Lesson 43
Base 3 + tame ni
When you hear tame, it usually means "for the purpose of; in order to," and is often followed by the optional ni. Take a look at these:
- Hiroko wa mensetsu o ukeru tame ni Osaka ni ikimasu. (Hiroko's going to Osaka for an interview.)
- Nyuujouken o kau tame ni daibun machimashita. (I had to wait quite a while to buy tickets.)
- Nihongo o benkyou suru tame ni atarashii jisho o kaimashita. (I bought a new dictionary to study Japanese.)
Tame is a very handy word, and can also be used in various expressions with nouns. Here are some popular ones:
- Kimi no tame ni shimashita yo! (I did it for you! [very familiar])
- Kore wa kimi no tame ni. (This is for you. [plain, very familiar])
- Kore wa okaa-san no tame desu.1 (This is for you, Mom.)
- Hai, Hawaii ni iku tame no koukuuken desu.2 (Okay, here are your air tickets to Hawaii.)
- Kore wa nan no tame no kaigi? (What is the purpose of this meeting?)
- Nan no tame no dougu? (What's this tool for? [very plain])
Tame is used a lot. Good luck with it!
Word Check
mensetsu: an interview
ukeru: to get, receive; have (an interview); take (an exam)
nyuujouken: an addmission ticket
daibun: quite (a lot; a while)
koukuuken: an air ticket
nan/nani: what
kaigi: a meeting
dougu: a tool
(Verbs are shown in their plain form.)
Notes
1. Ni is always omitted when the polite ending desu is used after tame.
2. Use no when putting a noun/object after tame. That indicates the thing which has the purpose of something intended. In this example, it points to the tickets which will be used to go to Hawaii.
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