What word fits well in all 4 sentences? いきるためには みずが ( )です。サッカーを するには ボールが( )です。かんじを おぼえるには れんしゅうが ( )です。だいがくに いくために…
~く/に する
(…を) ~く/に する means to “make … ~(adjective)” or “set … ~(adjective)”. ~く is the adverb ending of an いadjective…
じょうず/へた
じょうず(上手) and へた(下手) are both なadjectives and they are used to describe people’s strong points and weak points. [person] は…
きれい
If somebody saidきれいな みずを くださいwhat is being asked for? a. mineral water in a bottleb. tap waterc. water straight from…
だいじょうぶ
Which word fits well in all brackets? 1.この みずは のんでも ( ) ですか。2.( )、うまく いきますよ。3.ひとりで ( )?4.よごれても ( )な ふくで…
便利(べんり)
Which べんり is used incorrectly? a. この かばんは たくさん ポケットが あるから べんりです。b. ジョンさんの アパートは べんりな ばしょに あります。c. すいようびは べんりですか。d. ちかてつが…
にぎやか vs いそがしい
Both にぎやか(な) and いそがしい are usually translated “busy” but the meanings are very different. This post explains the difference.
~は いかがですか。
Today’s Question コーヒーは いかが ですか。Which response doesn’t suit the question? はい、おいしい です。 はい、おねがい します。 はい、おさとう ふたつと ミルクを おねがいします。 Two meanings…
かわいい、かわいらしい、かわいそう
This post explains the difference between かわいいらしい and かわいらしい as well as that between かわいいそう and かわいそう. One more い can make a rather big difference!
Beginners Guide to Happiness in Japanese
“happy” can be rephrased with many different terms in English, so there are many translations of “happy” in Japanese also. Here are some.
Quiet
quiet The English word “quiet” is another difficult word to translate into Japanese. 静(しず)か(な) – silent, still 静(しず)かにしてください。 Be quiet,…
きれい
きれい I have talked about quite a few English words which requires a few different Japanese words to translate them…
thin
thin The English word “thin” is also a tricky word when you want to translate it into Japanese. When somebody…
busy
busy The English word “Busy” is often remembered as 忙(いそが)しい in Japanese and it is correct when you talk about…
i-adjectives and na-adjectives
The other day one of my students asked me if there are more i-adjectives than na-adjectives or vice-versa. I don’t…
なadjectives ending in い
いadjectives all end in い but なadjectives don’t end in な. They need な to connect to the noun that follows it. There are なadjectives that end in い.Here’s a list.