Vocabulary

Sample sentences

Eng: I want sake now

lit: sake! it is desirable now

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Comments

The following comments explain some of the grammar in more detail.

Particles

ga – が

In the same way that ‘wo’ (を) marks the direct object of a verb, ‘ga’ (が) marks the direct object of an adjective. In the following example, ‘sake’ is the direct object of the verb ‘to drink’ (nomu), so it is marked with を, and is also the direct object of the adjective ‘wanted’ (hoshi-i), so it is marked with が.

If we want to contrast the noun and something else we use ‘wa'(は) instead of ‘ga'(が):

Adjectives

hoshi-i – ほしい, 欲しい

wanted; wished for; in need of; desired; desirable

The i-adjective ‘hoshi-i’ plays the role of the English verb ‘to want’. Instead of saying ‘I want beer’, we’d say ‘beer is desired/desirable’, or ‘beer is wished for’.

We use ‘hoshi-i’ to describe our own desires, not those of other people.