はい、伺います。Yes, I’ll be glad to.
(5) A: Tenki ga ii kara, yakyū de mo shimasen ka.
天気がいいから、野球でもしませんか。
Since the weather is so nice, how about playing baseball or something (lit., shall we not play baseball or something)?
B: Hai (or Ee), shimashō.
はい（ええ）、しましょう。
Yes, let’s!
Although the A sentences above are negative in form, (4A) is actually a request with the meaning of “Please come again tomorrow,” and (5A) is a suggestion meaning “How about doing such-and-such?” This use of hai はい is, therefore, not really an exception; it still follows the basic rule: If you are in agreement, use hai.
Hai はい is a formal expression. In less formal speech, hai is often replaced by ee ええ. In even more informal speech (especially by men, youngsters, and little children), un うん, or simply n ん, is used.
In addition to the main use explained above, hai はい has other functions, some of which are described below. With the exception of (6), neither ee ええ nor un うん can be used in place of hai in these examples.
Hai sometimes indicates “I’m listening” instead of “That’s right.”
EXAMPLE:
| (6) Boss: | Kinō hanami ni ittara ne. きのう花見に行ったらね。 Yesterday we went to see the cherry blossoms. |
| Employee: | Hai. はい。 Yes? |
| Boss: | Yuki ga futte-ki-chatta n da yo. 雪が降ってきちゃったんだよ。 It started snowing, of all things. |
Hai はい, when used in response to the calling of one’s name, signals “Here!” or “Present!” In (7) below, a teacher is taking attendance in class.
EXAMPLE:
| (7) Teacher: | Tanaka-san. 田中さん。 Miss Tanaka! |
| Miss Tanaka: | Hai. はい。 Here! |
Hai はい serves to draw the addressee’s attention, for example, when one hands something to someone (e.g., when a salesclerk gives change back to a customer), as in (8), or when a student raises his hand to draw the teacher’s attention, as in sentence (9).
EXAMPLES:
| (8) Salesclerk: | Hai. Go-hyaku-en no otsuri desu. はい。五百円のおつりです。 Here you are. Five hundred yen. |
| (9) Student: | Hai! (raising his hand) はい！ Sir? |
| Teacher: | Nan desu ka. なんですか。 What is it? |
| Student: | Chotto shitsumon ga aru n desu ga. ちょっと質問があるんですか。 May I ask you a question? |
Ha
Hairu 入る has several meanings. The most common one is “to enter,” as in
EXAMPLES:
(1a) Musuko ga kondo daigaku ni hairimashita.
息子が今度大学に入りました。
My son just entered college.
(1b) Yūbe dorobō ni hairareta.
ゆうべ泥棒に入られた。
Last night a thief entered (i.e., broke into) my house.
Hairu 入る can also mean “to join” (such things as clubs).
EXAMPLE:
(2) Tarō wa kōkō de tenisubu ni haitta.
太郎は高校でテニス部に入った。
Taro joined the tennis club in high school.
It should be noted that English “enter” does not necessarily correspond to hairu 入る.
EXAMPLE:
(3) Tōnamento ni deru (not *hairu 入る) tsumori desu.
トーナメントに出るつもりです。
I’m planning on entering the tournament.
Hajime はじめ beginning
Hajime はじめ “beginning” and hajimete “for the first time” sound very much alike and are therefore often mistakenly used. Sentences (1a) and (2a) are wrong, while (1b) and (2b) are correct.
EXAMPLES:
(1a) *Nihon de wa, shinnen no hajimete no mikkakan yoku omochi o taberu.
*日本では、新年のはじめての三日間よくおもちを食べる。
lit., In Japan, they eat a lot of mochi for three days that occur for the first time in the new year.
(1b) Nihon de wa, shinnen no hajime no mikkakan yoku omochi o taberu.
日本では、新年のはじめの三日間よくおもちを食べる。
In Japan, they eat a lot of mochi during the first three days of the new year.
(2a) *Hajimete Nihongo ga heta deshita.
*はじめて日本語が下手でした。
lit., For the first time, I was bad at Japanese.
(2b) Hajime wa Nihongo ga heta deshita.
はじめは日本語が下手でした。
In the beginning, I was bad at Japanese.
Hajimeru 始める to begin something
At the beginning of something such as a meeting or a class, one may say “Let’s begin!” in English. English speakers, transferring this sentence to Japanese, often make the error of saying Hajimarimashō 始まりましょう. One must use the transitive counterpart as in sentence (1).
EXAMPLE:
(1) Hajimemashō.
