Japanese Expression of Desire Learn Japanese Online Intermediate Lessons: 1

In this first intermediate lesson, you are going to learn Japanese expression of desire for something (for noun) and desire to do something (for verb). When you desire or want something (noun), the expression used is "" or "" (hoshii). When you desire or want to do something (verb - since it's an action), the Japanese expression "verb {stem of masu-form} " (tai) is used. While there are some other variations and functions for these two expressions such as when describing third person desire, this lesson will concentrate on the basic function of them. I will discuss the other functions in future lessons.

Japanese Expression of Desire for Something

Let's take a look at the sentence pattern for the first expression... ( ) Noun (watashi wa) Noun ga hoshii desu Take note that this expression is only used for first person, so it's always "watashi wa Noun ga hoshii desu". However "watashi wa" is normally omitted as it's obvious that the speaker is talking as the first person. Therefore the following sentence is wrong because it's not the speaker's desire... X tanaka san wa inu ga hoshii desu X Meaning: Mr Tanaka wants a dog. X Note: This sentence is wrong because it's Mr Tanaka's desire However you can ask someone (second person) what's his or her desire in a question. So you can use this expression in a question like the following... anata wa nani ga hoshii desu ka Meaning: What do you want?

In this expression, the thing that you desire (Noun) is marked with the particle (ga). This is the rule that you have to remember. For the object Noun, it can be a) thing, b) people and c) time. Let's use some examples to further see how this Japanese expression works... a) Thing kyou wa totemo atusi desu. watashi wa tsumetai ju-su ga hoshii desu Meaning: Today is very hot. I want cold juice. kyou wa ame ga futte imasu. kasa ga hoshii desu Meaning: Today is raining. I want an umbrella. b) People watashi wa koibito ga hoshii desu Meaning: I want a boyfriend/girlfriend. watashi wa nihonjin no tomodachi ga hoshii desu Meaning: I want a Japanese friend.

c) Time watashi wa totemo isogashii kara, jikan ga hoshii desu Meaning: I want time because I am so busy.

Negative and Past Tense of (hoshii)

As (hoshii) is an i-adjective, the negative form and past tense (affirmative and negative) follow how an i-adjective changes form. Take a look at the following...

Present Affirmative: Present Negative: Past Affirmative: Past Negative:

Let's make some examples to explain the various forms clearly... kodomo no toki ningyou ga hoshikatta desu ga, ima wa hoshikunai desu Meaning: I wanted a doll when I was a kid, but I don't want it anymore now. gonen mae ni kamera ga hoshikunakatta desu ga, ima wa hoshii desu Meaning: I didn't want a camera 5 years ago, but I want it now. Bear in mind the Japanese expression (hoshii) is only used for things/objects. You cannot use it when you have desire to do something (action). A common mistake student often made is the following sentence... X Meaning: I want to sleep. X watashi wa nemasu ga hoshii desu X Note: This sentence is wrong since nemasu is a verb.

Note: You can actually connect Verb to (hoshii), but you've to change the verb to form (te-form) first: Verb (-form) . However, Verb (-form) has a different meaning from the above which will be discussed in one of the future lessons. Just bear in mind that you cannot connect verb directly to (hoshii) unless you change it to -form (teform).
For own desire to do something (action), you need to use the next Japanese expression of desire to do something.

Japanese Expression of Desire to Do Something

Let's take a look at the sentence pattern for this Japanese expression... Verb {stem of masu-form} Verb {stem of masu-form} tai desu Check out the page on Japanese verb stem of masu-form if you are not sure how to form it. Let's make use of few verbs to see how to change into the respective -form (tai-form)... dict-form 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. masu-form tai-form Meaning want to buy want to wait want to ride want to drink want to die want to play want to go want to swim

9. 10. 11. 12.

want to talk want to see want to do want to come

-form (tai-form) is also similar to (hoshii) that it is only used for first person. Therefore it's wrong to say "someone (other than yourself) verb(~tai) desu". But it's Ok to use it when asking someone "what he or she wants to do" in a question. For (tai) sentence, you can still use the particles as per normal. However sometimes particle (wo) is changed to (ga). It's Ok to use either of them, but most of the time (ga) is used. Let's check out some examples for this Japanese expression... / ju-su wo/ga nomitai desu honya e ikitai desu Meaning: I want to go to the bookstore. densha ni noriitai desu Meaning: I want to get on the train. / nihongo no shinbun wo/ga yomitai desu Meaning: I want to read Japanese newspaper. Meaning: I want to drink juice.

