Luck and help
Collocations, Stage 1chunk 22 of 22Describing people
Quick verdicts on how something went: lucky, unlucky, that helped, that did me good.
- un ga iibe lucky
- un ga waruibe unlucky
- yaku ni tatsube useful, helpful
- tame ni narube worthwhile, do you good
Mix-ups un ga ii and un ga warui are one pair, so drill them in one frame (un ii ne! / un warui na). yaku ni tatsu is practical help with a task (not benri, handy); tame ni naru is something that does you good over time, like a talk, a book or an experience.
un ga ii
polite un ga ii desube lucky
運がいい うんがいい 運がいいです
adjectiveii いいii: good (past yokatta)typical 62% of un
trap English 'lucky' is an adjective on the person. Japanese usually makes luck the subject, un ga ii (your luck is good), though rakkii! and tsuiteru are just as natural in casual speech. 'Good luck!' before a test or game is ganbatte, not anything with un.
Said when luck goes someone's way: un ii ne! (lucky you), with ga dropped. The past un yokatta (that was lucky) is just as common. Ii becomes yo- in its other forms, so it's never un iikatta.
ichiban mae no seki? un ii ne!
Front-row seats? Lucky you!
一番前の席？運いいね！
ichiban mae no seki desu ka? un ga ii desu ne!
Front-row seats? You're lucky!
一番前の席ですか？運がいいですね！
Un ii ne (lucky you) sounds the same as un, ii ne (yeah, nice), so context decides. Kouun (幸運) is the written word.
Same adjective: taimingu (taimingu ga ii: good timing), engi (engi ga ii: a good omen)Learn alongside: un ga waruiMain list: ii (Stage 1), un (Stage 1), ii ne (Stage 3), ganbatte (Stage 4)
un ga warui
polite un ga warui desube unlucky
運が悪い うんがわるい 運が悪いです
adjectivewarui 悪いwarui: badtypical 10% of un
trap As with un ga ii, luck is the subject: un ga warui (my luck is bad). For your own bad day, tsuitenai is the more natural casual choice (kyou tsuitenai naa); un warukatta ne is the usual consolation.
Said about your own bad luck (kyou un warui naa) or to console someone: un warukatta ne (that was just bad luck). Casual speech drops ga.
kyou, honto un warui naa.
I'm having such bad luck today.
今日、ほんと運悪いなあ。
sore wa un ga warukatta desu ne.
That was just bad luck.
それは運が悪かったですね。
Fuun (不運) is the written word, and anrakkii is rare.
Same adjective: taimingu (taimingu ga warui: bad timing), engi (engi ga warui: a bad omen)Learn alongside: un ga iiMain list: warui (Stage 1), un (Stage 1), zannen (Stage 4)
yaku ni tatsu
polite yaku ni tachimasube useful, helpful
役に立つ やくにたつ 役に立ちます
verbtatsu 立つstand (here: serve a purpose)typical 69% of yaku
trap 'Useful' leads to benri, which means handy or convenient to use. yaku ni tatsu means it actually helped you with something, and it's the one for advice and information: advice that helped is yaku ni tatta, not benri datta.
Said about advice, information, tools or people being of real use. You hear the past yaku ni tatta (that helped) most, then yaku ni tatenakute gomen (sorry I couldn't help) and the negative yaku ni tatanai (no use; harsh if said of a person).
kono mae oshiete kureta apuri, sugoku yaku ni tatta yo.
That app you told me about the other day was really useful.
この前教えてくれたアプリ、すごく役に立ったよ。
kono mae oshiete kureta apuri, hontou ni yaku ni tachimashita.
The app you told me about the other day was really useful.
この前教えてくれたアプリ、本当に役に立ちました。
tasukatta (you saved me) is the warmer thanks when someone helps you. To offer help: nanika yaku ni tateru koto attara itte ne. A talk, book or experience that does you good in the longer run is tame ni naru (tame ni naru hanashi), and to thank a senior for a talk, say benkyou ni narimashita.
Learn alongside: benkyou ni naru, tame ni naru, kibun tenkan ni naru (Stage 4)Main list: tetsudau (Stage 2)
tame ni naru
polite tame ni narimasube worthwhile, do you good
ためになる ためになります
verbnaru なるnaru: become; here, turn out to be of benefittypical 3% of tame
Said about a book, show, talk or piece of advice you come away from knowing more: ano bangumi, tame ni naru yo. Ni is kept, and before a noun it's tame ni naru hanashi (a talk worth hearing). With a person, X no tame ni naranai means it does X no good.
ano hon, honto ni tame ni naru yo.
That book's really worth reading.
あの本、ほんとにためになるよ。
ano hon wa hontou ni tame ni narimasu yo.
That book is really worthwhile.
あの本は本当にためになりますよ。
Not the grammar -tame ni (in order to): here the phrase ends in naru, and tame means benefit. benkyou ni narimashita is the thank-you said on the spot; tame ni naru judges a book, show or advice as good for you; yaku ni tatsu says it was of practical use (a tool, a tip that helped).
Same verb: sankou (sankou ni naru: useful as a reference), kusuri (ii kusuri ni naru: a setback that teaches you a lesson)Learn alongside: benkyou ni naru, yaku ni tatsu, kibun tenkan ni naru (Stage 4)Main list: naru (Stage 1), -tame ni (Stage 4)