Author: Tae Kim

In Japanese there are many different ways to express likeness or similarity depending on appearance, behavior, or outcome. When learning these expressions for the first time, it is difficult to understand what the differences are between them because they all translate to the same thing in English. This lesson is designed to study the differences between these expressions so that you can start to get a sense of which is appropriate for what you want to say.

Expressing similarity with よう （様）

Vocabulary

1. ここ – here
2. 誰 【だれ】 – who
3. いる (ru-verb) – to exist (animate)
4. 映画 【えい・が】 – movie
5. 観る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to watch
6. 学生 【がく・せい】 – student
7. 静か 【しず・か】 (na-adj) – quiet
8. あの – that (over there) （abbr. of あれの）
9. 人 【ひと】 – person
10. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
11. 気 【き】 – mood; intent
12. する (exception) – to do
13. 彼 【かれ】 – he; boyfriend
14. 雰囲気【ふん・い・き】 – atmosphere; mood
15. ちょっと – a little
16. 怒る 【おこ・る】 (u-verb) – to get angry
17. 聞こえる 【き・こえる】 (ru-verb) – to be audible
18. 何 【なに／なん】 – what
19. 起こる 【おこ・る】 (u-verb) – to happen
20. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say

We’ve already briefly gone over 「よう」 and learned that 「よう」 means an appearance or manner. We can use this definition to say that something has an appearance or manner of a certain state. This word can be used in many ways to express similarity. The simplest example is by directly modifying the relative clause. When the sentence ends in 「よう」, you must explicitly express the state-of-being by adding 「だ」, 「です」, or 「でございます」.

1. ここには、誰もいないようだ。
   Looks like no one is here.
2. 映画を観たようです。
   Looks like (he) watched the movie.

When directly modifying nouns or na-adjectives, you must use the 「の」 particle for nouns or attach 「な」 to na-adjectives.

1. 学生のようだ。
   Looks like it’s a student.
2. ここは静かなようだ。
   Looks like it’s quiet.

Notice that example 1 does not say that the person looks like a student. Rather, the declarative 「だ」 states that the person appears to be a student. On a side note, you can’t say 「おいしいようだ」 to say that something looks tasty. This is like saying, “This dish apparently is tasty,” which can actually be kind of rude.

You can also use it as a na-adjective to describe something that appears to be something else.

1. あの人を見たような気がした。
   Had a feeling like I saw that person before.
2. 彼は学生のような雰囲気ですね。
   He has a student-like atmosphere.

Finally, we can attach the target particle to say things like, “I heard it like that” or “I said it like…”.

1. ちょっと怒ったように聞こえた。
   Was able to hear it like (she) was a little mad.
2. 何も起こらなかったように言った。
   Said (it) like nothing happened.

Using 「みたい」 to say something looks like something else

Vocabulary

1. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
2. 犬 【いぬ】 – dog
3. もう – already
4. 売り切れ 【う・り・き・れ】 – sold out
5. 制服 【せい・ふく】 – uniform
6. 着る 【き・る】 (ru-verb) – to wear
7. 姿 【すがた】 – figure
8. 学生 【がく・せい】 – student
9. この – this （abbr. of これの）
10. ピザ – pizza
11. お好み焼き 【お・この・み・や・き】 – okonomiyaki (Japanese-style pancake)
12. 見える 【み・える】 (ru-verb) – to be visible

Another way to express similarity which is considered more casual is by using 「みたい」. Do not confuse this with the 「たい」 conjugation of 「見る」. The main difference is that this 「みたい」 can be attached directly to nouns, adjectives, and verbs just like particles which i-adjectives like 「～たい」 obviously can’t do.

Examples

1. もう売り切れみたい。
   Looks like it’s sold out already.
2. 制服を着ている姿をみると、学生みたいです。
   Looking at the uniform-wearing figure, (person) looks like a student.

The implied meaning here is the person wearing the uniform is not really a student because he/she only looks like a student. This is different from example 3 from the previous 「よう」 section which implied that the person appears to be (but might not be) a student. Again, we also can’t say 「おいしいみたい」 to say that something looks tasty because it implies that, in actuality, the food might not be so good.

Don’t forget that 「みたい」 does not conjugate like the 「～たい」 form or i-adjectives.

• このピザはお好み焼きみたくない？
  (みたい conjugates like a na-adjective.)

• このピザはお好み焼きみたいじゃない？
  Doesn’t this pizza looks like okonomiyaki?

「みたい」 is a grammar used mostly for conversational Japanese. Do not use it in essays, articles, or anything that needs to sound authoritative. You can use 「よう」 instead in the following fashion.

1. もう売り切れのようだ。
   It appears that it is sold-out already.
2. このピザはお好み焼きのように見える。
   This pizza looks like okonomiyaki.

Guessing at an outcome using 「～そう」

Vocabulary

1. いい (i-adj) – good
2. バランス – balance
3. 崩れる 【くず・れる】 (ru-verb) – to collapse; to crumble
4. 一瞬 【いっ・しゅん】 – an instant
5. 倒れる 【たお・れる】 (ru-verb) – to collapse; to fall
6. この – this （abbr. of これの）
7. 辺り 【あた・り】 – vicinity
8. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
9. 漬物 【つけ・もの】 – pickled vegetable
10. おいしい (i-adj) – tasty
11. これ – this
12. 結構 【けっ・こう】 – fairly, reasonably
13. やはり／やっぱり – as I thought
14. 高い 【たか・い】 (i-adj) – high; tall; expensive
15. お前 【お・まえ】 – you (casual)
16. 金髪 【きん・ぱつ】 – blond hair
17. 女 【おんな】 – woman; girl
18. 好き 【す・き】 (na-adj) – likable; desirable
19. もう – already
20. ～時 【～じ】 – counter for hours
21. なる (u-verb) – to become
22. 来る 【く・る】 (exception) – to come
23. ただ – free of charge; only
24. 試合 【し・あい】 – match, game
25. その – that （abbr. of それの）
26. 人 【ひと】 – person
27. 学生 【がく・せい】 – student
28. かわいい (i-adj) – cute
29. かわいそう (i-adj) – pitiable
30. 犬 【いぬ】 – dog

The problem with English is that the expression, “seems like” has too many meanings. It can mean similarity in appearance, similarity in behavior or even that current evidence points to a likely outcome. We will now learn how to say the third meaning: how to indicate a likely outcome given the situation.

Just like the grammar we have learned so far in this lesson, we can use this grammar by simply attaching 「そう」 to the end of verbs, and adjectives. However, there are four important different cases. Actually, I just noticed this but the conjugation rules are exactly the same as the 「～すぎる」 grammar we learned in the last section. The only difference is that for the adjective 「いい」, you need to change it to 「よさ」 before attaching 「そう」 to create 「よさそう」.

1. Verb must be changed to the stem.

For ru-verbs, remove the 「る」

• バランスが崩れて、一瞬倒れそうだった。
  Losing my balance, I seemed likely to fall for a moment.

For u-verbs, change the / u / vowel sound to an / i / vowel sound

• この辺りにありそうだけどな。
  It seems likely that it would be around here but…

2. The 「い」 in i-adjectives must be dropped.

In the next example, the 「い」 has been dropped from 「おいしい」.

• この漬物はおいしそう！
  I bet this pickled vegetable is tasty! (This pickled vegetable looks good!)

Exception: The only exception to this rule is the adjective 「いい」. When using this grammar with 「いい」, you must first change it to 「よさ」.

• これも結構よさそうだけど、やっぱり高いよね。
  This one also seems to be good but, as expected, it’s expensive, huh?

Nothing needs to be done for na-adjectives.

• お前なら、金髪の女が好きそうだな。
  Knowing you, I bet you like blond-haired girls.

3. For all negatives, the 「い」 must be replaced with 「さ」.

The negative of 「来る」 is 「こない」 so when used with 「～そう」, it becomes 「こなさそう」.

1. もう10時になったから、来なさそうだね。
   Since it already became 10:00, it’s likely that (person) won’t come.
2. これはただの試合じゃなさそうだ。
   This isn’t likely to be an ordinary match.

Identical to the 「～すぎる」 grammar, i-adjectives that are derived from the negative 「～ない」
like 「もったいない」 or 「情けない」 also follow this rule as well (which would be 「もったいなさそう」 and 「情けなさそう」 in this case).

4. This grammar does not work with plain nouns.

• その人は学生そう。

There are other grammar we have already covered that can be used to indicate that something is likely to be something else.

1. その人は学生でしょう。
   That person is probably student.
2. その人は学生だろう。
   That person is probably student.

Be careful never to use 「かわいい」 with this grammar. 「かわいそう」 is a completely different word used when you feel sorry for something or someone. 「かわいい」 means, “to look cute” already so you never need to use any of the grammar in this lesson to say something looks cute.

1. この犬はかわいそう。
   Oh, this poor dog.
2. この犬はかわいい。
   This dog is cute.

