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Japanese

Local Trains and Buses by Molly Hakes

Local train schedules are printed on billboards at each platform. Likewise, bus stop signs have schedules posted on them. Weekday and weekend routes may differ. The times will most likely be written in military form.

Tsugi no basu wa nan-ji ni kimasu ka.

What times does the next bus come?

Kyoo no jikokuhyou wa dore desu ka.

Which one is today's schedule?

In Japan, you board the bus in the back and take a ticket from a little machine. Match the number on your ticket to the screen above the driver's seat. This screen lets you know your fare when it is time to get off.

Before boarding the bus or train, ask someone around you whether it stops at your desired point of interest. If you ask upon boarding, bus drivers will usually agree to let you know when you have arrived at your stop.

Sumimasen, kono basu wa, Asakusa de tomarimasu ka.

Excuse me, does this bus stop at Asakusa?

Sumimasen, kono densha wa, Shinjuku de tomarimasu ka.

Excuse me, does this train stop at Shinjuku?

Sumimasen, Asakusa-no basutei ni tsuitara, oshiete kudasai.

Please let me know when we have reached the bus stop for Asakusa.

Transportation Terms

tomaru, tomarimasu	stop
basu	bus
basutei	bus stop
tsuitara, tsuku, tsukimasu	when it has reached, arrived
seki	seat
nan-ban	which platform
wakarimasen	do not understand

So Much Potential: “If,” “After,” and “When”

Note a new verb ending in the previous examples: -tara. This suffix is used to identify a potential or future situation, the English equivalent of “after” or “when”:

Gohan o tabetara, ikimasu.

When I have eaten, I will go.

Eiga o mitara, tabemasu.

After I have seen the movie, I will eat.

With verbs like yomu (“to read”), and nomu (“to drink”), verbs whose regular form ends in -mu, this -tara ending becomes -dara:

Hon o yondara, ikimasu.

When I have read this book, I will go.

Although “when” and “if” are sometimes used interchangeably in English, they signify two totally different tenses in Japanese. Here is a quick list comparing the two tenses. Focus on the endings in each column:

<tgroup cols="4"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="20%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="20%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <colspec colname="col3" colnum="3" colwidth="40%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <colspec colname="col4" colnum="4" colwidth="20%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <thead> <tr> <td><p><B>Regular</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Potential (if)</B></p></td> <td><p><B>Potential (when)</B></p></td> <td><p><B>English</B></p></td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>taberu</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>tabereba</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>tabetara</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>to eat</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>noru</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>noreba</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>nottara</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>to board</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>miru</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>mireba</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>mitara</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>to see</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>neru</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>nereba</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>netara</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>to sleep</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>tsuku</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>tsukeba</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>tsuitara</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>to arrive</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>kuru</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>kureba</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>kitara</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>to come</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>yomu</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>yomeba</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>yondara</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>to read</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>nomu</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>nomeba</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>nondara</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>to drink</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>iku</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>ikeba</emphasis></p></td> <td><p><emphasis>ittara</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>to go</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <div class="npsb"> <h2></h2> <p>With the exception of <emphasis>kuru</emphasis>, verbs that end in -<emphasis>ru</emphasis> are all conjugated the same way. <emphasis>Iku</emphasis> ends in -<emphasis>ku</emphasis>, but is sometimes conjugated like the verbs that end in -<emphasis>ru</emphasis> with a double consonant (<emphasis>itte</emphasis>, “go” and <emphasis>itta</emphasis>, “went”). 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