Don Don どんどん

The word “don don” is another word that describes state or conditions in Japanese, but it is such a super versatile word that we use on many occasions. So, I figured why not cover this in today’s lesson. Once you are immersed in Japanese language, you will hear this word sooner or later. 

Don Don (どんどん，ドンドン) – loud noise (such as, knocking the door, beating a drum, and pounding the table loudly) bouncy noise, steadily, fast, away, rapidly, gradually, go ahead, etc. 

My puppy is quickly growing.

Uchi no koinu wa don don seichō shiteimasu.

うちの　こいぬは　どんどん　せいちょう　しています。

(うちの　子犬は　どんどん　成長　しています。)

Go ahead and keep walking (rapidly).

Don don aruite mae ni susun de.

どんどん　あるいて　まえに　すすんで。

（どんどん　歩いて　前に　進んで。）

Fire away!

Don don utte!

どんどん　うって！

（どんどん　撃って！）

Someone is knocking at the door loudly.

Dareka ga don don doa o tataite iruyo.

だれかが　どんどん　どあを　たたいているよ。

(誰かが　どんどん　ドアを　叩いているよ。)

Feel free to ask me more questions.

Don don shitsumon shite kudasaine.

どんどん　しつもん　して　くださいね。

(どんどん　質問して　下さいね。)

As I get to know you, I like you more and more.

Anata o shiru yō ni natte, don don anataga sukini narimasu.

あなたを　知るようになって　どんどん　あなたが　すきに　なります。

(貴方を　知るように　なって　どんどん　貴方が　好きに　なります。)

Study on and on. You will have an exam next week.

Don don benkyō shitene. Raishu sheiken aru yone.

どんどん　べんきょう　してね。　らいしゅう　しけん　あるよね。

(どんどん　勉強してね。来週　試験　あるよね)

Eat more (and more).

Don don tabetene.

どんどん　たべてね。

（どんどん　食べてね）

Nani ka and Nani ga

なにか (nanika)
something, anything 

なにが (naniga)
what

なにが ほしいですか?
Naniga hoshii desuka?
What do you want?

なにか ほしいですか?
Nanika hoshii desuka?
Do you want anything?

Nani mo （なにも）and Nan demo なん でも

なにも (NANIMO) is only used in a negative sentence and なんでも (NANDEMO) is used in a positive sentence.

Let me give you some example sentences.

Using なにも (nothing/anything)
1) きょうは なにも たべませんでした。(KYOU WA NANIMO TABEMASEN DESHITA) = I didn't eat anything today.

2) れいぞうこに　なにも　ありません。(REIZOUKO NI NANIMO ARIMASEN) = There is nothing in the refrigerator.

3) なにも いりません。(NANIMO IRIMASEN) = I don't need anything.

Using なんでも (anything/everything)
1) わたしは　なんでも　たべます。(WATASHI WA NANDEMO TABEMASU) = I eat anything/everything.

2) れいぞうこに　なんでも　ありますよ。(REIZOUKO NI NANDEMO ARIMASUYO) = I have everything/many things in the refrigetator.

3) プレゼントは　なんでも　いいです。(PUREZENTO WA NANDEMO II DESU) = As for presents, anything is good for me.

When it comes to いつも (ITSUMO/always) and いつでも (ITSUDEMO/anytime), they are both used in a positive sentence.  It may be easier to understand the difference between these two words since the English meaning don't change depending on the context.

Using いつも (always)
１）わたしは　いつも　うちで　ばんごはんを　たべます。(WATASHI WA ITSUMO UCHI DE BANGOHAN O TABEMASU) = I always eat dinner at home.

2) たなかさんは　いつも　でんわしています。(TANAKA SAN WA ITSUMO DENWASHITEIMASU) = Mr. Tanaka is always talking on a phone.

Using いつでも (anytime)

１）いつでも　うちに　きてください。(ITSUDEMO UCHI NI KITEKUDASAI) = Please come to my house anytime.

2) わたしは　いつでも　どこでも　ねられます。(WATASHI WA ITSUDEMO DOKODEMO NERAREMASU) = I can sleep anytime anywhere.

Dono どの

There are two people (A san and B san) talking in a parking lot. A san points his car out and says B san that that is his car. But B san still doesn't know which one is his car. So B san asks him back and A san points his car out and says again.
I am also going to add one more sentence in each Example Q&A to answer your grammatical question.


(1)
A san: そのくるまは わたしのです。(SONO KURUMA WA WATASHI NO DESU) = That car is mine.

B san: (あなたの くるまは） どのくるまですか。(ANATA NO KURUMA WADONO KURUMA DESUKA) = Which car is it (your car)?

A san:(わたしの くるまは） そのくるまです。(WATASHI NO KURUMA WA SONO KURUMA DESU) = (My car) is that car.

(2)
A san: それは わたしの くるまです。(SORE WA WATASHI NO KURUMA DESU) = That is my car.

B san: (あなたの くるまは） どれですか。(ANATANO KURUMA WA DORE DESUKA) = Which one is it (your car)?

A san: (わたしの くるまは） それです。(WATASHI NO KURUMA WA SORE DESU) = (My car is) that one.


In the first example Q&A, the topic of the sentence (ANATA NO KURUMA /your car) is omitted since it is understood.

In the second example Q&A, the topic of the sentence (ANATA NO KURUMA /your car) could be omitted as in the first one, however, the くるまは (KURUMA WA) part is left and was not omitted for the purpose of grammatical explanation.
Both sentences have the topic/subject in the same place. It is just that one is hidden and the other one is not.

Dochira どちら

1. (n) which way; which direction; where →Related words: 此方 , 其方 , 彼方
2. which one (esp. of two alternatives)

Differencen between NAN and NANI

There is no reason for why NANI is used over NAN. This is just the way it is. Some words use NAN and some use NANI. You normally can not choose which one to use, but must use the official version. Here are some example words:

NANI (what) which actualy can be NAN whenever a particle isn't used. For example NAN DESU KA (What is it?) does not have a particle, but a sentence like NANI O KAIMASU KA (What will you buy?) and NANI GA SUKI DESU KA (What do you like?) has a particle so NANI is used. The exception to this unnoficial rule is when the particle NO is used. NANI NO is never said, but instead NAN NO is used as in SORE WA NAN NO BIIRU DESU KA (What beer is that?).

NANI-IRO (what color) is always NANI and never NAN. You need to remember that in Japanese "what color" is not 2 words but is actually one word NANI-IRO. I used the hyphen just to make it easier to read.

NANSAI (how old). Even though "how old" is two words in English in Japanese it is just one word NANSAI.

These are just a few examples. There really is nothing to think about here. You just need to memorize the question words as they are. Try not to focus on the fact that the word WHAT is in them because they are independent words that coicidentally have NAN or NANI as a portion of the word. It is important not to over analyze them. Keep them as independent from what I explained about NANI above since they don't have anything to do with this and DO NOT change. Only NANI by itself changes and not when it is part of the word.

TE KURE

"Mite kure" is a truncated form of "mite kuremasen ka", which is basically the same as "mite kudasai", so "please look". While "-te kuremasen ka" is quite polite (although not the most polite option, which would be "-te itadakemasen ka" or "-te itadakenai deshouka"), "-te kure" is pretty informal; males often use it with their peers or inferiors, while women seldom use it.