a pear.
b
BTC]
m o sh o n o se i k a h a d a k a d e n e ru n o g a k u se n i n a tta
Possibly because o f the heatw ave, I ’ve developed a habit o f sleeping
naked.
137.3 no-ADJECTIVE COPULA: PREDICATE USE
a
о
osam a w a h a d a k a da
The king has no clothes on.
138
n(o) da [SENTENCE ENDING]
Added to the end o f a S as n o d a (or the colloquial contraction n d a ) , this
gives the S an explanatory force. In questions, it is typically used for eliciting/
confirming inform ation. However, the force o f n ( o ) d a is rarely captured in
translation, (see 138).
The form s preceding n ( o ) d a are N -m od. form s,
before n o , ju st like AN regularly do.
itself changes in the same way as cop., i.e. pol.
pres. n ( o ) d a r 5 , etc. (see 35).
n (o ) d a
d a tta ,
except
138.1 n(o) da in statements
13X.2 n(o) desu ka or n(<>) к a in questions
th at N insert
n (o ) d e su ,
past
na
n (o )
138.1 n(o) da IN STATEMENTS
a
[с0 tz ] o
k o k k a n g a a ru k a r a k o so h a ru n o td ra i ga m a ta re ru n o d a
Precisely because there is severe cold, one waits for the coming of
spring (lit. “the advent o f spring is awaited”).
b
Ά - k l i Y1 ί I tz \< n tz h n ]0
r e n r a k u g a n a i g a k a n o jo w a d o s h ita n o d a ro
There is no contact - I wonder w hat has happened to her.
с
L tv -'icv .' \<nt£\o
w a k a i s e d a i w a m o h a y a s e if u n o c h i k a r a n a d o s h i n 'y o s h i t e i n a i
no da
The young generation no longer believes in the pow er o f the
government.
d WrL'‘'#'<7M .t>sT U
ix tz [Ajfz\ -tf'0
a ta ra s h ii o p e ra z a g a te re b i d e s h d k a i s a r e ta n d a z e
The new opera house was introduced on TV, you know.
138.2 n(o) desu ka OR n(o) ka IN QUESTIONS
W hen used in questions, the form is n ( o ) d e s u k a or the plain form n o k a ( n o
is not a standard form). This is used when asking for an explanation,
in either direct or indirect questions (see 134, 164, 166).
da ka
a
fatzio<n^Jjb\iY: ί
ft£
w a ta s h i-ta c h i n o s e ik a ts u w a d 5 n a r u n o d e su k a
W hat’s going to happen to our livelihood?
b
1 >7? К
[ < 0 4 '] o
in fu ra t o w a n a n i о im i s u r u n o k a
W hat does ‘in fra’ mean?
с
H’i l X ^ i b ^ t z
[ c D jH
d o s h i t e k o n a k a t t a n o k a s e t s u m e i s h i t e h o s h ii
I want you to explain why you didn’t come.
d
«t ( ft ^ tz [ ^
k e ik i w a h o n t o n i y o k u n a t t a n d e s u k a
Has business really picked up?
с
А Н Н ''
1 -V
r
1 '<
- * m :* f - f t
jflhfl haiuc ni wa hikari faihilmf) ga hitsuyo na no desu ka
Is an optic Iilire network necessary lor the information superhighway?
139 node [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
In
[S I n o d e S 2 ], n o d e
indicates the reason for the action or state o f
S2.
The forms preceding n o d e are usually plain N -m od. form s, although
- m a s u form s can be used in speech.
desu/
139.1 Clause 1 n o d e , clause 2
139.2 Clause 1 n o d e (. . .) in unfinished sentences
139.1 CLAUSE 1 node, CLAUSE 2
This indicates a reason ‘as’, ‘because’, ‘so’. In all exam ples,
replaced by k a r a (see 75).
a ΙΚ Λ Τν-'Λ [ w t L
node
can be
b 0
n o n d e i t a n o d e h a k k ir i o b o e te in a i
As I ’d been drinking, I can’t rem em ber clearly.
b
[« tl
0
k a n o jo n i f u r a r e t a n o d e o n n a n o к о n o to m o d a c h i g a im a s e n
Because I got dum ped by my girlfriend, I have no female friends.
с ?
[c o tL
J: <
ir-fZ0
u ch i w a fu fu -n a k a g a w a ru i n o d e y o k u к е п к а о su ru
We often have arguments, because we’re not on good term s as a
couple.
d
[ я -c]
t s i ik i n n i b e n r i n a n o d e k o k o n i h i k k o s h i t a
W e’ve m oved here because it’s convenient for com m uting to work.
e
[с о т ],
a s h ita w a y a s u m i n a n o d e y a m a e d e m o ik 5 to o m o tte iru
T om orrow is a holiday, so I ’m thinking o f m aking a trip to the
m ountains or somewhere.
139.2 CLAUSE 1 node ( . . . ) IN UNFINISHED SENTENCES
Where the situation makes clear w hat the S2 V would be, it can be om itted,
kara can also be used in the same way.
a I Y 'l I X i
h [</>'(■] | >';Η·Λι <'-> X ν.'Λ„
doshitc mo ofuro ni hairi-takalta nodi* to ast- о nuguttc ita
lie was wiping off the sweat |;ιΠι·ι tin· bath|, saying ‘I just had to take a
bath, you see’.
b
A
[ c o t - ] ........J
о
s o r e ijo w a p u r a i b a s h i n i k a k a w a r u n o d e t o k o t o b a о k i t t a
He cut short his words, saying ‘[Saying] anything m ore would infringe
on their privacy, so . . Λ
140
noni [FOLLOWS VERB/ADJECTIVE/ADJECTIVAL
NOUN/NOUN]
This n o n i is a conjunctive P , which is distinct from n o n i [follows
indicates purpose and is attached to V - r u only (see 141).
V -ru ],
which
[contrast], on the other hand, can be attached to V /adj. / A N / N in the
forms that modify N .
noni
As a conjunctive P, n o n i expresses a strong contrast between two clauses, SI
and S2 ‘despite’ (see 56, 79, 103, 33).
shows em otional involvement on the p art o f the speaker, which can
range from amazement to disappointm ent or anger.
noni
140.1
140.1.1
140.1.2
140.1.3
140.2
140.2.1
140.2.2
Clause 1 n o n i, clause 2
Followed by a statement
Followed by a question
Joining contrasting noun-m odifying clauses
Clause 1 n o n i (. . .) in unfinished sentences
W ith non-conditional clause 1
With conditional form + i i / y o k a t t a n o n i
140.1 CLAUSE 1 noni, CLAUSE 2
joins SI and S2 in a variety o f ways, in the sense o f ‘even tho u g h ’,
‘despite’.
noni
140.1.1 Followed by a statement
Neilher
ga
nor
k e re d o m o
can be used in the same meaning.
? [<Dizi i t a ,
η
fu y u m a j i k a d a t o iu n o n i r e n ji t s u a t a t a k a i h i g a t s u z u i t e i r u
F.vcn though winter is just around the corner, the warm weather continues.
b
[co|;]
iI ' i ' )
uT kudc n a n o n i k a z o k u z u r c n a d o d c k a n a r i n i g iw a t t c i ta
Despite it being a weekday, it was quite busy, with family customers
eU\
с
[coic], ф ' у г A
Х ^ ' Ъ L X '- f
s o to w a m a k k u r a n a n o n i s a n d i w a c h a n to o k ite ir u n d e su y o
Even though it’s pitch-dark outside, Sandy [= the dog] is awake.
140.1.2 Followed by a question
N either
ga
nor
a
k e red o m o
can be used in this way.
[ w |: ] ,
s e k k a k u k i ta n o n i к у б w a o sh im a i n a n o
Are you closing today, even though we’ve gone to the trouble
of coming?
b
1<DK]S Ъ Ь Х ' & Ш Ш Ь Х ' Ъ L t z a
o re g a k o n n a n i h a ta ra ite iru n o n i n a n d e o m ae w a a so n d e ru n d a
H ow come you’re loafing, even though I ’m working so hard?
140.1.3 Joining contrasting noun-modifying clauses
Two N -m od. clauses o f a contrasting n ature are joined by n o n i , form ing
a unit (indicated in []). N either g a n o r k e r e d o m o can be used in this way.
а [ШЫкЬПХ'Ь
[c o ic h h i >)
i <n ί t> b ? ] c o i i ^ g i X ' t o
k o n 'y a k u s h i t a w a k e d e m o n a i n o n i a m a r i к б к а n a m o n o о m o r a u n o w a
s h in p a i d e su
I t’s worrying to be given overly expensive things even though we’re no t
engaged.
b [ П - Ш ^ ^ Х U JL 2.£ [iO ic],
g a ik a n w a n ik a i- d a te n i m ie ru n o n i jits u w a g o k a i- d a te to iu fu sh ig i n a
ts u k u ri
I t’s a m ysterious structure th at actually has five storeys even though it
looks like two storeys from the outside.
140.2
CLAUSE 1 noni (. . .) IN UNFINISHED SENTENCES
140.2.1 With non-conditional clause 1
This expresses regret or disappointment, although the expression of regret
etc. is not mentioned here, but implied i n the unfinished part. It is there
fore often used when commenting on people who have died or committed
suicide (examples a and b). The meaning of noni can be reinforced with
nani mo, as i n example c. A g a i n , n e i t h e r ga n o r keredomo c a n be used i n this
way.
а (А З Ш )
[<n\z]Q
A -k u n w a to m o d a c h i m o 6 k a tta n o n i
W h a t a pity, he (= A-kun) had so many friends, too.
b
7
A 'O V X 'h
т Ш ^ Х Ь З ь - о ^ [<niz]....... о
y o k i r a ib a r u d e a r i s o d a n a ite d e m o a t t a n o n i
[It’s so sad,] he was a good rival, and also someone I could talk things
over with.
с H i,
< X i [ < n i z ]0
n a n i m o y a m e n a k u te m o ii n o n i
W h at a pity, there was no need to quit.
d
icv-' [co(c]0
w a ta s h i- ta c h i k a r a m ire b a z e n z e n k a k k o y o k u n a i n o n i
F ro m o ur perspective, they aren’t stylish at all.
140.2.2 With conditional form + ii/yokatta noni
can be attached to pos. and neg. conditional forms, such as
This forms a hypothetical sentence ‘would be . . . if ’, or, where referring
to an established fact, ‘shouldn’t ’ (see 13.3). Neither g a n o r k e r e d o m o can be
used in this meaning.
ii/y o k a tta no n i
-b a .
k a is h a n i ta k u ji-s h o g a a re b a ii n o n i
It w ould be nice if the com pany had a daycare centre.
b £ h & ьШМ, L if I f H [ l i ^ ^ ^ l z ]0
s o r e n a r a s h u s h o k u s h i n a k e r e b a ii n o n i
In th a t case [= already thinking o f quitting] he shouldn’t have taken
the jo b .
141 noni [FOLLOWS VERB-ru]
h as tw o uses: attaching adj./A N pred. like i i and b e n r i , it indicates
purpose ‘good/convenient for doing’, and attaching other pred. it m eans
‘for’, ‘in order to ’ (see 135, 116.12).
noni
141.1 Verb n o n i i i / b e n r i
141.2 W ith other predicates
141.1 VERB no ni ii/benri
This means 'μοοιΙ/convcuiciit lor doing’
kappuru ga o-tagai no aisho о miru no ni ii
It [= rally driving]’s useful for couples to see how com patible
they are.
b
[colcv-'v-']
seibutsu no iden о kangaeru no ni ii rei da
It [= blood type]’s a good example for considering the genetics o f
organisms.
с
П Щ И - Ъ [сг>1сШ'1]о
kokuritsu кбеп de natsu no kyanpingu о tanoshimu no ni benri
It’s [a] handy [place] for enjoying summer cam ping in the [nearby]
national park.
141.2 W IT H O T H E R P R E D IC A T E S
Here, the m eaning is ‘fo r’, ‘in ord er to ’. N ote th a t w ith some pred., the
valency o f the V determines the use o f ni (viz. example c).
a i ШЩЪ'&Лг [cotс]
кап wa mochihakobu no ni karui ho ga ii
Cans are better light for carrying about.
b
[со ί с] чаЦ-й'Ь'-э
η tz a
kono aji о mitsukeru no ni yo-nen kakatta so da
A pparently it took four years to discover this taste.
с
[cofc]
(ef., N ni komaru ‘have a shortage
of/problem ’)
wakai josei о atsumeru no ni komaranai
We have no problem recruiting young women.
142 NON-PAST VERB FORMS
N on-past form s o f V/adj., A N /N + cop. can be used as pred., and to attach
various S endings.
Unlike adj. and AN + cop. sentences, which have adjectival m eaning as
pred., and N + cop., which are equational in m eaning, V -non-past can
express a variety o f meanings as pred (see I7K.I).
V -non-past can be used by itsrl! ;is p ird to com plete a sentence in the
present, habitual present, luliiu·. micniinii, ni narrative present.
142.1
142.1.1
142.1.2
142.2
142.2.1
142.2.2
142.3
Present
Present
H abitual present
Future
Future
Intention
N arrative present
142.1 P R E S E N T
142.1.1 Present
aftli
[&£]„
kuyashikute namida ga deru
I ’m so annoyed th at I feel like crying {lit. “tears come to my eyes”).
b
№ il> lo
tsurai shujutsu ga hajimaru.
A painful operation begins.
142.1.2 Habitual present
a
t a f а
i i u [a r t]»
ima demo nichiyobi wa kinjo ni sumu chichi to issho ni sugosu
Even now, he spends Sundays with his father, who lives nearby.
142.2
F U TU R E
142.2.1 Future
а
i z & ik t: [ Ш 5 ] о
rainen nigatsu-matsu made ni kaisha о seisan suru
They will liquidate the com pany by the end o f next February.
142.2.2 Intention
a
[irv-'Jo
zettai ni nihon ni wa kaeranai
No m atter what, [I] w on’t go back to Japan.
142.3
N A R R A TIV E PR E S E N T
Non-past forms are often used at key points in a narrative to make them
more immediate or dramatic. In English, these are often translated into the
past tense.
a UlX^l· i
i m v & l X < *]„
T ^ tk X tte o
hanashite iru uchi ni wasurekakete ita kansaiben ga ponpon tobidashite
kuru. fushigi desu ne
As I ’m talking, the K ansai dialect th at I ’d alm ost forgotten pops out,
one w ord after another. Strange, isn’t it?
b 3
0
#
' £
£
[ύ 'ύ '-,Χ ( 6 ] 0
sanjflbyo to tatanai uchi ni denwa ga kakatte kuru
Before 30 seconds had passed, the phone rang.
143 NOUN MODIFICATION AND RELATIVE CLAUSES
Formally, there is no distinction between N modification by V and adj./A N ,
and relative clauses. In both cases, a V/adj ./AN, or a clause ending in V/adj./
A N in norm al w ord order (given in []) is simply placed before a following
N, i.e. unlike in English there are no relative p ro n . o r changes in w ord
order. V/adj./A N can also attach S endings.
As there are no relative pron. (or any other indication o f the case relation
between the m odifying section and the N it modifies), it is sometimes only
from the context (or knowledge o f the world) th at it can be determined.
In the following example, tegami ga todoita aru dokusha could also m ean ‘A
certain reader, w ho received a letter recently’, b u t in the context o f a
newspaper colum n, the interpretation below is the correct one:
а
Г--]
(aru N = a certain N)
saikin tegami ga todoita aru dokusha wa . . . to kappa shite iru
A certain reader, from w hom I received a letter recently, claims . . .
There is also no form al distinction between restrictive and non-restrictive
relative clauses (in English, non-restrictive relative clauses are set o ff by
com m a intonation, and w ritten between commas).
For N m odification by N, num ., counters, adv. and conjunctive forms, see
133, 147, 36, 4, 31.
When the N -m od. clause ends in -ta, it has a different m eaning depending
on w hether -ta indicates a state, or com pletion o f action. In 143.1 a, -ta
indicates com pletion, but in 143.1 b it indicates a state, i.e. describes what
sort «/ burglars they are. In a finite (i.e. non-N-m od.) sentence this would be
expressed with -te iru (takuhaibin о yosootte iru ‘they are dressed as a delivery
service’) (see 187.3, 1.7).
Note also that modified N include time N Midi as toki (often translating as
‘when’, see 222).
A N-mod. clause or relative clause cannot contain the same N as the one it
modifies; com pare the following, based on 143.1 e below.
b %
ft-? A о
shufu ga kowaku natta
The housewife got frightened.
с x
(f
t
?A]A#
shufu ga kowaku natta shufu
d
< ft -?
kowaku natta shufu
The housewife, who got frightened.
143.1 N oun m odification/relative clauses
143.2 Pseudo-relative clauses
143.3 N oun m odification/relative clauses in question form
143.1 N O U N M O D IF IC A T IO N /R E L A TIV E C LAU SES
N ote example i, where the N josei is m odified by two m odifying sections,
heya kara dey5 to shinakatta and karui chihosho no.
tokyo kara kita iguchi desu
I ’m Iguchi, [who has come] from Tokyo.
b Jb&
tz\
ы 11-:о
saikin takuhaibin о yosootta goto ga deru so da
Recently, there are supposed to be burglars [who are dressed as a home
delivery service].
с [# o ]
katsu gorufu ga dekinai
I can’t play [winning] golf.
d
nemurenu yoru ga tsuzuite iru
Nights [when one can’t sleep] are continuing.
e [■№< ft о tz\ J l # ! i , 13 i S ' t m i- Ш
tz a
kowaku natta shufu wa hobo zengaku о shiharatta
The housewife, [who got frightened], paid more or less the whole am ount.
I' [ £' Л /с о Ш г
>ί t e Z t J A. t ^ ' Ь к Ί tz„
biru no yure de funayoi о okosu hito mo iru so da
There are supposed to he people (who get seasick from the swaying of
the building].
g
ta& gfcAti
% э у £ ~f h £ Ί t-o
shinkansen no zaseki de kutsu о nuide suashi о ashidai ni nosete iru fujin
о miru to seiy6-jin wa gyotto suru so da
People from the W est are said to be flabbergasted when they see ladies
[who take their shoes off on the bullet train and rest their bare feet up
on the footrest],
h
9]Ф ч ЪЬ%Ь<г>Ж<г>'%Х%ЬШ.<г>
%ι±Άΐο
seiydjin ga beru to ii nihonjin ga kane to iu toki sorezore no atama no
naka de naru kane no oto wa chigau
W hen [= toki] [W estern people say ‘bell’, and Japanese say kane
(‘bell’)], the sound o f the bell ringing in the respective heads is different.
b x ^ ^ - f b X 9 ic ic o /;0
heya kara dey6 to shinakatta karui chih6sh6 no josei ga kurumaisu de
shokudo ni dete kite shokuji о suru уб ni natta
A wom an w ith slight dem entia, who had m ade no attem pt to come out
o f her room , now appeared in the refectory to eat.
143.2 P S E U D O -R E L A T IV E C LA U S E S
Pseudo-relative clauses are sentences th at are constructed like relative clauses,
b u t where the m odified (or head) N is a relatio n al N , tim e N o r N o f
am ount (see 161.1.2.2).
a K b 'b & S L M , [ i i
( <ε 6 ] dtei 0 - r a ^ ' t - L i i b \
da kara kondo wa s6 ja naku naru hajimari de wa nai desh6 ka
So, I w onder if this m ightn’t be the start o f things no longer being the
way they were [= citizens being expected to be passive].
143.3 N O U N M O D IF IC A T IO N /R E L A T IV E C L A U S E S IN
Q U E S T IO N FORM
In written language only, it is possible to modify a N /N P by a relative clause
etc. th a t en d s w ith a q u e stio n m a rk , in th e sense o f ‘w hich m ay
be Ν ’.
kanryo shugi ga unda gendai-ban chonmagc
[The male com pany w orker’s uniform hairstyle is a| ‘Present-day
to p k n o t’, which may have been p ro ilu m l by the bureaucratic
system.
144
NOUNS
N are basically uninflected for num. (but see 145, 58, 188, 168, 49) or gender.
Their grammatical function is indicated by case P. In Japanese writing, most
N are written in kanji (see 235).
144.1
144.1.1
144.1.2
144.1.2.1
144.1.2.2
144.1.3
144.1.4
144.1.5
144.2
144.3
144.3.1
144.3.2
144.4
Types o f noun
Anim ate/inanim ate nouns
Proper nouns
Person nouns
Place nouns
R elational nouns
Time nouns
Verbal nouns
N oun phrases (or ‘argum ents’)
N oun modification
N ouns modifying other nouns
N ouns being modified
N oun sentences
144.1 T Y P E S O F N O U N
By m eaning an d function, we can distinguish a nu m b er o f (sometim es
overlapping) N subgroups.
144.1.1 Animate/inanimate nouns
This is a distinction between persons and anim als on the one hand, and
plants and things on the other. In existential S, the V iru and aru (with some
exceptions) distinguish the two types (see 9).
144.1.2 Proper nouns
These are nouns th at indicate the nam e o f a person or place. These can be
subdivided into person N and place N.
144.1.2.1 Person nouns
These are N indicative o f a person.
144.1.2.2 Place nouns
Those indicate a place.
144.1.3 Relational nouns
These are N th at indicate a position th at is relative in time or space (see 171).
144.1.4 Tim e nouns
These indicate a time (see 5.3).
144.1.5 Verbal nouns
VN indicate an action, and can attach the V suru ‘d o ’, and in this form can
be used like V (see 234).
144.2 N O U N P H R A S E S (O R ‘A R G U M E N T S ’)
A V (or o th er pred.) form s a S w ith one or m ore obligatory N + P units
(NP), the m ost im portant o f which are subject (N ga), direct object (N o),
and indirect object (N ni) (see 178.1, 231).
144.3 N O U N M O D IF IC A TIO N
144.3.1 Nouns modifying other nouns
N can m odify other N by m eans o f no [case P], or apposition (see 133, 143,
10).
144.3.2 Nouns being modified
N can in turn be modified by V, adj., A N and N , and some adv. o f time and
frequency (see 5.3, 143).
N can also be modified by a num ber o f adjectival w ords and expressions
(see 1).
144.4 N O U N S E N TE N C E S
N can attach cop. to act as pred., form ing a N S (see 178.1.6).
145
NOUN REDUPLICATION
Λ lew N , suc h as Ahito (A-7 hitobito ‘peop le'), lb
Jkuni ( I S ^ kuniguni ‘c o u n
tries'), J i yama ( J-i^V yamayama ‘m o u n ta in s ') , /Л mise ( f c ' t miscmise ‘e s t a b
lis h m en ts') c a n ind ic ate a kind ol p lu ral (itulica tϊημ a n unspecified a m o u n t
only, i.e. these c a n n o t be c o u n t e d ) I n u-ilu plicatio n, b u t this is lim ited to a
very small num ber o f N , m ost o f which are given here. N ote that the repeat
kanji is used in writing to indicate th at the second kanji in the same word
is repeated, i.e. is no t applied w here the same kanji appears in a com
pound as the first element o f another word. Therefore minshushugi is written
i l i i i , not
, because minshushugi ‘dem ocracy’ is a com pound
consisting o f minshu ‘people governing’ and shugi ‘principle’ or ‘-ism’) (see
144, 172).
Reduplication is n o t limited to N only; it includes
tsugitsugi ni ‘one after another’, etc.
wareware ‘we’,
ieie, kigi, yamayama to daishita sakuhin ga aru
There is a w ork entitled ‘Houses, Trees, M ountains’.
146 NUMBER AND COUNTER COMBINATIONS
These are given in Table 18, repeated here for convenience (see also 147, 36).
147 NUMBERS
Japanese uses two sets o f num ., N J and SJ, although they are not usually
used as ‘p u re’ sets (see 154).
Note - num. and num .-C combinations (see 36) behave like N in that they can be modified by
N-mod. demonstrative words (example a).
а т Ш Ш Ы Ш , & * 1 1 Ш ft
υ
i& b /:
<t t j t U A ,f t ] [— ?]„
sengo wa yukaku mo sh6metsu misemise wa ryokan nado ni sugata о
kaete iku. sono yoru tomatta ryokan miyoshi mo sonna hitotsu
After the war, the red-light district ceased to exist, and the
establishments changed into inns. The Miyoshi Inn, where we stayed
that night, is one o f these.
147.1
147.1.1
147.1.1.1
147.1.1.2
147.1.2
147.2
147.2.1
147.2.2
147.3
C ounting things
C ounting things approxim ately
Adjoining numbers
By prefixes, adverbs or adverbial particles
A m ounts involving nan-/iku- ‘how m uch/how m any’ + ka/mo/
demo
C ounting in sequence
C ounting aloud
Phone anti account numbers
Superstition and numbers
Table IS Common number and counter combinations
Number
Counter
ichi
hito-
ш
futa-
san
mit-
shi
yo(t)-
go
itsu-
rokn
mut-
sbichi
nana
hacfai
yat-
kvO/ku
kokono-
ju
roppun
nanafuu
happun
hachifun
kvufun
juppun
jippon
juppondo
jippondo
juppon
jippon
jukkagetsu
jikkagetsu
jukkai
jikkai
jukko
jikko
to
yondoru
doru
(S)
en
yoen
ί Vi
fun
sanpun
ippun
yonpun
ί minutes)
>
kyupondo
uanapondo
yonpondo
poodo
o r £)
sanbon
ippon
bon
kyfihon
nauahon
happon
rokkai
nanakai
hachikai
rokko
nanako
hakko
kyOko
ydka
kyumai
kumai
kokonoka
toka
kyupeji
juppasento
jippasento
juppeji
yonhon
roppon
yonkagetsu
rokkagetsu
etc.)
L itcta
ikkagetsu
sangai
sankai
ко
iiiilault counter)
yonko
ikko
yonmai
ί flat objects)
niciii
idays)
ichinichi
tsuitachi*
nin
futsuka
mikka
yokka
itsuka
muika
nanoka
nanuka
yonin
ί humans)
nen
yonen
Iyears)
pasento
ippasento
yonpasento
rokupasento
hachipasento
ippeji
yonpeji
roppeji
happeji
hachipeji
I ■)
peji
(pages)
jippeji
hitori
ri
futari
—
—
—
nanasai
hassai
—
(humans)
(default counter)
issai
sai
i years o f age)
satsu
issatsu
yonsatsu
nanasatsu
hassatsu
kyfisatsu
isshu
vonshu
nanashu
hasshu
kyflshu
itto
yonto
nanato
hatto
kyuto
(bound objects)
sbQ
i weeks)
to
i large animals)
tsu
hitotsu
futatsu
jussai
jissai
jussatsu
jissatsu
jusshQ
jisshu
jutto
jitto
mittsu
yottsu
itsutsu
muttsu
nanatsu
yattsu
kokouotsu
—
mitsuki
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
sanba
yonwa
i default counter: N J numbers only)
hitotsuki
tsuki
futatsuki
(months)
«а
juppa
Ibirds)
jippa
yonwari
wari
kyttwari
1 10е' о unit)
Xotes * Only used in the meaning o f the first o f the month.
The above chart lists some comm on counters and the way they combine with numerals. Only those com binations which involve
sound change, irregular form ation, or involve only one o f tw o regular ways o f form ation are listed (the rem ainder is predictable,
consisting o f the num eral (ichi, ni, etc.) given at the to p plus the form o f the counter given in the left-hand column). N ote, however,
that the pronunciation, especially o f the syllabic n, varies according to its phonetic environment; for instance, before b and m,
it is pronounced as m. Com binations w ith nan- ‘how m any’ are the same as those w ith san ‘three’.
W ith counters expressing tim e (fun, nen, etc.), the suffix -kan can be added (optionally in the case o f byo, fun, nen, nichi and shfl) to
indicate duration o f time. F o r instance, goji on its own m eans ‘five o ’clock’, whereas gojikan means ‘five hours’. N ote, however, th at
whereas the m onths o f the year (January-D ecem ber) are counted ichigatsu, nigatsu, etc., ‘one m o n th ’ is ikkagetsu, to w hich -kan can
be added. The days o f the m onth from the 11 th onw ards are as follows, in so fa r as they are irregular:
14th
19th
juyokka 20th hatsuka
jukunichi24th nijDyokka
147.1 C O U N T IN G T H IN G S
W hen counting things, the com bination num . + С is usual, where the SJ
and N J num bers below (plus som e variations) are used to form n u m .-C
com binations (see Table 18).
1
2
S J:
ic h i
ni
N J:
h i to - f u t a -
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
sh i
go
ro k u
s h ic h i
hachi
к у й /к и
jfl
m it -
y o ( t) -
its u -
m u t-
nana
y a t-
kokono-
to
Numbers for 10 and above are basically SJ, except for
by itself to count things:
10 .
. .
}й, jiiic h i, n i, s a n , s h i ( y o n ) , g o . . .
20
.
. .
n ijilic h i, . . .
30 .
. .
40 .. .
9
san
to ,
which can be used
s a n j ii , . . .
y o n jii (s h ijii), . . .
50 .
. .
60 .
. .
g o ju , . . .
r o k u jii, . . .
70 .
. .
n a n a jii, . . .
100 . . .
h y a k u , n ih y a k u . s a n b y a k u , y o n h y a k u ,. . . r o p p y a k u , . . . h a p p y a k u . . .
1000 . . .
i s s e n , n is e n , s a n z e n . . .
10000 . . .
ic h im a n , n im a n , s a n m a n . . .
100000
j u m a n , n ijiim a n . . .
1000000
h y a k u m a n , n ih y a k u m a n
10000000
is s e n m a n , n is e n m a n . . .
100000000
. . .
ic h io k u , n io k u . . .
147.1.1 Counting things approximately
147.1.1.1 Adjoining numbers
This can be done by using two adjoining num bers (in writing, these usually
have a com m a (or occasionally a hyphen) between them, b u t are pronounced
as one unit). They are m ostly used w ith C, excepting n i s a n , which is also
used in the form o f n i s a n n o N in the sense o f ‘several’ (see 36).
a ■■·-,
о
n isa n n o g im o n -te n о te iji s h ita i
. . . I wish to raise a couple o f queries.
147.1.1.2 By prefixes, adverbs or adverbial particles
The SJ prefix su- ‘several’ and the adv. yaku 'approximately', precede the num.
(hut sec below lor how su- can he insetted between num. and ('), whereas
the adverbial P gurui/kuriii and hodo follow mini ( t ( ) (see 6 1. 1. 1, 6 4 .1).
а Г—A i /zli
[*J
A j H&hlZ,
—
hitori mata wa siinin to areba, futari de mo ii wake da ga, saidai-chi wa
wakaranai
If it [= the advert] states ‘one or several people’, then two people are
O K , but one doesn’t know the m axim um figure.
N ote how fts ii- can be inserted between num . (units o f ten and above) and
С in the sense o f ‘unit-odd’.
b 2—
η
i>t:20
[«J
nisan-nen no uchi ni nijiisii-kan о soroeru h6shin da
Their aim is to complete the set o f all 20-odd volumes in two or
three years.
с
+ 0 |У ] [<
^ < 0
hana wa hatsuka-kan kurai saku
The flowers bloom for about 20 days.
d
[ i i ^ 'l
menkyo wa sanjiiman-en hodo de shutoku dekiru
A licence can be obtained for about three hundred thousand yen.
147.1.2 Amounts involving nan-/iku- ‘how much/how many’
+ ka/mo/demo
The Q words (+ C) nan-/iku- com bine with the P ka (indefinite am ount ‘a
lo t’, ‘lots’, etc.), mo (+ neg. pred., small am ount ‘no . . .’, ‘no t m any’, etc.)
and demo (/V-te mo ‘any’) (see 167, Table 23, 206.5).
a
b
b ti& Z Z t [Ш Ь]
denki о tomerareta koto mo nan-do mo aru
I’ve had the electricity cut off m any times.
[
Н
Ш
l : b t
[4]
Г
Л
f)
tV'So
nan-sai ni natte mo daibingu о tsuzukete iku tsumori de iru
He intends to continue diving regardless o f age.
147.2 C O U N T IN G IN S E Q U E N C E
147.2.1 Counting aloud
l;o r c o u n t in g o u t a l o u d , the SJ set is th e m o s t c o m m o n . N o t e th e c o m m o n
NJ a lte r n a tiv e s l o r the n e a r - h o m o p h o n e s (in rap id sp eech a t a n y rate) shi
a n d shiclii
1 ichi, 2 ni, 3 san, 4 shi (yon), 5 go, 6 roku, 7 shichi (nana), 8 hachi,
9 kyii/ku, 10 jii.
147.2.2 Phone and account numbers
Phone num bers are read m ore or less like counting out aloud, but there are
some specific rules.
rei rather th an zero is used; yon an d nana are obligatory instead o f shi and
shichi; the single-syllable ni and go are obligatorily lengthened to ш and go,
and the longer variant куй is obligatory rather th an ku.
The (fictional) Tokyo phone num bers below, for instance, are norm ally read
as follows (note the optional/m ore form al use o f -kyoku ‘exchange [number]’
and -ban ‘[customer] num ber’):
(03) 123-4567: (tokyo) reisan ichinlsan(-kyoku) (no) yongorokunana(-ban)
(03) 987-6543: (tokyo) reisan kyuhachinana(-kyoku) (no) rokug6yonsan(-ban)
Phone num bers for businesses etc. are often given w ith капа attached th at
combine imaginative ‘readings’ o f the num ber for m nem onic and/or advertis
ing purposes. Such ‘readings’ use not only N J and SJ readings (with additional
капа often throw n in), but ‘English’ pronunciation o f the num bers too.
6 7 9
-3 6 2
I*')+ 9
murinaku surimu ni
‘getting slim w ithout effort’
To explain: mu (N J 6 + ri throw n in), na (N J 7), ku (SJ 9) suri
(‘English’ ‘three’) mu (N J 6), ni (SJ 2)
O r, the num ber o f a hair-transplant clinic:
10
-2 3 2 3
11 wa fusafusa
T h at’s nice! tufty
Here we have i (SJ i(chi) lengthened to ii ‘nice’ (^ in d ic a te s a long sound),
wa for 0 (wa is a N J word for ‘circle’, used here for wa [fin. P], and fu for N J
2, sa for SJ 3).
147.3
S U P E R S T IT IO N A ND N U M B E R S
M a n y h o te ls in J a p a n lack a 13th sto re y , w hich is a W e s te r n im p o r t. M o r e
tr a d itio n a lly , be c a u s e o f th e h o m o p h o n y betw een *Lshi ( ‘f o u r ’/ ' d e a t h ’) a n d
X- ku ( ‘n i n c ’/'su lT e rin g ’), h o s p it a ls h a v e n o w a r d s 4 a n d 9, a n d h o te ls, etc.
usually lack a f o u r th storey.
148
o [CASE PARTICLE]
The basic function o f о is m arking the object (see 155.2), bu t there are also
some uses where it is interchangeable w ith ga (148.2 and 148.3), and uses
with V o f M otion (148.4 and 148.5).
148.1
148.1.1
148.1.2
148.1.3
148.2
148.3
148.4
148.5
M arking the object
In complete sentences
W ith ellipted о
In potential sentences
In desiderative sentences
M arking the object o f a verb o f m otion
M arking departure point o f a verb o f m otion
148.1 M AR K IN G T H E O B JEC T
The basic function o f the case P о is to m ark the object o f V, and certain
AN. N ote th at A N like suki da/kirai da, which usually require [NP ga] can
take [N P o] instead (see 55.11).
148.1.1 In complete sentences
a ш т -f [ £ ] JL-a-t < *iJo
udedokei о misete kure
Show me [some] wristwatches.
b К7 У b
[£] Ш
I tz 0
dorafuto de san-nin no t6shu о kakutoku shita
In the draft they acquired three pitchers.
с
[ £ ] г й и /ijo
ongaku no idaisa о kanjita
I felt the pow er o f music.
d J o i W t f i ГА [£■]
& trL /zt'e,j0
kikkake wa hito о suki ni natte koi о shita kara
It all began ‘because I grew fond o f someone, and fell in love’.
148.1.2 With ellipted о
C o llo q u ia lly , о c a n be ellipted ( o m itte d ). In w riting, so m e tim e s a c o m m a is
used to indic ate this, but in speech th e re is usually n o pause.
a ¥ \ Ы й L i L x nb*....... о
nani hanashimasho ka
W hat shall I talk about? . . .
anata doresu katte mo ii
Darling, is it O K if I buy a dress?
148.1.3 With ellipted predicate
W ith ellipted (om itted) pred., the im plication is one o f request or wish for
realization.
a H fiH tK
К й Ш
[Я о
kokusai-ka to amerika-ka to no sabetsu-ka о
A distinction [should be] m ade between internationalization and
‘Americanizatio n’.
b
Ь
[£ ]
£ ΐρ ν Ά ν '0
kyoshi ni koso, motto jiyil о to iitai
Especially to the teachers I ’d like to say th at they should give
themselves m ore freedom.
148.2 IN P O TE N TIA L S E N T E N C E S
The object o f V-pot. can be m arked with о instead o f the m ore usual ga (see
55.4, 161).
a
[£-] ffiX
naze chowa о tamoteru no ka
Why can they [= body cells] m aintain the balance?
148.3 IN D E S ID E R A T IV E S E N T E N C E S
The object o f a desiderative S can be m arked w ith о instead o f the m ore
com m on ga (see 55.5, 46, 189, 68).
In the following examples, ga could be used instead o f о in example a w ith
out any change in meaning, bu t n o t in b -e , where the V is one o f ‘wishing’,
which is m ore strongly transitive in nature.
a t r У [£] ^ν,Άν,'ο
piano о naraitai
I want to learn the piano.
b
··■ .!? > № ,? ) f |
[$ -]
±6·
I
t
kono chi no ri о ikashitai
. . . w o w a n t t o m a k e t h e In-si u -.г o | llu - b e n e f i t s o f t h e a r e a .
с
г ш й - л « !; я у х г а [ £ ]
L 'C '-'/’bJo
terebi de mo kenkyu ga shokai sare shutsuen-sha no hitori ga kono
shisutemu о hoshii to hanashite ita
The research was taken up on TV too, and ‘one o f the people on the
program m e said he wanted this system’.
d ψ & ύ {&< Z H [ £ ]
heiwa ga tsuzuku koto о inoritai
I hope th at the peace will last.
e
Z Z [£ ]
iyoku-teki na kokoromi ga tsuzuku koto о kitai shitai
I ’d like to hope th at this enterprising experiment will continue.
1 48.4 M A R K IN G T H E O B JE C T O F A VE R B O F M O T IO N
о here indicates by which route the action of the V takes place. In English,
this often translates as a preposition ‘through’, ‘across’, ‘along’, etc.
C om pare this to de [case P], w hich indicates the place where the action
happens w ithout any implication th at it involves passing through or following
a route (see 40.1.1).
a & & [ £ ] j*<
yomichi о aruku no wa fuan da ga
W alking the street at night m akes me feel uneasy, b u t . . .
b
[£ ]
ichinichi heikin nanahyaku-dai no kuruma ga koko о toru mikomi
It is expected th at an average 700 cars per day will pass through
here.
148.5 M A R K IN G D E P A R T U R E P O IN T O F A VE R B O F M O TIO N
о can also m ark the departure point (‘out o f’, ‘from ’) o f the action o f a V of
motion (see 74.4, 149).
a W-kumtrifX, ш
Ш sis До
buchd ni atama о sagete heya о data
I bowed to the departm ent head and left the room.
b И Ъ Х /W Vfc [ £ ]
okito kara ie о deru made no shoyo jikan wa josei no ho ga nagai
As lor the time |required] from getting up to leaving the house, women
take longer.
149 o AND kara [CASE PARTICLES] WITH VERBS OF
MOTION: COMPARISON
W ith o, the implication is ‘to leave/alight from ’, whereas kara implies m otion
away fro m /o u t of, often by m aking an effort.
While m any N can attach either о or kara, very few can attach only one of
the two. A n example of an exclusively о-m arked N P is kaidan о oriru ‘w alk/
come down the stairs’; an exclusively kara-m arked N P is taijOkei kara oriru
‘step off the scales’.
a L l £ ' h ( £ p M [ ^ 'b ] ihX Z
f z0
shibaraku heya kara dete konakatta
He d idn’t com e ou t o f the room for some time.
b
ЖЩ Ь —A —A £
[£ ] I
yagata kaigan mo sugata о kae ryoshi mo hitori futari to fune о
orite itta
Soon, the coast changed [in] appearance, and the fishermen left the
boat in ones and twos.
с 9
[£ ]
£ ^ A f :s f c £ -o A 0
takushi о ori shuraku о aruite iru to onna no hito ni deatta
W hen I got o u t o f the taxi and walked through the village, I came
across a woman.
Ы η\ζ*£·οϊί0
heya kara deyo to shinakatta karui chihosho no josei ga kurumaisu de
shokudo ni dete kite shokuji о suru уб ni natta
A w om an w ith slight dem entia, who had m ade no attem pt to come out
of her room , now appeared in the refectory to eat.
150 о megutte [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
о megutte m eans ‘surrounding’, ‘concerning’, ‘ab o u t’, usually m arking the
object o f some dispute (for differences between ni kanshite, ni tsuite and о
megutte, see 121).
Note that in the N-mod. form о meguru it can also mean ‘surrounding’ in a
physical sense.
150.1 о megutte /meguri
150.2 о meguru noun
150.1 о m eg u tte/m eg u ri
a —A n n # . [£ Α < * ο -Τ ]
Ъа
hitori no musume о megutte umi no haha to sodate no haha ga sozetsu
na arasoi о tenkai suru
Over their only daughter, the real m other and the foster m other are
fighting a b itter battle.
b
[ £ A < * 0 l·
rainen no shunto о meguri tekko roren ga yurete iru
Concerning next year’s spring offensive, the steel w orkers’ association
is wavering.
150.2 о m eg uru N O U N
a
it*}
minamata-bvo о meguru funso wa fukuro koji ni ochiitte iru
The dispute concerning M inam ata disease has reached a dead end
[lit. “entered a dead-end alley”].
b
7o
nichibei no kinyu seisaku о meguru капкуб wa mattaku chigau
The environm ents surrounding m onetary policy in Japan and the US
are totally different.
151 о motte [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
о motte is a com bination o f the case P о and the conjunctive form o f the V
motsu ‘have’, ‘h old’, but it can be regarded as a written or form al equivalent
o f the case P о (m arking an object) o r de (marking a means). There are also
some idiomatic uses (see 40, 148).
151.1 M arking an object
151.2 M arking a means
151.1 M AR K IN G AN O B JEC T
Here, о motte can be replaced by o.
ima no giron wu nani о motte kudft-ka to iu no ka aimai da
I n t h e c u r r e n t debate it is unclear what is meant by hollowing out.
151.2 M A R K IN G A M EA N S
Here, о motte can usually be replaced by de. N ote the com bination о motte
shite in example b, which is a w ritten-style equivalent o f de mo.
а
' Ά
ί
-7
[fcio t]
Ш Ь -< Ъ Г -:а
haiteku no ura о kaita chino hanzai. haiteku о motte seisuru-beki da
It’s a crime th a t’s outsm arted hi-tech. It should be controlled by m eans
o f hi-tech.
b -Л
У Г у я и Ш Х соЗ Ш [ J b t ]
utsukushii sutendo gurasu wa gendai no gijutsu о motte shite mo fukusei
dekinai
The beautiful stained glass cannot be replicated even by m odem technology.
151.3 ID IO M A T IC USES
Here, о motte m eans ‘w ith’, ‘w ith effect from ’,
a ttt
aijo о motte sodatete hoshii
W e’d like people to raise them [= the plants] with love.
b £ 0 [ £ ί» о X \
£ Z £ £ 1 1 I t za
honjitsu о motte so-jishoku suru koto to shimashita
I have decided th at we resign en masse with effect from today.
152 о tosh ite [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
о toshite is a com bination o f the case P о and the conjunctive form o f the V
tosu ‘let o r m ake pass th ro u g h ’; it indicates the m edium (object, activity,
organization) ‘th rough’ which an action or state takes place.
After an expression of time (examples e and f), the m eaning is ‘th ro u g h o u t’.
Ь ί> Ъ о
nihonjin gakko no naka ni wa supotsu о toshite genchi to no кбгуй о
hakatte iru gakko mo aru
Am ong overseas Japanese schools, there are some which attem pt
exchange with the locals through sports.
b hti, ί /
[i-iiiL 'C ]
$ d b '- 'X l
tada mono о toshite no tsunagari wa hyoso-teki na tsukiai de shika nai
However, a connection through [material] things is merely a surface
relationship.
с
H 'if
Ci i ,
If t 'S
[ i- ifi l
С ] f>, И’.Д Д « A V·
С11 I v. Ί
dosho de wa kyoshitsu о toshite ImiIiuii isliiki о (ukumetc hoshii to hanashite iru
The said police station is saying, ‘W e w ant [schools] to raise crime
prevention awareness in (lit. “th ro u g h ”) the classroom ’.
d
У f i - 9 —Щ в Ш Г'f у 9 — %"·/ h J [ i - i t l ' T h
ь t -1 ш
ь
tf-mrb 60
saidai no konpyuta tsushinmo intanetto о toshite sekai no doko kara demo
tokkyo no zenbun о sansho dekiru
T hrough the Internet, the largest com puter com m unications network,
one can refer to the whole text o f the patent from anywhere in the world.
e е - Л
/ с [ & M . I X ] ® J s b b 9 A - 7 Z ' > - X ' s Ζ’ Ζ Ι Ζ & ΐ 9 A 7°
iOX-Oo
blru no shurui wa nenkan о toshite nomeru taipu to shizun-goto ni dasu
taipu no futatsu
There are two kinds o f beer: the type you can drink throughout the
year, and the type th a t’s brought out seasonally.
f
4 [i&LX]
? iz
&' -Э t z0
koko siinen kujira wa nihon no kinkai de hotondo ichinen о toshite
mirareru yo ni natta
F o r the past few years, one has been able to see whales in the seas near
Japan alm ost all year round.
153 ONOMATOPE (SOUND SYMBOLISM)
O nom atope refers to w ords whose p ronunciation (sound) suggests the
nature o f their action or state (in English, apart from anim al such sounds as
‘bow-wow’, sound symbolism includes, for example, w ords beginning with
‘si-’ suggesting something unpleasant, as in ‘slime’, ‘slink’, ‘slither’, ‘slovenly’,
‘slug’).
In Japanese, a num ber o f typical p attern s can be distinguished; the m ost
com m on ones are given in the following list.
(C1-)V-C2-V x 2*
(C’-)Vn-to
(C’-)Vt-to
(C’-)V-CC-ri
C-Vn-C-V-ri
kasa-kasa ‘rustle’, gata-gata ‘clatter’ goro-goro (sound
of thunder/stom ach/purring cat etc.) pika-pika (glitter
o f light), kucha-kucha ‘wrinkled’, yobo-yobo ‘tottering’,
zuki-zuki ‘throbbing (with pain)’, atsu-atsu ‘piping h o t’,
ira-ira ‘jittery’
chan-to ‘properly’, un-to ‘lots’
sat-to ‘suddenly’, jit-to ‘still’, at-to ‘instantly’
yukkuri ‘slowly’, shikkari ‘firm’, uttori ‘vacantly’
nonbiri ‘leisurely’, bon'yari ‘vacant’, hin'yari ‘chilly’
S ntt'
* I n t h i s c o l u m n . ( ‘ s t a n d s f o r c o n s o n a n t a n d V Гог v o w e l ; ( Ί a n d ( ' 2 b e i n g f i r st a n d
i r r o n d c o n s o n a n t , r e s p e c t i v e l y . V n i n d i c a t e s v o w e l f o l l o w e d h v n. a n d s o o n .
Japanese on o m atope can act gram m atically as outlined in the follow ing
sections.
153.1
153.2
153.3
153.4
As
As
As
As
adverbs
noun-m odifiers
nouns
predicates
153.1 AS A D V E R B S
D epending on the item, onom atope can be used as adv. w ithout P, or w ith
the addition o f to [adverbial P] o r ni (the adverbial form o f cop.).
Those ending in to already have to ‘built in’ (see 4.4).
seiseki-hyo wa chanto teishutsu shite itadakimasu
We get them to subm it their transcripts properly.
153.2 A S N O U N -M O D IF IE R S
This requires the addition o f no, na, or to shita (see 137, 1.7.2).
a
[ t i 0 t i 0 <n]
t b о
daigaku wa . . . kogakka wo deta. baribari no gijutsusha de mo atta
A t university, he graduated from the . . . engineering departm ent. He
was also a first-rate technician.
153.3 A S N O U N S
U nusually, som e onom atope can be used as N , w ith case P attached, in
cases where the onom atope is understood to indicate some object (in example
a, iraira stands for som ething like iraira no kimochi ‘feeling o f being ira te ’,
and in exam ple b, atsuatsu stands fo r som ething like atsuatsu no tabemono
‘a dish th a t is piping h o t’.
a [ v ' b v ' b ] ¥ & lS 'C / g f t l z ? t Z r - X ? b t l iX ' ‘' 5 0
iraira ga kojite gyakutai ni hashiru kesu sura dete iru
There are even cases emerging in which irritation is aggravated and
turns into abuse.
b [Г 7 Г 7 ]
fcrfi ( „
atsuatsu о itadaku
I din into the piping hot |dish|
1 53.4 AS P R E D IC A T E S
This requires the addition of cop., o r form s of suru/shite iru.
а
ltv > /:0
denwa no кое no choshi mo shikkari shite ita
The tone o f his voice on the phone was steady, too.
154 ORDINAL NUMBERS
O rdinal num. are form ed by adding the suffix -me ( Λ ■ Ш) to the com bina
tions num. + C, including the ‘default’ С tsu-(^) (see 147, 36).
— эШ
hitotsu-me
futari-me
.Ξ-Α.0 sannin-me
nidai-me
=.0 Ш mikka-me
gomai-me
+-К.Ш judai-me
—
ikkai-me
‘the
‘the
‘the
‘the
‘the
‘the
‘the
‘the
first’
second person’
third person’
second (car, TV, etc.)’
third day’
fifth (page, photo, etc.)’
tenth (generation)’
first tim e’
T o SJ num. + С com binations, the prefix dai- { %) can also be attached,
which gives it a m ore formal ring th a t cannot be captured in translation:
Ift—Ш?Щ dai-ikkai-me
‘the first tim e’
To SJ numbers w ithout С the suf. -ban is attached, often in combination with
the prefix dai- (sfr), again for a m ore formal/written-style ring, dai-ichi forms
many o th er SJ a n d W J nouns by attach in g noun elem ents such as -i
( Щ—££ ‘first ra n k ’), -bu ( Щ (Ц — Щ ‘the first p a rt’), -shfi (iSL) (Ц —i®. ‘the
first week’), dankai ($ΙΡ§·) (% —IJIFW ‘the first stage’), raundo ( у 'У У К)
(
У К ‘the first round’), etc.
—
$ —&
·"
- 4 i
Я ан
dai-ichi
dai-ichi-ban
ichi-ban
ichi-ban-me
dai-ichi-ban-me
lЯ -
‘the first’
‘the first’, ‘N o. 1’
‘the first’
‘the first one’
‘the first one’
Ъ -Ш 0] v w k o
maitsuki dai-ichi, -san, -go getsuyobi ga teikyu
They’re closed on the first, third and fifth M onday o f each month.
b
|£ д о
[$ -& ]|
ЫЧЛЫ-п kokyiikyoku dai-ichi-ban nado о ensii suru
T h e y perform R e c t h o v e n ’s fi r s t S y m p h o n y and o th e r |w o r k s |.
Note - (mazu) dai-ichi ni, dai-ni ni, dai-san ni, etc. are also used in the sense of ‘firstly’, ‘secondly’,
‘thirdly’ when lining up arguments, etc. (example c, see also 30.7).
c i f ^ '7 ^ ί
7 Я ii
~ -^< п т а ¥ Ш Ц Л ~ Ъ Ъ а
[15—ί- h f f u b i ^ - у ^ ' И о [ ^ - i c h я
■■■-&
- 7 ) 1 9 x ± i t £ <о1ЩШ
$ f t ^ 'o
Υ,-οΧ и ш ;
$> о t z <Г) tz Z) 7 0 [jf 7 _ ^ -ic]4···
mazu riberaru to katakana eigo о tsukau no wa naze ka. mittsu no riyu
ga sozo dekiru. dai-ichi ni nan to naku imeji ga ii. Dai-ni ni nihongo-yaku
no jiyu shugi wa . . . nagai aida marukusu shugi to no kankei о seisan
dekinakatta shakai-to ni totte wa teiko ga atta no daro. dai-san n i . . .
To begin, why do they use riberaru [liberal] in katakana English?
One can im agine three reasons. Firstly, the image is somehow good.
Secondly, the Japanese translation jiyushugi was n o t acceptable to
the Social Party, which for a long time was unable to get rid o f its
association with Marxism. . . . Thirdly, . . .
Dai-ichi is also used to introduce a statem ent th a t qualifies (often w ith a
neg. form) w hat has been said before ‘to begin w ith’, ‘for a start’.
d m - v t {-H tzA M bm ^
f t < ft^ o
dai-ichi, sugureta jinzai ga seikai о mezasanaku naru
To begin with, able people will n o t aspire to politics anymore.
e
[=H — &Ш] <r> 1Ж]0
aichi-ken-nai de wa sanju ichi-ban-me no shi
I t’s the 31st ‘city’ in Aichi prefecture.
f [-& Ш ] <г>ШШ,···
ichi-ban-me no kasetsu wa
The first hypothesis is . . .
g
—
Т
Ы
Ficoirf
(
[-& Ш ]
0'ь1тшшхь&>ш
ft & о
ichi-dai-me no terebi wa burando-mono о kau ga ni-dai-me kara wa
kankoku-sei de mo taiwan-sei de mo yoku naru
F o r the first TV they [= the customers] buy a well-known brand, bu t
from the second one onwards K orean- or Taiwanese-m ade ones becomc
acceptable.
155 PARTICLES
Partic lcs in d ic a te g r a m m a tic a l r e la t io n s b etw een parts o f a s e n t e n c e , b u t in
ea se o f tin. P a n d Q P a ls o the w a y tlie sp ea k er a p p e a ls to th e listener. T h e y
can be d iv id e d in to the f o l lo w in g s u b g r o u p s
155.1
155.2
155.3
155.4
155.5
155.6
155.7
155.8
155.9
Adverbial particles
Case particles
Conjoining particles
Conjunctive particles and forms
Final particles
Focus particles
Phrasal particles
Question particles
Q uotation particles
155.1 A D VER B IA L PA R TIC LES
The basic function o f adverbial P is to indicate th at the clause or word they
are attached to modifies pred., in various shades of meaning. Some adverbial
P can also be used sentence-finally (w ith cop. attached) an d to m odify N.
They include the following: bakari (see 17), dake (37) demo (see 42), gurai/
kurai (see 61), hodo (see 64), koso (see 82), nado (see 102), nanka (see 106),
nante (see 107), shika (see 180), to (see 213).
155.2 CA SE PA R TIC LES
Case P are used to m ark the relationship between a pred. an d N P th a t
are required by its valency, plus som e other, m ore peripheral relations
(‘where’, ‘where to ’ ‘from where’, ‘who with’, etc.). They include the following:
de (see 40), e (see 51), ga (see 55), kara (see 74), made (see 85), made-ni (see
87), ni (see 116), no (see 133), о (see 148), to (see 214), yori (see 251) (see
also 231).
155.3 C O N JO IN IN G PA R TIC LES
As their nam e indicates, the function o f conjoining P is to link or enumerate
items (N) as m em bers o f a set. Besides the conjoining P (see 71, 215, 220,
241; see also 116.18), the idea o f ‘a n d ’ can also be expressed (in writing)
by a comma. N ote th at in speech, no com m a intonation is norm ally used
(nee 29).
155.4 C O N JU N C T IV E PA R TIC LES A N D FO R M S
Conjunctive particles and forms join tw o clauses in a variety of meanings,
»uch as contrast ‘b u t’, reason ‘because’, ctc. (sec 31, 32, 6, 13, 56, 79, 90.3,
10.V 108, 139, 140, 178,5, 191, 206, 216, 221, 225, 229).
155.5 FIN A L PA R TIC LES
Final P are also sometimes called ‘interactional’ because they indicate th a t
the speaker is appealing to the listener in various ways. In English, this is
done by such m eans as in to n atio n . F inal P include the following: koto,
mono/mon, ne/ne/na, na (yo) (after V-stem), na (yo) (after V-ru), no, sa, wa,
yo, ze, zo.
155.6 F O C U S PA R TIC LES
The focus P wa focuses on w hat follows, rather than the N (+ P) to which it
is attached (see 236).
The rem aining focus P focus on, or emphasize, the N (+ P) they attach to.
They include the following: mo (see 94), made (see 86), sae (see 176), sura
(see 185).
155.7 PH R A SA L PA R TIC LES
Phrasal P are so called because they often correspond in meaning to the case
P they contain, such as ni and o, bu t they are like a V phrase in form. They
correspond to prepositions in English and include the following: ni atatte, ni
hanshite, ni kakete, ni kanshite, ni kawatte, ni oite, ni saishite, ni taishite, ni
totte, ni tsuite, ni tsuki, ni yotte, о megutte, о motte, о toshite (see also 159).
155.8 Q U E S T IO N PA R TIC LES
The Q P ka and kke are used to indicate a form al Q. However, there are
other ways o f indicating a Q, to o (see 164, 114).
155.9 Q U O T A T IO N PA R TIC LES
As their nam e indicates, q u o tatio n P and equivalents (see 217, 228.1) arc
used to indicate a direct or indirect quotation (see 178.4.2).
156 PASSIVE SENTENCES
Pass. S can be explained as S conversions from active S, although often only
one of the two (the active or the pass, sentence) is idiom atic (see also 160.2).
N o t e th e c h a n g e in v a le n c y in th e pair b e lo w , b a se d o n 156.1a.
a % IKtk'Khl/ \ i fy-£
X: -.A
shikenkan ga/wa watashi о wiimttii
T h e in v ig ila to r lau g h ed ;il me
ACTIVI
b
U M tl% .bh/i0
watashi ga/wa shikenkan ni warawareta
I was laughed at by the invigilator.
PASSIVE
In the S X ga/wa Y ni/kara/ni yotte V-pass., Y is the agent (i.e. the person
carrying out the action o f V) and X is the person or thing influenced by the
action. A pass, (rather than an active) S is used when the interest focuses on
what happens to X (rather than w hat Y does). The V can be V-tr., V-intr. or
V-caus.
N ote th at the agent (and/or other N P ) is frequently om itted.
Passive V form ation is as shown below.
G roup I V attach -reru to neg.-base
tora-nai
—> tora-reru
tanoma-nai -> tanoma-reru
G roup II V attach -rareru to neg.-base
tabe-nai —» tabe-rareru
mi-nai
—» mi-rareru
However, there is also a G roup II alternative form th at is increasingly being
used, especially by the younger generations. Please note, though, th at this
form ation cannot be applied to all G roup II V.
G roup II V (alternative form) attach -reru to V-stem
tabe-nai —» tabe-reru
mi-nai
—> mi-reru
G roup III V:
■uru
kuru
—» sareru
—> korareru
Note that the resulting forms (ending in -(ra)reru) attach other endings (such
as past/perfective -ta, or polite -masu, etc.) just like any other G roup II
Verb:
•(ra)re-ru
•(ra)re-ru
—» -(ra)re-ta
—» -(ra)re-masu
Passive sentence types are shown below. Uses 156.1 to 156.4 concern how
persons, and 156.5 how things are affected by the action o f V-pass.
In 156.6, V -p a ss. is used in p la ce o f V -in tr., and 156.7 s h o w s th e s o - c a lle d
’a p o n t a n e o u s ’ fo r m . In 156.8, pass, f o r m s arc u sed , n o t in pass, m e a n in g ,
bill as lion (see 65).
156.1
156.2
156.3
156.3.1
156.3.2
156.4
156.5
156.6
156.7
156.8
X ga Y (person) ni/kara verb-transitive-passive
X ga Y (thing) ni verb-transitive-passive
Passives with an object present or implied
X ga Y ni Z о verb-transitive-passive: indirect passive
X ga Y ni Z о verb-transitive-passive: direct passive
X ga
Y ni verb-intransitive-passive
X ga Y ni (yotte) verb-transitive-passive
X ga verb-transitive-passive
Spontaneous passive (with verbs o f feeling, expectation, etc.)
X wa/ga verb-passive ( X = person): passive honorific
156.1 X да У (P E R S O N ) n i/k a r a V E R B -T R A N S IT IV E -P A S S IV E
(cf., active: Y ga X о V-tr.-active)
N ote th at b o th ni and kara can m ark the agent.
a
[h] Л о
saishu no k6jutsu shiken de wa shiken-kan ni warawareta
I was laughed at by the invigilator in the final interview test.
b ЩИ ШЬ Ъ Z £ t ie <, i соЩХ'ЩЩ ί [Η] Λ 0
otoko wa abareru koto mo naku sono ba de taiho sareta
The m an was arrested on the spot, w ithout a struggle.
С
л
[ b h ]
akarui A-kun ga ijimerarete ita nante shiranakatta
I h ad no idea th at ‘A ’, who was such a cheerful boy, was being bullied.
d
I
lb]
gakusei jidai ni ichi-do dake suki na otoko no ко ni kokuhaku shita ga
furarete shimatta
W hen I was a student, I once declared my love to a boy, but I was
rejected.
okasan kawaikunai kara akirarechatta no ka
H as [your father/m y husband] lost interest in me because I ’m not cute?
156.2 X да У (TH IN G ) ni V E R B -T R A N S IT IV E -P A S S IV E
(cf., active: Kg я X о V -tr.-a c tiv e)
H ere, o n ly ni can mark the ai’enl
а Ь Ш '- Ш Ь [b] X ,
taifu ni mimawarete kotsii kikan ga mahi shite shimatta
Struck by a typhoon, the transport system was paralysed.
ь
[ta
K-cho no kaisha-in A-san ga joyo-sha ni hanerare atama о tsuyoku utte
sokushi shita
The com pany employee A o f tow n К was hit by a car and died
instantly from the heavy blow to his head.
156.3
P A S S IV E S W IT H AN O B JE C T P R E S E N T O R IM P L IE D
156.3.1 X да У ni Z o verb-transitive-passive: indirect passive
(cf., active: Y ga X no Z о verb-transitive-active)
Here, Z (some entity belonging to X, such as a thing, p a rt o f body, fam
ily m em ber, etc., w hich is expressed by Z-no in the active counterpart)
is affected by the action o f Y, and as a result, X is affected indirectly. There
fore this type o f pass, is often called indirect pass, or suffering pass. The
implication is usually one o f adversity, i.e. something unfortunate happening
to X.
а
[И ] f t 0
dorobo ni saifu о torareta
(I) had my wallet taken by a thief.
b ^ i i t t b b b f c Z ' t : i [ Ш ] A&o
denki о tomerareta koto mo nando mo aru
I’ve had the electricity cut off m any times.
156.3.2 X g a Y ni Z о verb-transitive-passive: direct passive
(cf., Active: Y ga X ni Z о V-tr.-active)
The difference to 156.3.1 is that this is a direct pass., w ith an object present
or implied in the sentence.
а
') ' s i ' f t t e i r i ' r t b [ b ] X ^ ^ f z 0
sono neko wa gasorin ka t6yu о kakerarete ita
T h at cat h ad petrol or kerosene poured over it.
b
tribute, [ b ]
ima no shigoto wa kitsui kcredo mise о makaserarete iru to iu jiijitsu-kan
ga aru
M y current w o r k is t o u g h , hut there is the s a t is f a c tio n o f b e in g
en tr u sted witli the s h o p
156.4 X g a Y ni V E R B -IN T R A N S IT IV E -P A S S IV E
(cf., active: Y ga X ni V-intr.-active)
Here, X is directly affected (not ju st in part, as in 156.3.1) by the action o f
Y, usually adversely.
a $t\Z%jL.tztz [tl] tz0
tsuma ni sakidatareta
[His] wife died before [him].
156.5 X да У ni (yotte) V E R B -T R A N S IT IV E -P A S S IV E
(cf., active: Y ga X о V-tr.-active)
This type o f pass, is similar to English pass., with inanim ate Y.
а 7
1Ы £ 0
nanakakoku no daihyo ni yotte hanashiai ga saikai sareru
Talks will be resumed by the delegates from the seven countries.
ь ш ю ш ' ш и о а ы ш з —
l b)
shobo-tai ga kaketsuke hi wa yaku ichiji-kan-go ni keshi-tomerareta
The fire brigade rushed to the scene and the fire was extinguished after
about an hour.
с
ш
t z0
natsuyasumi ni wa kodomo-tachi о taisho to shita kagaku ky6shitsu ga
kakuchi de kaisai sareta
In the sum m er vacation science classes aimed at children were held in
many places.
d
X V f M [ H ]
X^/z0
techo ni wa enpitsu de furusato no ie no e ga kakarete ita
In the diary, a picture o f his birthplace was draw n in pencil.
156.6 X g a V E R B -T R A N S IT IV E -P A S S IV E
This type o f pass., which lacks an agent and has no active counterpart, is
typically used in the media, academ ic papers, etc.
а Ш Z A fa X 'frb [ h ] £ о
seijitsu na hitogara de shirareru
He is know n for his sincere personality.
h A it,
cr — X T · · ; - 7 $
[h ]
Х ^ 'Ъ 0
saikin kokyo no ba de no kin'en no mondai ga kuro/.u appu sarete iru
R e cen tly, th e p r o b le m o f o u tla w in g s m o k in g in p u b lic places is
receiving a tte n tio n .
chikyii ondanka no kokumotsu seisan e no eikyo wa mada kaimei sarete inai
The effects o f global warming on grain production have no t yet been
clarified.
d
t e r m 1 Х Ш Ш И ± 8 ί [f t] x ^ b 0
kokoro no yasuragi о eru mono to shite shukyo ongaku mo chumoku
sarete iru
As a means o f achieving peace o f m ind religious music too is attracting
attention.
e
[f t]
shorai keshohin no kakaku wa geraku suru koto ga yoso sareru
In the future, it is expected th at the price o f cosmetics will drop.
156.7 S P O N T A N E O U S P A S S I V E (WITH V E R B S O F F E E L IN G ,
E X P E C T A T IO N , E T C .)
This indicates a feeling th at occurs spontaneously or naturally, which the
subject can’t help ‘seems to m e’, ‘is felt’, ‘be attracted to ’, etc. (see 183).
а
L 0 '& b [ft]
kore made wa seiji kaikaku no igi о mushi shite iru to shika omowarenai
I can only think th at until now they have been ignoring the meaning o f
political reform.
J- 'slzv i)' [ft] 'С'-'До
b
osanai кого kara joba no yOga na imeji ni hikarete ita
From an early age, she was attracted to the elegant image o f horseriding.
с
l h ] £o
sono kotoba ni wa katsute nai setsujitsu-sa ga kanjirareru
In his words one feels an urgency th at w asn’t there before.
156.8 X w a /g a V E R B - P A S S I V E (X = P E R S O N ) : P A S S I V E
H O N O R IF IC
Pass. hon. are less polite than other hon. form s, but are popular with the
younger generation and in professional situations (see 65.1.3).
а
[ft]
Ι& ίίΆ '-'ο
fusho sareta katagata ni wa kokoro kara no o-mimai о moshi-agetai
I wish to express my heartfelt sym pathy to those who got injured.
b ή .* * ·# * -* * . ЯПЖсо^ИШ^ [ft] X^ 6 X iX -to
shizcn о kowasu na to hantaiha no kata wa shucho sarete iru уб desu
T h o s e against [the pro ject] a p p e a r to a d v o c a t e th a t n a t u r e s h o u ld n o t
lie destroyed.
157 PEJORATIVE VERBS
Just as there are verbs that show respect to the subject o f the action, Japanese
also has pejorative verbs th at express disrespect (see 65 and also 60.4).
The basic construction is V -stem -yagaru, a G ro u p I verb. W hen used to
someone’s face, it often results in a fight, which is why m ost o f the time it is
used when talking to oneself. It is often encountered in Japanese comics
(manga), from which the examples below are taken.
a
—
<&ο
he ano уагб кеккб shibutoku nari-yagatta na
Well, th at guy’s got quite tough!
h i 0
c h i. . . chikusho ato de oboete yagare
D . . . dam n, you just rem em ber for later!
158 PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND SUFFIXES
Japanese p ersonal pron. are m ore like N th an p ro n . in th a t they can be
modified by dem onstrative pron. (for an example, see 45.2.1).
Japanese personal pron. do not usually distinguish num ber (singular/plural)
in the first and second person, although the suff. -gata (formal) and -domo,
-ra and -tachi can optionally be used for plural (see 144, also 170). Table 19
gives the m ore com m on personal pron. and suff.
As is evident from Table 19, there are some differences in use depending on
the sex o f the speaker, and m ore pronounced differences according to the
form ality o f the relationship w ith the addressee (and to some degree the
speech situation). Females generally use m ore form al form s than men.
Japanese pron. are intim ately tied up with hierarchy and levels o f respect.
F o r this reason, the use o f personal pron. is generally avoided in form al
relationships and situations; instead nam e (family nam e + suf. o f personal
address) is preferred.
