- JLPT N2
かのように
I was on a Japanese learning thread online recently when someone mentioned that they sometimes learn by writing short stories in Japanese. I think when you get to N2 level, it is a great time to start trying to read a lot of native material, but I never thought so much about writing.
Writing in Japanese would boost your speaking abilities, your vocabulary, and help you start thinking in Japanese. The only writing I have done is essays in class, but I feel inspired to try a write a simple story of my own.
And if we are going to be writing in Japanese, we will want to use similes. Similes are a natural way of describing something in English, by using something to describe something else. “Her face was flushed like a rose.” We do this all the time to evoke imagery when we are writing.
There are a lot of ways to do this in Japanese, but today I want to go over the N2 grammar point かのように. Which is best translated as “(seems) as if.”
Here is the construction:
Vplain + かのように
紙でできているかのように
かみ で できている かのように
(seems) as if it's made of paper
Noun/Na-Adjective + (である) + かのように
双子であるかのように
ふたご である かのように
(seems) as if they're twins
The である is technically optional.
Note that we only need to have to have the に at the end of かのように when it is followed by a verb or an adjective.
If it's followed by a noun, we can say ～かのような.
When it is followed by です or だ, we can just say かのよう.
Examples of each are included below.
長女と次女は顔も行動もそっくりで、まるで双子であるかのようだ。
ちょうじょ と じじょ は かお も こうどう も そっくり で、 まるで ふたごである かのようだ。
My oldest daughter and second daughter have similar faces and act the same way. It's just like they're twins.
彼女は幸せであるかのように見えるが、実は大きな悩みをかかえている。
かのじょ は しあわせである かのように みえる が、 じつは おおきな なやみ を かかえている。
She seems as if she is happy, but in reality she is dealing with a great worry.
わたしの自転車は紙でできているかのように軽い。
わたし の じてんしゃ は かみ で できている かのように かるい。
My bike is so light it seems as if it's made of paper.
伊藤さんにその話をすると、初めて聞いたかのような反応をした。
いとうさん に その はなし を する と、 はじめて きいた かのような はんのう を した。
When I talked to Itou-san about that, he reacted as if it was the first time he'd heard it.
There is one exception to our construction, one case in which we don't have a plain-form verb or "Noun/Na-Adjective + (である)" in front of かのように：
あいつは動物をおもちゃか何かのように扱っている。許せない。
あいつ は どうぶつ を おもちゃ か なにかのように あつかっている。 ゆるせない。
That guy treats animals like they're toys or something. Unforgivable.
In the above sentence か何か is used before the grammar point. This is actually an idiom that means “sort of” or “something belonging to a similar category.“
Now it's your turn! Can you come up with a short story in Japanese using this grammar point? Why don’t you look at some other N2 grammar points and try to use a few of them?
