Japanese Words & Their Uses II. Akira Miura
The function of daijoobu is to dispel that concern. In other words, it is an expression of reassurance. Study the following examples:
(1) A: Abunai!
Look out!
B: Daijoobu desu yo.
I’m all right.
(2) A: Tanaka-san ni anna shigoto ga dekiru deshoo ka.
Do you think Mr. Tanaka can handle that kind of job?
B: Daijoobu desu yo.
He’ll be all right.
In both examples above, Daijoobu desu yo can be paraphrased as “Although you may have a good reason to worry, you don’t really have to.”
DAKE だけ only
Although dake often corresponds to English “only,” as in sentences (1) and (2) below, it does not carry a negative overtone, as “only” does.
(1) Tanaka-san dake kite, hoka no hito wa konakatta.
Only Mr. Tanaka came; nobody else did.
(2) Housewife (to maid): Kaimono ni iku nara, gyuunyuu dake katte-kite-moraeba ii wa.
If you’re going shopping, the only thing I’d like you to buy is milk.
The positive overtone in dake becomes clear when dake is contrasted with shika . . . nai, which always carries a negative connotation.
(3) Tanaka-san dake kita.
Only Mr. Tanaka came, (i.e., Mr. Tanaka alone came.)
(4) Tanaka-san shika konakatta.
Only Mr. Tanaka came, (i.e., No one but Mr. Tanaka came.)
In (3), the speaker’s focus is on the fact that Mr. Tanaka came (though he was the only one who came). On the other hand, in (4), the speaker’s focus is on the fact that nobody else came. It is because of this difference between dake and shika . . . nai that we can use only dake in (5), and only shika . . . nai in (6).
(5) Hoka no hito wa konakatta keredo, Tanaka-san
| (a) dake wa kita. |
| (b) * shika konakatta. |
Nobody else came, but Mr. Tanaka, though he was the only one, did come.
(6) Okane ga ni-doru
| (a) *dake atta | |
| (b) shika nakatta | kara, eiga e ikarenakatta. |
Since I had only (i.e., no more than) two dollars, I couldn’t go to the movies.
DEKAKERU 出かける to go out
Dekakeru is usually translated into English as “to go out” and is therefore often confused by American students of Japanese with deru, which is also matched up with “to go out.” Dekakeru, however, is quite different from deru in that it is used only in reference to human beings. For example, in sentence (1), either dekakeru or deru may be used, but in sentence (2), only deru would be correct.
(1) Chichi wa kyoo dekakete-imasu (or dete-imasu).
My father is out today.
(2) Konban wa ku-ji-goro tsuki ga deru (not *dekakeru) hazu da.
The moon is expected to be out about nine tonight.
Dekakeru also differs from deru in that it specifically refers to leaving one’s abode, whereas deru may refer to going out of any place. “To go out of a room” would therefore be heya o deru (not *dekakeru).
Furthermore, dekakeru is different from deru in that it implies some sort of outing covering a distance, be it a walk, a visit, or a trip. Deru, on the other hand, is noncommital as to distance or reason. In sentence (7), therefore, only (a) is correct.
| (7) Tonari no denwa o kari ni | (a) uchi o deta. |
| (b) *dekaketa. |
I left the house to ask the next-door neighbor to let me use the phone.
Dekakeru meaning “to go out” is accentless. This word should not be confused with
(8) Tsuki ga de-kakete (not *dekakete) mata kumo ni kakureta.
The moon was about to come out but hid again behind the clouds.
Roughly speaking dekiru has two meanings: (a) “to come about, to be born, to be produced, to be built, to be completed,” as in sentences (1) and (2) below, and (b) “to be possible, to be able to, can do,” as in (3) and (4).
(1) Suupu ga dekita.
The soup is ready, (lit., The soup has come about.)
(2) Asoko ni atarashii depaato ga dekita.
A new department store has been built over there. (lit., A new department store has come about over there.)
(3) Watanabe-san wa eigo ga yoku dekiru.
Mr. Watanabe is very good in English. (lit., Mr. Wata-nabe can do English well.)
(4) Ano hito wa gorufu ga dekiru.
He knows how to play golf. (lit., He can do golf.)
At first glance, these two meanings do not seem to have much in common; but, on second thought, they are related, for if you know how to do something, it does “come about” for you.
Since the original meaning of dekiru is “to come about” (Morita, p. 309), the subject marker ga rather than the object marker o is used with it even when it means “can do.”
(5) Watanabe-san wa eigo ga (not *o) dekiru.
Mr. Watanabe is good in English.
Dekiru in the sense of “can do” is used much less often in Japanese than “can” is in English. The reason is that in Japanese many verbs have their own potential forms. For example, taberu “to eat” has the potential form, taberareru “can eat,” and yomu “to read” has yomeru “can read.” Although it is also grammatically correct to say taberu koto ga dekiru “one can eat” or yomu koto ga dekiru “one can read,” these forms are lengthier and are therefore not used as often. In fact, dekiru is basically used only as the potential form of suru “to do.” It cannot even be used in place of the potential forms of other verbs. In English, it is perfectly correct to say “Yes, I can” in response to “Can you read this?” for example. In Japanese, on the other hand, the answer in (6) below would be incorrect.
(6) A: Kore ga yomemasu ka.
Can you read this?
B: Hai, *dekimasu.
Yes, I can.
Dekimasu in this case must be replaced by yomemasu, the same potential verb meaning “can read” that appears in the question.
DENSHA 電車 [electric] train
Densha literally means “electric train,” but oddly enough, not all electric trains are called densha. Long-distance trains run by the Japan National Railways used to be pulled by steam engines and were called kisha (lit., “steam trains”). Although these steam engines have long since been replaced by electric ones, trains that serve the same lines are even now called kisha by force of habit.
DENWA 電話 telephone
Denwa