N5 トピック
L4: Easy Come, Easy Go
Talk about coming, going, and doing
Easy Come, Easy Go
In this Topic, we're going to 'get moving'. We will learn more about three essential verbs in the Japanese language. 行く 'to go', 来る 'to come', and する 'to do'. We will also be introduced to a new particle, へ, which indicates the direction that something is heading in.
We'll see how 行く and 来る work as a complimentary pair and, despite being common words, how 行く, 来る and する are irregular (and what exactly that means)!
このトピックに出てくる文法
へ
To, Toward
へ is a particle used when describing a place that someone or something is 'moving toward', or 'in contact with'. In many cases, the particles に and へ are interchangeable, but there is a slight difference in meaning. へ focuses more on the distance/effort required to get between (A) and (B), while に focuses more on the connection between (A) and (B). へ always comes after the noun signifying the destination.
In these examples, while they may seem the same at first glance, へ shows that there is a space between (A) and (B), while に puts the emphasis solely on the destination. This is why common expressions such as 'city/country name へようこそ' sound very polite. It is like saying 'Welcome, and we acknowledge your journey/effort to get here'.
In the TV-show example, this commonly means 'thank you for your effort to watch this particular show, out of all the ones you could have chosen'.
へいく
To go to, To head toward
へ行く is a common construction used when describing a place that someone/something is 'heading'. The particles に and へ are mostly interchangeable, but there is a slight difference in meaning. に has the nuance of 'going to', while へ has the nuance of 'heading to'.
In these examples, while they may seem the same at first glance, へ focuses much more on the journey, while に puts more emphasis on the destination. This is true for other uses of に and へ as well. に will always put more focus on the destination of an action, where へ will put more emphasis on the distance traveled/between the origin and destination.
くる
To come
来る is one of only two main verbs in Japanese that do not follow the standard rules of conjugation for Godan and Ichidan verbs. The other primary verb being する. 来る means 'to come', or 'to be coming'.
来る will always have the particle に or へ attached to the location that someone 'will come', or 'has come'.
The reason that 来る is called a か-column irregular conjugation verb in Japanese is because the る in 来る does not conjugate, but is dropped. This leaves the く being the part that conjugates. Because of this, 来る has qualities of both る-Verbs (the る being dropped), and う-Verbs (the remaining く changing depending on the conjugation). Here are some examples of how 来る changes.
(き)た, (く)る, (こ)ない.
来る will often be seen as 来ている when someone has come to a place and remains there. This is due to ている meaning 'to exist in the state of an action', rather than being exactly the same as '(A)~ing' in English. Because of this, 来ている can mean either 'to be somewhere that one has come', or 'to be coming'.
Sometimes the difference between these two will not be clear unless there is further context.
Caution
来ている (for existing at a place) is only used for places that people 'temporarily' go, so will not be used when you are at your home/work.
する
To do, To make into
する verbs are one of only two main verbs in Japanese that do not follow the standard rules of conjugation for Godan and Ichidan verbs. The other primary verb being 来る. する means to do something, or to make something a certain way.
する will almost always have the particle を attached to the thing that is being done (depending on the form of the verb). The reason that する verbs are called さ-column irregular conjugation verbs in Japanese is because the る in する does not conjugate, but is dropped.
This will leave す to be the part that conjugates. Because of this, する has qualities of both る-Verbs (the る being dropped), and う-Verbs (the remaining す changing, depending on the conjugation). Here are some examples of how する changes.
(さ)せる, (し)ます, (す)る, (せ)よ.
We will learn more about each of these conjugations of する, and their individual meanings at a later stage. For now, let's take a look at the polite します conjugation.
In a broader sense, する can be thought of as meaning 'to do something that has an external effect'.
詳細
Let's take a closer look at the logic and uses of the verbs we've just met!
Super Special する
As mentioned on its grammar page, we use を to mark the object when using する. However, there is also another special way that する can be used, by directly attaching certain nouns to する. This creates something that acts like a single verb. These words are often called 'する verbs'. When we do this, the noun stops being the object and becomes the action itself.
Note that this can only be done with certain nouns (those representing actions), so they're best remembered on a case by case basis.
Coming And Going
Next, let's look at 行く and 来る. These verbs are a pair that describe literal or abstract movement relative to a viewpoint (usually the speaker’s). Despite being easily translated as 'go' and 'come' in most cases, there are times where Japanese is much stricter about viewpoints.
That's Irregular
Finally, let's take a look at the conjugation charts for the irregular 来る and する.
-
こ
- +ない「+です」
-
き
- +ます
- +ませ+ん
-
く
- +る
-
く
れ- + …
-
こ
- + …
-
し
- +ない「+です」
-
し
- +ます
- +ませ+ん
-
す
る- + …
-
す
れ- + …
-
し
ろ- + …
Note: Although 行くcan act irregularly, it is only with the past form (which we will learn about in the next lesson!) and the て form (which we will learn about in the next chapter!).
They're Coming Today
--:--
太田さん:「今月はアメリカとイギリスとイタリアの留学生が来ます。みんな日本は初めてです。」
坂口さん:「そうなんですね。じゃあ今月は京都へ行きますか?」
太田さん:「いいですね。京都は神社やお寺が多いですよね。日本の勉強ですね!」
坂口さん:「はい!大阪も行きますか?大阪は楽しい街ですよね。」
太田さん:「そうですね!その留学生はみんな女の人なんです。大阪で買い物をしますか?」
坂口さん:「いいですね!今日の午後は、カナダと中国とオーストラリアの留学生が来ますよね。」
太田さん:「そうです。今日は神戸に行きます。留学生のアパートを掃除します!」
坂口さん:「何時に来ますか?」
太田さん:「みんな昼の1時に東京に来ます。」
坂口さん:「じゃあ夜ご飯は神戸で食べますか?」
太田さん:「私がアパートで料理をします!みんなに寿司を作りますよ!」
坂口さん:「ありがとうございます!」