する / やる Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Irregular Verb
Essential Meaning: To do
Construction: Irregular Verb
Notes:
- It’s convenient to consider する as the Japanese version of the English verb “To do“. But depending on the context, する can also mean “To make” (e.g. “To make one’s room clean“), “To play” (e.g. “To play an instrument or a dramatic role“), or “To wear” (e.g. “To wear a necktie“), among other things.
- Adjectives must be converted into an adverbial form when used before する.
- E.g. 早くする [To do it quickly]
- E.g. きれいにする [To do it cleanly]
- Noun + に may precede する. In some cases, Xにする can mean “Decide on X” or “Make it X”
- E.g. 一男はアメリカ人を妻にした。[Kazuo made an American his wife.]
- E.g. 寿司にします。[I’ll take the sushi (i.e. I’ve decided on sushi).]
- E.g. 木口は息子を医者にした。[Kiguchi made his son into a doctor (i.e. Kiguchi caused his son to become a doctor).]
- Articles of clothing can be used as the direct object of する when they are articles that cover a small part of the body (e.g. neckties, gloves, wristwatches, et cetera).
- E.g. ネクタイをする [To wear a necktie]
- Sino-Japanese する Verbs such as 勉強する [To study] can be separated out into a verb and a direct object marked by the を particle.
- E.g. 私は中国語の勉強をする。[I am studying Chinese.]
- E.g. 僕はよく車の運転をする。[I drive a car often.]
- In addition to Sino-Japanese words, する is frequently used with English loan words and onomatopoeia / symbolic sound words.
- E.g. ビクビクする [To be nervous]
- E.g. はっとする [To do suddenly]
- E.g. いらいらする [To be irritated]
- E.g. キスする [To kiss]
- In humble language, する can be used with the construction お~する. This can be made even more humble by converting する to its humble form いたす.
- E.g. 私がお読みします。[I will read.] This sentence is humble.
- E.g. お読みいたします。[I will read.] This sentence is extra humble.
- する [To do] and なる [To become] form a transitivity pair even though they aren’t semantically related. なる comes across as passive, and する comes across as more active and causative. When conveying a change rather than an action, する indicates that the change occurs as a result of human agency or behavior, while なる indicates spontaneous, non-volitional change. That being said, in some cases, する and なる can be interchanged depending on the speaker’s intent.
- E.g. ヤマダは停学になった。[Yamada got suspended from school.] In this case, なる indicates that Yamada is not an agent of the act of suspending; he is the passive recipient of the action.
- E.g. 学校は山田を停学にした。[The school suspended Yamada.] In this case, する indicates that the school is the active agent that suspended Yamada.
- E.g. ヤマダは本を書くことになった。[It’s been decided that Yamada will write a book.] Again, なる indicates that Yamada is not the agent of the action. Click the hyperlink for further info on ことになる.
- E.g. ヤマダは本を書くことにした。[Yamada has decided to write a book.] する indicates that Yamada is an active agent.
- E.g. 一年に何回ぐらい病気をしますか。[How many times do you make yourself sick in a year?] Typically, illness is considered to occur spontaneously (and thus pairs with なる), but する is acceptable when one is considered to cause illness through one’s behavior.
- E.g. 一年に何回ぐらい病気になりますか。[How many times do you get sick in a year?]
- する can be replaced by やる in the context of doing or playing something or in the context of performing a dramatic / social role. Sino-Japanese する Verbs can also take やる.
- E.g. 中山さんはテニスをやる。[Nakayama-san plays tennis.]
Example Sentences:
中山さんはテニスをします。[Nakayama-san plays tennis.]
リーズさんは英語の先生をしている。[Mr. Leeds is an English teacher.]
先生はテストをやさしくした。[The teacher made the test easy.]
木口は息子を医者にした。[Kiguchi made his son into a doctor.]
私は中国語を勉強している。[I’m studying Japanese.]
京子はきれいなスカーフをしている。[Kyoko is wearing a pretty scarf.]
日本人はたいてい土曜日も仕事をする。[Japanese people usually work even on Saturdays.]
ビルはハムレットをするつもりだ。[Bill intends to play Hamlet.]
クリスは部屋をきれいにした。[Chris made her room clean.]
僕はよく車を運転します。[I often drive a car.]
一男はアメリカ人を妻にした。[Kazuo made an American his wife.]
いいネクタイをしているね。[You’re wearing a nice tie, aren’t you?]
WILD Examples:
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