How does your Japanese compare? If you want it to pile up, you need to know how to make comparisons and talk about what is “best” or “best.” Think of the popular saying: “Love is the most important of all.” Without being able to make comparisons in English, you couldn’t say this. Once you learn how to say something is “more” in Japanese, you will use it all the time! This Japanese article for beginners introduces you to superlative phrases that compare quantity or quality. You will also dominate Ichiban (“first, number one”) to talk about what is “the best” or “the most”. As a bonus, choose all kinds of popular vocabulary words and phrases that you can use to ask about people’s physical conditions. This is a Japanese article that you will be happy to read!

Vocabulary: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

byooshitsu – “hospital room”

gooshitsu – “suffix for room numbers”

erebeetaa – “lift”

ni-kai – “second floor”

agaru – “go up, go up” (verb class 1)

oku – “inner part”

taichoo – “physical condition”

o-jii-chan – “Grandpa”

booi furendo – “groom”

tsuyoi – “strong, powerful” (adjective ending -i)

I have – “love”

daiji – “important, valuable” (-na adjective ending)

Kankei – “relationship, connection”

shiawase – “happiness”

taisetsu – “important, valuable” (-na adjective ending)

washi – “I, me” (used by elders)

Grammar: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

Useful phrases and vocabulary:

taichoo “physical condition”

In the previous article, we introduced the similar word kibun (“feeling”).

For example:

How are you feeling?

1. Formal speech: Taichoo wa doo desu ka. Kibun wa doo desu ka.
2. Informal speech: Taichoo wa doo? Kibun wa doo?

Note that both taichoo wa doo desu ka Y kibun wa doo desu ka are questions we use to ask a person who is ill or has been ill about their physical condition.

daiji taisetsu

Both are -n / A final adjectives that mean “important”. We can use them interchangeably in most cases.

For example:

“Love is the most important”.

1. Ai ga ichiban daiji da.
2. Ai ga ichiban taisetsu da.

kankei nai

Kankei means “relationship”, so kankei nai it literally means “unrelated” or “unrelated”. This phrase can be translated as “having nothing to do with something” or “it is none of your business”. In a formal situation, we use kankei arimasen ( gold kankei nai desu).

Today’s destiny phrase

(Watashi wa) supootsu no naka de bokushingu ga ichiban suki desu.

“I like boxing the most of all sports.”

The focus of this lesson is superlative sentences, which compare the quantity or quality of three or more objects.

Sentence structure

[The group] no naka de [A] ga ichiban [adjective] from his.

[A] is the most [adjective] on [the group]. Ichiban it literally means “the first” or “number one”, which is equivalent to the English “the most” in superlative sentences.

1. [The group] + no naka de / [A] + ga ichiban / [Adjective] + from his.
   Ichinen no naka de / hachi-gatsu ga ichiban / atsui desu.
   Supootsu no naka de / sunooboodo ga ichiban / suki desu.
   San-nin no naka de / Tanaka-san ga ichiban / se ga takai desu.
   Konbini to suupaa to depaato no naka de / suupaa ga ichiban / yasui desu.
   Basu a kuruma a densha no naka de / densha ga ichiban / benri desu.

   Abe-san to Fukuda-san to Asoo-san no naka from / Abe-san ga ichiban / wakai desu.

More definitions:

1. ichi-nen “one year”
2. san-nin “three people”
3. Konbini “convenience store”
4. suupaa “Supermarket”
5. depaato “Department store”
6. yasui “cheap”
7. wakai “young”

Practice 1:

Create affirmative sentences using the vocabulary provided.

For example:

supootsu tenisu omoshiroi ( omoshiroi means “interesting”)

Supootsu no naka de tenisu ga ichiban omoshiroi desu.

1. ichi, nenni, gatsusamui ( samui means “cold”)
2. supootsu, gorufu, tokui (tokui means “good at”)
3. Tokyo to Osaka to Kyoto, Tokyo, ookii

Practice 2:

Please answer the following questions

1. Supootsu no naka from nani ga ichiban omoshiroi desu ka. _
2. Ichi-nen no naka from nan-gatsu ga ichiban suki desu ka. _
3. Nihon no tabemono no naka de nani ga ichiban oishii desu ka. _