Lesson 66 - What will you wear?

Now you will learn how to talk about clothing and wearing things. Unlike English, where everything is mostly "wear", there are two main verbs you use in Japanese: kimasu, hakimasu. Kimasu is used with any clothing that hangs from the shoulders, while hakimasu is used with anything on from the waist down, including shoes. There is also kaburimasu, which is used with hats. Shimasu is used with accessories, minus earrings, which is used with kakemasu, or "to hang" if you remember from previous lessons.

Most words for clothing are borrowed from English, with the exception of kimono (a traditional Japanese outfit) and seifuku (school uniform). A few kimasu words would be BURAUSU (blouse), TII SHATSU (T-shirt),SEETAA (sweater), SHATSU (shirt), WAISHATSU (white collared shirt), KOOTO (coat), JAKETTO (jacket), and DORESU (dress). Meanwhile, some hakimasu words would be SUKAATO (skirt), ZUBON (trousers),PANTSU (pants), JIINZU (jeans), and SHOOTSU (shorts). Lastly, boushi (hat) would be used with kaburimasu and accessories like NEKUTAI (necktie), BERUTO (belt), NEKKURESU (necklace), BURESURETTO (bracelet), and IYARINGU (earrings), to name a few.

Since this topic is mostly new vocabulary, let's just hop into a conversation between Sumiko and Kimi.

Sumiko: Aa, Kimi-chan no NEKKURESU wa kirei desu! Doko de kaimashita ka?
Kimi: DEPAATO de kaimashita. Shitai desu ka?
Sumiko: Arigatou!
Kimi: Itsumo NEKKURESU o shimasu. BURESURETTO mo shite, IYARINGU mo kakemasu.
Sumiko: Sou desu ka? Watashi wa itsumo boushi o kaburimasu.
Kimi: Sou desu ne. Ashita boushi o kaburimasu ka? Ame deshou ne.
Sumiko: Hontou ni? Samui deshou ka?
Kimi: Shirimasen. TEREBI de otenki no NYUUSU o mimashou ka?
Sumiko: Hai. [turns on TV] Aa! Ame desu.
Kimi: Sorekara samui desu. PANTSU o hakimasu.
Sumiko: Watashi mo. SUKAATO o hakimasen.
Kimi: SEETAA o kimasu ka BURAUSU o kimasu ka?
Sumiko: Eeto ... SEETAA o mochimasen. BURASU o kimasu.
Kimi: Sou desu ka? Watashi no SEETAA o kitai desu ka?
Sumiko: Kimi-chan no SEETAA o kite mo ii desu ka?
Kimi: Mochiron!
Sumiko: Arigatou! Kimi-chan wa ichiban suki na tomodachi desu. Demo, nani o kimasu ka?
Kimi: Watashi no aoi BURAUSU o kimasu.

Let's look at this friendly conversation. Sumiko starts by saying, "Ah, your necklace is pretty! Where did you buy it?" Kimi replies that she bought it in the department store and asks if she wants to wear it. Sumiko says thank you and Kimi continues, "I always wear a necklace. I also wear a bracelet and earrings." Sumiko replise, "Is that so? I always wear a hat." Kimi replies, "You do. Will you wear a hat tomorrow? It will probably rain." Sumiko asks if it might be cold. Kimi replies, "I don't know. Shall we watch the weather report on the television?" Sumiko replies, "Yes. Oh! It will rain." Kimi adds in, "And then it will be cold. I will wear pants." Sumiko replies that she will too and won't wear a skirt. Kimi asks, "Will you wear a sweater or will you wear a blouse?" Sumiko replies, "Um ... I don't have a sweater. I will wear a blouse." Kimi replies, "Is that so? Do you want to wear my sweater?" Sumiko asks, "Is it all right to wear your sweater?" Kimi replies of course and Sumiko continued, "Thank you! You are my favorite friend. But, what will you wear?" Kimi says she will wear her blue blouse.

Vocabulary Review
着ます Kimasu- to wear (upper body)
履きます Hakimasu- to wear (lower body)
被ります Kaburimasu- to wear (head)
着物 Kimono- traditional Japanese dress
制服 Seifuku- school uniform
ブラウス BURAUSU- blouse
ティーシャツ TII SHATSU- T-shirt
シャツ SHATSU- shirt
ワイシャツ WAISHATSU- white collared shirt
セーター SEETAA- sweater
コート KOOTO- coat
ジャケット JAKETTO- jacket
ドレス DORESU- dress
スカート SUKAATO- skirt
ズボン ZUBON- trousers
パンツ PANTSU- pants
ジーンズ JIINZU- jeans
ショーツ SHOOTSU- shorts
帽子 Boushi- hat
ネクタイ NEKUTAI- necktie
ベルト BERUTO- belt
ネックレス NEKKURESU- necklace
ブレスレット BURESURETTO- bracelet
イヤリング IYARINGU- earrings