Shopping for groceries with a list | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 買い物リストどおりにしましょう。

   Let's stick to the grocery list.

   買い物リスト

   grocery list

   どおりに

   according to; as instructed

   しましょう

   let’s do it

   More detail

   買い物リスト means “grocery list.” 買い物 is “shopping” or “purchases,” and リスト is “list”; together they name the list used for shopping. Example: 買い物リストを作ります。 — “I’ll make a grocery list.” どおりに means “according to” or “as.” It follows a noun or another reference and shows that an action is carried out in conformity with it. Here, it connects the list with the way the action should be done. Example: 説明どおりにしてください。 — “Please do it as explained.” しましょう is the polite volitional form of する, “to do.” It proposes a shared action: “let’s do it.” The plain volitional counterpart is しよう, while しましょう is the polite form. Example: 一緒に勉強しましょう。 — “Let’s study together.” Together, 買い物リストどおりに means “according to the grocery list,” and しましょう makes the proposal polite: “Let’s stick to the grocery list.”

2. そうすれば、買いすぎずにすみます。

   That should keep us from buying too much.

   そうすれば

   if you do that

   買いすぎずに

   without buying too much

   すみます

   it is enough

   More detail

   そうすれば This conditional expression means “if you do that” or “if that is done.” そう points back to an already established action or situation; in the supplied context, it connects naturally with following the grocery list. The form すれば is the conditional form of する. A reusable pattern is そうすれば、… = “if you do that, …”. 買いすぎずに Here, 買う means “buy,” and 買いすぎる means “buy too much.” The suffix すぎる follows the verb stem: 買い + すぎる. Its negative form is 買いすぎず, and -ずに means “without doing …” or “without having to do …”. Thus, 買いすぎずに describes avoiding buying too much. Example: 食べすぎずに休みましょう。 = “Let’s rest without eating too much.” すみます This is the polite nonpast form of 済む, whose basic idea is that something is settled, completed, or managed. In the construction verb-ずに済む, it means “manage without doing the verb” or “avoid having to do it.” In this sentence, the relevant verb is 買いすぎる, so the construction says that buying too much can be avoided. The translation identifies the understood participants as “us”; Japanese does not state that subject overtly here. Together, そうすれば、買いすぎずにすみます means “If you do that, we can avoid buying too much” or, matching the fixed translation, “That should keep us from buying too much.” The first part sets up the condition, and 買いすぎずにすみます says that the undesirable action can be avoided. The polite ending ます gives the utterance a neutral, polite tone.

3. パスタと米はどこですか。

   Where are the pasta and rice?

   パスタ

   pasta

   米

   rice

   どこですか

   where is/are ...?

   More detail

   パスタ means pasta here. It is a noun commonly used for pasta as a food. Example: パスタを食べます。— “I eat pasta.” 米 means rice here, specifically rice as a food or ingredient. Its reading in this use is こめ. The same written form can have other readings in other compounds, so the reading is determined by the word and context. Example: 米を買います。— “I buy rice.” どこですか asks “where is/are it or they?” どこ is the question word “where,” and ですか makes the question polite. Japanese does not change this expression for singular versus plural; the intended English “is” or “are” comes from the thing being located. Example: 駅はどこですか。— “Where is the station?” In the full sentence, パスタと米 joins the two nouns with と, meaning “pasta and rice.” は marks that combined noun phrase as the topic. The question then asks for the location of that topic: “Where are the pasta and rice?” The following context supplies the matching answer pattern, 乾物売り場にあります (“are in the dry food aisle”), but this utterance itself only asks the question.

4. パスタと米は乾物売り場にあります。

   They are in the dry food aisle.

   パスタ

   pasta

   米

   rice

   乾物売り場

   dry-food aisle

   あります

   is/are located

   More detail

   パスタ means “pasta” here. It is a noun written in katakana, the script commonly used for many borrowed words. Example: パスタを食べます。— “I eat pasta.” と connects パスタ and 米 as a list: “pasta and rice.” It links the two items as equal members of the topic. Example: パンと牛乳があります。— “There is bread and milk.” 米 means “rice” here. In this context it is read こめ (kome), referring to rice as a food item or ingredient. Example: 米を買います。— “I buy rice.” は marks パスタと米 as the topic. The topic is the combined item “pasta and rice,” not a separate meaning added to either noun. Japanese は is pronounced wa when it is the topic particle. Example: パンはここです。— “The bread is here.” 乾物売り場 is a compound noun meaning “dry-food aisle” or “dry-goods section”: 乾物 refers to dried food, and 売り場 is a place or section where goods are sold. Together, the compound names the location. Example: お菓子売り場はあそこです。— “The snack aisle is over there.” に marks the location associated with あります. In this sentence, it identifies the aisle where the items are located. あります is the polite nonpast form of ある, used for the existence or location of something nonhuman or inanimate. Here it means “are located,” not an action performed by the items. The polite form あります is appropriate in a straightforward polite statement. Example: 本は机の上にあります。— “The book is on the desk.” Combining the parts, パスタと米 makes “pasta and rice,” は sets that pair as the topic, 乾物売り場に gives their location as “in the dry-food aisle,” and あります states that they are located there. Thus パスタと米は乾物売り場にあります。means “They are in the dry food aisle,” with “they” referring to the pasta and rice identified in the preceding question. Japanese does not need a separate plural pronoun here; the coordinated nouns provide the reference.

