Have you been learning about the particle で (de), and you want to know if there’s another use for it? Well, today is your lucky day.
Contents
Japanese Particles : Using で to Express Supplementary Information
I discussed で previously in this article, where I went over it’s most common uses. But, like most particles, the more you dig into them, the more you learn. Which is really good when you’re studying to become fluent in Japanese.
In this article, we’re going to be taking a more in depth look at one use I mentioned at the end of my last article: using で like the word “and.”
It’s important to remember that で will not always translate as the English word “and.” There is really no Japanese equivalent that encompasses everything “and” can be in English.
However, で does a really good job at expressing supplementary information.
Connecting Information
If you are trying to describe something, で can be a useful particle for assigning multiple adjectives to one object. For example, if you want to describe a game you played as “easy” and “fun,” you could just split it into two sentences. You could say “Kono geemu wa kantan da. Tanoshii.” (このゲームは簡単だ。楽しい。) That would mean, “This game is easy. It’s fun.”
As you can tell, that can sound a bit clunky and unnatural. If you use で, you can smooth this sentence out. You can say, “Kono geemu wa kantan de tanoshii.” (このゲームは簡単で楽しい。) This means, “This game is easy and fun.”
This structure does imply a connection between the two adjectives. Maybe the game is easy because it’s fun, or vice versa. But since you are already using both words to describe the game, there is going to be a connection.
There is a way to do this with i-adjectives too, since で can only really be added to na-adjectives in this use. All you do is conjugate the i-adjective into the te-form. So you could use the same example, but switch the adjectives to say, “Kono geemu wa tanoshikute kantan da.” (このゲームは楽しくて簡単だ。) Or, “This game is fun and easy.”
Whichever one you use is just personal preference. But you could have multiple na-adjectives or i-adjectives. Technically, you could use this structure and continue adding as many adjectives and descriptors as you like, it just might sound a little bit silly.
Connecting Sentences
で can also be used as a way to connect entire sentences. This use makes it possible to speak in paragraphs, which is really important if you actually want to have intelligent, adult-level conversations. Speaking in paragraphs gives your Japanese more flow, which makes it easier to listen to and understand. Generally, when you take speaking tests for Japanese, your ability to speak in paragraphs can affect your score.
Using で to connect sentences is one of the easiest ways to make your speaking smoother. Let’s say you want to say, “I like soccer, and I play it with my brother.” You could say, “Sakkaa ga suki da. Ani to suru.” (サッカーが好きだ。兄とする。) But, as you might be able to tell, that sounds clipped and even a bit childish. With で, you could instead say, “Sakkaa ga suki de ani to suru.” (サッカーが好きで兄とする。)
You can also do this with verbs and i-adjectives by conjugating them into their te-forms. In a way, で is already in it’s te-form. You could say things like “Karee wa karakute tabemasen,” (カレーは辛くて食べません) or “The curry is spicy, and I won’t eat it.” You could say “Kono hon wo yonde juusu wo nomu,” (この本を読んでヂュウスを飲む) or “I will read this book and drink juice.”
One interesting thing to note is the use of commas. A lot of these sentences have commas in English, but not in Japanese. With this structure, the で (or て) already denotes a bit of a pause in the sentence. You don’t need a comma to break it up. Commas in Japanese are used a lot less often than they are in English, and they can be difficult to place because they don’t always go where native English-speakers want to put them. Pay attention to that if you are writing with grammar structures like this.
This is just one other way to use で. Using a structure like this is a good way to really elevate how you sound in Japanese, so give it a try as you practice speaking! Once I learned how to do this, it made a big difference in how my conversations felt and how confident I was with expressing my ideas. I’m sure it will help you too.
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