JLPT N4 Grammar Explained in 1 Hour!

Comprehensive JLPT N4 grammar explained in 1 hour by Nihongonomori, covering key grammar points with examples and usage tips.

Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.

Generated from the transcript and can be wrong — check the timestamp.

Key Takeaways

The video provides clear explanations of key JLPT N4 grammar points with practical examples.
It covers both observational and hearsay expressions to help learners understand nuance.
Japanese particles and verb forms related to giving, receiving, and doing for others are thoroughly explained.
The use of 'te' form for sequencing and cause-effect relationships is highlighted.
Politeness and softening expressions are important for natural communication and are addressed.

What the video covers

Introduction to JLPT N4 grammar with encouragement and resource recommendations.
Explanation of grammar patterns indicating appearance or seeming states using 'so' and related forms.
Use of 'so' to express hearsay or indirect quotes, showing reported information.
Grammar points showing intention or planning using 'um' and related verb conjugations.
Detailed explanation of giving and receiving actions in Japanese using particles and verb forms.
Use of 'te' form to express sequence, reason, or cause in sentences.
Clarification of expressions showing probability, expectation, or supposition with 'hazu' and related forms.
Examples of polite requests, emphasis, and softening expressions in conversation.
Use of noun and verb modifiers to describe details or qualities in sentences.
Practical examples and cultural notes to aid understanding of grammar usage.

Chapters

What grammar points does this video cover for JLPT N4?

The video covers key N4 grammar points including expressions of appearance, hearsay, intention, giving and receiving actions, sequencing with 'te' form, probability, and polite requests.

How does the video explain the use of 'so' in Japanese?

'So' is explained as a way to express appearance or seeming states based on observation, as well as to indicate hearsay or indirect quotes, showing information heard from others.

Does the video include examples of polite speech?

Yes, the video includes explanations and examples of polite requests and how to soften expressions to communicate more naturally and politely in Japanese.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Don't panic before the JLPT. I'm Tyra from Nihong Nomorei, and this is an N4 grammar summary. Here we go. I love Yuka Sensei's videos. Wish they had N1 level. Wait, they have N1 2 and three on the Nongomorei app and on Nihongorei.com for just 1,480 yen a month. I can see all of them. I'm not here. Yeah. No, no. I don't know how to answer the phone. I just can't. Huh? Huh? There's videos for that, too. Huh? There's even concai Ben. Huh? What have I been doing with my life?

Speaker A

Talk later. So, this looks like something, right? So, it looks like a noun or it seems to be the case, and then you would add a verb. So, we have so this is you look like a princess, right? Okay. So in this case, we have noun is. Here we have so we have a sort of like clause, like part of a sentence that ends with a verb in the plain form connected to right. So it looks like the shop is closed. So this so this looks like something again, but this is often used with adjectives or when it's used with verbs

Speaker A

it'll be used with the masu form, right? So stem form we draw mas such as here becomes oi and then add so here we have they look happy. So here you can see that we cut off the i that would go at the end of udes. So now it's just then here we have the leaf looks like it'll fall from the tree, right? So when we use it with a verb like this, it means like it seems like something is about to happen based on my observation. Now the reason that we have the da here is to just show the difference between

Speaker A

the previous so and this so, um, but this da will come in the case of nouns and na adjectives, but in the case of e adjectives and verbs it'll just be the plain form of those. So it'll be or do. So this so means I heard or apparently. It's a way of like quoting somebody sort of indirectly. It's like hearsay. It's like, oh, I heard that Jimmy is quitting his job. You know, it's like Jimmy didn't tell me that but maybe, you know, I heard it from a friend or maybe he told me but

Speaker A

I'm not using his exact words. So here we have so apparently Teeshi won't be here tomorrow. So here we have um which we learned means, um, somebody's planning to do something. They have an intent on something. And since this usually conjugates to here we get so apparently Teeshi won't be here tomorrow. He's planning to take the day off.

Speaker A

So I heard Mr. Tanaka is quitting, right? So he Mr. Tanaka will quit, right? And then we add that plain verb with so to get I heard he's quitting. Yo yo it seems like or something seems to be the case. So this is again, uh, based on observation based on what I can see here based on what reasonably, um, one might be able to assume this is what appears to be the case. And so here we have so here you can see our mishi natsu our noun is nois. So when we have a noun with yo it's going to be noun nois.

Speaker A

It feels like summer today, right? So, we are saying that even though, you know, maybe it's not summer, um like maybe it's spring or maybe it's just a really warm day of fall, maybe we're saying that because of the weather today, it feels like it's summer. Um and then here we have so this is it seems that is running late, right? So is running late, right? He's running late. That's the state of being of being late. And then we add that plain form to yol to get it

Speaker A

seems that he is running late based on the fact that he's not here yet. Hazu or haz. So this means that something should be the case or is supposed to be the case based on my previous knowledge, right? So maybe somebody told me, hey, uh, Monday is a day off. So that's why I'm able to say

Speaker A

Monday is supposed to be a day off. So what's happening here is we have the noun yasumi, right? Day off. And then we have nois. Um when we have the na adjective for example it'll be adjective like, um, right so um he should be um healthy based on what I heard last week or something like that or, uh, for eat adjectives it would just be ehazardous. Um and then for verbs it'll be the plant form. So it'll be like or

Speaker A

so this is probably you may also see it as or in very casual speech you might just hear. So this means probably, um, and it's like you're making a guess. You're saying, "Oh, this is probably what's happening." You have herein

Speaker A

will probably be late because of traffic, right? So, we know that traffic is happening. We we know she isn't here yet. So, probably she's going to be late because of that traffic.