Negative and Past Tense of Verb (tai) form

Similar to (hoshii), verb tai-form is also an i-adjective. Therefore the same rule applies when changing form to negative and past tense. Please see the following for a clearer picture...

Present Affirmative: Present Negative: Past Affirmative: Past Negative:

Let's make some similar examples as you have done in the other Japanese expression "hoshii" to explain the various forms clearly... kesa wa bi-ru ga nomitakunakatta desu ga, ima wa nomitai desu

Meaning: I didn't want to drink beer this morning, but I want to drink now. kodomo no toki wa kouen de asobitakatta desu ga, ima wa asobitakunai desu

Meaning: I wanted to play at the park when I was a kid, but I don't want to play now.

Japanese Grammar on Expressing Experience Intermediate Lessons: 2

In this second intermediate lesson you will get to learn the Japanese grammar for expressing your experience in the past. form koto ga aru/arimasu). This is a very useful grammar in daily conversation when you need to say something which you or others have experienced or something you or others have done in the past. It can also be used to ask the experience of others. The sentence pattern for this Japanese grammar is... Verb ( -form) Verb (ta-form) koto ga arimasu It's formed by using the sentence pattern of "Japanese verb (-form) /" (ta-

Normally if you say "" (kyonen nihon e ikimashita), it means you have been to Japan last year. This sentence is talking about your action at that moment (last year). It doesn't say anything about other thing. But if you say "" (nihon e itta koto ga arimasu), you are saying you have been to Japan in the past. It doesn't matter when that happened. So long you have been to Japan previously. So if you want to mention that you have done a particular thing at a particular moment, use normal past tense. However, if you want to say you have done a particular thing in the past regardless of when you did it, use "ta-form koto ga arimasu".

As this Japanese grammar is talking about something you have done in the past regardless of when you did it, you cannot put a time stamp in the statement. For example, the following sentence is wrong... X kinou sashimi wo tabeta koto ga arimasu X Meaning: I have experienced of eating sashimi yesterday. X Instead you should just say... sashimi wo tabeta koto ga arimasu Meaning: I have eaten sashimi before. Note: This sentence is wrong because the time stamp kinou is not required.

No Experience in the Past: ta-form koto ga nai/arimasen

For thing that you have neither experienced nor done in the past, you just need to change the form to negative like this... Verb ( -form) Verb (ta-form) koto ga arimasen

For example, if you have not climb Mount Fuji in your life, you can say... fujisan ni nobotta koto ga arimasen Meaning: I have not climb Mount Fuji before. If you have not play Pachinko (Japanese pinball game) before, you can say... pachinko wo shita koto ga arimasen

Meaning: I have not play Pachinko before.

Number of Times You Have Done in the Past

Although you cannot put the time stamp like "yesterday" or "last year" in this Japanese the Japanese counter ( - do) or ( - kai). So if you have climbed Mount Fuji for once in the past, you can say the following sentence... / Meaning: I have climbed Mount Fuji once. If you want to say you have played Pachinko for many times, use the word ( nandomo) or ( - nankaimo)... / Meaning: I have played Pachinko many times. For the negative form "ta-form koto ga arimasen", if you want to emphasize that you have not done something even once, use the word ( - ichidomo). For example, if you want to stress that you have not drink alcohol even once, you can say... ichidomo osake wo nonda koto ga arimasen Meaning: I have not drink alcohol even once. Please take note that ( - ichidomo) can only be used with negative sentence. nandomo/nankaimo pachinko wo shita koto ga arimasu ichido/ikkai fujisan ni nobotta koto ga arimasu grammar, you can put in how many times you have done it in your life. In this case, make use of

Asking If Someone Has the Experience of Doing Something

It's simple to turn this Japanese grammar into a question. Just append the question word (ka) at the end of the sentence. So if you want to ask someone whether he has climbed Mount Fuji before...