158.1
158.1.1
158.1.1.1
158.1.1.2
158.1.2
158.1.2.1
158.1.2.2
Personal pronouns
First-person pronouns
wata(ku)shi, boku, ore
jibun as a personal pronoun
Second-person pronouns
kimi, omae, kisama
anata
158.1.3
T h ir d - p e r s o n p r o n o u n s
158.1.3.1 kare(-ra/-tachi) a n d katmj»(-ra/-tachi)
158.1.3.2 koitsu. i-U\
158.1.4
158.2
158.2.1
158.2.2
158.2.3
158.2.4
Plural form s
Personal suffixes
-san and -sama
-kun
-chan
W ithin the family
Table 19 Personal pronouns and suffixes
speaker
referent formal
male
First person T (personal pron.)
fa ( b h { L) Z b b
<-
watakushi
female
male
№
ft
b I
boku
ore
washi
fa i b h < L)
Zbh
fa ( b / t l)
hh i
Ί Рз
kochira
watashi
atashi
uchi
Second person ‘you’ (personal pron.)
( &££) (* b b) f (JA)
к &h
anata
male/female
fa ( b / t l)
watashi
watakushi
(anata)
female
kochira
intimate
->
sochira
kimi
omae
hLh
b $ Ϊ.
anta
kisama
(Л Ъ £,)
sochira
Secondperson ‘you’ (name + personal-address-suf.)
- # ( ί ί ) - ί λ,
(( λ,)
-sama
-san
-kun
-chan
Third person ‘he/she’ (demonstrative pron. + N/personal pron.)
male/female
Z/Z/kcr>jf
Zl^clb<r>K
ko/so/ano kata
ko/so/ano hito
WtikJc
kare/kanojo
ko/so/aitsu
male/female
Thirdperson ‘he/she’ (name + personal-address-suf.)
- # ( i i ) - iL
-IS (( AS)
-sama
-san
-kun
-chan
Third person ‘they’ (demonstrative pron. + N/personal pron.)
male/female
Zl
&<r>if-q
ko/so/ano kata-gata
zl^lh<r>K-h b
ko/so/ano hito-tachi
karc-ra/kanojo-ra, ko/so/aitsu-ra
male/lemale
Third person ‘they’ (name + personal-address-suf.)
4/
« (</■)
sama
sun
kun
-chan
158.1 P E R S O N A L P R O N O U N S
158.1.1 First-person pronouns
158.1.1.1 w ata(ku )sh i, boku, o re
The kanji f a i s usually used for b o th watakushi and the less formal watashi,
so in writing it is often difficult to decide which reading is intended. A part
from the level o f formality, bo th can be said to be neutral, i.e. they can be
used with strangers and acquaintances alike. How ever, when contrasted
with m ale-only pron. such as boku, which is used tow ards male or females
and sounds m ore intim ate than watashi, the im plication is usually th at the
user o f watashi is female (example b).
ore is the m ost inform al first-person pron., used by males only.
otto no rusu о yorokobu tsuma wa watashi dake ja nai rashii
It appears th at I ’m not the only wife to take delight in her husband’s
absence.
watashi tsukuru hito boku taberu hito to iu jidai wa m6 owatta
The age where people could say, ‘I [female] do the cooking, I [male] do
the eating’ is already over.
с [ &И]
ore ni mo torasero yo
[PM to cameram an:] Let me take one [= a picture] too.
158.1.1.2 jib u n as a personal pronoun
The reflexive pron. jibun ‘self’ can also be used like a personal pron., in the
sense o f T or, with -tachi, as ‘we’ (see 170).
a [il^ ]
jibun ga doseiai-sha to wakatte mo kamawanai
I d o n ’t m ind if people realize th a t I ’m gay.
nihon-hatsu no keiyaku-sei suchuwadesu. jibun-tachi wa paionia
Jap a n ’s first stewardesses on contract. ‘W e are pioneers’ [they say].
158.1.2
158.1.2.1
Second-person pronouns
kim i, om ae, k lsa m a
kimi is ;m intiniiilc-soundin^ form of address lor male or females by older
men, or by boyfriends low.ml·. I'u lliu iu ls omae is quite inform al, used
between m en w ho grew up or w ent to school together. It is also used by
parents to their sons, kisama, also com m on in comics, is used in such male
bastions as the army, sports teams etc., to subordinates or equals; in ordinary
life, if you address someone with kisama, it signals th a t you’re trying to pick
a fight!
a
Г[£■],
tokoro ga mensetsu-kan wa kimi shojo na no
However, the interviewer [asked] ‘A re you a virgin?’
b [ f c i /t] \ z t t L /c'-'o
omae ni takushitai
I want to entrust [the running o f the company] to you [= my son],
с f l i b , [fcig] i.
J b l f Z X j г[ * U ] l i f c ' i b t
6 0 ' b , [fcmf]
hora omae mo motto ashi о takaku agero yo ore wa hara ga deteru
kara omae mitai na wake ni wa ikanai yo
‘Hey, raise your leg a bit higher!’ ‘I ’ve got a big belly, so you can’t
expect me to do things in the same way as you!’ [baseball training]
d [
1
Ht-:\
l z j f ( o i I) i ' T o
kisama korya nan da senjo ni уакуй о yari ni iku tsumori ka
Hey you, w hat is this [= practising baseball]! Y ou going to w ar to
play baseball?
e
[ # # .]
Φο < 0
ore kisama no mukashi ni kaette yukkuri hanashiai-tai
I’d like a leisurely chat [among us men], back on the old term s of
ore and kisama.
158.1.2.2 anata
This is taught to foreigners as equivalent to ‘you’, simply because it is the
m ost neutral o f the lot. However, W esterners are renow ned in Japan for
overusing anata, which still has strong connotations, namely:
(i) Im personal use: anata is used w hen the speaker/w riter does not know
w hat the social level o f the person/s addressed is; this is especially
com m on in adverts (appealing to people o f all levels).
а Ь
Ъ
[& & Д ] c o r - f i - y
mo damatcha irarenai anata no daietto hoh6 wa daij6bu
I can’t keep silent any longer! Is your [= the reader’s] m ethod o f
losing weight safe?
b
( Ο ϋ ψ $ A/&COI
f A b 'h t - . 0
anata no o-ko-san na no to totsuzcn kikarcta
She was suddenly asked |bv a stran)4-i |, ‘Is that your child?’
с
[& & /;] ( ПШЬЩЬ
«-'ο + £ λ ί 1 ' ' £ & ' · Ό Τ Ь \
nihon de wa anata no e ga suki na hito ga oi. naze da to omoimasu
ka
[Interview with painter:] In Japan, there are m any who like your
paintings. W hy is that, do you think?
(ii) W om an to husband: anata is also typically used by a w om an to her
husband or lover (although less so by the younger generation).
D arling, is it O K if I buy a dress?
b
Г Г Ш и
ηΧϊκ,
til t i M o
kataya anata gohan yo no yo ni tsuma ga otto о sasu daihyoteki na
daimeishi de mo aru
O n the other hand, it [= anata] is also a typical pronoun by which
the wife calls the husband, as in ‘Darling, dinner’s ready!’
(iii) Overuse by foreigners: anata is also a word used by foreigners in situation
where Japanese would norm ally avoid the use o f a personal pronoun.
This m isuse was pointed out in gram m ars o f Japanese by people like
A ston and Cham berlain over a hundred years ago.
158.1.3 Third-person pronouns
n_
158.1.3.1 k a re (-ra /-ta c h i) a n d k a n o jo (-ra /-ta c h i)
These are originally tran slatio n term s for rendering ‘h e ’ anil ‘she’ into
Japanese from w orks o f W estern fiction. They are very com m on now, and
are less unwieldy than sono/ano hito, etc. However, there are some restric
tions on th eir use: they are m ore com m only used by m en and younger
Japanese, and are considered rude if used of social superiors. They are also
com m only used to refer to boyfriends (kare or kareshi) and girlfriends
(kanojo).
a [& £r] Х'ЖьЬГ-.с9 T \
L0
kanojo ni furareta no de onna no ко no tomodachi ga imasen
I got dum ped by my girlfriend, so I haven’t got any female friends.
1 58.1.3.2 k oitsu , etc.
k oitsu/soitsu/aitsu arc used p o j o r a t n e h oi to reler inform ally to close friends,
co llea g u es etc., o r w h en n o p o liten e ss is t e q u n e d , as w h e n o n e ta lk s a b o u t
the c o n t e n t o f o n e 's t h o u g h ts д · m i «..imple л
The difference betw een ko-/so-/a- follows the usual p a tte rn (see Table 9,
45).
koitsu ni wa hanaseru sonna fun'iki о motte iru ningen dattara ii na
I ’d like the kind o f person who feels like someone I can talk to.
b г[ Μ ό ]
b
ί Lt-:\
( fr ft0
aitsu mo ii basan da to shashin о misete kureta
‘She’s quite a granny’, he said and showed me a photo.
158.1.4 Plural forms
Some plural form s are given in Table 19 for third persons, bu t first- and
second-person p ro n ouns can also be m ade plural by attaching plural suf.
(see 188, 168, 49, 58).
A special case is wareware (Ж'?), which is norm ally used to define a group
a n d often prefixes a n o u n (regardless o f any com m a in w riting, it is
pronounced as one unit in speech).
a [# * ], M f i i i ^ ^
5 w ttio
wareware kansa-yaku wa anata-gata torishimari-yaku о uttaeru kengen
ga aru no desu yo
We auditors have the power to take you [company] chairm en to court!
158.2
PE R SO N A L S U F F IX E S
158.2.1 -san and -sa m a
A ttaching the suffix -san (and its very form al equivalent -sama) to family
nam es or given nam es (especially those o f W esterners) is the m ost com m on
form of addressing people.
-sama is also used as a m ore form al equivalent o f mina-san (mina-sama)
‘everyone’ and o-kyaku-sama (o-kyaku-san) ‘guest(s)’.
sore de wa shiraishi-san shiharai о onegai shimasu
Well then, M rs Shiraishi, please pay up.
ib *
ЛЛС-ФЯЛ fctf So
rinda-san wa shu ni ni-kai gakko ni itte iru no de, kawari ni maiku-san ga
ho’nyu-bin de akachan ni bo'nyii о ageru
A s L ind a goes to sc h o o l twice a w eek, M ik e gives th e b a b y a b ottle
feed instead.
с
fafcl
Ш]
а\>'
T t о
atatakuku mimamori oen shite kudasatta mina-sama ni kansha no
kimochi de ippai desu
I ’m full o f gratitude to all the people who have followed [my career]
with interest and have urged me on.
Note - on the use of -sama for addresses: -sama (never -san) is attached to the name of the
addressee on envelopes. In this case, it’s attached to company names as well as people’s names
(other suf. include the more formal -dono (9&), and onchO(W't'); the latter can be used only for
companies, not individuals).
158.2.2 -kun
-kun is generally used for boys only (for bo th address and reference), by
close male friends, especially if they’ve been friends since schooldays, and by
senior males (or females) for m ore junior males, e.g. by teachers in school or
university, and even by the speaker in the Diet for M Ps (example b).
а
Ш (ii)
shogakkd kara kaetta haruki-kun (11) wa konpyuta no gamen о
nozoita
H aruki-kun (11), who had com e back from prim ary school, looked at
the com puter screen.
ь ш
m u m .,
„
kawamura-kun kimi wa ne ichinen-kan kinshin suru kurai no hansei ga
hitsuyo daro
[At the Diet:] K aw am ura, you should repent and be on your best
behaviour for a year or so.
158.2.3 -ch an
-chan is to address and refer to younger siblings, also by friends o f the
family. In the media, -chan is used to refer to children o f up to 6 years of
age. W om en and young children also com m only attach it to cute anim als,
e.g. panda-chan.
а Ш
Ъ
^
0
ayako-chan wa ishoku shujutsu о ukeru koto naku kono yo о satta
Ayako-chan left this world w ithout receiving a transplant
operation.
b 1 ' » Λ < 4 ϊ >)L
M -11 . U ' 4 „
m attaku onii-chan no cikyo-ryok u no okisu ni wu mairu ze
ll really am a/es you how stto in ’ tin- oKlei Ы other's influence is!
158.2.4
Within the family
In the family, to o , personal nam e + suf. is also used (especially tow ards
children), and (o-)to-san/chan ‘daddy’ and (o-)ka-san/chan ‘mummy’, as well
as ‘papa’ and ‘m am a’, are used by children towards their parents (and between
parents) like first-person pron.
donna koto ga atte mo o-tosan to o-kasan wa mamotte yaru
N o m atter w hat happens, [daddy and m um my] will protect you.
b [v v ], t
ic J ;0
mama mo genba ni modori na yo
M ummy, go back to [your] construction site now.
159 PHRASAL PARTICLES
P hrasal particles are com binations o f case P and verbal elements in the
conjunctive form (or V-base in m ore form al or b o okish style). They are
often used after N in the form as [N ni/o V-te] in adverbial use, but some
can also be attach ed to V. Some p h rasal P are also used to m odify N , as
indicated in Table 20.
In very form al w riting, particularly business letters, som e phrasal P have
polite versions ending in -mashite; ni tsukimashite, in particular, m ay be
encountered for ni tsuite.
160 POINT OF VIEW
C om pared to languages like English, Japanese is said to have certain
characteristics th a t can be said to give it a m ore speaker-centred point of
view. The m ost typical of these characteristics are briefly described in this
section.
160.1
160.2
160.3
160.4
160.4.1
160.4.1.1
160.4.1.2
160.4.1.3
160.4.1.4
160.4.1.5
Subjective adjectives
Use o f passive where English uses active
Use of transitive and intransitive verbs
Perform ative verbs
ageru (yaru, sashiageru)
All noun phrases present
N oun phrases 2 and 3 present
N oun phrase 2 present
Noun phrase 3 present
ugcru in relative clauses
lftO.4.1.6 Verb-te ageru M e yaru, te susliiumru)
160.4.2
160.4.2.1
160.4.2.2
160.4.2.3
160.4.3
160.4.3.1
160.4.3.2
160.4.3.3
kureru (kudasaru)
kureru
kureru in relative clauses
-te kureru
morau/itadaku (moraeru/itadakeru = potential)
morau
morau in relative clauses
Verb-te morau (verb-te moraeru = potential)
Table 20 Major phrasal partides
Meaning
Adverbial
Adv. -bookish
N-modifying
‘on the occasion of’,
‘when it comes to’,
‘in’, ‘for’
‘contrary to’
‘(extending) over’
‘when it comes to’
‘with respect to’,
‘about’, ‘as regards’
‘in lieu of’
‘in’
ni atatte (wa/mo)
ni atari
ni atatte no
ni hanshite
ni kakete (wa/mo)
ni kakete (wa/mo)
ni kanshite (wa/mo)
ni hanshi
ni kake
—
ni kanshi
—
ni kakete no
—
ni kansuru
ni kawatte
ni oite (wa/mo)
ni kawari
—
‘at (the time of)’, ‘in’
‘against’, ‘for’, ‘in’
ni saishite (wa/mo)
ni taishite (wa/mo)
ni saishi
ni taishi
‘for’
‘about’
‘per’
‘depending on’
‘by’, ‘through’
‘surrounding’,
‘concerning’
‘by’, ‘through’, or
marking object
‘through’
‘as’
ni totte (wa/mo)
ni tsuite
—
ni yotte (wa/mo)
ni yotte
о megutte
ni tori
ni tsuki
ni tsuki
ni yori
ni yori
о meguri
ni kawaru
ni okeru/
ni oite no
ni saishite no
ni taisuru/
ni taishite no
ni totte no
ni tsuite no
—
—
ni yoru
о meguru
о motte
—
—
о toshite
to shite
—
—
о toshite no
to shite no
160.1 S U B JE C TIV E A D JE C T IV E S
T h e se a r e adj. t h a t a r e typically used to tvl'cr to the feelings o f the s p e a k e r
(or subject) r a t h e r th a n so m e olijci tm · stale sunuii ' I ’m c o l d ’, h azu kashii ‘I
l e d a s h a m e d ', etc.
а - Ш ь И
ЬШо
taiin-ra wa samui samui о renpatsu
. . . the corps m em bers kept saying ‘[I am/feel] cold’.
b
b* L '-'L
yuyo semaranu fuji no iyo ni ningen no asajie ga hazukashii
Before the serene dignity o f M t Fuji, one feels asham ed o f m ankind’s
insensitivity [= lots o f chimneys spoiling the view].
160.2 U S E O F P A S S IV E W H E R E E N G LIS H U S E S A C T IV E
Cases where Japanese uses a passive construction w hereas English would
use the active voice include the so-called ‘adversative passive’ (where the
patient (subject) is adversely affected by the action o f the V), as in example a.
In other instances, as in example b, the speaker does n o t see things from
the barb er’s point of view (i.e. ‘the barber told me . . .’ in the active voice),
b u t focuses on him self (i.e. ‘I was told by the b arb er . . .’ in the passive
voice).
a
[1K h H 6 ]
okane о muzosa ni oite ita ga, masaka torareru to wa omowanakatta
I put the m oney dow n casually, b u t it never occurred to me that
someone w ould steal it (lit. “I w ould get it stolen”).
b 4^5
' c m k ' L h b , Щ ^ Х Л Х И П [ # A U ] t b t A tz0
kotoshi gogatsu ni riyo-shi to sodan shitara shibatte mite wa to
susumerarete yatte mita
W hen I consulted w ith my barber in M ay this year, he suggested (lit. “I
was suggested by him ”) th at I m ight tie up [my hair], so I gave it a try.
160.3 U SE O F T R A N S IT IV E A N D IN T R A N S IT IV E V E R B S
Japanese uses a large num ber of transitive and intransitive V pairs (see 223).
W hen a transitive V is used, the im plication is that the subject is responsible
for the actio n o f V; b u t the co rresponding intransitive V implies th a t
something happens for which nobody is overtly responsible or to be blamed.
a
0 Ί Ζ 0 . 5 i ‘Jo ^ 1 ^ 6 И [Щ г ] t L i n i H ’o
atsusa wa wazuka ni rei-ten gomiri. te ni toru to kowarete shimai-so da
They [the earthenw are teacups] are only 0.5 mm thick. They look as if
they’ll break when you take them in your hand.
b
'С L
sannen-mae no sakuhin о miru (» kowashite shimai-tai kimochi ni naru
W h e n I lo o k at th in g s |
to break them .
p o ttm
I n u u le | three y ea rs a g o , I feel I w a n t
The above distinction is no t a problem in itself, b u t differences in point
o f view are seen in the way things are expressed; for instance, where E ng
lish uses expressions such as ‘they catch the offender’ or ‘the offender gets
caught’, Japanese uses neither the active/transitive, n o r the passive, but the
intransitive.
In example d, an ageing player refers to his dim inishing perform ance by
using the intransitive boru ga tobanaku natta ‘the ball doesn’t fly as it used
to ’, where English would use a transitive or causative expression.
LfciOTL л i t ' o -f-< W i
с
X <
X t o
hannin wa mu-sabetsu ni happo shita no desho ka. hayaku tsukamatte
kurenai to fuan desu
The culprit presumably fired the gun indiscriminately. If he doesn’t get
caught soon, I’ll be worried.
boru ga tobanaku natta wake de wa nai. tairyoku yori kiryoku ga ochite
iru
It’s n o t th at [I can’t get the golf] ball to fly [the distance] any more. I t ’s
my m ental rather than physical strength th a t’s diminished.
160.4 P E R F O R M A T IV E V E R B S
Perform ative V are m ainly V of giving and receiving (ageru/yaru/sashiageru,
kureru/kudasaru, morau/itadaku, etc.), which can be used by themselves, or
attached to the conjunctive form o f other V (V-te ageru, V-te kureru, V-te
morau, etc.) to indicate for whose benefit the action o f the V is perform ed.
In English, the difference is often left to the context.
a m<
Д-Э [ Х Ъ ь - э ] X ^ m i \
[Χφ-ι] Х ^ Ъ И
b n X ' l i *£ { ,
XZ. i Х Ч —~7 'у Ъ ?Ш Г- Ϊ Η 6 i'fco
hataraku to iu koto wa yatotte moratte iru to ka hataraite yatte iru to
kangaeru no de wa naku kaisha to doko made ibun na kankei ni nareru
ka da
W orking is n o t about feeling th at someone is [doing you a favour by]
em ploying you, or you are [doing someone the favour of] working for
them, but to w hat degree you can get on an even footing with your
company.
T h e cho ice o f p e r f o rm a tiv e V d e p e n d s o n w h o gives t o w h o m . A d d itio n a lly ,
the n o t i o n o f i n g r o u p / o u t g r o u p c o m c s into play. T h i s req u ires t h a t p e r s o n s
w ith w h o m th e s p e a k e r id entifies ( th e s p e a k e r ’s f a m i ly o r m e m b e r s o f his
c o m p a n y , etc.) are treated o n a p a r with the s|ieaker w h en addressing listeners
b elo n g in g to o th e r groups.
Table 21 Performatives and noun phrase marking
ageru ‘give’
kureru ‘give’
morau ‘receive’
Noun phrase 1
Noun phrase 2
Noun phrase 3
Verb
Giver-ga/wa
Giver-ga/wa
Recipient-ga/wa
Recipient-ni
Recipient-ni
Giver-ni/kara
Thing-o/wa
Thing-o/wa
Thing-o/wa
ageru
kureru
morau
The difference in use between the three types of perform atives makes it quite
clear who gives w hat to whom; for this reason, some, or even all, of the N Ps
below can be ellipted or omitted (they can also appear in a different order).
yaru and sashiageru w ork in same way as ageru, kudasaru as kureru, and
itadaku as morau.
160.4.1 a geru (yaru , sashiageru )
The examples th a t follow use ageru only, but sashiageru can be used in the
same way (superpolite equivalent, see Table 13).
yaru is a V th a t is m ostly used in the sense of suru by itself (example a). It
can also be used to ‘give’ to people o f lower status than the speaker, but in
fact ageru is often used in such cases (see 160.4.1.3 b, where a m other gives
m oney to her high-school-student son). However, yaru is used for giving
(water, feed, etc.) to plants, animals, etc. (examples b and c, but see 160.4.1.5
a, where ageru is used for giving to a cat!).
а Ш Ь - Ш Л 1 ^ Ь ] £11 £ о
rainen mo isshokenmei yaru dake da
N ext year too all we’ll work as h ard as we can, th a t’s all.
b
- t a t с—
HI Ш
z / z - i A i
itsuka kara nanoka ni ik-kai о meyasu ni tappuri mizu о yaru
Y ou w ater it (lit. “give it w ater”) once every five to seven days or so.
с
1 ^ 6 ] ‘У Ц -ι
niwatori ni esa о yaru shonen
‘Boy feeding chickens’ [= Title o f a photograph]
160.4.1.1 All noun phrases present
Ik ] Ш
Ш
[i>tf]
rinda-san wa shu ni ni-kai gakko ni itte iru no de, kawari ni maiku-san ga
honyu-bin de aka-chan ni bonyu о ageru
A s l,imJa goes to sc ho ol t u r n - ;i w eek, M ik e gives th e b a b y a b ottle
f m l instead.
160 .4.1.2 Noun phrases 2 a n d 3 present
a
JjL [tc ] i i T / [«■] Ш f ] fcv-'T < fc 'i
mushiba ni naru no de musume ni ame о agenai de kudasai
Please d o n ’t give my daughter any bonbons as she’ll get bad teeth.
ь
[ic ]
[ Я l &i f ] r z n & i L i i ^ x 0
moshi hirotta hito ga itara sono hito ni shiawase о ageta to omoeba ii yo
If someone picked up [your wallet], you should ju st think that you’ve
given happiness to that person.
1 60.4.1.3 Noun phrase 2 present
а Ш Щ Х ' И . h i K p l · t k r l · [ £ ] [fc tf] 6 Z K l i X { $>60
hoiku-en de wa tama ni kogai e dete kashi о ageru koto wa yoku aru
In the kindergarden, we occasionally go out and often give
[the children] sweets.
b
Як Г
[i i ] W b l
~#FibiSLlftZZZ>···
sono sai koko-sei no jinan ni nokotta bun wa ageru to rusuchO no
seikatsu-hi to shite niman-en о watashita tokoro
On th at occasion, when she gave her second son, a high-school student,
20,000 yen as living expenses during their absence with the words Ύ ou
can keep any th a t’s left over . . .’
160.4.1.4 Noun phrase 3 present
a '.■ ffrS F ilzb it'b ,
[i:] & l f 6 a
sanzen roppyaku-en ni naru kara, okasan ni ageru
[The prize] will come to 3,600 yen, so I’ll give it to you [= mum],
1 60.4.1.5 a g e ru in relative clauses
In a relative clause, the num ber o f required N P is fewer. In the exam ple
below, NP3 cannot be m entioned inside the relative clause (shown by []) as
it is identical w ith the modified N neko (see 143).
a
I
t,# , [£■] [i>i f ]
i '- 'o
sakana-ya wa tokita no ie ni kao о dashita ga itsumo sakana о agete ita
neko ga inai
T h e f ish m o n g e r visited T o k i t a ’s place. but the cat he alw a y s used to
give tish w a s n 't there.
1 60.4.1.6 Verb-te a g e ru (-te y aru , -te s a s h ia g e ru )
Here, the num ber o f required N Ps depends on the valency of the V to which
-te ageru is attached, -te yaru can be used to those o f lower status, and -te
sashiageru o f higher status (see 231, 195, 211, 65.3, Table 13).
a f c J t f [£·] f o [ Х Ш ]
okashi о katte ageru
I ’ll buy you sweets.
60
b 4 ^ —Sttwiifi'C*''-? [ X b l f ] 6 i ' b f a 0
kondo issho ni tsurete itte ageru kara ne
[Grown-up grandson to grandfather:] I’ll take you [back to your
birthplace] one o f these days, OK?
C El fc-X-
гГ Ш Ь Ь Щ ^ Х b £ L hb\ £ tz i tz “L
[Xblf] Ь ”
M tlz ^ J ttz X ή Ъ -Ш Ш Ч & 'Х i X ' t o
nihon de mo borantia katsudo ga fuete kimashita ga madamada shite
ageru to iu on ni kiseta yo na ishiki ga tsuyoi yo desu
V oluntary w ork has increased in Japan too, but the feeling of doing
others a favour in the sense of ‘I ’m doing it f or you’ still seems to be
strong.
d
[ i f]
[X b l f ]
^ t z h [C ]
[£ ·] « X
ζ>Щ- 1> HI fL-^>0
teburu de o-kasan ya o-tosan ga kodomo-tachi ni ehon о yonde ageru
sugata mo medatsu
A t the table you see m others and fathers reading picture books to their
children.
e
[ Х Ш ] 6]
gaikoku-jin ni michi о kikaretara do suru. basho ga wakareba oshiete
ageru
‘W hat do you do if a foreigner asks you the way?’ ‘If I know the
location, I ’ll tell him .’
f
[ Х Ы f ] 6 , Y . ^ ^ b t l L { ^ h b X b i) b t t z ¥ h m t ^ ^ ¥ b
tzh η о
dokyo shite ageru to onkise-gamashiku iwarete ariga-tagaru oya ga oi
kara daro
This is probably because there are m any parents who feel gratified
when told patronizingly [by their children], ‘W e’ll live with you’.
160.4.2
ku reru (kud asaru)
kudasaru is used in the same way, for subjects + ga/wa who are of higher
status.
160.4.2.1 k u re ru
a m t6 Z b < t ш
[< f t ] e
dojo suru nara капе о kure
If you feel sorry for me give me some money.
b ' Ш [ i i ] — a i c — Κ Ή 'ϋ Λ ' [ £ ] [ ( f t ] So
chichioya wa ichinichi ni ichi-doru kozukai о kureru.
The father gives them one dollar pocket money a day [in story about
children spending time with divorced parents].
с
t z b b l b b t z [£ ]
[(ft] £ô
guchi о kurikaeshite ite mo dare mo anata о sukui-dashite wa kurenai
If you ju st keep complaining, no one is going to help you.
d
Г Т С -Ш [ £ ] [ ( f t] Ь \
joi ni iru to sugu tegami о kureru to iu
W hen he is am ong the leaders [in a tournam ent], ‘[Grandm a] sends me
a letter right aw ay’, he says.
e
? l · — b [ f t ] [ ( ft] ζ>со i ' t i ] о (demo here replaces o)
chokoreto demo kureru no ka na
M aybe [my daughters] will give me chocolates o r something.
160.4.2.2 k u re ru in relative clauses
The NP (NP1) th at is identical to the modified N (hito) cannot be m entioned
inside the relative clause (shown by []) (see 143).
a - a t-f
у * -?
[i]
[(ft]
ί
ichinichi mo hayaku byoki о kokufuku shi messeji о kuretahito ni ai ni
ikitai
I w ant to defeat my illness as quickly as possible, and go and meet the
people w ho’ve sent me messages.
160.4.2.3 -te k u re ru
W hen attached to V-te, kureru indicates th at the action o f V is perform ed
for the benefit o f first or th ird persons; in the case o f th ird persons, the
im plication is th a t the speaker sym pathizes o r ‘tak es side’ w ith them
(see 203).
F.xample a n ee d s so m e e x p la n a tio n . 1lere, -ie kureru is used by the f a th e r o f
a n O ly m p ic gold m edallist, w h o w o n in fron t o f a largely local a u d ie n c e in
a n area w h e re he used to go a n d pi a i l is»· a n d \ \ l i u h w as like a second h o m e
to the athlete.
a
[X < b ] ί l h 0
minna ga oen shite kuremashita
Everyone cheered him on.
b
[X ( b ] й'^'о
ima no kaisha wa josei ni shigoto о makasete kurenai
The com pany I am with now doesn’t let women take responsibility for
the work.
с
[X(b] ±#A.X'lha
sofu wa nani mo zaisan о nokoshite kuremasen deshita
M y grandfather d idn’t leave me any money.
160.4.3
m o ra u /itad a ku (m o ra e ru /ita d a k e ru = potential)
W ith morau (itadaku is used with givers of higher status), either ni or kara
can be used to m ark NP2.
160.4.3.1 morau
а
A 7 \/>Y [¥b]
[£ ] [ U o ]
-fc ь & ^ '« i £· -Hf
А/ Т" ^лS 'И & ^ ^ 40
fukusii no boi furendo kara purezento о moratta wakai josei ga iranai
shina о mochikonde iru rei mo oi
There are also m any cases where young women, who received presents
from several boyfrieds, bring in things they don’t need [= to pawn].
160.4.3.2 morau in relative clauses
T he NP th at is identical with the m odified N (mono) cannot be m entioned
inside the relative clause (shown by []).
а [ Ш
{ Ш Ш ) [ ¥ b ] Ψίύ' I b b t ]
irL X '^'htzb
i t о
mina-sama (kisha-dan) kara nani ka moraeru mono ga attara yorokonde
itadakimasu
If there’s anything I can get from you [press corps], I’ll accept it gladly.
160.4.3.3 Verb-te morau (Verb-te moraeru = potential)
-te itadaku is used with givers who are higher in status (see 207, 200).
In e x a m p le a, a h u s b a n d tells his new wife, w h o w ishes t o reta in h e r m a id e n
n a m e , to c h a n g e it, i.e. his in te re sts a r e in d ic a te d b y t h e v e r b kaeru + -te
morau, ‘have tilings olianî-d loi his b e n e fit’.
Example b shows the w ords o f a fath er about a suspect accused o f having
killed his young daughter and who is currently being tried in court, tsugunau
‘m ake u p fo r the crim e’ is used w ith -te morau, for the speaker’s (and his
group/family’s) benefit.
a
+
[Xibb]
w 4n?>ftRl~ffXtbiiZ>
¥ ............Jo
boku no myoji ni chanto kaete morawanai to inaka no ryoshin ni nan te
iwareru ka
Unless you change your surnam e to mine, G od knows w hat my
backw ard parents will say to me . . .
b
А ^ И ^ 'о
[ x i b l ] ν'λϊί
й'^'о
hannin wa nikunde mo nikunde mo nikumi-kirenai. kyokkei о motte
tsugunatte morau igai nai
I hate the culprit m ore than w ords can express. This [crime] can be
atoned for only by the m axim um penalty.
с
[ic]
[Xbbz. ]
yasu-sa dake de wa kokyaku ni manzoku shite moraenai jidai ni natta
It’s (lit. “it’s become”) an age where cheapness isn’t enough to satisfy
customers.
161 POTENTIAL SENTENCES
Potential S basically express the idea o f ‘can’, ‘be able to ’ do something.
Potential V form s are derived from V-ru as shown below.
Note - the *forms (and note that apart from the G roup III korern, only selected G roup II
verbs have such formations) are as yet regarded as ‘incorrect’, but are in fact widely used in the
spoken language.
Table 22 Potential verb formation
Verb type
G roup I
Group II
R eplacem ent Pattern
-u
—>
-eru
ik-u
nom-u
ka(w)-u
->
—>
ik-eru
nom-eru
ka(w)-eru
-ru
->
->
tabe-ru
mi-ru
( iroup
suru
kuru
->
•
-rarerulreru
tabe-rareru/*tabe-reru
mi-rareru/*mireru
dekiru
korareru/*koriTU
The -ru ending o f these pot. forms (all groups) itself w orks like a G roup II
ending, i.e. ik-e-ru —» ik-e-masu, ik-e-nai, mi-rare-ru, etc. —» mi-rare-masu,
mi-rare-nai, etc., korare-ru —»korare-masu, korare-nai, etc.
There are several types o f pot. S, which can be broadly divided into those
where an agent (a person etc. w ho ‘can ’) is m entioned (or implied), and
those w ithout a m entioned or implied agent. The form er can be subdivided
according to w hether the pot. V is transitive or intransitive, and which case
P are used to m ark the person (o r o th er entity) w ho ‘ca n ’ and, where
applicable, the object o f that ability.
161.1
161.1.1
161.1.1.1
161.1.2
161.1.2.1
161.1.2.2
161.1.3
161.1.4
161.2
161.2.1
161.2.2
161.2.3
Agent (person, etc.) m entioned or implied
Intransitive verb-potential
(Person ga/wa/mo) verb-intransitive-potential
Transitive verb-potential
(Person wa) (object ga/o) verb-transitive-potential
N oun-modifying
Person (etc.) ni (object ga/wa) verb potential
Sentence koto ga dekiru
N o agent (person, etc.) m entioned or implied
(0 ga/wa) verb-potential
(0 ga/wa) verb-potential: with verbs o f seeing
Intransitive use o f transitive verb-potential
161.1 A G E N T (P E R S O N , ETC .) M E N T IO N E D O R IM PLIE D
161.1.1 Intransitive verb-potential
161.1.1.1 (Person g a /w a /m o ) verb-intransitive-potential
W here V -pot. is intran sitiv e, th ere can o f course be no object. This
construction indicates (in)ability to perform the action o f V, but the agent
or person N P is often om itted (understood from the context).
а [Ш1& < t c i ] i t
hatarakcnaku naru made hatarakitai
[1] want to w ork until I can’t m anage any more.
b M&ifV'U
кое mo denai shi ugokenai shi taihen datta
[I| c o u l d n 't pro jec t m y voice, a n d c o u l d n ’t m o v e well, so it [= m y first
tim e o n stage] w as h ard .
с
[4 ]
[^ .H ] Ь J: η
< 0 lztyibftb\
shufu ya oeru mo kigaru ni koreru yo na fun'iki-zukuri ni tsutometai
W e’d like to try and create an atm osphere where housewives and female
office w orkers can come readily.
161.1.2
Transitive verb-potential
161.1.2.1 (Person wa) (object g a /o ) verb-transitive-potential
The object o f V-pot. can be m arked by either о or ga, or by focus P such as
wa replacing these (see 148.2, 55.4). Person wa, and/or object ga/o, are often
om itted (understood from the context).
a MM.& [ i i ]
[ £ ] [Л л '£*-£] ifv,4-C'v,'£0
watanabe-shi wa seiken e no rasuto chansu no me о miidasenai
de iru
M r W atanabe is unable to find his last chance to be PM .
b i
[* 1 [ - c i ] icv-'o
mo atsui tokoro de wa kenkyu ga dekinai
I can’t do research in hot clim ates (lit. “places”) any more.
с
> b [ i i ] [th -йг] ifv-'c
komento wa dasenai
We can’t m ake any comments.
minna о tasuke-takatta keredo d6 ni mo dekinakatta
I w anted to rescue them all, bu t just couldn’t.
e
E,
[ Ϊ ] [ f t -йг]
tokubetsu na rei de wa to imada ni odoroki о kakusenai de ita
‘Isn’t it a special case?’ he said, even now unable to conceal his
surprise.
f f J i i f [**] [ f £ ] t
[-!■<]
chin'age ga dekite mo tanjun ni yorokobenai jijo ga aru
Even if [the company] can raise wages, there are reasons why
[the union] cannot simply rejo ice..
g <Ух--Ь Ь
[£ ] Ш Х 6 ]
X Ί Сй- *) 1 I ft о
ueto toreningu nado renshu hoho mo kenkyu shite jibun ni jishin ga
motcru yo ni narimashita
l i e has w o r k e d out ways o f p rac tisin g such as weig ht train in g , a n d is
n o w able to have сопГкк'Пч· m Ιη ι ι ι μ ΊΙ
h
Ш 7 [ £ ] [ v '/ c / c l t ] h l i
kaiyo chosa ni tsuite hitori demo oku no hito ni rikai kyoryoku о
itadakeru yo doryoku о tsuzuketai
W e’d like to keep m aking efforts to have as m any people as possible
understand and co-operate in the ocean survey.
i
[ £ ] [JLft]
tozan keiken wa kaimu ni chikakatta ga shokuchu shokubutsu ya shizen
no ran о mireru to kiite sanka shita
I’ve had practically no experience o f m ountaineering, b u t took part
because I heard th at one can see insectivores and wild orchids.
161.1.2.2 Noun-modifying
In relative clauses and cleft S, the object is not m entioned, as it is identical
with the modified N (relative clauses), or the N in S2 in cleft S:
(i) Relative clauses and cleft sentences:
а ЯТ
[JL h ]
6 i (Olz&Yafefl·
tada de mireru mono ni kane to jikan о tsuiyasu mono wa nai
There’s nobody w ho’ll spend m oney and time on som ething one can
see for free.
b 1ШН]
tayoreru no wa jibun dake da
It’s only m yself I can rely on.
(ii) O ther Noun-modification: pseudo-RCs are sentences that are constructed
like RCs, except th a t the modified (or head) N is a relational N , time N
o r N o f am ount (see 143.2).
a
[ii] [*-< *1]
irvvtfc'o
totemo zenbu wa taberenai ryo da
It’s far too m uch to eat.
b
[itr-й:] 4 0 *if* 7tii^0
kangaete mireba kazoku issho ni sugoseru hi nado so wa nai
W hen you th ink about it, there aren’t th at m any days th at one can
spend with the family.
161 .1.3
Person (etc.) nl (object g a /w a ) verb-potential
T h is also i n d ic a t e s w h a t the· p e r s o n (oi oth e r e n t ity t h a t c a n c o n t r o l its
actions) can o r c a n n o t d o W lu -tr p i c s c n t , th e oh|oet ol V - p o t . can b e m a rk e d
by ga o r wa, b u t not by o. The o rd er o f N ni and N ga/wa can be reversed
(see 116.7).
a
[ic]
[**] Τ ϊ δ Λ ί ' ο
honto ni jibun ni shigoto ga dekiru no ka
Can I really do w ork [properly]?
b & f t h h [tc ] f t [$*]
jibun-tachi ni nani ga dekiru ka kangae-tai no desu
We w ant to think about w hat we can do.
с Z h [ £ ] й ч д а р [ic] i i [ Τ ί ] *ν,4Λ*·β
sore ga naze ky6to ni wa dekinai no ka
W hy can ’t K yoto do this [= control the height o f buildings]?
d
6 1 j &'Z t: [ i i ] , f a [ie] i i ^ t i A [ b h ] Η ί ν > 0
sokoku kara oitateru уб na koto wa watashi ni wa ukeirerarenai
I can’t accept an action th at am ounts to expelling people from their
country.
e ---fa [ i : ] И} т И ^ ^ у' Л ± 0 ' ¥ 6 ^ Ш [ ϋ ] M l [ b h ]
watashi ni wa katamichi niji-kan ijo kakaru tsukin wa taerarenai
I can’t put up with a com m uting [time] th at takes over two hours one
way.
W ith om itted person ni the form is as follows:
f
% 6 t t Y \ Z<n>% [**] Й Ш - [ S i ] h 0
naruhodo sono ho ga shizen ni omoeta
F air enough, th at [= posing w ith a towel rather than nude] seemed m ore
natural.
161.1.4 Sentence koto g a d ek iru
The phrase koto ga dekiru can be attached to clauses ending in V-ru only.
W here an object is present, it can be m arked by о (o r focus P like wa/mo/
datte etc.) only (see 83.3.1).
а
[« ·] £ l t ;
\ZY.¥Xb\
6 0
ichi-do kabu о uete okeba mai-toshi hana о tanoshimu koto ga dekiru
Once [you] plant the stum p, [you] can enjoy the flowers every year.
b
Ь £ ti <
x - " / \ h ^ x \ % 6 [ i t i ' t H h„
dansei ga sukato о haku wake ni wa ikunai ца, josei wa mitsu-zoroi no
bijinesu sutsu datte kiru koto да dt-kiru
A m a n c a n ’t w ea r a skirt, but a w o m a n ι .ιιι w ear a th rce -p ic cc b u sin e ss
suit.
161.2
NO A G E N T (P E R S O N , E TC .) M E N T IO N E D O R IM PLIE D
161.2.1 (0 g a /w a ) verb-potential
H ere, no hum an agent (person-ga/w a) can be m entioned (or implied). In
other words, this construction is concerned with the ability o r inability of
the object o f V, and in English it often translates as a pass.
а Ш \'~ [ t e - e r -U ifc t t ] ic'-'o
капгуб ni makasete wa okenai
[It] can’t be left to the bureaucrats.
b
V f c t ] So
karui ue katei no sentaku-ki de araeru
[They = clothes] are light, and m oreover can be m achine washed
at home.
с |0 < о Щ
[ ii]
[ X . i 4+]
Ccv-'o
mainichi no soji wa kakasenai
Daily hoovering is a m ust (lit. “cannot be done w ithout”).
161.2.2 (0 g a /w a ) verb-potential: with verbs of seeing
Here, no person can be m entioned (or implied). Only ga is used to m ark the
object in these sentences, which typically use V o f seeing.
а
[ * г1 [Я Ж -£ ] So
mado kara wa sogen ga miwataseru
The window affords a view o f the prairie.
ь
[ * fi и *'***.] So
jitai no shinkoku-sa ga ukagaeru
One can see the seriousness o f the situation.
с HifL
1 ί
[£ ]
[ U t lib h ]
Ьо
saikin shacho kotai о niowaseru yo na kodoga miukerareru
Recently, one can see actions th at hint at a change o f com pany
president.
161.2.3 Intransitive use of transitive verb-potential
There are some verbs th at look like pot. V but function m ore like intransitive
V, such as ureru ‘sell well’, kireru ‘cut well’ and kakeru ‘write well’.
N ote, how ever, th a t so m e o f these V, such as kak e ru (which otherw ise a p p e a r
identical), ca n also be transitives 111 their pot. form , in w h ich use an age n t o r
p e rso n can be m e n tio n e d (exam ple c | (see also 1X1).
a
[¥] Ш & 1 К [ Ш \ X ^ b a
eakon natsumono inryo nado ga bakuhatsu-teki ni urete iru
Things like air conditioners and sum m er drinks are selling really fast.
b i
[ftt] Z l H z l t o
inku no nendo о sage yawaraka ni kakeru yo ni shita
W e’ve m ade the ink less sticky and smooth[er] to write with.
C Άϊ- Ш ^ Ш Ш
M rtt]
shain wa zen'in genko о kakeru koto ga saiy6 joken
The condition for being given a jo b at the com pany is th at everyone
m ust be able to write [creatively],
162 -ppoi [ADJECTIVE-FORMING SUFFIX]
-ppoi is a suf. th at is attached to N and N -equivalents such as V-base. It
converts the N into an adj. which indicates a tendency, i.e. what things or
people tend to be like (see 34.4). Some com binations are better dealt with as
lexical items.
162.1 Noun-ppoi
162.2 Lexical items
162.1 N O U N -p p o i
N ote the som ewhat unusual exam ple d, where a following N such as mono
needs to be assum ed as omitted.
a -Su i f ? Ш Н [ o i f ^ ]
kare domo hore-ppoi mitai
H e falls in love easily, it seems.
b
Ы Э ?\л ]0
hakuryoku wa aru kedo, usoppoi.
It [= the depiction o f hell] is powerful, bu t looks a bit fake.
naiso wa kuro to odoiro sutenresu-ppoi gin'iro о kicho ni otonashiku
matomete iru
T h e in te r io r is finished so b e rly w ith black a n d o c h r e a n d silvery
stainless steel as th e m a in c o lo u rs.
d
. c ^ / , а ь [ ·tiv.л] t r a ,
sono baggu ameyoko toka dc utte iru >UMimono-ppoi desu ne
T h a t bag is one o f those e h e ap |om··,) *Iwv sell in placcs like A m ey oko, l ight?
e X f - '/ i
X Y v-' Ί I О Ч У
Д. j — ->'-y 9 [ o t f ^ ]
i(00
suteji mo jazu to iu yori wa souru myujikku-ppoi chikara-zuyoi mono
The perform ance is powerful, m ore like soul music th an jazz.
162.2
LEXICAL ITE M S
nihonjin wa wasure-ppoi
The Japanese people forget easily.
b
[Д -эИ »-'] JlfLtr&X,
joge tomo kuro-ppoi fuku о kite kami wa 6ru bakku datta
He wore a black top and trousers, and his hair was com bed back.
tillfo
okori-ppoi aki-ppoi hone-ppoi no san-ppoi de shirareru mitoppo katagi
The M itoite character is know n fo r three qualities: ‘irritable’, ‘fickle’
and ‘tough’.
163
PRESUMPTIVE FORMS
Pres, forms o f V/adj. and A N /N + cop. indicate a guess or presum ption on
the p art o f the speaker. They can be attached to pos. pred. in the sense o f
‘should be’, o r neg. ones in the sense o f ‘shouldn’t ’.
N ote that the -(y)5 form has a hortative (‘let’s’) and a presumptive (‘should’)
use (see 163.1.2 and 163.3).
Note - pres., including daro, cannot be used in relative clauses (except by intermediating forms
such as to iu).
163.1
163.1.1
163.1.2
163.2
163.3
163.3.1
163.3.2
163.3.3
163.3.4
163.4
163.4.1
163.4.2
-(y)5
Verb/adjective-(y)5: equivalent o f verb/adjective daro
Verb-(y)5: hortative use
Clause daro/desho/de aro
O ther uses o f presumptive form s
N oun 1-presum ptive to noun 2-presumptive to (mo)
Question w ord + presumptive to (mo)
Clause 1-presum ptive ga . . . clause 2-presumptive ga
In a negative question
-mai
Negative presumptive
Negative desicleiahw·
163.1 -(y )6
See hortative V-(y)o (67) for how V-(y)o forms are derived. Besides hortative
‘let’s’, V /adj.-(y)o can also be used as a written-style equivalent to V/adj.
daro.
Adj.-(y)o (the pres, form o f adj., including the neg. ending -nai, which can
be used in stead o f ad j.-i/a d j.-ta daro in b o th w riting and speech, as in
examples 163.1.1 b -d , 163.3.2 a, 163.3.4 a) is derived by replacing the final
-i with -karo
N on-past
Past
yasu-i —> yasu-karo
yasukat-ta —> yasukatta-ro
163.1.1 Verb/adjective-(y)o: equivalent of verb/adjective d aro
N ote also the past-tense form -taro, which is the equivalent to -ta daro.
a k j f t t L X —tikiOtotiU}* [ h h i \ a ( = M i !
shiryo to shite ikkyii no kachi ga aro
As a historical docum ent, it should have first-rate im portance.
b /<=j-y a & L f c z
7 ') —■■? y \ i
ί ]o
(=
?])
pachinko о shita koto no nai sarariman wa sukunakaro
There can ’t be many office w orkers w ho’ve never played pachinko.
С
(=
bei-keiki e no kadai na aku-eikyo mo nakaro
There shouldn’t be an excessive negative influence on the US m arket.
H l ] 0
kaisha no tame to iu rikutsu wa mo toranai to no omoi о arata ni shita
keiei-sha wa sukunakunakattaro
There m ust have been quite a few m anagers who realized th at the
argum ent ‘it’s for the good o f the com pany’ is no longer acceptable.
163.1.2 V erb-(y)6: hortative use
This indicates the idea o f ‘let’s’ (see 246 for further examples).
a
[&' < ·£ 9 ] o
donna ijime mo nakuso
Let’s get rid o f any form o f bullying.
b fcnfc-fctr if 7 [ 4 - * 7] tr., '
aki no yonaga о do sugosft ka
H o w shall wc sp e n d the lo n e ;iu tu m n ш ^ Ь К ’
This form also attaches to omou (
the P to and ga (see 247-250).
i), to suru (
6) and others involving
163.2 C LAUSE d a ro /d e s h o /d e aro
daro, desho, and de aro are the plain, polite and learned (or bookish) -(y)o
form s of the cop., b u t unlike the -(y)o form itself, daro, desho and de aro
indicate only pres, ‘should’, ‘ought to ’, and not hortative. Colloquially, desho
can be shortened to desho (example f).
N o te th at daro, etc. is attached directly to V/adj.-fin. (incl. (-)nai), even
though da cannot be attached in the same way. daro, etc. is usually attached
to pin. form s, b u t in speech it is also occasionally fo u n d after -masu
forms (see 230 e for an example). A fter pin. past -ta, bo th daro and -ro can
be used.
daro, etc. adds the m eaning of ‘should’, ‘ought to ’ to a sentence.
а
Vzbih
kakaku wa dondon sagaru daro
The price should come down rapidly.
b
\ t z h i \о
sore de jubun na no daro
T hat ought to be sufficient.
kono naikaku wa ninen kurai daijobu daro
This governm ent should last for two years or so.
d ш я м ж ы * '''* ., t x i t t m i
\tzhi\o
daiku hencho to wa ie bunka hinkoku wa iisugi daro
Even though we have this fondness for [Beethoven’s] N inth, to call [us]
a ‘cultural desert’ is an exaggeration.
hito to hanasu toki mo me о minai to tsuji-awanai desho
When you talk with someone, too, surely you don’t understand
each other unless you look at the eyes.
f
\th ^ tz b ^ '% < n * fv 9
Ъ к Ъ ь Х Ь Ъ
Y . b t z b ;y - y · ·
anata ga honto no santa-san nara dekiru desho to nedaru shin
T h e scene w h e r e [the girl] ask s [to be given a b r o t h e r a n d father]
w ith the w o r d s ‘If y o u ’re the real S a n ta , you s h o u ld be ab le to
d o it ’ , . .
163.3
O T H E R U SE S O F P R E S U M P T IV E F O R M S
163.3.1 Noun 1-presumptive to noun 2-presumptive to (mo)
W ith neg. pred. indicating a difference or relation, this construction m eans
‘whether . . . o r’, ‘there is no difference/relation, w hether N1 or N 2 ’.
a i& it
£]
£]
jimoto daro to hondo daro to kyaku ni chigai wa nai
W hether they are local or from the m ainland, custom ers are
customers.
oya no kone de aro to nan de aro to tsukaeru shudan wa subete riyo
shinai te wa nai
All possible means should be em ployed, be it p aren ts’ connections or
whatever.
163.3.2 Question word + presumptive to (mo)
This com bination indicates the idea o f ‘no m atter w hat/how ’.
ie donna ni hayakaro to chanto kashi ga kikoenakya ikemasen
N o, you m ust be able to hear the words o f the song, no m atter how
fast the tem po is.
b
Ί
dare de aro to naibu ni hairenai no ga tokushoku da
The distinctive feature o f [the protection system] is th at absolutely
no-one can gain access to the inner part.
с
X ί £ &]>
nani ga okiyo to mo honkon no shuken kaifuku ni muketa seifu no
doryoku о shiji suru
N o m atter w hat m ight happen, we support the efforts o f the
governm ent towards restoring H ong K ong’s autonom y.
163.3.3 Clause 1-presumptive ga . . . clause 2-presumptive ga
J o i n i n g c l a u s e s w ith o p p o s i t e o r c o n t r a s t i v e m e a n i n g , th e c o m b i n a t i o n
ex p re sse s th e id e a o f ‘w h e t h e r . . . o r n o t ’, ‘r e g a r d le s s o f w h e t h e r . . . o r '
(see 56).
У —f] —
О /с о
sukoshi mae made biru wa doko no mise de mo tairyo ni каб ga shoryo
daro ga kakaku wa meka kibo kakaku datta
U ntil a short time ago, in every shop the price o f beer was the price
requested by the m anufacturers, regardless o f w hether one bought lots
or a little.
163.3.4 In a negative question
This is used in the sense of ‘m ight it n o t be that?’ (see 114.7)
a
[ X - i i b t ' Z i i ‘]0
(=
Ί *'])
domo dansei yori josei no ho ga gaikoku ni tsuyoi no de wa
nakaro ka
Isn ’t it perhaps th at women are better at [dealing w ith being in] foreign
countries th an men?
163.4
-m ai
-mai expresses neg. pres, or neg. desiderative. W ith the exception o f V-mai
shi, both have a form al/w ritten language flavour (for details, see 89).
163.4.1 Negative presumptive
(See 89.1.)
163.4.2 Negative desiderative
(See 89.2.)
164 QUESTIONS: DIRECT QUESTIONS
Unlike English, Japanese Q use the same word order as statements.
Any statem ent (including equational S (see 178) can therefore be made into
a Q by changing the intonation and/or attaching the Q P ka, and/or inserting
a Q word (see 167). These three elements can be called Q markers.
In this section, Q a r c g r o u p e d m a in ly by the presence o r ab sen c e o f su c h Q
m ark ers.
к
164.1
164.2
Questions by intonation only
Questions w ithout question words, ending in (finite-form verb)
no
164.3
Questions w ithout question words, ending in к а /no ka
164.4
Questions with question words
164.5
Questions with question w ords and the question particle
к а /no ka
164.6
Questions with question words, ending in k a tte
164.7
Ellipted questions
164.7.1
Ellipted questions: with ellipted question w ord an d /o r predicate
164.7.1.1 N o u n /n o un phrase wa
164.7.1.2 Q uestion word noun/noun phrase ga
164.7.1.3 Sentence da ga
164.7.2 Ellipted questions ending in -te wa
164.7.3 Ellipted negative questions ending in no de wa
164.8
Inverted questions
164.9
Questions in cleft-sentence form
164.10
E quational questions (wa - copula) using tte instead o f wa
164.11 A lternative questions
164.1 Q U E S T IO N S BY IN T O N A T IO N O N LY
Usually, the form al m ark o f a Q is the presence of a Q w ord and/or the Q P
ka, but in to n atio n alone (indicated in writing by T ) can be sufficient.
a
[? ]
agarimasu biru de ii desu ka
Will you have som ething [to drink]? Is beer OK?
b
K V X f T t U " - ' [?]
Darling, is it O K if I buy a dress?
с -3 i f ή
ί ·ζ>-z>X b s-— [ ? ]
yappari fufu sorotte ga ichiban
After all, husband and wife [going to the movies] together is best?
164.2 Q U E S T IO N S W IT H O U T Q U E S T IO N W O R D S , E N D IN G IN
(F IN IT E -F O R M VE R B ) no
This form o f Q belongs to the inform al or intim ate style, and is used by
both women and men. Note that tin· tin I* no used here cannot attach da
(i.e. no da ka is not possible), wIhmims it t .m attach the pol. form of cop.,
desu. i.e. no desu ka is OK (мч· I Ml
jiyG ni dearukeru no
C an you w alk aro u n d freely?
b Г*а£ч
ne donna tokoro ni sunderu no to kare
‘Say, w hat sort o f place do you live in?’ [said] he.
с Θ
-ϋ*kj YtSA- i f ^ ' X
-э X Ъ [ίθ] ?
higoro chanto nay ami о kiite yatteru no
D o you regularly listen to his problems?
164.3 Q U E S T IO N S W IT H O U T Q U E S T IO N W O R D S , E N D IN G IN
ka/no ka
a t' —
[ £' ] 0
blru de ii desu ka
Is beer OK?
ь % < й- ^ τ τ [ ^ ‘]0
takakunai desu ka
Isn ’t it expensive?
с
U \ |0
kudo-ka wa susunde iru ka
Is deindustrialization [= hollowing out] progressing?
d
[«*>]„
akichatta no ka
H as he lost interest in me?
e Θ
fa А/£ Ί (СЙЛ' [<ηύ']0
nihon no sozai wa honto ni takai no ka
Are Japanese ingredients really expensive?
f
[coi'h
wakamono ni totte ren'ai to wa nan na no ka
W hat does love m ean to the young?
g
< [<ηύ']0
reisen-go no beikoku to ajia no kankei wa do natte iku no ka
How will relations between the US and Asia be after the end o f the
Cold War?
164.4 Q U E S T IO N S W IT H Q U E S T IO N W O R D S
(See 167.)
a . M x f i [Ί5]”] /i4 \ !
are wa nan dai
W h a t 's that?
/ ' ί m a le in t i m a t e Q I* Λ·'· Ί
b
ff \\z \^ L X b
ne donna tokoro ni sunderu no to kare
‘Say, w hat sort o f place do you live in?’ [says] he.
с Г - ш
^ о [ £' ■)]
j
A ^ b s ' } ' fx
<
l h
ic^'o
dewa ittai do sureba ii n da to omou hito ga sukunakunai ka mo
shirenai
There m ay be quite a few people w ho think ‘W hat is it I need to do?’
164.5 Q U E S T IO N S W ITH Q U E S T IO N W O R D S A N D T H E
Q U E S T IO N PA R TIC LE к а /n o ka
(See 167, 134.)
a
<о ]
χ - t
[d']o
ima ikutsu desu ka
H ow old are you [now]?
b
ffi]
1 < η ύ '] 0
nani ga mondai na no ka
W hat’s the problem?
с [£ '? ]
M L ·
[< r> ¥]a
do itamu no ka
In w hat way does it hurt?
d [SM f],
- к Г г Ш
-
io ft
[Λ * ·]0
naze onna-tachi wa kodomo о umanaku natta no ka
W hy are w om en n ot giving birth any more?
e [£'C:]
izjsJ ti& iT - V t'ir M . (
doko ni dai-gamen terebi о oku no ka
Where does one put a large-screen TV [in a Japanese home]?
f
[t? H ]
¥ t h t
[*> ¥]о
капе wa dare ga dasu no ka
W ho’s going to put up the money?
g & £ [ & - * ? ]
[ « ttii,
jiitaku кбпуй-ji ni wa naze atamakin ga hitsuyo na no desu ka
W hy is a deposit needed when buying a home?
164.6 Q U E S T IO N S W IT H Q U E S T IO N W O R D S , E N D IN G IN ka tte
(S ec 2 17, 2 2 8 .)
The ιικΜίιίημ is 'you ;isк win
a [£-(?] λ , Α . [ ¥ - ? Χ ] ? # ό ' Μ Χ " $ ί ϊ Η Χ ϊ ι α
naze haitta ka tte. ototo ga ju de korosarete ne
Why did I jo in [Hell’s Angels], you ask? M y brother was shot dead
(lit. “killed w ith a gun”), you see.
164.7
ELLIP TED Q U E S T IO N S
164.7.1 Ellipted questions: with ellipted question word and/or predicate
This can take the form [N/NP/nominalized clause wa.], with omitted Q word
+ cop., or [Q w ord N /N P ga.] with om itted pred. (see 236.4.2.2, 55.3).
The media also uses a form o f Q to invite a comment, in the form [S da ga.]
164.7.1.1 Noun/noun phrase wa
a
[
=
etc.]
ima no kimochi wa
[What are your] feelings now?
b
2o [=
etc.]
keizai kassei-ka no joken wa
[What are] the conditions for revitalizing the economy?
164.7.1.2 Question word noun/noun phrase ga
a
b—
i
[& -£ ']
Y t i r f r l l f X Η ? , |: 4 ν 'ί . 4 '0
tengoku no betoben mo naze nihonjin ga to kubi о kashigete iru ni
chigai nai
Beethoven in heaven is no doubt wondering why the Japanese [do this].
[= Re the popularity o f the N inth Sym phony in Jap an at the end o f the
year]
164.7.1.3 Sentence da ga
This is often used in the media, when asking people to m ake a comment,
а И
Ш
toi: tojitsu wa tanto bucho to atte iru hazu da ga
Q: On the day, you’re supposed to have met with the departm ent head
in charge [please comment],
164.7.2
Ellipted questions ending in -te wa
llcrc, e x p r e s s i o n s like dft/ikiiKu desu k a ' Inns a l i o u f a r e o m i t t e d . T h e r e s ul t i ng
m e a n i n g is o n e ol s u g g e s t m f ,ι i >ми м- ol ,u i m n (see ’ 10. 5, I ()l .4).
а
T A [T ilL
anata no kaisha mo tameshite mite wa
H ow ab out your com pany giving [it] a try too?
164.7.3 Ellipted negative questions ending in no d e w a
Here, expressions like nai daro ka, nai desho ka ‘m ight not?’ are om itted (see
114, 163).
a
[w ta ],
masumasu коуб wa heru no de wa
M ight em ploym ent not decrease even further?
b К 4 'y S fc w jfe JL
[iO T'tilo
doitsu kokunai no seisan коуб ga kud6-ka suru no de wa
M ight n o t G erm any’s internal production and em ploym ent be hollowed
out? (= deindustrialization process)
164.8 IN V E R TE D Q U E S T IO N S
These are Q with reversed w ord order (and usually om itted wa), which tend
to be used when being em otional (angry, excited, etc.).
a
HZcoztiB
kya nan na no kore
Eek, w hat is [it] this?
b ft, Z h ?
nani kore
W hat’s this?
с a ^ ic ftL ^ A = ? ^ a /--tiw 0
nihon ni najinda gaikoku tabako
Foreign cigarettes - have they acclimatized to [= been accepted in] Japan?
164.9 Q U E S T IO N S IN C L E F T -S E N T E N C E F O R M
(See 23.)
а
[ft-tf] ft
bumu ga okiru no wa naze na no ka ne
W hy is it th at boom s arise?
164.10 E Q U A TIO N A L Q U E S T IO N S (wa - C O P U L A ) U S IN G tte
IN S TE A D O F w a
lie gives th e Q a m o r e c o llo q u ia l /in f o r m a l lin g t h a n wa (see 228, 236.7).
a
lot] хь ъ и ь ?
oita-shi tte donna machi
W hat sort o f tow n is Oita?
164.11 A L TE R N A T IV E Q U E S T IO N S
These consist o f repeated Q w ith different content, i.e. Q which present a
choice o f alternatives ‘is it A, or ВТ. They can be joined by conjunctions
such as arui wa or sore tomo ‘o r’, and they generally follow the pattern [SI
ka, S2 ka.]
a H /iL t Z M i —
fc δ W i J & f r t
hatashite kore wa ichiji-teki na mono ka arui wa teichaku suru no ka
Is this [rented accom m odation w ithout ‘key m oney’] a tem porary thing
or is it going to be perm anent?
b
7 h
L ί
Щ .1
ί
b co t'o
$ Μ ό {№ ) Ι Ζ 3 λ : Α Μ ΐ Ύ ζ 0
ureshi-sa na no ka sabishi-sa na no ka kangai ga mune ni komiageta
W as it happiness, or sadness? I was overcome with emotion.
165
QUESTIONS: FORMAL QUESTIONS WITH
NON-QUESTION MEANINGS
These are Q in form , but not in meaning.
165.1
165.1.1
165.1.2
165.1.3
165.1.4
165.1.5
165.1.6
165.2
165.3
165.4
R hetorical questions
Sentence mon(o) ka
Sentence no ka
Sentence ka yo/yo
Question w ord verb-te(i)ru n da
In inverted question form
In the form do ka to omou, ikaga na mono ka (to omou)
Questions ending in ka na/na
Questions ending in daro ka/desh6 ka
Questions ending in ka do ka/ka ina
ka
166.1 R H E TO R IC A L Q U E S T IO N S
Rhetorical Q can be expressed with the ending mono/mon ka, and in some
other ways as shown below.
165.1.1 Sentence mon(o) ka
The meaning of this type of rhetoneal <.> is "definitely not!’ Λ similar effect is
umveyed by I'.nglish "Me lose'1 О <>u m u s t be inkuig') (see ‘>6.1.7).
a It it -5 [ i / Л ‘]0
makeru mon ka
I’m not going to lose!
b
makete naru mono ka
I’m not going to lose!
с ifr&W—S L t h b [ t « H
tokurei ga nido mo aru mono ka
A special case can’t possibly take place twice [lit. “H ow could a special
case take place twice?”]
165.1.2 Sentence no ka
a
K W H 70 t'o
chuko buhin о dare ga kau no ka
W ho is going to buy second-hand parts!
165.1.3 Sentence ka у о /уб
This is a rather colloquial way o f form ing a rhetorical Q, used by men only,
oioi bishojo tte iu toshi ka уб
Hey, you’re hardly the age o f [being called] a beautiful maiden!
165.1.4 Question word verb -te(i)ru n da
A part from rhetorical questions (example a), this is used to scold som eone
for doing things wrong: ‘W hat (the hell) are you doing!’ (example b).
a
* HA-? X b H & ^ X Z L t z ------0
ittai dare ga капе о haratteru to omotteru n da
W ho the hell do they think is paying! [= we are!]
b f t t r JC, '7 X h Ajtz0
nai о yatteru n da
W hat [do you think you] are doing!
165.1.5 In inverted question form
This is used w hen the speaker is angry: 'W h a t ’s this s u p p o se d to be!’ (see 164.8).
а НПЬ<пЪ'-'Ъ \1.,
nan da son o iikata wii
M in d y o u r w o r d s 1 (/// " 1 hi-, u .is . >t -.(кмкшр
w h a t is it?” )
1 65 .1.6 In the form d 5 ka to o m o u , ik ag a na m o n o ka (to om ou)
This is a kind o f rhetorical Q, bu t used w ith omou (although this can be
om itted) in the literal sense o f “I w onder if this is a good idea” , i.e. Ί d o n ’t
think it’s right/w ise’. It is used to voice criticism diplomatically.
gyosei-cho no jinji ni seit6 ga kainyfi suru no wa ikaga na mono ka
I don’t think it’s right for a political party to intervene in a staffing
m atter o f the Adm inistrative M anagem ent Agency.
b
£ ,S ? A /'C tiJ o
katsu tame ni yonen-sei о hazusu no mo d6 ka to omou n desu yo
I do n ’t think it’s right to leave ou t the fourth graders in order
to win.
165.2 Q U E S T IO N S E N D IN G IN ka n a /n a
This form is used to indicate the speaker’s wondering ab o u t som ething or
m aking a guess w hen (or as if) talking to self Ί w onder’, ‘m ay have’. After
-ta, it indicates th a t the speaker is trying to recall som ething (see 110,
166.1.2.4).
a A ik , Z M c b A , [ i 'i t i b l o
jinsei konna mon ka na
T hat’s [lit. this is] life, I suppose.
b ? —Aa К
ϋη dono iro ga ii ka na
Hm , I wonder which colour is best . . .
C
ΖΗΪ.ΧΊΖ\3, iLSafLLtz
[ 6 ‘& ] 0
shigatsu kara kore made ni shigo-kai nonda ka na
Since April I ’ve been drinking m aybe four or five times so far.
d
i - \ z W r ' > t z Z Y . ¥ b ' > h [ i ‘ fc l0
kimi wa dabl ni katta koto ga atta ka na
Have you really w on the derby before?
e 4\
n
[jir&L
ima osaka-ben о daihyo shite iru no wa o-warai to tabemono ka na
[Advertising executives:] W hat people think o f in connection with the
Osaka dialect right now is comedy and food, I suppose.
165.3 Q U E S T IO N S E N D IN G IN d a r6 k a /d e s h 6 ka
l . i k e I (>5.2, t h i s a l s o i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e s| >eaki-t is w o n d e r i n g o r g u e s s i n g ‘ I
w o n d e r " , h u t in I b i s e a s e h e oi slu· r. . nl d u · s s m>* t h e (.) t o a l i s t e n e r .
а Г2ИХ-Ч-& [ T L i ? ¥ ]
kore de jiibun desho ka to gyaku ni toikaeshita
‘D o you th in k this is sufficient?’ H e turned the tables, answering the
question w ith a question.
165.4 Q U E S T IO N S E N D IN G IN ka d o k a /k a ina ka
This m eans ‘(The question is) if/w hether’, ka ina ka is a written-style equi
valent o f ka d5 ka.
а
'ш .т ь 'п & к .т ш ъ ш ъ ъ
daga kud6ka no hadome кбка о hakki suru ka d6 ka
However, the question is w hether it will have a curbing effect on
deindustrialization.
mekishiko wa senshinkoku ka ina ka
Is Mexico an advanced country or not?
166 QUESTIONS: INDIRECT QUESTIONS
An indirect Q S is a S that contains another S, which is a Q. The Q ends in
ka or ka d5 ka (after A N /N and no, cop.-non-past is deleted before ka) and
is followed by pred. The Q part functions like a N or N P in th at case/focus/
phrasal P can be attached to it (see 177, 164).
