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“~te” is one of the most important usage in Japanese Language. There is another way of using ~te by combining 2 sentences.

Wake at 7 0′clock. Take breakfast. - 7 ji ni (okiru)okimasu. Asa gohan o tabemasu.
Wake at 7 o’clock, then / and take breakfast - 7 ji ni okite, asa gohan o tabemasu.
Meaning : Okiru (Wake), Asa (Morning), Gohan (Rice), Asa Gohan (Breakfast)

When you are using 2 or more verbs to express the action, you should use ~te for the verbs use before the end and ~masu for the last verb.

Go back home. Watch TV - Uchi ni (kaeru)kaerimasu. Terebi o mimasu.
Go back home then / and watch TV - Uchi ni kaette, terebi o mimasu.
Meaning : Uchi (Home), Kaeru (Go back)

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“~nagara” is use for combining 2 actions into one sentence

Example 1
Drinking Beer - Bi-ru o (nomu)nonde imasu
Watching Television - Terebi o (miru)mite imasu
I am drinking beer while watching television - Biru o nominagara, terebi o mite imasu

Meaning : Bi-ru (Beer), Terebi (Television)

Example 2
Singing a Song - Uta o (utau)utatte imasu
Walking - (Aruku)Aruite imasu
I am singing a song while walking - Uta o utainagara, aruite imasu

Meaning : Uta (Song), Utau (Sing), Aruku (Walk)

See, Its simple.

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Long time no see guys & gals. Today I will cover the usage of “~te imasu” which means “doing something”. On how to convert from normal form to “te” form, please refer to my previous post.

Drink coffee - Ko-hi- o nomimasu
Drinking coffee - Ko-hi- o nonde imasu
Drank coffee - Ko-hi- o nomimashita

I am writing a letter to friend - Tomodachi ni tegami o (kaku)kaite imasu
I am not writing postcard to friend - Tomodachi ni hagaki wa kaite imasen
I am singing oddies - Mukashi no uta o (utau)utatte imasu
I am not singing new song - Atarashii uta wa utatte imasen
Meaning : Tomodachi (Friend), Tegami (Letter), Hagaki (Postcard), Mukashi (Olden Days), Uta (Song)

Q : What are you doing? - Nani o (suru)shite imasu ka?
A : Swimming at the pool - Pu-ru de (oyogu)oyoide imasu
Meaning : Nani (What), Pu-ru (Pool)

Once you have master the conversion of ~te form, everything will be easier.

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Happy Prosperous Chinese New Year To All. I will be off for Chinese New Year from today until 4th Feb 2006.

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Before I move further on other usage of ~te, I will post some examples of how to converse using the ~te form we have learned so far.

Conversation 1
Tony : Excuse me, can you please take photo for me? - Sumimasen, shashin o (toru)totte kudasai?
Watanabe : Yes. Ready. I’m taking - Hai. Ii desu ka. Torimasu yo.
Meaning : Sumimasen (Excuse Me / Sorry), Shashin (Photo)

Conversation 2
Tony : Wait a moment. Please repeat again- Chotto (matsu)matte kudasai. Mou ichido (iu)itte kudasai.
Watanabe : Can’t you hear? - Kikoemasen deshita ka?
Tony : Yes, please say louder - Hai, motto ookii koe de itte kudasai.
Meaning : Chotto (A Moment), Matsu (Wait), Mou (Again), Ichido (One more time), Kikoemasen (Can’t hear), Motto (More), Ookii (Big / Large), Koe (Voice), Ookii Koe (Loud)

Conversation 3
Jen : Please come to the station at 7 o’clock tomorrow morning - Ashita no asa, 7 ji ni eki e (kuru)kite kudasai
Yoda : 7 o’clock. It’s too early - 7 ji desu ka. Zuibun hayai desu ne.
Jen : Yeah. Please don’t be late - Ee. (Okureru)Okurenaide kudasai.
Meaning : Ashita (Tomorrow), Asa (Morning), Zuibun (Very), Okureru (Late / Delay)

Conversation 4
Yoda : Hurry Up. Class is starting - (Isogu)Isoide kudasai. Jugyou ga (hajimaru)hajimarimasu yo.
Watanabe : OK, coming now - Hai, ima ikimasu.
Yoda : Oh, but please don’t run at the corridor - Aa, demo rouka wa (hashiru)hashiranaide kudasai.
Meaning : Isogu (Hurry), Jugyou (Class / Lesson), Hajimaru (Start / Begin), Rouka (Corridor), hashiru (Run)

Enjoy your lesson !!!

