Play and lessons
Collocations, Stage 1chunk 19 of 22Hobbies, sport & games
English 'play' splits in two: games and sports take suru (casually yaru) and instruments take hiku. Taking lessons in any of them is narau.
- geemu o suruplay games (video games, cards and the like)
- sakkaa o suruplay soccer
- piano o hikuplay the piano
- piano o narautake piano lessons
Mix-ups asobu tempts for all of them. suru/yaru names the activity or hobby (piano yatteru), hiku is actually playing (piano hikeru?), and narau is lessons with a teacher (piano naratteta), never benkyou suru. Keep this hiku apart from kaze o hiku and omikuji o hiku, which sound the same.
geemu o suru
polite geemu o shimasuplay games (video games, cards and the like)
ゲームをする ゲームをします
verbsuru するdo; the general verb, and sports and games are things you 'do'typical 29% of geemu
trap English 'play' pulls toward asobu. For gaming in general, friends say geemu suru or yaru (geemu yatteru). With a specific title, gamers also say kono geemu asonda?, and geemu de asobu (play around with a game) is fine.
Use it for video games, and for card or party games too. Casually it is geemu shiteru or geemu yatteru with o dropped, and zutto geemu shiteta means you were gaming the whole time.
kinou zutto geemu shiteta
I was gaming all day yesterday.
昨日ずっとゲームしてた
kinou wa zutto geemu o shitemashita
I was playing games all day yesterday.
昨日はずっとゲームをしてました
Same verb: toranpu (playing cards), janken (rock-paper-scissors), kakurenbo (hide-and-seek)Learn alongside: hon o yomu, eiga o miru, uta o utau, e o kaku, sakkaa o suru, piano o hiku, piano o narau, terebi o miru (Stage 2), ongaku o kiku (Stage 2), nyuusu o miru (Stage 2), ongaku o kakeru (Stage 2)Main list: suru (Stage 1), yaru (Stage 1), asobu (Stage 3)
sakkaa o suru
polite sakkaa o shimasuplay soccer
サッカーをする サッカーをします
verbsuru するdo; the general verb, and sports and games are things you 'do'typical 18% of sakkaa
trap Not sakkaa o asobu: asobu means playing around, so a sport takes suru, or casually yaru (sakkaa yatteru).
Use it for playing any sport, whether regularly or right now. In speech you mostly hear sakkaa shiteru or sakkaa yatteru with o dropped, and yatteta means used to play.
yasumi no hi wa sakkaa shiteru
On my days off I play soccer.
休みの日はサッカーしてる
yasumi no hi wa sakkaa o shitemasu
I play soccer on my days off.
休みの日はサッカーをしてます
Same verb: tenisu (tennis), yakyuu (baseball), gorufu (golf), basuke (basketball)Learn alongside: hon o yomu, eiga o miru, uta o utau, e o kaku, geemu o suru, piano o hiku, piano o narau, terebi o miru (Stage 2), ongaku o kiku (Stage 2), nyuusu o miru (Stage 2), ongaku o kakeru (Stage 2)Main list: suru (Stage 1), yaru (Stage 1), asobu (Stage 3)
piano o hiku
polite piano o hikimasuplay the piano
ピアノを弾く ピアノをひく ピアノを弾きます
verbhiku 弾くplay a string or keyboard instrument (plucked, bowed or keyed); wind and drums take other verbstypical 25% of piano
trap Not piano o asobu, and not piano o suru carried over from sakkaa o suru: playing the instrument is hiku (piano hiiteru, piano hikeru?). piano yatteru ('I do piano') names it as a hobby, and lessons with a teacher are piano o narau (piano naratteta); neither means playing it right now.
Use it for actually playing the instrument. The common forms are piano hikeru? (can you play the piano?) and piano hiiteru (is playing now, or plays regularly). With hikeru, ga often replaces o: piano ga hikeru.
piano hikeru?
Can you play the piano?
ピアノ弾ける？
piano o hikemasu ka?
Can you play the piano?
ピアノを弾けますか？
Wind instruments take fuku (fue o fuku) and drums take tataku (taiko o tataku).
Same verb: gitaa (guitar), baiorin (violin), beesu (bass guitar), kyoku (a piece of music)Learn alongside: hon o yomu, eiga o miru, uta o utau, e o kaku, geemu o suru, sakkaa o suru, piano o narau, terebi o miru (Stage 2), ongaku o kiku (Stage 2), nyuusu o miru (Stage 2), ongaku o kakeru (Stage 2)Main list: asobu (Stage 3), yaru (Stage 1), suru (Stage 1)
piano o narau
polite piano o naraimasutake piano lessons
ピアノを習う ピアノをならう ピアノを習います
verbnarau 習うlearn from a teacher, take lessons intypical 4% of piano
trap English 'learn' leads to benkyou suru, but piano o benkyou shita sounds like studying it as a subject. Lessons with a teacher are narau: piano naratteta. oboeru is memorising or picking something up yourself (shigoto oboeta = I've learned the job).
Said about lessons with a teacher, now or as a child: piano naratteru (I take lessons), naratteta (I used to). Casual speech drops o. Childhood lessons like this are a standard getting-to-know-you topic.
chiisai koro, piano naratteta.
I took piano lessons when I was little.
小さい頃、ピアノ習ってた。
chiisai koro, piano o narattemashita.
I took piano lessons when I was little.
小さい頃、ピアノを習ってました。
The teacher's side is oshieru (piano o oshiete iru); after-school lessons like this are called naraigoto.
Same verb: suiei (swimming), shuuji (calligraphy), eigo (English), karate (karate)Learn alongside: hon o yomu, eiga o miru, uta o utau, e o kaku, geemu o suru, sakkaa o suru, piano o hiku, terebi o miru (Stage 2), ongaku o kiku (Stage 2), nyuusu o miru (Stage 2), ongaku o kakeru (Stage 2)Main list: -teru (Stage 1), oshieru (Stage 2)