Speaker A

So, this is to give. This is when we the speaker give to somebody else or it's when somebody gives to somebody and we have no relationship to it. So here we have so I will give flowers to my girlfriend. Right? So I give to her and what do I give? I give her flowers. So this is give to me the speaker or give to somebody in my close circle like my sister or somebody who if you gave it to them I would also feel grateful for it. So here we have so my boyfriend gave me flowers, right?

Speaker A

So to me flowers and who gave it? Boyfriend did moral. So this is to receive. So I received or someone received. If there's no subject like here you can see we put watiwa in parenthesis. So, like if you just block this part out and we just say and there's no subject that you're talking about receiving it, it's implied that I I received it. The speaker received it. But you could also say um and that would be Hannah received flowers from her boyfriend. So, right. So, we have I received

Speaker A

flowers from my boyfriend. So it's um if it's me, we can omit this um but basically it's whoever received is the topic of the sentence, right? So it'll be like and then so here it's who did we receive from? We received from the boyfriend, right? Because usually when we're um doing things that involve interacting with people, doing things to people, getting things from people, we like to use that particle ni. And then what did we receive? We received flowers.

Speaker A

So this is using that same to give like I give to someone, uh, verb from before, but we're attaching it to the t form of a verb. So in this case, it'll mean that I do for somebody or somebody does for somebody else. So here we have I'll cook for my wife, right? So since we're saying, it means I'm doing it for somebody else. And who am I doing it for? I'm doing it for my wife. So this is the same as the we saw before, which is give to me or give to somebody in my circle. And since we're

Speaker A

using it with the T form of a verb, right, we're attaching, you know, like or right, we're attaching it there. And then it will come to mean somebody is doing for me. Someone's doing an action that I appreciate. It's for my benefit. So here we have my wife cooks for me, right? And for example, if we had a wati in the sentence, right? I me it would probably be right because my wife does the action. Right. Who does it? My wife does it. Who does she do it for? She does it for me. Or

Speaker A

so this is using that same that we just saw. And when we put that also in the T form, we can attach a thank you, right? So, we're saying thank you for doing that for me. Right here we have thank you for cooking for me. So, this is the same morale that we saw before which means to receive and in this case it's like we're receiving an action that we requested be done on our behalf. So, it's like asking someone to do for me and then they actually do it. So, here we have

Speaker A

So I got my mom to cook for me, right? So the difference between this and for example is that implies that the person haha did it sort of on their own accord like they just were like oh I'm going to do this for you know you know my mom cooked for me. Wow that's so kind of her. But in this case I am like the instigator. I'm like mom did you cook for me? and she's like, "Ah, fine." So, we have I got her to cook for me. Meaning because So, you've probably seen T be

Speaker A

used before to mean, uh, sequence, you know, like it'll be like I got home and then I took a shower. But in this case, we can also use te to give reasons for things. You know, we're saying because of this as a natural consequence, this also happened. Or, you know, like then I did this, b

Speaker A

adjectives, not adjectives, and nouns. Even if so, we're saying even if this is the case, I'm going to do something else. It's like before how we saw T shows sort of like a natural cause and effect of I got sick therefore I rest I stay home. This is you know even though this thing happened this obstacle is in my way I'm still going to you know soldier on. I'm going to pick the thing that I want to do regardless of what happens here. So we have even if I fail the exam I won't give up

Speaker A

right. So compare this to the example we saw earlier with so we saw right. So because I got sick I will stay home for example we could say even if I catch a cold I will not stay home. So even though this is the case I'm not going to do what's expected I'm going to do something else. There's no need to blank. Right? There's no need to take off your shoes. Right? So, and then if we want to say don't take off, we say and then to create this form, we turn that n into right. We put it into the T

Speaker A

form. So, we get so you don't have to do it. There's no necessity for it. Please don't. So here we have the ending of a plain negative verb, right? So it's please don't do verb. It's the opposite of what you've probably seen before, which is like form of a verb. Please do verb. This is please don't do verb. In this case, we have Please don't take pictures. Right? The n form of

Speaker A

try and see how it goes. See how you like it. See how it works out. See how it is. This will be verb. So here we have want to try some sushi. Right? So maybe the implication here is that you've never tasted sushi before or maybe you don't really like sushi or maybe there's a new kind of sushi and you and your friend went to go eat some, right? So the implication is, you know, we're going to try this and then see how it is. So this is I'm sorry for blank, right?

