Japanese · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 8 of 12
Food and shopping
食べ物と買い物Tabemono to kaimono
Buy fruit and vegetables in Japanese: counters for food, why nouns have no plural, saying what you want with ほしい, and getting your change.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Buy food in the right quantities with ～つ, ～個 and ～本
- Say what you'd like with ほしいです (hoshii desu)
- Say “no thanks” politely
- Understand prices and change
Listen
Kato Emi buys fruit and vegetables at a stall in Omicho Market in Kanazawa. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Stallholder
いらっしゃい。
Irasshai.
Hello, come and have a look.
Kato
このりんごは甘いですか？
Kono ringo wa amai desu ka?
Are these apples sweet?
Stallholder
はい、とても甘いです。一個百五十円です。
Hai, totemo amai desu. Ikko hyaku gojūen desu.
Yes, very sweet. They're 150 yen each.
Kato
では、三つください。トマトときゅうりもほしいです。
De wa, mittsu kudasai. Tomato to kyūri mo hoshii desu.
Then three, please. I'd also like some tomatoes and cucumbers.
Stallholder
トマトは何個ですか？
Tomato wa nanko desu ka?
How many tomatoes?
Kato
四個お願いします。きゅうりは二本ください。
Yonko onegai shimasu. Kyūri wa nihon kudasai.
Four, please. And two cucumbers.
Stallholder
全部で千百五十円です。袋はいりますか？
Zenbu de sen hyaku gojūen desu. Fukuro wa irimasu ka?
That's 1,150 yen altogether. Do you need a bag?
Kato
大丈夫です。
Daijōbu desu.
No, thanks, I'm fine.
Stallholder
二千円ですね。お釣りは八百五十円です。
Nisen'en desu ne. Otsuri wa happyaku gojūen desu.
2,000 yen, thank you. Here's your change: 850 yen.
Kato
ありがとうございます。
Arigatō gozaimasu.
Thank you.
Understand
Counting food: ～つ, ～個, ～本
You know (hitotsu), (futatsu), (mittsu) from chapter 3. They work for almost anything. Two more counters are common in shops: -個 (-ko) for small, round things like apples and tomatoes, and -本 (-hon) for long, thin things like cucumbers, carrots, bottles and pens.
As with (hitotsu), the number goes after the thing and its particle: (ringo o mittsu kudasai), three apples, please; (tomato o yonko kudasai), four tomatoes, please. Some numbers change their sound; you don't need to learn these by heart, just recognise them.
| Number | -個 (small, round) | -本 (long, thin) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (ikko) | (ippon) |
| 2 | (niko) | (nihon) |
| 3 | (sanko) | (sanbon) |
| 4 | (yonko) | (yonhon) |
| 5 | (goko) | (gohon) |
| 6 | (rokko) | (roppon) |
| 8 | (hakko) | (happon) |
| 10 | (jukko) | (juppon) |
| how many? | (nanko) | (nanbon) |
One apple, three apples: no plural
Japanese nouns usually have no plural form: (ringo) is “an apple” or “apples”, and the number or the situation makes it clear. As you saw in chapter 1, there are no words for “a” or “the” either. For people you can add -たち (-tachi), as in (watashitachi), we. A bag of something is (hitofukuro): (mikan o hitofukuro kudasai), a bag of mandarins, please.
I'd like: ほしいです
(hoshii) means “wanted”. It's an adjective, not a verb, and the thing you want takes (ga): (tomato ga hoshii desu), I'd like some tomatoes. It tells people what you want; to actually ask for something in a shop, (kudasai) and (onegai shimasu) are more usual. Don't use (hoshii) to ask what someone else wants: it sounds too direct.
(daijōbu desu) means “it's OK, I'm fine”. In shops it's the everyday polite way to say “no, thanks”: when someone offers a bag, a receipt or something else you don't need.
- みかんがほしいです。Mikan ga hoshii desu.I'd like some mandarins.
- きゅうりを三本ください。Kyūri o sanbon kudasai.Three cucumbers, please.
- 袋は大丈夫です。Fukuro wa daijōbu desu.I don't need a bag, thanks.
More in the grammar: Numbers, counters, time and dates · Wanting: ～たい and ほしい
New words
- いらっしゃいirasshaiwelcome, come in (at markets and small shops) · A shorter, more casual (irasshaimase).
- りんごringoapple
- 甘いamaisweet · あまい
- ～個-ko(counter for small, round things) · こ; (ikko), one; (yonko), four
- トマトtomatotomato
- きゅうりkyūricucumber
- ほしいhoshiiwanted; I'd like (a thing) · (tomato ga hoshii desu), I'd like some tomatoes
- ～本-hon(counter for long, thin things) · ほん; (nihon), two; (sanbon), three
- 袋fukurobag · ふくろ
- いりますirimasuneed · (fukuro wa irimasu ka?), do you need a bag?
- 大丈夫ですdaijōbu desuno, thanks; I'm fine; it's OK · だいじょうぶです
- お釣りotsurichange (money) · おつり
- みかんmikanmandarin, satsuma
- 一袋hitofukuroone bag (of) · ひとふくろ
Practise
1.Which counter do you use for cucumbers?
2.Put the words in order to ask for three apples.
Tap the words below in the right order.Three apples, please.
3.Match the Japanese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
4.How do you say “three” with -本 (-hon)?
5.The stallholder asks (fukuro wa irimasu ka?). You have your own bag. What do you say?
6.Put the words in order to ask for a bag of mandarins.
Tap the words below in the right order.A bag of mandarins, please.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
りんごを三つください。
Ringo o mittsu kudasai.
Three apples, please.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.