About This Lesson
Use Choosing a Movie Together to practice Japanese conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
どの映画を見ようか？
DOH-noh AY-gah oh mee-YOH kah? Which movie should we watch?
B
軽い映画がいいな。コメディーとか。
kah-ROO-ee AY-gah gah EE nah. koh-meh-DEE toh-kah. I want something light, maybe a comedy.
A
この映画は評判がよくて、字幕も分かりやすいよ。
KOH-noh AY-gah wah hyoh-BAHN gah yoh-KOO-teh, jee-MAH-koo moh wah-kah-ree-yah-SOO-ee yoh. This film has strong reviews and clear subtitles.
B
選ぶ前に予告編を見てもいい？
eh-RAH-boo mah-eh nee yoh-koh-koo-EN oh mee-teh-moh EE? Can we watch the trailer before we choose?
A
予告編を見れば決めやすそうだね。
yoh-koh-koo-EN oh mee-REH-bah kee-meh-yah-soo-SOH dah neh. The trailer should help us decide.
B
話は楽しそうだけど、難しすぎなさそう。
hah-NAH-shee wah tah-noh-SHEE-soh dah-keh-doh, moo-zoo-kah-SHEE-soo-gee-nah-sah-soh. The story looks fun but not too difficult.
A
じゃあ、この映画にしよう。
JAH, KOH-noh AY-gah nee shee-YOH. Then let's choose this film.
B
始まる前に何かおやつを買おう。
hah-jee-MAH-roo mah-eh nee nah-nee-kah oh-YAH-tsoo oh kah-OH. Let's get a snack before it starts.Word by Word
どの
In どの映画, どの asks which movie is being considered. It comes directly before a noun, as in どの映画, when choosing one item from several possibilities.
映画
映画 means movie or film here. It is the noun in どの映画 and この映画, so it can be used when talking about a film as the topic or as something to watch.
を
In どの映画を見ようか？, を marks the movie as the thing the speakers propose watching. Use it after the object and before the action, as in 映画を見よう.
見よう
見よう proposes watching together in どの映画を見ようか？. It is the volitional form related to 見る, and a common reuse pattern is an object followed by を見よう when making a shared suggestion.
か
At the end of どの映画を見ようか？, か turns the suggestion into a question about what to watch. A volitional form followed by か is useful when asking for a shared decision.
軽い
In 軽い映画がいいな, 軽い means light or not serious in the sense of the kind of film the speaker wants. It describes 映画 here, and it can be used before a noun to describe a preferred type or quality.
が
In 軽い映画がいいな, が marks 軽い映画 as the option the speaker prefers. Use the pattern Xがいい when naming the thing that would be preferable.
いい
In 軽い映画がいいな, いい says that a light movie would suit the speaker's preference. Use it after a choice with Xがいい to state what someone would like.
な
At the end of 軽い映画がいいな, な presents the preference as a personal thought or feeling. Sentence-final な is useful in casual conversation when sharing an opinion in a soft, personal way.
コメディー
コメディー names comedy as one possible kind of light movie in コメディーとか. It is useful when suggesting a film genre or type of entertainment.
とか
In コメディーとか, とか gives comedy as an example rather than presenting it as the only possibility. Use Nとか when offering one or more possible examples.
この
In この映画, この means this and identifies the movie currently being discussed or considered. It comes directly before a noun, as in この映画, when pointing to a specific item.
は
In この映画は評判がよくて, は marks この映画 as the topic of the statement. Use it after the topic when giving information or an assessment about that topic.
評判
In 評判がよくて, 評判 refers to the movie's reputation or the way people review it. It is useful when discussing how something is regarded by others, as in the dialogue's 評判がよくて.
よくて
In 評判がよくて、字幕も分かりやすいよ, よくて says that the movie's reputation is good and connects that point to the information about the subtitles. It is the connecting form related to いい, and it can link one positive description to another.
字幕
字幕 means subtitles in 字幕も分かりやすいよ. It is useful when discussing the written words shown in a film, especially when explaining whether they are easy to understand.
も
In 字幕も分かりやすいよ, も means also or too, adding the subtitles as another favorable point about the movie. Use it after a noun when adding that noun to information already mentioned.
分かりやすい
分かりやすい describes the subtitles as easy to understand in 字幕も分かりやすいよ. Put it after the thing that is easy to understand, as in 字幕も分かりやすい, when describing clear information or wording.
