VCE Japanese First Language flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

は versus が

は marks a known topic and sets the frame of the sentence; が marks the grammatical subject, often introducing new or emphasised information, as in だれが来ましたか.

In-group family terms

When speaking to outsiders, refer to your own relatives with 母, 父, 兄, 姉 and to the listener's with お母さん, お父さん, お兄さん, お姉さん.

Counter 人 and 歳

人 counts people with readings ひとり, ふたり, さんにん; 歳 counts age with さい, including irregular はたち for twenty years old.

Transitive-intransitive pairs

Pairs such as 開ける/開く and 始める/始まる differ in whether an agent acts on an object; the transitive member takes を, the intransitive takes が.

Katakana long vowel mark

The mark ー lengthens the preceding katakana vowel, as in コーヒー and サービス; omitting it changes the word or makes it unrecognisable.

Plain versus polite form

Plain form (食べる, 食べた) appears before と思う, と言う and in casual writing; ます/です form is used in formal speech, letters and self-introductions.

Small っ gemination

A small っ doubles the following consonant and adds one mora of length, distinguishing pairs such as きて (come) and きって (stamp).

Particle で functions

で marks the location where an action occurs (学校で勉強する), the means or tool (ペンで書く), and the material or language used.

て-form of ている

Verb て-form plus いる expresses an action in progress (今読んでいる) or a state resulting from a past change (結婚している).

あげる, もらう, くれる

あげる means I or my group gives; もらう means I receive; くれる means someone gives to me or my in-group. Direction, not politeness, separates them.

Conditional と

と expresses a natural or automatic consequence and cannot be followed by a volitional ending such as ください or つもりだ.

Conditional たら

たら means once or when something happens, and also covers hypothetical conditions; it is the most broadly usable conditional in conversation.

Polite request ていただけませんか

This negative question form is a highly polite request, more deferential than てください and slightly more formal than てもらえますか.

ておく preparatory action

Verb て-form plus おく means doing something in advance or leaving a state as it is, as in 予約しておきます (I will book ahead).

てしまう completion or regret

Verb て-form plus しまう marks an action completed fully or one the speaker regrets, as in 忘れてしまった (I unfortunately forgot).

Time particle に

に attaches to specific clock times, dates and weekdays (七時に, 月曜日に) but is omitted with deictic words such as 今日, 明日 and 毎日.

School collocations

Fixed verb-noun pairs include 授業を受ける, 部活に入る, 宿題をする, 委員会に入る and 試験に合格する; wrong verb choice is a common error.

Passive formation

Godan verbs change final u to a plus れる; ichidan verbs add られる; する becomes される and くる becomes こられる. The agent takes に.

Causative formation

Godan verbs take a plus せる; ichidan verbs take させる; する becomes させる and くる becomes こさせる. The causee usually takes に or を.

Causative-passive させられる

This form describes being made to do something against one's will, as in 先生に作文を書かせられた (I was made to write an essay).

Nominaliser こと versus の

Both turn clauses into nouns, but verbs of perception such as 見える and 聞こえる take の, while こと suits abstract statements like 〜ことは大切だ.

Hearsay そうだ

Attached to plain form, そうだ reports information heard from elsewhere (雨が降るそうだ); attached to a stem it instead means looks like.

Source marker によると

によると names the source of reported information and normally pairs with a hearsay expression such as そうだ or ということだ.

Contrast のに

のに marks a result that contradicts expectation and often carries complaint or surprise, unlike neutral が or けれども.

Concession ても

Verb or adjective て-form plus も means even if or even though, as in 雨が降っても行きます (I will go even if it rains).

Formal written style である

Reports and essays replace です・ます with だ・である; である states facts, while だ typically defines or identifies.

尊敬語 examples

Respectful verbs replace plain verbs for another person's actions: いらっしゃる for 行く・来る・いる, おっしゃる for 言う, 召し上がる for 食べる.

謙譲語 examples

Humble verbs lower the speaker's own action: 伺う for 行く・聞く, 申す for 言う, いただく for 食べる・もらう, おる for いる.

おます-stemになる pattern

This respectful pattern describes another person's action, as in 先生がお書きになる; humble counterpart おます-stemする describes the speaker's own action.

つもりだ versus 予定だ

つもりだ states the speaker's own intention; 予定だ states a scheduled plan, often one arranged by someone else or already fixed.

ために versus ように

ために expresses deliberate purpose with volitional verbs; ように expresses purpose with non-volitional verbs or effort toward a state, as in 見えるように.

ことにする versus ことになる

ことにする records the speaker's own decision; ことになる reports a decision reached by circumstance or by others, without the speaker's agency.

Essay signposting adverbs

まず, 次に, さらに and したがって sequence and connect arguments; Japanese academic writing expects these explicit markers rather than implicit links.