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Katakana

Katakana, as already mentioned, is mainly used to represent words imported from other languages. We’ve already learned all the sounds when we learned Hiragana. All you need to learn is a different way of writing them.

Katakana – Click for stroke order and sound
n w r y m h n t s k    
ン
(n)		 ワ ラ ヤ マ ハ ナ タ サ カ ア a
    リ   ミ ヒ ニ チ
(chi)		 シ
(shi)		 キ イ i
    ル ユ ム フ
(fu)		 ヌ ツ
(tsu)		 ス ク ウ u
    レ   メ ヘ ネ テ セ ケ エ e
  ヲ*
(o)		 ロ ヨ モ ホ ノ ト ソ コ オ o

* = rarely used

Due to the straight lines and relatively few strokes, there are many characters in Katakana that look very similar. In particular, 「シ」、「ツ」 「ソ」、and 「ン」. You should pay careful attention to the stroke order and direction. You may also notice that the Katakana 「ヘ」 is virtually identical to its Hiragana counterpart 「へ」. They are in fact, written pretty much the same way. Below are handy PDFs for writing practice.

English words in Japanese

Many words from foreign languages, particularly English, have become part of the Japanese language via Katakana throughout the years. However, there are relatively few distinct sounds in Japanese and only five vowel sounds. As a result, these words usually don’t bear much resemblance to their original pronunciations. An important thing to remember is to stay true to the Japanese pronunciation and completely forget how it’s really supposed to be pronounced. To give you an idea, here is a short list of foreign words and their Japanese equivalents.

Sample Katakana Words
English Japanese
America アメリカ
Russia ロシア
bus バス
motorcycle バイク
French fries フライドポテト (fried potato)
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Hiragana

The table below represents the entire Hiragana syllabary categorized by the consonant and vowel sounds. With the exception of a few sounds (as shown by the pronunciation in parentheses), most sounds in Japanese are easily represented by a vowel or consonant-vowel. There is also one consonant-only sound: 「ん」.

Hiragana – Click for stroke order and sound
n w r y m h n t s k    
ん
(n)		 わ ら や ま は な た さ か あ a
    り   み ひ に ち
(chi)		 し
(shi)		 き い i
    る ゆ む ふ
(fu)		 ぬ つ
(tsu)		 す く う u
    れ   め へ ね て せ け え e
  を
(o)		 ろ よ も ほ の と そ こ お o
Roumaji comic

To understand how this chart works, let’s start by looking at the right-most column, which are all the vowel-only sounds.

あ a
い i
う u
え e
お o

Here are some sample words for reading practice.
Example: あい – love (read as “ai”)

  1. あう – to meet
  2. いえ – house
  3. おい – nephew
  4. うえ – above
  5. いう – to say

Each additional column represents a consonant sound with each of the five vowel sounds. For example, the “k” column has the following sounds.

か ka
き ki
く ku
け ke
こ ko

「ん」 is the only character with no vowel sound. It adds an “n” sound as shown in the examples below.

  • きん – gold (read as “kin”)
  • おんな – woman; girl (read as “on-na”)
  • おんがく – music (read as “on-ga-ku”)

Here are my recommendations for learning how to read, write, hear, and say the characters and sounds in Hiragana.

  • Reading: You’ll be getting plenty of reading practice with the material in this book.
  • Writing: You’ll need to develop muscle memory so use regular pen and paper. Below are handy PDFs for Hiragana writing practice.
  • Hearing: You can listen to the pronunciation for each character by clicking on it in the first chart. If your browser doesn’t support audio, you can also download them at http://www.guidetojapanese.org/audio/basic_sounds.zip. There are also other free resources with audio samples.
  • Speaking: Practice repeating the sounds. I recommend recording yourself to get an accurate idea of what you sound like. Pay careful attention to the “r” sounds!

While most of the sounds are pretty straightforward, the “r” sounds deserve careful attention for English speakers because there is no equivalent sound in English. It is more similar to the “r” sound in Spanish.

What works for some English speakers (even if it may not be technically correct) is to shape the lips something like the sound that is made for the English “r,” but to make the sound with a single trill or flap of the tongue against the front of the palate.

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Chapter Overview

The Scripts

The Japanese writing system is comprised of three main written scripts: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

Hiragana is the main phonetic writing system used to represent every distinct sound in Japanese. Because of its phonetic nature, we will first learn Hiragana to also learn how to pronounce all the sounds in the Japanese language.

While Katakana represents the same sounds as Hiragana, it is mainly used to represent words imported from other languages.

Kanji, which are Chinese characters adapted for Japanese, are heavily used in writing. There are no spaces in Japanese so Kanji is necessary in order to separate the words within a sentence. Kanji is also useful for distinguishing homophones, which occurs quite often given the limited number of distinct sounds in Japanese.

Pronunciation

In the next section, we will learn all the characters in Hiragana and how to pronounce them. As we will see, every character in Hiragana (and the Katakana equivalent) corresponds to a specific sound. This makes pronunciation very easy as each letter has exactly one pronunciation. However, because there are relatively few distinct sounds in the Japanese language, you must pay extra attention to proper intonation.

Unlike English pronunciation which is based on accents, Japanese pronunciation is based on alterations between a high and low pitch. For example, homophones can have different pitches of low and high tones resulting in a slightly different sound despite sharing the same pronunciation. The biggest obstacle for obtaining proper and natural sounding speech is incorrect intonation. Therefore, as you listen to Japanese and begin to imitate the sounds, it is very important that you pay attention to pitch in order to sound like a native speaker.

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Other Grammar

Hopefully, you’ve managed to get a good grasp of how grammar works in Japanese and how to use them to communicate your thoughts in the Japanese way. In this final section, we’ll be covering some left-over grammar that I couldn’t fit into a larger category.

Using 「思いきや」 to describe something unexpected

Vocabulary

  1. 思う 【おも・う】 (u-verb) – to think
  2. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
  3. 昼間 【ひる・ま】 – daytime
  4. 絶対 【ぜっ・たい】 (na-adj) – absolutely, unconditionally
  5. 込む 【こ・む】 (u-verb) – to become crowded
  6. 一人 【ひとり】 – 1 person; alone
  7. いる (ru-verb) – to exist (animate)
  8. この – this （abbr. of これの）
  9. レストラン – restaurant
  10. 安い 【やす・い】 (i-adj) – cheap
  11. 会計 【かい・けい】 – accountant; bill
  12. 千円 【せん・えん】 – 1,000 yen
  13. 以上 【い・じょう】 – greater or equal

This is a grammar I learned out of a book and was surprised to actually hear it used in real life on a number of occasions. You use this grammar when you think one thing, but much to your astonishment, things actually turn out to be very different. You use it in the same way as you would express any thoughts, by using the quotation 「と」 and 「思う」. The only difference is that you use 「思いきや」 instead of 「思う」. There is no tense in 「思いきや」, or rather, since the results already went against your expectations, the original thought is implicitly understood to be past tense.

Using 「思いきや」 to describe something unforeseen or unexpected

  • Attach 「思いきや」 to the thought using the quotation 「と」.
    Example: ある → あると → あると思いきや

Examples

  1. 昼間だから絶対込んでいると思いきや、一人もいなかった。
    Despite having thought that it must be crowded since it was afternoon, (surprisingly) not a single person was there.
  2. このレストランは安いと思いきや、会計は5千円以上だった！
    Thought this restaurant would be cheap but (surprisingly) the bill was over 5,000 yen!

Using 「～がてら」 to do two things at one time

Vocabulary

  1. 散歩 【さん・ぽ】 – walk, stroll
  2. 作る 【つく・る】 (u-verb) – to make
  3. タバコ – tobacco; cigarettes
  4. 買う 【か・う】 (u-verb) – to buy
  5. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
  6. 博物館 【はく・ぶつ・かん】 – museum
  7. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
  8. お土産 【お・みやげ】 – souvenir
  9. つもり – intention, plan

This rather formal and seldom-used grammar is used to indicate that two actions were done at the same time. The nuance is a bit difference from 「ながら」 in that some or all of the time spent on doing one action was also used to do another action as an aside. Remember, 「ながら」 is used to describe two exactly concurrent actions.

