ใVใๆนใใจใVๆนๆณใใฎ้ใใฏไฝ๏ผ
whatโs the difference between ใVใๆนใ and ใVๆนๆณใ?
hi everyone! today i wanted to make a post explaining an intermediate grammar concept about the two different ways to sayย โway/methodโ with a verb in japanese! just as quick note, i wonโt be glossing most of the kanji i use in this post, so be sure to use jisho or turn on rikaikun/chan if you need help reading. without further ado, ่กใใ๏ผ
Vใๆน๏ผใใ๏ผ = โhow to Vโ
first, letโs learn how to add ใๆน to a verb:
start with plain present (dictionary) form
remove ใใพใ and add ใๆน
letโs try it with an ichidan verb (้ฃในใ) and a godan verb (ไฝใ).
้ฃในใพใ๏ผไฝใใพใ
easy, right? make sure youโre brushed up on your godan conjugation rules! now, how can we use these new forms?
first, itโs important to note that weโve transformed the verb into a noun by addingย ใๆน. that means that instead of ใ, which attaches before verbs, Vใๆน is often preceded by ใฎ.
โย ็ณ้นธ๏ผใใฃใใ/soap๏ผใไฝใๆน
โญ๏ธย ็ณ้นธ๏ผใใฃใใ/soap๏ผใฎไฝใๆน = how to make soap
้ฑๆซใฏ็ณ้นธใฎไฝใๆนใใฐใฐใฃใฆๅฐๆใใฒใฉใๆฃใใใใกใใฃใใ = this weekend so i googled how to make soap and made a huge mess of the kitchen.
in the above example, Vใๆน refers to the actual, physical manner of doing something (in this case, making soap). you can think of it like an instruction manual or a recipe.
ๆฅๆฌไบบใฎๅ้ใซ็ฎธใฎไฝฟใๆนใๆใใฆใใใฃใใ = i learnedย how to use chopsticks from my japanese friend.
ๅตใฎ่นใงๆนใใใใฃใฆใใฎ๏ผ = do you know how to boil eggs?
with ใใ verbs, ใฎใๆน is used with the verbal noun. this means ใฎ is used twice in the phrase:
โ ่ปใฎ้่ปขใๆนใใใใใชใใ
โญ๏ธ ่ปใฎ้่ปขใฎใๆนใใใใใชใใ = i donโt know how to drive a car.
pretty straightforward so far! letโs add one more thing to this topic: Vใๆนใใใ.
Vใๆนใใใ =ย โto V in a certain wayโ
this phrase is useful in describing the particular ways people perform certain actions. by using an adjective, ใใใช, or a noun + ใฎ, you can characterize their Vใๆน.
ๆ็ฐๅ
็ใฏๅณใใๆใๆนใใใใ = hayashida-sensei has a strict way of teaching.
่ชฐใซใใใใใใใชๆธใๆนใใใๆฌใ ใ = the book is written so anyone can understand it.
ๅ็ฐใใใฏไนฑๆด๏ผใใใผใ๏ผใช้่ปขใฎใๆนใใใใ = yoshida-kun has a reckless way of driving.
getting the hang of it? letโs move onto Vๆนๆณ now.
Vๆนๆณ๏ผใปใใปใ๏ผ =ย โa way to Vโ
Vๆนๆณ gets a little less literal and a little more conceptual than Vใๆน. letโs look at how to form it.
start with plain present (dictionary) form
thatโs itโeven easier than Vใๆน! in japanese, when you put a plain form verb before a noun, youโre kind of using that verb like an adjective; so this time, the whole phrase has become a noun phrase.
letโs see some examples of Vๆนๆณ:
ๆฏๆฅๅๅผทใใใใจใ่ฉฆ้จใซๅใใ๏ผใใชใใ๏ผๆนๆณใ ใจๆใฃใฆใใไบบใฏๅคใใ = many people believe studying every day is the way to prepare for exams.
ๅฐ้ฃ๏ผใใใชใ๏ผใใ้ใใๆนๆณใฏใชใๅ ดๅใใใใ = in some cases there is no way to escape hardship.
do you notice how the feeling here is lessย โinstruction manualโ and moreย โmeans to an endโ? itโs a subtle difference, but itโs there. compare these two sentences:
ใใฎๆ็ใฎ้ฃในๆนใฏไฝ๏ผใ็ฎธใง๏ผ = how do you eat this dish? with chopsticks?
ๅฅๅบทใไฟใฃใฆ๏ผใใใฃใฆ๏ผ้ฃในใๆนๆณใฏไฝ๏ผ = whatโs a way to eat healthy?
the context for each is a little different, but the nuance of ้ฃในๆน vs. ้ฃในใๆนๆณ comes across clearly. the former addresses the physical manner in which a food item is eaten (see, for example, this articleย about okonomiyaki). the latter, on the other hand, refers to the concept of eating with a goal in mind (i.e., staying healthy). in a word, the difference is this: Vใๆน implies a specific/correct way to perform an action, while Vๆนๆณ expresses a method to attain some goal. make no mistake, there is some overlap between the twoโbut there may always be a slightly different feeling that comes with each.
and thatโs that on that! just kidding, iโm sure there are way more resources out there on this topic, and itโs always a great idea to ask native speakers what they think. as always, feel free to shoot me an ask with any questions or let me know if you found any mistakes! ใ็ฒใๆง and ใพใใญ๏ผ๏ผ ๐ฎ
dictionary of intermediate japanese grammar (ๆฅๆฌ่ชๆๆณ่พๅ
ธไธญ็ด็ทจ) by seiichi makino and michio tsutsui
how to use ๆน by maggie sensei
some sentences adapted from jisho