Taking a Short Walk to Reset and Decide | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. デザインのどちらの案がよりよいか決められません。

   I can't decide which version of the design works better.

   デザイン

   design

   どちらの案

   which proposal/version

   よりよい

   better

   決められません

   cannot decide

   More detail

   デザイン means “design.” It is a noun, and デザインの案 uses の to connect it to the following noun: “a design proposal/version” or “a proposal/version of the design.” This noun-linking pattern is reusable: XのY means “Y of X” or “X’s Y,” depending on context. どちらの案 asks which of two relevant proposals or versions is meant. どちら is the “which one of two” question word, while 案 means “proposal,” “plan,” or, in this translation, “version.” The の links どちら to 案, so the whole chunk functions as “which proposal/version.” For more than two choices, Japanese commonly uses どの案 (“which proposal?”) instead. Here が after this chunk marks the selected proposal as the subject of the embedded question. よりよい means “better.” よい is the base form meaning “good,” and より marks the thing used as the comparison standard: Aよりよい means “better than A” or simply “better” when the standard is understood. よい also has the common variant いい; for example, この案はいい means “This proposal is good.” The form よりよい is a comparative expression, not a claim that a particular proposal has already been identified outside the sentence. 決められません means “cannot decide.” Its base verb is 決める (“to decide”); 決められる is its potential form (“can decide”), and 決められません is the polite negative potential form (“cannot decide”). The ending ません makes the statement politely negative. This potential form describes inability or difficulty in carrying out the deciding action here; it is not the ordinary negative 決めません (“do not decide” or “will not decide”). The sequence デザインのどちらの案がよりよいか is an embedded question: “which version of the design is better.” The final か marks that question inside the larger sentence. Japanese then places 決められません after it, producing the structure “I cannot decide [which version of the design is better].” Thus the complete utterance means, “I can’t decide which version of the design works better.”

2. 数分外に出て、話し合って整理しましょう。

   Let's step out for a few minutes and talk it through.

   数分

   a few minutes

   外に出て

   step outside

   話し合って

   talk it over

   整理しましょう

   let’s sort it out

   More detail

   数分 means “a few minutes” here. 数 indicates an unspecified small number, and 分 is the counter for minutes. It does not state an exact number. For example, 数分待ってください。 means “Please wait a few minutes.” 外に出て uses 出る (“to go out” or “to leave”) in its て-form, with 外 (“outside”) marking the destination or setting. The て-form connects this action to what follows: “go outside and …” The observed form 出て is not the polite past form; it is the linking form. For example, 外に出てください。 means “Please go outside.” 話し合って uses the compound verb 話し合う, meaning “to discuss” or “to talk something over.” The element 合う contributes the idea of doing something mutually, so this is more specific than simply 話す (“to speak” or “to talk”). Here its て-form connects the discussion with the following action. For example, 問題について話し合います。 means “We discuss the problem.” 整理しましょう is the polite volitional form of 整理する, “to organize” or “to sort out.” In this sentence, 整理する is used figuratively for sorting through the matter or thoughts, not necessarily arranging physical objects. 〜ましょう proposes a shared action, commonly “let’s …”. For example, 考えを整理しましょう。 means “Let’s organize our thoughts.” Together, 数分外に出て gives “go outside for a few minutes,” 話し合って adds “talk it over,” and 整理しましょう proposes the shared goal of sorting the matter out. The two て-forms link the actions in sequence, while 〜ましょう makes the final action a polite suggestion: “Let’s step out for a few minutes and talk it through.”

3. 新鮮な空気を吸うと助かるかもしれませんが、あまり時間を失いたくありません。

   Fresh air might help, but I don't want to lose too much time.

