Solving a Plant Care Problem | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. よく水をあげているのに、植物がしおれています。

   My plant is wilting, even though I water it often.

   よく

   often

   水

   water

   あげている

   be giving

   のに

   even though

   植物

   plant

   しおれています

   is wilting

   More detail

   よく means “often” here. It modifies the watering action, so the sentence presents watering as a repeated or frequent habit. Japanese よく can have other uses in other contexts, but “often” is the sense supported here. 水 is the noun “water.” In this sentence, 水を marks water as what is given: the particle を marks the direct object of あげている. あげている comes from あげる, “to give,” followed by -ている. With a plant, giving water naturally means watering it. Here -ている presents the action as continuing or being carried out repeatedly, matching “I water it.” The omitted subject is understood as the speaker because that is how the fixed translation expresses the action. A reusable pattern is Nをあげている = “be giving N” or, with something such as water given to a plant, “be watering it.” のに connects the frequent-watering clause to an unexpected result. After a clause, のに means “even though” or “despite the fact that.” The contrast is between frequent watering and the plant’s wilting; it does not itself mean “because.” 植物 means “plant.” Here it is the subject of the second clause, marked by が; the fixed translation identifies it as the speaker’s plant. しおれています is the polite form of しおれる, “to wilt.” It consists of the -ている form plus polite ます. With this change-of-state verb, -ている presents the plant as being in the resulting current condition, hence “is wilting” in the fixed translation. The form is nonpast, so it describes the present situation rather than placing the wilting in the past. Together, よく水をあげているのに means “even though I water it often,” and 植物がしおれています means “my plant is wilting.” The complete utterance is: “My plant is wilting, even though I water it often.”

2. 水が少なすぎるのではなく、多すぎるのかもしれません。

   It may have too much water rather than too little.

   水

   water

   少なすぎる

   too little

   のではなく

   rather than

   多すぎる

   too much

   のかもしれません

   may be

   More detail

   水 means “water” here. It is a noun, and 水が marks water as the subject of the description that follows. Japanese often uses a noun plus が with an adjective or adjective-like expression: for example, 時間が長い means “the time is long.” 少なすぎる says that the amount is excessively small: “be too little.” It is built from 少ない (“few; little”) and すぎる (“to exceed a suitable degree”). With an i-adjective such as 少ない, the final い is removed before すぎる: 少ない → 少なすぎる. This form describes the amount as below what is appropriate, not merely as small. のではなく creates a correction or contrast: “not …, but rather …” in this sentence. The の nominalizes the preceding clause 水が少なすぎる, and ではなく is the negative form of ではない (“is not”) in this linking pattern. The construction connects the rejected possibility to the alternative that follows. 多すぎる means “be too much.” It uses the same すぎる pattern with 多い (“many; much”): 多い → 多すぎる. Thus 少なすぎる and 多すぎる are contrasting forms: the first says an amount is excessively small, while the second says it is excessively large. In this utterance, 水が is understood with both descriptions, so the contrast is between water being too little and water being too much. のかもしれません expresses possibility politely: “may be” or “might be.” Here の nominalizes 多すぎる, and かもしれません means “it may be the case.” The plain form before かもしれない can be used in less formal speech; かもしれません is the polite version. The construction does not assert that the possibility is certain. Together, 水が少なすぎるのではなく、多すぎるのかもしれません means: “It may have too much water rather than too little.” More literally, it presents “the water being too little” as the rejected possibility and “the water being too much” as the possible alternative. The subject or situation referred to by the omitted subject is not stated in the Japanese clause itself; the fixed translation supplies the intended overall reading.

3. もっと水をあげれば、元気を取り戻すと思っていました。

   I thought more water would help it recover.