Speaker A

So, it's I'm sorry for doing something or I'm sorry that something is the case because of me or that kind of implication of regret for one's actions and wanting to apologize. Here we have I'm sorry for being late. So, this is what we did and this shows that we're sorry, right? So, you can say maybe if it's something that's like already come to pass, you know, like I'm sorry I was late yesterday. So

Speaker A

so this is I'm glad that something happened or something is the case. So so I'm glad I got to meet you, right? So here is the thing that we're happy about and this is how we express that happiness.

Speaker A

This is regrettably or you know completely totally I did an action and I feel bad about it. Here we have unfortunately I ate the whole cake by myself and now I feel bad you know because nobody else got to eat any. Right. So I did this completely. I ate the whole cake and now I feel bad. So we'll say unfortunately regrettably oh boy to do something in advance right so let's say I'm planning to do something and in order to do that thing I do some prep work um sometimes you'll also hear

Speaker A

um in the spoken form so it'll be like um right so means the same thing it's just kind of the t and the get smashed together to become. So, so this is I'm going to make cookies, right? So So because I'm going to make cookies, I'll turn the oven on in advance, right? So right so I will do it in advance. This means something has been done and stays that way. So the implication is that someone did something an unnamed person you know like for example I put a book on the desk and then somebody and then I leave the room and then somebody else comes in and they're like a book has been placed on the desk you know it

Speaker A

basically describes a state of something with a bit of an implication that it was previously acted on by somebody. So here we have a book has been placed on the desk or in other words a book is on the desk. Um you can also use it to describe things like um memo right so like a memo has been written you know there is a written memo here and the implication is that we know that somebody had to have written the memo because memos don't just materialize on their own. Um and that's why we use that tu

Speaker A

transitive and intransitive verbs. So transitive is when somebody makes an action happen, right? It's an actor, a person who can exert will or you know an animal or anything that is able to do things on its own exerts that will onto an object, right? So for example, we have I dropped the ball, right? So here what's not written here is what's right because we usually omit the subject but it's implied that I am exerting my will onto the ball to make it drop right I'm

Speaker A

holding the ball I drop the ball actor is in the sentence it's in the situation and that's why the situation happens with intransitive verbs we can describe things that happen on their own you know like the ball fell, right? The ball, you know, because of gravity just fell on its own. Nobody had um any kind of nobody like acted on it, right? And so that's our difference between transitive and intransitive verbs. A lot of verbs, you know, like for example, here we have

Speaker A

otosu and idu. They come in these kinds of pairs uh where it'll be one of them you'll use in the case of transitive in the case of somebody acting on it. you know, we'll see that particle O and then a different form of the verb will be used when it's intransitive, right? So, we have transitive and intransitive verbs will have different meanings when they're added to. We talked before about those transitivity pairs, right? So, it's a transitive verb and its intransitive

Speaker A

equivalent. For example, we have au and au, right? So if it's au we have to say something right because it's somebody is exerting will on something else. So here we get au for example and that would be I'll open the window. And then when we have it implies that I'm in the process of opening the window. It's an action in progress. Right? Like we saw before um I am eating food. It is happening right now. Now when we take that same verb but it's intransitive form the meaning becomes

Speaker A

slightly different. We get this means the window is open. It describes a state of being. Right? So because there's nobody here acting on the window, it's describing the state of the window, right? So here we have I'm opening the window. And then here we have the window is open. Teddy teddy. Do things like blank and blank. This is how we list examples of actions, right? So, we might have seen before things like the particle yah where it's you list examples of nouns, but the list

Speaker A

isn't limited to just the ones you're saying. This is the same but with actions, you know, with verbs.

Speaker A

On the weekends, I play games, read books, and such. So, with this form, the implication is that we didn't only play games and read books, we also did some other things that we just aren't mentioning here. It's a list of examples. The way that we get this form is we take the past short form of the verbs that go before D. So in this case it's right. So sudu will become I did. So we get here we have honu becomes which is why we get right. So yongu then the overall conjugation of the

Speaker A

phrase is reliant on sudu. So in order to form this pattern we know that these two are always going to be in past tense. But for example this sudu we could change also to past tense. We could say

Speaker A

so that would be last weekend I did things such as playing games and reading books, right? Because once we conjugate the sudu, the whole phrase becomes past tense. She she this is how we list reasons for something.

Speaker A

Oishi skis. I like that restaurant because it's cheap and delicious. So here the thing that we're trying to justify, the thing that we're giving reasons for is that we like it, right? So we're saying I like it because and then here are reasons that come before she. So it's cheap. It's delicious and that's why I like it. Now when we use she, we will use the plain form of these e adjectives, right? So it's she and then if we have nouns or n adjectives, we'll say da. So

Speaker A

then for verbs it'll be the plain form. So it'll be like So this is basically the Japanese equivalent of etc. You use it at the end of a short list to mean you know such examples like this and this etc. You know, there are more examples of the same kind you could give, but there's no need to give them all.

