Writing a message to solve a problem in Japanese

Level B1

Writing a message to solve a problem in Japanese

Your Friday class is at the library, and a notice says the library will be closed. By the end of this lesson you can write to your teacher, Mr Tanaka, and solve that in one short message. The central idea: such a message says what it's about, what happened, the reason and the request, one alternative and your name, all in one tone. Most of the pieces are ones you already know; here they become one text.

Recap: the pieces you already have

These sentences come back in this lesson, even if you're seeing them for the first time. こんにちは。アナです (konnichiwa. Ana desu) gives a greeting and a name. 海に行く予定でした。でも、行けませんでした (umi ni iku yotei deshita. demo, ikemasen deshita) sets a plan (予定, yotei) against what really happened, and でも (demo) means “but”. 午後に会議があるので、今日は見られません (gogo ni kaigi ga aru node, kyō wa miraremasen) gives a reason with ので (node) and says what you can't do. この書類を見ていただけますか (kono shorui o mite itadakemasu ka) asks with respect, and 明日はどうですか (ashita wa dō desu ka) offers another option. でも、高くないそうです (demo, takakunai sō desu) passes on something you heard or read, with そうです (sō desu).

Words of this lesson

授業 (jugyō, class), お知らせ (oshirase, notice) and 変更 (henkō, change) are words for rescheduling; you need them all here. 休み (yasumi) is a day off, or a day when a place is closed. お願い (onegai) is a request: the noun inside お願いします. のことで (no koto de) follows a noun and means “about”. によると (ni yoru to) names a source, and 代わりに (kawari ni) means “instead”. 使う (tsukau) means “to use”. よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu) closes the message. The sections below show each one at work.

Model: Ana writes to Mr Tanaka

Listen once without reading, then read along. Ana is writing to her teacher. 先生 (sensei) means “teacher”, and in Japanese you address a teacher by surname + 先生, so her message opens with 田中先生 (Tanaka-sensei). Follow the order: the topic, what happened, the reason and the request, one alternative, the closing and her name. The last line is his reply, which you only need to understand.

Say what it's about: 〜のことで、お願いがあります

Right after the greeting, tell the reader what the message is about. Put the topic in a noun before のことで: 金曜日の授業のことで (kin'yōbi no jugyō no koto de), “about Friday's class”. お願いがあります (onegai ga arimasu) means “I have a request”, so the reader knows what kind of message this is. To reuse the sentence, change only the topic: 明日の会議 (ashita no kaigi, tomorrow's meeting) or 月曜日のテスト (getsuyōbi no tesuto, Monday's test).

〜のことで、お願(ねが)いがあります

Say what happened: 〜予定でした。でも、…

First the plan, then the news, in two sentences. 授業は図書館の予定でした (jugyō wa toshokan no yotei deshita) is the plan, and でも brings the news; after a noun, put の before 予定. によると (ni yoru to) names where the news comes from, and そうです at the end shows you read it rather than saw it yourself: お知らせによると、図書館は金曜日は休みだそうです, “according to the notice, the library is closed on Friday”. After a noun such as 休み or 変更, say だそうです (da sō desu).

You may also know のに (no ni) for a plan that went wrong, as in the last example. It's correct Japanese, but のに brings disappointment with it, and just before a request it can read like a complaint. In this kind of message, でも gives the same fact more neutrally.

〜予定(よてい)でした。でも、…

The reason, then the request: 〜ので、〜ていただけますか

Join the reason and the request in one sentence: the reason with ので, then the て form + いただけますか (itadakemasu ka). 図書館が使えないので (toshokan ga tsukaenai node) means “since we can't use the library”. 使えない (tsukaenai) is the plain form of 使えません (can't use), the potential of 使う, built like 行ける from 行く; 行けない (ikenai) is the plain form of 行けません (can't go). The て form of 変更する (henkō suru, to change) is 変更して (henkō shite). Replace the reason or the thing to change: 仕事がある (shigoto ga aru, I have work), 頭が痛い (atama ga itai, my head hurts), 時間 (jikan, the time).

You can also ask first and give the reason in a second sentence ending in からです (kara desu), as in the last example. Both work; reason first is the more usual order here, because the reader sees the need before the request. なぜなら (naze nara, “the reason is that”) suits defending an opinion, so this lesson doesn't use it for asking a teacher a favour.

〜ので、〜ていただけますか

Offer one alternative: 代わりに、〜はどうでしょうか

A request is easier to answer when it comes with a solution. 代わりに (kawari ni) opens the sentence with “instead”, and the rest is the proposal you know: something + は + どう (dō). 駅の近くのカフェ (eki no chikaku no kafe) means “the café near the station”. どうでしょうか (dō deshō ka) is a softer どうですか and matches the care of いただけますか; learn it as a set ending, and compare it with the last example. In this lesson, one alternative is enough: one problem, one solution for the teacher to answer.

代(か)わりに、〜はどうでしょうか

Close and sign: よろしくお願いします。アナ

よろしくお願いします is what you say when you meet someone: “pleased to meet you”. At the end of a message that asks for something, the same words mean roughly “thank you in advance”, and no translation matches them exactly. Then write your name: アナ. In a real message, 田中先生 at the top and your name at the bottom each get their own line. Don't add さん, because you never put さん on your own name. In a chat that already shows who is writing, people often leave the name out; in an email or a note, write it.

One tone from start to finish

The tone shows at the end of each sentence: です, でした, いただけますか. Ana is writing to a teacher, so her sentences all end politely. What to avoid is changing halfway, as in 図書館が使えない。カフェはどうでしょうか, where a plain ending sits next to a careful one.

A plain form inside a sentence doesn't break the tone: 使えないので and 休みだそうです are polite, because the sentences end politely. To a friend, the whole message changes: the last example has から (kara) and no いただけますか or です, and you only need to recognise it. For a teacher, stay with いただけますか: 変更してください (henkō shite kudasai) tells him what to do instead of asking.

For reference: more ceremonial formulas

You'll meet these two in work emails. You only need to recognise them; a message to a teacher works without them. いつもお世話になっております (itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu) opens a business email and thanks the reader for ongoing support. どうぞよろしくお願いいたします (dōzo yoroshiku onegai itashimasu) is a more formal よろしくお願いします, with いたします, the humble form of します.

Your turn and summary

Same teacher, one new problem: Friday's class is at ten, and you have work at that hour. Write the message yourself, then compare it with the lines here. It needs 田中先生 and a greeting, the topic with のことで, the plan and でも, the reason with ので and the request, one alternative with 代わりに, then よろしくお願いします and your name. 十一時 (jūichiji) is eleven o'clock.

In short: one reader, one problem, one tone. If you can write this message, you can change a plan without a conversation.

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