Big sister, wait a minute.
(7) Onee-san doko. (speaking to one’s family)
lit., Where’s big sister?
(In corresponding situations in English, one would of course use the sister’s given name.)
The use of ane is restricted to adult speakers. Children say onee-san in referring not only to older sisters in general or someone else’s older sister, but to their own as well, whether they are talking to an outsider or a member of their own family.
Onee-san has variants such as nee-san, onee-chan, and nee-chan (the last two being used mainly by children). Ane also has a variant (though perhaps not a very common one), aneki, which is used by young men in informal conversations, primarily with outsiders.
Since ane sounds very similar to ani “older brother,” the two words must be pronounced carefully and distinctly to avoid confusion. Ane is accentless while ani is accented on the first syllable (see
Ani “older brother” is the male counterpart of ane “older sister.” What can be said of ane (see ane) on the female side, therefore, can be said of ani on the male side. One should remember the following parallels: ani corresponds to ane in usage; onii-san corresponds to onee-san; nii-san, onii-chan, and nii-chan correspond to nee-san, onee-chan, and nee-chan, respectively; and aniki corresponds to aneki (though aniki is much more commonly used than the latter).
The adjective aoi and its nominal counterpart, ao, cover a wider range of color than does “blue,” since the Japanese word may also refer to the range of color that one would call “green” in English. Though aoi normally means “blue,” it can indicate “green” in reference to a limited number of items (though midori “green” is also acceptable), especially vegetation, as in aoi shiba “green grass,” aoi kusaki “green vegetation,” and ao-shingoo “green traffic light.” Centuries ago, according to Ikegami (p. 16), the use of ao for green was even more extensive than now; nowadays, however, in the sense of “green,” midori is becoming more popular.
Aoi also means “pale” in reference to a person’s complexion.
(1) Suzuki-san doo shita n deshoo ka. Aoi kao o shlte-imasu yo.
I wonder what’s happened to Mr. Suzuki. He looks pale.
In this case, no other color word may replace aoi.
ARE あれ that
In Japanese, there are two words corresponding to the English demonstrative “that” as in “That is a park.” They are are and sore. The difference between these two Japanese demonstratives when used with reference to visible things is that are is for something removed from both the speaker and the addressee while sore refers to something removed from the speaker but close to the addressee. Suppose you are talking to Mr. Suzuki and want to refer to a book that he is holding in his hand. Then use sore, as in
(1) Sore wa nan no hon desu ka.
What book is that?
On the other hand, if you and Mr. Suzuki want to talk about a building seen in the distance, you use are and say, for example,
(2) Are wa nan no tatemono deshoo ne.
I wonder what building that is.
When are and sore are used as prenoun modifiers, they become ano and sono, as in ano pen “that pen” and sono hon “that book,” but the semantic difference between ano and sono remains parallel to that between are and sore.
Since, in Japanese, words normally do not differ in form whether they are singular or plural, are and sore can mean “those” instead of “that.” The same is true of ano and sono.
With reference to something that is not visible to either the speaker or the hearer at the time of speech, are and sore are used as follows. Are is used “when the speaker knows that the hearer, as well as the speaker himself, knows the referent” whereas sore is used “either when the speaker knows the referent but thinks that the hearer does not or when the speaker does not know the referent” (Kuno, p. 283). Compare the following examples:
(3) A: Kinoo Sutaa Woozu to iu eiga o mimashita yo.
Yesterday I saw a movie called Star Wars.
B: Are (not *Sore) wa omoshiroi eiga desu nee.
That’s a fun movie, isn’t it?
(4) A: Kinoo Roshia-elga o mimashita yo.
Yesterday I saw a Russian movie.
B: Sore (not *Are) wa donna eiga deshlta ka.
What kind of movie was that?
In (3), speaker B has already seen the movie, so he refers to it as are. In (4), on the other hand, speaker B does not know what movie speaker A is talking about, so he uses sore instead.
The Japanese equivalent of “Thank you” has variants depending on the tense. If you want to thank someone for something that he is doing, is going to do, or repeatedly does for you, you say Arigatoo gozaimasu. To thank someone for what he has already done for you, however, you say Arigatoo gozaimashita. For example, if someone has just invited you to a party that is to take place next week, you say Arigatoo gozaimasu. After the party, however, you say Arigatoo gozaimashita, meaning “Thank you for what you did for me.” Likewise, as you accept a present from someone, you say Arigatoo gozaimasu, but next time you see him, you thank him again by saying Arigatoo gozaimashita. The difference in usage between these two forms remains even when doomo “very much” is added for emphasis. Doomo arigatoo gozaimasu functions like Arigatoo gozaimasu, and Doomo arigatoo gozaimashita like Arigatoo gozaimashita, except that the versions with doomo are more polite than the ones without.
The informal version Arigatoo (without gozaimasu or gozaimashita) may be used regardless of the time of the event for which you wish to show gratitude. This version, however, cannot be used when speaking to someone higher in status. Since it is difficult for nonnative speakers of Japanese to determine who is higher or lower than they are, the safest thing would be to use Arigatoo only when talking to a child. Otherwise, use the full form Arigatoo gozaimasu (or gozai-mashita), or simply Doomo.
Unlike “Thank you,” Arigatoo gozaimasu and its variants may not be used in response to compliments. If someone compliments you for your “excellent Japanese,” for example, say Mada dame desu “It’s still no good.” Thanking someone for a compliment, to the Japanese way of thinking, is like admitting you deserve the compliment; it is therefore an act of conceit.
Aru means “to be” in the sense of “to exist.” As a rule, the verb is used with inanimate subjects (including plants).
(1) Ishii-san no uchi wa Nagoya ni aru.
Mr. Ishii’s house is in Nagoya.
(2) Go-gatsu no dai-isshuu ni wa kyuujitsu ga futsu-ka aru.
There are two national holidays during the first week of May.
Aru may also be used with reference to animate beings, particularly family members, or other humans comparable to family members, e.g., friends and guests. X ga aru in this usage is very much like X o motte-iru “to have X” in meaning, as in the following examples:
(3)