Speaker A

Yuka sensei has been to many different countries such as Vietnam, the US, etc. Right? So, here's the two examples we give. Vietnam, America, and then by using Nad, we're implying that it's not just those two, there's more. Or I want you to blank. This is how you express the wish or the desire that somebody will do a certain action. In this case, we have I want you to do the dishes. Now, this is different from a direct command such as right, please do. Because with

Speaker A

you're speaking from that commanding level, you're saying, "Oh, please do this." And you have ma probably a good reason for saying so, like, "Please fasten your seat belt. But when you use teosi, it's more like saying I want you to do this. And then that still gives the hearer the chance to say, you know, I will do it. I agree or I can't do it. Or it's easy to blank. So we use this connected to a verb in stem form or moss form. Basically, you take what would be

Speaker A

um a verb in moss form toki and then cut off moss. So we get and then when we means it is easy to do that verb. So we have here this problem is easy to solve or it's hard to blank. It's hard to do a verb. This is like the opposite of right. This problem is hard to solve or sug.

Speaker A

You can use this with adjectives and verbs to describe when something is too much a certain way that it's not good. So here we have so this dress is too expensive. Here we're using an e adjective and the e gets dropped. So from tai we get ta taugu. With na adjectives we drop the na. So for example if it was it would become and then for verbs we use the stem form or moss form. So if we had tabu it would become and then we'd sayu. So I ate too much. How to do a verb or the way of doing a

Speaker A

verb. So we take the mas form or stem form of a verb by dropping mas and adding kata to get the way of doing. Right? So please teach me how to ride a bike. Now, an interesting thing to note about this is that in your how to do phrase like or uh when there's a noun in place of the usual particle you might use with the verb, right? Like or that particle is going to be replaced with no, right? Because this phrase is actually becoming like a noun, right? because it's the way of doing something that's a noun. So it'll bear

Speaker A

it ended up that or it was decided that. So this is the way to express that you know a decision was made but you had nothing to do with the decision right like it was decided that next year's trip will be to Hokkaido or it was decided that from now on nobody can ride on a bike with two people. So here we have it was decided that I'll be going on a business trip next week. So for example, you know your boss, people above you, people other than you decided what you

Speaker A

are going to do. Now the way that we form this is this verb in plain form followed by. So here we have I decided that or we decided that. This implies that the speaker was directly involved in deciding what happens or what to do. So here we have we decided to eat lunch at the cafe. Again we have the verb in the plain form followed by we decided to eat lunch at the cafe.

Speaker A

I make a habit of or I make it a rule to so this is you're explaining that you know you are constantly working to continuously do something like for example going running right it's like it's a personal habit you are actively working to keep up I make a habit of going running every day this is to make an effort to or to try to, right? You're putting in effort to make sure something happens or to do something a certain way. So, here we have, so please try not to be late tomorrow,

Speaker A

right? Sometimes you'll even hear the part dropped. It'll just be orani, right? So, if they want you to do it, it's sudu or you know the plain form. So, and if they want you to not do the thing, it'll be negative. So, it'll be

Speaker A

so this is I've come to blank. So, like I've come to develop a certain habit. I've come to behave in a certain way or I've become able to. And this will usually be using the potential form. But so, let's look at the examples. So, I've come to eat more vegetables than I used to, right? So, maybe I didn't eat vegetables before, but now the situation is that I eat vegetables.

Speaker A

So, here we see the potential form, right? I can speak. So, I've become able to speak Japanese. So, this is to decide on something. Like if you have for example two options and you say I am going to choose this one here we have do you want tea or juice right? So we have options and then we're going to decide I'll have juice adjective. So this is be adjective or make something adjective you know make it more adjective. So the way that this works is that if it's a n adjective n

Speaker A

will become ni. So for example we have which is you know will become and then for e adjectives it'll be the e turns into coup. So becomes here we have please be quiet. I made the music louder. Right? We made the thing into the adjective no because So this works a lot in the same way as the word ka. Right? Nani because of the thing I said before that's why I can't do blah or la whatever you're trying to give a reason for. Now uh the difference between this and kada is that this is more formal and

Speaker A

the uh treatment of na adjectives and nouns is just slightly different. So first to go over what's similar we have uh a plain form of a noun for example here we have right I lost. We can also use the plain form of an e adjective. So, now for nouns and not adjectives, it's going to be. So, it'll be right or right. So, you'll put n before no.

Speaker A

I can't go shopping because I lost my wallet. Right? This is the reason. because I lost my wallet, I can't go shopping or no. This expression is used to show emphasis on what you're saying or what you're asking or and it can be also used to soften an expression. You know, try to say something more politely, usually when you're making requests. Now, the way that it works with asking questions and answering questions is that it has the implication of, you know, I want the answer to this

Speaker A

question. And then when you give the answer, you're like, this is the answer to the question. Sort of here, like if we were to look at this pattern, why didn't you show up? Right? So, it's like this implies that the person is like, I really want to know why you didn't show up. What the heck? What happened? They're seeking an explanation. And so then the person can then respond, you know, you know, like I was sick and that's why I didn't come. You know, I was sick and that's why I didn't come.