The interesting thing about this grammar is that no verb is required. You can just attach it a noun, and the verb “to do” is inferred. For instance, “while taking a stroll” can simply be expressed as 「散歩がてら」. In the case where you want to employ a different verb, you also have the option of attaching 「がてら」 to the stem similar to the 「ながら」 usage. In addition, the verb or noun that is accompanied by 「がてら」 is the main action while the following action is the one done on the side.

Using 「～がてら」 to do two things at one time

  • Attach 「がてら」 to the noun or verb stem of the main action. In case of a noun, the verb 「する」 is inferred.
    Examples

    1. 散歩 → 散歩がてら
    2. 作る → 作り → 作りがてら

Examples

  1. 散歩がてら、タバコを買いに行きました。
    While taking a stroll, I also used that time to buy cigarettes.
  2. 博物館を見がてらに、お土産を買うつもりです。
    While seeing the museum, I plan to also use that time to buy souvenirs.

Using 「～あげく（挙句）」 to describe a bad result

Vocabulary

  1. 挙句 【あげ・く】 – in the end (after a long process); at last
  2. 喧嘩 【けん・か】 – quarrel
  3. 考える 【かんが・える】 (ru-verb) – to think
  4. 事情 【じ・じょう】 – circumstances
  5. ～時間 【～じ・かん】 – counter for span of hours
  6. 掛ける 【か・ける】 (ru-verb) – to hang; to take (time, money)
  7. 説明 【せつ・めい】 – explanation
  8. する (exception) – to do
  9. 納得 【なっ・とく】 – understanding; agreement
  10. もらう (u-verb) – to receive
  11. 先生 【せん・せい】 – teacher
  12. 相談 【そう・だん】 – consultation
  13. 退学 【たい・がく】 – dropping out of school
  14. こと – event, matter

「あげく」 is a grammar used to describe a result, usually negative, that came about after a great deal of effort. The rule for this grammar is very simple. You modify the verb or noun that was carried out with 「あげく」 and then describe the final result that came about from that verb or noun. Because this grammar is used to describe a result from an action already completed, it is used with the past tense of the verb. 「あげく」 is essentially treated the same as any noun. In other words, you would need the 「の」 particle to modify another noun.

「あげくの果て」 is another stronger version of this grammar.

Using 「～あげく」 to describe a final result

  • Attach 「あげく」 to the verb or noun that created the end result （「の」 particle is required for nouns）
    Examples

    1. けんか → けんかのあげく
    2. 考えた → 考えたあげく

Examples

  1. 事情を2時間かけて説明したあげく、納得してもらえなかった。
    (After a great deal of) explaining the circumstances for 2 hours, (in the end), couldn’t receive understanding.
  2. 先生と相談のあげく、退学をしないことにした。
    (After much) consulting with teacher, (in the end), decided on not dropping out of school.
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Immediate Events

In this section, we will be covering some advanced grammar that describe an action that takes place right after something else has occurred. I suggest you look over this section if you are really serious about completely mastering Japanese, or if you plan to take the level 1 JLPT exam, or if you enjoy reading a lot of Japanese literature.

Using 「が早いか」 to describe the instant something occurred

Vocabulary

  1. 早い 【はや・い】 (i-adj) – fast; early
  2. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say
  3. 彼女 【かの・じょ】 – she; girlfriend
  4. 教授 【きょう・じゅ】 – professor
  5. 姿 【すがた】 – figure
  6. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
  7. 教室 【きょう・しつ】 – classroom
  8. 逃げ出す 【に・げ・だ・す】 (u-verb) – to run away
  9. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
  10. 口 【くち】 – mouth
  11. 中 【なか】 – inside
  12. 放り込む 【ほう・り・こ・む】 (u-verb) – to throw into

The phrase 「が早いか」 is used to describe something that happened the instant something else occurred.

While very similar to the 「とたんに」 grammar, it has a strong emphasis on how soon one thing occurred after another as if it’s almost simultaneous. This grammar is rarely used outside of Japanese language tests.

To use this grammar, you attach 「が早いか」 to the first verb, then you describe the event that happened the next instant. While it’s conventional to use the non-past tense (dictionary form) for the first verb, you can also use the past tense. For example, you can say either 「言うが早いか」 or 「言ったが早いか」. The curious thing about this grammar is that the 「が」 particle comes right after the verb. Remember, you can do this only with this specific grammatical phrase.

Using 「が早いか」 to describe what happened the instant something occurred

  • Attach 「が早いか」 to the non-past or past tense of the verb that just occurred
    Examples

    1. 言う → 言うが早いか
    2. 言う → 言った → 言ったが早いか
  • You can only use this grammar only for events that are directly related.
  • You can only use this grammar only for events that actually happened (past tense).

Examples

  1. 彼女は、教授の姿を見るが早いか、教室から逃げ出した。
    The instant (she) saw the professor’s figure, (she) ran away from the classroom.
  2. 「食べてみよう」と言うが早いか、口の中に放り込んだ。
    The instant (he) said “let’s try eating it”, he threw (it) into his mouth.
  3. 「食べてみよう」と言ったが早いか、口の中に放り込んだ。
    The instant (he) said “let’s try eating it”, he threw (it) into his mouth.

Using 「や／や否や」 to describe what happened right after

Vocabulary

  1. 早い 【はや・い】 (i-adj) – fast; early
  2. 否定 【ひ・てい】 – denial
  3. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
  4. 私 【わたし】 – me, myself, I
  5. 顔 【かお】 – face
  6. 何 【なに／なん】 – what
  7. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say
  8. する (exception) – to do
  9. 搭乗 【とう・じょう】 – boarding
  10. アナウンス – announcement
  11. 聞こえる 【き・こえる】 (ru-verb) – to be audible
  12. 皆 【みんな】 – everybody
  13. ゲート – gate
  14. 方 【ほう】 – direction, way
  15. 走り出す 【はし・り・だ・す】 (u-verb) – to break into a run

The 「や」 or 「や否や」（やいなや） phrase, when appended to a verb, is used to described something that happened right after that verb. Its meaning is essential the same as 「が早いか」. It is also another type of grammar that is not really used in regular conversational Japanese.

「否」 （read here as 「いな」） is a Kanji meaning “no” used in words like 「否定」. The literal meaning of this grammar is “whether the action was taken or not”. In order words, the second action is taken before you even take the time to determine whether the first event really happened or not.

You can use this grammar by attaching 「や」 or 「や否や」 to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred. Since this grammar is used for events that already have occurred, the second verb is usually in the past tense. However, you can use the dictionary tense to indicate that the events happen regularly.

Using 「や／や否や」 to describe what happened right after

  • Attach 「や」 or 「や否や」（やいなや） to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred
    Examples

    1. 見る → 見るや
    2. 見る → 見るや否や
  • This grammar is almost always used for events that actually happened (past tense).
  • This grammar can be used with the present tense for regularly occurring events.

Examples

  1. 私の顔を見るや、何か言おうとした。
    (He) tried to say something as soon as he saw my face.
  2. 搭乗のアナウンスが聞こえるや否や、みんながゲートの方へ走り出した。
    As soon as the announcement to board was audible, everybody started running toward the gate.

