Troubleshooting an Unstable Internet Connection | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. インターネット接続は今朝から不安定です。

   The internet connection has been unstable since this morning.

   インターネット

   internet

   接続

   connection

   今朝から

   since this morning

   不安定

   unstable

   です

   is; polite ending

   More detail

   インターネット means “internet.” It is also used in compounds, as in インターネット接続 (“internet connection”). 接続 means “connection” or “connecting.” In this sentence, インターネット接続 is a noun compound: “internet connection.” Japanese commonly places a noun before another noun to specify its type. 今朝から means “since this morning.” 今朝 is “this morning,” and から marks the starting point of a time period. The pattern Aから can mean “from A” or “since A,” depending on the surrounding predicate. Here it marks when the unstable state began. 不安定 means “unstable” or “unsteady.” It is a na-adjective. Before a noun, it uses 不安定な, as in 不安定な接続 (“an unstable connection”); as a predicate, it can be followed by です, as here. です is the polite copular ending. With a na-adjective, 不安定です politely states “is unstable.” The plain corresponding predicate is 不安定だ; です makes the statement polite rather than changing the adjective’s meaning. Together, インターネット接続は sets “the internet connection” as the topic, 今朝から gives the starting time, and 不安定です states its condition politely. The whole utterance means: “The internet connection has been unstable since this morning.” Japanese uses the nonpast state 不安定です with 今朝から to describe a condition continuing from that starting point.

2. 私のビデオ通話はもうすぐ始まります。

   My video call starts soon.

   私の

   my

   ビデオ通話

   video call

   もうすぐ

   soon

   始まります

   starts

   More detail

   私の means “my” here. 私 is the first-person pronoun “I/me,” and の links it to the following noun to show possession or association: 私の + noun = “my + noun.” For example, 私の電話 means “my phone.” The form 私の does not itself state how many things are involved. ビデオ通話 is a compound noun meaning “video call.” 通話 means a call or conversation, while ビデオ specifies the video type. As a reusable pattern, another modifier can come before 通話, such as 音声通話 for “voice call.” もうすぐ means “soon” or “in a little while.” It places the event close to the present, without specifying an exact amount of time. For example, 電車はもうすぐ来ます。 means “The train will arrive soon.” 始まります means “starts” in this sentence. Its base form is 始まる, “to begin/start,” and 始まります is its polite non-past form. Japanese non-past forms can describe a scheduled or expected future event, so this form works for a call that is about to begin. 始まる is intransitive: the event itself begins. By contrast, 始める is transitive and means “to start something”; for example, 会議を始めます。 means “I will start the meeting.” The topic marker は follows ビデオ通話, making “my video call” the topic: 私のビデオ通話は. The sentence then places that call near in time with もうすぐ and says with polite non-past 始まります that it starts. Together, 私のビデオ通話はもうすぐ始まります。 means “My video call starts soon.”

3. 今、別の機器が帯域幅を使いすぎていないか確認してください。

   See if another device is using too much bandwidth right now.