   新鮮な

   fresh

   空気

   air

   吸う

   breathe in; inhale

   助かる

   be helped; benefit

   かもしれません

   might; may

   あまり

   not too; not very much

   時間

   time

   失いたくありません

   do not want to lose

   More detail

   新鮮な means “fresh” here and is the attributive form of 新鮮だ, used before a noun: 新鮮な空気 = “fresh air.” The な links this type of descriptive word to the noun; it is not part of the noun 空気. 空気 means “air.” The phrase 新鮮な空気 is therefore a noun phrase meaning “fresh air.” 吸う is the dictionary form meaning “to inhale” or “to breathe in.” In 空気を吸う, を marks air as what is inhaled. The form 吸うと uses と to express a condition or expected result: “when/if one breathes in …” A reusable pattern is V-ると、… = “when/if …, …,” especially for a natural or expected consequence. 助かる means “be helped” or “benefit” in this sentence. It describes the speaker’s situation improving, rather than directly meaning “help someone” as an action. In 吸うと助かる, the meaning is “breathing it in might help.” かもしれません adds possibility: “might” or “may.” It is the polite form of かもしれない. Thus 助かるかもしれません says that being helped is possible, not certain. Together with the preceding conditional clause, 新鮮な空気を吸うと助かるかもしれません means “Fresh air might help” or more literally, “Breathing fresh air might help.” あまり means “not very much” or “not too much” in this sentence because it is used with the negative expression 失いたくありません. With a negative expression, it limits the amount or degree: あまり時間を失いたくありません means “I do not want to lose too much time.” 時間 means “time.” In 時間を失う, を marks time as what is lost. 時間 can refer generally to available time, as it does here; the sentence does not specify a particular measured amount. 失いたくありません means “do not want to lose.” Its base verb is 失う, “to lose.” The form 失いたい expresses wanting to lose, and changing たい to its negative polite form たくありません gives “do not want to lose.” The person wanting is understood from context and from the fixed translation as the speaker: “I don’t want …” This is a desire construction, not simply a statement that time will not be lost. The first part combines 新鮮な空気を吸うと (“if/when [someone] breathes fresh air”) with 助かるかもしれません (“[they] might be helped”). が then marks a contrast: “but.” The second part, あまり時間を失いたくありません, says that the speaker does not want to lose too much time. As a whole: “Fresh air might help, but I don’t want to lose too much time.”

4. 建物の周りを一周して、主な決定に集中すればよいです。

   We can just circle the block and focus on the main decision.

   建物

   building

   周り

   surroundings; around

   一周して

   go around once

   主な

   main

   決定

   decision

   集中すればよいです

   can focus; it is enough to focus

   More detail

   建物 means “building.” It is a noun and can be modified by の周り to form a location or area expression: 建物の周り means “around the building.” 周り means the area around something. In 建物の周り, の links the reference point to this area: literally, “the building’s surrounding area.” 一周して comes from 一周する, “to go around once” or “to make one circuit.” 一周 means one complete circuit, and して is the て-form of する. Here the て-form connects this action to the following action, giving the sequence “go around once and then …” or “after going around once …”. 主な means “main” or “principal.” It is the attributive form used directly before a noun, as in 主な決定. Unlike an adjective such as 大きい, it does not change to match the noun’s number or gender; Japanese nouns and this modifier do not mark those categories here. 決定 means “decision” or “determination.” It is a noun and can also function in compounds or with する, for example, 決定する (“to decide” / “to determine”). In this sentence, 主な決定 is the decision identified as the main one; the wording does not itself specify what that decision is. 集中すればよいです is built from 集中する (“to focus” or “to concentrate”), the conditional form 集中すれば, and よいです (“it is good/acceptable”). Together, this pattern says that doing the action is sufficient or is the suitable course: “it is enough to focus” or, naturally in this context, “we can just focus.” The conditional -ばよい is a reusable way to express what is sufficient or advisable. The Japanese sentence leaves the subject unspoken; the fixed translation supplies “we” as the intended actor. The parts combine in order as follows: 建物の周りを marks the route or area as the object of going around; 一周して adds the first action and links it to the next one; 主な決定に marks the main decision as the target of focus; and 集中すればよいです presents focusing as sufficient. Thus the whole utterance expresses the fixed meaning: we can make one circuit around the building and then focus on the main decision.

5. それなら問題を完全に放置せずに、少し休めます。

   That would give me a break without dropping the problem completely.

