N5 · Unit 5
Lesson 20Ability and hobbies
Learn dictionary forms and express ability, permitted conditions, hobbies, and an action done before another.
What you learn
Learn dictionary forms and express ability, permitted conditions, hobbies, and an action done before another.
Learning points
- Dictionary forms
- Ability and hobbies
- Before an action
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
動詞基本形 + ことが できます ・ 趣味は 動詞基本形 + ことです ・ 動詞基本形 + 前にBeginner explanation
The dictionary form is the form used in dictionaries. Use dictionary form＋ことができます for ability, 趣味は dictionary form＋ことです for a hobby, and dictionary form＋前に for an action done before another.
Understand these sentences first
- 私は 日本語を 読むことが できます。watashi wa Nihongo o yomu koto ga dekimasu
I can read Japanese.
- 趣味は 写真を 撮ることです。shumi wa shashin o toru koto desu
My hobby is taking photos.
- 寝る 前に 歯を 磨きます。neru mae ni ha o migakimasu
I brush my teeth before going to bed.
- ここで カードを 使うことが できます。koko de kādo o tsukau koto ga dekimasu
You can use a card here.
Core vocabulary
- 読むよむread
- 撮るとるtake a photo
- 寝るねるsleep
- 磨くみがくbrush; polish
- 使うつかうuse
- 泳ぐおよぐswim
- 弾くひくplay an instrument
- 趣味しゅみhobby
Grammar, one point at a time
The basic form is the dictionary form
Vます → V dictionary formFor Group 1, move the sound before ます from the i-row to the matching u-row. Group 2 removes ます and adds る. 来ます and します become 来る and する. The form is neither past tense nor inherently rude; it is the form required by later patterns.
Examples
- 書きます → 書くwrite
- 読みます → 読むread
- 食べます → 食べるeat
- 来ます → 来る／します → するcome / do
Dictionary form + ことができます expresses ability
person は Vる ことが できますThe whole action becomes the thing that can or cannot be done. A reply may be complete or simply はい、できます or いいえ、できません. The ability may come from skill, physical condition, or circumstances, depending on context.
Examples
- わたしは ピアノを 弾く ことが できます。I can play the piano.
- この パソコンで 日本語を 入力する ことが できます。You can enter Japanese on this computer.
- 泳ぐ ことが できますか。— いいえ、できません。Can you swim? — No, I cannot.
Dictionary form + こと treats an action as a thing
N は Vる こと ですこと turns the preceding action into a noun-like unit, useful for hobbies, skills, dreams, or plans. Do not translate ことです separately as thing; it lets an action enter a noun sentence.
Examples
- わたしの 趣味は 写真を 撮る ことです。My hobby is taking photographs.
- 姉の 特技は 料理を 作る ことです。My sister's skill is cooking.
- 将来の 夢は 海外で 働く ことです。My dream is to work abroad.
Dictionary form + 前に means before doing another action
Vる 前に／N の 前にThe action before 前に stays in the dictionary form even though it has not happened yet. A noun takes の. Follow the time relationship rather than translating word by word in Chinese order.
Examples
- 寝る 前に 歯を 磨きます。I brush my teeth before sleeping.
- 出かける 前に 天気を 確認します。I check the weather before going out.
- 会議の 前に 資料を コピーします。I copy the materials before the meeting.
Question word + か means an unspecified person, place, thing, or time
だれか／どこか／何か／いつかWith か, the word no longer directly asks for a specific answer; it means some-. It can appear in statements. Keep the following particle when the sentence needs one, as in どこかへ or だれかと. In conversation, を is often omitted in 何か食べます.
Examples
- 部屋に だれか います。Someone is in the room.
- 休みに どこかへ 行きたいです。I want to go somewhere during the holiday.
- 何か 食べましょう。Let's eat something.
- いつか 京都へ 行きたいです。I want to visit Kyoto someday.
よね presents a view and asks for confirmation
statement よねよ tends to present information, ね shares a feeling or seeks agreement, and よね often signals that the speaker already has a view and expects confirmation. Relationship and intonation affect the nuance, so it is not a universal substitute for right?
Examples
- 手作りの パンは おいしいですよね。Homemade bread is delicious, isn't it?
- 明日も 来ますよね。You are coming tomorrow too, right?
Expressions and situations
ことができます can express ability or rule-based availability
日本語を話すことができます normally describes ability. この部屋ではWi-Fiを使うことができます often describes availability or permission. For a direct request, てもいいですか remains clearer.
