Welcome to Level 2, Lesson 9!
In this gokigen japanese blog lesson, you will gain the ability to precisely describe the state of things and effectively convey a spectrum of personal feelings, including regret, relief, and certainty. These expressions are fundamental for painting a complete picture of situations and sharing your emotional responses in Japanese.
The main goals of this lesson are to enable you to describe the state of things and to express feelings of regret, relief, and certainty.
Key grammar patterns and expressions you will master in this lesson include:
- Transitive and Intransitive Verbs (有対動詞): Deepen your understanding of Japanese verbs by distinguishing between transitive verbs (他動詞 – verbs that take a direct object and describe an
action done to something, e.g., ドアを開ける – to open the door) and intransitive verbs (自動詞 – verbs that do not take a direct object and describe a state or action that happens by itself, e.g., ドアが開く – the door opens). - Transitive/Intransitive Verbs + 〜ている: Learn how the 〜ている (te iru) form is used distinctively with transitive and intransitive verbs to describe either an ongoing action (with transitive verbs, e.g., 本を読んでいる – is reading a book) or a resulting state (with intransitive verbs, e.g., 電気がついている – the light is on).
- “Have done / Regretfully do ~” (V-て + しまう): Master the versatile V-て + しまう (te shimau) pattern. It can express the completion of an action (e.g., 食べ物を全部食べてしまいました – I ate all the food), or more commonly, a nuance of regret, sadness, or an unintended/undesirable outcome (e.g., 宿題を忘れてしまいました – I regretfully forgot my homework).
- “Should have done ~” (V-ば + よかったです): Learn how to express regret about a past action that you wish you had done differently, using V-ば + よかったです (ba yokatta desu) (e.g., もっと早く寝ればよかったです – I should have gone to bed earlier).
- “I am glad that ~” (V-て + よかったです): Discover how to express feelings of relief or gladness about a past event or situation using V-て + よかったです (te yokatta desu) (e.g., 無事でよかったですね – I’m glad you’re safe).
- “I am sure that ~” ((short) + はずです): Learn to express a strong conviction or certainty about something based on reasonable grounds or information, using (short form) + はずです (hazu desu) (e.g., 彼は日本人なので、日本語が話せるはずです – He’s Japanese, so I’m sure he can speak Japanese).
By the end of Lesson 9, Level 2, you’ll be able to articulate the state of objects and situations with precision, and express a nuanced range of emotions from regret and relief to confident certainty. These patterns are essential for more descriptive and emotionally rich communication in Japanese!
Explore the articles linked below to master describing states and expressing emotions in Japanese!
