The Te-Form Song. What now?? A good question. This is a handy little mnemonic taught to me by my own teacher way back when I was still a beginning student of Japanese. It helped me immensely, so now I’m passing it on to you!
Archive | Grammar
The Course of Events / 成り行き
Nariyuki (成り行き) generally means something like ‘the natural scheme of things’, but it can be a bit of a surprise the first time you come across it in a given situation. This post looks at a few examples of its usage.
Not Necessarily / 訳ではない
Is that an Obama Bobble Head figurine I see? Why yes, it is! Some plucky employee has scrawled a message below it talking about black people. Do you know your grammar well enough to decipher it?
Pretending Not to Know / ふり
Have you ever come across the word ふり before? It’s used in a variety of situations to show pretense or false behaviour. Today’s phrase we’ll focus on then is 知らんぷり – pretending not to know something. You’ll also learn about the mysterious ん slotted in there!
Taking a Message / とのこと
Office messages are known as 伝言 (でんごん) and a vital part of business life in Japan, or indeed many countries. Today we take a look at a simple example and a peculiar piece of grammar that is often used when taking messages.
Do Not! / べからず
In the same way that we have different variations of the same words in English (synonyms), Japanese usually has at least a few ways of expressing a grammar point, depending on the situation. Since we are only taught the most popular methods, old Japanese tends to trip us up sometimes!
Do Without Asking / 勝手ながら
Here’s a nice little piece of grammar that you can use instantly to convey a polite message. How to write a note telling someone you’re taking the day off with Katte Nagara (勝手ながら).
No Smoking / にて
Here’s a quick and easy chunk of Japanese for beginners/intermediate learners to digest. You’ll see no smoking signs everywhere in Japan, but the particular little morsel of grammar in this one stood out for me: にて. Heard of it?