nihongo wo benkyou shitai

OK. You can't avoid particles in Japanese, so let's have a look at their use. Today, we'll look at で.

1. Indicates a place where an action occurs. (at, in)

English: I ate dinner at the restaurant.

Jenglish: [I][restaurant][at][dinner][ate]

日本語： 私はレストランで晩ご飯を食べました。

2. Indicates a means by which an action is achieved (by, with)

English: I go to London by train.

Jenglish: [London][to][train][by][go]

日本語： ロンドンに電車で行きます。

3. Comes after items used in the making/construction of something (made of, with)

から has a similar function, but is used if the items used are not distinguishable in the finished item. For example:

English: This house is made with bricks.

Jenglish: [this house][bricks][with][made]

日本語： この家は煉瓦で作りました。

English: The cake was made with fruit and nuts.

Jenglish: [cake][fruit and nuts][with][made]

日本語： ケーキは果物とナッツから作りました。

4. Indicates the reason for something (because)

And so do から and ので. However, で is used after nouns.

English: Because of the rain, I didn’t go out.

Jenglish: [rain][because][didn’t go out]

日本語： 雨で出ません。

5. Indicates the location of something being described by a superlative (in).

English: Tokyo is the most expensive city in the world.

Jenglish: [Tokyo][world][most][expensive city][is]

日本語： 東京は世界で一番高い市です。

6. Indicates an amount (money, time etc.) (in, for)

English: He bought the guidebook for 900 yen.

Jenglish: [he][guidebook][900 Yen][for][bought]

日本語： 彼は旅行案内書を900円で買いました。

English: I can drive to work in an hour.

Jenglish: [I][work][hour][drive + can]

日本語： 私は会社に1時間で運転できます。

# posted by Dave Hoggan @ 10:00 am