Request Lesson : ~よう(=you)
April 3, 2012 in Grammar
「みんながわかるようにがんばって教えます！」
= Minna ga wakaru you ni ganbatte oshiemasu!
= I will do my best and teach you so that everybody can understand.
Hi everyone!
This lesson is for my Twitter/Facebook friend Brian. He is mastermind behind J Geeks! (The site is tentatively down. Hope he starts a new site soon because it was such a great site….)
He recently asked me on Facebook how to use よう(=you). I hope other people can learn from this lesson as well.
I briefly explained ように＆ような(=youni & youna) in a Mini Lesson before in past.
So first let’s review then we’ll study some of the other usages of よう(=you) today’s lesson.
Are we ready?
***************************
ような(=youna) + noun
★A (noun/ person) + の(=no) + ような(=no you na) + B (noun / person)
= B (noun/ person) like A (noun / person)
Ex. マギーのような先生= Maggie no you na sensei = a teacher like Maggie
Ex. 夢のような生活= yume no you na seikatsu = a dreamy life
Ex. 嘘のような話= uso no you na hanashi = an almost unbelievable story
Ex. そこはまるでおとぎ話のような世界だった。
= Soko wa marude otogibanashi no youna sekai datta.
= It was the world which looked something out of a fairy tale.
Note : まるで(=marude) is often used with よう(=you) to add the meaning of “just“”as if“
★A (adjective / verb) + ような(=you na) + B (noun / person)
= B (noun/person) which looks /seems (like) A
Ex. 疲れたような顔をしている
= tsukareta you na kao wo shiteiru.
= to have a tired face
Ex. 気が遠くなるような仕事
= Kiga tooku naru youna shigoto
= mind-boggling work/assignment
Ex. マギーはまるで誰かに恋をしたような目をしていた。
= Maggie wa marude dareka ni koi wo shita you na me wo shiteita.
= Maggie had the look in her eyes of someone who had fallen love with someone.
Ex. 彼は私が想像していたような人ではなかった。
= Kare wa watashi ga souzou shiteita you na hito dewa nakatta.
= He was not who I had imagined he would be.
Ex. 彼女も一緒に来たいような顔をしていた。
= Kanojo mo issho ni kitai you na kao wo shiteita.
= She looked like she wanted to come with me.
Ex. マギーは、今日、なんか忙しいようなことを言っていたよ。
= Maggie wa kyou, nanka isogashii youna koto wo itte itayo.
= Maggie said something like she was busy today.
= Kyonen no youna shippai wa shitakunai.
= I don’t want to make the mistakes that I made last year.
= Tairyoku wa juunen mae no you na wake ni wa ikanai.
= My physical strength is not as good as it was 10 years ago.
〜のように(=no youni) ＋ verb★A (noun/ person) + の(=no) + ように(=no you ni) + verb
Ex. マギーのように教える
= Maggie no you ni oshieru
= to teach like Maggie
Ex. 恋愛は映画のようにはうまくいかない。
= Renai wa eiga no you niwa umaku ikanai.
= Relationships don’t work out like they do in the movies.
= Whenever I talk to him, I feel like he is criticizing me.
★Clause (Subject A+ verb) + ように(=no you ni) + to do something
= to do something as A does/did
=Maggie sensei ga itta you ni motto kanji no benkyou wo sureba yokatta.
= I should have listened to Maggie Sensei and studied more kanji.
**********************************************************************
Now let’s learn other usages of よう (= you) besides the meaning of “as/like” today.
1) ように (= youni) = to do something ~ in order to do ~ / so that ~ / in such a way ~
(to intend to make things work as you hope)
★verb (→the result you hope, your goal) ように(= youni) + verb (what to do/what you did/ to hope, to wish)
Negative form :
verb negative form = ~ない(=~nai) (the result you want to avoid) + ように(=nai youni)+ verb (what to do/what you did/ to hope, to wish)
Ex. もっとわかるように話してください。
= Motto wakarru you ni hanashite kudasai.
= Please talk more clearly so that I can understand you.
Ex. マギー先生に怒られないように宿題をしないと…
= Maggie sensei ni okorarenai you ni shukudai wo shinaito…
= I have to do my homework so that Maggie Sensei won’t get mad at me.
Ex. 試験に合格するようにがんばってきたのに….
= Shiken ni goukaku suru you ni ganbatte kitanoni…
= I was working so hard in order to pass the exam but…
Ex. 明日は、遅刻しないように早く起きよう。
= Ashita wa chikoku shinai you ni hayaku okiyou.
