Learn Japanese fast! Imagine trying to speak English without being able to express actions. As you know, saying phrases like “to study” and “to talk” is critical. You’re about to learn that these compound verbs are just as critical in Japanese. Get ready to learn all about the compound verb “to do” in this Newbie Japanese article. You’ll learn that the Japanese word shimasu is your key to talking about things that you do. “To speak,” “to watch,” “to learn”; you’ll find it all here, plus much, much more. This Japanese article also contains numerous sample sentences that you can start using today!

Vocabulary: In this article, you’ll learn the following words and phrases:

Shanhai – “Shanghai” (city in China)

nihongo – “Japanese language”

hajimete – “for the first time”

mae – “ago, before” (suffix)

yo-nen – “four years”

ichi-nen kan – “period of one year”

benkyoo – “study”

joozu – “good at” (-na adjective)

Pekin – “Beijing” (city in China)

kyo’nen – “last year”

Nihon – “Japan”

Grammar: In this article, you’ll learn the following words and phrases:

Useful Vocabulary

joozu – “good at, skillful”

Joozu is an -na adjective, and the reading of kanji is irregular. The opposite word, heta, is also an -na adjective and has an irregular reading.

kyonen – “last year”

Memorize the following vocabulary words.

1. “last year” – kyonen
2. “this year” – kotoshi
3. “next year” – rainen

yo-nen

ichi-nenkan

Please study the time duration for years.

“English” / Japanese

“1 year” / ichi-nen ( kan )

“2 years” / ni-nen ( kan )

“3 years” / san-nen ( kan )

“4 years” / yo-nen ( kan )

“5 years” / go-nen ( kan )

“6 years” / roku-nen ( kan )

“7 years” / nana-nen ( kan ) or shichi-nen ( kan )

“8 years” / hachi-nen ( kan )

“9 years” / kyuu-nen ( kan ) or ku-nen ( kan )

“10 years” / juu-nen ( kan )

“How many years?” / nan-nen ( kan )

Watashi wa Chuugoku no Shanhai kara kimashita.

“I come from Shanghai in China.”

In Newbie series Season 4 Article 26, you learned how to say where you are from using the word shusshin. We can use this “___ kara kimashita” sentence pattern to talk about one’s origin.

For Example:

1. Shusshin wa Ejiputo desu.

   “I’m from Egypt.”

2. Ejiputo kara kimashita.

   “I’m from Egypt.” (literally, “I came from Egypt.”)

Grammar Point

In this article, you are going to learn how to talk about past activities and the usage of shimasu, which means “to do.” Please check the conjugation rules for the masu form of a verb below. 

Non-past Negative (formal): Replace –masu with –masen.

Past Affirmative (formal): Replace –masu with –mashita.

Past Negative (informal): Replace –masu with –masen deshita.

Non-Past

“English” / Affirmative (-masu) / Negative (-masen)

“to go” / ikimasu / ikimasen

“to understand” / wakarimasu / wakarimasen

“to eat” / tabemasu / tabemasen

“to come” / kimasu / kimasen

“to do” / shimasu / shimasen 

Past

“English” / Affirmative (-mashita) / Negative (-masendeshita)

“to go” / ikimashita / ikimasen deshita

“to understand” / wakarimashita / wakarimasen deshita

“to eat” / tabemashita / tabemasen deshita

“to come” / kimashita / kimasen deshita

“to do” / shimashita / shimasen deshita

Shimasu – “to do”

Shimasu (“to do”) is often called a nominal verb, which can create compound verbs.

Noun / “English” / Verb / “English”

benkyoo / “study” / benkyoo ( o ) shimasu / “to study”

shigoto / “work” / shigoto ( o ) shimasu / “to work”

denwa / “telephone” / denwa ( o ) shimasu / “to call”

ryokoo / “trip” / ryokoo ( o ) shimasu / “to travel”

paatii / “party” / paatii ( o ) shimasu / “to have a party”

sunooboodo / “snowboard” / sunooboodo ( o ) shimasu / “to snowboard”

Practice

Please answer the following questions according to the things you did yesterday.

For Example:

Nihon-go o benkyoo shimashita ka.

(If yes…) Hai, shimashita.

(If no…) Iie, shimasen deshita.

1. Sushi o tabemashita ka.

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2. Paatii o shimashita ka.

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3. Terebi o mimashita ka. (terebi means, “T.V.” mimasu means, “to watch.”)

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4. Basu ni norimashita ka. (basu means, “bus” norimasu means, “ride.”

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5. Nihon-go o hanashimashita ka. hanashimasu means, “to speak.”

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