Learning a New Word | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. この単語はどういう意味ですか？

   What does this word mean?

   この

   this

   単語

   word

   どういう意味

   what meaning

   ですか

   is it? (polite question ending)

   More detail

   この means “this” and points to something understood as close to the speaker or already identified in the situation. It is a demonstrative modifier: この + noun means “this [noun].” Example: この本は新しいです。 means “This book is new.” 単語 means “word” or “term.” It is a noun, and 単語の意味 means “the meaning of a word,” with の linking one noun to another. Example: この単語を覚えます。 means “I memorize this word.” どういう意味 asks what kind of meaning something has, and in this sentence it is the reusable question pattern “What does … mean?” どういう can be placed before a noun to ask for its description or type; here it modifies 意味, “meaning.” 意味 means “meaning” or “sense.” Example: これはどういう意味ですか？ means “What does this mean?” ですか consists of the polite copula です and the question particle か. Together, they turn the statement-like pattern into a polite question. です itself does not carry the meaning “is” in every possible context; here it links the requested description with 意味 in a polite question. The sentence builds as この単語, “this word,” followed by どういう意味ですか, “is what kind of meaning?” Japanese places the topic before the question about it, so the complete meaning is “What does this word mean?” This is a polite, reusable way to ask about an unfamiliar word or expression.

2. 小さい部屋という意味です。

   It means a small room.

   小さい

   small

   部屋

   room

   という意味です

   means

   More detail

   小さい describes the noun that follows it here: it means “small.” Its base form is also 小さい; in this use, it appears before 部屋 as an attributive adjective. For example, 小さい家です。 means “It is a small house.” 部屋 means “room.” It is a noun, and 小さい部屋 is the reusable pattern “a small room,” with the describing word before the noun. For example, 部屋があります。 means “There is a room.” という意味です is a polite construction meaning “means …” or “has the meaning ….” という marks the preceding expression as the content being explained, 意味 means “meaning,” and です gives the statement a polite form. In this sentence, the expression before it is 小さい部屋. Together, 小さい部屋という意味です。 says that the meaning of the expression being discussed is “a small room.” The preceding question establishes that the speaker is asking for the meaning of a word, so the natural complete translation is “It means a small room.”

3. ゆっくり発音できますか？

   Can you pronounce it slowly?

   ゆっくり

   slowly

   発音

   pronunciation

   できますか

   can you ...?

   More detail

   ゆっくり means “slowly” here and is an adverb, so it describes how the pronunciation is done. It can also modify other actions: ゆっくり話します。 means “I speak slowly.” Its opposite is 速く (“quickly/fast”) when speed is being contrasted. 発音 means “pronunciation” and is a noun. With する, 発音する means “to pronounce”; with できる, the noun can form an ability expression: 発音できる means “can pronounce.” Thus 発音 names the action being requested, rather than describing its speed. できますか is the polite question form built from できる (“can; be able to”) plus the polite form できます and the question particle か. In 発音できますか, the pattern N + できますか asks whether someone can do the action named by N: 英語を発音できますか。 means “Can you pronounce English?” The object can be omitted when it is understood; here the translation supplies “it,” but the Japanese sentence does not state the object explicitly. Together, ゆっくり modifies 発音できますか: the speaker asks whether the listener is able to pronounce the understood item slowly. The complete meaning is “Can you pronounce it slowly?”

4. 区切って言います。

   I'll break it into parts.

   区切って

   break into parts

   言います

   say

   More detail

   区切って is the て-form of 区切る, “to divide, separate, or break into sections.” Here it describes how the speaking will be done: the speaker will say the material in separated parts. The て-form can connect a manner or preceding action to what follows. For example, 文を区切って読みます。 means “I’ll read the sentence in sections.” 言います is the polite nonpast form of 言う, “to say.” In this utterance, the nonpast form is understood as a forthcoming action, matching “I’ll say.” 言います itself does not encode the speaker as a grammatical subject; the first-person subject is supplied by the context and the fixed translation. The same form can also describe a present or habitual action in another context. For example, 名前を言います。 means “I’ll say my name.” Together, 区切って gives the manner and 言います gives the main action: “I’ll say it while breaking it into parts,” naturally rendered as “I’ll break it into parts.”

5. 例を一つ言えますか？

   Can you give me an example?

   例

   example

   一つ

   one

   言えますか？

   can you say?

