Keeping a Shared Bathroom Clean | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. この共用トイレを使ってもいいですか。

   Can I use this shared bathroom?

   この

   this

   共用トイレ

   shared bathroom

   使ってもいいですか。

   May I use it?

   More detail

   この means “this” when it comes before a noun. It is a demonstrative modifier, so it appears directly before the noun it specifies. The form does not itself identify a grammatical gender or number; here, the fixed translation identifies the bathroom as the thing being specified. 共用トイレ means “shared bathroom” here. 共用 describes something used in common, and トイレ means “toilet” or “bathroom.” Together they form a noun phrase. Example: 共用スペース means “shared space.” 使ってもいいですか。 is a polite way to ask for permission: “May I use it?” The lexical verb is 使う (“to use”). Its form here is 使って, the te-form. The pattern Vて + もいいですか asks whether it is acceptable to do V; literally, it presents doing the action as acceptable. ですか makes the question polite. Example: ここに座ってもいいですか。 — “May I sit here?” The sentence combines この + 共用トイレ (“this shared bathroom”) with 使ってもいいですか (“may [I] use [it]?”). Japanese leaves the subject and object understood when the context makes them clear, while the fixed translation supplies the intended first-person requester and the bathroom as the object. The complete meaning is: “Can I use this shared bathroom?” This is a polite, everyday permission request.

2. 使ってもいいです。洗面台の周りをきれいにしてください。

   You can, and please keep the sink area clean.

   使ってもいいです

   You may use it

   洗面台

   sink

   周り

   area around; surroundings

   きれいにしてください

   please keep it clean

   More detail

   使ってもいいです expresses permission: “you may use it.” The object is understood from the situation, here the shared bathroom mentioned in the preceding question. The reusable pattern is verbて-form + もいいです (“it is okay to …”). 使って is the て-form of 使う (“to use”); もいい means that doing the action is acceptable, and です makes the expression polite. For example, ここに座ってもいいです。 means “You may sit here.” 洗面台 means “sink” or “washbasin.” It is the noun that identifies the relevant place in this sentence. 周り means “the area around” or “surroundings”; its base form is the noun 周り. In 洗面台の周り, の links the reference point and the surrounding area: “the area around the sink.” きれいにしてください is a polite request to make or keep something clean. きれい is the adjective-like word meaning “clean” here, and に gives it the form needed before する (“to make/do”): きれいにする means “make clean” or “keep clean.” してください is the polite request form of する, so きれいにしてください literally asks someone to make the relevant thing clean. For example, 部屋をきれいにしてください。 means “Please keep the room clean.” The object marker を shows that 洗面台の周り is what the request applies to. Thus 洗面台の周りをきれいにしてください means “Please keep the area around the sink clean.” Together with 使ってもいいです, the utterance says: “You may use it, and please keep the sink area clean.”

3. ペーパータオルが必要です。

   I need a paper towel.

   ペーパータオル

   paper towel

   が必要です

   need; be necessary

   More detail

   ペーパータオル means “paper towel.” It is a loanword compound: ペーパー means “paper” and タオル means “towel,” but the whole compound names the disposable towel. In this sentence it is the thing that is needed. Example: ペーパータオルを使います。 means “I use a paper towel.” が必要です expresses that something is necessary or needed. The particle が marks the thing that has the property of being necessary; it does not mark the person who needs it. 必要 is the base form, and 必要です is its polite form in this sentence. Before a noun, the related pattern is 必要な, as in 必要なもの, “a necessary thing.” The opposite pattern is 必要ありません, “it is not necessary.” Example: 水が必要です。 means “I need water.” Japanese commonly leaves the subject unstated when the context makes it clear. Here, the fixed translation identifies the omitted subject as “I,” so ペーパータオルが必要です literally presents “a paper towel” as necessary and naturally means “I need a paper towel.” The nearby context also concerns paper towels near the sink, but this sentence itself does not state a quantity or location.

4. 洗面台の近くに何枚かあります。

   There are some near the sink.

   洗面台

   sink

   近くに

   nearby

   何枚か

   some

   あります

   there are

   More detail

   洗面台 means “sink” here. It is a noun and can be reused in compounds or location phrases, such as 洗面台の横 (“beside the sink”). The の in 洗面台の近く links the noun to the location word: “the area near the sink.” 近くに means “near [it]” in this sentence. 近く is a noun-like location word meaning “nearby” or “the vicinity,” and に marks the place where something exists. A reusable pattern is Nの近くに X があります (“There is/are X near N”). 何枚か means “some” when referring to a small, unspecified number of flat items such as sheets or paper towels. 枚 is the counter for flat, thin objects; 何枚 asks “how many sheets/pieces?”, while adding か makes the quantity indefinite: 何枚か = “some number of sheets.” This does not state an exact count. あります is the polite non-past form of ある, used for the existence or location of non-living things. The polite form is あります; the plain form is ある. In this sentence, it presents the items as being located near the sink. A reusable example is 机の上に本があります。 — “There is a book on the desk.” Together, 洗面台の近くに sets the location, 何枚か identifies an unspecified number of flat items, and あります says that they exist there. The whole utterance means: “There are some near the sink.”