   もっと

   more

   水

   water

   あげれば

   if [someone] gives

   元気

   health; vigor

   取り戻す

   recover; regain

   と思っていました

   I thought

   More detail

   もっと means “more” or “additional,” and here it modifies 水: the speaker expected an amount greater than the amount already being given. A useful pattern is もっと + noun, as in もっと時間が必要です。 (“I need more time.”). The opposite quantity expression is 少ない (“little; few”), but もっと itself is not a comparative adjective inflection. 水 means “water.” It is a noun and does not change form for number. In this sentence it is the substance being given; Japanese commonly leaves the amount unmarked when context supplies the intended quantity. あげれば is the conditional form of あげる, “to give.” The ending -ば presents a condition: あげれば means “if [someone] gives [it].” In this sentence, もっと水をあげれば means “if [someone] gives it more water,” with the recipient understood from the situation and the fixed translation as it. The conditional form does not itself specify the giver’s person or gender. Compare あげる (“give”) with もらう (“receive”): the choice depends on the direction of the giving relationship. 元気 means “vigor,” “health,” or “well-being.” Here it is the condition that is expected to return, rather than a person’s mood specifically. It is a noun that can also describe a healthy or lively state, as in 元気な植物 (“a healthy plant”). 取り戻す means “to regain” or “to recover.” It is a verb formed with 取る (“take”) and 戻す (“return”), but its established meaning here is “regain,” not simply “take back” word by word. Its object is 元気: 元気を取り戻す means “regain vigor” or “recover.” The verb is in the plain non-past form, which can describe a possible or expected result inside the larger thought. と思っていました expresses “I thought” or “I had been thinking.” と marks the quoted thought, 思って is the continuative form of 思う (“think”), and いました is the past form of いる used in the pattern -ている. Together, と思っていました presents the speaker’s earlier belief or expectation. It does not by itself assert that the recovery actually happened. The sentence builds as もっと水をあげれば (“if [someone] gives it more water”) + 元気を取り戻す (“it will regain its vigor”) + と思っていました (“I thought”). Thus the complete meaning is: “I thought more water would help it recover.” The following context indicates that this earlier expectation concerned watering, while the advice to check drainage and let the soil dry suggests a different current course of action; the sentence itself only states the speaker’s earlier expectation.

4. 排水を確認して、土を少し乾かしてください。

   Check the drainage and let the soil dry a little.

   排水

   drainage

   確認して

   check and …

   土

   soil

   少し

   a little

   乾かしてください

   please let … dry

   More detail

   排水 means drainage: how water leaves the soil or container. It is a noun and can be used in compounds such as 排水口 (“drainage outlet”). In this sentence, it is the thing to be checked. 確認して is the て-form of 確認する (“to check” or “to confirm”). Here, the て-form links this instruction to the following one: “check … and …”. The polite request form is 確認してください (“please check”). 土 means soil. The particle を after it marks 土 as the object of the following action, so the instruction concerns drying the soil. The same noun can refer to soil or earth in other contexts; the sentence specifically concerns the soil whose drainage is being checked. 少し means a small amount or degree, here “a little.” It modifies the extent of drying: the instruction is not to dry the soil completely, but to dry it somewhat. For example, 少し待ってください means “Please wait a little.” 乾かしてください is a polite request built from the transitive verb 乾かす (“to dry something”): 乾かす → 乾かしてください. The ending てください makes a polite request. In this sentence, 土を supplies the object, so 土を乾かしてください means “Please dry the soil” or, naturally here, “Please let the soil dry a little.” Do not confuse 乾かす with the intransitive 乾く (“to become dry”); 土が乾きます describes the soil becoming dry, while 土を乾かします describes someone drying it. Together, 排水を確認して means “check the drainage and then,” while 土を少し乾かしてください means “please let the soil dry a little.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Check the drainage and let the soil dry a little.” The polite request form makes the instruction courteous.

5. 鉢の底に穴がないので、それが問題かもしれません。

   The pot has no hole at the bottom, which may be the problem.