   今

   now; right now

   別の

   another; different

   機器

   device; equipment

   帯域幅

   bandwidth

   使いすぎていないか

   whether [someone] is using too much

   確認してください

   please check; please confirm

   More detail

   今 means “now” here. It is a time word and can be placed at the beginning to set the time of the action. Example: 今、忙しいです。 — “I’m busy now.” 別の means “another” or “different.” It modifies the noun that follows it; 別 is the element associated with the sense of difference, while の links it to the noun. In this sentence, the fixed translation supports the choice “another device,” without specifying which device. Example: 別の方法を試します。 — “I’ll try another method.” 機器 means “device” or “equipment.” It is a noun often used for technical apparatus. The phrase 別の機器 therefore means “another device”; 機器 itself does not express “another.” 帯域幅 means “bandwidth,” the network capacity being used. It is a technical noun. Example: 帯域幅が限られています。 — “The bandwidth is limited.” 使いすぎていないか asks whether something is using too much of something. The base verb is 使う (“use”). 使いすぎる combines 使う with すぎる (“go too far/excessively”), so 使いすぎる means “use too much.” Its ている form presents the use as an ongoing situation, and 使いすぎていない negates that ongoing form. Adding か makes this an embedded yes-or-no question: “whether [it] is using too much.” The subject is not stated inside this quote; in the full sentence, 別の機器 supplies the device being checked. Example: 彼が水を使いすぎていないか調べます。 — “I’ll check whether he is using too much water.” 確認してください is a polite request meaning “please check” or “please confirm.” The base verb is 確認する (“check; confirm”), and してください is its polite request form. Unlike 使いすぎていないか, this phrase is the main request, not the yes-or-no question itself. Example: 名前を確認してください。 — “Please check the name.” Together, 別の機器が帯域幅を使いすぎていないか means “whether another device is using too much bandwidth.” The particle が marks 別の機器 as the subject of 使いすぎていない; 帯域幅を marks bandwidth as what is being used. Adding 確認してください turns that question into a polite request: “Please check whether another device is using too much bandwidth right now.”

4. タブレットが更新をダウンロードしているので、すべてが遅く感じる理由はそれかもしれません。

   The tablet is downloading updates, so that might explain why everything feels slow.

   タブレット

   tablet

   更新

   update

   ダウンロードしている

   is downloading

   ので

   so; because

   すべて

   everything

   遅く

   slowly; slow

   感じる

   feel

   理由

   reason

   それ

   that

   かもしれません

   might; may

   More detail

   タブレット is the noun “tablet.” It is a loanword and does not change form for number in this sentence; the context and translation identify one tablet. Example: タブレットを使います。 — “I use a tablet.” 更新 means “update” here, specifically an update being downloaded. It is also used in compounds such as ソフトウェアの更新 (“a software update”). In 更新をダウンロードしている, it is the object marked by を. ダウンロードしている means “is downloading.” The base verb is ダウンロードする (“to download”); している is its ている form, marking an action in progress here. Example: 今、ファイルをダウンロードしています。 — “I am downloading a file now.” ので connects a reason clause to its result: “so” or “because.” The clause before it gives the reason, and the statement after it gives the result or conclusion. Compared with から, ので often presents the reason in a somewhat softer, explanatory way. すべて means “everything” or “all.” In this sentence it refers broadly to everything that feels slow, without specifying a separate count. Example: すべてが新しく見えます。 — “Everything looks new.” 遅く is the adverbial form of the adjective 遅い (“slow; late”). The change 遅い → 遅く lets the adjective modify the following verb 感じる: “feel slow.” This is different from 遅くなる, “become slow,” where なる expresses a change of state. 感じる means “feel” or “sense.” Here, すべてが遅く感じる means that everything seems slow to the speaker; it does not assert that every item has objectively become slow. Example: 今日は時間が長く感じる。 — “Today, time feels long.” 理由 means “reason.” The clause before it, すべてが遅く感じる, describes the reason: Japanese places this describing clause directly before the noun, so すべてが遅く感じる理由 is “the reason why everything feels slow.” それ is the demonstrative pronoun “that.” In this utterance, the translation identifies it as the situation just described: the tablet downloading updates. The basic demonstrative contrast is これ (“this”), それ (“that”), and あれ (“that over there”), but the exact choice depends on discourse context. かもしれません expresses possibility: “might” or “may.” Its plain form is かもしれない; かもしれません is the polite form. It presents the explanation as uncertain rather than definite. Example: 原因は設定かもしれません。 — “The cause might be a setting.” Together, タブレットが更新をダウンロードしているので says “because the tablet is downloading updates.” Then すべてが遅く感じる理由は makes “the reason why everything feels slow” the topic, and それかもしれません says that reason might be that situation. The complete meaning is: “The tablet is downloading updates, so that might explain why everything feels slow.” This is a polite, appropriately tentative explanation.

