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In this article, we will talk about Japanese verbs, today we will study the dictionary form and the masu form. In other articles, we will study various conjugations.

In Japanese, verbs are not affected by the subject. In other words, whether the subject is singular or plural, first person or second person, the verbs do not change their form. As for verb tenses, there are only two divisions of time; non-past (present and future) and past. Present and future tenses are the same, and can be differentiated by context.

First, we have the simple and original form of the verb, the dictionary form. This form can be used in some casual occasions, we will use it as a basis to change the tense and verb form in this article. In the dictionary form, all verbs end with the letter “U”.

By learning the masu form and the dictionary form, we will be ready to learn new conjugations and forms of verbs.

Throughout the articles, we will learn all the verb forms that are:

• the dictionary form (infinitive)
• the non-past form
• the negative form
• the -ta form (preterite)
• the -te form
• the transitive and intransitive forms
• the passive form (-areru, -rareru)
• the causative form (-aseru, -waseru)
• the potential form (-eru, -rareru)
• the conditional form (-eba, -tara)
• the imperative form (-nasai)
• the desiderative form (-tai)
• the volitional form (-ō)

Masu Form ます形

The “ます masu” form is the formal way of speaking a verb. Taking a verb from the dictionary form and converting it to the ます form varies according to its ending, the verbs are divided into groups. (We will see more about this group division in another article).

To facilitate this division and transformation, we should divide the verbs ending in “る – ru” from the other verbs. Once that is done, we can do the following:

• Verbs that do not end with “る” should have the last hiragana that ends with “U” replaced by the hiragana of the same group that ends with “i”. See the table with some examples:

• There are verbs with “る” that should be changed to “り” but there are verbs ending in “る” that should have the “る” removed and directly add “ます” such as (Eat – taberu – 食べる = 食べます). For this reason, one should focus on learning the words;
• There are other verbs where the rule of replacing the ending does not work, examples:

Now let’s see how to conjugate verbs in the ます form according to their verb tense:

• 本を読みます (ほんをよみます) – Read a book
• カラオケで 歌いました (カラオケで歌いました) – I sang at karaoke

The same thing happens with the verb in the dictionary form. It is possible to conjugate the verb directly in the dictionary form without converting to the masu form, for that we must learn more verb conjugations. But below I will leave some examples:

• 本を読む (ほんをよむ) – Read a book
• カラオケで歌った (カラオケでうたった) – I sang at karaoke

It is worth remembering that there are other verb conjugations that we will study in another article, which use both the masu form and the dictionary form. We just need to keep in mind that the dictionary form is informal and the masu form is formal, and thus simplify our minds to conjugate verbs in other forms.

As an exercise, I would like you to comment with example sentences in the dictionary form and in the masu form. I will already thank you for the comments and shares, and see you next time!

We recommend the article on verbs in the tai form.

Test your knowledge of verbs by taking a quiz click here.

Today I will talk about a card game called Karuta, a game that mixes poems, reading, listening, memorization, and agility. Karuta is usually taught to children in elementary school I and II during classes, as an educational activity. But it is also played among adults, where championships take place across the country.

The idea of the Karuta game is to quickly determine which card, among many, is the correct one and then grab it before your opponent. This allows for various decks and different ways to play Karuta.

In this article, we will talk about the classic, the competitive Karuta that uses a set of uta-garuta cards that includes 100 poems from “Ogura Hyakunin Isshu” created in the early 13th century by the poet Fujiwara no Teika.

About Karuta

To play traditional Karuta, you must have a basic knowledge of the Japanese language and be able to understand the poems. Karuta players must memorize the 100 poems in order to perform well in the game.

The game consists of 200 cards. 100 have the reading of the poem (Yomifuda), and the other 100 are the cards to be grabbed used in the game called Torifuda that must be shuffled and divided among the players.

The reading cards of the poem Yomifuda usually have a short poem known as tanka which has 5 lines totaling 31 syllables divided into lines of 5-7-5-7-7. The grabbing cards have the ending of the poem with the last 2 lines of 7 syllables or 14 hiragana.

