Wednesday, 5 August 2015

word choice - "Should" in Japanese


The word "should" in English has these uses when not used as a question:



  1. To express the expectation of the speaker (Probabilistic reasoning).

    • The train should arrive in 10 minutes.



  2. To express a condition


    • Should it rain, the event will be cancelled.



  3. To express obligation or the duty of ~.

    • I should go home.

    • You should study hard for the exam.



  4. To indicate an ideal state perceived by the speaker.


    • Everyone should have equal rights.




From my understanding, I use ~はず for 1., ~ば(or other conditionals) for 2., and ~べき for 3. .


(Question) What can I use for 4.?



Answer



2 could also use 場合 to be a little more formal (雨の場合は...). 3 can also use ~もの as another option to ~べき (猛勉強するものだよ!).


4 lacks a little context. While most of the time it will be perceived as subjective (i.e., "(It's my opinion that) Everyone should have equal rights," it could also be objective in a few circumstances. For example, "A new law passed. Therefore, everyone should have equal rights (now)," or something similar. Each case would use something different, and I'm thinking ~べき again if it's subjective and ~はず if it's objective.



I'd also add a #5 to your list: subjective recommendation, for which you could use 〜たほうがいい (and, I believe, also 〜たらいい or 〜ばいい).



お前、風邪【≪かぜ≫】気味【ぎ・み】だね。今日学校を休んだほうがいい。 → You seem sick. You should stay home from school today.



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