For today’s blog, we will be talking about a very useful grammar point that will definitely make you sound as close to native as possible!
Contents
Overview
As Japanese language students, we all crave to hear these words.. “Pera-pera desu ne!”. Well, what do these words mean anyway? “Pera-pera” means “fluent” or someone who speaks well and is usually the best compliment you can get from Japanese people if you are learning the language! Well, for this blog, hopefully we can help you achieve this by learning how to properly apply the usage of 〜ように(-you ni) in a sentence.
〜ように：In order to/..so that../..to be able to…
Looking at the caption for this part of the blog, you can have a bit of an insight to the main focus of this blog will be 〜ように and its function that expresses aims or “In order to/..so that../..to be able to…”
This particular grammar point expresses aims by describing what you or the speaker will do in order for your aim or goal to happen. To construct a sentence using this premise, we would need to follow a simple sentence pattern that can be found below.
Verb-dictionary form + ように
- 食べます (tabemasu: to eat) → 食べるように (taberu you ni: in order to eat)
- 乗ります (norimasu: to ride) → 乗るように (noru you ni: so that you ride)
- 来ます (kimasu: to come) → 来るように (kuru you ni: in order to come)
Potential form + ように
- 飲みます(nomimasu: to drink) → 飲めるように (nomeru you ni: to be able to drink)
- 読みます (yomimasu: to read) → 読めるように (yomeru you ni: to be able to read)
- 見ます (mimasu: to look/watch) → 見えるように (mieru you ni: to be able to look/watch)
Of course, this is just the most basic form of this sentence pattern. You can always personalise it and add more phrases or words to this in the future. Please look below for a few sentence examples just so you can see it in a context and see it in action!
始発電車に間に合うように早く家を出ました。
Shihatsu densha ni maniau you ni hayaku ie o demashita.
I left the house early in order to catch the first train.
Looking at the sentence above, you can usually find the aim or goal of the sentence in the beginning or before 〜ように and the action you do to achieve this is at the end of the sentence or after 〜ように. Here are a few more sentence examples to help you get the hang of it!
初心者も読めるようにふりがなをつけた。
Shoshinsha mou yomeru you ni furigana wo tsuketa.
I added furigana so that beginners can read as well.
彼女は痩せるように毎日運動します。
Kanojo wa yaseru you ni mainichi undou shimasu.
She exercises everyday to lose weight.
旅行するようにお金を貯めています。
Ryokou suru you ni okane wo tameteimasu.
I’m saving up money to be able to travel.
日本語でアニメを見えるように毎日日本語を勉強しています。
Nihongo de anime wo mieru you ni mai nichi nihongo wo benkyoushiteimasu.
I study Japanese everyday to be able to watch anime in Japanese.
今日早く帰るように真面目働きます。
Hayaku kaeru you ni majime hatarakimasu.
I will work hard so that I can go home early today.
As long as you know how to utilise the basics, you will definitely have no problems constructing phrases and sentences using 〜ように. As you can see, it’s a very useful and easy grammar point to use–something that can be mastered with enough practice! Try making a few sentences yourself. A good tip we can give you is how a Japanese sentence structure sequence is pretty much the opposite of the English version. Don’t believe me? Try comparing our Japanese sentence examples to it’s English counterpart!
〜ないように: “…so I don’t..”
For this grammar points negative form, we don’t actually change 〜ように’s form but the verb found before it. Please see the sentence pattern below.
Verb (-ない form) + ように
- 食べます (tabemasu: to eat) → 食べないように (taberu you ni: in order to not eat)
- 乗ります (norimasu: to ride) → 乗らないように (noru you ni: so that you don’t ride)
- 来ます (kimasu: to come) → 来ないように (kuru you ni: in order to not come)
Potential form (-ない form) + ように
- 飲みます(nomimasu: to drink) → 飲めないように (nomeru you ni: to not be able to drink)
- 読みます (yomimasu: to read) → 読めないように (yomeru you ni: to not be able to read)
- 見ます (mimasu: to look/watch) → 見えないように (mieru you ni: to not be able to look/watch)
It has the same sentence structure as it’s positive form and is quite easy to use once you have mastered the positive form. Please look below for some sentence examples.
明日は、遅刻しないように早く寝ます。
Ashita wa chikoku shinai you ni hayaku nemasu.
I don’t want to be late tomorrow so I’m going to sleep early.
忘れ物をしないように2回確かめる。
Wasure mono wo shinai you ni ni kai tashika meru.
I check twice so I don’t forget anything.
社長の話を忘れないようにメモしておきます。
Shachou no hanashi wo wasurenai you ni memo shite okimasu.
I will take some notes so I dont forget what the President/boss said.
アルバイトで遅くしないように毎朝早く起きます。
Shiken de osoku shinai you ni mai asa hayaku okimasu.
I get up early every morning so I won’t be late for my part-time job.
A closer look into its other uses: 〜ように in sentences
Grammar points usually have many different uses. Here are a few more uses for 〜ように.
Wishing for something
来週がいい天気になりますように。
Raishuu ga ii tenki ni narimasu you ni.
I hope the weather next week will be good.
Warning someone or giving an order
猫が逃げないようにドアを閉めておいて。
Neko ga nigenai you ni doa wo shimete oite.
Please close the gate so the dog won’t run out/escape.
To do something/ to be like
ゴードン ラムゼイのように料理したい。
Go-don Ramuzei no you ni ryouri shitai.
I want to cook like Gordon Ramsay.
“…looks/seems/sounds/feels like…”
ほめされているように感じる。
Homesarete iru you ni kanjiru.
I feel like I’ve been complimented/praised.
Comparing similarities
彼女はバラのようにきれい。
Kanojo wa bara no you ni kirei.
She is as beautiful as/like a rose.
Aside from these 5, there are other ways to utilise 〜ように in a sentence. Master one thing at a time and then add more words and phrases to it to make you sound more ペラペラ！皆さん頑張って！
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