Welcome to N3 grammar lesson one. Today we'll learn about expressing conjecture and appearance in Japanese. These patterns help you express what you think might be true or how things appear to you.
First, hazu da means 'should be' based on logical expectation. Hazu ga nai means 'cannot be'. For example, kare wa kuru hazu desu means 'he should come'.
You da and mitai da both mean 'seems like' or 'looks like'. They express your impression based on what you observe. Ame ga furi sou desu means 'it looks like it will rain'.
Rashii expresses appearance based on evidence or hearsay. Kare wa gakusei rashii means 'he appears to be a student' based on what you've observed or heard.
Finally, sou da has two meanings: it can express appearance like 'looks like', or hearsay meaning 'I heard that'. Oishisou desu means 'it looks delicious'.
Now let's learn about expressing cause and reason in Japanese. These patterns help you explain why something happened or the relationship between events.
Tame ni can express both cause and purpose. When expressing cause, it means 'because of'. Ame no tame ni okuremashita means 'I was late because of rain'.
Ni yotte means 'due to' or 'by means of'. It shows the cause or method. Jiko ni yotte michi ga heisa sareta means 'the road was closed due to an accident'.
Kara to itte means 'just because doesn't mean'. It shows that one thing doesn't automatically lead to another. Don't skip meals just because you're busy.
Kara ni wa means 'now that' or 'since'. It expresses obligation based on a previous action. Since you promised, you should keep it.
Let's explore grammar patterns for expressing state and change. These patterns help you describe the current state of things and how they transform over time.
Te aru expresses a state that results from someone's action. Mado ga akete aru means 'the window has been opened' and remains in that state.
Te oku means to do something in advance or for future convenience. Shukudai wo yatte oku means 'I'll do homework in advance'.
Te shimau expresses completion of an action, often with regret or unintended result. Tabete shimatta means 'I ate it all up', possibly more than intended.
You ni naru expresses a change in ability or state. Nihongo ga hanaseru you ni natta means 'I became able to speak Japanese'.
Now let's learn about comparison and contrast patterns. These help you compare different things and show relationships between contrasting ideas.
Ni kurabete means 'compared to'. Kyonen ni kurabete atatakai means 'it's warmer compared to last year'. This pattern directly compares two things.
Ni taishite can mean 'in contrast to' or 'towards'. Kare ni taishite shinsetsu da means 'I'm kind towards him'. It shows direction or contrast.
Hanmen and ippou both mean 'on the other hand'. Benri na hanmen takai means 'convenient, but on the other hand, expensive'. They show contrasting aspects.
Bakari ka means 'not only but also'. Utsukushii bakari ka shinsetsu da means 'not only beautiful but also kind'. It adds positive qualities.
To summarize what we've learned about N3 grammar: We covered conjecture patterns for expressing possibilities, cause and reason patterns for explaining relationships, state and change patterns for describing transformations, and comparison patterns for contrasting ideas. Regular practice with these patterns will help you express more complex thoughts in Japanese naturally.