Finding the Correct Line | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. すみません、ここが正しい列ですか？

   Excuse me, is this the right line?

   すみません

   Excuse me; sorry

   ここ

   here; this place

   正しい

   correct; right

   列

   line; queue

   ですか

   is it?; is ...?

   More detail

   すみません is a polite expression used here to get someone’s attention before asking a question. It can also mean “I’m sorry” when apologizing; the situation determines which use is intended. ここ means “here” or “this place.” It is a location demonstrative: ここ refers to the place where the speaker is indicating or locating something. The related forms are そこ “there, near the listener” and あそこ “over there, away from both speakers.” 正しい means “correct” or “right.” It is an adjective whose basic form is already 正しい; it is not an inflected form of 正す “to correct.” A useful contrast is 正しい “right” versus 間違っている “wrong.” 列 means a line or queue of people waiting. In this sentence, it refers to the queue being indicated, not to a written row. Example: 列に並びます。 — “I line up in the queue.” ですか turns the preceding statement into a polite question. です is the polite copula, and か marks a question. The pattern Xですか asks whether something is X; for example, 学生ですか。 means “Are you a student?” Here, the particle が after ここ marks ここ as the subject or item being identified: ここが正しい列ですか asks whether this place or queue is the correct one. Together, ここが正しい列ですか means “Is this the right line?” The speaker first says すみません to politely address someone, then asks whether the indicated queue is the correct one. The complete utterance is therefore: “Excuse me, is this the right line?”

2. この列は案内カウンターの列です。

   This queue is for the information desk.

   この

   this

   列

   queue; line

   案内カウンター

   information desk

   列です

   is a queue; is a line

   More detail

   この means “this” and is a demonstrative used directly before a noun. It identifies something near the speaker or otherwise presented as the relevant item; its form does not change for number or gender. Example: このカード means “this card.” 列 means “queue” or “line” here. It is a noun, so it can be modified by a demonstrative or by another noun phrase. Example: 列に並びます。 means “I line up in the queue.” 案内カウンター means “information desk.” It is a compound noun: 案内 relates to guidance or information, and カウンター means a service counter. In 案内カウンターの列, の links the desk with the queue, giving the relation “the queue for the information desk.” The phrase does not say that the desk itself is a queue. 列です combines the noun 列 with です, the polite copula. The copula presents the noun as the predicate in a polite style; it does not itself express a numeric count. A reusable pattern is Nです, meaning “It is N” or “This is N,” depending on the context. Together, この列 means “this queue,” and 案内カウンターの列 specifies its purpose or associated destination as “the queue for the information desk.” The final 列です identifies the subject as that kind of queue, so the whole utterance means: “This queue is for the information desk.”

3. 会員カードを更新する必要があります。

   I need to renew my membership card.

   会員カード

   membership card

   更新する

   renew; update

   必要があります

   need; there is a need

   More detail

   会員カード means “membership card.” 会員 means “member” or “membership,” and カード means “card”; together they form a compound noun. In this sentence, it is the object being renewed. Example: 会員カードを見せてください。 — “Please show your membership card.” 更新する means “to renew” or “to update.” Its dictionary form is 更新する; 更新 carries the meaning of renewal or updating, and する makes it a verb. The form 更新する is the non-past form, used here inside the pattern 更新する必要があります to describe something that needs to be done. Example: 住所を更新する。 — “I update my address.” 必要があります expresses that there is a need or necessity. 必要 means “necessary” or “necessity,” and あります is the polite non-past form of ある, used here with an abstract noun such as 必要. In the pattern Xする必要があります, X is something that needs to be done: 予約する必要があります。 — “It is necessary to make a reservation.” This pattern states necessity; it is not simply the possession verb “have.” The particle を marks 会員カード as the object of 更新する: 会員カードを更新する means “renew the membership card.” Adding 必要があります gives 会員カードを更新する必要があります, literally “There is a need to renew the membership card,” and naturally, “I need to renew my membership card.” The polite ending ます makes the statement polite.

4. では、青い案内板のそばの列に並ぶといいです。

   Then you should join the line by the blue sign.

