Lesson 94: 急げ！・止めるな・食べなさい

N4 · Lesson 94 · 18 min — Understand strong, pushy sentences: Hurry up! Don't ~! Do ~!

Last lesson, Mr. Kuma said 「店みせを 開あけなきゃ」 and ran back to the kitchen. Today the shop has a long lunch line, and Mr. Kuma keeps shouting. You will rarely need to say these pushy commands and bans yourself. But you will see them on signs and in comics, and hear them in kitchens. So you must be able to understand them! Let's read the comic first!

After this lesson, you can:

• Understand the command form: 急いそげ (Hurry up!) and the road sign 止とまれ (Stop!)
• Understand strong bans with dictionary form + な: 手てを 止とめるな (Don't stop your hands!)
• Understand 〜なさい instructions: 早はやく 食たべなさい (Eat quickly!)

Lunch Rush Commands

Mr. Kuma still won't talk about the photo. It's very busy at lunch, and Rin is helping at くまや. (師匠ししょう = master, the teacher of a traditional craft)

Command form = "Do it!" Dictionary form + な = "Don't!" なさい = "Do ~." Mr. Kuma's 「手てを 止とめるな」 turns out to be words his master wrote on the wall. Next lesson, Mr. Kuma talks about his master.

Words for this lesson: Kitchen commands

• 急いそぐ (isogu): to hurry (Group 1)
• 止とめる (tomeru): to stop (something) (Group 2)
• 止とまる (tomaru): to stop (by itself) (Group 1)
• 消けす (kesu): to turn off (fire, light) (Group 1)
• 火ひ (hi): fire
• 師匠ししょう (shishō): master (teacher of a traditional craft)
• 字じ (ji): characters; handwriting
• 紙かみ (kami): paper
• 持もって 来くる (motte kuru): to bring (Group 3: 来くる)
• 入はいる (hairu): to enter (Group 1)
• がんばる (ganbaru): to do your best; hang in there (Group 1)
• 早はやく (hayaku): quickly; early

Grammar 1 / 3: Command

Verb command form = a very pushy order, "Do it!": Group 1 u-row → e-row (急いそぐ→急いそげ), Group 2 る → ろ (食たべる→食たべろ), する→しろ, 来くる→来こい

• Group 1: last sound u-row → e-row: 行いく→行いけ, 急いそぐ→急いそげ, 消けす→消けせ, 待まつ→待まて, 飲のむ→飲のめ, 止とまる→止とまれ, 言いう→言いえ.
• Group 2: る → ろ: 食たべる→食たべろ, 見みる→見みろ, 起おきる→起おきろ, 止とめる→止とめろ. Careful: 入はいる and 走はしる are Group 1, so they become 入はいれ and 走はしれ.
• Group 3: memorize: する→しろ (勉強べんきょうしろ), 来くる→来こい (read こい). 持もって 来くる→持もって 来こい (Bring it here!).
• When will you hear it?: It is very strong, like shouting "Do it now!" in English. You hear it in busy kitchens, in emergencies, at sports games (がんばれ!), on the road sign 止とまれ, and in comics and TV dramas. Never use it with teachers, customers or people you don't know well. To ask for something, use 〜て ください.

• 急いそげ！ 電車でんしゃが 来くるよ！ — Hurry! The train is coming!
• ちょっと 待まて！ — Wait a second!
• 早はやく 起おきろ！ — Get up right now!
• がんばれ！ — Go for it!
• 毎日まいにち 勉強べんきょうしろ。 — Study every day!
• 早はやく 来こい！ — Come here quickly!

Grammar 2 / 3: 〜な

Dictionary form + な = strong ban, "Don't ~!": 止とめる→止とめるな (Don't stop!), 入はいる→入はいるな (Don't enter!)

• How to make it: dictionary form + な: For every type of verb, just add な to the dictionary form: 行いくな, 食たべるな, するな, 来くるな (read くるな).
• Tone: much harsher than ないで ください: 入はいらないで ください is a polite request. 入はいるな means "Don't enter!" Use it only on notices, in emergencies, or when a superior shouts at someone below. To teachers and customers, say 〜ないで ください.
• Command form vs な: exact opposites: 消けせ = Turn it off! 消けすな = Don't turn it off! They differ by only a tiny ending, yet the meanings are opposite. Listen to the end of the sentence.
• Listen to what comes before な: Ban な goes only after a dictionary-form verb, at the end of the sentence. If you hear "dictionary form + な" at the end, it means "Don't ~!" If な follows a ます-form or a command form (止とめますな, 消けせな), that is wrong. Also, the な in きれいな 花はな (pretty flower) is the な of a na-adjective before a noun. A noun follows it, so it is not a ban.

• 手てを 止とめるな！ — Don't stop your hands!
• ここに 入はいるな。 — Don't come in here.
• 走はしるな！ あぶないよ。 — Don't run! It's dangerous.
• まだ 火ひを 消けすな。 — Don't turn off the fire yet.
• 泣なくな。 — Don't cry.
• 忘わすれるな。 — Don't forget.

Grammar 3 / 3: 〜なさい

ます-form stem + なさい = instruction to someone younger, "Do ~.": 食たべます→食たべなさい, します→しなさい

• How to make it: ます-form stem + なさい: 行いきます→行いきなさい, 食たべます→食たべなさい, します→しなさい, 来きます→来きなさい. All three groups work the same way, so there is nothing extra to memorize.
• Who says it to whom?: Parents to children, teachers to students, adults to younger people. It is gentler than the command form 食たべろ, but it is still an instruction from above. To seniors and customers, use 〜て ください.
• You will always see it on exams: Japanese exam instructions often use なさい: 名前なまえを 書かきなさい (Write your name). It is not harsh here. It is just the standard way to write instructions.
• The joke in comic panel 4: Neko-sensei is an adult, so nobody normally says なさい to him. With customers still waiting outside, he scolds himself like a mom scolding a child: 早はやく 食たべなさい. But he has already finished three bowls and is now on the fourth!

• 早はやく 食たべなさい。 — Eat quickly.
• 早はやく 寝ねなさい。 — Go to bed.
• 手てを 洗あらいなさい。 — Go wash your hands.
• 名前なまえを 書かきなさい。 — (Exam) Write your name.
• 毎日まいにち 勉強べんきょうしなさい。 — Study every day.
• ここに 座すわりなさい。 — Sit here.