Of the 100 Torifuda cards of the players, 50 are set aside in the game and 25 are distributed to each of the 2 players, who must organize them on both sides in 3 rows. Before starting, the players have 15 minutes to memorize the position of all the cards.

An audio recording or a person is responsible for reading the poems using the other 100 Yomifuda cards that have the entire poem written. An introductory poem is read first, and as soon as they start reading the poem from the card, the players must desperately touch the corresponding card to the poem being read.

If the poem that was read does not correspond to any of the cards in the game, it is a dead card. When an existing card in the game is read, the player must quickly touch that card before the opponent; whoever succeeds must remove that card from the game. If that card is in the opponent’s field, you must take one of their cards and send it to their field. When all the cards in your field are gone, it means victory.

The secret of the game is not only in memorizing the cards, listening to the poems, and being quick; even the way you shuffle your cards, or when you grab a card from the opponent’s field will have significant effects on the game. It will be normal for cards to fly across the scene, or for your hand to mess up the cards. The game has some other rules and fouls that can be seen below:

Otetsuki (Fouls)

• Touching the wrong card in the same territory as the correct card is not considered a foul. As a result, players can “sweep” the correct card and the nearby cards away from their territory;
• Touching the wrong card in the opponent’s territory where the card is results in a foul. The opponent can then pass one card from their territory to the other player;
• Touching a card when a dead card is read results in a foul;

Double Fouls

• If a player touches a card in the opponent’s territory and the opponent touches the correct card in the other player’s territory, a double foul has occurred. Penalty of two cards;
• If a player touches BOTH territories when a dead card is read, they have just generated a double foul;

The cards can be repositioned at any time during the game. However, doing this frequently is considered unsportsmanlike and a lack of sportsmanship.

There are seven poems that have unique syllables (Fu, Ho, Me, Mu, Sa, Se, Su) and 86 poems with three unique syllables. There are three cards that start with “Chi,” which are: “Chihayafuru,” “Chigirikina,” and “Chigiriokishi,” so the player must react as soon as he/she hears the decisive part of the poem, which is called kimariji. As a result, quick reasoning, good reaction time, and good speed are required.

Chihayafuru

To understand more about Karuta, there is a great anime, with 3 seasons and good reviews that shows the story of a girl named Chihaya who is addicted to Karuta. I recommend this anime even if you don’t like the game.

This is the kind of anime that grabs you from the first episode, has that touch of romance, and even though the sport may not seem appealing, it manages to engage those who watch the anime.

Learning Japanese with Karuta

Playing Karuta will enhance your Japanese, both in listening and reading, and will increase your agility and memorization. It will be a long challenge to memorize the 100 poems. Your eyes must be wide open during the game to visualize and grab the correct card. A traditional deck of Karuta is not expensive and can be found for 40 dollars on eBay.

Besides the Karuta of 100 poems, there are countless other ways to play Karuta. Searching for Karuta in your smartphone’s store, you will find apps focused on learning hiragana, kanji, and various others. Karuta has infinite possibilities; you can even invent a Karuta in Portuguese, since the game consists only of grabbing the card before your opponent.

You also do not need to follow the traditional rules of competitive Karuta. You can play with as many cards as you want, shuffle them however you like, and play with as many people as you want.

Thus, I encourage you to play this game, which is quite simple yet promises great challenges and fun. To finish, I will leave a short video showing a game of Karuta held right here in Brazil:

Join their YouTube channel to know details about how to play Karuta here in Brazil; there you will find the Facebook page and the website with some tips and tricks of the game.

Today we will learn the various ways to say “but” in Japanese. You can say “but” using the particle ga [が], kedo [けど], demo [でも], shikashi [しかし], tadashi [ただし], and others. But there is always the question of which one to use. These will be answered with some examples and explanations in this article.

Demo (でも)

This is one of the most well-known and used forms, usually placed at the beginning of the sentence, but it can never appear at the end or in the middle of a sentence like kedo (けど) and others. Demo is used for more colloquial tones; a more formal way to say “but” at the beginning of a sentence is Shikashi (しかし).