Question: fujisan ni nobotta koto ga arimasu ka Meaning: Have you climbed Mount Fuji before?

Answer 1: hai, nobotta koto ga arimasu Meaning: Yes, I have climbed Mount Fuji before.

Answer 2: iie, nobotta koto wa arimasen Meaning: No, I have not climb Mount Fuji before.

In actual conversation, you might have used Plain form in your sentences. Therefore instead of (arimasu) or (arimasen), you should use (aru) or (nai) respectively. The frequency of using this Japanese grammar is quite high in conversation so read through this lesson few times until you are familiar with it.

Japanese Sentence Plain form no desu Intermediate Lessons: 3

This lesson will teach you how to make your Japanese sentence sounds more natural using the grammar Plain form (Plain form no desu). After learning Japanese for some time, you will notice that native Japanese speak differently from what you have learned so far. One of the differences is that they like to add a (no) at the end of a sentence. This is to make the sentence sounds more natural. Besides, the speaker used this grammar to:

1. confirm if something he/she has seen or heard is true 2. seek an explanation (more information) 3. show curiosity (strong interest)
Let's look at the sentence pattern of this grammar... Plain form Plain form no desu ka Plain form Plain form no desu

Note: For -adj/Noun -> () While the above sentence pattern is used in writing, it's changed to Plain form (Plain form n desu) when it's used in conversation because it's easier to pronounce. There is one condition when using this Japanese sentence. In order to use it, something should be obvious on whatever you have seen or heard. Let's use some examples to explain this condition.

When NOT to Use Plain form no desu?

Let's say summer vacation in coming soon. The teacher is asking the students where they are going for their holidays. The teacher probably says... doko e ikimasu ka Meaning: Where are you going? As the students are still in the classroom wearing their school uniform, the teacher has no idea where they are going for their holidays. Therefore she can only ask with a question like " " (doko e ikimasu ka).

When TO Use Plain form no desu?

Let's say now that you see your neighbour is waiting for taxi with his travel suitcase beside him to make sure that he is really going for travel. In this case you can ask him... doko e iku no desu ka Meaning: Where are you going? As opposed to the first example, it's obvious that your neighbour is going for travel. And you want to confirm that. In this case you can use Plain form no desu in the Japanese sentence. and he is also carrying a camera. It's obvious that your neighbour is going for travel. You want

More Examples on Plain form no desu

Assume you are inside the office. If you want to ask someone if it's raining outside, how do you ask? You will probably ask... ame ga futte imasu ka Meaning: Is it raining?

However, if you see your colleague carrying a wet umbrella into the office, you should usePlain

form no desu.

ame ga futte iru no desu ka Meaning: Is it raining?

It's not a mistake to say "" (ame ga futte imasu ka) for the second case. But native Japanese use Plain form no desu for something obvious, as it's more natural. Let's see another example to make sure what situation is considered as obvious. Suppose today you notice that your colleague who used to maintain long hair suddenly appeared in front of you with short hair. You are surprised and ask her... kami wo kitta no desu ka

Meaning: Did you cut your hair? You have seen your colleague with long hair until yesterday. It's obvious that she had cut her hair. Therefore it's natural to use Plain form no desu in the Japanese sentence here. style, you will ask her... However, if you are talking to your colleague through phone without knowing her new hair kami wo kirimashita ka

Meaning: Did you cut your hair?

Japanese Sentences Ended with Noun or Na-adjective

For sentences ended with Noun or Na-adjective, instead of ending (da), change it to (na). For example, if you see a tourist carrying a Japanese passport on his hand, it's obvious that he is a Japanese. So you can ask him the following to confirm... nihonjin na no desu ka

Meaning: Are you a Japanese? However if it's not obvious (he is not carrying a Japanese passport), you can only ask him... nihonjin desu ka Meaning: Are you a Japanese? In summary, you can only use this Japanese sentence when something is obvious, either you have seen or heard about it. It also shows your curiosity and you are seeking for an explanation.