   鉢

   pot

   底

   bottom

   穴

   hole

   ない

   not exist; have no

   ので

   because; since

   それ

   that; it

   問題

   problem

   かもしれません

   may; might

   More detail

   鉢 means “pot” here, specifically the container being discussed. The common reading is はち. Example: 鉢を洗います。 — “I wash the pot.” 底 means “bottom” or “base.” In 鉢の底, の links the two nouns: “the bottom of the pot.” The same pattern is reusable in 箱の底 — “the bottom of the box.” 穴 means “hole.” 鉢の底に穴 describes a hole located at the pot’s bottom; に marks the location. Example: 箱に穴があります。 — “There is a hole in the box.” ない says that something does not exist or is absent. Here it is the negative counterpart of ある, “exist; be present,” and refers to the hole: 穴がない means “there is no hole.” The form ない is also an i-adjective form, so it can directly modify a noun: 穴がない鉢 — “a pot with no hole.” ので follows the plain form ない in ないので and gives the reason: “because” or “since.” Thus 穴がないので means “because there is no hole.” Compared with the more direct から, ので commonly presents a reason in a relatively explanatory or soft manner. Example: 雨なので、出かけません。 — “Because it is raining, I will not go out.” それ is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” or “it.” In this utterance, the fixed translation identifies it as referring to the just-described condition that the pot has no hole at the bottom, rather than introducing a new participant. Japanese demonstratives do not themselves show grammatical gender or number. Example: それが原因かもしれません。 — “That may be the cause.” 問題 means “problem” or “issue.” In それが問題, the particle が marks それ as what is being identified as the problem. Example: 水不足が問題です。 — “Lack of water is a problem.” かもしれません expresses possibility: “may” or “might.” Its plain form is かもしれない; かもしれません is the polite form. It follows the clause or noun being presented as possible: 問題かもしれません means “may be the problem.” This construction does not assert that it is definitely the problem. Example: 明日、雨かもしれません。 — “It might rain tomorrow.” Together, 鉢の底に穴がない states that there is no hole at the bottom of the pot. ので makes that condition the reason or basis, and それが問題かもしれません says that this condition may be the problem. The whole utterance therefore means: “The pot has no hole at the bottom, which may be the problem.”

6. 水の逃げ場がないと、根が弱ることがあります。

   Roots can suffer when water has nowhere to escape.

   水

   water

   逃げ場

   place to escape

   がないと

   if there is no …

   根

   roots

   弱る

   become weak; suffer

   ことがあります

   can; sometimes

   More detail

   水 means “water” here. It is a noun and can be used in many practical patterns, such as 水をあげる (“give water”) and 水がたまる (“water collects”). 逃げ場 means a place or outlet for escape. It is a noun formed from 逃げる (“escape”) plus 場 (“place”), and it can describe a physical outlet, not only a place where a person escapes. In this sentence, it refers to an outlet for water. For example, 水の逃げ場を作る means “make an outlet for water.” がないと expresses the condition “if/when there is no …”. ない is the negative form of ある (“exist; be present”), and と marks a condition whose result is presented as a regular or natural consequence. Here, が marks 逃げ場 as what does not exist: 逃げ場がないと means “when there is no outlet.” 根 means “root” or “roots.” Japanese nouns do not normally mark singular versus plural, so this form can refer to one root or multiple roots; the translation identifies roots in this context. A useful related expression is 根が張る, “roots spread or become established.” 弱る is an intransitive verb meaning “become weak” or, for a plant, “suffer and lose strength.” Its base form is 弱る; the observed form is also the plain nonpast form. It describes a change in condition rather than directly making something weak. The transitive counterpart 弱める means “weaken something.” For example, 植物が弱る means “a plant becomes weak” or “a plant suffers.” ことがあります is a polite pattern meaning that an event can occur or sometimes occurs. Here, 弱ることがあります presents weakening as a possible outcome, not as something that always happens. The noun こと turns the preceding verb phrase into “the event of …,” and あります is the polite form of ある. For example, 冬に葉が落ちることがあります means “Leaves sometimes fall in winter.” Together, 水の逃げ場 means “an outlet for water,” and 逃げ場がないと sets the condition “when there is no outlet.” The result 根が弱ることがあります says that the roots can suffer or become weak. Thus the whole utterance means: “Roots can suffer when water has nowhere to escape.”

