Easy Responses by Molly Hakes
All these questions may overwhelm you, or you may be flattered by the attention given to your background, likes, and dislikes. Once you have deciphered the questions, you can begin to think about responses.
Geographic Generalities
How familiar are you with Japanese prefectures? Do you know where Chiba is? How about Aomori? Aside from the occasional geography genius, Japanese people are no more familiar with the location of states within the United States (other than the famous ones like California and New York, or nearby ones like Hawaii, Alaska, and Washington) than the average westerner is with Japanese prefectures. Citing general directions like north, south, east, west, and center should suffice to provide an image of your home territory's location.
Sumai wa Amerika no higashi kaigan desu.
My home is on the East Coast of the U.S.A.
Tekisasu wa minami no hoo ni arimasu.
Texas is in the South.
Mishigan wa kita no hoo desu.
Michigan is in the North.
Yuujiin wa nishi kaigan ni arimasu.
Eugene is on the West Coast.
In the fourth example, look at the particle ni, which is used instead of hoo to indicate direction. The name of the country (in this case, America) is not explicitly stated, probably because it has already been determined by context. If you were to rephrase the statement to include this information, the sentence would look like this: Iuujiinu wa Amerika no nishi kaigan ni arimasu.
Further observation of these examples illuminates the use of two different verbs with almost identical meanings: desu and arimasu. Note that when arimasu is used, it is prefaced by ni. Desu does not require the presence of ni.
Remember the possessive no from earlier chapters? Here it is again, with a twist. When it connects two geographic locations, no indicates that one region or location is situated within a larger region, state, or country. Because in a sense the East coast “belongs” to America, no retains its possessive function. When no connects the name of a region with hoo, it means “in the direction of.”
Testing Your English Skills
Jumping at the chance to hear some nama eigo (“raw English”), many people may ask you how to say certain things in English. Pointing to the object in question, speak slowly and clearly. You may have to repeat the word or phrase several times. On some occasions, you may not be familiar with the items in question. The following sentence patterns will help you out in all these different situations.
Kore wa eigo de apple desu.
This is “apple” in English.
Sore wa eigo de dish desu.
That is “dish” in English.
Kore wa eigo de wakarimasen. Nan desu ka.
I don't know what that is in English. What is this (anyway)?
Iku wa eigo de “go” to iimasu.
Iku means “go” in English.
An affirmative response like one of the following will encourage your conversation partner to further develop his or her English expertise. Kids, especially, will be overjoyed that you appreciate their efforts to communicate with you.
Chotto matte, “aka” wa eigo de red desu ne.
Just a minute, you're right; aka is “red” in English!
Sugoi, ne!
Wow, that's great!
Atari!
You're right!
In the following examples, you can see yet another function of the particle de. You can use it whenever you want to signal that something is being communicated in a particular language. Examples:
Kore wa nihongo de nan desu ka.
What is this in Japanese?
Kono ko wa supeingo de hanashi ga dekiru.
This child can speak Spanish.
The words for different languages are formed by combining the name of a country with the word go, which means “language.” Furansugo, therefore, means “the language of France,” or “French.” The component parts of nihongo are fairly clear, but can you dissect the word eigo? The ei stands for “England,” and the addition of go turns it into “English.”
Do not confuse this go with other words you know that have the same pronunciation. The honorific go, for example, and the word for “five” are represented by completely different kanji. The kanji that is used to write the go in nihongo means “word” as well as “language.” For example:
Kono go no imi wa nan desu ka.
What is the meaning of this word?
Favorites and Others
If you do not have a favorite color, season, flower, or fruit, now is the time to start thinking about it. Japanese children, especially, will delight in quizzing you on all of your preferences. Adults will be more interested in your preferences for food, drinks, and music. Here are some sentence patterns that will help you express your likes and preferences:
Hai, murasaki wa suki desu.
Yes, I like purple.
Aki ga ichiban suki desu.
I like fall the best.
Yappari, pan ga ii desu ne.
Well, I guess I prefer bread.
Saru ga suki desu.
I like monkeys.
Kaapentaazu wa amari suki janai desu.
I don't really care for the Carpenters.
To be amicable, it is nice to state things in the positive. But there are some things that cannot be tolerated (like bad music). In that case, it is necessary to be honest and say amari suki janai. This is a very gentle, albeit negative, statement. A more forceful way of saying you don't like something is to use the word kirai. Kirai is an adjective that includes the suffix -na when it is used to modify a noun. Its meaning ranges from “unpleasant” and “distasteful” all the way to “hateful.” Remember, adjectives have a verb-like quality in Japanese. In the first two examples, notice how kirai-na is translated into English as a verb:
Kirai-na tabemono wa nan desu ka.
Are there any foods you don't like?
Kirai-na doobutsu wa imasu ka.
What animals do you dislike?
Kirai-na iro wa nani iro desu ka.
What is your least favorite color?
Kirai, like many other adjectives in Japanese, can take the place of the main verb in a sentence. In these cases, note that the -na is unnecessary.
Orenji-iro wa kirai desu.
I hate the color orange.
Ka wa kirai desu.
I hate mosquitoes.