Two types o f indirect Q can be distinguished by the presence or absence o f
a Q word.
In the examples, indirect Q and their translation equivalents are shown in [].
166.1
166.1.,1
166.1,.2
166.1,.2.1
166.1 .2.2
166.1 .2.3
166.1 .2.4
166.1 .2.5
166.2
166.2 .1
166.2 2
166.3
Indirect positive questions
W ith a question word: question w ord . . . (no) ka (+ case/focus
particle) predicate
W ithout a question word
ka to + predicate
ka do ka + predicate
ka ina ka + predicate
ka na + predicate
ka . . . ka: alternative questions
Indirect negative questions
(no) de wa nai ka + predicatePotential-nai mono ka t pu-iln.ile
nanto . . . mono ka < ри-iln ,it<-
166.1 IN D IR E C T P O S IT IV E Q U E S T IO N S
166.1.1 With a question word: question word . . . (no) ka
(+ case/focus particle) predicate
W ith a Q w ord, the sentence takes the form [Q w ord . . . (no) ka] (+ case/
focus particle)] + predicate.
а Γ[[£·£']
Y i£ ltz0
naze jisatsu shita no ka wakaranai to hanashita
Ί don’t know [why he killed him self]’, he said.
b [£'АЛ*1 %<r> [ jH —
donna mono ka ichi-do tabete oki-tai
I ’d like to eat it once [to see w hat it’s like],
с
[[£ '.!] {-if
tz [ ^ ‘] ] t i S ' - ' i f e - t i r i c ' - ' o t z t z ^ t f b o b ' - o t z ' ) : ' * ' ! Z ):
iiiio b
doko ni itta ka mo omoidasenai. tada renshu ga kitsukatta to iu koto wa
hakkiri oboete iru
I can’t recall [where we went], either. I ju st rem em ber clearly that
practising was tough.
d
[ [ Y h ] ь ч т ъ [ Y'h] ь т з . i ¥ \ ] ь
tiio
utsutta tentai no naka de dore ga ginga de dore ga k6sei ka mo jid6-teki
It can also autom atically discriminate [which am ong the heavenly
bodies on screen are galactic and which are fixed stars].
e [ w f t [H] tz
kore nan da ka wakarimasu ka
Do you know [what this is]?
f [\¥ft
[И ]
о КЪ 7
nan no koto ka o-wakari daro ka
Do you [= the reader] understand [what these words refer to], I wonder.
166.1.2 Without a question word
W ithout a Q w ord, the S usually takes the form o f [. . . ka (do ka)] (+ case/
focus/phrasal P) + pred. ka alone translates as ‘m ight’, whereas ka d5 ka
bccomes ‘if/whether . . . (or not)’.
166.1.2.1 ka to + predicate
T h i s t r a n s l a t e s a s ‘m i g h t ’
jfi о mite honmono ka to omotta
Seeing the gun, I thought [it m ight be real].
b
i c o [ a > ] j] i:& ? o
kore ga shiawase to iu mono ka to omou
I feel th at [this m ight be w hat’s called happiness].
166.1.2.2 ka do ka + predicate
This com bination indicates the m eaning o f ‘if’, ‘w hether’.
a
Ltz V r K i b ' W т г - : Ш г - : о
sakusen ga seik6 shita ka d6 ka wa mada fumei da
It’s still unclear [whether the strategy worked (lit. “o r n o t”)].
nihon de yumei ka d6 ka wa kankei nai
[W hether they [fashion labels] are famous in Japan] doesn’t m atter.
shisha no naka ni gaikoku-jin ga iru ka d6 ka wa kakunin sarete inai
It hasn ’t been confirmed [whether there are any foreigners am ong the
dead].
d
[£> £'? 4']] ί ϋ
f t^ o
ijime ga atta ka d6 ka wa m6 kangaetakunai
I d o n ’t w ant to think any m ore about [whether bullying took place],
buch6 ya kakaricho to iu yakushoku ga hontd ni hitsuy6 ka do ka
kangaesaserareta
One was m ade to reconsider [whether m anagerial posts such as
departm ent chief and section head are really necessary],
genzai kono idenshi ga tainai dokei idenshi sono mono ka d5 ka о
shirabete iru
Currently, we are investigating [whether these genes are the body clock
genes themselves].
ft ^ Ί „
ijim e g a a t t a k a d o k a n i t s u i t c w a iin n n<> l o k o r o o m o i a t a r u k o t o w a
m a tta k u nai
A b o u t | w l i e t h e r b u l l y i n g t o o k p l . m |.
co m e s to m in d '.
Λ ι t h i s s t a g e , n o t h i n g a t a ll
166.1.2.3 ka ina ka + predicate
This is a w ritten-style equivalent o f ka d5 ka + pred.
a
in m tz о
sanka suru ka ina ka о handan suru
They will decide [whether to participate].
b 4te*n[jb.»y γ - f b
eiga wa hitto suru ka ina ka ga kake no уб na bijinesu
[Deciding] W hether a film [will be a hit] is a business like
betting.
с ') x
i) * '}
6
6 [ύ'£ό']]ΐζ¥
t '■'δο
risutora mo kekkyoku wa kono amakudari ni te о tsukeru koto ga dekiru
ka ina ka ni kakatte iru
R estructuring in the end depends on [whether som ething can be done
about this (system o f) ‘descending from heaven’] [= employing form er
government officials],
166.1.2.4 ka na + predicate
This indicates wondering or supposing Ί guess’, ‘m ight be’, etc. (see 165.2).
a 3 jfb h X
4
&t i f LX L i ? 0
ко iwarete shimau to s6 iu mono ka na to isshun nattoku shite
shimau
W hen told this [= why no t use dirty m oney for a clean purpose], you
are persuaded for a m om ent, thinking [it m ight be right],
166.1.2.5 ka . . . ka: alternative questions
These are indirect alternative Q (see 164.11).
уб wa yaru ki ga aru ka nai ka da
The question is, [do they have the willingness (lit. “or n o t”)].
b
& ψ ΐ ζ № ΐ χ υ % 1 ¥ ГЛ.] i - ] W < № : i o A : 0
jDrai senkyo ni saishite to ka hito ka ga yoku mondai ni natta
In the past, a problem in elections has often been [whether (to choose)
‘party’ or ‘person’].
с n.!ft UiH)] ь ч ь к 'х [«/»ί·Ι [.’.II] /Г.r.I
I « НК (i o i U i v ' , ,
dare ga hannin na no ku dare цн tudushii no ka hakkiri shinai
I I is u n c l e a r j w l i o t h e i n l p n i i - | . i m l | « I m is in t h e r i ^ h t | .
166.2
IN D IR E C T N E G A T IV E Q U E S T IO N S
(See also 114.)
166.2.1 (no) d e w a nai ka + predicate
The com bination indicates the m eaning o f ‘m ight’ (see also 114.7).
а [ ' ¥ - k 7 i / 7 * > ' b f f i ^ 5 H f z 8 3 ['C -ii& '-'-H ]
chQ6 ajia kara yu'nyQ sareta uma de wa nai ka to no setsu mo aru
There is also a theory th at [it m ay be a horse th at was brought in from
C entral Asia].
b <ί 0
Ь
[τ-'ίϋ'-Ή]
kusari ni tsunagareta mama de wa sutoresu ga tamaru no de wa nai ka to
shinpai da
If one leaves it [= the dog] chained up, the w orry is [that it m ight get
stressed].
166.2.2 Potential-nai m o n o ka + predicate
This asks ‘w hether it m ightn’t be possible’.
S fU ^ :o
sono ϊρρδ de kono oyuki о nantoka muraokoshi ni riy6 dekinai mono ka
to shian shite kita
On the o th er hand, we wracked o u r brains as to [whether we m ightn’t
be able to use this heavy snow to revitalize the village].
166.3
n an to . . . m o n o ka P R E D IC A T E
Although form ally a Q, this is way o f m aking an em phatic statem ent, nanto
being an em phatic adv. ‘how very . . .’, which is reinforced by the fin. P
mono ka (see 96.1.7).
а
Y i
[£ λ ,£ ]
so omotta shunkan Y-ko-san wa jibun no nayami ga nanto chippoke na
mono ka to omotta
The m om ent she realized this [= how large the universe is], Y-ko felt
[how ridiculously insignificant her problem s were].
167
QUESTION WORDS
Some Q words (those beginning with the syllable d o ) form part of the ко-/
system (see 44). These, along \\tth othei (J words (beginning in ior na-), are listed in T able 2 V
s o - / a - /d o -
Table 23 Question words + ka/ino/demo combinations
0 word meaning
dare*
dochira'
Lrare
doko
dore
ikva
.knew
rtsn
Irani
LUHto"
do
doshite
na/e
+ka
'who’
'which (of
two)’
'where’
which’
'how much’
'how many’
when’
'what'
‘how many
times’
'how’
‘why’
'why’
+mo
Meaning
Meaning
(pos.)
(neg.)
‘nobody’
‘neither’
dare ka [P]
dochira ka
[P]
doko ka [P]
dore ka [P]
ikura ka
ikutsu ka
itsu ka
nani ka [P]
nando ka
‘somebody’
‘either one’
dare [P] mo***
dochira [P] mo
‘everybody’
‘both’
‘somewhere’
‘one’
‘somewhat’
‘some’
‘sometime’
‘something’
‘a few times’
doko [P] mo
dore [P] mo
ikura mo
ikutsu mo
itsu mo
—
nando mo
‘everywhere’
‘everyone’
‘plenty’
‘many’
‘always’
do [P] ka
‘somehow’
do [P] mo
naze ka
‘for some
reason’
—
If'henparticles arepresent
dare ni mo
dare kara mo
doko ni mo
itsu made mo
nan no . . .mo
Meaning
not . . . anybody
not . . . anybody
nowhere
always
n o . . . at all
dare ka ni
dare ka no
doko ka e
do (ni) ka
nani ka no
Xotes * For polite equivalent, replace dare with donata
** Also nankai ‘how many times’, and any other
*** except dare mo ga
+ demo
‘nowhere’
‘none’
‘not much’
‘not many’
‘never’
‘nothing’
‘many times’ ‘n o t . .. many
times’
‘somehow’
‘somehow’
dare [P] demo
dochira [P]
demo
doko [P] demo
dore [P] demo
ikura demo
ikutsu demo
itsu demo
nan demo
nando demo
d5 [P] demo
Meaning
Meaning
(pos.)
(neg.)
‘anybody’
‘either’
‘nobody’
‘neither’
‘anywhere’
‘anyone’
‘any amount’
‘any number’
‘any time’
‘anything’
‘any number
o f times’
‘any way’
‘not any number
of times’
—
somebody
someone’s
somewhere
somehow
some
nan(i) +
dare ka kara
doko ka de
from someone
somewhere
doko ka kara
С combination can be used in the same way (see note to Table 8)
from somewhere
On the left, Q words are given, followed by com binations (where applicable)
with the P ka (= indefinite pron.), mo (with pos. V ‘every’/‘m any’, etc.), mo
(with neg. V, ‘n o ’ etc.), and demo (‘any’). N ote how nani usually changes to
nan before the sounds b, d, g, к (usually with the exception o f the Q P ka),
n, m, p (see also 36 (counters), where similar sound changes take place).
167.1
Q uestion word + k a
167.1.1 Question word + k a
167.1.2 d o c h i r a k a t o i e b a / i u t o
167.2
Q uestion word + mo
167.2.1 W ith positive predicate
167.2.1.1 Question word (particle) mo (particle)
167.2.1.2 Q uestion word verb/adjective-te mo/[noun] mo
167.2.2 W ith negative predicates
167.2.2.1 Q uestion w ord/num ber + counter (particle) mo (particle)
167.2.2.2 Q uestion word verb/adverb-(y)5 t o
167.3
Question w ord (+ counter) + d e m o
167.3.1 W ith positive predicate
167.3.2 W ith negative predicate
167.3.2.1 Question word d e m o negative
167.3.2.2 Q uestion w ord verb/adjective-te demo/noun mo
167.3.2.3 Question word d e m o positive predicate (in negative sentence)
167.4
Idiom atic uses
167.4.1 N o u n d e m o n a n d e m o n a i
167.4.2 n a n i g a n a n d e m o
167.4.3 n a n d e m o . . . s5
167.1 Q U E S T IO N W O R D + ka
167.1.1 Question word + ka
A dding ka to Q words (including Q w ord + C) gives the com bination an
indeterm inate meaning ‘som e-’ (with dochira and dore, ‘one o f ’). N ote th at
dochira can also be a pol. equivalent o f doko (see example 65.1.3c).
a
t
Τϊϊψ-Ιζ& ίΖϋ ( 0
shi-seikatsu mo doko ka de shigoto ni musubitsuku
O ne’s private life is also connected to w ork somewhere.
b [ £ ''} £ '] i f - ? i o (dokka = contraction o f doko ka)
dokka iko yo
Let’s go somewhere.
с [ Я Н . sMift/rii I v.\,
nani ka shigeki ga hoshii
I want some stim ulation
d [>.'< b i ' \
ikura ka kaizen wa sareta
[Things] have been im proved somewhat.
e
')
[£ M ] ¥
shokugo teien de moriao-gaeru no shiroi awajo no tamago о mitsuketa.
doko kara ka nakigoe mo kikoeta ga sugata wa mienai
After the meal, I found the white foam y eggs o f the green frog. F rom
somewhere I could hear its croaking, but couldn’t see it.
f
z< nM X 't$t< x
· > > >iШ'кь 1,У & \
nando ka kono ran de mo nobete kita ga otona no dansei no shinpuru na
fuku ga sukunai
I have said this a num ber o f times in this colum n, too, but there aren’t
m any simple clothes for grown men.
g & JS [ £ % £ , $ * ]
И & Ы К о
sayQ dochira ka ni katayotta kori wa yo-chui da
Stiffness in the shoulders th at is limited to one side needs to be watched
carefully.
koin doshi ga kekkon shite mo dochira ka ga taishoku suru капкб
wa nai
W hen ban k employees get m arried, there is no custom th at [requires
that] one o f them quit.
i
Ш Ы
b
ь
'ь?\~^нъ0
kekkon suru to futari no dochira ka ga seikatsu hogo no taisho kara
hazusareru
If they get m arried, one o f them becomes ineligible for support.
167.1.2 dochira ka to ieba/iu to
This indicates a tendency ‘m ore or less’, ‘rather’, ‘if anything’.
hanashi-kata wa dochira ka to ieba totsuben de aru
His way o f speaking is on the slow side.
b i/.,
% £ΐτκ
ttzii
z & £ f z < n i i , A ¥ 5 3 % , # ^ '2 3 % 0
mata otoko wa shigoto onna wa katei to iu kangae-kata ni sansei mata
wa dochira ka to ieba sansei to kotaeta no wa otto ga gojusan-pasento
tsuma ga nijiisan-pascnlo
A l s o , 53 p e r c e n t o f h u s b a n d s a n d 23 p e r c e n t o f w i v e s r e p l i e d ‘ a g r e e ’
o r ‘ m o r e o r less a j ’ i c c ' t o t i n · ( i m p o s i t i o n ‘ M e n s h o u l d w o r k , a n d
\ \ ί Mi KMi st a v a t
Ik m u -
с
....... j £ π 7
^
dochira ka to ieba to iu j6kensetsu о tsukereba yo no naka wa taitei
neaka to nekura ni wakerareru
If you attach the conditional clause ‘if anything’, the world can m ore or
less be divided into cheerful and gloomy people.
167.2
Q U E S T IO N W O R D + m o
This is used with two types o f S: those where mo is attached to the Q w ord
(or an intervening P), and S where mo is attached to the conjunctive form o f
Y/adj. and N directly.
167.2.1.1 Question word (particle) mo (particle)
The com bination m eans ‘every-’, ‘a n y -’.
a [tih t]
* 7
dare mo ga ichido wa idakiso na yume da
This is a dream th at everyone is likely to entertain once.
b
i>] U f z X 7
6te supa wa doko mo nita vo na jokyo da
The large superm arkets are all (lit. “everywhere”) in the same situation.
с [ ¥ z ] i t - U l,
doko made mo shigoto ni tesshita jinsei de aru
It’s a life th a t’s devoted to w ork all the way.
d Ψ,<η%ί*)\± l ^ ( h i ] h b b K
otoko no atsumari wa ikura mo aru ga josei wa itsumo sogai sare-gachi da
There are plenty o f m en’s get-togethers, b u t the wom en always tend to
be excluded.
itsumo to kawaranai yugata datta
It was an evening no different from usual.
f
g
L i b b H f z Z Y b [-frS U l *>Ъ0
denki о tomerareta koto mo nan-do mo aru
I’ve had the electricity cut off m any limes.
[ п < C, (,] ,(·,/,
kawari no mcka wa ikura inn aru
T h e re 's n o s h o rta g e o l a l t e t n . i t n r m .im il.u lu ti- ts
167.2.1.2 Question word verb/adjective-te mo/[noun] m o
This indicates the m eaning o f ‘no m atter who/w hat/w here’ etc. (see 206.5).
а
[£ M ] | : и - ( [ £ ]
sekai no doko ni ite mo shigoto wa dekimasu
Y ou can w ork, wherever in the w orld you are.
b [ £ X £ ] и С Λ [ ί,]
Z io
donna ijime mo nakuso
L et’s get rid o f any form o f bullying.
с Ш И [ / i f t ] Ь ^ ^ Х [ί>] IsJL 'T L χ α
As regards the economy, it should be the same no m atter who does
[the jo b o f РМ].
d [ £ X i i f c ] Щ . Ш Щ ( Х [ί>]
donna ni nedan ga takakute mo kamawanai kara jun-kokusan-mai о
wakete hoshii
We w ant you to supply proper hom egrow n rice, no m atter how
expensive it m ay be.
167.2.2 With negative predicates
167.2.2.1 Question word/number + counter (particle) m o (particle)
This has the m eaning o f ‘no-one’, ‘now here’, etc.
а
b
Ί
Ϊ ^ λ /Jo гf z h U ] *
watashi wa shibai no umai yakusha ja arimasen. dare mo so
omoimasen yo
‘I’m n o t an actor w ho’s good on stage.’ ‘N obody thin k s so.’
[ / i 'f t ] {c U ]
shorai wa dare ni mo wakaranai
The future is know n to no-one.
с
L / c i A i i [ н - f f t i.]
shib5 shita go-nin wa izure mo gaisho nado wa nakatta
None o f the five persons who died had any external injuries.
d i t f r 'h i
< с [ у : : ] i: [ Ц ?γι Κϊ *>- >α„
rinkyu-chu wa tenki я11 warukutc doko ni mo ikenakatta
T he w e a t h e r b ei ng | so| hail, we c o u l d n ' t μη a n y w h e r e d u r i n g the
holiday w e e ke n d
e
[ £ '^ ] (c [i>]
hinshitsu de wa doko ni mo makenai
On quality, we w on’t be beaten by anyone [= any company].
f
[v-'< b t ] iv,40
nokosareta jikan wa ikura mo nai.
There isn’t m uch time left.
g
[-A t]
ima wa hitori mo nokotte inai
There isn’t even a single person left now.
167.2.2.2 Question word verb/adverb-(y)o to
The m eaning o f this is ‘no m atter how ’ (see 163.3.2).
a »л*.ч [ ! Τ Λ ί ΐ : ]
τ Y] ,
ie donna ni hayakaro to chanto kashi ga kikoenakya ikemasen
N o, you m ust be able to hear the words o f the song, no m atter how
fast the tem po is.
167.3
Q U E S T IO N W O R D (+ C O U N T E R ) + demo
A ttach ed to a Q w ord (+ C) (+ intervening case P), an d follow ed by a
pos. pred., demo m eans ‘ev e ry -’, ‘a n y - ’ (or, in the case o f dochira demo,
‘either’).
a
[»,' ] b b o
fu-byodo о sagaseba doko ni demo aru
If one looks for inequalities, they are everywhere.
с m tz t jr.
[Y 'b b x t] т я .х ъ ь 0
ofuku tomo JR kokO-ki no dochira demo sentaku dekiru
F or both the outw ard and inw ard journeys, you can select either Japan
Rail or aeroplane.
d I U ' ^ ] 'N [ f t ]
iT„
doko e demo iku shi nan demo torn to kfiik\o ni коСисти
ΊΊ 1 μο a n y w h e re , a n d p h o t n i ' i a p h . t n \ i h i m '
lie a n s w e r s modestly.
e b t
[и о Т Ч ]
о
katte kureru tokoro ga areba, itsu demo кубкуй suru
If there’s a place th a t’ll buy, we’ll supply any time.
f 0
t
[n o ti],
< n Ш П <n
[ /с f t T i l ·
fSX'ibbo
f t £ ‘£ f i z y
nihon о homon shita gaikoku-jin ga odoroku no wa machikado no jido
hanbai-ki no osa de aru. itsu demo doko demo dare demo sake ya tabako
nado о kau koto ga dekiru
W hat amazes foreigners who have visited Japan is the large num ber o f
vending m achines on street corners. A nyone can buy alcohol and
tobacco any time, any place.
g [Ш Ч ] Whfzi
nan-do demo otozure-taku naru bijutsu-kan ni sodatetai
I w ant to m ake it an art gallery th a t people will w ant to visit any
num ber o f times.
167.3.2
With negative predicate
167.3.2.1 Question word d e m o negative
A ttached to a Q w ord, and followed directly by a neg. pred., demo m eans ^
‘n o t any’ (or ‘neither’, in the case o f dochira demo) (see 42.4, Table 9).
a - J L № 4 ] ft ί £ ? f t * m
ikken nan demo nasaso na fut5
A n envelope th a t at first sight seems nothing special
b
[ ¥ Ъ ь Х Ъ ] # Ь й -и 0
seiji-ryoku wa michisQ dake ni dochira demo kamawanai
As their political prowess is unknow n, I don’t m ind either one [of the
two candidates],
167.3.2.2 Question word verb/adjective-te dem o/noun m o
The resulting m eaning is ‘no m atter’, ‘any’.
а
[£'-] <r>к -ψ ["?&] # b f t v ' „
zenkoku doko no daigaku demo kamawanai
I do n ’t m ind any university anywhere in the country (lit. “in the whole
country”).
167.3.2.3 Question word de m o positive predicate (in negative sentence)
Here, Q - w o r d demo t po·. p u d mollifies a N t ha t is followed by a neg. pred.
а
Щ-Ъ'К, Щ0 i - i i [ H T t m i T b l·]
tashika ni mawari ni wa nan demo sodan dekiru hito tte amari
inai
It’s true, there aren’t m any people around me w ith whom I can talk
over anything.
oshu kakkoku no susumeru seisaku о eikoku ga nan demo ukeireru wake
de wa nai
It’s n o t the case th at the U K adopts all the policies th at E U countries
prom ote.
167.4
IDIOMATIC USES
167.4.1 Noun demo nan de mo nai
T his is a w ay o f em phasizing n eg atio n o f N ‘by no m eans’, ‘definitely
not!’.
a —f c S Ь <n i i
X t ffX'
ichiban komaru no wa minzokushugi demo nan demo nai
The biggest problem [in Russia] is by no m eans nationalism .
167.4.2 nani ga nan demo
nani ga nan demo w orks like an adverbial phrase in the sense o f ‘by any
m eans’, ‘no m atter w hat’.
nani ga nan demo shushoku shinakereba to iu kikikan wa usui
There isn’t m uch feeling o f desperation o f having to get a job no
m atter what.
167.4.3 nan demo . . . s o
nan demo serves to reinforce the m eaning o f the S ending so, which indicates
hearsay, in the sense o f ‘apparently’ (see 181, 5.4.1).
a m x t ]
U
7/i']
fcc
nan dem o o-kosh o ga kagi о ak cte shogun yoshim unc-sam a mi/.ukara
shojo no fii о kiru so da na
I u n d e r s t a n d t hat his assistant o p e n s the loek | o f the hox| , a n d the
S h o g u n Y o s h i n n m e l i n n s e l l 1 м г . i k . i l n · м-.il o l t he letter.
168 -ra [PLURAL SUFFIX]
A ttached to N and dem onstrative pron. -ra indicates plural; attached to N
only -ra can also indicate the leading m em ber o f a group.
168.1 Plural
168.2 N oun-ra
168.1 PLURAL
(See 49, 58, 188.)
а
[ь]
yasushi no musuko-ra wa mada daigakusei da
Y asushi’s sons are still university students.
b
l b]
kankei kigy5 no shacho-ra wa mada wakai
The presidents o f [the] affiliated businesses are still young [so they can’t
be prom oted to m ain firm president],
с
[b], ®L-k Itzb] <T>p^ît0
kare-ra kanojo-tachi no кое о hirotta
W e’ve gathered their [= male and female] opinions (lit. “voices”).
d
г У lb ]
jimoto no ryoma fan-ra yaku yonju-nin ga sanka
. . . ab out 40 local R y5m a fans to o k part.
e
x
<) SL .y 7 ---- ')
■·■#. lb ]
0
gakusei jidai ni ryukku hitotsu katsuide ryoko shita firipin ya mekishiko
de deatta no wa mazushiku tomo kazoku minna de tasukeatte ikiru
hitobito no sokonuke ni akarui egao. karera no seikatsu ni wa nihon-jin
ga ushinatta nani ka ga aru
W hat I saw in the Philippines and in Mexico, where I travelled in my
student days w ith just a rucksack on my shoulders, were the radiantly
smiling faces o f the people, who were poor but lived in families where
everybody helped each other. . . . Their lives have som ething th at the
Japanese have lost.
168.2 NOUN-ra
I .ike -taehi, -ra c a n also indicate the ulea «»l 'N a n d t hos e associated with N ’
(see 188.2).
a
L tzb\
ПМ&Ш Ш
Й г ч ^ -g -/ - ь
-34
(14)
Γ *.#] £ ^ η p £Μ»-'Λ:···*Μ£Κ.
[ь]
0 t f ί *. fc 0· ·
Ib ]
K H ¥lib¥-?tz0
otoko wa sono mama toso shita ga keiei-sha no dorobo to iu кое о kiita
. . . chugakko ni-nen kawabata naoki-kun (14)-ra chugakusei go-nin ga
jitensha ya kakeashi de otoko о tsuiseki nishi e yaku nihyaku-metoru
hanareta rojo de toriosaeta . . . keiei-sha ya kawabata-kun-ra ni kega
wa nakatta
The m an took flight, but five m iddle-school pupils, [including] the
second-year K aw abata N aoki (14), who heard the p roprietor’s shout
o f ‘T hief!’ pursued him by bicycle and on foot, and overpowered him
on the road ab o u t 200 m etres to the west. . . . The p roprietor and
K aw abata and his group were n o t hurt.
169 rashii [SENTENCE ENDING]
rashii expresses two basic meanings: appearance, p if the basis o f hearsay, or
visual in fo rm atio n (see 93, 181, 227, 218, 2 Щ , and typicality, i.e., th a t
som ething/som ebody is or isn’t typical o f its kind.
rashii attaches to the end o f a sentence. The form s it is attached to are pin.
forms (after non-past A N and N , it is attached w ithout cop., except for N de
aru rashii). rashii itself changes its endings like an adj. The past ending -ta
usually precedes rashii, but occasionally also follows it. rashikatta is m ostly
used w hen the ‘ap pearance’ itself is considered to be in the past and no
longer relevant to the present. In practice, rashikatta is m ostly found in
narrative fiction, -ta rashii being norm al elsewhere. Com pare examples 169.1.1
h and i for the use o f -ta rashii and rashikatta.
Note - there are many lexical adj. that end in
typicality meaning.
-rashii (see 169.3 below) but have no hearsay or
169.1
169.1.1
169.1.2
169.1.3
169.2
C lause/noun rashii
Clause rashii
N oun/clause rashii noun
N oun rashii
Joining two nouns
169.2.1
169.2.2
169.3
169.3.1
169.3.2
N o u n 1 rashii/rashikunai n o u n 2 ( n o u n I = n o u n 2)
N o u n 1 rashii/rashikunai n o u n 2
Lexical adjectives in -rashii
Adj ect i ves w it ho ut the ш п ш ш у ol rusliii
Adjectives which c a n h a w the me a n i n g ol rushii
169.1 CLAUSE/NOUN rashii
169.1.1 Clause rashii
rashii indicates appearance in two ways.
Firstly, ‘seems to ’, ‘apparently’, mitai and yo could also be used in the same
way (see 93, 246).
W ith rashii, the appearance is based on hearsay. This is sim ilar to so and
-tte, b u t rashii is vaguer. W hereas so and -tte express explicitly th at w hat
precedes is som ething you have heard, said or seen w ritten, rashii simply
suggests th at w hat precedes is based on hearsay. It is possible to indicate the
source o f inform ation (see 131, 47, 181).
Secondly, based on observation, mitai and yo could also be used in a similar
way. However, there is a difference, mitai and yo imply t h a t ‘S seems to be
the case b u t definitely isn’t ’ or ‘S seems to be the case b u t I d o n ’t actually
know w hether it is or n o t’, rashii implies t h a t ‘S seems to be the case and
definitely is’ or ‘to the best o f my knowledge it is’. This explains the use o f
N1 rashii N2 in 169.2 (compare examples a and b below).
a % Θ
ί? L ^ Щ
nihonjin rashii otoko
A m an who appears Japanese/A typical Japanese m an
b %
nihonjin mitai na otoko
A m an who is like a Japanese
с
[ b U 'L
do yogisha wa kanari sake о nonde ita rashii
It seems th at the suspect had been drinking quite a lot.
d
[ b U 'L
kotoba wa wakaranai ga, капе о sebitte iru rashii
I c a n ’t understand the words, but he seems to be pestering for money.
e
[b l^ L
josei ga kakaku ni binkan na no wa, yo no tozai о towanai rashii
W om en’s sensitivity to prices seems to be the same, E ast or West.
f
ί : Ί
[ b
U
' L
nihon de wa domo wakai josei ga o-kanemochi de ryoko-zuki rashii
In Jap an , it appears th at young women are well off and like travelling.
g
О Ц “irft" [ i , L v.
saru no sekai mo tayori wa “josei” rashii
It seems that in the monkev woiUI, loo, ‘females’ are the ones to be
relied on.
h
tz ^ tz [b L ^ ]o
kare no kazoku wa saisho, kono kekkon ni hantai datta rashii
His family was apparently opposed to this m arriage at first.
i
^^<n¥%A<-tzY. Z h ,
Y &%¥*),
Щ I b L · ] ¥ ί Ϊζ-0
naze na no ka shirabeta tokoro, setsuyaku miido ga hirogari, sore made
sutete ita tabenokoshi о hoso-zai ni tsutsunde reizoko ni hozon shi,
yokujitsu ni taberu kazoku ga oku natta no ga gen'in rashikatta
W hen they checked on why this happened, the cause was apparently
th at in the prevailing m ood o f frugality m ore (lit. there was in increase
in the num ber of) families [who] w rapped up the leftover food, which
they used to throw away, [in w rapping material,] kept it in the fridge
and ate it the following day.
169.1.2 Noun/clause rashii noun
W hen m odifying N, the m eaning o f rashii is the same as in 169.1.1 ‘N w ho/
which ap p aren tly ’, ‘seems to ’. N 2 is given in [ ] w here n o t im m ediately
following rashii.
kazafusutan de wa pesuto rashii kanja ga dete iru
In K azakhstan patients have emerged who apparently have bubonic
plague.
b
it# [ b l 4
soba ni isho rashii memo ga nokosarete ita
N ext to [the body] a memo had been left which appears to be a suicide
note.
с it<
[p]
toku no ho de kangofu-san rashii, kenmei ni hagemasu кое ga kikoeru
In the distance, a voice urging on strongly (lit. hard) was heard, which
apparently belonged to a nurse.
d k ^ b ' b m ^ L t z I b l 4 &&<F> [ 7 ί H A ]
daigaku kara ryiishutsu shita rashii osan no firumu made utsushite imashita
They were even showing a film o f a birth, which apparently had come
out o f a university.
169.1.3 Noun rashii
I his is used when a tiling, place m pci son is typical of its kind or reputation:
‘in keeping with’, '|iisl like'
а
7 7<Г>%ЗЩ\ь
L]
< 7 7’0sfr<"?K4§tWf&0
fugu no honba rashiku fugu ga oyogu suiso mo mokeru
In keeping w ith a place fam ous for its f ugu (blowfish), there are going
to be tanks where f u gu swim about.
b 7 7 > z^°£cozio/^ [ h i ]
у i-ift-a
furansu shumi no kono hito rashiku, sake wa wain о konomu
In keeping w ith this m an’s taste for things French, his favourite drink
is wine.
C
M
<
V
[
b
I]
(i4/:0
nashi no shibu-mi mo kie, sakunen yori wain rashiku natta
T he astringent taste o f [Japanese] pear has disappeared, and com pared
to last year it has become m ore like wine.
169.2
JOINING TWO NOUNS
169.2.1 Noun 1 rashii/rashikunai noun 2 (noun 1 = noun 2)
W hen joining identical N , the m eaning is ‘a N typical o f its kind’, ‘a real/
proper Ν ’, ‘a N w orthy o f th at nam e’.
a JC [ b U ' l
A0
natsu rashii natsu ga nakatta
There was no real summer.
b г
£ [b in ]
a iL o 0
terebi nado shigeki-teki bunka no eikyo de hon rashii hon no suijaku ga
medatsu
Under the influence o f the stimulus culture such as TV, the decline o f
proper books is conspicuous.
с -ео-ЗДК
[b L ^ ]
kono hantoshi chui rashii chQi о uketa koto ga nai
F or these six m onths, I haven’t received anything approaching a
caution.
169.2.2 Noun 1 rashii/rashikunai noun 2
Here, the implication is that the first N is no t something th at is worthy o f its
name, or that it is different from what you might expect o f a typical example
o f its kind ‘a typical/atypical Ν Γ , ‘like/unlike Ν Γ (N 2 in [ ] where not
immediately following rashii).
u
L"У), i f ih [ i l l v· Ί
·. >- IJ
gorufu о hajimc, undo rashii koto wu issal yurunui
( i o l f o r o t h e r w i s e . lie d o e s not t.ike . i m le. d e v e t e t s e
b -1-ШЦ,
[ь 1 Ч m xh b a
sumida wa furui kaoku ga nokoru shitamachi rashii macM de aru
Sum ida is a typical shitamachi [= old part o f Tokyo] area, where old
houses are still found.
[ h i ]
С
капгуб shusshin rashikunai jQnan na hassd no mochinushi to teihyo ga aru
Quite unlike a form er adm inistrator, he is renow ned as a flexible
thinker (lit. “the owner of flexible thinking”).
169.3
LEXICAL ADJECTIVES IN -rashii
These adjectives, which do not now have any m eaning o f rashii left (but see
169.3.2) are given below.
169.3.1 Adjectives without the meaning of rashii
airashii ‘ch arm ing’, bakarashii ‘ridiculous’, hokorashii ‘p ro u d ’, ijirashii
‘sweet’, ‘touching’, iyarashii ‘disgusting’, kawairashii ‘cute’, kegawarashii
‘repulsive’, mezurashii ‘u n u su al’, misuborashii ‘sh abby’, mottomorashii
‘plausible’, nikurashii ‘odious’, otokorashii ‘m asculine’, onnarashii ‘feminine’,
shiorashii ‘gentle’, wazatorashii ‘affected’.
169.3.2 Adjectives which can have the meaning of rashii
Depending on the context, bakarashii, otokorashii, onnarashii and iyarashii
could also be N /A N + rashii (in speech these would however be pronounced
with a different pitch accent).
170 REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
Like other Japanese personal pron., reflexive pron. are like N in th at they
attach case P. Like N, they can also affix hon. pref. (for an example, see 66.1.2 c).
jibun can also be modified by dem onstrative pron. such as sonna (example a).
doseiai e no tsuyoi уоккуй о mochi-nagara sonna jibun о seme seija no yo
na kin'yoku seikatsu о okuru ga ΐρρδ de suiri shosetsu to seibugeki ga
daisuki to itta hito na no dc aru
He is the sort of person who. while Ικινιιιμ strong leanings towards
homosexuality, blames himsell Ιοι Ιχ-ιημ like that and leads a saint-like
life of celibacy, but on t h e o t h e i hand loves detective stories and
westerns.
Reflexive pron. refer back to a person/persons that were m entioned earlier,
either in the sam e sentence, or previously. The m ajor reflexive pron. are
jibun and jishin, b o th o f which literally m ean “self” and, depending on
which person they refer back to, translate into English as ‘myself’, ‘yourself’,
‘him self’, ‘herself’.
jibun also has a p lu ral form jibun-tachi as ‘ourselves’, ‘yourselves’ and
‘them selves’. As w ith personal p ro n ., when using jibun, plural m ust be
indicated by the p lural suf. (see 188, 158), although in some generalizing
cases this is not applied (see 170.1).
170.1
170.1.1
170.1.2
170.1.2.1
170.1.2.2
170.2
170.2.1
170.2.2
170.2.3
170.2.4
jibun
Reflexive use
U sed like a personal pronoun
Like an indefinite personal pronoun
Like a first-person pronoun
jishin
Reflexive pronoun
A ttached to personal pronoun
A ttached to jibun
A ttached to noun
170.1 jibun
170.1.1 Reflexive use
Here, jibun refers back to a N (in []) previously m entioned in the sam e
sentence. N ote th at in some instances (examples c -d ) no plural suffix is used
even though the N is plural (or generic).
a [A '?]
hitobito wa jibun-tachi no seikatsu о mitsume-hajimeta
The people have begun to look h ard at their daily lives.
b [-&ISA]
[ &f t ] с о ^ 0
eikoku-jin ni totte ie wa jibun no shiro
For the Englishm an, his hom e is his castle.
с
L t b 'b m i. [£ # ]
oya ga kodomo ni yasashi-sugiru no wa jibun ni jishin ga nai kara
de aru
The reason why patents au· *>wrlv кinti to their children is because they
have no confidence m t h e m s e l v e s
d [A £ S L\ ί (
*«OJi Я /LJl'tdt
[ i ) ^ ] с о -£ # .|Ш < о А £ ? т ( t L n „
minasan yoku karaoke-ba to ka gorufu ni iku keredomo sono hotondo wa
jibun no kaisha kankei no hito to iku deshd
People often do things like going to karaoke bars o r playing golf, bu t
alm ost always they go with people associated w ith their com pany,
right?
170.1.2
Used like a personal pronoun
170.1.2.1 Like an indefinite personal pronoun
In this use, jibun is used in the sense o f ‘one’, ‘their’, etc.
a iT
'J —
Z £0
mazu jibun no hitsuy6 karorl о shiru koto
First, one needs to find out one’s calorie requirem ents.
b
c,
[£ # ]
omoshiroi hon ni kodomo ga jibun kara deau koto ga taisetsu
It’s im p o rtan t th at the children find interesting books on their own
initiative.
170.1.2.2 Like a first-person pronoun
This can be either singular or plural.
kaisha wa jibun о d6 hyoka suru no ka
How will the com pany evaluate me?
b
C
t t b i v 'o
jibun ga ddseiai-sha to wakatte mo kamawanai
I d o n ’t m ind if people realize th a t I ’m gay.
r[£
nihon-hatsu no keiyaku-sei suchuwadesu. jibun-tachi wa paionia.
Jap a n ’s first stewardesses on contract. ‘We are pioneers.’
'-'o [ & f t ] b { < ^ I v ' o
naze kiyoteru-kun no kokoro no sakcbi
jibun ga nasukenai. jibun ga kuvashii
ци
wakatte agerarenakatta no ka.
[suicide caused by bullying: | Win vs .is I иплЫс In recognize Kiyotcru’s
silent cries? I’m ashamed o l tnv.eli I'm disappointed with myself.
170.2
170.2.1
jishin
Reflexive pronoun
jishin can be used as a reflexive pron. ‘him /herself’, ‘themselves’, etc. in the
same way as jibun, but this is limited to the written language.
a
ί ί А/£г-г I/
-> * ) I X \ [ i l ^ ]
K±.
joyu no miyazawa rie-san ga terebi no komasharu de jishin no haran ni
tonda jinsei о mojitte tsukatta kotoba
I t’s an expression th at the actress M iyazaw a Rie used in a TV advert as
a joke about her own eventful life.
ь 1 Ш tff-ix
jishin о hydshite nan demo shite mitagaru kokishin no katamari no уб
na seikaku to ka
Assessing himself, he says things like, ‘M y nature is curiosity
personified, w anting to try everything’.
170.2.2
Attached to personal pronoun
The com bination o f personal pron. + jishin, depending on the pronoun,
means ‘I m yself’, ‘he him self’, ‘they themselves’, etc. N ote that after a plural
suf. such as -ra, jishin is attached after the suf. (example c).
a
EWJ&bifv-'o
fa
watashi jishin wa kantoku ni пагб to wa omowanai
I myself have no intentions o f becom ing a coach.
b
Ιϊ& ίΚ ί *
i ЪКЪ<Г)Х'ЬЪ0
kare jishin tensai to kyoki no hazama ni ikita уб na hito na no de aru
He himself [Wittgenstein] is a person who was born on the borderline
between genius and madness.
с
Шь&% \ <пш !< пщ т п^
T i i f t '- 'o
wakate chuken ga shin no dai-shikisha ni sodatsu ka ina ka wa kare-ra
jishin no imryoku no mondai bakari de wa nai
W hether young and established conductors will develop into really
great ones isn’t ju st a m atter o f their own ability.
170.2.3
Attached to
jibun
jishin is a t t ac h e d to jibun used like· a p er so na l p r o n o u n , wi t h the c o m b i n a t i o n
m e a n i n g ‘I m y s e l f ’, ‘he himself' , e k
jibun jishin wa pasokon ga nigate da ga kodomo ni iroiro na shigeki о
ataete уагб to omotte to кбпуй suru koto ni shita to iu
He him self is no good with personal com puters, b u t says he decided to
buy one thinking he would like to provide his children with a variety
o f stimuli.
b —--fv 4 3
*.<τ> A ' s 9 \l ί . —
Ш
0
X ,
------ \
nijuhachi-nichi no h6d6 kakusha to no intabyfl de wa hantoshikan о
furikaette shush6 wa jibun jishin de mo yoku yatte kita to iu kimochi ga
aru to jiga jisan
Looking back on the [first] six m onths in the interview with the
assembled m edia companies, the PM sang his own praises, saying,
Ί myself feel that I’ve done pretty well’.
170.2.4 Attached to noun
N can be personal N (exam ples a and b), or N referring to an entity or
group m ade up o f persons, such as universities (exam ple c) or a country
(example d).
a
ЪЩЩ\1
kodomo о umu umanai о fukume josei no karada ni kansuru handan wa
josei jishin ga okonau koto
Decisions regarding their own bodies, including w hether to have a baby
or not, should be m ade by w om en themselves.
y6gisha jishin mo jiken de fushd shite ori shflyosaki no Ьуб in de taiho
sareta
The suspect him self was injured, too, and arrested in the hospital where
he was interned.
IX ^'Z 7
7
η r-:a
shin no kaikaku ni mukete nani yori mo hitsuyo na no wa daigaku hydka
о sekkyoku-teki ni uke mizukara о kaikaku shite ik5 to iu daigaku jishin
no shisei to ieso da
F o r real r e f o r m the most nccess;ir\ Ιΐιιιιμ is that the universities
the mse l ves t a ke the a t t i t u d e o f liautii· | ou t su l c | as sess ment a n d
r ef o r mi ng themselves
d iir
< tw ic c .ie ^ o
mazu nihon jishin ga igokochi no yosa to ketsubetsu shinakute wa naranai
First o f all, Jap an herself m ust say goodbye to ‘feeling com fortable’.
171 RELATIONAL NOUNS
R elational N are N th at indicate a position that is relative in time or space.
They are often preceded by other N + no, or N -m od. form s o f V/adj./A N,
and in tu rn can m odify other N w ith no attached, or pred. by m eans o f
o ther case or Focus P, etc.
R elational N often translate as a preposition in English and include the
following: aida ‘between’, ato ‘after’, hidari ‘left’, mae ‘in front’, migi ‘right’,
naka ‘inside’, shita ‘below ’, tonari ‘next to ’, ue ‘ab o v e’, ‘on to p ’, ushiro
‘behind’, etc. (see aida, ato, mae).
Note
- mae and ato are also used as time N ‘before’ and ‘after’ (for examples, see 11, 88).
a lb CO [_L]
vania no ue no shizuka na tera da
It is a quiet tem ple on the top o f the m ountain.
b b x - o Y [JJ
о
chotto ue no kaigi-shitsu made kite kuremasen ka
Could you come to the conference room upstairs for a moment?
С Г — Т 'Л 'С О [ J i ]
ΐ ζ σ —t —J)
0
teburu no ue ni kohi kappu о oku
They p u t coffee cups on the table.
d 3b Leo [Ш п Ш ' Ш о
arashi no ato no shizuka na asa
A quiet m orning after the storm.
e
f
Ш
m5 sukoshi ato ni shite itadaki-tai
I’d like to request you to put it off a little longer.
5ЙСО
There was a flash o f light inside m y head.
172 REPETITION
Repetition is used quite extensively in Japanese. It is used either for emphasis,
or in a num ber of gram m atical stn u tiires that also indicate some form o f
emphasis.
172.1
172.1.1
172.1.2
172.1.3
172.2
Em phasis by simple repetition
R epetition o f noun
R epetition o f [noun + case particle]
R epetition o f verb/adjective/adjectival noun form s
Em phasis through gram m atical structures
172.1 E M P H A S IS BY S IM P LE R E P E T IT IO N
172.1.1 Repetition of noun
a [ZJJL
* уя 0
fukyd fukyo to iwarete iru ga kigy6 ni totte wa ima ga chansu
I t’s said th at it’s a bad recession, bu t for business now is a time o f
opportunity.
b
r [ 'j x n >
A l/Г ? — Kcoj;
kigyd mo risutora risutora to kizu no haitta rekodo no уб ni kurikaesu
Industry too repeats ‘restructuring’ like a broken record.
172.1.2 Repetition of [noun + case particle]
These are idiom atic expressions, such as hi ni hi ni ‘by the day’.
a f t f l i [E licE lic] i£ j* L T '< 'S o
gijutsu wa hi ni hi ni shinpo shite iru
The technology is progressing by the day.
170.1.3 Repetition of verb/adjective/adjectival noun forms
а
X
X Ъ ]o
shitteru shitteru
I know!
b А Гψ ϊ ϊ ] Ш Ш .
о
#
Г \,л ^ [ ^ \
rx t]
otto heikin shiharai-gaku wa yonhyaku jfiman-en. кеккб takai daisho da.
tsuma iya yasui yasui. yonken ni ikken wa hyakuman-en ika desu
H usband: ‘The average am ount paid is 4 million one hundred thousand
yen. T h a t’s quite an expensive [divorce] com pensation.’ Wife: ‘N o, it’s
quite cheap. One in four settlem ents is I million or less.’
с
' . ' " Ч Й - , C l J’ I Mi
> ' U
dame da dame da to itsumo umottc iiiiusu km-do in·
I a l w a y s t h i n k I ’m n o g o o d , mmi мч -
d
f e l K ^ b b i f '-'о
ikedomo ikedomo keshiki wa ikko ni kawaranai
N o m atter how long you go on, the scenery doesn’t change at all.
172.2 E M P H A S IS T H R O U G H G R A M M A TIC A L S T R U C T U R E S
This is expressed by structures like [V l-pos. ka V l-neg. uchi] ‘barely has . . .
happened’ and [V/adj. 1-ba V/adj. 1 hodo] ‘the m ore . . ., the -er’ (see 13,
229, 64; see also 163.3.1).
a 12
Щ <
k]
juni-gatsu no кое о kiku ka kikanai uchi ni machi wa hayaku mo
kurisumasu isshoku da
December has barely arrived, and the town is already decorated for
Christm as all over.
soshiki ga okikereba okii hodo kettei wa osoi
The larger an organization is, the longer it takes to m ake decisions.
hannin wa nikunde mo nikunde mo nikumi-kirenai. kyokkei о motte
tsugunatte morau igai nai
T here’s no limit to my hatred for the culprit [who killed m y little
daughter]. This [crime] can be atoned for only by the m aximum penalty.
\ r - : h i Y . \ W teiev.'о
уакуй no shinpan ni wa sakaraenai. siipa pureya daro to j6sh6 no meikantoku daro to kankei nai
Y ou can’t contradict a baseball um pire. It doesn’t m atter whether
you’re a superplayer or a fam ous coach who always wins.
173 REQUESTS
There are two basic types of request, one requesting an item and the other
requesting an action (or service) to be performed.
F o r the form er, onegai shimasu is used, whereas for the latter, itadakitai/
moraitai and hoshii are attached to V-te, while у δ (ni) onegai shimasu is
attached to V or V-pot.
R e q u e s t s can a l s o be m a d e in (J f or m.
R e q u e s t i n g an a c t i o n can be pus οι ικ·μ (ι ι\ r e q u e s t i n g the listener t o d o ,
or
to d o, s o m e t h i n ) ’)
not
173.1
173.2
173.2.1
173.2.2
173.3
173.4
173.4.1
173.4.2
173.4.3
N oun/verbal noun (o) onegai shimasu
Verb-te (+ perform ative verb/adjective)
Verb-te itadakitai/moraitai
Verb-te hoshii
Sentence y5 (ni) onegai shimasu
R equests in negative/positive/potential question form
Verb-te kure-nai/-masen ka
Verb-te moraenai ka (na)
Verb-te itadake-ru/masu ka/-nai/-masen ka
173.1 N O U N /V E R B A L N O U N (o) o n egai s h im as u
This is used to request items (things or persons) and also actions (in the case
of N V ). It usually translates as ‘please’, but note th a t the polite com m and
(-te) kudasai also translates as ‘please’ (see 24).
Note - This can only be used with pos. requests ‘May I/we please have a/your N/VN’, ‘please’.
а
[ f c K v 'L i t ] .
bengoshi о onegai shimasu
M ay I have a lawyer, please.
b ГШ 7 [ f c f r 'L i t l o
go-kydryoku onegai shimasu
M ay I have your co-operation, please.
с
[ f i f r 'L i t ] .
sore de wa shiraishi-san shiharai о onegai shimasu
Well then, M rs Shiraishi, please pay up.
173.2 V E R B -te (+ P E R F O R M A T IV E V E R B /A D JE C T IV E )
173.2.1 Verb-te ita d a k ita i/m o ra ita i
This can be attached to pos. or neg. verbs, in the m eaning o f Ί /we w ant you
to (do/not do something for m y/our benefit)’ (see 200.1.2, 207.4, 189).
а
[X^'/z/zb/z]
v-'0
m6 sukoshi ato ni shite itadakitai
I’d like t o request y o u t o put it o f f a little l onger.
b 1 Л 4 ес # Ш 1 [X i ΐ Λ ' / 1 >·'
shinehf* ni kcnto shite moraitai
W e ’d like you to review il i . m- l ti l k
с
A t t i c ft b f t n [ t - t b ' - ' A ]
kesshite koshikudake ni naranai de moraitai
W e’d w ant them [= securities firms] to carry it [= restructuring] out
decisively (lit. “w ant them not to give way”).
d - f ^ B c o j i i f c i c t i ^ '^ t t f t '^ ['ϋ'-ΆΑΪΑ] n 0
shuto-ken no nochi ni wa te о tsukenai de itadakitai
We w ant you no t to touch the farm land in the m etropolitan area
[= for land development].
173.2.2 V e rb -te ho sh ii
This m eans Ί w ant you to (do/not do som ething for m y/others’ benefit)’.
F o r neg. requests, -nai de hoshii is used (see 197).
a
[ - Ш 1 ] ν,'ο
bideo о wakete hoshii
W ould you spare me the videotape.
b TCJlftcOT'YîlL [ f t 'V 't l i L]
genki na no de shinpai shinai de hoshii
I ’m O K , so d o n ’t worry.
173.3 S E N T E N C E у б (ni) o n eg a i s him asu
уб is form ally a N , and is therefore preceded by form s th at m odify N, i.e.
plain form s o f V (see 243).
a [# U $ < o ftn ] [J; ? С Ш Я п L i - f ] 0
gokai no nai уб ni onegai shimasu
Please do n o t m isunderstand.
b Φ ί* Y Ь ' Ш Ш
/;A V
i r f f l h H 6 [J: i Ш
у
'I
iflo
kongo tomo dotoku kyoiku no suishin no tame tokudan no doryoku о
hakarareru уб onegai shimasu
Please m ake a special effort to further m oral education from now
on, too.
173.4 R E Q U E S T S IN N E G A T IV E /P O S IT IV E /P O T E N T IA L
Q U E S T IO N FORM
173.4.1 V e rb -te k u re-n ai/-m a se n ka
R e q u e s t s in nog. (,) f o r m 'will \<>ιΓ (phiin f o r m) , ‘w o u l d y o u ’ (-masu f o r m )
;tte m o t e po l i t e tluiu V (»■ kurr i (Hutu.mils (sec 2 0 3 . 3 . 1).
а Ш о
[X (
kondo atte kuremasen ka
W ould you m eet me sometime?
173.4.2 V erb -te m o raen ai ka (na)
In pot. neg. Q form, -te moraeru is used to m ake a polite request ‘can we ask
you to ’, ‘could we get you to ’, ‘would you’. W ith ka na rather than ka, the
m eaning is Ί w onder’ (see 207.32).
a ■
I X t>
issho ni oen shite moraenai ka
W ould you join in supporting us?
ano hito ni jimoto no kensetsu-gaisha о shokai shite moraenai ka na
C ould I get this m an to introduce me to a local construction com pany,
I wonder.
173.4.3 Verb-te ita d a k e -ru /m a s u k a /-n a i/-m a s e n ka
In pos. or neg. Q pot. form , this indicates a very polite request ‘could you
please’ (itadaku being m ore polite than morau) (see 2 0 0 .2 . 1).
a
«t ο
[Χ^'ΐζ/ζΊϊί.ΐΓ¥]0
henji wa chotto matte itadakemasu ka
Could I ask you to wait a little while for m y answer?
174 sa [FINAL PARTICLE]
sa attaches to N -m od. form s o f V/adj. bu t replaces cop. after A N /N . It
can also a tta c h to other form s (such as unfinished S and appear in n o n
final position in the S, m arking the end o f a clause, as in example g) and
particles, sa has a ring o f assertion, pointing out the obvious to the listener.
It is n o t usually translated, b u t the im plication is often one o f ‘d o n ’t you
see?’, ‘th at should be obvious’, etc. F o r this reason it is also often attached
to kara, which means ‘because’, but can also be used simply to indicate the
obvious.
а 'Ь щ т - Г '? ш л [Я о
shdgakko wa zutto yasumi sa
The prim ary school will be closed for a Ιοιιμ time.
b
(
X
ii
[ 4]
harawanakutc mo ihfi de wu nukiittii kuru su
It w as n' t against the law il o n e i l u l n Ί p.is |. ilimony| , yon see.
С
tichZ [?]<>
tashika ni nihon wa kakuheiki о motsu noryoku wa aru sa
Japan has the ability to have atom ic weapons all right.
d щ и т ш т , # a [ί] ,
shi wa haikai-shi haijin sa
Shi (“teacher”) m eans ‘H aiku teacher’, a H aiku poet, you know.
e
(W n & b ' h n h n
Х'ЪЬ&ЩЩ Ifzco
[Я о
tekito na goru о sagashite itara taiiku-kan no monooki ni pichi inomo no
kago ga atta no de sore о riyo shita no sa
W hen we were looking for som ething to use as a goal, there was a
peach box in the storeroom o f the gym, and so we used that, you see.
f rri* & 4
%Ltz j
icon, m \t£ i L b < £ M ttt\
Г * * ,,
H t b t l z
< *--э E fltA U tt
[ 5 ]jD
go-inkyo biru nante mono wa yokei na unchiku о katamukezu gvitto
nomihosu inon da. ina so iwazu ni sa
O ld m an, beer is not som ething you lecture about, you just drink up in
one d ra ft.’ ‘Com e on, d o n ’t say th a t.’
g EJ,
[5 ]4
Т
/
Ί b l f o (Щ г -э О η b i t = ШН
£ 9 b it)
shigo-nin de torimaite sabishii tokoro e tsuretette sa dekai shaberu о
motashite teme de teme no haka о hore ttsu wake
You see, four or five [of us] surround him, take him to a deserted spot,
hand him a big shovel and tell him to dig his own grave.
175 -sa [NOMINALIZING SUFFIX]
A dj.-root + sa/A N + sa converts adj. o r A N into a N. -sa nom inalizations
are used in sentences th at require a N as pred., i.e. equational S, cleft S and
N sentences (see 23, 34, 178.1.7), bu t instead o f o ther N , as in examples
d-e.
a
L [ $ ] t z0 (cf.,
1 л ' ‘youthful’)
rokujukyfl-sai to wa omoenai wakawakashi-sa da
He’s so youthful th at it’s hard to think he’s 69 (lit. “it’s a youthfulness
which m akes it hard . . .”).
b
ь И ’Ь'-''<£ [ ί ] f z0 (cf., j 4 > '‘speedy’)
nihon dc wa kangaerarciiai haya-sa da
T h e speed [ of es t abl i shi ng a s h a r e h o l d i n g c o m p a n y ] is u n t h i n k a b l e in
Ja pa n .
с A/i'U
1/ t'ii t 9—
« . [ 5 ] £'«, (cf., i * v ‘sm all’)
tadashi dai-gamen terebi wa mo hitotsu no mondai о ukabiagaraseru.
nihon no jutaku no sema-sa da
However, there’s another problem w ith large-screen TVs. It’s the
smallness o f Japanese homes.
d # [5 ] К Ц Х Ч Ж & Ш & Ь Х i
(cf.,
' ’cheap’)
yasu-sa dake de wa kokyaku ni manzoku shite moraenai jidai ni natta
It’s (lit. “become”) an age where cheapness isn’t enough to satisfy
customers.
e +Г-У i] — <r>^k% [ i ] i i 4
[ 5 ] tz 0
(cf., Яд&Ъ: ‘exuberant’)
sakka no yoki-sa wa inotta ato no mayoi no nai yoki-sa da
The exuberance o f soccer is an exuberance th at knows no wavering, like
after praying.
176
sae [FOCUS PARTICLE]
sae is attached to N , V-stem and VN, and S (direct o r indirect quotations,
usually ending in the quotation P to), adding emphasis in the sense o f ‘even’
and, in com bination with V/A-ba, ‘as long as’. In use 176.1 (but with neg.
pred. only), it m ay be regarded as a m ore em phatic equivalent o f mo.
176.1
176.1.1
176.1.2
176.1.3
176.1.4
176.2
N oun/verb-stem sae
N oun (particle) sae
(N oun mo) noun sae mo
N o u n (particle) de sae
Verb-stem /verbal noun sae suru
N oun/verb-stem sae . . . verb/adjective-ba
176.1 N O U N /V E R B -S T E M sae
The sense here is ‘even’.
176.1.1 Noun (particle) sae
sae replaces t h e c a se P ga/o, b u t a t t a c h e s to o t h e r s s u c h as ni, kara a n d to.
a t i t ') [ ^ / J
ikidftri sae obocru
O n e even (eels rage.
ь Ш с £ [5 £ ]
shiryo ni na sae nokotte inai
N o t even his nam e appears in the [historical] docum ents.
с
[ ί £]
saiteigen hitsuyo na shisetsu sae nakatta
They didn’t even have the m inim um o f facilities required.
nihon de wa konnen-do no yosan sae mada seiritsu shite inai
In Japan, even the budget for this fiscal year hasn’t been approved yet.
e
[5 £ ]
nochikusan-butsu wa hokkaido no kao to sae itte ii daro
It would probably even be all right to say that H okkaido is best known
for its farm (lit. “crops and livestock”) products.
f ^
t
i
r
[
^
]
&\:bbntzо
inu wa terepashi о motte iru no ka to sae kanjiru so da
He is even said to feel th at dogs m ay have telepathic powers.
176.1.2 (Noun m o) noun s ae m o
In both pos. an d neg. S, N sae mo is often used after other N + mo, w ith
emphasis on the N to which sae mo is attached.
а ШАШ<г>'дЫ [ i ] ,
[5£i]
fibhtzo
nosagyo no buntan mo mizu no bunpai sae mo mura tan'i de
okonawareta
The allotm ent o f farm work and even the distribution o f water were
carried out at the village unit level.
b
[ t,] F T [ i ] Ж [ 5 2 . i l
0
sono ie ni wa mado-garasu mo doa mo yuka sae mo nai garando da
T h at house is com pletely bare, with no windowpanes, no doors, and
not even any floor.
с
[ 5 £ i l t \< пт ш ъ& .1ё'$ъ< г> г-:0
odoroku-beki koto ni chonai saikin no taka sae mo hito no suimin-ryo о
sayu suru no da
Believe it or not, even the quantity o f bacteria in the intestine affects
the am ount o f sleep a person gets.
176.1.3 Noun (particlo) d e sae
This is ;i m o r e ι·ιηρΐι;ιΐη ι · ψ ι ι \ .ilmt i>t \ driun ( my I.1 I).
a —f f l w t [ X ' $ t ]
ikkoku no naka de sae sono bunka-ken wa kotonaru
Even within one country, the cultural area [= where garlic is eaten]
differs.
b
b l v '„
dobutsu-en ni iru nettai-san no dobutsu de sae mushiatsu-sa ni wa mairu
rashii
Even the zoo animals from the tropics seem unable to stand the
humidity.
с
it'C ii-t-ti'ftv ^
ima ya kodomo de sae e ga ugoku dake de wa yorokobanai
N ow adays even children aren’t impressed with pictures th at do nothing
but move.
176.1.4 Verb-stem/verbal noun s ae suru
In this use, sae can be attached to V-stem (example a) o r sandwiched between
the VN and a form o f suru (exam ple b) (see 234).
a &
[5 £ l t 6 0
jibun rashii baransu ni ki о tsukereba moderu yori suteki ni mie sae
suru
If you’re careful to m aintain a balance th at suits you, you can look
even m ore attractive than a model.
I t <Hft0
sore dokoro ka sekkyoku-teki ni sodan ni notte kure bakku appu sae
shite kureta
N o t only th at, they [= the government] even actively gave us advice,
and even backed us up.
176.2
N O U N /V E R B -S T E M s a e . . . V E R B /A D J E C T IV E -b a
As part o f a conjunctional clause ending in -ba, the resulting m eaning is ‘as
long as’, ‘provided th a t’ (see 13).
a
^
[ί£]
Ш
[ii*]
jitsuryoku sae areba kanarazu chansu ga aru
As long as you have ability, your chancc will come without fail.
b Λ If [ H ]
[ i f ] ^ f \-1 i Λ-.Ji Λ
hinshitsu sa c y ok crc b a taiyu wh uri rii
l yres will soil as Ion)’ as thi-\ Ίι· >Ί vnm! ψ ι,ιΙι(\
с —*
[ti] r/Jf-yj
ni-miri no sukima sae areba gokiburi wa hairikomu to iu
As long as there is an opening o f 2 mm, cockroaches will enter,
they say.
d
[ 5 £ ] T b H [Ufl
4 v '„
soki hakken sae dekireba haigan wa kowakunai
As long as it can be detected in the early stages, lung cancer isn’t [a]
frightening [thing].
e &Ж
й- l f h [ if ] —
jishin sae nakereba futari sorotte gakko ni kayotte ita hazu datta
H ad it not been for the earthquake, the two o f them w ould have gone
to school together.
177 SENTENCE ENDINGS
S endings can be attached to all types o f basic S, i.e. S with verbal, adjectival
or A N /N pred. They add a variety o f m eanings to the logical content o f
the S.
S endings have a variety o f functions, which can also include nom inalizing
and adverbial uses. W here a representative tran slatio n exists, it is given
below, but for m ore detailed inform ation see the individual entries.
-beki (obligation, ‘m ust’) (see 19)
daro/desho (presumptive, ‘m ay’) (see 163)
hazu (conviction, ‘ought to ’) (see 62)
ho ga ii (recom m endation, ‘should’) (see 63.2)
kamoshirenai (presumptive, ‘m ight’) (see 73)
koto da (advice, etc., ‘should’) (see 83.3.11)
-mai (neg. pres./neg. desiderative, ‘oughtn’t ’, ‘have no intention o f’) (see 89)
-masu (polite) (see 91)
mitai (appearance, ‘is like’) (see 93)
-nai (negative) (see 104; see also 111)
ni chigai nai (guessing with conviction, ‘no doubt’) (see 118)
n(o) da (explanatory) (see 138)
rashii (appearance, ‘seems’) (see 169)
s5 (hearsay, ‘understand th a t’) (see 181)
-s5 (likelihood, ‘likely to ’) (see 182)
-tai (desiderative, ‘w ant to ’) (see 189)
-te ageru (perform ative, ‘do for others’) (see 195)
-te aru (aspectual) (see 196)
-to hoshii (perform ative, ‘w ant others to ’) (see 197)
-k· iku (a s pe ct u a l) (sec 198)
-te iru (aspectual: progressive, resultative) (see 199)
-te itadaku (performative, ‘have som ething done for one’s benefit’) (see 200)
-te kudasaru (perform ative, ‘kindly does for m e’) (see 202)
-te kureru (perform ative, ‘does for m e’) (see 203)
-te kuru (aspectual) (see 204)
-te miru (aspectual) (see 205)
-te morau (perform ative, ‘have som ething done for one’s benefit’) (see 207)
-te oku (aspectual) (see 208)
-te shimau (aspectual) (see 209)
-te yaru (perform ative, ‘do for others’) (see 211)
tsumori (intentional, ‘intend to ’) (see 224)
-tsutsu aru (progressive ‘be in the process o f ’) (see 226)
-tte (hearsay, Ί hear’) (see 227)
wake (explanatory) (see 239)
yo (appearance/sim ile ‘looks like’) (see 243)
-(y)5 (hortative/presum ptive ‘let’s’, ‘m ay’) and its derivations (see 67, 246)
178 SENTENCE TYPES
The types o f S described in this section do no t include neg., for which (see
111, 112). Also n o t included here are hortative (‘let’s’) S (see 67).
178.1
178.1.1
178.1.2
178.1.3
178.1.4
178.1.5
178.1.6
178.1.7
178.1.8
178.1.9
178.1.10
178.2
178.2.1
178.2.2
178.3
178.3.1
178.3.2
178.4
178.4.1
178.4.2
178.4.2.1
M inim al simple sentences
Predicates w ithout ‘obligatory’ noun phrase
Simple verb sentences
C onverted verb sentences
Simple adjective sentences
Simple adjectival noun sentences
Simple noun sentences
E quational sentences
Double-subject sentences
E xistential/locational sentences
Adjective/adjectival n o u n/noun —>verb conversions (suru/naru)
E xpanded simple sentences
Predicate expansions
N oun phrase expansions
Extended simple sentences (predicate extensions)
Sentence endings
Extensions through final particles
Complex sentences
With subordinate clauses
With embedded subordinate i l.iuses or sentences
Direct quotations and h m i i i i i . i i i i I :
4
178.4.2.2
178.4.2.3
178.4.2.4
178.4.3
178.4.3.1
178.4.3.2
178.4.3.3
178.4.3.4
178.5
178.5.1
178.5.2
Indirect quotations and com m ands
D irect questions
Indirect questions
W ith noun-m odifying (dependent) clauses
to iu noun-m odifying clauses
Com plem ent clauses
Cleft sentences
Relative clauses
C om pound sentences
W ith conjunctive forms
W ith conjunctive particles
178.1 M IN IM A L S IM P LE S E N T E N C E S
A simple S m inimally consists of one pred. and one or m ore N P, as required
by the valency o f pred., except where the N P is ellipted/om itted (see 231).
A pred. can be an infinitive form o f V/A o r A N /N + cop., or the imperative
form o f V (see 232, 69). It can be plain or polite.
A N P consists o f noun + case an d /o r focus P. N o N P is required w ith
im peratives (see 69) n o r with a sm all num ber o f V and adj./A N (in some
uses only; see 178.1.1).
178.1.1 Predicates without ‘obligatory’ noun phrase
Items like the V no mu ‘drink (alcohol)’, the adj. samui ‘cold’ and the A N
shizuka ‘qu iet’ can be used as pred. w ithout any N P . A m inim al S like
Shizuka da. can be a com plete S w ith the m eaning o f ‘I t ’s quiet’; when ‘it’
refers to som ething specific (i.e. a hotel), in which case, the S would have an
ellipted (or om itted) N P (one can tell the difference only from the context).
Below are examples o f pred. w ithout N P.
a v s f t i ' b Z t i i X K v s , £JSJ [f tAsti ]
shigatsu kara kore made shigo-kai nonda ka na
Since April, I m ay have drunk [alcohol] four or five times so far.
b B M U li
taiin-ra wa samui samui о renpatsu
The corps m em bers kept saying, ‘(I’m) cold’.
semi ga shikiri to naite iru. oto wa sore dakc da. shizuka da
T h e ci ca d as ar c c h i n i n g incessantly. T h a t ’s the o nl y s o u n d.
[ I t ’ s| q u i e t .
178.1.2 Simple verb sentences
In their sim plest form, a V S consists o f a V pred. and one NP.
a 'A ¥ ktza
namida ga deta
Tears came [to my eyes].