   それなら

   in that case; if so

   問題

   problem

   完全に

   completely

   放置せずに

   without leaving unattended

   少し

   a little; briefly

   休めます

   can rest

   More detail

   それなら means “in that case” or “if so.” Here it links the sentence to the preceding situation: under that condition, the speaker can take a short break. The pattern それなら、〜 is reusable when responding to information or a proposal. Example: それなら、行きましょう。 — “In that case, let’s go.” 問題 is a noun meaning “problem” here. It can refer to an issue that still needs attention; the fixed sentence does not specify the problem itself. Example: 問題があります。 — “There is a problem.” 完全に is an adverb meaning “completely.” It modifies 放置せずに, so the sentence excludes completely leaving the problem unattended. The related adjective is 完全な (“complete”); 完全に is the adverbial form used before a verb or verb phrase. 放置せずに comes from the verb 放置する, “to leave something unattended” or “to neglect it.” 〜ずに is a written or somewhat formal pattern meaning “without doing〜”; thus 放置せずに means “without leaving it unattended.” The negative form is attached to 放置する, not to 問題. Example: 電気をつけたままにせずに、出かけました。 — “I went out without leaving the lights on.” 少し means “a little” or “briefly,” depending on what it modifies. Here it limits the extent of the rest, giving the sense “take a short break.” It does not by itself assert a precise amount of time. Example: 少し待ってください。 — “Please wait a little.” 休めます is the polite form of the potential form of 休む, “to rest”: 休む → 休める (“can rest”) → 休めます. In this sentence, the omitted subject is understood as the speaker in the fixed translation, so it means “I can take a break.” The polite ending ます presents the statement courteously; it does not create the ability meaning by itself. Example: ここで休めます。 — “I can rest here.” Together, それなら sets the condition, 問題を完全に放置せずに means “without completely leaving the problem unattended,” and 少し休めます means “I can take a short break.” The complete meaning is: “That would give me a break without dropping the problem completely.”

6. 歩き回ると、決めやすく感じることがあります。

   Sometimes moving around makes the decision feel easier.

   歩き回る

   move around

   決めやすく

   easy to decide

   感じる

   feel

   ことがあります

   sometimes

   More detail

   歩き回る means “to walk around” or “to move around.” It is the dictionary-form verb 歩き回る, a compound of 歩く “walk” and 回る “move around,” used here for moving from place to place. With the following と, 歩き回ると sets up a general condition: “when/if one moves around.” 決めやすく comes from 決める “decide” plus やすい “easy to do.” The useful pattern is verb stem + やすい: 決める → 決めやすい “easy to decide.” Here やすい becomes 決めやすく, the connective form needed before 感じる, so it describes the decision-making process as feeling easy. This does not mean that the decision has already been made. 感じる means “feel” or “experience a feeling.” It is the dictionary-form verb 感じる, and here it follows 決めやすく to express “feel that it is easy to decide.” Example: 使いやすく感じる means “feel that it is easy to use.” ことがあります is a pattern meaning that something sometimes happens or is sometimes experienced. The preceding clause is nominalized with こと, and あります literally supplies “exists,” but together this pattern is naturally translated as “sometimes.” It is not a simple statement that an object exists. Example: そう感じることがあります means “I sometimes feel that way.” Together, 歩き回ると gives the condition “when moving around,” 決めやすく感じる means “feel that deciding is easier,” and ことがあります adds “sometimes.” The whole utterance therefore means: “Sometimes moving around makes the decision feel easier.” The Japanese sentence leaves the experiencer implicit; the fixed translation presents that experience from the speaker’s perspective.

7. モックアップを確認する必要があるかもしれないので、携帯電話を持っていきます。

   I'll bring my phone in case we need to check the mockup.