5. これは前回買ったパスタです。

   This is the pasta we bought last time.

   これは

   as for this; this is

   前回

   last time; previous occasion

   買った

   bought

   パスタ

   pasta

   です

   is

   More detail

   これは combines これ, “this,” with は, which marks the topic. Here, the fixed translation identifies the topic as “this” and presents it as the pasta being identified. The form これ is used for a demonstrative pronoun; related forms include それ “that near the listener” and あれ “that over there,” though the choice depends on the situation. 前回 means “last time” or “on the previous occasion.” It is a time expression and can be placed before a verb to specify when an action happened. Example: 前回見ました。= “I saw it last time.” 買った is the plain past form of 買う, “to buy.” The ending た marks the completed past action: 買う → 買った. Here, 買った appears before パスタ and describes which pasta is meant, corresponding to “the pasta we bought.” Japanese commonly places a modifying clause before the noun it describes, without a relative pronoun. Example: 昨日買ったパン = “the bread I bought yesterday.” The subject of 買った is understood from context and is supplied in the fixed translation as “we.” パスタ is the noun “pasta.” In this sentence it is the noun modified by 前回買った, so the whole phrase 前回買ったパスタ means “the pasta we bought last time.” です is the polite copula, used here after the noun phrase to make an identification: “is.” It is not the verb meaning “buy”; that meaning is carried by 買った. A less formal corresponding ending can be だ, as in これはパスタだ。= “This is pasta.” Together, 前回買ったパスタ forms “the pasta we bought last time.” Placing it before です gives the identification pattern これは [description] です: “This is [description].” Thus これは前回買ったパスタです。means “This is the pasta we bought last time.”

6. カートに1パック入れましょう。

   Let's put one pack in the cart.

   カート

   cart

   1パック

   one pack

   入れましょう

   let’s put in

   More detail

   カート means “cart” here. It is a noun, written in katakana as a loanword. A reusable pattern is Xに入れる for putting X into a place or container; カートに means “into the cart,” with に marking the destination. 1パック means “one pack.” パック is a counter-like noun for a packaged unit, and 1 specifies one such unit. The number and unit together form the quantity expression; the phrase does not describe the contents of the pack. 入れましょう means “let’s put [it] in.” Its base form is 入れる (“to put in,” “to insert,” or “to place inside”). 入れましょう is the polite volitional form: the 入れ part comes from 入れる, and ましょう presents the action as a proposal including the speaker. The object is understood from 1パック, while the destination is expressed by カートに. Putting the parts together, カートに identifies the destination, 1パック identifies the quantity being moved, and 入れましょう proposes the action. Therefore, カートに1パック入れましょう。 means “Let’s put one pack in the cart.”

7. そのあと、必要なのは牛乳だけです。

   After that, we only need milk.

   そのあと

   after that

   必要なのは

   what is needed is

   牛乳

   milk

   だけです

   is the only thing

   More detail

   そのあと means “after that”: その points to something already established, and あと means “after/later.” Here it connects this sentence to the preceding step. The same pattern can be reused with a different reference, such as そのあと、帰ります。 — “After that, I’ll go home.” 必要なのは presents the thing that is needed as the topic. 必要 means “necessary” or “needed.” In 必要なのは, な links 必要 to の, which nominalizes the idea “being necessary / what is needed,” and は marks that topic. This construction is useful for identifying a required item: 必要なのは水です。 — “What is needed is water.” 牛乳 means “milk.” It is a noun and does not itself show whether the milk is one container or more; that amount can be specified separately when needed, for example 牛乳を1パック — “one pack of milk.” だけです marks the stated item as the only one and ends the sentence politely. だけ means “only,” while です is the polite copular ending. With the preceding topic, 牛乳だけです means “it is only milk” or, in this sentence, “milk is the only thing.” Compare 牛乳も必要です。 — “Milk is also needed”; も adds milk rather than limiting the meaning to milk. Together, そのあと、必要なのは牛乳だけです。 means “After that, we only need milk.” The structure is after that, what is needed is only [noun]: the earlier shopping step is followed by the statement that milk is the sole remaining required item.

8. それから、まっすぐレジに向かえます。

   Then we can head straight to checkout.

   それから

   then; after that

   まっすぐ

   straight; directly

   レジ

   checkout

   向かえます

   can head toward

   More detail

   それから means “then” or “after that,” linking this step to the preceding one. Here it moves on from the earlier step of needing only milk. A similar reusable sequence is A。それから、B。 (“A. Then, B.”). まっすぐ means “straight” here, with the practical sense “directly, without detouring.” It can describe a route or direction. Example: 駅へまっすぐ行きます。 — “I go straight to the station.” レジ is the checkout or cash register area in a shop. The particle に in レジに marks the destination toward which someone heads. レジ is a loanword used as a noun; it does not itself indicate who is going. 向かえます is the polite form of the potential form of 向かう (“to head toward; to face”). The chain is 向かう → 向かえる (“can head toward”) → 向かえます (polite). The potential form expresses ability or possibility, while ます makes the wording polite. Japanese 向かえます does not mark the subject for person or number; the fixed English translation identifies the intended subject as “we.” Example: 今、店に向かえます。 — “We can head to the shop now.” Together, まっすぐレジに gives “straight to checkout,” and 向かえます gives “can head.” With それから at the beginning, the utterance means: “Then we can head straight to checkout.”