Japanese Lesson 11: Verbs and General Counters

Verbs of Existence, Duration, and Absence

In Japanese Lesson 11, the verb います (imasu) is used to express the existence or presence of animate beings, such as people or animals. When used in the context of 「こどもが~」 (kodomo ga~), it translates to "having a child" or "there is a child." In Bengali, this is expressed as আছে (achhe) or থাকা (thaka). Additionally, the verb is used to denote staying or living in a location, as seen in the phrase 「にほんに~」 (Nihon ni~), meaning "to be in Japan" or "to stay in Japan." This usage corresponds to the Bengali terms বসবাস করা (bashbash kora) and অবস্থান করা (obosthan kora).

The verb かかります (kakarimasu) is introduced to describe the consumption of resources, specifically time or money. In English, this is translated as "it takes" (referring to time) or "it costs" (referring to money). This verb is essential for discussing travel durations, work hours, or expenses.

The verb やすみます (yasumimasu), written with the kanji 休みます, means to rest, to take a day off, or to be absent. A common phrase used with this verb is 「かいしゃを~」 (kaisha o~), which means "to take a day off from work" or "to be absent from the company." The Bengali translation for this action is ছুটি করা (chuti kora).

Native Japanese Counters for Objects (1–10)

Lesson 11 focuses heavily on the use of native Japanese counters for general objects. These counters are used for miscellaneous items that do not have their own specific counter suffix. The sequence from one to ten is characterized by specific phonetic changes and the suffix つ (tsu), with the exception of 'ten.'

一つ (ひとつ - hitotsu): This represents "one" object. In Bengali, it is translated as একটা.

二つ (ふたつ - futatsu): This represents "two" objects. In Bengali, it is translated as দুইটা.

三つ (みっつ - mittsu): This represents "three" objects. In Bengali, it is translated as তিনটা.

四つ (よっつ - yottsu): This represents "four" objects. In Bengali, it is translated as চারটা.

五つ (いつつ - itsutsu): This represents "five" objects. In Bengali, it is translated as পাঁচটা.

六つ (むっつ - muttsu): This represents "six" objects. In Bengali, it is translated as ছয়টা.

七つ (ななつ - nanatsu): This represents "seven" objects. In Bengali, it is translated as সাতটা.

八つ (やっつ - yattsu): This represents "eight" objects. In Bengali, it is translated as আটটা.

九つ (ここのつ - kokonotsu): This represents "nine" objects. In Bengali, it is translated as নয়টা.

とお (too): This represents "ten" objects. Note that unlike the numbers one through nine, this word does not end with the つ (tsu) suffix. In Bengali, it is translated as দশটা.

Adverbs and Supplemental Terms

The word しっかり (shikkari) is included in the vocabulary list. This is an adverb that translates to "properly," "firmly," "steadily," or "reliably." It is often used to encourage someone to do their work diligently or to describe something that is well-prepared or robust.

Finally, the term 日本語 (Nihongo) refers to the Japanese language itself, which is the subject of study for these materials.