ネイル用に、ハート形のストーンを探しています。— Can you read this sentence and understand what it means?
Vocab
ネイル: Nail.
That’s what “nail” looks like in katakana💅 We also have another word for nail 爪, but especially in nail art (ネイルアート) related context, we tend to use ネイル.
用 LV.3: Purpose(/Task).
We teach 用’s primary meaning as “task,” but when it’s used as a suffix like 〜用 (ネイル用 in this case), it explains the purpose.
ハート形 LV.9: Heart Shaped.
ハート is what “heart” looks like in katakana and it usually is used for the shape, symbol or spirit kind of hearts — not the internal organ as we have a specific word for that — 心臓 .
ストーン: Stone.
I guess we use a lot of katakana English for beauty care related things (because it makes things sound a little fancier?)
探す LV.31: To Look For.
Let’s breakdown!
ネイル用に
“For nails,”
ハート形のストーンを
“A heart-shaped stone”
You can tell this is the object because of the particle を.
探しています
This is 探す’s present continuous form. That means the speaker is currently 探す-ing. What are they looking for? A heart-shaped stone for nails
Answer:
ネイルよう に、ハートがた の ストーンを さがしています。
I’m looking for a heart shaped stone to use on my (fake) nails.