178.1.3 Converted verb sentences
V S can be ‘converted’ into pot., caus. and pass. S, which often involves a
change in valency (see 20, 156, 161).
178.1.4 Simple adjective sentences
Below are examples, one with N P and the other with an ellipted (or omitted)
NP.
a +f—
sabisu ga yoi
The service is good.
b
yasui
[It’s] cheap.
178.1.5 Simple adjectival noun sentences
The A N pred. requires a form o f cop. to com plete the sentence; the N P is
m arked by the focus P wa.
sukuwati-mura wa shizuka datta
Sukuwati village was quiet.
178.1.6 Simple noun sentences
The pred. o f the N requires a form o f cop. to com plete the sentence.
a -£
о fz0
sore ga jokyoku datta
T hat was [only] the overture [= the beginning],
178.1.7 Equational sentences
Bquational S are a kind of N S, o f the type [N/pron. wa . . . N cop.] ‘N is',
where N cop. serves to identify or equate N /pron. (see 236.7).
a w-ii i n ]
к ore wa g oka i da
T h a t ’s a m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g
178.1.8 Double-subject sentences
Double-subject sentences are thus called because they contain two NP th at
could b oth be subjects, typically m arked NP1 wa NP2 ga.
M eaningwise, NP1 is the m ore com prehensive (topic-like) part, with NP
being a m ore specific (pred.-like) com m ent on it (see 236.8).
a % >S [ i i ] 7 4 У [**1 v 'v \,
sake wa wain ga ii
O f alcoholic drinks, I prefer wine.
178.1.9 Existential/locational sentences
Existential or lo catio n al S consist o f a N P ni indicating a place, a N P
ga indicating who o r w hat ‘is there’ and an existential V such as aru or iru
(see 9).
a i’b [!-]
[ £ f] h -So
There’s a wom an outside.
178.1.10 Adjective/adjectival noun/noun -> verb conversions
(s u ru /n a ru )
Adj. and A N /N + cop. can be converted into V by adding suru ‘do’ or naru
’become’ to adj.-stem (incl. the neg. ending -naku) and the adverbial form of
A N /N + cop. (see 186, 35).
a "£.¥ Щ < f t o ] fc0 (cf., efvO
The sky darkened.
b 9
[ i f t W c & o ] fc0 (cf., i - h .^ / - )
takushT ga kirei ni natta
Taxis have become smart.
с -T jh b
(cf., а ш о
ichiman-nin о mokuhyo ni suru
They aim for 10,000 people.
178.2 E X P A N D E D S IM P LE S E N T E N C E S
Simple S can be expanded. This can be effected by expanding pred. (i.e.
inkling V-mod. phrases), by expanding the NI* (by adding N-mod. phrases)
or both. (Л further addition can be an cvdaination such as ara ‘o h ’, but
these can of course also In- used In tlu-msi-|\es )
178.2.1 Predicate expansions
Pred. can be expanded (to the left o f pred.) by V -m od. phrases (one or
several), which can be a m odifying adv. or adverbial phrase (see 4).
a mu
о
umi wa mada shizuka da
The sea is still calm.
b
[ΐβύ'ΐβύ'Ζ] J L ^ t z о
There was a flash o f light inside m y head.
178.2.2 Noun phrase expansions
The N P (one or more) can also be expanded by N-m od. phrases. F or instance,
the verb iru ‘be th ere’ requires tw o N P: ‘where’ (m arked by ni) and ‘w ho’
(m arked by ga). F o r an example see 178.1.9.
In the following examples, both N P are expanded by N -m od. phrases ([num.
+ С + no] and [num. + no]).
a [—Г 7Д С О ]
ichiguramu no kuki ni wa hyakuman no bi-seibutsu ga iru
In one gram o f air there are a m illion m icro-organism s.
In the following S the intransitive V hajimaru requires only N P ga (see 231),
but the S is expanded with a time phrase + suf. (-sugi ‘just after’), followed
by a location N P + case P de.
b Vfwi
Ш Л 'С ]
ί
/■;„
gozen sanji sugi kinai de kekkon-shiki ga hajimatta
Just after 3 a.m ., the wedding cerem ony began in the aeroplane.
178.3
E X T E N D E D SIM P LE S E N T E N C E S (P R E D IC A T E
E X T E N S IO N S )
Pred. are typically extended, adding the speaker’s opinion, intention, feelings,
etc. regarding the content o f the S after pred. Pred. extensions can be fin. I’
o r S endings (see 177).
178.3.1 Sentence endings
The S ending y5 indicates appearance, adding here to jikan ga tomatta t lit·
sense th at this was the speaker/w riter’s impression o f w hat happened (see
177, 243).
a
'> /; [ 1 -)] /■:'->/■
jikan j>a tomatta yo duttu
It was as if time h a d s t o p p e d
\
178.3.2 Extensions through final particles
\F in . P indicate various form s o f the speaker’s appeal to the listener. In the
following, wa indicates emphasis, but also th at the speaker is a wom an (see
1515, 237).
a £>bs \ — т а ' у9 * Ъ Ч Ы Ъ [ b ] a
ara mltingu ga hajimaru wa
Oh, a m eeting is about to begin!
178.4
<
CO M PLEX SENTENCES
A complex sentence contains one (or m ore) subordinate clauses (in []). In
Japanese, a subordinate clause always precedes the m ain clause it modifies,
but in English translation this order is often reversed.
178.4.1 With subordinate clauses
a
b
η U ] ЩЪ'К-?
mizu о utta уб ni shizuka datta
[The meeting] was [dead] silent, (lit. “was silent [as if w ater had been
poured o v er]”)
b 'X
ima ja ite mo kizukanai hodo shizuka da
. . . now, they [= the nephews] are [so quiet th at even if they are there
you d o n ’t notice [them]].
с f a K l i Γ[-β:Λ3
o - t j fcflfldjcT L i o t watashi ni wa eho-kikan rusu ni tsuki yukkuri shigoto dekimasu. gossori
motte itte to kikoete shimatte
To me, [= the recorded message giving dates o f absence from home]
sounds like ‘[Ow ing to my extended absence from hom e], you
[= the burglar] can work at your leisure. Take plenty’. . .
....... о
d [Ikbhtzb]
osowaretara do shiyo
W hat am I going to do [if I get attacked . . .]?
178.4.2 With em bedded subordinate clauses or sentences
An embedded S contains another S, such as a Q, quotation, etc.
178.4.2.1 Direct quotations and commands
The ma i n d i ffer ence bet we en d n e c t a m i indirect q u o t a t i o n s is the pr esence
in absence o f the J a p a n e s e q u o t a t i o n m . u k s (
) Also, i n d i r e c t q u o t a ti o n s
pol. forms (-masu, desu, etc.) can be used before the quotation P to, whereas
in indirect quotations plain form s are the rule.
a r=.g i t i j ) · , <
9
mikka made yukkuri sugos6 to omoimasu to hanashite ita
He was saying, ‘I ’m thinking o f taking it easy until the 3rd’.
b г— g
j
ichinichi nisanman-en no shfinyfi ga eraremasu to iu kokoku ga nanmai
mo okarete iru
There are quite a few leaflets lying about saying ‘Y ou can earn 20 to
30 tho u san d yen a m onth’.
с Μ— α Χ Ψ Κ Γ Θ ^ -С—ϋ
#
1X^6]
kun'ichi wa fumiko ni nihonjfi de ichiban shiawase na tsuma ni shite
yaru to itta
K un'ichi said to Fum iko, T il m ake you the happiest wife in Jap a n ’.
# { c t , S 9 J: 9
d r& coaf,
9J
ano toki suki ni sasete moratta no da kara tsuma ni mo omou уб ni
shigoto о saseyo to kangaeta to iu
He says th a t he thought, ‘A t th a t time, I was allowed to do as I liked,
so I ’ll let m y wife too w ork as she likes’.
178.4.2.2 Indirect quotations and commands
Below, quotations/com m ands are given in []. N ote th a t imp. and com m and
forms like kudasai and tsukuri-nasai are ‘reduced’ to plain-form equivalents
such as kure and tsukure (see examples a- с below, 24, 69, 203).
а £ Ш ¥ ь 1ШЖI X i h ] ϊ : ^ 9 Ш Ь Ч -Л ЪЬ Ь Х' ь ' Ь о
zenkoku kara кбеп shite kure to iu yosei ga takusan kite iru
There are m any requests from all over the country to come and give a
lecture.
b [tM b U ito - c < *i] Y t h h r z < D i i ^ m < r > z Y 0
shacho ni natte kure to iwareta no wa kesa no koto
It was [only] this m orning th at I was asked to be com pany president.
с 'fiR .lc l& ltii
< h \ £»->9o
jumin ni kikeba doro о tsukure to iu
W hen I ask the residents, they tell me to build roads.
d
H '> £
kyoshi ni koso, motto jiyti <> to iitui
Especially t o the t e ae he i s 141 like to
themselves m o r e f re edom
n.in
that they s h o u l d μίνο
178.4.2.3 Direct questions
D epending on the presence or absence o f Q words, the Q P ka and other
factors, various kinds o f direct Q can be distinguished (see 164, Table 23).
178.4.2.4 Indirect questions
Depending on the presence or absence o f Q words and other factors, various
kinds o f indirect Q can be distinguished (see 166, Table 23).
178.4.3
With noun-modifying (dependent) clauses
N-mod. clauses include to iu clauses, complement clauses, cleft S and relative
clauses (see 218, 26, 23, 143).
178.4.3.1 to iu noun-modifying clauses
(See 218.) The p attern [N I to iu N2] m eans ‘the N2 (“called”) N 1’.
katei to iu kotoba wa ie to niwa kara natte iru
The word katei (home) consists o f kalie (house) am d teilniwa (garden).
178.4.3.2 Com plem ent clauses
Here, a whole clause acts like a N P, m arked by a case P (see 26).
a
Ь ЩЪ о
karada о ugokasu no ga suki
I like m oving m y body.
178.4.3.3 C left sentences
In a cleft sentence, the regular o rd er o f clauses is reversed for em phasis
(see 23).
a Ι & ’Ζ τ η λ , ΐ / * ) t s c o i i ]
f-t fo
jitaku de nonbiri suru no wa shdgatsu sanganichi dake
The only time I relax at hom e is the first three days o f the new year.
178.4.3.4 Relative clauses
In Japanese, relative clauses are one form of noun-m od. (see 143).
a l · ' " ’ *, Y
t
V >jf ,/
itsumo to k a w a ra n a i уйщ Па d attu
1111 was an eve n i n g |tha( u . i \ | iih ilillcn-nl I m m usual
178.5
CO M PO U N D SENTENCES
C om pound sentences are sentences th a t consist o f tw o o r m ore clauses,
joined by conjunctive forms o f V/adj. and A N /N + cop. and their w rittenstyle variants (i.e. stem forms o f V/adj. and A N /N + cop., etc.) or conjunctive
P like ga ‘an d ’, ‘b u t’ (see 31, 155.4). In com pound S, the English word order
is usually the same as in Japanese.
178.5.1 With conjunctive forms
а
f
buch6 ni atama о sagete heya о deta
I bowed to the departm ent head [and] left the room .
178.5.2 With conjunctive particles
josei ga δϊ ga hotondo kami wa kata gurai made ni mijikaku shite iru
There are m any women, [b u t] m ost keep their hair short to about
shoulder length.
179
shi [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
A ttach ed to clauses (after fin. form s o f V/adj. an d A N /N + cop.), shi
signals an ad d itio n ‘and (m oreover)’. It can be used m ore th an once in a
sentence.
a
[ I]
'- 'Ь Т ,· · ·
jibun no ie wa semai shi kitanai nado to iwazu
D o n ’t say th at your house is small and messy and so on . . . [as
excuse for n o t inviting foreigners]
b
[ L],
an
i-tf-
musume-san to kekkon shimasu shikashi y5shi ni wa naranai shi kaisha
mo tsugimasen
I’ll m arry y o u r daughter. But I w on’t be an adopted son, and I w on’t
succeed to the company.
с
[I],
[I],
w akai n da shi betsu ni kata ni hamaru koto wa nui shi kakko tsuketc
ikitattc ii to om ou
I think i t ’s O K to m a k e t h e m s e l w s look s m a r t
t he y a r e yo u ng , a n d
there' s n o need l or t h e m to e o n l o t m
d
[ 1]ч ^ Y ^ Z h Z Y . l i i u o
kono jiken wa hobo shiisoku shita shi nido to okoru koto wa nai
This incident has m ore or less ended, and will never happen again.
180
shika [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
shika is always used w ith neg. pred., the com bination being equivalent in
meaning to English ‘only’, shika is m ore exclusive in m eaning than dake and
bakari (which also m ean ‘only’ in some o f their uses), having the implication
o f ‘nothing b u t’, ‘only . . . and nothing else’ (see 37, 17).
180.1
180.1.1
180.1.2
180.1.3
180.2
180.3
180.4
N oun (+ particle)/num ber (+ counter) shika
N oun shika
N oun + particle shika
N um ber + counter shika
Adjective/adverb shika
Verb/verbal noun shika
N oun copula-de shika
180.1 NOUN (+ PARTICLE)/NUMBER (+ COUNTER) sh ika
180.1.1 Noun s h ik a
shika replaces the case P ga and o, im parting the m eaning o f ‘only’, ‘no
m ore th an ’.
а
tw
[L i']
-P h a
hitsuyd na mono shika kawanaku natta
These days [people] buy no m ore than the necessities.
ь
[ L * ‘]
saikin no wakai mono wa kimarikitta hass6 shika dekinai
Young people these days can only come up with ideas th at are trite and
conventional.
toji no hitobito wa jibun no me de mita mono shita egakanakatta
People o f th at time drew only things which they had seen with their
own eyes.
d
FI1*
[I Ή
/etcho о kiwanutii uto мм kukn sliiku nai
Aft er y o u ’ve
μμι Ί η ί Ι
tin- |u-.ik it'·, ilnvuihill nil the way.
180.1.2 Noun + particle sh ika
The P used depends on the valency o f the V, i.e. in example a omou ‘th in k ’
requires to.
а
f i t [i:U > ]
gomon ky5haku to shika omoenai torishirabe о uketa
I underw ent an investigation which was no less than torture and
intimidation.
b
l O J i - К [ t L * * ] Bflti b h t c ^ o
rokka wa jiinin ga kobetsu ni keitai suru aid! kado de shika
akerarenai
The lockers can only be opened with ID cards th at are carried by
the individual residents.
с Щ
r#j-Lv.vfc5/l/j
yukie-san о chichi no atarashii okusan to shika miru koto wa
dekinakatta
I could see Y ukie-san as nothing m ore than my father’s ‘new wife’.
d
[ i t U ' l icv.'o
da ga kono d5ro hod5 ga tochu made shika nai
However, this road is only paved p a rt o f the way.
180.1.3 N um ber + counter s h ika
а
ЬЛ' [ I
futatsu no t5 wa yon-metoru shika hanarete inai
The two houses are only 4m apart.
180.2 A D JE C T IV E /A D V E R B s h ik a
This also m eans ‘only’, ‘nothing b u t’.
a
?>+/—- H i i f t i c [L * ·]
orugan no konsato wa mare ni shika hirakarenai
Organ concerts are held only very rarely.
b
If
[IH
daisansha ni wa kokkei ni shika utsuranai sh5eki no shdtotsu de aru
It was a collision o f m inisterial interests which, to an outside observer,
looked nothing but comical.
180.3 V E R B /V E R B A L N O U N shika
Λ ft ι·ι· V a mi V N , I lie meamti)' is .ill mn- i ,m ili> is1, ' t h e r e ’s n o choi ce but".
a -CiJ&twCci,.
[L i']
dekiru mono nara yaru shika nai
The only thing is to get on with it, if we can.
b
[L i']
t6men wa jitai о seikan suru shika nai
F o r the time being, all we can do is sit back and w atch how the
situation develops.
с fч т т ё т [ L i > ]
naikaku sdjishoku shika nai
The only [option] is resignation o f the Cabinet en masse.
180.4 N O U N C O P U L A -d e sh ika
In this use (meaning ‘is merely’), shika is sandwiched between the conjunctive
form o f the cop. (de), and the neg. form nai (or arimasen). Alternatively, one
can analyse this form as shika replacing wa in the neg. form o f the cop. de
wa nai. (see 35)
а Г
/с £ f) Щ]
[ tL i'^ U ^ ^ o
juku ga mondai seito no tamariba to iu iikata wa ogori de shika
arimasen
To say ‘C ram m ers are just a hau n t for problem children’ is mere
arrogance.
\
b fc L i'C ft lin o 'C t, & 5
i'-fc,
- b
Ж .К Ш h h г-t £ Pall
Ъ Щ Л х Li'& 4 o
tashika ni niwa to itte mo hirosa wazuka shichihachi heiho metoru
yokohama no shitamachi no ie to ie ni hasamareta sukima no уб na
kiikan de shika nai
It’s true, the garden is just 7 or 8 sq. m in size, and is no m ore than a
space th a t’s like a gap between dow ntow n Y okoham a houses.
181 so [SENTENCE ENDING]
Attached to S (the forms preceding s5 are pin. fin. form s o f V/adj./A N /N ,
but no da, etc. can be inserted betw een the V and s5), the S ending s5
indicates th at the S it is attached to is not the speaker’s own opinion, but
something which he or she has heard or read ‘apparently’, Ί hear that . . .’.
Note the difference from -s5 [likelihood], which is attached to V/adj.-stem,
AN/ N лсор.] (see 182).
As with rashii a n d to iu. tlu· smuvi· ol i n f o r m a t i o n c a n be in di c at ed a t t h e
begi nning o f the sentence with
ill >oru to/ni yorcba (‘a c c o r d i n g to . . .’) o r
similar expr essions
s5 itself is usually followed by a form o f cop. (da, de, desu, de aru, etc.), bu t
informally can also be followed directly by the fin. P yo (181.2.4 a). Followed
by ne, it is used to ask for another person’s reaction/com m ent, in interviews,
etc. (181.1.1 d).
181.1
181.1.1
181.1.2
181.1.3
181.1.4
181.1.5
181.2
181.2.1
181.2.2
181.2.3
181.2.4
181.2.5
181.3
C lause-non-past s5 da (and other forms o f copula)
Verb s5 da
Adjective s5 da
Adjectival noun s5 da
N o u n s5 da
Verb s5 na
C lause-past s5 da (s5 na)
Verb s5 da
Adjective s5 da
Adjectival noun s5 da
N o u n s5 da
s5 na
Source o f inform ation s5 da
181.1 C LA U S E -N O N -P A S T s 5 d a (AND O T H E R F O R M S O F C O PU LA )
181.1.1 Verb s 5 da
a x
m
u
i
i,
6
к ? ]
Ко
ekusasaizu wa sanpo to kaji dake de tariru s5 da
As far as exercise goes, just going for walks and doing the housework
are supposed to be enough.
b
[ Z i ] tza
m6sho no toshi wa fuyu no samusa ga kibishiku naru sd da
In years with very hot summers, the winters are said to get very cold.
с Ί
<Ш Ь & Ъ
i ] tz о
itachi ya tanuki ga yoku kao о dasu s5 da
A pparently, weasels and badgers often show up.
d * 7 9 1 £ 1 5 0 ;* U # '? 'C V '£ [ * ? ] X ' t h „
nekutai о hyaku gojuppon mo motte iru s5 desu ne
One hears th at you own as m any as 150 ties.
H i ] t-:a
sono hanbaitcn dc wa gaikokusci joyoshu о ichidui uru to nanto yaku
(•ojuman-en тб каги so da
In t h a t s a l es office t h e y ’re s a i d h> e . i m а w h o p p i n g 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 y e n o r s o
w h e n t h e y sell o n e Ι ο η -η ή i .it
181.1.2 Adjective s 6 d a
a 4(4-1140W К
Ul b ' [ Z i ] fc'o
jumyd wa borud5 ga att6teki ni nagai s5 da
As for the [wines’] life, Bordeaux [wines] are supposed to last a great
deal longer.
b
ί, t
i z i ] t£о
daigaku о sotsugy5 shite mo sugu ni wa shushoku dekinai hito ga
sukunakunais5 da
There are supposed to be quite a few people who ca n ’t find a job
straight away, even if they’re university graduates.
сz
U?]
н
tea
kotoshi wa tenk5 fujun de yama ni wa nao yuki ga 5i so da
This year, owing to bad weather, they say th at there is still a lot of
snow in the m ountains.
d
[ * ? ] teo
kotoshi wa reinen ni kurabete yuki no furu hi ga 5i no da so da
This year, apparently there were m ore days than in average years when
it snowed.
181.1.3 Adjectival noun so da
а
H i]
T to
kare wa sh5gakko kara kaikin da so desu
A pparently he h asn ’t missed a day since prim ary school.
b
H i ] tza
hozon-j5 ch6ki no tenji wa konnan da so da
Owing to their [poor] state o f preservation, prolonged showing of
[the prints] is said to be difficult.
с Н И 1 ί ΐ ί & ΐ h <r>Ь Щ bt-: [ * i ] X ' t b .0
kamogawa nado о sanpo suru no ga suki da s6 desu ne
I understand th a t you like walking along the K am o river and such places.
181.1.4 Noun s 6 da
а
H i ] tea
shumi wa yamanobori da s5 da
Apparently his hobby is m ountaineering.
b
t . a £ i i *·№ **« М ’-П 'йЛ ; H i ] t-:a
sho-gaikoku to kurabete mo nihon wa josci ga hataraki-yasui kuni da so da
Compared to mosl loreiyn unintru's, Japan is supposed to be a country
where women limi it i\is\ in \snik
181.1.5 Verb s o na
s5 na is no different in meaning to s5 da, but it presents some event as if told
by a storyteller.
a —
ί -C7£ Яда 0 & О 1 X ^ 6 [ Z i ] if „
nijfisan-sai no wakasa de mise о kirimori shite iru so na
A pparently, she is running the shop at the tender age o f 23.
181.2
C L A U S E -P A S T s 6 d a (s 5 na)
This indicates hearsay about an event in the past.
181.2.1 Verb s o da
а
tz [ Z i ] t z 0
kono aji о mitsukeru no ni yonen kakatta s6 da
A pparently it to o k four years to discover this taste.
b
[ * t ] -C t# a 0
kyoto ni sumi-hajimeta so desu ne
I understand th at you have started living in K yoto.
181.2.2 Adjective s o da
a
tz
i ] tza
shafu ni awanakatta s6 da
A pparently, you didn’t fit the style o f th at com pany.
181.2.3 Adjectival noun s o da
а Р Ш Ь ίί'ο Λ Λ -ϋ ,
Г v-'
Ш /с
tz [ *
felo
( ^ t " = c o t)
hod5kv5 mo nakatta n de higashigawa no jumin wa zuibun fuben datta
s6 da yo
As there w asn’t even a footbridge; the people living on the east side
were quite inconvenienced, I understand.
Note - for an explanation of the use of so, see text at the beginning of this section, p. 4 5 1.
181.2.4 Noun s o da
a £.
■/ U - » l X..
mukashi sum6 wa sono (oshi no iniisaku о urunau shinji datta s5 yo
In the old days, sumo w h s a pp.· i «tit I v ,i Shinto ceremony to divine the
rice harvest Γοι lh;il vι·;ιi
Note - for an explanation o f the use of so, see text at the beginning o f this section, p. 451.
Ь
< C
D
U
?
]
no
t6ji wa josei ni namae о kiku no wa куйкоп no i о arawasu koto datta
so da
A t the time, asking a w om an’s nam e h ad the m eaning o f asking for her
hand, I understand.
181.2.5 s o na
F o r an explanation o f the effect o f na rather than da, see 181.1.5.
а
[ * 7 ] if„
sorya hyakunin kara choshu ga atsumatte seikyo datta s6 na
I understand th at it [= the concert] was a great success, w ith m ore than
a hundred people in attendance.
181.3
S O U R C E O F IN F O R M A T IO N s 5 da
T he source of in fo rm ation is indicated by N de wa, N ni yoru to, or N ni
yoreba ‘according to ’. (See also 169, 227.)
Note - sentences with source of information can also end in forms other than so da (see ni
yoru to).
a
A [
f
( 1) #v,4
(2 )
(3 )
------Z Hf z
[*7]*o
_
У
nonbe no yiijin ni yoru to ekimae no iromiya de hanj6 suru san-joken wa
(1) yasui (2) umai (3) hanashi о kiite kureru ojisan obasan ga iru koto da
so da
According to a drinker friend, the three conditions for a drinking joint
in front o f the station to be popular are 1, to be cheap, 2, [food] to be
good, and the presence o f a m an or w om an who can listen.
b &©& [ic iftti] 5
Ш
l η i zs j b ¥ t b b h / z
U l ) tzo
fujita-shi ni yoreba sadanobu nado wa saisho wa kamisama no уб ni
agamerareta so da
According to M r F ujita, people like Sadanobu were at first adored like
a god.
i,
it сn t e [ Z i ] f z 0
igirisu no genkoho do wa tatoo sore ga jihishin kara sh6jita mono de atte
mo satsui wa yahari sutsui na no da so da
According to existing I tiflish law, 'The intention to kill is still intention
to kill, even if it comes hum .ι 1*ί·1111j· of merev’.
182
-so [SENTENCE, ENDING]
The S ending -so ‘likely to ’ is distinguished from s5 [hearsay] (attached to
V /adj./A N /N -fm .) by the form s th a t precede it: V-stem, adj.-ku, and A N
w ithout cop. (it is not attached to N). V-stem includes the stem-form o f the
pot. V dekiru, and also o f p ot. endings. N ote especially the negative form
-s6 ni nai.
-s5 (itself inflecting like an AN) is usually followed by form s o f cop. (da/na/
ni), but colloquially and in new spaper style it can com plete a sentence by
itself, as in example 182.1.1 a (see 93, 169, 218, 243).
182.1
182.1.1
182.1.2
182.2
182.3
Verb-stem-s5 da (and other form s o f copula)
Verb-stem-s5 da
Verb-potential-stem-s5 da
Adjective-stem-s5 da
Adjectival noun Acopula-s5 da
182.1 V E R B -S T E M -S 0 da (A N D O T H E R F O R M S O F C O PU LA )
182.1.1 Verb-stem -sd da
a
ш ь U i h
konzatsu wa jiiroku-nichi gogo made tsuzukis6
The congestion is likely to continue until the 16th.
b
[ Ζ η ] tz о
mireraru u6ta wa kongo mijika na sonzai ni natte ikis6 da
M ineral w ater is likely to becom e a fam iliar presence from now on.
с f c t e b l l i i t z ^ b [Z ?]
kogarashi wa mada fukis6 ni nai.
The winter winds are not likely to blow yet.
d
Г-ЯВ&ТЬ [ i i ] i r - 7 tz о
kongo no капкуб kv5iku ni han'ei dekiso na deta da
They are d ata th at we should be able to use for environm ental
education in the future.
182.1.2 Verb-potential-stem -s0 da
N o te
p o t e n t i a l c a n a l s o b e e x p r e s s e d b y (U-klsfi <lu ;is m IK2 l , I il.
a
V) [ *
jugatsii jjejun made 1нн10цип
ru
■]
(нт^Ыпи-чЛ
It s h o ul d be possible In е щ т p . h i u 1 ^ ι .ι | η·η until late Oe t ob er .
b
L
X
"
t
o
kon'ya wa oishii sake ga nomeso desu
Tonight, I should be able to enjoy m y sake.
с
[£?]
ic ic v' 0
shimoki mo juyo kaifuku wa mikomeso ni nai
Recovery o f dem and cannot be expected for the second half, either.
d Ф
Ш
Ж
&
' [ Ζτ ]
chiigoku sanpin de kongo chumoku о atsumes6 na no ga gyuniku
Am ong Chinese products, it is beef th at is likely to attract attention in
the future.
182.2 A D JE C T IV E -S T E M -S 0 da
N o te th at yoi an d nai (including the negative ending -nai) are irregular,
taking the form yosas6 and nasasd (see 167.3.2.1a for an example).
a i i \ k i ] tz.in0
umaso da ne
Looks delicious.
b r A ^ V > f ^ X . = -- b tj
U l)
minna mainasu sanjus-sai to tanoshis& datta
They seemed to enjoy themselves, saying, ‘W e’re all in our fifties’
(80-30).
с
U ifb y G
TtbnZb&Ajm'fzo
otozureta kodomo-tachi wa mina, mezurashiso ni ishiusu о nozoki-konde
ita
__
The visiting children all looked into the stone m ortar with [apparent]
curiosity.
182.3 A D JE C T IV A L N O U N AC O P U L A -s 5 da
A fter A N , -s5 da is attached directly to the N form o f A N , i.e. the form
w ithout cop. (da, na, ni, etc.).
a
^ тсЛ, [ i η ]0
omotta yori genkis6
You look better than expected.
b
ΛΛΐ:ΐ£<
hb\
[ i i ) f£a
setsuzo о tsukuru tame ni chikaku kara yuki о hakonde kita ga,
yukigassen wa daijobiiso tin
T h e s n o w for m a k i n g ttu- smnv мu lp tu r e s was b r o u g h t in f r om nearby,
but [snow for| s n o w k i l l m r μ ί ί ι ι '. t o tu(Ж
C Ψ S
[ί Ί ]
L iU :„
chiisa na karada da ga genkis6 de anshin shimashita
[Father o f quintuplets:] They’re small (‘bodies’) bu t looked healthy, so
I’m relieved.
183 SPONTANEOUS SENTENCES
‘Spontaneous’ refers to a num ber o f constructions which indicate th at the
person having the experience is overcome by a m ental state involuntarily or
w ithout being able to control it. W ith spontaneous potentials (examples b d), the m eaning is th at some object sells, writes, etc. ‘by itself’ (see 156.7,
161.2.3; see also 31.3.5.1, 50.3).
a
[H]
kore de wa seiji kaikaku no igi о mushi shite iru to shika omowarenai
I can only think that they are ignoring the m eaning o f political reform .
b [jilt]
*1ЭЕ*Гч (fiStL £ 0
nakete kis6 na hodo kangeki shita
I was m oved so deeply th at I alm ost cried.
с 4
[# tt]
inku no nendo о sage nameraka ni kakeru уб ni shita
W e’ve m ade the ink less sticky and smooth[er] to write with.
d
[f ai l] - ζ > '£ 0
eakon natsumono inryd nado ga bakuhatsu-teki ni urete iru
Things like air conditioners and summer drinks are selling really fast.
e —fctc-tf-A/U't'-'S 7
£ A A ‘fg
[ X t £ b % ] vv
nii ni amanjite iru uchi ni moraru ga ochite shimatta. sonna kanji ga shite
naranai
W hile [Japan] was content to be no. 2 in the w orld, her m orale hit rock
bottom . I can’t help feeling that.
184 STEM FORMS
Stem forms of V and adj. (V-stem/adj.-stem) are used as a written-style con
junctive form (colloquially, V-te/adj.-te arc used).
184.1
Uses of verb-stem
18 4 . 1. 1
18 4 . 1.2
184.1.3
IK4.2
Wri t ten- st yl c c o n j u n c t i ve f o r m
F o r m i n g the n o u n - l o t m o f m b s
Items attaching to set!' stem
Uses of adjective s t e m
184.2.1 W ritten-style conjunctive form
184.2.2 Adjective-stem attaches suru and naru
184.2.3 Form ing the no un-form of certain adjectives
184.1 U SE S O F V E R B -S T E M
184.1.1 Written-style conjunctive form
This is used in com pound S only (see 31.1.1).
a
[ 1] ч # <
futa о shi, akaku naru made musu
Y ou p u t on the lid, and steam [the crab] until it turns red.
futari-gumi wa kuruma de t6s6 shi fufu ni kega wa nakatta
The gang o f two to o k flight, and the couple were n o t injured.
184.1.2 Forming the noun-form of verbs
V-stem is also used as the N form o f m any V. In particular, this is used in
the pattern V-stem ni iku/kuru (see 116.10).
a
[U ] ί τ £ / = ν \ >
I very m uch w ant to go to work again.
184.1.3 Items attaching to verb-stem
V-stem attaches to the S endings -masu (pol.) (see 91), -so (likelihood) (see
182), -tai (desiderative) (see 189) and -nagara (see 103), the fin. P na/na yo
(familiar imperative) (see 100), the pol. imperative ending -nasai and o/go Vstem kudasai (see 69.5), the nom inalizing suf. -yo and -kata (‘way of -m g’)
(see 245 and 78), etc.
Note - nasaru and kudasaru have irregular stem forms,
ending -masu directly (see 202, 65).
184.2
nasai and kudasai, which attach the pol.
U SES O F A D JE C T IV E -S TE M
184.2.1 Written-style conjunctive form
(See 31.1.1.)
u
0 <r>sfa i i
Θ $ : [ i i ] ΐΙίΛ'ο
In S a p p o r o , t he s unr i se is early, a n d t h e sunset is late.
184.2.2 Adjective-stem attaches s u ru and naru
(See 186.)
a H < <t]
kuraku naru to sh6mei ga tomoru
W hen [it] gets dark, the lights com e on.
ь ■■■mt-th х - ъ ш б* [& < * i
soz5 suru to sesuji ga samuku naru
. . . when one imagines [a large vessel, disabled by pirates, drifting in
the narrow w aters of the South C hina Sea], a chill runs up one’s spine
(lit. “one’s spine goes cold”).
184.2.3 Forming the noun-form of certain adjectives
A small num ber of adj. in their stem -form can be used as N , attaching case
P. These include chikaku ‘vicinity’ and a few others (see 1.3.4, 34.1.3).
a
[it<]
Ytio
watashi wa kono tochi ga suki. toku e dekakeru nante daikirai to iu
‘I like this land. I hate going aw ay to faraw ay places’, she says.
185 sura [FOCUS PARTICLE]
The focus P sura ‘even’ is like sae in m eaning and, also like sae, it replaces
the case P ga/o, but attaches to others, such as ni and de. W ith the exception
of the use explained in 185.2 (neg. pred. only), sura can always be replaced
by sae.
185.1
185.1.1
185.1.1.1
185.1.1.2
185.1.2
185.1.3
185.2
185.3
N oun (particle) sura
N o u n sura
Positive predicate
Negative predicate
N o u n + particle sura
N oun sura mo
de sura aru/nai: sandwiched between p arts o f the copula
Clause sura: attached to indirect quotations
185.1 N O U N (PA R TIC LE ) sura
185.1.1 Noun sura
In this use, sura 'even' i ;iiiiu>I
except with псц. pred
iimi.iIIn
In· teplaccd by mo in the same sense,
185.1.1.1 Positive predicate
a
cot ί
[tb] Ittb o
chosha no katari no umasa ni kand6 sura oboeru
One even feels m oved by the deftness o f the au th o r’s narration.
ь
[tb]
it* ./·- ,
shikatte mo nagutte mo iu koto о kikanai musurne ni nikushimi sura
oboeta
I even felt h atred tow ards m y daughter, who w ouldn’t listen to me even
if I scolded her or hit her.
С
[ tb]
MtUbhZo
enso ni wa enjukumi ga mashi уоуй sura kanjirareru
There is an increased mellowness in her [musical] perform ance, and one
even feels th at she still has things in reserve.
d
b4 - 7
&>0 t [ t b ] HLz- i i Ynettowaku wa kigy6 jitai no arikata sura каеуб to shite iru
[Computer] networks are about to change even the very nature of business.
185.1.1.2 N egative predicate
Here, mo can be used in the same sense, bu t with less emphasis.
a ^ Χ Ί ϊ - ψ ί [tb]
toshin de wa itt6sei sura mirarenai
In the heart o f the city, one can’t even see stars o f the first magnitude.
Ь
[tb]
jfitaku ga misshii shi kodomo ga asobu akichi sura nakatta
The houses were close together and there wasn’t even any open space
for the children to play.
с
[ t b ] JLjtiev'o
sekai no ue no mondai kaiketsu ni usuakari sura mienai
We do n ’t see even a glimmer [of hope] for solution to the problem of
world hunger.
185.1.2
Noun + particle sura
Here, sura can be replaced by mo in a similar sense, but sura is m ore emphatic.
а т !£<1ьГ¥бШ ЗГ-
[tb]
zeisei о azukaru shuzeikyoku ni sura tsutaete inai k6s6 datta
It [= l o we r i n g t axes b a c k d a t e d by IS m o n t h s ] w a s a n i d ea t h a t they
h a d n ’t even c o m m u n i c a t e d to tlu· r ev e nu e d e p a r t m e n t , which is in
c ha r ge o f the t a x a t i o n ssMr m
b j U 3 f v , ' o t * y y > R 2 2 (—A J H )
[ t b ] —■
mottomo yasui robinson R22 (futari-nori) to iu kishu de sura
nisenman-en
Even the cheapest type o f aeroplane, the R obinson R22 (a two-seater),
is 20 million yen.
с
C [tb l
о <
Ш & 'С t о <
honsha de sura tsukutte inai no de genchi de mo tsukurasenai
W e’re n o t even m aking [that product] at our headquarters, so we aren’t
going to let them m ake it overseas either.
185.1.3 Noun su ra m o
C om bining sura and mo m akes for an even m ore em phatic effect.
a —
[ t b b ] ^ L A t» -'5 0
ikkyoku shuchii wa t6ky6 sura mo kurushimete iru
U nipolar centralization is even hurting Tokyo, too.
185.2 d e s u ra a ru /n ai: S A N D W IC H E D B E T W E E N PA R TS O F
T H E C O PU LA
This m eans ‘is (not) even’. If mo is used instead o f sura, the translations ‘not
either’ in neg. S (example a), and ‘also’ in pos. ones (example b) are m ore
appropriate. In example b only, sura can be replaced by sae.
а
it < ч iiifi t" [ t b ]
kit6-san wa yakushokusha de mo naku seishain de sura nai
K ito-san isn’t in a m anagerial position; he’s not even a full-time
employee.
b
ИъШ Ш Щ Х [tb] b b 0
genzai no kadai ni chosen shi-tsuzukeru imamura no shisei wa aru shu
kando-teki de sura aru
The stance taken by Im am ura, who continues to face the challenge o f
the tasks at hand, is even, in a way, touching.
185.3 C L A U S E sura: A T T A C H E D T O IN D IR E C T Q U O T A T IO N S
In this use, sura can be replaced by the weaker mo.
a
ь\?&Ъ'Ь'Ь'ЪЬ'
ί
^
hont6 ni ikura okanc ga kakarii ka suru happy ft sarcnai
Mow m u c h m o n e y it will a c t u a l h r m t
public.
not oven bei ng m a d e
b zhX 'li,
[ t b ] W t-etH 'c
kore de wa kisei ga teppai no Ьбкб ni mukau no ka d6 ka sura meikaku
de nai
W ith this, it is n o t even clear w hether restrictions will move in the
direction of being abolished or not.
186 suru/naru SENTENCES
A ttached to adj.-stem (including (-)nai), and A N /N + adverbial form of
cop., the V suru ‘d o ’ and naru ‘becom e’ indicate a change o f state, suru
indicates th a t th e change is b ro u g h t ab o u t intentionally, whereas w ith
naru it takes place naturally. N ote the pot. form o f suru, dekiru (see 178,
161).
F or the com binations koto ni suru/naru and y5 ni suru/naru see 83.3.6, 83.3.7,
243.3.7, 243.3.4.
a % ¥ [n£<
te0
The sky darkened.
ь
t r
[&<t]
chinsage wa roshi kankei о waruku suru dake
Lowering wages ju st worsens industrial relations.
с 0 ^ [ii]
nihon wa yutaka ni natta
Japan has become affluent.
d
[U ifo 1
о
[One’s] hobby m ust not turn into one’s job.
e
'У [ i c i e S ]
nihonjin ni wa rutsu ni naru ongaku ga nai
The Japanese have no music th at can be their [equivalent of] ‘roots’
music.
f
[ K t h ]o
rainen junigatsu made ni ichiman-nin о mokuhy6 ni suru
They [= travel agents] are aiming to [run package tours for] 10,000
people by Decem ber next year.
niju-nen-go ni kaisha о vuiiicni ka tsu/ukeru ka wa shain no jiyu ni suru
W e ’ll let the e m p l o y e e s ilemli· w h e t h e r iu 2(1 y e a r s ’ ti me t h e y ’ll quit o r
stay with the c o m p a m
ni suru can be used for m aking a choice (when offered something, ordering
in a restaurant, etc.).
h + [i:l]
M .........0
ushi ni shimasu ka buta ni shimasu ka arui wa niwatori . . .
W ould you like cows, [or] pigs, chickens? . . . [= A nim al lottery]
i ν' < b lie i ] i t t ' o
ikura ni shimasu ka
How m uch shall we m ake it [= the wage rise]?
187
-ta [PAST/PERFECTIVE ENDING]
The past ending -ta, which can also indicate com pletion o f action (= perfect),
can be attached to V/adj. (see 232, 3) and A N /N +cop. (see 35), plus the ν'conversion endings caus., pass., pot. and the pol. ending -masu (see 91).
See also 11.2, 63.2, 221.2.3 for entries attaching always or mostly to -ta.
187.1
187.2
187.3
187.3.1
187.3.2
P ast tense, or com pletion o f action
R ealization o f a present state
Before nouns: state or com pletion o f action
State
C om pletion o f action
187.1 PA S T T E N S E , O R C O M P L E T IO N O F A C T IO N
а
h
X
Γ/N.y t"— ■' s —X f —J ί Ψ ί ^ Χ ( И
doryo-tachi ga sorotte happi basude о utatte kureta
My co-workers got together and sang ‘H appy B irthday’ to me.
b
[ /i]0
187.2 R E A L IZA TIO N O F A P R E S E N T STA TE
Here, there is no m eaning o f past; instead, -ta is used when the speaker
realizes something.
a
i %' ) X ic t ν ' Ι ' Λ ί Ι λ - ^ [ / i ] <nh\
% L X ' * ' Ь г >\ ± Ъh ' t z , ,
e1 igirisu ni mo ijimc ga atta no ka nihon dakc no mono ka na to baku/.cn
to kangaetc ita no wa umukalla
Hh? Hullying exists in l i o ^ l a ml («>«·' Ii was silly o f m e to think t hat i t ’s
u n iq u e to J a p a n
b
[ / с] too
so ieba F-san wa bessei ffifii datta ne
Come to think o f it, you [= M r & M rs F] are a m arried couple with
different surnam es, right?
с
[/■=]„
aa куб mo soto ni dezu-jimai datta
A h well, today again I ’ve ended up no t going out o f the house.
d f ci K —^ i tz tz й 9 ί: Ш Ъ 1^ Ч ёЛ tz„ Г ^ Ц —
fc v 'A
\ t - : ^ t z \ J0
da ga ichinen mo tatanu uchi ni haguruma ga kuruihajimeta. otto wa
hitori de wa nani mo dekinai hito datta
However, before a year had passed [since marriage], the cogs began to
slip. ‘M y husb and turns out to be a person who can’t do anything by
himself.’
187.3
B E F O R E N O U N S: STA TE O R C O M P L E T IO N O F A C TIO N
187.3.1 State
N ote the use o f V-ta or VN-shita before N (in relative clauses etc.). Usually,
-ta is used rath er th an -te iru if the m eaning indicates a state (see 1.7, 143).
а Ш 1 [fc]
(cf.,
antei shita seikatsu
a secure life
b
[£ J Ш
Acf., Ш
sayii dochira ka ni katayotta kori wa yochui da
[Shoulder] stiffness th at is confined to either the left or right side
requires care.
\
187.3.2 Completion of action
W hen the same com bination has no adjectival m eaning, however, (shi)-ta
indicates com pletion.
a I I I \tz\ Ш
futto shita netto
hot w ater th at has come to the boil
188
-tachi [PLURAL SUFFIX]
The suf. -tachi is attached to N and pron. to indicate plural, mainly for
humans. It can also imlieate the idea of' person .V and those associated with
Л" (see 49. 5X, Ι 6 Χ)
188.1
188.1.1
188.1.2
188.1.3
188.2
Plural
H um an
N on-hum an
W ith personal and reflexive pronouns
N oun-tachi: ‘X and those associated with him /her’
188.1 PLURAL
Like other "plural suf., -tachi is optional, i.e. 188.1.1 and 188.1.2 could equally
be form ed w ithout -tachi. The exception to this are personal and reflexive
pron., which must attach a plural suf. if referring to m ore than one person
(see also 145).
The fact th at oku no hito is still m uch m ore com m on than oku no hito-tachi
seems to indicate that this type o f plural is still an optional, perhaps even a
stylistic device.
a [# <« λ ]
ί
oku no hito ga sokoku no tame ni inochi о sasageta
M any people gave their lives fo r their country.
b { f <« λ ^ ]
Cl £
oku no hitobito ga sansei shite iru koto mo kiita
I also heard th at m any people approve [= o f m oving the capital].
188.1.1 Human
а
/■-£>] r-:0
kakaku hakai no shuyaku wa yahari josei-tachi da
The protagonists of [fixed] price destruction are after all women.
b
r m / J ’ ftp,]
sekai no tetsujin-tachi ga atsumari tairyoku no genkai ni chosen suru
The w orld’s ‘m en o f iron’ gather and test the limits o f their strength.
188.1.2 Non-human
-tachi is also these days being attached to animals (the film/book Silence o f
the Lambs became hitsuji-tachi no chinmoku \4-tzib]
in Japan) and
even plants. In magazine headlines even nouns like mise ‘shop’, ‘restau ran t’
and keki ‘cake’ appear with -tachi attached, but this new convention docs
not extend to running text.
a
t'
i,
У4
Иbb fel ir‘Л
< ^ i1 [
''.
:
>/ t, ]
ti.,
naka de mo, hitokiwu me о hiku no wh furumin|t<»-tachi da
Wh a t parti cularl y att iail ·. .iih nii.'ii . т ш и р ! these arc the f l a mi ng o e s .
shima tairiku madagasukaru no kimyo na shokubutsu-tachi
The strange plants o f the island continent M adagascar
[Title o f an article in Φ Ί х - >Я , a Japanese edition o f Scientific
American]
188.1.3 With personal and reflexive pronouns
One area where -tachi is no t optional is w ith personal and reflexive pron.
(see 158, 170).
a
liva%-±X-f0
boku-tachi wa yonensei desu
W e are fourth-year pupils.
b [# .£ £ > ] * Α Ι ί : * 2 . ί £ Ι Λ \ , '0
watashi-tachi otona wa kangae-naoshitai
We adults wish to reconsider.
- k m ~ f£ b L t - Z "
kokoro no doko ka de itsu mo omotte ita. watashi wa anata-tachi to wa
chigau. itsu ka joyu ni naru n da tte
. . . always felt somewhere in my heart: ‘I’m different from you people
[= teachers and fellow pupils]. One day I’ll be an actress’.
d К ъ а \&'7$-ЬЪ\
\
hitobito wa jibun-tachi no seikatsu о mitsumehajimeta
People have begun to reconsider their lives.
188.2 N O U N -tach i: ‘X A N D T H O S E A S S O C IA T E D W IT H H IM /H E R ’
This used to be regarded as the typical use oT -tachi, b u t is increasingly
becoming rare com pared to the plural-type usage (see 168).
a
L
l i i r ("SLtzii'? t za
shikashi tenshin-tachi wa sugu tachinaotta
But Tenshin and those around him [= his pupils] recovered immediately.
189
-tai [SENTENCE ENDING]
-tai indicates w hat the speaker (subject) wishes to do, ‘w ant to ’, and is
therefore used in the first person. The object o f V-tai (where present) can be
m arked by either ga or о (see 46, 55.5, 148.3).
For indicating what sei oml ami third persons wish to do, tai (stem-form)
usually attaches the sul цигн (м-е ί /
The past tense -takatta indicates w hat the subject w anted to do, for bo th
realized or unrealized wishes.
189.1
189.2
189.2.1
189.2.2
-tai
-takatta
Unrealized wish
Realized wish
189.1 -tai
a £ 7 / [£ ]
piano о naraitai
I want to learn the piano.
Ь
[ * f] JL
hayaku hikoki ga mitai
I w ant to see the aeroplane soon.
shitashii nakama to no igo ya gorufu shumi no niwaijiri nado yiiyu jiteki
ni kurashitai kimochi mo aru
I also feel th at I ’d like to live a life o f leisure, playing go and golf with
close friends, and pursuing my hobby o f gardening.
189.2 -takatta
189.2.1 Unrealized wish
a
о
motto ikitakatta
I wanted to live longer [= suicide note],
b K p - C ' W [ / i i ' o / i ] i)K
о
ogoe de sakebitakatta ga dekinakatta
I wanted to shout at the top o f my voice, but couldn’t.
it,,
honto wa hawai ni ikitakatta kedo yasunii ца mijikai no de guamu de
kaimono to oyogi о tanoshirul»· kliuusu
A ctually, I wanted to go to H . i w .i i i , but because the holidays are short
I ’m going to (iu a m to cii|o\ -.Ιιορριιιμ .itul swimming.
189.2.2 Realized wish
■£/■;:···
kodomo-tachi ni wa nobinobi to kyoiku о ukesasetakatta no de gaikoku
no daigaku ni shingaku saseta
I enrolled them at a foreign university, because Ί w anted to give my
children an unfettered education’.
b
K i; IfzCDU,
Щ&ъ
¥ b a
sukinheddo ni shita no wa tonikaku medachitakatta kara
The reason why he becam e a skinhead was because he ‘ju st w anted to
attract attention’.
190
tame [STRUCTURAL NOUN]
tame expresses tw o basic meanings: purpose and cause o r reason.
W hen used adverbially as [tame ni V], or to m odify a N as [tame no N], it
usually expresses purpose.
W hen used to connect tw o clauses, SI and S2, i.e. in the form SI tame S2,
when tame (ni) is attach ed to plain V -past, and w hen com pleting a cleft
sentence in the form tame da, it can express either a cause or reason.
tame is formally a N, and therefore preceded by N-mod. form s and followed
by forms o f the cop.: when used adverbially, by pi, w hen modifying N, by
no, and as pred., by da, etc.
190.1
190.1.1
190.1.2
190.1.3
190.2
R eason or cause
Clause 1 tam e clause 2 (+ copula)
Verb/adjective-ta tame (ni)
Cleft sentence tam e da
Verb-ru/adjective-i/adjectival noun-na/noun no tam e ni/no
190.1 R EA SO N O R C A U S E
190.1.1 Clause 1 ta m e clause 2 (+ copula)
This indicates a reason or cause ‘because’, ‘due to ’, ‘o f ’. W hen used in the
sense o f ‘because’ (examples a-с), tame can be replaced by kara or node, but
not in the m eaning o f ‘due to ’, ‘o f ’ (exam ple d).
a
//
* li'SM iti'C
[ / V»]
I"/
/ V
kam c wa c h u k o s ii <h· uru I mm· ko tsu ko tsu susumu
B e c a u s e t h e t o r t o i s e is i l i u i t i . i l
и m o w s slo wly but steadily.
b
[Л*Ь],
l·
heichi ga sukunai tame kensetsu kosuto wa waridaka da
As there is n o t m uch flat ground, the construction costs are
com paratively high.
tokyo pekin-kan wa tomawari hiko no tame yojikan kakatte iru
The sector Tokyo-Beijing is a circuitous flying route, and so it takes
four hours.
d
(4 ) i i ,
[ Л * ] ЯлЬ
I fca
chojo no yu-chan (4) wa yaku ichijikan-go ni byoin de issanka chudoku no
tame shibo shita
Y u-chan (4), their eldest daughter, died about one h o u r later in hospital
of m onoxide poisoning.
190.1.2 Verb/adjective-ta tame (ni)
In this use, tame (ni) can be replaced by kara or node.
a
[ /с Л ]
ico£ ft^/b 0
ningen wa ηδ о motte shimatta tame ni shakai to iu mono о tsukutta
Because hum ans acquired a brain, they created w hat’s know n as
society.
kion no takai hi ga okatta tame ni kateiyo no juyo ga ochikonda
Because there were m any w arm days, domestic dem and fell.
190.1.3 Cleft sentence tame da
This means ‘the reason why . . . is because’, kara (but not node) can be used
in the same way (see 75.3).
а Г - ч . у Ь - > э • y7 Pi fl i Jr & O i i ,
LXi^l
1/ttbX' L t ί ] 0
petto shoppu ga hayaru no wa shinnen о migirei ni shite mukaesasetai to
iu kainushi ga fuete iru tame desho
T h e r e a s o n wh y g r o o m i n g p a r l o u r s (lit. pet s h o p s ) a r e p o p u l a r is
p r o b a b l y be c au se the re ar c m o r e a n d m o r e o w n e r s w h o w a n t t o h a v e
[their pet] e n t e r the New Y e a r neat a n d tidy.
h
t OHl .
mi цit kiisaranukiittii no
:w
mii
«InshltMi
ци
[/.V./;]„
камнЛ shite ita tainc da
I In· i cason win IIu· ι · Ί >11 ·l м ι i . a u .r. bet ,i им· Ilie soil was ill \
190.2 VERB-ru/ADJECTIVE-i/ADJECTIVAL NOUN-na/
NOUN no tame ni/no
W hen used adverbially in the form tame ni pred., or to m odify N in the form
o f tame no N, tame usually indicates purpose. In the sentences below, tame
is n o t interchangeable w ith noni [purpose] (see 141).
а усДД- 7 kidtA w [hub] K Wi bf c^' o
genki na uchi wa hito no tame ni hatarakitai
While I’m healthy I w ant to w ork for [the benefit of] others.
b
I tzt>\ i z i k i b x $ h i η
masa ni sumo no tame ni umarete kita yo na rikishi
H e’s a wrestler w ho just seems to have been born to do sumo.
с
Lif'-'
[/ЬЛ]
kega о shinai tame no toreningu-ho to wa nani ka
[He teaches them things like] [W hat are the] ways o f training in order to
prevent injury.
191
-tara [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
-tara links two clauses (SI-tara S2) in the sense o f ‘w hen’ or ‘if ’. The basic
meaning o f -tara is tem poral, i.e. it is concerned with a sequence o f time.
-tara forms o f V, adj., A N and N + cop. are formed by attaching -ra to their
plain past form , -ta.
SI-tara S2 indicates a condition th at is used in the spoken language rather
than in the formal w ritten style. S2 can use non-factual forms such as request
or hortative (-te kudasai, -y(o), etc.). The condition indicated by -tara tends
to be a specific or individual condition rather than a general one (see 14).
191.1
191.1.1
191.1.2
191.2
191.2.1
191.2.2
191.3
191.3.1
191.3.2
191.3.3
191.4
191.4.1
191.4.2
Clause 1-tara clause 2 (clause 2 = non-past)
Clause 1-tara clause 2 ‘w hen’
Clause 1-tara clause
2 ‘if ’
Clause 1-tara clause 2 (clause 2 = past)
Clause 1-tara clause 2: ‘w hen’
Clause 1-tara/dattara clause 2: ‘if h ad ’ (hypothetical condition)
Clause 1 dattara clause 2
(n) dattara
Clause 1 dattara clause 2 (clause 2 = past)
N oun dattara
-tara for making recommcndations/suggestions
-tara ii, etc.
-tara/dattaru (do), iii
191.5
Verb-tara
l l)l
.(■>
m i !'
tit dr
UlioniMlii.· ι- x p t >ii·-
191.1
1-tara C L A U S E
CLAUSE
191.1.1
1-tara c l a u s e 2
Clause
2 (CLAUSE 2 = NON-PAST)
‘w h e n ’
This m eans ‘when . . . , then’ in the sense that when S I happens (which is a
m atter o f certainty), then S2 will happen. The im plication is th at SI will
occur inevitably.
a
\hb\^ z i i h i z m ^ b o
hana ga owattara komame ni tsumitoru
W hen the flowers are finished, you pick them carefully.
b h b (
J /U cic 0
okiku nattara ekaki-san ni naritai
W hen I grow up, I w ant to be a painter.
C
[/:(,]>
Э у
θ '- ;
(
J*
СО9 А /
tt’ l 0 ^ ^ L v - ' c t o
chugaku ni haittara yot-chan to mo nak-kun to mo betsubetsu no gakkd
ni natchau n da yo. sabishii yo
W hen we enter middle school, b o th Y ot-chan and N ak-kun will be
going to different schools. I ’ll be lonely.
191.1.2
1-tara c l a u s e
Clause
2 ‘if’
In this case, there is nothing inevitable about S I. Instead, the im plication is
th at if the action of SI is carried out, then the action or state o f S2 will h ap
pen or apply. In this use, -tara has the same sense as -ba ‘if . . . , then’, but
with a m ore colloquial ring.
a
I : * L [/= £ ,], t <*
konna ryoshusho о zeimusho ni dashitara sugu ni tsukkaesareru
If you show this sort of receipt to the tax office, they’ll throw it right
back at you.
kono kikai о nogashitara eien ni chansu wa konai no de wa nai ka
If we miss this opportunity, we’ll never get another chance!
с
[H ],
ryoshi no shigoto wa suki ja nakattara dekinai kara ne
If you d o n ’t like the work o f a fisherman, you can’t do it, you see.
191.2
191.2.1
CLAUSE
Clause
1-tara C L A U S E
1-tara
2 (CLAUSE 2 = PAST)
c l a u s e 2: w h o n ’
Here, S2 c a n n o t be cont rol led In tin· s|u-,ika. Ικιιιμ a realization o r discovery
on 1lie part o l t h e s p e a k e i . i n I I n- м и м - ot 4s lieu . , , t hen' .
denwa de hanashitara musuko ga naite komatta yo
W hen we spoke on the phone, my son was crying, and I didn’t know
w hat to do.
b B o tP p lfc - e v o jf c f c L [ H I
komatte sokkyo de soro enso shitara kore ga igai ni uketa
N o t knowing w hat to do, I im provised a solo num ber, and
unexpectedly th a t was a success.
с
[/-ь ],
0
ningen dokku ni haittara kanzo ni mondai ari to chili sareta
W hen I had a m edical check-up, I was warned th a t I had a liver
problem.
d 4 Я ί- &
[ f t b] ,
£ /сЛ/(С^; 0 '}£3U)SZ & ( й" -э
shigatsu ni nattara totan ni urichumon ga konaku natta
Once April came, requests for selling [shares] suddenly stopped.
191.2.2 Clause 1-tara/dattara clause 2: ‘if had’ (hypothetical condition)
Here, S2 uses an expression o f conjecture or guessing in com binations with
the past/perfect ending -ta (often in the form -te ita). T he com bination
indicates a hypothetical (i.e. unrealized) condition ‘if . . . , would have’.
a
b
\t- ь],
sogyo teishi ga nakattara eigyo rieki wa fueta hazu datta
H ad there n o t been a halt in operations, the operational profit was
expected to have increased.
[/■- b], & / Ш И ί If,
о
shitsudo no takai kiko dattara kinzokuki wa sabi mokuseihin wa kusatte
ita daro
H ad it been a clim ate w ith high hum idity, the iron/vessels would have
rusted, and the w ooden items rotted.
I
с
/■-"-? \ t z b \ ^
5Ш 7
J; η b o
ryiigakusaki ga beikoku dattara chichi wa un to iwanakatta desho ne
H ad I w anted to study in the US, father would probably no t have
allowed it.
191.3 CLAUSE 1 dattara CLAUSE 2
Like nara, its somewhat less colloquial variant, dattara is attached to V/adj.
and AN/N as follows (see MX):
V-ru/A-i (n(o)) d a t t u r u
A N / N dut t a r u
191.3.1 (n) d attara
(n) dattara is used in the same way as (n) nara.
a
Ъ Ъ Ь
{ t z ' j tz b ]
& ^ > X ^ *)
yaru n dattara j6netsu о motte yaritai
If I do it [= voluntary work], I w ant to do it with dedication.
b
Ш
[ t z ^ t z b ]
Z i t ^ X i h o
kekkon о hikaete iru no ni moshiwake nai. iya dattara s6 itte
kure
I’m sorry [to transfer you] even though you’re about to get m arried.
If you d o n ’t w ant to go, say so.
iWft
t-ii ii'-'t't ί'.
eijQsha ga jibun no seikatsu ni fuman ga aru n dattara nihon yori g5shD
no senkyoken о shutoku suru no ga suji de wa nai desu ka
If the perm anent residents are unhappy with their lot, surely w hat they
should be doing is acquiring the right to vote in A ustralia rather than
Japan.
d &
\t£^tzb\
L ft& v 'o
moshi niju-do ika dattara shinde ita kamoshirenai
If the w ater tem perature had been below 20, I could have died.
e Ί~'') Ψ — { t z ' i t z b ]ч 7 i ') — *>*■&n i l * ) & $ , i b t z f a 0
horide dattara ferT ga yappari o-susume da ne
If you’re going on holiday (lit. “if it’s a holiday”), then I recom m end
using the ferry.
f 0 ^ [tz^tzb]
nihon dattara daigaku ni ikenai
In Japan, you w ouldn’t be able to get into university [= with these
qualifications].
191.3.2 C la u s el d attara clause 2 (clause 2 = past)
This indicates a hypothetical condition (see 108.5, 191.2.2).
a i> coii
{tz^tzbY
7 l i £ ' 2 l c x i £ > &£ · ΐ ± ΐ ζ %' ? Χ ' ' ' / - ζ Χ - 1
X in
ano mama dattara konpaku wa doko ni demo aru kaisha ni natte ita
desho
Had things remained that way. < 'ошрац wmikl have etuled up a
company like any oilier.
191.3.3 Noun d a tta ra
In this use, dattara functions like wa [focus P] (see 108.7).
a - f [ f c ' o t b ] ё £ i >ь J t f >) IX i t " #
- ^ f -Ь
■
¥ b 0
mukashi dattara jitaku kara moyori eki made kuruma de jugofun datta ga
ima wa bai ijo kakaru
In the old days, it took about 15 m inutes by car from hom e to the
nearest station, bu t now it takes twice th at time.
191.4
-tara FO R M AKING R E C O M M E N D A T IO N S /S U G G E S T IO N S
Recom m endations use the form V-tara + an evaluatory adj., m ost typically
ii ‘good’. The com bination literally m eans “is good if ” , i.e. ‘would be nice
if’, or ‘you should’ in statem ents, and ‘should I?’ in questions.
Suggestions use the form -tara d6 cop. ka.
191.4.1 -tara ii, etc.
T he n o n -p ast -tara ii m eans ‘sh o u ld ’, w hereas in the p ast -ta form , the
meaning becomes hypothetical, ‘should have’ (with or w ithout noni attached).
However, attaching form like noni to -tara ii also m akes a non-past sentence
hypothetical (see 140).
F o r similar uses o f conditional P (see 13.3.1, 216.6 and also 200.2.2).
asobi to Ьепкуб no ry6h6 ga yaretara ii to pasokon кбка о kitai
shite iru
1
He expresses his expectations for [the children’s] use o f personal
com puters w ith the words ‘It w ould be nicfe if they could use it for bo th
play and study’.
I
b
£ ^ ? У о ЩЧ Ъ + АуИЦ*· b h b
.........о
sfitsukesu ni wa nani о tsumetara ii daro ka. asa wa chanto okirareru
daro ka
W hat should I pack in the suitcase? Will I be able to get up in the
mornings? [= stewardess training].
с
У t " sl — 9 —
[ t - b '- " 'Ί й | : 0
konna konpyfita ga attara ii no ni
It would be nicc to h;iw· this kind of computer [= brainstorming].
d rj?
cotcj
5*U otoko dattara yokatta no ni to iwarete otosareta to itta kesu mo
h6koku sare
There were even reports o f cases where [female applicants] were turned
down w ith the words ‘It w ould have been O K had you been male . .
[= tight jo b market]
191.4.2 -ta ra /d a tta ra (do), etc.
N o te th a t d5 (desu) ka etc. can be om itted, as in exam ple с (see also
210.5).
a
t-tH o
shizuoka-ken ni hikkoshitara do desu ka
How ab out moving to Shizuoka prefecture?
b
I h b t ’i T t t ' L
motto hinpan ni koraretara do desu ka
How ab out coming m ore often?
f e i bt z о
sore hodo kyomi ga atta wake de wa nai ga yatte mitara to sasoware
sanka о kimeta
I w asn’t th at interested in the debate, but som eone asked me to give it a
try, so I decided to join in.
191.5
V E R B -tara VE R B -ta de
Here, the same V is repeated, once with -tara and the second time w ith -ta
de. The com bination indicates th at ‘once the action o f V is completed, some
new perspective or problem appears’.
a
'Н е Л л ч /с Л ,
i
a
[t-b]
i
Λ {fcX\
Y-<F>
Y & b h
i'tai-ti-A /Jo
chimeido wa sude ni takai tame isso shTemu о yamete mo yoi no de wa nai
ka to no shiteki mo aru ga yametara yamcta dc kaisha ga abunai no ka
to utagaware-kanemasen
As it [our product] is already well known, some point out that we could
stop advertising it [on TV|, lint ‘oiue we stop it, people might think the
company is in danger of going busi
b
{Щ-ЬЩ-Ь L t z % f t l z b b u tb V t z b \
“fflfe" i t z { t £ h a
so ieba sanpo ni deru toki wa nantonaku ukiuki shita kibun ni
naru shi detara deta de atchi no roji kotchi no roji to tanken shitaku
naru
Come to think o f it, when you go out for a walk you somehow feel
cheerful, and once you’ve gone out, you feel like exploring this or that
side street.
£
th [ / c t " ]
о
191.6 ID IO M A TIC E X P R E S S IO N S
Idiom atic expressions include to shitara ‘if one assum es’, moshi ka shitara
‘perchance’, dattara ‘in that case’, d5 yattara ‘how ’, -ttara (an equivalent of
to ittara or wa [focus P]).
a a
r
Ί
[i:L/:b ]4
ti I
xί
o il)
о
nihon no media ga gohan da to shitara wareware wa sh6yu. tsumari
fumizuke ga shigoto na no desu
If one com pares the Japanese m edia to rice, then we [foreign TV] are
the soy sauce. In other words, our jo b is [to provide] the seasoning.
b [i L¥Ltzb\
L l i i v '0
moshi ka shitara doryoku ga issh6 mukuwarenai ka mo shirenai
M y efforts m ay not be rewarded in my lifetime [in this job].
с
-fflt
'J —
z
¥
b
b'bh;'h
U
со L * * f ^ ie v .'0 l t z ^ P i b \ — 7
Λ
akusesarT ya komono da to shumi ni au ka d(i ka wakaranai shi yosan
ga gorokusen-en da kara chQto hanpa na mono shika kaenai. dattara
ichiranku ue no nichiy5hin ga ii ka na
\
W ith accessories and trinkets, you d o n ’t know w hether they’ll suit [the
recipient’s] taste, and with a budget o f five or six thousand yen you
can’t buy anything decent. In th at case, an everyday item o f better
quality is preferable [as a present], I guess.
d [£'? i o / : b ]
i O
do yattara motto uriage о nobaseru ka koteikyaku о fuyaseru ka
How can we increase sales and our regular customers?
с A-f- [ o / h b l ·
tzY t z L K , о *
<b t o
A-ko-ttara kareshi ga dckita totan ni tsukiai ga waruku natte
The moment A -ко μοί herself a boyfriend she became less chummy.
192 -tari [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
The conjunctive P -tari is attached to the -ta base, i.e. the form of V/adj. and
A N /N th at -ta attaches to. It indicates a range o f actions or activities th at
are perform ed by the same agent (subject). A fter w ords indicating a state,
-tari suru m eans ‘often’, ‘tend to ’.
A lthough -tari is m ostly used in the pattern A-tari B-tari suru ‘do things/
things are like A and/or B \ -tari suru can be used by itself (with the implication
o f ‘things like’), and examples w ithout suru are found too.
192.1 Clause-verb (action)-tari
192.2 Clause-adjective/adjectival noun/noun (state)-tari
192.1 C LA U S E -V E R B (A C T IO N )-tari
This indicates a range o f activities (not all are m entioned, i.e. others are
usually implied), in the sense o f ‘do things such as’. In textbooks, etc. this
use of -tari is often characterized as ‘alternative’, but examples such as b and
d should m ake it clear th at the actions are not alternate (and at any rate
there are m any examples with only one -tari!).
a
[fc’ O] ^ 7 1 : Л U
J0
tama no kyDjitsu ni wa hon о yondari gorufu ni ky6jitari suru
On his rare days off he does things like reading books and enjoying
golf.
tatoeba, modoken wa hito ni hoetari, kamitsuitari suru koto ga nai
F o r instance, guide dogs d o n ’t do things like barking at people or
biting them.
toku ni awatetari suru d6ry6 wa inakatta
There weren’t any colleagues who were particularly flustered.
sangyo no honrai no yakuwari wa mono ya sabisu о tsukuttari hanbai
suru koto de aru
The original role o f industry is to make things and services, and sell
[them].
с -+ /\а
[ / - '» J. n t . t f - i
nijQhachi-nichi wa опцаки о kiituri <loku*ho о shite sugosareta
T h e 2Kth s he | - m e m bet ot i m p r n . i l l.unilyl s pent d o i n g things like
listening t o musi c
i i i hI
ii-.ulmi·
192.2 C L A U S E -A D JE C TIV E /A D JE C TIV A L N O U N /N O U N
(S T A TE )-tari
In this use, -tari indicates a tendency.
