Activities: How to use gendered sentence-enders in Japanese?
Exercise 1: Choose a particle!
Let’s complete each sentence by choosing the most appropriate particle. Pay attention to the context, especially who’s talking.
Sisters Mei (4 years old) and Satsuki (12 years old) are talking:
か [ka]の [no]のか [no ka]Mei: 今日はどうして学校に行かない
Kyō wa dōshite gakkō ni ikanai ...
Why don’t you go to school today?
なの [na no]の [no]だの [da no]Satsuki: 今日は学校が休み
Kyō wa gakkō ga yasumi ...
Because the school is closed today.
Yoko is talking to her coworker Keiko while having lunch at a small restaurant where Yoko has never been before:
かしら [kashira]のよ [no yo]わね [wa ne]Yoko: へえ、この店の日替わりランチ、結構おいしい
Hē, kono mise no higawari ranchi, kekkō oishii ...
Why, today’s lunch special in this place is quite tasty, isn’t it!
なの [na no]だの [da no]なあ [nā]Keiko: でしょう？私のお気に入り 。
Deshō? Watashi no okini’iri ...
I told you, didn’t I? It’s my favorite.
Teammates Ichiro and Shohei are talking on the phone the night before the first day of their summer baseball camp:
かい [kai]だぞ [da zo]だわ [da wa]Ichiro: おい、明日の集合は朝６時 。
Oi, ashita no shūgō wa asa roku ji ...
Hey, our meeting time is 6:00 in the morning tomorrow.
ぞ [zo]なよ [na yo]よな [yo na]Shohei: わかってるよ。何度も言う 。
Wakatteru yo. Nando mo yu’u ...
I know! Don’t say it over and over, I’m telling you.
Mr. Nagashima, an elderly neighbor, sees Shohei leaving home for his summer baseball camp:
かい [kai]かしら [kashira]のか [no ka]Mr. Nagashima: おはよう。早いね。野球部の練習 ？
Ohayō. Hayai ne. Yakyūbu no renshū ... ?
Good morning. You are early. Are you going for baseball practice?
Shohei: あ、おはようございます。今日から合宿なんです。
A, ohayō gozaimasu. Kyō kara gasshuku nandesu.
Oh, good morning. Our training camp is starting today.
Exercise 2: Who said the line?
Let’s pretend that you are listening to a Japanese detective story on an audio book. You may not understand everything, but you can pick up some lines and phrases here and there. The sentence-ending particles stand out because, well, they appear at the end of sentences! Can you tell the gender assigned to each line below?
Make an “educated” guess based on what we have covered in this post! These lines have been listed in random order, regardless of the storyline. Some of the more generic types of speakers (Male and Female) can be used more than once.
「いやあ、また事件ですか。。刑事さんも大変ですなあ」
“Iyā, mata jiken desu ka. Keiji san mo taihen desu nā”
“Oh-ho, another case, you say? What a hard life you have as a police detective!”「昨夜のアリバイ？そんなもの、ありませんわよ。部屋で寝ておりましたから」
“Sakuya no aribai? Son’na mono, arimasen wa yo. Heya de nete orimashita kara.
“Last night’s alibi? I don’t have any. I was asleep in my room”「ふうん、そうか。それで、何か気がついたかい？」
“Fūn, sō ka. Sorede, nani ka kigatsuita kai?”
“Uh-huh, I see. So, have you noticed anything?「公彦お坊っちゃま、みなさま、お待ちですぞ。お支度を」
“Kimihiko obocchama, minasama, omachi desu zo. Oshitaku o”
“Master Kimihiko, everyone is waiting for you. Please get ready”「へえ、あの人、探偵なの。そんなふうには見えないけど」
“Hē, ano hito, tantei na no. Son’na fū ni wa mienai kedo”
“Oh, he is a private eye, I see. He doesn’t look like one though”「このことは、絶対にだれにも漏らすなよ。わかったな」
“Kono koto wa, zettai ni dare ni mo morasuna yo. Wakatta na”
“Never leak about this to anybody. Understood?”「それじゃあ、お母様も疑われているのかしら」
“Sore jā, okāsama mo utagawarete iru no kashira.”
“Well then, I wonder if our mother is also being suspected.”「そうか、わかったぞ。犯人はあの二人だ」
“Sō ka, wakatta zo. Han’nin wa ano futari da.”
“A-ha, I got it. Those two have done it.”
