Lesson 10: 'Japanese conjugation' myth busted! Also, potential verb form secret unlocked

"Japanese conjugation" is a myth. It's all much easier than the textbooks tell you! The Doll deals with the whole concept of conjugation and unlocks the Japanese potential form in one easy lesson▼See More ▼

Visit my Patreon community:

Red Kokeshi Angel Patrons who help this work to be possible:

Rembot
Colin Jervis
Arzar
Kathy Worley
Mirnes Selimovic
Nico.Nico

Sincere thanks to all my patrons, supporters, students and fans

▼Please visit us at KawaJapa

[ローラ-qy]

LESSON 10- HELPER VERBS & POTENTIAL FORM
00:01- introduction
00:09- why it should not be called "conjugation"

01:25- review of former helper-verbs

●The potential helper-verb
☆01:51- え stem
☆02:09- helper verb る/られる
02:45- examples
.
☆03:31- the two exceptions
03:47- the logic behind できる || just a side note

●The subject of the sentence- review
04:51- the が always marks the be-ar/doer
.
06:47- don't confuse the particles & they won't confuse you
.
☆07:11- the subject of the sentence

●☆08:12- Ichidan verbs + exceptions

09:15- finishing

[hailhydreigon]

The best Japanese lessons on YouTube. RIP Cure Dolly ❤️

[steamline]

Her teaching style and unique perspectives makes me feel as though she is not only a Youtube-based Japanese language content creator and not only a Japanese teacher, but a Japanese-language philosopher, and it makes me feel as one of her followers - a Curedollyist, if you will.

[MariomasterNSMBHD]

The moment I realized that る can be treated like an ichran verb my mind was totally blown! Everything almost makes too much sense now. Thank you so much!

[onomatopeira]

This is by far the best Japanese language teaching channel I know of on the internet (and I've searched quite a bit).
Cure Dolly has an admirable intelligence that is clear in the way she explains things. But above all, what is explained is a "correct" way of apprehending the Japanese language, of grasping the logic of linguistic construction and the very philosophy of the Japanese language.
It's a shame the channel didn't continue after Cure Dolly disappeared. Although many subjects and topics are addressed here, there would still be many more to complete the bouquet. For those just starting to learn Japanese, there are many subjects of study that will have to be learned elsewhere and from other sources. But, at least, the fundamental bases are very well explained in this channel.

[uthorus]

your lessons are insane, thank you so much for clarifying everything

[Joby]

Another great lesson! You did something great in this one that you hadn't done in the prior lesson but I almost suggested... Take the translation people often confuse the sentence for "I like to drink coffee" and write out that actual sentence so people can see how it is different. VERY helpful! Man your videos keep getting better and better over time. Great work!

[eireprincess]

this is my first cure dolly video, excellent explanation

[Mariomarios]

Dear Cure Dolly, you are an angel and a genius.

[youngsterjack]

I *love* your videos because they never fail to add to my understanding of Japanese, but I'm having trouble following your explanation of how 本が読める。means that the book is readable, yet ∅が読める。means that I can read. I got through the last lesson thinking, "oh ok, so because が always marks the actor, these verbs themselves must have two slightly different meanings (one for when ∅ is the actor, and one for when the inanimate object is the actor), but 読む isn't like that as far as I know. Isn't it just a regular verb with one single meaning (to read)?

So I'm wondering at what point is my perception of this dynamic warped, and if I am correct about it being about the verb that changes things, can all verbs be like that? Any help would be very much appreciated. Whichever way, keep up the great work Cure Dolly! Wouldn't be where I am without you and your channel.

[GeekNeverDie]

For the potential form of "to hear" and "to see", i was already familiar with 聞こえる and 見える.
Turns out from your lesson that the potential form is actually 聞ける and 見られる which was really weird to me because I never encountered those. So I've looked it up and what I have found is this:
The first "form" is when you are able to see/hear without intent, while the latter is when you try hard and succeed to ear/see.
Would you say that it is correct ? I have trust issues about anything that does not come out of your channel (笑)

[aWildAk]

Rip we will continue to learn Japanese in your honor even 5 years later and a year after your death

[japanese]

I have spent two years learning Japanese now. I remember at the very beginning I found this channel and I was just put off by the manner of speaking and found everything soooo confusing and strange.... Hahaha lo and behold, now I come back two years later and I find this approach to be the most logical explanation of Japanese I have ever heard. It's downright ridiculous! 😂

[slacky]

Hi! Thank you very much for this lesson. I've been understanding japanese structure thanks to your series of videos. However, I have a question regarding this potential form. Is it possible to say, for example. はなせたい, when I want to say "I want to be able to speak" ? or たべられたい to say "I want to be able to eat"?. I understand that 話したい and 食べたい would both mean the same thing respectively, but how would it sound to a Japanese person? Thank you very much in advance!

[jeisson]

Great videos. The only thing always missing are the examples. A few sentences to see them being used.

[leodip]

Is kikoeru an exception? From your table I get that the potential form of kiku is kikeru, but I often hear and read kikoeru. Is it because of some old word like for ii/yoi?

[steve]

6.04. 本は私が読める。 "I can read the book."

Is this good enough as well? As opposed to 私が本を読める。

What's the difference/nuance in these two sentences anyway if it's not good enough?

[Joby]

Quick question. Is the potential form linked only to being able to do something absolutely or able to literally do it? For example, say I could read a book (able to read and understand it) but I can't actually read it because it is locked in a drawer. Would you use the negative of the potential given the circumstances even if I could actually read the book if I had it?

[elmhurstenglish]

Evidently, I'm in the early stages, but how does 見られる differ from 見える? I think because 買える has a similar ending to 見える it throws me off, and 見える seems to also feel like its not too dissimilar to 見られる... Probably a novice question.

Edit: nvm, I see you've answered this question multiple times in the comments.

[joaodelvaux]

It's funny that just yesterday i was trying to analyse this sentence:
お前は光だ
ときどきまぶしすぎてまっすぐ見られないけど
それでもお前のそばにいていいかな
and i found out the meaning with a lot of effort and interpretation... Watching just one more lesson would be so much helpefull!
ps: i was trying to understand the actual meaning, but in translation i used portuguese words and logic.