[A 01 t b 0
а
tokai ni ireba inaka ga zeitaku dattari suru
If you’re in the city, the countryside tends to be a luxury.
b
tfcv,4**4
[ /= 0 ] f 5 o
nantoka shoku о mitsuke-tai ga ii shoku wa bairitsu ga gohyaku-bai
dattari suru
I ’d like to find a jo b somehow, but the application ratio for good jobs
is often 500 to one.
mntz-o i/=oi ш , ш т -:^ ι λοι -гьа
un'yusho shokan no yosan demo nani ga jDy5 ka о kimeru hitsuy5 ga
aru. sore wa jidai ni yotte kowan dattari кйкб shinkansen dattari suru
F o r the budget controlled by the M inistry o f T ransport too it is
necessary to decide w hat’s im portant. Depending on the times,
th at can be the ports, or an airport or the Shinkansen.
193 -tatte [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
(See 193.)
194 -tar5 [PRESUMPTIVE ENDING]
This is an old-fashioned or written-style equivalent to -ta daro (see 163.1.1,
163.2)
195 -te ageru [PERFORMATIVE SENTENCE ENDING]
W hen the perform ative verb ageru (see 160.4.1) ‘give to som eone else’ is
attached to V -te, the im plication is th at som eone does the action o f the
V for som eone else’s benefit. V-te ageru is used when the receiver o f the
action is o f equal or lower social status th an the giver; there is an objecthonorific equivalent, sashiageru, th at is used for receivers o f higher status
(see 65.3 e).
-te ageru needs to be used with cate, as it explicitly indicates that something
is done as a favour, so dc|4*ruliMH on the situation it may be more appropriate
to use the V without t*· ιι^ ίιι
195.1
195.1.1
195.1.2
195.1.3
195.2
195.3
195.4
195.5
Verb-te ageru
Second person
T hird person
First person
Verb-te agete kudasai/hoshii
Verb-te age-rare-ru (potential)
Verb-causative-te ageru
Verb-te ageru in subordinate clauses
195.1 V E R B -te ageru
In principle -te ageru indicates th a t the action o f V is perform ed for the
benefit o f second or third persons (or animals) ‘do for someone else’, bu t it
is possible to perform the action o f V for one’s own benefit (first person), by
m aking it look as if it’s done for som eone else, as in 195.1.3.
195.1.1 Second person
a
[ХШ] bi'bl
t-to
komatta toki ni wa itsu demo s6dan ni notte ageru kara to itte kudasatta
no desu
He was kind enough to say to me, ‘If you run into trouble, I’d be
happy to help you out any tim e’.
ь
о [ti> tf] h\
if c f tS ,morikawa-yogisha wa A-chan ni taishi okashi о katte ageru nado to itte
chikazuki
M orikaw a, the suspect, said things like, T il buy you some sweets’ to
A-chan and approached her . . .
с v 7 -(T iiif
[Xklf]
Yfl&X<6o
mafia wa mazu anata no kigy6 о mamotte ageyo to m6shidete
kuru
At first, the M afia come to suggest, ‘W e’ll protect your business
for you’.
d
г
ых-Ца-ёх^ [ x M f ]
.t ί ь ■ί
„
( X ' . X = Χ ' . ' ί Χ)
o-uchi made nosetettc ageyft ka undo to ko<‘ о kukete vOkai
lie said things like, ‘Sliall I μΐΜ· u>u .i tule home?' and then
kiilnapped her.
195.1.2 Third person
a
ψ ί A ,i:ZcoM J££iL-ti: [t<fclf]
/iv'S :
i To
mina-san ni kono chikyQ о misete agetai na to omoimasu
I really w ant to show everyone this earth [= astronaut],
b Ш Ь Ъ К & К Ш Ь & п Ш Ь tz {
[X<hlf] t z ^ 0
kodomo-tachi ni shizen to fureau kikai о takusan tsukutte agetai
We w ant to provide our children w ith m any opportunities to come into
contact with nature.
C
I
[t< fc (f]
So
jiken de o-tegara no keisatsu-ken ni wa go-h6bi to shite yQshoku ni
tamago о tsukete ageru
To rew ard police dogs who perform well in incidents, we give them an
egg with their supper.
d
[X&lf]
tz¥
0 tz о
rainichi shita mono no nihon de no seikatsu ni tomadou gaikokujin ni
nani ka shite agetakatta
1 w anted to do som ething for foreigners who h ad come to Japan
[to live] but were experiencing difficulties with their lifestyle here.
e
tb I [ X & l f b Z Y ] 0 st l X ^ 6 U
(&0Ί)
izZZZli
aite no shokujidai о dashite ageru koto ga aishite iru akashi ni naru to
wa omowanai
I do n ’t think th at paying for the other person’s m eal serves as proof
th at you love her.
f
ltz i\
\ХШЪ<Г)\
ъщщтЩ а
gakusei jidai ni nani о shita ka shakai ni dete nani о shitai no ka о
kizukasete ageru no ga k6shi no shigoto
The in structor’s task is to help them become aw are o f w hat they did
when they were students and w hat they w ant to do when they get out
into the world.
195.1.3 First person
a tzhitf-tSLX (
itib X i f r X i f r i liib [t<fc(f] tz ^ \
dare mo hyoka shite kurenai kara scmete jibun de jibun о homete
agetai
Since n o o n e с I.si· values what I 4 e d o n e. I'll like at least t o give myse l f
a pat o n the back
195.2 V E R B -te ag e te k u d a s a i/h o s h ii
In this com bination the m eaning is ‘please do (for others)’, Ί /we w ant you
to do (for others)’.
This is a com bination o f two perform atives, -te ageru indicating th at the
action o f the V is perform ed by the listener (or a third person) for someone
else, and -te kudasai/hoshii indicating th a t this is done at the com m and or
request o f the speaker (see 24, 173).
a
/h iic tif c
I \Xb\iX
l i t ] v>0
demo ne tama ni wa ojii-chan to oba-chan no hanashi aite mo shite agete
hoshii
But I’d like him to talk to G ra n d p a and G randm a once in a while.
«-ЙsElciBv.' [ t f c t f t T i l v'j
jibun no ie wa semai shi kitanai nado to iwazu keki hitotsu de kamawanai
kara tonari no gaikokujin о jitaku ni maneite agete kudasai to kataru
‘D o n ’t say th at your house is small and messy an d so on; invite the
foreigner next door into your hom e, even if it’s only for a piece of
cake,’ he says.
195.3 V E R B -te age -rare -ru (PO TE N T IA L )
This com bination means ‘able to do for someone else’. It is used in the sense
o f a pot. and n o t as a pass, (see 161).
a
ft* [ x k l f b h ]
?о
jibun ni wa toj5koku to yobareru kono kuni no hito-tachi ni oshiete
agerareru koto ga takusan aru dar6
‘There are probably a lot o f things th a t I could teach the people o f this
country, which is referred to as a developing nation [, and thereby help
them].’
b
[ХШьН]
t-.
fe J: о о* о Й5&0
chugokugo ya shuwa nado ga dekitara motto aite no koto о wakatte
agerareta to omou to choppiri zannen
W hen 1 think th at I could have understood m ore ab o u t them [and
thereby benefited them] if I’d been able to speak Chinese and do sign
language, I am a little bit disappointed.
195.4 V E R B -C A U S A T IV E -te a g eru
I Ising a cans. V, this mean·. I.I im ih · -..чиг<чн· ,ι lavour by) letting someone
do something'
In line w ith the m eaning o f -te ageru ‘doing som eone a favour’, caus. V
usually have the permissive reading ‘let’ in this com bination (see 20).
a Ζ / ν Ζ & η ' & Ι 5 t l i i ' C O M z i f o i k i · [ - &Xh l f ]
konna yama no tanoshisa о hoka no hito ni mo taiken sasete agetai
I would like to have other people experience this kind o f enjoyment of
the m ountains too.
b
o m & i z t x & t r & l k s [ - t f t & i f ] J: ?o
narubeku oku no senshu ni shiai о keiken sasete agey5
We w ant to have as m any of the players as possible experience
matchplay.
с
ClZTiUlXffit' \# X h
if]
uchQ de no seikatsu no y6su о nihon no hitotachi ni imasugu ni demo
hanashite kikasete agetai
I’d like to let people in Japan know, right now, w hat life in space
is like.
d
[ i * t x t >i f ] /c ^ jc
kaette kitara otto ga sukina sushi о tabesasete agetai
W hen he gets hom e, I want to give my husband his favourite [food]
sushi to eat.
195.5 V E R B -te a geru IN S U B O R D IN A T E C LA U S ES
(Re subordinate clauses, see 178.4.1).
а
K & jiix ii]
o-kyaku-san no ken no ishi о sagashitc agereba kitto yorokobaremasu
I’m sure your client would be happy if you found a prefectural stone
for him.
b ?HB<o b * 7 7 и - · * - * : # * · I ft I), fcicj&A [ Х Ш ' / ^ t S H C ] ,
1кК<г>ЪЪ1Г'‘'Л1Ь1и¥*) i Lfco
gaikoku no toppu pureya to hanashi о shitari ie ni tomete agetari suru
uchi ni yQjin no wa mo zuibun hirogarimashita
In the course o f talking with the top foreign players and letting them
stay at my house, my circle o f friends also expanded greatly.
с % ψ < ν ψ ΐ ζ α , Щ.Щ £ T C 4 'v ,^ t t A t) ч
[X&lfXi]
danshi no naka ni wa zatsiiy<i о sugu iitsuketari nani ka о yatte agete mo
kansha no kimochi о arawasanai hito ga iru
A m o n g the boys, then· . ne s ome w h o d o n ' t hesitate t o o r d e r y ou [= the
îrls] to d o o d d | obs .nul some w h o d o n ' t show a n y a p p r e c i a ti o n even
il you do some! h in г Ь ί i I ι· π
196 -te aru [SENTENCE ENDING]
V-te aru consists o f V-te + aru (as a lexical V, aru m eans ‘be there, have’).
T he co m bination indicates the state resulting from the action o f V (V =
volitional V-tr.). N o actor can be m entioned in a -te aru S, although clearly
one is implied in the sense th at someone m ust have perform ed the action o f
V (except for m etaphorical uses such as kao ni kaite aru yo ‘it’s w ritten in
your face’); b u t phrasing something in a -te aru sentence in effect means that
no responsibility is assigned to anyone fo r the action o f V (see 223, 233).
The fact th at no actor can be m entioned in a -te aru S contrasts sharply with
-te iru, where an actor is typically present (see 199).
The object o f V-te aru is m arked by either ga o r о (which in tu rn can be
replaced by wa).
196.1
196.2
196.3
196.4
Object m arked with ga
Object m arked with о
Object m arked with wa
N oun-m odifying
196.1 O B JE C T M AR K ED W IT H g a
a
[* f] # ( f \ X h b \ 0
k6j6-nai ni wa mittsu no sur6gan ga kakagete aru
Inside the factory, three slogans are displayed.
b l· 7 -y 7
5,350
со a 9 № ]
I T & - ? ] tza
torakku ni wa kei gosen sanbyaku gojuk-kiro no kome ga tsunde atta
On the truck, a total o f 5,350kg o f rice was piled up.
196.2 O B J E C T M A R K ED W IT H о
а
т у Ь < ъ % : Я г 6 ' ь И - > * У Г ') Г [ £ ]
If [ Х & Ъ \ а
tento no tenj6 kara wa shanderia о tsurisagete aru
F rom the ten t’s ceiling a chandelier is hung.
196.3 O B JE C T M AR K ED W IT H w a
a
[ii]
[Xh6]„
ito no Ьубтеп wa nameraka ni какб shite aru
T h e s u r f a ce o f t h e t h r e a d is pr o c e ss e d to m a k e it s m o o t h .
b
[ ii]
[ C. M] 1 i
choshoku wa shokudo ni yiil sliiU· urlmiisti
B r e a k f a s t is l a i d o u l m t i n· d i n i n g m u m
с z<n¥r [ i i ]
[ X h 1)] I t о
kono ken wa bengoshi ni makasete arimasu
This m atter is left to the lawyer.
196.4
Noun-modifying
a J L A iljh * [ X k - ? ]
san-nin wa tomete atta kuroi j6y6sha de t6s6 shita
The three fled in a black car th at h ad been parked.
197
-te hoshii [SENTENCE ENDING]
W hereas the adj. o f desire hoshii indicates w hat things o r persons etc. the
speaker wants (see 68), -te hoshii indicates w hat the speaker(s) wish(es) second
o r third persons to do (or not to do). These second/third persons are often
om itted, b u t can be m arked in the same S by ni, o r o ther P (see 46, 57).
197.1
197.1.1
197.1.2
197.2
197.2.1
197.2.2
W ithout m ention o f second/third person
Present
Past
W ith m ention o f second/third person
M arked by ni
M arked by particles other th an ni
197.1 W IT H O U T M E N T IO N O F S E C O N D /T H IR D P E R S O N
197.1.1 Present
a
[ X l i l ] v'0
bideo о wakete hoshii
W ould you spare me [a copy of] the videotape.
b Ш 1-,
[Xlil]
saigo ni kongo no nozomashii kigy6z6 ni tsuite kangae о kikasete hoshii
Finally, I’d like you [= the panellists] to give us your thoughts on the
desirable com pany image o f the future.
с
d
1 X 4 1 ] V'Q
jimoto no sake о motto aishitc hoshii
We want [people] to love the local rice wine more.
L [ ' л · С I i I ] ν'
watashi to chichi о kotido shlntii dr hoshii
! d o n ’t w ant you In t <n i t u ·.*· mi· with mv father.
e
t'o
chQnichi kankei о kantan ni kowasanai de hoshii
I d o n ’t w ant you to destroy C h in a-Jap an relations at one stroke.
f
JL [ i v 'T t S L]
kodomo no hon da to karuku minai de hoshii
I d o n ’t w ant people to take it lightly, thinking it’s a children’s book.
197.1.2 Past
In the past tense, -te hoshikatta indicates what the speaker(s) wanted people
to do (or things to happen), b o th fo r actions that were realized and those
that weren’t.
a
[ Χ Ι ϊ Ι ύ ' -э] t zj
m6 sukoshi nagaku ikite hoshikatta
I w anted [him] to have lived a little longer.
b
ί о
[ XI I
l ¥ - ? ] t zQ
motto urete hoshikatta
We w anted it [= our beer] to sell more.
с
ίι -з
( L [ X l i L ¥ ^ \ tz о
yu'nyiimai о motto yasuku shite hoshikatta
I w anted them [= the government] to sell im ported rice m ore cheaply.
197.2
W IT H M E N T IO N O F S E C O N D /T H IR D P E R S O N
197.2.1 M arked by ni
ni (often in the form ni wa) specifically m arks the person who the speaker
wants to perform the V to which -te hoshii is attached.
a
[ ( :]
t ; ? ^ ' [ X l i l ] v '0
beikokujin jishin ni jii о motsu koto
no ayamari ni kizuite hoshii
We w ant the Am ericans themselves to realize the wrongness o f carrying
guns.
b ΛτόίΟΑ [C ] l
i
&
£
M
M
L
[ X l i l ] v'Q
jimoto no hito ni wa jibun-tachi no sumu chiiki no yosa о ninshiki shite
hoshii
We want the local people to be aware o f the merits o f the area they
live in.
с
[! -] ii &'K £■J'I'W I I СIi I J *.>.
saibansho ni wa shinjitsu о riktii ihilt* hmhii
I w a n t the c o u r t to u t u l e t \ t . u u ! the t m t h
197.2.2 Marked by particles other than ni
a m f J t U l·
[Xlil] ^ о
sh6hisha mo suiden ga капкуб о mamotte iru koto о rikai shite hoshii
We w ant the consumers, too, to understand that wet fields protect the
environment.
b J c ii [ii] m j h i z i - o x x ΐ ϋ < 4 Щ - Ш Ш х [ χ α ι \ ^ 0
josei wa und5 ni yotte de wa naku kenkyu jisseki de chii о agete
hoshii
W e w ant w om en to raise their position no t through movements but
through the results o f their research.
seiya no hitotoki kazoku-zure ya kappnru de puranetariumu о tanoshinde
hoshii
D uring the short period o f C hristm as Eve, we w ant [people] to enjoy
the planetarium in groups such as families and couples.
198 -te iku/-teku [SENTENCE ENDING]
V-te iku consists o f V-te + iku (as a lexical V, iku ( ίτ <) m eans ‘go’). The
com bination has several uses related to movement o f the action o f the V (in
place o r time) away from the speaker, although in translation this is often
no t captured. This contrasts with V-te kuru, which indicates m ovem ent (in
place or time) towards the speaker (see 204).
N ote the contracted (colloquial)
tetta for -te itta, etc.
198.1
198.2
198.3
198.4
198.5
s -teku for -te iku, -tette for -te itte,
D oing verb and then going
Action away from speaker
G radual action/developm ent over time and space
Lexical expressions
Honorific equivalents
198.1 D O IN G V E R B AND T H E N G O IN G
kawadoko ni suwaru to hin'yari shita kaze ga hoho о nadete iku
When one sits clown on (he riverbed, a cool wind caresses one’s
cheeks.
198.2 A C T IO N A W A Y FR O M S P E A K E R
a f f \ i - jf Ctb
/in
shoch6 ga jimusho о isande dete itta
The director left the office in high spirits.
b
i l f t o
ima nigete ikimashita
They ran aw ay just this m om ent.
198.3 G R A D U A L A C T IO N /D E V E L O P M E N T O V E R T IM E AND S P A C E
а
[tv'i] /iv'o
kono kankei wa zehi iji shite ikitai
I very m uch w ant to keep up this relationship.
shigaisen wa mushi-tachi no seitai ni mo eiky6 о oyoboshite iku
UV rays also have an influence on the ecology o f insects.
с
i
LШ
i о
[ t ^ ' o ] ft о
jibun wa shigoto no пбгуоки о kawareta no de wa nai. sonna utagai ga
himashi ni tsuyoku natte itta
Ί w asn’t em ployed because they valued my ability to do the jo b .’ T hat
doubt grew stronger by the day.
d
[t^ < ]0
sara ni aruku to mori wa dondon fukamatte iku
W hen you w alk further, the forest soon grows denser.
e & fcn$L X lzjtb [ t o ] to
sekai no hate ni tsuretette
Take me to the end o f the world.
f
[to ] ft0
dandan atarimae no okazu ni sakana ga taberareru уб ni nattetta.
I gradually becam e able to eat fish as an ordinary dish.
g
[ to ] ttilv v ta0
kore kara mo asakusa dokutoku no nioi о nokoshitette hoshii ne
In future too I w ant [people] to leave intact the smells peculiar to Asakusa.
198.4 LEXIC AL E X P R E S S IO N S
Soni c c o m b i n a t i o n s h av e b c c o m c lexical expr essions: yatte iku ‘get a l o n g ' ,
inolte iku ‘t a ke s o m e t h i ng , KurH»· iku lake s o m e o n e ’, tsuitc iku ‘a c c o m p a n y
s o m e o n e ’.
a
[tn { ]0
satogaeri no tabi ni кокуб no ry6shin о onsen ni tsurete iku
W henever he goes back hom e he takes his parents to a ho t spring.
198.5 H O N O R IF IC E Q U IVA LEN TS
The forms th at are used in place o f the lexical V iku are also used in place o f
iku in -te iku (see 65.3).
In humble usage (see 65), -te iku is replaced by -te mairimasu, and in honorific
use, by -te irassharu.
а
[ t i v ' D ] A'-'o
sono suii о mimamotte mairitai
I’d like to w atch these changes.
199 -te iru/teru [SENTENCE ENDING]
V-te iru consists o f V-te + iru (as a lexical V, iru m eans ‘be there’). The
combination indicates action in progress (with action V), or the state resulting
from the action o f V (w ith state V). In either use the ac to r (the person
responsible for the action o f V) is usually m entioned (unless understood
from the context), which contrasts sharply with -te aru, where no actor can
be m entioned in the same sentence (see 196).
Colloquially, -te iru/-te inai/-te imasu, etc. are often contracted to -teru/
-tenai/-temasu.
N ote th at certain verbs are used m ostly in the -te iru form (sunde iru ‘live’,
motte iru ‘have’, shitte iru ‘know’) except when there is clear future reference,
when the -te iru form is alm ost never fouind (unless with special nuance of
non-change o f the present situation), hence sumitai, sumu tsumori rather
than sunde itai, sunde iru tsumori, etc. (see also 196, 226).
199.1
199.2
199.3
199.4
Action in progress
Resulting state
Both interpretations possible: verbs o f m otion/change
In com pound sentences (clause 1-te ite, clause 2): im plying a reason
199.1 A C TIO N IN P R O G R E S S
a
к
>
^ / 1 ·)- - -
I’ С Λ. V trH\ · [ C '■ '/> ]„
ftkina mciporu no sliilu tie hitoMtn ци oduttc iru
I liulcr a big maypole pcnplr anil.nu me
ь Ш ,
[ t ^ ] So
saikin shashinshii ga urete iru
A t the m om ent, collections o f photographs are selling well.
199.2 R E S U L T IN G STA TE
a
l X 6 \ Чо
0 meru ga kiteru zo
Oh, an (e-)mail has come!
b
[X6]
[X 6 ] a
shitteru shitteru
1 know, I know.
с
[ t v ' ] fcvv,
isho wa mitsukatte inai
A will h asn ’t been found.
d
[tv '] iv \,
seito no hotondo wa ky6kasho о motte inai
M ost o f the pupils don’t have textbooks.
e
ί
z. [ X j iv·»,,
shuppansha no na mo hon'yakusha no namo oboetenai
I d o n ’trem em ber the nam e o f the publisher o r the translator.
f
[ X 6 ] й \ £Й 1* \ X \ i L ho
kono tokoro jibun no naka de kinch6kan ga kaketeru na to
kanjitemashita
I was feeling th at recently I was lacking internal m otivation.
199.3 B O TH IN T E R P R E T A T IO N S PO SSIBLE: V E R B S O F
M O T IO N /C H A N G E
In isolation, b oth interpretations are possible, bu t the translation given has
taken the context into account (see also 226).
a Μ
ή - %
[tv 'S b
jinkenhi wa nennen agatte iru
Personnel costs are rising every year.
b
с
\X^6)o
jidai wa henka shite iru
Times have changed.
{ i ,
[Τ'·'/,]
kvosii ga hageshiku natte iru
C o m p e t i t i o n lias b cc o me l i e u e
1 99.4
IN C O M P O U N D S E N T E N C E S (C LA U SE 1-te ite, C LAUSE 2):
IM P LY IN G A R EA SO N
In com pound S, the conjunctive form S l-te ite S2, the conjunctive form o f
-te iru, is used to im ply th at SI is a reason for S2. T o indicate an explicit
reason, P like kara o r node are used (see 75, 139).
Note - in the written/formal spoken style, -te ori is used as the conjunctive form rather than
-te i (which is not normally used) or -te ite (which is considered too colloquial for the written
style). Compare:
а г J [ t v ' t ]
chotto kawatte ite omoshiros6 to mayowazu kono zemi о eranda
I chose this sem inar w ithout hesitation, thinking ‘This looks interesting,
being a little unusual’.
ijime wa senzai-ka shite ori masa ni hy6zan no ikkaku to shiteki
shite iru
H e points out th at ‘bullying has become deeply entrenched, and is just
the tip o f the iceberg’.
200
-te itadaku [PERFORMATIVE SENTENCE ENDING]
W hen the perform ative V itadaku (a form al equivalent o f morau, see 160.4.3)
is attached to V-te, the im plication is th at the subject has the action o f the
V perform ed by someone else for his/her benefit. V-te itadaku is used when
the subject (= recipient o f the favour) is o f low er social status than the
giver, -te itadaku often implies that the subject (who is often the speaker) is
getting the perform er to do a favour by asking o r persuading him /her (see
207, 65).
\
200.1
200.1.1
200.1.2
200.1.3
200.2
200.2.1
200.2.2
Verb-te itadaku
Verb-te itadaku
Verb-te itadakitai
Clause 1 verb-te itadai-te/itadaki clause 2 (arigat5, etc.)
Verb-te itadaku (potential form )
Verb-te itadake-ru ka/-nai ka
Verb-te itadakeru + conjunctive particle to/-ba/-tara + evaluatory
predicate
200.3 Verb-causativc-te itadaku
200.3.1 Verb-causativc-te itadaku
200.3.2 Verb-causative-lc itadakitai
200.1 V E R B -te itadaku
200.1.1 Verb-te itadaku
Usually, V-te itadaku implies th at you get others to do something for you Ί /
we get y o u /o th eis to do som ething for m e/us’, b u t as in exam ple c, -te
itadaku can be used as if it were the pass, form (kudasareru does not exist) of
-te kudasaru, ‘kindly do(es) for m e/us’.
а
L Yifcik L [ X ^ t z t z b J i t о
seisekihyo wa chanto teishutsu shite itadakimasu
We get them to submit their transcripts properly.
iinkai ga dekireba soko de gutai-teki na sagy6 о yatte itadaku
A fter the committee is form ed, we’ll have it do the actual work.
с
[-rv'A/i'v']
t-J t%
ii,
^ X
i %u<n%fy]<F> J;
iic ito 'tv 'S o
sono toki kakete itadaita kotoba wa ima demo watashi no takaramono no
уб ni natte iru
The w ords they [= the people w ho helped me] spoke to me at th at time
are like a treasure to me even now.
2 00 .1.2 Verb-te itadakitai
In line with the meaning o f -tai, this means Ί /we’d like you to do (for me/us)
. . .’ (see 189).
a J E t l [ X ^ ' t z t z b tz\
rikai shite itadakitai
I’d like you to understand.
b
7L \ X ^ 4 z t z b t z \ v-'o
kongo mo кубгуоки shite itadakitai
We hope to have your continued co-operation in the future.
с
[ X ^ t z t z b t z ] v,'0
saishiibi wa kakutei shite imasen kara. mo sukoshi ato ni shite
itadakitai
[My] last day [in office] hasn’t been set yet. I’d like you to put [that
question ab out how I look back on my time in the Cabinet] off a little
longer.
d
Г > - 7 £ Л
[X
ν Ά
tz
> / ]
gurafu о m ite itadakitai
Please l ook at tin: )>t ;ipI> tin
T i l like s u n to l ook at the g r a p h ” ).
Japanese: A Com prehensive Gramm ar 4 93
2 00 .1.3 Clause 1 verb-te itad a i-te /ita d a k i clause 2 (arigato, etc.)
C om pound S where SI ends in the conjunctive form , o r conjunctive form
equivalent, o f -te itadaku, followed in S2 by an expression o f thanks, express
the m eaning ‘th ank you for doing’ (see 31.3.4).
konna ni atsui naka ni kite itadaite mina-san arigato
T hank you all for taking the trouble to come at such a hot time.
b
\X^'tzt£b\ Ш 1 Х ^ Ь о
watashi dake de naku hikaru о atatakaku mukaete itadaki kansha
shite iru
T hank you for giving a w arm welcome no t only to me bu t also to
Hikaru.
2 00.2
V E R B -te itad aku (P O T E N T IA L FORM )
200.2.1 V erb -te itad a ke -ru k a /-n a i ka
This signals a polite request in Q form , pos. or neg., in the sense o f ‘could
you please’.
a
it]
henji wa chotto matte itadakemasu ka
Could I ask you to wait a little while for my answer?
b
L -Ш о
[tv'£fc*it]
hoka ni wa nai medama sh6hin to shite atsukatte itadakemasen ka
C an’t we get you to handle it as a loss leader th at nobody else has?
200.2.2 Verb-te itad a ke ru + conjunctives particle to /-b a /-ta ra
+ evaluatory predicate
-te itadakeru in subordinate clauses ending in to/-ba/-tara followed by an
evaluatory pred. such as ii ‘good’, ureshii ‘happy’, etc. indicates the idea of
‘it would be nice if’, T/we’d be happy if’.
Note - the evaluatory pred. can be omitted (example c).
a
b
I t v' t z t £ it tz
ki ni itte itadaketara ii no desu ga
I h o p e y o u ’ll like it.
I t '.'A /m * Ζ η h U ']j
suzuki-san wa diiscdai ni kiile itadakeru to ureshii to nikkori
Su/.uki-san, with ;i sunk·, said. ’I II Iu- h a p p y if my g e n e r a t i o n listens
to it’.
с
\№ Щ -Ь Х ^ Ы : Ί tzb\
[X ^ ' / z / z l i h l X ]
honnin wa koji shite iru s6 da ga yatte itadakereba to omou
I hear th a t he him self has firmly declined, but I hope he’ll take it
[= the chairm anship] on.
200.3
V E R B -C A U S A T IV E -te itad aku
The causative here is used in the permissive m eaning ‘allow ’, ‘let’ (see 20),
with the com bination literally m eaning “I receive the favour of being allowed
to do som ething” .
200.3.1 Verb-causative-te itad aku
This m eans ‘allow me to d o ’, or ‘have the pleasure o f doing’.
a
Ϋ
b
i f o
hai yarasete itadakimasu
OK, I ’ll do it (= allow me to do it).
b
i l /·:„
taihen kydmi-bukaku yomasete itadakimashita
I had the privilege o f reading it w ith great interest.
с
b*t [ i t X^ ' t z t z b } i t o
iwaikin juman-en о okurasete itadakimasu
I take the liberty o f sending you a congratulatory gift o f one hundred
thousand yen.
kdshi ni watari shitashiku o-tsukiai sasete itadaita
I had the pleasure o f close association with him in b o th official and
private life.
2 00 .3.2 Verb-causative-te itad a kita i
This com bination m eans ‘please let/allow me to ’.
a
[ &X '‘ ' t z t z b / c ^ ] 0
kangaesasete itadakitai
Please let me think it over.
b
[-t!:T' • ' / ’- А ' * / с Ч о
futari de gdisho ni shomei sasete itadakitai
Please let b o t h o f us sign the letter o f a gr ee me nt .
с * i
Й/. С I <■<. OX ^
sfi iu jftkyo ga umarm-bu )огокшм1<If it c a m e to that situation |
$ f z^], ,
μιγιιμΊ ι- itadakitai
Ιι.ο ιημ a top level talk|, I'd be h a p p y to d o so
201 -te kara [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
V-te kara is a conjunctive P th at basically joins two clauses in the sense of
‘after’, but has some other uses too.
The structural N ato can also be used in the sense o f ‘after’ (see 11.2, 12).
201.1
201.2
201.3
201.4
Clause 1-te kara
Clause 1-te kara
N oun phrase wa
Cleft sentence-te
clause 2
clause 2 made (ni) clause 3
clause-te kara (+ copula)
kara (+ copula)
201.1 C LA U S E 1-te kara C LA U S E 2
In this use, -te kara m eans ‘after’.
Note - With time expressions the suf. -go ‘after (amount of time)’ can be added, resulting in the
idea of ‘after’ being expressed twice (examples с and f).
а Ь Ъ Ы 'Щ '* [ Хй' ь] | : U i i L n 0
kichinto shirabete kara ni shite hoshii
We w ant them to [put things on the m arket] after they’ve checked them
out properly.
b
ί о [Xt'b]
pokeberu mo kisei kanwa nado de teikakaku ni natte kara chflk5k5-sei
nado ni fukyu shita
Beepers became widespread am ong people like middle- and
high-school pupils after they became cheap due to relaxing of
regulations.
с
[Xi'b]
[Ш t £ ^ h a
saisho no shibdrei ga nihon shoji ni hdkoku sarete kara nijii ninichi-go
datta
It was (lit. “after”) 22 days after the first death [case] was reported to
Nippon Sh5ji.
d
Ш Ь [X¥b]
t-tl'o
misshon-kei no gakkd de mananda hito demo sotsugyd shite kara kyokai
e nando ashi о hakondu ku
O n e w o n d e r s h o w o l t e n e\e«i t hose w h o went t o a mi s s i on school h ave
been to church al tet ^ t. u l n. i t mf
[ X ¥ b ] e r g - i f - £ · ; ! £ & U —i b i - ^ K A b h h „
kyiiseidd wa furanshisuko zabieru ga nihon-hatsu no kirisuto kydkai
о yamaguchi ni tatete kara yonhyaku-nen о kinen shi sen kyuhyaku
gojQni-nen ni tsukurareta
The old church had been built in 1952 in com m em oration o f the 400th
anniversary of Francis X avier’s building o f Jap a n ’s first Christian
church in Yamaguchi.
f
[х¥ь]
Ш)
γζηζχίζ
Ш%к1 t z Z n i
t £ ^ $ . X ' S L ^ X ^ ^ b h fJ i ¥ ' > h \ a
jishin ga okite kara yaku juppun-go ni kaketsuketa honda akira ekichd
wa kore made ni keiken shita koto mo nai 6ki na jishin de tatte
irarenakatta
H o n d a A kira, the stationm aster, w ho rushed to the scene {lit. “after”)
10 mins after the earthquake struck, [said], ‘It was a quake o f a
m agnitude I haven’t experienced before; I was unable to remain
standing’.
2 01 .2 C LA U S E 1-te k ara C L A U S E 2 m ad e (ni) C L A U S E 3
This expresses a range of actions in time, ‘from . . . to/until’, with S3 indicating
a time (see also 74, 85, 87).
a —
S-jfiU [ X i ' b ]
[it" ]
Г-
isshun no dekigoto de ijd о kanjite kara tenpuku suru made ippun-kan
gurai datta to iu
H e says th at it happened very quickly, taking only about one m inute
from the time they felt som ething amiss to the b o a t’s capsizing.
b %9 Λϋ —
-fA
Ш * . [X i'b] З ^ К Ъ Ш Л Ъ
[it-ic] t i b f i ' = 0 L i 't 'i 'h b
b'-o tz0
hajime wa ichinichi atari hyakunin-dai datta. sore ga sanbyakunin ni nari
gohyakunin ni nari sennin о koete kara sanzennin о toppa suru made ni
wa wazuka mikka shika kakaranakatta
At first [the num ber o f refugees] was in the range o f 100 per day. T hat
became 300, 500, and from the time it exceeded 1000 till it reached the
3000 m ark took only 3 days.
2 01.3 N O U N PH R A SE w a C L A U S E -te kara (+ C O PU LA )
a
'--/rU
'
[C/W,l
Сf I
w atashi-tachi no shf>f>atMi uiMimi wa чипципк'М ga sugitc kara desu to in
'Our N e w Y e a r v a c a t i o n Ιη ί ί ι γ . a l i a tlu· t h r e e official h o l i d a y s ' , he sav>
Japanese: A Comprehensive Gram m ar 4 97
2 01 .4
C L E F T S E N T E N C E -te k ara (+ COPU LA )
[ X i ' b ] t ' - f j l j H, к b i b - o X ^ h * . η fz0
shikashi sono гуй chishu demo aji ga hont6 ni daseru yo ni natta no wa
hachiju sugite kara desu yo to mizukara katatte ita s6 da
But even th a t [formidable actor] R yu Chishu apparently said himself
th a t it was ‘from his eighties’ th a t he could really give m eaning [to a
part],
202
-te kudasaru [PERFORMATIVE SENTENCE
ENDING]
When the performative V kudasaru (a formal equivalent o f kureru, see 160.4.2)
is attached to V-te, the implication is th at someone does the action of V for
th e benefit o f th e speaker or a m em ber o f the sp eak er’s group (such as
his family members, colleagues, etc.). V-te kudasaru is used when the subject
(or perform er) o f the action of V is of higher social status than the receiver
(see 203, 65).
The G roup II V kudasaru is som ewhat irregular in th at the imp. form (used
for polite requests) is kudasai, which is also the (irregular) -masu-stem (see
184.1.3).
202.1
202.1.1
202.1.2
202.2
Verb-te kudasaru
Verb-te kudasaru, etc.
Verb-te kudasai
Verb-causative-te kudasai
202.1 V E R B -te ku d a sa ru
202.1.1 Verb-te k u d asaru , etc.
This is used o f the second or third person.
a
I t < f c 'i
x x H -h 'X L ito
ima kimete kudasareba xx о sabisu shimasu
If you would oblige us by deciding now, we will throw in such-and-such
free o f charge.
b
[:: / '
] citJ:.
( t i t = t ^ it )
minasan is s lm k in m ti ιιί sliilt lui<liisiitUim isu yo
They |
as sistant Mali I an- ill lu lpmi· as m u c h as t he y c a n, y ou kn o w .
с i
ΗO
[ -C < Af S -5 ]
Ac0
mada mumei datta watashi no hydso ni awasete jibun no sakuhin о
nuri-naoshite kudasatta
He was kind enough to re-paint one o f his own pieces to go w ith the
m ount th at I, who was still an unknow n, had m ade.
d
f c l k l [X ( A f i o ]
X'-fo
atatakaku mimamori 6en shite kudasatta mina-sama ni kansha no
kimochi de ippai desu
I am filled w ith thanks for all the people who so kindly watched over
and supported me.
202.1.2 Verb-te kudasai
Being the imp. form o f kudasaru, kudasai expresses a com m and to someone
else to do (or n o t to do) som ething ‘please d o ’. In tone, it is less blunt th an
kure (see 203).
The ad d ition o f the fin. P ne (exam ple h) to kudasai m akes the com m and
m ore intim ate (see also 24.2).
а
[X < A f i v ' l o
шепуй о misete kudasai
Please show me a menu.
b
[X < t-Z ίν,Λ]0
matte kudasai
Please wait.
с b i ' o t [ X < A :'$ ^ ]o
wakatte kudasai
Please understand.
d
IX < A c ^ l o
ochitsuite kudasai
Please calm down.
e t h Z A , , « Л & У и Ц & й Ь [t<A = *i^]0
mochiron nomisugi ni wa chui shite kudasai
O f course, be careful not to drink too much, please.
Г
Ή
[X < A
:'M l
hayaku gcnki ni natte kudusai
I’lcasc get well soo n
g
t $ L K l i 7 / i J b {f4rv,4 [ Τ ^ / ϊ ’ ^ Ί ο
mushiba ni naru no de musume ni ame о agenai de kudasai
Please d o n ’t give my daughter any bonbons as she’ll get bad teeth.
h L > 4 H i b i m i i l [ t < £ '^ '* a ] 0
ja shibaraku gaman shite kudasai ne
All right, please put up with [this = medical exam ination] for a bit.
202.2 V E R B -C A U S A T IV E -te kud asai
The caus. expressing the permissive here, this means ‘please let/allow me to ’
(see 20).
a
[&X <
motto kikasete kudasai
Please let me hear more.
b —
ichinichi dake kangaesasete kudasai
Please let me think it over for ju st one day.
с
l-tir.t < A-i '-' lc
kazoku to sddan sasete kudasai
Please let me discuss it with my family.
d
[*tX (
hatsubai suru wakkusu no senden ni anata no kuruma о tsukawasete
kudasai
Please let us use your car for an advertisem ent for a wax we’re putting
on the m arket.
203 -te kureru [PERFORMATIVE SENTENCE ENDING]
W hen the perform ative V kureru (a less form al equivalent o f kudasaru, see
160.4.2) is attached to V-te, the im plication is th at someone does the action
o f the V for the benefit o f the speaker, or a member o f the speaker’s group
(such as his family members, colleague, etc.).
W hen third persons are concerned, the choice between -te kureru and -te
ageru depends on which side the speaker (or writer) sympathizes or identifies
with: if he takes the th ird person(s)’ side, -te kureru is used, otherw ise
-te ageru (see 195).
I n a s t o r y a b o u t a ‘c a r e e r w o m a n ’, t h e r e p o r t e r g o e s h o m e t o h a v e d i n n e r
w i t h h e r a n d h e r h u s b a n d , a n d t h e r e f o r e h e ident i f i es w i t h t h e w o m a n :
a 6 £ i! t<
[X < ft]
jitaku chikaku no eki ni wa otto ga kuruma de mukae ni kite kurete ita
H er husband had come by car to pick her up at the station near[est] to
their home.
V-te kureru is used w hen the p erform er o f the action o f V is o f equal or
lower social status than the receiver (see 202).
203.1
203.1.1
203.1.2
203.2
203.3
203.3.1
203.3.2
203.3.3
203.3.4
203.3.5
203.4
Verb-te kureru
Subject = hum an
Subject = non-hum an
Verb-te kurete + evaluatory predicate
Verb-te kure (direct and indirect com m ands)
D irect com m ands
Indirect com m ands
Verb-te kureru na: negative com m ands
Verb-nai de kure: negative com m ands
Verb-te kure-nai/-masen ka: requests in negative-question form
[Verb-causative]-te kureru
203.1 V E R B -te kureru
V-te kureru can be used for second o r third persons, o r personified n o n
hum an entities ‘you/som eone else/it gives m e/us’.
203.1.1 Subject = human
Note - the effect of -te kureru is often difficult to capture in translation; as in example c, there
are even cases where a pass, is the most appropriate translation.
a J: <
[ X < И] i L h 0
yoku kite kuremashita
T hank you for coming.
b
[X < h ] i I h o
minna ga 6en shite kuremashita
[Father o f Olympic gold medallist:] Everyone cheered him on.
с
L [X < h ] bo
kannai de wa kaisetsu no tame kakari no hito ga annai shite kureru
Inside the building, one is show n around by the clerk in charge to
explain things.
d
[X
{ -Ii]
/, t .
I
lx(h]
b„
shokuji wa hahaoya ga mainichi tsukuttc kureru shi hcijitsu wa scntaku
mo shite kureru
The mother m;ikes the meals lm ι Ι η ί ιι |
u t v k i l ;i\ s s h e a Isi i il> u-s tin Ι.ι 11in 11 ·.
ehiUlieii] every day, and on
e
[ X < h ] i » . '0
otona wa wakatte kurenai
Adults d o n ’t understand me.
f
Z ' n L X , t> о £-?-< fie*. [ t < ft]
Ίо
chQgakusei kara sutte iru. ddshite motto hayaku oshiete kurenakattard
I ’ve been sm oking from the time I was in junior high. W hy didn’t
[people] tell m e sooner [about the dangers of smoking], I wonder.
g l ® № / - ϊ> о X Г/'-у h°— · ;<—X r —J
[ X ( H]
ddryd-tachi ga sorotte happl basude о utatte kureta
M y co-workers sang ‘H appy B irthday’ to me together.
h —t ^ s f c I [ X < Н Ш ] — f c i - t i f r S o
nisenman dashite kurereba ichioku ni wa naru
If you give us tw enty million, we’ll tu rn it (lit. “it’ll tu rn ”) into a
hundred m illion at least.
203 .1.2 Subject = non-human
These non-hum an subjects are treated linguistically as if they were hum an,
e.g. the lottery tickets in example b (if they win), are seen to do the speaker
a favour!
а
b W f o i [X < b ] b kotae wa jikan ga dashite kureru
Time will give us the answer . . .
b ' ё / t o [X ( H t e b V
7 Xa
atatte kuretara shigoto wa yamechau yo
If [the lottery tickets] win, I’m going to quit my job, you know.
[X < h h l i ] 0
с n izi* ( fl? ί
tonikaku ame sae futte kurereba
Anyway, if it would only rain.
d ш т х ' 1±&>t с, h i u t e x .
l x <b ]
kaiwa dake de wa tsutaerarenai koto о bunsho wa tsutaete kureru
The w ritten w ord conveys to us things which cannot be com municated
by conversation alone.
e - k - f i i - A i V l z i [X ( b ]
josei о taisetsu ni shite kureru kaisha ga ii
I’d prefer a com pany that values women.
f
4 I i ·'''№'■'
S.,
shokubutsu m o aijft о iitiu rib a iituoru hod о inukuitc kureru
With plants too, tin- ти н · a l l n h n n \πιι give them, the more they
reward vnu.
2 03.2 V E R B -te ku rete + EV A LU A T O R Y P R E D IC A T E
Depending on the meaning o f pred., this com bination m eans ‘it’s good th at
you/he, etc. are/were . . .’ ‘I/we are happy th at you/he/she do/did som ething
(for me/us) . . .’.
a
[X < h X & } ¥ ^ ) f r bo
anata ga ite kurete tasukatta wa
It really helped th at you were here [for me].
ь
i
[x <h x i h i ]
anata no уб na nihonjin ga ite kurete ureshii
[Apology for w ar atrocities to K orean school, reply:] W e’re glad there
are Japanese people like you.
с M v u n ' t i x
< h x & > -? ] f t z & i 0
saisho wa bibitta ga ima de wa kite kurete yokatta to omou
A t first we were afraid, but now we’re happy th at it [= new com puting
magazine] entered the fray.
203.3 V E R B -te kure (D IR E C T A N D IN D IR E C T C O M M A N D S )
(See also 24, 178.4.2.1, 178.4.2.2.)
203.3.1 Direct commands
a
[X < h h
doa 0 akete kure
O pen the door [for me].
b
[X < h h
wakatte kure
D o understand.
с z h i f L I X <h h
kore о mite kure
Look at this.
d
[X < h h
куб wa nenai de okite ite kure
Today, d o n ’t go to sleep; stay awake.
e J о 5 Y & X f t -5 [ Χ ( Η ζ . ί ] ο
sassa to dete itte kure'
Just get out!
f t,x
[X < Д].
chotto m atte kure
Wait a mi nut e.
203.3.2 Indirect commands
Indirect com m ands are a kind o f em bedded S (see 178.4.2), and follow the
same rule, i.e. th at the form of the actual com m and is reduced to its simplest
form, th at is, w ithout any polite endings such as -masu, and using the least
honorific of the relevant set of perform ative V (where the original command
m ay have ended in -te kudasai, the indirect com m and uses -te kure, for
example).
а &®¥ьЩЖ1
zenkoku kara кбеп shite kure to iu ydse ga takusan kite iru
There are lots o f requests from all over the country asking me to give a
lecture.
2 03 .3.3 Verb-te ku reru na: negative commands
This is used to tell someone off for doing something o u t o f line (see 101).
a fcitbZZbL [XihZti]
X ^ttb h ^
yokei na koto о shite kureru na to monku о iwareta
H e com plained th a t I shouldn’t give him help he d id n ’t ask for.
203.3.4 Verb-nai d e kure: negative commands
This is a less polite version of -nai de kudasai, and com pared to 203.3.3, the
m ore usual way o f m aking a neg. com m and (see also 112.4.4).
a f o t <ho
matte kure. oite ikanai de kure
Wait! D o n ’t leave me here!
h ]о
b Z
h —]0
kore ijd shuppi no kikai о fuyasanai de kure
Please d o n ’t create even m ore occasions for spending money
[on presents]!
203.3.5 Verb-te k u re -n a i/-m a s e n ka: requests in
negative-question form
Being less direct, requests in neg.-Q form are m ore polite th an V-te kure
commands. They are roughly equivalent to English ‘can you’, ‘will you’ in
the plain form, and ‘could you’ or ‘would you’ in the -masu form (see 114,
173).
a
'Vv.'/!)·],,
shigoto о tctsudsitU· k u m iiii ka
H o w a b o u t piviiif us a liaml with o u r wor k?
ь t, i о
[x
<
chotto hanashi ga aru kara kite kurenai ka
I w ant to speak to you a m om ent, so could you come here.
C
J;
[X <h t l t / v f r ]о
chotto ue no kaigishitsu made kite kuremasen ka
Could you come to the conference room upstairs for a m om ent.
203.4 [V E R B -C A U S A T IV E ]-te kureru
The caus. has permissive m eaning in this use ‘let me/us d o ’ (see 20).
a -q fc f * [i-a-t <
hitoban kangaesasete kure
Let me think about it overnight.
b f t V Z / u Z Z Z L i\
[ &X < b ]
lo
nan de konna koto shika yarasete kurenai no yo
W hy do they only let me do [boring] things like this?
204 -te kuru [SENTENCE ENDING]
V-te kuru consists o f V-te + kuru (as a lexical V, kuru m eans ‘com e’)· The
com bination has several uses related to movem ent o f the action o f the V in
place or time tow ard the speaker (see 198, which indicates m ovement o f the
action V in place or time away from the speaker).
204.1
204.2
204.3
204.4
204.5
D oing verb and then com ing
A ction o f verb directed tow ard speaker
G radual or sudden change/developm ent
Lexical expressions
Honorific/hum ble equivalents
204.1 D O IN G V E R B AND T H E N C O M IN G
The im plication is th at the speaker (or a second/third person) perform s the
action o f V, and then comes to where the speaker is now, or was at the time
‘go and do som ething’.
a tf^> [X < Ь \ J:„
itte kuru yo
I’m o ff/I’m going out.
b #№|£ЛЧ'< [X ^ ] ».4..
gcn'in о shirabctc koi
( ί ο a n d chock on the cause
204 .2 A C TIO N O F V E R B D IR E C T E D T O W A R D S P E A K E R
a
[X ( b \ 0
nama-atatakai kaze ga umi kara fuite kuru
An unpleasantly w arm wind is blowing in from the sea.
b Z-K <r> % K ¥'^¥bkX b X U L ^ l f
h0
futari no rojin ga naka kara dete kite hanashikakete kita
Two old men came out and addressed us.
C
[ " Г ; ]
O. - ' -' o
ano yoki jidai wa eien ni kaette konai
Those good times will never return [to us].
2 04.3 G R A D UA L O R S U D D E N C H A N G E /D E V E L O P M E N T
а К Ы 'Ъ йЩ -э [Xb] h a
niwaka-ame ga futte kita
A sudden shower fell.
b
[ХЬ] i I h 0
daigaku de chiigokugo о Ьепкуб shite kimashita
I studied Chinese at university.
с
b
b hh 0
nantoka koko made ikite korareta
Somehow I m anaged to live until now.
d
[Xb] h 0
shohisha ishiki mo kawatte kita
Consumer consciousness has also changed.
e
r - х з [X ( &]o
shingakko kara higashi ni susumu to tenisu koto ga miete kuru
W hen one proceeds east from the divinity school, tennis courts come
into view.
2 04 .4 LEXICAL E X P R E S S IO N S
Note lexical expressions such as yatte kuru ‘come, come along’, motte kuru
'bring som ething’, tsurete kuru ‘bring som eone’, tsuite kuru ‘accom pany’.
а
Ι Φ -э Х < b\ o
kotoshi mo kurisumasu ga yatte kuru
Christmas is alm ost here again this year.
204.5 H O N O R IF IC /H U M B L E EQ U IV A LE N T S
In hon. usage (see 65). kuru is replaced by oide ni naru or irassharu. Instead
ol'oide ni natte kudasai. oide alone can be used as the imp. (example a).
Hum ble equivalents o f kuru are mairu/mairimasu (see 65).
а
[tfcv'-Clo
o-kashi о ageru kara tsuite oide
I’ll give you some sweets, so please come with me.
chomin no uchii ni taisuru kyomi mo fuete mairimashita
The citizens’ interest in space has increased too.
205 -te miru [SENTENCE ENDING]
V-te miru consists o f V-te + miru (as a lexical V, miru m eans ‘see’). The
com bination indicates that the action o f V ( - volitional V ) is perform ed to
see w hat the result is, i.e. ‘try ’, ‘try and see’ (‘try’ is often unneccessary in
translation).
-te miru often attaches -tai (-te mi-tai ‘w ant to try ’ and -yo (te-mi-yo ‘let’s
try’), -te miru can also attach to the lexical V miru ‘see’: mite miru ( Я Л Л 6 )
‘look at, exam ine’ (see 246).
a
[ ХЛ] i t о
kangaete mimasu
I ’ll think ab o u t it.
b
[ Х Л ] tea
osoruosoru kiite mita
Timidly I asked.
C | f о
[ t A ]
/:V 'D
itsu ka mata itte mitai
Sometime, I’d like to go again.
d
[ t i ] Xio
beikoku no rei о mite miyo
L et’s look at the example o f the US.
e
ϋ -Я J f - i —
[ Х Л ] /:V'„
kotoshi wa zehi sukyQba daibingu о yatte mitai
This year I ’d very m uch like to try scuba diving.
f t e n s - b S - f - i -y 9 l [ Х Л ] 6 Y ,
mukashi no noto о chekku shite miru to machigai ga кеккб 6i
When I check old notebooks, there are quite a few mistakes.
206 -te mo [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
The conjunctive P -te/de πιο c o n s i s t s ol the conjunctive -tc/de form and the
I ocus P mo, anil hasicalh mc.m·. V\en it It can attach to V, adj., ΛΝ and N.
Note - there is an informal variant -tatte for -te mo (see example a and the second sentence of
example 206.1b), -datte for -de mo, and datte for de mo or mo (example b) (see also 39).
a ? 'J X V X i i Г l # i l [ b t ] v,'v'0
kurisumasu wa donna sugoshikata о shi-tatte ii
As for C hristm as, you can [it] spend any way you like.
b Ж 4 д гх ^ - b H i <
i-> '* X
х - 'У
# s z Y t f x b So
dansei ga sukato о haku wake ni wa ikanai ga, josei wa mitsu-zoroi no
bijinesu sfitsu datte kiru koto ga dekiru
A m an can’t w ear a skirt, but a w om an can wear a three-piece business
suit.
206.1
206.2
206.3
206.4
206.5
206.6
206.7
206.8
206.9
Clause l-te/-de mo clause 2
Clause 1-nakute mo clause 2
Clause l-te/-de mo, . . . clause 2-negative
Clause-te/-de mo ii
Question w ord (+ counter)-te mo
(hitokuchi ni) clause 1 to it-te mo clause 2
so wa itte mo
Clause 1 tatoe . . . -te mo . . . clause 2-negative
Idiom atic use: hayaku/osoku-te mo
206.1 C LAU SE 1 -te /-d e m o C LA U S E 2
This means ‘even if’, ‘even though’. N ote also that -temo can also be attached
to -te iru when a state is being referred to, as in example d.
а
[ti,]
tlO % fv ^
funachin о kuwaete mo kansai kara hakonda ho ga mada jup-pasento
yasui
Even if shipping charges are added, it’s still 10 per cent cheaper to
transport from the K ansai area.
b
I [tt>],
ii к/ U
^
LJ
0 \Ш ьЬ
iiU
A/tJo
anata ga kogi shite mo kanajo-tachi wa hana de warainagara iu daro.
sawarare-tatte heru mon ja nashi jodan mo tsQjinai nante
[Sexual harassm ent:] Even if you protest, she [= the female boss] will
probably say, laughing ironically, ‘Y ou’re not going to wear out by
being touchcd’, [or| ‘My god, you ca n ’t even take a jo k e ’.
с Ml·* [ t t ]
k \ Ш I 4 ·. >' : * Kin/:.
jimi de mo пацаки tsu/iikcru koto ком» taisctsu da
It's i m p o r t a n t to i .11 is on it omc things, r w n if it's iu a mode s t way.
rizoto kurabu no kaiinken о Ьоуй shite ite mo kore made wa doitsu
kurabu no shisetsu dake shika riyo dekinakatta
Even if one held m em bership o f a resort club, as yet one could only use
the facilities o f th at same club.
2 06.2 C LA U S E 1 -n a k u te m o C L A U S E 2
In the neg., the m eaning is ‘even if n o t’.
a
ь
i &l
( [tt>] M 'S
Ь0
namae о shirazu hanashita koto ga nakute mo aisatsu о suru
Even if he doesn’t know their nam es and has never spoken to them
before, he greets them [= employees],
[ τ ί,] £<
[τί,]
j
jiken ga atte mo nakute mo tanaka-sensei wa nitchu уйкб kankei no
daikorosha to nobeta
‘Regardless o f whether or no t he was involved an incident, M r T anaka
has m ade a great contribution to friendly relations between Japan and
C hina’, he stated.
2 06.3 C LA U S E 1-te/-de m o ___ C LA U S E 2 -N E G A T IV E
Followed by neg., the m eaning o f -te/-de mo is ‘even if’, ‘even’.
a r l·
[t't,]
К+
> H i A i OIL [icv'J
b Lv'0
terebizuki no kodomo demo nyiisu ya dokyumento wa amari minai
rashii
It seems th a t even children who like TV d o n ’t w atch news and
docum entaries much.
b
[ X t>]
tiU 5 c
yunyQmai ga nihonjin no mikaku ni awazu yasukute mo urenai jokyo ni
naru kanosei mo aru
Im ported rice doesn’t suit the Japanese palate, so it’s possible that we
end up with a situation where it w on’t sell even if it’s cheap.
с \-T=? -уНЦ'Щг О [ x t ] I b f fy
Ъ h 'Y - ’ ■') / j ' h b ' b [ £ > ' ] |
Y i o t - i , ,
burajiru ni kactte mo <ihi}>oto к» «πι ka dfl ka wakaranai to utsumuku
‘liven if I went back to Hia/il. I don't know whether or not I could £et
work’, he says, with d m uu .r.i cm··.
d H Z 'C liK o .y T 'T ? b
C 0tt^¥60 %&{
<^ ' o
[t t]
[£>'] i'bfco
koko de wa doroppu-auto (chfito taigaku) no hiritsu ga 60% chikaku mo
aru кбкб ga mezurashikunai. sotsugyo shite mo ii shigoto ni tsukeru
nozomi wa nai kara da
In this area there are quite a few high schools where the dropout rate is
alm ost 60 per cent. T h at’s because even when one graduates, there’s no
hope o f getting a good job.
e
[til·
[f]
£> Ъ о
Ьепкуб shitai to omotte mo nakanaka jikan ga torezu iraira suru koto
mo aru
There are times when, even if you w ant to study, it’s rather difficult to
find the time, so you get irritated.
2 06 .4 C L A U S E -te /d e m o ii
Followed by an evaluatory adj. such as ii/yoi ‘good’, the com bination means
‘it’s O K if’, ‘you could’, ‘you can/m ay’.
а
[ t t ]
V'V'0
bunmei wa minzoku to okikaete mo ii
F o r ‘civilization’, you could substitute ‘race’.
ь « &
$ ■ £ [tt,] H v ^ g o t v 'j 0
hitsuyo nara machi ga kaitotte mo ii to omotte iru
I think it would be all right for the tow n to purchase it [= governmentowned forest], if necessary.
C
'fro L· , t t jt y ls
[ t & ]
V,'V'0
shokuhin dobutsu kusuri igai nara taitei no shohin о hanbai shite mo ii
[Free market:] A p art from food, anim als, and medicine, one is allowed
to sell alm ost anything.
2 06 .5 Q U E S T IO N W O R D (+ C O U N T E R )-te mo
Depending on the Q word, the com bination has a variety o f meanings, such
as ‘no m atter how /w hen’, etc. (see 167, 36, Table 23).
a
Г [ ^ 7 ] t [ t t ] ftv/cvM
7
£ I £>'o
tokoro ga seito-tachi wa doshite mo utaitai to suteji о hanareyo to shinai
H ow e v e r , the p up i l s said, ‘W e w a n t t o si ng n o m a t t e r w h a t ’, a n d ma d e
n o m o v e to leave the staye
b [ £ % b ] C L [ τ ί , ] &Ы$.Щ1гЪ<п\Ж l ^ o
dochira ni shite mo mise о iji suru no wa muzukashii
Either way, it will be difficult to keep the store going.
с
i f t L K t>]
genzai itsu teiden shite mo okashikunai jotai ni aru moyo da
At present, they seem to be in a situation where the pow er could go out
at any time [= electricity supply to U kraine from R ussia suspended],
d ш i]
о
dare no me kara mite mo wakari-yasui joken settei ga капб ni naru
It will be possible to stipulate term s [for corporate bond issues] in a
way th at is easy for anyone to understand.
e [irX&f-] Ш
i ^
[til,
i
#Ж
о
donna ni henkei sasete mo atatameru to moto no katachi ni modoru
fushigi na sozai keijo kioku gokin
It’s a form -retention alloy, an am azing m aterial which returns to its
original shape when you heat it up, no m atter how you’ve modified it.
f
g
< ί,] Я & х Ж Ф Л
< йь& '-м
Υ- Ш ^ Ь о
ikura horitsu de kisei shite mo otona no ishiki о kaenai to naku naranai
to shiteki suru
‘N o m atter how m uch you regulate by law, if you d o n ’t alter the
awareness o f adults, they [shops selling schoolgirls’ underw ear to men]
w on’t go aw ay’, he points out.
^А^ШЩЬШХ^ХИ
[V'o] i t / c o
[τί>]
shikashi konna jotai о tsuzukete ite wa itsu made tatte mo jiritsu shita
shoken-gaisha wa sodatanai
However, as long as they continue w ith this kind o f situation, a
securities com pany which stands on its own w on’t develop no m atter
how m uch time passes.
2 06.6 (h ito k u c h i ni) C LA U S E 1 to it-te m o C L A U S E 2
This is used in the sense o f ‘(even th o u g h /if. . . but) actually’ (see 218).
а Г[—o ( c ] U —x [ Y t ' i X t ] ,
ZUtniii& 'XfrBfi
fi-fcn
hitokuchi ni resu to ittc mo sore wa shuhfi no koto to hanasu no wa
chikasawa hiroaki shacho
II is President Hiroaki Clukasawa ulut slates, ‘liven if you say |in
general terms] “ lace", wh.ti i>, lum)· iHi-iicil to is a technique'.
b 33*. [ΕνΛ-,-τ 4 ]
? ')o
fukyo to itte mo tsua ryokin ga yasui no de eikyo wa toku ni arimasen to
nikkori
‘Even if business is bad, [our] to u r prices are low, so [we] d o n ’t feel any
particular effects’, she said with a smile.
с
~ д - [ E νΛ-, -ζ t. ]ч
h h Z Y. 4 , * i f W
ш к а
nabemono тепуй to itte mo taihan ga sen-en ika no shohin de aru koto
mo kyotsfi no tokushoku da
Even if the m enu is nabemono (h o tp o t dishes), the fact th at the great
m ajority o f item s are under a thousand yen is also a com m on feature
[of the chain restaurants].
d Q&XliJ
У
7
ΙίΥ Α ,Υ ΊΙψ - A4b£W i
> o
nihon de wa J-rigu ninki ga sugoi to itte mo hotondo wa chimu arui wa
senshu no fan
In Japan, the popularity o f the J-League is trem endous, but in fact it’s
only am ong fans o f [certain] teams or players.
e E) %.<г>Щф
η,
ЬЧ У Ш 1 с К $ H f c i <r>
0
nihon no kakyoku о utau to itte mo doitsugo ni yakusareta mono о utau
She sings Japanese songs, but actually w hat she sings are [songs that
have been] translated into Germ an.
206.7 so wa itte mo
This is used like a conjunction, in the sense o f ‘even so’,
a [*
*) * Ь у
ί η
so wa itte mo risutora no seika ga arawareta kigyo о hyoka shiyo to iu
ugoki wa dete iru
Even so, a tren d is emerging to give positive evaluations to businesses
which have shown the fruits of restructuring.
206.8 C LA U S E 1 tatoe . . . -te mo . .. C LAU SE 2 -N E G A T IV E
tatoe (and some o ther adv.) can reinforce the m eaning o f -te mo ‘even if’,
'even assuming th a t’ (5.4.6).
u
[ti], а
I i ' - ' W ί w 7γ,
tatoe keiki ga kaifuku shite mo nihon no sekiyu kagaku gyokai wa
kaifuku shinai no de wa nai ka
F.ven if the m a r k e t wer e to recover, t he J a p a n e s e p e t r o c h em i c a l i n dust ry
w o u l d n ’t recover, w o u l d it?
206.9 ID IO M A T IC USE: h a y a k u /o s o k u -te m o
This use m eans ‘at the earliest/latest’.
shohi wa hayakute mo rainen kohan kara yuruyaka ni kaifuku suru to iu
teido daro
Probably all th at can be expected is th at consum ption will recover
slowly, starting in the latter h a lf o f next year at the earliest.
b f
< [τί,]
t
L /i’o
chakurikuryo о meguru kosho ga saikai sareru no wa hayakute mo rainen
ichigatsu chujun no mitoshi da
The outlook is for negotiations concerning landing charges to be
resumed in m id-January o f next year, at the earliest.
207
-te morau [PERFORMATIVE SENTENCE ENDING]
W hen the perform ative V morau (a less-form al equivalent o f itadaku, see
160.4.3) is attached to Y-te, the im plication is th at the subject/speaker has
the action o f V done by someone else for his/her benefit. V-te morau is used
when the subject (= recipient o f the favour/action) is o f equal or lower social
status th an the giver, -te morau often implies th at the subject (who is often
the speaker) is getting the perform er to do the action by asking or persuasion
(see 200, 65).
Note - like -te itadaku, -te morau can be used for second or third persons.
207.1
207.2
207.3
207.3.1
207.3.2
207.4
207.5
Yerb-te morau
Verb-te morao
Verb-te moraeru
Verb-te moraeru
Verb-te moraenai ka (na)
Verb-te moraitai
Verb-causative-te morau
207.1 V E R B -te m orau
a
^ [Xi h i]
io
tok yo ni itte morau yo
I’m transferring you to Tokyo.
b
( t i U t r L X , n'Wl
[ С t, C, >l
mina-san ni yoku o-hanushi о shite rlkui shite morau
П! talk it over thoroughly with г м -ι мчи· .itul μοΙ them to understand.
с
[tibo]
ha
socho yoji matsumura-san ni ichiba ni tsurete itte moratta
A t 4 o’clock in the morning, I had M atsum ura-san take me to the market.
d
') - ~ > r i z $ L [ t H i l o
ie no soji wa tsuki ni nido hausu kuriningu ni kite morau
F o r cleaning the house, I have someone from a m aid service come in
twice a m onth.
e ffi 0 6 A i z i i j i . r / f ,
[tib ilo
kariru hito ni wa jiisho shiniei denwa bango о kaite morau
Those who borrow [= an umbrella] we get to write dow n their name,
address and phone number.
f fm m ziitfz h lZ A ^ b l^ im i I [ X t b i h
kanrishoku ni wa posuto ni fusawashii katsuyaku о shite morau
We expect our m anagerial officers to take an active p a rt [in the
company] in keeping with to their position.
g ί blzf
Z h ¥ % b h t > T i L f f s < n % ^ \ Z ^ [ X b b - y ] tza
sara ni i ya karada no achikochi ga itamu tame kinjo no isha ni mite
moratta
On top o f th at, since my stom ach and various other parts o f my body
hurt, I had a doctor in the neighbourhood examine me.
207.2 V E R B -te m o rao
Using the -(y)5 form , the meaning is T/w e’ll have you/them ’, etc. (see 67).
a
kore о mite тогаб
L et’s get him to look at this [painting],
ь
n t - 0 “ж т т ? А ” t u s i ^
[X i b ίο 7 ] ύ ' 0
anata wa shafii ni awanai уб da. shiyo kikan de mo aru shi yamete
тогаб ka
You seem unfit for the style o f o ur com pany. I t’s only a ‘trial period’,
so we’ll have you quit, shall we?
с
[ X t b ^ i l x i h
shinseihin kara shokai shite morai masho
Will you introduce the new products first?
d
9
f
[tu iii]
ИСОШ'-'К0
hotate no shdhiryo ga sukunai kyfishfi de motto tabete morao to no nerai da
T h e a i m is to net p eopl e in K y u s h u , w h e r e the level o f c o n s u m p t i o n o f
scall ops is low, to cat more.
e
[Xbbhi]
sugu kazoku ni mendo о mite morao to suru basso wa okasbii
The idea o f trying to get your family to look after you right away
[= w ithout trying anything else] is odd.
2 07.3
V E R B -te m oraeru
W ith the pot. form, the literal m eaning is “can’t get others to d o ” .
207.3.1 V erb -te m oraeru
a t z ' t i i z b & m i [ X i b l ] fc'-'o ® Ί ί ί ο ί , ^ 0
dare ni mo rikai shite moraenai. hitori-botchi da
N o one understands me. I ’m all alone.
b
[X l b I ]
kodomo ga byoki de hoikujo de wa azukatte moraenai
M y child is ill, so the nursery school won’t look after him (lit. “I can’t
get the nursery school to look after him ”).
с
[Xibl]
1\
WCo
bantosbi-kan wa taiko о tatakasete moraezu nawa о maita maruta aite no
rensbfi ga tsuzuita
F o r six m onths I w asn’t allowed to beat the drum , an d practising using
a piece o f w ood with string around it continued.
d
[ X b b i ] δ Λ | : * ^ ΐ : liptfi'i'C,
itv-'o
doryo no dansei wa kensbii ni ikasete moraeru no ni josei no watasbi ni
wa кое ga kakaranai
M ale colleagues get to be sent on courses, but I, a w om an, don’t get
asked.
e f e i W i W 4 : ! ; i : b / : o
Ix ib i] ъкъпъ'а
Tokyo seisakusbo ga iten suru koto ni natta. muroran ni itte moraeru
daro ka
It’s been decided th at the T okyo factory will move. Will you go to
M uroran [for us]?
f
f t
[x t h i ]
kokusai-teki ni nattoku site moraeru seikcn de nai to endaka ga
susumu
If we d o n o t h ave a g o v e r n m e n t in olticc wh i ch c a n gai n
a c ce p t a n ce inte r nat i o na l l y, the sen e \ e h a i ^ e r at e will c o n t in u e
to rise.
2 0 7 .3 .2 Verb-te m o ra en a i ka (na)
In question form, -te moraeru is used to m ake a pol. request ‘can we ask you
to ’, ‘could we get you to ’, ‘w ould y o u ’. W ith ka na ra th e r th an ka, the
m eaning is Ί w onder’, ‘perhaps’ (see 165, 166.1.2.4).
a
[ X ί b Z- ^'^ ']o
issho ni 6en shite moraenai ka
W ould you jo in in supporting us?
ano hito ni jimoto no kensetsu-gaisha о shokai shite moraenai ka na
Could I get this m an to introduce me to a local construction company,
I wonder.
