👰🦐🚫

How to Say ‘My wife is allergic to shrimp.’ in Japanese

妻がエビのアレルギーなんです。

tsuma ga ebi no arerugii na n desu

[TSOO-mah ga EH-bee noh ah-reh-ROO-gee nah n dess]

💬 Usage Tip: Ending with なんです (nan desu) rather than plain です gives the sense of "you see, the thing is...", which suits explaining a situation.

Phrase Breakdown

妻が

tsuma ga

my wife (subject)

妻 (tsuma) means 'my wife.' The 'tsu' sound is like the end of 'cats.'

Example

妻が来ます。

My wife is coming.

Words in this phrase

妻

tsuma

[TSOO-mah]

(my) wife

Neutral word for your own wife.

Example

妻は料理が上手です。

My wife is good at cooking.

が

[ga]

subject marker

A particle marking the subject of the sentence.

Example

興味がある分野を教えてください。

Please tell me the field you are interested in.

エビのアレルギーなんです。

ebi no arerugii na n desu

has a shrimp allergy, you see

なんです gives a reason or an explanation. Say 'nan-desu' smoothly after 'arerugii.'

Example

息子が卵のアレルギーなんです。

My son has an egg allergy, you see.

Words in this phrase

エビ

ebi

[EH-bee]

shrimp; prawn

Common shellfish, often written in katakana.

Example

エビの天ぷらが好きです。

I like shrimp tempura.

の

[noh]

of; linking particle

Links two nouns to make “after meals”: ごはんのあと.

Example

ごはんのあとにお薬を飲みます。

I take medicine after meals.

アレルギー

arerugii

[ah-reh-ROO-gee]

allergy

Loanword from German 'Allergie'; a bodily reaction to certain foods or substances.

Example

卵のアレルギーがあります。

I have an egg allergy.

な

[nah]

(copula before ん)

Form of だ used before explanatory ん after a noun.

Example

明日は休みなんです。

Tomorrow is my day off, you see.

ん

[n]

(explanatory n)

Casual form of の; adds a tone of seeking or giving an explanation, often before です.

Example

どうしたんですか。

What happened?

です

desu

[dess]

is; polite copula

A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.

Example

少し伺いたいです。

I would like to ask a little.

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