Speaking Japanese
How to describe something when you don't know the word, in Japanese
If you are in the chair right now
名前がわからないんですが、木を切るものを探しています。
I don't know what it's called, but I'm looking for something to cut wood with.
If that gets brushed off
これくらいの大きさで、金属でできています。
It's about this big, and it's made of metal.
もの (thing) and やつ (thing, casual) are what this whole situation runs on: put a description in front of either and you have built the noun you were missing. 木を切るもの is “a thing that cuts wood”, and it is ordinary Japanese rather than a workaround anyone will find odd. Nobody minds the question either. A shop assistant answers it several times a day.
This is the most useful thing you can do in a language you are still learning, and almost no course teaches it: get a word you do not have out of somebody else's mouth. The shopkeeper knows it. Your only job is to describe the thing well enough that they say it first.
If you need more than one line
softest
名前がわからないんですが…
I don't know what it's called… A complete opening on its own; it tells them what kind of help you need.
neutral
木を切るときに使うものです。
It's a thing you use for cutting wood. The pattern to keep: description + もの.
neutral
これくらいの大きさで、金属でできています。
It's about this big and made of metal. Size and material are what narrow it down fastest.
firmest
写真を見せてもいいですか。
Can I show you a picture? The escalation that always works, and it gets you the word for next time.
Two things worth knowing
The word you want is in their head, not yours.
Build the noun you are missing
Japanese turns a description into a noun by putting もの on the end of it: 木を切るもの, “a thing that cuts wood”; 紙をとめるもの, “a thing that fastens paper”. Because the verb goes in front of the noun it modifies, you can keep extending it as far as you need, 小さな木の板を切るために使うもの, and it stays grammatical. This is not a beginner's dodge; it is how the language builds descriptions.
Function, then size, then material
Those three are what a shop assistant actually needs, and all three are sayable with first-year vocabulary: 〜に使います (used for ~), これくらいの大きさ (about this big), 金属・プラスチック・木 (metal, plastic, wood). Gesture as freely as you like while you say them. Being precise about what the thing does matters far more than being precise about its shape.
What Haruki actually said
What you have to get done
- Explain what the object does
- Respond to questions about size and material
- Confirm when they make the correct thing
Haruki
Good morning. What are you looking for?
You
I'm looking for a tool you use to cut small pieces of wood. Do you know of anything?
Haruki
A tool for cutting wood, right. Perhaps a のこぎり, a saw?
You
Could you tell me about saws? Which type do you think suits cutting small pieces of wood?
Haruki
There are all sorts of saws, but for small pieces of wood a 細のこぎり or a ミニのこぎり works well. They're nimble, and they cut precisely.
Now say it yourself
Reading that is not the same as producing it with someone waiting, which is the entire difficulty. You can have this exact conversation in the app: Haruki is a third of the way through, and you have three things to get done.
It is free, it takes about a minute to start, and the first attempt is allowed to be terrible.
Practise this conversation
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