с
[X t b 1
uchi wa saikin atarashii zasshi о dashita n desu. tsukiatte moraemasen ka
W e have recently launched a new m agazine. Can we ask you to
participate?
2 07 .4
V E R B -te m o raitai
In line with the m eaning o f -tai ‘w ant to ’, V-te moraitai indicates w hat the
speaker wants second or third person(s) to do (see 189).
a
[ x i b ^ ' t z ] v,\>
mizu no taisetsusa о shitte morai-tai
I w ant people to realize how precious water is.
b $ (п м гШ П Ш Ь К Ъ -? [Xib^fz]
6ku no hito ni hakubutsukan о suki ni natte morai-tai
W e w ant lots o f people to develop a liking for the m useum.
C
X 'b h b ,
[X t> b ^ tz \
\л0
dekitara musuko ni mo yakyii senshu ni natte morai-tai
If it’s possible, I ’d like my son to become a baseball player too.
d
-k X ^xi, te^-V X 'bb ■
[ Xt h ^ ' f t ]
о
otoko onna de naku shigoto ga dekiru dekinai de wakete morai-tai
wa ne
I wish they’d classify us according to whether or not we can do the
work, n o t according to whether we’re men or women.
'> I X L b ^ ' / z ]
e
rippa na tsuyoi ко ni natte morai-tai
I want them |
tlu· kibies| to grow up to be fine, strong boys.
2 07.5 V E R B -C A U S A T IV E -te m o rau
V-caus.-te morau is a less polite version o f V -caus.-te itadaku, indicating
th at the speaker or a third person is allowed to do som ething as a privilege
‘thanks to the listener, or a third person’ (see 200.3).
N ote also example e, where the pot. form o f morau is used.
a aêfcti [ Q m t X t b ]
sakuban wa tanoshimasete moraimashita
I had a good time last night, thanks to you.
b 4 S i [ίΟλ,ίΜ
i b-o]
ima wa nonbiri sasete moratte iru
R ight now I ’m taking it easy (lit. “I have the pleasure o f being allowed
to take it easy”).
L A U A £ [Il i ^ t x i b ]
с
konban wa shimijimi to nomasete morau yo
Tonight I ’m going to (lit. “get you to let m e”) do some serious
drinking!
Ь b]
d
&ftXM-L'}
umasete morau n ja nakute jibun de umu
The basic stance [in the exercise programme] is n o t to be allowed [by
the doctor] to have the baby, b u t to have it by yourself.
e l i o H [ t b - t x i b ] IHli, тт~&-о(ШХ$>Ъ о
hakkiri iwasete moraereba gokai ni motozuku hihan de aru
If I m ay speak frankly, it’s [= th a t I’m praising O zaw a Ichiro in my
article] a criticism th a t’s based on a m isunderstanding.
208 -te oku/-toku [SENTENCE ENDING]
V-te oku consists o f V-te + oku (as a lexical V, oku (Ж <) m eans ‘p u t’). The
com bination indicates th at the action o f V (= volitional V) is perform ed in
preparation or readiness. This is often no t translated explicitly.
N ote the com bination oite oku ( Жл
(for further use)’.
Jo <) ‘put/place (in readiness)’, ‘leave
In c o l l o q u i a l use, -te oku is o f t e n c o n t r a c t e d t o -to k u , etc. ( e x a m p l e s c
a n d f).
Nine
- t o o k u is o f t e n u s n l in Кч tun··, . и - n i u !<··. tit t h r s r n s o o f ‘lot m o ( t a k e ( h o o p p o r t u m u
l o ) s a v / m c n t i o n I Ills*, a m i м и hl i k· i« ' n n p l · . I . ml ! I)
а 1£Ш1
kakugo shite oite kudasai
Prepare yourself [for the worst],
b
&■&£<?>11
['C fcC lJo
shachoshitsu no tobira wa akete oku
He leaves open the door to the president’s office [so th a t people can
walk in easily].
с
>6 90 K ^ - C t o τ - y ^ l z S . ^ [ T f c v ' ] χ (
ryokin wa ippaku kyOjQ-doru desu. teburu ni oite oite kudasai
The cost [of renting our house] is 90 dollars a night. Please leave it on
the table.
d £ i ‘L [X h tfh
makashite oke
Leave it to me.
e
i t t [ i ^ < ] JZo
yasui yo, maketoku yo
I t’s cheap. I ’ll take off some m ore money!
f
[ Е Ч to
kore nagoya no jikka ni okuttoite
Send this to m y hom e in Nagoya.
g # ·& & ]£-££ J i Ai -s h I [ X & $ ] i U 7o
genetsu-zai to sekidome о dashite okimasho
I’ll prescribe you an antifebrile and cough medicine.
h ψ ύ Ο Ό ^ ' Χ Ί ζ ψ ν ρ χ ί h 0 , !k.<r>*; у i z 'M 'fr i
?0
koto no tsuide ni kisetsu de mo ari nama no kinoko mo go-shokai shite окб
A t this opportunity, it being the season, I will also introduce raw
m ushroom s [= cookery programme].
i
I [tfc < ]
ikashite oku to hanzai о okasu kiken ga aru
If you keep them alive, there is a danger they will com m it crimes again.
j
['Cfc'-'l X b l i o
hoshii mono wa yoyaku shite oite mo kau
I do buy things I want, even if it m eans placing an advance order.
к
> Ь т Ь Ш Ь
7c
koko de wa futatsu no pointo dake о shiteki shite окб
Her e, I will just p oi nt out t w o things.
I
t- : b \
t
[ X'ti < L
daga supcsu no kankd de koko de wa sh6sai ni wa furcnai de oku
H ow e ve r , lot reason·, o! vp. ue I will not m e n t i o n t he det ail s here.
209 -te shimau/-chau [SENTENCE ENDING]
V-te shimau consists o f V-te + shimau (as a lexical V, shimau m eans ‘p u t
aw ay’, ‘sh u t’). The com bination is usually said to have two m eanings: (1)
the action o f V is perform ed com pletely or w ith finality, and (2) the action
o f V produces unexpected o r inconvenient results. How ever, the two are
often difficult to distinguish (most examples have at least a shade o f m eaning
2). Here, no attem pt is m ade to separate the two.
N ote th at the force o f -te shimau can usually no t be captured in translation.
Colloquially, -te shimau is often contracted to -cbau, etc. (examples c, e, h,
i), and -de shimau to -jau, etc. (example a).
a
ffcX [L'·^] о h 0
rnizu bakari nonjatta
I dran k ju st water.
b
[ t L £ ] оЛо
ukkari saifu о otoshite shimatta
I absent-m indedly dropped my wallet.
mae no kamigata ni akichatta dake
I got bored w ith my previous hairstyle, th a t’s all.
d
H i t h [X L i ] и О f z 0
te ni toru to kowarete shimaiso da
It looks as if it’ll break when you take it in your hand.
e λ . о [t?&] - ? X f a 0
futotchatte ne
I got fat, you know.
f & [X L i ]
nite shimaeba sara ni ii
If you boil it, it’s even better.
g
[TLi] ?о
nantoka shinai to gosuto taun ni natte shimau
Unless we do something, it’ll end up becoming a ghost town.
h
Ъ b i b [Ъ*>] V ' i L / i c
teishoku ni tsuku no wa akiramechaimashita
I’ve given up hoping to find a perm anent job.
i
Iff·) ’) -t ? y t i - ,
< 'x · [ / . , - ]
kono rimokon ka ицокнпики iiu tch u ftu
T h i s r e m o t e - c o n t r o l l e d i .и u n t i l m o w a n y m o r e .
j
J X t r R j E j L & l Z b ' i [ t L i ] о A------о
nihon wa karaoke minshu shugi ni natte shimatta
Japan has become a karaoke democracy.
к %ЬЩ{
b l f [X L i ]
ki ga tsuku to hitori de sannin-bun о tairagete shimatte ita
Before I realized, I had wolfed dow n three portions by myself.
210 -te wa [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
-te wa consists o f the conjunctive form (-te/(-)de) plus the focus P wa. It
basically indicates a condition ‘i f ’, b u t between two actions also indicates
repeated actions (see 31).
Colloquially, -te wa/de wa are often contracted to -cha/ja/ja (example 210.2c).
210.1
210.2
210.3
210.4
210.5
Clause 1-te wa, clause 2 (positive predicate): repeated actions
Clause 1-te wa, clause 2 (negative predicate)
Sentence-te wa (naranai/ikenai/dame da): negative obligation
Sentence-nakute wa (naranai/ikenai/dame da): obligation
Sentence-te wa (do ka): suggestion
210.1 C LA U S E 1-te w a, C LAU SE 2 (P O S IT IV E PR E D IC A TE):
R E P E A TE D A C TIO N S
Joining two actions, this indicates th a t the actions take place repeatedly
‘keep doing’ (see 31.2.5).
а
b
[ T i i ] i HZ/ t c
kurikaeshi mita mifune no kao ga ukande wa kieta
M ifune’s face, which I’d looked a t over and over again, kept appearing
and disappearing [in my mind],
["i i i ] ,
ΙΧΨΖο
ima de wa engei wa seikatsu no ichibu to natte ori hima о mitsukete wa
tannen ni teire о shite yaru
By now, gardening has become a p art o f his life, and he keeps finding
time to tend to [the garden] with care.
с
["Ш ] * 7 > r Ί
V' bo
кбеп nado kikai о toraete wa borantia no shien seido no donyu о
yobikakete iru
Usi ng every o cc a s i on such as lectures etc., he k e e ps calli ng f or the
i n t r o d u c t i o n o f ;i volimtcct s u p p o r t system.
2 10 .2 C LA U S E 1-te w a, C LA U S E 2 (N E G A T IV E P R E D IC A T E )
Pred. can be a neg. form or an expression with neg. m eaning ‘if . . . , th e n ’
(negative outcome).
a % Z A j t i [- Ш ] f i i c v ' o
konna ni takakute wa kaenai
If it’s this expensive, I can’t buy it.
b %
[ T 'ti]
byoki de wa hatarakenai daro
If you’re ill, then surely you ca n ’t work.
C
·£ λ / & ί - o ’ -ο
[ίρ-Ϋ’ ]
? i o
sonna ni itcba kawaiso yo
I t ’s cruel if you say th at m uch.
d
[- Ш ]
subete no kigyo ga sukikatte о yatte ite wa yagate jinrui ga horobiru no
wa hitsuzen
If all businesses do as they like, the end o f m ankind is inevitable.
e
t t [Ttil
kotoba mo hitsuyo da ga kotoba de wa chusbo-ka sarete shimau
W ords are necessary as well, b u t words m ake things abstract.
2 10.3 S E N T E N C E -te w a (n a ra n a i/ik e n a i/d a m e da):
N E G A T IV E O B LIG A TIO N
This indicates neg. obligation. Literally the m eaning is “it w on’t do if”, i.e.
‘m ustn’t ’ (see 31.2.3).
a
[" Ш ]
[One’s] hobby m ustn’t turn into one’s job.
b ') X Ь у<Г)'К^^Л> L [* Ш ]
risutora no bi о tayashite wa naranai
We m ustn’t p u t out the flame o f restructuring.
2 10.4 S E N T E N C E -n a k u te w a (n a ra n a i/lk e n a l/d a m e da):
O B LIG A TIO N
This is a double neg. expiessiiif.' obligation Literally the meaning is “ it
won’t do if not", i.e. ‘must' h i u -.i / I i .i m · to tlo' (see ί l .1.У, 50 . 2) .
a
[" Ш ]
mizu wa kogyo ni totte nakute wa naranai mono
W ater is indispensable for industry.
ь
т ш т т
[ * ш ] w t & v,
zaisei no sara naru akka wa sakenakute wa ikenai
A further w orsening o f finances m ust be avoided.
с # 1 и ; καψ s L<
< [tti]o
muzukashii koto wa yasashiku kakanakute wa
One m ust write simply about com plicated m atters.
2 10.5 S E N T E N C E -te w a (do ka): S U G G E S T IO N
This is used for suggesting a course o f action in the sense o f ‘how ab o u t’,
‘should’. Instead o f -te wa, -tara can also be used (see 191.4.2).
Colloquially, the Q word + cop. (d5 da, etc.) part can be om itted (see 164.7.2).
/zi l zi Htti /S
a
[Xt i l
shinise no ten'in mo tama ni wa ryohanten о mawatte wa do daro ka
Those w orking in sm art shops should sometimes go and look at places
selling things for the mass m arket.
Я
b
b, Щ^ХЛ [Xi i ] Y^bbbHX^-oX^h a
kotoshi gogatsu ni riyoshi to sodan shitara shibatte mite wa to
susumerarete yatte mita
W hen I consulted with my barber in M ay this year, he suggested th at I
m ight tie back [my hair], so I gave it a try.
211
-te yarn [PERFORMATIVE SENTENCE ENDING]
When the perform ative V yaru (see 160.4.1) is attached to V-te, the implication
is th at someone does the action o f V for someone else’s benefit. V-te yaru is
used w hen th e receiver o f the ac tio n is o f low er social statu s th a n
the giver, i.e. the giver’s own ju n io r family members, anim als, plants, etc.,
otherwise -te ageru (or the superpolite -te sashiageru) is used in the same
way (excepting use 211.2).
N ote that in English translation the force o f -te yaru (‘do for your/his, etc.
benefit’ etc.) is usually lost, being left to the context only.
211.1 Verb-te yaru 4lo (a favour by doing) something for someone else’
211.2 Verb-te yaru: Μοίημ something as a threat to the listener’
211.3 Verb-causatiw te >tiru nuke/allow someone (to) do something’
211.1 V E R B -te yaru ‘DO (A F A V O U R BY D O IN G ) S O M E T H IN G
FO R S O M E O N E E LS E ’
a
[ X ^ H ]о
ie ni kaette yare
Go hom e [to your family].
kodomo ga nozomeba daigaku made dashite yaritai
I’d like to send my children to university, if th a t’s w hat they want.
с
h Y ЛЯ-t L/tbihX^- o [X^6]o
chichi yo haha yo ato sannen mo shitara dete itte yaru
Father! M other! I’ll get ou t [= o f home] in three years - ju st w ait and
see!
d
l [ΧΫ6]}
kun'ichi wa fumiko ni nibon-jfi de ichiban shiawase na tsuma ni shite yaru
to itta
K un'ichi said to Fum iko, T il m ake you the happiest wife in Jap a n ’.
e ft* [ X ^ 6 h
oshiete yaru to iu taido de wa aite no puraido о kizutsukeru
W ith an ‘I’ll teach you as a favour’ attitude, you will h u rt people’s
pride.
ima wa muzukashii toshigoro no chiigakusei ga iru. soba ni ite yaritai
I have [children] at a difficult age, who are in m iddle school now. I
w ant to be near them [for their sake],
g
£ & f r l z f - o [ X * 1)]
yoku yatta ne to jibun ni itte yaritai bubun ga aru
T here’s a p a rt o f me th at w ants to say to myself, ‘Y ou did a good
jo b ’.
h
[Х^Ь] С И гаМ Ч Ж
niwa ni ueru baai mo пае о takame ni uete yaru koto ga pointo
W hen you plan t seedlings in the yard, too, the im p o rtan t thing is to
plant them high.
2 11 .2 V E R B -te yaru: ‘D O IN G S O M E T H IN G AS A T H R E A T
TO T H E L IS T E N E R ’
a $1
1X^61,
koroshite yaru
I’ll kill yon!
b
[ΧΫΖ]}
watashi wa shacho ni natte yaru to iu hito ga ite ii
I t’s all right for there to be som eone who says, Ί am going to do you a
favour by becoming the com pany president!’
dose dame nara abarete уагб
If it’s no use anyway, let’s put up a good fight.
d
\X^>h'n\
tsugi no taikai de wa gakusei sekai ichi ni natte уагб to chikatta n desu
I swore th at at the next tournam ent I would become the best student in
the world - let them ju st w ait and see!
2 11 .3
V E R B -C A U S A T IV E -te yaru ‘M AK E/A LLO W S O M E O N E (TO)
DO S O M E T H IN G ’
A p art from the form -te yaru, -te yaritai is often used (see also 189).
а
4ki
henshQka nara juken sasete yaru
If it’s for the editing section, we’ll allow you to take the company
entrance exam.
b
....... о
h b ^ h a
saikorei о mezashite ita no desu ga . . . mago о misete yaritakatta
W e were aiming at [breaking the record o f a captive p an d a’s] longevity
. . . We did w ant to show his grandchildren to him.
с
[-а- ζ - ^ Ο Ι
hyaku sanjfinin no shain ni yume о motasete yari-tai
I w ant to give the 130 com pany employees a dream for the future.
212
-teki [ADJECTIVE-FORMING SUFFIX]
A ttached to N (often tw o-kanji SJ com pounds, and occasionally W estern
loanw ords), -teki converts the N into an AN . D epending on the form o f
cop. attached to -teki, it can modify N (in com pound-like com binations also
w ithout cop.), m odify V etc. in adverbial use, and act as pred. (see 34).
2 12.1 Noun-m odifying
212.1.1 -teki na noun (by means o f copula-na)
212.1.2 -teki noun (directly)
212.2 -teki ni (adverbial use)
212.3 -teki da (as predicate)
212.1 N O U N -M O D IF Y IN G
212.1.1 -te ki na noun (by means of copula-na)
a [ft^ ]
(cf., « Ж ‘basis’)
konpon-teki na gimon wa nokoru
Basic doubts remain.
b H i f)
Я/
о
(cf., i p ^ . ‘im pression’)
W h at’s m ost impressive is the low (lit. “lowness o f the”) camera
angle.
2 12 .1.2 -teki noun (directly)
It is also possible to m odify a N directly with a -teki A N ; in these cases, the
com bination acts like a N com pound.
a r ! / £ ' & £ ' [РШ&l]
(cf., $'Ш
‘stim ulus’)
terebi nado shigeki-teki bunka no eikyo de hon rashii hon no suijaku ga
medatsu
U nder the influence o f the stimulus culture such as TV, the decline o f
proper books is conspicuous.
b т у л 7 > li [ Ш ] Ш < п Ш Ь Щ Ъ Ъ ¥ ь , т К Ш ^ Ь & > Ъ Ы П - : 0
(cf., ί ί -Ш. ‘trad itio n ’)
gamuran wa dento-teki ongaku no yoso о mochinagara gendai ongaku de
mo aru wake da
So G am elan, while having elements o f traditional music, is also m odern
music.
2 12.2
-teki ni (AD VER BIAL U SE )
(cf., — Щ ‘at tim es’)
ame ga futta toki wa ichiji-teki ni kion ga sagaru koto ga aru
After it has rained, the tem perature can drop tem porarily.
шь, m%«i] ι:ι»·ΈΜΨίΐ< i
ь
(cf.,
‘econom y’)
bvikoku to wa seiji k d /a i-tc k i ni /«‘hi nukayoku shitai to om otte iru
W e ’d like very m u c h to i st.iblisli μπόι! political a n d e c o n o m i c r el a t i ons
with the I IS.
(cf., v а[Щ $ ] macro[economics])
hitori hitori no r6d6 jikan ga hette mo makuro-teki ni wa yoka shohi
no kakudai ni wa musubitsuite inai
Even if each individual’s working hours have decreased, this has not,
in m acro term s, been linked with an expansion in leisure consumption.
212.3 -teki da (AS PREDICATE)
a
№ Ш ]
о
(cf., i p f . ‘im pression’)
кйкб ni chakuriku suru toki ni nagameta utsukushii keshiki wa
insho-teki datta
The beautiful scenery I saw when landing at the airport was
memorable.
b Т У ^ Л Й Ш Й ^ Л · t l№ 4& )\ Ъ<г>х:ЬЪо
(cf.,
‘conservatism ’)
amerikajin no seikodo wa kiwamete hoshu-teki na no de aru
The sexual behaviour o f Am ericans is extremely conservative.
213 to [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
The adverbial P to is used to describe the m anner in which the preceding
word or clause takes place (see also 153).
Note - this is also possible with neg. (example d, lit. “doesn’t require a m atter of five mins.”).
а
[£ ] i o / c
There was a flash o f light inside m y head
b "У"9 -3 [ £ ]
fz -^Λι ь
L^
& о X % ft о
sakutto agatta tempura ga oishii kisetsu ni natte kita
It’s the season now when crisply fried tem pura tastes good.
с 'h i t , Ш . т ш ,
n i z ]
shosetsu zuihitsu ryokoki dowa shi to nan demo konashita
He could write anything [= any genre], novels, essays, travelogues, fairy
tales, poems.
d
Г) /}· [K ]
pasokon
tsQ s h in
ni narcta hito nara gofun to kakaranai
Som eone who is used Id oim m u u ii.itm g by computer can do it
| - order through tin· Ιιιΐι·πηΊ| in less than S minutes.
214 to [CASE PARTICLE]
The case P to is used w ith a lim ited num ber o f V w hose action or state
typically involves two or m ore participants (m utual or reciprocal action or
state). Its basic meaning is ‘w ith’, seen also in the com m on phrase to issho ni
‘together w ith ’ (example c), b u t depending on the V it translates as ‘to ’,
‘from ’, and as an object (e.g. ‘m arry som eone’), (see also 213, 215-217).
H ere are some o f the m ore com m on o f these V: au & ? ‘m eet (w ith)’,
‘come across’, hanasu/hanashi о suru
Ъ ‘talk (with)’, kaidan
suru 'кШ Л Ь ‘hold talks (w ith)’, kekkon suru
Ь ‘m arry’, konyaku
suru Ш "f Ь ‘get engaged (to )’, naka yoku suru Ή7 Й. ( 1" h ‘get on close
terms (w ith)’. N ote especially chigau it.? ‘differ (from )’ and rikon suru
■f Ь ‘get divorced (from )’. N ote also com pound verbs ending in -au ( ^ ? ) ,
which have the im plication o f ‘m utually’.
Note - au ^'K exam ple b) and hanasu can also take ni instead o f o, with a different nuance of
meaning (see 116).
а Й ^ 0 Ш
[г:]
lit
toi: tojitsu wa tanto bucho to atte iru hazu da ga
Q: On the day, you’re supposed to have m et w ith the departm ent head
in charge?
b
[£ ]
(todori ni) aitai to hanashita to iu
He is reported to have said th a t he w anted to see the CEO.
с
[£]
И ,
i x
ima de mo nichiyobi wa kinjo ni sumu chichi to issho ni sugosu
Even now, he spends Sundays w ith his father, who lives in the vicinity.
d
[£ ] t& i& lito
musume-san to kekkon shimasu
I’ll m arry your daughter.
e elMK 3LK [ £ ] I N # L i l f t a
sakunen shujin to rikon shimashita
L ast year, I got divorced from my husband.
f
[z] Ά 7 о
jOtaku wa kaden ya jidosha to chigau
H ousing is different from [things like] electrical appliances and cars.
g M l/t-Jb s] [ £ ]
toire de joshi to atta toki ni wu nigenai
W h e n h e c o m e s ac ro ss his b o s s in the toilet, [he] d o e s n ’t ‘ru n a w a y ’.
h —+ / V Θ I: X ' ' Ή - А А Я | [ v ] &Ц Ϊ 6 .,
niju hachi-nichi ni siihurulo duilAryA to kaidan suru
O n t h e 2 K t h , l i e h o l d s i . i l k- . w i t h 1‘ u - s n l e n t S u h a r t o .
beikoku to wa seiji keizai-teki ni zehi nakayoku shitai to omotte iru
W e’d like very m uch to establish good political and economic relations
with the US.
215 to [CONJOINING PARTICLE]
Unlike ya, to m ust be used after each item but the last; optionally, it m ay be
repeated after the last item as well. The resulting string (shown in []) func
tions as one N P, i.e. case P are attached to the end o f the string in the same
way as to single nouns (see 28, 241).
215.1 N oun to noun
215.2 N oun to n o un to
215.1 N O U N to N O U N
a
[£ ]
о
mawari ni isu to teburu ga narabu
Chairs and tables are lined up in the vicinity.
b h r [£ ]
t-^ r
hea to meku tanto de pea о kumu
They form pairs consisting o f a hair and a m ake-up specialist.
с [ σ -> 7 [£ ]
roshia to seio no nagai tairitsu no rekishi о wasurete wa naranai
We m ustn’t forget the long history o f opposition between Russia and
W estern Europe.
d ([* .* . [ £ ]
honbun to shashin wa kankei arimasen
(No relation between the text and the photo)
2 15 .2 N O U N to N O U N to
a [fflU H M E l
'J *)VL\ [Е И ю & Ш Л -о
kokusai-ka to amerika-ka to no sabetsu-ka о
[We need] differentiation between internationalization and
Americanization.
b i i —
[ t hr i f t [ £ ] 4" [ t ] i
Y¥P>bo
m6 hitsotsu shiippatsu-mac to ima to de kawatta koto ga aru
T he r e is o n e m o r e tiling that ha s c h a n g e d si nce t he t i me b e f o r e
depar t u r e a nd the picscnt d.i\
216 to [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
to is a conjunctive P th at indicates a condition for S2, the m ain pred. The
condition in d icated by to is essentially h ab itu al o r im m ediate (when SI
occurs, S2 always, or immediately occurs) (see 14).
216.1
216.2
216.3
216.4
216.5
216.6
216.7
Clause 1 non-past to,
Sentence to ii/yoi
Clause 1 to, clause 2:
clause
clause
clause
clause
clause
2 non-past
2 non-past/past
2 past
2-past mono da
2
idiom atic uses
216.1 C LA U S E 1 N O N -P A S T to , C LAU SE 2 N O N -P A S T
This indicates a habitual condition, i.e. when the action o f SI happens, the
action or state o f S2 regularly or habitually occurs ‘w hen/if S I, som ething
habitually does’.
a % Ы - Ъ Ъ [£ ]
о
haru ni naru to hana ga saku
In spring/when spring comes, the blossoms bloom .
b 5£< £ 6 [ К ] ч
<* δ0
samuku naru to fugu ga oishiku naru
W hen it gets cold, blowfish gets tasty.
с
zM t
ameagari ni sagasu to saishu shiyasui
W hen you look for them after it’s been raining, they [= m ushroom s] are
easy to collect.
hо
seiji to keizai wa doji ni kaikaku dekinai. ippo de ayamaru to kekkyoku
ryoho tomo shippai suru
Y ou can’t reform politics and the economy at the same time. If you
m ake a m istake with one, in the end you go w rong with both.
e —' э г т & я н < [ £ ] .
hitotsu mondai ga katazuku to tstij»· no mondai ga okoru
W h e n o n e p r o b l e m is t a ken c a t e <>l, i nvar i abl y t h e n e x t p r o b l e m
arises.
216.2 C LAU SE 1 N O N -P A S T to, C LA U S E 2 N O N -P A S T /P A S T
Here, S2 takes place as a result o f the action o f SI in the sense o f ‘when S I,
something becomes apparent/is noticed’.
а
[ £ ] , i t " r* /E H J 0
genkan о hairu to mazu ohiroma
W hen you enter the entrance hall, the first [thing you see] is ‘the grand
hall’.
genkan о hairu to genki no ii кое ga kakaru
W hen one enters the entrance hall, one is greeted by a cheery voice.
2 16.3 C LA U S E 1 N O N -P A S T to, C LA U S E 2 PA ST
W ith past S2, the m eaning is th at the action o f S2 ‘happened immediately’
as a result o f SI.
jiniusho ni denwa suru to shocho ga deta
W hen I rang the office, the director answered.
b z r Z
t f i l [£ ],
dorobo wa keisatsu о miru to nigete itta
W hen he saw the police, the burglar fled.
omoidasu to shizen to genki ga deta
W henever I remembered [the bustle o f H ong Kong], I autom atically
cheered up.
2 16.4 C LAU SE 1 N O N -P A S T to, C LA U S E 2-P A S T m o n o da
This is used to recall the past with nostalgia ‘when S I, someone/something
used to d o ’ (96.1.5).
a
<H /itO T to
mukashi wa kassen no hi ni naru to hahaoya ga sasadango о tsukutte
kureta mono desu
In the old days, when the day o f the battle came, the m others would
make bam boograss dumplings.
2 16.5 C L A U S E 1 N O N - P A S T to, C L A U S E 2
T h i s c o n s t r u ct i o n m e a n s Tut e x a mp l e ' , ‘general l y s p e a k i n g ’
a
[el
shinkansen kara noritsugu to tokkyii ryokin ga hangaku
If you change from the bullet train, the express train surcharge is
half price.
b
[ e ],
о
ketsuron-teki ni iu to hissha wa so wa kangaenai
[Said] in conclusion, the au th o r doesn’t think so.
216.6 S E N T E N C E to ii/yoi
This expresses a recom m endation ‘should’, in the sam e way as -ba ii an d
-tara ii (see 13.3.1, 191.4.1).
V y - f r - y L A i 'K № Ι Ϊ Ι Χ Ϋ & 0
teate to iu kotoba ga aru уб ni jibun de jibun no karada о sawatte miru
to ii. sono bubun ga tsukarete iru to kanjitara massaji shitari nobashite
yaru
Just as there’s a word ‘teate’ (‘care’, lit. “placing h an d s”), one should
touch one’s own body. If one feels th at p art is tired, one should
massage it, or stretch it.
b i]
[ £ J: '-'Jo
kariumu ga hofu na kudamono ya umeboshi mo jubun ni taberu to yoi
Y ou should also eat plenty o f fruit and dried plum s, which contain lots
o f potassium .
с
L -tii < [ Ε ίν - Ί К Ь п о
jizen ni yoyaku о shite oku to yoi daro
One should probably m ake a reservation in advance.
216.7 C LA U S E 1 to, C LAU SE 2: ID IO M A TIC U S E S
a
[E h
I t V 'i t o
iikaeru to koritsu о waruku shite imasu
In other words, it [= the high phone rate] lowers the efficiency.
zentsQka de miru to doru wa antei shite iru
Seen against all currencies, the dollar is stable.
с
[£ ],
Г-> к *:+!' С h l f ( v.'..
pari to kuraberu to zutt» soboku dr wiihishii
C o m p a r e d wi t h Paris, it | l ’<mt A w n hi Brittany] is m u c h mo r e
u n s o p h i s t i c a t e d and i c m n t r
217 to [QUOTATION PARTICLE]
This particle is used for quoting the content o f a com m unication (with a V
o f com m unication, such as iu ‘say’, hanasu ‘speak’, ‘tell’ etc.) or thought
(with a V o f thinking, such as omou ‘feel’, ‘think’, kangaeru ‘think’), etc., in
b o th direct and indirect quotations (see 178.4.2.1, 178.4.2.2).
The V o f thought can be omitted, which gives a sense o f ‘w ith the intention
o f’.
In the m edia especially, the phrase to no koto (cop.) is com m only used
instead o f to iu, etc.
See also 218, which is used in a variety o f ways, from quotation to modifica
tion o f N.
217.1 Clause to (ellipted verb)
217.2 Clause to no koto da
217.1 C LAU SE to (ELLIPTE D VE R B )
a
[E l,
о
atarashii tenkai о hakaro to meisho henko ni fumikitta
They took the step o f changing the nam e, with the intention o f opening
up about new developments.
2 17 .2 C LAU SE to no koto da
kono hi wa kekkonshiki no nijikai to no koto de nakanaka no nigiwai
On th at day [the bar] had a party from a wedding, they said, so it
[= the bar] was quite lively.
b Tl b t ' i h b , F J
[ Υ<Τ) ΖΥ] 0
rei о ittara doitsu de wa otoko ga kaji о suru no wa atarimae to
no koto
W hen we thanked him, he said th at in G erm any it was norm al
for a m an to do housework.
с £ .0 ,
о J L /c A c o ti'C ii4
[Κ ( 0 ΐ ί : ] ο
senjitsu anaunsa nashi no yakyii chOkei h6s6 ga atta. mita hito no hanashi
de wa shizuka dc nakanaka yokatta to no koto
T h e o th e r ci;iy, then· was a live b as eb a ll b r o a d c a s t w i t h o u t a
c o m m e n t a t o r . Λ ι ι ο π Ιιη μ lo th ose w h o w a tc h e d it, it w as nice a n d
quict.
tomen wa soro katsudo ni sennen suru to no koto da
He says ‘F o r the time being, he will concentrate on solo
perform ances’.
218 to iu [PHRASE]
to iu consists o f the quotation P to and the verb iu ‘say’. It has a wide range
o f functions, ranging from direct and indirect q uotation to indicating th at
something is based on hearsay.
As in this section, to iu is preceded by plain forms o f V /adj./A N /N (in some
usages, da or to iu follows N.).
218.1
218.2
218.2.1
218.2.2
218.2.3
218.3
218.3.1
218.3.2
218.4
218.4.1
218.4.2
218.5
218.5.1
218.5.2
218.6
218.7
218.8
218.8.1
218.8.2
218.9
218.9.1
218.9.2
218.10
218.11
N o u n to iu
Sentence to iu
Sentence (da) to iu
Clause (da) tte iu
Clause (da) to iwarete iru
N oun/clause to iu/tte noun
N o u n 1 to iu noun 2
Clause to iu/tte noun
N oun/clause to iu no wa
N oun/clause to iu no wa, .. . predicate
N oun/clause to iu no wa . . . kara
Clause to iu koto wa
Clause (da) to iu koto wa
.. .
Clause (da) to iu koto wa
(.. .)nai
Clause to iu koto ni naru
to iu koto wa
C lause/noun to iu mono
N o u n to iu mono wa . . . predicate
Clause/noun to iu mono
Clause to iu wake
Clause to iu wake da
Clause to iu wake de wa nai
N o u n to iu yori (mo/wa)
N oun to iu to, . . . ga, . . .
218.12
V erb/a d jec tiv e /ad je ctiv al noun/noun to iu k a , verb/a d jec tiv e /
a djec tiva l n o u n / n o u n to iu ku
C l a u s e to wa ie
to ieba, sft ieba
218.13
2 IK.14
218.1 N O U N to iu
This com bination has the meaning ‘is called’.
kodomo no namae о shinji to iu
The (lit. “nam e o f th e”) child is called Shinji.
2 18 .2 S E N T E N C E to iu
This indicates a direct or indirect quotation (178.4.2).
218.2.1 Sentence (da) to iu
The m eaning here is ‘they say, it is said’.
chichi wa kaibogaku no idai na sensei datta to iu
He says, ‘F ath er was an em inent professor o f anatom y’.
mottomo takai heya wa ichioku-en о koeru to iu
They say th at the m ost expensive room is over ¥100 million.
keiteki о narashi kyGbureki о kaketa ga ma ni awanakatta to iu
He says th at he blew the horn and applied the emergency brakes but
didn’t m ake it.
218.2.2 Clause (da) tte iu
tte is an inform al variant o f to (see 228.1).
a
amtz [ - Pt ] t ^ X t z f r b o {Xtz = X^'tz)
tenki yoho de asatte wa ame da tte itteta kara
Because the w eather forecast said th a t the day after tom orrow it’ll rain.
< ^ tz L tz J [ o t i
J:jo
tonde iru hikoki о minagara ano hikoki no enjin wa ore ga tsukutta n da
tte itte mitai n desu yo
Looking at a flying aircraft, I ’d like to say, ‘I built the engine o f that
aircraft’.
2 18 .2.3 Clause (da) to Iw arete iru
iw arctc iru is I lie p;iss
s a id ’ (sec IM>. Il>‘)|
it· iru fo rm o f iu. expressing a pass, state ‘it’s (being)
ogata dobutsu wa futsii hitotsu no chiiki de hyakuto о kiru to zetsumetsu
suru to iwarete iru
It is said th a t large animals usually become extinct when they fall to
under 100 head per area.
ь ш * %&l [ z f b h x ^ z J
>x0
fukyo fukyo to iwarete iru ga kigyo ni totte wa ima ga chansu
It’s said th a t it’s a bad recession, but for business now is a time o f
opportunity.
с
& £"C-UU
[HtbHX^6]0
beikoku nado de wa datsuzei wa hijo ni hazukashii hanzai da to
iwarete iru
It is said th a t in the US tax fraud is a crime to be very asham ed of.
2 18.3
N O U N /C LA U S E to iu /tte N O U N
218.3.1 Noun 1 to iu noun 2
N1 explains th e content o f N 2 by nam e ‘N2 (nam ed) N 1 ’, ‘N2 (of/that is)
N 1’ (see also 10).
a 7 ' v # , IBM
1
appuru IBM to iu joho kiki meka
the inform ation appliance m akers Apple and IB M (‘an d ’ = indicated by
comma)
b
' ) - 7 [ £ < - '? ] IfrL v-'V — ir-y Ы- ЖЩ I X ^ 6 0
sekaiju ga J-rigu to iu atarashii maketto ni chiimoku shite iru
The world is watching the new m arket of/that is the J-league.
218.3.2 Clause to iu /tte noun
[S] to iu (and its inform al variant tte, example d) explains the content o f N
‘the N which says’, ‘the N o f’.
а
liA M со S
+1Ш
ШР>Ъ о
inu no kyiikaku wa ningen no hyakuman-bai ijo juoku-bai to iu setsu mo aru
There is also a theory saying th a t a dog’s sense o f smell is a m illion
times, 100 m illion times th at o f a hum an being’s.
b
[К*·'-)] f
/;■($%Г-X>- X ( 6„
sanjiinen-go ni w a yonin ni h ito ri gu koroishu to iu s h a k a i ga k a k u jitsu ni
y uttc k u ru
In 30 y e a r s , t h e s o r t o f socu Mn w h e n · oiu* o u t o f l o u r is a n o l d p e r s o n
will c o n i c w i t h o u t fail
с
¥ZIZS. <
[ £ < - '? ] Ц Ш Ы Ы о
honsha о doko ni oku no ga ii ka to iu mondai mo aru
There is also the problem o f where best to position the m ain firm.
d
z&b^tzfzz,]
ьнь
l^x]
j
shogakko de mo hayane hayaoki to osowatta daro. papa rekishi wa yoru
tsukurareru tte kotoba sMranai no
‘A t prim ary school too, no doubt you were taught [the m axim of] going
to bed early and rising early.’ ‘Papa, don’t you know the saying
“History is m ade at night”?’
2 18 .4 N O U N /C LA U S E to iu no w a
218.4.1 Noun/clause to iu no w a, . . . predicate
This is used to explain the nature or essence o f som ething ‘is’ (see 135).
a
[Y'"!
U ^c
korei-ka shakai to iu no wa rodo-ryoku ga fusoku suru shakai de mo aru
A n aged society is also a society lacking manpower.
b -r# [E^?mi],
*>A,i
i-fo
kotoba to iu no wa anmari yasuppoku tsukau to neuchi ga sagarimasu
W ords depreciate in value if you use them too cheaply.
2 18 .4.2 Noun/clause to iu no w a . . . kara
This is used to explain the n atu re o r essence o f som ething, by giving a
reason (see 75, 135).
a
b
<r>l±]
<H 6 [ ¥ b ]
shokubutsu to iu no wa te о kakereba kotaete kureru kara ureshii
Plants give joy because they respond if you look after them.
&
η Z&lzM
[iv'iwii], U g L tfJ J b 'i H , / *
[ b ' b ] Y ^ ' b h ~ Cv-'So
neko ga kao о arau to ame ni naru to iu no wa shitsudo ga agaru to nomi
no katsudo ga kappatsu ni naru kara to iwarete iru
The reason why they say th at when cats wash their faces it’s going to
rain is supposed to be because fleas become active when hum idity rises.
2 18 .5 C LAU SE to iu koto w a
218.5.1 Clause (da) to iu koto w a . . .
L ik e k o to by i t s d l , to in k o to n o m it ia l i/c s the c la u s c it is a t t a c h e d to , to
l o r m а со ш р к 'п н 'п ! 1 1.him· tin· I.id t h a t - (see S3. 26).
[ £ » ,'9 C lE li], Щ ь Ъ ' Х Ь Ъ 0
kokasai kyocho о kuzushite wa naranai to iu koto wa akiraka de aru
It is obvious th at we m ustn’t dam age international co-operation.
b А^'А<7)$) i ' t i
: ! : l d ] 4 &&&"Жз&'>Я-т ^ ¥ £ > Η Ι Ι $ Ι Ζ f)
о
hito ga hito no niku о ku nado to iu koto wa jiyu na ryiitsii shisutemu ga
areba okorimasen yo
Things like cannibalism do n o t happen if there is a system o f free
distribution.
218.5.2 Clause (da) to iu koto wa (...) nai
This m eans ‘it’s n o t (the case) th a t’, ‘it doesn’t happen’ (see 218.9.2).
fc'.'lo
shohisha wa kakaku ni binkan ni natte iru ga yasukereba nan demo ii to
iu koto wa nai
The consum ers have become sensitive to price, b u t it’s n o t the case th at
everything goes as long as it’s cheap.
b Г у Г ZfcglZnttiL
; £ t i ] £ < [& ] b t о
ajia to beikoku to no tairitsu to iu koto wa mattaku nakatta
A confrontation between Asia and the US didn’t happen.
218.6 CLAUSE to iu koto ni naru
Like koto ni naru, this indicates the m eaning o f ‘it com es ab o u t’, ‘end up
doing/being’ (see 83.3.7).
а
Z Ylz%6]0
da kara itsu mo yoippari no asa-nebo to iu koto ni naru
Therefore [= body clock running late] one always ends up having late
nights and sleeping in the m ornings.
b
Y r i l i ' 5 : ^ m ' t b 0- Z b Z k ' n M < n
sabaku no mannaka ni noritsugi senyo no dodekai кйко о kaihatsu suru.
kore koso kyukyoku no kokusai supa habu кйко to iu koto ni naru
They will develop an enorm ous airport specializing in changing planes
in the middle o f the desert. . . . This will be the ultim ate super-hub airport.
218.7 to Iu koto wa
T h i s c o n s t r u c t i o n ( m e a n i n g ' t h . i t in t o mis I is u s e d l i k e a c o n j u n c t i o n ( s e c
3t)/>).
a
Z Ul i ] ^
h 7 'J T t
bj
ic, k 7 |j - - ; i; > l · > 1 ± в $ & & $ гл ч з., t ? ' ) > ь > ■
£ ^ £ 1 * ; Η ί ί ^ ' £ ^ ? ;г:/с 'о
to iu koto wa watashi wa osutoraria de yoshio sugimoto о nanoru kawari
ni hirarl kurinton wa nihongo hyoki de wa kurinton hirari to hyoki sureba
ii to iu koto da
[The order o f people’s names should follow the rules o f the language in
which they’re used:] T hat is to say, as I call myself ‘Yoshio Sugim oto’
in Australia, so H illary Clinton in Japanese order should be w ritten
‘Clinton H illary’.
0
218.8
CLAUSE/NOUN to iu mono
218.8.1 Noun to iu mono wa . . . predicate
Sim ilar to iu no wa, this also explains the n atu re o f som ething ‘is’ (see
218.4).
а
[£^9
i< D ll)
Lv,\|
kane to iu mono wa osoroshii to omou toki mo atta
There were times when I thought th a t money was frightening.
[= Retrieving debts]
b Ш
[ϊ^'ΐ
hakubutsukan to iu mono wa eien ni mikansei na sonzai
M useums are forever incomplete entities.
с
X i, M f
H ' Z ^ ' - o X Ш UXt t f ao
fuzoku ya shukan wa chigatte mo ninjo to iu mono wa doko e itte mo
onaji desu ne
Even if m anners and customs differ, hum an feelings are the same
wherever you go, right?
218.8.2 Clause/noun to iu mono
Unlike kara by itself, which only indicates the idea o f tim e passed ‘since’,
the implication with to iu mono is th at is has been an inordinately long time
‘ever since’, ‘over (the period th at)’ (see 75).
a miZt,bK&X6'b
r
haha wa kochira ni kite kara to iu mono terebi dake ga yujin no jotai
desu
Ever since mot tier came here, she has been in a state where her only
friend is the I V
tza
A-ko-san ga nyiisha shite jusannen-kan to iu mono aratana josei no
kanrishoku toyo wa nakatta
T hroughout the whole 13-year period since A -ko-san joined the
com pany, there has been no new appointm ent o f a w om an to a
m anagem ent post.
218.9 CLAUSE to iu wake
218.9.1 Clause to iu wake da
This is used when drawing a conclusion from w hat has been said earlier ‘so,
w hat you are saying is’ (see 239).
a ffi
ic < < & &
^ η
„
onaji inu demo ninki ga dete te ni hairi-nikuku naru to nedan ga agaru to
iu wake da
So, w hat yo u ’re saying is th at once it gets popular and difficult to get,
the same [kind of] dog rises in price.
honkon ni toshi suru koto wa chugoku zentai ni toshi suru koto to iu
wake da
So, w hat yo u ’re saying is ‘investing in H ong K ong am ounts to investing
in C hina as a whole’.
218.9.2 Clause to iu wake de wa nai
In the neg., the m eaning is ‘it’s not the case th a t’ (see 239).
a
[ £ » . ' 9 frit-C U t £»-']<,
yasui kara kuruma ga ureru to iu wake de wa nai
It’s n o t the case th at cars sell [just] because they are cheap.
[ £ ^ 9 ibtt'Cliftv-'lo
daisotsu josei о honkaku-teki ni saiyo shi-hajimete kara junen tatsu ga
shogii wa dansei to onaji to iu wake dewa nai
It’s been 10 years since they started to employ female graduates in
earnest, b u t it’s no t the case th a t their treatm ent is the same as the
m en’s.
218.10 NOUN to iu yori (mo/wa)
I . i k e t h e c o m p a r a t i v e P y o r i I n i t s c l l , t i n s i n d i c a t e s c o m p a r i s o n ‘r a t h e r t h a n '
( se c 2 5 2 , 25).
a f /C < H i i [) y - J
J: Ol·
mitekure wa ringo to iu yori nashi ni chikai
The appearance is closer to a [Japanese] pear rather th an an apple.
b / · 4 9 ') г л — ЬЛ.Ь.ЪШ*) O l i , Ч Ж Л
ii t
J: ? A-о
baitariti afureru katarikuchi wa seishokusha to iu yori wa bijinesuman
no yo da
His way o f telling a story, which is brim m ing with vitality, is more
reminiscent o f a businessm an than a priest.
218.11 NOUN to iu to, . . . ga, . . .
N to iu to is sim ilar to N (to) wa, w hich is used to com m ent on some
entity or activity X generically ‘N is . . . , b u t’, follow ed by a qualifying
statement.
Λ,
i - t i r 'O 'i e i t H t i & b & '- 'o
joba to iu to hatame ni wa nan demo nai yo ni mieru ga ryoashi ni tsune
ni chikara о kome karada о antei sasete inakereba naranai
Riding looks dead easy to the onlooker, but one needs to keep both
legs tense and one’s body stable.
ь Ш
2соМШ1Ш^хЬ
Α λΑ ο
bijutsukan to iu to sakuhin ni nakanaka chikazukenai ga kono bijutsukan
wa sawatte mo daijobu
A rt galleries d o n ’t usually let you get close to the works, bu t in this art
gallery it’s O K to touch [them],
218.12 VERB/ADJECTIVE/ADJECTIVAL NOUN/NOUN to iu ka,
VERB/ADJECTIVE/ADJECTIVAL NOUN/NOUN to iu ka
This is used when searching for an appropriate way o f describing something
‘how shall one describe it A or ВТ.
a i i o b 0 Ifc M
'>У7/иЪ:Ш
0
hakkiri shita kao to iu ka shinpuru na kao to iu ka
How shall I describe it - a distinct face, or a simple face?
b
Ш
l i L V ' f t / : ’о
tsukai to iu ka fuson to iu ka isamashii yaku da
I t’s thrilling o r p e r h a p s h a u g h ty - a n y h o w , it’s a d a s h in g p a r t.
с
t 'л т
Ь
watashi wa dochira ka to iu to pyua to iu ka shiro to iu ka donna yaku ni
mo somaru koto ga dekiru to omoimasu
I think th a t if anything, I’m pure or m aybe white, so I can be coloured
by any p a rt [= actress],
2 18.13 C LA U S E to w a ie
The form ie is a classical V form th a t expresses a contrastive conjunction
‘b u t’. The com bination means literally “although one says”, i.e. ‘m ay be . . .
b u t’, ‘it m ay be A, bu t in fact it’s no m ore than В ’ (see 30.4).
a —
у £ л —9 —
Y—
i I x -tir A /tiic J r 0
isshu no konpyuta to wa ie gemu kiki mo shosen wa gangu
It m ay be a kind o f com puter, b u t game appliances are after all
[no m ore than] toys.
ogata renkyu to wa ie fukeiki mo tetsudatte yahari shurvu wa mini
ryoko
It m ay be a long string o f holidays, but partly through the effects o f
the recession the trend is for short trips.
2 18.14 to ieba, s o ieba
(See 13.3.3, 13.3.4.)
219 to shite [PHRASAL PARTICLE]
to shite indicates the status or capacity o f a thing o r person ‘as’, to shite
m ust n o t be confused w ith the conjunctive form o f the phrase to suru ‘to
regard/view as’, especially as they can appear in identical-looking contexts
(see 219.2 d and e for examples) (see 159).
219.1 to shite (wa/mo)
219.2 to shite no noun
219.1 to s h ite (w a/m o)
a
l >' I ' 1 1 s С 4 /
n ih o n wu к а к » b o e k i n o vus Ih i I mi r i k k o k u t o nhiU· i k i t e k i t a
Jap an lias existed as а о ч т п \ Ь.г,. d mi the export o f processing trade.
b
[ n i x ] ifrhH,
Γ^-4 - f - f tj & j r £
MKL/t0
chiigoku no koten bungaku no kenkyiisha to shite mo shirare suikoden
kokon kikan nado о hon'yaku shita
He is also know n as a researcher into Chinese classical literature, and
has translated [works] such as Suikoden and Kokon Kikan.
с
Ш [£ I X ]
honrai wa osae da ga senpatsu to shite kiyo suru
Originally, he is a stopper, but we’ll use him as a starting pitcher.
d
Ь [YlX ]> m . $ (пШ ЬШ Х'ч'Ъо
seikai kara intai-go wa ekonomisuto to shite katsuyaku oku no chosaku
о nokoshite iru
After his retirem ent from the politicial world he was active as an
economist, and has m ade [his m ark with] m any books.
2 1 9 .2 to s h ite n o N O U N
W hen used to m odify a N, no is attached to to shite.
а
[E L t w ] Ш ' Л ' о
shikashi senshu to shite no jisseki wa nai
However, he doesn’t have any record as a player.
b
[ E LXc o ]
jissai ima no osaka-shi ni wa jutakuchi to shite no miryoku wa amari
kanjirarenai
In fact, one doesn’t feel much attraction to present-day O saka city as a
residential area.
с
[E L - tw ]
ίο
toshisaki to shite no chiigoku no miryoku wa nani yori mo kyodai na
kokunai shijo ni aru
The attraction o f C hina as a place for investment lies above all in its
vast domestic m arket.
Note
there is also a phrase
to suru, which means
‘to view as’, ‘deal with’ (examples d and
c).
6saka-fukei yodogawa-sho wa goto jiken to shite otoko no yukue о
otte iru
The Yodokawa police station o f the Osaka prefectural police views it
as.a case of burglary and are looking for the man.
shu to shite kaihatsu mondai о tema to shi suitei da ga sono kazu wa
yonsen kara rokusen ni noboru
[NGOs] deal m ostly with developm ent issues, and their num ber is
estim ated at four to six thousand.
220 toka [CONJOINING PARTICLE]
toka, a com bination o f the quotation P to and the Q P ka, can join nouns in
the same way th at ya does in the sense o f ‘and’, ‘o r’ (see 241), bu t unlike ya
it can be used m ore than once in a sentence. It is also wider in use in th at in
can also be used in the sense o f nado (see 102.1, 29.2).
220.1 ‘and (the like)’, ‘o r’
220.2 Colloquial equivalent o f nado
220.1 ‘A N D (T H E LIK E)’, O R ’
a 't'S lw Г&] i i r ^ j
[ Ύ ¥ ] Щ\ ic ifb v
chugoku no ken wa nihon no shi toka gun ni chikai
Chinese ken [districts] are approxim ate to Jap a n ’s shi [cities] or gun
[districts].
b
[Z¥]
lirtrj
toji wa iyahon toka jimaku nado nakatta desu shi ne
A t the time there weren’t any earphones or subtitles, etc.
с
U
ronshi ga meikai ka do ka tochii de hasanda joku wa tekisetsu ka nado
wa mochiron hanasu spldo mana mo taisho ni naru. a toka ΰ toka no
ranpatsu nado rongai de aru
[Speeches] are judged no t only by clarity o f argum ent and whether
the occasional joke is appropriate, bu t also [on] speed and m anner o f
delivery. Excessive use o f ‘ahs’ and ‘uhs’ and suchlike is ou t o f the
question.
d M
i f t
U H
[Z H
t c i - s h o t o k u s h a t o k a k o r e is h u t o k u n i u t u c r u e ik y o g a o k i i d e s u
k u ru
T h e influence it [= tax o n essentials] has o n p e o p le like low e a r n e r s a n d
the age d is c o n s id e r a b le , vou мч·
e
[Y¥] t b H ,
namaiki da toka taido ga warui toka iware kizutsuita
M y feelings were h urt, being told things like [I was] being im pertinent
and had a bad attitude.
2 20 .2 C O LLO Q U IA L EQ U IVA LEN T O F nado
a ra^w itK I
шь<г> J Г 9 — A , 0
Γζ
b<r>\
\ ^ l / S y L A / i b - i ’ A/ [ ^ H j o
nihon no shmbun toka yomu no. un anmari. kotoba wa do yatte oboeru
no. manga kureyon shin-chan toka
‘D o you read Japanese newspapers and the like?’ ‘N o. N o t m uch.’
‘How do you learn the language?’ ‘Comics! Things like Kureyon
Shin-chan.'
b
Т / Ш [E i* l
sono baggu ameyoko toka de utte iru yasumono-ppoi desu ne
T h at bag is one o f those cheap ones they sell in places like Ameyoko,
right?
221 toki [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
toki is formally a N . Like any other N it can attach the cop., P, etc., but is
also used like a conjunctive P in complex S in the pattern [SI toki S2], in the
sense o f ‘(the time) w hen’.
N ote th at even when S2 (the m ain clause) is in the past tense, adj., A N and
N modifying toki in SI are often in the non-past, i.e. adj.-i toki, A N na toki
and N no toki.
The past tense is used with these in SI when events in the past are contrasted
with those in the present. Com pare the following examples:
a % «. [ i] Y b l i l
hima na toki wa yoku sanpo shita
I often went for walks when I w asn’t busy.
b % « . [ΛΓο tz \ Y b l i l < Ift# L /Co
hima datta toki wa yoku sanpo shita
In the times when I w asn’t busy, I often went for walks.
As evident from the translation, the SI past-tense exam ple contrasts the
present (busy) state with a (not busy) state in the past, whereas the non-past
sentence has no such implication.
With V toki, there is a tlm-c way distinction, which is independent o f the
tense of S2:
V-ru toki: the action o f V is not yet realized or com pleted (see 221.2.1)
V-te iru toki: the action o f V is in the process o f being realized or com pleted
(see 2 2 1 .2 .2 )
V-ta toki: the action of V is realized o r com pleted (see 221.2.3)
C om pare examples c-f:
с %
ш ж п с
gaikoku rvoko ni deru toki kaban о kau
I’ll buy a bag (at home) when I go abroad.
d %
gaikoku ryoko ni deru toki kaban о katta
I bought a bag (at home) when I went abroad.
e
Ш И о
gaikoku ryoko ni deta toki kaban о kau
I’ll buy a bag (abroad) when I go abroad.
gaikoku ryoko ni deta toki kaban о katta
I bought a bag (abroad) when I went abroad 0
The forms to which toki is attached are the same as those before other N:
V/adj. N -m od. toki
A N /N -cop.-N -m od. toki
221.1
221.2
221.2.1
221.2.2
221.2.3
221.3
221.4
Adjective/adjectival noun/noun toki
Verb toki
Verb-ru toki
Verb-te iru toki
Verb-ta toki
Sentence ending + toki
Idiom atic uses
221.1
A D JE C T IV E /A D JE C TIV A L N O U N /N O U N to k i
a £0,
[ E i ] (c,
ti,
Г-АЪ '-'Т
mainichi suki na toki ni suki na hito to aeru jiyu-sa wa hijo ni okii
desu ne
T h e f r e e d o m to see daily, at a tinu· mu* w a n ts to, th e p e o p le o n e w a n ts
to. is ex tre m e ly im p o r ta n t
b
ilL v ' [Yb],
m r-:^r--0
tsurai toki kanashii toki itsu mo kokoro ni ukanda no wa daisuki na
honkon no j5kei datta
In times o f hardship and times o f sadness, it was always the sight of
H ong K ong th at I love so m uch th at came to mind.
С
Li?o
teiki kenshin no toki isha kara chui о ukeru to asette shimau
One gets nervous when the doctor at the time of the regular check-up
warns you ab out things.
d —H— j*,w [ £ * ] i ' i , 7 7 > x № - S t J i i j R S v ^ l t A o
nijuissai no toki kara furansu ryori hitosuji de ude о furui-tsuzuketa
F rom the time he was 20 he has devoted his talents purely to French
cuisine.
shashin wa sono happy6 no toki no mono
The p h o tograph [is] from the time o f the announcem ent o f it [= the
creation of a female baseball team],
mottomo okatta toki de nen nanahyap-pon to iu kiroku о motte iru
W hen he was at his m ost productive, he holds the record for [having
watched] 700 films per year.
2 21.2
VER B toki
221.2.1 Verb-ru to k i
As explained in the previous section (recall examples с and d), with V-ru
toki the action o f V is not yet realized or completed.
kodomo no kutsu о erabu toki nani о kijun ni erabimasu ka
On what basis do you m ake your choice when choosing children’s shoes?
ь
%- fb
кйко ni chakuriku suru toki ni nagameta utsukushii keshiki wa
insh6-teki datta
The beautiful scenery I saw when landing at the airport was memorable.
с
Lh0
aenai toki wa tegami de yaritori shita
At times when they couldn’t meet they com m unicated by letter.
d -rv -e y
[ t i ] co -fi£ co # < J; 7
t > & & t ''''7 0
purezento no tsutsumi о akeru toki no kodomo no kagayaku уб na egao
ga jibun no yorokobi ni mo naru to iu
He says th at the radiant smiles o f the children when they open their
presents is a pleasure for him, too.
e
[ t i ] , % .т х 'ш ш ъ ь ш ъ ъ а
kaigai гуокб ni deru toki кйкб de shukkoku tetsuzuki о sumaseru
W hen he goes overseas on business, he undergoes the departure
formalities at the airport.
221 .2.2 V erb -te iru toki
The m eaning o f -te iru in these sentences is progressive, i.e. it is used with
action V only.
a
b
[ti]
Ъ<г>¥ЬЪа
dare de mo shigoto о shite iru toki ni kando no shunkan to iu mono
ga aru
Everybody has m om ents o f excitement when working.
[ t i ]
tiv O t,,
V — X b !:A b X
*<' Ь о
e о kaite iru toki wa itsu mo atama no naka de oto ya kotoba no furezu
ga nagarete iru
W hen I pain t pictures, there’s always a flow o f sounds and language
phrases inside my head.
2 21 .2.3 V erb -ta toki
As explained above (recall examples e and f), with V-ta toki the action o f V
is already realized or completed.
a
[ t i ] U '. 'i 't c & w S f c ? |< * K
mise ni sh6hin о oita toki ni ika ni kyaku no me 0 hiku ka
W hen you’ve introduced a product to the shop, [the question is] how
best to catch the eyes o f the custom ers.
b
? coii, r f t i · ' [ti]
£·>-' ?o
gunshij shinri to iu no wa tasii ga ikkasho ni misshii shita toki ni shozuru
shinri jotai о iu
Mass psychology is ‘the psvi tmloKu .il state that arises when many
congregate in one plan·'
с
[Eil·
I l l z % $ i LA0
jflgonen-buri ni kikoku shita toki ie no shiihen no kawariyS ni
odorokimashita
W hen I went back to my country for the first time in 15 years, I was
amazed at the changes in my neighbourhood.
d PS
I
ί ft i to
LA [ t i ]
L i t f i n i t e 0 i.-ttAso
pi esu wa jikken ni kanshite fukai chishiki ga убкуй saremasu.
jikken sochi ga kosh6 shita toki ni wa shuri mo shinakereba
narimasen
A PS [= payload specialist on space probe] needs to be very
knowledgeable about experiments. W hen the experim ental apparatus
breaks down s/he needs to repair it, too.
221 .3 S E N T E N C E E N D IN G + toki
toki can also be attach ed to S endings, such as -tai, -so [likelihood] and
others, again in the N -m od. form.
а
ttA A v ' [ t i ] |: # А й У 7 Ь
i '& l L 'o
riyosha wa asobitai toki ni konomi no sofuto о sentaku shite gemu о
tanoshimu
The users enjoy the game by selecting software o f their choice when
they want to play.
b
η<£ [ t i ] ,
i
i£ o
reika ga kis6 na toki hayame ni hana о sakasete mi о tsukutte shimau
koto mo dekiru
[If the agent th a t makes a flower bloom is discovered] W e will be able
to do things like getting them to flower and fruit early when there are
indications th at a cold summer is in store.
2 21 .4 ID IO M A TIC U SE S
Phrases like aru toki ‘one time’, iza to iu toki ‘in case o f emergency’, masaka
no toki ‘if the worst comes to the w orst’, ‘in case o f trouble’ are idiomatic or
lexical expressions.
a AS [ t i ] ,
aru toki daigaku de jikken-chu no s6chi ga totsuzen kowareta
to iu
One time, the experimental apparatus suddenly broke down during an
experiment at the uniw isity, he says.
b
[ £ $ ] <r>fziblzs
'O b · - r ? ~ v
Xbbtz\\
iza to iu toki no tame ni chakuiei taiken de sabaibaru tekunikku о
kokoroete okitai
In case o f emergency, one wants to familiarize oneself w ith survival
techniques by experiencing swimming with clothes on.
<r>
izliSfttfX
< nicv-'o
yasui tokoro kara каб to suru to mokaran shiiresaki wa hanarete iku.
masaka no toki ni wa tasukete kurenai
. . . if we try to buy only from cheap places, suppliers who don’t m ake
a profit will steer clear o f us. In case o f trouble, they w on’t help.
222 toki [TIME NOUN]
As a N , toki ‘tim e’ is written with the kanji Щ or in hiragana ( £ b), whereas
as a conjunctive P it now adays tends to be w ritten in hiragana only (see
221). However, the distinction is n o t always clear, there being examples o f
toki [time N] th at are translated as ‘when’ or ‘the time when’. Being formally
a N, when toki is modified by a clause in such S (examples, c -f), it acts as a
relative clause head N , ju st like any other N (see 143.1).
a Z b K [ef] fc ffc irA /t....... о
konna toki ni uta nante
Singing at a [difficult] time like this? [That’s h ard to believe.]
b
tz L tz b ?o
[ 0# ].
nande ano toki nyuin nanka shita n daro
W hy did I get myself hospitalized th at time, I wonder.
с
о
toto unihomu о nugu toki ga kita
Finally the time has come to take off the uniform [= retire].
d
15
I f - [ Y b ] < r> v-y
0
shakkin wa jugonen ni ie о shinchiku shita toki no гбп no nokori
The debt is the rem ainder o f the loan [taken out] when we rebuilt our
house 15 years ago.
с
(:<*>') 1 ^ - 4
[£*]
i& 6a
ningen ikite ircba tsurai me ni ini toki mo ochikomu toki mo aru
As lo n g a s o n e is alive, then- an· tm u -v w lic n tilings a r c h a r d a n d tim es
w hen o n e feels do w n .
f
[ t i ] b {—
gakusei to sesshite iru toki ga ichiban tanoshii to iu ky6in wa ippai iru
There are m any teachers who feel th at the time when they are in
contact with the students is the m ost enjoyable o f all.
m
g
iz & i'h b & i& b tc i
акапЬб no toki ni dakareta kioku mo naku chichi no aij6 о jikkan
dekizu ni ita
I have no memories o f being cuddled when I was a baby, and was
unable to realize my father’s love.
223 TRANSITIVE/INTRANSITIVE VERB PAIRS
Japanese has a large num ber of verbs that come in (formally related) transit
ive/intransitive pairs (for a comparison o f the use of transitive and intransitive
V, see 160, 156, 2 0 , 161, 183, 231 and certain aspectual S endings: 196, 199).
Com mon pairs and their relation in form are shown in Table 24 (only one
representative meaning is given).
Note - only very few pairs are identical in form (compare this to the large number of identical
pairs in the English translation).
ТаЫе 24 Transitive and intransitive verb pairs
Intransitive verb
Transitive verb
•лги
-eru
•guru У-Ь'Ъ ‘rise’
alaru zitzb ‘be hit’
•iMimaru % i b ‘be gathered’
a/ukaru ША'6 ‘be entrusted’
ha|imaru ik ί Ь ‘begin’
hakaru h'b'h ‘hang’
макаги
‘be bent’
6 ‘be mixed’
ma/aru
mltMikaru
> ‘be found’
tagaru T ¥ 6 ‘hang’
«tiiinaru Pfl ί 6 ‘close’
«hl/uiuaru
6 ‘calm’
lomarii it i.6 ‘stop’
Iwimaru tt i Ь ‘stuffed’
(«ипацаги
‘connect’
ageru i- V f b ‘raise’
ateru =i X Ь ‘hit’
atsumeru
‘gather’
azukeru fiJ t h ‘entrust’
hajimeru
‘begin’
kakeru ¥ lf6 ‘hang’
mageru d?tf& ‘bend’
mazeru ль-tf' Ь ‘mix’
mitsukeru
‘find’
sageru Tlfi> ‘hang’
shimeru Pfl Λ
‘close’
shizumeru I f Л Ь ‘calm’
tomeru ii-Лб ‘stop’
tsumeru
‘stuff’
tsunageru
‘connect’
(ALSO tsunagu
tc <")
«
•ku M| ( ‘be open’
пшгЫкаи M it") ‘be mistaken'
-eru
akeru
тасЫцасги
‘open’
‘make a mistake’
Table 24 ( C on t’d )
Intransitive verb
Transitive verb
muku
( ‘face’
susumu iHi.· ‘advance’
tsuku ό < ‘stick’
ukabu
‘float’
umaru Й& ‘be buried’
sodatsu fT"? ‘grow up’
tatsu iL-r> ‘stand’
mukeru 6 j tt Ъ ‘point at’
susumeru $Lt> Ь ‘advance’
tsukeru ^ t t h ‘attach’
ukaberu Щ -Ь^Ъ ‘float’
umeru 8 ή Ь ‘bury’
sodateru t f t Ь ‘bring up’
tateru 3-X h ‘erect’
-war и
-eru
kawaru HLhZ> ‘change’
owaru $ b b Z i ‘end’
tsutawaru i i , b h ‘be transmitted’
kaeru
h ‘change’
oeru
Ь ‘end’
(ALSO owaru Щ-Ь 6 )
tsutaeru f e z . 6 ‘transmit’
-ru
-su
amaru
‘be left over’
kaeru Щ.6 ‘return’
naoru A 6 ‘be mended’
nokoru
‘be left’
t5ru
‘pass through’
wataru $ . 6 ‘cross over’
amasu & i~ ‘leave over’
kaesu i& f ‘return’
naosu Msf ‘mend’
nokosu
‘leave’
t5su i l t ‘pass through’
watasu ШЛ ‘pass over’
-ku
-su
kawaku $L< ‘dry’
ugoku % ( ‘move’
kawakasu
ugokasu
‘dry’
‘move’
-eru
-asu
deru tfci 6 ‘come out’
dasu tb'f ‘put out’
-eru
-yasu
fueru
‘increase’
hieru
h ‘get cool’
moeru Шт. Ъ ‘be burnt’
fuyasu
‘increase’
hiyasu
‘cool’
moyasu Μ,ΨΨ ‘burn’
-reru
-su
kakureru ШН 6 ‘hide’
kowareru i$ .h 6 ‘break’
taoreru ЩН 6 ‘collapse’
kakusu P.t'f ‘hide’
kowasu i$.~f ‘break’
taosu
‘knock down’
-reru
-asu
nagareru 'Ж И 6 ‘flow’
nagasu 'ΜΛ ‘let flow’
-eru
-u
kudakeru
‘be crushed'
nukcru
‘come out’
wurcru ί'Μ ιό ‘split'
yiikcru Ш ) Sj ‘he KKistril
kuduku f'i- ( ‘crush’
nuku №. ( ‘pull out’
w*ru t'| ‘be ruined ’
ochiru ■££> 6 ‘fall’
okiru
Ь ‘get u p ’
oriru Щ**) Ь ‘come/go dow n’
sugiru
6 ‘pass’
-osu
horobosu
‘ru in ’
otosu Ur~t ‘d r o p ’
okosu
‘raise’
orosu W b ' f ‘take do w n ’
sugosu
‘pass’
Irregular
hairu*
‘enter’
kieru ;'й L h ‘go o u t’
mieru IL-i h ‘be seen’
noru f t 6 ‘get o n ’
ireru
‘enter’
kesu i 'i'f ‘pu t o u t’
miru JL& ‘see’
noseru
6 ‘put o n ’
Identical
fuku
masu
\ ‘blow, breathe’
‘increase’
fuku
masu
‘breathe’
‘increase’
Notes * hairu is the usual pronunciation for ^ 6 , but iru occurs in compounds
λ ο iriguchi ‘entrance’ etc. and idioms
- i t L (go ni ireba go ni
shitagae) ‘when in R om e do as the R om ans d o ’.
