Checking the Platform Before Boarding | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. どのホームに行けばいいですか？

   Which platform should we go to?

   どの

   which

   ホーム

   platform

   に

   to

   行けばいいですか？

   should we go?

   More detail

   どの means “which” and is placed before the noun it determines: どの + noun. Unlike standalone どれ (“which one”), どの needs a following noun, as in どのホーム. ホーム is the noun meaning “platform” in this railway context. It is a Japanese loanword; the same word can have other context-dependent meanings, but here the fixed translation identifies a train platform. に marks the destination or endpoint of movement. With a movement verb such as 行く (“go”), Xに行く means “go to X.” 行けばいいですか？ is a reusable pattern meaning “should [the subject] go?” or “is it okay/best to go?” The observed form 行けば is the conditional form of 行く: 行く → 行けば. Here, -ばいい presents going as the suitable action, and ですか makes the question polite. The subject is omitted in Japanese; in this fixed utterance, the translation identifies it as “we.” Example: ここで待てばいいですか？ — “Should I wait here?” The pattern is verb-ばいいですか, with the verb changed to express the action being considered. Together, どのホームに identifies the destination as “to which platform,” and 行けばいいですか？ asks whether going there is the suitable action. The whole utterance therefore means: “Which platform should we go to?”

2. 案内板は2番ホームを指しています。

   The sign points to platform two.

   案内板

   sign

   2番ホーム

   platform two

   指しています

   is pointing

   More detail

   案内板 means “sign” or “information board.” It is a noun formed from 案内 (“guidance/information”) and 板 (“board”), but learn the full word as the usual term for a sign that gives directions or information. Example: 案内板を見ます。— “I look at the sign.” 2番ホーム means “platform two.” 2番 identifies number two, and ホーム is the railway term for “platform.” The counter-like 番 marks an item’s order or number in a sequence; it is not a statement that there are two platforms. Example: 3番ホームに行きます。— “I go to platform three.” 指しています means “is pointing.” The base verb is 指す, “to point to” or “to indicate.” Here, 指して is the verb’s て-form, and います completes the pattern ～ています, which presents the pointing as an ongoing state or activity. The polite form います makes the statement suitable for ordinary polite conversation. Example: 矢印が出口を指しています。— “The arrow is pointing to the exit.” Together, 案内板は sets “the sign” as the topic, 2番ホームを marks platform two as what is indicated, and 指しています says that the sign is pointing to it. Thus the complete utterance means: “The sign points to platform two.”

3. ここからは小さい字が読めません。

   I can't read the small letters from here.

   ここからは

   from here

   小さい

   small

   字

   letters; written characters

   読めません

   cannot read

   More detail

   ここからは sets the reference point: “from here.” ここ means “here,” and から marks a starting point or source. The は makes this phrase the topic, giving the sentence the sense “as for from here” or, naturally, “from here.” Example: ここから見えます。 — “You can see it from here.” 小さい means “small” here and directly modifies the noun that follows. It is the attributive form of the i-adjective 小さい; the ending -い is part of the form used before a noun. Its opposite is 大きい (“large”). Example: 小さい部屋です。 — “It is a small room.” 字 means a written character or lettering. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies it as “letters,” rather than, for example, a general written message. The compound 小さい字 therefore means “small lettering” or “small characters.” Example: この字は読めます。 — “I can read this character.” 読めません expresses inability in polite negative form: “cannot read.” Its base verb is 読む (“read”); the potential form 読める means “can read,” and its polite negative is 読めません. Thus, 読めません describes the speaker’s inability to read, not simply an action of reading that is currently negated. Example: 漢字が読めません。 — “I cannot read kanji.” Together, ここからは establishes “from here” as the relevant viewpoint, 小さい字 identifies the lettering as small, and 読めません says that the speaker cannot read it. The complete meaning is: “I can’t read the small letters from here.”

4. 電車は10分後に出ると書いてあります。

   It says the train leaves in ten minutes.

   電車

   train

   10分後に

   in ten minutes

   出る

   leave; depart

   と書いてあります

   it says; it is written that

   More detail

   電車 means “train” here. It is a noun and can be reused as the topic with は: 電車は駅に着きます。 means “The train arrives at the station.” 10分後に expresses a time point: 10分後 is “after ten minutes / ten minutes later,” and に marks that point in time. The number and counter are 10 + 分 (“minutes”); 後 means “after” or “later.” For example, 5分後に始まります。 means “It starts in five minutes.” 出る means “leave” or “depart” in this sentence. Its dictionary form is 出る; the same form can also mean “go out” or “come out” in other contexts, so the intended meaning here comes from the train context. In the clause before と, its nonpast form describes the scheduled event: バスは8時に出る。 means “The bus leaves at eight.” と書いてあります means “it says / it is written that.” と marks the content being reported, and 書いてあります is the polite form of 書いてある, describing something that has been written and remains in that state. It comes from the verb 書く (“write”) in the て-form 書いて plus ある; あります is the polite form of ある. This pattern is useful for information shown in writing: ここに名前が書いてあります。 means “The name is written here.” Together, 電車は sets “the train” as the topic, 10分後に出る states that it will depart ten minutes later, and と書いてあります presents that statement as written information. The whole utterance therefore means, “It says the train leaves in ten minutes.”

5. 乗る前にトイレに行きます。

   I'm going to use the restroom before we board.

