Trying on a shirt in a clothing shop | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 新しいシャツが必要です。

   I need a new shirt.

   新しい

   new

   シャツ

   shirt

   が必要です

   need / be necessary

   More detail

   新しい means “new” here and is an i-adjective. Its dictionary form is also 新しい; before a noun, it directly modifies that noun: 新しいシャツ = “a new shirt.” For example, 新しい本です。 means “It is a new book.” シャツ is the noun “shirt,” written in katakana. It can combine with other modifiers in the same way: 白いシャツ means “a white shirt.” が必要です expresses that the thing marked by が is necessary. 必要 is the predicate meaning “necessary,” and です gives the polite sentence ending. In this pattern, the needed item is stated with が: 時間が必要です。 means “I need time.” The Japanese sentence does not explicitly state the experiencer; the fixed translation supplies “I.” Together, 新しいシャツ identifies the needed item as “a new shirt,” and が必要です says that this item is necessary. Thus the whole utterance means “I need a new shirt.”

2. 何色をお探しですか。

   What color are you looking for?

   何色

   what color

   お探しですか

   are you looking for?

   More detail

   何色 何 means “what,” and 色 means “color.” Together, 何色 asks which color, rather than asking generally what object is wanted. In this sentence, 何色を is the object of the search: を marks what is being looked for. Example: 何色が好きですか。 — “What color do you like?” Here 何色 is the subject-like choice marked by が, so the particle changes with the pattern. お探しですか The useful base verb is 探す, “to look for” or “to search for.” The form in the sentence is the polite respectful expression お探しですか, literally a polite question about looking for something. Japanese often leaves the subject unstated; with the supplied translation, the person being asked is understood as “you.” ですか makes the utterance a polite question. The お- form here is part of the respectful pattern お + verb stem + です, not a separate word meaning “look.” Example: 何を探していますか。 — “What are you looking for?” This uses the progressive form of 探す; お探しですか is a more service-oriented respectful alternative. Whole utterance 何色を (“what color”) combines with お探しですか (“are you looking for?”) to produce: “What color are you looking for?” The sentence asks specifically for the desired color, while the object itself can remain understood from the situation.

3. 青いものがあれば、それがいいです。

   Something blue, if you have it.

   青い

   blue

   もの

   thing; item

   あれば

   if there is one; if you have it

   それ

   it; that

   いいです

   is good; is preferred

   More detail

   青い means “blue” here and is the observed form of the Japanese i-adjective 青い (“blue”). Japanese i-adjectives can directly modify a noun: 青いもの means “a blue thing/item.” The same form can also be used predicatively, as in これは青い (“This is blue”). もの means “thing” or, in this context, an item or product. In 青いもの, it turns the description into a noun phrase meaning “a blue item.” The noun is intentionally nonspecific; it does not identify a particular kind of item. Example: 赤いものを選びます。 — “I’ll choose a red one.” The sequence 青いものが marks the blue item as the subject of what follows. が is not included in the selected quote, but it links the noun phrase to the conditional expression. The もの phrase therefore supplies what may exist or be available. 有れば is written here as あれば, the conditional form of ある, “to exist” or “to be available.” The -ば form presents a condition: あれば means “if there is one” or, in an availability context, “if you have one.” Example: 在庫があれば、お願いします。 — “If you have it in stock, please.” In this utterance, the fixed translation supports the availability reading. それ means “it” or “that,” a demonstrative pronoun. Here the translation identifies it as the blue item just described, so the second clause refers back to that item. Its form itself does not encode the item’s gender or number. Example: それをください。 — “Please give me that.” いいです uses the adjective いい (“good”) with polite present form です. In this context, “good” expresses preference or acceptability: “that one is good” or “I prefer that one.” The adjective’s common opposite is 悪い (“bad”), though いいです here is not making a general quality judgment; it selects the item as suitable. Example: この色でいいです。 — “This color is fine.” Together, 青いものがあれば sets the condition “if there is a blue item” or “if you have something blue.” それがいいです then says that the item meeting that description is preferred: “that one is good/preferred.” The whole utterance therefore means, “Something blue, if you have it.”

4. こちらがお客様のサイズです。

   Here is one in your size.

