Kinou tabeta choushoku

In this lesson, you will learn how to create compound modifiers using the short forms of verbs, adjectives, and nouns in Japanese. Short forms are an essential part of the language that can modify nouns by placing the modifying element before the noun.

Creating more complex modifiers using short forms

In Japanese, the word order for long modifiers follows the same rules as for short modifiers: the modifier always comes before the word it modifies. This rule holds true regardless of the length or complexity of the modifier.

Modifiers come before modified words

Whether you are using a single adjective or a complex clause to describe a noun, the modifier is placed before the modified word. This consistent word order helps maintain clarity and structure within sentences.

Verb

watashi ga kinou tabeta choushoku (breakfast I ate yesterday)
Watashi ga kinou tabeta choushoku wa shiriaru desu. (The breakfast I ate yesterday was serial.)
toukyou kara oosaka made kakaru jikan (time which takes from Tokyo to Osaka)
Toukyou kara oosaka made kakaru jikan o oshiete kudasai. (Please tell me how long it takes from Tokyo to Osaka.)
Zenzen shiranai hito ga kimashita. (Someone who I don’t know at all came.)
yoru ni ugoku doubutsu (animals which move at night)
nihonjin ga oshougatsu ni taberu mono (foods which Japanese eat on a new years day)

Adjective

yasukute kireina hoteru (a hotel which is cheap and beautiful)
Yasukute kireina hoteru o mitsukemashita. (I found a hotel which is cheap and beautiful.）
kokoro ga utsukushii hito (a person who has a beautiful mind)
Kokoro ga utsukushii hito ga sukidesu. (I like the person who has a beautiful mind.)
mite omoshirokatta eiga (a movie which you saw was funny)
Mite omoshirokatta eiga wa nandesuka? (What is the movie which you saw was funny?)

Noun

watashi ga juunenmae koukousei datta toki (when I was high school student ten years ago)
chiisakute purasuchikku janai supuun (small and non-plastic spoon)
Chiisakute purasuchikku janai supuun o sagashite imasu. (I am looking for a spoon which is small and non-plastic.)

Exercise

Questions

Translate in English

  1. karada ni ii tabemono
  2. minna ni yasashii kareshi
  3. yasai ga yasui suupaa
  4. asagohan o taberu jikan
  5. tsukuru no ga kantanna reshipi
  6. kanojo to no tokubetsuna jikan
  7. koujou de hataraku robotto
  8. senshuu doraibushita basho
  9. resutoran de ranchi o tabeteiru hito
  10. undousuru toki ni tsukau kutsu

Answers

  1. Food which is healthy for your body
  2. Boyfriend who is kind to everyone
  3. Supermarket where vegetables are cheap
  4. Time for having breakfast
  5. Recipe which is easy to make
  6. Special time with my girlfriend
  7. Robot which works in a plant
  8. Place where I drove last week
  9. People who are taking lunch in a restaurant
  10. Shoes I use when I do exercise