Using 「そばから」 to describe an event that repeatedly occurs soon after

Vocabulary

  1. 早い 【はや・い】 (i-adj) – fast; early
  2. 読む 【よ・む】 (u-verb) – to read
  3. する (exception) – to do
  4. 子供 【こ・ども】 – child
  5. 掃除 【そう・じ】 – cleaning
  6. 散らかす 【ち・らかす】 (u-verb) – to scatter around; to leave untidy
  7. もう – already
  8. あきらめる (ru-verb) – to give up
  9. なる (u-verb) – to become
  10. 教科書 【きょう・か・しょ】 – textbook
  11. 忘れる 【わす・れる】 (ru-verb) – to forget
  12. 勉強 【べん・きょう】 – study
  13. 出来る 【で・き・る】 (ru-verb) – to be able to do

「そばから」 is yet another grammar that describes an event that happens right after another. However, unlike the expressions we have covered so far, 「そばから」 implies that the events are a recurring pattern. For example, you would use this grammar to express the fact that you just clean and clean your room only for it to get dirty again soon after.

Besides this difference, the rules for using this expression are exactly the same as 「が早いか」 and 「や否や」. Just attach 「そばから」 to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred. The past tense, though rare, also appears to be acceptable. However, the event that immediately follows is usually expressed with the non-past dictionary form because this grammar is used for repeated events and not a specific event in the past.

Using 「そばから」 to describe an event that repeatedly occurs soon after

  • Attach 「そばから」 to the dictionary form of the first verb that occurred
    Examples

    1. 読む → 読むそばから
    2. する → するそばから
  • This grammar implies that the events occur repeatedly.

Examples

  1. 子供が掃除するそばから散らかすから、もうあきらめたくなった。
    The child messes up (the room) [repeatedly] as soon as I clean so I already became wanting to give up.
  2. 教科書を読んだそばから忘れてしまうので勉強ができない。
    Forget [repeatedly] right after I read the textbook so I can’t study.
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Covered by something

This is a short lesson to cover several specialized expressions that describe the state of being covered by something. Mostly, we will focus on the differences between 「だらけ」、「まみれ」 and 「ずくめ」.

Using 「だらけ」 when an object is riddled everywhere with something

Vocabulary

  1. 間違い 【ま・ちが・い】 – mistake
  2. ゴミ – garbage
  3. 埃 【ほこり】 – dust
  4. この – this （abbr. of これの）
  5. ドキュメント – document
  6. 全然 【ぜん・ぜん】 – not at all (when used with negative)
  7. 役に立つ 【やく・に・たつ】 (u-verb) – to be useful
  8. 携帯 【けい・たい】 – handheld (phone)
  9. ～年 【～ねん】 – counter for year
  10. 使う 【つか・う】 (u-verb) – to use
  11. 傷 【き・ず】 – injury; scratch; scrape
  12. なる (u-verb) – to become
  13. テレビ – TV, television
  14. ちゃんと – properly
  15. 拭く 【ふ・く】 (u-verb) – to wipe; to dry
  16. くれる (ru-verb) – to give

「だらけ」 is usually used when something is riddled everywhere. It generally carries a negative connotation. As a result, you’ll often see 「だらけ」 used with expressions like 「間違いだらけ」, 「ゴミだらけ」, or 「埃だらけ」. There is no conjugation rule to cover here, all you need to do is attach 「だらけ」 to the noun that is just all over the place. You should treat the result just like you would a regular noun.

Using 「だらけ」 to describe the state of being riddled everywhere by something

  • Attach 「だらけ」 to the noun that is covering the object or place
    Examples

    1. 間違い → 間違いだらけ (riddled with mistakes)
    2. 埃 → 埃だらけ (riddled with dust)

Examples

  1. このドキュメントは間違いだらけで、全然役に立たない。
    This document is just riddled with mistakes and is not useful at all.
  2. 携帯を２年間使ってたら、傷だらけになった。
    After using cell phone for 2 years, it became covered with scratches.

※Notice how the 「の」 particle is used to modify since 「だらけ」 functions like a noun.

  1. この埃だらけのテレビをちゃんと拭いてくれない？
    Can you properly dust this TV completely covered in dust?

Using 「まみれ」 to describe a covering

Vocabulary

  1. 間違い 【ま・ちが・い】 – mistake
  2. 血　【ち】 – blood
  3. 油 【あぶら】 – oil
  4. ゴミ – garbage
  5. 彼 【かれ】 – he; boyfriend
  6. なる (u-verb) – to become
  7. 車 【くるま】 – car
  8. 修理 【しゅう・り】 – repair
  9. 頑張る 【がん・ば・る】 (u-verb) – to try one’s best
  10. たった – only, merely
  11. キロ – kilo
  12. 走る 【はし・る】 (u-verb) – to run
  13. 汗 【あせ】 – sweat
  14. 情けない 【なさ・けない】 (i-adj) – shameful; deplorable

「まみれ」 may seem very similar to 「だらけ」 but there are some very important subtle differences. First, it’s only used for actually physical objects so you can’t say things like 「間違いまみれ」 like you can with 「だらけ」. Plus, you can only use it for things that literally cover the object. In other words, you can’t use it to mean “littered” or “riddled” like we have done with 「だらけ」 So you can use it for things like liquids and dust, but you can’t use it for things like scratches and garbage.

The grammatical rules are the same as 「だらけ」.

Using 「まみれ」 to describe a covering by sticking

  • Like 「だらけ」, you attach 「まみれ」 to the noun that is doing covering.
    Examples

    1. 血 → 血まみれ (covered in blood)
    2. 油 → 油まみれ (covered in oil)
  • You can only use 「まみれ」 for physical objects that literally covers the object.
    Examples

    1. 間違いまみれ (not a physical object)
    2. ゴミまみれ (doesn’t actually cover anything)

Examples

  1. 彼は油まみれになりながら、車の修理に頑張りました。
    While becoming covered in oil, he worked hard at fixing the car.
  2. たった１キロを走っただけで、汗まみれになるのは情けない。
    It’s pitiful that one gets covered in sweat from running just 1 kilometer.

「ずくめ」 to express entirety

Vocabulary

  1. 黒 【くろ】 – black
  2. 白 【しろ】 – white
  3. いい (i-adj) – good
  4. こと – event, matter
  5. 団体 【だん・たい】 – group
  6. 去年 【きょ・ねん】 – last year
  7. ニュース – news
  8. なる (u-verb) – to become
  9. この – this （abbr. of これの）
  10. シェーク – shake
  11. おいしい (i-adj) – tasty
  12. 栄養 【えい・よう】 – nutrition
  13. たっぷり – filled with
  14. 体 【からだ】 – body

The 「大辞林」 dictionary describes exactly what 「ずくめ」 means very well.

名詞およびそれに準ずる語句に付いて、何から何まで、そればかりであることを表す。すべて…である。
「うそ―の言いわけ」「いいこと―」「黒―の服装」「結構―」

In other words, 「ずくめ」 describes something that applies to the whole thing. For instance, if we were talking about the human body, the expression “is [X] from head to toe” might be close to what 「ずくめ」 means.

In actuality, 「ずくめ」 is an expression that is rarely used and usually with a color to describe people completely dressed in that color. For example, you can see what 「黒ずくめ」 looks like via Google Images.

Grammatically, 「ずくめ」 works in exactly the same ways as 「だらけ」 and 「まみれ」.

Using 「ずくめ」 to describe something that applies to the whole thing

  • Attach 「ずくめ」 to the noun that applies to the whole thing.
    Examples

    1. 白 → 白ずくめ
    2. いいこと → いいことずくめ

Examples

  1. 白ずくめ団体は去年ニュースになっていた。
    The organization dressed all in white was on the news last year.
  2. このシェークは、おいしいし、栄養たっぷりで体にいいですから、いいことずくめですよ。
    This shake is tasty and filled with nutrients, it’s good for (your) body so it’s entirely good things.
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Advanced Volitional

We learned in a previous lesson that the volitional form is used when one is set out to do something. In this section, we’re going to cover some other ways in which the volitional form is used, most notably, the negative volitional form.

