Japanese for English speakers Beach · Lesson 0

Symptoms 1

Talk about colds and allergies in Japanese — 風邪 (kaze, cold) vs アレルギー (allergy) — using the negative ではありません. Plus 寒い (samui) for cold weather and the casual reasoning particle から meaning 'you know'.

Conversation

  1. Bolin Bolin

    はっはっはっはくしょん!

    ha ha ha hakushon!

    A-a-a-achoo!

    Tip: <Hakushon> = Onomatopoeic sound of a sneeze

  2. Yennifer Yennifer

    ボリンさん、アレルギーですか？

    Bolin san, arerugī desu ka?

    Hey Bolin, do you have an allergy?

    Tip: <Arerugī> = Allergy

  3. Bolin Bolin

    アレルギーではありません

    Arerugī dewa arimasen

    It's not an allergy

  4. Bolin Bolin

    風邪です

    Kaze desu

    It's a cold

    Tip: <Kaze> = A cold

  5. Bolin Bolin

    寒いですからね

    Samui desu kara ne

    It is chilly, you know

    Tip: <[Verb] + kara> = Is not always only a structure to express a reason. It can also be translated as a sort of interjection like "you know".

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

What does 風邪 (kaze) mean?

A common cold or flu — written with the same kanji as 'wind' but meaning the illness.

How do you say 'it's not an allergy' in Japanese?

アレルギーではありません (arerugī dewa arimasen) — ではありません is the negative form of です.

What's the difference between 寒い and 冷たい?

寒い (samui) is used for cold weather or temperature. 冷たい (tsumetai) is used for cold drinks or things that are cold to the touch.

Can から mean something other than 'because'?

Yes — at the end of a casual sentence, から can act as a softening interjection meaning 'you know' or 'so, you see'.

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Japanese lessons.

5 quick questions on what you just heard.

Next lesson in Beach Symptoms 2 →