5. 更新を一時停止して、それでも接続が途切れるならルーターを再起動してください。

   Pause the update, then restart the router if the signal still drops.

   更新

   update

   一時停止して

   pause temporarily, and

   それでも

   even so; still

   接続

   connection

   途切れる

   to drop; to be interrupted

   なら

   if; when

   ルーター

   router

   再起動してください

   please restart

   More detail

   更新 means “update” here, and 更新を marks it as the thing affected by the next verb. 更新 can also modify a noun, as in 更新情報 (“update information”), but here it is a standalone noun. 一時停止して comes from 一時停止する, “to pause temporarily.” The form 一時停止して uses the て-form to connect this action to what follows. In this sentence it gives a practical sequence: pause the update, and then consider the condition that follows. A reusable pattern is Xを一時停止して、Y (“pause X, and then Y”). それでも means “even so” or “still.” It signals that the next situation continues despite the preceding action. Here, pausing the update is expected to help, but the connection may still be interrupted. 接続 means “connection.” With 接続が, it is the grammatical subject of 途切れる: the connection is what becomes interrupted. 接続 is a noun; a useful related contrast is 切断 (“disconnection”), which describes a severed connection rather than the interruption event expressed here. 途切れる means “to be interrupted” or “to drop” in this context. Its base form is 途切れる, and the form shown is already the non-past form used in the conditional clause. It describes the connection stopping or becoming discontinuous, not someone deliberately stopping it. For example, 電話が途切れる means “the phone call cuts out.” なら follows 接続が途切れる and makes the preceding situation the condition: “if the connection drops” or “when the connection drops.” In this sentence, the condition is not merely the existence of a connection; it is the connection becoming interrupted. The pattern is [condition]なら、[instruction]. ルーター is the noun “router,” the device named as the object of the final instruction. It is written in katakana because it is a loanword in Japanese usage. 再起動してください means “please restart.” 再起動する is the base verb “to restart,” and 再起動してください is its polite request form: 再起動して + ください. The request is directed at the listener, with ルーター as the thing to restart. This is a polite instruction rather than a statement that the listener has already restarted it. Together, 更新を一時停止して、それでも接続が途切れるならルーターを再起動してください means: “Pause the update, then restart the router if the connection still drops.” The first action is pausing the update; それでも marks the continuing problem, and なら introduces the condition for the polite restart instruction. The sentence is a practical, polite troubleshooting instruction.

6. 速度は遅いですが、予備として私のスマートフォンのテザリングも使えます。

   I also have my phone's hotspot as a backup, although it is slower.

   速度

   speed

   遅い

   slow

   ですが

   but; although

   予備として

   as a backup

   スマートフォン

   smartphone

   テザリング

   hotspot tethering

   使えます

   can use

   More detail

   速度 means “speed” here. It is a noun; in 速度は, the particle は sets speed as the topic. A useful pattern is NはAdj: “as for N, it is Adj.” 遅い means “slow” and describes the speed in this sentence. It is an い-adjective: the base/nonpast form is 遅い, the past form is 遅かった, and the negative form is 遅くない. For example, 通信速度は速いです。 means “The connection speed is fast.” ですが connects this statement to the following one with “but” or “although.” After an い-adjective, the adjective remains in its い-form before が, as in 遅いですが; this is not a noun’s gender or number agreement. が marks the contrast between the slower speed and the usable backup option. 予備として means “as a backup” or “in the role of a backup.” It consists of the noun 予備 (“backup/reserve”) and として, which marks a role or intended use. The pattern Nとして使う means “use something as N.” スマートフォン is the noun “smartphone.” It is modified by 私の, meaning “my”; the relation is expressed with の, as in 私のスマートフォン (“my smartphone”). テザリング means “tethering,” the function of sharing a device’s internet connection. In this context, the fixed translation identifies it as the phone’s hotspot. In 私のスマートフォンのテザリング, the two の links form a noun phrase meaning “my smartphone’s tethering/hotspot.” 使えます means “can use” here. It is the polite nonpast potential form of 使う (“to use”): 使う → 使える → 使えます. The potential form presents the option as available or possible. For example, この回線を使えます。 means “You can use this connection.” The も immediately before it adds “also”: this hotspot is an additional available option. Together, 速度は遅いですが says “although the speed is slow,” and 予備として私のスマートフォンのテザリングも使えます says “my smartphone’s hotspot can also be used as a backup.” The whole utterance is therefore: “I also have my phone’s hotspot as a backup, although it is slower.”

