The weather in Tokyo is getting warmer little by little, but it is still cold. I hope you haven’t caught a cold. I have almost gotten sick twice this winter but took care of it immediately, so I got better soon and have been well. Every time I feel a little sick, I take some medicine, go to bed early, and sleep a lot that day. This makes my condition better the next morning. I haven’t gotten a serious cold for last five or six years.Some people are reluctant to take medicine, but I think that it is better for your body to take medicine when necessary.
“I hope” is one of the most common expressions that non-Japanese people want to know soon after starting to learn Japanese. I usually simply teach “—to ii” to a beginner, but this is a tentative expression because “—to ii” is not always used in the same way as “I hope” in English. For example, there is the common English phrase “I hope you had a good weekend”. You can’t directly translate it into Japanese. Thus, I am writing about this point today.
First, translate the next English sentence to Japanese: "I hope it will be warm tomorrow."
Ashita wa atatakai to ii.
“Ashita wa atatakai” is a speaker’s hope. This part should end with the dictionary form of verbs or the short forms of nouns and adjectives. “To” indicates “if”—essentially, a hypothetical.
So, if you directly translate this Japanese sentence, it is "If it is warm tomorrow, it would be good."The dictionary shows “nozomu” or “kibou suru” as the definition of hope, but these words are not used in this situation. In Japanese, we just use an “if” expression. We don’t strongly show the speaker’s desire. I think that is interesting.
Let’s look at more examples."I hope you (will) have a nice trip." This expresses hope for events that will happen in the future. In Japanese:
- Tanoshii ryoko da to ii ne. (It would be good if it is a nice trip.)
- Ryoko ga tanoshii to ii ne. (It would be good if a trip is nice.)
- Tanoshii ryoko ni naru to ii ne. (It would be good if it will be a nice trip.)
Next is a hope for events happening now. "I hope you are having a nice trip."
- (anata ga) ryoko o tanoshindeiru to ii na. (It would be good if you are enjoying the trip.)
This hypothetical sentence can be used to assume something for the future and the present, but not for the past. Basically, no past tense verb can precede “to”.
You must be wondering how the Japanese express "I hope you had a nice trip."
- Tanoshii ryoko datta? (Was it a nice trip?)
- Ryoko wa tanoshikatta? (Was the trip nice?)
- Ryoko o tanoshinda? (Did you enjoy the trip?)
Ask if it was nice or not. This is the best way. Very simple and easy.
While I was thinking about “I hope”, I realized that it is such a complicated expression that I can’t finish writing about it this time, so I am also going to write about it in the next few posts. This is the end for today. See you next time.