Negative Volitional

Vocabulary

  1. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
  2. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
  3. する (exception) – to do
  4. 来る 【く・る】 (exception) – to come
  5. なる (u-verb) – to become
  6. 相手 【あい・て】 – other party
  7. 剣 【けん】 – sword
  8. 達人 【たつ・じん】 – master, expert
  9. そう – (things are) that way
  10. 簡単 【かん・たん】 (na-adj) – simple
  11. 勝つ 【か・つ】 (u-verb) – to win
  12. そんな – that sort of
  13. 無茶 【む・ちゃ】 – unreasonable; excessive
  14. 手段 【しゅ・だん】 – method
  15. 認める 【みと・める】 (ru-verb) – to recognize, to acknowledge
  16. その – that （abbr. of それの）
  17. 時 【とき】 – time
  18. 決して 【けっ・して】 – by no means; decidedly
  19. 彼 【かれ】 – he; boyfriend
  20. 会う 【あ・う】 (u-verb) – to meet
  21. 心 【こころ】 – heart; mind
  22. 決める 【き・める】 (ru-verb) – to decide
  23. あの – that (over there) （abbr. of あれの）
  24. 人 【ひと】 – person
  25. ～度 【～ど】 – counter for number of times
  26. 嘘 【うそ】 – lie
  27. つく (u-verb) – to be attached
  28. 誓う 【ちか・う】 (u-verb) – to swear, to pledge
  29. 明日 【あした】 – tomorrow
  30. やめる (ru-verb) – to stop; to quit
  31. 肉 【にく】 – meat
  32. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat

You may have seen the negative volitional form in a verb conjugation table and wondered, “What the heck is that used for?” Well the answer is not much, or to put it more accurately, there are various ways it can be used but almost all of them are extremely stiff and formal. In fact, it’s so rare that I only found one explanation in English on the web or anywhere else. (I also found this one in Japanese.)

The negative volitional is used to express negative intention. This means that there is a will for something to not happen or that someone is set out to not do something. As a result, because one is trying not to do something, it’s probably not going to happen. Essentially, it is a very stiff and formal version of 「でしょう」 and 「だろう」. While this form is practically never used in daily conversations, you might still hear it in movies, etc.

Verbs are conjugated to the negative volitional by simply attaching 「まい」 to the verb. Another alternative is to attach 「まい」 to the stem. The conjugation for the negative volitional is quite different from those we are used to because it is always the last conjugation to apply even for the masu-form. There is no way to conjugate 「まい」 to the masu-form, you simply attach 「まい」 to the masu-form conjugation.

Using 「まい」 to express a will to not do something

  • For ru-verbs: Attach「まい」 to the verb or verb stem.
    Example 1:　見る → 見るまい
    Example 2:　見る → 見まい
  • For u-verbs: Attach 「まい」 to the end of the verb
    Example: 行くまい
  • Exceptions:
    1. する → するまい or しまい
    2. くる → くるまい
  • This conjugation must always come last. For masu-form, attach 「まい」 to the masu-form verb.
    Example: なる → なり → なります → なりますまい

Examples

  1. 相手は剣の達人だ。そう簡単には勝てまい。
    Your opponent is a master of the sword. I doubt you can win so easily.
  2. そんな無茶な手段は認めますまい！
    I won’t approve of such an unreasonable method！

We already learned that you could use the volitional form to say “let’s” and to express an attempt do something. But that doesn’t mean you can use the negative volitional to say “let’s not” or “try not to”. The tone of this grammar is one of very strong determination to not do something, as you can see in the following examples.

  1. その時までは決して彼に会うまいと心に決めていた。
    Until that time, I had decided in my heart to not meet him by any means.
  2. あの人は、二度と嘘をつくまいと誓ったのです。
    That person had sworn to never lie again.

In order to express “let’s not”, you can use the verb, 「やめる」 with the regular volitional. In order to express an effort to not do something, you can use 「ようにする」 with the negative verb.

  1. 明日に行くのをやめよう。
    Let’s not go tomorrow. (lit: Let’s quit going tomorrow.)
  2. 肉を食べないようにしている。
    Trying not to eat meat.

Using the volitional to express a lack of relation

Vocabulary

  1. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
  2. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
  3. あいつ – that guy (derogatory)
  4. 大学 【だい・がく】 – college
  5. 入る 【はい・る】 (u-verb) – to enter
  6. 俺 【おれ】 – me; myself; I (masculine)
  7. 関係 【かん・けい】 – relation, relationship
  8. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
  9. 時間 【じ・かん】 – time
  10. 合う 【あ・う】 (u-verb) – to match
  11. 間に合う 【ま・に・あ・う】 – to be in time
  12. 最近 【さい・きん】 – recent; lately
  13. ウィルス – virus
  14. 強力 【きょう・りょく】 (na-adj) – powerful, strong
  15. プログラム – program
  16. 実行 【じっ・こう】 – execute
  17. する (exception) – to do
  18. ページ – page
  19. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
  20. 感染 【かん・せん】 – infection

We will now learn a grammar that’s actually practical for everyday use using the negative volitional grammar. Basically, we can use both volitional and negative volitional forms to say it doesn’t matter whether something is going to happen or not. This is done by attaching 「が」 to both the volitional and the negative volitional form of the verb that doesn’t matter.

Using the volitional to express a lack of relation

  • Attach 「が」 to the volitional and negative volitional form of the verb.
    Examples

    1. 食べる → 食べよう、食べまい → 食べようが食べまいが
    2. 行く → 行こう、行くまい → 行こうが行くまいが

Examples

  1. あいつが大学に入ろうが入るまいが、俺とは関係ないよ。
    Whether that guy is going to college or not, it has nothing to do with me.
  2. 時間があろうがあるまいが、間に合わせるしかない。
    Whether there is time or not, there’s nothing to do but make it on time.
  3. 最近のウィルスは強力で、プログラムを実行しようがしまいが、ページを見るだけで感染するらしい。
    The viruses lately have been strong and whether you run a program or not, I hear it will spread just by looking at the page.

Using 「であろう」 to express likelihood

Vocabulary

  1. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
  2. 困難 【こん・なん】 (na-adj) – difficulty, distress
  3. する (exception) – to do
  4. 今後 【こん・ご】 – hereafter
  5. ～年 【～ねん】 – counter for year
  6. 人間 【にん・げん】 – human
  7. 直面 【ちょく・めん】 – confrontation
  8. 問題 【もん・だい】 – problem
  9. 正面 【しょう・めん】 – front; facade
  10. 向き合う 【む・き・あ・う】 (u-verb) – to face each other
  11. 自ら 【みずか・ら】 – for one’s self
  12. 解決 【かい・けつ】 – resolution
  13. はかる (u-verb) – to plan, to devise
  14. その – that （abbr. of それの）
  15. ノウハウ – know-how
  16. 次 【つぎ】 – next
  17. 産業 【さん・ぎょう】 – industry
  18. なる (u-verb) – to become
  19. シナリオ – scenario
  20. 考える 【かんが・える】 (ru-verb) – to think
  21. もちろん – of course
  22. 生徒数 【せい・と・すう】 – number of students
  23. 減少 【げん・しょう】 – decline, reduction
  24. 現在 【げん・ざい】 – present time
  25. 学科 【がっ・か】 – course of study
  26. 新設 【しん・せつ】 – newly organized or established
  27. 職業科 【しょく・ぎょう・か】 – occupational studies
  28. 統廃合 【とう・はい・ごう】 – reorganization
  29. 科内 【か・ない】 – within study course
  30. コース – course
  31. 改編 【かい・へん】 – reorganization
  32. 時代 【じ・だい】 – period, era
  33. 合う 【あ・う】 (u-verb) – to match
  34. 変革 【へん・かく】 – reform
  35. 求める 【もと・める】 (ru-verb) – to request; to seek

We already found out that the negative volitional can be used as kind of a formal version of 「でしょう」 and 「だろう」. You may wonder, how would you do the same thing for the volitional? The answer is to conjugate the verb 「ある」 from the formal state-of-being 「である」 to the volitional to produce 「であろう」. Remember 「でしょう」 can already be used as a polite form, so this form is even a step above that in formality. We’ll see what kind of language uses this form in the examples.