   では

   then

   青い

   blue

   案内板

   sign

   そば

   nearby area

   列

   line

   並ぶ

   line up

   といいです

   it is advisable to

   More detail

   では links this utterance to the situation and means “then” here. It can also mark a topic or contrast in other sentences, so its function is determined by context. 青い means “blue” here and is the attributive form of the i-adjective 青い. It directly modifies a noun: 青い案内板 means “a blue information sign.” An i-adjective changes its ending for some forms; for example, 青かった means “was blue,” while the noun-modifying form here remains 青い. 案内板 is a noun meaning an information or directional sign. The compound combines 案内 (“guidance” or “information”) with 板 (“board”), but the useful meaning here is the whole noun, not a literal board-by-board translation. そば means the area near or beside something. In 案内板のそば, の links the sign to the nearby area, giving “near the sign.” The fixed translation identifies the sign as the landmark for the line. 列 means a line or queue of people or things. In 列に並ぶ, に marks the line where the action takes place, giving “line up in the line” or naturally “join the line.” 並ぶ is the dictionary form of the verb meaning “to line up” or “to join a line.” In this sentence it is followed by といいです, so it expresses the recommended action rather than a bare command. Example: ここに並ぶ。 — “I line up here.” といいです is a pattern for giving advice: verb plain form + といいです means “it is good to ...” or, naturally, “you should ...” Here, 並ぶといいです means “you should line up.” The と connects the proposed action with the evaluation いいです; it is not part of the verb 並ぶ. Putting the parts together, 青い案内板のそばの列 means “the line near the blue information sign.” Adding に並ぶといいです gives “you should join that line,” and では contributes “then.” The complete utterance means: “Then you should join the line by the blue sign.”

5. 間違った場所で待つところでした。

   I almost waited in the wrong place.

   間違った

   wrong

   場所

   place

   待つ

   wait

   ところでした

   was almost

   More detail

   間違った means “wrong” here. It is the past/た-form of the verb 間違う (“to be mistaken; to go wrong”), used before a noun: 間違う → 間違った. In this position, the form describes 場所, giving “a place that was wrong” or, naturally, “the wrong place.” Example: 間違った答え means “the wrong answer.” 場所 means “place” or “location.” With the following particle in the sentence, 場所で identifies where the action takes place. Example: 静かな場所で勉強します。 means “I study in a quiet place.” 待つ is the dictionary form of the verb “to wait.” Its form is unchanged here because it comes before ところ, which creates a time-stage construction; it is not simply asserting present-time waiting. Example: 駅で待つ means “to wait at the station.” ところでした expresses that something was at the point of happening, with the fixed translation showing the intended “almost” meaning. The reusable pattern is verb in dictionary form + ところだった／ところでした: 転ぶところでした。 means “I almost fell.” でした is the polite past form used in this construction. Together, 間違った場所 means “the wrong place,” 場所で marks that place as the location of the waiting, and 待つところでした says that waiting was nearly about to happen. Thus 間違った場所で待つところでした。 means “I almost waited in the wrong place.” The Japanese sentence leaves the subject unstated; “I” is supplied by the fixed translation.

6. 両方の列が近いので、分かりにくいです。

   It is confusing because both lines are close.

