When Describing an Action
Some Japanese verbs are more specific when describing actions than English verbs. While there is only one verb used for a certain action in English, there might be several different verbs in Japanese. One of the examples is the verb "to wear." In English, it can used as, "I wear a hat," "I wear gloves," "I wear glasses" and so on. However, Japanese has different verbs depending on which part of the body it will be worn on. Let's take a look how the Japanese describe "to wear."
| Boushi o kaburu. 帽子をかぶる｡ ("Kaburu" is used for putting on the head.) | I wear a hat. |
| Megane o kakeru. めがねをかける｡ ("Kakeru" also means, "to hang.") | I wear glasses. |
| Iyaringu o tsukeru. イヤリングをつける｡ ("Tsukeru" also means, "to attach.") | I wear earrings. |
| Nekutai o shimeru. ネクタイを締める｡ ("Shimeru" also means, "to tie.") | I wear a tie. |
| Sukaafu o maku. スカーフを巻く｡ (Maku" also means, "to wrap around.") | I wear scarf. |
| Tebukuro o hameru. 手袋をはめる｡ ("Hameru" also means, "to insert.") | I wear gloves. |
| Yubiwa o hameru. 指輪をはめる｡ | I wear rings. |
| Tokei o suru. 時計をする｡ | I wear a watch. |
| Shatsu o kiru. シャツを着る｡ ("Kiru" is used for putting on the body.) | I wear shirts. |
| Zubon o haku. ズボンをはく｡ ("Haku" is used for putting on the legs.) | I wear pants. |
| Kutsu o haku. 靴を履く｡ ("Haku" is also used for putting on footwear.) | I wear shoes. |
Another example is the verb "to play."
| Omocha de asobu. おもちゃで遊ぶ｡ ("Asobu" originally means, "to amuse oneself.") | I play with toys. |
| Piano o hiku. ピアノを弾く｡ ("Hiku" is used to play the musical instrument that requires the manipulation of fingers .) | I play the piano. |
| Fue o fuku. 笛を吹く｡ ("Fuku" is used to play the musical instrument that requires blowing.) | I play the flute. |
| Taiko o tataku. 太鼓をたたく｡ ("Tataku" is used to play the musical instrument that requires beating.) | I play the drum. |
| Rekoodo o kakeru. レコードをかける｡ | I am playing a record. |
| Toranpu o suru. トランプをする｡ | I play cards. |
| Yakyuu o suru. 野球をする｡ ("Suru" can be used for most sports.) | I play baseball. |
| Romio o enjiru. ロミオを演じる｡ | I play the role of Romeo. |
