Taking a coffee break at work | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 集中できなくなってきました。

   I am losing focus.

   集中

   focus

   できなくなってきました

   have started to be unable to

   More detail

   集中 means “focus” here, and it is also used in the useful expression 集中する (“to concentrate” or “to focus”). For example: 仕事に集中する。 — “I concentrate on my work.” The noun-like form can combine with する to express the action. できなくなってきました contains a change-of-state pattern. できる means “be able to” or “can”; its negative form is できない, “cannot.” Adding なる gives できなくなる, “become unable to” or “no longer be able to.” The 〜てくる form in できなくなってきました presents that change as having developed up to the present, often suggesting that the change is becoming noticeable now. ました is the polite form of the completed-looking verb ending, but here 〜てきました describes a change reaching the current point, not simply a finished past event. For example: 疲れてきました。 — “I’m starting to get tired.” Together, 集中できなくなってきました means that the speaker’s ability to focus has been diminishing and is now becoming difficult. Japanese does not state the subject in this sentence; the fixed translation identifies it as “I.” The whole utterance therefore means “I am losing focus.”

2. 少し離れて、コーヒーを飲みに行きましょう。

   Let's step away and get coffee.

   少し

   a little

   離れて

   step away; at a distance

   コーヒー

   coffee

   飲みに行きましょう

   let’s go get a drink

   More detail

   少し means “a little” here and modifies the following action, making the moving away limited in degree rather than stating an exact distance or amount. It is commonly used as an adverb: 少し待つ means “wait a little.” 離れて is the て-form of 離れる, “to move away” or “to become separated.” In this sentence, the て-form connects this action to what follows: “move a little away, and …” The form itself does not mark a command here; its connecting role is supplied by the larger sentence. コーヒー is the noun “coffee.” It is the object associated with the drinking action. For example, コーヒーを飲む means “drink coffee.” 飲みに行きましょう combines the stem 飲み of 飲む, “to drink,” with に行く, “to go in order to.” The pattern verb stem + に行く expresses going somewhere for a purpose, as in 見に行く, “go to see.” The ending ましょう makes the whole expression a polite suggestion including the speaker: “let’s …” Together, 少し離れて gives “step away a little,” コーヒーを飲みに行きましょう gives “let’s go to drink coffee,” and the complete utterance means “Let’s step away and get coffee.”

3. 短い休憩がよさそうです。

   A short break sounds helpful.

   短い

   short

   休憩

   break

   がよさそうです

   seems good or helpful

   More detail

   短い means “short” here and directly modifies the noun that follows it: 短い休憩 = “a short break.” It is the attributive form of the い-adjective 短い; the same form can also end a plain statement, as in 休憩は短い (“The break is short”). Its opposite is 長い (“long”). 休憩 is a noun meaning “break” or “rest.” In this sentence, it refers to taking time away from the current activity. A reusable pattern is Nの休憩 (“a break from N”), for example, 仕事の休憩 = “a break from work.” がよさそうです presents the break as something that appears good or helpful. が marks 休憩 as the thing being evaluated. よさそうです is the polite form of よさそうだ, “seems good” or “looks helpful.” It is formed from いい (“good”) using the stem よさ-; the form is よさそう, not いさそう. The pattern Aそうです commonly expresses an appearance-based judgment: おいしそうです means “It looks delicious.” Here, the translation “sounds helpful” conveys the judgment that a break would likely help; it does not assert that the break has already happened. Together, 短い休憩 (“a short break”) and がよさそうです (“seems good/helpful”) produce: “A short break sounds helpful.” The polite ending です makes the statement suitable for a courteous conversational suggestion or assessment.

4. また座る前に、ストレッチができます。

   We can stretch before we sit down again.

   また

   again

   座る

   sit

   前に

   before

   ストレッチ

   stretching

   できます

   can do

   More detail

   また means “again” here. It marks a repeated action or situation; in this sentence, sitting down is understood as happening again. It can also mean “also,” so the surrounding context determines which meaning applies. 座る means “to sit.” This is the plain, non-past form of the verb. The pattern verb in plain form + 前に means “before doing the verb”: 寝る前に means “before going to bed.” 前に means “before” when it follows a time or an action. Here it follows 座る, so 座る前に means “before sitting down.” The に marks the time relationship; it is not part of the verb 座る. ストレッチ is a noun meaning “stretching” or “a stretch.” It is a loanword used for the activity. With する, it can form the verb ストレッチする, “to stretch.” In this sentence, the noun is used with が in the pattern Nができる, meaning that one can do or perform N. できます is the polite form of できる, “can do” or “be able to do.” With ストレッチが, it expresses ability or possibility: ストレッチができます means “we can stretch” or more literally “stretching is possible.” The polite ending ます makes the statement polite; it does not itself identify the subject. Together, また座る前に means “before sitting down again,” and ストレッチができます means “we can stretch.” The complete utterance therefore means “We can stretch before we sit down again.”

5. コーヒーの後で、レポートに戻りましょうか。

   Should we return to the report after coffee?