= I don’t want to be late tomorrow so I’m going to get up early.
Ex. 夜、安心して歩けるように街灯を増やして欲しい。
= Yoru anshin shite arukeru you ni gaitou wo fuyashite hoshii.
= I hope they increase the number of street lights so that we feel safe walking on the street at night
Ex. 将来困らないように貯金をしなくてはいけない。
= Shourai komaranai you ni chokin wo shinakute wa ikenai.
= I have to save money for a rainy day.
★When you wish for something :
You often omit the verb such as 祈っています（= inotte imasu ）= to pray or 願っています (=negatte imasu.)= to hope/to wish and end it with ように (= you ni)
Ex. 父の病気が早く治りますように。
= Chichi no byouki ga hayaku naorimasu you ni.
= I hope my father gets well soon.
Ex. 明日がいいお天気になりますように。
= Ahita ga ii otenki ni narimasu you ni.
= Hope the weather is nice tomorrow.
Ex. いい一年でありますように。
= Ii ichinen de arimasu you ni.
= I hope this new year will be a good one.
Ex. これ以上、災害が広がりませんように
= Kore ijou saigai ga hirogaranaimasen youni.
= I hope the disaster area won’t spread.
★When you warn someone to do something or give someone an order.
(Note :Sometimes you don’t finish the sentence and leave the sentence with ように(=youni).)
Ex. 帰ってくるまでに仕事を終えておくように（して下さい。*/ しなさい。）
= Kaette kurumade ni shigoto wo oete oku you ni (shite kudasai/ shinasai)!
=(*Please) Finish the work by the time I come back.
Ex. 犬が逃げないように門を閉めておいて(ね)。
= Inu ga nigenai you ni mon wo shimete oite (ne).
= Please close the gate so that the dog won’t escape.
Ex. ひったくりにあわないように気をつけて(ね)。
= Hittakuri ni awanai you ni kiwotukete (ne).
= Watch out for purse snatchers. (Be careful not your purse get snatched.)
Ex. 風邪をひかないように（ね)。
= Kaze wo hikanai youni (ne)
= Don’t catch a cold.
(Note: ね(=ne) ending adds friendliness and softness. It is mostly used by women but some men do use this suffix.)
Ex. マギーに見つからないように。
= Maggie ni mitsukaranai you ni
= Be careful not to be seen/spotted by Maggie.
Ex. 車は危ないからバスでここまで来るように言われました。
= Kuruma wa abunai kara basu de kokomade kuru you ni iwaremashita.
= I was told to come here by bus because driving car is dangerous.
Ex. 塩と砂糖を間違えないように(して下さい。)
= Shio to satou wo machigaenai you ni (shite kudasai).
= (Please) Do not mistake salt for sugar.
Ex. 飲み過ぎないように(気をつけて(ね)。）
= Nomisuginai you ni (ki wo tsukete (ne))
= Don’t drink too much!
Ex. 風邪をひかないように(気をつけて(ね)。）
= Kaze wo hikanai you (ki wo tsukete ne)
= Be careful not to catch a cold.
Ex. まだ熱いから触らないように（して下さい。）
= Mada atsui kara sawaranai you ni (shite kudasai.)
= It’s still hot so do not touch it.
Ex. ２、３日安静にしているように（してください。*）
= Ni san nichi ansei ni shiteiru you ni (shite kudasai.*)
= (Please*) Keep quiet in bed for a couple of days.
２）ようになる(= you ni naru) = to become~ , it has come to the point, to grow, finally to be able to do something, to be available
(It implies gradual change. The result could be either positive or negative)
Ex. とうとう運転できるようになりました。
= Toutou unten dekiru you ni narimashita.
= I am finally able to drive a car.
Ex.３０歳になってやっと親の気持がわかるようになった。
= Sanjussai ni natte yatto oya no kimochi ga wakaru you ni natta.
= Now that I am 30 years old, I have finally come to understand my parents feelings.
Ex. 最近、納豆が美味しいと思えるようになった。
= Saikin nattou ga oishii to omoeru you ni natta.
= I have come to like Natto recently.
Ex. いつになったら日本語がきちんと話せるようになるんだろう。
= Itsu ni nattara nihongo ga kichin to hanaseru you ni narun darou.
= I wonder when I will I be able to speak Japanese properly.
Ex. 日本語のニュースが理解できるようになりたい。
= Nihongo no nyuusu ga rikai dekiru you ni naritai
= I would like to be albe to understand the news in Japanese.
