Japanese Lesson 39 – City vs Countryside · N5

📋 Expression Reference — City vs Countryside

Key phrases across formality levels. Press ▶ to hear any expression.

STANDARD — ていねい (TEINEI)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
まちはいなかよりべんりです。	Machi wa inaka yori benri desu.	そうですね。でもいなかはしずかですよ。 Sou desu ne. Demo inaka wa shizuka desu yo.	Comparing city convenience to countryside
いなかのほうがくうきがきれいです。	Inaka no hou ga kuuki ga kirei desu.	そうですね。しぜんがおおいですから。 Sou desu ne. Shizen ga ooi desu kara.	Stating the countryside has cleaner air
まちといなかとどちらがすきですか？	Machi to inaka to dochira ga suki desu ka?	いなかのほうがすきです。 Inaka no hou ga suki desu.	Asking which someone prefers
いなかにすみたいです。	Inaka ni sumitai desu.	どうしてですか？ Doushite desu ka?	Expressing desire to live in the countryside

CASUAL — くだけた (KUDAKETA)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
まちのほうがにぎやかだよ。	Machi no hou ga nigiyaka da yo.	うん、でもうるさいよね。 Un, demo urusai yo ne.	Saying the city is livelier
いなかにすみたいな。	Inaka ni sumitai na.	わたしも！ Watashi mo!	Casual wish to live in the countryside
まちといなか、どっちがいい？	Machi to inaka, docchi ga ii?	ぜったいいなか！ Zettai inaka!	Casual question — which is better?

🗣 Mini Dialogues

Three scenes at different formality levels. Press ▶ to hear each line.

A — STANDARD · Teacher Asking Students to Compare

せんせい

まちといなかとどちらがべんりですか？

Machi to inaka to dochira ga benri desu ka?

Which is more convenient, the city or the countryside?

[A] と [B] とどちらが [ADJ] ですか？

[A] to [B] to dochira ga [adj] desu ka?

[A] and [B] and which (subj.) [adjective] is?

→ "Which is more [adj], [A] or [B]?"

ゆうき

まちのほうがべんりです。でもいなかはしずかです。

Machi no hou ga benri desu. Demo inaka wa shizuka desu.

The city is more convenient. But the countryside is quiet.

[A] のほうが [ADJ] です。

[A] no hou ga [adj] desu.

[A] direction (subj.) [adjective] is

→ "[A] is more [adj]." — comparison answer pattern

せんせい

そうですね。まちはべんりですが、いなかはくうきがきれいですね。

Sou desu ne. Machi wa benri desu ga, inaka wa kuuki ga kirei desu ne.

That's right. The city is convenient, but the countryside has clean air.

B — STANDARD · Colleagues Discussing Where They Grew Up

さくら

たなかさんはいなかでそだちましたか？

Tanaka-san wa inaka de sodachimashita ka?

Tanaka-san, did you grow up in the countryside?

たなか

はい。いなかはひとがすくないですが、しぜんがおおいです。

Hai. Inaka wa hito ga sukunai desu ga, shizen ga ooi desu.

Yes. The countryside has few people, but lots of nature.

[PLACE] は [A] ですが、 [B] です。

[place] wa [A] desu ga, [B] desu.

[place] (topic) [fact A] is, but [fact B] is

→ "[Place] is [A], but [B]." — contrast with ですが

さくら

いいですね。わたしはまちにすみたいですが、いなかもすきです。

Ii desu ne. Watashi wa machi ni sumitai desu ga, inaka mo suki desu.

That's nice. I want to live in the city, but I also like the countryside.

C — CASUAL · Friends Debating Where to Live

あおい

まちといなか、どっちがいい？

Machi to inaka, docchi ga ii?

City or countryside, which is better?

れん

まちはべんりだけど、いなかのほうがすきだな。

Machi wa benri da kedo, inaka no hou ga suki da na.

The city is convenient, but I prefer the countryside.

[A] は [ADJ] だけど、 [B] のほうがすきだな。

[A] wa [adj] da kedo, [B] no hou ga suki da na.

→ "[A] is [adj], but I prefer [B]." — casual contrast + preference

あおい

えー、わたしはぜったいまち！ひとがおおいほうがたのしいよ。

Ee, watashi wa zettai machi! Hito ga ooi hou ga tanoshii yo.

No way, I'm definitely a city person! It's more fun where there are more people.

📋 Key Patterns & Cheatsheet ▼

Comparing two things — ～より～のほうが

STANDARD

[A] より [B] のほうが [ADJ] です。

[A] yori [B] no hou ga [adj] desu.

→ "Compared to [A], [B] is more [adj]." (polite)

CASUAL

[A] より [B] のほうが [ADJ] だよ。

[A] yori [B] no hou ga [adj] da yo.

→ "Compared to [A], [B] is more [adj]." — drop です, use だよ

Asking which is more — ～とどちらが / どっちが

🟢 STANDARD

まちといなかとどちらがすきですか？

Machi to inaka to dochira ga suki desu ka?

Which do you prefer, the city or the countryside?

どちら (dochira) = polite "which one"

🟡 CASUAL

まちといなか、どっちがいい？

Machi to inaka, docchi ga ii?

City or countryside, which is better?

どっち (docchi) = casual "which one"

Contrast — ～ですが～です / ～だけど～

🟢 STANDARD

まちはべんりですが、いなかはしずかです。

Machi wa benri desu ga, inaka wa shizuka desu.

The city is convenient, but the countryside is quiet.

ですが = polite "but" for contrasting two facts

🟡 CASUAL

まちはべんりだけど、いなかのほうがすき。

Machi wa benri da kedo, inaka no hou ga suki.

