Living Nearby and Getting to Class | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. どこに住んでいますか？

   Where do you live?

   どこ

   where

   に

   in / at

   住んでいます

   live

   か

   question marker

   More detail

   どこ means “where” and asks for a place. It is a question word, not a statement about any particular place. Example: どこで勉強しますか？ — “Where will you study?” Here, で marks the place where an activity happens; with living, the location is marked by に. に marks the location associated with 住む (“to live”). The reusable pattern is place に 住む: 東京に住む means “live in Tokyo.” In this utterance, the place is unknown, so どこに means “where.” 住んでいます means “live” here, referring to the speaker’s current residence. Its base form is 住む (“to live”). The form 住んでいます consists of the te-form 住んで plus polite います; with this verb, it commonly expresses an ongoing or current state, such as where someone currently lives. Example: 近くに住んでいます。 — “I live nearby.” か is placed at the end to turn the preceding statement into a polite question. It does not add a separate place or action meaning. Together, どこ + に asks for the location, 住んでいます asks about the person’s current residence, and final か marks the sentence as a polite question: “Where do you live?”

2. 近くに住んでいます。

   I live nearby.

   近くに

   nearby

   住んでいます

   live

   More detail

   近くに means “nearby” here. 近く is the noun-like form meaning “near” or “the vicinity,” and に marks the place where someone lives. This same location pattern can be reused with other verbs, as in 学校に行きます (“I go to school”). 住んでいます means “live” here. Its base form is 住む (“to live” or “to reside”). The form 住んでいます uses -ている with polite います; with 住む, it describes the continuing state of residing somewhere. The subject is not written in the Japanese sentence, but the fixed translation identifies it as “I.” For example, 東京に住んでいます means “I live in Tokyo.” Together, 近くに (“nearby”) and 住んでいます (“live”) produce 近くに住んでいます。 — “I live nearby.” Japanese commonly leaves the subject unstated when it is understood from the situation.

3. ここにはどうやって来ますか？

   How do you get here?

   ここ

   here

   どうやって

   how; by what method

   来ますか

   do you come?

   More detail

   ここ means “here,” a place identified relative to the speaker or the current conversational viewpoint. Its exact referent is not otherwise specified in the sentence. Compare そこ (“there, near the listener or another reference point”) and あそこ (“over there, away from both”). Example: ここに住んでいます。 — “I live here.” どうやって asks about the method or means: “how?” or “by what method?” It is useful for asking how an action is carried out, including the means of travel. It differs from なぜ, which asks for a reason. Example: どうやって行きますか。 — “How do you go?” 来ますか contains the verb 来る (“to come”) in its polite nonpast form 来ます, followed by か, which marks a question. 来る is an irregular verb; its polite form is 来ます (pronounced *kimasu*). The nonpast form can refer to a present habit or a future action, depending on context. Here, together with どうやって, it asks about the means of coming. 来る describes movement toward the relevant place or viewpoint; 行く means “to go” toward another destination. Example: 明日ここに来ます。 — “I will come here tomorrow.” Together, ここには sets “here” as the topic or location being asked about: に marks the place associated with the movement, and は gives it topic-like emphasis. どうやって asks for the means, while 来ますか politely asks how someone comes. Thus the whole utterance means, “How do you get here?” More literally, it asks, “By what method do you come here?”

4. 晴れの日は自転車に乗ります。

   I ride my bike on sunny days.

   晴れの日

   sunny days

   自転車

   bicycle

   乗ります

   ride

   More detail

   晴れの日 means “sunny days” here. 晴れ is “clear/sunny weather,” and 日 is “day.” The particle の links the weather condition to the day: 晴れの日 is literally a “clear-weather day.” The following は marks this phrase as the topic, giving the pattern Xの日は… (“On days of X, …”). Example: 雨の日は家にいます。 — “I stay at home on rainy days.” 自転車 means “bicycle” or “bike.” It is a noun and can be used directly in compounds or with particles. In this sentence, 自転車に identifies the vehicle used with the verb 乗る; with this verb, に marks what someone rides or boards. Example: 電車に乗ります。 — “I ride the train.” 乗ります means “ride” in this sentence. Its base form is 乗る; 乗ります is the polite nonpast form. Japanese nonpast can describe a present habit, so here it expresses a repeated action on sunny days rather than only one ride happening right now. The form 乗る is also used in plain style: 自転車に乗る。 — “I ride a bike.” Together, 晴れの日は sets sunny days as the topic, 自転車に marks the bicycle as what is ridden, and 乗ります states the habitual action politely. The whole utterance therefore means “I ride my bike on sunny days.”

5. 雨の日はどうしますか？

   What about rainy days?

   雨

   rain

   日

   day

   どうしますか

   what do you do?

   More detail

   雨 means “rain.” It is a noun, and in 雨の日 it describes the kind of day: a rainy day. A useful related noun is 雪 (“snow”), as in 雪の日 (“a snowy day”). 日 means “day.” Here it is part of the compound 雨の日, where の links the describing noun 雨 to the noun 日. The pattern AのB can often mean “B related to A” or “B characterized by A”; for example, 夏の日 means “a summer day.” どうしますか asks what someone does or will do in the relevant situation. Its base form is どうする (“what to do” or “how to handle something”); します is its polite nonpast form, and か marks the sentence as a question. For example, 週末はどうしますか？ means “What will you do this weekend?” Together, 雨の日は makes “as for rainy days,” with は marking that topic. どうしますか then asks what action is taken for that topic. Thus the whole utterance means “What about rainy days?” or, more explicitly, “What do you do on rainy days?”

6. 雨が降るときはバスに乗ります。

   I take the bus when it rains.

   雨

   rain

   降る

   fall; rain

   ときは

   when

   バス

   bus

   乗ります

   take; ride

   More detail

   雨 means “rain” here. It is a noun. In Japanese, a noun can be followed by が to mark it as the subject of an event: 雨が = “rain” as what is falling. This does not by itself specify how much rain there is. 降る is the dictionary form meaning “to fall”; with precipitation, it is the ordinary verb for “rain” or “snow” falling. The form in the sentence is 降る, not a past or polite form, because it appears in the 雨が降る clause before とき. For example, 雪が降る means “snow falls” or “it snows.” ときは consists of とき (“time” or “when”) and the topic particle は. After a clause, とき makes a time condition: 雨が降るとき means “when it rains.” The は presents that time situation as the topic or setting for the main statement. A reusable pattern is ［clause］ときは、［main statement］ = “when [clause], [main statement].” バス is the loanword “bus.” In this sentence it is the vehicle involved in the action. The particle に after it gives the destination or vehicle boarded with 乗る: バスに乗る means “ride/take the bus.” 乗ります is the polite non-past form of 乗る, meaning “ride,” “get on,” or “take” a vehicle here. Its polite form is used for a present or regularly repeated action; it does not necessarily mean that the action is happening at this exact moment. With a vehicle, use ［vehicle］に乗る, as in 電車に乗ります (“I take the train”). Together, 雨が降るときは sets the condition “when it rains,” and バスに乗ります states the speaker’s habitual or general response, “I take the bus.” The complete utterance means: “I take the bus when it rains.”