Latest / Learn Japanese with Fexingo / Japanese Adjectives - Soft & Hard
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey everyone, welcome back to Learn Japanese with Fexingo. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna! Episode 150 — that's a big number. Lucas: It is! And we've been learning so much together. Today we've got a new pair of opposite adjectives. Luna: Ooh, I love opposites. Let me guess... something like big and small? Lucas: Close. Today it's 'soft' and 'hard'. In Japanese: 柔らかい and 硬い. Luna: 柔らかい... 硬い... Okay, I think I can hear the difference. Lucas: Good ear. 柔らかい means soft, like a pillow or fresh bread. 硬い means hard, like a rock or a table. Luna: So if I touch a fluffy towel, I'd say 柔らかい. Lucas: Exactly. And if you knock on a wooden desk, you'd say 硬い. Luna: Got it. Let me practice. 柔らかい... 柔らかい... 硬い... 硬い... Lucas: Perfect. Now let's put them in sentences. Listen: このパンは柔らかいです. Luna: このパンは柔らかいです. That means 'this bread is soft.' Lucas: Right. And the opposite: そのテーブルは硬いです. Luna: そのテーブルは硬いです. 'That table is hard.' Lucas: You've got it. Now, how would you ask 'Is this soft?' Luna: Hmm... これは柔らかいですか? Lucas: Yes! これは柔らかいですか. And 'Is that hard?' Luna: それは硬いですか? Lucas: Exactly. Let's do a quick scene. Imagine you're at a bakery. Luna: Okay, I love bakeries. Lucas: You point to a bread roll and ask: このパンは柔らかいですか. Luna: このパンは柔らかいですか. And the baker says...? Lucas: はい、柔らかいです. Yes, it's soft. Luna: Oh, I can imagine the fresh bread. Yum. Lucas: Great. Now you try asking about a table in a furniture shop. Luna: そのテーブルは硬いですか? Lucas: Perfect. And the reply: はい、硬いです. Luna: So I can use these in real life. Awesome. Lucas: Let's review the four target phrases: 柔らかい, 硬い, このパンは柔らかいです, そのテーブルは硬いです. Luna: And the questions: 柔らかいですか and 硬いですか. Lucas: You remembered. Let's say them all one more time together. Listeners, 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: そのテーブルは硬いです. Luna: そのテーブルは硬いです. Lucas: 柔らかいですか. Luna: 柔らかいですか. Lucas: 硬いですか. Luna: 硬いですか. Lucas: You know, if you're finding these episodes helpful for building your Japanese step by step, there's a simple way to make sure they keep coming. Luna: Yeah? What's that? Lucas: A small contribution at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo really helps us keep the show ad-free and focused on teaching. Luna: Even a couple of dollars a month makes a difference. We appreciate everyone who supports the show. Lucas: Absolutely. Now, let's do a quick callback to our earlier adjectives. Remember 大きい and 小さい? Luna: Big and small! 大きい and 小さい. Lucas: Right. So you could say 大きいパンは柔らかいですか — is the big bread soft? Luna: 大きいパンは柔らかいですか. That's a good sentence. Lucas: And 小さいテーブルは硬いですか — is the small table hard? Luna: 小さいテーブルは硬いですか. I like combining words we already know. Lucas: That's the goal. Keep practicing these new adjectives with things around you. Touch something soft and say 柔らかい. Tap something hard and say 硬い. Luna: And don't forget the sentences. This pillow is 柔らかい. That floor is 硬い. Lucas: Exactly. That's all for today's episode. Thanks for joining us for number 150. Luna: See you next time! Keep practicing.