Nihongo Focus

Are you starting your Japanese journey and preparing for the JLPT N5 exam? Congratulations! 🎉 In this post, we’ll explain 5 important grammar points that appear often in daily conversations and JLPT N5. These are easy, useful, and beginner-friendly. Let’s get started!

Lets study 5 Grammar !
1.じゃないです – is not (negative of です)
2.ません – do not / does not (negative present/future verb form)
3.ました – did (polite past tense verb form)
4.ませんでした – did not do (polite negative past verb form)
5.これ – this (near the speaker) / それ – that (near the listener) / あれ – that over there (far from both) / どれ – which one? (used to ask a question)

1. じゃないです – “Is not” (Negative form of です)

💡 Meaning:

This is the negative of です. Use it when you want to say something is not something.

✅ Sentence structure:

Noun + じゃないです

📝 Examples:

• わたしはがくせいじゃないです。
  (Watashi wa gakusei janai desu.)
  → I am not a student.
• これはにほんのたべものじゃないです。
  (Kore wa Nihon no tabemono janai desu.)
  → This is not Japanese food.

🗒 Note:

You can also say ではありません (more formal) instead of じゃないです.

2. ません – “Don’t / Doesn’t” (Negative form of a verb)

💡 Meaning:

Use ません when you want to say you don’t do something. It is the negative present/future tense of a verb.

✅ Sentence structure:

Verb (ます-form) + ません

📝 Examples:

• にほんごをべんきょうしません。
  (Nihongo o benkyou shimasen.)
  → I don’t study Japanese.
• コーヒーをのみません。
  (Koohii o nomimasen.)
  → I don’t drink coffee.

🚀 Tip:

Start with verbs like たべます (eat), のみます (drink), いきます (go), and practice making them negative with ません!

3. ました – “Did” (Past form of a verb)

💡 Meaning:

Use ました to say you did something in the past. It is the polite past tense of a verb.

✅ Sentence structure:

Verb (ます-form) + ました

📝 Examples:

• きのう、にほんごをべんきょうしました。
  (Kinou, nihongo o benkyou shimashita.)
  → I studied Japanese yesterday.
• せんしゅう、えいがをみました。
  (Senshuu, eiga o mimashita.)
  → I watched a movie last week.

🗒 Note:

Be sure to learn some common time words like きのう (yesterday), せんしゅう (last week), and use them with ました!

4. ませんでした – “Did not do” (Negative past form)

💡 Meaning:

This is the past negative form of a verb. Use it to say you did not do something.

✅ Sentence structure:

Verb (ます-form) + ませんでした

📝 Examples:

• きのう、にほんごをべんきょうしませんでした。
  (Kinou, nihongo o benkyou shimasen deshita.)
  → I did not study Japanese yesterday.
• パーティーにいきませんでした。
  (Paatii ni ikimasen deshita.)
  → I did not go to the party.

🚀 Tip:

Practice switching between ました and ませんでした to master talking about the past.

5. これ・それ・あれ・どれ – This / That / That over there / Which one?

These are demonstrative pronouns, and they’re super common in daily Japanese.

Word	Meaning	When to Use
これ	this	Close to the speaker
それ	that	Close to the listener
あれ	that (over there)	Far from both speaker and listener
どれ	which one?	Used when asking a question

✅ Sentence structure:

これ / それ / あれ / どれ + は + noun + です。

📝 Examples:

• これはペンです。
  (Kore wa pen desu.)
  → This is a pen.
• それはわたしのかばんです。
  (Sore wa watashi no kaban desu.)
  → That is my bag.
• あれはがっこうです。
  (Are wa gakkou desu.)
  → That over there is a school.
• どれがあなたのくるまですか？
  (Dore ga anata no kuruma desu ka?)
  → Which one is your car?

🧠 Memory trick:

• これ – ko is near me
• それ – so is near you
• あれ – a is over there
• どれ – do you know which one?

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🌟 Practice Time!

Let’s combine these grammar points in short conversations.

🗣 Example 1:

A: これはにほんのえいがですか？
(Kore wa Nihon no eiga desu ka?)
→ Is this a Japanese movie?

B: いいえ、にほんのえいがじゃないです。アメリカのえいがです。
→ No, it’s not a Japanese movie. It’s an American movie.

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🗣 Example 2:

A: きのう、えいがをみましたか？
(Kinou, eiga o mimashita ka?)
→ Did you watch a movie yesterday?

B: いいえ、みませんでした。
→ No, I did not watch it.

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🗣 Example 3:

A: どれがあなたのかさですか？
(Dore ga anata no kasa desu ka?)
→ Which one is your umbrella?

B: それです。
→ It’s that one (near you).

🧩 Quick Quiz!

Choose the correct answer:

1. わたしはせんせい（　）。
   A. じゃないです
   B. でした
2. きのう、ほんを（　）。
   A. よみます
   B. よみました
3. これはあなたのノート（　）か？
   A. どれ
   B. です

Answers: 1 – A, 2 – B, 3 – B

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🌈 Conclusion

You did it! 🎉 These grammar points are very useful in everyday conversations and super important for JLPT N5.

✅ What you learned:

• じゃないです – is not
• ません – don’t / doesn’t
• ました – did
• ませんでした – didn’t do
• これ・それ・あれ・どれ – this / that / which

Start using them in your daily Japanese practice! The more you use them, the more natural they will feel.

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