Expressing hearsay using 「～そうだ」

Vocabulary

1. 明日 【あした】 – tomorrow
2. 雨 【あめ】 – rain
3. 降る 【ふ・る】(u-verb) – to precipitate
4. 毎日 【まい・にち】 – everyday
5. 会う 【あ・う】 (u-verb) – to meet
6. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
7. 彼 【かれ】 – he; boyfriend
8. 高校生 【こう・こう・せい】 – high school student
9. 今日 【きょう】 – today
10. 田中 【た・なか】 – Tanaka (last name)
11. 来る 【く・る】 (exception) – to come

The reason that there are so many annoying rules to using 「～そう」 is to distinguish it from this next grammar we will learn. This is a useful grammar for talking about things you heard that doesn’t necessary have anything to do with how you yourself, think or feel. Unlike the last grammar we learned, you can simply attach 「そうだ」 to verbs and i-adjectives. For na-adjectives and nouns, you must indicate the state-of-being by adding 「だ」 to the noun/na-adjective. Also, notice that 「そう」 itself must always end in 「だ」、「です」、or 「でございます」. These differences are what distinguishes this grammar from the one we learned in the last section. There are no tenses for this grammar.

1. 明日、雨が降るそうだ。
   I hear that it’s going to rain tomorrow.
2. 毎日会いに行ったそうです。
   I heard he went to meet everyday.

Don’t forget to add 「だ」 for nouns or na-adjectives.

• 彼は、高校生だそうです。
  I hear that he is a high school student.

When starting the sentence with this grammar, you also need to add 「だ」 just like you do with 「だから」

Ａ：今日、田中さんはこないの？
A: Is Tanaka-san not coming today?

Ｂ：だそうです。
B: So I hear.

Expressing hearsay or behavior using 「～らしい」

Vocabulary

1. 今日 【きょう】 – today
2. 田中 【た・なか】 – Tanaka (last name)
3. 来る 【く・る】 (exception) – to come
4. あの – that (over there) （abbr. of あれの）
5. 人 【ひと】 – person
6. 何 【なん】 – what
7. 美由紀 【み・ゆ・き】 – Miyuki (first name)
8. 友達 【とも・だち】 – friend
9. 子 【こ】 – child
10. 子供 【こ・ども】 – child
11. 大人 【おとな】 – adult
12. する (exception) – to do
13. つもり – intention, plan
14. 大騒ぎ 【おお・さわ・ぎ】 – big commotion

「らしい」 can be directly attached to nouns, adjectives, or verbs to show that things appear to be a certain way due to what you’ve heard. This is different from 「～そうだ」because 「～そうだ」 indicates something you heard about specifically while 「らしい」 means things seem to be a certain way based on some things you heard about the subject. 「らしい」 conjugates like a normal i-adjective.

Example 1

Ａ：今日、田中さんはこないの？
A: Is Tanaka-san not coming today?

Ｂ：こないらしい。
B: Seems like it (based on what I heard).

Example 2

Ａ：あの人は何なの？
A: What is that person over there?

Ｂ：美由紀さんの友達らしいですよ。
B: Seems to be Miyuki-san’s friend (based on what I heard).

Another way to use 「らしい」 is to indicate that a person seems to be a certain thing due to his behavior.

1. あの子は子供らしくない。
   That child does not act like a child.
2. 大人らしくするつもりだったのに、大騒ぎしてしまった。
   Despite the fact that I planned to act like an adult, I ended up making a big ruckus.

「っぽい」: Slang expression of similarity

Vocabulary

1. あの – that (over there) （abbr. of あれの）
2. 人 【ひと】 – person
3. 韓国人 【かん・こく・じん】 – Korean person
4. 皆 【みんな】 – everybody
5. もう – already
6. 全部 【ぜん・ぶ】 – everything
7. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
8. 恭子 【きょう・こ】 – Kyouko (first name)
9. 全然 【ぜん・ぜん】 – not at all (when used with negative)
10. 女 【おんな】 – woman; girl

A really casual way to express similarity is to attach 「っぽい」 to the word that reflects the resemblance. Because this is a very casual expression, you can use it as a casual version for all the different types of expression for similarity covered above.

「 っぽい」 conjugates just like an i-adjective, as seen by example 3 below.

1. あの人はちょっと韓国人っぽいよね。
   That person looks a little like Korean person, huh?
2. みんなで、もう全部食べてしまったっぽいよ。
   It appears that everybody ate everything already.
3. 恭子は全然女っぽくないね。
   Kyouko is not womanly at all, huh?

This lesson will cover various expressions used to express various degrees of amounts. For example, sentences like, “I only ate one”, “That was all that was left”, “There’s just old people here”, or “I ate too much” all indicate whether there’s a lot or little of something. Most of these expressions are made with particles and not as separate words as you see in English.

Indicating that’s all there is using 「だけ」

Vocabulary

1. りんご – apple
2. これ – this
3. それ – that
4. 食べる 【たべ・る】 (ru-verb) – to eat
5. この – this （abbr. of これの）
6. 歌 【うた】 – song
7. 歌う 【うた・う】 (u-verb) – to sing
8. その – that （abbr. of それの）
9. 人 【ひと】 – person
10. 好き 【す・き】 (na-adj) – likable; desirable
11. 販売機 【はん・ばい・き】 – vending machine
12. 五百円玉 【ご・ひゃく・えん・だま】 – 500 yen coin
13. 小林 【こ・ばやし】 – Kobayashi (last name)
14. 返事 【へん・じ】 – reply
15. 来る 【く・る】 (exception) – to come
16. 準備 【じゅん・び】 – preparations
17. 終わる 【お・わる】 (u-verb) – to end
18. ここ – here
19. 名前 【な・まえ】 – name
20. 書く 【か・く】 (u-verb) – to write
21. いい (i-adj) – good

The particle 「だけ」 is used to express that that’s all there is. Just like the other particles we have already learned, it is directly attached to the end of whichever word that it applies to.

Examples

1. りんごだけ。
   Just apple(s) (and nothing else).
2. これとそれだけ。
   Just that and this (and nothing else).

When one of the major particles are also applied to a word, these particles must come after 「だけ」. In fact, the ordering of multiple particles usually start from the most specific to the most general.

1. それだけは、食べないでください。
   Just don’t eat that. (Anything else is assumed to be OK).
2. この歌だけを歌わなかった。
   Didn’t sing just this song.
3. その人だけが好きだったんだ。
   That person was the only person I liked.

The same goes for double particles. Again 「だけ」 must come first.

• この販売機だけでは、五百円玉が使えない。
  Cannot use 500 yen coin in just this vending machine.

With minor particles such as 「から」 or 「まで」, it is difficult to tell which should come first. When in doubt, try googling to see the level of popularity of each combination. It turns out that 「からだけ」 is almost twice as popular as 「だけから」 with a hit number of 90,000 vs. 50,000.

• 小林さんからだけは、返事が来なかった。
  A reply has not come from only Kobayashi-san.

Unlike some particles, you can directly attach 「だけ」 to verbs as well.

1. 準備が終わったから、これからは食べるだけだ。
   Since the preparations are done, from here we just have to eat.
2. ここに名前を書くだけでいいですか？
   Is it ok to just write [my] name here?

Using 「のみ」 as a formal version of 「だけ」

Vocabulary

1. この – this （abbr. of これの）
2. 乗車券 【じょう・しゃ・けん】 – passenger ticket
3. 発売 【はつ・ばい】 – sale
4. 当日 【とう・じつ】 – that very day
5. 有効 【ゆう・こう】 – effective
6. アンケート – survey
7. 対象 【たい・しょう】 – target
8. 大学生 【だい・がく・せい】 – college student

A particle that is essentially identical both grammatically and in meaning to 「だけ」 is 「のみ」. However, unlike 「だけ」, which is used in regular conversations, 「のみ」 is usually only used in a written context. It is often used for explaining policies, in manuals, and other things of that nature. This grammar really belongs in the advanced section since formal language has a different flavor and tone from what we have seen so far. However, it is covered here because it is essentially identical to 「だけ」. Just googling for 「のみ」 will quickly show the difference in the type of language that is used with 「のみ」 as opposed to 「だけ」.

1. この乗車券は発売当日のみ有効です。
   This boarding ticket is only valid on the date on which it was purchased.
2. アンケート対象は大学生のみです。
   The targets of this survey are only college students.

Indication that there’s nothing else using 「しか」

Vocabulary

1. これ – this
2. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
3. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
4. 今日 【きょう】 – today
5. 忙しい 【いそが・しい】 (i-adj) – busy
6. 朝ご飯 【あさ・ご・はん】 – breakfast
7. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
8. 全部 【ぜん・ぶ】 – everything
9. 買う 【か・う】 (u-verb) – to buy
10. ううん – no (casual)
11. 何【なに】 – what
12. もらう – to receive
13. 頑張る 【がん・ば・る】 (u-verb) – to try one’s best
14. こう – (things are) this way
15. なる (u-verb) – to become
16. 逃げる 【に・げる】 (ru-verb) – to escape; to run away
17. もう – already
18. 腐る 【くさ・る】 (u-verb) – to rot; to spoil
19. 捨てる 【す・てる】 (ru-verb) – to throw away

I carefully phrased the title of this section to show that 「しか」 must be used to indicate the lack of everything else. In other words, the rest of the sentence must always be negative.

