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How to Say ‘I ate whitebait’ in Japanese

しらすを食べました

shirasu o tabe mashi ta

[shee-RAH-soo wo tah-BEH mah-shee tah]

Phrase Breakdown

しらすを

shirasu o

Shirasu (as the object)

しらす are tiny whitebait fish, a Kamakura specialty. The particle を is read 'o'.

Example

しらすをご飯にのせます。

I put shirasu on rice.

Words in this phrase

しらす

shirasu

[shee-RAH-soo]

whitebait

Tiny young fish, a famous specialty of Kamakura and Enoshima, often eaten on rice.

Example

しらす丼を食べたいです。

I want to eat a whitebait rice bowl.

を

[wo]

direct object marker

Marks the direct object of a verb.

Example

本を読む。

Read a book.

食べました

tabe mashi ta

Ate

This is the polite past of 食べる (taberu, to eat): ta-be-ma-shi-ta.

Example

朝ご飯を食べました。

I ate breakfast.

Words in this phrase

食べ

tabe

[tah-BEH]

eat (stem)

Stem of taberu 'to eat', used before polite endings.

Example

一緒に食べましょう。

Let's eat together.

まし

mashi

[mah-shee]

polite past stem

Part of the polite past ending in a verb phrase.

Example

昨日は多くのことを学びました。

I learned many things yesterday.

た

[tah]

past tense ending

This ending completes the polite past tense form.

Example

空席がございました。

There were vacant seats.

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