Ex. 彼女に好かれるようになりたい。
= Kanojo ni sukareru you ninaritai.
= I want her to like me.
3) ようだ(=youda) / ようです(= you desu)
= to be like, it looks like, to look as if, it seems like, it appears to be,
It is used to express likelihood of something / some events
Ex. その件については彼が上司に直接話したようだ。
= Sono ken ni tsuite wa kare ga joushi ni chokusetsu hanashita you da.
= It seems like he told his boss about the matter directly.
Ex. あそこで火事があったようだ。
= Asoko de kaji ga atta youda.
= It seems like there was a fire over there.
Ex.ガソリンが来月から値上がりするようだ。
= Gasorin ga raigetsu kara neagari suru you da.
= It looks like the price of gas will go up from next month.
Ex. 彼はかなり緊張しているようだ。
= Kare wa kanari kinchou shiteiru youda.
= He looks very nervous.
Ex. 母は私が大学に受かったのが本当にうれしいようだった。
= Haha wa watashi ga daigaku ni ukatta no ga hontou ni ureshii you datta.
= My mother looked really happy that I passed the university.
Note : You can also use
みたい(=mitai) instead of よう(=you) above.
みたい(=mitai) sounds more casual.
There are also similar words, ~らしい(=~rashii) and 〜そう(=sou)
I won’t refer to the difference in this lesson but if you are interested in these, go check my lessons :
～らしい(=rashii) Go check 
らしい lesson
~そう(= ~ sou) Go check そう lesson
マギー先生より= Maggie Sensei yori = From Maggie Sensei
どうですか？わかったような気がしてきましたか？
= Doudesuka? Wakatta youna kiga shite kimashitaka?
= How’s that? Do you feel like you understand?
しっかり理解できるようにもう一度レッスンを読んでね。
=Shikkari rikai dekiru you ni mouichido ressun wo yondene.
= Please read the lesson one more time so that you will be able to understand fully.
Thank you for this lesson, MaggieSensei.
もっと分かるようになりました!
@majoringram3636
よかった！そう言ってもらえるとうれしいです！！！ !Vsain!
Thank you for making this lesson! ~よう is definitely a weak area for me. I can usually understand it when I read it, but for whatever reason, I’m still not used to using it.
Let’s see…
Did I say this right?
最近もう少し日本語の音楽を分かれるようになります。たぶん、もっと日本語の歌うをよく聞くおかげですね。
Lately, I’ve been able to understand a little more Japanese music; probably thanks to listening to more Japanaese songs.
@Kohaku
There are many ways to use よう.
You have to master them one by one. あとは練習（れんしゅう）！！
Good you tried the hard sentence.
~を分かれるようになります。
→~がもう少しわかるようになってきました。
日本語の歌うをよく聞くおかげですね。
→日本語の歌を聞いているおかげですね。
すごく長いでしたが、ずっと役に立ちました。
@Shiro
ほんとね、長かったね〜！お疲れ様でした！
Maggie sensei,
I try to work with Japanese restaurant owners in USA.
How do I address them in Japanese?
How do I explain myself?
For example, I am an independent insurance broker.
ぼくは保険のやるひとじゃない？
I am looking for the lowest premium for customers.
Thanks!
Glenn
@glenn
an independent insurance broker is 保険仲立人(=hoken nakadachinin) or 保険ブローカー(=hoken broukaa) in Japanese.
So if you want to introduce yourself, you say “私は保険仲立人or 保険ブローカーです. = (Watashi wa hoken nakadachinin / hoken broukaa desu.)
I will help you find the lowest premium for customers = お客様に一番安い保険料をお探しします。 = Okyaku sama ni ichiban yasui hokenryou wo osagashi shimasu.
I understand.
How do I say boss in Japanese?
When I walk into a Japanese restaurant, I want to ask, “Is your boss available?”
社長いる？
親分いる？
@glenn
OK, first いる→いらっしゃいますか？ unless you know the boss very well or he/she is your close friend.
You can also say ~とお話できますか？= ~ to ohanashi dekimasu ka? = May I talk to ~?
〜はどちらですか？= the literal translation is “Where is ~?” or “Which one is ~”?
Never use the term 親分. It is for Mafia organizations.
社長 means president. Although it is not necessary, many people add さん to show their courtesy. →社長さん
If you want to talk to a manager of the place, 店長=tenchou
Ex. 店長さんとお話できますか？
Ex. 店長さんいらっしゃいますか？
Ex. 店長さんはどちらですか？
Hope this helps.
