Let’s learn Japanese with Faye Valentine’s quote from Cowboy Bebop.
CONTENTS
Video
Faye Valentine’s Quote
Japanese: 戦いの基本を知ってる？先制攻撃よ。
Romaji: tatakai no kihon o sitteru? sensei kougeki yo.
English: You know the basics of combat? It’s a preemptive strike.
Analysis
を知ってる following a noun means “to know” something and the noun is 戦いの基本 meaning “the basics of combat”.
知ってる is the shortened version of 知っている. It consists of te-form of the verb 知る meaning “to get to know” and いる, which describes an ongoing state resulting from the earlier action. So you get to know something (知る) and the state of knowing continues (知っている) as the result. It’s the same logic as 持つ (to grab) and 持っている (to have), 壊れる (to break) and 壊れている (broken).
Here is an important tip about 知っている. The negative form of 持っている and 壊れている are respectively 持っていない (don’t have) and 壊れていない (not broken) but the negative form of 知っている is 知らない (don’t know). You will never say 知っていない.
先制攻撃 means “a preemptive strike” and the sentence ending particle よ is used when telling new information to someone. There is usually だ after a noun but it can be omitted in order to make it sound feminine, which is often used in anime.
Examples
知ってる (to know)
コンビニで知ってる人にばったり会った。
konbini de shitteru hito ni battari atta.
I ran into someone I know at the convenience store.
知ってることは全部話してください。
shitteru koto wa zenbu hanashite kudasai.
Please tell me everything you know.
日本のカレーの作り方を知ってる？
nihon no karē no tsukurikata o shitteru?
Do you know how to make Japanese curry?
The difference between 知る and わかる:
- 知る is a dynamic verb, which describes an action meaning “to get to know or get the information”. It’s a transitive verb so it takes the particle を.
- わかる is a stative verb, which itself describes a state of being. It means “to be able to understand or figure out”. It’s an intransitive verb so it takes the particle が.
✔︎ この漢字を知ってる？ – Do you know this kanji?
✔︎ この漢字がわかる？ – Can you understand this kanji?
✔︎ この人何歳か知ってる？ – Do you know how old this person is?
✔︎ この人何歳かわかる？ – Can you figure out how old this person is? (Can you guess?)
✖︎ よく考えれば知るよ – You’ll get the information if you think hard.
✔︎ よく考えればわかるよ – You’ll be able to figure it out if you think hard.
✖︎ 彼の電話番号はわかるけど、今はちょっと知らない – I can figure out his phone number, but I don’t know it now.
✔︎ 彼の電話番号は知ってるけど、今はちょっとわからない – I have (the information of) his phone number but I can’t tell you now (I need to get my address book).
✖︎ 説明を聞いても知らない – I can’t get the information even with your explanation.
✔︎ 説明を聞いてもわからない – I can’t understand even with your explanation.
Sentence Ending Particle よ in Female Speech
そうよ、私がセーラームーンよ。
sō yo, watashi ga sērā mūn yo.
That’s right, I am Sailor Moon.
そんなに焦ったらダメよ。
sonna ni asettara dame yo.
It’s not good to be in such a rush.
その髪型、すごく素敵よ。
sono kamigata sugoku suteki yo.
That hair style is very lovely.
It sounds feminine when よ is directly attached to a noun or na-adjective without だ. When it’s attached to a verb or i-adjective, it doesn’t sound feminine. e.g. おいしいよ is used both in male and female speech.
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