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Today I will cover a topic on requesting for a favour from someone.

Please open the door - Doa o (akeru)akete kudasai
Please close the window - Mado o (shimeru)shimete kudasai
Please switch on the light - Denki o (tsukeru)tsukete kudasai
Please stand - (Tatsu)Tatte kudasai
Meaning : Doa (Door), Akeru (Open), Mado (Window), Shimeru (Close), Denki (Electric / Light), Tsukeru (Switch On), Tatsu (Stand)

Please pack the box with a big and beautiful paper - Ookikute kirei na kami de hako o tsutsunde kudasai
Please carry the desk to the room next door - Tonari no heya ni tsukue o (hakobu)hakonde kudasai
Please lend me your car tomorrow - Ashita kuruma o (kasu)kashite kudasai
Please have a look at the blackboard behind you - Ushiro no kokuban o (miru)mite kudasai
Please let me know your phone number - Denwa bangou o (oshieru)oshiete kudasai
Meaning : Kami (Paper), Tsutsumu (Pack), Heya (Room), Tsukue (Desk), Hakobu (Carry), Ashita (Tomorrow), Kasu (Lend), Ushiro (Behind / Back), Kokuban (Blackboard), Miru (Look / See / Watch), Denwa (Phone), Bangou (Number), Oshieru (Teach)

Using negative sentences for ~te kudasai
Please do not write a letter with red pen - Akapen de tegami wa (kaku)kakanaide kudasai
Please do not take picture in the temple - Otera no naka de shashin wa (toru)toranaide kudasai
Meaning : Akapen (Red Pen), Tegami (Letter), Shashin (Photo), Toru (Take)

Conversion from normal form to “nai” form. Just change the last character (Third Character) to the (First Character). If you refer to the Pronunciation Section, you will know what I mean by First & Third Character. 5 characters in each category : ie. (1)Ka (2)Ki (3)Ku (4)Ke (5)Ko

Kau (Buy) - Kawanai
Kaku (Write) - Kakanai
Oyogu (Swim) - Oyoganai
Hanasu (Talk) - Hanasanai
Matsu (Wait) - Matanai
Hakobu (Carry) - Hakobanai
Nomu (Drink) - Nomanai
Uru (Sell) - Uranai

Special Words
Kiru (Wear) - Kinai
Miru (See / Watch) - Minai
Kuru (Come) - Konai
Suru (Do) - Shinai
Taberu (Eat) - Tabenai

Whenever there is “nai” (not), ~de is always use instead of ~te

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As promise yesterday, today I will cover the first part of using “~te” form. It is to combine 2 adjectives in 1 sentence. Here we go!!!

This string. Strong string - Hosoi ito desu. Tsuyoi ito desu.
The string is thin but strong - Hosokute tsuyoi ito desu.

Thin magazine. Interesting magazine. - Usui zasshi desu. Omoshiroi zasshi desu.
The magazine is thin but interesting - Usukute omoshiroi zasshi desu

Old Temple. Famous Temple. - Furui Otera. Yuumei na otera.
The temple is old but famous. - Furukute yuumei na otera desu.
Meaning : Hosoi (Thin - Use for human, long item), Tsuyoi (Strong), Usui (Use for books, papers), Zasshi (Magazine), Omoshiroi (Interesting), Otera (Temple)

You can also combine Adjectives + Verbs. Example : Kono kuruma wa takakute kaenai desu (I couldn’t buy this car because it is too expensive).

Yesterday, I covered the conversion from Verbs to ~te form (ie. Kaku >> Kaite). Today I will show you how to convert adjective into ~te form as shown in the examples above.

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So far we have learned how to convert to “~masu” & “~katta” form. Today I will show you how to convert into “~te” form. “Te” is use in connection with the following words :

~te can be used for combination of 2 adjectives. Example : Yasui Desu. Oishii Desu. (Cheap. Delicious) - Yasukute oishii desu. Other usage will be :

Tabete kudasai (Please Eat) - Requesting
Tabete imasu (Eating) - Similar to the “~ing” in English
Tabete arimasu (I have been eaten) - Something has been done
Kaite okimasu (I have wrote it) - Do something in advance / in preparation
Tabete mimasu (Eat and see) - Trying something and see how is the result
Tabete shimaimashita (I have completely eaten) - To imply something which is completed
Tabete ikimasu (Go and eat) - Saying something that is going to happen
Tabete hoshii (Want to eat) - Wanted to do something

I will cover each usage above later after this lesson on how to convert normal form to ~te form

It is a little confuse for the conversion. With a little more practise, you will be able to master it. Later, I will cover the lesson on how to combine 2 adjectives using ~te form. Stay Tune!!!

