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How to Say ‘I saw some temples and ate shirasu.’ in Japanese

お寺を見て、しらすを食べました。

o tera o mi te shirasu o tabe mashi ta

[oh teh-RAH wo mee teh shee-RAH-soo wo tah-BEH mah-shee tah]

Phrase Breakdown

お寺を見て、

o tera o mi te

I saw temples, and

The te-form 見て links this action to the next one. Pause briefly at the comma.

Example

お寺を見て、帰りました。

I saw a temple and went home.

Words in this phrase

お

[oh]

honorific prefix

お adds politeness to certain words and expressions.

Example

チケットを二枚お願いします。

Two tickets, please.

寺

tera

[teh-RAH]

temple

A Buddhist temple; often said politely as お寺.

Example

古い寺を見に行きました。

I went to see an old temple.

を

[wo]

direct object marker

Marks the direct object of a verb.

Example

本を読む。

Read a book.

見

[mee]

see (stem)

Stem of 見る 'to see, to watch', used before polite endings like ます.

Example

テレビを見ます。

I watch TV.

て

[teh]

and; -te form

A linking form used to connect verbs to following grammar, such as progressive or polite forms.

Example

仕事を探している人と話しました。

I spoke with a person who is looking for work.

しらすを

shirasu o

Shirasu (as the object)

This is the food name plus the object particle を, read 'o'.

Example

しらすを買いました。

I bought shirasu.

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 'to eat' and ends the sentence.

Example

ラーメンを食べました。

I ate ramen.

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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