Asking for Reason and How to Answer It

And since you are using this Japanese sentence to ask questions, it always goes with the question word (doushite - why). The answer to this type of questions is always "Plain form " (Plain form kara desu), as shown in the following sentence patterns... Question: Plain form doushite Plain form no desu ka Answer: Plain form Plain form kara desu

As (kara) also has the meaning of "reason", it always goes in pair with (doushite) question. For example... Question: doushite kinou gakkou wo yasunda no desu ka Meaning: Why did you absent from school yesterday? Answer: atama ga itakatta kara desu Meaning: Because I had a headache. Question: doushite hayaku kaeru no desu ka Meaning: Why do you go back early? Answer: kyou wa tsuma no tanjoubi da kara desu Meaning: Because today is my wife's birthday. Don't forget that the Japanese grammar Plain form no desu is usually used in writing. However during a conversation, (no) is changed to (n).

Japanese Grammar on Expressing Benefit & Purpose Intermediate Lessons: 4

In this lesson you will get to learn the Japanese grammar (tame). It's used to describe something (noun) or some action (verb). This "something or action" is for the benefit of individual or group. Besides, it can also mean "for the purpose of" or "in order to".

For the Benefit of "Noun"

Let's look at the sentence patterns of the first meaning of this Japanese grammar... NounA NounB NounA no tame no NounB This means that NounB is for the benefit of NounA. Let's use some examples to explain this Japanese grammar clearer...

1.

kore wa gaikokujin no tame no nihongo no jisho desu

Meaning: This is a Japanese dictionary for (the benefit of) foreigner.

2.

kore wa kodomo no tame no hon desu Meaning: This is a book for (the benefit of) children.

3.

kore wa bejitarian no tame no ryouri desu

Meaning: This is a dish for (the benefit of) vegetarian.

4.

kore wa otoshiyori no tame no seki desu Meaning: This is a seat for (the benefit of) elderly

Another sentence pattern is by changing the second noun with a verb (action). Noun Verb Noun no tame ni Verb This one describes the action (Verb) is for the benefit of Noun.

1.

kazoku no tame ni isshoukenmei hataraite imasu Meaning: I am working very hard for the benefit of my family.

2.

koibito no tame ni ke-ki wo tsukutte imasu

Meaning: I am making cake for (the benefit of) my lover.

3.

me ga warui gakusei no tame ni sensei wa ji wo ookiku kaite imasu Meaning: Teacher is writing the word with big strokes for (the benefit of) students with bad eyesight.

4.

nihongo ga wakaranai hito no tame ni eigo de hanashite kudasai Meaning: Please speak in English for (the benefit of) people who doesn't understand Japanese.

Just remember to use (tame no) to describe noun and (tame ni) to describe action.

For the Purpose of / In Order To

There is another sentence pattern for this Japanese grammar which means "For the purpose of" or "In order to"... Verb(dict-form) Action Verb(dict-form) tame ni Action

In this case, a dictionary-form verb is placed before tame ni instead of a noun.

1.

isha ni naru tame ni isshoukenmei benkyoushite imasu

Meaning: I am studying very hard in order to become a doctor.

2.

otouto wa jitensha wo kau tame ni okane wo tamete imasu Meaning: My younger brother is saving money in order to buy a bicycle.

3.

manga wo yomu tame ni nihongo wo benkyoushite imasu Meaning: I am studying Japanese in order to read manga.

4.

tomodachi wa ryouri wo narau tame ni itaria e ikimashita Meaning: My friend went to Italy in order to learn cooking.

In summary, this Japanese grammar tame is used to express the benefit/purpose of something or doing some action.