7. 会議中にテザリングが不安定になったら、音声だけに切り替えてください。

   If the hotspot gets shaky during the meeting, switch to audio only.

   会議

   meeting

   中に

   during; in the middle of

   テザリング

   hotspot tethering

   不安定

   unstable

   なったら

   if/when it becomes

   音声

   audio; voice

   だけに

   only as

   切り替えてください

   please switch

   More detail

   会議 means “meeting.” It is a noun and can combine with time expressions such as 会議中 (“during the meeting”) and 会議の前 (“before the meeting”). Example: 会議が始まります。 — “The meeting is starting.” 中に marks a time period during which something happens. Attached to 会議, 会議中に means “during the meeting.” The に here marks the time setting, not a destination. Example: 授業中に電話を使いません。 — “I do not use a phone during class.” テザリング is the Japanese loanword for tethering or using a phone’s connection as a hotspot. In this sentence it is the connection whose condition may change. The preceding context also identifies it as the smartphone hotspot used as a backup. 不安定 means “unstable” or “unreliable.” It is a na-adjective-like word and can describe a condition: 不安定な接続 means “an unstable connection.” With なる (“become”), it takes に: 不安定になる means “become unstable.” Example: 接続が不安定です。 — “The connection is unstable.” なったら is the conditional form of なる (“become”). The pattern 〜になったら means “if/when something becomes 〜.” Although it contains the form なった, this pattern does not by itself assert that the change already happened; here it sets a possible condition. Thus 不安定になったら means “if/when it becomes unstable.” 音声 means “audio” or “voice.” Here it refers to using audio rather than the broader communication mode, not to a particular speaker’s voice. Example: 音声を確認してください。 — “Please check the audio.” だけに combines だけ (“only”) with に in the pattern Aだけに切り替える: “switch to A only.” The だけ limits the selected mode to audio. 音声だけに therefore means “to audio only.” Example: 表示を英語だけに変更します。 — “I will change the display to English only.” 切り替えてください is a polite request meaning “please switch.” Its base form is 切り替える (“switch; change from one mode or option to another”); 切り替えて is its て-form, followed by ください to make a polite request. Example: 別の画面に切り替えてください。 — “Please switch to another screen.” Together, 会議中にテザリングが不安定になったら sets the condition “if the hotspot becomes unstable during the meeting.” 音声だけに切り替えてください then gives the requested action: “please switch to audio only.” The full utterance is therefore: “If the hotspot gets shaky during the meeting, switch to audio only.”

8. 通話が始まる前に、チームに知らせたほうがいいですか。

   Should I warn the team before the call begins?

   通話

   call

   始まる

   begin; start

   前に

   before

   チーム

   team

   知らせた

   informed; warned

   ほうがいいですか

   should I …?