   こちら

   this one; here

   お客様

   customer; you (customer)

   サイズ

   size

   です

   is

   More detail

   こちら is a polite demonstrative meaning “this one” or, in some settings, “here.” Here it points to the item being presented. A useful contrast is これ “this,” which is more neutral; こちら is the more polite choice. お客様 means “customer” and is a respectful way to refer to a customer. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies that customer as “you.” The お- contributes respectful wording; it does not itself mean “your.” の links お客様 to the noun after it: お客様のサイズ means “the customer’s size,” or, with the intended addressee here, “your size.” This pattern can express possession or another noun-to-noun relationship. Example: 私のサイズ means “my size.” サイズ is the loanword “size.” It is a noun, so お客様のサイズ is the noun phrase “your size.” です is the polite nonpast form used here as a copula, roughly “is.” It makes the statement polite; it does not independently add the meaning “one.” Together, こちらが presents the item as the thing being identified, while お客様のサイズ specifies that it matches the customer’s size. Thus the utterance means “Here is one in your size.” The surrounding store context supports understanding こちら as the item being offered, rather than translating the sentence mechanically as only “This is your size.”

5. 試着してもいいですか。

   Can I try it on?

   試着

   trying on clothes

   してもいいですか

   May I do it?

   More detail

   試着 means “trying on” clothing. It is commonly used with する to make the verb 試着する, “to try on.” In this sentence, the following して is the te-form of する, so the full verb phrase is 試着して. してもいいですか is a reusable permission pattern: verb-te-form + もいいですか means “May I do ...?” or “Is it okay if I ...?” Here, して means “do” as part of 試着して, while もいいですか asks whether that action is permitted. The polite question ending is ですか; it does not itself identify the item being tried on. Together, 試着してもいいですか。 means “Can I try it on?” The clothing item is understood from the situation rather than named in this utterance. A reusable example is 見てもいいですか。 — “May I look?”

6. 試着室はすぐそこです。

   The changing room is just over here.

   試着室

   changing room

   すぐそこ

   just over here

   です

   is

   More detail

   試着室 means “changing room” here. It is a noun formed from 試着 (“trying on clothes”) and 室 (“room”). The word 試着 is also useful independently: 試着します means “try on [clothes].” Example: 試着してもいいですか。 — “May I try it on?” は marks 試着室 as the topic. The sentence therefore presents the changing room as the thing being located. すぐそこ means “just over here,” referring to a nearby place. そこ is the demonstrative for “there,” while すぐ strengthens the proximity: “right there” or “just there.” Example: 駅はすぐそこです。 — “The station is just over here.” です is the polite copular form used here to state that the topic has the indicated location. It makes the sentence polite; it is not a separate word meaning “room” or “there.” Together, 試着室は sets “the changing room” as the topic, and すぐそこです states politely that it is just over here: “The changing room is just over here.”

7. サイズがとてもよく合います。

   It fits really well.

   サイズ

   size

   とても

   very

   よく

   well

   合います

   fits; matches

   More detail

   サイズ means “size” here. It is a noun and can be used with が to present the size as what fits or matches. For example, このサイズが合います。 means “This size fits.” とても means “very” and strengthens the following description. It does not itself mean “well”; in this sentence, it increases the degree of よく合います. よく is the adverb “well” in this use. It describes how successfully something fits or matches. It is related to よい (“good”), but here it functions as the adverb in the set expression よく合う (“fit well” or “match well”). For example, この色は部屋によく合います。 means “This color matches the room well.” 合います is the polite non-past form of 合う, meaning “to fit” or “to match” in this context. The non-past form can describe a present condition, as it does here. Its negative counterpart is 合いません, “does not fit” or “does not match.” For example, この靴は足に合いません。 means “These shoes do not fit my feet.” The structure is サイズが + とても + よく + 合います: “the size fits very well.” が marks サイズ as the thing that fits, while the English translation uses “it” for the understood item being fitted; the supplied sentence does not identify that item more specifically. Together, the utterance means “It fits really well.”

8. お客様によく似合います。

   It looks nice on you.

   お客様

   customer; polite “you” in service speech

   よく

   well; nicely

   似合います

   suits; looks good

   More detail

   お客様 Here, お客様 means “customer” in a respectful service expression and addresses the listener as “you.” お客様 is the polite form of 客. The respectful prefix お- and the honorific suffix 様 make it more courteous than 客; this does not itself state a number of customers. よく In this sentence, よく means “well” or “nicely,” describing how the item suits the person. It is the adverbial form of よい／いい “good.” よく can also mean “often” in other contexts, but that meaning does not fit this sentence. 似合います 似合います is the polite nonpast form of 似合う, “to suit” or “to look good on.” The form 似合います is used for a polite present or general statement; the plain form is 似合う. A useful pattern is X は Y に似合います: “X suits Y” or “X looks good on Y.” The particle に after お客様 marks the person on whom something looks good: お客様に means “on you” here. The item or clothing that looks good is the understood subject in this utterance, supplied by the situation rather than stated in the sentence. Thus, お客様によく似合います means that the relevant item looks especially nice on the customer.