12.0 Looking Back, Moving Forward
As we wrap up our journey with Looking Back, Moving Forward, let’s take a moment to reflect on the Japanese skills and knowledge you’ve built over the past 11 chapters! This adventure has been truly remarkable, as we’ve explored the Japanese language and culture from the perspective of your current life in Australia.
In this final chapter, we’ll revisit Lina’s trip to Japan, focusing on the past tenses of adjectives and verbs, as well as the past tense of たいです (tai desu). This chapter is designed to consolidate your learning and celebrate your achievements, setting the stage for future exploration. Let’s take a closer look at this opening module and embrace how much you’ve accomplished!
Learning goals
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Recognise and read kanji for weather (天気), origin (元) and foreign countries (外国).
- Use the past-tense forms of nouns and adjectives to describe things, conditions or states in the past.
- Conjugate verbs into the past tense to talk about things that happened.
- Conjugate the verbs of existence – あります and います – to express the existence of objects, events, people and animals in the past.
- Use the past tense of たいです to express past wishes and desires.
Why these skills matter
Cognitive benefits:
- Enhance your ability to understand and talk about past events and situations in Japanese.
- Gain confidence in using different tenses for verbs and adjectives, making your speech more fluid and natural.
Real-life benefits:
- Improve your storytelling skills by effectively describing past events and experiences.
- Express past desires and share personal history more clearly, enriching conversations and connections with others.
Words
| Japanese | Romaji | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ru-verbs |
|||
| 疲（つか）れる | tsukareru |
to get tired | Dictionary form |
| （…を）開（あ）ける | akeru | to open (something) | Dictionary form |
| （…を）閉（し）める | shimeru | to close (something) | Dictionary form |
| （…を）つける | tsukeru | to turn on (something) | Dictionary form: Use つける with the particle を to indicate the object you are turning on, such as a light or an electronic device. Example: 電気（でんき）をつけてください。— ‘Please turn on the light’. |
| （…を）忘（わす）れる | wasureru | to forget (something) | Dictionary form |
| U-verbs | |||
| （…を）待（ま）つ | matsu | to wait (for something) | Dictionary form |
| （…と）遊（あそ）ぶ | asobu | to hang out/play (with someone) | Dictionary form |
| 急（いそ）ぐ | isogu | to hurry | Dictionary form |
| 休（やす）む | yasumu | to rest/to be absent (from …) | Dictionary form: The verb can mean “to rest” or ‘to be absent from’ something, such as school or work. When expressing absence, pair 休む with the particle を to indicate what one is absent from.For example: 学校（がっこう）を休みます。— ‘I will be absent from school’. 今日（きょう）は休みます。— ‘I will rest today. |
| （…を）返（かえ）す | kaesu | to return (something) | Dictionary form |
| （…を）消（け）す | kesu | to turn off (something) | Dictionary form: Use 消す with the particle を to indicate the object you are turning off, like a light or an appliance. Example: 電気を消してください。— ‘Please turn off the light.’ |
| Irregular verbs | |||
| （…を）充電（じゅうでん）する | juuden suru | to charge (a device) | Dictionary form: Use this verb when referring to charging electronic devices, such as phones, laptops, or batteries. It typically involves supplying electricity to a device so it can function or be used again. Example: 携帯（けいたい）を充電します。- ‘I’ll charge my mobile’. |
| Nouns | |||
| 天気（てんき） | tenki | weather | |
| 国（くに） | kuni | country | |
| 外国（がいこく） | gaikoku | foreign country | |
| パソコン | pasokon | personal computer | |
| ドア | doa | door | |
| 窓（まど） | mado | window | |
| 電気（でんき） | denki | electricity/light | |
| お祭（まつ）り | omatsuri | festivals | |
| 観光客（かんこうきゃく） | kankoukyaku | tourists | |
| Time references | The following time references do not take the particle に because they indicate a broad time frame rather than a specific point in time. For further details on when to use or omit に with time expressions, see Module 6.2. | ||
| 昨日（きのう） | kinou | yesterday | |
| 一昨日（おととい） | ototoi | the day before yesterday | |
| 先週（せんしゅう） | senshuu | last week | |
| 先月（せんげつ） | sengetsu | last month | |
| 去年（きょねん） | kyonen | last year | |
| I-adjectives | |||
| 楽（たの）しい | tanoshii | fun/enjoyable | Use this adjective to express something that is pleasant or brings joy. |
| つまらない | tsumaranai | boring | Use this adjective to describe something that lacks interest or excitement. |
