What does “senshuu” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “senshuu” to mean ‘last week’ in Japanese. Probably, many Japanese learners know this word as it is often used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain it 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 understand “senshuu” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “senshuu”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “senshuu”.
- senshuu – 先週 (せんしゅう) : a noun meaning ‘last week’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, this is a noun. In reality, however, this can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In Japanese, many time-related nouns can also work as adverbs. “Senshuu” is one of them. This fact is perhaps weird to Japanese learners, but not unique to the Japanese language. In English, for example, “last week” can also work as both a noun and an adverb. So, Japanese learners, especially those who are familiar with English, can easily understand this point, I think.
The definition and meaning are not that difficult. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Senshuu in kanji
The kanji expression of “senshuu” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 先 : a kanji character often used as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘before’, ‘previous’, ‘prior’, ‘preceding’, or ‘ahead’.
- 週 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘week’ in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that “senshuu” literally means a ‘previous week’ in Japanese. So, what the kanji characters express is completely in line with the actual meaning.
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 the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “senshuu” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “senshuu” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “last week” in Japanese
senshuu boku tachi wa tokyo ni it ta – 先週僕達は東京に行った (せんしゅうぼくたちはとうきょうにいった)
Last week we went to Tokyo.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its plural form, “boku tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- tokyo – 東京 (とうきょう) : a noun meaning ‘Tokyo’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “tokyo” to say where the speakers went last week.
- 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. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”.
This is a typical usage of “senshuu”. In this example, it works as an adverb at the beginning of the sentence to say “last week”. When we want to say “last week” in Japanese, this word is a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “senshuu”
senshuu wa totemo isogashikat ta – 先週はとても忙しかった (せんしゅうはとてもいそがしかった)
I was very busy last week.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- totemo – とても : an adverb of degree meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, ‘pretty’, ‘quite’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this is used before “isogashikat ta” to emphasize its meaning.
- isogashikat – 忙しかっ (いそがしかっ) : one conjugation of the i-adjective, “isogashii“, which means ‘busy’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
This is another typical usage of “senshuu”. “Last week” works as an adverb in the English sentence, but “senshuu” works as a noun in the Japanese sentence. So, the original meaning is more like ‘the last week was busy (to me)’.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “senshuu” 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.
- senshuu – 先週 (せんしゅう) : a noun meaning ‘last week’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. These two kanji characters literally mean a ‘previous week’. So, what the kanji characters express is completely in line with the actual meaning.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.