Using 「であろう」 to express likelihood

  • Attach 「であろう」 to the noun, adjective, or verb.
    Examples

    1. 困難 → 困難であろう
    2. する → するであろう

Examples

  1. 今後50年、人間が直面するであろう問題に正面から向き合って、自ら解決をはかりつつ、そのノウハウが次の産業となるシナリオを考えたい。(from www.jkokuryo.com)
    I would like to directly approach problems that humans have likely encounter the next 50 years and while devising solutions, take that knowledge and think about scenarios that will become the next industry.
  2. もちろん、生徒数減少の現在、学科の新設は困難であろうが、職業科の統廃合や科内コースの改編などで時代に合わせた変革が求められているはずである。(from www1.normanet.ne.jp)
    Of course, setting up new courses of study will likely be difficult with this period of decreasing student population but with reorganizations of occupational studies and courses within subjects, there is supposed to be demand for reform fit for this period.

Using 「かろう」 as volitional for 「い」 endings

Vocabulary

  1. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
  2. 早い 【はや・い】 (i-adj) – fast; early
  3. どんな – what kind of
  4. 商品 【しょう・ひん】 – product
  5. ネット – net
  6. 販売 【はん・ばい】 – selling
  7. 売上 【うり・あげ】 – amount sold, sales
  8. 伸びる 【の・びる】 (ru-verb) – to extend, to lengthen
  9. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say
  10. 物 【もの】 – object
  11. 運動 【うん・どう】 – exercise
  12. 始める 【はじ・める】 (ru-verb) – to begin
  13. 遅い 【おそ・い】 (i-adj) – late
  14. 健康 【けん・こう】 – health
  15. いい (i-adj) – good
  16. 変わる 【か・わる】(u-verb) – to change
  17. 休日 【きゅう・じつ】 – holiday, day off
  18. この – this （abbr. of これの）
  19. 関係 【かん・けい】 – relation, relationship

We learned in the lesson about formal grammar that 「ではない」 was the negative of 「である」. So how would we say something like 「であろう」 but for the negative? The answer is to use yet another type of volitional for negatives and i-adjectives used only in formal and literary contexts. You can think of this grammar as a very old-fashioned version for i-adjectives and negative 「い」 endings.

The conjugation rule is simple: remove the last 「い」 and attach 「かろう」. You can use it for negatives and i-adjectives just like the 「かった」 past conjugation form.

Using 「かろう」 to express volition for 「い」 endings

  • Drop the last 「い」 and attach 「かろう」
    Examples

    1. ではない → ではなかろう
    2. 早い → 早かろう

Examples

  1. どんな商品でもネットで販売するだけで売上が伸びるというものではなかろう。
    It’s not necessarily the case that sales go up just by selling any type of product on the net.
  2. 運動を始めるのが早かろうが遅かろうが、健康にいいというのは変わりません。
    Whether you start exercising early or late, the fact that it’s good for your health doesn’t change.
  3. 休日であろうが、なかろうが、この仕事では関係ないみたい。
    Whether it’s a holiday or not, it looks like it doesn’t matter for this job.
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Tendencies

In this lesson, we will go over various types of grammar that deal with tendencies. Like much of the Advanced Section, all the grammar in this lesson are used mostly in written works and are generally not used in conversational Japanese.

Saying something is prone to occur using 「～がち」

Vocabulary

  1. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
  2. なる (u-verb) – to become
  3. 病気 【びょう・き】 – disease; sickness
  4. 確定 【かく・てい】 – decision; settlement
  5. 申告 【しん・こく】 – report; statement; filing a return
  6. 確定申告 【かく・てい・しん・こく】 – final income tax return
  7. 忘れる 【わす・れる】 (ru-verb) – to forget
  8. 手続 【て・つづき】 – procedure, paperwork
  9. 留守 【るす】 – being away from home
  10. 家庭 【か・てい】 – household
  11. 犬 【いぬ】 – dog
  12. 猫 【ねこ】 – cat
  13. 勧め 【すす・め】 – recommendation
  14. 父親 【ちち・おや】 – father
  15. 皆 【みんな】 – everybody
  16. 心配 【しん・ぱい】 – worry; concern
  17. する (exception) – to do

This is arguably the most useful grammar in this lesson in terms of practically. By that, I mean that it’s the only grammar here that you might actually hear in a regular conversation though again, it is far more common in a written context.

With this grammar, you can say that something is likely to occur by simply attaching 「がち」 to the stem of the verb. While, 「がち」 is a suffix, it works in much same way as a noun or na-adjective. In other words, the result becomes a description of something as being likely. This means that we can do things like modifying nouns by attaching 「な」 and other things we’re used to doing with na-adjectives. You can also say that something is prone to be something by attaching 「がち」 to the noun.

As the word “prone” suggest, 「がち」 is usually used for tendencies that are bad or undesirable.

Using 「～がち」 as a description of an action prone to occur

  • For verbs: Attach 「がち」 to the stem of the verb.
    Examples

    1. 見る → 見がち
    2. なる → なり → なりがち
  • For nouns: Attach 「がち」 to the appropriate noun
    Example: 病気 → 病気がち

All adjectives that are conjugated with 「～がち」 become a noun/na-adjective
Positive Negative
Non-Past なりがち
prone to become		 なりがちじゃない
is not prone to become
Past なりがちだった
was prone to become		 なりがちじゃなかった
was not prone to become

Examples

  1. 確定申告は忘れがちな手続のひとつだ。
    Filing income taxes is one of those processes that one is prone to forget.
  2. 留守がちなご家庭には、犬よりも、猫の方がおすすめです。
    For families that tend to be away from home, cats are recommended over dogs.
  3. 父親は病気がちで、みんなが心配している。
    Father is prone to illness and everybody is worried.

For more examples, check out the WWWJDIC examples.

Describing an ongoing occurrence using 「～つつ」

Vocabulary

  1. テレビ – TV, television
  2. 見る 【み・る】 (ru-verb) – to see
  3. 寝る 【ね・る】 (ru-verb) – to sleep
  4. 思う 【おも・う】 (u-verb) – to think
  5. なる (u-verb) – to become
  6. 二日酔い 【ふつ・か・よい】 – hangover
  7. 痛む 【いた・む】 (u-verb) – to feel pain
  8. 頭 【あたま】 – head
  9. 押さえる 【おさ・える】 (ru-verb) – to hold something down; to grasp
  10. トイレ – bathroom; toilet
  11. 入る 【はい・る】 (u-verb) – to enter
  12. 体 【からだ】 – body
  13. いい (i-adj) – good
  14. 最近 【さい・きん】 – recent; lately
  15. 全然 【ぜん・ぜん】 – not at all (when used with negative)
  16. 運動 【うん・どう】 – exercise
  17. する (exception) – to do
  18. 電気 【でん・き】 – electricity; (electric) light
  19. 製品 【せい・ひん】 – manufactured goods, product
  20. 発展 【はっ・てん】 – development; growth; advancement
  21. つれる (ru-verb) – to lead
  22. ハードディスク – hard disk
  23. 容量 【よう・りょう】 – capacity
  24. ますます – increasingly
  25. 大きい 【おお・きい】(i-adj) – big
  26. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
  27. 今 【いま】 – now
  28. 日本 【に・ほん】 – Japan
  29. 終身 【しゅう・しん】 – lifetime
  30. 雇用 【こ・よう】 – employment
  31. 年功 【ねん・こう】 – long service
  32. 序列 【じょ・れつ】 – order
  33. 年功序列 【ねん・こう・じょ・れつ】 – seniority system
  34. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say
  35. 慣行 【かん・こう】 – customary practice
  36. 崩れる 【くず・れる】 (ru-verb) – to collapse; to crumble

「つつ」 is a verb modifier that can be attached to the stem of verbs to express an ongoing occurrence. Though the meaning stays essentially the same, there are essentially two ways to use this grammar. The first is almost identical to the 「～ながら」 grammar. You can use 「つつ」 to describe an action that is taking place while another action is ongoing. However, there are several major differences between 「つつ」 and 「～ながら」. First, the tone of 「つつ」 is very different from that of 「～ながら」 and you would rarely, if ever, use it for regular everyday occurrences. To go along with this, 「つつ」 is more appropriate for more literary or abstract actions such as those involving emotions or thoughts. Second, 「～ながら」 is used to describe an auxiliary action that takes place while the main action is going on. However, with 「つつ」, both actions have equal weight.

