Breakdown of daiyokuzyou no araiba de hasira naide hosii.
Questions & Answers about daiyokuzyou no araiba de hasira naide hosii.
How do you read this sentence?
It is read:
だいよくじょう の あらいば で はしらないで ほしい。
Breakdown:
- 大浴場 = だいよくじょう
- の
- 洗い場 = あらいば
- で
- 走らないで = はしらないで
- ほしい
What does 大浴場 mean here?
大浴場 means a large public bath area or big communal bath.
You often see this word in places like:
- hotels
- hot spring inns
- bathhouses
- spas
So this sentence is talking about behavior in that bath facility.
What is 洗い場?
洗い場 means the washing area—the place where people sit or stand to wash themselves before entering the bath.
In a Japanese bathhouse, this is usually the area with:
- stools
- showers
- faucets
- soap and shampoo
So 大浴場の洗い場 means the washing area of the large bath.
Why is there a の between 大浴場 and 洗い場?
The particle の links nouns together.
Here, it shows a relationship like:
- the washing area of the large bath
- or more naturally in English, the washing area in the large bath
So:
- 大浴場 = large bath
- 洗い場 = washing area
- 大浴場の洗い場 = the large bath’s washing area / the washing area in the large bath
This is a very common use of の in Japanese.
Why is the particle で used after 洗い場?
Why is it 走らないで, not 走りないで or something else?
Because 走る is a godan verb.
To make the negative form of a godan verb, you change the final -u sound to the -a sound and add ない:
- 走る → 走らない
Then to make the -ないで form:
- 走らない → 走らないで
So:
- dictionary form: 走る
- negative: 走らない
- don’t run / without running form: 走らないで
This is why you see 走ら-, not 走り-.
What does ないでほしい mean grammatically?
V-ないでほしい means:
I want you not to do V
or more naturally,
Please don’t do V
So:
- 走らないでほしい = I want you not to run
This pattern is built like this:
- verb negative ない
- で
- ほしい
Examples:
- 遅れないでほしい = I want you not to be late
- 触らないでほしい = I want you not to touch it
- 騒がないでほしい = I want you not to make noise
It expresses the speaker’s desire about someone else’s behavior.
Is ないで here the same as without doing?
It is related, but here it works as part of a request-like expression with ほしい.
By itself, ないで can mean without doing:
- 朝ご飯を食べないで出かけた = I went out without eating breakfast
But in 走らないでほしい, the whole phrase means:
- I want you not to run
So in this sentence, you should understand ないでほしい as one pattern, not just as without running, I want...
Why does the sentence use ほしい instead of ください?
Because ないでほしい and ないでください have different nuances.
- 走らないでください = Please don’t run
- 走らないでほしい = I want you not to run
In practice, both can function as requests, but the tone is different:
- ないでください is a direct polite request
- ないでほしい expresses the speaker’s wish or desire
On signs or notices, ないでほしい can sound a little softer, more like:
- We would like you not to run
- Please refrain from running
So it is less like a direct command and more like expressing a desired behavior.
Who is the hidden subject of ほしい? Who wants this?
Grammatically, ほしい expresses the desire of the speaker.
So literally, it is something like:
- (We/I) want you not to run
In a sign or notice, the speaker is usually not one specific person. It is the voice of:
- the facility
- the staff
- the management
So the sentence really means something like:
- The bathhouse asks that you not run in the washing area
Japanese often leaves the subject unstated when it is obvious from context.
Why is there no explicit you in the sentence?
Because Japanese often omits subjects and objects when they are understood from context.
In English, a sign might say:
- Please do not run in the washing area
The you is understood, even though English usually does not say it directly either.
Japanese does this even more often. Here, the person being addressed is simply:
- the customer
- the guest
- anyone using the bath
So there is no need to say あなたは or あなたに.
In fact, explicitly using あなた in a sign would usually sound unnatural.
Is this sentence polite?
It is not in full formal-polite です/ます style, but it is still normal for a notice or sign.
- 走らないでほしいです would sound more conversational or more explicitly polite
- 走らないでほしい is shorter and common in written notices
Japanese signs often use concise plain forms:
- 入らないでください
- 触らないこと
- 禁煙
- 静かにしてほしい
So this sentence is not rude; it is just a typical written notice style.
Would 走らないでください be more common on a sign?
It could be, yes. Both are possible.
Differences:
- 走らないでください = straightforward and polite
- 走らないでほしい = slightly softer, expressing a preference or request from the facility
Depending on the tone the writer wants, a sign might say:
- 洗い場で走らないでください。
- 洗い場では走らないでほしい。
- 洗い場での駆け足はご遠慮ください。
All of these are natural in the right context.
Why doesn’t the sentence use は after 洗い場?
It could, but it does not have to.
Current sentence:
- 洗い場で走らないでほしい
- Please don’t run in the washing area
With は:
- 洗い場では走らないでほしい
- At least in the washing area, please don’t run / As for the washing area, don’t run there
Adding は gives more contrast or emphasis to the location.
So:
- で = neutral location of action
- では = location + contrast/emphasis
Could this sentence use なくて instead of ないで?
Not naturally in this pattern.
You normally say:
- 走らないでほしい
Not:
- 走らなくてほしい
That sounds unnatural.
This is because the pattern is specifically:
- V-ないでほしい
not
- V-なくてほしい
So this is something you should learn as a fixed grammar pattern.
Is ほしい here the same word as the adjective meaning want?
Yes, it is the same basic word ほしい.
For example:
- 新しい本がほしい = I want a new book
But when it follows a verb in -て / -ないで form, it expresses wanting someone to do or not do something:
- 来てほしい = I want you to come
- 行かないでほしい = I want you not to go
- 走らないでほしい = I want you not to run
So the core idea is still want, but the grammar changes what is being wanted.
Why is this an especially important thing to say in a bathhouse?
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