• これしかない。
  There’s nothing but this.

The following is incorrect.

• これしかある。
  (Should be using 「だけ」 instead)

As you can see, 「しか」 has an embedded negative meaning while 「だけ」 doesn’t have any particular nuance.

1. これだけ見る。
   See just this.
2. これだけ見ない。
   Don’t see just this.
3. これしか見ない。
   Don’t see anything else but this.

Examples

• 今日は忙しくて、朝ご飯しか食べられなかった。
  Today was busy and couldn’t eat anything but breakfast.

Notice that unlike 「だけ」, it is necessary to finish off the sentence.

• 全部買うの？
  You’re buying everything?

1. ううん、これだけ。
   Nah, just this.
2. ううん、これしか買わない
   Nah, won’t buy anything else but this.
3. ううん、これしか。
   (Wrong, the sentence must explicitly indicate the negative.)

While the major particles always come last, it turns out that 「しか」 must come after 「から」 and 「まで」. A google search of 「からしか」 beats 「しかから」 by an overwhelming 60,000 to 600.

• アリスからしか何ももらってない。
  I didn’t receive anything except from Alice.

You can also use this grammar with verbs.

1. これから頑張るしかない！
   There’s nothing to do but try our best!
2. こうなったら、逃げるしかない。
   There no choice but to run away once it turns out like this.
3. もう腐っているから、捨てるしかないよ。
   It’s rotten already so there’s nothing to do but throw it out.

「っきゃ」, an alternative to 「しか」

Vocabulary

1. これ – this
2. 買う 【か・う】 (u-verb) – to buy
3. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
4. こう – (things are) this way
5. なる (u-verb) – to become
6. もう – already
7. やる (u-verb) – to do

「っきゃ」 is another version of 「しか」 that means essentially the same thing and works exactly the same way. Just substitute 「しか」 with 「っきゃ」 and you’re good to go. This version is a bit stronger than 「しか」 in emphasis but it’s not used nearly as often so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I briefly cover it here just in case you do run into this expression.

Examples

1. これは買うっきゃない！
   There’s nothing but to buy this!
2. こうなったら、もうやるっきゃない！
   If things turn out like this, there nothing to do but to just do it!

Expressing the opposite of 「だけ」 with 「ばかり」

Vocabulary

1. 何 【なに／なん】 – what
2. おばさん – middle-aged lady
3. 嫌 【いや】 (na-adj) disagreeable; unpleasant
4. 崇 【たかし】 – Takashi (first name)
5. ～君 【～くん】 – name suffix
6. 漫画 【まん・が】 – comic book
7. 読む 【よ・む】 (u-verb) – to read
8. かっこ悪い 【かっこ・わる・い】 (i-adj) – unattractive; uncool
9. 彼 【かれ】 – he; boyfriend
10. 麻雀【マー・ジャン】 – mahjong
11. 直美 【なお・み】 – Naomi (first name)
12. 遊ぶ 【あそ・ぶ】 (u-verb) – to play
13. 最近 【さい・きん】 – recent; lately
14. 仕事 【し・ごと】 – job

「ばかり」 is used to express the condition where there’s so much of something to the point where there’s nothing else. Notice this is fundamentally different from 「しか」 which expresses a lack of everything else but the item in question. In more casual situations, 「ばかり」 is usually pronounced 「ばっかり」 or just 「ばっか」. For example, let’s say you went to a party to find, much to your dismay, the whole room filled with middle-aged women. You might say the following.

• 何だよ！おばさんばっかりじゃないか？
  What the? Isn’t it nothing but obasan?

Or perhaps a little more girly:

• いやだ。おばさんばっかり。
  Eww. It’s nothing but obasan.

Examples

• 崇君は漫画ばっかり読んでてさ。かっこ悪い。
  Takashi-kun is reading nothing but comic books… He’s so uncool.

It is quite common in casual speech to end midsentence like this. Notice 「読んでて」 is the te-form of 「読んでいる」 with the 「い」 dropped. We assume that the conclusion will come somewhere later in the story.

1. 彼は麻雀ばかりです。
   He’s nothing but mahjong. (He does nothing but play mahjong.)
2. 直美ちゃんと遊ぶばっかりでしょう！
   You’re hanging out with Naomi-chan all the time, aren’t you!
3. 最近は仕事ばっかだよ。
   Lately, it’s nothing but work.

Saying there’s too much of something using 「すぎる」

Vocabulary

1. 過ぎる 【す・ぎる】 (ru-verb) – to exceed; to pass
2. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
3. 飲む 【の・む】 (u-verb) – to drink
4. 太る 【ふと・る】 (u-verb) – to become fatter
5. 静か 【しず・か】 (na-adj) – quiet
6. 大きい 【おお・きい】 (i-adj) – big
7. 面白い 【おも・しろ・い】 (i-adj) – interesting
8. もったいない (i-adj) – wasteful
9. 情けない 【なさ・けない】 (i-adj) – pitiable
10. 危ない 【あぶ・ない】 (i-adj) – dangerous
11. 少ない 【すく・ない】 (i-adj) – few
12. 佐藤 【さ・とう】 – Satou (last name)
13. 料理 【りょう・り】 – cooking; cuisine; dish
14. 上手 【じょう・ず】 (na-adj) – skillful
15. また – again
16. お酒 【お・さけ】 – alcohol
17. 気 【き】 – mood; intent
18. つける – to attach
19. 気をつける – (expression) to be careful
20. トランク – trunk
21. 入る 【はい・る】 (u-verb) – to enter
22. 罠 【わな】 – trap
23. 時間 【じ・かん】 – time
24. 足りる 【た・りる】 (ru-verb) – to be sufficient
25. 何【なに】 – what
26. 出来る 【で・き・る】 (ru-verb) – to be able to do
27. 彼 【かれ】 – he; boyfriend
28. 彼女 【かの・じょ】 – she; girlfriend
29. 昨晩 【さく・ばん】 – last night
30. こと – event, matter
31. 全然 【ぜん・ぜん】 – not at all (when used with negative)
32. 覚える 【おぼ・える】 (ru-verb) – to memorize
33. それ – that

「すぎる」 is a regular ru-verb written 「過ぎる」 meaning, “to exceed”. When 「すぎる」 is attached to the end of other verbs and adjectives, it means that it is too much or that it has exceeded the normal levels. For verbs, you must directly attach 「すぎる」 to the stem of the verb. For example, 「食べすぎる」 means “to eat too much” and 「飲みすぎる」 means “to drink too much”. For adjectives, you just attach it to the end after you remove the last 「い」 from the i-adjectives (as usual). One more rule is that for both negative verbs and adjectives, one must remove the 「い」 from 「ない」 and replace with 「さ」 before attaching 「すぎる」. There is no tense (past or non-past) associated with this grammar. Since 「すぎる」 is a regular ru-verb, this grammar always results in a regular ru-verb.

Examples

1. 佐藤さんは料理が上手で、また食べ過ぎました。
   Satou-san is good at cooking and I ate too much again.
2. お酒を飲みすぎないように気をつけてね。
   Be careful to not drink too much, ok?
3. 大きすぎるからトランクに入らないぞ。
   It won’t fit in the trunk cause it’s too big, man.
4. 静かすぎる。罠かもしれないよ。
   It’s too quiet. It might be a trap, you know.
5. 時間が足りなさすぎて、何もできなかった。
   Due to too much of a lack of time, I couldn’t do anything.
6. 彼には、彼女がもったいなさすぎるよ。
   She is totally wasted on him (too good for him).

It is also common to change 「すぎる」 into its stem and use it as a noun.

Ａ：昨晩のこと、全然覚えてないな。
A: Man, I don’t remember anything about last night.

Ｂ：それは飲みすぎだよ。
B: That’s drinking too much.

Adding the 「も」 particle to express excessive amounts

Vocabulary

1. 昨日【きのう】 – yesterday
2. 電話 【でん・わ】 – phone
3. ～回 【～かい】 – counter for number of times
4. する (exception) – to do
5. 試験 【し・けん】 – exam
6. ため – for the sake/benefit of
7. ～時間 【～じ・かん】 – counter for span of hour(s)
8. 勉強 【べん・きょう】 – study
9. 今年 【こ・とし】 – this year
10. キロ – kilo
11. 太る 【ふと・る】 (u-verb) – to become fatter

When the 「も」 particle comes after some type of amount, it means that the amount indicated is way too much. For instance, let’s look at the next example.

• 昨日、電話三回もしたよ！
  I called you like three times yesterday!

Notice that the 「も」 particle is attached to the amount “three times”. This sentence implies that the speaker called even three times and still the person didn’t pick up the phone. We understand this to mean that three times are a lot of times to call someone.

1. 試験のために三時間も勉強した。
   I studied three whole hours for the exam.
2. 今年、十キロも太っちゃった！
   I gained 10 whole kilograms this year!

