2014年10月19日日曜日

deru (出る)

A couple weeks ago, a volcano in Japan erupted. This eruption is a tragedy because there are many victims. At the same time, I realized again that the earth is a living thing. Japan has 110 active volcanoes and its highest mountain, Mt. Fuji, is one of them. An active volcano is one that has erupted within the past 10,000 years. The time we have lived is nothing more than one fleeting moment compared to the history of the earth. By the way, Mt. Fuji last erupted in 1707.

It is rather boring to talk about details of Japanese grammar after having a topic as big as the grand history of the earth, but I’d like to discuss the word “deru” (出る) today.


The kanji “” is familiar even to non-Japanese because you often see signs with “出口” on them at stations. “” means “out” and “出口” (out mouth) means “exit”. This is an easy example of kanji words. 
The verb for this kanji is “deru”.
  • Uchi o hachi ji ni deru. (I leave my house at 8). 
  • Densha wa nanji ni eki o deru? (What time is the train leaving?)
Meaning: to go away from a place, leave a place and go somewhere else
The point is, you should use (o) when you leave places, such as uchi o , eki o. This indicates the starting location.

Then, what is the meaning of following examples?
  • Kare wa ashita no shiai ni deru.
  • Kaigi ni deru.
  • Denwa ni deru.
“Shiai ni deru” is not the same as “shiai kara deru” (leave a game). This is actually “play in a game”. The meaning of “deru” here is basically the opposite of its meaning in “uchi o deru” from earlier, isn’t it?
The meaning of “deru” changes depending on whether or you use “ni” or “o”.

Meaning: to go to a specific place to do something

  • Shiai ni deru: to go to a game in order to participate in it.
  • Kaigi ni deru: to attend a meeting
  • Denwa ni deru: to answer the telephone
When you use “deru”, think carefully about whether to use “o” or “ni”.


4 件のコメント:

  1. What does it mean when someone says "deru nda"?

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    1. Wellagn san, konnichiwa.
      Have you learned about "nda" or "ndesu"? These are the hardest expressions to explain to non-Japanese people :(

      According to "A dictionary of basic Japanese grammar", "nda/ ndesu" indicates that the speaker is explaining or asking for an explanation about some information shared with the hearer, or is talking about something emotively, as if it were of common interest to the speaker and the hearer.

      examples;
      1. A is a fan of player Yamada.
      A: kyo wa Yamada senshu ga shiai ni deru nda yo! (Today Yamada will play in the game!)[implication:I'm excited!]
      B: so desu ka.

      2. A is taking a exam tomorrow.
      A: ashita no shiken ni kono mondai ga deru nda kedo, wakaranai kara, osiete. (This question is supposed to appear (be asked) in tomorrow's test, but I don't understand. Please teach me!)[implication:I'm in trouble.]

      In both cases A involves B in the affairs A is talking about.
      I think that the implication is the key to "nda/ ndesu"!

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  2. What if there is a sticky note and it just has the word 出る on it? what does that mean? or what should it indicate if it is pointing as something on a page?

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  3. I think that could be "テストに出る". It means "this part is likely to appear in the test."

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