How to use “kedo” in Japanese
Japanese people use “kedo” at the three different places: at the beginning of a sentence, between two sentences, and at the end of a sentence. In this blog post, I will explain these three usages with example sentences. These explanations would help Japanese learners to understand how to use “kedo” effectively. Let’s get started!Contents
- “Kedo” at the beginning of a sentence
- “Kedo” between two sentences
- “Kedo” at the end of a sentence
- Summary: kedo in Japanese
“Kedo” at the beginning of a sentence
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “kedo” used at the beginning of a sentence.- kedo – けど : a conjunctive particle put at the beginning of a sentence to say something different from or opposite to what the last sentence says.
Example #1: how to start a sentence with “kedo”
ame ga fut te iru. kedo umi he iki tai – 雨が降っている。けど海へ行きたい (あめがふっている。けどうみへいきたい)
It’s raining. But I want to go to the sea.
It’s raining. But I want to go to the sea.
- ame – 雨 (あめ) : a noun meaning ‘rain’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is put after “ame” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- fut – 降っ (ふっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “furu”, which means ‘to fall’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- te – て : a conjunctive particle put after a verb or adjective to make its te form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “fut”, to make its te form, “fut te”. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “iru”.
- iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by its preceding verb. In the example, it is put after the te-formed verb, “fut te”, to express the continuity of the action, ‘to fall’.
- umi – 海 (うみ) : a noun meaning ‘sea’ in Japanese.
- he – へ : a case particle used to indicate a particular place to which someone or something goes. In the example, it is put after “umi” to indicate the particular place to which “watashi” wants to go.
- iki – 行き (いき) : 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.
- tai – たい : an auxiliary verb put after a verb to make its desire form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “iki”, to make its desire form, “iki tai”, which means ‘to want to go’.
“Kedo” between two sentences
Next, let me explain the definition and meaning of “kedo” used between two sentences.- kedo – けど : a conjunctive particle used to join two sentences which say different or opposite things.
Example #2: how to connect two sentences by “kedo”
ame ga fut te iru kedo, umi he iki tai – 雨が降っているけど、海へ行きたい (あめがふっているけど、うみへいきたい)
It’s raining, but I want to go to the sea.
It’s raining, but I want to go to the sea.
A word preceding this “kedo” needs to be in its plain form, namely, not conjugated. “Iru” is the plain form of this auxiliary verb itself, so can be connected with “kedo” without any process.
“Kedo” at the end of a sentence
Lastly, let me explain the definition and meaning of “kedo” used at the end of a sentence.- kedo – けど : a sentence-ending particle used to express dissatisfaction, to wish something unlikely to happen, or to make a euphemism.
Example #3: how to use “kedo” at the end of a sentence
ame ga fut te iru kedo – 雨が降っているけど (あめがふっているけど)
It’s raining, though.
It’s raining, though.
ame ga fut te iru – 雨が降っている (あめがふっている)
It’s raining.
It’s raining.
umi he iki tai – 海へ行きたい (うみへいきたい)
umi he iki tai kedo – 海へ行きたいけど (うみへいきたいけど)
Summary: kedo in Japanese
In this blog post, I’ve explained the three different usages of “kedo” with the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.- kedo – けど : a conjunctive particle put at the beginning of a sentence to say something different from or opposite to what the last sentence says. Its usage is similar to that of “but” in English.
- kedo – けど : a conjunctive particle used to join two sentences which say different or opposite things. This is similar to the one explained above, but when we want to say two different things at one breath, this type of “kedo” is helpful.
- kedo – けど : a sentence-ending particle used to express dissatisfaction, to wish something unlikely to happen, or to make a euphemism.
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