Using 「ほど」 to express the extent of something

Vocabulary

1. 程 【ほど】 – degree, extent
2. 今日 【きょう】 – today
3. 天気 【てん・き】 – weather
4. それ – that
5. 暑い 【あつ・い】 (i-adj) – hot
6. 寝る 【ね・る】 (ru-verb) – to sleep
7. 時間 【じ・かん】 – time
8. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
9. 忙しい 【いそが・しい】 (i-adj) – busy
10. 韓国 【かん・こく】 – Korea
11. 料理 【りょう・り】 – cooking; cuisine; dish
12. 食べる 【たべ・る】 (ru-verb) – to eat
13. おいしい (i-adj) – tasty
14. なる (u-verb) – to become
15. 歩く 【ある・く】 (u-verb) – to walk
16. 迷う 【まよ・う】 (u-verb) – to get lost
17. 勉強 【べん・きょう】 – study
18. 頭 【あたま】 – head
19. いい (i-adj) – good
20. ハードディスク – hard disk
21. 容量 【よう・りょう】 – capacity
22. 大きい 【おお・きい】(i-adj) – big
23. もっと – more
24. たくさん – a lot (amount)
25. 曲 【きょく】 – tune
26. 保存 【ほ・ぞん】 – save
27. 出来る 【で・き・る】 (ru-verb) – to be able to do
28. 航空券 【こう・くう・けん】 – plane ticket
29. 安い 【やす・い】 (i-adj) – cheap
30. 限る 【かぎ・る】 (u-verb) – to limit
31. 文章 【ぶん・しょう】 – sentence; writing
32. 短い 【みじか・い】 (i-adj) – short
33. 簡単 【かん・たん】 (na-adj) – simple
34. 良い 【よ・い】 (i-adj) – good

The noun 「ほど」（程） is attached to a word in a sentence to express the extent of something. It can modify nouns as well as verbs as seen in the next example.

1. 今日の天気はそれほど暑くない。
   Today’s weather is not hot to that extent.
2. 寝る時間がないほど忙しい。
   Busy to the extent that there’s no time to sleep.

When you use this with conditionals, you can express something that translates into English as, “The more you [verb], the more…” The grammar is always formed in the following sequence: [conditional of verb] followed immediately by [same verb+ ほど]

• 韓国料理は食べれば食べるほど、おいしくなる。
  About Korean food, the more you eat the tastier it becomes.

The literal translation is, “About Korean food, if you eat, to the extent that you eat, it becomes tasty.” which essentially means the same thing. The example uses the 「ば」 conditional form, but the 「たら」 conditional will work as well. Since this is a general statement, the contextual 「なら」 conditional will never work. The decided 「と」 conditional won’t work very well here either since it may not always be true depending on the extent of the action.

1. 歩いたら歩くほど、迷ってしまった。
   The more I walked, the more I got lost.
2. 勉強をすればするほど、頭がよくなるよ。
   The more you study, the more you will become smarter.

You can also use this grammar with i-adjectives by using the 「ば」 conditional.

1. iPodは、ハードディスクの容量が大きければ大きいほどもっとたくさんの曲が保存できます。
   About iPod, the larger the hard disk capacity, the more songs you can save.
2. 航空券は安ければ安いほどいいとは限らない。
   It’s not necessarily the case that the cheaper the ticket, the better it is.

For na-adjectives, since you can’t use the 「ば」 conditional you have to resort to the 「なら」 conditional. Because it sounds strange to use the 「なら」 conditional in this fashion, you will hardly ever see this grammar used with na-adjectives. Since 「ほど」 is treated as a noun, make sure you don’t forget to use 「な」 to attach the noun to the na-adjective.

• 文章は、短ければ短いほど、簡単なら簡単なほどよいです。
  The shorter and simpler the sentences, the better it is.

Using 「～さ」 with adjectives to indicate an amount

Vocabulary

1. 高い 【たか・い】 (i-adj) – high; tall; expensive
2. 低い 【ひく・い】 (i-adj) – short
3. 穏やか 【おだ・やか】 (na-adj) – calm, peaceful
4. この – this （abbr. of これの）
5. ビル – building
6. 何 【なに／なん】 – what
7. 犬 【いぬ】 – dog
8. 聴覚 【ちょう・かく】 – sense of hearing
9. 敏感 【びん・かん】 (na-adj) – sensitive
10. 人間 【にん・げん】 – human
11. 比べる 【くら・べる】 (ru-verb) – to compare
12. はるか – far more
13. 上 【うえ】 – above

We will now learn how to add 「さ」 to adjectives to indicate an amount of that adjective. For example, we can attach 「さ」 to the adjective for “high” in order to get “height”. Instead of looking at the height, we can even attach 「さ」 to the adjective for “low” to focus on the amount of lowness as opposed to the amount of highness. In fact, there is nothing to stop us from using this with any adjective to indicate an amount of that adjective. The result becomes a regular noun indicating the amount of that adjective.

Examples

1. このビルの高さは何ですか？
   What is the height of this building?
2. 犬の聴覚の敏感さを人間と比べると、はるかに上だ。
   If you compare the level of sensitivity of hearing of dogs to humans, it is far above.

In general, Japanese people don’t assert themselves of something unless they are absolutely sure that it is correct. This accounts for the incredibly frequent use of 「～と思う」 and the various grammatical expressions used to express specific levels of certainty. We will go over these expressions starting from the less certain to the most certain.

Using 「かもしれない」 to express uncertainty

Vocabulary

1. 多分 【た・ぶん】 – perhaps; probably
2. 映画 【えい・が】 – movie
3. 観る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to watch
4. 彼 【かれ】 – he; boyfriend
5. 学生 【がく・せい】 – student
6. それ – that
7. 面白い 【おも・し・ろい】 (i-adj) – interesting
8. 先生 【せん・せい】 – teacher
9. 退屈 【たい・くつ】 – boredom
10. 食堂 【しょく・どう】 – cafeteria
11. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
12. 雨 【あめ】 – rain
13. 試合 【し・あい】 – match, game
14. 中止 【ちゅう・し】 – cancellation
15. なる (u-verb) – to become
16. この – this （abbr. of これの）
17. 映画 【えい・が】 – movie
18. ～回 【～かい】 – counter for number of times
19. こと – event, matter
20. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
21. あそこ – over there
22. 代々木公園 【よ・よ・ぎ・こう・えん】 – Yoyogi park
23. もう – already
24. 逃げる 【に・げる】 (ru-verb) – to escape; to run away

「かもしれない」 is used to mean “maybe” or “possibly” and is less certain than the word 「多分」. It attaches to the end of a complete clause. For noun and na-adjective clauses, the declarative 「だ」 must be removed. It can also be written in kanji as 「かも知れない」 and you can treat it the same as a negative ru-verb (there is no positive equivalent) so the masu-form would become 「かもしれません」. In casual speech, it can be abbreviated to just 「かも」. There is also a very masculine version 「かもしれん」, which is simply a different type of negative verb.

Examples

1. スミスさんは食堂に行ったかもしれません。
   Smith-san may have gone to the cafeteria.
2. 雨で試合は中止になるかもしれないね。
   The game may become canceled by rain, huh?
3. この映画は一回観たことあるかも！
   I might have already seen this movie once.
4. あそこが代々木公園かもしれない。
   That might be Yoyogi park over there.
5. もう逃げられないかもしれんぞ。
   Might not be able to escape anymore, you know.

Using 「でしょう」 to express a fair amount of certainty (polite)

Vocabulary

1. 多分 【た・ぶん】 – perhaps; probably
2. 明日 【あした】 – tomorrow
3. 雨 【あめ】 – rain
4. 学生 【がく・せい】 – student
5. これ – this
6. どこ – where
7. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
8. 休む 【やす・む】 (u-verb) – to rest
9. いただく (u-verb) – to receive; to eat; to drink (humble)

「でしょう」 is used to express a level of some certainty and is close in meaning to 「多分」. Just like 「～です／～ます」, it must come at the end of a complete sentence. It does not have any other conjugations. You can also replace 「～ですか」 with 「～でしょうか」 to make the question sound slightly more polite and less assuming by adding a slight level of uncertainty.

Examples

1. 明日も雨でしょう。
   Probably rain tomorrow too.
2. 学生さんでしょうか。
   Are (you) student?
3. これからどこへ行くんでしょうか？
   Where (are you) going from here?

If you want to sound really, really polite, you can even add 「～でしょうか」 to the end of a 「～ます」 ending.

• 休ませていただけますでしょうか。- May I receive the favor of resting, possibly?