5. これはゴミ箱に入れますか？

   Does this go in the trash?

   これは

   this

   ゴミ箱

   trash bin

   入れますか？

   put in?

   More detail

   これは consists of これ (“this”) plus は, the topic marker, pronounced wa. これ is a demonstrative pronoun for something near the speaker or otherwise presented as “this”; the sentence does not identify exactly what the item is. The topic pattern これは…です is reusable: これは本です。 means “This is a book.” ゴミ箱 means “trash bin” or “wastebasket.” It is a noun referring to the container, not to the trash itself. In the sentence, ゴミ箱に marks the bin as the destination with に. Example: 紙をゴミ箱に入れます。 means “I put paper in the trash bin.” 入れますか？ uses the verb 入れる in its polite nonpast form 入れます, followed by か to make a question. Here 入れる means “put something in”; the person who would put it there and the object being put are left implicit, while これ supplies the item under discussion. The polite nonpast form can refer to a present decision or a future action. Example: 箱に本を入れます。 means “I put the book in the box” or “I will put the book in the box,” depending on context. Together, これは sets “this” as the topic, ゴミ箱に identifies the trash bin as the destination, and 入れますか？ asks about putting the item there. With the fixed translation’s intended reading, the whole utterance means “Does this go in the trash?” Japanese leaves the actor implicit, so the question can naturally be understood as asking whether this item should be placed in the trash bin.

6. 小さいゴミ箱に入れてください。

   Put it in the small bin.

   小さい

   small

   ゴミ箱

   bin; trash can

   入れてください

   please put it in

   More detail

   小さい means “small” here and directly modifies the noun that follows: 小さいゴミ箱 = “small bin.” It is an い-adjective; its basic form is 小さい, while a negative form is 小さくない (“not small”). ゴミ箱 is the noun “bin” or “trash can.” The word combines ゴミ (“trash”) and 箱 (“box”), but ゴミ箱 is used as the established noun for a container for trash. For example, ゴミ箱を空にします。 means “I empty the bin.” 入れてください is a polite request meaning “please put it in.” It consists of the て-form 入れて of 入れる (“to put in”) plus ください (“please”). The て-form plus ください is a reusable polite request pattern: Verb-てください. The object is understood from the situation, so Japanese does not state a separate word for “it” here. A destination is commonly marked with に, as in 箱に入れてください。 (“Please put it in the box.”) Together, 小さいゴミ箱に identifies the destination, with に marking “in/to the small bin,” and 入れてください asks the listener to put the understood object there. The whole utterance is therefore: “Please put it in the small bin.”

7. 私も洗面台をすぐに拭きます。

   I will wipe the sink quickly too.

   私も

   I too

   洗面台

   sink

   すぐに

   quickly

   拭きます

   will wipe

   More detail

   私も means “I too” here. 私 is the first-person pronoun “I,” and も adds the meaning “also/too” to the element it follows. The sentence therefore presents the speaker as doing the same relevant kind of action as someone else, without specifying that other person in this sentence. 洗面台 means “sink” or “washbasin.” It is a noun for the basin used for washing, commonly in a bathroom. In this sentence it is marked as the thing being wiped; Japanese marks that direct-object role with を. すぐに means “quickly” here, describing how soon or promptly the wiping will be done. The same form can also mean “immediately” or “soon” when the context emphasizes timing rather than manner. 拭きます is the polite form of the verb 拭く, “to wipe.” The ending ます makes the utterance polite; it does not itself mark a separate future tense. Japanese non-past forms can refer to a future action, so the fixed translation’s “will wipe” comes from the context and intended meaning here. For example, テーブルを拭きます。 means “I will wipe the table” in a suitable future context. Together, 私も (“I too”), 洗面台を (“the sink,” as the object), すぐに (“quickly”), and 拭きます (“will wipe”) produce: “I will wipe the sink quickly too.” The visible order is first the speaker-plus-‘too’ expression, then the object, then the timing/manner expression, and finally the polite verb.

8. それは次の人の役に立ちます。

   That helps the next person.

   それは

   that; as for that

   次の

   next; following

   人

   person

   役に立ちます

   helps; is useful

   More detail

   それは presents “that” as the topic. それ is a demonstrative pronoun used for a thing, situation, or action already identifiable from context; here the fixed translation supports the reading “that.” は marks the topic. A useful pattern is それは…です (“That is …”) or それは…ます (“That …”). 次の means “next” or “following” and comes before the noun it describes. 次 is the noun “next stage/order,” and の links it attributively to another noun: 次の人 means “the next person.” For example, 次の駅 means “the next station.” 人 means “person” or “people,” depending on context. It can be modified by 次の, as here, or used alone: その人 means “that person.” 役に立ちます means “helps” in this sentence. Its base form is 役に立つ, literally “to be useful” or “to serve a useful purpose.” The observed 立ちます is the polite nonpast form of 立つ within the fixed expression 役に立つ; in this context, the whole expression describes something as helping the next person. For example, この情報は役に立ちます。 means “This information is useful.” Together, それは sets “that” as the topic, 次の人の identifies the person who benefits, and 役に立ちます says that the topic is useful to that person. The complete meaning is “That helps the next person.”