N5 · Unit 3
Lesson 11Likes, skills, and understanding
Use the appropriate particle for likes, skills, understanding, and possession, and state frequency.
What you learn
Use the appropriate particle for likes, skills, understanding, and possession, and state frequency.
Learning points
- Likes and strengths
- Understanding and possession
- Frequency expressions
Why this lesson comes now
This lesson connects what you can already say to a new way of expressing it. Hear the key sentences, understand the structure, then use it in a real situation.
Your next step
Listen to the key sentences, understand the pattern, finish the examples and vocabulary, then continue to the next lesson.
Open the interactive lessonCore pattern
N が 好きです / 上手です / 分かります / あります ・ よく / 時々 / あまり / 全然Beginner explanation
The object of liking, skill, understanding, or possession is often marked with が. Use よく and 時々 for frequency. あまり and 全然 normally appear with negative forms.
Understand these sentences first
- 私は 音楽が 好きです。watashi wa ongaku ga suki desu
I like music.
- 妹は 料理が 上手です。imōto wa ryōri ga jōzu desu
My younger sister is good at cooking.
- 日本語が 少し 分かります。Nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu
I understand a little Japanese.
- 今日は 時間が ありません。kyō wa jikan ga arimasen
I do not have time today.
Core vocabulary
- 好きすきlike
- 上手じょうずskillful
- 分かりますわかりますunderstand
- ありますありますhave; exist
- 音楽おんがくmusic
- 料理りょうりcooking
- 映画えいがfilm
- 時間じかんtime
Grammar, one point at a time
Objects of liking, disliking, and fear take が
person は object が 好き／嫌い／怖いですは marks the person who has the feeling, and が marks its object. Do not translate word by word and replace が with を. Ask 何が好きですか for what someone likes.
Examples
- わたしは 音楽が 好きです。I like music.
- 弟は 犬が 怖いです。My younger brother is afraid of dogs.
The content understood, possible, or mastered also takes が
person は content が 分かります／できます／上手です分かります means understand. できます can mean know how to do or be able to complete something. 上手, 下手, and 苦手 evaluate skill. Mark the content with が; not every use of can maps to one fixed Japanese word.
Examples
- 英語が 少し 分かります。I understand a little English.
- 料理が できます。I can cook.
- ピアノが 上手です。They are good at piano.
や lists examples and often pairs with など
N や N などと tends to list the complete set relevant to the statement. や gives a few examples and often ends with など to show there are others. Completeness depends on the speaker's intended range.
Examples
- 音楽は ロックや ポップスなどが 好きです。For music, I like rock, pop, and similar styles.
- 店で 野菜や 果物などを 買いました。I bought vegetables, fruit, and other things at the shop.
Attach から to the clause giving the reason
reason から、resultPlace から at the end of the clause giving the reason. The reason usually precedes the result, but it can follow as an explanation. Politeness comes from the clause ending, as in 好きですから.
Examples
- 寒いですから、窓を 閉めます。I will close the window because it is cold.
- 毎日 飲みます。好きですから。I drink it every day because I like it.
だから or ですから stands before the result sentence
reason sentence。だから／ですから、result sentenceだから carries the reason from the previous sentence into the result; ですから is more polite. It differs in position from particle から: one independently connects sentences, while the other follows the reason clause.
Examples
- 明日は 休みです。ですから、出かけます。Tomorrow is a day off, so I will go out.
- 野菜が 苦手です。だから、あまり 食べません。I am not fond of vegetables, so I do not eat them often.
Frequency adverbs form a scale from always to never
いつも／よく／時々／たまに／あまり〜ません／全然〜ませんいつも is the highest frequency, followed broadly by よく, 時々, and たまに. At beginner level, あまり and 全然 pair with a negative. These are not exact percentages and should not be converted mechanically.
Examples
- 週末は よく 散歩します。I often take walks on weekends.
- コンサートへは たまに 行きます。I occasionally go to concerts.