Also you you use Twitter, you can ask this type of question there,too.
全部分りました.
Now I don’t have any excuse not to learn Japanese.
@glenn
Great! Ganbatte!!
Sensei..I don’t quite get this sentence.
Does it mean, “It’s not like Dad’s gonna worry that much.”??
Ex. お父さんが心配しているようなことにはなりません。
= Otousan ga shinpai shiteiru youna koto ni wa narimasen.
= It won’t be the way Daddy worries it will be.
@Top
Oh, you are right. Why did I translated that way….OK, How about,
↓
Dad, what you’re worried about will never happen.
Makes sense?
oh thank you much sensei…your explanation has cleared it all up^^ I guess I’m always confused with ことになる^^
@Top
よかった！！
You are right. ~ことになる might be difficult. In this case,~ことになる means “to happen”has different meaning “to happen/ to turn out be / to become / to ended up”
Related lesson : ~になる
Thank you for studying with this site!
thank you so much sensei for the link and this website. I’m trying to catch up as much as I can^^
先生こんにちは!
thanks for the nice detailed lesson. however, i dont really get this sentence . もっとわかるように話してください
shouldn’t it mean: if you want me to understand more, please talk? since the motto is in front.
oh and i read from my notes, for ようにone of the example states: 妹は人形のようにかわいいです。shouldn’t it be ような since it has nothing to do with “to do something like”?
＠melissa
Ah, I see.
もっとわかるように話してください。
This わかるように is a bit tricky. わかるように itself means “easily, clearly” like “わかりやすく”
So the direct translation is “Please talk to me more clearly so that I understand you more (better). But since it is redundant, I translated just the way I did in the lesson.
Your sentence
“if you want me to understand more, please talk? ”
will be もしもっとわかってもらいたかったら話してください。It doesn’t mean the same.
The second question :
妹は人形のようにかわいいです。
You can’t change ように to ような here.
But if you can say
妹は人形のような女の子です。
As I explained in the lesson, ような comes before a noun
ような+ noun (女の子）
So possible to say
人形のようなかわいさだ
because かわいさ is a noun (=cuteness)
If this sentence is
もっとわかるようにゆっくり話してください。
You can translate it
Please speak more slowly so that I can understand you more.
oh i see i think i get it now. thank you so much sensei!(:
@melissa
Good! どういたしまして！
Thanks for great lesson ! Your lessons really help me studying japanese.
Like @kohaku, this ~よう form is little bit difficult for me.
Are there any differences between ~ようになります and ~ようになっています ?
Ex :
雨がすぐに止めるようになります。
雨がすぐに止めるようになっています。
Any difference of meaning at those sentences?
Thank you in advance.
@hariajie
Hello, hariajie! Welcome to our site!
First your example sentences, 雨 won’t work because you can’t predict if rain will stop or not.
(A little correction: 雨が止む＝やむ not 止める）
Now ようになります is talking about the future, “will be, will become”. and ようになっています is Future Perfect, “will have been ~ ”
マギー先生のサイトで毎日勉強すると…..
= If you study with Maggie Sensei’s site everyday
a) １年後には日本語がペラペラに話せるようになります。
b) １年後には日本語がペラペラに話せるようになっています。
We may translate them both in the same say but there is a slight difference as follows.
a) You will be able to speak Japanese fluently in a year.
b) You will have been able to speak Japanese fluently in a year. You are supposed to be able to speak Japanese fluently in a year.
Also ようになっています is used when you describe how things are supposed to work or be.
電気は自然に消えるようになっています。
= The lights should automatically turn off. / The lights are supposed to turn off automatically.
なるほど。
今分かるようになりました。
教えてくれてありがとうございます。
@hariajie
どういたしまして！
Is “you” often used without “ni”?
A japanese person sent me this message before surgery, with “you” but without ni or na:
“umaku iku you inotte imasu.”
@astro
Hello astro!
Yes, we often omit particles in casual Japanese including よう”に”
うまくいくよう（に）祈っています。
元気になるよう（に）願っています。
試験に受かるよう（に）がんばっています。
But you can’t always omit に
It would sound strange if you omit に for example,
x うまくいきますよう！→うまくいきますように！
X マギー先生のようなりたい。→マギー先生のようになりたい。
Could you use this form to say:
Like me, my brother also likes basketball
or does it not work that way?
