What does “inaka” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “inaka” to mean ‘rural area’ or ‘countryside’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “inaka” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “inaka”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “inaka”.
- inaka – 田舎 (いなか) : a noun meaning ‘rural area’ or ‘countryside’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
Native speakers use this noun to refer to a rural area or areas in Japanese. It’s also worth mentioning here that the use of the hiragana expression is very understandable and acceptable.
The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Inaka in kanji
The kanji expression of “inaka” consists of the following two characters:
- 田 : a kanji character used to mean ‘rice field’.
- 舎 : a kanji character used to mean ‘hut’ or ‘house’.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “inaka” literally means ‘rice field and hut’. This literal interpretation is not in line with the meanings, but a good metaphor for rural areas, I think. Actually, in Japan, we can see beautiful rice fields and some huts in rural areas.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “inaka” through the detailed kanji check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “inaka” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “countryside” in Japanese
kanojo wa nihon no inaka made it ta – 彼女は日本の田舎まで行った (かのじょはにほんのいなかまでいった)
She went to the countryside in Japan.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
- nihon – 日本 (にほん) : a noun meaning ‘Japan’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “nihon” and “inaka”. The formed phrase literally means ‘the countryside of Japan’. It has been translated as “the countryside in Japan”, though.
- made – まで : an adverbial particle used to indicate a destination. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “nihon no inaka”, to say where “kanojo” went.
- it – 行っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku”, which means ‘to go’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”.
This is a typical usage of “inaka”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “nihon no inaka”, which means ‘the countryside in Japan’. When we want to refer to a rural area or areas in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “inaka”
boku wa inaka no keshiki ga suki desu – 僕は田舎の景色が好きです (ぼくはいなかのけしきがすきです)
I love rural views.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is mainly used by boys and young males.
- keshiki – 景色 (けしき) : a noun meaning ‘view’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “inaka no keshiki”, to make the object in the sentence.
- suki – 好き (すき) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Native speakers, however, often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. Actually, in the example, this is used to mean ‘to love’.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “suki” to make it sound polite.
This is another typical usage of “inaka”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “no”, to describe the following noun, “keshiki”, which means ‘views’ in Japanese. So, it works more like an adjective. It has been reflected as “rural” in translation.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “inaka” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- inaka – 田舎 (いなか) : a noun meaning ‘rural area’ or ‘countryside’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Native speakers use this noun to refer to a rural area or areas in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘rice field and hut’. This literal interpretation is not in line with the meanings, but a good metaphor for rural areas, I think. Actually, in Japan, we can see beautiful rice fields and some huts in rural areas. It’s also worth mentioning here that the use of the hiragana expression is very understandable and acceptable.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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