Japanese for English speakers Street · Lesson 4

Do something somewhere

The particle で (de) marks where an action takes place — どこで働きますか (where do you work?). Distinguish it from に (stative location).

Conversation

  1. Shelladonna Shelladonna

    ～さんは看護師ですね

    Bolin-san wa, kangoshi desu ne

    Bolin, you are a nurse, right?

  2. Bolin Bolin

    はい、そうです

    hai, sō desu

    Yes, I am

  3. Shelladonna Shelladonna

    どこで働きますか？

    doko de hatarakimasu ka?

    Where do you work?

    Tip: <de> = particle that indicates that you DO / TAKE ACTION in a place. <hatarakimasu> = to work

  4. Bolin Bolin

    この町の病院で働きます

    kono machi no byōin de hatarakimasu

    At the hospital in this town

    Tip: <byōin> = hospital

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

When do you use に vs で for location?

に = exist or stay in a place (います, あります). で = perform an action in a place (働きます, 食べます).

What is 病院 (byōin)?

Hospital — note that 美容院 (biyōin, beauty salon) sounds very similar but means a totally different thing.

What does 看護師 mean?

Nurse — a gender-neutral term that replaced the older 看護婦 (female) and 看護士 (male).

Test yourself

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

4 quick questions on what you just heard.

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