Learn Japanese with Jerardon (Comedy Trio): What Does “i-Adjective + garu” Mean? – Small Old Man Sketch (N3)

>A comedy sketch by the duo Jerardon. Kamichii, dressed as an office worker (OL), interacts with Attack Nishimoto, who plays a “small old man,” a famous Japanese urban legend about miniature middle-aged men that became a hot topic around 2009.

1. OL：え、何？

• Interjection: “え (e)” is an interjection used to express surprise or confusion.
• Interrogative Pronoun: “何 (nani)” is an interrogative pronoun meaning “what”, acting as a casual question.

2. 小さいおじさん：あの…わたしのこと見えてますか？

• Interjection: “あの (ano)” is an interjection used to hesitate or politely catch someone’s attention, like “um”.
• Noun / Particle: “わたしのこと (watashi no koto)” attaches the possessive particle “の (no)” and the abstract noun “こと (koto)” directly to the pronoun “私 (watashi – I/me)”, which functions as a polite object phrase meaning “me (as a whole)”.
• Verb / Modality Expression: “見えてますか (mietemasu ka)” is the polite present progressive form of the potential/intransitive verb “見える (mieru – to be visible)”, followed by the question particle “か (ka)”. It creates a modality of inquiring about a current state.

3. OL：いや、そりゃ見えてるよ。

• Interjection: “いや (iya)” is an interjection used to contradict or dismiss the previous statement, meaning “well…”.
• Contraction: “そりゃ (sorya)” is a casual contraction of “それは (sore wa – that is)”.
• Verb & Modality Expression: “見えてるよ (mieteru yo)” consists of the plain progressive form “見えている (miete iru)”, which has casually dropped the “い (i)”, and the sentence-ending particle “よ (yo)” that acts as an assertive modality marker to show confidence.

4. 小さいおじさん：え？見えてて、その反応なんですか？

• Verb Conjunctive Form: “見えてて (mietete)” is the Te-form of “見えている (miete iru)”, connecting the condition of being visible to the next question.
• Noun / Modality Expression: “その反応なんですか (sono hannō nan desu ka)” attaches the demonstrative modifier “その (sono – that)” to the noun “反応 (hannō – reaction)”. This is followed by “なんですか (nan desu ka)”, which is a polite explanatory question structure that conveys the speaker’s subjective sense of bewilderment or disbelief.

5. 小さいおじさん：え、びっくりしたり、怖がったりしないんですか？

• Grammar Pattern: This sentence showcases the grammar pattern “～たり、～たりする (tari, tari suru)”, which connects multiple verbs to list actions or states among other possibilities. Here, the suffix “たり (tari)” is attached to the past plain forms of “びっくりする (bikkuri suru – to be surprised)” and “怖がる (kowagaru – to show signs of fear/act scared)”.
• Suffix: “怖がったり (kowagattari)” features the suffix “がる (garu)”, which is a suffix that attaches to the stem of I-adjectives (like 怖い – kowai) or Na-adjectives to express that someone else is showing signs of that emotion or acting in that manner.
• Modality Expression: “しないんですか (shinai n desu ka)” is the negative polite explanatory question form of the verb “する (suru)”, which functions as a modality expression indicating strong curiosity or surprise at the lack of action.

6. OL：どこが怖いんだよ。

• Pronoun & Particle: “どこが (doko ga)” uses the interrogative pronoun “どこ (doko – where)” combined with the subject marking particle “が (ga)” to pinpoint the exact location or feature.
• Modality Expression: “怖いんだよ (kowai nda yo)” attaches the explanatory structure “んだ (nda)” and the assertive sentence-ending particle “よ (yo)” to the I-adjective “怖い (kowai – scary)”. This forms a strong rhetorical modality expressing that the speaker finds the idea completely absurd.

7. 小さいおじさん：え、でも、小さいおじさんですよ？

• Conjunction: “でも (demo)” is a conjunction meaning “but” or “however”.
• Noun Modifier / Copula: “小さいおじさんですよ (chiisai ojisan desu yo)” combines the I-adjective “小さい (chiisai – small)” with the countable noun “おじさん (ojisan – middle-aged man)”, followed by the polite copula “です (desu)” and the emphatic particle “よ (yo)”.

8. OL：おっきいおじさんだったらびっくりするよ。ちっちゃいおじさんだったらびっくりしないよ。ちっちゃいんだから。

• Conditional: “だったら (dattara)” is a conditional particle structure that attaches to nouns like “おじさん (ojisan)”, creating a provisional modality meaning “if it were”.
• Modality Expression: “ちっちゃいんだから (chicchai nda kara)” attaches the explanatory “んだ (nda)” and the causal particle “から (kara – because)” directly to the casual I-adjective “ちっちゃい (chicchai – tiny)”, creating a strong concluding modality to show that the reason is completely obvious.

Fill in the blanks ( ) to complete the natural conversation.

A: ねぇお母さん。このおもちゃいいなぁ。欲しいなぁ。
B: 欲し（ ）ても、買わないよ。

1: く

2: がっ

3: い