Using 「でしょう」 and 「だろう」 to express strong amount of certainty (casual)

Vocabulary

1. 遅刻 【ち・こく】 – tardiness
2. する (exception) – to do
3. 時間 【じ・かん】 – time
4. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
5. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say
6. これ – this
7. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
8. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
9. 掃除 【そう・じ】 – cleaning
10. 手伝う 【て・つだ・う】 (u-verb) – to help, to assist
11. くれる (ru-verb) – to give
12. そう – (things are) that way
13. どこ – where
14. もう – already
15. 寝る 【ね・る】 (ru-verb) – to sleep
16. 家 【1) うち; 2) いえ】 – 1) one’s own home; 2) house
17. 帰る 【かえ・る】 (u-verb) – to go home

The casual equivalent of 「でしょう」 is surprisingly enough 「でしょう」. However, when you are speaking in a polite manner, the 「でしょう」 is enunciated flatly while in casual speech, it has a rising intonation and can be shortened to 「でしょ」. In addition, since people tend to be more assertive in casual situations, the casual version has a much stronger flavor often sounding more like, “See, I told you so!”

Example 1

Ａ：あっ！遅刻しちゃう！
A: Ah! We’re going to be late!

Ｂ：だから、時間がないって言ったでしょう！
B: That’s why I told you there was no time!

Example 2

Ａ：これから食べに行くんでしょ。
A: You’re going to eat from now aren’t you?

Ｂ：だったら？
B: So what if I am?

Example 3

Ａ：掃除、手伝ってくれるでしょう。
A: You’re going to help me clean, right?

Ｂ：え？そうなの？
B: Huh? Is that so?

「だろう」 means essentially the same thing as 「でしょう」 except that it sounds more masculine and is used mostly by males.

Example 4

Ａ：アリスはどこだ？
A: Where is Alice?

Ｂ：もう寝ているだろう。
B: Probably sleeping already.

Example 5

Ａ：もう家に帰るんだろう。
A: You’re going home already, right?

Ｂ：そうよ。
B: That’s right.

We’ve already learned how to use generic nouns in order to modify nouns. Now we will go over some special expression used with generic nouns.

Using 「こと」 to say whether something has happened

Vocabulary

1. こと – event, matter
2. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
3. 徹夜 【てつ・や】 – staying up all night
4. 宿題 【しゅく・だい】 – homework
5. する (exception) – to do
6. 一人 【ひとり】 – 1 person; alone
7. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
8. パリ – Paris
9. お寿司 【お・す・し】- sushi
10. 食べる 【たべ・る】 (ru-verb) – to eat
11. 日本 【に・ほん】 – Japan
12. 映画 【えい・が】 – movie
13. 観る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to watch
14. ヨーロッパ – Europe
15. いい (i-adj) – good
16. そう – (things are) that way
17. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say
18. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
19. ～度 【～ど】 – counter for number of times

When you combine 「こと」, the generic word for an event with 「ある」, you can talk about whether an event exists or not.

Examples

1. 徹夜して、宿題することはある。
   There are times when I do homework while staying up all night.
2. 一人で行くことはありません。
   I never go by myself.

Using the past tense of the verb with 「こと」, you can talk about whether an event has ever taken place. This is essentially the only way you can say “have done” in Japanese so this is a very useful expression. You need to use this grammar any time you want to talk about whether someone has ever done something.

Examples

1. パリに行ったことはありますか。
   Have you ever gone to Paris?
2. お寿司を食べたことがある。
   I’ve had sushi before.
3. 日本の映画を観たことないの？
   You’ve never seen a Japanese movie?
4. ヨーロッパに行ったことがあったらいいな。
   It would be nice if I ever go to Europe.
5. そういうのを見たことがなかった。
   I had never seen anything like that.
6. 一度行ったこともないんです。
   I’ve never gone, not even once.

Using 「ところ」 as an abstract place

Vocabulary

1. 所 【ところ】 – place
2. 早い 【はや・い】 (i-adj) – fast; early
3. 来る 【く・る】 (exception) – to come
4. 映画 【えい・が】 – movie
5. 今 【いま】 – now
6. ちょうど – just right; exactly
7. いい – good
8. 彼 【かれ】 – he; boyfriend
9. 優しい 【やさ・しい】 (i-adj) – gentle; kind
10. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
11. 授業 【じゅ・ぎょう】 – class
12. 終わる 【お・わる】 (u-verb) – to end
13. これ – this
14. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go

「ところ」（所） is usually used to indicate a generic physical location. However, it can also hold a much broader meaning ranging from a characteristic to a place in time.

Examples

1. 早くきて。映画は今ちょうどいいところだよ。
   Come quickly. We’re at the good part of the movie.
2. 彼は優しいところもあるよ。
   His personality has some gentle parts too.
3. 今は授業が終ったところです。
   Class has ended just now.
4. これから行くところでした。
   I was just about to go from now.

Using 「もの」 as a casual feminine way to emphasize

Vocabulary

1. 物 【もの】 – object
2. どうして – why
3. 来る 【く・る】 (exception) – to come
4. 授業 【じゅ・ぎょう】 – class
5. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)

The generic object noun 「もの」 can be used as a casual and feminine way of emphasizing something. This is identical to the explanatory feminine emphasis expressed by the 「の」 particle. Just like the explanatory 「の」 particle, the 「の」 is often changed into 「ん」 resulting in 「もん」. Using 「もん」 sounds very feminine and a little cheeky (in a cute way).

Examples

• どうしてこなかったの？
  Why didn’t (you) come?

1. 授業があったの。
   (I) had class. [feminine explanatory]
2. 授業があったもの。
   (I) had class. [feminine explanatory]
3. 授業があったもん。
   (I) had class, so there. [feminine explanatory]

This is the first of many useful tools that will become essential in your day-to-day conversations. We will now learn how to express an action that has taken place unintentionally often with unsatisfactory results. This is primarily done by the verb 「しまう」. Let’s look at an example.

Vocabulary

1. 康介 【こう・すけ】 – Kousuke (first name)
2. 宿題 【しゅく・だい】 – homework
3. やる (u-verb) – to do
4. しまう (u-verb) – to do something by accident; to finish completely

康介：宿題をやった？
Kousuke: Did you do homework?

アリス：しまった！
Alice: Oh no! (I screwed up!)

Using 「しまう」 with other verbs

Vocabulary

1. しまう (u-verb) – to do something by accident; to finish completely
2. その – that （abbr. of それの）
3. ケーキ – cake
4. 全部 【ぜん・ぶ】 – everything
5. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
6. 毎日 【まい・にち】 – everyday
7. キロ – kilo
8. 太る 【ふと・る】 (u-verb) – to become fatter
9. ちゃんと – properly
10. 痩せる 【や・せる】 (ru-verb) – to become thin
11. 結局 【けっ・きょく】 – eventually
12. 嫌 【いや】 (na-adj) disagreeable; unpleasant
13. こと – event, matter
14. する (exception) – to do
15. ごめん – sorry
16. 待つ 【ま・つ】 (u-verb) – to wait
17. 金魚 【きん・ぎょ】 – goldfish
18. もう – already
19. 死ぬ 【し・ぬ】 (u-verb) – to die

When 「しまう」 is used in this sense, it is normal to attach it to the te-form of another verb to express an action that is done or happened unintentionally. As is common with this type of grammar, the tense is decided by the tense of 「しまう」.

1. そのケーキを全部食べてしまった。
   Oops, I ate that whole cake.
2. 毎日ケーキを食べて、２キロ太ってしまいました。
   I ate cake everyday and I (unintentionally) gained two kilograms.
3. ちゃんと食べないと、痩せてしまいますよ。
   If you don’t eat properly, you’ll (unintentionally) lose weight you know.
4. 結局、嫌なことをさせてしまった。
   In the end, I (unintentionally) made [someone] do something distasteful.
5. ごめん、待たせてしまって！
   Sorry about (unintentionally) making you wait!
6. 金魚がもう死んでしまった。
   The goldfish died already (oops).

Using the casual version of 「～てしまう」

Vocabulary

1. しまう (u-verb) – to do something by accident; to finish completely
2. 金魚 【きん・ぎょ】 – goldfish
3. もう – already
4. 死ぬ 【し・ぬ】 (u-verb) – to die
5. 帰る 【かえ・る】 (u-verb) – to go home
6. いい (i-adj) – good
7. 皆 【みんな】 – everybody
8. どっか – somewhere （abbr. of どこか）
9. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
10. そろそろ – gradually; soon
11. 遅い 【おそ・い】 (i-adj) – late
12. なる (u-verb) – to become
13. また – again
14. 遅刻 【ち・こく】 – tardiness
15. する (exception) – to do
16. ごめん – sorry
17. つい – just (now); unintentionally
18. お前 【お・まえ】 – you (casual)
19. 呼ぶ 【よ・ぶ】 (u-verb) – to call

In casual speech, the 「～てしまう」 is often substituted by 「～ちゃう」 while 「～でしまう」 is substituted by 「じゃう」. Both 「～ちゃう」 and 「～じゃう」 conjugate just like regular u-verbs.

1. 金魚がもう死んじゃった。
   The goldfish died already.
2. もう帰っちゃっていい？
   Is it ok if I went home already?
3. みんな、どっか行っちゃったよ。
   Everybody went off somewhere.
4. そろそろ遅くなっちゃうよ。
   It’ll gradually become late, you know.