   両方

   both

   列

   line

   近い

   close

   ので

   because

   分かりにくい

   confusing

   です

   is; polite ending

   More detail

   両方 means “both” here. It refers to the two lines identified by the sentence, rather than asserting a general meaning for every possible pair. In 両方の列, の links this word to the noun that follows: “both lines.” The form 両方 itself does not change for this use. 列 means “line” here, as in a line of people or objects. Its exact reading is supplied by the target-language word, while the fixed translation confirms the intended sense “line.” A reusable pattern is Aの列 (“A’s line” or “the line of A”); 両方の列 means “both lines.” 近い is the dictionary form of the i-adjective meaning “close” or “near.” In this sentence it describes the lines as being close to each other. The negative form is 近くない (“not close”), and the past form is 近かった (“was close”). In 近いので, the adjective remains in its plain form before the causal linker. ので links a reason to a result and is naturally translated as “because” here. The reason clause is 両方の列が近いので, literally “because both lines are close.” With an i-adjective, the plain form can directly precede ので, as in 高いので (“because it is expensive”). 分かりにくい means “hard to understand” or, in this context, “confusing.” It is formed from the verb 分かる (“to understand; to be clear”) and the suffix にくい, which expresses difficulty doing something: 読み + にくい is “hard to read,” for example. Here 分かりにくい describes the situation as difficult for someone to distinguish or understand; it does not say that a particular person is unwilling to understand. Its negative form is 分かりにくくない (“not difficult to understand”). です is the polite sentence ending used here after the adjective 分かりにくい. The adjective already supplies the descriptive meaning, while です gives the statement a polite style. A less formal version can end with 分かりにくい without です. Putting the parts together: 両方の列が近いので gives the reason, “because both lines are close,” and 分かりにくいです gives the result, “it is confusing.” The complete utterance therefore means, “It is confusing because both lines are close.”

7. もっと人が来る前に移動します。

   I'll move before more people arrive.

   もっと

   more

   人

   person; people

   来る

   come; arrive

   前に

   before

   移動します

   move

   More detail

   もっと means “more” here and modifies 人, giving “more people.” It can also mean “further” or “to a greater extent,” depending on what it modifies. Example: もっとゆっくり話してください。— “Please speak more slowly.” 人 means “person” or “people.” Japanese nouns generally do not change form for singular versus plural, so 人 can refer to one person or multiple people; the context here and the translation support the plural reading “people.” 来る is the dictionary form meaning “to come” or, in this context, “to arrive.” Its polite nonpast form is 来ます. The same nonpast form can describe a future event, as in 明日来ます。— “I’ll come tomorrow.” In もっと人が来る, が marks 人 as the subject of 来る: “more people arrive.” 前に means “before.” The pattern verb-dictionary form + 前に means “before doing [something]” or “before [something] happens.” Thus 来る前に means “before [they] arrive.” 前に can also be used after a noun phrase with の, as in 出発の前に—“before departure.” 移動します is the polite nonpast form of 移動する, “to move” or “to relocate.” Japanese verbs do not change for the subject’s person or number, so 移動します can mean “I move,” “you move,” or another supported subject; the fixed translation identifies the subject here as “I.” The polite ending ます makes the statement suitable for a polite conversation. Example: 次の駅で移動します。— “I’ll move at the next station.” Together, もっと人が来る前に means “before more people arrive,” and 移動します means “I’ll move.” The full utterance therefore means “I’ll move before more people arrive.”

8. その列は今のほうが短いです。

   That line is shorter now.

   その

   that

   列

   line

   今

   now

   のほうが

   comparison: more … than

   短い

   short

   です

   is

   More detail

   その Here その is the attributive demonstrative meaning “that” in その列. It comes before the noun it describes. The fixed sentence and translation identify the referent as the line being discussed. 列 列 means “line” here. It is a noun and can refer to a line or queue depending on context; the fixed translation selects “line” in this sentence. A useful pattern is 列が長い (“The line is long”). 今 今 means “now” and places the comparison in the present. It is a time noun/adverbial expression, not an adjective describing 列. のほうが のほうが marks the side that has a greater degree of the stated quality in a comparison; it does not by itself express a personal preference. In AのほうがB, A is compared with another side, and B states the quality for which A ranks higher. Here, 今のほうが短い says that the line is shorter now than at the relevant comparison point; that alternative is not stated separately. 短い 短い is an i-adjective meaning “short.” It is the plain present affirmative form and predicates the line’s length. Its negative form is 短くない (“not short”): the adjective changes from 短い to its -く form before ない. For example, この道は短いです。 means “This road is short.” です です is the polite predicate ending used at the end of this sentence. With the i-adjective 短い, 短いです politely states “is short”; です does not itself carry the adjective’s meaning or inflection. Putting the parts together, その列 identifies “that line,” 今のほうが selects its current state as the shorter side of a comparison, and 短いです politely states its length. The complete meaning is: “That line is shorter now.”