JP2000 Lecture 35

S - RASHII

  1. Speaker's conjecture based on observation 'it seems/appears that S' [cf. -yoo da: less colloquial] Ano hito-tachi wa moo kaeru rashii. Tonari wa atarashii sutereo o katta rashii. Tomodachi wa byooki rashii. Yoshida-san wa kyoo wa konai rashii ne.
  2. Speaker's conjecture based on hearsay 'it seems/I have heard that S' [cf. -soo da: hearsay] Hikooki wa sanjuppun gurai okureru rashii. Tomodachi-fuufu wa saikin rikon-shita rashii. Ii shigoto wa nakanaka mitsukaranai rashii. Ben Jonson wa suteroido o tsukatta rashii.
  3. N + RASHII 'looking/acting like' Kanada rashii keshiki otoko-rashiku nai hito Amerika-jin rashii hito [N.B.]-RASHII conjugates like adjectives originally, but other forms are not used very often.

S - ja nai ka [M]/ ja nai no [F] [Pointing out discrepancies]

        Ame ga furanai to itte ta kedo, futta ja nai ka.
        Yare-ba dekiru ja nai ka.
        Kono eega nakanaka omoshiroi ja nai no.
        Nihongo ga dekinai to kiite ta kedo, kekkoo joozu ja nai.

Informal Imperatives

  1. Affirmative [strong verbs] Vst - e kak-e/yom-e/aruk-e/tomar-e/hanas-e/tat-e [weak verbs] Vst - ro tabe-ro/ki-ro/i-ro/oshie-ro/mise-ro/ne-ro [irreg. verbs] shi-ro/ko-i/ik-e
  2. Negative V + NA hanasu na/kaeru na/taberu na/kuru na [N.B.] The above informal imperatives are used by men [often accompanied by assertive YO]. Ashita asa hayaku koi yo. Kono koto wa hito ni iu na yo. They are also used in semi-indirect quotation. Uchi kara sugu kaere to denwa ga arimashita. Koko de asobu na to iwaremashita.
  3. Honorific kureru ---> kure {M} tasukete kure/mite kure/konai de kure kudasaru ---> kudasai {N} matte kudasai/osanai de kudasai irassharu ---> irasshai {N} kaette irasshai/yotte irasshai nasaru ---> nasai {N} tachi-nasai/oki-nasai/okaeri-nasai/oyasumi-nasai ossharu ---> osshai {F} hayaku osshai choodai-suru---> choodai {F} kite choodai/mite choodai/konai de choodai

- NAGARA 2 'although

S1 [Vn + nagara] S2 
'While/Although   S1,   S2'  

  Tomodachi no uchi no soba made iki-nagara, yorimasen deshita.
  Kanojo wa daiettochuu to ii-nagara, doonatsu o mittsu mo tabeta.
  Ano hito wa daigaku made dete i-nagara, konna shigoto o shite iru.
  Itte wa ikenai to wakatte i-nagara, itte shimatta.

[N.B.] The colloquial -NO NI 'although' is used more often in conversation.

Fractions

Y-bun no X: 1/2 ni-bun no ichi
3/5 go-bun no san 4/9 kyuu-bun no yon 1¼ ikka (or ichi to) yon-bun no ichi

Particle KA 'or'

        Nihongo ka Chuugokugo o toru tsumori desu.
        Ashita ka asatte kite kuremasen ka?
        Hiru wa udon ka soba o tabetai desu ne.

BAKARI 'only'

  1. V [past] + bakari da 'just' Issho ni tabemasen ka? Ima gohan o tabeta bakari desu. Kanada wa moo nagai n desu ka? Iie, senjitsu kita bakari desu.
  2. 'only' [of the same kind] Uchi no ko wa asonde bakari ite komarimasu. Moo ato wa kisha ni noru bakari desu. Ano gakusee wa Nihongo bakari benkyoo-shite iru. Kono kurasu wa otoko no gakusee bakari da. [N.B.] dake/shika vs. bakari Niku dake tabe masu./Niku shika tabemasen. "He eats meat only. [nothing else]" Niku bakari tabemasu. "All he eats is meat. [he eats other things also]"
  3. 'about' [gurai/hodo] {hesitation} Sumimasen ga, hon o ni-satsu bakari kashitekudasai. Okane o sukoshi bakari onegai dekimasen ka?

MODALS: Informal endings

  1. S - mono/mon 'Because ...' {self-justification} Dooshite benkyoo-shinai no? Datte wakaranai n da mono. {M} Mada nenai no? Kono eega omoshiroi n desu/da mono. {F}
  2. S - ka shira 'I wonder' {F (N)} Ano hito kyoo kuru ka shira. {F} Mainichi doko e dekakeru no ka shira. {F} Yamada-kun wa doo shita ka shira ne. {N} (used by female/older male)
  3. S - ka na 'I wonder' {M/(N)} Kyoo ame furu ka na. {M} Aitsu kuru ka na. {M} Ano ko doo shita ka na. {N} (used by male/young female}
  4. S -(no) kai? [informal yes/no question] {M} Affirmative: ~ (no) kai Kyoo kuru kai? Kore wakaru kai? Moo tabeta kai? Kowakatta no kai? Negative: ~ no kai Ikanakatta no kai? Shiranakatta no kai? Omoshirokunakatta no kai? [cf.] S - no? [WH-question] {N} Itsu kaeru no? Doko itta no?
  5. S - n dai [WH-question] {M} Dooshite setsumee-shinakatta n dai? Kinoo wa doko itta n dai? Kono shigoto itsu hajimeru n dai?
  6. S - no ka yo [emphatic WH-question] {M} Kuru no ka yo? Hanasenai no ka yo? Omoshiroi no ka yo?
  7. S - n da yo {M}/no yo {F} [emphatic yes-no question] Naze konakatta n da yo? {M} Nan-ji made ni kaette kuru no yo? {F} Itsu made sonna kot yatte n da yo? {M}
  8. S - sa 'of course' [assertion] {M/(N)} Yoshida wa kanarazu kuru sa. {M} Sono gurai shitte iru sa. {M} Mochiron dekita sa. {M/(N)} [used by male/young female] (cf.) S -tte sa {N} Oishikatta-tte sa. Ashita iku-tte sa.
  9. S - zo [strong assertion] {M/(N)} Ore shiranai zo. {M} Ima kaetta zo. {M} Aa, wakatta zo {M/(N)} [used by male/young female]
  10. S - ze [strong assertion] {M/(N)} Moo kaeroo ze. {M} Aitsu baka da ze. {M} Sonna koto shiranai ze. {M/(N)} [used by male/young female]

- GOTO NI 'every'

  Kaku-teeburu-goto ni hana ga ikete aru.
  Kaku-uchi-goto ni hata ga tatete aru.
  Hikooki wa juppun-goto ni chakuriku-suru.

  [N.B.] -oki ni 'every ... interval' often replaces -goto ni.
        Basu wa juugo-fun-oki ni kuru.
        Sannen-oki ni kuni e kaeru.

CONTRACTED FORMS

Vn wa shinai 'never V'

[casual]                 [informal]          [vulgar]

iki wa shinai   --->  iki ya shinai    ---> ikyaa shinai
wakari wa shinai--->  wakari ya shinai ---> wakaryaa shinai
tabe wa shinai  --->  tabe ya shinai
© Norio Ota 2000