What does “zenbu” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “zenbu” to mean ‘all parts’, ‘whole’, or just ‘all’ in Japanese. In this blog post, 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 “zenbu” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “zenbu”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “zenbu”.
- zenbu – 全部 (ぜんぶ) : a noun meaning ‘all parts’, ‘whole’, or ‘all’ in Japanese.
Japanese people use this noun to refer to the all parts of something. So, its usage is very similar to those of the English words, “whole” and “all”.
The definition and meanings are very simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
“Zenbu” in kanji
The kanji expression of “zenbu” consists of the following two characters:
- 全 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘all’ in Japanese. This can also work as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘all’ to the word used together.
- 部 : a kanji character used to mean ‘part’ in Japanese. This can also be found in other words like “heya“.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “zenbu” literally means ‘all parts’ in Japanese. So, its kanji characters exactly express what it means.
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 “zenbu” through the detailed kanji check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “zenbu” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “whole” in Japanese
tsuki no zenbu wo miru koto wa deki nai – 月の全部を見ることはできない (つきのぜんぶをみることはできない)
We cannot see the whole of the moon.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- tsuki – 月 (つき) : a noun meaning ‘the moon’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally the first noun can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this joins “tsuki” and “zenbu”. The formed phrase literally means ‘the whole of the moon’. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is very similar to that of “of” in English.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this works after “tsuki no zenbu” to make the object in the clause.
- miru – 見る (みる) : a verb meaning ‘to see’ in Japanese.
- koto – こと : a kind of suffix working after a plain-formed word or phrase to make a noun clause in a sentence. In the example, this works after “tsuki no zenbu wo miru” to make the noun clause in the sentence. Word orders are different, but the role of this word is similar to that of “that” in English.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after the noun clause to make the object in the sentence.
- deki – でき : one conjugation of the verb, “dekiru”, which means ‘to be able to do’ or ‘can do’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. In the example, this works after “deki” to deny its meaning.
This is a typical usage of “zenbu”. In the example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “tsuki no zenbu”, which means ‘the whole of the moon’ in Japanese. When we want to refer to the all parts of something in Japanese, this word is very useful.
The original meaning of the Japanese sentence above is more like ‘we cannot do seeing the whole of the moon’, but for the sake of simplicity, it has been translated as above.
Example #2: another usage of “zenbu”
anata no zenbu ga suki desu – あなたの全部が好きです (あなたのぜんぶがすきです)
I love all of you.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- anata – あなた : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this works after the noun phrase, “anata no zenbu”, to make the object in the sentence.
- suki – 好き (すき) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. In reality, however, Japanese people often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’. Actually, this works to mean ‘to love’ in the sentence.
- 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 works after “suki” to make it sound polite.
This is another typical usage of “zenbu”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “anata no zenbu”, to mean ‘all (parts) of you’ in Japanese.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “zenbu” and its kanji expression in detail. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- zenbu – 全部 (ぜんぶ) : a noun meaning ‘all parts’, ‘whole’, or just ‘all’ in Japanese. These two kanji characters mean ‘all’ and ‘part’ respectively, so this noun literally means ‘all parts’ in Japanese. When we want to refer to the all parts of something in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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