Understanding Casual Speech in Japanese
In Japanese, people speak differently depending on how well they know someone and how polite they need to be. Casual speech is used with friends, family, and people you know well. Let's learn how to use it!
Important Points
- Casual speech is less formal and often shorter.
- It's used with friends and family.
- You drop the polite endings like 'です' and 'ます'.
- Verbs change to a simpler form.
When using casual speech, verbs often change. Let's see how they change from polite to casual.
Important Points
- For verbs ending in 'ます', drop 'ます' and use the dictionary form. Example: '食べます' becomes '食べる'.
- For verbs ending in 'です', drop 'です'. Example: '学生です' becomes '学生だ'.
Examples
- 私はパンを食べます → 私はパンを食べる
- 彼は学生です → 彼は学生だ
Casual Speech with Nouns and Adjectives
When using nouns and adjectives in casual speech, you also make them simpler.
Important Points
- For nouns, just say the noun. Example: '犬です' becomes '犬'.
- For 'い' adjectives, you can use them as they are. Example: 'かわいいです' becomes 'かわいい'.
- For 'な' adjectives, drop 'です' and add 'だ'. Example: '元気です' becomes '元気だ'.
Examples
- これは犬です → これは犬
- その花はかわいいです → その花はかわいい
- 彼は元気です → 彼は元気だ
Casual Speech with Questions
In casual speech, you can ask questions in a simple way by changing the ending.
Important Points
- Use the plain form and add 'の' or just raise your voice at the end. Example: '行きますか？' becomes '行くの？' or '行く？'.
Examples
- 明日行きますか？ → 明日行くの？
- それを見ますか？ → それを見る？