2014年10月26日日曜日

the last - last

I am sorry that I have been lazy about writing my English blog. So I am writing one more post this month. It is short though...
Here is a question for you. How do you translate these?
  1. The last Saturday in October
  2. The last two people
  3. Last Saturday
  4. Last time
The answers are:
  1. 10 gatsu no saigo no doyobi
  2. saigo no futari
  3. senshu no doyobi, kono mae no doyobi
  4. zenkai, kono mae no toki
You can translate “last” two different ways, but the difference is simple when you compare them. “The last” (the antonym of “the first”) is “saigo no”; and “last” (the antonym of “next”) is “kono mae no”.
the last (saigo no) the first (saisho no)
last (kono mae no)  next (tsugi no)
When you confuse “saigo no” and “kono mae no”, it’s good to think of the antonym of the “last” that you’re using in English. 
However, both work on this English sentence:
When was the last time you went to an onsen?
saigo ni onsen ni itta no wa itsu des ka? 
kono mae onsen ni itta no wa itsu des ka? 


2014年10月19日日曜日

deru (出る)

A couple weeks ago, a volcano in Japan erupted. This eruption is a tragedy because there are many victims. At the same time, I realized again that the earth is a living thing. Japan has 110 active volcanoes and its highest mountain, Mt. Fuji, is one of them. An active volcano is one that has erupted within the past 10,000 years. The time we have lived is nothing more than one fleeting moment compared to the history of the earth. By the way, Mt. Fuji last erupted in 1707.

It is rather boring to talk about details of Japanese grammar after having a topic as big as the grand history of the earth, but I’d like to discuss the word “deru” (出る) today.


The kanji “” is familiar even to non-Japanese because you often see signs with “出口” on them at stations. “” means “out” and “出口” (out mouth) means “exit”. This is an easy example of kanji words. 
The verb for this kanji is “deru”.
  • Uchi o hachi ji ni deru. (I leave my house at 8). 
  • Densha wa nanji ni eki o deru? (What time is the train leaving?)
Meaning: to go away from a place, leave a place and go somewhere else
The point is, you should use (o) when you leave places, such as uchi o , eki o. This indicates the starting location.

Then, what is the meaning of following examples?
  • Kare wa ashita no shiai ni deru.
  • Kaigi ni deru.
  • Denwa ni deru.
“Shiai ni deru” is not the same as “shiai kara deru” (leave a game). This is actually “play in a game”. The meaning of “deru” here is basically the opposite of its meaning in “uchi o deru” from earlier, isn’t it?
The meaning of “deru” changes depending on whether or you use “ni” or “o”.

Meaning: to go to a specific place to do something

  • Shiai ni deru: to go to a game in order to participate in it.
  • Kaigi ni deru: to attend a meeting
  • Denwa ni deru: to answer the telephone
When you use “deru”, think carefully about whether to use “o” or “ni”.