   More detail

   通話 means a call or voice call. It is a noun, and it can combine with verbs such as 始まる “begin” and 終わる “end.” Here it is the event that is about to begin, rather than a person making the call. 始まる means “begin” or “start” and is an intransitive verb: the event itself begins. Its transitive counterpart is 始める, “start something.” In 通話が始まる, 通話 is marked with が as the event that begins. The form 始まる is non-past and fits the clause describing a future or expected event. 前に means “before.” 前 is a noun meaning “front” or “before,” and に marks the time point or relation. The pattern Vる前に means “before doing V” or “before V happens.” Thus 通話が始まる前に means “before the call begins.” チーム is the noun “team.” In this sentence it is followed by に, which marks the recipient of the informing: チームに means “to the team.” Japanese can use チームの人たち when referring more explicitly to the people on the team, as in the following context, but the fixed sentence itself uses the compact noun チーム. 知らせた is the past/plain form of the verb 知らせる, “inform” or “let someone know.” The verb is transitive, so the person or group receiving the information can be marked with に: チームに知らせる means “inform the team.” In the pattern Vたほうがいい, the た form does not primarily report a completed past event; it helps form advice about what would be better to do. Here, the omitted subject is understood as the speaker in the fixed translation: “I.” ほうがいいですか asks whether one option would be better or advisable. With a verb, Vたほうがいい means “it is better to do V” or “you should do V”; adding ですか makes it a question. For example, 早く知らせたほうがいいですか。 means “Should I inform them soon?” This is different from simply asking whether an action happened. Together, 通話が始まる前に sets the time limit, チームに知らせた expresses informing the team, and ほうがいいですか asks whether that action is advisable. The complete meaning is: “Should I warn the team before the call begins?”

9. 短いメッセージがあれば、チームの人たちは何が起きているか理解しやすくなります。

   A short message would help them understand what is happening.

   短い

   short

   メッセージ

   message

   があれば

   if there is

   チームの人たち

   the team members

   何が起きているか

   what is happening

   理解しやすくなります

   becomes easier to understand

   More detail

   短い describes the noun メッセージ as short. It is the attributive form of the い-adjective 短い; its basic non-attributive form is also 短い. Its opposite is 長い (“long”). Example: 短い説明 means “a short explanation.” メッセージ is a noun meaning “message.” In this sentence it is the thing whose presence is presented as helpful. Japanese nouns do not change form here for singular versus plural. があれば presents a condition: ある means “exist” or “be present” for an inanimate thing, and あれば is its ば conditional form. The particle が marks the thing that exists. Thus, this span means “if there is a message” or, in a suitable context, “when a message is available.” The conditional itself does not state a numeric count. チームの人たち refers here to the team members. の links チーム to 人たち, and 人たち is 人 (“person”) with たち, a marker commonly used for a group of people. The phrase is therefore a noun phrase meaning “the team members,” rather than a single person. Example: 学生たち means “the students.” 何が起きているか is an embedded question meaning “what is happening.” 何 asks “what,” が marks what is happening as the subject, and 起きている is the progressive/state form of 起きる (“happen” or “occur”), describing an ongoing event. The final か marks the embedded question content; it does not make the whole sentence a direct question. Example: 何が起きているか分かりません。 means “I do not know what is happening.” 理解しやすくなります says that understanding becomes easy for the relevant people. 理解する means “understand,” and 理解しやすい combines its verb stem with やすい to mean “easy to understand.” The く form of that adjective connects it to なる (“become”); なります is its polite nonpast form. The construction V-やすくなる means “become easier to V.” Example: この説明は理解しやすくなりました。 means “This explanation became easier to understand.” Together, the condition of having a short message is linked to the team members’ becoming better able to understand what is currently happening. The omitted subject of 理解しやすくなります is understood from the sentence’s intended meaning as the team members, and the whole utterance expresses that such a message would make the situation easier for them to understand.

10. 通話が固まったら、ネットワークを切り替えるかもしれないと伝えられます。

    I can say I may switch networks if the call freezes.

