question words
Notice the related shapes and meaning of the following classes of words:
| わたしwatashiI | あなたanatayou | あの人ano hitohe, she | だれdarewho |
| これkorethis one | それsorethat one near you | あれarethat one over there | どれdorewhich one |
| このkono(of) this | そのsono(of) that | あのano(of) that there | どのdonowhich |
| こんなkonnalike this | そんなsonnalike that one near you | あんなannalike that one over there | どんなdonnawhat sort of |
| ここkokohere | そこsokothere | あそこasokoover there | どこdokowhere |
| こうkōin this way | そうsōin that way | ああāin that way there | どうdōin what way, how |
The words in the column with watashi are used to refer to something near the speaker. The words in the column with anata refer to something near the person you are talking with, or to something you have just mentioned. The words in the column with ano hito refer to something at a distance from both you and the person you are talking with. For some situations, either those in the column with anata or those in the column with ano hito may be heard, since the reference is a relative matter. Be sure to keep dare ‘who’ and dore ‘which’ distinct. Instead of konna, sonna, anna, and donna, we often hear the more colloquial kō iu, sō iu, ā iu, and dō iu. (Note that iu ‘says’ is often pronounced as if spelled yū or ‘you.’)
その中にカメラがあります。
Sono naka ni kamera ga arimasu.
Inside it, there is a camera.
どんな本ですか。
Donna hon desu ka.
What sort of book is it?
どうですか。
Dō desu ka.
How is it?
あの人はだれですか。
Ano hito wa dare desu ka.
Who is that person?
2.16. Words for ‘restaurant’
There are a number of different words for various types of restaurant in Japan. You will often hear the word resutoran, from the English word of French origin. Other words include old-fashioned shokudō ‘dining room/hall,’ kissa or kissaten ‘a kind of French-type café,’ and specialized restaurants or shops that end in ya ‘store,’ as in sushiya ‘a sushi restaurant,’ sobaya ‘a noodle restaurant,’ yakinikuya ‘a table-top BBQ restaurant,’ yakitoriya ‘a grilled chicken restaurant,’ and izakaya, a friendly bar that serves home-style dishes and alcoholic beverages.
Ryōtei is a rather high-class traditional Japanese restaurant. In addition, there are many American-style fast-food restaurants that serve hamburgers, donuts, and fried chicken.
2.17. Words for ‘toilet’
As in English, there are various oblique ways of talking about toilets in Japanese. Probably the most current polite terms are otearai ‘lavatory’ and (o)toire ‘toilet,’ but women may say keshōshitsu ‘powder room.’ So when asking where it is, you may say O-tearai wa doko ni arimasu ka.
2.18. 何 nani/nan ‘what’
The word meaning ‘what’ is usually expressed by nan before a word beginning with t, d, or n, and nani before other words. However, nan- ‘how many’ never has the shape nani-.
何ですか。
Nan desu ka.
What is it?
何と言いましたか。
Nan to iimashita ka.
What did (he) say?
何の本ですか。
Nan no hon desu ka.
What book is it?
何がありますか。
Nani ga arimasu ka.
What is there? What do you have?
何をしていますか。
Nani o shite imasu ka.
What are you doing?
CDが何枚ありますか。
Shī dī ga nan-mai arimasu ka.
How many CDs do you have?
本が何冊ありますか。
Hon ga nan-satsu arimasu ka.
How many books are there?
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Conversation
Emi (E) is a member of a rock band formed in her college. She shows a photo of the members to Masahiro (M).
M: これは恵美さんですか。
