2015年1月5日月曜日

be boring - be bored / surprise - be surprised

For the first post of 2015 I am going to explain about how to use words describing one’s feelings. First of all, please look at the two sentences below.

  1. a-, kono eiga wa tsumaranai na.
  2. a-, tsumaranai na.
In English,
  1. (sigh) This movie is boring.
  2. (sigh) I am bored.
Isn’t it strange that both “boring” and “bored” are “tsumaranai” in Japanese? Would the second sentence be “I am boring”? Let’s think about sentence 2 a little more. I think that it is a shorter version of “I think the current situation is boring.” This person feels that the current situation is boring because of certain reasons, such as there being nothing to do nor anyone to play with.

Let’s have a look at some other words.
  1. I am surprised.
  2. This news surprised me.
  3. I was surprised by this news.
If you translate these to Japanese,
  1. (watashi wa) bikkuri shita / bikkuri shiteiru.
  2. kono news wa watashi o bikkuri saseta.
  3. (watashi wa) kono news ni bikkuri shita / saserareta.
In sentence 2, “bikkuri saseru”, the causative form of “bikkuri suru”, is used. In sentence 3, you could use either “bikkuri shita” or “bikkuri saserareru”, which is the causative-passive form. The causative-passive form expresses a stronger level of surprise.
In fact, sentence 2 is not that common. Sentence 3 is used more often, showing that Japanese people generally prefer sentences that start with "watashi" (I).

By the way, “You scared me!” would be “bikkuri shita! / bikkuri sasenai de yo!” when translated to natural Japanese.

I will now introduce another example which has the same pattern as “bikkuri suru”.
  1. I am annoyed. (watashi wa iraira shiteiru.)
  2. He annoys me. (kare wa watashi o iraira saseru.)
  3. I was annoyed by that fly. (ano hae ni iraira shita / saserareta.)
There are cases in which both an adjective and a verb can be used to express one’s feelings. For example, “kanashii” and “kanashimu”.
  1. I am sad. (watashi wa kanashii.)
  2. I feel sad about his misfortune. (kare no fuko o kanshindeiru.)
  3. He made her sad. (kare wa kanojo o kanashimaseta.)
When you use the verb, as in sentence 2, the object takes “o”. The causative-passive form, “kanashimaserareru”, is never used. This pattern applies to “ureshii” and “yorokobu” as well.

As we have various feelings, there are many words to express your emotions: nervous, excited, disappointed, upset, embarrassed, etc. Please try to remember how to use these words and express your feelings in Japanese.

The year 2014 has ended and the year 2015 has just begun. If you are feeling satisfied without any regrets from last year and many hopes for this year, that’s wonderful. Last year I myself have experienced enjoyable, sad, good and bad things as usual. I hope that 2015 will be an even better year!! 

2015年1月3日土曜日

2015, the year of the sheep

Happy New Year! Akemashite omedeto gozaimas.
What is your new year's resolution? I am sure that some of you have decided to study Japanese harder. Gambatte kudasai !
Mines are to work more, to study this language more as a teacher and to paint pictures (for a hobby). This year I am going to be more creative. I expect painting will be changing my viewpoint.

minasan, kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegai shimas.

Minako Okamoto