VCE Japanese SL flashcards

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

です・ます register

The polite style used with acquaintances, teachers, customers, and strangers. Verbs end in ます and adjectives or nouns take です. It is the default register for classroom speech and formal writing.

Plain form register

The casual style ending verbs in dictionary, た, or ない form and nouns or adjectives in だ. Used with close friends, family, and in-group members, and as the base for embedding clauses.

〜ませんか invitation

A polite invitation that leaves the listener free to decline, meaning 'won't you do X?'. It is softer and more open than 〜ましょう, which presumes the listener will agree.

〜てくれる and 〜てもらう

Both describe receiving a favour. 〜てくれる focuses on the giver acting for me; 〜てもらう focuses on me receiving the action. Choose by which participant is the topic.

〜てもいいですか

Asks permission to do something, meaning 'may I do X?'. The negative reply 〜てはいけません prohibits, while 〜なくてもいいです means the action is not required.

あいづち

Short back-channel responses such as そうですね, なるほど, and へえ that show the listener is following. They maintain conversation flow and do not usually introduce new content.

お〜ください request

An honorific request form built from お plus the ます-stem plus ください, as in お待ちください. It raises the addressee's action and suits service and formal settings.

〜ていただけませんか

A humble, polite request meaning 'could you possibly do X for me?'. The humble auxiliary いただく lowers the speaker, making the request more deferential than 〜てください.

だ・である written style

The plain written style found in reports, essays, and news. Nouns and na-adjectives take である rather than だ, and the tone is impersonal and factual compared with です・ます prose.

〜そうです hearsay vs appearance

After a plain form, 〜そうです reports hearsay ('I heard that'). After a stem or adjective stem, it reports appearance ('it looks like'), so the preceding form decides the meaning.

〜らしい

Expresses hearsay or typicality, meaning 'apparently' or 'befitting'. It differs from 〜そうです by allowing the speaker to present the information as a characteristic of the subject.

〜はずです

States an expectation grounded in evidence or reasoning, meaning 'should be' or 'ought to be'. It is stronger than 〜かもしれません, which merely allows a possibility.

しかし and でも

Contrast connectors meaning 'however'. しかし belongs to formal written prose, while でも suits casual speech and informal writing; both reverse the expectation set by the previous clause.

Katakana loanword decoding

Katakana writes foreign words such as コンビニ and アルバイト. Long vowels use ー and geminate consonants use small ッ, so reading aloud helps recover the source word.

Counters 〜人 〜枚 〜本

Counters attach to numerals and match noun classes: 〜人 for people, 〜枚 for flat things, 〜本 for long thin objects, 〜冊 for books, 〜台 for machines. The counter follows the number.

Sentence-final particles よ and ね

よ presents information the listener does not yet have, while ね seeks or confirms shared understanding. Their choice reveals the speaker's assumption about the listener's knowledge.

〜ぐらい and 〜ごろ

Both approximate, but 〜ぐらい attaches to quantities and amounts, while 〜ごろ attaches to points in time such as 三時ごろ. Mixing them produces an unnatural sentence.

Speech signposting

Expressions such as まず, 次に, and 最後に organise a presentation into ordered points. They tell the audience where the argument stands and are paired with an opening topic statement.

Opinion paragraph formula

State the claim with 私は〜と思います, give a reason with なぜなら〜からです, add たとえば for an example, then restate with だから〜のです. This order keeps the argument explicit.

AよりBのほうが

A comparison pattern meaning 'B is more X than A'. The alternative AとBとどちらが〜ですか asks which of two is more X, and AはBほど〜くない states A is less X than B.

〜ながら and 〜てから

〜ながら marks two simultaneous actions by one subject, with the main action in the final clause. 〜てから marks sequence, meaning the second action follows the first.

〜ことにする vs 〜ことになる

〜ことにする records a decision the speaker makes; 〜ことになる records a result decided by circumstance or others. The contrast shows who controls the outcome.

〜させていただきます

A humble form announcing one's own action, literally 'I will be permitted to do'. It suits formal self-introductions and presentations, adding deference without changing the action.

Connectors また and 一方

また adds a further point, while 一方 introduces a contrast or a parallel aspect. Both are formal written connectors and signal how the next sentence relates to the previous one.

手紙 format

A Japanese letter opens with 拝啓 and a seasonal greeting, develops the body, closes with けいぐ and a set phrase, and places the date and sender at the end.

Jōyō kanji

The 2,136 kanji designated as the standard literacy list for compulsory education and daily life. Headlines and official documents generally stay within this set, so it bounds reading expectations.

Japanese verb groups

Group 1 u-verbs change final kana across forms, Group 2 ru-verbs drop る before ます, and Group 3 covers irregular する and 来る. Classify a verb before conjugating it.

Pitch accent はし

Japanese uses pitch to distinguish words: はし with different accent patterns means 'chopsticks' or 'bridge'. Particles attach to the preceding phrase, and the verb comes last.

内 and 外

The in-group and out-group distinction. When speaking to an outsider, one uses humble forms for in-group members such as family or colleagues, and honorific forms for the outsider.

お中元 and お歳暮

Seasonal gift-giving customs: お中元 in summer and お歳暮 at year end, given to people who have helped you. New Year is marked by 年賀状 cards, おせち food, and 初もうで.

Name suffixes さん さま くん

〜さん is the general polite suffix, 〜さま addresses customers and appears in letters, 〜くん addresses male juniors, and 〜ちゃん marks children or close affection. Omitting a suffix signals intimacy or rudeness.