Japanese · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 4 of 12
Home and housing
部屋探しHeya sagashi
Look at flats with a friend in casual Japanese: plain forms, よ and ね, comparing with より and のほう, and rents in 万 (man).
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Use the plain forms of verbs, adjectives and nouns
- Talk casually with friends, with よ (yo) and ね (ne)
- Compare two places and say which is best
- Understand rents and distances in flat listings
Listen
Friends Kondo Airi and Sakamoto Mio look at a flat to rent in Yokohama; they saw another one yesterday. They speak casually. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Airi
この部屋、どう？家賃は八万円だよ。
Kono heya, dō? Yachin wa hachiman'en da yo.
What do you think of this flat? The rent is 80,000 yen.
Mio
安いね。駅から近い？
Yasui ne. Eki kara chikai?
That's cheap. Is it close to the station?
Airi
徒歩十五分。ちょっと遠いよね。
Toho jūgofun. Chotto tōi yo ne.
Fifteen minutes on foot. A bit far, isn't it?
Mio
うん。部屋もちょっと古いね。
Un. Heya mo chotto furui ne.
Yeah. And the flat's a bit old.
Airi
この部屋と昨日の部屋と、どっちがいい？
Kono heya to kinō no heya to, dotchi ga ii?
Which is better, this flat or the one from yesterday?
Mio
昨日の部屋のほうが便利だよ。駅から徒歩五分だった。
Kinō no heya no hō ga benri da yo. Eki kara toho gofun datta.
Yesterday's flat is more convenient. It was five minutes' walk from the station.
Airi
うん。でも、家賃はここより一万円高いよ。
Un. Demo, yachin wa koko yori ichiman'en takai yo.
Yes. But the rent is 10,000 yen higher than here.
Mio
そうだね。日当たりは？
Sō da ne. Hiatari wa?
That's true. And the sunlight?
Airi
昨日の部屋のほうがよかった。でも、この部屋は静かだよ。
Kinō no heya no hō ga yokatta. Demo, kono heya wa shizuka da yo.
Yesterday's flat was better. But this one is quiet.
Mio
近所にコンビニもないね。
Kinjo ni konbini mo nai ne.
There isn't a convenience store nearby either.
Airi
うーん、迷う…。
Ūn, mayou…
Hmm, I can't decide…
Mio
駅の近くが一番だよ。
Eki no chikaku ga ichiban da yo.
Near the station is best, you know.
Understand
Plain forms
Every verb, adjective and noun sentence has a plain form as well as the polite です／ます form. Friends and family use plain forms with each other, and they also appear inside longer sentences, even polite ones.
You already know the pieces. The plain “now” form is the dictionary form; “not” is the ない-form; the plain past is the た-form (chapter 3). For the past negative, ない becomes なかった, just like an い-adjective. い-adjectives simply drop (desu). な-adjectives and nouns use (da) instead of , and (datta) instead of (deshita).
| Polite | Plain | Not | Past | Past, not |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (ikimasu) | (iku) | (ikanai) | (itta) | (ikanakatta) |
| (tabemasu) | (taberu) | (tabenai) | (tabeta) | (tabenakatta) |
| (arimasu) | (aru) | (nai) | (atta) | (nakatta) |
| (shimasu) | (suru) | (shinai) | (shita) | (shinakatta) |
| (kimasu) | (kuru) | (konai) | (kita) | (konakatta) |
| (takai desu) | (takai) | (takakunai) | (takakatta) | (takakunakatta) |
| (ii desu) | (ii) | (yokunai) | (yokatta) | (yokunakatta) |
| (shizuka desu) | (shizuka da) | (shizuka ja nai) | (shizuka datta) | (shizuka ja nakatta) |
| (yasumi desu) | (yasumi da) | (yasumi ja nai) | (yasumi datta) | (yasumi ja nakatta) |
Casual speech: よ, ね and よね
In casual questions, (ka) is dropped and the voice goes up: (eki kara chikai?), is it close to the station? (da) is dropped in questions too: (shizuka?). Little particles like は (wa) and (o) are often left out: (kono heya, dō?). (un) means “yes” and (uun) “no”. (demo) starts a sentence with “but”; (kedo) is the casual (ga) that joins two ideas: (tōi kedo, shizuka da yo), it's far, but it's quiet.
(yo) at the end tells the listener something new, a bit like “you know”: (hachiman'en da yo). (ne), which you know from A1, looks for agreement or shares a feeling: (yasui ne), that's cheap, isn't it. (yo ne) checks that the other person agrees: (tōi yo ne), it's far, right?
Comparing: より, のほう, 一番
To ask which of two is better, use the pattern AとBと、どっちがいい？ (A to B to, dotchi ga ii?). (dotchi) is casual; the polite word is (dochira). Answer with (no hō), “the side of”: (kinō no heya no hō ga benri da), yesterday's flat is more convenient.
(yori) means “than” and follows the thing you compare with: (koko yori takai), more expensive than here. For “the most”, use (ichiban): (eki no chikaku ga ichiban da).
Big numbers go in units of ten thousand, (man): 10,000 is (ichiman), 80,000 is (hachiman), 95,000 is (kyūman gosen).
- 昨日の部屋はここより高い。Kinō no heya wa koko yori takai.Yesterday's flat is more expensive than this one.
- バスと電車と、どちらが早いですか？Basu to densha to, dochira ga hayai desu ka?Which is quicker, the bus or the train? (polite)
- 電車のほうが早いです。Densha no hō ga hayai desu.The train is quicker.
- この三つの中で、この部屋が一番広い。Kono mittsu no naka de, kono heya ga ichiban hiroi.Of these three, this flat is the biggest.
More in the grammar: い-adjectives and な-adjectives · Plain and polite forms · Sentence-ending particles: よ, ね and more · The past tense
New words
- 家賃yachinrent · やちん
- ～万-manten thousand · まん; (hachiman'en), 80,000 yen
- 徒歩～分toho … fun… minutes on foot · とほ～ふん; used in flat listings: (toho gofun)
- うんunyeah, yes (casual) · (uun), no (casual)
- 古いfuruiold (of things) · ふるい; い-adjective
- どっちdotchiwhich (of two) · casual; polite (dochira)
- ～のほう… no hōthe one that is more … · (densha no hō ga hayai), the train is quicker
- 便利benriconvenient · べんり; な-adjective
- よりyorithan · (koko yori takai), more expensive than here
- 日当たりhiatarisunlight (how much sun a room gets) · ひあたり; (hiatari ga ii), sunny
- 静かshizukaquiet · しずか; な-adjective
- 近所kinjoneighbourhood, nearby · きんじょ
- 迷うmayouto be unable to decide; to get lost · まよう; u-verb
- 一番ichibanthe most, the best · いちばん
Practise
1.What is the plain form of (ikimasen deshita), didn't go?
2.Mio wants to say “Yesterday's flat is more convenient.” Which sentence is right?
3.Put the words in order: say yesterday's flat is more expensive than this one.
Tap the words below in the right order.Yesterday's flat is more expensive than this one.
4.Match the Japanese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
5.How do you ask a friend casually “Is it close to the station?”
6.Put the words in order: say the flat is far from the station, but quiet.
Tap the words below in the right order.This flat is far from the station, but it's quiet.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
この部屋、どう？
Kono heya, dō?
What do you think of this flat?
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.