How to Say ‘How should I hit it?’ in Japanese
どう打てばいいですか。
dou ute ba ii desu ka
[doh OO-teh bah ee dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: 〜ばいいですか after a verb asks "what should I do?": 打つ "to hit" becomes 打てば. You can swap the verb, as in どこに置けばいいですか "where should I put it?"
Phrase Breakdown
どう打てば
dou ute ba
how (if I) hit
どう means 'how'. 打てば (uteba) is the conditional form of 打つ (utsu), 'to hit'. Hold the long 'o' in 'dou'.
どう打てば遠くに飛びますか。
How should I hit it to make it fly far?
Words in this phrase
どう
dou
[doh]
how
Used to ask for an opinion or suggestion, like 'how about...?'
7時はどうですか？
How about 7 o’clock?
打て
ute
[OO-teh]
hit (conditional stem)
Form of 打つ 'to hit' used before ば to make 'if I hit'.
強く打てば入ります。
If you hit it hard, it will go in.
ば
ba
[bah]
if
Completes the conditional form in できれば, meaning if possible.
できれば庭が見える席をお願いします。
If possible, please give us a seat with a garden view.
いいですか。
ii desu ka
should I? / is it good?
After a ～ば form, いいですか asks 'what should I do?' Hold the 'ii' as a long 'i' sound.
どこに座ればいいですか。
Where should I sit?
Words in this phrase
いい
ii
[ee]
good; okay
Means “okay/allowed” in the permission expression.
ここに座ってもいい ですか。
May I sit here?
です
desu
[dess]
is; polite copula
A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.
少し伺いたいです。
I would like to ask a little.
か
ka
[kah]
question marker
Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.
A席はありますか。
Are there A seats available?
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