Things gone wrong
Conversation phrases, Stage 3chunk 6 of 21Telling what happened
Lets you report a lost, broken or missed thing in a story.
- shuuden nogashitaI missed the last train
- kowaretait's broken; it broke
- saifu o nakushitaI've lost my wallet
- ugokanaiit won't work; it won't move; it's stuck
Mix-ups nakushita (lost it) and wasureta (forgot it) get swapped, as do kowareta (broke) and ugokanai (won't run).
shuuden nogashita
polite shuuden o nogashimashita
I missed the last train
A common late-night problem: trains stop around midnight, leaving a taxi, a net cafe or a long walk.
shuuden is the last train; the first one of the day is shihatsu.
yabai, shuuden nogashita. takushii shika nai.
Crap, I missed the last train. It's a taxi now.
やばい、終電逃した。タクシーしかない。
shuuden o nogashita node, takushii de kaerimasu.
I missed the last train, so I'll take a taxi home.
終電を逃したので、タクシーで帰ります。
Written 終電逃した · しゅうでんのがした · 終電を逃しましたWho you say itHeard 1× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
kowareta
polite kowaremashita
it's broken; it broke
Say a thing has broken or stopped working.
kowasu is 'break (something)': kowashichatta, 'I broke it'.
aa, sumaho kowareta. gamen ga tsukanai.
Ugh, my phone's broken. The screen won't turn on.
ああ、スマホ壊れた。画面がつかない。
sumaho ga kowaremashita. gamen ga tsukimasen.
My phone broke. The screen won't turn on.
スマホが壊れました。画面がつきません。
Written 壊れた · こわれた · 壊れましたWho you say itHeard 397× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
saifu o nakushita
polite saifu o nakushimashita
I've lost my wallet
Tell a friend, staff or the police box (kouban) that your wallet is gone.
nakusu is 'lose'; otoshita (dropped it) is just as common.
yabai, saifu nakushita kamo. doko da?
Oh no, I think I lost my wallet. Where is it?
やばい、財布なくしたかも。どこだ？
sumimasen, saifu o nakushite shimatta n desu ga.
Excuse me, I've lost my wallet.
すみません、財布をなくしてしまったんですが。
Written 財布をなくした · さいふをなくした · 財布をなくしましたWho you say itHeard 4× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
ugokanai
polite ugokimasen
it won't work; it won't move; it's stuck
For machines that won't run, doors or lids that won't budge, or a body part you can't move.
For screens and lights that won't come on, use tsukanai.
kono kopiiki, mata ugokanai yo.
This copier's not working again.
このコピー機、また動かないよ。
sumimasen, kono kopiiki ga ugokanai n desu ga.
Excuse me, this copier isn't working.
すみません、このコピー機が動かないんですが。
Written 動かない · うごかない · 動きませんWho you say itHeard 675× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles