Fixing a Stuck Door | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. ドアが開きません。

   The door is stuck.

   ドア

   door

   開きません

   does not open

   More detail

   ドア means “door.” It is a loanword written in katakana. In this sentence, it is the thing whose state is described by the following predicate. 開きません comes from 開く (“to open” in the sense of becoming open). The ending -ません makes the verb a polite negative in the nonpast: 開きません = “does not open” or, in this situation, “will not open.” The form describes the door’s failure to open; it does not directly say who is trying to open it. Compare the affirmative polite form 開きます (“opens” / “will open”). The particle が marks ドア as the subject of 開きません. Japanese often uses N が 開きません to report that an object does not open or is not opening. The nearby context’s suggestion to pull the handle supports the intended practical meaning “The door is stuck,” rather than a general statement about doors. Together, ドアが (“the door”) and 開きません (“does not open”) produce the polite report: “The door is stuck.”

2. 取っ手を引いてみてください。

   Try pulling the handle.

   取っ手

   handle

   引いて

   pull

   みてください

   please try

   More detail

   取っ手 means “handle,” the part meant to be grasped and operated. It is a noun; for example, ドアの取っ手 means “the door handle.” 引いて is the て-form of the verb 引く, “to pull.” Here it links the pulling action to what follows. The て-form of a verb commonly connects actions or combines with another verb, as in 押してみる (“try pressing”). みてください uses 見る after a て-form, but in this pattern it does not mean literal visual seeing. Vてみる means “try doing V,” and Vてみてください is a polite request meaning “please try doing V.” Thus 引いてみてください means “please try pulling.” Together, 取っ手を marks “the handle” as the object of the action, 引いて gives the action “pull,” and みてください politely asks the listener to try it: “Try pulling the handle.”

3. 引っ張りましたが、閉まったままです。

   I pulled it, but it stays closed.

   引っ張りました

   pulled

   が

   but

   閉まった

   closed

   ままです

   remains that way

   More detail

   引っ張りました is the polite past form of 引っ張る (“to pull”): 引っ張る → 引っ張りました. In this utterance, the speaker says that they pulled it; the object is understood from the situation and translation, but Japanese does not state it inside this form. Example: ロープを引っ張りました。 — “I pulled the rope.” が links the two parts with a contrast, here meaning “but.” It comes after the first clause, so the pattern is A が、B — “A, but B.” 閉まった is the past form of the intransitive verb 閉まる, “to close” or “to become closed.” It describes the door or other object as being closed, rather than saying that someone closed it. The related transitive verb 閉める means “to close something”: ドアが閉まりました。 — “The door closed.” ドアを閉めました。 — “I closed the door.” ままです expresses that a state remains unchanged. After 閉まった, 閉まったままです means “remains closed” or “is still in the closed state.” The pattern verb past form + ままです can describe continuing in the state resulting from an action. Example: 窓は開いたままです。 — “The window remains open.” Together, 引っ張りましたが means “I pulled it, but,” and 閉まったままです means “it remains closed.” The whole utterance therefore means: “I pulled it, but it stays closed.”

4. 端の近くをゆっくり押してください。

   Push near the edge slowly.

   端

   edge

   近く

   nearby; vicinity

   ゆっくり

   slowly

   押して

   push

   ください

   please

   More detail

   端 means “edge” here. It is a noun. A useful pattern is Xの端 (“the edge of X”); in this sentence, 端の近く identifies an area close to the edge rather than the edge itself. 近く means “near” or “the vicinity.” Here it is a noun-like location expression followed by を, marking the area affected by the action. The pattern Xの近く means “near X” or “the area near X.” For example, 駅の近く means “near the station.” ゆっくり means “slowly.” It is an adverb and describes how the pushing should be done. It can also describe an action done at an unhurried pace; it does not itself express whether the action is completed. 押して is the te-form of the verb 押す, “to push.” The te-form connects the verb to a following expression. Here it combines with ください to make a polite request. The pattern Vてください means “please V.” ください is the polite request element meaning “please” in this construction. It follows a verb’s te-form, as in 見てください (“please look”) or 待ってください (“please wait”). The request is directed to the listener; it does not by itself specify how much force to use. Putting the parts together, 端の近くを marks the area to push, ゆっくり specifies the manner, and 押してください politely asks the listener to push. The whole utterance means: “Push near the edge slowly.”

5. 少し開きました。

   It opened a little.

   少し

   a little

   開きました

   opened

   More detail

   少し means “a little” or “slightly” here. It is an adverb that reduces the degree or extent of an action or state. Example: 少し待ってください。 means “Please wait a little.” 開きました is the polite past form of the intransitive verb 開く (ひらく), “to open.” In this sentence, it describes something becoming open; the specific thing referred to by “it” is not identified in the sentence. The corresponding transitive verb is 開ける (あける), “to open something.” Example: ドアが開きました。 means “The door opened.” Example: 私がドアを開けました。 means “I opened the door.” The ending ました marks a polite past form. The polite non-past form is 開きます, while the polite past form is 開きました. Together, 少し and 開きました mean “opened a little” or “opened slightly.” The whole utterance is therefore: “It opened a little.”

6. 取っ手がゆるい感じです。

   The handle feels loose.

   取っ手

   handle

   ゆるい

   loose

   感じ

   feeling; impression

   More detail

   取っ手 means “handle,” the part used to hold or operate something such as a door. It is a noun; ドア (“door”) is a useful related word, but this sentence itself identifies the object only as a handle. ゆるい means “loose” here: not tight or firmly fixed. It is an i-adjective, and this attributive form remains ゆるい when it modifies the noun 感じ. A useful contrast is きつい, which can mean “tight” for a physical fit. For example, ふたがきついです。 means “The lid is tight.” 感じ means “feeling” or “impression.” In ゆるい感じです, the adjective ゆるい modifies it, producing the pattern [description] + 感じです, “has a ... feel” or “seems ...”. です is the polite copular form; it makes the description polite. For example, 静かな感じです。 means “It has a quiet feel.” The particle が marks 取っ手 as the subject of the description. Together, 取っ手が and ゆるい感じです produce “The handle has a loose feel,” naturally translated as “The handle feels loose.” The sentence describes the handle’s apparent condition without explicitly asserting a specific mechanical cause.

7. このドアを使うのをやめますか。

   Should we stop using this door?

   この

   this

   ドア

   door

   使う

   use

   やめますか

   should we stop?

   More detail

   この means “this” before a noun. It is a prenominal demonstrative: このドア means “this door.” It does not itself state number or grammatical gender, and the exact door is identified by the situation rather than by the word alone. ドア is the noun “door,” written in katakana as a loanword. A reusable pattern is この + noun, as in この本 (“this book”). 使う is the base form “to use.” Here it appears before の, which turns the verb phrase into a noun-like expression: 使うの means “using it” or “the act of using it.” The object is marked by を, so このドアを使う means “use this door.” For example, 毎日この道を使う。 means “I use this road every day.” やめますか contains やめる, “to stop” or “quit,” in the polite nonpast form やめます, followed by か to make a question. In this sentence, やめる takes 使うの as what is stopped: 使うのをやめる means “stop using [it].” The omitted subject is understood here as “we,” as specified by the fixed translation; Japanese commonly leaves a recoverable subject unspoken. やめますか asks whether that action should be stopped, rather than explicitly naming the subject. Putting the parts together: このドアを使う (“use this door”) becomes このドアを使うの (“using this door” as a noun-like phrase), and をやめますか asks about stopping that activity. The complete meaning is “Should we stop using this door?”

8. また誰かが閉じ込められる前に、取っ手を直せます。

   We can fix the handle before anyone gets stuck again.

   また

   again

   誰か

   someone; anyone

   閉じ込められる

   be trapped; get stuck

   前に

   before

   取っ手

   handle

   直せます

   can fix

   More detail

   また means “again” here: the event of someone becoming trapped is understood as recurring. It modifies the following clause, not the handle. 誰か means “someone”; in this before clause, the natural English translation is “anyone.” It is an indefinite pronoun, so it does not identify a particular person. 誰 means “who,” and 誰か adds the sense “someone” or “somebody.” 閉じ込められる means “be trapped” or “get stuck” here. The base verb is 閉じ込める, “to trap” or “to shut someone in.” The ending -られる forms the passive, so the person represented by 誰か undergoes the trapping rather than causing it. In this sentence, 誰かが閉じ込められる means “someone gets trapped.” 前に means “before.” A useful pattern is verb-dictionary-form + 前に, meaning “before doing...” or “before something happens.” Thus 閉じ込められる前に means “before someone gets trapped.” The に is part of this time expression. 取っ手 is a noun meaning “handle,” especially a handle used to open or operate something such as a door. The following を marks it as the object of the fixing action. The previous sentence mentions a door, but this sentence itself identifies the object being fixed specifically as the handle. 直せます means “can fix.” Its base verb is 直す, “to fix” or “to repair”; its potential form is 直せる, and the polite form observed here is 直せます. The potential form expresses ability or feasibility, not a completed repair. For example, これを直せます。 means “I can fix this.” Together, また誰かが閉じ込められる前に means “before anyone gets stuck again.” Then 取っ手を直せます means “we can fix the handle.” The whole utterance is therefore: “We can fix the handle before anyone gets stuck again.”