   モックアップ

   mockup

   確認する

   check; confirm

   必要がある

   be necessary

   かもしれない

   might; may

   携帯電話

   mobile phone

   持っていきます

   will bring; take along

   More detail

   モックアップ is the noun meaning “mockup,” the item being checked here. It is a loanword written in katakana. Example: 画面のモックアップを確認します。 — “I’ll check the screen mockup.” 確認する means “to check” or “to confirm.” The observed form is the dictionary/plain form of the verb 確認する; its する ending is part of this verb. In this sentence, the plain form appears before 必要がある, rather than expressing politeness itself. Example: 内容を確認する。 — “I check the contents.” 必要がある expresses that something is necessary or needs to be done. Here, 確認する modifies 必要, producing 確認する必要がある: “there is a need to check” or more naturally “need to check.” 必要 is the noun meaning “necessity,” and ある is the verb meaning that something exists. Example: 予約する必要があります。 — “You need to make a reservation.” かもしれない marks possibility: “might” or “may.” It follows the plain form 必要がある, so 必要があるかもしれない means “it might be necessary.” This expresses uncertainty, not a definite requirement. Example: 明日、雨が降るかもしれません。 — “It might rain tomorrow.” 携帯電話 is the noun “mobile phone” or “cell phone.” In this utterance it is the object that will be taken along. Japanese also commonly uses the shorter word 携帯 for a mobile phone, but 携帯電話 is the full noun used here. Example: 携帯電話を使います。 — “I use a mobile phone.” 持っていきます means “will take along” or, in this fixed context, “will bring.” It is the polite nonpast form of 持っていく, built from 持つ (“hold” or “carry”) and いく (“go”). The て form links the carrying action with movement away toward the relevant destination; the polite ending ます makes the statement polite and can describe a future action. Example: 傘を持っていきます。 — “I’ll take an umbrella.” The particle を marks the object of the preceding verb: モックアップを確認する is “check the mockup,” and 携帯電話を持っていきます is “take the mobile phone along.” The clause ending ので gives a reason or circumstance, roughly “because” or “since.” Thus 確認する必要があるかもしれないので means “since it might be necessary to check [it];” in the fixed translation, the natural English perspective is “in case we need to check the mockup.” Putting the parts together: モックアップを確認する (“check the mockup”) is presented as a possible necessity with 必要があるかもしれない. ので connects that possibility to the action that follows, and 携帯電話を持っていきます states the polite decision to bring the phone. The complete meaning is: “I’ll bring my phone in case we need to check the mockup.”

8. 別の仕事にならないように、ゆっくりしたペースで歩きましょう。

   Keep the pace relaxed so it doesn't turn into another task.

   別の

   another; different

   仕事

   task; work

   ならないように

   so that it does not become

   ゆっくりした

   relaxed; unhurried

   ペース

   pace

   歩きましょう

   let's walk

   More detail

   別の means “another” or “different” and comes before the noun it describes. In 別の仕事, it marks the work as a different task from the one intended. Example: 別の日 means “another day.” 仕事 is a noun meaning “work” or “task.” Here it refers to the activity becoming a task rather than remaining a relaxed walk. Example: 仕事があります。 means “I have work.” ならないように expresses prevention: “so that it does not become” or “in order not to let it become.” It contains なる (“become”), its negative form ならない (“does not become”), and ように, which marks the intended result or avoided outcome. The pattern [verb in plain form] + ように can express a goal, while [negative form] + ように can express preventing something. Example: 忘れないように、メモします。 means “I’ll take a note so that I don’t forget.” ゆっくりした describes the following noun as relaxed or unhurried. It is the attributive form of the expression ゆっくりする, “to take it slowly” or “to relax”; the た form is used here before ペース to describe it. It does not assert that the pace happened in the past. Example: ゆっくりした時間 means “a relaxed period of time.” ペース is a noun meaning “pace” or “speed of progress.” In ゆっくりしたペース, it identifies the pace as unhurried. Example: 自分のペースで歩きます。 means “I walk at my own pace.” 歩きましょう means “let’s walk.” It is formed from 歩く (“to walk”) with ましょう, the polite volitional form. This form proposes a shared action by the speaker and the listener or listeners. Example: 少し歩きましょう。 means “Let’s walk a little.” Together, 別の仕事にならないように gives the purpose—preventing the activity from becoming another task—while ゆっくりしたペースで specifies the manner, “at a relaxed pace.” The proposal 歩きましょう completes the utterance: “Let’s walk at a relaxed pace so it doesn’t turn into another task.”

9. 短い散歩の後で戻ってきて、方向を一つ選べます。

   After a short walk, we can come back and choose one direction.

