Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 9: 1/16

し (Reasons)And, Giving reasons

The last し in a sentence can be replaced with から or ので

Structure

Verb (A) + し + (Verb (B) + し)
[い]Adjective (A) + し + ([い]Adjective (B) + し)
[な]Adjective (A) + だ + し + ([な]Adjective (B) + だ + し)
Noun (A) + だ + し + (Noun (B) + だ + し)

Details

  • Standard

About し~し

Like て, し is a conjunction particle. This means that it is used for linking the (A) and (B) parts of a sentence, and describing that link in some way. The 'description' that し will highlight is 'reasons'. Regularly it is translated simply as 'and'.

し may be connected to the end of almost any word, but will require a だ before it when it comes after nouns or な-Adjectives. し will follow every 'reason' that is being listed in a sentence. However, the last し may be replaced with から or ので, before the 'result' is stated.

Using し will indicate that each 'reason' being listed is of equal weight/importance. Because of this, it would not be appropriate to use in sentences where one of the reasons clearly far outweighs everything else.

Fun Fact

In all of its uses, し indicates things that are 矛盾(むじゅん)無(な)く共存(きょうぞん)する, which basically means 'things that coexist, without contradicting each other'. This is the primary reason why each thing listed must be of equal importance (in terms of the overall story that the speaker is trying to convey).



Vocab Coverage

All Bunpro Vocab that appears on this item.

Examples

--:--

  • 彼(かれ)は掃除(そうじ)ができるし、料理(りょうり)も作(つく)れるし、結婚(けっこん)してよかった。

    He can clean and cook (among other things). I am glad that I married him.

  • この赤(あか)が可愛(かわい)いし、デザインがいいし、この帽子(ぼうし)を買(か)いたい。

    This red is cute and the design is good (among other things). I want to buy this hat!

  • 彼女(かのじょ)は親切(しんせつ)だし、綺麗(きれい)だし、本当(ほんとう)に大好(だいす)き。

    She is kind and beautiful (among other things). I really love her.

  • この近所(きんじょ)は治安(ちあん)がいいし、スーパーが近(ちか)いし、人(ひと)が優(やさ)しいからここに住(す)んでみたい。

    This neighborhood is safe and the store is close and the people are nice, so I wouldn't mind living here.

  • 僕(ぼく)は全然(ぜんぜん)やりたくないし、やることが多(おお)すぎるし、諦(あきら)めようと思(おも)っています。

    I have absolutely no desire to do it and there are too many things to do (among other things), (so) I am thinking about giving up.

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      し~し – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

      • ka5

        ka5

        I apologize if I misunderstand the point, but there’s no comment from the staff yet, so let me try to help.

        The part of the sentence that follows し is not necessarily a result/conclusion from reasons enumerated by し.
        It could also be a continuation of the same series, just with the last reason not specifically marked by し, から, んだもん, or anything else. Bunpro doesn’t exactly spell this out, and I think it should.
        Then how do you know if it’s a conclusion or not? Usually only one possibility makes sense in the context.

        Examples:

        あの人は美人だし、頭もいい。
        She’s beautiful, and what’s more she’s bright.
        (DoBJG p396)

        Here, she is not bright because she is beautiful (among other reasons). Both are equally reasons for something else implied in the context.

        ここのパンはおいしいし、安いし、とてもかわいい
        〜し〜し①(並列)|日本語能力試験 JLPT N4文法 : 絵でわかる日本語

      • The111

        The111

        Thanks… I think you are 100% right. That helped a lot. I was focusing far too much on the structure, largely because, as you say, they don’t really explain that the final し can be completely omitted (though they do say it can be mutated to a different word). So I’m now ok with the second example I gave.

        However… I now think my first example from above is translated wrong.

        でもやったら上手になるし、将来日本に行けるかもしれないよ。
        But if you do do it, you will become proficient (among other things) and in the future you might be able to go to Japan.

        Putting the “among other things” before the “and” (instead of at the end of the list) makes it sound like the non-exhaustive list of things is only 1 item here (when in fact I think it is 2).

        In every other example, the “among other things” comes after the last item in the list (the items in the li...

      • AzuraKING607

        AzuraKING607

        I know this is unrelated to the し…し topic but Can the ところ here (from an example sentence on the same topic) be thought of as aspects as well? このレストランは高いし、まずいし、何もいいところがない。

        I know it can mean place (also as different “parts” as the way Bunpro translated it.)

        Also, is it any different from the grammar point of “ところが” here on Bunpro?

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