   コーヒー

   coffee

   の後で

   after

   レポート

   report

   戻りましょうか

   shall we return?

   More detail

   コーヒー means “coffee” here. It is a noun, written in katakana as a loanword. In this sentence it names the reference point for the time expression that follows. の後で means “after.” The pattern Xの後で places an event after X; 後 is the noun “afterward/back,” and で marks the time setting for the action. Example: 授業の後で話しましょう。 — “Let’s talk after class.” レポート means “report.” It is a noun written in katakana. The following particle に marks the report as the target or destination of returning: レポートに戻る means “return to the report.” 戻りましょうか asks, “Shall we return?” Its base form is 戻る (“to return”). The form 戻りましょう is the polite volitional form, used to propose an action jointly; adding か turns that proposal into a question. The subject is not stated in Japanese, while the fixed translation identifies the intended proposal as “we.” Example: 休みましょうか。 — “Shall we take a break?” Together, コーヒーの後で sets the time as after coffee, レポートに identifies the thing to return to, and 戻りましょうか proposes returning. The whole utterance means: “Should we return to the report after coffee?”

6. その後、次の部分を終えられます。

   We can finish the next part then.

   その後

   then; after that

   次の

   next

   部分

   part

   終えられます

   can finish

   More detail

   その後 means “then” or “after that,” referring to a time after an already understood event. It is a useful time expression and does not itself specify exactly how long afterward. 次の means “next.” Here, 次の modifies the noun that follows it: 次の部分 = “the next part.” The の links the description to the noun. Compare 次のページ (“the next page”) as another reusable pattern. 部分 means “part” or “section.” It is a noun for one portion of a larger thing. In this sentence, it is the object marked by を, the thing affected by the finishing action. 終えられます means “can finish.” Its base form is the transitive verb 終える (“to finish something”); 終えられる is its potential form (“be able to finish”), and 終えられます is the polite nonpast form. The potential form presents finishing as possible or feasible. Because Japanese commonly omits a recoverable subject, the fixed translation identifies the understood subject here as “we.” The transitive 終える takes an object, as in 仕事を終える (“finish the work”). This differs from intransitive 終わる, “end” or “be finished,” as in 仕事が終わる (“the work ends/is finished”). Together, その後 sets the time, 次の部分を identifies the next section as the object, and 終えられます states the ability to finish it: “We can finish the next part then.”

7. 出る前に、ファイルを保存します。

   I will save the file before we leave.

   出る

   leave; go out

   前に

   before

   ファイル

   file

   保存します

   save

   More detail

   出る means “to leave” or “to go out” here. Its dictionary form is used before 前に in the temporal pattern Vる前に (“before doing V”). The subject is understood from the fixed translation as “we”: “before we leave.” Example: 寝る前に、歯を磨きます。 — “Before going to bed, I brush my teeth.” 前に means “before” in this time relationship. After a verb, Vる前に places the action in the clause before 前に earlier than the action in the main clause. The に is part of this temporal expression; it is not a separate meaning of “to” here. ファイル is the noun “file.” It is a loanword written in katakana. In this sentence it is the object of the saving action. Example: ファイルを開きます。 — “I open the file.” 保存します means “will save” here. The base form is 保存する, “to save”; 保存します is its polite nonpast form. Japanese nonpast forms can describe a future action, so the fixed translation naturally uses “will save.” The object is marked by を: ファイルを保存します means “save the file.” Example: 写真を保存します。 — “I will save the photo.” Together, 出る前に means “before we leave,” and ファイルを保存します means “I will save the file.” The whole utterance therefore means: “I will save the file before we leave.” The comma separates the temporal clause from the main clause in writing; the same order is also natural without a pause in speech.`

8. 何も失わないように、それを今保存してください。

   Save it now, so we do not lose anything.

   何も

   anything; nothing (with negation)

   失わないように

   so that [someone] does not lose

   それを

   it

   今

   now

   保存してください

   please save

   More detail

   何も means “anything” or “nothing” when used with a negative expression. Here it combines with 失わない, so the meaning is “anything” in the scope of “not lose,” producing “not lose anything.” 失わないように is built from 失う (“to lose”) → 失わない (the negative nonpast form) + ように. The pattern verb-ないように expresses a purpose or precaution: “so that someone does not …” or “in order not to …”. In this sentence, the omitted subject is understood according to the fixed translation as “we”: “so that we do not lose anything.” それを uses それ for “it” and を to mark it as the object of the following action. The fixed translation identifies this object as “it”; the sentence does not specify its noun again. A reusable contrast is これ (“this”) versus それ (“that/it”), but the choice between them depends on context. 今 means “now” and sets the time of the saving action. For example, 今、食べます。 means “I will eat now.” 保存してください is a polite request meaning “please save.” 保存する is the verb “to save”; its て-form, 保存して, followed by ください, forms a polite request: 保存してください. The する part belongs to the verb 保存する, not to 保存 as a separate inflected verb. Together, 何も失わないように gives the purpose “so that we do not lose anything,” while それを今保存してください says “please save it now.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Save it now, so we do not lose anything.”