Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 1: 9/18

方(かた)Way of ~ing, How to ~, Manner of ~ing

Structure

Verb［ます］+ 方(かた)
［する］Verb + の + 仕方(しかた)
Noun + の + Verb［ます］+ 方(かた)

Examples:
飲(の)みます + 方(かた)
勉強(べんきょう)+ の + 仕方(しかた)

Details

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    Standard

About かた

When 方(かた) is attached to the ます stem of a verb, it carries the nuance of the 'way of doing (A)'. This is identical to 方(かた)'s standard meaning of 'way', or 'direction'.

When used with する verbs, sometimes the construction 仕方(しかた) is seen. This has exactly the same meaning as the form without kanji, and may be thought of as meaning 'way of dealing/attending to (A)', as 仕(し)'s original meaning is 'to attend to (A)'. In these cases, the する verb is followed by の, and then 仕方(しかた).

Fun Fact

After attaching 方(かた) to a verb, the entire expression is thought of as a noun-phrase. This means that it can be followed by particles such as は, を, and others, to create longer sentences.

  • 引(ひ)っ越(こ)し屋(や)さんの家具(かぐ)の運(はこ)び方(かた)を見(み)て、彼(かれ)らの体力(たいりょく)にビックリした。
    After seeing the way the removalists were carrying the furniture, I was surprised by their strength.

Examples

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    彼(かれ)の泳(およ)ぎかたは変(へん)だ。

    His way of swimming is strange.

    お菓子(かし)の作(つく)りかたを学(まな)ぶ。

    I will learn how to make sweets.

    文法(ぶんぽう)の勉強(べんきょう)のしかたを教(おし)えてください。

    Please teach me how to study grammar.

    妻(つま)はリモコンの使(つか)いかたが分(わ)からない。

    My wife doesn't know how to use the remote.

    彼(かれ)のスパゲッティの食(た)べかたは良(よ)くない。

    His way of eating spaghetti is not good.

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かた – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

  • kfrl

    kfrl

    I have a question about one of the example sentences, not necessarily this grammar point per se:

    面白い言い方をするね。

    Why does this use するね rather than だね? Isn’t it a simple “X is Y” statement? Are the two equivalent?

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Hey @kfrl and welcome on the community forums!

    面白い ‘funny’ 言い方 ‘way of talking/speaking style’ ‘をする to do’ ね ‘right/isn’t it/emphasis (come on)’

    So it means something along
    “You put (said) it in a funny way.”

    面白い言い方だね。
    “It is a funny way of talking.”

    In other words, very similar meaning.

    Cheers

  • Superpnut

    Superpnut

    why is this right809×212 15.2 KB

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