Speaker A

That's how the or no uh form can be used in conversation like that. Now the way that it can be used to soften expressions can be seen here. So this is I have a bit of a favor to ask, right? So when we use this um when we're, you know, looking for requests or saying that we want to do something, we want somebody to do something for us like, you know, like I want to do this, but you know, can you help me? It's a way of just sort of like pattering off in a way that comes across as polite to the

Speaker A

listener. Now the way that conjugation works here is similar to what we saw with no day because right so it's plain form verbs you know plain form e adjectives you know and then for uh n adjectives and nouns it'll be nano so it'll be gakano are you a student or umand I am well I'm healthy. No need. So this grammar pattern has two distinct usages. One of them is even though. So this expresses frustration about something. So it's like even though I worked really

Speaker A

hard, it didn't work out or even though you know I put in so much effort, nobody recognized it or something like that. It's an expression of dissatisfaction. And then this uh version of noni describes in order to do something. So it's in order to do this thing it takes time effort you know this thing is required in order to do this. So look at the first one we have

Speaker A

even though I made a cake no one will eat it right. So even though I put in the effort to make a cake, nobody will eat it. You know, nobody will do me that favor of tasting my cake that I put my blood, sweat, and tears into. It's that kind of expression. And then here we have it takes time to make a cake, right? So we're saying in order to do this it requires this m and mi. So this means until a certain thing or by you know a certain thing. So the difference between

Speaker A

m and mi is that m just means you know until this is pretty much on the surface and then mi is like a strict deadline. It's like if it's passed this deadline, it's no good. It's no good. It's a no-go. You can't do it kind of thing. It's like the deadline has to be protected.

Speaker A

So, the meeting is until 3, right? So, this is just describing that, you know, maybe the meeting starts, you know, whatever time it starts at, it starts at, and then this is how long it'll go for. You know, it'll end this time. But this is not exactly saying like if it doesn't end at 3, you know, there's going to be consequences or anything like that. It's just like this is the planned time that it should go until uh and then please submit your assignment by

Speaker A

tomorrow. So here we see that means that you have to submit the homework by tomorrow or you know you'll get in trouble or you know you'll get a bad grade. more than. First, let's look at the example. I like soccer more than basketball. So, the way that this works is that the thing that you like less is the word that comes directly before Yuri. Basi. This means that whatever comes, whatever other thing comes in the sentence, you like it more than you like basketball.

Speaker A

Right? So, in this case, it's soccer. I like soccer more than basketball. So something is not as much as something else, right? It's not as good or it's not as expensive or it's not as whatever. Now this is like the opposite of yi, right? We saw that it was thing you know like for example noun yori it's you know that noun is what is less than and then the other thing is what's more than but in this case it's for example noun is the thing that's best and something else is not as good as it so here we have

Speaker A

so my Japanese is not as good as a native speakers right of So we have right so as good as a native speaker it is not I haven't done blank yet. So this uses the form of a verb. You know, it's like the state of being or an action in progress. And then negating it, it's basically saying, you know, that has not been done yet. It is not the case that. So, here we have it is in the state that it is not done. It has not been done. I haven't done my homework yet. Right? From we get or still. So, it still has not been done. So this is already did, right? This T is meant to represent the past form, you know, the um so

Speaker A

I already did my homework, right? Mo is like it's already and then by putting in the past, we know that it has already been completed. It's done. It's like the opposite of I haven't done yet. I have already done. So, this is a set of the particles ni and put together. And it can sometimes express, you know, a special quality in the thing that you're describing. you know, like Tokyo, you know, like you're trying to say, you know, as opposed to maybe the countryside Tokyo is special because it

Speaker A

has this thing, right? As opposed to just saying Tokyo me where the implication would just be you're stating the fact that there are shops in Tokyo, but you don't really care about anything else. There's no comparison. So, here we have she has a special ability that most people don't have. Right? So, we're trying to draw attention to the fact that this, you know, subject has something special about it. Like we are bringing attention to uh not just what we're saying about it, but the fact that

Speaker A

this is the thing that has that quality, right? So, it's like other people don't have that quality, but this specific subject does, right? Everywhere in Japan doesn't have a lot of shops, but Tokyo specifically does. Number mo, as many as blank. Here, the speaker is showing that they think they have a large number of something. You know, with regard to the number, they think it's big.

Speaker A

I have as many as 200 games at my house. Right? So they think that 200 games is a lot of games. [Music] So this is a way of expressing you only have something like you have a small amount of something. You think of it as a small amount or you can say something is all there is to do. There's no other option. So here we have I only have two books. So from the speaker's perspective, two books is not a lot. It's few.

Speaker A

So because I'm sick, all I can do is rest. There's no other option. Question word demo. Any blank. So if it's non-demo anything demo anywhere demo anybody right so it's the question word plus demo to go from meaning you know what where who to meaning anyone anywhere anythingwhere

Speaker A

is fine so let's go Eight do question word mo followed by nine. This has the meaning of no one, nohere, nothing. Right? You pair it with the question word to get the meaning that you intend. So if it's nobody, no one

Speaker A

not anywhere. Nowhere. Uh mo nothing. not anything. So here we have nobody lives here. It's the opposite of what we saw with demo, right? Anyone anybody?

