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Japanese Euphony

Euphonic? Why?

Japanese verbs undergo some euphonic changes to link up “て” etc. Similarly when an adjective links up “ございます”, some euphonic changes will be needed. In the past papers of JLPT, such kind of questions have appeared several times. “ございます” is one of Japanese suffix to show “politeness” which is common in service industries. Nowadays some Japanese feel this kind of politeness is too grandiose （大袈裟おおげさ） for daily usage, thus becoming less popular. Anyway, it is better to have a look in case you are sitting for the JLPT. #JLPT

Euphonic? How?

The appearance of a Japanese adjective is “＊＊＊い”. We have to choose a suitable euphonic change for a particular adjective depending on the kana next to “い” (as shown below the 360° rotating kana with an arrow pointing to it).

い

If under ア, click here...

If the last kana next to い belongs to column ア，then make it change from column ア to column オ. And then remove い and add う. Finally put ございます next to it. That is grandiose form of Japanese adjecive. For example:

Example 1: 汚きたない

In this case the last kana next to い is な which belongs to column ア. With reference to the instruction above, we change from な to の. And then remove い and add う. Finally put ございます next to it. Steps are as follows:

きたない (Dict Form)
↓
きたな (Dict Form w/o い)
↓
きたの (な becomes の)
↓
+ う + ございます
↓
きたのうございます (Grandiose Form)

Example 2: ありがたい

In this case the last kana next to い is た which belongs to column ア. With reference to the instruction above, we change from た to と. And then remove い and add う. Finally put ございます next to it. Steps are as follows:

ありがたい (Dict Form)
↓
ありがた (Dict Form w/o い)
↓
ありがと (た becomes と)
↓
+ う + ございます
↓
ありがとうございます (Grandiose Form)

Quiz: How about the grandiose form of 早はやい and 目出度めでたい? What could we get if we add prefix お ?

If under イ, click here...

If the last kana next to い belongs to column イ，then make it change from column イ to contracted sound of column ウ. And then remove い and add う. Finally put ございます next to it. That is grandiose form of Japanese adjecive. For example:

Example 1: 大おおきい

In this case the last kana next to い is き which belongs to column イ. With reference to the instruction above, we change from き to きゅ. And then remove い and add う. Finally put ございます next to it. Steps are as follows:

おおきい (Dict Form)
↓
おおき (Dict Form w/o い)
↓
おおきゅ (き becomes きゅ)
↓
+ う + ございます
↓
おおきゅうございます (Grandiose Form)）

Example 2: 美味おいしい

In this case the last kana next to い is し which belongs to column イ. With reference to the instruction above, we change from し to しゅ. And then remove い and add う. Finally put ございます next to it. Steps are as follows:

おいしい (Dict Form)
↓
おいし (Dict Form w/o い)
↓
おいしゅ (し becomes しゅ)
↓
+ う + ございます
↓
おいしゅうございます (Grandiose Form)

The rest, click here...

If the last kana next to い belongs to neither column ア nor column イ，you just simply remove the last い and add う. Finally put ございます next to it. That is grandiose form of Japanese adjecive. For example:

Example 1: 寒さむい

In this case the last kana next to い is む which belongs to neither column ア nor column イ. With reference to the instruction above, we just simply remove い and add う. Finally put ございます next to it. Steps are as follows:

さむい (Dict Form)
↓
さむ (Dict Form w/o い)
↓
さむ + う + ございます
↓
さむうございます (Grandiose Form)

Example 2: 広ひろい

In this case the last kana next to い is ろ which belongs to neither column ア nor column イ. With reference to the instruction above, we just simply remove い and add う. Finally put ございます next to it. Steps are as follows:

ひろい (Dict Form)
↓
ひろ (Dict Form w/o い)
↓
ひろ + う + ございます
↓
ひろうございます (Grandiose Form)

Reference:

Dr Hsieh, Yih-Lang （謝逸朗教授） - 明解日本口語語法用言篇（文笙書局）
The NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute（NHK放送文化研究所） - 最近気になる放送用語

Choose the best answer, A, B, C or D, to the question below.

こちらのワイシャツのほうが少し＿＿＿＿ございます。

A   お高う
B   お高い
C   高いに
D   高いで

(Selected from JLPT Lv 3 {N4 Equivalent} in yr 2000)

Click here for the answer:

According to the rules mentioned above, the answer is: A

Particle Koto

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