Learn Japanese! This Japanese article might be more than you bargained for. Seriously, if you want to say things like “This gift is more than I bargained for!” you will learn how to do it here. Also, if you have any questions about formal and informal Japanese, this is the place to look. In this Japanese article for beginners, discover the many ways to use Nakanaka, a Japanese adverb that means “quite, considerably” or “more than expected.” Also, you will find a comprehensive review of formal and informal Japanese speech with the helpful graphics included. Don’t miss out on the one major exception to the rule that you’ll only find here!
Vocabulary: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:
okaeri – “welcome back, welcome home”
Tadaima. – “I’m home.”
ryokoo – “outward journey”
nakanaka – “quite, much, considerably”
tanoshii – “nice, fun” (-i final adjective)
samui – “cold” (final adjective -i)
kimochi – “feeling”
tsuaa – “tower”
toshiyori – “the elderly, the elderly”
ooo – “many, much” (-i final adjective)
hanasu – “speak, speak” (verb 1)
Roppongi – “Roppongi” (a town in Tokyo)
kurabu – “disco, club”
tsurete iku – “take someone” (verb 1)
wakai – “joven” (final adjective -i)
Grammar: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:
Useful vocabulary and phrases
nakanaka
Nakanaka is an adverb that means “quite a lot” or “more than expected”.
For example:
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Kono hon wa naka naka omoshiroi me.
“This book is quite interesting.”
toshiyori
Toshiyori it means “elderly”. The honorific prefix or often precedes this word.
tsurete iku
In Beginner Series Season 4 Article 17, you learned the use of the following words:
mota iku – “take something”
tsurete iku – “take someone or an animal”
kuru mound – “take something”
tsurete kuru – “to bring someone or an animal “
* The address is marked with me gold or and the object is marked by or.
Examples:
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Watashi wa paatii ni wain or motte ikimasu.
“I’ll bring wine to the party.”
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Watashi wa paatii ni kareshi or tsurete ikimasu.
I’m taking my boyfriend to the party.
Iku against kuru
In general, iku corresponds to “to go”, and kuru corresponds to “to come” in English. However, we describe the action of the speaker approaching the listener with iku, no kuru.
For example:
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Watashi wa anata not ie neither shichi-ji nor ikimasu.
“I’m going to go to your house at seven.” (Literally: “I’m going to go to your house at seven”).
-
I am ikimasu.
“I’m going.” (Literally: “I’m leaving”).
Grammar review
In this article, we will learn more about formal and informal speech by reviewing the past form of adjectives.
“It was cold.”
Informal: samukatta.
Formal: samukatta desu.
“It was not cold”.
Informal: samukunakatta.
Formal: samukunakatta desu.
We explain how to form the past tense of sentences with nouns and adjectives in Nihongo Doojoo Newbie Series Style You and Beyond, Articles 23 and 24. You have reviewed the conjugations of adjectives that are not from the past in Article 29 of Season 4 for Beginners.
Conjugation of –I adjective ending: tanoshii – “fun”
Part of speech / Informal Speech / Formal speech
No Past Affirmative / tanoshii / tanoshii desu
Affirmative past / tanoshikatta / tanoshikatta desu
No Past Negative / tanoshiku nai / tanoshiku nai desu GOLD tanoshiku arimasen
negative past / tanoshiku nakatta / tanoshiku nakatta desu GOLD tanoshiku arimasen deshita
Exception!!!
Informal / No Past Affirmative / Affirmative past / No Past Negative / negative past
Informal / me / yokatta / yokunai / yoku nakatta
Conjugation of –n / A adjective: blessed – “Convenient”
Part of speech / informal speech / Formal speech
No Past Affirmative / benri gives / benri desu
Affirmative past / benri datta / benri deshita
No Past Negative / benri ja nai GOLD benri dewa nai / benri ja nai desu GOLD benri dewa nai desu GOLD benri ja arimasen GOLD benri dewa arimasen
negative past / benri ja nakatta GOLD benri dewa nakatta / benri ja nakatta desu GOLD benri dewa nakattadesu GOLD benri ja arimasen deshita GOLD benri dewa arimasen deshita
*Yes is a contraction of dewa and it is less formal.
*nai desu is more direct than arimasen.
Practice 1
Rewrite the following sentences in the past tense without changing the politeness level.
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Tokyo wa omoshiroi.
_____
- Hachii-gatsu wa atsui desu. (*hachi-gatsu means “August” and *atsui means, “hot.”) ______
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Samuku arimasen.
______
- Nihon-go wa kantan desu. (*Kantan means “easy”.) ______
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Watashi wa genki janai.
______
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Eigo wa kantan dewa arimasen.
______
practice 2
Answer the following questions in Japanese.
- Kyoo, isogashikatta desu ka. (*isogashii means “busy”. _____
-
Kyoo, samukatta desu ka.
_____
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Kono ressun wa kantan deshita ka.
____