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sorry for such a rudimentary question but i'm learning on my own and i have problems translating a question from the genki book. The problems are in the 6 lesson 6 exercise. Its a role play exercise and i have to translate this. "You just bought a brand new car and don't want anyone to use it". あたらしい くるま を かいました

I translated the first part like that but for the rest i'm not sure how should i advance. I guess i need to start with "daredemo" but i cannot come up with a meaning full translation. Sorry to ask such a basic stuff but i have been stuck on it

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    I think that's just the scenario they provided for the roleplay exercise; I don't think they intended you to actually translate that.
    – Blavius
    May 1, 2017 at 19:40
  • But how would you say that in japanese?
    – Ladybird
    May 1, 2017 at 19:47
  • @Ladybird didn't he said it already "atarashii kuruma wo kaimashita"? I think that's how far he could go and don't know how to go on? May 1, 2017 at 22:19
  • I think you should provide the full dialogue thejapanesepage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=16133 So what you're supposed to write/say here is something like "Sorry but I don't want to let anyone use my car (so I can't lend it to you) cos it's brand-new" in Japanese.
    – Chocolate
    May 2, 2017 at 1:56

2 Answers 2

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I am assuming that the context given is:

Partner A has a date tomorrow and wants to borrow Partner B's car. Partner B's car is brand new and he doesn't want anyone to use it.

I think there can be many different ways to express "My car is brand-new and I don't want anyone to use it". For example...

「すみません。[誰]{だれ}にも[貸]{か}したくないんです。[新]{あたら}しい[車]{くるま}なので。」
lit. Sorry. I don't want to lend it to anyone. Because it's a brand-new car.

「[新車]{しんしゃ}だから、まだ誰にも貸したくないんです。」
lit. It's a brand-new car, so I don't want to lend it to anyone yet.

「ごめんなさい、[買]{か}ったばかりなので、まだ誰にも貸したくないんです。」
lit. Sorry, I just bought it, so I don't want to lend it to anyone yet.

「あの車はまだ新しいから、誰にも[使]{つか}われたくないんです。」
lit. That car is still new, so I don't want to let anyone use it.

etc. etc...

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  • Yeah thanks i should have provided full context about it, that was my bad sorry . That seems to be a nice solution
    – Ladybird
    May 2, 2017 at 9:05
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I haven't formed many sentences in Japanese (I learned by reading and listening only), so don't accept this answer until somebody confirms it's correct. Please comment if you see errors or strange constructs.

Based on the English sentence:

You just bought a brand new car and don't want anyone to use it.

I came up with these two sentences in Japanese:

あなたはちょうど今{いま}[新しい]{あたらしい}車{くるま}を[買い]{かい}ました。誰{だれ}にもそれを使{つか}われたくない。

To understand how the sentences work, let's break them into smaller parts.

First sentence

You just bought a brand new car.

  • あなた (pronoun)
    You
  • は (particle)
    topic marker (makes あなた the topic)
  • ちょうど (adverb)
    just
  • 今{いま} (noun)
    now
  • [新しい]{あたらしい} (adjective)
    new
  • 車{くるま} (noun)
    car
  • を (particle)
    direct object indicator (indicates that 車↑ is the object of the transitive verb 買う↓)
  • [買い]{かい}ました。 (verb)
    bought.
    • 買い is the continuative form of 買う (to buy). This continuative form is also called "masu stem".
    • まし is the continuative form of ます. It attaches to verbs to make them polite.
    • た is an auxiliary verb indicating past action.

Second sentence

(You) don't want anyone to use it. (あなた is still the topic)

  • 誰{だれ}にも (adverb)
    Anyone
    • 誰{だれ} who
    • to
    • also
  • それ (pronoun)
    that (the car)
  • を (particle)
    direct object indicator (車{それ}↑; 使{つか}う↓)
  • 使{つか}われたく + ない。 (verb + adjective)
    not want to be used.
    • 使{つか}わ is the irrealis form of 使う (to use). The irrealis form is also called the "nai stem".
    • れ is the continuative form of れる. It attaches to verbs to create the passive form.
    • たく is the continuative form of たい (want to).
    • ない (not)

Because there are no other objects for 使{つか}う, 「それを」 can be dropped and the meaning will be the same.

誰{だれ}にも使{つか}われたくない。

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  • Yeah, thanks very much for your help i really appreciate it
    – Ladybird
    May 2, 2017 at 9:05

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