A walk in nature
Vocabulary
- 自然nature
- 花flower
- 木tree
- 湖lake
- 空sky
- 風wind
- 歩くto walk
- きれいbeautiful (scenery)
- 見えるto be visible
- 聞こえるto be audible
- 景色scenery / view
- そうto seem / appear
Sensory Verbs: が見えます / が聞こえます and Appearance: ～そうです
が見えます (can see / is visible) describes what is naturally visible without effort: 山が見えます (I can see the mountain / The mountain is visible). Use が to mark what is visible. Compare with を見ます (to intentionally look at).
が聞こえます (can hear / is audible) describes what is naturally heard: 鳥の声が聞こえます (I can hear birds singing). Use が to mark what is heard. Compare with を聞きます (to intentionally listen).
～そうです (looks like / seems) describes appearance. For い-adjectives, drop い and add そうです: おいしい → おいしそうです (it looks delicious). For な-adjectives, add そうです directly: きれい → きれいそうです is wrong; use きれいに見えます instead. For verbs, use stem + そうです: 雨が降りそうです (it looks like it will rain).
Describing scenery: 景色がきれいです (The scenery is beautiful). この花はいい匂いがします (This flower smells nice — lit. "gives off a good smell"). 風が気持ちいいです (The wind feels pleasant).
Expressions
- 山が見えますI can see the mountain
- 鳥の声が聞こえますI can hear the birds singing
- 景色がきれいですねThe scenery is beautiful, isn't it?
- 雨が降りそうですIt looks like it will rain
- 風が気持ちいいですThe wind feels pleasant
- この花はきれいに咲いていますThis flower is blooming beautifully
Common mistakes
山を見えます山が見えますUse が (not を) with 見える because it describes spontaneous visibility, not intentional looking
鳥の声を聞こえます鳥の声が聞こえますUse が (not を) with 聞こえる because it describes spontaneous hearing
おいしいそうですおいしそうですDrop い from い-adjectives before adding そうです: おいしい → おいし + そう
景色はきれいに見ます景色がきれいに見えますUse 見えます (spontaneous) not 見ます (intentional) and が for the subject
Quick quiz
Question 1 of 5
How do you say “wind” in Japanese?
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