Japanese lesson 11: Is this thing A or B in Japanese?

Japanese Lessons

Japanese Sentence: Is the subject A or B? (Subjek は Noun1 ですか, Noun2 ですか)

Learning Japanese grammar is not just about memorizing vocabulary; it's also about understanding commonly used sentence patterns. Today, we’ll explore the pattern “Subjek は Noun1 ですか, Noun2 ですか”, which is very useful when asking about two options. Let’s dive in!

Part 1: Vocabulary List

Before we dive into the sentence pattern, here is a list of vocabulary we’ll use:

Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji	Meaning
車	くるま	kuruma	car
バス	バス	basu	bus
チョコレート	チョコレート	chokoreeto	chocolate
飴	あめ	ame	candy
辞書	じしょ	jisho	dictionary
雑誌	ざっし	zasshi	magazine
ボールペン	ボールペン	borupen	ballpoint pen
シャープペンシル	シャープペンシル	shapupenshiru	mechanical pencil
鍵	かぎ	kagi	key
ロック	ロック	rokku	combination lock
コーヒー	コーヒー	koohii	coffee
ジュース	ジュース	juusu	juice
何	なん／なに	nan/nani	what

Part 2: Sentence Pattern Description

The sentence pattern “Subjek は Noun1 ですか, Noun2 ですか” is used to ask whether the subject is one of two given options.

Basic Structure:

「Subjek は Noun1 ですか, Noun2 ですか」

Subject : The subject of the sentence (the person or thing being discussed).
Wa (は): A particle indicating the topic of the sentence.
Noun1 & Noun2: The two nouns being presented as options.
Desuka (ですか): A polite question marker.

Meaning:

“Is the subject Noun1 or Noun2?”

This simple structure is highly versatile and frequently used in everyday conversations.

Part 3: Example Sentences

Here are seven example dialogues using the pattern “Subjek は Noun1 ですか, Noun2 ですか”:

A: これは車ですか、バスですか？- Kore wa kuruma desuka, basu desuka?
Meaning: Is this a car or a bus?
B: それは車です。- Sore wa kuruma desu.
Meaning: That is a car.

A: これは飴ですか、チョコレートですか？ - Kore wa ame desuka, chokoreeto desuka?
Meaning: Is this candy or chocolate?
B: それはチョコレートです。- Sore wa chokoreeto desu.
Meaning: That is chocolate.

A: あれは雑誌ですか、辞書ですか？- Are wa zasshi desuka, jisho desuka?
Meaning: Is that a magazine or a dictionary?
B: あれは雑誌です。- Are wa zasshi desu.
Meaning: That is a magazine.

A: これは鍵ですか、ロックですか？- Kore wa kagi desuka, rokku desuka?
Meaning: Is this a key or a combination lock?
B: それは鍵です。- Sore wa kagi desu.
Meaning: That is a key.

A: それはボールペンですか、シャープペンシルですか？- Sore wa borupen desuka, shapupenshiru desuka?
Meaning: Is that a ballpoint pen or a mechanical pencil?
B: それはシャープペンシルです。- Sore wa shapupenshiru desu.
Meaning: That is a mechanical pencil.

A: あなたはアメリカ人ですか、ブラジル人ですか？- Anata wa Amerika-jin desuka, Burajiru-jin desuka?
Meaning: Are you American or Brazilian?
B: 私はブラジル人です。- Watashi wa Burajiru-jin desu.
Meaning: I am Brazilian.

A: この飲み物はコーヒーですか、ジュースですか？- Kono nomimono wa koohii desuka, juusu desuka?
Meaning: Is this drink coffee or juice?
B: それはジュースです。- Sore wa juusu desu.
Meaning: That is juice.

Part 4: Practice Exercises

Here are two exercises for readers to practice forming sentences using “Subjek は Noun1 ですか, Noun2 ですか”:

Exercise 1

Use the following words:

Subject: "This" (kore)
Options: "bus" (basu) and "car" (kuruma)

Exercise 2

Use the following words:

Subject: "This drink" (kono nomimono)
Options: "coffee" (koohii) and "juice" (juusu)

Conclusion

The sentence pattern “Subjek は Noun1 ですか, Noun2 ですか” is a simple yet effective way to ask between two options in Japanese. This pattern is widely used in daily conversations. Keep practicing this pattern in your dialogues to improve your Japanese language skills. Happy learning! 😊