Learn Hardcore Japanese: tomodati ha kabegami no tuya to sasiiro wo mite bakari iru. - My friend keeps doing nothing but looking at the wallpaper's sheen and accent color.

Word

友達ともだち　は　壁紙かべがみ　の　つや　と　差さし色いろ　を　見みて　ばかり　いる。tomodachi wa kabegami no tsuya to sashiiro o mite bakari iru.

Meaning

My friend keeps doing nothing but looking at the wallpaper's sheen and accent color.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Japanese

Lesson

Redecorating a room with a friend

Breakdown of tomodachi wa kabegami no tsuya to sashiiro o mite bakari iru.

はwa

topic particle

をo

direct object particle

友とも達だちtomodachi

friend

とto

noun-connector particle

Questions & Answers about tomodachi wa kabegami no tsuya to sashiiro o mite bakari iru.

Why is 友達 followed by は instead of が?

は marks 友達 as the topic: as for my/the friend...

In a sentence like this, は is natural if the speaker is talking about what that friend is doing. It gives a descriptive, topical feel.

If you used が, it would sound more like you are specifically identifying the subject, as in the friend is the one who is... That is possible in some contexts, but は is more neutral here.

Also, 友達 can mean friend or friends depending on context.

What does 壁紙のつや mean exactly, and what is の doing here?

壁紙のつや means the sheen/gloss of the wallpaper.

Here, の links two nouns. A very common function of の is to show a relationship like:

possession
belonging
attribute
type/category

So here it is basically wallpaper's sheen or more naturally in English, the sheen of the wallpaper.

What does つや mean?

つや means gloss, luster, or sheen.

It refers to how shiny or polished something looks. In this sentence, it is talking about the visual finish of the wallpaper.

Depending on context, つや can be used for things like:

hair shine
skin glow
glossy surfaces
polished materials