*電話をかけようとしたが、かからなかった。
I tried to reach him by phone, but could not get through.
To convey the meaning above, Morita suggests using (4) below.
EXAMPLE:
(4) Denwa o kaketa ga, ohanashi-chū datta.
電話をかけたが、お話し中だった。
I tried to call him, but the line was busy.
In other words, denwa o kakeru 電話をかける may be used whether or not the call goes through, whereas in English “to phone” may not.
According to Morita, denwa o kake yō to suru 電話をかけようとする describes the stage before one picks up the receiver, puts in a coin, or inserts a telephone card. The following sentence would, therefore, be acceptable, unlike (3) above.
EXAMPLE:
(5) Denwa o kake yō to shita ga, denwachō ga miatara-nakatta.
電話をかけようとしたが、電話帳が見当たらなかった。
I tried to make a phone call but could not find a phone book.
De
Deru 出る most often means “to go out, to come out, to get out.”
EXAMPLES:
(1) Amari atsui kara, niwa ni demashō.
あまり暑いから、庭に出ましょう。
It’s so hot; let’s go out into the yard.
(2) Nihon o deta no wa nijū-nen mae datta.
日本を出たのは二十年前だった。
It was 20 years ago that I left Japan.
With reference to school, deru 出る is used as a synonym for sotsugyō-suru 卒業する “to graduate.”
EXAMPLE:
(3) Daigaku o dete (or sotsugyō-shite) kara nani o suru tsumori desu ka.
大学を出て（卒業して）から何をするつもりですか。
What do you plan to do after graduating from college?
Don’t equate deru 出る meaning “to graduate” with English “leave,” since “to leave school” might mean “to leave school without graduating.”
This latter meaning would be expressed in Japanese by another verb: chūtai-suru 中退 する “to drop out of school.”
EXAMPLE:
(4) Ano hito wa daigaku o chūtai-shite haiyū ni natta sō desu.
あの人は大学を中退して俳優になったそうです。
I hear he dropped out of college and became an actor.
One should beware of the difference between ni deru に出る and o deru を出る. The former means “to attend,” while the latter means “to go out of” or “to leave.” For example,
EXAMPLES:
(5) kurasu ni deru
クラスに出る
to attend class
(6) kurasu o deru
クラスを出る
to leave class
(See also DEKAKERU.)
Dō
Dō itashimashite どう致しまして, with or without a preceding Iie いいえ, serves as a response to someone’s expression of gratitude. In (1) below, therefore, all of speaker B’s answers are correct.
EXAMPLE:
(1) A: Dōmo arigatō gozaimashita.
どうもありがとうございます。
Thank you very much for what you did for me.
B: (a) Iie.
いいえ。
(b) Dō itashimashite.
どう致しまして。
(c) Iie, dō itashimashite.
いいえ、どう致しまして。
Not at all.
It is safer not to equate Dō itashimashite どう致しまして with English “You are welcome,” because Dō itashimashite may also be used as a response to apologies.
EXAMPLE:
(2) A: Dōmo gomeiwaku o okake-shimashita.
どうもご迷惑をおかけしました。
I’m very sorry for causing so much trouble.
B: Dō itashimashite.
どう致しまして。
Not at all.
In some cases, Dō itashimashite どう致しまして may also be used in response to compliments (Jorden, 1, p. 3), but that particular use is very limited. It is much safer, therefore, to say just Iie, which is always a correct response to compliments. (See also ARIGATŌ GOZAIMASU and IIE.)
Dō
Dōmo どうも is most often an abbreviation of Dōmo arigatō gozaimasu (or gozaimashita) どうもありがとうございます（ございました） “Thank you very much” or Dōmo shitsurei-shimashita どうも失礼しました “I am very sorry for what I have done.” Lately, Dōmo seems to have started developing a wider and wider range of meaning, however. Thus it is beginning to function as a salutation in a tremendous number of situations. Some people use it in lieu of other more established greetings such as Konnichi wa こんにちは “Good day!” and Sayonara さようなら “Good-by!” and, according to Maruya (p. 153), even Moshimoshi もしもし (a greeting on the phone, meaning “Hello!”). Its usage has become so broad that Maruya suggests (p. 154), though tongue in cheek, that it may someday even acquire the meaning of “I love you”!
Do
Whereas, in English, “what kind” can be used alone without “of” + noun, Japanese donna どんな has to be followed by a noun.
EXAMPLE:
(1) Kore wa donna shōsetsu desu ka.
これはどんな小説ですか。
What kind of novel is this?
In questions like this, dōiu どういう can also be used to mean “what kind.”
EXAMPLE:
(2)