   More detail

   例 Here, 例 means “example,” a noun for something that illustrates a point. A useful related expression is 例を挙げる, “to give an example,” but this utterance uses 言う, literally “say,” with this noun. 一つ 一つ means “one” of a general or unspecified kind of thing. Here it specifies one example. It is a general-purpose counting expression used when a more specific counter is not needed. 言えますか？ This is the polite question form of 言える, “can say.” The base verb is 言う, “say”; its potential form is 言える, and the polite potential form is 言えます. Adding か makes it a question: 言えますか？ means “Can you say it?” The potential form expresses ability or possibility rather than simply asking whether someone says something. For example, 「ありがとう」と言えますか？ means “Can you say ‘thank you’?” The quotation marks identify the words to be said. In this utterance, 例を marks 例 as what is said, and 一つ specifies one example. In the intended natural English meaning, asking whether the listener can say one example is a request to provide one: “Can you give me an example?” Whole utterance 例 + を identifies an example as the object, 一つ specifies one, and 言えますか？ politely asks whether the listener can say it. Together, the utterance asks the listener to provide one example.

6. この部屋はきれいで明るいです。

   This room is clean and bright.

   この

   this

   部屋

   room

   きれい

   clean

   明るい

   bright

   です

   is

   More detail

   この means “this” when it comes before a noun. It identifies a noun as being near the speaker or otherwise treated as the speaker’s “this.” Unlike an English pronoun, it cannot normally stand alone: use これ for “this” by itself. Example: この本 — “this book.” 部屋 means “room.” It is a noun; この部屋 is therefore “this room.” Japanese commonly places a demonstrative before the noun it describes, rather than after it. きれい means “clean” here. It is a な-adjective: before a noun, use きれいな, as in きれいな部屋 — “a clean room.” きれい can also mean “beautiful” in other contexts, but the fixed translation supports “clean” in this sentence. The で after きれい links this description to the following one. With a な-adjective, きれいで means “being clean and …” or “clean, and …”. It is different from the で used to mark a location or means. 明るい means “bright.” It is an い-adjective; its dictionary form already ends in い. To link it to another description, an い-adjective changes to 明るくて, as in 明るくて広い部屋 — “a bright and spacious room.” Thus きれいで明るい combines two descriptions, with only the first one taking the linking form. です is the polite sentence ending used here to present the description politely. With an い-adjective, the adjective itself carries the descriptive meaning, so 明るいです is polite “is bright”; です is not an independent English-style verb that supplies the meaning by itself. For a noun or な-adjective, compare 部屋です — “it is a room” and きれいです — “it is clean.” Together, この部屋 identifies “this room,” きれいで says it is clean and links to another description, and 明るいです politely completes the statement “is bright.” The whole utterance means: “This room is clean and bright.”

7. それを使う練習をしたいです。

   I want to practice using it.

   それを

   it (as the object)

   使う

   use

   練習

   practice

   したいです

   want to do (polite)

   More detail

   それを means “it” as the object of the action. それ is a demonstrative pronoun whose specific referent is not identified by this sentence; を marks the direct object. The reusable pattern それを + verb means “verb it.” 使う means “to use.” This is the plain, nonpast form of 使う. Before a noun, it describes the action associated with that noun: 使う練習 means “practice using.” Example: 日本語を使う練習 means “practice using Japanese.” 練習 means “practice.” In 練習をする, 練習 is the object of する, and を marks that object. The same pattern can be used with other activities, such as 読む練習をする, “practice reading.” したいです expresses a polite desire to do something. The relevant formation is する → し + たい → したい; it is not formed from the past form した. たい attached to the verb stem expresses “want to do,” and です makes this expression polite. Example: 休みたいです。 means “I want to rest.” Together, それを使う identifies the action “use it,” それを使う練習 means “practice using it,” and それを使う練習をしたいです means “I want to practice using it.”

8. 短い文で使ってみてください。

   Try it in a short sentence.

   短い

   short

   文

   sentence

   使ってみてください

   please try using it

   More detail

   短い means “short” here and modifies the noun that follows it. Its base form is 短い; this is an い-adjective, so its attributive form remains 短い: 短い文 means “a short sentence.” For a contrasting description, 長い文 means “a long sentence.” 文 means “sentence.” It is a noun and can be combined with descriptions such as 短い文 (“a short sentence”). Example: この文は短いです。 — “This sentence is short.” 使ってみてください is a polite request meaning “please try using it.” The lexical verb is 使う, “to use.” Its て-form is 使って. Japanese Vてみる expresses trying an action, so 使ってみる means “try using.” Here, みて is the て-form of みる in this auxiliary pattern, not an instruction to look. ください makes the request polite: 使ってみてください is “please try using it.” Example: 読んでみてください。 — “Please try reading.” Together, 短い文で means “in a short sentence,” and 使ってみてください asks the listener to try using the item under discussion in that way. The complete utterance therefore means “Try it in a short sentence.”