How long and how good
Conversation phrases, Stage 1chunk 19 of 68Likes and free time
Follow up on a hobby by asking how long, and say how new or rusty you are.
- dono gurai yatteru no?how long have you been doing it?
- saikin hajimeta n daI only took it up recently; I just started
- mukashi ... yattetaI used to do ...; I used to play ...
- zenzen heta da kedoI'm not any good at it, though
Mix-ups mukashi yatteta (used to do) vs yatteru (do now).
dono gurai yatteru no?
polite dono gurai yatte iru n desu ka?
how long have you been doing it?
Follow-up when someone mentions a hobby or sport; answer with a length of time (sannen gurai).
Japanese uses the present -te iru where English says 'have been doing'.
sugoi umai ne. dono gurai yatteru no?
You're really good. How long have you been doing it?
すごいうまいね。どのぐらいやってるの？
sugoku jouzu desu ne. dono gurai yatte iru n desu ka?
You're really good. How long have you been doing it?
すごく上手ですね。どのぐらいやっているんですか？
Written どのぐらいやってるの？ · どのぐらいやっているんですか？Who you say it and hear itHeard 3× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
saikin hajimeta n da
polite saikin hajimeta n desu
I only took it up recently; I just started
Said about a new hobby, often to excuse being bad at it.
Put the hobby first with wa: yoga wa saikin hajimeta n da.
gitaa wa saikin hajimeta n da. mada heta da yo.
I only took up guitar recently. I'm still bad.
ギターは最近始めたんだ。まだ下手だよ。
gitaa wa saikin hajimeta n desu. mada heta desu.
I only took up guitar recently. I'm still bad.
ギターは最近始めたんです。まだ下手です。
Written 最近始めたんだ · さいきんはじめたんだ · 最近始めたんですWho you say itHeard too rare in film subtitles to count
mukashi ... yatteta
polite mukashi ... o yatte imashita
I used to do ...; I used to play ...
For past hobbies, sports or instruments; the activity goes in the middle (mukashi tenisu yatteta).
-te ita (yatteta) is the usual way to say 'used to'.
mukashi piano yatteta kedo, mou zenzen hikenai.
I used to play piano, but I can't play at all now.
昔ピアノやってたけど、もう全然弾けない。
mukashi piano o yatte imashita kedo, mou zenzen hikemasen.
I used to play the piano, but I can't play at all any more.
昔ピアノをやっていましたけど、もう全然弾けません。
Written 昔〜やってた · むかし〜やってた · 昔〜をやっていましたWho you say itHeard 4× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
zenzen heta da kedo
polite zenzen heta desu kedo
I'm not any good at it, though
A modest add-on after saying you do something; expected even when you're decent.
Heta = bad at; jouzu = good at, said of others, not yourself.
gitaa hiku yo. zenzen heta da kedo.
I play guitar. I'm not any good, though.
ギター弾くよ。全然下手だけど。
gitaa o hikimasu. zenzen heta desu kedo.
I play the guitar. Not very well, though.
ギターを弾きます。全然下手ですけど。
Written 全然下手だけど · ぜんぜんへただけど · 全然下手ですけどWho you say itHeard 3× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles