Resting a Sore Leg | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 足が少し痛いです。

   My leg hurts a little.

   足

   leg

   少し

   a little

   痛いです

   hurts; is painful

   More detail

   足 means “leg” here, as fixed by the translation. In Japanese, 足 can also refer to the foot or lower limb depending on context, so the exact English choice comes from the situation. Example: 足が速いです。 — “I run fast.” Here 足 refers to someone’s legs/footwork, not necessarily a painful body part. 少し is an adverb meaning “a little” or “slightly.” It reduces the degree of what follows. A related, more conversational form is ちょっと, also meaning “a little” in this kind of statement. 痛いです means “is painful” or, in this sentence, “hurts.” The lexical adjective is 痛い (“painful; hurts”); です adds polite present-tense style. Useful forms include 痛くないです (“does not hurt”) and 痛かったです (“hurt; was painful”). The adjective, not 足, carries the form change in these examples. The particle が marks 足 as the thing that has the described condition. Japanese often leaves the subject or possessor unstated when context makes it clear; here the fixed translation identifies the intended meaning as the speaker’s leg. Thus 足が少し痛いです combines “the leg hurts” with “a little,” giving “My leg hurts a little.”

2. ちょっとこのいすに座ってください。

   Sit on this chair for a moment.

   ちょっと

   for a moment

   この

   this

   いす

   chair

   座ってください

   please sit

   More detail

   ちょっと softens the request by indicating a short time here: “for a moment.” It can also mean “a little” in other contexts, but the time-related meaning is supported by this sentence. Example: ちょっと待ってください。 — “Please wait a moment.” この means “this” and comes directly before the noun it specifies. It is a demonstrative determiner; unlike a standalone pronoun, it normally needs a following noun in this pattern. Example: この本 — “this book.” いす means “chair.” It is a noun written here in hiragana; the spelling 椅子 is also used. In このいす, この identifies the chair as “this chair.” 座ってください is a polite request meaning “please sit.” Its lexical verb is 座る (“to sit”). The form 座って is the verb’s て-form, and ください after a て-form makes a polite request: Vてください = “please V.” Example: ここに座ってください。 — “Please sit here.” Together, ちょっと adds the short-time qualification, このいす identifies the place as “this chair,” and 座ってください requests the listener to sit. The complete utterance therefore means “Sit on this chair for a moment.”

3. 今日は歩きすぎました。

   I walked too much today.

   今日

   today

   歩きすぎました

   walked too much

   More detail

   今日 means “today.” It is a time noun, commonly read きょう. In 今日は, the particle は makes “today” the topic: “As for today...” or, naturally here, “today.” Example: 今日は休みです。 — “Today is a day off.” 歩きすぎました expresses walking excessively and is the polite past form. It contains the stem 歩き- from 歩く (“to walk”) plus すぎる (“to exceed; to do too much”), followed by polite past ました. The -すぎる pattern attaches to a verb stem and means that the action went beyond a suitable amount. Example: 食べすぎました。 — “I ate too much.” Japanese does not state the subject here. The fixed translation identifies that the walker is “I,” so the meaning is “I walked too much today.” Combining 今日は (“today,” as the topic) with 歩きすぎました (“walked excessively,” politely and in the past) gives the complete utterance: “I walked too much today.”

4. ここに足を上げて、休んでください。

   Put your leg up here and rest.

   ここに

   here

   足

   leg

   上げて

   raise; lift

   休んでください

   please rest

   More detail

   ここに means “here,” with に marking the place where the leg is to be put. Japanese ここ is a demonstrative for a nearby place; compare そこ (“there,” near the listener) and あそこ (“over there,” away from both speakers). Example: ここに置いてください。 — “Please put it here.” 足 means “leg” in the intended translation. Depending on context, 足 can also refer to a foot or feet, so the precise body part is supplied here by the fixed translation and situation. The object marker を follows it in 足を, showing that the leg is what is raised. Example: 足を伸ばします。 — “I stretch my leg.” 上げて is the te-form of 上げる, “to raise” or “to lift.” The te-form connects this action to what follows: 足を上げて、休んでください means “raise your leg and then rest,” with the comma marking the connection in writing. The verb 上げる is transitive: it takes the thing being raised with を. Do not confuse it with 上がる, “to rise” or “go up,” which describes something moving upward rather than someone raising it. Example: 手を上げてください。 — “Please raise your hand.” 休んでください is the te-form of 休む, “to rest” or “to take a break,” followed by ください, a polite request pattern. 休んでください therefore means “please rest.” The form 休んで is not the plain present form; it is the connecting form used here before ください. Example: 少し休んでください。 — “Please rest a little.” Together, ここに足を上げて says to raise or put the leg in the indicated place, and 休んでください politely requests resting afterward. The complete utterance is: “Put your leg up here and rest.”

5. あとで少し歩いてもいいですか。

   Can I walk around a little later?

   あとで

   later

   少し

   a little

   歩いて

   walk

   もいいですか

   is it okay?

