344 - し (and, besides)

Good day dear netizens!

Today I want to introduce you to a nice little grammar point, so easy and so useful.

It's called

し (and, besides)

And you can adopt it in many useful instances

Want to make an excuse?
Want to convince someone of something?
Want to explain and give arguments?

Well, you can use this little fella for all of those and more!

Now listen up. When you want to make a point of something, this is the go-to word.

Let's say our dear example-friend, Mr. Kim, is head-over-heels in love with the Japanese cuisine (like any normal person), and a mildly deranged friend of his asks him (as if explanations are even necessary) why he likes the Japanese cuisine?

A:
キムさんはどうして日本の食べ物が好きなんですか。
キムさん は どうして にほん の たべもの が すきなんですか。
Kim-san, why do you like Japanese food?
Literally: "Kim-san, + は + why + Japan + の + food + が + like + なんですか"
Note: If you meet someone named キムさん in Japan, chances are that he is Korean, not Japanese.

Well, duh! because it's just mouth-wateringly-delicious, that's why!

B:
そうですね。おいしい、ヘルシー…。
そうですね。 おいしい し、 ヘルシー だ し…。
Well, it's delicious, and it's healthy...
Literally: "It's so, right? + delicious + and + healthy + だし"

Here we observe that Kim gave a very polite answer.
As you might know, そうですね literally means "It's so, isn't it?" but in this situation it's just a way of buying time while formulating your response, much like how we start a sentence with "Well..." or "Hmm..." in English.

So, let's see, Kim says:

おいしいし、ヘルシーだし…

but Kim could have gone on and on and on...

おいしい、ヘルシー、種類が豊富、見た目が綺麗...
おいしい し、 ヘルシー だ し、 しゅるい が ほうふ だ し、 みため が きれい だ し...
It tastes good, and it's healthy, and there's an abundant variety of foods, and it has nice presentation, and...
Literally: "delicious + and + healthy + and + categories + が + abundant + だ + し, + appearance + が + pretty + だ + and..."

Just like in English with 'and' , you can bring up as many reasons/ points as you want with 'し'.

But there is also a secret technique about this grammar point.
You know when you want to make your point as clear as possible and want to bring up as many arguments as you can, but the problem is, you only have one (or fewer than you'd liked)?

Rejoice, by using this grammar point, it gives the impression that there are more reasons / arguments than the ones already brought up. So it helps you look smarter -- yay!

So like in the example above, with the し at the end of the sentence, it gives the feeling that there are other points Kim could make about why he likes Japanese cuisine (of course, in this case, there genuinely are).

So let's see some more example situations.

インフルエンザの可能性もある、一応病院に行こう。
インフルエンザ の かのうせい も ある し、 いちおう びょういん に いこう。
Let's go see a doctor just in case because, (among other reasons to go to the hospital), it might be influenza.
Literally: "Influenza + の + possibility + also + is + and + just in case + hospital + に + let's go"
Note: Depending on the situation, this might also be a person talking to herself alone, in which case the translation would be, "I think I'll go see a doctor..."

For more on the topic of "Let's VS I think I'll," see these lessons:
- [NDL #54] - I think I'll... go to sleep.
- [NDL #55] - Yo, hey. I think I'll... tell you my plans...


A:
どうして仕事を辞めるんですか。
どうして しごと を やめる んですか。
Why are you quitting your job?
Literally: "Why + job + を + to quit + んですか"

B:
今の仕事はつまらない、給料も安いんです。
いま の しごと は つまらないし、 きゅうりょう も やすい んです。
Because this job is boring, and also the salary is small.
Literally: "Now + の + job + は + boring + and + salary + also + cheap + んです"


明日は休み、予定もないから、今日は遅くまで飲むぞ。
あした は やすみ だ し、 よてい も ない から、 きょう は おそく まで のむ ぞ。
Tomorrow is a day off, and I have no plans, so today I'm gonna drink until late (yo*).
Literally: "Tomorrow + は + day off + and + plans + also + not have + so + today + は + late + until + drink + yo"
Note: I translated this sentence-ending ぞ as "yo," but it doesn't have any clear meaning in English. It is a casual particle used when making an assertion or adding force to a sentence.

Special Note: When listing multiple reasons with し, you can put から or んです after the last reason only. In other words, you can't put から or んです instead of し and then place a し after it later in the sentence. Read over our last two sentences again to see what I mean: から and ~んです only show up after the last reason listed in each of them.

How do we connect し to other words? Just attach it to a word in plain form. It can be an adjective, noun, or verb.

PLAIN FORM + , ...

To see what I mean, just go through the sentences one more time and look at the words coming directly before し.

So there you have the full spectrum of using as and/besides.

Have fun with your studies and see you next time!


This lesson was written by Adriana, a guest contributor.





Noticed any typos we've missed or other issues?
Report them here at this link.

Have questions about something in this lesson? Something not quite clicking yet? Join our discord community and discuss any questions / comments with us and fellow students.
You can join by heading to this link.
Complete and Continue