Grammar

〜たらいい / 〜ばいい

It would be good if 〜たらいい

A wish or a suggestion — "it would be good if ~", "you should just ~".

お〜になる / ご〜になる

Respectful お〜になる

The general respectful (尊敬語) pattern — raises the person you are talking ABOUT or TO.

お〜する / ご〜する

Humble お〜する

The general humble (謙譲語) pattern — lowers YOUR own action to raise the person it affects.

〜なさい

Do it 〜なさい

A firm but polite command — used by a parent to a child, a teacher to a student, or in exam instructions.

命令形

Plain imperative 命令形

The blunt command form — "Do it!". Strong, and rarely appropriate in conversation.

[verb, plain] + な

Plain prohibitive 〜な

The blunt negative command — "Don't ~!".

〜させてもらう / 〜させていただく

May I 〜させてもらう

Asks for or acknowledges permission humbly — "let me ~", "I will take the liberty of ~".

〜かどうか

Whether or not 〜かどうか

Embeds a yes/no question inside a bigger sentence — "whether ~ (or not)".

[疑問詞]〜か

Embedded question 疑問詞＋か

Embeds a question containing WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY or HOW inside a larger sentence.

[noun] という [noun]

Called / named 〜という

Introduces a name or label the listener may not know — "a ~ called ~".

〜くらい / 〜ぐらい

About / to the extent 〜くらい

An approximate amount — "about ~" — or a degree — "to the extent that ~".

[数量]＋も / [数量]＋しか〜ない

Quantity + も / しか

Colours a quantity as large (も, "as many as") or small (しか〜ない, "only").

〜のに

Although 〜のに

Contrast with feeling — "although ~", "even though ~". Carries surprise, disappointment or reproach.

〜ば〜ほど

The more … the more 〜ば〜ほど

"The more ~, the more ~" — one thing increases as another does.

〜ないと (いけない)

Have to 〜ないと

Everyday "have to ~" — literally "if I don't ~, it won't do".

〜って

Casual quotation 〜って

The spoken stand-in for と / という — reports speech, names a topic, or asks what something means.

〜たらどうですか

Why don't you 〜たらどうですか

A suggestion — "why don't you ~?", "how about ~ing?".