Hey there fellow netizens!

So in our last lesson I briefly introduced you to all things '出る,' but I also want to put this 'combo-word' thing into perspective. There are a bunch of basic words that you probably already know, which combine with others to either bring up a new meaning or to refine and nuance the original meaning.

I think it's really good for you to learn this--it's where I feel the innate expressiveness of the Kanji combines with the fluidity of the spoken language to create a very precise visual image of meaning. For me personally this is the juicy part of the spoken language: when someone just combines two words andBam!--an ultra-high HD image just pops up in your mind. Magic.

For this lesson, I'm gonna ask you to try to visualize as much as possible the combinations we'll be learning. I promise you it's gonna be fun because we'll be playing with words that you most likely already know. For me, this is the best part of learning something. You get to stop stuffing new words in your brain and start putting together things you already learned, like solving a puzzle.

So, you already know the first:

出す/だす/to take out

Let me give you one more example that didn't make it's way into our last lesson:

取り出す/とりだす/to take out
Literally: 'grab + take out'

The literal translation comes very much in handy, imagine someone grabbing something and taking it out (of a bag, off a shelf, of a container, etc..)

鞄から本を取り出した。
かばん　から　ほん　を　とりだした。
(Someone) took out a book from the bag.
Literally: 'Bag + from + book + を + took out.

Note: You learned in our previous lesson that combo words with ～出す at the end usually mean 'to start to do X', but this is not always the case, as you see above. If this makes you confused, try to forget the rules and just think about what makes more sense in each situation. In this case, it's more reasonable to think that '取り出す’ means 'to-grab-and-take-out' than 'to start taking out', right?

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Next on today's menu is a very close buddy of 出す.

～始める/はじめる/to start to～

You can see it has the same meaning in English, but in Japanese the nuance is different.
Where as with ～出す you could imagine something 'springing forward' , this is not the case for '始める', it just means 'to begin doing something':

食べ始める/たべはじめる/to start eating
Literally: 'eat + start to'

子供がお昼を食べ始めた。
こども　が　おひる　を　たべはじめた。
The child(ren) started eating their lunch.
Literally: 'Child(ren) + が + lunch + を + started eating'

This also works with many ’する’ verbs:

勉強する（べんきょうする/to study）　
→　勉強し始める（べんきょうしはじめる/to start studying）
Literally: 'study + start to'.

Note: Remember to use the ～ます stem for this:
する　→　します →　し (～ます stem) + ます.

テストの為に勉強し始めた。
テスト　の　ため　に　べんきょうしはじめた。
(I) started studying for the test.
Literally: 'test+ in order to + started studying'

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Another good one is

取る/とる/to take

取り消す/とりけす/ to take back (your words), to cancel (an appointment)
Literally: 'to take + erase'.

This one is also pretty visual. When you wish you never said something and you want to take your words back, you could easily imagine making them disappear with an eraser, so you 'take them back and erase them'. This can be said by a person who was offended:

今の言葉取り消して！
いま　の　ことば　とりけして！
Take back what (you) just said!
Literally: 'now + の + words + take back!'

Or you can just cancel an appointment:

予約を取り消したいんですけど。
よやく　を　とりけしたい　んですけど。
I'd like to cancel my reservation.
Literally: 'reservation + を + want to cancel + んですけど'.

Another one is:

取り外す/とりはずす/to remove, to dismantle, to detach.
Literally: 'to grab/take and remove'

携帯のバッテリーを取り外した。
けいたい　の　ばってりー　を　とりはずひた。
I removed the phone's battery.
Literally: 'cellphone + の + battery + を + removed'

This mostly works with instruments or devices for obvious reasons, but it can also refer to simpler objects, like curtains for example:

カーテンを取り外す。
かーてん　を　とりはずす。
Remove the curtains.
Literally: 'curtains + を + remove'

Feels good to learn things that you basically already know right? Takes little effort and it reinforces the stuff you've already studied. I personally love these, it's the perfect kind of 'studying' for a lazy bum like me. Have fun reviewing and see you next time!

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This lesson was written by Adriana, a guest contributor.