What does “monogatari” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “monogatari” to mean ‘story’, ‘tale’, ‘narrative’, or such in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word well as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, songs, manga, anime, and the like. 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 “monogatari” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “monogatari”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “monogatari”.
- monogatari – 物語 (ものがたり) : a noun meaning ‘story’, ‘tale’, ‘narrative’, or such in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
The definition and meanings are not so difficult, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Monogatari in kanji
The kanji expression of “monogatari” consists of the following two characters:
- 物 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘thing’, ‘stuff’, ‘event’, or such in Japanese.
- 語 : a kanji character widely used to express the act of telling or speaking.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “monogatari” literally means a thing to be told. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meanings, but still very close, I think. Stories are more or less things to be told.
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 “monogatari” through the detailed kanji check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “monogatari” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “story” in Japanese
boku wa kono mahou no monogatari ga suki desu – 僕はこの魔法の物語が好きです (ぼくはこのまほうのものがたりがすきです)
I love this magical tale.
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.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kono – この : a determiner used before a noun referring to a thing close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before the noun phrase, “mahou no monogatari”, to say “this magical tale” in Japanese.
- mahou – 魔法 (まほう) : a noun meaning ‘magic’ 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 “mahou” and “monogatari”. The formed phrase literally means ‘a magical tale’ in Japanese.
- 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 “mahou no monogatari” 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. In the example, actually, this is used to mean ‘to love’.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. In the example, this is used after “suki” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “monogatari”. In this example, it works together with “mahou” and “no” to mean ‘a magical tale’ in Japanese.
Example #2: another usage of “monogatari”
tokuni monogatari no hajimari ga totemo yokat ta – 特に物語の始まりがとても良かった (とくにものがたりのはじまりがとてもよかった)
Especially, the start of the tale was really good.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- tokuni – 特に (とくに) : an adverb meaning ‘especially’ in Japanese.
- hajimari – 始まり (はじまり) : a noun meaning ‘start’ or ‘beginning’ in Japanese.
- totemo – とても : an adverb of degree meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, ‘so’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this is used to emphasize “yokat ta”, the degree of goodness.
- yokat – 良かっ (よかっ) : one conjugation of the i-adjective, “yoi“, which means ‘good’ 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 “yokat” to make its past tense form.
This is another typical usage of “monogatari”. In the example, it works as a part of the noun phrase which means ‘the start of the tale’ in Japanese. When we want to say “story”, “tale”, “narrative”, or such in Japanese, anyway, this noun is a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “monogatari” 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.
- monogatari – 物語 (ものがたり) : a noun meaning ‘story’, ‘tale’, ‘narrative’, or such in Japanese. This can also work as plural. These two kanji characters literally mean a thing to be told. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meanings, but still very close, I think. Stories are more or less things to be told.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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