For example, it would sound very strange to say the following.

  • テレビを見つつ、寝ちゃダメよ！
    (Sounds unnatural)
  • テレビを見ながら、寝ちゃダメよ！
    Don’t watch TV while sleeping!

The second way to use this grammar is to express the existence of a continuing process by using 「ある」, the verb for existence. Everything is the same as before except that you attach 「ある」 to 「つつ」 to produce 「～つつある」. This is often used in magazine or newspaper articles to describe a certain trend or tide.

Using 「～つつ」 to describe a repetitive occurrence

  • To describe an ongoing action, attach 「つつ」 to the stem of the verb.
    Examples

    1. 見る → 見つつ
    2. 思う → 思い → 思いつつ
  • To show the existence of a trend or tide, add 「ある」 to 「つつ」
    Example: なる → なり → なりつつ → なりつつある

Examples

  1. 二日酔いで痛む頭を押さえつつ、トイレに入った。
    Went into the bathroom while holding an aching head from a hangover.
  2. 体によくないと思いつつ、最近は全然運動してない。
    While thinking it’s bad for body, haven’t exercised at all recently.
  3. 電気製品の発展につれて、ハードディスクの容量はますます大きくなりつつある。
    Lead by the advancement of electronic products, hard disk drive capacities are becoming ever larger.
  4. 今の日本では、終身雇用や年功序列という雇用慣行が崩れつつある。
    In today’s Japan, hiring practices like life-time employment and age-based ranking are tending to break down.

For more examples, check out the WWWJDIC examples.

Describing a negative tendency using 「きらいがある」

Vocabulary

  1. 嫌い 【きら・い】 (na-adj) – distasteful, hateful
  2. 依存症 【い・ぞん・しょう】 – dependence; addiction
  3. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
  4. 多い 【おお・い】 (i-adj) – numerous
  5. 大学生 【だい・がく・せい】 – college student
  6. 締切日 【しめ・きり・び】 – closing day; deadline
  7. ぎりぎり – at the last moment; just barely
  8. 宿題 【しゅく・だい】 – homework
  9. やる (u-verb) – to do
  10. コーディング – coding
  11. 好き 【す・き】 (na-adj) – likable; desirable
  12. 開発者 【かい・はつ・しゃ】 – developer
  13. ちゃんと – properly
  14. する (exception) – to do
  15. ドキュメント – document
  16. 作成 【さく・せい】 – creation
  17. 十分 【じゅう・ぶん】 – sufficient, adequate
  18. テスト – test
  19. 怠る 【おこた・る】 (u-verb) – to shirk

「きらいがある」 is a fixed expression used to describe a bad tendency or habit. I suspect that 「きらい」 here might have something to do with the word for hateful: 「嫌い」. However, unlike 「嫌い」, which is a na-adjective, the 「きらい」 in this grammar functions as a noun. This is made plain by the fact that the 「が」 particle comes right after 「きらい」, which is not allowed for adjectives. The rest of the phrase is simply expressing the fact that the negative tendency exists.

Using 「きらいがある」 to describe a negative tendency

  • The 「きらい」 in this grammar functions as a noun. 「ある」 is simply the existence verb for inanimate objects.
    Example: 依存症のきらいがある。

Examples

  1. 多くの大学生は、締切日ぎりぎりまで、宿題をやらないきらいがある。
    A lot of college students have a bad tendency of not doing their homework until just barely it’s due date.
  2. コーディングが好きな開発者は、ちゃんとしたドキュメント作成と十分なテストを怠るきらいがある。
    Developers that like coding have a bad tendency to neglect proper documents and adequate testing.
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Expressing non-feasibility

We learned how to express feasibility in the section on the potential form quite a while ways back. In this section, we’ll learn some advanced and specialized ways to express certain types of feasibility or the lack thereof. Like much of the grammar in the Advanced Section, the grammar covered here is mostly used for written works and rarely used in regular speech.

Expressing the inability to not do using 「～ざるを得ない」

Vocabulary

  1. 得る 【え・る】 (ru-verb) – to obtain
  2. 意図 【い・と】 – intention; aim; design
  3. する (exception) – to do
  4. 来る 【く・る】 (exception) – to come
  5. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
  6. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
  7. この – this （abbr. of これの）
  8. テレビ – TV, television
  9. これ – this
  10. 以上 【い・じょう】 – greater or equal
  11. 壊れる 【こわ・れる】 (ru-verb) – to break
  12. 新しい 【あたら・しい】(i-adj) – new
  13. 買う 【か・う】 (u-verb) – to buy
  14. ずっと – the whole time, all along
  15. 我慢 【が・まん】 – tolerance; self-control
  16. 状態 【じょう・たい】 – situation
  17. 歯医者 【は・い・しゃ】 – dentist
  18. 上司 【じょう・し】 – superior; boss
  19. 話 【はなし】 – story
  20. 聞く 【き・く】 (u-verb) – to ask; to listen
  21. どうしても – by any means, no matter what
  22. 海外 【かい・がい】 – overseas

This grammar is used when there’s something that just can’t be helped and must be done. It is the negative version of the grammar we previously covered for something that has to be done. It uses the negative of the verb 「得る」 or “obtain”, to roughly mean that “one cannot obtain not doing of an action”. This means that you can’t not do something even if you wanted to. As a result of the use of double negatives, this grammar carries a slight suggestion that you really don’t want to do it, but you have to because it can’t be helped. Really, the negative connotation is the only difference between this grammar and the grammar we covered in this “have to” section. That, and the fact that this grammar is fancier and more advanced.

This grammar uses an archaic negative form of verbs that ends in 「～ざる」. It is really not used in modern Japanese with the exception of this grammar and some expressions such as 「意図せざる」. The rules for conjugation are the same as the negative verbs, except this grammar attaches 「ざる」 instead. To reiterate, all you have to do is conjugate the verb to the negative form and then replace the 「ない」 with 「ざる」. The two exception verbs are 「する」 which becomes 「せざる」 and 「くる」 which becomes 「こざる」. Finally, all that’s left to be done is to attach 「を得ない」 to the verb. It is also not uncommon to use Hiragana instead of the Kanji.

Using 「～ざるを得ない」 for actions that must be done

  • To say that you can’t not do something replace the 「ない」 part of the negative verb with 「ざる」, then attach 「を得ない」 to the end of the verb.
    Examples

    1. 食る → 食べない → 食べざる → 食べざるを得ない
    2. 行く → 行かない → 行かざる → 行かざるを得ない
  • Exceptions:
    1. する → せざる → せざるをえない
    2. くる → こざる → こざるをえない

Examples

  1. このテレビがこれ以上壊れたら、新しいのを買わざるを得ないな。
    If this TV breaks even more, there’s no choice but to buy a new one.
  2. ずっと我慢してきたが、この状態だと歯医者さんに行かざるを得ない。
    I tolerated it all this time but in this situation, I can’t not go to the dentist.
  3. 上司の話を聞くと、どうしても海外に出張をせざるを得ないようです。
    Hearing the story from the boss, it seems like I can’t not go on a business trip overseas no matter what.