224
tsumori [SENTENCE ENDING]
As tsumori is a stru ctural N, it is attached to S ending in N -m od. forms.
Besides its use with cop., it can also attach wa/ga (see 224.3). tsumori indicates
intention.
N ote how some o f the uses o f tsumori are dependent on w hether tsumori
refers to the first- (in statements)/second- (in Q) person on the one hand, or
the third person on the other. In practice, the person inform ation is usually
omitted, however.
224.1
224.1.1
224.1.2
224.1.3
224.1.4
224.2
224.2.1
224.2.2
224.3
224.4
Clause-non-past tsumori
(First-/third-person) clause tsumori da
(Third-person) clause tsumori daro
(First-/third-person) clause-non-past tsumori datta
(First-/third-person) clause tsumori de predicate
Clause-past tsumori
(First-person) clause-past tsumori da
(First-/third-person) clause-past tsumori datta
(First-/third-pcison) clause-non-past tsumori wa nai
(First-'/third-piTsmi) clause-non-past tsumori de iru
224.1 C L A U S E -N O N -P A S T ts u m o ri
224.1.1 (First-/third-person) clause tsu m o ri d a
Used of the first or third person, this means Ί /we/he/she/they intend(s) to ’.
а Ш Ш к т Ы ' И б [o fcO fc 'lo
shin-seiken ni hatarakikakeru tsumori da
I intend to m ake approaches to the new government.
b
С
b t l t t L
arayuru kikai о toraete uttaete iku tsumori desu
I intend to appeal [to the public about this] at (lit. “m aking use o f”)
every possible opportunity.
h
i
0 fc'lo
kotoshi wa k6muin shiken о ukeru tsumori da
This year he intends to take the public service exams.
d
\ r o%*) t £]o
kodomo о undara shigoto о yameru tsumori da
W hen she has her baby, she intends to give up work.
224 .1.2 (Third-person) clause ts u m o ri daro
tsumori daro can only refer to a 3rd person Ί think he/she/they intend(s) to ’.
a
Ь
[ о i f) t - l b Ί ]□
senkyo undo de renko suru tsumori dar6
He intends to call out his nam e repeatedly in the election campaign,
I think.
224 .1.3 (First-/third-person) clause-non-past ts u m o ri d atta
This is the same as 224.1.1, but in the past tense ‘I/we/he/she/they intended to ’.
а
[ о t f)
gakumon no michi ni susumu tsumori datta
I had intended to go down the p a th o f scholarship.
b L li'b < —Ш - Ш ь I T A t ,
[-Э& 0
shibaraku issho ni kurashite mite ketsuron о dasu tsumori datta
We intended to live together for some time, and then reach a conclusion
2 24 .1.4 (First-/third-person) clause tsu m o ri de predicate
W h e n ts u m o ri da is used in tlu· ι οπ μιικ 'ΐινι· f o r m o f c o p . (i.e. m o d ifie s и
f ollow ing V), the п к м и ш г г· « i t h !Iu- in te n tio n o f .
ii mono о rekishi ni nokosu tsumori de tsukutta to itte iru
He says, Ί m ade it w ith the intention o f leaving som ething good for
posterity’.
b
Щ Щ L X t b ^ / t ^ o
[ o t o t ]
kon-kokkai-chu ni hosei ga seiritsu suru tsumori de junbi shite moraitai
W e’d like people to m ake preparations with the intent th at the
supplem entary budget is effected during the current session o f the
Diet.
2 24 .2
C L A U S E -P A S T tsum o ri
224.2.1 (First-person) clause-past ts u m o ri da
The speaker indicates th at he hopes o r flatters him self to have achieved
something positive Ί hope th a t’, Ί flatter myself th a t’.
а
h i 0 T tL
boku wa nihontsii-butta shiten wa saketa tsumori desu
I hope th at I avoided a position of pretending to be a Japan expert.
b
£ L X b t z [ o i 0 /i’ ] 0
watashi wa nagai aida josei no shakai shinshutsu no tame no shigoto о
shite kita tsumori da
I flatter myself th at I’ve long w orked for the social advancem ent of
women.
224.2.2 (First-/third-person) clause-past tsu m o ri datta
The speaker indicates that he thought or flattered himself that he had achieved
something positive, which subsequently turned out to be a negative result Ί
thought t h a t . . . (but in fact)’. This can also be used in commenting on third
persons.
а
Й т с с о а 'У Н Щ Х '- Ц Ь б '
- ? ' [ о
i
0 / со
ft}
shobai no kotsu wa atama de wa wakatte ita tsumori datta ga amaku wa
nakatta
I thought th at I ’d understood the ways o f business, but it wasn’t so
easy.
b
k M L t n f a 't z
h
i
f)
ь\
L /h 0
taimai о hataita tsumori datta ga nihon no chijin no hanashi о kiite
gakuzen to shita
I thought I-had spent a large sum o f money, but I was really shocked
when I heard what m\ Japanese friend toki me.
224.3 (F IR S T -/T H IR D -P E R S O N ) C L A U S E -N O N -P A S T tsu m o ri w a nai
This m eans ‘have no intention o f ’.
a
i r f t z h t t)
toku ni te no konda r v 5 ri о tsukuru tsumori wa nai
I have no intention o f preparing any particularly com plicated dishes.
b
l o t 1) Hi e]
о
atarashii uta о happv5 suru tsumori wa nakatta
I h ad no intention o f publishing a new song.
2 24.4 (F IR S T -/T H IR D -P E R S O N ) C L A U S E -N O N -P A S T tsu m o ri d e iru
This means ‘have the intention o f ’; it is different from tsumori da in th at the
emphasis is on the intention a person has at a certain time, as the intention
may o f course change over time.
saitei ato shichinen wa gen'eki о tsuzukeru tsumori de iru
His intention is to rem ain active [as a player] for at least another seven
years.
b йЗЛ И ГΖ<Τ>&&.Κ·%
tz\
saisho wa kono kaisha ni hone о umeru tsumori de ita to iu
He says th a t in the beginning Ί had the intention o f staying in this
com pany forever’.
с
Г Ш Ь Ш Н Ltt Ь й
t " 4 fzc o b \ г
i tz j £ i
ίιδ ο
kaihatsu о tedasuke shita tsumori de ita no ga капкуб hakai ni te о
kashita to najirareru
M y intention was to assist developm ent, bu t I’m being accused o f
‘having assisted in destruction o f the environm ent’.
и
ь
225 -tsutsu [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
A ttached to V-stem, -tsutsu expresses the idea o f ‘w hile’ (see 103). Like
-nagara (mo), -tsutsu can also im ply a contrast.
Note that like -nagara, -tsutsu requires that the subject (or actor) o f the V be
the same in SI and S2.
225.1 C la u s e I -tsutsu clause ?: s im u lta n e o u s a c tio n s
225.2 C la u s e I -tsutsu (mo) clause
c o n t r a s te d a c tio n s
225.1 C LA U S E 1-ts u ts u C LA U S E 2: S IM U L T A N E O U S A C TIO N S
-tsutsu expresses simultaneous actions perform ed by the same agent or subject
‘while’ (see 103).
Note - ‘simultaneous actions’ does not necessarily mean that both actions are carried out at the
same time; one of them can be intermittent (e.g. example b).
tanoshimi-tsutsu ikikata о jujitsu sasetai
I w ant to m ake the m ost o f my life while [also] having fun.
jodan о majie-tsutsu Okinawa ongaku no kinkyo о katatta
He told ab out the current state o f O kinaw an music, m ixing in jokes.
с
I i
i b it/;0
kaku-minzoku no tokucho о ikashi-tsutsu кокка о keisei shiy6 to iu
wake da
W hat they’re saying is th at they w ant to form a nation while m aking
the m ost o f the characteristics o f each ethnic group.
d
I [o o ],
jiko о taisetsu ni shi-tsutsu ika ni chimu ni tokekomu ka
How does one blend into the team while keeping one’s own interest in
mind?
2 25.2 C LAU SE 1-ts u ts u (m o) C L A U S E 2: C O N T R A S T E D A C TIO N S
-tsutsu (mo) expresses a contrast ‘while’, ‘even though’ (see 56, 79, 103, 140,
218.13).
a
i
[o o ]4
i: 4 > o fe 0
kono уб na rinen wa tdji no hitobito ga mochi-tsutsu jikko ni
utsusanakatta
While the people at the time had this kind o f ideal, they didn’t put it
into practice.
vakyu о tsuzuketai to omoi-tsutsu yamunaku dannen shita senshu mo 6i
While wanting to go on with baseball, there are m any players who had
to give it up.
с
[ ^ t ] ,
OfcLfco
saishu-teki ni wa jibun de kangaero to ii-tsutsu mo taishoku о unagasu уб
na adobaisu о kurikaeshita
While tellitTg me to make the final decision myself, he repeatedly gave
advice tluit urged me to resign.
226 -tsutsu aru [SENTENCE ENDING]
A ttached to V-stem, -tsutsu aru is used as an alternative to -te iru, b u t w ith
only the progressive interpretation ‘in the process o f ’ (see 199.1, 199.3).
a
д - у у ^ /J Y I X , 'QfcX'tMfrSh
gakki о hikanai myujishan to shite nihon de mo ninchi sare-tsutsu aru
As a ‘m usician who doesn’t play an instrum ent’, he is in the process o f
becoming know n in Japan too.
nihon de mo manejido herusukea ni taisuru kanshin ga takamari-tsutsu aru
In Jap an too, interest in m anaged healthcare is increasing.
с
Г|)Й7]
I \oobb\o
mayoi-tsutsu mo joshi gakusei wa ryunen to iu jiyu о kakujitsu ni te ni
shi-tsutsu aru
Though hesitantly, women students are in the process o f steadily
acquiring the ‘freedom ’ o f studying an extra year.
227 -TTE [SENTENCE ENDING]
-tte is a colloquial equivalent to s5 [hearsay], often in the form -tte ne. It can
be attached to either the plain (example a) or polite form o f V (examples b
and c). In this way, it differs from s5, which is added to the plain form only
(see 181, 169).
а
[ot]
nihon wa nan demo takai n da-tte ne
I hear th a t everything’s expensive in Japan.
b ΪΤ У
LX '- f l ^ X ] *a0
piano ga taihen o-j6zu nan desu-tte ne
I hear th at yo u ’re very good at playing the piano.
с
0
L
^
^
X
"
t
[ot]
fao
yunibasaru sutajio tanoshii n desu-tte ne
The U niversal Studios are great fun, I hear.
ίΤ
X L i ό tz. Л / 1£ [ η X ] 0
6ji-sama о suki datta ningyo hime-san wa saigo wa kiiki no sei ni natte
o-sora ni tonde itte shimatta n da-tk*
T h e m e r m a id , w h o liked the p rin ce , in the e n d tu r n e d in to a sylph a n d
Hew u p in to the sky, they s;iv
228 tte/te [QUOTATION/DEFINITION PARTICLE
EQUIVALENT]
tte/te is a com m on colloquial equivalent o f to, to iu o r (to iu no) wa (see
218.2.2, 218.3.2, 218.4).
Note
-
after
Ή(nan), tte becomes te, resulting in nante.
228.1 Equivalent o f to
228.2 Equivalent o f to iu
228.3 Equivalent o f (to iu no) wa
228.1 E Q U IV A L E N T O F to
In example a, nante is an equivalent o f nan to, i.e. nan + quotation P. In
example c, nante, preceding an evaluatory adjective, is em phatic, expressing
astonishment.
a
t
[ X] t b h &
¥ .......Jo
boku no my6ji ni chanto kaete morawanai to inaka no ryoshin ni nan te
iwareru ka
Unless you change your surname to mine, G od knows w hat my
traditional-m inded parents will say to me . ..
b
')
ί - I X ί l ^ x ] t'o/ccotijg-A'-ffo
kotoshi no kurisumasu wa ie de hoimi patT shiyo tte itta no wa kimi da ze.
It was you who said that this Christm as we should have a house party.
с a .№ ^ x H [ τ ] £ ΐ ^ λ χ · ΐ χ 9 о
-г
ningen tte nante utsukushii n desh6. ma subarashii shinsekai
How beauteous m ankind is! О brave new world [that has such people in
it]! (From Shakespeare’s The Tempest) [Re. the first tte, see 228.3 f below]
228 .2 E Q U IV A LE N T O F to iu
As in 228.1c, nante combines here with evaluatory adj., emphasizing their
meaning. Unlike 228.1c, however, these adj. are followed by a N (hence the
equivalent to iu . . . N).
N ote also te koto wa (= to iu koto wa) in example c, which is used like a
conjunction (see 218.7, 30.6).
a S -h -M i l h
h t ]
rtL'„
osore irimashita tte kanji
O ne’s staggered (lil. "Tin· feeling’s one o f being staggered”).
ь
l^x]
yakusha ga yakusha о yaru tte no wa muzukashii desu
An actor playing an actor - th a t’s difficult.
с [X] Z K l i ,
l ^ X ] Z K %< D¥ L b ?
(X Z H l i =
ϊ Zilli)
te koto wa watashi mo ato nannen ka shitara a naru tte koto na no kashira
Does th a t m ean th at in a few years I’ll end up like th a t [= o-tsubonesan, a grum bling middle-aged female office w orker disliked by all] too?
d
Щ [ t ] L - Z \ 'Z К···]-----kanashimi no ry6shin nante mugoi koto — mie barabara jiken
The saddened parents [said], ‘W hat a cruel thing . . .’ - the
dism em bered body case in Mie [prefecture].
228 .3 E Q U IV A L E N T O F (to iu no) w a
After N , the equivalent can be thought o f as either wa or to iu no wa.
а
[o t]
shussei-ritsu ga ittengo о shitamawaru tte hont6 desu ka
Is it true th a t the birth rate will drop below 1.5?
b
\^X\ X = 4 o
bitobito ni kand6 ya yume о ataeru tte sugoi
Touching people’s hearts and giving them visions, th a t’s wonderful.
C
A, [ - ^ t ]
epuron sugata no o-t6-san tte kakko ii
D addy wearing an apron - th a t’s ‘cool’.
d Ж Л Ш к т гY l n - f h f r
kishadan ni taishi d5 suru ka tte kime'nya na
To the press corps [he said] ‘W h at we’re going to do? W e’ve got to
decide . . .’
e AM b t ] Η Χ ^ Ι ^ λ Χ Ί x io i i , t i i b
ningen tte nante utsukushii n desh6. ma subarashii shinsekai
How beauteous m ankind is! О brave new w orld [that has such people in
it]! (From Shakespeare’s The Tempest)
f If λ [ o t ] *T?J ('■Hi!X 'b 6<o?]
watashi tte nani nani ga dekiru no
‘W ho am I?’, ‘W hat can I achieve?’
229 uchi [CONJUNCTIVE PARTICLE]
A lth o u g h it f u n c tio n s as a c o n ju n c tiv e I’, uchi is f o rm a lly a N, a n d th e re fo re
a tta c h e s f o rm s th a t precede .uni lollow N
The basic m eaning o f uchi is ‘within a certain lim it’ in term s o f both time
and space. N ote th a t regardless o f tense, uchi is attached to V-ru (see 7, 8 ).
229.1
229.1.1
229.1.2
229.2
229.3
229.4
229.4.1
229.4.2
229.4.3
Clause 1 uchi clause 2
Clause 1-positive uchi clause 2
Clause 1 (verb-negative) uchi ni clause 2
Clause 1 (verb-ru/verb-te iru) uchi ni clause 2
Adjective/adjectival noun/noun uchi ni
Idiom atic uses
N ear future
Short time
Others: muishiki no uchi ni
229.1 C LA U S E 1 u ch i C LA U S E 2
SI indicates a state. The im plication in uchi S is th a t as the state (pos. or
neg.) indicated in SI is liable to change, the action o f S2 takes place ‘while’
th at state still remains.
It is mostly used in the form uchi ni, b u t uchi wa is also found. F or example
(in 229.1.1 b), uchi wa emphasizes the idea o f ‘while’, w hereas in example
229.1.1 d, where there is a contrast between the two clauses, the effect is one
o f emphasizing the contrast.
229.1.1 Clause 1-positive uchi clause 2
j6ken ga ii uchi ni han о oshita h6 ga ii
You should stam p [the agreement] while the conditions are good.
genki na uchi wa hito no tame ni hatarakitai
While I ’m healthy I w ant to w ork for [the benefit of] others.
с
[lib] С,
'< Ъ
chochiku ga juntaku na uchi ni kuru-beki korei-ka shakai ni sonaete
shakai shihon no seibi о isogu-beki da
While savings are plentiful, we m ust hurry and prepare social funds in
preparation for the coming aged society.
d iii lb h Z
[lib]
Ut> j t f X h Z 7
mokerareru uchi ni mokcte окб to iu shisei wa tsutsushinde hoshii
I w a n t th e m to re stra in their a t t i t u d e o f ‘L e t’s m a k e m o n e y while
we c a n ’.
L < f c S i ‘ i J Y%bb0
kosha ga nokotte iru uchi wa mada jikkan ga nai ga iza naku natte
shimau to sabishiku naru ka mo to kataru
‘While the school building is still there, it doesn’t hit you, bu t once it’s
gone, I m ight feel lonely’, he says.
2 29 .1.2 Clause 1 (verb-negative) uchi ni clause 2
A fter SI ending in a neg. form (-nai, -nu), uchi ni is used. The m eaning is
literally “while still no t”, i.e. ‘before something happens’, or with expression
o f time ‘before (time) has passed’.
а
[jib] t c ^ H i t o
densha ga naku naranai uchi ni kaerimasu
I’m going hom e before the trains stop running.
shiranai uchi ni sanrin ga kaihatsu sarete ita
Before we knew it, the m ountain forest had been developed.
с 30=^ £ / = /= $ > ' [? £ > ]
<S0
sanjubv5 to tatanai uchi ni denwa ga kakatte kuru
Before 30 seconds had passed, the phone rang.
d
Licv-' [ l i b ]
< & o , aft')
hotondo no hito wa gofun mo shinai uchi ni teashi ga omoku nari nemuri
ni chikai meisoj5tai ni hairu
[Traditional Indian sesame oil massage] Before five m inutes have
passed, m ost people feel their limbs become heavy and enter a
meditative state akin to sleep.
e
[? £ > ]
kabi ni senryo sarenai uchi ni hayaku shori shitai
[Dried foods] should be used prom ptly, before they go mouldy.
f Γ£οί,£ν,Λ H k i c ]
shiranai uchi ni nigemichi о yoi shite ita no ka mo shirenai to uchiakeru
‘They m ay have prepared an escape route w ithout our knowledge’, he
reveals.
g t-:b \ —% - i h f z t e [ ? M : ] Й +А 'ЧЬ'-ЧёЛ Л о Г £ ц —
^ 'A .f- "> t~ Iо
da ga ichinen mo tatanu uchi ni haûruma ца kurui-hajimeta. otto wa
hitori de wa nani mo dt-kin»i hit» datta
However, before ;i mmi li.nl p .iw il (мисс marriage], the cogs began to slip
‘My husband tin m il mil in Iv ,i pci чип ivlm can’t do anything hy him sdl
2 29 .2 C LA U S E 1 (V E R B -ru /V E R B -te iru) uchi ni
C LA U S E 2
A fter V-ru and V-te iru, uchi ni indicates a gradual change th at occurs ‘as’ or
‘while’ the action o f SI takes place, or ‘in the course o f’ it.
а ' Ш ъ р а Щ Ш Ъ [9 fete]
denwa no кое wa sodan suru uchi ni daibu akaruku natte kita
In the course o f talking [with me], the voice on the other end o f the
phone became quite cheerful.
ь
[9 fe u ]
giron shite iru uchi ni jikan bakari ga tatte iru
While we’re arguing, time is slipping rapidly away [= all we’re doing is
wasting time].
с £Г£Ш < [ H i:]
nando mo kiku uchi ni mimi ni nokoru merodT
I t’s a m elody th a t sticks in your head (lit. “ears”) as you listen to it
over and over again.
d H & i& i [ih\z\
i
nankai mo au uchi ni shizen ni hanashi ga dekiru уб ni naru n desu
kedo ne
In the course o f seeing [the other person] m any times, one comes to be
able to talk naturally [to him], you know.
e U l X ^ l · [тЪК]
t f ' s f c V 1t b l X < 6 0
hanashite iru uchi ni wasure-kakete ita kansaiben ga ponpon tobidashite
kuru
As I’m talking, the K ansai dialect th at I ’d begun to forget pops out,
one w ord after another.
hon о kaite iru uchi ni fune о ugokasu hito fune о tsukutta hito ni taisuru
kyomi mo tsunotta
While he was writing the book [= history o f ships], he also developed
an interest in the people who m an ships and the people who built the
ships.
g * к Ш ± .Ь .Ъ И М : ] , з 'У И ·?
< y r i z b b Z.
0
shippai о kasancru uchi ni kotsu wa te о hanasu taimingu ni aru koto ni
kizuku
As they tail repeatedly [to fly take-tonbo, a propeller-like bam boo toy],
they realize that tin· hick is in the timing o f when to let go.
229.3 A D JE C T IV E /A D JE C TIV A L N O U N /N O U N u ch i ni
Here, the structure is n o t SI uchi S2, but A /A N /N uchi ni modifies a fo l
lowing V in the sense o f ‘while’. In this use, uchi ni can n o t be replaced by
uchi wa.
a
[ Ί h \ ί ^ Ή 'ο
atsui uchi ni άδζο
Please, go ahead [and eat] while it’s hot.
b * C l t \ I f c i i [ Ί Ъ]
ZZ
To
soko de kenko na uchi ni sengen shite oku koto ga hitsuy5 da to iu
[You m ight fall into a com a and no longer be able to express your
wishes] Therefore, it’s necessary to declare [your wishes re life support
machines] while you’re healthy.
C
4-CO [ ? t > ]
<
ti ί ^ ' 0
awasetai hito ga itara ima no uchi ni awasete oite kudasai
If there’s som eone you w ant me to meet, let me m eet him now
[while I’m n o t too busy],
229 .4 ID IO M A T IC U SES
229.4.1 N ear future
In this use, uchi ni has the m eaning ‘soon’, ‘before long’.
a
[libK]
chikai uchi ni kanarazu ne-agari suru
The price will go up w ithout fail in the near future.
b zz& frn
koko sOnen no uchi ni gaiy6 о tsumeru
They will firm up the outline sometime within the next few years.
229 .4.2 Short time
This m eaning is ‘in a flash’, ‘instantly’, etc.
a U b U b [ j t b l z ] M ¥ t Z '! 0 6 o
mirumiru uchi ni kao ga aozameru
His face w ent pale in an instant.
b 12
[? k C ] W li-f <
jQnigatsu no кое о kiku ka kikanai uchi ni machiwahayaku mo
kurisumasu isshoku da
R e g a r d le s s o f w h e th e r o r not D e c e m b e r is here, th e to w n h a s swiftly
ta k e n o n a n a t m o s p h e r e ol \z 7 ^ b .x h t f i > b .b t £ h n b \
Wo
#C 0 [ 9 f e U l Й | Ш И 1 о / : 0
rydshin ga netakiri ni nattara bokete shimattara d5 shiyo. oshime о shite
agerareru dar5 ka. ofuro ni irete agerareru daro ka. shokuji wa. kigae wa.
sonna omoi ga isshun no uchi ni n6ri о kakeinegutta
W hat am I going to do if my parents become bedridden and senile?
Will I manage to change their nappies for them? Will I be able to bathe
them? W hat ab o u t meals? Change o f clothes? Those kinds o f ideas
raced through my head in a flash.
229 .4.3 Others: m u ish iki no uchi ni
This phrase means ‘subconsciously’.
а
\ih\
h <
''■'So
ningen no mind wa muishiki no uchi ni kikitai oto to kikitakunai oto о
kubetsu shite iru
The hum an ear subconsciously distinguishes between sounds it wants to
hear and sounds it doesn’t w ant to hear.
230 uchi [RELATIONAL NOUN]
As a relational N , uchi indicates the idea o f ‘am ong’, ‘o f ’ or ‘during’.
a Z<D [ η ΐ ? ]
L 'C '-'S o
kono uchi rokunin ga shib5 shite iru
O f these, six have died.
b Z n [iib]
kono uchi rokkan made о gemu-ka shita
O f these [= volumes o f a novel], they have turned as m any as six
volumes into game software.
sono uchi nihon ga kongetsu ni natte hana о sakaseta
Two of these trees have blossomed this m onth.
d
4
W A t t w A f t , S t i'b li
В4±
co*tî:v,4ή z к 40
shigoto mo denshi media о tsukau to naru to asa no uchi wa A-sha no
tame hiru kara wa B-sha no shigoto to iu koto mo
H' one were to use electron к media at w ork too, one m ight work for
com pany Λ in tin· morniiH’s and com pany В in the afternoons.
e
t£ L t- :L i- ^ -\z ^ ^ X < b
t ' l i o
Шлсо [ l i b ] l i Z l z t ^ X 6 ¥ b ¥ b & · ( X
b ОI X b i t
to
utaite-san de mo dandan jozu ni natte kuru to kashi ga hakkiri shite
kimasu desho. saisho no uchi wa nani itteru ka wakaranakute mo
As they get m ore proficient, singers’ pronunciation gradually gets
clearer, doesn’t it. Even if one can’t understand w hat they say at first.
231 VALENCY
Valency is a convenient term th at refers to how m any obligatory ‘argum ents’
(or N P) a pred. (V/adj./AN) takes. F o r instance, mini ‘see’ requires a subject
(the person who sees) and an object (w hat the person sees). The form er is
m arked by th e case P ga, the la tte r by o. These argum ents need n o t be
p resen t in any given S, b u t w here n o t explicitly m entioned they are
understood. O f course, miru can appear w ith fu rth er N P (e.g. where the
action o f miru takes place, m ark ed by de), bu t this inform ation is m ore
peripheral, i.e. n o t obligatory for miru.
231.1 V A L E N C Y A ND T R A N S IT IV E /IN T R A N S IT IV E VE R B S
Some V tak e ju st one o b lig ato ry N P (‘one-place V ’); these are usually
intransitive. Others take two NPs (‘two-place V’), which are usually transitive.
Yet others take three (‘three-place V’), which are sometimes called ditransitive,
e.g. ageru and other V o f giving.
In the following example, ageru ‘give’ has NP-ga m arking the subject (the
person carrying out the action o f V), NP-ni to m ark the indirect object
(the person who is the receiver o f the action o f V), and NP-o indicating the
object, i.e. w hat is given.
a
'J
' ё } Щ к К ' п ' } Х \ ' Ъ < г > Х \ f t f r 0 i : v i ? ί A, [ 4 г]
ч Ш М ^ А ,
[lz] m i
[£ ] * lf* o
rinda-san wa shG ni nikai gakko ni itte iru no de, kawari ni maiku-san ga
ho'nyubin de akachan ni bo'nyu о ageru
As L inda goes to school twice a week, M ike gives the baby a bottle
feed instead.
The case P for one-place V is typically ga (subject), for two-place V ga-o
(subject-object), and for three-place V ga-o-ni (subject-object-indirect object,
also in the alternative order V ga-ni-o). In other words, the core case P arc
ga, о and ni. O ther case I* arc generally more peripheral (‘oblique’ cases)
However, с and lo arc used lot corc eases with some verbs: for instance, iku
‘go’ can lake i· instead o l ni to indicati* the μι>;ιΙ o f the action, and kunni
‘team up’ c o n s t r u c t s \wili ци . n u t lo ('w ith')
Adj. and A N are for the m ost part one-place, bu t some, like hoshii ‘w ant’
an d suki ‘lik e’ (w hich usually translate as verbs in English), take two
obligatory N Ps (wa/ni and ga/o), as illustrated by the following example
with hoshii, taking ga/o (see 68 ).
b shifcfrw—A [$*]
[£ ]
shutsuensha no hitori ga kono shisutemu о hoshii to hanashite ita
One o f the people on the programme said he w anted this system.
232 VERB FORMS
Japanese V are inflected (for inflectional form s o f V, see Tables 25-27
below).
The basic form o f all Japanese V ends in -u, -eru or -iru, which is also the
form they are listed under in dictionaries. According to the way they inflect,
V can be divided into three groups: I, II and III.
232.1
232.1.1
232.1.2
232.1.3
232.1.4
232.1.5
232.1.6
232.1.7
232.2
232.2.1
232.2.1.1
232.2.1.2
232.2.2
232.2.2.1
232.2.2.2
232.2.3
Form s
G roup I verbs
G roup II verbs
G roup III verbs
G roup II lookalikes
Plain an d polite forms
F o rm ation rules for G roup I
F o rm ation rules for Group II
Uses o f verb forms
Verb-ru
Used by itself
Items attached
V erb-ta
Used by itself
Items attached
Others
232.1 FO R M S
232.1.1 Group I verbs
These end in the syllables i · ( ■ <" · i* ·
· Λί · L' · Ь (-u, ku, gu, su,
tsu, nu, bu, mu, ru) in Japanese writing, bu t in rom anization these endings
can be analysed liutlu-i a s am sonant-root + -u (1i7kau, >'o7 sou, etc. can be
thought of as к и и -ιι sow u)
232.1.2 Group II verbs
These end in -ru (following either i or e).
232.1.3 Group III verbs
Irregular V (usually just two are distinguished, kuru ‘com e’ and suru ‘d o ’)
are included under this group. N ote, however, th at suru, ap a rt from being
used by itself, forms p art o f the widely used N-suru verbal nouns (see 234).
232 .1.4 Group II lookalikes
There are a few verbs th at look like G roup II on the basis o f V -non-past;
but their V-nai, V-te forms clarify the issue:
iru
-fcS ‘need’
v-'S ‘be there’
kaeru
T iranai/itte (ir-u, G roup I)
· ^ 'X inai/ite (i-ru, G ro u p II)
‘J$ 6 ‘retu rn ’
kaeranai/kaette (kaer-u, G roup I)
‘change’
· ^Lz-X kaenai/kaete (kae-ru, G roup II)
IKz. Ь ‘substitute’ W L iC'-' · i\z.X kaenai/kaete (kae-ru, G roup II)
Шх-Ъ ‘convert’
hairu
‘enter’ А ь
4
·
kaenai/kaete (kae-ru, G roup II)
· Л.-э"С hairanai/haitte (hair-u, G roup I)
232 .1.5 Plain and polite forms
Verbs and other Japanese pred. or modifiers, etc. can be used as pin. or pol.
forms; this choice is conditioned by factors such as the situation and the
status (social/age etc.) o f the listener in relatio n to the speaker, b u t in
gramm atical term s also by the item modified. F o r instance, a V m odifying a
N is as a rule pin. (except in some hyperpolite styles), and m any S endings
(see 177) follow only pin.
The m ain pin. forms o f the regular G roups I and II are as follows (for pol.
forms, -masu (see 91) is attached to V-stem). Form s 1-4 (fin./N-mod.) can bo
used as pred. or to m odify a following N. Form s 5 -6 can be used by them
selves as pred. only, whereas 7-10 can be used only in subordinate clauses or
with other form s attached (except in some colloquially shortened uses).
2 32 .1.6 Formation rules for Group I
F o r -u s u b s t i t u t e th e οικϋημκ ta. -ί, -unui, -te, -e, -eba, -tara, -δ; th e final
c o n s o n a n t d o u b l e s In· I on· t d m к и -ιι, so-ιι, etc. th e f o r m s b e c o m e m o r e
ιομιι1;ιr if we a s s u m e .ι ι ή , ι im.tl (wi l o n s o t i a n t , a s a c tu a lly f o u n d in th e
T j ' t i 25 Group I and Group II verb forms (plain)
Group I
( consonant root)
ik-u
N-mod. ■ Fin. ' 1
2
3
4
5
■ 6
7
Non-past
Past
Neg.
Neg.-past
Imperative
Presumptive/hortative
Stem
8 Conjunctive
9 Conditional
Group I I
( vowel root)
k a (w )-u
taberu
miru
(go)
(buy)
(eat)
(see)
(V-ru)
(V-ta)
(V-nai)
ik-u
i?-ta
(V-neg.-past)
(V-imp)
ik-ana-kat-ta
ik-e
ka(w)-u
kai-ta
kaw-ana-i
kaw-ana-kat-ta
ka(w)-e
ka(w)-5
ka(w)-i
kaf-te
ka(w)-eba
tabe-ru
tabe-ta
tabe-na-i
tabe-na-kat-ta
tabe-ro
tabe-yo
tabe
tabe-te
tabe-reba
mi-ru
mi-ta
mi-na-i
mi-na-kat-ta
mi-ro
mi-yo
mi
mi-te
mi-reba
ik-ana-i
(V-yo)
ik-ό
(V-stem)
ik-i
if-te
ik-eba
(V-te)
(V-ba)
Table 2 6 Group I verb forms (plain) by root-final consonant
R oot-final consonant
V-ru
V-stem
V-ta
English
-s
-ts
-g
-n
-m
-b
-r
hanas-u
mats-u
oyog-u
shin-u
yom-u
yob-u
kaer-u
hanasA-i
macA-i
oyog-i
shin-i
yom-i
yob-i
kaer-i
hanasAi-ta
mai-ia
‘to
‘to
‘to
‘to
‘to
‘to
‘to
oyoi-dn
shin-i/a
γόη -da
уои-da
kaer-ra
speak’
wait’
swim’
die’
read’
call’
return’
Table 2 7 Group III verb forms (plain)
N-mod. ■Fin. ■ 1
2
3
4
5
’ ■6
7
8
9
Non-past
Past
Neg.
Neg.-past
Imperative
Presumptive/hortative
Stem
Conjunctive
Conditional
(V-ru)
(V-ta)
(V-nai)
(V-neg.-past)
(V-imp)
(V-yo)
(V-stem)
(V-te)
(V-ba)
kuru
( ‘com e )
su m
( ‘d o ’)
kuru
kita
kona-i
kona-kat-ta
koi
koyo
ki
kite
kureba
suru
shita
shina-i
shina-kat-ta
shiro
shiyo
shi
shite
sureba
V-nai form). There are some further irregularities, as shown in the italicized parts
in Tables 25 and 26 above (all others are regular). The equivalent forms are
used for all G roup I verbs with identical root endings (shin-u is the only verb
ending in -n).
232 .1.7 Formation rules for Group II
F o r -ru substitute the endings -ta, zero, -nai, -te, -ro, -reba, -tara, and yo.
232.2
USES O F VERB FORMS
232.2.1 Verb-ru
232.2.1.1 U sed by itself
T he V-ru (n o n -p a st) can he used by itse lf as pred. to co m p lete a S in the
present, habitual present, liiiim ·. .im! also narrative present. It can also express
the sp eak er’s in tention h n iU t.nl·, .uni exam ples, see 142).
2 32.2.1.2 Items attached
The m ain item s th a t are attach ed to V-ru only are -beki (but note the
still-used classical variant su-beki instead o f the regular suru-beki), and -mai
(see 19, 89).
a
b A-lj о
senkyo de erabu beki da
[He] [ought to be chosen] by election.
232.2.2
Verb-ta
232.2.2.1 U sed by itself
V-ta is the pin. p ast ending. It can indicate bo th past an d perfective (see
187).
2 32.2.2.2 Items attached
F o r items th at com m only attach to -ta, see 187.
The V-ta base (i.e. the form rem aining when -ta is detached) attaches the
conjunctive P -tari (see 192).
tama no kyfijitsu ni wa hon о yondari gorufu ni ky6jitari suru
O n his rare days off he does things like reading books and
enjoying golf.
b m ilis
[/H I.
[ t z *) i b \
tatoeba, m6d6ken wa hito ni hoetari, kamitsuitari suru koto ga nai
F o r instance, guide dogs don’t do things like barking at people and
biting them.
с
[/:И- ъ \
toku ni awatetari suru dorуδ wa inakatta
There weren’t any colleagues who were particularly flustered.
232.2.3
Others
F o r the rem aining forms, see 111, 163, 67, 69, 184, 31, 27, 13.
233 VERB TYPES: STATIVE, DYNAMIC,
ACTION AND CHANGE
V can be divided into two basic groups: stative and dynam ic. Dynam ic V
can further be subdivided into action and change V.
233.1
233.2
233.2.1
233.2.2
233.2.2.1
233.2.2.2
233.2.2.3
Stative verbs
D ynam ic verbs
A ction verbs
C hange verbs
Verbs o f clothing
M otion verbs
Others
233.1 S T A T IV E VE R B S
These indicate a state or quality. Examples include aru ‘be there (inanim ate)’,
iru ‘be there (anim ate)’, iru ‘need’, wakaru ‘u nderstand’, dekiru ‘be able to ’
(and other potential V).
M ost stative V do n o t attach -te iru (but note wakatte iru and tsumori de
iru); dekiru can also mean ‘som ething will be ready’ (see 233.2.2.3), in which
use it can attach -te iru: dekite iru ‘is ready’.
233.2 D Y N A M IC VE R B S
These indicate an event, which can be an action o r a change.
233.2.1 Action verbs
Action V include taberu ‘eat’, nomu ‘drink’, yomu ‘read’, kaku ‘write’, warau
‘laugh’, naku ‘cry’, furu ‘fall (o f rain, etc.)’, chiru ‘fall (o f flowers)’, Ьепкуб
suru ‘study’, setsumei suru ‘explain’.
They also generally include the transitive m em ber o f transitive/intransitive
V pairs, i.e. hajimeru ‘begin som ething’, oeru/owaru ‘end som ething’, shimeru
‘close som ething’, kimeru ‘decide som ething’, akeru ‘open som ething’, etc.
W hen actio n V attac h -te iru (see 199), the resu ltin g m eaning is often
progressive (‘is . . . ing’ in English): tabete iru ‘am /is eating’, Ьепкуб shite iru
‘is studying’. However, with some V (V o f m otion/change) the same V can
be used in m ore than one way, i.e. chiru can also m ean ‘get scattered (across
the ground etc.)’, in which use it is a V o f change.
233.2.2 Change verbs
W h e r e a s the a c tio n o f ac tio n V c a n go o n lo r s o m e tim e, V o f c h a n g e in d ic
ate th a t their ac tio n brings a b o u t a n instant change, F o r instance, tatsu ‘sta n d
u p ’ brings a b o u t a c h a n g e fro m ч И т ц / 1 \ ш ц to sta n d in g . O t h e r V o f c h a n g e
include th o se describ ed in tin- m -\i мч lions
233.2.2.1 Verbs of clothing
These include kiru ‘put on (whole-body garm ent like coat, pyjamas, kimono,
etc., or an upper-body garment such as shirt, jacket, sweater)’, haku ‘put on
(a lower-body garment, such as skirt, trousers, shoes)’, kaburu ‘put something
on (one’s head, e.g. hat, cap, etc.)’, and others.
233.2.2.2 Motion verbs
M otion Y include hairu ‘enter’, deru ‘go/come out’, tomaru ‘come to a stop’,
etc. (but not aruku ‘walk’, hashiru ‘run’, which describe the m anner o f motion).
233.2.2.3 Others
O th e rs’ include V th at translate as ‘become’, or ‘become/get + adv.’, such as
naru ‘become’, dekiru ‘get ready, acquire’, naoru ‘get well’, kekkon suru ‘get
m arried’, etc.
Also included in ‘others’ is the intransitive member o f transitive/intransitive
V pairs, hajimaru ‘begin’, owaru ‘come to an end’, shimaru ‘close’, kimaru
‘be decided’, aku ‘open’, etc.
Also the V shinu ‘die’, shiru ‘get to k n ow ’.
W hen V o f change attach -te iru (see 199), the meaning is usually one o f res
ulting state: haitte iru ‘am/is/are inside’ (as a result o f hairu), shinde iru ‘is/are
dead’, etc.
234 VERBAL NOUNS
There are tw o ways o f form ing VN. 1) by detaching suru from a SJ or W J
suru N, and 2) by form ing the stem -form o f many V (see 34.5.1, 184.1).
234.1 Sino-Japanese/W estern Japanese suru nouns
234.2 Using verb-stem o f many verbs
234.1 SINO-JAPANESE/W ESTERN JAPANESE s u r u NOUNS
M any N th at indicate an action can attach the verb suru to form VN. This
is especially com m on with SJ, but also W J and some N J nouns.
SJ:
hakken ‘discovery’· hakken suru f e f L t Ь ‘discover’
kenkyii ‘research-· кспкуй suru #№ 'Л Ь ‘do research’
ry5ri ‘cooking’
—» ryori suru
setsumei ‘explanation’ —» setsumei suru
Ь ‘co o k ’
Ь ‘explain’
Note - VN that have have the meaning o f ‘become’ in their suru form have an adjectival
meaning in their -te iru form:
antei suru ‘become stable’
—»
dokuritsu suru ‘become independent —>
hattatsu suru ‘become developed’
—>
antei shite iru ‘be stable’
dokuritsu shite iru ‘be independent’
hattatsu shite iru ‘be developed’
In their -ta form (antei shita N , etc.), these can be used to m odify N (see
1.7.1).
NJ:
yama-nobori ‘m ountaineering’
—> yama-nobori suru J-iδ ‘climb m ountains’
WJ:
bokushingu ‘boxing’
—» bokushingu suru -"K9 '> >
Ь
‘box’
kanningu ‘cheating in an exam ’ —» kanningu suru t / У =-У F ' t Ь
‘cheat in exam ’
VN can insert focus and adverbial particles (wa, mo, sae, sura, bakari, etc.)
for emphasis between N and suru (see 236, 94, 176, 185, 17).
a
[ i i ] + H [ίί], f k X f c k n m & i i '''< b T t & i o
ii shigoto sae sureba ronbun happy6 no kikai wa ikura demo aru
As long as you do good work, you’ll have plenty o f opportunities to
present papers.
234.2 U S IN G V E R B -S T E M O F M A N Y VE R B S
Form ing V-stem (the N form o f m any V) is possible w ith m ost V w hose
action can be controlled by the actor.
VN are especially com m on in the p attern [V-stem ni iku/kuru] (see 184.1.2,
116.10).
235 VOCABULARY
By origin, Japanese vocabulary consists o f three m ajo r strands: native
Japanese (NJ), Sino-Japanese (SJ) and Western Japanese (WJ) (see also 153,
234).
Λ f u r t h e r s t r a n d c o n s ists n! v o e a ln il a r y t h a t m ixes ite m s f r o m th e e a r lie r
three strands: m ixed Japanese ( Ml )
235.1
235.2
235.3
235.3.1
235.3.2
235.3.3
235.4
235.5
235.5.1
235.5.2
235.5.3
235.5.4
235.5.5
Native Japanese vocabulary
Sino-Japanese vocabulary
Western Japanese vocabulary
W estern Japanese from languages other than English
Western Japanese from English
‘Japlish’ creations or uses
Mixed Japanese vocabulary
Truncations
Sino-Japanese truncations
Native Japanese truncations
Native Japanese truncations and Sino-Japanese ‘conversions’
W estern Japanese truncations
Mixed Japanese truncations
235.1
NATIVE JA P A N E S E VO C A B U LA R Y
N J words (in length, single-morpheme words can range from one to five or
six syllables/λ:аяа letters) are w ritten in kanji, kanji + капа, or капа alone
(the hyphens show the boundaries between morphemes):
m
El
4-
-ψ-ν,\
Ур
{ *)
235.2
u ‘co rm orant’
me ‘eye’
inochi ‘life’
yama-nobori ‘m ountaineering’
hayai ‘early’
atarashii ‘new’
yukkuri ‘slowly’
nurunuru ‘slippery’
S IN O -JA P A N E S E VO C A B U LA R Y
SJ words have entered the language at various stages, beginning from about
the eighth century. They also played a m ajor part in the m odernization o f
the language in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when new terminology
was coined in Jap a n using Chinese character {kanji) roots. A lm ost all SJ
w ords are w ritten in kanji, w ith one kanji being the equivalent o f one
morphem e. One m orphem e corresponds to a (short o r long) syllable, (in
some cases two syllables: aku ‘evil’, ichi ‘one’, etc). Some SJ words consist of
one kanji only, b u t the vast m ajority are m ade up o f two or more.
W
A
i ‘stom ach’
aku ‘evil’
ten ‘d o t’
sen ‘line’
1+
Ц-IL
f=fJJL
kei ‘to ta l’
ken-kyii ‘research’
hak-ken ‘discovery’
губ-ri ‘cooking’
ten-mon-gaku ‘astronom y’
kei-zai-sei-ch6 ‘economic grow th’
Note also the use o f (usually) two-kanji SJ terms in w ritten or formal (includ
ing scientific) contexts, which are equivalents o f (one-kanji) N J words.
NJ
Л1 kawa ‘river(s)’
ib yama ‘m ountain(s)’
SJ
/®ГЛ| ка-sen ‘rivers’
J-i-Й· san-gaku ‘m ountains’
The N J words can have both specific and generic m eaning depending on the
context, whereas the SJ term s have generic m eanings only. The SJ term s are
also used in further com pounding, such as ιΐι-ϋτϊ&ψ san-gaku chi-tai ‘m ountaineous area’ etc.
2 35.3 W E S T E R N JA P A N E SE VO C A B U L A R Y
M ost W J w ords recently (especially after the Second W orld W ar) com e
from English folder words from Portuguese/Spanish, D utch, Germ an, French
and others, th a t entered the language through various form s o f cu ltu ral
contact, are still used). R ecent W J items include Japanese ‘creations’ th at
are m ade up by com bining English roots.
W J w ords are ad apted to the Japanese sound system , an d are w ritten in
katakana.
235.3.1 W estern Japanese from languages other than English
pan ‘b read ’ (from Portuguese)
^ -v 7" koppu ‘cup’ (from Dutch)
-> -v > 7 > shanson ‘chanson’ (from French)
Y U > Y gerende ‘ski slope’ (from G erm an)
A ? 7 ikura ‘salm on roe caviar’ (from Russian)
2 35 .3.2 W estern Japanese from English
*r—% keki ‘cake’
v v f matchi ‘m atch(es)’
f i i y gorufu ‘g o lf’
r I I", tcrcbi ‘television’
■I-'/ ^
t)okushiii}>ii 'Ь о \п ц ·
2 35 .3.3 ‘Japlish’ creations or uses
7 > t > ij — wanmanka ‘driver only’ (bus etc.)
il У У T kanningu ‘cheating in an exam ’
X M— К · 9 ''У > supido daun ‘slow(ing) dow n’
Note - not all WJ items are written in katakana. Some items that used to be written in kanji
are now also written in hiragana (ft¥ - ■ t- !i‘ — tabako ‘tobacco’, С ф \ i h juban ‘underwear
(for kimono)’, both from Portuguese), and a few others others are occasionally written in
kanji, otherwise in katakana: У&Щ· ■ э — t — kohl ‘coffee’, ? 7 7 ' ■
kurabu ‘club’,
· I peji ‘page’.
2 35 .4 M IXE D JA P A N E S E VO C A B U LA R Y
If we limit the discussion to words m ade up o f two items (the most common
com pound type), an M J w ord can be any o f the six possible combinations:
NJ-SJ
NJ-W J
SJ-NJ
SJ-WJ
WJ-NJ
W J-SJ
kake-km ‘insurance prem ium ’
# Г7 A '■/ aka-wain ‘red wine’
zan-daka ‘bank account balance’
\ 7 s tetsu-paipu ‘iron ro d ’
JfTsiMtin gasu-more ‘gas leak’
V i у l'^,jetto-ki ‘jet aeroplane’
235 .5 T R U N C A T IO N S
W here English uses initial capital letters to shorten lengthy term s to
acronyms (U nited N ations —>U N , N o rth A tlantic T reaty Organization —»
NATO , etc.), Japanese generally cuts the num ber o f kanji in SJ words, or
equivalent units in N J and W J (English-style acronyms are found with the
names o f some com panies, such as Nippon H 6 s 6 Kyokai = N H K ).
235.5.1 Sino-Japanese truncations
As m ost SJ com pounds consist o f m ultiples o f two or three kanji, this typic
ally involves cutting the units after the first kanji o f each unit o f meaning,
generally resulting in a tw o-kanji truncation:
a
b
kokusai rengo —» B lit.‘U N ’
ontaisei teikiatsu —»
‘extratropical cyclone’
In the w ritten m edia, it is com m on to give the Japanese translation first,
with the English acronym added after it (in round brackets).
с
kosusai tsuka kikin ‘I M F ’
In the spoken media, the order is reversed, with the Japanese translation
added after the acronym.
235 .5.2 Native Japanese truncations
W ith N J w ords, truncations are far less com m on, although the nam es o f
some com m on restaurant dishes use a similar principle, except th at some o f
the units rem ain uncut:
a
ь
0
tenpura donburi —»
‘tem pura on rice’
ь t o f f * с ь negi maguro —> fa. Ь· i ‘tu n a [mashed] w ith leeks in b ro th ’
235.5.3 Native Japanese truncations and Sino-Japanese ‘conversions’
In general term inology, N J kanji units are often pro n o u n ced in th eir SJ
pronuncation (examples a and b), bu t sometimes also partly retain their N J
pronunciation (example c):
a iS'i'JL—
nagoya-kobe ‘N agoya-K obe’ —»
b
с
meishin [motorway]
waseda daigaku ‘W aseda U niversity’ —>-f-^vsSdai
yokohama kokuritsu daigaku ‘Y okoham a N ational
University’ —>^ B A y o k o k o k u d a i
235 .5.4 W estern Japanese truncations
Similar processes are also applied to W J (including so-called ‘Japlish’).
W ith W J tru n cations, the u n it here is m ostly 2 + 2 ‘m o ra s’ or Japanese
syllables/A:a«a (examples a and b). Shorter 2 + 1 (example с), 1 + 2 (example
d) an d 1 + 1 (exam ple e) units are also found, b u t these are very m uch
exceptions to the rule.
^ 3 ^ X ‘m ultiple choice’ —»
a
b Ϊ7— К
-y " t— ‘w ord processor’ —» I7 —7 "^
У ‘India and P ak istan ’ —> \
d Ι/ΐ
e
Λ
(or
4‘)
Я Л ■y > д. ‘lem on sq u ash ’ —* V X i]
X
7 у 7" ‘rise
in basic p a y ’ —»
235.5.5 Mixed Japanese truncations
These com binations tend to use a kanji representing the first m orphem e of
an SJ com pound (exam ple a) o r a kanji representing a whole N J w ord
(example b) with, usually, the first two ‘m oras’ or Japanese syllables/&cw</.
a
Is
b tanki puraimu rfto ‘sh ort-term prim e rate’
• fci / /
b
Ί
l· паши knnkiirllo Ί. ι « ιηικτιΜι·-
■ 'fc. > ✓
236 wa [FOCUS PARTICLE]
wa is a focus particle, bu t unlike mo (see 94), which focuses the N, etc. it is
attached to, the basic function o f wa is to focus on w hat follows, i.e. the
pred.
This basic function explains the various labels that have been used to describe
this P, which is particularly difficult for English speakers because it usually
has no translation equivalent (the exception is illustrated in 236.3) in English,
wa is often called a topic P, because it typically m arks the topic o f a topiccom m ent type S. The focus in these S again is on the com m ent or pred. (in
this repect it co n trasts w ith ga, w hich can place em phasis on the noun
preceding it (see 55, 238, 178).
236.1
236.1.1
236.1.2
236.2
236.2.1
236.2.2
236.2.3
236.2.4
236.2.5
236.3
236.4
236.4.1
236.4.1.1
236.4.1.2
236.4.2
236.4.2.1
236.4.2.2
236.5
236.5.1
236.5.2
236.5.3
236.5.3.1
236.5.3.2
236.5.3.3
236.6
236.7
236.8
236.9
236.10
236.11
Replacing case particles ga/o
Replacing ga
Replacing о
A dded to case particles (other than ga/o)
ni wa
de wa
e wa
to wa
kara wa
N o t replacing any case particle
M arking know n inform ation
In considered statements
W ith wa present
W ith ellipted wa
In questions
In questions with question-w ord (+ copula)
In questions with ellipted question-w ord (+ copula)
Indicating contrast
Used twice: explicit contrast in considered statem ents
Used once: implicit contrast in considered statem ents
Implicit contrast in considered negative statem ents/questions
Replacing case particles ga/o in a noun + verb-negative sequence
Sandwiched before a negative form
Sandwiched before a positive form
A ttached to time noun/num ber (+ counter)
In equational sentences
In double-subject sentences
M arking the subject o f a com pound sentence
M arking the subject o f a complex sentence
In cleft sentences
236.1 R E P LA C IN G C A SE P A R T IC L E S g a /o
W hen attached to subjects and objects, wa replaces the case P ga and o.
236.1.1 Replacing ga
In considered statem ents, wa is used rather than ga.
a
[ti]
kocha wa karada ni ii
Black tea is good for you (lit. “your body”).
b
0 *. [ii]
о
с Г
[ i i ] f - '- 'T 'f j
o-kyaku-san wa kashikoi desu to hanashite ita
‘The custom ers are clever’, he said.
d
[ t i ] -jbv,
nihon no saiban wa nagai
Japanese trials are long.
2 36 .1.2 Replacing о
W ith o, the m ost com m on w ord order for example a w ould be a'. The effect
o f wa is to m ake the wa-m arked N P into the topic, w hich is usually m oved
to the front o f the sentence, i.e. a" is n o t possible.
a
[ii]
kenkin wa hisho ga torishikitte ita
The donations were m anaged by the secretary (lit. “ as for the
donations, the secretary m anaged [them]”).
а'
[ί· ]
hisho ga kenkin о torishikitte ita
The secretary m anaged donations/the donations.
a" % x
[ ii]
hisho ga kenkin wa torishikitte ita
The secretary m anaged the donations.
236.2
A D D E D T O CA SE P A R T IC L E S (O T H E R T H A N g a /o )
With other cases, wa is added after the case P required by the valency o f V.
The examples that follow (in 2.46.2.1 *>) are not exhaustive, i.e. there arc
other com binations too. N o t e that w u i s . especially com m on in sentences
with псц. pred., but in pos. scntcm c·. too H has a contrastive or em phasizing
effect (see ,1Vi S ()
236.2.1 ni w a
a
itb ii [f-ti]
0
zakku no tsumekata ni wa kotsu ga iru
Packing a rucksack requires skill.
b
*) [ C i i ] W H b h b o
gaikokujin ni mato о shibotta keisatsu no torishimari ni wa hihan mo aru
There are also voices critical o f police control aim ed at foreigners.
2 36 .2.2 de w a
a tiH JU itf* [ t - i i ]
joho wa kane de wa kaenai
Y ou can’t buy inform ation [with] money.
b
[t-i i ]
iev. ' 0
mo atsui tokoro de wa кепкуй ga dekinai
I can’t do research in hot climates (lit. “places”) any more.
236 .2.3 e w a
а Ш Ш Ш Ы 1 ] Щ .ЛШШКЬХ'-'Ьо
kansai кйкб e wa shii gobin ga shiik6 shite iru
T o Kansai airport, five flights per week have entered service.
2 36 .2.4 to w a
b Ш [£ti] m b ,
beikoku to wa seiji keizai-teki ni zehi nakayoku shitai to omotte iru
W e’d like very m uch to establish good political and economic relations
with the US.
2 36 .2.5 kara w a
а
CO'JX b ^ i m b ^ f z o
Clift
& ьЬ Ъ \о
shoyama-jomu wa mamori no risutora wa owatta kore kara wa semeru
M anaging director Shoyama [said], ‘Defensive restructuring is over.
F rom now on, we’re going on the attack ’.
V
2 36 .3
N O T R E P LA C IN G A N Y C A SE PA R TIC LE
Here, wa is a genuine topic particle ‘as for . . .’
y: l >
kurisumasu wa donna siiKosliikata о shi-tatte ii
a [ ? ' J X V X [il]
( h r i x l m a x v o n i , m ' . |u-i nl . i n \ \ \ ; i v v o n l i k e .
b
[ii]
ryokyaku taminaru wa genzai no biru о higashigawa ni kakucho suru
As for the passenger term inal, we will extend the present building
eastwards.
236.4
M A R K IN G K N O W N IN FO R M A T IO N
236.4.1 In considered statements
236.4.1.1
With w a present
One function o f wa, which is in keeping with its pred.-focusing effect, is to
be attached to inform ation th at is already known or understood. In this use,
wa has an effect similar to the English definite article (and other cases where
a N refers to som ething know n or previously m entioned).
а
ШШ
[ii] * L
{^bbh
0
shashin satsuei wa kibishiku kinjirareta
The taking o f photographs was strictly forbidden.
b Гf
L
t" t , —
ышлъ^ь¥}ьъа
Z, S f cc oM 'l
zh [ϋ]
wmtio n& wknm zittt
tasho keiei no ayasMi kin'yu kikan de mo issenmanen made nara daijobu
to mesaki no kinri о vusen suru muki ga aru. shikashi kore wa gokai da.
yokin hoken no hosh6 wa ganpon dake de rishi-bun wa fukumanai
People tend to give preference to [higher-] interest [institutions], because
they think th a t 10 million yen is guaranteed even if the financial
institution m ay be a little shaky. However, th at is a m isunderstanding.
The savings insurance guarantees only the capital, n o t the interest.
у* ) - [ ϋ ]
d6-suizokukan dewa nihiki no unagi ga suichii no h6den shita denki о anpu
de z6fuku shite tent6 ni seik6 shita. tsuri wa toshiake made tenji sareru
At the aquarium , they have succeeded in lighting up [a C hristm as tree]
by amplifying the electricity discharged by two [electric] eels into the
water. [T h e] tree will be displayed until the beginning o f the new year.
2 36 .4.1.2 With ellipted wa
In c o l lo q u ia l u s a g e , wa c a n b e o m i t t e d . T h is is u s u a l l y a c c o m p a n i e d by
c o m m a in t o n a t i o n ( a n d a c o m m a in w riting) (see a ls o 52).
а
—
· X
9 -/ f
[, ]
:f; I
С 1>XU,,
yunibSsaru su ta jio tanoshii n dcsu-tu· in·
T h e U n iv e rsa l S tu d io s .m· pi·.it I nn, I hear.
b
—^ [ J
kono keki watashi ga tsukutta no yo
2 36 .4.2
In questions
236.4.2.1 In questions with question-word (+ copula)
In in fo rm atio n -seek ing Q (Q co n tain in g a Q -w ord th a t refers to the
inform ation sought), the focus is naturally on the part o f the S that contains
the Q-word, which is again the pred. (see 238).
а
[ i i ] Ш 'о
sono seiko no himitsu wa nani ka
[W h atJ’s the secret o f their [= convenience stores’] success?
b
[ti]
infura to wa nani о imi suru no ka
W hat does ‘in fra’ mean? (lit. “ ‘infra’, w hat does it m ean?”)
2 36 .4.2.2 In questions with ellipted question-word (+ copula)
In inform ation-seeking Q, the p a rt th a t is m ost obvious (i.e. the pred.
containing the Q -w ord + cop., etc.) is frequently ellipted (omitted).
a
v д . — >l· [ i i ] 0
kongo no sukejiiru wa
[W hat is] the future schedule?
b
[(i]0
ima no kimochi wa
[W hat are] your feelings now?
2 36.5 IN D IC A TIN G C O N T R A S T
wa can be used several times in one sentence; in this case, at least the
rightm ost wa indicates a contrast (where there are three wa, the rightm ost
two indicate contrast). As the leftm ost wa (indicating the subject or topic) is
often omitted, in sentences with two wa b o th can be contrastive.
236.5.1
Used twice: explicit contrast in considered statements
W h e r e wa is used twice in a sentence, it serves t o ind ic ate a c o n t r a s t betw een
the tw o wa-minki-il N/NP T he leftmost wa in exa m p le b indicates th e subject/
topic,
а
[ti]
-к
[til
otoko wa shigoto onna wa katei to iu kangae-kata
The proposition ‘M en should w ork, and women stay at hom e’.
b
[ti]
0coifc [ i i ] - f < ,
BiJt [ t i ]
sapporo wa Mnode wa hayaku nichibotsu wa osoi
In Sapporo/A s for Sapporo, the sunrise is early, and the sunset
is late.
с
[ti]
[ti]
&‘ V ' 0
e о minai hi wa atte mo kenchiku о minai hi wa nai
Even though there are days w hen I d o n ’t look at a painting, there are
no days when I d o n ’t look at architecture.
236.5.2 Used once: implicit contrast in considered statements
In such statem ents, a com m ent is m ade on the N (or N P). This implies th at
the com m ent m ay n o t apply to o th er N (or NP).
a
[ti]
w, \ 0
kScha wa karada ni ii
Black tea is good for you.
b WASP [ t i ] 'У 'Ф Ш Ш - Ь Ь о
WASP wa sh6shika keiko ni aru
WASPs [= W hite Anglo-Saxon Protestants] have a tendency to have
few[er] children.
2 36 .5.3 Implicit contrast in considered negative statements/questions
wa is used in neg. S to indicate the scope or range o f w hat is being negated,
essentially in contrast to a pos. situation, wa and the neg. form following it
negate the item they are attached to. This is done in tw o ways, as set out
below.
236.5.3.1 Replacing case particles ga/o in a noun + verb-negative
sequence
а
[ti]
(cl., # 6 * 0 i I) [£·'] t i ' o / : )
t i t r ........„
kotoshi wa kaeru tsumori wa nakattu no da ga
This y e a r I h a d n o in te n tio n о ! у о ш у h;u'k, but . . .
m m (* .вм » , ш ш
[ii]
ь
it* )
* + ■ ? ■ # / - Ик>
¥*& & £1гЬ о
iC'-'o
osaka-shi de wa osaka eki ni chikai ritchi ni wa уйгуоки sakerui DS
tokuoka (osaka-shi tokuoka toyohiro shacho) ga raishun shutten suru
uriba menseki wa yaku nanaju heiho metoru. chiishajo wa nai
In Osaka, the large drinks discount shop T okuoka ([based in] Osaka;
President T okuoka Toyohiro) will open a store in a location near
O saka station. The shop floor space will be about 70 square metres.
There will be no parking, (cf.,
[ό “] 4*'-'о)
с 7 ? > X t" f ИЬ
ic (
iltb li,
[ i i ] t i i c v ' 0 (cf.,Θ
[ £{]
Х'Ь i ' O
furansu de kaeru nihon no manga no kyiijup-pasento ga nihongo-ban da
ga zaifutsu nihonjin-muke no nihon no hon senmon shoten ni mo
wazawaza manga о motomete furansu-jin no wakamono ga kai ni kuru to
iu karera wa mochiron nihongo wa dekinai
Over 90 per cent o f comics one can buy in France are in Japanese, yet
young French people are said even to visit specialist bookshops catering
for Japanese residents in France to buy comics. O f course, they don’t
understand Japanese [= language].
(2 7 )
[ii]
Y, <y
Xf e n f a z i H
(cf., 1 Ш [**]
f~a)
matsuzakaya ginza-ten no chiinikai ni aru josei-νό toire ni chiinen no
otoko ga naifu о motte shinnyu shi, naka ni ita yokohama-shi no OL (27)
no handobaggu о ubatte mise no soto ni nigeta. . . . handobaggu ni genkin
wa haitte inakatta
A middle-aged m an with a knife entered the ladies’ toilet on the level 2
mezzanine at the ‘G inza M atsuzakaya’, and fled outside having taken
the handbag o f an office worker (27) from Y okoham a. . . . there wasn’t
any cash in the handbag.
236.5.3.2 Sandwiched before a negative form
wa can be inserted between forms such as -te iku, -te kureru, etc. (examples
с and d), the quotation P to and a V o f com m unication (example g), or a V
and its neg. form (examples a and b), or an adj. and its neg. form (examples
с and f). See also examples under 236.2 for instances where wa intervenes
between a V anti the P it takes.
The effect o f inserting wa is one o f emphasizing the neg. Recall also th at the
neg. form o f the cop. is de wa nai, which is another instance o f an inserted
wa, except th a t this one has become fossilized.
W ith a V an d its neg. form , depending on the type o f V, there are tw o
form ations: 1) with VN (N th a t attac h suru), wa is inserted between the N
and suru, b u t 2) any other V needs first to be converted to its N form (Vstem), to which suru can then be added and wa is inserted between the two.
Colloquially, the V-stem endings + wa can be contracted as follows. A fter
the -e or -i o f G ro u p II V, including pot. endings, wa is changed regularly to
ya, as with the G roup III V ki- and shi-). F or G roup I V, see Table 28 below.
Table 28 Group I verbs + wa
V-stem ending
Replacem ent pattern
-i
-ki
-gi
-shi
-chi
-ni
-bi
-mi
-ri
wa
wa
wa
wa
wa
wa
wa
wa
wa
shinai*
shinai
shinai
shinai
shinai
shinai
shinai
shinai
shinai
—>
—>
—>
->
—>
—>
—>
—>
—>
-iya shinai*
-kiya/kya shinai
-giya shinai
-shiya/sha shinai
-chiya/cha** shinai
-niya shinai
-biya shinai
-miya shinai
-riya/rya shinai
N ote * and other neg. forms
** -te wa can also be contracted to -cha
a } % L X ^ b ^ < D 1 ? W b Z a V b h o А Й 1 Г Л 1 [ i i ] I ^ v.
(cf„
L if».')
kakushite iru yama no уб na sakuhin ga aru. shinu made k6kai wa shinai
There is an extensive (lit. “m ountain-like”) w ork I’m hiding. I will not
m ake it public until I die.
b
с
[ * ] L i - a -λ,ο
ningen no chikara nante sonna ni kawarya shimasen
People’s abilities d o n ’t vary th a t much.
% x z jt t^ x
%
[ti] v , &v,\0
nihon de wa kutsu о haita mama ie ni agatte wa ikenai
In J a p a n , y o u m u s t n o t e n t e r a h o m e with
d
Я я Ь Ш Ч i&LX'-'X
t.
цисЫ о k u rik a c sh itc ill-
/ : Mi
him
t .P>'-l t .
y o u r s h o e s on.
't l: t
X
[ii]
<
d u re m o u n a t a о s u k u i-d a s h itc wa k u rcna i
If y o u just k e e p c o m p l n m m f , i h > щц- is μοί ιι μ t o h e l p y ou .
e
< Х Ч \ Ъ ^ % Ж ь Ъ ^ ' \ / Ъ Ь 7 > X \ & Т Ш аИ № C j p \ . ' X ^ Ίτ·£“£ , £
z\mit'tibxzcowm-i-fr&io w<n£,m±$( [ϋ]
(cf., $ ( 'j.·'-'1)
go-fufu de yatte iru chiisakute akarui kidoranai resutoran de chikatetsu
minami asagaya eki kara aruite rokushichi-fun to yoso kara otozureru ni
wa yaya kotsQ ga fuben da keredo nedan mo fukumete sono kachi wa
jQbun aru. ryori no shinakazu wa 6ku wa nai
I t’s a small, bright and unpretentious restaurant run by a husband and
wife. Being six or seven minutes on foot from A sagaya tube station, it
is a little out o f the way for those com ing from further afield, but it is
well w orth it, including the price. The num ber o f dishes is not large.
f —
< [ i i ] £».'<,
(cf., ifM, < if»-')
hitori de karaboku ni itte utatte iru wakamono mo mezurashiku wa nai
Y oung people who go to a karaoke box and sing alone aren’t unusual
either.
g
[ii]
warui kedo hotaruike ni wa ikitai to wa omowanai
I ’m sorry, I d o n ’t feel like going to H otaruike.
h
[ti]
jQrai-gata no hoteru о tsukuro to wa kangaete inai
I ’m not thinking o f building a hotel in the traditional m ould.
2 36 .5.3.3 Sandwiched before a positive form
Less frequently th a n w ith neg. (see 236.5.3.2), wa also gets sandwiched
between items such as VN and suru (example b), or parts o f the cop., i.e.,
between the de aru variant (example a). The effect is one o f emphasizing the
c o n trast expressed by keredo ‘b u t’ (exam ple a), an d o f kaizen sareta in
example b.
a m W ' y i s - f ^ X - [ii] h b \
rikon ga sukoshi-zutsu de wa aru keredo fuete iru koto
The fact is th at divorce is on the increase, albeit little by little.
b v,n < ь Ы к Л - [ i i ] i h h 0
ikura ka kaizen wa sareta
[Things] have been im proved somewhat.
2 36.6 A TTA C H E D T O T IM E N O U N /N U M B E R (+ C O U N T E R )
Af t er time N, mini ( i < I (incl, time a n d frequency) c o m b i n a t i o n s , wa serves
to em p ha s i z e tin- i mu / . nnnunt r t i , in the sense o f ' a t least’. N o t e that with
time N , wa can also be attached to P such as kara/made (example b) (see
also 116.14).
a [ i i ] > * * « ·# S f c ttf c '.'o
ato nijunen wa manga о kaki-tsuzuketai
I w ant to keep writing comics fo r a t least another 20 years.
[ii]
b
seikyoku fuan mo nigatsu made wa nokoru
The political instability will rem ain until F ebruary at least.
e? [ii]
с
hito wa sh6gai ni ikkai wa ie о tateru
M an builds a house at least once in his lifetime.