Examples:

• 友達の家に行くつもりでした。 でも、彼女は病気です。
• Tomodachi no ie ni iku tsumorideshita. Demo, kanojo wa byōkidesu;
• I was going to a friend’s house. But, she is sick;

• 今日、学校に行きません。でも明日行きます
• Kyou, gakkou ni ikimasen. Demo ashita ikimasu;
• Today I am not going to school, but tomorrow I will;

• 私はあなたがすき。でも、君はバカです
• Watashi wa anata a suki。 demo, kimi wa baka desu;
• I love you. But you are an idiot;

• でも、あなたにあげるりんごはありません
• Demo, anata ni ageru ringo wa arimasen
• But I don’t have apples to give you;

Kedo ou Keredomo (けど ou けれども)

Kedo can mean: but, however, or despite everything. Unlike でも, けど is used between clauses to create a compound sentence, forming opposing phrases. There are some degrees of formality which are:

• Keredomo (けれども) = Quite formal
• Keredo (けれど) = Formal, but not too much
• Kedo (けど) = Informal

Usage examples:

• 頼まれた仕事は終わりましたけど、部品が一個足りなかった。
• Tanomareta shigoto wa owarimashitakedo, buhin ga ichi-ko tarinakatta;
• I finished the job I was asked for, but one part was missing;

• 彼はあまり勉強しないけれども、成績がいい
• Kare wa amari benkyō shinaikeredomo, seiseki gaii
• He doesn’t study much, but he gets good grades;

When a sentence ends with nouns and adjectives of the type NA, it is necessary to place the verb “to be” in the simple form (da – だ) before the けど, thus transforming it into だけど. Examples:

• ケビンは先生だけれども、教えるのが嫌いです。
• Kebin wa sensei da keredomo, oshieru no ga kirai desu;
• Kevin is a teacher, but he doesn’t like to teach;

• 友達はたくさんいるんだけど、 なんか寂しい。
• Tomodachi wa takusan irun dakedo, nanka sabishii;
• I have many friends, but I feel lonely;

Shikashi (しかし) e Tadashi [ただし]

Shikashi also means “but” or “however,” but it is more formal and has a stronger impact than でも. Shikashi is more commonly used in official speeches or writings. [しかし] has a similar meaning to [けれども] but is used at the beginning of sentences.

Let’s see some examples:

• しかし今や事態は大きく変わった
• Shikashi imaya jitai wa ōkiku kawatta;
• But now the situation has changed a lot;

• しかし、私はあなたが大好きですよ
• Shikashi, watashi wa anata ga daisukidesu yo;
• However, I really like you;

Another quite similar expression is Tadashi [但し], which has the same meaning, derived from the adverb meaning only, and usually states conditions and exceptions. Like in the sentence below:

• 入場自由。ただし、6歳未満は保護者同伴のこと
• Nyūjō jiyū. Tadashi, 6-sai-miman wa hogoshadōhan no koto
• Free Entry. However, children under 6 years must be accompanied by a guardian.

What is the difference between Shikashi and Tadashi?

Both have the same meaning, but shikashi tends to follow more in the opposite direction of the previous sentence, an inverse questioning, while tadashi is a supplementary conjugation. Do not confuse tadashi [但し] with [正しい] which means correct.

Particle GA (が)

When you find the particle ga (が) after “desu,” it is linking 2 sentences. It can be translated as “but,” “and,” or “however.” Unlike けど, が makes the opposition a little softer, less evident, adding a bit of hesitation.

You can use が after です even if you are not going to finish the sentence. Like a but… Kind of indecisive. Using が too much instead of けど will indicate that you are somewhat indecisive about what you are saying.

Remember that not always the particle が after the verb means a “but” or an opposition.

• 明日は雨だが、ピクニックに行く
• Ashita wa amedaga, pikunikku ni iku;
• It will rain tomorrow, but we are going to a picnic

• 学ぶつもりですが
• Manabu tsumoridesuga
• I am going to learn, but..;

In summary, we can conclude that でも and しかし are used at the beginning of the sentence, with でも being more informal and colloquial. While the family of けど and が are used at the end of the sentence to create an opposition, with が being a softer and less evident opposition.