Expressing the inability to stop doing something using 「やむを得ない」

Vocabulary

  1. 止む 【や・む】 (u-verb) – to stop
  2. 仕方 【し・かた】 – way, method
  3. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
  4. しょうがない – it can’t be helped, nothing can be done
  5. 得る 【え・る】 (ru-verb) – to obtain
  6. 事由 【じ・ゆう】 – reason; cause
  7. 手続 【て・つづき】 – procedure, paperwork
  8. 遅れる 【おく・れる】 (ru-verb) – to be late
  9. 必ず 【かなら・ず】 – without exception, without fail
  10. 連絡 【れん・らく】 – contact
  11. この – this （abbr. of これの）
  12. 仕事 【し・ごと】 – job
  13. 厳しい 【きび・しい】 (i-adj) – strict
  14. 最近 【さい・きん】 – recent; lately
  15. 不景気 【ふ・けい・き】 – recession, depression
  16. 新しい 【あたら・しい】(i-adj) – new
  17. 見つかる 【み・つかる】 (u-verb) – to be found
  18. 状態 【じょう・たい】 – situation

This grammar is very similar to the one we just learned above except that it uses the verb 「止む」 to say that one cannot obtain the stopping of something. Remember that we normally can’t just attach the 「を」 direct object particle to verbs, so this is really a set expression. Just like the previous grammar we learned, it is used to describe something that one is forced to do due to some circumstances. The difference here is that this is a complete phrase, which can be used for a general situation that doesn’t involve any specific action. In other words, you’re not actually forced to do something; rather it describes a situation that cannot be helped. If you have already learned 「仕方がない」 or 「しょうがない」, this grammar means pretty much the same thing. The difference lies in whether you want to say, “Looks like we’re stuck” vs “Due to circumstances beyond our control…”

Since this is a set expression, there are really no grammar points to discuss. You only need to take the phrase and use it as you would any regular relative clause.

Examples

  1. やむを得ない事由により手続が遅れた場合、必ずご連絡下さい。
    If the paperwork should be late due to uncontrollable circumstance, please make sure to contact us.
  2. この仕事は厳しいかもしれませんが、最近の不景気では新しい仕事が見つからないのでやむを得ない状態です。
    This job may be bad but because (I) can’t find a new job due to the recent economic downturn, it’s a situation where nothing can be done.

Expressing what cannot be done with 「～かねる」

Vocabulary

  1. かねる (ru-verb) – to be unable to; to find difficult (unpleasant, awkward, painful) to do;
  2. 決める 【き・める】 (ru-verb) – to decide
  3. する (exception) – to do
  4. なる (u-verb) – to become
  5. この – this （abbr. of これの）
  6. 場 【ば】 – place, spot
  7. ちょっと – a little
  8. また – again
  9. 別途 【べっ・と】 – separate
  10. 会議 【かい・ぎ】 – meeting
  11. 設ける 【もう・ける】 (ru-verb) – to establish
  12. 個人 【こ・じん】 – personal
  13. 情報 【じょう・ほう】 – information
  14. 漏洩 【ろう・えい】 – disclosure; leakage
  15. 速やか 【すみ・やか】 (na-adj) – speedy; prompt
  16. 対応 【たい・おう】 – dealing with; support
  17. 願う 【ねが・う】 (u-verb) – to wish; to request
  18. 致す 【いた・す】 (u-verb) – to do (humble)

The meaning and usage of 「かねる」 is covered pretty well in this jeKai entry with plenty of examples. While much of this is a repetition of what’s written there, 「かねる」 is a ru-verb that is used as a suffix to other verbs to express a person’s inability, reluctance, or refusal to do something

「かねる」 is often used in the negative as 「かねない」 to indicate that there is a possibility that the verb in question might happen. As the jeKai entry mentions, this is usually in reference to something bad, which you might express in English as, “there is a risk that…” or “there is a fear that…”

One important thing that the jeKai doesn’t mention is how you would go about using this grammar. It’s not difficult and you may have already guessed from the example sentences that all you need to do is just attach 「かねる」 or 「かねない」 to the stem of the verb.

Using 「～かねる」 for things that cannot be done

  • To say that something cannot be done using 「かねる」, change the verb to the stem and attach 「かねる」.
    Examples

    1. 決める → 決めかねる
    2. する → しかねる
  • 「かねる」 is a ru-verb so use the negative 「かねない」 to say that something (bad) might happen.
    Examples

    1. なる → なりかねる → なりかねない
    2. する → しかねる → しかねない

Examples

  1. この場ではちょっと決めかねますので、また別途会議を設けましょう。
    Since making a decision here is impossible, let’s set up a separate meeting again.
  2. このままでは、個人情報が漏洩しかねないので、速やかに対応をお願い致します。
    At this rate, there is a possibility that personal information might leak so I request that this be dealt with promptly.
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Showing signs of something

In this lesson, we’ll learn various expressions involving how to describe people who are expressing themselves without words. For example, we’ll learn how to say expressions in Japanese such as “They acted as if they were saying goodbye,” “He acted disgusted,” and “She acts like she wants to go.”

Showing outward signs of an emotion using 「～がる」

Vocabulary

  1. 嫌 【いや】 (na-adj) disagreeable; unpleasant
  2. 怖い 【こわ・い】 (i-adj) – scary
  3. 嬉しい 【うれ・しい】 (i-adj) – happy
  4. 恥ずかしい 【は・ずかしい】 (i-adj) – embarrassing
  5. 早い 【はや・い】 (i-adj) – fast; early
  6. する (exception) – to do
  7. 何 【なに／なん】 – what
  8. いる (ru-verb) – to exist (animate)
  9. 彼女 【かの・じょ】 – she; girlfriend
  10. 朝 【あさ】 – morning
  11. 起こす 【お・こす】 (u-verb) – to cause, to wake someone
  12. タイプ – type
  13. うち – referring to one’s in-group, i.e. company, etc.
  14. 子供 【こ・ども】 – child
  15. プール – pool
  16. 入る 【はい・る】 (u-verb) – to enter
  17. 理由 【り・ゆう】 – reason
  18. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
  19. 欲しい 【ほ・しい】 (i-adj) – desirable
  20. カレー – curry
  21. 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
  22. 家 【1) うち; 2) いえ】 – 1) one’s own home; 2) house
  23. 帰る 【かえ・る】 (u-verb) – to go home
  24. すぐ – soon
  25. パソコン – computer, PC
  26. 使う 【つか・う】 (u-verb) – to use
  27. 皆 【みんな】 – everybody
  28. イタリア – Italy
  29. 行く 【い・く】 (u-verb) – to go
  30. 私 【わたし】 – me, myself, I
  31. 予算 【よ・さん】 – budget
  32. どう – how
  33. とても – very
  34. 怪しい 【あや・しい】 (i-adj) – suspicious; dubious; doubtful
  35. 妻 【つま】 – wife
  36. バッグ – bag
  37. そんな – that sort of
  38. もん – object （short for もの）
  39. 買う 【か・う】 (u-verb) – to buy
  40. 訳 【わけ】 – meaning; reason; can be deduced
  41. 恥ずかしがり屋 【は・ずかしがり・や】 – one who easily feels or acts embarrassed
  42. 寒がり屋 【さむ・がり・や】 – one who easily feels cold
  43. 暑がり屋 【あつ・がり・や】 – one who easily feels hot
  44. ミネソタ – Minnesota
  45. 暮らす 【く・らす】 (u-verb) – to live
  46. 辛い 【つら・い】 (i-adj) – harsh

The 「～がる」 grammar is used when you want to make an observation about how someone is feeling. This is simply an observation based on some type of sign(s). Therefore, you would not use it for your own emotions since guessing about your own emotions is not necessary. This grammar can only be used with adjectives so you can use this grammar to say, “He is acting scared,” but you cannot say “He acted surprised,” because “to be surprised” is a verb in Japanese and not an adjective. This grammar is also commonly used with a certain set of adjectives related to emotions such as: 「嫌」、「怖い」、「嬉しい」、or 「恥ずかしい」.

