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Utilizing the plural in Japanese isn’t so simple as attaching -s or -es to the top of nouns.
As an alternative, the Japanese language makes use of different methods to precise plurality, like including suffixes (e.g., ~達) or utilizing counters (e.g., つ). You may as well take note of context, which clues you in on whether or not the topic being talked about is singular or plural.
I do know it is a lot to soak up. However don’t fear! By the top of the article, you’ll have an understanding of a wide range of strategies used to precise the Japanese plural.
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語尾
(ごび) — Suffixes could also be positioned on the finish of nouns to point amount and are often used to speak about individuals within the plural kind.
For instance, ~達 is among the most impartial methods to confer with teams of a couple of particular person or issues. To make use of it, merely put it on the finish of a noun.
Even should you’re a newbie to Japanese, you’ve in all probability seen this suffix earlier than in phrases like:
友達
(ともだち) — Pal(s)
私達
(わたしたち) — We/Us
One factor to notice is the usage of the plural “you” in Japanese.
An instance is the phrase 貴方達
(あなたたち). Whereas theoretically, this expresses the second-person plural (“you all”), it’s very casual and might even be thought-about impolite.
Which brings us to our subsequent entry…
That is one other suffix used to make nouns plural, however is much less formal and could be, as I’ve talked about, impolite in some contexts.
For instance, you’ll have come throughout the time period 奴ら
(やつら) — these guys in anime or manga. Whereas it sounds cool when uttered by your favourite character, you don’t want to make use of it to confer with a bunch of your superiors or elders—not inside their listening to vary, no less than.
In fact, as a result of Japanese is rarely that easy, ~ら can even categorical humility in sure conditions, reminiscent of referring to at least one’s personal group. 僕ら
(ぼくら) makes use of the suffix to imply “we/us” and isn’t rude.
So, it’s finest to study the cases the place utilizing ~ら is taken into account well mannered. That is a lot safer than making an attempt it out in actual life and getting awkward outcomes—or worse, judgmental glares from others.
Each of those suffixes point out respect for the nouns connected to them.
They’re typically used when mentioning a bunch of 1’s superiors or those that the speaker is probably not accustomed to. They will additionally confer with oneself and associates in a formal setting.
There are numerous completely different counters in Japanese, which may make expressing plurals further difficult. For one, some counters are extra acceptable for sure nouns than others. Moreover, some nouns use counters, whereas others don’t. Within the curiosity of brevity, we’ll solely cowl the commonest ones on this article.
Let’s begin with 人, which is each a counter for the variety of individuals and the phrase for “particular person:”
一人 ( ひとり
) — One particular person
二人 ( ふたり
) — Two individuals
三人 ( さんにん
) — Three individuals
子供が三人います。
(こどもがさんにんいます。)
I’ve three youngsters.
When you’re coping with flat objects like paper, sheets, and so forth., use 枚:
一枚 ( いちまい
) — One flat object
二枚 ( にまい
) — Two flat objects
三枚 ( さんまい
) — Three flat objects
クレジットカードが二枚財布に入っています。
(くれじっとかーどがにまいさいふにはいっています。)
I’ve two bank cards in my pockets.
When you’re coping with objects that don’t use specialised counters in Japanese, there’s probability you’ll solely want to make use of ~つ:
一つ
(ひとつ) — One factor
二つ
(ふたつ) — Two issues
三つ
(みっつ) — Three issues
リンゴを二つ持っています。
(りんごをふたつもっています。)
I’ve two apples.
いくつか and 何~か are phrases that may be translated as “some” or “a number of” in English.
You should utilize these:
- By itself as the thing of a sentence
- Alongside a noun to precise that you simply’re speaking about a couple of of that noun
- When speaking about a couple of object with an unspecified or unknown amount
For instance:
何人か
(なんにんか) — a number of individuals
何年か
(なんねんか) — a number of years
何人かの卒業生はもう仕事しています。
(なんにんかのそつぎょうせいはもうしごとしています。)
Some graduates are already working full-time jobs.
いくつかの理由で、会長が退職しました。
(いくつかのりゆで、かいちょうがたいしょくしました。)
The CEO resigned for a number of causes.
In Japanese, there are adverbs that may present that a couple of of one thing exists. You should utilize these adverbs whether or not a noun is countable or not.
For instance, たくさん roughly interprets to the English phrase “so much” or “tons” and can be utilized with countable or uncountable nouns:
今日は暑いので水をたくさん飲みます。
(きょうはあついのでみずをたくさんのみます。)
I’m ingesting a lot of water as a result of it’s sizzling at the moment.
