Japanese course

Lesson 126 of 240

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What I did today in Japanese

Leo ducks into Kissa Hotaru after a stop at the konbini. Masako asks what he did today, and he walks through his morning.

Breakfast is done. Lunch is not. Goro's blend coffee sits full in the booth, as usual.

You will say what you did, and what you have not done yet.

Use the past form for what is done, and the not-yet form for what is still waiting.

By the end of this lesson

Say what you did today and what you have not done yet.

  • 今日(きょう)は何(なん)をしましたか。What did you do today?
  • 朝(あさ)ごはんを食(た)べました。I ate breakfast.
  • コンビニに行(い)きました。I went to the convenience store.
  • まだ昼(ひる)ごはんを食(た)べていません。I haven't had lunch yet.
  • 買(か)い物(もの)をしました。I did some shopping.
  • もう食(た)べましたか。Have you eaten yet?

Scene — noon at the kissa

It is just after noon on a Yanaka lane. Leo pushes open the kissa door with a small konbini bag in his hand.

Masako looks up from the wooden counter. In the corner booth, Goro's blend coffee sits untouched beside thick toast.

Leo enters the kissa with a small konbini bag as Masako looks up and Goro sits beside untouched coffee and toast.

Learn — what you did today

These six lines let you recap your morning: what you already did, and what you have not done yet.

Use ました when it is finished. Use まだ and ていません when it is still waiting.

  1. Masako turns toward Leo in the doorway and makes a questioning gesture.

    今日(きょう)は何(なん)をしましたか。

    What did you do today?

    When to use it: Ask this when you want someone's recap of the day.

    ました marks a finished past act in this question.

  2. Leo eats breakfast at his small apartment table in the morning.

    朝(あさ)ごはんを食(た)べました。

    I ate breakfast.

    When to use it: Use this to say breakfast is already done.

    を marks breakfast as the thing you ate.

    Say it: Give ん in ごはん its own beat.

  3. Leo walks empty-handed along a Yanaka lane toward a corner convenience store.

    コンビニに行(い)きました。

    I went to the convenience store.

    When to use it: Use this after a trip to the convenience store.

    に marks the place you went.

  4. Leo sits at a kissa table with an empty plate and his unopened konbini bag, still without lunch.

    まだ昼(ひる)ごはんを食(た)べていません。

    I haven't had lunch yet.

    When to use it: Use this when lunch still has not happened.

    まだ plus ていません means the action is not done yet.

  5. Leo takes a boxed meal from a convenience-store fridge while shopping.

    買(か)い物(もの)をしました。

    I did some shopping.

    When to use it: Use this after you have already done some shopping.

    しました is the past of します for this activity.

  6. Goro sits beside his untouched blend coffee and thick toast as Masako turns toward the booth.

    もう食(た)べましたか。

    Have you eaten yet?

    When to use it: Ask this to check if someone has already eaten.

    もう asks if the action is already done.

    Say it: Hold もう longer than も, or the meaning changes.

Story — lunch can wait

Leo tells Masako about his morning at the kissa. Highlighted phrases are the new lines.

Turn on Show English if you want a gloss.

  1. Noon light on the counter. Leo comes in with a small konbini bag.
  2. Leoこんにちは。Hello.
  3. Masako今日(きょう)は何(なん)をしましたか。What did you do today?
  4. Leo朝(あさ)ごはんを食(た)べました。I ate breakfast.
  5. Masakoなるほど。That makes sense.
  6. Leoコンビニに行(い)きました。I went to the convenience store.
  7. He sets the bag on the wooden counter.
  8. Leo買(か)い物(もの)をしました。I did some shopping.
  9. Masakoもう食(た)べましたか。Have you eaten yet?
  10. Leoまだ昼(ひる)ごはんを食(た)べていません。I haven't had lunch yet.
  11. Goro glances at his full blend coffee.
  12. Goroまだ終(お)わっていません。I'm not finished yet.
  13. Masakoコーヒー、まだですね。The coffee is still waiting, I see.

Practice — past or not yet

Eleven short tasks wait in this round. You will listen, match, fill a gap, and build a line.

Each one is small, so you move on quickly.

0 of 11 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    Japanese

    朝(あさ)ごはんを食(た)べました。Drop the English here
    コンビニに行(い)きました。Drop the English here
    買(か)い物(もの)をしました。Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its Japanese, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What do you say?

    You walk into Kissa Hotaru at two in the afternoon. Greet Masako at the counter.

  4. Fill the gap

    I went to the convenience store.

    コンビニ____行(い)きました。

  5. True or false?

    This means you have not finished yet.

  6. Pick the reply

    Masako says:

    もう食(た)べましたか。

    Have you eaten yet?

    And you reply with:

  7. Build the line

    I did some shopping.

    。

    Tap the words in order.

  8. Swap the word

    Breakfast is already done this morning. Fix the verb.

    朝(あさ)ごはんを____。

  9. Find the mistake

  10. Which one doesn’t belong?

  11. Fill the gap

    Have you eaten yet?

    ____食(た)べましたか。

Say it — your turn to speak

You are Leo after the konbini stop. When the cue is yours, tap the microphone and say the line.

Tap play first if you want to hear it. The recording stays on this device.

  1. Masako今日(きょう)は何(なん)をしましたか。What did you do today?
  2. Leo (you)Tell her you already had breakfast.

    朝(あさ)ごはんを食(た)べました。

    I ate breakfast.

0 of 4 said

Recap — what you can say now

JapaneseEnglish
今日(きょう)は何(なん)をしましたか。What did you do today?
朝(あさ)ごはんを食(た)べました。I ate breakfast.
コンビニに行(い)きました。I went to the convenience store.
まだ昼(ひる)ごはんを食(た)べていません。I haven't had lunch yet.
買(か)い物(もの)をしました。I did some shopping.
もう食(た)べましたか。Have you eaten yet?
Next: lesson 127Have you ever

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Keep these past and not-yet lines in your pocket. Open the Yak Cards for this lesson and run them on the train.

A short Yak Cards round after lunch keeps ました and まだ ready.

Open Yak Cards