   乗る

   board; get on

   前に

   before

   トイレ

   restroom

   行きます

   go; will go

   More detail

   乗る means “to get on” or “to board” here, referring to boarding the train in the surrounding context. Its dictionary form is 乗る; a polite present/nonpast form is 乗ります. The dictionary form is used before 前に to make the pattern [verb dictionary form] + 前に, meaning “before doing something.” 前に means “before.” In this pattern, it places the action in the clause before 前に earlier in time than the action that follows it. For example, 寝る前に歯をみがきます。 means “I brush my teeth before going to bed.” トイレ means “restroom” or “toilet.” In this sentence, トイレに marks the restroom as the destination of going. The particle に can mark a destination with movement verbs such as 行く. 行きます is the polite nonpast form of 行く, “to go.” Japanese nonpast forms can describe a present or planned action; here, the intended meaning is going to the restroom before boarding. 行く is the dictionary form, and 行きます is its polite form. Together, 乗る前に means “before boarding,” トイレに means “to the restroom,” and 行きます means “go.” The whole utterance is: “I’m going to use the restroom before we board.”

6. 私が荷物を持っていきます。

   I'll keep the bags with me.

   私

   I; me

   荷物

   luggage; bags

   持っていきます

   take along; carry with me

   More detail

   私 means “I” here. The particle が marks 私 as the subject: the speaker is the one who will carry the luggage. 私 is a first-person pronoun; unlike English “I,” Japanese pronouns are often omitted when the context already makes the speaker clear. 荷物 means “luggage” or “bags.” It is the noun receiving the action, marked by を. In Japanese, 荷物 can refer to baggage as a mass or to someone’s belongings without requiring a separate plural ending. For example, 荷物を置きます。 means “I put down my luggage.” 持っていきます is the polite nonpast form of 持っていく, “take along” or “carry away.” It combines 持つ (“hold; carry”) in the て-form, 持って, with いく (“go”). In this construction, いく adds movement away from the speaker’s current place or toward a destination, so 持っていく is “take something with you,” rather than simply “hold something.” The polite ending ます makes the statement suitable for polite conversation. The nonpast form can describe a future action, as it does here. A useful contrast is 持ってきます, “bring [it] here,” where くる indicates movement toward the relevant place. Together, 私が (“I”), 荷物を (“the luggage”), and 持っていきます (“will take along”) produce: “I’ll keep the bags with me.” The sentence presents the speaker as the person who will take the bags along, without stating a separate destination.

7. この案内板の近くにいてください。

   Please stay near this sign.

   この

   this

   案内板

   sign

   近く

   near

   いてください

   please stay

   More detail

   この means “this” and appears before the noun it identifies. It is a demonstrative used attributively: この案内板 is “this sign,” referring to a sign understood as the one being indicated in the situation. Compare その (“that” in relation to the listener or an already mentioned item) and あの (“that over there”). 案内板 means “sign” or, more specifically, an information/signboard. It is a noun; in this sentence it is the item whose location is specified. The same noun can be used with particles such as を: 案内板を見る means “look at the sign.” 近く means “nearby” or “the vicinity.” Here it is followed by の, making 案内板の近く mean “near the sign.” The location particle に then marks that vicinity as the place where someone is to be present: 駅の近くに means “near the station.” いてください is a polite request meaning “please stay” or “please be there.” Its base verb is いる, used for the presence or location of a person or another animate being. いて is its connective て-form, and ください after a て-form makes a polite request: 待ってください means “please wait.” In this sentence, the addressee is understood as the person who should remain near the sign; Japanese does not need to state that subject. Together, この案内板の近くに sets the location, and いてください requests continued presence there. The complete utterance is therefore “Please stay near this sign.” The polite request form is suitable when giving a clear but courteous instruction.

8. ホームが変わるかもしれないので、案内板を見ておきます。

   I'll watch the board in case the platform changes.

   ホーム

   platform

   変わる

   change

   かもしれない

   may; might

   ので

   because; since

   案内板

   information board

   見ておきます

   will check in advance

   More detail

   ホーム means “platform” here, specifically in the station-related sense supported by the translation and context. It is a noun; the particle が marks it as the subject of the following change. For example, ホームが変わります。 means “The platform changes.” 変わる is the plain, nonpast form of the intransitive verb 変わる, “to change” or “become different.” It describes the subject changing, whereas 変える is the transitive verb “to change something.” In this sentence, the platform is presented as the thing that may change. かもしれない expresses possibility: “may” or “might.” It follows the plain form 変わる, giving 変わるかもしれない, “may change.” This does not assert that the change will happen; it presents it as a possibility. ので connects the possibility clause to its consequence and gives a reason: “because” or “since.” Thus, ホームが変わるかもしれないので means “because the platform may change.” In the fixed translation, this reason is naturally rendered as “in case the platform changes.” 案内板 is a noun meaning “information board” or “signboard.” In the supplied context, it is the board near which the listener was asked to stay. The compound combines 案内, “guidance” or “information,” with 板, “board.” 見ておきます contains 見る, “to look at” or “check,” followed by ておく and the polite ending ます. Vておく presents an action as preparation or as something done in advance for a later need. Here, 見ておきます means that the speaker will check or keep an eye on the board so they can respond to a possible platform change. The observed polite form is 見ておきます; the plain corresponding form is 見ておく. Together, ホームが変わるかもしれないので gives the reason, and 案内板を見ておきます gives the prepared action, with を marking the board as what the speaker watches or checks. The whole utterance means: “I’ll watch the board in case the platform changes.”