   短い

   short

   散歩

   walk

   の後で

   after

   戻ってきて

   come back, and

   方向

   direction

   一つ

   one

   選べます

   can choose

   More detail

   短い describes 散歩 as short. It is an i-adjective in its basic form, placed before the noun it describes. Useful forms include 短くない “not short” and 短かった “was short.” Example: 短い休みを取ります。 — “I take a short break.” 散歩 means a walk or stroll here. It is a noun; with する, 散歩する means “to take a walk.” Example: 毎朝散歩します。 — “I take a walk every morning.” の後で is the reusable time pattern Nの後で — “after N.” In this sentence, 散歩の後で means “after the walk.” Example: 食事の後で休みます。 — “I rest after a meal.” 戻ってきて is the linking form of 戻ってくる, “to come back” or “to return.” 戻ってくる combines the idea of returning with movement toward the relevant reference point; its て form connects this action to what follows. Example: 家に戻ってきて、休みます。 — “I come back home and rest.” 方向 means “direction.” In this sentence it is the thing selected, marked by the following object marker を. Example: 方向を変えます。 — “I change direction.” 一つ means “one” item and uses the general native Japanese counter つ. Here it specifies one direction: 方向を一つ. Example: 質問を一つお願いします。 — “One question, please.” 選べます means “can choose.” It is the polite form of the potential form 選べる, from the verb 選ぶ “to choose.” The potential form expresses ability or possibility; it does not itself identify the person who can choose. Example: ここから一つ選べます。 — “You can choose one from here.” Together, 短い散歩の後で sets the time as “after a short walk.” 戻ってきて links returning with the next action, and 方向を一つ選べます says that one direction can be chosen. With the supplied translation, the understood subject is “we,” although Japanese leaves that subject unspoken. The whole utterance therefore means: “After a short walk, we can come back and choose one direction.”

10. 短く気持ちを切り替えれば、さらに一時間考えすぎずに済むかもしれません。

    A short reset might save us from another hour of overthinking.

    短く

    briefly

    気持ち

    feelings; state of mind

    切り替えれば

    if [someone] switches

    さらに

    another; further

    一時間

    one hour

    考えすぎずに

    without overthinking

    済む

    be settled; be finished

    More detail

    短く is the adverbial form of 短い (“short”). Here it describes doing the reset briefly, rather than describing the hour. The useful pattern is adjective stem + く for an adverb: 早い → 早く (“early/quickly”). 気持ち means a person’s feelings or state of mind. In 気持ちを切り替える, it is the thing being changed: the expression means “reset one’s state of mind” or “shift one’s mindset.” 気持ち is a noun; を marks it as the object of the action. 切り替えれば comes from 切り替える, “to switch” or “to change over,” with the conditional ending -ば. The condition is “if [the understood subject] resets their state of mind.” The subject is not stated in Japanese; the fixed translation supports “we” in this sentence. A reusable pattern is verb conditional -ば + a result: 時間があれば、行きます。 — “If I have time, I’ll go.” さらに adds the sense of “further” or “additional.” It applies to the amount of time here, so it helps make さらに一時間 mean “another hour” or “one more hour.” The numeric duration comes from 一時間, not from さらに or from the noun phrase by itself. 一時間 is the duration “one hour”: 一 is “one,” and 時間 is the time unit “hour(s)” in this duration expression. Japanese uses the counter expression 一時間 for an hour of elapsed time; for example, 一時間待ちました。 means “I waited for an hour.” 考えすぎずに is the negative form “without overthinking.” Its base expression is 考えすぎる, formed from 考える (“think”) plus すぎる (“do too much”); 考えすぎる means “think too much” or “overthink.” The -ずに form links a negative action to the next action and is equivalent here to “without doing.” Example: 急がずに話してください。 — “Please speak without hurrying.” By itself, 済む commonly means “be settled” or “be finished.” After a preceding verb in the -ずに form, the construction V-ずに済む means “manage without V-ing” or “not have to V.” Thus 考えすぎずに済む means “be spared from overthinking,” rather than simply “finish thinking.” At the end, かもしれません adds uncertainty in a polite form: “might” or “may.” It makes the result possible, not certain. Putting the parts together, 短く気持ちを切り替えれば means “if we briefly reset our state of mind”; さらに一時間考えすぎずに済む means “we might get through another hour without overthinking.” The complete utterance therefore means: “A short reset might save us from another hour of overthinking.”