- ここで 写真を 撮る ことが できますか。Is photography allowed here?
- ここで 写真を 撮っても いいですか。May I take a photograph here?
A person or group + で marks who acts together
一人で means alone, 自分で means personally, and みんなで or 全員で means together as a group. This で does not mark transport or location; it marks how the participants are grouped.
- 家族みんなで 料理を 作ります。The whole family cooks together.
- この 棚は 自分で 組み立てました。I assembled this shelf myself.
趣味 is a hobby; 興味 is interest in a topic
Use 趣味は読書です or 本を読むことです for a hobby. Use 書道に興味があります for interest in calligraphy. Do not mechanically map Chinese interesting to Japanese 趣味.
- 趣味は 何ですか。What is your hobby?
- 日本の 建築に 興味が あります。I am interested in Japanese architecture.
特技 is a special skill; 夢 can be a dream or aspiration
A 特技 need not be a professional qualification; it can be any notable skill. 夢は～ことです can state an aspiration, while 予定 or 目標 may fit a concrete plan better.
- 特技は ギターを 弾く ことです。My special skill is playing the guitar.
- 夢は 通訳に なる ことです。My dream is to become an interpreter.
ごちそうします means to treat someone to food
Use 友達に昼ご飯をごちそうします. ごちそうしてください can sound direct. Depending on the relationship, 今度、ごちそうしていただけますか may be softer.
- 今日は わたしが ごちそうします。I will treat you today.
- 先輩が 昼ご飯を ごちそうしてくれました。My senior treated me to lunch.
何か asks whether something exists; 何が asks which thing
何かありますか asks whether there is something. 何がありますか asks the listener to identify what it is. The same unspecified-versus-specific contrast applies to だれか and だれが.
- 冷蔵庫に 何か ありますか。Is there anything in the refrigerator?
- 冷蔵庫に 何が ありますか。What is in the refrigerator?
Japan's current minimum marriage age is 18 for both sexes
Japan's Ministry of Justice states that the Civil Code revision effective 1 April 2022 unified the minimum marriage age at 18 for both sexes. Older examples using 16 for women and 18 for men describe the pre-reform rule and are not current law.
- 日本では 18歳から 結婚する ことが できます。In Japan, people may marry from age 18.
おなかがすきます means become hungry
The completed form おなかがすきました commonly means I am hungry. Do not confuse it with 好きです: part of the sound overlaps, but the meaning and writing differ.
- おなかが すきました。何か 食べましょう。I am hungry. Let's eat something.
What you should be able to do
- Convert Group 1, 2, and 3 verbs from the masu-form to the dictionary form.
- Use ことができます for skill, facility availability, and rule-based permission, and distinguish it from てもいいですか.
- Use ことです to describe your own hobby, skill, and dream.
- Sequence a real schedule with dictionary form + 前に and noun + の前に.
- Choose between 何か and 何が or だれか and だれが and explain why.
- Complete an original hobby-club dialogue: introduce a hobby, ask about ability, arrange an activity, and confirm the rules.
Culture and real use
Three major Chinatowns in Japan: names, history, and the present
Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki are commonly grouped as Japan's three major Chinatowns, but each developed differently. Yokohama Chinatown's official FAQ reports a 2022 survey of about 630 consumer-facing businesses, including about 200 Chinese restaurants; the survey year matters and the figure is not timeless. Kobe's Nankinmachi covers roughly 270 metres east to west and 110 metres north to south and traces its history to a Chinese commercial district that formed after the port opened. Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown developed from reclaimed land created in the Edo period to store Chinese trade goods; its current official introduction lists about 40 shops and says materials and craftspeople for its four gates came from Fuzhou. City exchanges also continue: Yokohama–Shanghai and Kobe–Tianjin established friendship-city ties in 1973, while Nagasaki continues to publish its friendship-city exchange with Fuzhou. Learners should remember the formal names 横浜中華街, 神戸南京町, and 長崎新地中華街 and treat shop counts as changing statistics.
- 横浜中華街へ 行く 前に、店を 調べます。I check the shops before going to Yokohama Chinatown.
- 南京町で 獅子舞を 見る ことが できますか。Can I see a lion dance in Nankinmachi?
- 長崎新地中華街に 何か おすすめが ありますか。Is there something you recommend in Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown?