Essential Japanese Vocabulary. Akira Miura
udedokei, tebukuro, gurōbu, etc.) o hameru
指輪(腕輪、腕時計、手袋、グローブ)をはめる
to put on a ring (a bracelet, a wristwatch, gloves, a baseball glove, etc.)
Hameru はめる is often replaced by suru する.
EXAMPLE:
(2) Samui hi ni wa tebukuro o hameta (or shita) hō ga ii.
寒い日は手袋をはめた(した)方がいい。
It’s better to wear gloves on cold days.
Ha
nasu 話す to tell; to speakHanasu 話す, unlike iu 言う, is not used for uttering just a word or a sentence, i.e., it is used with reference to a whole conversation or a whole talk, or when such is implied.
EXAMPLES:
(1) Yūbe wa tomodachi to nagai aida hanashite (not *itte 言って) tanoshikatta.
ゆうべは友達と長い間話して楽しかった。
Last night I had a good time talking with a friend.
(2) Kare wa “Ja mata” to itte (not *hanashite 話して) kaette-itta.
彼は「じゃ、また」と言って帰っていった。
He left, saying, “See you!”
When the object is a language, hanasu 話す, not iu 言う, is used.
EXAMPLE:
(3) Konogoro wa jōzu ni Nihongo o hanasu (not *iu 言う) gaikokujin ga fuete-kita.
このごろは上手に日本語を話す外国人が増えてきた。
These days, foreigners who speak Japanese well have increased in number.
When the particle is not o を but de で, either hanasu 話す or iu 言う may be used, as in the following example. However, there is a slight difference in meaning between (4a) and (4b), which, I hope, is clear from the translations given.
EXAMPLES:
(4a) Eigo de hanashite mo ii desu ka.
英語で話してもいいですか。
May I speak/talk in English?
(4b) Eigo de itte mo ii desu ka.
英語で言ってもいいですか。
May I say it in English?
Another difference between hanasu 話す and iu 言う is that, while hanasu 話す does not need an object, iu 言う does.
EXAMPLE:
(5) Asoko de hanashite-iru (not *itte-iru 言っている) no wa Suzuki-san darō.
あそこで話しているのは鈴木さんだろう。
The person talking over there must be Mr. Suzuki.
Hane 羽 feather; wing
Hane 羽 means both “feather” and “wing,” but the context usually makes the meaning clear, as in
EXAMPLES:
(1) Hane no tsuita bōshi o kabutte-iru.
羽のついた帽子をかぶっている。
She is wearing a hat with a feather.
(2) Hane ga areba sugu tonde-ikimasu yo.
羽があればすぐとんでいきますよ。
If I had wings, I would fly over right away.
Hantai-suru 反対する to oppose
Hantai-suru 反対する means “to oppose,” as in
EXAMPLE:
(1) Heiwa ni hantai-suru hito ga iru darō ka.
平和に反対する人がいるだろうか。
I wonder if there is anybody who opposes peace.
Hansuru 反する, on the other hand, means “to violate.” The difference between hantaisuru 反対する and hansuru should be clear from the following example.
EXAMPLES:
(2a) Sono hōritsu ni hantai-suru hito ga ōi.
その法律に反対する人が多い。
There are many people who oppose the law.
(2b) Hōritsu ni hansuru kōi wa yokunai.
法律に反する行為はよくない。
Illegal acts (lit., acts that violate the law) are not good.
Hataraku 働く to work
Hataraku 働く means “to work” as in
EXAMPLES:
(1) Tonari no otetsudai-san wa itsumo daidokoro de hataraite-iru.
となりのお手伝いさんはいつも台所で働いている。
The maid next door is always working in the kitchen.
(2) Ano kōba no kōin-tachi wa yoku hataraku.
あの工場の工員たちはよく働く。
The workers at that factory work very hard.
Although hataraku 働く and shigoto o suru 仕事をする “to do a job” are similar in meaning, the latter is probably more appropriate for desk work.
EXAMPLE:
(3) Ano sakka wa hiruma ni nete, yoru shigoto o suru sō da.
あの作家は昼間に寝て、夜仕事をするそうだ。
I hear that novelist sleeps during the day and works at night.
English “work” is sometimes almost synonymous with “study,” e.g.,
EXAMPLE:
(4) He is working for his doctorate.
In Japanese, however, hataraku 働く cannot be used in that sense. Studying is referred to as benkyō-suru 勉強する (see BENKYŌ-SURU).
EXAMPLE:
(5) Kare wa hakushigō o toru tame ni benkyō-shite-iru.
彼は博士号を取るために勉強している。
He is studying for a doctorate.
Unlike “work,” hataraku 働く cannot be used in reference to pastimes and hobbies. Therefore, to express the idea of “work” as expressed in (6) below, some word other than hataraku 働く would have to be used, as in (7).
EXAMPLES:
(6) He is working hard to organize his stamp collection in his spare time.
(7) Kare wa hima na toki, kitte no korekushon o isshōkenmei seiri-shite-iru.
彼はひまな時、切手のコレクションを一生懸命整理している。
lit., He is assiduously organizing his stamp collection in his spare time.
In