    通話

    call

    固まったら

    if it freezes

    ネットワーク

    network

    切り替える

    switch

    かもしれない

    may; might

    伝えられます

    can tell

    More detail

    通話 means a phone or online call as an ongoing communication connection. It is a noun; in this sentence, が marks it as the subject of 固まる. A useful contrast is 電話, which can refer more broadly to a telephone call or the act/device of telephoning, while 通話 focuses on the call connection or conversation. 固まったら comes from 固まる, “to become frozen or unresponsive.” Here it describes the call becoming unresponsive, not a person physically becoming stiff. The ending -たら forms an if/when condition: 固まったら means “if/when it freezes.” Although 固まった has a past-form shape, in this conditional it does not necessarily mean that the freezing happened in the past. Example: 画面が固まったら、アプリを再起動します。 — “If the screen freezes, I will restart the app.” ネットワーク is the noun “network.” It is the object of 切り替える, marked by を; the sentence therefore presents the network as what will be changed. The word is a loanword, but its use here is the ordinary Japanese noun for a network connection. 切り替える means “to switch or change over” from one option or connection to another. It is a transitive verb, so the thing being changed can be marked with を, as in ネットワークを切り替える. Example: Wi-Fiからモバイル通信に切り替えます。 — “I switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data.” The form here is the dictionary form, used before かもしれない. かもしれない expresses possibility or uncertainty: “may” or “might.” In ネットワークを切り替えるかもしれない, it applies to the whole action “switch networks,” so the meaning is “may switch networks,” not “can switch networks.” A polite version is かもしれません; the form in the utterance is the plain form かもしれない inside the larger expression. 伝えられます is the polite form of the potential expression from 伝える, “to tell or convey.” In this sentence, the fixed translation establishes the potential meaning “can say/tell,” rather than the passive meaning “is told.” The content being conveyed comes before と: 〜と伝えられます means “can say/tell [someone] that …”. The person receiving the message is not stated in the Japanese sentence. Together, 通話が固まったら sets the condition, “if the call freezes.” The quoted content ネットワークを切り替えるかもしれない says that switching networks is possible, and と伝えられます says that the speaker can convey that message. Thus the whole utterance means: “I can say that I may switch networks if the call freezes.” Japanese leaves the subjects unspoken; the fixed translation identifies the speaker as the person who can say this and as the likely actor of switching networks.

11. そうすれば、みんなはあなたが突然通話を抜けたと思わずに済むでしょう。

    That should keep people from thinking you suddenly left.

    そうすれば

    if you do that; then

    みんな

    everyone; people

    あなた

    you

    突然

    suddenly

    通話

    call

    抜けた

    left; exited

    と思わずに済むでしょう

    should be able to avoid thinking that

    More detail

    そうすれば means “if that is done” or “then, in that case.” It links a preceding action or condition to its result. Here it refers to the action described in the surrounding context, without changing the participants or adding a specific action. みんな means “everyone” or, as in the translation, “people.” It is a noun referring broadly to the relevant group. For example, みんなが来ます。 means “Everyone is coming.” あなた is the pronoun “you.” In this sentence it is the person marked by が as the subject of the embedded idea あなたが突然通話を抜けた—the person who supposedly left the call. Japanese often omits pronouns when the context makes them clear, but this sentence states this one explicitly. 突然 means “suddenly” or “unexpectedly.” It describes the manner or timing of the leaving: the departure appears abrupt. For example, 彼は突然帰りました。 means “He suddenly went home.” 通話 means “call” or “voice/video call.” It is a noun used for a call as an ongoing communication session. In 通話を抜ける, it is marked by を as the session that someone leaves. 抜けた is the past form of 抜ける, “to leave or exit” in this use. The past form presents the leaving as a completed event inside the thought: あなたが通話を抜けた means “you left the call.” Here it does not mean that the person left a physical place. と思わずに済むでしょう combines the thought marker と, the negative form 思わず, the construction ずに済む, and the prediction or soft expectation marker でしょう. と思う means “think that ...”; 思わずに済む means “manage without thinking that ...” or “be spared from thinking that ...”; でしょう makes the result a likely or expected one, giving “should.” The full quoted construction therefore means “should be able to avoid thinking that ...” For example, 心配せずに済むでしょう。 means “You should be able to avoid worrying.” Putting the parts together, そうすれば introduces the expected result: “If that is done, then ...” みんなは marks people as the topic, and あなたが突然通話を抜けた is the content of their possible thought: “that you suddenly left the call.” The final construction says they should be able to avoid having that thought. Thus the whole utterance means, “That should keep people from thinking you suddenly left.”