| 忙（いそが）しい | isogashii | busy | Use this adjective to describe a state of having many tasks or being occupied. |
| 新（あたら）しい | atarashii | new | Use this adjective to describe something that is recent, fresh, or not previously used. |
| 古（ふる）い | furui | old | Use this adjective to describe something that has been around for a long time or is not new, such as objects or places. It is not used to refer to elderly people. To politely refer to elderly individuals, use the adjective 年配（ねんぱい）の. For example, 先生（せんせい）は年配の人（ひと）です。 |
| 若（わか）い | wakai | young | Used to describe someone or something that is youthful or in the early stages of life. |
| 優（やさ）しい | yasashii | kind | Used to describe someone who is gentle, caring or compassionate. |
| 易（やさ）しい | yasashii | easy | Used to describe something that is simple to do or understand, without much difficulty. |
| 難（むずか）しい | muzukashii | difficult | Use this adjective to describe something that is challenging or hard to accomplish. |
| Na-adjectives | |||
| 親切（しんせつ）な | shinsetsuna | kind/considerate | Use this adjective to describe someone who is thoughtful and helpful. |
| 大変（たいへん）な | taihenna | tough (situation) | Use this adjective to describe situations or tasks that are difficult, challenging or require a lot of effort. It’s not generally used to describe people. |
| きれいな | kireina | beautiful/clean | This adjective can describe something visually appealing (like a landscape or person) or something tidy and clean. It is not commonly used for describing inner qualities. |
| ひまな | himana | not busy | This adjective is used to describe a person who is not occupied with work or tasks, implying they have free time. It is not used to refer to objects or environments. |
| 色々（いろいろ）な | iroirona | various | |
| Adverbs | |||
| もっと | motto | more | This adverb is used to request or express the need for a greater amount or degree of something. |
Expressions and phrases
| Japanese | Romaji | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| おかえりなさい | okaeri nasai | welcome back | The phrase is used to greet someone when they return home or come back to a familiar place. |
| ただいま | tadaima | I’m back | The greeting phase is used to announce one’s return, typically when coming home or back to a familiar place. |
| 今度（こんど） | konngo | next time | The word is used to refer to the next opportunity or occurrence. In the dialogue’s example sentence, 今度 is used as an adverb, implying ‘next time’ or ‘on the next occasion’. However, it can also function as a noun. For example, as a noun, it can be used in a sentence like, 今度の月曜日はテストです (こんどのげつようびはてすとです), which translates to ‘This coming Monday is the exam’. Here, 今度 refers to the upcoming, to the upcoming event, modifying ‘Monday’ to indicate the next occurrence of that day. |
Key grammar points
| Japanese | Romaji | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| … でした | deshita |
was (past tense of です, desu) | This is the past tense form of です (desu), used to describe a state or condition in the past. Use it after nouns or adjectives to indicate what something was like. For more details, refer to Module 12.2. |
| … ました | mashita |
did (past tense of ます, masu) | This is the past tense form of ます (masu), used for verbs. It indicates that an action was completed in the past. For more details, refer to Module 12.3. |
| … がありました | ga arimashita |
there was (for non-living things) | This phrase is used to indicate the existence of non-living things or events in the past. It follows nouns to describe something that existed or occurred. For more details, refer to Module 12.4. |
| … がいました | ga imashita |
there was (for living things) | This phrase is used to indicate the existence of living things or people in the past. It follows nouns to describe someone or something that was present. For more details, refer to Module 12.4. |
| … たかったです | takatta desu |
wanted (past tense of たい, tai) | This is the past tense form of たい (tai), used with verbs to express past desires or wishes. It describes something that you wanted to do in the past. For more details, refer to Module 12.5. |
Kanji
| Weather | 天気 (weather) |
|---|---|
| Origin | 元 (origin) |
| Foreign country | 外 (outside) and 国 (country) |
NOTE: These kanji will be further explored in Module 12.1.
Exercise 1
Guess which hiragana character needs to be filled in! To check the answer, click the ‘turn’ button.
Model dialogue
Explore the exciting dialogue between Lina and her friends as they reflect on her recent trip to Japan!