This topic is not very complicated; with time we will learn to use it, but the best way to know which condition to use will depend on knowing the whole language and understanding the feeling that the Japanese have when speaking such words.

With the release of the Star Wars movie in theaters in 2015, we wrote this article for the franchise fans and lovers of the Japanese language. Today I present the most memorable quotes and phrases from the franchise’s films.

It is worth noting that we will keep the quotes from the Japanese dubbing, so it may be a little different from Portuguese.

May the force be with you. (Ⅳ) – May the force be with you

• フォースと共にあれ
• Fōsu to tomoni are

No, I am your Father. (To Luke) (Ⅴ) – No, I am your Father.

• そうではない。私がお前の父親だ。
• Sōde wanai. Watashi ga omae no chichioyada;

A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack. (Ⅴ)

• フォースは知識と防御のためにある。攻撃に使うな。
• Fōsu wa chishiki to bōgyo no tame ni aru. Kōgeki ni tsukau na;

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

• 遠い昔はるか彼方の銀河系で…
• Tōi mukashi Haruka kanata no gingakei de..;

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

• 私を疑うのか? (Você dúvida de mim?)
• Watashi o utagau no ka

I will not forgive those who insult the force

• フォースを侮辱するものは許せん 
• Fōsu o bujoku suru mono wa yurusen

Use the force, Luke!

• フォースを使えルーク
• Fo-su wo tsukae, Ru-ku!

Do or do not. There is no try. – Yoda

• やってみるのではなく,やるのだ.
• Yatte miru node wa naku, yaru noda;

Attachment is forbidden, possession is forbidden. But compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential in a Jedi’s life. – Anakin Skywalker

• 執着は禁じられているよ。所有欲もご法度。でも無償の愛である思いやりは――ジェダイの精神なんだ。愛を抱くことは奨励されているんだよ
• Shūchaku wa kinji rarete iru yo. Shoyū yoku mo gohatto. Demo mushō no aidearu omoiyari wa ―― jedai no seishin’na nda. Ai o daku koto wa shōrei sa rete iru nda yo

It is against my programming to impersonate a deity. – C3po

• それはよろしくないかと。神様プログラムはありません。
• Sore wa yoroshikunai ka to. Kamisama puroguramu wa arimasen;

You can find these and other quotes and phrases from Star Wars in Japanese here. I hope you enjoyed the article, I thank everyone for the comments and shares. Feel free to comment other phrases here.

If you still don’t know, in Japanese the word もの (物) and こと(事) means “Thing” but what is the difference between the two? When to use each of them in a sentence or phrase?

Meaning of Mono – もの [物]

The mono is used to refer to a physical, concrete thing, a tangible thing, something that can be touched; a sensitive and touchable thing. Something that is perceived by touch; corporeal, palpable. For example: a wallet, a cabbage, a door, or a coin.

Mono can give the idea of an object, article, material, substance, possessions, property, belongings, and anything. It can also be used to emphasize emotion, judgment, etc. And it can be used to indicate a common occurrence in the past, a general trend, or something that should happen.

もの can also be contracted to もん in informal speech.

Examples of the use of mono:

その黒いものは猫かなあ.
sono kuroi mono wa neko kanaa.
I would like to know if that black thing is a cat?

おいしいものが食べたい.
oishii mono ga tabetai.
I want to eat something good.

Meaning of Koto – こと[事]

The koto is a conceptual, intangible thing, that is, something that cannot be touched; something untouchable. Or a thing not perceptible by touch; impalpable and incorporeal. Examples of ungraspable things: a victory, a habit, a desire, or an incident.

Koto can also give the idea of interest, incident, fact, reason, case, work, business, etc.

Examples of the use of koto:

いい事はありません.
ii koto wa arimasen.
There is nothing good.

大事な事を教えます.
daiji na koto o oshiemasu.
I will tell you an important thing.

