Looks like
we made it - as Barry Manilow would say - at least we made it half way!
台風が 来る みたい。taifuu
ga kuru mitai. It looks
like a hurricane. [This could mean
you are looking at storm clouds, OR someone told you a hurricane is coming
and you are reporting that possibility]
And just stick it after a noun
この 景色は 夢 みたい。
kono keshiki wa yume mitai.
This scenery looks like
a dream. [Useful if visiting Mt. Fuji - or, alternatively, if you have
bad dreams, a garbage heap...]
あの 人は 日本人 みたい。
ano hito WA nihonjin mitai.
That person looks like
he's [or she's] Japanese.
There is another usage of -mitai where it can mean 'try and see' when added
to the て form of a verb:
やってみたい yatte mitai - I'll give
it a shot.
食べてみたい tabete mitai - I'll taste
and see.
That is a bit different from the above, but it is also very useful!
While みたい can convey info you have heard as well as what you see, ～そう is mainly used for info that originated elsewhere. - I heard...
Construction:
1) simple verb + ~sou + desu/da
ゆきちゃんは 肉を 食べない そう だ。
yuki chan WA niku o tabenai sou DA
I heard Yuki doesn't eat meat.
2) -i adjective + ~sou + desu/DA
田中さんの新しいパソコンは とても 高い そう です。
tanaka san no atarashii pasokon wa totemo takai sou desu.
I heard Tanaka's new computer is very expensive. [This info could have come from Tanaka himself, or someone else]
Construction:
1) simple verb + ~you ni
私が言う ように して。
watashi ga iu you ni shite.
Do as I say.
2) noun + ~ no you ni
あなた は 熊のプーさん のように かわいい です。
anata wa kuma no pu-san no you ni kawaii desu.
You are as cute as Winnie the Pooh
This is similar to ~sou where the speaker is repeating info heard from another source. The only difference may be ~rashii may be based on more reliable information.
Construction:山田さん は 帰った らしい です。
yamada san wa kaetta rashii desu.
It sounds like Mr. Yamada has come home.
2) noun + ~rashii
There are a few nouns with rashii that you can remember as a word in itself. This meaning is slighly different from the above verb construction. Instead of meaning info heard elsewhere, when added to a noun it means the speaker thinks something looks like something. Here are a few:
男らしい otokorashii - manly (like a man)
女らしい onnarashii - girly (but perhaps 女っぽい onnappoi is used more)
犬らしい inurashii - like a dog (substitute any animal here. This is useful when you see an animal at night and are not sure what it is, but it looks like...)
アメリカらしい amerikarashii - American-ish (substitute any country)
Another similar construction with nouns is ~ppoi - as seen above with onnappoi. When added to nouns to mean 'looks like...' ~ppoi is the same as ~rashii
Construction:
1) ~masu verb - masu + mashou
Here are a few quick and useful examples:
This construction is very easy if you know the masu (formal) form of the verb. If you are a beginner, you probably want to stick with the ~masu form anyway.行きましょう。
ikimashou.
Let's go.遊びましょう。
asobimashou.
Let's play.先生と話しましょう。
sensei to hanashimashou.
Let's talk to the teacher.日本語を勉強しましょう。
nihongo o benkyou shimashou.
Let's study Japanese.
This example uses suru. Another example would be:スカイダイビングしましょう。 sukai daibingu shimashou. Let's go sky diving.
Why don't we study Japanese grammar?
ok. Since we have the above construction (using a negative to suggest doing something) in English, this grammar point isn't too difficult to grasp.
Construction:
1) ~masu verb - masu + masen ka
どこか行きませんか。
dokoka ikimasen ka.
Why don't we go already?
[notice I have the English as 'we.' It could be 'you' if you are angry at the person and wish him to leave...]映画を見ませんか。
eiga o mimasen ka .
Why don't we see a movie.何か飲みませんか。
nanika nomimasen ka.
Wouldn't you like to drink something?
[In this case you are asking someone individually if they would like something to drink. ]
This is used at the end of a sentence and contains a variety of meanings. We will look at it as a question tag.
As a question tag: don't you... isn't it...
あなたはにんじんが嫌いですね。 anata wa ninjin ga kirai desu ne. You don't like carrots, don't you?
その映画はとてもいい映画だったね。 sono eiga wa totemo ii eiga datta ne. Don't you think that was a good movie?
今日は暑いですね。 kyou wa atsui desu ne. Today is very hot, isn't it?
If you want to use ne as a question tag, it helps to nod your head, or change the inflection to let the listener know you would like a response. It is usually used when the speaker feels fairly certain his listeners agree with what was said.
A very useful phrase for whenever something good happens is:
いいね。 ii ne. Isn't that great!
Using とき toki - at the time when...
With a noun add a の
|
[Looking at a photo] |
And with verbs...
|
simple past |
Koto - intangible things
いい事はありません。
ii koto wa arimasen.
There isn't anything good.大事な事を教えます。
daiji na koto o oshiemasu.
I will tell you an important thing.昨日の事はすみませんでした。
kinou no koto wa sumimasen deshita.
I am sorry about what happened yesterday. (yesterday's thing)
Mono - tangible things
その黒いものは猫かなあ。
sono kuroi mono wa neko kanaa.
I wonder if that black thing is a cat?おいしいものが食べたい。
oishii mono ga tabetai.
I want to eat something good.
One useful phrase using koto is:
どういうこと？
dou iu koto?
What is the meaning of this?
This phrase is used whenever the listener isn't sure of the motive of the speaker.
This is one that should be learned by useful examples
非常の場合はボタンを押してください。
hijou no ba ai wa botan o oshite kudasai.
In case of emergency push the button.その場合はどうすればいい？
sono ba ai wa dou sureba ii?
In that situation, what should I do?テストがあった場合、私は病気になります。
tesuto ga atta ba ai, watashi wa byouki ni narimasu.
Should a test be