Chapter Five: Explanation
- いきましょう！ ikimashou! - [Let's go!] We first
saw this in Chapter 3, but it is ve
- ry useful. The plain "go" is
ikimasu (normal - polite) or iku (normal).
The first (ikimasu) is in what's called the -masu
form because it ends in masu. (easy right?) The masu
form is considered polite, but is used very often. Just
plain iku (sometimes called dictionary form)
is also used often. To say "LET'S ..." simply
add mashou to the end of the masu form.
- どこに？ doko ni? - [Where to?] We saw doko
(where) in Chapter 3, but now we have a strange little ni
added after the doko. As you can see from the
translation, the ni adds a direction (to).
Obaasan said "Let's go" so Frank asks "Where
TO?"
- となりのうちに。 tonari no uchi ni. - [To the next
door neighbors' house.] 1st point:
notice the ni is added again to show direction. 2nd
point: to say next-door-neighbors, simply say
"tonari no..." to say the "The
Brown's next door" would be "tonari no
buraun" OR to just say "neighbor" in
general say "tonari no hito" (next's
person = next door person) 3rd point: tonari
can also be used for objects. kuruma no tonari (next
to the car) || neko no tonari (next to the cat) but
saying "tonari no neko" would mean
"the next door's cat" -- do you follow?
- いいよ。 ii yo - [That's fine.] Often used
when giving permission to do something. "May I eat
your pizza?" "ii yo." || "May
I have your car?" "ii yo."
- こんばんは！ konban wa - [Good evening.] This is
a set phrase. It actually means "As for this night"
- こんばんは、 あら、 その人は だれですか？ konban wa, ara, sono hito wa dare desu
ka? - [Good evening, oh and who is this person?] 1st
point: The answer to konban wa is konban
wa. 2nd point: ara is not
a word, but a sound showing some level of surprise.
Japanese uses a number of sounds like ara. eeto
(let me think...) is another one that you have
encountered. 3rd point: Do you remember sore
(that) from Chapter 3. Both sono and sore
are actually the same, but the usage is different. sore
stands alone and is usually followed by wa
(the topic particle "as for...") as in "sore
wa sushi desu." (That is sushi) BUT!! sono
is always connected with a noun. sono sushi wa oishi
desu. (That sushi is delicious.) sono hito
(that person) NOTE: sore's
partner in crime, I mean, Japanese is kore (this
(not that)) and kore's noun-brother is kono.
kono hito (this person)
- フランクと もうします。 はじめまして。 furanku to moushimasu. hajimemashite. -
[I am called "Frank." Nice to meet you.] 1st
point: Think of the to as "quotation
marks" 2nd point: moushimasu
is a very humble (that means Frank is a nice guy) way of
introducing oneself. You could also say more abruptly
"furanku desu." (I'm Frank.) 3rd
point: hajimemashite (nice to meet you
- lit. Let's start...) is said when meeting for the first
time.
- はじめまして、いらっしゃい！ hajimemashite, irasshai - [Nice to
meet you, welcome.] 1st point: hajimemashite's
answer is hajimemashite. 2nd point:
irasshai is a shortened form of irasshaimase
(welcome) - a good rule is the longer the word the more
polite it becomes. Both irasshai and irasshaimase
are yelled by store clerks at every supermarket,
shop, and store when you enter their doors.
- おじゃまします！ ojamashimasu! - [Sorry for
disturbing you] 1st point: jama
means "thing in the way" "a bother"
so literally you are saying "sorry for being a thing-in-your-way"
2nd point: the o added at the
beginning is for politeness. You will see more of it
later.
- いいうち です ね。 ii uchi desu ne. - [You have a nice
house] 1st point: I put "you"
in the translation, but in Japanese this is not natural.
It is obvious the house belongs to "you" so it
is not said. 2nd point: add ii
to any noun that you like. "ii hito" (nice
person) "ii neko" (nice cat) 3rd
point: the ne is added for stress and
to presupose that everyone would agree. ne has
many usages and I don't think they can be explained well.
If you listen to the different ways it is used, you will
catch on.
- ねえねえ、 となり の 山田さん の
explanation