昨日の事はすみませんでした.
kinou no koto wa sumimasen deshita.
I am sorry about what happened yesterday. (thing from yesterday)

どう ​​いうこと?
dou iu koto?
What does that mean?

Comparison between Mono and Koto

Let’s make a brief example of 2 identical sentences, one with koto and the other with mono, and this gives a different idea to the sentence.

食べる事
Taberu koto
The act of eating, Nutrition

食べる物
Taberu mono
Eat something

It is also possible to transform an abstract idea into a concrete/tangible one, see the example below:

• どうして行かないの？Dōshite ikanai no?
• だって、忙しいもの。Datte, isogashī mono.

A curiosity is that the difference in tangibility between mono and koto has a phonological root. The nasal consonants /m/ and /n/ are associated with subjectivity, but not /k/, which is a velar consonant (in this case, denoting objectivity). There is also the issue of voicing. /m/ and /n/ are voiced sounds, /k/ and /t/ are voiceless consonants, which also contributes to the phonological symbolism of subjectivity vs. objectivity.

Credits to: Makino & Tsutsui 2011: 50-58 and André Pinto – Kitsune Japanese classes

What does koto mean in the phrase I love you?

The word koto [こと] can literally mean things in a figurative sense. But its use in phrases like I love you [あなたのことが好きだ] is not very clear. When we use the expression koto in a sentence like I love you, we are trying to say that we like all the things about the person. How so?

In many animes, dramas, and in real life, we can see people using the expression I love you in the following way:

• anata no koto ga dai suki desu
• あなたのことが大好きです

If we remove the koto [こと] from the sentence it will still mean I love you or I like you. So what is the use and meaning of koto in this sentence? Some claim that the koto [こと] adds a layer of indirectness, which is why Japanese people often use koto in sentences like I love you.

Since koto literally means figurative things, we can say that the koto [こと] in the sentence encompasses more the object (you). It would be as if I were saying I love all the things about you, or everything in you.

The koto [こと] makes it clear that you love the person romantically, rather than simply saying that you like the person as someone. It is quite essential, especially when we use the expression suki desu.

If we use koto [こと] we are showing a genuine love that focuses on the quality and inner self of the person, on unseen things. This expression conveys the depth of your love for the person.

To say I love you without koto sounds somewhat superficial; using koto we are saying that we like the person’s presence, their charm, their qualities, everything. It increases the degree of suki (好き) which also means just like.

Diving deeper into the expression koto

We can illustrate koto in the following way:

Imagine that the first point is you, imagine that the second point is you with the koto (あなたのこと). By using koto we are focusing on the object and the verb. We can use koto in sentences with various verbs even if a literal translation to Portuguese doesn’t make sense, such as:

• I want to hug you
• あなたを抱きしめたい
• Anata o dakishimetai

We can change to あなたのこと to focus and concentrate on the object (you). Although it literally means I want to hug all the things in you, the sentence is not wrong at all. The fact that the sentence has the word あなたのこと does not mean that we are literally trying to say all the things about you.

The expression こと can also be more specific, instead of encompassing all things. At no point do we use the expression everything in the sentences mentioned in the article.

Japanese words tend to be very indirect and broad, which makes understanding difficult even among Japanese people. I read a discussion on stackexchange that talked exactly about this, which made me write this article. There I realized that even Japanese people have difficulty understanding the real use of koto.

Although it means things, its kanji can also give the idea of something important, a fact, a reason, and a possibility. It is really complicated to understand the meaning of Japanese words without experiencing and using them daily. What is your opinion? We look forward to your comments to improve this discussion about the word koto.

• Identical words with completely different meanings

Using Koto and Mono to learn Words

There is a way to double your learning in Japanese using the expressions mono and koto. We can see this in the video I will leave below from Yamada Tarou, or in our guide Verbs or Nouns? Transform your Japanese studies.

In summary, we can understand that some verbs become words by using koto and mono, try to understand this by looking at a list of words below:

• Taberu [食べる] – To eat = Tabemono [食べ物] – Food;
• Gataru [語る] – To tell; To narrate = Monogatari [物語] – Story;
• Shi [し] – Verb suru + Koto [こと] – Thing = Shigoto [仕事] – Work;

I think many here know that there are more than 100 ways to say “I” in Japanese. But many do not know that there are many ways to say “You” as well.