- 外国へは 全然 行きません。I never go abroad.
どうしてですか asks why; the answer often ends in から
どうしてですか。— reason からです／reason からAsk the reason with どうしてですか. Answer with a full reason clause + からです, or conversationally end in から. For sensitive matters, still consider relationship and setting.
Examples
- どうして また 来ますか。Why will you come again?
- 近くで 写真展が ありますから。Because there is a photo exhibition nearby.
Expressions and situations
ぼく is a relatively casual self-reference commonly used by males
ぼく is common for males speaking to peers, family, or close contacts. わたし is usually safer in formal settings. Age, identity, and personal style affect the choice.
An event takes place at a location marked by で
For an object, say 場所に物があります. For an exhibition, meeting, party, or other event, say 場所でイベントがあります. Decide whether something exists or an event takes place.
- ホテルで 写真展が あります。There is a photo exhibition at the hotel.
- 部屋に 写真が あります。There is a photo in the room.
いかがですか is a polite counterpart to どうですか
Use いかがですか to ask a customer, senior, or superior for an opinion or to offer a drink. Accept with ありがとうございます。いただきます. Rather than a blunt いいえ, decline with 今は結構です.
- コーヒーは いかがですか。Would you like some coffee?
- ありがとうございます。いただきます。Thank you. I will have some.
そうですね can also signal that the speaker is thinking
Besides agreement, そうですね before an open answer can buy thinking time. It may follow うーん, and intonation and pause matter more than a word-for-word translation.
迷います can mean hesitate or get lost
Say 迷います when choices make a decision difficult. It also means get lost in 道に迷いました or ホテルの中で迷いました. Use the surrounding words to identify the meaning.
- どれを 買いますか。— 迷いますね。Which will you buy? — It is hard to choose.
- 駅で 道に 迷いました。I got lost at the station.
気に入りました means something has appealed to you after seeing or using it
好きです commonly states an ongoing preference. 気に入りました often means an item appealed to you after first seeing or trying it, with the item marked by が. Be sensitive to politeness when evaluating a gift or a superior's item.
- この 模様が 気に入りました。I like this pattern.
- 音楽が 好きです。I like music.
A reply can omit wording just supplied by the other speaker
When the question already supplies the predicate, reply with only the degree or new information, as in 気に入りましたか and はい、とても. Omit only when the listener can recover the meaning.
- おいしいですね。— ええ、とても。It is tasty, isn't it? — Yes, very.
下手 can sound blunt when judging another person's skill
For yourself, 下手です or 苦手です is possible. Calling another person 下手ですね can be rude. Even 上手ですね should respond to genuine performance rather than becoming empty praise.
What you should be able to do
- Mark objects of liking, disliking, and fear with が.
- Choose among 分かります, できます, 上手, 下手, and 苦手 by meaning.
- Distinguish complete listing with と from example listing with や〜など.
- Rewrite between a reason clause + から and independent だから or ですから.
- Choose いつも, よく, 時々, たまに, あまり, or 全然 by relative frequency.
- Complete an original gift-shop dialogue: ask for a recommendation, hesitate, decline politely, or say an item appeals to you.
Culture and real use
Hakone yosegi marquetry combines natural wood colours into geometric patterns
Hakone Town's official feature explains that yosegi marquetry combines the natural colours and grain of different woods into precise geometric patterns. Major methods include ヅク貼り, which planes a patterned block into sheets about 0.15–0.2 mm thick for decorating boxes, and ムクづくり, which works the solid patterned block itself. Modern wood does not come only from the Hakone mountains. Products include boxes, trays, coasters, and puzzle boxes. The official page says workshops require advance reservations; check listed shops, activities, and current booking conditions before visiting.
- この 模様が 気に入りました。I like this pattern.
- 寄木細工は いかがですか。How about yosegi marquetry?
- 体験は 予約が 必要ですか。Is a reservation required for the workshop?