Speaker A

Nobody. So this is do one action while doing another action. This works by adding the stem form of a verb to right. So here we have I listen to music while studying. Now there's a slight implication that the main action you're doing comes after nagara. Right? So it's like the main thing you're doing is studying and then the secondary action is listening to music. Right? It's like you have to study. You can't really do anything about that. But to make it more entertaining, you put on some music as well. So this is while I'm doing some action, something happens, right? An event occurs while I'm in the middle of doing

Speaker A

an action. So here we have the phone rang while I was in the shower, right? So I'm doing the action of showering. I'm in the middle of that and then the event of the phone ringing occurs. Nounari. So this is only noun. I only eat sweets, right? So it's only noun. Chew or chew. This is how you describe during a certain noun. You know, during a certain event or a certain time, in the middle of a certain thing, a certain event, a certain time. So for example, you might say

Speaker A

Right. So, it's during this time, this noun, I can't focus during class. Mama, leaving something in a certain state. We form this using the TA form or past tense short form uh with mama to describe something that we did and then left it that way. So, we have I left the lights on when I went out. Right. I turned the lights on.

Speaker A

Right. I left it that way. So it's so this is do something without doing something else. So we have I played games all night without going to sleep. So the thing you don't do comes in the n form, right? And then here's the thing that you do do, right? So you can also use it to say um

Speaker A

so even though it's raining, I went out without taking an umbrella. So doing before. So we could say so noun or verbi right so it'll be like here we have let's practice before the match starts after. So it's after a certain event a certain thing I do something else. So I want to relax after work right. So verb plain form or noun. So this is just after doing something as soon as I do something. The implication is that like as soon as this event ends I will do the next thing without much delay. There's not much of a pause in between these two things that I'm doing.

Speaker A

I'll contact you as soon as I get the results. Right? So, this is like I got the results. Boom. I'm going to call you and tell you about it. Right? Rather than there being an implication of, you know, a long pause in between like, oh, I got the results and then I'm going to wait 3 days and then call you. No, it's happening just after that. Toi, this is how we express a certain occasion, a certain event or a certain time when something happens. So it'll be like when I was a kid, when I go to the

Speaker A

store, when I went on a trip, when I was young, right? So we're saying when this was the case or this is the case then and then we describe something about it. So here we have. So this is when I was a student, I spent lots of time playing. So here we have nouni when I was noun. We could also have e adjective in that case. So you know when you're young and then if it's a n adjective it would be n adjective. So like when I'm free when I'm bored. Now with verbs the conjugation is going

Speaker A

to change depending on the second clause that comes after toki. So for example, if what happens in your first clause, your toki clause, you know, the one that comes before Toki happens before what happens in B clause, then that A clause should be in the past tense, right? Because it's like before this event happens, this event already occurred, right? So here in this example, we see just that.

Speaker A

So, I want to sleep after we got back from the trip. After this getting back from the trip has occurred, then I'm gonna, you know, get in bed and sleep because I'm tired. It's exhausting. Um, so this event can't occur. This sleeping can't occur until the trip is over is what's happening in the context of this sentence. Right now, since you know we've already come back, that action has been completed, it's in the past tense. Now if for example B clause happens before A clause then A

Speaker A

will be in the present tense like for example. So let's prepare well for when we go on a trip. So the preparation for a trip happens before going on the actual trip itself. Right? It's like you pack your bags and you you know you call the airport you get your tickets you do whatever you book the flight I don't know but so essentially B is happening before A happens before A can be completed therefore A will be in the present tense ta if then something so if this happens you know if theoretically something were to happen then this or

Speaker A

when this happened then this happened right so it can be used for consequence you know like sequence of events and it can also be used to talk about theoretical situations so here we have if you have trouble then I'll help you right so theoretically if you run into a problem I'll be there to help right and we're using the past plain form so this is where we can use tada to make a polite suggestion like how about doing something or what if you tried something, right? So, it's like we're

Speaker A

using that theoretical condition of tada to say if you were to do this, what do you think? How would it go? Well, you know, maybe give it a try. Here we have how about you ask the teacher, right? So, why don't you try doing this thing, right? And it's the plain past form.

Speaker A

If a condition is true, then something. This is very much the um like if then true or false statement that you might have had to study in like middle school, high school, whatever, where it's, you know, if this is true, therefore this is true, but if this is false, therefore this is false. It's that line of logic. So basically the thing that comes before ba that is taken as a given right. So it's saying this is the case and if this is the case therefore this if this is not

Speaker A

the case therefore that will not happen. Here we have I'll lend you a pen if you don't have one. Right? So if you don't have a pen, if that statement is true, you don't have a pen. In that case, I will lend you one. But if this statement is false, right? Uh if you were to have a pen, then there would be no need for me to lend you one. You already have one, right? So it essentially means you know that if this is the case and only if this is the case then this will happen.