The pronouns in Japanese are not standardized; many do not use the word “you” to refer to another person. They prefer to say the person’s name or some other respectful way. Thus, there are thousands of ways to say you in Japanese that we will see in this article.

You in Formal Japanese

Below are the main ways to say you in Japanese casually:

• あなた – anata: The most common and polite way to say you;
• そちら – sochira: A polite way to say you, adding 様 (さま) to make it more formal;
• 御宅 (おたく) – otaku: Standard polite way. Its meaning has changed.
• 君 (きみ) – kimi: Used by close people, close friends, and couples;

You in Casual Japanese

Below are the main ways to say you in Japanese casually, including slang:

• お前 (おまえ): often used among male friends. Depending on the person, it can become rude;
• オメェ: Slang version of omae;
• あんた: Abbreviated version of “あなた”. In the east, considered an insult; in the west, considered normal;
• お前さん (おまえさん): Similar to あんた;
• おまいさん: Variation of お前さん;
• 自分(じぶん): Can mean both I and you. Understand the meaning of jibun;
• わい: Used in Kyushu;

Used in a rude way or with enemies

• てめぇ: Very common in anime and manga;
• 己 (おのれ): Usually used by Yakuza in the midst of fights;
• おどれ, おんどれ, おどりゃ, おんどりゃ: All variations in the slang おのれ;
• 貴様 (きさま): Used to be polite;
• きさん: Variation of 貴様 used in Kyushu, but it is not offensive;
• 我 (われ): Used in the north and west of Japan, also means I;
• わ: The same as 我

You in Professional Situations

The following words are used in relation to someone representing a:

• 貴社(きしゃ): company
• 御社(おんしゃ): company
• 貴店(きてん): store
• 貴局(ききょく): Broadcasting company, post office, water agency;
• 貴紙(きし): news company
• 貴学(きがく): university
• 貴校(きこう): school
• 貴園(きえん): kindergarten
• 貴サイト(きさいと): website

Position in the company

Within any company (large or small), there are several positions that are used instead of “you”:

• 店長(てんちょう): store owner
• 課長(かちょう): section chief
• 部長(ぶちょう): department head
• 副社長(ふくしゃちょう): vice president
• 社長(しゃちょう): president

When speaking with someone from your own company, the honorific -san is usually not added. But if it is someone from another company, it is used.

Used in letters

When writing a letter to someone, we can use some of the expressions below:

• 貴兄 (きけい): Used for men with equal or higher status than the person;
• 貴姉 (きし): Used by men and women of the same age or older;
• ​​貴君 (きくん): Used by men for men with equal or lower status;

Using the listener’s name

It is very common for a person to call the other by name instead of using the pronoun “you“. It is worth noting that there are different ways to call a person by name.

In Japan, when speaking with a stranger or someone without intimacy, we usually call the person by their surname or family name. There are also respectful honorifics that we should use when calling someone by name.

To understand the different levels and ways to refer to a person by name, we also recommend reading our article titled “How to know if a Japanese girl likes you“.

Other ways to say You in Japanese

• 汝 (なんじ): Sometimes considered similar to “thou”;
• そち, そなた, その方 (そのほう): Used by a person of higher status to a person of lower;
• 卿 (けい): Monarch uses with their subjects;
• 此方 (こなた): Also means I or he/she;
• 先輩 – Senpai: Used in schools to refer to a senior. (higher class)
• 後輩 – Kouhai: Used in school to refer to a freshman. (lower class)
• 先生 – Sensei: Used to speak with teachers, masters, authors, doctors, lawyers, and others;

People often use words like mother, father, uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather to refer to family members, or even to people who are not family. Example: Some young people use 爺さん (じいさん) when talking to an elderly man.

Some refer to people by calling them man [男 otoko] or woman [女 onna], but this can sound a bit sexist and rude. I hope you enjoyed the numerous ways to say you in Japanese.