9. 多く
(おおく)
Like たくさん, 多く is equal to the English phrase “many” and can be utilized with each countable and uncountable nouns:
学校では学生が多くのことを学びました。
(がっこうではがくせいがおおくのことをまなびました。)
The scholars realized many issues in class.
10. 全て
(すべて) and 全部
(ぜんぶ)
The adverb 全て means “all,” whereas 全部 could be translated as “all” or “complete:”
全ての星がキラキラ輝いています。
(すべてのほしがきらきらかがやいています。)
All the celebrities are shining brightly.
お皿を全部洗います。
(おさらをぜんぶあらいます。)
I wash all the dishes.
These pronouns are comparable, but it surely’s necessary to notice that 全員
(ぜんいん) will also be used to speak about individuals.
11. 少ない
(すくない)
少ない is a useful adverb that may confer with a small, unspecified and plural amount. Consider it just like the English phrase “few:”
今日は人が少ないですね。
(きょうはひとがすくないですね。)
There aren’t that many individuals at the moment.
Particular prefixes could be positioned earlier than sure nouns to indicate plurality. These aren’t as widespread in dialog as they’re in written Japanese, however they’re nonetheless good to know.
For instance, 諸～ could be roughly translated as “numerous:”
諸国
(しょこく)
Varied nations
Likewise, 数 can imply “a number of:”
数時間
(すうじかん)
A number of hours
14. 多～ ( た～
)
多～ is roughly equal to the English prefix “multi-” or “poly-:”
多国語
(たこくご)
Polyglotism (lit. “a number of nation languages”)
One other type of plural in Japanese is 々, an emblem representing a repeated character.
Typically, it’s utilized in adjectives. For instance, 若い
(わかい) — younger can even seem as 若々しい
(わかわかしい) — youthful.
On this scenario, nonetheless, we’ll use repetition to suggest pluralization.
Some widespread examples are:
人々
(ひとびと) — individuals
このブランドは多くの人々に選ばれています。
(このぶらんどはおおくのひとびとにえらばれています。)
This model is chosen by many individuals.
家々
(いえいえ) — homes
全ての家々が数か月間で建てられました。
(すべてのいえいえがすうかげつかんでたてられました。)
The homes have been in-built just a few months.
木々
(きぎ) — timber
木々に咲く花が綺麗です。
(きぎにさくはながきれいです。)
The flowers which are blooming on timber are stunning.
Whilst you don’t wish to use the repetition image with simply any noun, it’s best to nonetheless be looking out for phrases used with the repetition image.
Let’s mix an earlier idea from the ~ら part to create the instance 我々ら
(われわれら) — We/Us. It’s a humble option to refer to at least one’s group within the plural kind.
16. ズ
(ず)
This type of pluralization in Japanese has grow to be more and more widespread over time. You possibly can see it on billboards, commercials, titles and the like, and might be derived from the English “s.” I don’t advocate utilizing it too typically, although, as a result of it’s extra doubtless for use for loanwords:
シティタワーズ豊洲
(してぃたわーずとよす)
Toyosu Metropolis Towers
ギャルズ
(ぎゃるず)
Gals (a comedy trio in Japan and the title of a manga collection.)
Observe the Plural in Japanese
As you possibly can see, there are various choices for pluralizing nouns in Japanese.
I hope you’re feeling assured in regards to the Japanese plural. When you study these fundamental grammar guidelines, it’s actually not as onerous because it seems to be.
So, the place are you able to go from right here? It’s not too onerous to make plural follow part of your day by day routine. Listed here are some suggestions:
- Brainstorm some questions that contain plural nouns. What number of siblings do you’ve got? What number of books did you learn final week? These are nice dialog factors to follow, both by yourself or with a language alternate accomplice.
- Go to learner boards just like the WordReference Japanese discussion board. There, you possibly can ask tough questions on correct noun vis-à-vis plural utilization.
- For extra focused follow, think about using flashcards to follow your counters and adverbs. As you’ve seen, counters and adverbs present context, so it’s particularly necessary to know them just like the again of your hand. Create flashcards to be sure to’re accustomed to the varied counters in Japanese. It might even be useful to take widespread counters and check your data of find out how to use them on occasion.
- Learn a Japanese learner newspaper like NHK Straightforward. This web site will expose you to all kinds of plurals in Japanese.
- Watch some Japanese tv for excellent immersive follow. Discover a present that comes with subtitles so you possibly can learn alongside, or problem your self and go with out them. This is among the finest methods to listen to pure Japanese.
You may as well go to language studying platforms like FluentU to complement your Japanese TV immersion.
No matter you select by way of follow, have enjoyable!
Obtain:
This weblog publish is obtainable as a handy and transportable PDF that you simply
can take anyplace.
Click on right here to get a replica. (Obtain)
And One Extra Factor…
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