There is yet another very colloquial version of 「～てしまう」 and 「～でしまう」 where it is replaced by 「～ちまう」 and 「～じまう」 respectively. Unlike the cuter 「～ちゃう」 and 「～じゃう」 slang, this version conjures an image of rough and coarse middle-aged man.

1. また遅刻しちまったよ。
   Darn, I’m late again.
2. ごめん、ついお前を呼んじまった。
   Sorry, I just ended up calling you unconsciously.

Another meaning of 「しまう」

Vocabulary

1. しまう (u-verb) – to do something by accident; to finish completely
2. 宿題 【しゅく・だい】 – homework
3. やる (u-verb) – to do

You may have noticed that 「しまう」 has another definition meaning “to finish something completely”. You may want to consider this a totally separate verb from the 「しまう」 we have covered so far. Occasionally but not usually, 「しまう」 will have this meaning rather than the unintended action.

• 宿題をやってしまいなさい。
  Finish your homework completely.

Japanese can be roughly separated into three levels of politeness: casual, polite, and honorific/humble. So far, we have already gone over the polite forms using 「～です」 and 「～ます」. We will now cover the next level of politeness using honorific and humble forms. You will often hear this type of language in any customer/consumer type situations such as fast food counters, restaurants, etc. For now, the first thing to remember is that the speaker always considers himself/herself to be at the lowest level. So any actions performed by oneself are in humble form while actions performed by anyone else seen from the view of the speaker uses the honorific form.

Set Expressions

Vocabulary

1. する (exception) – to do
2. なさる – to do (honorific)
3. 致す 【いた・す】 (u-verb) – to do (humble)
4. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
5. いらっしゃる – to be; to go; to come (honorific)
6. おいでになる – to be; to go; to come (honorific)
7. 参る 【まい・る】 (u-verb) – to go; to come (humble)
8. いる (ru-verb) – to exist (animate)
9. おる (ru-verb) – to exist (animate) (humble)
10. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
11. ご覧になる 【ご・らん・になる】 – to see (honorific)
12. 拝見する 【はい・けん・する】 – to see (humble)
13. 聞く 【き・く】 (u-verb) – to ask; to listen
14. 伺う 【うかが・う】 (u-verb) – to ask; to listen (humble)
15. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say
16. おっしゃる – to say (honorific)
17. 申す 【もう・す】 (u-verb) – to say (humble)
18. 申し上げる 【もう・し・あ・げる】 (u-verb) – to say (humble)
19. あげる (ru-verb) – to give; to raise
20. 差し上げる 【さ・し・あ・げる】 (ru-verb) – to give; to raise (humble)
21. くれる (ru-verb) – to give
22. 下さる 【くだ・さる】 – to give (honorific)
23. もらう (u-verb) – to receive
24. いただく (u-verb) – to receive; to eat; to drink (humble)
25. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
26. 召し上がる 【め・し・あ・がる】 (u-verb) – to eat; to drink (honorific)
27. 飲む 【の・む】 (u-verb) – to drink
28. 知る 【し・る】 (u-verb) – to know
29. ご存じ 【ご・ぞん・じ】 – knowing (honorific)
30. 存じる 【ぞん・じる】 (ru-verb) – to know (humble)
31. ござる – to be (formal)
32. もう – already
33. 仕事 【し・ごと】 – job
34. 何 【なに／なん】 – what
35. 推薦状 【すい・せん・じょう】 – letter of recommendation
36. 書く 【か・く】 (u-verb) – to write
37. どちら – which way
38. 今日 【きょう】 – today
39. 私 【わたし】 – me; myself; I
40. レポート – report
41. 失礼 【しつ・れい】 – discourtesy

The difficult part of learning honorific and humble language is that there are a number of words that have separate verbs for honorific and humble forms. Anything that does not have its own special expression fall under the general rules of humble and honorific conjugations that we will cover next.

Honorific verbs with special conjugations

A number of these verbs do not follow the normal masu-conjugation rules and they include: 「なさる」、「いらっしゃる」、「おっしゃる」、「下さる」、 and 「ござる」 (which we will soon cover). For all masu-form tenses of these verbs, instead of the 「る」 becoming a 「り」 as it does with normal u-verbs, it instead becomes an 「い」. All other conjugations besides the masu-form do not change from regular u-verbs.

Examples of honorific form

We can now begin to see that 「ください」 is just a special conjugation of 「下さる」 which is the honorific version of 「くれる」. Let’s look at some actual examples. Since these examples are all questions directed directly to someone (second person), they all use the honorific form.

1. アリスさん、もう召し上がりましたか。
   Alice-san, did (you) eat already?
2. 仕事で何をなさっているんですか。
   What are you doing at work?
3. 推薦状を書いてくださるんですか。
   You’re going to give me the favor of writing a recommendation letter?
4. どちらからいらっしゃいましたか。
   Where did you come from?
5. 今日は、どちらへいらっしゃいますか。
   Where are you going today?

Examples of humble form

The following examples are all actions done by the speaker so they all use the humble form.

1. 私はキムと申します。
   As for me, (people) say Kim. (I am called Kim.)
2. 私が書いたレポートを見ていただけますか。
   Will I be able to receive the favor of getting my report looked at?
3. 失礼致します。
   Excuse me. (lit: I am doing a discourtesy.)

Other substitutions

Vocabulary

1. こちら – this way
2. 私 【わたし】 – me, myself, I
3. 部屋 【へ・や】 – room
4. ござる – to be (formal)
5. お手洗い 【お・て・あら・い】 – bathroom
6. この – this （abbr. of これの）
7. ビル – building
8. ～階 【～かい】 – counter for story/floor
9. いい (i-adj) – good
10. よろしい (i-adj) – good (formal)
11. 悪い 【わる・い】 (i-adj) – bad
12. すいません – sorry (polite)
13. ごめん – sorry (casual)
14. ごめんなさい – sorry (polite)
15. すみません – sorry (polite)
16. 申し訳ありません 【もう・し・わけ・ありません】 – sorry (formal)
17. 言い訳 【い・い・わけ】 – excuse
18. 恐れ入ります 【おそ・れ・い・ります】 – sorry (formal)
19. 恐縮です 【きょう・しゅく・です】 – sorry (formal)
20. ～様 【～さま】 – honorific name suffix
21. ～さん – polite name suffix
22. お客様 【お・きゃく・さま】 – customer (formal)
23. 神様 【かみ・さま】 – god (formal)

In addition to these set expressions, there are some words that also have more polite counterparts. Probably the most important is the politer version of 「ある」, which is 「ござる」. This verb can be used for both inanimate and animate objects. It is neither honorific nor humble but it is a step above 「ある」 in politeness. However, unless you want to sound like a samurai, 「ござる」 is always used in the polite form: 「ございます」.

By extension, the politer version of 「です」 is 「でございます」. This is essentially the masu-form conjugation of 「でござる」, which comes from 「である」 literally meaning, “to exist as” (to be covered much later).

Examples

1. こちらは、私の部屋です。
   Over here is my room.
2. こちらは、私の部屋でございます。
   This way is my room.

1. お手洗いはこのビルの二階にあります。
   The bathroom is on the second floor of this building.
2. お手洗いはこのビルの二階にございます。
   The bathroom is on the second floor of this building.

Other examples include 「いい」, which is more formally expressed as 「よろしい」. There are also six different ways to say, “I’m sorry” (not counting 「悪いね」 or slight inflection changes like 「すいません」).

Successively politer expressions for apologizing:

1. ごめん。
2. ごめんなさい。
3. すみません。
4. 申し訳ありません。 (申し訳 is the humble form of 言い訳)
5. 恐れ入ります。
6. 恐縮です。

In addition, the politest suffix for names is 「様」, one level above 「さん」. You won’t be using this suffix too often in actual speech even if you speak to that person in honorific/humble speech. However, expect to use it when writing letters even to people you are somewhat familiar with. Also, service people such as cashiers or waitresses/waiters will normally refer to the customer as 「お客様」. Of course, royalty and deities are always accompanied by 「様」 such as 「神様」.

