Japanese · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 10 of 12
Describing people
どんな人？Donna hito?
Describe what people look like, what they're wearing and what they're like in Japanese: 背が高い, ～ている for clothes, and your first relative clauses.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Describe someone's looks with は and が: 背が高い (se ga takai)
- Say what someone is wearing with ～ている (-te iru)
- Describe someone with a whole phrase before the noun
- Say what someone was like as a child
Listen
In Kumamoto, Uchida Keiko asks her son Haruto, 16, to meet his aunt at the station. He hasn't seen her since he was small. They speak casually. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Keiko
陽翔、明日の三時、熊本駅まで幸子おばさんを迎えに行って。
Haruto, ashita no sanji, Kumamoto eki made Sachiko-obasan o mukae ni itte.
Haruto, go and meet Aunt Sachiko at Kumamoto station at three tomorrow.
Haruto
いいよ。でも、おばさんはどんな人？
Ii yo. Demo, obasan wa donna hito?
OK. But what's she like?
Keiko
背が高い人だよ。髪も長い。
Se ga takai hito da yo. Kami mo nagai.
She's tall. And she has long hair.
Haruto
眼鏡をかけている？
Megane o kakete iru?
Does she wear glasses?
Keiko
ううん。でも、いつも赤い帽子をかぶっているよ。
Uun. Demo, itsumo akai bōshi o kabutte iru yo.
No. But she always wears a red hat.
Haruto
顔はお母さんに似ている？
Kao wa okāsan ni nite iru?
Does she look like you?
Keiko
うん、よく似ているよ。
Un, yoku nite iru yo.
Yes, she looks a lot like me.
Haruto
厳しい人？
Kibishii hito?
Is she strict?
Keiko
全然。子供の時はおとなしかったけど、今は面白い人だよ。
Zenzen. Kodomo no toki wa otonashikatta kedo, ima wa omoshiroi hito da yo.
Not at all. She was quiet as a child, but now she's great fun.
Haruto
わかった。赤い帽子をかぶっている、背が高い人ね。
Wakatta. Akai bōshi o kabutte iru, se ga takai hito ne.
Got it. A tall woman in a red hat.
Keiko
そう。三時に改札の前で待っていてね。
Sō. Sanji ni kaisatsu no mae de matte ite ne.
That's right. Wait in front of the ticket gates at three, OK?
Understand
Looks and character: XはYが～
To describe a feature, Japanese marks the person with は (wa) and the feature with (ga): (obasan wa se ga takai), my aunt is tall, literally “as for my aunt, her height is high”. In the same way: (kami ga nagai), she has long hair.
Keiko describes her sister's past in the plain form, because she's talking to her son: (kodomo no toki wa otonashikatta), she was quiet as a child. With な-adjectives and nouns it's (datta): (shizuka datta).
| Looks | Meaning | Character | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| (se ga takai) | tall | (yasashii) | kind |
| (se ga hikui) | short | (omoshiroi) | funny, interesting |
| (kami ga nagai) | long-haired | (kibishii) | strict |
| (kami ga mijikai) | short-haired | (otonashii) | quiet, gentle |
Wearing and looking like: ～ている
To say what someone has on, use a wearing verb in the ～ている form: (akai bōshi o kabutte iru), she's wearing a red hat. Each kind of thing has its own verb: (kiru) for jackets and coats, (haku) for trousers and shoes, (kaburu) for hats, (kakeru) for glasses. The ～ている form also covers habits: (itsumo akai bōshi o kabutte iru), she always wears a red hat; (itsumo) means “always”.
(nite iru), to look like, is almost always in the ～ている form, with (ni) for the person: (haha ni nite iru), she looks like my mother.
- 眼鏡をかけています。Megane o kakete imasu.She wears glasses.
- 黒いコートを着ています。Kuroi kōto o kite imasu.He's wearing a black coat.
- 妹は父に似ています。Imōto wa chichi ni nite imasu.My younger sister looks like my father.
A phrase before the noun: relative clauses
To describe someone with a whole phrase, put the phrase in the plain form before the noun, just like an adjective: (akai bōshi o kabutte iru hito), the person wearing a red hat. There's no word for “who” or “that”; the phrase simply sits in front of (hito).
The phrase can be in the past too: (kinō atta hito), the person I met yesterday. Even in a polite sentence, the phrase before the noun stays plain: (megane o kakete iru hito ga ani desu), the man wearing glasses is my brother.
- 赤い帽子をかぶっている人が私のおばです。Akai bōshi o kabutte iru hito ga watashi no oba desu.The woman wearing the red hat is my aunt.
- 昨日会った人は背が高かったです。Kinō atta hito wa se ga takakatta desu.The person I met yesterday was tall.
More in the grammar: ～ている and ～てある · Relative clauses
New words
- 迎えに行くmukae ni ikuto go and meet, to pick up · むかえにいく; (eki made mukae ni iku)
- おばさんobasanaunt; a woman of your parents' age · Talking about your own aunt to others, say (oba).
- 背が高いse ga takaitall · せがたかい; short: (se ga hikui)
- 髪kamihair (on the head) · かみ
- 長いnagailong · ながい; short: (mijikai)
- 眼鏡をかけるmegane o kakeruto wear glasses · めがねをかける
- 帽子bōshihat, cap · ぼうし
- かぶるkaburuto put on, wear (a hat) · u-verb
- 顔kaoface · かお
- 似ているnite iruto look like, to be similar · にている; (haha ni nite iru), looks like my mother
- 厳しいkibishiistrict · きびしい
- 子供の時kodomo no tokias a child, when (someone) was a child · こどものとき
- おとなしいotonashiiquiet, gentle (of a person)
- 面白いomoshiroifunny, interesting · おもしろい
Practise
1.How do you say “She's tall”?
2.Which sentence means “She wears glasses”?
3.Put the words in order: say it's the person wearing a red hat.
Tap the words below in the right order.It's the person wearing a red hat.
4.Match the Japanese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
5.How do you say “Haruto looks like his mother”?
6.Put the words in order: say the man wearing glasses is your older brother.
Tap the words below in the right order.The man wearing glasses is my older brother.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
どんな人ですか？
Donna hito desu ka?
What is he / she like?
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.