   More detail

   あとで means “later” and places the action at a later time. It is useful for referring to a time after now or after the relevant current activity. Example: あとで話します。— “I’ll talk later.” 少し means “a little” or “slightly.” Here it limits the amount or extent of walking; it does not by itself specify an exact distance or duration. Example: 少し休みます。— “I’ll rest a little.” 歩いて is the te-form of the verb 歩く, “to walk.” The te-form can connect a verb to a following pattern. In this sentence, it combines with もいいですか to ask whether doing the action is permitted. Example: ここで待ってもいいですか。— “May I wait here?” もいいですか is a reusable permission pattern. After a verb in the te-form, V-てもいいですか asks “Is it okay if I V?” or “May I V?” The も belongs to this pattern; it is not the standalone meaning “also” here. The polite ending ですか makes the question respectful. Together, あとで + 少し + 歩いて + もいいですか gives: “Can I walk around a little later?” The speaker asks permission to walk a little at a later time.

6. 大丈夫なときだけ、歩いてください。

   Walk only if it feels all right.

   大丈夫な

   all right; okay

   ときだけ

   only when

   歩いてください

   please walk

   More detail

   大丈夫な means “all right” here. 大丈夫 is a な-adjective: before a noun such as とき (“time/when”), it uses な, giving 大丈夫なとき. This describes a condition as being okay or safe enough. For example, 元気なとき means “when [someone] feels well”; the な belongs to 元気, not to とき. ときだけ means “only when.” とき is the noun “time” used in the pattern [condition] とき (“when [condition]”), and だけ limits the condition to that circumstance. Thus 大丈夫なときだけ means “only when it feels all right,” rather than simply “when it feels all right.” だけ can also limit other elements, as in 水だけ (“only water”), but here its scope is the condition before it. 歩いてください means “please walk.” 歩く is the base form “to walk.” Its request form is made with the て-form plus ください: 歩いて + ください. The same pattern applies to other verbs, for example, 座ってください means “please sit down.” Here, ください makes a polite request; it does not itself add the meaning “only.” Together, 大丈夫なときだけ sets the condition and 歩いてください gives the polite request: “Walk only if it feels all right.” The sentence therefore permits walking under that okay condition and presents it as a request, without specifying what exactly makes the situation feel all right.

7. このいすより、ソファのほうが楽です。

   The sofa feels better than this chair.

   この

   this

   いす

   chair

   より

   than

   ソファ

   sofa

   のほうが

   the ... one

   楽です

   comfortable; easier

   More detail

   この means “this” before a noun. It is an attributive demonstrative: この + noun identifies a nearby or contextually indicated item, as in この本 (“this book”). It does not itself state who owns the item. いす means “chair.” It is a noun. In this sentence, it is the item used as the comparison standard in このいすより (“than this chair”). より follows the comparison standard. The reusable pattern is Aより、Bのほうが + description: “B is more ... than A.” Here, このいすより sets “this chair” as the standard; it does not mean that the chair performs an action. ソファ means “sofa.” It is the noun being compared with the chair. Japanese commonly marks the item preferred or judged to have more of a quality with Bのほうが. のほうが marks the side or option that has the greater degree of the stated quality. In the pattern Aより、Bのほうが楽です, B is more comfortable or easier than A. The ほう here is part of this comparison pattern, not a separate physical direction in the sentence. 楽です is the polite form of 楽だ. 楽 describes reduced physical effort, strain, or discomfort; in this sentence, the sofa feels more comfortable than the chair. The form です makes the statement polite. For example, この道のほうが楽です。 means “This route is easier.” Together, このいすより establishes the chair as the comparison standard, ソファのほうが identifies the sofa as the option with more of the relevant quality, and 楽です supplies that quality: being comfortable or easy on the body. Thus the whole utterance means “The sofa feels better than this chair.”

8. では、そこに座って、足を動かさないでください。

   Then sit there and keep your leg still.

   では

   then

   そこに

   there

   座って

   sit

   足

   leg

   動かさないでください

   please do not move

   More detail

   では appears first and sets up the next action with a meaning like “then” or “well then.” It is a useful transition, not part of the verb meaning. そこに means “there.” The particle に marks the place where someone is to sit. The demonstrative そこ identifies a place in the situation; the sentence itself does not specify any more about that place. 座って comes from 座る, “to sit.” The て-form can connect this action to what follows and can also serve as a direct, relatively conversational request: 座って means “sit.” In this sentence, it introduces the instruction that accompanies the following instruction. 足 means “leg” here, as fixed by the translation. In other contexts, 足 can also mean “foot,” but that is not the intended sense in this utterance. The particle を marks 足 as the thing affected by the following verb. 動かさないでください is a polite request not to move. Its base verb is 動かす, “to move something.” The negative form is 動かさない, and ないでください is the reusable pattern “please do not …”: 触らないでください means “Please do not touch [it].” Here, 動かさないでください asks the listener not to move the leg. The omitted subject is understood from the situation as the person being addressed, while 足 is the object being kept still. Together, では、そこに座って、足を動かさないでください。 means “Then sit there and keep your leg still.” The て-form links the sitting instruction with the polite negative request, so the utterance gives these two related instructions in sequence.