Honorific and Humble Conjugations

Vocabulary

1. お酒 【お・さけ】 – alcohol
2. お茶 【お・ちゃ】 – tea
3. お金 【お・かね】 – money
4. 音読み 【おん・よ・み】 – Chinese reading
5. 意見 【い・けん】 – opinion
6. ご飯 【ご・はん】 – rice; meal
7. 訓読み 【くん・よ・み】 – Japanese reading
8. 仕事 【し・ごと】 – job
9. お好み焼き 【お・この・み・や・き】 – okonomiyaki (Japanese-style pancake)
10. お土産 【お・みやげ】 – souvenir
11. 返事 【へん・じ】 – reply
12. 先生 【せん・せい】 – teacher
13. 見える 【み・える】 (ru-verb) – to be visible
14. なる (u-verb) – to become
15. もう – already
16. 帰る 【かえ・る】 (u-verb) – to go home
17. 店内 【てん・ない】 – store interior
18. 召し上がる 【め・し・あ・がる】 (ru-verb) – to eat; to drink (honorific)
19. 二重敬語 【に・じゅう・けい・ご】 – redundant honorific
20. 下さる 【くだ・さる】 – to give (honorific)
21. 少々 【しょう・しょう】 – just a minute; small quantity;
22. 待つ 【ま・つ】 (u-verb) – to wait
23. こちら – this way
24. ご覧下さい 【ご・らん・くだ・さい】 – please look (honorific)
25. 閉まる 【し・まる】 (u-verb) – to close
26. ドア – door
27. 注意 【ちゅう・い】 – caution
28. よろしい (i-adj) – good (formal)
29. 願う 【ねが・う】 (u-verb) – to wish; to request
30. する (exception) – to do
31. 聞く 【き・く】 (u-verb) – to ask; to listen
32. こと – event, matter
33. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
34. すみません – sorry (polite)
35. 千円 【せん・えん】 – 1,000 yen
36. 預かる 【あず・かる】 – to look after; to hold on to;
37. 致す 【いた・す】 (u-verb) – to do (humble)

For all other verbs without set expressions, there are conjugation rules to change them into honorific and humble forms. They both involve a common practice of attaching a polite prefix 「御」. In Japanese, there is an practice of attaching an honorific prefix 「御」 to certain (not all) nouns to show politeness. In fact, some words like 「お酒」、 「お茶」、or 「お金」 come with this prefix so often that it’s become practically the word itself. In general, 「御」 is written in hiragana as either 「ご」 for words read as 音読み （e.g. ご意見、ご飯） or 「お」 for words read as 訓読み （e.g. お金、 お仕事）. In fact, you may have been using this prefix already without realizing it like 「お好み焼き」 or 「お土産」. There are some exceptions to this rule such as 「お返事」. Luckily since 「御」 is rarely written in kanji, identifying the exceptions should not really be a problem.

Honorific Form

The honorific form of verbs that are not among the set honorific expressions given above can be formed in two different ways.

Honorific Conjugation 1: お + stem + に + なる

This kind of makes sense if you think of it as a person becoming the honorific state of a verb. All subsequent conjugations follow the normal rules of conjugating the u-verb 「なる」. To be honest, this type of sentence formulation is rarely used.

• 先生はお見えになりますか。
  Have you seen the teacher?

Honorific Conjugation 2: お + stem + です

1. もうお帰りですか。
   You’re going home already?
2. 店内でお召し上がりですか。
   Will you be dining in?

Service people want to be extra polite so they will often use this type of “double honorific” conjugation or 二重敬語 (in this case, the honorific 「召し上がる」 combined with the honorific conjugation). Whether it’s necessary or grammatically proper is another story.

Using 「ください」 with honorifics

You can also use 「下さい」 with a honorific verb by replacing 「になる」 with 「ください」. This is useful for when you want to ask somebody to do something but still use a honorific verb.

Yet another often-used expression.

• 少々お待ちください。- Please wait a moment.

Similarly, with 「ご覧になる」, you simply replace 「になる」 with 「ください」.

• こちらにご覧下さい。
  Please look this way.

This works for other nouns as well. For example, riding the trains…

• 閉まるドアにご注意下さい。
  Please be careful of the closing doors.

Humble Form

Humble verbs are formed in the following fashion.

Humble Conjugation: お + stem + する

You’ve probably already heard the first example many times before but now you know exactly where it comes from.

1. よろしくお願いします。
   I properly make request.
2. 先生、お聞きしたいことがありますが。
   Teacher, there’s something I want to ask you.
3. すみません、お待たせしました。
   Sorry, I made you wait (causative form).
4. 千円からお預かりいたします。
   We’ll be holding on [from?] your 1000 yen.

You’ll hear something like example 4 when, for example, you need to get change after paying 1000 yen. Again, the 二重敬語 where 「する」 has been converted to the humble 「致す」 form when it’s already in the お+stem+する humble form. Some Japanese people complain that this makes no sense and that 「から」 should really be 「を」.

Making honorific requests

Vocabulary

1. 下さる 【くだ・さる】 – to give (honorific)
2. いらっしゃる – to be; to go; to come (honorific)
3. なさる – to do (honorific)
4. おっしゃる – to say (honorific)
5. する (exception) – to do
6. いらっしゃいませ – please come in (formal)
7. いらっしゃい – please come in
8. ありがとうございました – thank you (polite)
9. また – again
10. 越す 【こ・す】 – to go over
11. どうぞ – please
12. ゆっくり – slowly

We learned how to make polite requests using 「～ください」 in a previous section and we just looked at how to use honorific verbs with requests as well. However, there is yet another way to make requests using honorific verbs. This grammar only applies to the honorific verbs with special 「～ます」 conjugations that we just covered. This includes 「下さる」、「いらっしゃる」、「なさる」、and 「おっしゃる」.　I’ve never actually seen this used with 「おっしゃる」, but it is grammatically possible.

Now you finally know where grammar such as 「しなさい」 and 「してください」 actually came from. Let’s look at a few quick examples.

Examples

You’ll probably hear this one a million times every time you enter some kind of store in Japan.

• いらっしゃいませ。
  Please come in!

However, a middle-aged sushi chef will probably use the abbreviated version.

• いらっしゃい！
  Please come in!

Some more examples…

1. ありがとうございました。またお越しくださいませ。
   Thank you very much. Please come again.
2. どうぞ、ごゆっくりなさいませ。
   Please take your time and relax.

We will now learn the last two major types of verb conjugations: causative and passive forms. These two verb conjugations are traditionally covered together because of the notorious causative-passive combination. We will now go over what all these things are and how they are used.

Causative Verbs

Vocabulary

1. あげる (ru-verb) – to give; to raise
2. くれる (ru-verb) – to give
3. 全部 【ぜん・ぶ】 – everything
4. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
5. 着る 【き・る】 (ru-verb) – to wear
6. 信じる 【しん・じる】 (ru-verb) – to believe
7. 寝る 【ね・る】 (ru-verb) – to sleep
8. 起きる 【お・きる】 (ru-verb) – to wake; to occur
9. 出る 【で・る】 (ru-verb) – to come out
10. 掛ける 【か・ける】 (ru-verb) – to hang
11. 捨てる 【す・てる】 (ru-verb) – to throw away
12. 調べる 【しら・べる】 (ru-verb) – to investigate
13. 話す 【はな・す】 (u-verb) – to speak
14. 聞く 【き・く】 (u-verb) – to ask; to listen
15. 泳ぐ 【およ・ぐ】 (u-verb) – to swim
16. 遊ぶ 【あそ・ぶ】 (u-verb) – to play
17. 待つ 【ま・つ】 (u-verb) – to wait
18. 飲む 【の・む】 (u-verb) – to drink
19. 直る 【なお・る】 (u-verb) – to be fixed
20. 死ぬ 【し・ぬ】 (u-verb) – to die
21. 買う 【か・う】 (u-verb) – to buy
22. する (exception) – to do
23. 来る 【く・る】 (exception) – to come
24. 先生 【せん・せい】 – teacher
25. 学生 【がく・せい】 – student
26. 宿題 【しゅく・だい】 – homework
27. たくさん – a lot (amount)
28. 質問 【しつ・もん】 – question
29. 今日 【きょう】 – today
30. 仕事 【し・ごと】 – job
31. 休む 【やす・む】 (u-verb) – to rest
32. その – abbreviation of 「それの」
33. 部長 【ぶ・ちょう】 – section manager
34. いい (i-adj) – good
35. 長時間 【ちょう・じ・かん】 – long period of time
36. 働く 【はたら・く】 (u-verb) – to work
37. トイレ – bathroom; toilet
38. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go

Verbs conjugated into the causative form are used to indicate an action that someone makes happen. Like Captain Picard so succinctly puts it, the causative verb means to “make it so”. This verb is usually used in the context of making somebody do something. The really confusing thing about the causative verb is that it can also mean to let someone do something. Or maybe this is a different type of verb with the exact same conjugation rules. Whichever the case may be, a verb in the causative form can mean either making or letting someone do something. The only good news is that when the causative form is used with 「あげる」 and 「くれる」, it almost always means to “let someone do”. Once you get used to it, surprisingly, it becomes quite clear which meaning is being used when.

1. 全部食べさせた。
   Made/Let (someone) eat it all.
2. 全部食べさせてくれた。
   Let (someone) eat it all.

Examples

Here are some examples using the causative verb. Context will usually tell you which is being meant, but for our purposes we will assume that when the verb is used with 「あげる」 and 「くれる」（ください） it means “to let someone do” while it means, “to make someone do” when used without it.

1. 先生が学生に宿題をたくさんさせた。
   Teacher made students do lots of homework.
2. 先生が質問をたくさん聞かせてくれた。
   Teacher let (someone) ask lots of questions.
3. 今日は仕事を休ませてください。
   Please let me rest from work today. (Please let me take the day off today.)
4. その部長は、よく長時間働かせる。
   That manager often makes (people) work long hours.

When asking for permission to let someone do something, it is more common to use the 「～てもいい」 grammar.

