Learn to use Sasuga さすが in Japanese to define expectations.

Hi guys, welcome to today’s incredible online Japanese lesson from Bondlingo. Today we are going to be looking at the Japanese phrase “Sasuga” which allows you to express your expectations for someone or something.

How to express “as expected” in Japanese with さすが sasuga

We are gonig to be splitting the lesson into 5 main main parts today to ensure the best possible path to mastery of this useful phrase. These will be:

A brief summary of Sasuga and how it can be used.

This is to give you a brief understanding of the grammatical rules and an overall sense of the usage of the word. 

Examples using さすが 

This will help us understand how to use the phrase grammatically and allow you to note and copy certain patterns of sentences 

Sasuga isn’t always a compliment in Japanese (With examples) 

It is also important to realise that Sasuga is not just used in positive scenarios and can be also really cleverly used with negative connotations too. 

Practical application of Sasuga

We will look at techniques of how you can implement this into your daily Japanese study and how to best master the usage of the phrase 

A summary of today’s “Sasuga” lesson.

This will give us a fantastic summary of the entire lesson and give your brain a chance to gather all of the information. 

So guys and girls, let’s jump right into today’s online Japanese lesson and learn all about さすが sasuga! 

A brief summary of Sasuga and how it can be used

So in summary, Sasuga さすが is a word that can be used as a stand alone phrase to express “as one would expect; just as you’d expect (from); just like (someone)​”. Here is an example. 

When we see Sachiko winning big at the casino ,

さすが、さちこだね！
Sasuga Sachiko Da Ne 
Sachiko always wins

She won just as we had expected. 

In this scenario you can see it expresses a tendency that the subject of the sentence is known for having. Imagine if someone always passes their test, gets the guy or girls number, or wins a game of cards. 

It can also be used at the beginning of a sentence before adding in more information like so. Imagine that you had been given lots of work to do and you knew you would be tired. 

さすがに今日は疲れた.
Sasuga ni kyou wa tsukareta 
As expected today was tiring. 

When adjectives are involved in the sentence you can use the ni  に particle to bolt that to the phrase. 

You can use this formula  to say other things like:

As expected, the fish is delicious 

Ah as expected John’s Japanese is incredible 

As expected from a graduate of university etc etc 

So now we’ve got a bit more of a handle on the usage. Lets go ahead and look at some different examples that use さすが。

Examples using さすが

So let’s imagine that you have a friend that always comes through for you. If they’ve come through on something yet again you can say:

さすがだね。君ならやってくれると思っていたよ。
Excellent! It's just like you to come through like that.

Now imagine that a friend of yours has just won a first prize at the local pub quiz. You could use the next phrase to let them know that is exactly what you expected from a college student. 

彼はさすが大学に行っただけのことはある。
He did not go to college for nothing.

Now lastly imagine that a mother has made a wonderful meal for her family, You know that she is capable of making these awesome meals so you say: 

さすが、お母さん、料理上手い
I knew you are a great cook!

Make sure to read ove these phrases a few times to familiarise yourself. We will look later at some methods you can use to start implementation of this awesome new piece of knowledge 

Sasuga isn’t always a compliment in Japanese 

However, Sasuga さすが is not always a compliment. We thought we would mention this to ensure that you have a full understanding of both ends of the spectrum. Let’s look at an example. 

さすがに美味しくないね。
Sasuga Ni Oishikunai ne 
As expected it;s not delicious 

If you have a friend that is bad at cooking and they back it up with an awful dish, this is when the phrase comes in handy to back up your expectations. 

Practical application of Sasuga in your Japanese study 

So now that you have got to grips with the meanings, usage and have become familiar with various examples, both positive and negative, let’s now look at how to actually apply the teachings for yourself to make sure you can use the word.

Firstly you are going to want to rewrite a summary of the words meaning and simple usage down in a notebook to reinforce your understanding. Then you are going to need to read the example sentences from today’s lesson a few times to allow that to sink in. Try to read those sentences back to yourself in English and translate them into Japanese. 

Once you have this down try and create 5 – 6 examples of your own to start creating patterns in your brain which get you more comfortable using it. Remember, this whole lesson will be pointless without practical application. 

A summary of today’s “Sasuga” lesson.

So guys there we have it, that brings us to the end of today’s online Japanese lesson on さすが from Bondlingo. Let’s now have a quick summary on everything we have learnt thus far. 

1. Sasuga means “as one would expect; just as you’d expect (from); just like (someone)​”
2. Most often it is used as a standalone phrase or at the beginning of a sentence. 
3. It can be used in both positive and negative situations 
4. You should be writing out and practicing various sentences to get confident with using it.

Thanks so much for reading today’s online Japanese lesson everyone. If you have any questions or ideas for future content, please do get in touch. By for now! 

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