N5 · Lesson 16
Talking to friends
plain forms ・ questions without か ・ ね／よ／なあ ・ 〜んです ・ じゃ／ちゃ／なくちゃ
In this lesson, you will learn to talk with friends the way Japanese friends talk to each other: plain forms in place of です and ます, questions without か, ね, よ and なあ at the end of a sentence, 〜んです to explain a reason, and the short spoken forms じゃ, ちゃ and なくちゃ.
By the end you will be able to say
明日 図書館に 来る？Are you coming to the library tomorrow?
ううん、明日は 行かない。Nope, I'm not going tomorrow.
今日は 疲れたなあ。Man, I'm tired today.
先生、頭が 痛いんです。Sensei, I have a headache.
明日は 勉強しなくちゃ。I've got to study tomorrow.
The grammar in this lesson
- Plain forms: 行く, 行かない, 疲れた, 大変だ — Friends drop です and ます and use the plain form of verbs, adjectives and nouns.
- Questions without か: 来る？ and 〜の？ — A plain question drops か and rises at the end; 〜の？ asks softly about a reason or a situation.
- ね, よ and なあ: isn't it, you know, oh how — ね asks the listener to agree, よ tells them something new, and なあ says a feeling half to yourself.
- 〜んです / 〜のです: explaining — Plain form + んです gives the reason behind something, or asks for one.
- じゃ, ちゃ, なくちゃ: short spoken forms — Speech shortens では to じゃ, ては to ちゃ, and なくては (must) to なくちゃ.