| Ren: リナ（りな）さん、おかえりなさい！ | Rina-san, okaerinasai! |
| Lina: ただいま！昨日（きのう）の夜（よる）家（いえ）に帰（かえ）りました。ちょっと疲（つか）れました。 | Tadaima! Kinou no yoru ie ni kaeri mashita. Chotto tsukare mashita. |
| Kevin: 日本（にほん）はどうでしたか。 | Nihon wa dou deshita ka. |
| Lina: すごくよかったです！色々（いろいろ）な場所（ばしょ）に行（い）って、たくさんの人に会（あ）って、楽（たの）しかったですよ。 | Sugoku yokatta desu! Iroiro na basho ni itte, takusan no hito ni atte, tanoshikatta desu yo. |
| Nao: 東京（とうきょう）でお姉（ねえ）さんに会（あ）いましたか。 | Toukyou de oneesan ni ai mashita ka. |
| Lina: はい、会いました。お姉さんは忙（いそが）しかったですが、元気（げんき）でした。 | Hai, ai mashita. Oneesan wa isogashi katta desu ga, genki deshita. |
| Ren: それから、北海道（ほっかいどう）はどうでしたか。 | Sorekara, Hokkaidou wa dou deshita ka. |
| Lina: 食（た）べ物（もの）がすごくおいしかったです。それから、白老町（しらおいちょう）でたくさん親切（しんせつ）な人（ひと）に会いました。でも、日本語は難（むず）しいですから、ちょっと大変（たいへん）でした …。 | Tabemono ga sugoku oishikatta desu. Sorekara, Shiraoi-chou de takusan shinsetsu na hito ni ai mashita. Demo, Nihongo wa muzukashii desu kara, chotto taihen deshita… |
| Kevin: リナさん、よくわかりますよ …。ところで、ウポポイに行（い）きましたか。 | Rina-san, yoku wakari masu yo … Tokorode, Upopoi ni iki mashita ka. |
| Lina: はい、とても大（おお）きくて、きれいでした。でも、もっと中（なか）を見（み）たかったです。 | Hai, totemo ookiku te, kirei deshita. Demo, motto naka o mi takatta desu. |
| Kevin: 僕（ぼく）も行きたかったです …。 | Boku mo iki takatta desu… |
| Ren: 今度（こんど）みんなで日本（にほん）に行きたいですね。 | Kondo minna de Nihon ni ikitai desu ne. |
| Nao: いいですね。ぜひ、行きましょう！ | Ii desu ne. Zehi, iki mashou! |
English translation
| Ren: Welcome back, Lina! |
| Lina: I’m back! I returned home last night. I’m a bit tired. |
| Kevin: How was Japan? |
| Lina: It was great! I visited many places, met lots of people and had a great time. |
| Nao: Did you meet your older sister in Tokyo? |
| Lina: Yes, I did. She was busy, but she was doing well. |
| Ren: And how was Hokkaido? |
| Lina: The food was amazing! Also, I met a lot of kind people in Shiraoi Town. But, since Japanese is difficult, it was a bit tough … |
| Kevin: I totally understand, Lina … By the way, did you go to Upopoi? |
| Lina: Yes, it was very big and beautiful. But I wanted to see more inside. |
| Kevin: I wanted to go too … (I wish I could’ve gone too …) |
| Ren: Next time, let’s all go to Japan together. |
| Nao: That sounds great! Let’s definitely go (there)! |
Exercise 2
Listen to the following audio files and repeat each Japanese phrase after the recording. Each phrase is read twice, first at a slow pace and then at a natural pace.
Ren: リナ（りな）さん、おかえりなさい！
Lina: ただいま！昨日（きのう）の夜（よる）家（いえ）に帰（かえ）りました。ちょっと疲（つか）れました。
Kevin: 日本（にほん）はどうでしたか。
Lina: すごくよかったです。いろいろな場所（ばしょ）に行（い）って、楽（たの）しかったですよ。
Nao: 東京（とうきょう）でお姉（ねえ）さんに会（あ）いましたか。
Lina: はい、会いました。お姉さんは忙（いそが）しかったですが、元気（げんき）でした。
Ren: それから、北海道（ほっかいどう）はどうでしたか。
Lina: 食（た）べ物（もの）がすごくおいしかったです。それから、白老町（しらおいちょう）でたくさん親切（しんせつ）な人（ひと）に会いました。でも、日本語（にほんご）は難（むず）かしいですから、ちょっと大変（たいへん）でした …。
Kevin: リナさん、よくわかりますよ …。ところで、ウポポイ（うぽぽい）に行きましたか。
Lina: はい、とても大（おお）きくて、きれいでした。でも、もっと中（なか）を見（み）たかったです。
Kevin: 僕（ぼく）も行きたかったです …。
Ren: 今度（こんど）みんなで日本に行きたいですね。
Nao: いいですね。ぜひ、行きましょう！
Discussion points
Let’s reflect on the following points and share your observations and thoughts!
- Lina found Japanese difficult. What challenges have you faced in learning Japanese, and what strategies have you used to overcome them?
- The group discussed travelling to Japan together next time. If you could plan a group trip, what destinations or activities would you include in your itinerary?
Figures
1 “Trees in Spring” by Kento Ikeda. Pexels. Licensed under Pexels licence.
2 “Goal Icon” by faisalovers. Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC by 3.0.
3 “Speech Bubble Icon” by Geremy Good. Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC 0.
4 “Lightbulb Icon” by Maxim Kulikov. Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC by 3.0.
