Latest / Learn Japanese with Fexingo / Japanese Opposite Adjectives - Soft & Hard
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey Luna, ready for another bite of Japanese? Luna: Yeah! I've been thinking about all those grocery phrases we learned. Now I want to describe the texture of food. Lucas: Perfect timing. Today we've got two useful adjectives: 柔らかい and 硬い. Luna: 柔らかい and 硬い... one sounds soft, one sounds hard. Lucas: Exactly. 柔らかい means soft, and 硬い means hard. Let's say them together: 柔らかい. Luna: 柔らかい. Lucas: Good. And 硬い. Luna: 硬い. Lucas: You've got it. Now, if Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with Japanese, honestly, if today's lesson was worth a coffee to you, that's the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Super simple, and it keeps us going. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to support something you use. Anyway, let's use these words with food. Lucas: Great idea. Imagine you're at a bakery and you want to say 'this bread is soft.' You'd say: このパンは柔らかいです. Luna: このパンは柔らかいです. So パン is bread, right? Lucas: Right. Now you're at a steakhouse and the meat is tough — 'this meat is hard.' この肉は硬いです. Luna: この肉は硬いです. 肉 is meat, we learned that at the meat counter. Lucas: You remembered! Now, let's practice asking questions. To ask 'Is it hard?' you say: 硬いですか? Luna: 硬いですか? Lucas: And 'Is it soft?' 柔らかいですか? Luna: 柔らかいですか? So you just add か at the end. Lucas: Exactly. Let's try a mini conversation. I'll be a shopkeeper. You want to buy some bread. Ask me if it's soft. Luna: このパンは柔らかいですか? Lucas: はい、柔らかいです. Yes, it's soft. Now ask about the meat. Luna: この肉は硬いですか? Lucas: いいえ、柔らかいです. No, it's soft. See how that works? Luna: Yeah, so opposites are really handy. Let me try a full sentence: この果物は柔らかいですか? Lucas: Excellent! You used 果物 for fruit. And if it's a ripe banana, it's probably 柔らかい. Luna: So 柔らかい for soft things like bread or ripe fruit, and 硬い for hard things like tough meat or a rock. Lucas: That's it. Let's wrap up with a quick review. Repeat after me: 柔らかい. Luna: 柔らかい. Lucas: 硬い. Luna: 硬い. Lucas: このパンは柔らかいです. Luna: このパンは柔らかいです. Lucas: この肉は硬いです. Luna: この肉は硬いです. Lucas: Perfect. Now you can describe texture at the store or restaurant. Keep practicing these, and next time we'll build on them. Luna: Thanks, Lucas! See you next time, everyone.