Speaker A

If this is not the case then this will not happen. So this is I should have done something you know it would have been better if I did something. It's an expression of regret for what you know you haven't done what you wish you had done. Here we have I should have studied more. It would have been better if id studied more. So this is very similar to ba. It has that meaning of if something is the case then this will happen. Uh but here we are able to use it with things like

Speaker A

nouns and adjectives as well. So we'll have if it's in English I can read it. Right? So if the case is that it's in English, then sure, I can read it. But if it's not in English, I can't. Right? If it's true, it's true. If it's false, it's false.

Speaker A

If you're free, could you help me? If you're free, please help me. If you're not free, don't worry about it. When blank happens, blank happens. So this describes cause and effect or a mechanism a natural consequence. It's like you know when you push this button this will definitely happen or you know when I do this this will naturally follow right like if you go out in the rain then you'll get wet right so it's like there's an obvious uh line of if this happens then this should happen it'll

Speaker A

definitely happen. When you press the button, a sound plays, right? Because that's the mechanism of how it's designed to work, right? So, it's push the button, naturally, the sound will play because it's designed to. So, this is I hope that blank happens.

Speaker A

I hope you pass the test, right? So, we're expressing a hope, a wish for somebody or something. We can also express it for ourselves, but in that case, we might say something like, right, to just sort of soften the fact that we're like making a strong hope about ourselves. Um, and then also when we are hoping about things that are sort of out of our control, like something that we're not actively choosing, it's more like up to fate, we'll usually use the potential form, right? So here we

Speaker A

have goku, right? So that's, you know, we won't know for sure. It's not in our control exactly whether we pass or fail. Part of it is up to, you know, just how well we do on the exam. You know, how hard the exam is. It's sort of out of our hands. Which is why it'll be as opposed to something that's like um

Speaker A

like I hope you quit your job, right? I hope you're able to do that for yourself. um that is something in your control that you are making the choice to do. Modifying nouns. This is when we use a phrase to describe a noun like the bag I bought yesterday or a life I can be satisfied with. Right? So here's the noun. That's how we're describing it. In Japanese it comes backwards, right? So it's here's the way we're describing it and this is what we're describing, right?

Speaker A

The bag that I bought yesterday is cute. I want to lead a life I can be satisfied with. So it's phrase then noun to or t in casual form can be used to describe the details behind a noun or a person. So like for example we have

Speaker A

we spoke about postponing tomorrow's meeting right what conversation do we have we had a conversation about postponing the meeting tomorrow here we have it in the casual form where we have so about how old is he right so we're seeking information related and about ua embedded questions. So this is when a question is part of a larger statement or a larger question like here we have

Speaker A

this is a question on its own right. It's like do you know do you know this information and then the question of what time does class starts that's embedded within the sentence. So it becomes do you know question number one what time class starts question number two right? So this is the embedded question and it ends with right it's marked with that particle. Here we have I don't know whether he'll come or not. So when we have a yes or no question yes he'll come. No he won't. We use

Speaker A

and so here we're saying I don't know I don't know whether he will come or not. Right? So that's our embedded question.

Speaker A

So you know we know the verb as to know things to know people for example but you can also use it about you know like objects for example and in that case it'll mean like have you seen where I put something like where did it go it's lost can you help me find it right

Speaker A

Have you seen the documents that were on the desk? Right? So in this context, we know that what we're asking for is not, you know, whether you know of the existence of the documents. It's the location of the documents, right? It's like where did they go? Do you know what happened to them? Potential form can do a verb. Are able to do a verb. For example, here we have can you read Japanese? Right? Right. So here we have that verb gets changed to for example if it was it would be here we have

Speaker A

right verbto is another way of expressing the ability to do something right because it's using uh sudu's potential formu becomes kudu becomes uh I can read Japanese. So, this is can see. And we're going to talk about the difference between these two verbs which mean be able to see.

Speaker A

I can't see the sun because it's cloudy. The verb is used to mean that you're able to see something like naturally without making any effort. It's there so you can see it. Is talking about if you want to make the effort to see something, you're able to. Like here, you can see paintings at the art museum. So in this sentence it's implied that you know the listener wants to go see paintings you know it's like where can I see paintings where can I accomplish that desire

Speaker A

um I can do it at the art museum right so that's where I can see them do whereas in this case it's you're not making any effort to see what you're seeing it's just about whether it's physically possible to see it or notu Kiku can hear. This is the same principle as what we saw with mu and mu. One is something you can hear just by happen stance. It's physically you're able to hear it. And the other is you're seeking out something that you want to hear, right? And under this

Speaker A

circumstance, you're able to. I could hear the sound of the train, right? I wasn't putting in any effort like I wasn't trying hard to hear the train. It just happened. And then here we have you can hear that song on the radio. Right? So it's like I want to listen to this song. Where can I listen to it? I can listen to it on the radio. Volional form. So this is let's or shall we do something? It's expressing will. Now, we've already seen this with uh but now we're going to talk about the

Speaker A

short form. Let's go eat, right? We're expressing our will to go eat. Now, uh because this is a group one verb, it becomes, right? It goes to o sound. For uh sudu, it becomes sh. And for group two like tabu it'll become tab yo again. So we see those yolo coming out in sudu with sh and tabu with tabo and then with group one verbs it'll be o sound. So becomes becomes

Speaker A

shall we study or this expresses our plans and intentions to do things. So I'm planning to go to college.