よ
At the end of 字幕も分かりやすいよ, よ highlights this as information the listener may not yet know. Sentence-final よ is useful when telling someone a point or giving an informative assessment.
選ぶ
In 選ぶ前に, 選ぶ means choose and names the action that has not happened yet. Put it before 前に when saying that another action happens before choosing.
前
In 選ぶ前に, 前 means before and places the action of watching the trailer earlier than choosing. It is used after an action in the pattern shown by 選ぶ前に.
に
In 選ぶ前に予告編を見てもいい？, に marks the time point before which watching the trailer happens. It completes the time expression 選ぶ前に, meaning before choosing.
予告編
予告編 means trailer in 予告編を見てもいい？. It is useful when talking about a short preview watched before deciding whether to watch a film.
見て
見て is the form used in 見てもいい？ to ask permission to watch the trailer. The whole pattern Vてもいい？ asks whether an action is allowed, and 見て supplies the requested action.
見れば
In 予告編を見れば決めやすそうだね, 見れば sets watching the trailer as the condition for deciding seeming easier. A verb in this form is useful when explaining what may happen if an action is done.
決めやすそう
決めやすそう expresses the impression that deciding will be easy in 予告編を見れば決めやすそうだね. Here it refers to deciding which film to choose after watching the trailer, and it is useful for giving a cautious impression about how easy an action seems.
だ
In 決めやすそうだね, だ completes the plain statement that deciding seems easy. It appears before ね when the speaker offers this assessment for the other person to consider.
ね
At the end of 決めやすそうだね, ね invites the listener to agree with the assessment and keeps the tone friendly. Sentence-final ね is useful when checking shared understanding or agreement.
話
In 話は楽しそうだけど, 話 refers to the film's story. It is the topic being described, and it can be followed by は when giving an opinion about that story.
楽しそう
楽しそう says that the story looks or seems fun in 話は楽しそうだけど. It is useful when giving an impression based on a trailer, appearance, or other available information.
だけど
In 話は楽しそうだけど、難しすぎなさそう, だけど connects the positive impression that the story seems fun with the separate point about difficulty. Use it between two points when introducing a contrasting consideration.
難しすぎなさそう
難しすぎなさそう expresses the cautious impression that something does not seem excessively difficult. Here it describes the film's story, and it is useful when discussing expected difficulty without making a completely firm claim.
じゃあ
At the beginning of じゃあ、この映画にしよう, じゃあ means then or in that case and responds to the points just discussed. It is useful when moving from a conversation or evaluation to a decision.
しよう
しよう is the volitional form related to する. In この映画にしよう, the whole expression proposes choosing this movie; に marks the selected option, and しよう makes it a shared proposal.
始まる
In 始まる前に何かおやつを買おう, 始まる means start and refers here to the movie starting. It is used before 前に to say that buying the snack happens before the start.
何か
In 何かおやつを買おう, 何か means something and leaves the exact snack unspecified. It comes before おやつ here when the speakers want to buy an unspecified snack.
おやつ
おやつ means snack in 何かおやつを買おう. It is useful when talking about a small food item to get before an activity, such as before the movie starts.
買おう
買おう proposes buying something together in 何かおやつを買おう. It is the volitional form related to 買う, and the item to be bought comes before を, as in 何かおやつを買おう.
Grammar Points
～そう
楽しそうです。
tah-noh-SHEE-soh dess.It looks fun.
Attach そう to an adjective stem to say that something appears or seems a certain way.
～よう／～おう
映画を見よう。
AY-gah oh mee-YOH.Let’s watch a movie.
The volitional form expresses a suggestion or intention to do something together.
Japanese Vocabulary
コメディー
noun
koh-meh-DEE
comedy
どの
det
DOH-noh
which
どの映画
よい
adj
YOH-ee
good
よくて
映画
noun
AY-gah
movie; film
軽い
adj
kah-ROO-ee
light
見る
verb
mee-ROO
to watch; to see
見よう
字幕
noun
jee-MAH-koo
subtitles
選ぶ
verb
eh-RAH-boo
to choose
前
noun
mah-eh
before
選ぶ前に
評判
noun
hyoh-BAHN
reputation; reviews
分かりやすい
adj
wah-kah-ree-yah-SOO-ee
easy to understand; clear
予告編
noun
yoh-koh-koo-EN
trailer
Quiz
Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
comedy
Show Answer
コメディーeasy to understand; clear
Show Answer
分かりやすいwhich
Show Answer
どのreputation; reviews