Skip to main content
All Japanese activities

Activities: "How to give commands in Japanese?"

By: Masaru Mito

Activity 1:

Ryū is a 17-year-old boy who has a younger brother and sister. He is currently on summer break, but he has to take care of them because both of his parents are at work during the day. Below are situations he encounters in his daily life.
Fill in his lines to his siblings using the regular or negative command forms. You can use the verb provided for each situation.

  1. Situation: Ryū's younger brother is about to play video games without finishing his homework.

    Verb: する transcribed surumeaning to do

    Ryū:
    ゲームの前に宿題 ！
    Transcription: Gēmu no mae ni shukudai ... !
    Translation: Do your homework before playing video games!

  2. Situation: Ryū's younger sister left a mess around after playing with toys in the living room.

    Verb: かたづける transcribed katazukerumeaning to tidy up

    Ryū:
    よ！
    Transcription: ... yo!
    Translation: Tidy up!

  3. Situation: Ryū's siblings are fighting over a toy.

    Verb: やめる transcribed yamerumeaning to stop

    Ryū:
    けんかは！
    Transcription: Kenka wa ... !
    Translation: Stop fighting!

  4. Situation: Ryū's younger brother was not being nice to his sister. Ryū needs to talk to him in person.

    Verb: 来る transcribed kurumeaning to come

    Ryū:
    おい、ちょっとこっち！
    Transcription: Oi, chotto ... !
    Translation: Hey! Come over here!

  5. Situation: Ryū's younger brother came back from the park. He is trying to eat without washing his hands.

    Verb: あらう transcribed araumeaning to wash

    Ryū:
    食べる前に手をよ！
    Transcription: Taberu mae ni te o ... yo!
    Translation: Wash your hands before eating.

  6. Situation: Ryū's younger brother is trying to use a knife to cut vegetables, although it's too early for him.

    Verb: 使う transcribed tsukaumeaning to use

    Ryū:
    危ないから！
    Transcription: Abunai kara ... !
    Translation: Don’t use it because it’s dangerous!

  7. Situation: Ryū's younger brother is trying to snitch food for dinner.

    Verb: 食べる transcribed taberumeaning to eat

    Ryū:
    まだよ！
    Transcription: Mada ... yo!
    Translation: Don’t eat (it) yet!

  8. Situation: Ryū's younger sister left the water running after washing her hands.

    Verb: 無駄遣いする transcribed mudazukai surumeaning to waste

    Ryū:
    水を！
    Transcription: mizu o ... !
    Translation: Don’t waste water!

Activity 2:

Maki is a middle school teacher and has 20 students in her class. However, some of them are troublemakers. Below are situations she encounters in her daily life. Please fill in her lines to her students using 〜なさい transcribed nasai. You can use the word bank provided for each situation.

  1. Situation: Some students haven’t submitted their homework assigned last week.

    Verb: 出す transcribed dasumeaning to submit

    Maki:
    早く宿題を！
    Transcription: Hayaku shukudai o ... !
    Translation: Submit your homework quickly!

  2. Situation: A few students were fooling around and broke another student’s pen.

    Verb: 謝る transcribed ayamarumeaning to apologize

    Maki:
    ！
    Transcription: ... !
    Translation: Apologize!

  3. Situation: Some students haven’t submitted their homework assigned last week.

    Verb: 来る transcribed kurumeaning to come

    Maki:
    後で職員室に！
    Transcription: Ato de shokuinshitsu ni ... !
    Translation: Come to the faculty room later!

  4. Situation: During class, a student is constantly facing backwards and talking with their friend.

    Verb: 見る transcribed mirumeaning to look

    Maki:
    前を！
    Transcription: Mae o ... !
    Translation: Look forward!

Activity 3:

Lastly, let's explore other situations where the command form can be used. Read the following scenarios and fill in the blanks using the regular or negative command forms. You may refer to the word bank provided for each situation.

  1. Situation: Mr. Tanaka is at work when suddenly an earthquake occurs. Everyone is in a panic and doesn’t know what to do. As their boss, he needs to instruct everyone to evacuate immediately.

    Verb: 避難する transcribed hinan surumeaning to evacuate

    Maki:
    安全な所へ！
    Transcription: Anzen na tokoro e ... !
    Translation: Evacuate to a safe place!

  2. Situation: Mr. Tanaka is at a soccer game. The team he's supporting is losing, but he wants to encourage them not to give up.

    Verb: 諦める transcribed akiramerumeaning to give up

    Maki:
    ！
    Transcription: ... !
    Translation: Don’t give up!

  3. Situation: Mr. Tanaka lives in a city that attracts a lot of tourists throughout the year. They frequently park their cars near his house, which makes it difficult for him to get out. He wants to put up a notice to ask them not to park their cars.

    Verb: 停める transcribed tomerumeaning to park

    Maki:
    ここに車を！
    Transcription: Koko ni kuruma o ... !
    Translation: Don’t park your car here.

  4. Situation: Mr. Tanaka's coworker asks him about the deadline for a report. Tanaka remembers that his boss said, "Show it to me by tomorrow." He wants to tell this to his coworker.

    Verb: 見せる transcribed miserumeaning to show

    Maki:
    部長が明日までにっておっしゃっていましたよ。
    Transcription: Buchō ga ashita made ni ... tte osshatte imashita yo.
    Translation: The boss said to show (the report) by tomorrow.