1. トイレに行かせてくれますか。
   Can you let me go to the bathroom? (Sounds like a prisoner, even in English)
2. トイレに行ってもいいですか。
   Is it ok to go to the bathroom? (No problem here)

A Shorter Alternative

Vocabulary

1. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
2. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
3. する (exception) – to do
4. 来る 【く・る】 (exception) – to come
5. 同じ 【おな・じ】 – same
6. こと – event, matter
7. 何回 【なん・かい】 – how many times
8. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say
9. お腹 【お・なか】 – stomach
10. 空く 【あ・く】 (u-verb) – to become empty
11. 何 【なに／なん】 – what
12. くれる (ru-verb) – to give

There is a shorter version of the causative conjugation, which I will go over for completeness. However, since this version is mostly used in very rough slang, you are free to skip this section until you’ve had time to get used to the regular form. Also, textbooks usually don’t cover this version of the causative verb.

The key difference in this version is that all verbs become an u-verbs with a 「す」 ending. Therefore, the resulting verb would conjugate just like any other u-verb ending in 「す」 such as 「話す」 or 「指す」. The first part of the conjugation is the same as the original causative form. However, for ru-verbs, instead of attaching 「させる」, you attach 「さす」 and for u-verbs, you attach 「す」 instead of 「せる」. As a result, all the verbs become an u-verb ending in 「す」.

Examples

1. 同じことを何回も言わすな！
   Don’t make me say the same thing again and again!
2. お腹空いているんだから、なんか食べさしてくれよ。
   I’m hungry so let me eat something.

Passive Verbs

Vocabulary

1. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
2. 着る 【き・る】 (ru-verb) – to wear
3. 信じる 【しん・じる】 (ru-verb) – to believe
4. 寝る 【ね・る】 (ru-verb) – to sleep
5. 起きる 【お・きる】 (ru-verb) – to wake; to occur
6. 出る 【で・る】 (ru-verb) – to come out
7. 掛ける 【か・ける】 (ru-verb) – to hang
8. 捨てる 【す・てる】 (ru-verb) – to throw away
9. 調べる 【しら・べる】 (ru-verb) – to investigate
10. 話す 【はな・す】 (u-verb) – to speak
11. 聞く 【き・く】 (u-verb) – to ask; to listen
12. 泳ぐ 【およ・ぐ】 (u-verb) – to swim
13. 遊ぶ 【あそ・ぶ】 (u-verb) – to play
14. 待つ 【ま・つ】 (u-verb) – to wait
15. 飲む 【の・む】 (u-verb) – to drink
16. 直る 【なお・る】 (u-verb) – to be fixed
17. 死ぬ 【し・ぬ】 (u-verb) – to die
18. 買う 【か・う】 (u-verb) – to buy
19. する (exception) – to do
20. 来る 【く・る】 (exception) – to come
21. ポリッジ – porridge
22. 誰 【だれ】 – who
23. 皆 【みんな】 – everybody
24. 変 【へん】 (na-adj) – strange
25. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say
26. 光 【ひかり】 – light
27. 速い 【はや・い】 (i-adj) – fast
28. 超える 【こ・える】 (ru-verb) – to exceed
29. 不可能 【ふ・か・のう】 – impossible
30. 思う 【おも・う】 (u-verb) – to think
31. この – this （abbr. of これの）
32. 教科書 【きょう・か・しょ】 – textbook
33. 多い 【おお・い】 (i-adj) – numerous
34. 人 【ひと】 – person
35. 読む 【よ・む】 (u-verb) – to read
36. 外国人 【がい・こく・じん】 – foreigner
37. 質問 【しつ・もん】 – question
38. 答える 【こた・える】 (ru-verb) – to answer
39. パッケージ – package
40. あらゆる – all
41. 含む 【ふく・む】 (u-verb) – to include

Passive verbs are verbs that are done to the (passive) subject. Unlike English style of writing which discourages the use of the passive form, passive verbs in Japanese are often used in essays and articles.

Examples

1. ポリッジが誰かに食べられた！
   The porridge was eaten by somebody!
2. みんなに変だと言われます。
   I am told by everybody that (I’m) strange.
3. 光の速さを超えるのは、不可能だと思われる。
   Exceeding the speed of light is thought to be impossible.
4. この教科書は多くの人に読まれている。
   This textbook is being read by a large number of people.
5. 外国人に質問を聞かれたが、答えられなかった。
   I was asked a question by a foreigner but I couldn’t answer.
6. このパッケージには、あらゆるものが含まれている。
   Everything is included in this package.

Using passive form to show politeness

Vocabulary

1. どう – how
2. する (exception) – to do
3. 領収証 【りょう・しゅう・しょう】 – receipt
4. 明日 【あした】 – tomorrow
5. 会議 【かい・ぎ】 – meeting
6. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go

While we will go over various types of grammar that express a politeness level above the normal -masu/-desu forms in the next lesson, it is useful to know that using passive form is another more polite way to express an action. In Japanese, a sentence is usually more polite when it is less direct. For example, it is more polite to refer to someone by his or her name and not by the direct pronoun “you”. It is also more polite to ask a negative question than a positive one. (For example, 「しますか？」 vs. 「 しませんか？」) In a similar sense, using the passive form makes the sentence less direct because the subject does not directly perform the action. This makes it sound more polite. Here is the same sentence in increasing degrees of politeness.

1. どうする？ – What will you do? (lit: How do?)
2. どうしますか？ – Regular polite.
3. どうされますか？- Passive polite.
4. どうなさいますか？- Honorific (to be covered next lesson)
5. どうなさいますでしょうか？- Honorific + a lesser degree of certainty.

Notice how the same sentence grows longer and longer as you get more and more indirect.

Examples

1. 領収証はどうされますか？
   What about your receipt? (lit: How will you do receipt?)
2. 明日の会議に行かれるんですか？
   Are you going to tomorrow’s meeting?

Causative-Passive Forms

Vocabulary

1. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
2. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
3. 朝ご飯 【あさ・ご・はん】 – breakfast
4. 日本 【に・ほん】 – Japan
5. お酒 【お・さけ】 – alcohol
6. 飲む 【の・む】 (u-verb) – to drink
7. こと – event, matter
8. 多い 【おお・い】 (i-adj) – numerous
9. あいつ – that guy (derogatory)
10. ～時間 【～じ・かん】 – counter for span of hour(s)
11. 待つ 【ま・つ】 (u-verb) – to wait
12. 親 【おや】 – parent
13. 宿題 【しゅく・だい】 – homework
14. する (exception) – to do

The causative-passive form is simply the combination of causative and passive conjugations to mean that the action of making someone do something was done to that person. This would effectively translate into, “[someone] is made to do [something]”. The important thing to remember is the order of conjugation. The verb is first conjugated to the causative and then passive, never the other way around.

Examples

1. 朝ご飯は食べたくなかったのに、食べさせられた。
   Despite not wanting to eat breakfast, I was made to eat it.
2. 日本では、お酒を飲ませられることが多い。
   In Japan, the event of being made to drink is numerous.
3. あいつに二時間も待たせられた。
   I was made to wait 2 hours by that guy.
4. 親に毎日宿題をさせられる。
   I am made to do homework everyday by my parent(s).

A Shorter Alternative

Vocabulary

1. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
2. 立つ 【た・つ】 (u-verb) – to stand
3. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
4. 話す 【はな・す】 (u-verb) – to speak
5. 学生 【がく・せい】 – student
6. 廊下 【ろう・か】 – hall, corridor
7. 日本 【に・ほん】 – Japan
8. お酒 【お・さけ】 – alcohol
9. 飲む 【の・む】 (u-verb) – to drink
10. こと – event, matter
11. 多い 【おお・い】 (i-adj) – numerous
12. あいつ – that guy (derogatory)
13. ～時間 【～じ・かん】 – counter for span of hour(s)
14. 待つ 【ま・つ】 (u-verb) – to wait

Going along with the shorter causative alternative, you can also use the same conjugation for the causative-passive form. I won’t cover it in too much detail because the usefulness of this form is rather limited just like the shorter causative form itself. The idea is to simply used the shortened causative form instead of using the regular causative conjugation. The rest is the same as before.

This form cannot be used in cases where the shorter causative form ends in 「さす」, in other words, you can’t have a 「さされる」 ending.

Examples

1. 学生が廊下に立たされた。
   The student was made to stand in the hall.
2. 日本では、お酒を飲まされることが多い。
   In Japan, the event of being made to drink is numerous.
3. あいつに二時間も待たされた。
   I was made to wait 2 hours by that guy.

I have decided to call this next section “Special Expressions” only because with the exception of the first few lessons, most of the grammar here applies to more specific areas than the grammar we have covered so far. These special expressions, while individually not vital, are, as a collection, necessary for regular everyday conversations. We are slowly entering the stage where we’ve built the toolbox and we now need to acquire the little tools that will make the toolbox complete. Now that we covered most of the base, it is time to look at all the little itty gritty bits. You are welcome to skip around the lessons, however; the examples will assume that you have gone over all previous sections.