If so would it be:
私のように兄もバスケットボールが好きです。
@arekkusu
Hi Arrekkusu!
Like me, my brother also likes basketball
私のように兄もバスケットボールが好きです。
Yes, that works!
You can also switch the word order
兄も私のようにバスケットボールが好きです。
My brother likes basketball like me/I do.
Ahh kks sweet
Thanks for clarifying
@arekkusu
You’re welcome! どういたしまして！
今日はマギー先生お元気でしたかこれはまた素晴らしいレッスンでしたね〜いつも有難う御座いました!
“よう”という言葉について質問があるんですけど（これから日本語で続けるのは大変になりそうから英語でやります ^^）
I recently came across a sentence as i was randomly googling a japanese verb.
人間は自分が考えるような人間になる
it appears to be the translation of an Earl Nightingale phrase
“we become what we think about”
The thing is, i didnt get the same meaning at all at first from the japanese sentence, i rather understood it as “We(or humans) become self thinking (become like humans thinking by themeselves)
maybe it doesnt make as much sense but thats how i understood it, can sensei please tell me where did i go wrong, its the same with one of your sentences
お父さんが心配しているようなことにはなりません
i understood it as “There is no way my father would become worried”
I think the commun point is that the ような following a verb is used to compare something with the verb’s object (if it has one) rather than the action itself, should i take this as a rule or am i misunderstanding something here.
Thanks for your time!
＠ライアン
おはよう！ライアン！！
Your questions are great!
1) 人間は自分が考えるような人間になる
Ah I see your confusion. If you want to say
“We(or humans) become self thinking (become like humans thinking by themselves)
You have to say
人間は自分で考える(or 考えられる）ような人間になる
See the difference?
自分が考えるような人間 = a person what you think you are going to be
自分で考える（o 考えられる）人間= a person who can think by himself.
2) お父さんが心配しているようなことにはなりません
Again if you want to say
“There is no way my father would become worried”
You have to say
お父さんが心配するようなことにはなりません。or 心配してしまうようなことになりません。(you have to use the future tense.)
So by just changing some particles or verb form, it can be what you meant.
成程!分かってきたような気がします!有難う ^^
on a side note, if i may, i’d like to add a request of my own to the long request lessons list, i apologize in advance if it was already done before (can’t seem to find it after looking around for a bit)
its about the correct use of the Volitional (Presumptive)form, there are a couple of points that tend to confuse me:
- Is the regular conjugation, for example (行く => 行こう) only used with i/we (as in let’s, shall) and never with other subjetcs? (i know about the volitional+とする/と思う that can mean plan or feel like doing something)
- Are だろう and だろ endings somewhat the same?
- when using だろう/でしょう do we allways express doubt? or does it simply implie a future tense
Thanks for your time, i hope you can someday get around to doing this lesson =)
Best of wishes.
@ライアン
OK, let me see if I can answer your question here…
1) 〜よう as in “let’s, shall”: When you ask someone to do some activity together and end the sentence with よう? Yes, you have to include yourself in a subject, “I” or “We” unless you quote someone’s speech.
彼が明日映画に行こうと誘ってきた。
= He asked me to go see a movie tomorrow.
彼女がもうこの関係はやめようと言った。
= She told me that she wanted to end our relationship.
2) If you want to make an assumption sentence “I think something/someone will ~ ” then you use だろう not だろ
明日は雨だろう=I think it is going to rain tomorrow.
だろ is a rough male speech suffix.
そう言っただろ！= I told you so! (rough)
明日は雨だろ？ = I think it will rain tomorrow. Am I right? (rough)
明日は雨だろ！= I am telling you, it is going to rain tomorrow!(rough)
3) You can use でしょう、だろう as a simple future but it involves some degree of doubts.
But if you are 100 pct sure you will use an assertive form instead of だろう・でしょう
c) 彼は来年は日本に来るでしょう・来年は日本に来るだろう
He will (probably) come to Japan next year. / He may come to Japan next year.
d) 彼は来年日本に来ます。来る
He will come to Japan next year.
You may translate both sentences as “He will come to Japan next year” but d) shows more possibility.
わざわざ僕くの質問を答たえてくれて言葉にできない程感謝しています
やっぱりマギ-先生は最高！！
マギ-先生ばんざあああい ^^！！
御蔭様で今日もすっごく勉強になった！
Best of wishes.
@ライアン
そう聞いて嬉しいです。よかった！！
そろそろライアンも名前を”初学者”から”勉強家のライアン”に変えましょうか？