Potential Form (kanoukei) & dekiru Intermediate Lessons: 5

You may have come across potential form (or potential verb) in Japanese if you are at the intermediate level. It's one of the 2 ways to express ability and possibility to do something in Japanese. Another way is to convert a verb into its noun-form and append (ga dekiru) to it. It's very simple to convert a Japanese verb into its noun-form. To do that, simply append (koto) to the dictionary-form of any verb. For example, (hanasu) becomes (hanasu koto), (yomu) becomes (yomu koto). By appending (ga dekiru) to a noun or a verb in its noun-form, as shown in the following sentence patterns, you can express the ability and possibility of performing an action. A. Noun (Noun ga dekiru) OR B. Verb + (Verb+koto ga dekiru) Note: Only noun that is able to connect with (suru) verb can be used here. Let's use some examples to show how to use the above sentence patterns... A. Using Noun

1.

watashi wa tenisu wo shimasu Meaning: I play tennis. (action to play tennis) becomes

 watashi wa tenisu ga dekimasu

Meaning: I can play tennis. (ability to play tennis)

2.

watashi wa suki- wo shimasu Meaning: I ski. (action to ski) becomes watashi wa suki- ga dekimasu

Meaning: I can ski. (ability to ski) B. Using Verb +

1.

watashi wa nihongo wo hanshimasu Meaning: I speak Japanese.(action to speak Japanese) becomes watashi wa nihongo wo hanasu koto ga dekimasu

Meaning: I can speak Japanese. (ability to speak Japanese)

2.

koko de shashin wo torimasu becomes

Meaning: I take photo here. (action to take photo) koko de shashin wo toru koto ga dekimasu

Meaning: I can take photo here. (possibility to take photo)

Japanese Potential form or (kanoukei)

To express ability or possibility, we have one more expression... Potential verb or Potential form. The meaning of "can" has already been included in the verb without using .

Rules for Changing Dictionary-form to Potential-form

The following are the rules for the 3 groups of Japanese verbs. Group 1 Verbs Group 1 verbs always end up with words containing u-sound. To change group 1 verbs to potential-form, change the u-sound to e-sound in the last word. After that append (ru) to the changed words and you will get the potential-form of the verb. For example, this group 1 verb (yomu) ends up with (mu). If you change the u-sound to e-sound, (mu) becomes (me). Adding (ru) at the end, you will get (yomeru). Let's look at one more example, this group 1 verb (hashiru) ends up with (ru). If you change the u-sound to e-sound, (ru) becomes (re). Adding (ru) at the end, you will get (hashireru). Group 2 Verbs Changing group 2 verbs from dictionary-form to potential-form is much simpler. All group 2 verbs end up with (ru). To change to potential-form, simply replace (ru) with (rareru) and you will get the potential-form of the verb. For example, this Japanese verb (taberu) is a group 2 verb. To change to potential-form, replace (ru) with (rareru) and you will get (taberareru). I will use another example to show the change. This group 2 verb (neru) means go to bed. Change (ru) to (rareru) and you will get (nerareru).

Group 3 Verbs Group 3 verbs are irregular verbs. You just have to memorize them. The potential-form of (kuru) is (korareru) and the potential-form of (suru) is (dekiru). In summary, the following diagram shows the rules when changing dictionary-form to potential-form for Japanese verbs.

So you have 2 ways to express the meaning of ability or possibility in Japanese. For example, the following 2 sentences mean the same thing... "I can speak Japanese". watashi wa nihongo wo hanasu koto ga dekimasu watashi wa nihongo ga hanasemasu

Note: When using potential form, you have to change the particle from (wo) to (ga). And since all potential verbs are Group 2 verbs, it's easy to change a potential verb to its other forms. Following the rules for group 2 verbs, masu-form : ->

ta-form : -> nai-form : -> nakatta-from : -> masu-form : -> ta-form : -> nai-form : -> nakatta-from : -> Present Affirmative : -> Present Negative : -> Past Affirmative : -> Past Negative : ->

For example, using the potential verb (hanaseru), which means "can speak"...

Potential verbs can also be applied to the polite style. Using the same example,

More Examples on Using Potential form and dekiru

Let's practise using both ways to express ability or possibility with more examples...

1.
ani wa oyogemasu

ani wa oyogu koto ga dekimasu

Meaning: My elder brother can swim.