7. 窓の近くにも移したほうがいいですか。

   Should I move it closer to the window too?

   窓

   window

   近く

   nearby area

   にも

   also; too

   移した

   moved it

   ほうがいい

   it is better to

   ですか

   polite question ending

   More detail

   窓 means “window.” In 窓の近く, の links 窓 to the following location word, giving “near the window.” 近く means “nearby area” or “vicinity” here. It can name a location, as in 窓の近くに置く, “put it near the window.” にも combines the location particle に with も, meaning “also” or “too.” Here it adds the area near the window as another possible destination: 窓の近くにも means “to the area near the window too.” 移した is the past/plain form of the transitive verb 移す, “to move or transfer something.” The object is omitted in Japanese; the fixed translation identifies it as “it.” The related intransitive verb is 移る, “to move” or “to transfer itself”: 場所を移す means “move something to another place,” while 別の場所に移る means “move to another place” oneself or by itself. 移したほうがいい illustrates the reusable advice pattern V-たほうがいい, meaning “it is better to do V.” In a question, it can ask whether doing V is advisable. Although 移した has a past-looking form, this pattern does not say that the moving happened in the past; it presents moving it as the preferable action. ですか is a polite question ending. With 移したほうがいい, it makes a polite question about whether moving it would be the better choice. The です here is part of the polite expression and does not independently correspond to an English “is.” Combining the parts, 窓の近くにも identifies an additional destination, and 移したほうがいいですか asks whether the speaker should move the omitted object there. The whole utterance means, “Should I move it closer to the window too?”

8. 何が役立つか分かるように、一度に一つずつ変えてみてください。

   Try changing one thing at a time so you can tell what helps.

   何が

   what

   役立つ

   help; be useful

   分かる

   understand; tell

   ように

   so that

   一度に一つずつ

   one thing at a time

   変えてみてください

   please try changing

   More detail

   何が asks which unspecified thing is the subject of the following clause. Here it is the thing that may be useful, not a specific referent identified by the sentence. In the pattern 何が〜か, 何が means “what” inside an embedded question. 役立つ is the dictionary form of the verb meaning “to be useful” or “to help.” It is an intransitive verb: the useful thing is marked by が, as in この情報が役立つ (“This information is useful”). The related expression 役に立つ also means “to be useful,” but it is a different form and is not the form used here. 分かる is the dictionary form meaning “to understand,” “to know,” or “to become clear.” In this sentence, 何が役立つか分かる means “tell what is useful” or, more literally, “know what is useful.” The question particle か closes the embedded question; it does not make the whole sentence a direct question. ように marks a desired result or purpose here: “so that …” or “in order to make it possible that ….” The clause 何が役立つか分かるように means “so that you can tell what helps.” Japanese ように has other uses too, so its exact meaning comes from the clause it connects here. 一度に一つずつ combines 一度に (“at one time”) with 一つずつ (“one each” or “one by one”). Together they specify the method: change only one thing at a time. The repeated quantity wording emphasizes separate, successive changes rather than changing several things together. 変えてみてください contains 変える, the dictionary form of the transitive verb “to change,” followed by てみる and ください. The pattern 〜てみる means “try doing 〜”; in this form, 変えてみる becomes 変えてみて before ください. 〜てください is a polite request, so 変えてみてください means “please try changing [it/one thing].” The object is understood from the situation and is not stated in this utterance. Putting the parts together, 何が役立つか分かるように gives the goal “so you can tell what helps,” 一度に一つずつ gives the method “one thing at a time,” and 変えてみてください gives the polite request “please try changing.” The whole utterance therefore means: “Try changing one thing at a time so you can tell what helps.”

