Daily lessons · Day 28 of 90
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Directions, part two: landmarks
Follow and give directions in the street
Day 6 taught you to ask where something is. Today you learn to follow the answer, which is a harder and more useful skill. Japanese directions lean on landmarks rather than street names, because most Japanese streets do not have names, and understanding why makes the vocabulary much easier to remember.
The verbs of moving
Four verbs and you can follow almost any set of directions:
Notice に with まがります: you turn into a direction, and Japanese marks that destination with に just as it does with いきます. The particle is doing the same job it did on day 6. Once you notice に marking where something is heading, a lot of movement verbs stop needing separate memorisation.
Landmarks
What Japanese directions are actually built from:
を with こうさてんを わたって is a use of を you have not met: not the object of an action, but the space passed through. It works the same way with はしを わたる, cross the bridge, and みちを あるく, walk along the road. If a verb involves moving through or along something, を marks it.
Checking you have understood
More useful than any amount of vocabulary:
ちずを かいて もらえますか is a genuinely good move. Japanese people asked for directions will very often draw a map without being asked, and asking for one turns a stream of speech you may not fully catch into a picture you can follow. It is not a failure to understand; it is the practical answer.
Carry over, from earlier days
Check yourself
8 questions. Nothing is saved unless you finish.