2 36.7 IN E Q U A TIO N A L S E N T E N C E S
Equational S can be statem ents (example a) or questions (example b). B oth
have the basic structure N /pron. wa N cop./ka (N /pron. wa can be om itted
where clear from the context, as in example a, where the reply om its pron.
-wa because it is m entioned in the equational Q) (see 178.1.7, 164.10).
a r i ^ l i l U U 'l J
И М И *Г
^ 'i t ] J o
sore wa hanran ka to iu δ ni kdshaku wa kotaeta. ie heika kakumei de
gozaimasu
To the king’s question, ‘Is this an uprising?’, the duke replied, ‘N o,
Y our M ajesty, it’s a revolution’.
b
'■'L
are wa nan dai
W h at’s that?
t£ + m ale intim ate Q P £'*<']
236.8 IN D O U B LE -S U B JE C T S E N T E N C E S
F o r an explanation o f double-subject S, see 55.11, 178.1.8.
a
b
[ftv-'L
watashi wa ninki ga nai
I am n o t p opular (lit. “I have no popularity”).
[ii] 4
/ n V s [£>']
kotoshi no purezento wa papa ga kashimiya no mafura
F or this year’s [Christmas] present, hubby [gets] a cashmere muffler.
2 36.9 M A R K IN G T H E S U B JE C T O F A C O M P O U N D S E N T E N C E
As t h e l o r c e o f wa ( u n l i k e ци, w h i c h d o e s n o t e x t e n d b e y o n d t he c l a u s e
it is p a r t o f ) e x t e n d s all the w . n (** pi ed , , wa ( ne ve r ца) is used w h e r e the
subject o f a com pound S is identical in both clauses (re com pound sentences,
see 178.5).
а Щ [ii]
^ Ζ Ь ft < , *
5 *гЛ 0
otoko wa abareru koto mo naku sono ba de taiho sareta
The m an didn’t p u t up a struggle and was arrested on the spot.
2 36 .10 M AR K IN G T H E S U B JE C T O F A C O M P L E X S E N T E N C E
As the force o f wa (unlike ga, which does no t extend beyond the clause it is
p a rt of) extends all the way to pred., wa (never ga) is be used where the
subject o f a complex sentence is identical in both the m ain and the subordin
ate clauses (re complex sentences, see 178.4).
a ^ t f ?
[ii]
hbt,
Ш н о Л о
dorobo wa keisatsu о miru to nigete itta
The burglar fled when he saw the police.
b
[ii] Ш з - f b Е Ъ
K-san wa shukkin suru toki ni jitensha ni noru
W hen he goes to work, K-san rides a bicycle.
236.11 IN C L E FT S E N TE N C E S
N ote th at if kara is used in S2, no wa can also translate as ‘the reason why’,
as in example с (see 23).
a
[ii] Ш l> \,
gijutsu о tsutaeru no wa muzukashii
Passing on technology is difficult.
b
[ i i ] ΛΜΛΓΙt t - f t ^ o
atsusa ni ne о ageta no wa ningen dake de nai
It wasn’t only hum ans th at got defeated by the heat.
с
[ii],
oya ga kodomo ni yasashi-sugiru no wa jibun ni jishin ga nai kara de aru
The reason why parents are too kind to their children is because they
have no confidence in themselves.
237 wa [FINAL PARTICLE]
The fin. P wa (attached to statements) is used for slight emphasis or assertion.
It is generally restricted to female usage in Standard Japanese, but is widely
used by males in W estern Japan (Kansai) (see 48).
It is also often com bined with the fin. P yo, and its lengthened variant yo
(sec 242).
a h b , K — sT ' { V ‘7 ' b 4 i 3 i b [Ь ]о
ara mltingu ga hajimaru wa
Oh, the m eeting is about to begin!
Ь
~kk f t / v
^ лb
ft ^ 4
[ Ь Л ] 0
sei nante iranai wa yo
I do n ’t need (lit. “any such thing as”) a surname.
с
[ Ы — ]0
watashi sonna mono mita koto nai wa уб
I’ve never seen any such thing! [= m osquito eyeball soup]
238 wa AND ga: COMPARISON
(See wa [focus P], ga [case P].)
W hen attached to the subject, ga emphasizes w hat precedes it, whereas wa
focuses on w hat follows, i.e. pred. (in English, this difference can sometimes
be captured by intonational stress).
This difference is particularly clear in examples a an d b, where the V is
in the hortative form -(y)5, where the focus is naturally on the person who
is offering to do something. In fact, ore wa yaro is n o t possible here.
a
[£'*]
?о
ore ga yarii
[I ]’ll do it. [= Pilot to co-pilot, who is operating the plane]
b[ i i ] Ъ 0 i 1 \ ? y 0
ore wa yarimasu maji
I’ll [d o ] it - really.
с z h [£}] —
[This] is the best way o f eating [it].
d ^ Z * Z [£ г] 4g*f0
ima goro ga shun da
[A round now ] they [= anchovies] are in season.
e
Ш М [ti]
konpon-teki na gimon wa nokoru
Basic d o u b t s remain.
f lii&S/v [ti] V»·' < * I ' ’i l
o-kyaku-san wa kiishikui (Icmi In hunushilo ila
‘ I llC C t i s t o m i ' t s ill с I li \ 1 I
lie s . m l
bo % Z [ £ f] Bîi/CO Α ί ^ Ο θ ο έ / ' - ' ' £ Z h t z 0
tanjobi ga nan'yobi daro ga kisetsu ga itsu daro ga bannin no mae ni
byodo ni sugata о m is e r u . sore ga eiga no yurei no omoshiroi tokoro da
N o m atter on which day his birthday falls, no m atter w hat the season,
[the ghost] shows him self im partially to all. That’s the interesting part
ab out ghosts who appear in films [= as opposed to on the stage, when
ghosts are visible to certain actors only].
F o r the same reason, wa is typically used in inform ation-seeking Q, which
o f course focus on the Q-word th at follows wa.
h $>h [ ii]
— ~7 x ^ i] 's&X'irfao [ / : V '= f i + m ale intim ate
Q P *'».'])
are wa nan dai. femikaji-kun desu ne
[W hat] is that? - I t’s a boy wearing ladies’ casuals.
i
[ii] ¥$b\
sono seiko no himitsu wa nani ka
[W hat] is the secret o f this success?
Q-words themselves (and the words, if present, that occupy the same slots in
response to Q-words), as a rule attach ga.
This also applies to dochira, dore and h5 etc. as used in com parison (see 25),
and indeterminates such as nani ka etc.
j
Щ ьЛ f'№*£<»b'o
nani ga mondai na no ka
[W h at] is the problem?
к
[-№&*]
kaku giwaku no haikei ni wa nani ga aru no ka
W hat is in the background o f the suspected [development o f a] nuclear
bomb?
1 # 4 4 i [/c * U “] i t w i ' о
капе wa dare ga dasu no ka
[W h o ]’s going to p u t up the money?
m
[fT^'·^'] lOLb-o
L fc 0
kokoro no naka de nani ka ga kawatta ki ga shita
I felt th at in my heart something h ad changed.
n
[ ii" h d s] i t H X - [ ¥ h d ' ]
Н о
utsutta tentai no naka de dore ga ginga de dore ga k6sei ka mo jid6-teki
It c a n al so a u t o m a t i c a l l y dist inguish w h i c h a m o n g the he a ve nl y bodies
o n screen ar e gal actic a n d which ar e fixed stars.
239
wake [SENTENCE ENDING]
The S ending wake is a structural N , and as such is preceded/followed by
form s th a t precede or follow N. It is used when the speaker realizes th a t
there is an explanation or reason for some occurrence or phenom enon (see
also 62, 240).
239.1
239.1.1
239.1.2
239.2
239.2.1
239.2.2
239.3
239.4
Clause
Clause
Clause
Clause
Clause
Clause
Clause
Clause
wake copula
wake da
wake da ga, . . .
wake ga/wa nai
wake ga nai
wake wa nai
wake de wa nai
wake ni wa ikanai
239.1 CLAUSE wake COPULA
239.1.1 Clause wake da
This indicates realization, based on inform ation previously m entioned, ‘so’,
‘then’.
a
L b f c
[btt]
t£ 0
sono imi de wa tomo ni tadashikatta wake da
In th a t sense [those pointing o u t the pros and cons o f the 1950s
conservative movement] were bo th right.
ь
т х ш х ь ы
[ w t ] t-:a
gamuran wa dent6-teki ongaku no yoso о mochinagara, gendai ongaku de
mo aru wake da
So G am elan, while having elements o f traditional music, is also m odern
music.
с
it <
r a * .* § # * j
[b it]
U
ra a # # j
t-:0
kangaete mireba, kokugo jiten wa nihonjin dake de naku gaikokujin mo
riy6 shi, sono hito-tachi wa, nihongo jiten aruiwa nichinichi jiten to shite
yonde iru wake da
When you think about it, not only Japanese but foreigners, too,
use dictionaries of our Ι;ιημιι;ιμι·. ami these people read them
as ‘Japanese Ιηημικιμο dictionai irs' or 'Japanese Japanese
dictionaries'.
239.1.2 Clause wake da ga, . . .
W ith the conjunctive P ga attached, the m eaning is ‘so/then . . . , b u t’
(see 56).
а
[b it] tzb \
LXL
kagaku gijutsu no okage de mezamashii keizai seich6 ga dekita wake da
ga, капкуб mondai о hikiokoshite shimatta
So thanks to technology we have achieved phenomenal economic
growth, but ended up causing environm ental problems.
b Г—A i £ № f t / v J
[b it]
& к .\Ш Ъ Ь 'Ь
hitori mata wa siinin to areba, futari de mo ii wake da ga, saidaichi wa
wakaranai
If it states ‘one or several people’, then two people are OK, bu t one
doesn’t know the m axim um figure [of people to be hired],
239.2 CLAUSE wake ga/wa nai
Being a stru ctu ral N , wake can attach the P wa or ga, m eaning literally
“th ere’s no reason th a t” , wake ga/wa nai can be used after pos. and neg.
forms. The latter is a case o f double neg. (see 50), meaning ‘there is no way
th at . . . n o t’.
239.2.1 Clause wake ga nai
This is more em phatic than wake wa nai ‘there is no way th a t’.
а
z X b b [b it] V * t^ 0
seifu jishin no kaikaku о seifu ni dekiru wake ga nai
There is no way th at the governm ent itself can carry out a reform of
government.
b
[b it]
shimin ni aisarenai onsen ga, капкбкуаки ni aisareru wake ga nai
There is no way th a t a hot spring resort th at is no t loved by its citizens
will be loved by tourists.
с Ш л а ITftA/t C
[b it]
saisho wa nante koto hikiuketa n dar5 to omoimashita kedo, minna to
nara seik5 shinai wake ga nai to omotte imasu
In the beginning I thought ‘W hat on earth have I taken on?’. But I feel
th at if I do it together with everyone else there is no way we w on’t be
successful.
239.2.2 Clause wake wa nai
This is less em phatic than wake ga nai ‘there is no way th a t’.
а
,к-ЦЬ£%РЬ
if'»' [ b i t ] ii&'-'o
joshi ga shiranai wake wa nai
There’s no way the superiors d o n ’t know [of their subordinates’ illegal
doings].
b 7 Л/ 3 —
[ bi t ] li&ô
arukoru to sutoresu no fukug6 кбка ga кепкб ni yoi wake wa nai
T here’s no way the combined effects o f alcohol and stress are good for
one’s health.
с
Г
£·#■**££ [ b i t ]
tz a
tsuh6 о uketa keisatsu wa hod6 о kuruma ga hashiru wake wa nai to jiko
ni kanshin о shimesanakatta
The police who received the notification said, ‘T here’s no way th at a
car w ould drive on the pavem ent’, and didn’t show any interest in the
accident.
239.3 CLAUSE wake de wa nai
This m eans ‘it is n o t (the case) th a t’.
a f f l f c i ' p t i . t l [ b t t ' C t i £ > ' ] o
inaka ni modotte mo shitashii tomodachi ga iru wake de wa nai
Even if I go back to my hom e tow n, it’s n o t th a t there are [any] good
friends [there],
ь
ш
\
m m ь % ^'
[b ltt-ti^ 'L
nan no tame no kisei kanwa ka. kisei to itte mo subete no kisei ga warui
wake de wa nai
. . . [The question is,] relaxation o f restrictions to w hat end? It’s n o t the
case th at all restrictions are bad.
с
[b it-m & ^ L
daiichi, nagaku tsuresotta ny6b6-dono to no aida ni sonna ni wadai ga aru
wake de wa nai
T o start with, it’s no t th at there is all th at m uch to talk ab o u t with
one’s wife o f m any years.
239.4 CLAUSE wake ni wa ikanai
This indicates a social o b la tio n 'it won't do to’, Ί can’t’, ‘it’s not right to’.
( l o r other ways to say Van Y , sit 1ί>I . ? 10,4, ft2.1.4; see also 240).
а
Ш -fb
tohyo wa kokumin no gimu da kara, kiken suru wake ni wa ikanai
Voting is the people’s duty, so no t exercising one’s right w on’t do.
b 9
АСзгШ^гН-)··?) [ b t t l ~ i ; U L ............. о
tabako wa yamerarenai kedo, hito ni meiwaku о kakeru wake ni wa
ikanai shi
I can’t stop smoking, bu t it isn’t right to inconvenience others .. .
с вЩЛH
r
l
A/ t ' t „
hima na toki ni matomete suimin о toru to iu wake ni wa ikanai n desu
One can’t catch up on one’s sleep in a chunk when one has time.
240 wake AND hazu [SENTENCE ENDINGS]:
COMPARISON
hazu is used in statements when the speaker’s judgement is based on confirmed
inform ation, knowledge or simply good com m on sense. In contrast, wake is
used when the speaker realizes th at some fact or occurrence is the result o f
some other fact or occurrence.
a
? [ l i f ] t za
gaikoku-san-mai ga yasukereba kau hazu da
I f foreign rice is cheap, people ought to buy it.
b
[ b i t ] tz о
sono imi de wa tomo ni tadashikatta wake da
In th at sense b o th [those pointing o u t the pros and cons o f the 1950s
conservative movement] were right, then.
241 ya [CONJOINING PARTICLE]
ya joins items in the sense o f ‘and (am ong others)’ or ‘o r’. It is used (once)
between items only. As it is used for listing representative items, it is often
together with nado ‘am ong others’, ‘etc.’ (see 28, 102, 220).
241.1 ‘and (am ong others)’
241.2 ‘o r’
241.1 ‘AND (AMONG OTHERS)’
а [£*»*■ M
К * V < n * № > l-tiL b tib B
jiddsha ya k ad cn undo no huhin ni tsukawareru
[The resin pelk-ts| ,uc tisnl m parts for cars and home electrical appliances.
b Ш У И И З Ш Н 1^1 7 7 ^ ] X'M < о
chiiki funso wa oshu ya afurika de tsuzuku
Regional conflicts continue in E urope and A frica (am ong others).
Note - in writing, ya is also often used in combination with punctuation marks, as in examples
с and d (see also 29).
С [Ш > [ ^ ]
I
[ ££*] ]
hagata ya yubiwa mochimono nado kara yonin no mimoto ga wakatta
F ro m [things] like the shape o f their teeth and rings, belongings, etc.,
the identity o f the four came to light.
d [ί7-(Χ ·
[^ ]
ofisu jutaku no kakaku ya jinkenhi no josho ga riyu da
The reason is the rise in office/house prices and personnel costs
[= US com panies w ithdraw ing from H ong Kong].
241.2 O R ’
a [ f c # Ж %&\<r>X. i ЪЪ<г>К-оТ-.<г>Ъ'Ъ
o-tera ya kyokai no уб na mono datta no kamoshirenai
[The building on the excavated site] m ay have been som ething like a
temple or a church.
b Ο 'Ά [Ψ ]
i: ?
!:и 9 о
gomu ya purasuchikku no yakeru уб na nioi ga shita to iu
H e says there was a smell like burning rubber o r plastic.
242 yo [FINAL PARTICLE]
The fin. particle yo serves to m ake a statem ent (examples a-e) or invitation
(example h, see also 67.1.1).
A fter imp. (example i), it serves to soften the im pact o f the imp. form (sec
69.2).
A part from V /adj./A N /N (pin. o r pol., pos. or neg.), yo can also attach to S
endings (example f), and the final P no (example d) (see 134.3).
In statem ents and after S endings (n(o) da, s6 da and m any others), yo can
be attach ed to the cop. (i.e. A N /N + cop.), b u t in fem ale use (and for и
familiar effect in general), it can also replace cop. (examples e and f).
Note also the use seen in example μ, where N yo cannot be replaced by N
da, this being a way ol .tililirssintf a person (or personalized entity by name),
in a variation ol Ή ι π Hi uic ’’
a
% ΐ ζ ^ ί < Π Χ \ i % f c X " 4 f l X A 6 0 Гв^Е) J;
U ]j z t - ? X l i , i A i : t ' V ' t i b ? o
mada katai to omo-itsutsu ki ni naru no de yubisaki de oshite mini,
kino yori yawarakai yo to itte wa kajin ni muite morau
While thinking th at [the pears] are still hard, I can’t take my m ind off
them and poke them with my fingertip. ‘They are softer than yesterday’,
I say, and get the family to peel [them] one at a time for me.
b
i L t-: U L
U ]o
chugaku ni haittara . . . betsubetsu no gakko ni natchau n da yo. sabishii yo
W hen we enter middle school . . . will be going to different schools. I’ll
be lonely.
с % ^<r>z t f z d ' b i g f ) i-tfA / U L
honto no koto da kara okorimasen yo
It’s the truth, so I’m not getting upset.
d Z<n>r—iк
Ш 0
kono keki watashi ga tsukutta no yo
e
$ As-oXZX b t l Z b
[J ;]0
waiesu-san tte totemo subarashii kata yo
Wyeth is a wonderful person, you know.
f
[i]„
mukashi sumo wa sono toshi no inasaku о uranau shinji datta so yo
In the old days, sumo was apparently a Shinto cerem ony to divine the
rice harvest for that year.
g
U L
keizaikai yo omae mo ka to omotte shimau
One feels ‘[Y o u to o ], business world?’ (Variation on C aesar’s ‘Et tu,
Brute?’ from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar)
h
T- Ί [i]o
dokka iko yo
Let’s go somewhere.
i
f c f a f c [ =t]0 (PM to cam eram en)
ore ni mo torasero yo
Let me take one [= a picture] too.
243 Y5 [SENTENCE ENDING]
The S ending yo indicates likeness, or the way something seems (see 169, 93,
162, 182, 218). Pred.-selecting adv. (see 5.4, 5.4.7) such as maru-de ‘just’ can be
used to emphasi/о the degree of likeness (examples 243.1.1.1 с and 243.1.1.4 a).
yo itself being a structural N , it attaches to the form s o f V /adj./A N /N "that
precede N , i.e. N -m od. forms. Section 243.1.1 gives V /adj./A N /N separately
to illustrate th e way yo attaches to sentences th a t end in V /adj./A N /N
respectively (adj. includes the negative ending -nai, example 243.1.1.2 b).
243.1
243.1.1
243.1.1.1
243.1.1.2
243.1.1.3
243.1.1.4
243.1.2
243.2
243.2.1
243.2.2
243.2.3
243.2.4
243.3
243.3.1
243.3.2
243.3.3
243.3.4
243.3.5
243.3.6
243.3.7
243.3.8
243.4
243.4.1
243.4.2
243.4.3
yo + copula
Clause yo da/datta/de
V erb-noun-m odifying yo
Adjective-noun-modifying yo
Adjectival noun na yo
N o u n no yo
Clause yo da ga
Noun-m odifying
Clause yo na noun
Adjective 1 yo na adjective 2 yo na (noun) (adjectives of
opposite meaning)
atte nai уб na mono
N o u n no уб na noun
Adverbial use
Clause уб ni
dono/ika-/onaji уб ni
A dverb no уб ni
C lause уб ni naru
Clause уб ni omou/mieru, etc.
Clause уб ni
Clause уб ni suru, etc.
Clause уб ni
ka no уб
Clause-ka no уб da/datta
C lause-ka no уб na noun
C lause-ka no уб ni
243.1 yo + COPULA
243.1.1 Clause yd da/datta/de
The meaning is ‘seems (just like)’, ‘is just as i f ’, ‘appear t o ’. To recall
situations where something ‘was/appeared like’ at the time, yo datta is
attached to S (example c), whereas with -ta yo da, i.e. when yo da is attached
to a clause ending in the -ta form (example d), the implication is that
it appears at the present moment that some action or development is
completed.
243.1.1.1 Verb-noun-modifying yo
а
л:ьЧ £р{ £
8
U ? ]
ti0
burari to aruku to toki ga yukkuri nagarete iku уб da
W hen one walks aimlessly, time seems to flow slowly.
b
1 X ^ 6 U ? ] tiо
fukyo wa engeki ni mo shidai ni kageri о otoshite iru уб da
The recession slowly seems to cast d ark clouds over the theatre, too.
с
{1ЪХ\ i 7—
z i z ^ 6 [ J; ^ ] t i - o h a
maru-de ino hitori no jibun ga soko ni iru уб datta
It was just as if another self were there.
d
z < v z ' t , i i & z i i m № ' l $ b tx b x b t z U 9 ] t \ ? i
tz0
kono goro wa uma to mo shinrai kankei ga dekite kita уб de, umaku
toberu уб ni natta
Recently, it appears th at I have developed a relationship o f trust with
the horse, so I can now jum p well.
ft -э
243.1.1.2 Adjective-noun-m odifying yo
a j 0 k k \ i t i rtM&j
Ш Ш Ь Щ L'J
tz & b 'b
£Ά
ti о
mikon josei wa ‘seikaku’ ‘keizairyoku’ ‘kachikan ga onaji’ to itta ten kara
kekkon aite о erabitai hito ga 6i уб da
As for unm arried women, there appear to be m any who w ould like to
choose their p artner from the angle o f ‘personality’, ‘economic power’
and ‘sharing the same values’.
[ J; 9 ]
b
f a tf f L t z Y . Z Z , , Щ & ю & ю iϊ i t i i -э h < Ш Ь Ь {Х b f t v ' [ J; i ] t-:~>
watashi ga mita tokoro, kanojo no otto no h6 wa mattaku eigo ga dekinai
уб datta
According to m y observation, her husband seemed to have no English
ability at all.
243.1.1.3 A djectival noun na yo
а
Щ
\
[ J t ? ] ti0
dansei no h6 ga okane ni wa riizu na уб da
M en seem to be m ore careless with money.
b ftm ^ * > £ « !(iifft
[ J; 9 ] T - f o
tokuchd no aru kao wa toku na уб da
[Type o f iloll that sells well] It appears that a distinctive face is an
advantage
243.1.1.4 Noun n o y o
a [ ± s t ] -> j . —Л/ U T ') x A iosîi/io [ J ; ? ] £*„
maru-de shururearizumu no kaiga no yo da
It is ju st like a surrealist painting.
b r —X
Λ —l i f t s ; софт?
U ?]
tenisu о tsujite shiriatta hito-tachi to taberu babekyu wa saiko no aji no
yo da
There’s nothing better than eating a barbecue w ith friends one has
m ade over a game o f tennis.
243.1.2 Clause уб da ga
This is often used for asking questions at press conferences etc. ‘it seems
t h a t . . . (how do you explain the fact that?)’
а Щ
[ϋ]
£ύ *0
toi: kaku bunya de beigawa no teian to nihon no kangaekata ni ooki na
hedatari ga aru уб da ga . . .
Q: It seems th at in all areas there is a considerable gulf between the US
proposals and Jap a n ’s way o f thinking.
243.2
NOUN-MODIFYING
243.2.1 Clause yo na noun
In this use, yo na is used to link a N -m od. Clause to the modified N in the
sense o f ‘so rt o f ’; уб na can often be om itted w ith o u t m uch change in
meaning.
a if'N '& fc ti?
"(i,
nabezoko о hau уб na keiki no naka de wa, mama no seiseki de
wa naika
In an econom y which is like scraping the bottom o f the barrel
[lit. “crawling along the bottom o f a p an ”], th a t’s n o t such a
bad result.
yfrshoku ni ramen shika tabcrarcnai уб na jiki mo atta keredo, ima wa
kcizaiteki ni mo raku ni natta
There was a time when I coultl only allurd rSmen (soup noodles| lor
dinner, but now I’m finaiuialls m m loita b le too.
с i>cot’; u x ^ c
ano biru koji no sei de ie ga katamuita уб na ki ga suru
I have a feeling th at my house leans because o f the construction o f that
building.
d [16X]
r - f r - ^ Ή
^ ί Z i _ X < Ь [ I ? ft] MiiiU-f’ ft
о
maru-de баше no zaza to iu oto ga kikoete kuru уб na hanga ja nai ka
Surely this a w oodblock print which is just as if the sound o f heavy rain
can be heard!
e
Щ Х^Ь^ЬК
[J; i ft] JШ Ъ !Ш - о Х ^ Ъ 0
sengyo shufu de iru koto ga, ushirometai уб na fuch6 ga tsuyomatte iru
The sort of atm osphere where one feels guilty for being a housewife is
getting m ore pronounced.
f
Ш Л [ 1 i ft] Ш<Г>ЪЬ' u \
zuisho ni orikonda ikken muda na уб na kaiwa no okashisa
The funniness o f the seemingly pointless conversation, which is woven
[into the film] everywhere.
243.2.2
Adjective 1 yo na adjective 2
opposite meaning)
yo na
(noun) (adjectives of
Using adj. of opposite meaning, the resulting meaning is ‘not particularly adj. 1’.
a
[J: 7 ft] &».' U 9 f t] ....... о
beikoku to TshT no naka wa ii уб na warui уб na
Relations between the US and the EC are not particularly good.
243.2.3 atte nai уб na mono
This is a way o f saying ‘(apparently so but) not really’.
a
U 9 ft] t « 0
kabuka no kijun wa atte nai уб na mono
There isn’t really a basis for share prices.
b ~7 r Y M m f e t f h - o X ftv ' [ J ; ? f t ] i ( D 0
fado wa gakufu ga atte nai уб na mono
The fado is som ething that doesn’t really have a score bu t appears to.
243.2.4
Noun
no yo na
noun
This is used for m aking similes etc. ‘som ething like Ν ’.
a
U ? & ] tW T to
suruga-wan wa kyodai na ikesu no уб na mono desu
Suruga bay is like a giant fish tank [= full of fish farms].
jinari no уб na oto ga shite jimen ga seriagatta уб datta
There was a sound like a ground rum ble, and it was as if the ground
had lifted up.
с
<r> [ I 9 £ ] t e o t i & O i
ύ'ο
shohi fushin ga shinkoku ni natte imasu ga, kaifuku no kizashi no уб na
mono wa arimasu ka
The slump in spending is severe, but is there anything like a sign of recovery?
243.3 ADVERBIAL USE
243.3.1 C lau se yd ni
Used adverbially, S уб ni indicates how som ething appears (but actually
isn’t) in the sense o f ‘like’, ‘as i f ’. The likeness can again be reinforced with
maru-de ‘ju st’.
i l i i b / z U Ί i-L
a
te no hira no kawa wa tebukuro о hameta уб ni atsuku natta
The skin o f his palms became thick ‘as if wearing gloves’.
b ^ "f i i , l £ Z>X]
[X i K ]

h£/£tj ^ ^ £ /ii0 ii2 5 % ic ^ ^ io /i0
depato de hataraku josei-tachi no isogashisa о shocho suru уб ni, tezukuri
no purezento о watasu to kotaeta no wa 25% ni todomatta
As if to symbolize how busy w om en working in departm ent stores are,
only 25 per cent replied, ‘I give a handm ade present’.
d JbojsLw [ J; 9 i-] £ & « ■ « < * ;: E l i - C i i v ' 0
ue no ani no уб ni jikka о tsugu koto wa dekinai
I cannot inherit the family hom e like my oldest brother.
с £££
№ 0 i€ t„
') x l·
+
[iii:]
kigy6 mo risutora, risutora to kizu no haitta rekodo no уб ni kurikaesu
Industry too repeats ‘restructuring’ like a broken record.
Г
^ [1->!:],
ь f Lb Y. Г
ftbeijin kara mite nihonjin да doko ku ishitsu na уб ni tokyo-jiku no
ninf>en kara miru I» пацоумпЬш ни ishitwu ni mieru
.lu st as t h e J a p a n e s e a p p e a l s o n i c l m w s l i a n ^ e I d W e s t e r n e r s , N a ^ o y a n s
a p p e a l s t i a n i u · in I h c ем··. " I |н м р К
lim n .ilo u iu l T o k y o
2 4 3 .3 .2 d o n o /ika -/o n a ji yd ni
In these com binations, yo ni means ‘how ’, ‘in what way’, ‘in the same way’.
а
[¥<olHz]
< $ tih i b\
nihon no gaiko о dono уб ni kaikaku subeki daro ka
In what way should Jap a n ’s diplomacy be reformed, I wonder?
b
ЪЩ& гC Z b t n t e l i y . ' 1) z z b , Ш &" о ХШ-э t t a
rippa na kotoba wa jitsu wa ikay6 ni mo kaishaku dekiru mono da to iu
koto o, ato ni natte satotta
A fterwards I realized that grand words can in fact be interpreted in any
way.
с и Ш Ш ^ Х , [l»| U J: ? U]
mina seifuku о kite, onaji уб ni hohoemu n da
Y ou will all w ear uniforms, and smile in an identical way.
2 4 3 .3 .3 Adverb no y d ni
A ttached to adv., уб ni means ‘alm ost’, ‘practically’.
tozen no уб ni gaikokujin kishu mo nihon shij6 ni atsni manazashi
о yoseru
Almost as a m atter o f course, foreign jockeys also eye the Japanese
m arket expectantly.
b
Ш Я п Ц К ] Я - Y 'X 'ti о
taka-sugiru fuku о futsu no 6 eru ga maitsuki no уб ni kado de kau
O rdinary female office workers buy overpriced [designer] clothes
practically every day by [credit] card.
2 4 3 .3 .4 Clause у б ni naru
This indicates th at something takes place as the result o f a development or
effort over time ‘get to the stage where’, ‘now ’.
а Ш ie a t G & t e t t i e
З-Ъ Я X X ЪЬ U t : £ S ] „
kantan na nichijo kaiwa dake nara, ni, sankagetsu de dekiru уб ni
naru
If it’s just basic daily conversation you can m aster it in two to three
months.
Ь
7]< J ) 4 z i b U 9 U i o ] t z0
ryohiza wa muri ga tatari, mizu ga tamaru уб ni natta
The strain on his knees has begun to tell, and [they] are now full of
water.
/±Щ iZ'fS.-f' Ь а
shigoto ningen ni todomarazu, junan ni hoko tenkan suru уб ni natta
dansei no henka wa chumoku ni atai suru
The change in men, who have now changed course, ceasing to be
workaholics, is w orth noting.
М Ш -Х Ь
tza
sekai-ichi choju na wagakuni de wa, 6ku no koreisha wa shinu magiwa
made, sono nenrei nari no кепкб о tamoteru уб ni natta
In our country, which leads the w orld in longevity, m any o f the old can
now preserve a state of health com m ensurate w ith their age until just
before their death.
O '£ 0
kore made tabushi sare-gachi datta doseiai ga, omote butai de katarareru
уб ni natte iru
Hom osexuality, which hitherto tended to be viewed as a taboo, is now
being talked about openly (lit. “on the front stage”).
2 43 .3.5 Clause y o ni o m o u /m ie ru , etc.
A ttached to a clause th at indicates a state (using -te iru, -te inai, V th a t
indicate a state by themselves, and adjectives) and followed by V th at indic
ate an impression), the m eaning is ‘seems/appears to me th a t’.
а ^Ссо4МИ>*Ш Ъ - э Х ^ ' Ъ
e o t- f o
ie no jumyo ga mijikaku natte iru уб ni omou no desu
I feel th at the lifespan o f a house has become shorter.
b
[1 i ! : S / J
unten menkyo no nai hito ga notte iru уб ni omoeta
It seemed to me th at a person w ithout a driving licence was driving.
с Ί — Ц-λ ζ *)
0
U ^ i c j L / t ] fta
juichinen-buri no nihon wa amari kawatte inai уб ni mieta
After 11 years, Japan appeared no t to have changed much.
d
U ?icA ;c] t ,
nihonshu tte tayoka shite iru уб ni miete, jitsu wa shite nai n da
Sake seems to have diversified, but in fact it hasn’t.
2 43 .3.6 Clause yd ni
This indicates that the pieil is i .iim-il nut tin a purpose ‘that’, ‘so that’.
а
U
?i:] m i L X ^ t z 0
rainen no kaiko made mujiko de koji ga susumu уб ni kigan shite ita
I was praying th at the construction w ork would proceed without
accident until next year’s opening.
bunka no chigai о mitome, otagai ni rikai shiaeru уб ni zasshi de yaku ni
tachitai
I want to be useful through the magazine, so th at we can realize the
cultural differences and understand each other.
с +/-? ')— ? > i i & i 6
sararlman mo kayoeru уб ni, gogo kuji made jugy6 о suru
They teach classes until 9 p.m. so th at office workers can attend too.
2 43 .3.7 Clause yd ni suru, etc.
Followed by suru and some other V such as kokorogakeru ‘try’, the meaning
is ‘decide to, ‘m ake a point o f’, ‘try’.
a
C\ ' Ш
К
%
U ^ I C L ] tzо
soko de, chichioya ni mainichi tegami о kaku уб ni shita
So I decided to write to my father every day.
shQ nido wa eigakan ni kayoi, gohon wa bideo о mini уб ni kokorogakete iru
I try to go to the movies at least twice a week, and watch at least five videos.
2 43 .3.8 Clause уб ni
Ending a sentence, уб ni indicates obligation ‘should’ (attached to S ending
in a V form).
a it& fllzii/gi& h/z'h-Zb& JtXbh
* $ Ш £ ) Х $ г >
U
[ i i l i
Z hb'btzhxtfen
? C ] o
mazu shigatsu ni wa ten'in nara dare demo h6s6 dekiru уб ni. sore kara
dare demo mise no пака о annai dekiru уб ni
First o f all, by April every employee should be able to wrap things.
Then, everyone should be able to show customers around the shop.
2 43 .4
ka no yd
This is similar in meaning to the equivalent S without ka no, but the addition
o f the Q P ka makes the [S] no уб sentences som ew hat m ore tentative or
hypothetical ‘as it"
243.4.1 C lause-ka no уб d a /d a tta
maru-de mure ni miezaru chikara ga hataraita ka no yo da
It is ju st as if an ‘invisible force’ w orked in the herd.
[ X l t z ^ \ tzо
totsutotsu to setsumei suru isha no кое wa doko ka toku kara kikoete
kuru ka no yo datta
The voice o f the doctor, who was giving a faltering explanation, seemed
to come from a long distance.
2 43 .4.2 C lause-ka no уб na noun
The m eaning here is ‘as i f ’.
а
U ? £ ] m k¥ h b a
kome shijo no kaiho de nihon nogyo wa ashita ni mo hametsu suru ka no
yo na giron ga aru
There is an argum ent as if with the opening o f the rice m arket Ja p a n ’s
agriculture w ould be destroyed tom orrow .
2 43 .4.3 C lause-ka no у б ni
This construction too means ‘as i f ’.
а М № т № 1 > * .ф Щ Ь & Ь Ъ Ы 1'<о [ X i K l Яч% Л Ш £ Ж 1 > Я . Ш Ь $ <.
X Ί Kf£-otz0
nihon no kokusai-ka to hocho о awaseru ka no yo ni gaikokujin kankokyaku mo akihabara о oku otozureru yo ni natta
As if keeping pace with Jap an ’s internationalization, foreign tourists
also come to visit A kihabara in large numbers.
b R A M X U F O c o U i L t v ' 5 Я,
U?fc]
^ i ^ f z A . X ' t X\
H & im fX
( 6
nomiya de UFO no hanashi о shite iru to, mishiranu hito ga hyakunen no chiki
ni atta ka no yo ni watashi mo mita n desu yo to hanashi-kakete kuru to iu
They say th at if you m ention U F O s in a drinking place, total strangers
will talk to you as if they were old friends, saying, ‘I ’ve seen them to o ’.
244 уб, mitai, s5, -so, rashii, to iu, -tte: COMPARISON
244.1 Form s with which they com bine
244.2 Core meaning
244.3 Special uses
244.1 FO R M S W IT H W H IC H T H E Y C O M B IN E
Table 29
Forms to which y5, mitai, s6, -so, rashii, to ill, -tte attach
Form
Group
I Directly
A N /N +
II By means of no/na
III By means of da
I Directly
II By means of na
+N
III NOT POSSIBLE
P attern
A N /N mitai da
A N /N rashii
A N -s5 da
A N na/N no y5 da
A N /N da s5 da
A N /N da to ill
A N /N da-tte
rashii N
y5 na N
mitai na N
so na N
(so da)
-ta form (non-narrative use)
I Before
II After
-ta y5 da
-ta mitai da
-ta rashii
-ta s5 da
-ta-tte
-so dat-ta
-ta form (narrative use)
уб dat-ta
mitai dat-ta
rashikat-ta
so na
-nai form
I Before
II After
-masu form
I Before
II After
-nai уб da
-nai mitai da
-nai rashii
-nai so da
-nai-tte
-na-sa-so da
-s6 ni nai
уб desu
mitai desu
so desu
so desu
rashii desu
masu-tte
2 44 .2 C O R E M EA N IN G
Hearsay:
Typicality:
Visual: im m inent
(and quite certain)
Other: . . . b u t isn’t
. . . b u t d o n ’t know
. . . an d is
+ adj. (neutral)
so da, -tte, rashii
rashii
-so da
yo da, mitai da
yo da, mitai da
rashii
-so da
2 44.3 S P E C IA L U SES
Illness: Ί think I ’ve got a cold’ is kaze о hiita yo da
(not hiita to omou!)
Imminent: Ί think I’m going to be sick’ haki-so da
(not haku to omou!)
245 -yo [NOMINALIZING SUFFIX]
The nom inalizing suf. -yo converts a V (V-stem) into a N (see 34). It is used
in three ways, as set out in the following sections.
245.1 Verb-stem yo
245.2 Verb-stem yo ga nai
245.3 Verb-te shiyo ga nai
245.1 V E R B -S T E M уб
The com bination means ‘way o f doing’.
a IШ п Ш Ш Ъ Ь Ь (4 6 ) t i Г
( 17)
&-&X ( H / t j
U ? ] t z0
doten no kurihara miyako san wa “куб no ко chan wa honto no egao о
misete kureta” to tebanashi no yorokobi-yo da
Ms K u rih ara M iyako (46) o f the same store is overjoyed, saying,
‘Today, Κ δ -chan had a really radiant look’.
b 4£Й-5-?-и-йг<
ί Ь 'Л с о ^ Щ ·'— Щ Г-й-^-co^j
ο
ι : >)
χ
bTv
$ ix fc < r > t- :b 'b ,
%.<г>
t - t f U ? ] I № L X * p 6' <LX- *>6„
himeji-kko wa furuku kara o-shiro to tomo ni ikite kita. sorezore no jidai
о mamori-nuitc kita nujinii no oshiro ца ichiyaku “sekai no takara” ni
risuto appu sure Ia no du kara, sono yurokobi-yft wa oshite shiru-beshi
de aru
The inhabitants o f Himeji have lived w ith their castle for a long time.
As the fam iliar castle, which has w atched over the various ages, has
suddenly been listed a ‘world trea su re’, you can imagine their delight.
245 .2 V E R B -S T E M у б ga nai
In the neg., the m eaning is ‘there is n o way of doing’.
a
[I 7
okane ga nai no da kara, hoka ni kangae-yo ga nai
[Issuing deficit government bonds:] Since we don’t have any money,
there is nothing else that can be considered.
kiko dake wa te no uchi-yo ga nai
W hatever else, about the w eather there is nothing one can do.
с
о
I [J: 7
hatsumimi da. komento no shi-yo ga nai
This is the first time I’ve heard ab o u t this. I can’t comment.
[J; 7
Ίο
bibiddo no tsuzuri ga wakaranai, iya sono mae ni nanigo ka wakaranai no
de imi no tashikame-yo ga nai
I have no way o f checking the m eaning o f ‘bibiddo’, because I don’t
now how it is spelt, and before th a t I d o n ’t know [from] w hat language
it is.
2 45.3 V E R B -te s h iy o ga nai
N o te th at shiyo itself is a com bination o f shi (V-stem o f suru) + yo. The
literal m eaning is therefore “there is no way o f doing (anything about)
V-ing”, i.e. ‘can’t help doing’.
a
:M X [ I J: 9 а г£>' ] °
namida ga nagarete shiyo ga nai
I cannot help tears running down [my face].
Note - the expression shiyo ga nai (often contracted to sho ga nai) and its partial synonym
extremely common by themselves, meaning ‘it can’t be helped’, ‘there’s
nothing that can be done’, ‘never mind’, etc.
shikata ga nai are
246
-(y)5 [SENTENCE ENDING]
-(y)f> is a S e n d i n g that expresses t w o m e an i ng s : h o r t a t i v e a n d pres.
F o r how the forms are derived, see 67.
F o r examples o f use, see 67, 163.1.
N ote also its use in the com binations -(y)o mono nara, -(y)o to, -(y)o to
omou/kangaeru and -(y)o to suru (see 247, 248, 249, 250).
247 -(y)o mono nara
This is a co m b in ation o f the pres. V-(y)o and nara, m eaning ‘if you do
anything like’, ‘if anything like . . . should happen’ (see 96.2.4, 108, 163).
a
L tz Ο, f e i U ' t e ' i t z 1) I [J; i
ita о muri ni mawashitari karada о hinettari shiyo mono nara
machigainaku korobu
If you tu rn the board forcefully, or twist your body, y o u ’ll fall over
without fail.
b £ IT
' i Jc \
ЫШ'\ L [J: 7 t i O i c b l , t z b t b
& & ί ?&1 h 6 о
soshite ima ya kisei kanwa naishi teppairon о hihan shiyo mono nara
tachimachi yoron no assei ni genron no jiyii о habamareru
A nd now, if you were to criticise the argum ents for relaxing or
abolishing restrictions, your freedom o f speech w ould quickly be
obstructed by ‘the tyranny o f public opinion’.
248 -(y)5 to [ADVERBIAL PHRASE]
A ttached to V (for forms, see 67), this com bination o f the hortative -(y)f>
and the adverbial P to (which describes how an action takes place) indicates
with w hat intention the subordinate clause (in[]) is o r was perform ed (see
67, 213).
248.1 Adverbial use
248.2 Noun-m odifying use
248.1 A D V E R B IA L USE
a [ % & % - % ί
Ί zM' MifLKo
kaden sengyo meka no migarusa о mi ni tsukeyo to hisshi da
They [= electrical sections of large conglomerates] arc desperate,
trying to acquire the responsiveness o f specialized electrical appliance
manufacturers.
atarashii tenkai о hakaro to meisho henko ni fumikitta
They took the step o f changing their nam e, with the intention of
revitalizing the company.
с
[ Х У - * ' - K A fU c [ Ь Ъ Ъ 'Ъ ί £ ] L S S f e t c i - o ' l ^ h 0
sukijo mo sunobodo ninki ni ayakaro to yakki ni natte iru
Skiing resorts too are eager to cash in on the popularity o f
snowboarding.
d 5
[Щ £ L X v,л ’ ? j
^ —
sara ni jimoto no samazama na joho о teikyo shite iko to joho senta mo
kaisetsu
They’ve also established an inform ation centre with the intention of
providing local people with a variety o f information.
248.2 N O U N -M O D IF Y IN G USE
a
7J £ ]]
*) ¥ h
shikashi rainen wa kono otoko ni kakeyo to no kokoroiki ga itai hodo
arigatakatta
But, for his spirit o f ‘N ext year I’ll pu t m y trust in this m an’ I was so
grateful it alm ost hurt.
249 -(y)5 to omou/kangaeru [SENTENCE ENDING]
T he co m b in atio n o f V-(y)o (see 67 fo r form s) + the V o f thin k in g
omou/kangaeru (which use the quotation P to) means ‘think o f doing’, ‘want
to ’.
249.1 -(y)5 to omou/kangaeru
249.2 -(y)o to wa omou/omowanai, kangaeru/kangaenai
249.1 -(y )0 to o m o u /ka n g ae ru
L' £ >), Ί У τ ' Ί Т У Я I X
a
■£?£#£]
fc0
seiobunmei no taihai ya mujun о kanji-tori indian to shite ikiy6 to
kangaeta
I felt the decadence and contradictions o f Western civilization, and
thought I ’d live as an Indian.
b Aik<Df%t)
tz о
jinsei no nokori о kangaeta toki honto ni yaritai koto о yarn to kangaeta
W hen I considered the rest o f m y life, I thought o f doing the things I
really w ant to do.
с
>
) [i& r * 7 £JS».'] i t о
mikka made yukkuri sugoso to omoimasu
I ’d like to take things easy until the 3rd.
d I
ШШ- L l Ί
doshi wa jitaku ni fiisha о setchi shiyo to kangaete iru fiiryoku suishin-ha
The aforem entioned is a windpow er advocate, who is considering
installing a windmill at his home.
e
&·€ [# a 6 J: 7
fcw tfi'o
ii kaisha to shite shirarete iru no ni naze yameyo to omotta no desu ka
W hy did you think o f quitting, even though it’s know n as a good
company?
249.2 -(y )6 to w a o m o u /o m o w a n a i, k an g a e ru /k a n g a e n a i
The Focus P wa can be inserted between to and the V, m ostly in the neg.,
but it can also be used with pos. pred. for contrast or emphasis (example d).
a
U ί ifl 7
Х ^Ъ ^0
tankikan ni mokeyo to wa kangaete inai
W e have no intention o f m aking a quick buck.
b Ш&Х'Ъ
[& $ b tb £ Ί
t a b '^ t z o
kekkon dekinai kara kodomo wa akirameyo to wa kangaenakatta
I d idn’t think o f giving up [having] children because I can’t get
married.
C [
f
i
[ L J ; 9 i:iiS v ,4 l
machigai no nai enso о shiyo to wa omoimashita yo to hanashite iru
Ί [did] think th at I w anted to perform flawlessly’, he said.
d
[ b Z i Y li& b]
watashi jishin wa kantoku ni naro to wa omowanai
I myself have no intention o f becom ing a coach.
250 -(y)5 to suru [SENTENCE ENDING]
A t t a c h e d t o V ( for forms , see 67), t he e n d i n g -(y)5 to suru ( mo st l y u se d in
t he f o r m to shite iru o r to shita) i m l u a t e s a t t e m p t e d a c t i o n , i.e. t h a t an
ac t i o n is o r was a t t e m p t e d m the -.eir.e nl ' 11v’.
Unlike -te miru, which also often translates as ‘try ’ and is typically used o f
the first person, -(y)o to suru is used o f the third person, and cannot be used
o f the first (see 205).
Note - with subjects that are impersonal, such as [computer] networks, the implication is of
course not one of ‘trying to ’, but ‘about to ’ do something.
a
K b i i U ] tv'ô
sukoshi demo denkidai о heraso to shite iru
They are trying to reduce the electricity bill, if only by a little.
b
i / r i i s ¥ Z ^ I f f Z i H L ] t v.'£coj&\,
koritsukan о mochi-hajimeta roshia wa doko e iko to shite iru no ka
W here is Russia, which has begun to feel isolated, trying to go?
с Ш ,
7
ifaU
[Ш I ? £
I ] tz о
totsuzen wakai otoko ga takusUT no mae ni tobidashi kobu-zaseki no doa
о akeyo to shita
Suddenly, a young m an hurled him self at the taxi, and tried to open the
rear door.
d Ь 7 —7 l i & : % J b >)
b
nettowaku wa kigyo jitai no arikata sura kaeyo to shite iru
[Computer] networks are about to change the very nature o f business.
251 yori [CASE PARTICLE]
yori is used as a form al or written-style equivalent o f kara [case P] ‘since’,
‘from ’. N ote th at in this use, yori is not followed by adj./A N (see 74, 252).
a 9
9
2
^
4
П
kyuju ichinen jomu to nari kyuju ninen shigatsu yori genshoku
In ’91 he became m anaging director, and since April ’92 he [has
occupied] his current position.
b
A - f R U O l · f c t i i - f H [<t 0 J0
hiru wa kosu wa hitori sanzen-en yori yoru wa gosen-en yori
A t lunchtime, courses [are] from ¥3,000, at night from ¥5,000.
С
^ [ J; 0 ]jo
shohinmei wa zenryaku ashi no ura yori
The product nam e is ‘Hello, from the sole of the fo o t’.
d г**
[J: 01j tai*0
eiga akai kutsu yori hoka
‘From (he film The Red Shoes', and others.
252 yori [COMPARATIVE PARTICLE]
yori literally m eans “com pared to ”, “m ore th a n ”, etc., and is used to indic
ate the stan d ard o f com parison (th at which som ething/som ebody is being
com pared with) in com parative S (see 25.1, 218.10).
F o r adverbial use o f yori (yori + [A/AN] form ing the equivalent to English
com parative forms (see 25.2).
252.1 N oun yori (mo) + adjective/adjectival noun
252.2 N oun/verb yori (mo) verb
252.3 N oun yori (mo) noun (copula)
252.1 N O U N yori (m o) + A D JE C T IV E /A D JE C T IV A L N O U N
Follow ed by adj. (and A N ), yori indicates com parison ‘-er th a n ’, ‘m ore
th an ’.
a
[ J; 0 ] 1 > \
hito no inochi wa chikyii yori omoi to iu
They say th at hum an life weighs heavier than the globe.
ь
U 0] f l c i o / · : о
sato ga mae yori kirei ni natta
The village has become prettier th an before.
с & ir m - u ο ι
kanarazu senshu yori hayaku kimasu
He always comes earlier than the players.
d
[ J; 0 1 + Θ ϊ5 Λ '0
hikone no hatsushimo wa heinen yori toka osoi
The first ground frost in H ikone is ten days later th an in average years.
2 52.2 N O U N /V E R B yori (m o) VE R B
Followed by V, yori indicates that the action/state o f V takes place ‘com pared
to ’, ‘rather th a n ’.
а х - Н ' б ' Ш Ъ < i o f c f r i t - n i i v , » ,, fail U 0 1
boru ga tobanaku natta wake dc wa nai. tairyoku yori kiryoku ga
ochite iru
I t’s not t ha t [I c a n ’t get the g o ll j ball to lly [the d i s t a n c e | a n y mo r e.
It's my m e n t a l r at he r tlian physical s t i c n g th t h a t ’s d i mi n i sh e d
b
U01
kore made yori go-moderu fueru
C om pared to before, there will be five new models.
с
JL?> I «t 01
ima wa mori о miru yori ki о miru toki da
This is the tim e to look at the trees rather than the wood.
2 52 .3 N O U N y o ri (m o) N O U N (C O PU LA )
This is often used in slogans, sayings, etc. in the sense o f ‘rather than’ (cop.
is usually omitted).
a
U 0 41 W *
tairitsu yori mo kyocho
Co-operation rather than opposition
b t&UOl Ш ь
ron yori shoko
P roof [is] better than argum ent
253 ze [FINAL PARTICLE]
ze is used by men, mostly in informal language, to call the listener’s attention
to something, in the sense of ‘you know ’, Ί tell you’, etc.
N ote example e, where ze is used after a -masu form,
naita no shornei ga ataru to motto kirei da ze
In the floodlight (lit. “when the lights for the night m atch shine on it”),
it [= the stadium ] looks even nicer, I tell you.
b iff L
f a t z b t z [-tf]0
atarashii opera-za ga terebi de shokai sareta n da ze
The new O pera H ouse was introduced on TV, you know.
с
6 [-tf]o
kono junban о matsu tsuro kabe ni mo yuka ni mo terebi no monita ga
hamatteru ze
This passage where you wait for your tu rn has TV m onitors fitted in
both the wall and the floor, you know!
d i -?/ =<,
5
[■*]„
mattaku oniichan no eikyoryoku no okisa ni wa mairu ze
The influence o f the older brother [on the younger one] is really
amazing, you know.
ί#λ,0
go-jinryoku arigato gozaimasu. shikashi kore ja ikemasen ze. tochi
torihiki wa ugokimasen
T hank you for your effort. B ut this is not good enough. L and deals
aren’t m oving [at all],
254 zo [FINAL PARTICLE]
zo is a stronger variant o f yo (see 242), used by men.
As zo is used to alert the listener, it can also be used to threaten others.
However, it is also com m on for people to use zo when talking to themselves/
thinking aloud.
а ф э Ш о
utsu zo
I’ll shoot!
b
[Zh
okashii zo
This is strange!
r.i
temiyage ja sumanai zo nado to odoshita utagai
He is suspected o f having threatened him, saying, ‘A present ain’t good
enough!’.
d
К ], А Ь Ш Ш
joshi kara ie ni hi о tsukeru zo inu о korosu zo to odosareta
He was threatened by his superior, saying he’d set his house on fire and
kill his dog.
e Z c D '^ X -lim J U fr b <
1 1 1 [%],
kono bun de wa doage de naku o-teage ni natte shimau zo
If we go on like this, it’s not going to be ‘doage’ [being lifted in
trium ph] but ‘o-teage’ [throwing up hands in despair]!
f
g
[€]jo
otosan kyoso da yo yoshi makenai zo
‘D addy, it’s a race!’ Ό Κ , I’m no t going to lose!’
[€]jo
(11)
9 —COiSidb $· CO·?■''<' ft 0
o meru ga kiteru zo. shdgakko kara kactta haruki-kun (11) wa konpyutii
no gamen о nozoita
4)li, a n (e-)mail has c o m e ! - I l a t u k i kim. w h o h a d got b ac k f r o m
p r i m a r y school , l o oke d at the l o i n p u l e i screen.
255 -zutsu [ADVERBIAL PARTICLE]
A ttached to w ords indicating an am ount (num. + C, an d idiomatically the
adv. o f degree sukoshi and wazuka), -zutsu indicates th at the same am ount is
allotted to each unit or person (see 36, 147).
N ote that where a case P is present after num. + C, -zutsu is inserted between
num . + С and the case P.
255.1 N um ber per unit
255.2 N um ber at a time
255.3 Idiom: sukoshi-zutsu, wazuka-zutsu
255.1 N U M B E R PE R U N IT
The m eaning here is ‘each’ but note th a t in English translation, ‘each’ is
often redundant.
a
[-fo ]
uchii gomi wa mainen ichiwari-zutsu fuete iru
‘Space litter’ is increasing every year by 10 per cent (lit. “each”).
b
lo tv 'S ,
watashi jishin mo ikum6-zai о tsuki ni ippon-zutsu katte iru
I [myself] too buy a bottle (lit. “each”) o f hair restorer per month.
с
3 % [ f ro ] A
: }‘ '
gakusei-sii wa nennen san-pasento-zutsu gensho shite iku
The num ber o f students will decrease by 3 per cent (lit. “each”) every
year.
d Я - Ь 'О К 'у ъ -У 'О Ю .Ъ Н ,
[ t ^ ] ίθ-b y b
T -fH o
Ьбги-pen to shapu-pen wa gohyaku-en iro enpitsu wa juppon-zutsu no
setto de sen-en
The ballpoint pens and propelling pencils [are] ¥500, the coloured
pencils ¥1,000 for sets o f ten (lit. “each”).
e
-iJiL
* 3-&><r> η
[Ψ^]
τ Ψ — V b s^ ' X
=.-f£-S РЭΧ\
Ζ Ъ о X ν ч6 о
zensai shusai kaku nisan-pin no uchi kara ippin-zutsu о erabi dezato
ga tsuite sanzen gohyaku-en de nomimono wa betsu-ry6kin to natte iru
It’s ¥3,500 for a choice o f one dish [each] from tw o o r three
entrees and main dishes, with dessert included; drinks are charged
extra.
2 5 5 .2 N U M B E R AT A T IM E
a —о [ - f o ] 7 -y 7 " C g X f c 't I
So
hitotsu-zutsu rappu de tsutsunda sushi о tanpin hanbai suru
They sell sushi individually, w rapping one [ piece] at a time in
cling film.
Щ%- L / ■ - ;#] И х Ш £ ^ о
kid6tai ga hantai-ha jumin о hitori-zutsu haijo shiy5 to suru to keisatsu
kaere to no dog5 ga tobikai k6fun shita josei ga taorete by5in e
W hen the riot police tried to rem ove the dissenting citizens one by one,
there were shouts o f ‘Police go hom e’, and an overexcited wom an
collapsed and [was taken] to hospital.
255.3 ID IO M : s u k o sh i-zu ts u , w a zu k a -zu ts u
These idiom atic expression are used in the sense o f ‘a little at a tim e’.
a
Ш Ь № 1 / Ъ t£h η 0
sukoshi-zutsu sh6hi mo nobiru daro
Little by little, consum ption should increase too.
X ^6 0
kaku-ken ga matomete iru уйкб kyujin bairitsu ga wazuka-zutsu-nagara
kaifuku ni mukatte iru
The com petition rate for valid jo b offers put out by the prefectures is
nearing recovery, however slightly.
ENGLISH INDEX
a b it 130
a few tim es 411
A is a b o u t В 173
A is В to a n e x te n t t h a t 176
a little 15
a little a t a tim e 616
a little ea rlie r 15
a lo t 1 4 -1 5 , 351
a N th a t is so . . . th a t 175
a N ty p ic a l o f its k in d 423
a N w o rth y o f th a t n a m e 423
a re a l/p ro p e r N 423
a s in g le . . . 103
a ty p ic a l/a ty p ic a l N 1 423
a b le to d o f o r s o m e o n e else 482
a b o u t 15, 46, 50, 162, 172, 224, 311, 316, 356, 378
a b o u t all 163
a b o u t th e o n ly 107
a b o u t th e o n ly N 163
a b o u t to 611
a b o v e 429
a b o v e all 65, 149
ab s o lu te ly n o t 18
ac cid en tally 6
a c c o m p a n y (so m eo n e ) 488, 505
a c c o rd in g to ( . . . ) 112, 3 1 8 -2 0 , 451, 455
a c q u ire 301, 571
a c ro s s 355
a c tu a lly 510
a d v a n c e 550
a ffec ted 424
a fte r 2 7 -9 , 87, 429, 495
a fte r (a m o u n t o f tim e) 495
a fte r b ein g b o rn 90
a fte r d o in g V 327
a g a in 15
a g a in s t 199, 314, 378
a k in to 165
alco h o lic d r in k 189
a lig h t 201
alik e 1
all 3, 46, 68
all o n e c a n d o is 450
all o n e /it etc. d o es/a ch iev e s 107
all th a t re m a in s is 27
a ll th e m o re so b e c a u se 109
all th e tim e 15, 50
a llo w 494
allo w m e to 57
allo w m e to d o 494
allo w so m eo n e to d o s o m e th in g 521, 523
a lm o s t 14, 49, 601
a lm o st no 18
a lo n g 355
alrcjuly 15. 251
a lso 89, 120, 137, 2 4 2 -3 , 462
a lth o u g h 209, 217, 247
alw a y s 31, 41, 4 4 , 130, 411
a m 96
a .m . 15
a m I a llo w ed to ? 56
a m /is /a re insid e 571
a m /is ea tin g 570
a m o n g 22, 119, 263, 563
a m o n g o th e rs 2 58, 593
a m o u n t p e r 317
a n d 38, 7 1 -2 , 8 3 -5 , 8 9 -9 1 , 93, 1 52-3, 305, 363,
448, 542
a n d (am o n g o th e rs) 593
a n d (m o re o v er) 90, 448
a n d so o n 258
a n d su ch lik e 264
a n d (th e like) 542
a n d th e re fo re 84, 90
an y (~ ) 118, 245, 351, 4 1 2 , 414, 4 1 6 -7
a n y a m o u n t 411
a n y n u m b e r ( o f tim es) 411
a n y su ch 264
a n y tim e 411
a n y tim e n o w 15
a n y w ay 411
a n y b o d y 411
a n y o n e 411
a n y th in g 411
a n y th in g like 267
a n y w a y 1 7 -9
an y w h e re 411
a p p a re l 189
a p p a re n tly 17, 418, 4 21, 451
(a p p a re n tly so b u t) n o t re a lly 599
a p p e a r to 596
a p p e a re d like 596
a p p e a rs to m e t h a t 602
a p p ro x im a te ly 162, 350
a r e 96
a re d e a d 571
a r e a 170
a rriv e 317
a s 204, 326, 336, 378, 540, 561
a s e a rly as 245
a s fo r . . . 579
a s i f 49, 161, 600, 6 0 3 - 4
a s lo n g a s 436, 438
a s m a n y as 229, 243
a s m u c h as 67
a s o f 113
as re g a rd s 311, 378
as s o o n as 245
as y o u lo o k o n 13
ask 186 7
618 English Index
a s s u m in g th a t 272
a s tro n o m y 574
a t 110-11, 304, 312
a t le a st 46, 162, 164, 304, 585
a t n ig h t 15
a t n o o n 15
a t th e e a rlie s t/la te s t 512
a t (th e tim e o f ) 313, 378
a t ( th e very ) le a s t 164
a tta c h 550
a tte n d 186
a u n t 143
a u tu m n 15
В r a th e r th a n /a s o p p o s e d to A 282
b a n k a c c o u n t b a la n c e 575
b a re ly h a s . . . h a p p e n e d 431
b e 186
b e a b le to 220, 386, 570
be allo w e d to 56
b e a ttra c te d to 369
b e b e n t 549
b e b u rie d 550
b e b u r n t 550
b e c o n v in c in g 65
b e c ru s h e d 550
be d e c id e d 222, 571
be d e v e lo p e d 572
r ,
be e n tru s te d 549
b e felt 88
b e f o u n d 549
b e g a th e re d 549
b e g iven th e o p p o r tu n ity to feel/d isco v e r s o m e th in g
58
be h e a rd 224, 331
b e h it 549
be in a s ta te o f . . . 301
be in th e p ro c e s s o f 440
be in d e p e n d e n t 572
be left 550
b e left o v e r 550
b e m a d e to d o s o m e th in g (a g a in s t o n e 's w ill) 58
b e m e n d e d 550
b e m ista k e n 549
be m ix ed 549
be n o lo n g e r 284
be o p e n 549
be ro a s te d 550
be ru in e d 551
be secu re 65
b e seen 224, 331, 551
be s ta b le 572
be su rp rise d 54
be th a n k fu l 217
be th e re 186, 4 4 4 , 484, 489, 566, 570
be tra n s m itte d 550
be u n a b le to 289
be u seful 179
because 77, 336, 363, 434, 469
b ecause o f N 304
become 9K. 2K4. 443. 463, 571 2
become * adv. 57 i
become developed 572
brcome independent 57.’’
b e fo re 2 2 -5 , 2 3 2 -3 , 290, 429
be fo re a c h a n g e f o r th e w o rse o c c u rs 24
be fo re d o in g 233
be fo re lo n g 562
b e fo re s o m e th in g h a p p e n s 560
b e fo re (tim e) h a s p a s s e d 560
b egin 549, 571
b eg in s o m e th in g 570
b eh in d 429
below 429
b e n d 549
besides 72
b etw een 22, 429
b ig 60
b low , b r e a th e 551
b o rin g 263
b o rro w 186
b o th 411
b o x 572
b o x in g 572, 574
b re a d 574
b re a k 550
b re a th e 5 5 0 -1
b rin g s o m e o n e 505
b rin g u p 550
b ro th e rs (& sisters) 142
b u rn 550
b u ry 550
b u t 75, 92, 110, 1 5 2 -3 , 2 0 8 -9 , 217, 247, 363, 448,
540, 585
b u y 567
b y 110, 112, 114, 2 03, 2 3 1 -2 , 302, 378
b y a w h is k e r 14
b y all m e a n s 19
by a n y c h a n c e /m e a n s 19, 418
b y its e lf 458
b y n o m e a n s 418
by th e d a y 430
b y th e w ay 81
c a k e 466, 574
c a lm 549
c a n 220, 3 8 6 -7
c a n b e e x p e c te d 167
c a n w e a s k y o u to 4 34, 515
c a n y o u 503
c a n y o u believ e it? 268
c a n ’t 592
c a n ’t a ff o rd to d o n o th in g b u t 45
c a n ’t b e e x p e c te d to 254
c a n ’t b u t 169
c a n ’t h elp d o in g 129, 134, 607
c a n ’t h elp h a v in g th a t feelin g 88
c a n ’t j u s t . . . a ll th e tim e 4 4 - 5
c a n ’t (p o ssib ly ) 169
ca re fu lly 14
case 39
cease to b e 284
c e rtain ly 17
ce rtain ly n o t 250
ch a n g e I 1, IK9. 550. 566
i Ii .imsom **74
« h .in n in g
,V.ip υ 10, I.·")
beimm· known И).'
I b r . i H l t l g ) И) Г Ч .Щ ) S / . \
Ь<ч пип· st.thl»· s Л'
. t u Ml I г м ) I I ’
S /S
English Index 619
ch illy 359
c h o p stic k s 189
c ircu m stan c es 39
c la tte r 359
clim b m o u n ta in s 572
clo se 549, 571
c lo se s o m e th in g 570
c lu b 575
co ffee 575
c o ld 441
c o llap se 550
c o m e 186, 504, 566, 568
c o m e a b o u t 222
c o m e ac ro ss 526
c o m e a lo n g 505
c o m e d o w n 201, 551
c o m e d o w n th e s ta irs 356
c o m e in to b e in g 301
c o m e o u t 201, 550, 571
c o m e o u ts id e 201
c o m e to a s to p 571
c o m e to a n e n d 571
c o m e to d o 302
c o m e to th in k o f it 33
c o m p a re d to 34, 64, 199, 612
co m p letely 11, 14
c o n c e rn in g 309, 311, 316, 356, 378
c o n n e c t 549
c o n s e q u e n tly 73
c o n s e rv a tio n 524
c o n s is t o f 201
c o n tr a r y to 308, 314, 378
c o n v e n ie n t 303
c o n v e n ie n t f o r d o in g 339
c o n v e rt 566
c o n v in cin g 7
c o o k (in g ) 572, 574
c o o l 7, 550
c o rm o r a n t 573
c o rre s p o n d (to ) 307
c o u ld we g et y o u to 434, 515
c o u ld y o u 503
c o u ld y o u p le ase 434, 493
c o u n trie s 346
c o u s in 143
c risp 7
c ro ss o v e r 550
c ru s h 550
c r y 570
c u p 574
c u rre n tly 15
c u t w ell 391
c u te 424
d a d d y 377
d a u g h te r(s) 143
d a y 16
d a y s o f th e w eek 15
d e a l w ith 541
d e a th 352
d ec id e s o m e th in g 570
d e c id e to 221, 603
d efin itely 20
d efin itely not! 403, 418
d e m o c ra c y 347
depending on l.'O I, WX
d e sp ite 337
d ie 187, 571
d iffe r (fro m ) 526
d ire c tio n 170
disco v e r 571
d isco v e ry 571, 574
d iscu ss 192
d isg u stin g 424
d is ta n c e 94
d o 98, 137, 1 8 6 -7 , 346, 4 43, 463, 566, 568
d o (a fa v o u r b y d o in g ) s o m e th in g fo r s o m e o n e else
5 2 1 -2
d o f o r o th e rs 4 3 9 -4 0
d o f o r s o m e o n e else 480
d o f o r y o u r/h is, etc. b e n e fit 521
d o re s e a rc h 571
d o th in g s lik e A a n d / o r В 91, 478
d o th in g s s u c h a s 478
d o w o rk 66
d o e s fo r m e 440
d o e s n ’t a m o u n t to m u c h 164
d o e s n ’t n ec essarily m e a n th a t 207
d o in g 219
d o i n g . . . is a d j./A N -e r 170
d o in g S I is a ll y o u n e e d to d o 109
d o in g s o m e o n e a f a v o u r 483
(d o in g s o m e o n e a f a v o u r b y ) le ttin g so m eo n e d o
s o m e th in g 482
d o in g s o m e th in g a s a th r e a t to th e listen er 5 2 1 -2
d o in g . . . w o u ld b e a d j./A N -e r 170
d o n ’t 256, 289, 291
d o n ’t y o u see? 434
d o t 573
d o u b tle s s 17
d r in k 186, 570
d r in k (a lc o h o l) 441
d riv e r o n ly (b u s, e tc.) 575
d r o p 551
d ry 550
d u e to 221, 304, 320, 469
d u rin g 21, 563
d u rin g th e d a y 15
d u rin g th is p e rio d /tim e 23
e a c h 615
e a rlie r 15
e a rly 573
e a t 187, 567, 570
e c o n o m ic g ro w th 574
e ith e r 416
e ith e r o n e 411
e n d 550
e n d s o m e th in g 570
e n d u p 291
e n d u p d o in g /b e in g 536
e n te r 551, 566, 571
e n tra n c e 551
e n tr u s t 549
-e r th a n 612
e re c t 550
e s ta b lis h m e n ts 346
even 47, 116, 1 1 9 -2 0 , 2 29, 244, 246, 436, 4 60, 508
even a little 119
even a s s u m in g th a t 511
even a t th e ex p e n se o f d o in g 230
even if 19, 506 -8, 511
620 English Index

symbols and abbreviations used in the text

Transcription

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