9. それなら植え替えて、今週は水やりを減らします。

   Then I will repot it and water it less this week.

   それなら

   then; in that case

   植え替えて

   repot and

   今週は

   this week

   水やり

   watering

   減らします

   will reduce

   More detail

   それなら means “then” or “in that case.” それ refers to a situation or information already available in the conversation, and なら sets that situation as the condition for what follows. A reusable pattern is それなら、… (“If that is the case, …”). 植え替えて is the て-form of 植え替える, “to repot” or “to transplant.” Here the て-form links this action to the next one: “repot it and …” The object is omitted in Japanese and is understood as “it” in the fixed translation. The verb’s plain forms include 植え替える (nonpast) and 植え替えた (past); the observed form is the linking form, not a command by itself. 今週は means “this week,” with は marking this time period as the topic or frame. The sentence therefore presents the reduction in watering as something that will apply this week. A similar pattern is 今日は休みます (“I will rest today”), where 今日 is the time frame and は marks it. 水やり is the noun “watering,” formed from 水 (“water”) and the verb やる in the noun-forming expression 水やり. It commonly appears with する, as in 水やりをする (“to water” / “do the watering”). In this sentence, 水やりを is the object being reduced, not the water itself. 減らします is the polite nonpast form of 減らす, “to reduce” or “to lessen.” The nonpast form can describe a future decision when the context does, so here it means “will reduce.” 減らす is a transitive verb: someone reduces something, here the amount or frequency of watering. Its related intransitive counterpart is 減る, “to decrease,” as in 水やりが減ります (“the watering decreases”); this sentence instead uses 水やりを減らします, explicitly presenting the speaker as the one making the reduction. Together, それなら establishes the condition, 植え替えて gives the first linked action, and 今週は水やりを減らします states the time frame and the second action. The complete meaning is: “Then I will repot it and water it less this week.”

10. 植物の世話は、ほとんど観察と小さな調整です。

    Plant care is mostly observation and small adjustments.

    植物

    plant

    世話

    care

    ほとんど

    mostly

    観察

    observation

    小さな

    small

    調整

    adjustment

    More detail

    植物 means “plant.” It is a noun and can refer to a plant as an individual or to plants in general, depending on context. For example, 植物を育てます。 means “I grow plants.” 世話 means “care” or “looking after.” With の, the phrase 植物の世話 means “care of plants” or “plant care”: の links the first noun to the area or object of the second noun. For example, 犬の世話 means “care of a dog.” ほとんど means “mostly” here. It indicates that what follows makes up nearly all or the main part of something; it does not mean that the activity is completely limited to that part. For example, 仕事はほとんど終わりました。 means “The work is almost finished.” 観察 means “observation.” It is a noun, and it can also be used with する to form the verb 観察する, “to observe.” For example, 葉を観察します。 means “I observe the leaves.” 小さな means “small” before a noun. Unlike the ordinary i-adjective 小さい, this attributive form is 小さな: 小さな変化 means “a small change.” In this sentence it describes 調整, not 観察. 調整 means “adjustment” or “adjusting.” It is a noun and can also combine with する as 調整する, “to adjust.” The plural sense “adjustments” is supplied by context here; Japanese nouns generally do not change form to mark singular versus plural. For example, 温度を調整します。 means “I adjust the temperature.” The topic marker は makes 植物の世話は the topic: “As for plant care…” The noun phrase 観察と小さな調整 joins two noun phrases with と: “observation and small adjustments.” Finally, です is the polite nonpast copula, linking the topic with that description. Together, the sentence says: “As for plant care, it is mostly observation and small adjustments.” It presents plant care as consisting mainly of watching what is happening and making minor changes. The polite ending です gives the statement a neutral, courteous tone.