by Tomoyuki Higuchi
How do you say “Do you play the piano?” in Japanese?
Today’s phrase is :
Do you play the piano?
ピアノ弾ける?
piano hikeru
- do you = あなたは* anatawa
- play = 弾ける hikeru
- the piano = ピアノ piano
*We do not usually say “あなたは (anatawa)” in everyday conversation.
ピアノ
the piano
+
弾ける
play
If you want to speak politely, you can say :
ピアノ弾けますか?
piano hikemasuka
So how do you say “Do you play the guitar?” ?
You simply replace “ピアノ” with “ギター (gitā).” :
ギター弾ける?
gitā hikeru
Or politely :
ギター弾けますか?
gitā hikemasuka
ギター
the guitar
+
弾ける
play