Using 「～がる」 for observing the emotions or feelings of others

  • For i-adjectives: Remove the last 「い」 from the i-adjective and then attach 「がる」
  • Example: 怖い → 怖がる
  • For na-adjectives: Attach 「がる」 to the end of the na-adjective
  • Example: 嫌 → 嫌がる

All adjectives that are conjugated with 「～がる」 become an u-verb
Positive Negative
Non-Past 怖がる
act scared		 怖がらない
not act scared
Past 怖がった
acted scared		 怖がらなかった
didn’t act scared

Examples

  1. 早くきてよ！何を恥ずかしがっているの？
    Hurry up and come here. What are you acting all embarrassed for?
  2. 彼女は朝早く起こされるのを嫌がるタイプです。
    My girlfriend is the type to show dislike towards getting woken up early in the morning.
  3. うちの子供はプールに入るのを理由もなく怖がる。
    Our child acts afraid about entering a pool without any reason.

This grammar is also used to observe very frankly on what you think someone other than yourself wants. This involves the adjective 「欲しい」 for things one wants or the 「～たい」 conjugation for actions one wants to do, which is essentially a verb conjugated to an i-adjective. This type of grammar is more suited for things like narration in a story and is rarely used in this fashion for normal conversations because of its impersonal style of observation. For casual conversations, it is more common to use 「でしょう」 such as in, 「カレーを食べたいでしょう。」. For polite conversations, it is normal to not make any assumptions at all or to use the 「よね」 sentence ending such as in 「カレーを食べたいですか。」 or 「カレーを食べたいですよね。」

Examples

  1. 家に帰ったら、すぐパソコンを使いたがる。
    (He) soon acts like wanting to use computer as soon as (he) gets home.
  2. みんなイタリアに行きたがってるんだけど、私の予算で行けるかどうかはとても怪しい。
    Everybody is acting like they want to go to Italy but it’s suspicious whether I can go or not going by my budget.
  3. 妻はルイヴィトンのバッグを欲しがっているんだけど、そんなもん、買えるわけないでしょう！
    My wife was showing signs of wanting a Louis Vuitton bag but there’s no way I can buy something like that!

「～がる」 is also used with 「屋」 to indicate a type of person that often feels a certain way such as 「恥ずかしがり屋」 (one who easily feels or acts embarrassed)、 「寒がり屋」 (one who easily feels cold)、or 「暑がり屋」 (one who easily feels hot).

  • 私は寒がり屋だから、ミネソタで暮らすのは辛かった。
    I’m the type who easily gets cold and so living in Minnesota was painful.

Using 「ばかり」 to act as if one might do something

Vocabulary

  1. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say
  2. ボール – ball
  3. 爆発 【ばく・はつ】 – explosion
  4. する (exception) – to do
  5. 膨らむ 【ふく・らむ】 (u-verb) – to expand; to swell
  6. あんた – you (slang)
  7. 関係 【かん・けい】 – relation, relationship
  8. ある (u-verb) – to exist (inanimate)
  9. 彼女 【かの・じょ】 – she; girlfriend
  10. 彼 【かれ】 – he; boyfriend
  11. 無視 【む・し】 – ignore
  12. 昨日【きのう】 – yesterday
  13. 喧嘩 【けん・か】 – quarrel
  14. 何 【なに／なん】 – what
  15. 平気 【へい・き】 (na-adj) – coolness; calmness
  16. 顔 【かお】 – face

We just learned how to observe the emotions and feelings of other by using 「～がる」 with adjectives. But what about verbs? Indeed, there is a separate grammar used to express the fact that someone else looks like they are about to do something but actually does not. Similar to the 「～がる」 grammar, this is usually not used in normal everyday conversations. I have seen it several times in books and novels but have yet to hear this grammar in a conversation.

For the regular non-past, non-negative verb, you must first conjugate the verb to the negative ending with 「ん」, which was covered here. Then, you just attach 「ばかり」 to the end of the verb. For all other conjugations, nothing else is necessary except to just add 「ばかり」 to the verb. The most common verb used with this grammar is 「言う」 . It is also usually used with the 「に」 target particle attached to the end of 「ばかり」.

This grammar is completely different from the 「ばかり」 used to express amounts and the 「ばかり」 used to express the proximity of an action.

Using 「ばかり」 to indicate that one seems to want to do something

  • For present, non-negative: Conjugate the verb to the 「ん」 negative form and attach 「ばかり」
  • Example: 言う → 言わない → 言わん → 言わんばかり
  • For all other tenses: Attach 「ばかり」 to the end of the verb
  • Example: 言わなかった → 言わなかったばかり

Summary of basic conjugations
Positive Negative
Non-Past 言わんばかり
as if to say		 言わないばかり
as if [she] doesn’t say
Past 言ったばかり
as if [she] said		 言わなかったばかり
as if [she] didn’t say

Examples

  1. ボールは爆発せんばかりに、膨らんでいた。
    The ball was expanding as if it was going to explode.
  2. 「あんたとは関係ない」と言わんばかりに彼女は彼を無視していた。
    She ignored him as if to say, “You have nothing to do with this.”
  3. 昨日の喧嘩で何も言わなかったばかりに、平気な顔をしている。
    Has a calm face as if [he] didn’t say anything during the fight yesterday.

Using 「めく」 to indicate an atmosphere of a state

Vocabulary

  1. 謎 【なぞ】 – puzzle
  2. 秘密 【ひ・みつ】 – secret
  3. 皮肉 【ひ・にく】 – irony
  4. 紅葉 【こう・よう】 – leaves changing color
  5. 始まる 【はじ・まる】 (u-verb) – to begin
  6. すっかり – completely
  7. 秋 【あき】 – autumn
  8. 空気 【くう・き】 – air; atmosphere
  9. なる (u-verb) – to become
  10. そんな – that sort of
  11. 顔 【かお】 – face
  12. する (exception) – to do
  13. うまい (i-adj) – skillful; delicious
  14. 説明 【せつ・めい】 – explanation
  15. 出来る 【で・き・る】 (ru-verb) – to be able to do
  16. いつも – always
  17. 言う 【い・う】 (u-verb) – to say
  18. ～方 【～かた】 – way of doing ～
  19. 皆 【みんな】 – everybody
  20. 嫌 【いや】 (na-adj) disagreeable; unpleasant

By now, you’re probably thinking, “Ok, we’ve done adjectives and verbs. What about nouns?” As a matter of fact, there is a similar grammar that is used usually for nouns and na-adjectives. It is used to indicate that something is showing the signs of a certain state. Unlike the 「～がる」 grammar, there is no action that indicates anything; merely the atmosphere gives off the impression of the state. Just like the previous grammar we learned in this section, this grammar has a list of commonly used nouns such as 「謎」、「秘密」、or 「皮肉」. This grammar is used by simply attaching 「めく」 to the noun or na-adjective. The result then becomes a regular u-verb.

Using 「めく」 to indicate that one seems to want to do something

  • Attach 「めく」 to the noun or na-adjective. The result then becomes a regular u-verb.
  • Example: 謎 → 謎めく

Summary of basic conjugations
Positive Negative
Non-Past 謎めく
puzzling atmosphere		 *謎めかない
not puzzling atmosphere
Past 謎めいた
puzzled atmosphere		 *謎めかなかった
not puzzled atmosphere

*The negatives conjugations are theoretically possible but are not likely used. The most common usage is the past tense.

Examples

  1. 紅葉が始まり、すっかり秋めいた空気になってきた。
    With the leaves starting to change color, the air came to become quite autumn like.
  2. そんな謎めいた顔をされても、うまく説明できないよ。
    Even having that kind of puzzled look done to me, I can’t explain it very well, you know.
  3. いつも皮肉めいた言い方をしたら、みんなを嫌がらせるよ。
    You’ll make everyone dislike you if you keep speaking with that ironic tone, you know.

For a whole slew of additional real world examples, check out the jeKai entry. It states that the grammar can be used for adverbs and other parts of speech but none of the numerous examples show this and even assuming it’s possible, it’s probably not practiced in reality.