The city is convenient, but I prefer the countryside.

だけど = casual "but" — replace ですが

Expressing desire to live somewhere — ～にすみたいです

STANDARD

[PLACE] にすみたいです。

[place] ni sumitai desu.

→ "I want to live in [place]." (polite)

CASUAL

[PLACE] にすみたいな。

[place] ni sumitai na.

→ "I wanna live in [place]." — な adds soft wishfulness

A — Flashcards

Click a card to flip it. Use ▶ to hear the Japanese.

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B — Listen & Choose the Meaning

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then choose the correct English meaning.

C — Choose the Right Response

Listen to the question, then choose the most natural reply.

D — Listen & Write in Romaji

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then type what you heard in romaji. Japanese letters are not needed.

💡 Tip: Long vowels → double the vowel (おう = ou / oo). Double consonants → write them twice (きって = kitte).

E — Shadowing Practice

Press ▶ to hear each line, say it aloud, then mark it as practised.

0 of 9 lines practised

📖 Grammar Notes ▼

～より～のほうが — Comparison

より (yori) = "compared to / than". のほうが (no hou ga) = "the direction of ~ is more". Together they form the standard comparison pattern.

• A より B のほうが [ADJ] です = "B is more [adj] than A"
• You can also say B のほうが [ADJ] です on its own as the answer

Note: the item AFTER のほうが is the one being favoured.

[A] より [B] のほうが [ADJ] です。

[A] yori [B] no hou ga [adj] desu.

→ "Compared to [A], [B] is more [adj]."

まちよりいなかのほうがしずかです。

Machi yori inaka no hou ga shizuka desu.

The countryside is quieter than the city.

～とどちらが — Asking "which is more"

と…とどちらが (to … to dochira ga) is the polite way to ask someone to choose between two options.

• A と B とどちらが [ADJ] ですか？ = "Which is more [adj], A or B?"
• Answer: B のほうが [ADJ] です = "B is more [adj]"

Casual form: どっちが (docchi ga) replaces どちらが.

[A] と [B] とどちらが [ADJ] ですか？

[A] to [B] to dochira ga [adj] desu ka?

→ "Which is more [adj], [A] or [B]?"

まちといなかとどちらがすきですか？

Machi to inaka to dochira ga suki desu ka?

Which do you prefer, the city or the countryside?

いちばん — Superlative ("the most")

いちばん (ichiban) = "number one / the most". Place it before the adjective to form the superlative.

• いちばん [ADJ] です = "is the most [adj]"
• Often used with のなかで (no naka de) = "among ~"

Example: にほんでいちばんおおきいまちはとうきょうです。

[GROUP] のなかで [ITEM] がいちばん [ADJ] です。

[group] no naka de [item] ga ichiban [adj] desu.

→ "Among [group], [item] is the most [adj]."

にほんでとうきょうがいちばんにぎやかです。

Nihon de toukyou ga ichiban nigiyaka desu.

In Japan, Tokyo is the liveliest.

～ですが～です — Contrast ("but")

ですが (desu ga) connects two contrasting facts politely. It means "is ~, but ~".

• まちはべんりですが、いなかはしずかです。
• Casual equivalent: だけど (da kedo)

Use this pattern when acknowledging both sides of a comparison.

[A] は [ADJ₁] ですが、 [B] は [ADJ₂] です。

[A] wa [adj₁] desu ga, [B] wa [adj₂] desu.

→ "[A] is [adj₁], but [B] is [adj₂]."

いなかはひとがすくないですが、しぜんがおおいです。

Inaka wa hito ga sukunai desu ga, shizen ga ooi desu.

The countryside has few people, but lots of nature.

な-adjective vs い-adjective with です

Japanese has two adjective types. They behave differently before です and nouns.

  • い-adj: おおきい、たのしい、すくない — keep い before です (おおきいです)
  • な-adj: しずか、べんり、きれい、にぎやか、ふべん — add です directly (しずかです)
  • Before nouns: い-adj + noun (おおきいまち), な-adj + な + noun (しずかなまち)

Common trap: きれい looks like い-adj but is actually な-adj (きれいなくうき, NOT きれいい).

い-adj: [たのしい] です

な-adj: [しずか] です

→ Both use です in polite speech, but な-adj needs な before nouns.

いなかはしずかなところです。

Inaka wa shizuka na tokoro desu.

The countryside is a quiet place.

～にすみたいです — "I want to live in ~"

すみたい (sumitai) is the たい-form of すむ (sumu, to live). たい-form expresses the speaker's desire.

• [PLACE] にすみたいです = "I want to live in [place]" (polite)
• [PLACE] にすみたいな = "I wanna live in [place]" (casual, な adds softness)

Note: たい-form is only used for the speaker's own desires. For others, use たがっています.

[PLACE] にすみたいです。

[place] ni sumitai desu.

→ "I want to live in [place]."

いなかにすみたいです。

Inaka ni sumitai desu.

I want to live in the countryside.

📚 Key Vocabulary ▼

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
まち	machi	city / town
いなか	inaka	countryside
べんり（な）	benri (na)	convenient
ふべん（な）	fuben (na)	inconvenient
しずか（な）	shizuka (na)	quiet
にぎやか（な）	nigiyaka (na)	lively / bustling
くうき	kuuki	air
きれい（な）	kirei (na)	clean / beautiful
しぜん	shizen	nature
ひと	hito	person / people
おおい	ooi	many / a lot
すくない	sukunai	few / little
すむ	sumu	to live (in a place)
そだつ	sodatsu	to grow up
どちら	dochira	which one (polite)