Making Negative Requests in Japanese - Learn

Learn to make negative requests in Japanese

Dialogue

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Lesson Transcript

Do you know how to make negative requests in Japanese?

You'll learn how in just a moment.

Hi, my name is Emiri, and this is Three Step Japanese by JapanesePod101.com.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to make negative requests through a quick conversation.

Let's look at the dialogue.

As you listen, pay attention to how they ask about the topic and how the other person responds.

さあ、たべましょう｡いただきます！

Sā, tabemashō. Itadakimasu!

いただきます！

Itadakimasu!

りんちゃん、フォークをつかわないでください｡おはしでたべてくださいね｡

Rin-chan, fōku o tsukawanaide kudasai. O-hashi de tabete kudasai ne.

あ、そうですね｡

A, sō desu ne.

のこさないでください｡ぜんぶたべてください｡

Nokosanai de kudasai. Zenbu tabete kudasai.

Let's break it down.

さあ、たべましょう｡いただきます！

Sā, tabemashō. Itadakimasu!

Well then, let's eat. Thank you for the meal!

いただきます！

Itadakimasu!

Thank you for the meal!

りんちゃん、フォークをつかわないでください｡

Rin-chan, fōku o tsukawanaide kudasai.

Aside from "Rin-chan," this is our focus.

First is the word, フォーク (Fōku), meaning "fork." フォーク (slow version - breakdown by syllable). フォーク.

Next is the particle, を (o), the object-marking particle.

After this is the verb phrase, つかわないで (tsukawanaide), meaning "do not use." つかわないで (slow version - breakdown by syllable). つかわないで.

Last is the word, ください (kudasai), meaning "please." ください (slow version - breakdown by syllable). ください.

All together, it's りんちゃん、フォークをつかわないでください｡ (Rin-chan, fōku o tsukawanaide kudasai). "Rin-chan, please don’t use a fork." りんちゃん、フォークをつかわないでください｡ (Rin-chan, fōku o tsukawanaide kudasai).

おはしでたべてくださいね｡

O-hashi de tabete kudasai ne.

Use chopsticks to eat, okay?

あ、そうですね｡

A, sō desu ne.

Oh, that’s right.

のこさないでください｡ぜんぶたべてください｡

Nokosanai de kudasai. Zenbu tabete kudasai.

Please don’t leave anything behind. Eat everything.

Let's look at the sentence pattern.

This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow.

[Verb nai-form] でください

[Verb nai-form] de kudasai

Please don't [verb].

First, we need the nai-form of a verb. The nai-form is the negative form of a verb in plain speech.

After the nai-form, we add でください (de kudasai) to politely say "please don’t [verb]." It's important to include the particle で between the verb and "ください (kudasai)."

Let’s see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern.

のこさないでください｡ (Nokosanai de kudasai.)

'Please don’t leave anything behind.'

In this sentence:

のこさない (nokosanai) is the nai-form of のこす (nokosu), meaning "to leave behind."

Adding でください (de kudasai) makes のこさないでください (nokosanai de kudasai), which means "Please don’t leave anything behind."

Forming a nai-form verb isn't as simple as just adding "ない" to the end of a verb stem. Each class of verbs has a different method.

Let's start with class 2 verbs. In this example, we have たべる (taberu). To change it to the nai form, we take off the る, and add ない in its place. That leaves us with たべない (tabenai). This rule applies to all class 2 verbs.

Then there are the class 3 verbs. The only class 3 verbs are する (suru) and くる (kuru), and they both change completely when put in the nai form.

くる becomes こない (konai), and する becomes しない (shinai).

Now let's look at the class 1 verbs.

For class 1 verbs, you take the final kana syllable, and put the equivalent "a" sound in its place.

For example, のこす, no ko SU, becomes のこさない, no ko SA na i.

Another example. はいる, ha i RU, becomes はいらない, ha i RA na i.

There are two exceptions to this rule. First is verbs that end with う (u). For those verbs, replace う with わない (wanai).

つかう, tsu ka U. つかわない, tsu ka WA na i.

Last is the verb ある (aru). The nai form for ある is JUST ない (nai).

Now let's look at some speaking examples.

フォークをつかわないでください｡おはしでたべてください｡ (Fōku o tsukawanai de kudasai. O-hashi de tabete kudasai.)

Please don’t use a fork. Use chopsticks to eat.

Can you see how the pattern applies here?

Let's break it down:

Here, つかわない (tsukawanai) is the nai-form of the verb つかう (tsukau), which means "to use."

Since つかわない is the nai-form, it means "don’t use."

Adding でください (de kudasai) makes つかわないでください (tsukawanai de kudasai), meaning "Please don’t use."

Now let’s look at the first part of the sentence:

フォーク (fōku) means "fork."

The particle を (o) marks "fork" as the object of the verb.

So, フォークをつかわないでください follows the pattern [Verb nai-form] でください, meaning "Please don’t use a fork."

Here's another example

ここでたべないでください｡あのベンチでたべてください｡ (Koko de tabenai de kudasai. Ano benchi de tabete kudasai.)

Please don’t eat here. Eat on that bench over there.

ここでたべないでください｡あのベンチでたべてください｡ (Koko de tabenai de kudasai. Ano benchi de tabete kudasai.)

Please don’t eat here. Eat on that bench over there.

Let's try one more,

あのへやにはいらないでください｡スタッフのへやです｡ (Ano heya ni hairanai de kudasai. Sutaffu no heya desu.)

Please don’t enter that room. It’s a staff-only room.

あのへやにはいらないでください｡スタッフのへやです｡ (Ano heya ni hairanai de kudasai. Sutaffu no heya desu.)

Please don’t enter that room. It’s a staff-only room.

Another one.

ここはびょういんですよ｡タバコをすわないでください｡ (Koko wa byōin desu yo. Tabako o suwanai de kudasai.)

This is a hospital. Please don’t smoke.

ここはびょういんですよ｡タバコをすわないでください｡ (Koko wa byōin desu yo. Tabako o suwanai de kudasai.)

This is a hospital. Please don’t smoke.

Let's review.

Do you remember how to say "fork"?

フォーク (fōku)

And how to say "to use"?

つかう (tsukau)

Do you remember how to say "don't use"?

つかわない (tsukawanai)

And how to say "please"?

ください (kudasai)

Do you remember how to say "Rin-chan, please don’t use a fork."?

りんちゃん、フォークをつかわないでください｡ (Rin-chan, fōku o tsukawanaide kudasai.)

And how to say "to leave (behind)"?

のこす (nokosu)

Do you remember how to say "don't leave anything behind"?

のこさない (nokosanai)

And how to say "Please don’t leave anything behind."?

のこさないでください｡ (Nokosanai de kudasai.)

Now you know how to make negative requests in Japanese.

...and you can move on to the practice.

またね (mata ne)!

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