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Hi, everyone!
I am Yuka, a Japanese teacher.
Today's sentence is, "I have a brother."
Yes, it's an elementary sentence. The more straightforward the sentences, the more differences come.
How to say it in Japanese?
Let's guess...
Ready?
Literally translation:
An older brother exists (who belongs to me).
(私には)兄がいます。
(わたしには) あにがいます
(Watashi niwa) ani ga imasu.
(わたしには) あにがいます
(Watashi niwa) ani ga imasu.
私 I/me
には as for
兄 an older brother
が is
います exist.
What a strange!
It is a matter of our grammar system being utterly different from that of English.
Even the same Asian language, Chinese, has "have"(Oh, yes, I also speak Chinese).
We learn this sentence when we first start studying. Thus, Japanese people don't easily make a mistake regarding "exists" in this verb.
However, there is no "a brother/sister" precisely the same meaning word in Japanese.
If you have had Japanese friends or colleagues, you quickly find that they always mention his/her brother or sister is older or younger than him/her, even if no one cares about it!
It seems to be influenced by Chinese culture; even nowadays, Most Asian people care if the person is older or younger than someone.
For example, have you ever cared that your aunt is older than your mother?
In Japanese, there is a different Kanji for an older (than your mom/dad) aunt(伯母 おば) and a younger (than your mom/dad) aunt(叔母 おば) (pronunciation is the same).
By the way, Kanji is originally from China. Chinese have more severe distinct characters. A grandfather who is the father of the mother and the father of the father, every relative has a different character!
What a strange!
Thank you for reading my column; see you next time!
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