# Bit lost trying to understand the context sentences

**URL:** <https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904>\
**Category:** Grammar\
**Created:** [September 13, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904 "2020-09-13T00:15:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 13\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Combo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/combo/32/339390_2.png) [@Combo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Combo)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/1 "2020-09-13T00:15:09Z")

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I’m level 2, I just learned 下がる and the context sentences showed me this:

せかいじゅうのかぶかが下がった。  
Stock prices all over the world fell.

ねつが三十七どに下がりました。  
My temperature dropped to 37℃.

I don’t get how I’m supposed to speak them and why they’re written like that, did I miss out on a lesson? Where should I learn grammar for this?

Edit: Thank you for the replies! I’ll get a copy of Genki and start cramming grammar soon.

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**Author:** ![IgorTheGreat](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/igorthegreat/32/348079_2.png) [@IgorTheGreat](https://community.wanikani.com/u/IgorTheGreat)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:19am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/2 "2020-09-13T00:19:18Z")

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It’s not uncommon to not be able to understand the context sentences. I haven’t read them in a long time

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**Author:** ![Leebo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/leebo/32/439476_2.png) [@Leebo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Leebo)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/3 "2020-09-13T00:23:12Z")

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> [@Combo](#):
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> I don’t get how I’m supposed to speak them

This should be the easiest part, no? They give you hiragana and then only use kanji you already learned.

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**Author:** ![Combo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/combo/32/339390_2.png) [@Combo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Combo)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/4 "2020-09-13T00:33:44Z")

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So 下 (shita) just turns into sa?

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**Author:** ![Combo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/combo/32/339390_2.png) [@Combo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Combo)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/5 "2020-09-13T00:34:28Z")

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Oh, I see, thought I was doing something wrong.

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**Author:** ![Leebo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/leebo/32/439476_2.png) [@Leebo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Leebo)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/6 "2020-09-13T00:35:44Z")

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> [@Combo](#):
>
> So 下 (shita) just turns into sa?

This was the sentence for 下がる. I see what you mean now about not understanding the grammar, but they taught you the さ reading in that very lesson.

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**Author:** ![Munetta](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/munetta/32/446948_2.png) [@Munetta](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Munetta)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/7 "2020-09-13T00:37:23Z")

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Are you asking because you don’t understand the sentence? Or maybe you cannot read it? Perhaps it was that only word which confused you. In any case, WK only focuses on teaching Kanji plus a handful of words. You might want to learn grammar elsewhere!  
I suggest books, youtube or look up the dictionaries of Japanese grammar.

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**Author:** ![darkness\_rising](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/darkness_rising/32/312966_2.png) [@darkness\_rising](https://community.wanikani.com/u/darkness_rising)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/8 "2020-09-13T00:42:17Z")

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It seems like you’re confused because you haven’t learned verb conjugations yet.

下がった is the causal past of 下がる.  
下がりました is the polite past of 下がる.

The kanji is pronounced the same in both instances because they are all different forms of the same word.

But, yeah, adding on to what others have said, there are no grammar lessons on Wankani. You have to look somewhere else to learn that.

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**Author:** ![Combo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/combo/32/339390_2.png) [@Combo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Combo)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/9 "2020-09-13T00:42:55Z")

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Ohhh it’s one of the kun’yomi readings, I get it now. There are just so many it flew right over my head!

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**Author:** ![Combo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/combo/32/339390_2.png) [@Combo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Combo)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/10 "2020-09-13T00:47:19Z")

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Thank you, the conjugations were one of the things I didn’t get! I was considering picking up Genki but it seems a bit overkill since I’m only level 2 and I’m afraid I won’t understand most of the kanji in it. Is it a good idea? Or is there another alternative for starters?

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**Author:** ![gavinr](https://cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wanikanicommunity/original/3X/f/d/fd4c154120954695f788402f3bcf4e616499bc2d.png) [@gavinr](https://community.wanikani.com/u/gavinr)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/11 "2020-09-13T00:59:21Z")

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Picking up Genki is a good idea. It’s not overkill at all.

You aren’t supposed to ‘understand the kanji’ before you start with it - it is a book designed for starting from zero.

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**Author:** ![Combo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/user_avatar/community.wanikani.com/combo/32/339390_2.png) [@Combo](https://community.wanikani.com/u/Combo)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2020, 1:01am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/12 "2020-09-13T01:01:54Z")

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> it is a book designed for starting from zero

Amazing, I’ll get it then! Thank you for your reply!

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/wanikanicommunity/original/4X/6/2/a/62a8b0f4c59ff2c5b6651ffcf43531480b3e5297.png) [@system](https://community.wanikani.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2021, 1:02am UTC](https://community.wanikani.com/t/bit-lost-trying-to-understand-the-context-sentences/45904/13 "2021-09-13T01:02:43Z")

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Closed on September 13, 2021, 1:02am UTC

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