Japanese Language Lesson Minna no Nihongo 1 Chapter 11 Additional Section Part 5
Another questions prepared as part of Minna no Nihongo 1 book Chapter 11 in Additional Section Part 5 in page 94 to be answered. It is actually quite simple because the problem consists of pair of questions and answers but the real problem is how to complete those pairs so that they become completely suitable each other. To be more specific, to solve the problem, the question which is part of the problem need to be filled with a suitable interrogative pronoun asking for the number of items stated in the answer’s part. Below is the example to show and to describe it in detail :
Kanji :
あの公園で猫が（何匹）いますか。
。。。４匹います。
Hiragana :
あのこうえんでねこが（なんびき）いますか。
。。。よんびきいます。
Romaji :
Ano kouen de neko ga (nan biki) imasuka。
。。。yonbiki imasu。
Meaning :
How many cats are there in the park ?。
。。。four (cats)。
The above example is an example which is also has the similar pattern with the one shown in the book. It consists of a pair of question and answer. The problem is solved by filling the empty blank with the right interrogative pronoun. Since the answer is already shown that it is using ‘biki[匹・びき] or hiki[匹・ひき]’as a counter for the noun specified which is a small animal and in this context is ‘neko「猫・ねこ」. The counter is combined with an interrogative pronoun ‘nan「なん・何」so that it can be used to ask the number of the item as specified in the question.
Based on the above example shown above, below are the answers given to solve the problem exist in Minna no Nihongo 1 book Chapter 11 Additional Section Part 5 at page 94. Be careful to choose the proper josuushi 「助数詞・じょすうし」 with the combination of the interrogative pronoun if it is necessary to fill the empty blank in the question :
１．Answer
Hiragana :
いすが（いくす）ありますか。
。。。３つ あります。
Romaji :
isu ga (ikutsu) arimasuka。
。。。３tsu arimasu。
Meaning :
How many chairs are there ?.
There are three (chairs).
In this question, the interrogative pronoun used is ‘ikutsu’. It is the proper interrogative pronoun for asking the number of chair as shown above. It is obvious since the answer is using ‘mitsu’ which means ‘three’ without any specific Japanese language counter.
２．Answer
Kanji :
毎日（何時間）働きますか。
。。。８時間 働きます。
Hiragana :
まいにち（なんじかん）はたらきますか。
。。。８じかん はたらきます。
Romaji :
Mai nichi（nan jikan）hatarakimasuka。
。。。８jikan hatarakimasu。
Meaning :
How many hours do you work every day ?。
…(I) work 8 hours.
The correct answer is using interrogative pronoun ‘nan jikan’ since the answer, 8 jikan consists a part of ‘jikan’ which is specifically a counter for time or hour.
３． Answer
Kanji :
切符を （何枚）買いますか。
。。。２枚 買います。
Hiragana :
きっぷを （なんまい）かいますか。
。。。２まい かいます。
Romaji :
Kippu wo (nanmai）kaimasuka。
。。。２ mai kaimasu。
Meaning :
How many pieces of stamps do you buy ?
。。。 I buy two pieces.
The correct answer in the above problem is ‘nan mai’ which is a proper answer to solve the problem since it is a suitable Japanese language counter (josuushi) for flat item such as ‘stamp’.
４． Answer
Kanji :
寮に 自転車が（何台）ありますか。
。。。５台 あります。
Hiragana :
りょうに じてんしゃが（なんだい）ありますか。
。。。５だい あります。
Romaji :
Ryou ni jitensha ga (nan dai）arimasuka。
。。。５ dai arimasu。
Meaning :
How many bicycle are there in the dormitory ?。
。。。(There are) five bicycles。
The correct answer is using ‘nan dai’ as the interrogative pronoun used to ask the number of bicycle are there in the dormitory. Since the correct Japanese language counter for bicycle is ‘dai’ 「台・だい」。
The full question which consists of several numbers can be seen completely in Minna no Nihongo 1 Chapter 11 Additional Section Part 5 on page 94.