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I will cover the conversation part of what we have learned in previous lesson.

Conversation 1
Tony : It was a good weather yesterday - Kinou wa ii tenki deshita ne
Yoda : Yeah. But, today is warmer than yesterday - Ee. Demo, kyou no hou ga kinou yori atatakai desu ne
Tony : That’s right - Sou desu ne
Meaning : Kinou (Yesterday), Tenki (Weather), Demo (But), Kyou (Today), Atatakai (Warm)

Conversation 2
Tony : Is Japan’s summer sultry? - Nihon no natsu wa mushi atsui desu ne?
Mieko : Yeah, I was in Japan last year, it was so hot - Ee, watashi wa kyonen no natsu mo nihon ni imashita ga, totemo atsukatta desu yo.
Tony : America’s summer is better than Japan’s summer - Amerika no natsu no hou ga nihon no natsu yori ii desu ne
Meaning : Natsu (Summer), Mushi Atsui (Sultry), Atsui (Hot), Kyonen (Last Year)

Conversation 3
John : For me, I like spring the most in a year - Watashi wa, 1 (ichi) nen no naka de, haru ga ichiban suki desu
Mieko : I like spring too but I like summer more - Watashi ha haru mo suki desu ga, natsu no hou ga suki desu
Meaning : Nen (Year), Naka (In / Inside), Haru (Spring), Ichiban (First / Most), Mo (Too)

Conversation 4
Miyata : Between our friends, who is the tallest? - O tomodachi no naka de, dare ga ichiban se ga takai desu ka?
Tony : Mieko is the tallest - Mieko ga ichiban takai desu
Miyata : How about John - Jon wa?
Tony : John is tall too but he is not taller than Mieko - Jon mo takai desu ga, Meiko hodo takaku arimasen
Meaning : Tomodachi (Friends), Dare (Who), Se (Height), Takai (Tall / Expensive)

Conversation 5
Tony : Is your car and mine the same? - Anata no kuruma to watashi no wa onaji desu ka?
Mieko : Yes, it’s the same but the color is different - Hai, onaji desu ga, iro ga chigaimasu.
Meaning : Onaji (Same), Iro (Color), Chigau / Chigaimasu (Different)

Hope the above conversation could give you a clear picture of how to use the hou ga, yo ri, etc.

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Today I will cover some new word which use the combination of “Dochira (Which)” & “To (And)”

Q : Which one is longer between pencil and pen? - Enpitsu to / dewa pen to, dochira no hou ga nagai desu ka?
A : The pencil is longer than the pen - Enpitsu no hou ga pen yori nagai desu
Meaning : To (And), Yori (than), No Hou Ga (use to describe the one that is better) - ie. Watashi no hou ga wakai desu (I am younger). “No” must be use follow by “Hou Ga”

More Examples
Q : Which winter is colder between Korea & Japan? - Kankoku no fuyu to nihon no fuyu to, dochira no hou ga samui desu ka?
A : Korea is colder than japan - Kankoku no hou ga nihon yori samui desu. OR Kankoku no hou ga samui desu. (you can skip the yori part to cut short the sentence)
Meaning : Kankoku (Korea), Nihon (Japan), Fuyu (Winter), Samui (Cold)

Q : Which one do you like between Japanese food & Western food - Washoku to youshoku to, dochira no hou ga suki desu ka?
A : I like Japanese food more - Washoku no hou ga suki desu
Meaning : Washoku (Japanese Food), Youshoku (Western Food), Suki (Like)

Q : Is the pencil longer than the pen? - Enpitsu no hou ga pen yori nagai desu ka?
A (positive) : Yes, the pencil is longer than the pen - Hai, Enpitsu no hou ga pen yori nagai desu.
A (negative) : No, the pencil isn’t longer than the pen - Iie, Enpitsu wa pen hodo nagaku arimasen

You no longer use the hou ga & yori for negative answer. Instead, you have to replace the Enpitsu no hou ga to Enpitsu wa and pen yori to pen hodo

Good luck

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