How to Say ‘Did (polite past)’ in Japanese
しました
shi mashi ta
[shee mah-shee tah]
💬 Usage Tip: [しました] is the polite past of “do.” Great for interview examples: “I did X.”
🇯🇵 In Japan: Japanese interview answers often use past polite forms to list experience smoothly: [〜をしました] / [〜を学びました].
Phrase Breakdown
し
shi
[shee]
did (polite past)
Part of the polite past form: しました = “did.” Used to describe past duties in interviews.
介助をし、記録もしました。
I assisted and also did the records.
まし
mashi
[mah-shee]
(polite verb ending, part of past form)
Stem + まし + た makes polite past (しました/ありました). Not used alone.
食事の介助をまし（※単独では使いません）。
(“まし” is not used alone; it is part of a polite form.)
た
ta
[tah]
(past marker, part of polite past)
Completes the polite past with まし: ました = “(did) / (was).” Not used alone.
介護をしまし た（※「た」は単独では使いません）。
(“た” is not used alone; it completes the past form.)
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