2.

haha wa nihon ryouri wo tsukuru koto ga dekimasu haha wa nihon ryouri ga tsukuremasu

Meaning: My mother can cook Japanese dish.

3.
otouto wa jitensha ni noremasu

otouto wa jitensha ni noru koto ga dekimasu

Meaning: My younger brother can ride the bicycle.

4.
ashita pa-ti- ni iku koto ga dekimasen ashita pa-ti- ni ikemasen

Meaning: I can't go to the party tommorrow.

5.
kinou bangohan ga taberaremasendeshita Meaning: I couldn't eat dinner yesterday.

kinou bangohan wo taberu koto ga dekimasendeshita

 you ni naru Intermediate Lessons: 6

In this lesson I am going to introduce the Japanese grammar you ni naru. Depending on the verb form that comes before it, it can mean change in habitual action or change in ability/possibility. (naru) is a verb that expresses change. For example... (haru ni narimashita) Meaning: The season has changed to Spring. (tenki ga atatakaku narimashita) Meaning: The weather has become warm. Meaning: The hand has become clean. (zubon ga chisaku narimashita) Meaning: The pants has become small. (te ga kirei ni narimashita)

By combining (you ni) with (naru), you can express the change of state of situation. Basically the following two sentence patterns are used for this grammar... 1. Verb (dictionary-form) Verb (dictionary-form) you ni narimashita Meaning: change in habitual action. 2. Verb (potential-form) Verb (potential-form) you ni narimashita Meaning: change in ability or possibility.

1. Verb (dictionary-form) you ni naru

This grammar demonstrates the change in habitual action of someone. For instance, you don't do something in the past but are doing it currently. Maybe you don't smoke in the past, but recently you took up the habit of smoking. Normally you can express this change in habitual action in two sentences like... mukashi wa tabako wo suimasendeshita. ima wa tabako wo suimasu Meaning: I didn't smoke in the past. I smoke now. a single sentence...

However by using Verb (dictionary-form) you ni naru, you can express the same action in tabako wo suu you ni narimashita

(tabako wo suu) is the present state where you smoke now. It also means that in smoke in the past, but you smoke now. More Examples

the past you didn't smoke. So from the above sentence you can conclude two things: You didn't

1.

shinbun wo yomu you ni narimashita Meaning: I didn't read newspaper in the past. I read newspaper now.

2.

jazu wo kiku you ni narimashita

Meaning: I didn't listen to Jazz in the past. I listen to Jazz now.

3.

uta wo utau you ni narimashita Meaning: I didn't sing in the past. I sing now.

2. When to Use Verb (potential-form) you ni naru?

You will need to use the potential verb when you want to show the change in ability or possibility instead. Using the same example of smoking, let's say that in your country you are not allowed to like... juurossai no toki, tabako ga suemasendeshita. ima wa juuhassai desu. tabako ga suemasu Meaning: I couldn't smoke when I was sixteen. I am eighteen now. I can smoke. By using Verb (potential-form) you ni naru, you can express the same situation in only one sentence... tabeko ga sueru you ni narimashita

smoke until you are 18 years old. Normally you can express this in the following sentences

The above example shows the change in possibility was occurred. How about the change in ability? Let's say that you were not able to read Japanese in the past. After studying Japanese for 5 years, now you can read Japanese newspaper. You can express this situation in the following sentences... mukashi wa nihongo no shinbun ga yomemasendeshita. ima wa nihongo no shinbun ga yomemasu Meaning: I couldn't read Japanese newspaper in the past. I can read now. Again by using Verb (potential-form) you ni naru, you can express the same situation in only one sentence... nihongo no shinbun ga yomeru you ni narimashita

More Examples

1.

nihongo no uta ga utaeru you ni narimashita

Meaning: I couldn't sing Japanese song in the past. I can sing now.

2.

kanji ga kakeru you ni narimashita Meaning: I couldn't write kanji in the past. I can write now.

3.

nihongo no manga ga yomeru you ni narimashita

Meaning: I couldn't read Japanese manga in the past. I can read now.