Speaker A

I think I'll read a book or something. So the difference between and is that implies forought. It's something we've been thinking about doing for a long time. Whereas is something we just thought of in the moment. But either way, we're talking about something that we're going to do. Passive form. So somebody was acted on by somebody or something was acted on by something. It could also mean something was done.

Speaker A

I was praised by my teacher. Right? So my teacher did the praising. I was praised by them. I was praised.

Speaker A

letters were written on the wall, right? So it's like the wall was acted upon by somebody. So now the letters are written there, right? So that's how we can describe how objects are acted upon. Something was done. Positive form. Now this is someone made someone do something or depending on the context, it could also be somebody let somebody do something.

Speaker A

I made my daughter go to bed early, right? My daughter doesn't want to go to bed, but I made her. And the way that we can see this especially is by the usage of the particle o, right? The particle o will be used when we're talking about being forced to do something, right? Um but sometimes uh when we use uh a transitive verb for example the transitive verb has to be paired with its object using the particle o. So in that case we will then revert to using me.

Speaker A

Here we have I let my daughter invite her friends over. So here you can see um the verb uh is taking up the usage of the particle o and then ni which can be used here with I let my daughter invite her friends right because it's the daughter wants to invite her friends so we know that this is a permissive action we're allowing her to do it now with permissive actions you can either use ni or o causitive formu orai is how we express that we want somebody to let us do something. For example,

Speaker A

would you let me hear your story? Right? So, it's like, please let me hear what you have to say.

Speaker A

Please let me do it. Right? We're saying like, I want the responsibility. Allow me to do it. Positive passive. So this form combines the causitive and passive forms together in order to create the meaning that somebody was made to perform an action by somebody else. Earlier with causitive we saw that somebody is being forced to perform an action. But in the case of positive passive the perspective shifts. So in causitive we're talking about how you know the parent forced the child to go

Speaker A

to sleep right and so the child is doing the action of going to sleep and the parent made them but in causitive passive we're talking from the other person's perspective the person who was forced so now it'll be the child was forced to go to sleep by the parent right so it's the child is being forced to do an action And because they're being forced to do it, it's passively happening to them. So I was, right? Passive form. Even in English, I was forced rather than, you know, someone

Speaker A

forced me. It's I was forced. I was forced to study by my parent. By my parent is the causitive, right? So we um so the parent forced the child to to do the studying and then du that's passive. So the child was forced to study.

Speaker A

She was forced you know by her friend to listen to complaints. So we saw is the causitive form. So it's to force to listen and then is she was forced to listen, right? Because it's from her perspective.

Speaker A

She was forced to listen to complaints by her friend. Keo honorific language. We use it to raise up the people in a station above us. You know, talking about, you know, respected parents, bosses. So, here we have a list of verbs that when used in the respectful form uh have a different verb assigned to them, like a respectful verb, a kego verb. So like existing kuru and iku will all fall under the category of shimas. So you basically have to use the context of a sentence to figure out

Speaker A

which of these three is being described. Taberu and nomu will both be described as meshiagu. Right? This is the polite way of saying to eat something or to drink something. Next we have kuru. The polite form of kuru is kudasaru. You'll see it in words like kudasai. Moral becomes itadaku. You'll see it in things like sudu becomes nasaru. Miru becomes and becomes osharu. Continuing on with kagel. When we use we can replace it with or and for any other verb you can take the

Speaker A

stem form and place it between and here are examples. The CEO is speaking with our trading partners. Right.

Speaker A

The boss went home, right? Or please something. This is a more polite way of asking people to do something. So, you know, we know so like for example, please wait. This is a more polite version of that. So we get please wait for a moment is like the more polite form of please wait please wait. This is how we can make a polite request. We already went over which is how we say someone does for me. Now, we can pair this with, for example, a question particle in order to make a request that someone do something for us.

Speaker A

Could you please check these for me? This is the same thing as except it's polite. Someone did something for me.

Speaker A

My boss checked the documents for me. Is it all right? So is the more polite version of e or yo and is the more polite version of so instead of saying you know if you say it's even more polite. Here we have do you have time? In other words, is it all right if I use your, you know, I use up your time right now. I take up your time. So, this is a way of asking is it all right? Or offering something to someone like would you like? Here we have is tomorrow. All right.

Speaker A

Would you like something to drink? And that's all the grammar points we have for today. Good luck on the exam. [Music] Send this [Music] for you. I Hi everyone. Welcome to lesson 26. [Music] I just have so good this

Speaker A

[Music]

Topics:JLPT N4Japanese grammarJapanese language learningNihongonomoriJapanese particlesJapanese verbsJapanese expressionsJapanese hearsayJapanese giving and receivingJapanese polite speech

Get More with the SozAI App

Transcribe recordings, audio files, and YouTube videos — with AI summaries, speaker detection, and unlimited transcriptions.

App Store Google Play

Or transcribe another YouTube video here →

Free tools: TXT to SRT · SRT Validator · Merge SRT · Subtitle to Text · All tools