tomodati to kenka wo sita ato, sukosi sabisii desu.

After I have a fight with a friend, I feel a little lonely.

Breakdown of tomodati to kenka wo sita ato, sukosi sabisii desu.

• です: to be
• を: direct object particle
• 友とも達だち: friend
• と: companion particle
• あと: after
• する: to do
• 少すこし: a little
• 〜た: past tense
• 寂さびしい: lonely
• けんか: quarrel

Questions & Answers about tomodati to kenka wo sita ato, sukosi sabisii desu.

Why is the particle と used after 友達 here? I thought と mainly means and.

In this sentence, と after 友達 means with (as in “fight *with my friend”), not *and.

と has several main uses:

1. AとB = A and B (listing things)
2. AはBとCをする = A does C *with B
   
   • Example: *
   友達と遊ぶ = play with a friend - 友達とけんかする = fight/quarrel with a friend
3. Quotation marker (と言う, と思う, etc.)

Here it’s use (2): 友達とけんかをした = had a fight *with my friend*.

What exactly is けんか and why do we say けんかをする instead of just a verb?

けんか is a noun meaning fight, argument, or quarrel.

Japanese often makes verbs from nouns by using 〜をする:

• 勉強 (study) → 勉強をする to study
• 運動 (exercise) → 運動をする to exercise
• けんか (fight) → けんかをする to fight / to argue

In casual speech, people often drop を and even する when context is clear:

• 昨日、友達とけんかした。 (ここでは を is omitted)
• Dictionary form: けんかする
• Past form: けんかした

So in this sentence:

• けんかをした = けんかした = fought / had a quarrel.

Why is it したあと followed by です? The した looks like past tense, but です looks present. Is that a tense mismatch?

This is normal Japanese tense usage. The past tense part (した) is inside a clause that describes when something happened, and the main sentence has its own tense.

Structure:

• 友達とけんかをしたあと、 = after (I) fought with my friend,
• 少し寂しいです。 = (I) feel a little lonely.

We can rewrite:

• けんかをする → plain present
• けんかをした → plain past
• けんかをしたあと literally: after having fought / after I (have) fought

That past action is already completed. The loneliness is the current state that follows it. So:

• Past in the subordinate clause (the part before あと)
• Present in the main clause (寂しいです)

This is just like English:

• After I *fought with my friend, I feel a little lonely.*

What is the difference between 〜したあと and 〜してから? Could I say 友達とけんかしてから、少し寂しいです。?

Both are possible, but the nuance is slightly different.

• 〜したあと

  • Very neutral “after doing 〜”
  • Focuses on time order: A happened, then B.

• 〜してから

  • Also “after ~”, but often with a nuance of sequence or starting point:
    “ever since doing 〜,” “from the time I did 〜 and on”, especially in some contexts.

In this sentence:

• 友達とけんかをしたあと、少し寂しいです。
  → After the fight (as an event), I feel a bit lonely.

• 友達とけんかしてから、少し寂しいです。
  → From when we fought onward, I feel a bit lonely.
  (Can sound more like a continuing state since that time.)

Both are grammatically fine; 〜したあと is the more straightforward “after ~” here.

Why is there a comma after あと? Does it have a grammatical meaning?

The comma (、) itself doesn’t carry special grammar; it mainly helps readability.

The structure is:

• 友達とけんかをしたあと、 = subordinate clause: after I fought with my friend,
• 少し寂しいです。 = main clause: I feel a little lonely.

Japanese often puts 、 between:

• Clause 1 (condition / time / reason, etc.)
• Clause 2 (main result / main statement)

You could write it without the comma and it would still be grammatically correct:

• 友達とけんかをしたあと少し寂しいです。

But the comma makes it clearer where the “after ~” clause ends.

Why isn’t there 私は or 僕は at the beginning? How do we know who is lonely?

In Japanese, subjects and topics are often omitted if they are obvious from context.

Full, very explicit version:

• 私は友達とけんかをしたあと、少し寂しいです。

In natural speech/writing, 私は is usually dropped when:

• You’re talking about your own feelings, experiences, or actions
• The context (who is talking, what you were just talking about) makes it clear

So:

• The default interpretation is I am the one who fought and is now lonely.
• If a different subject were intended, context would usually make that clear or the subject would be mentioned.

Why is it 寂しいです and not 寂しいだ or just 寂しい?

寂しい is an i-adjective (形容詞). Its rules are different from na-adjectives and nouns.

Basic patterns:

• I-adjective: 寂しい
  
  • Plain form (casual): 寂しい。
  • Polite form: 寂しいです。 (add です for politeness)
  • You do not say 寂しいだ in standard Japanese.

Compare:

• Na-adjective: 元気（な）
  
  • Plain form: 元気だ。
  • Polite: 元気です。

So:

• Casual: 友達とけんかをしたあと、少し寂しい。
• Polite: 友達とけんかをしたあと、少し寂しいです。

The sentence you have is in the polite style because of です.

Can 少し go somewhere else in the sentence, like at the beginning or the end?

少し is an adverb meaning a little / a bit, and it most naturally goes right before what it is modifying.

Here, it modifies 寂しい:

• 少し寂しいです。 = I feel a little lonely.

Other placements:

1. 友達とけんかをしたあと、少し寂しいです。
   – Very natural (what you have).

2. 友達とけんかをしたあと、寂しいです、少し。
   – Possible in speech, but sounds a bit marked/emotional/afterthought-like.

3. 少し、友達とけんかをしたあと、寂しいです。
   – Awkward: 少し doesn’t clearly modify anything at first.

Best is to keep 少し directly in front of the adjective:

• 少し寂しいです。

Could I say ちょっと寂しいです instead of 少し寂しいです? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can. Both are correct and very common.

Nuance:

• 少し

  • Neutral “a little, a bit, a small amount.”
  • Slightly more written/formal or neutral.

• ちょっと

  • Also “a little”, but very frequent in spoken and casual Japanese.
  • Can sound softer or more hedged (like downplaying your feeling) depending on context.

In your sentence:

• 友達とけんかをしたあと、少し寂しいです。
• 友達とけんかをしたあと、ちょっと寂しいです。

Both are natural. In everyday conversation, ちょっと寂しいです might even be more common.

What is the difference between 寂しい (さびしい) and さみしい? Which reading is correct here?

The kanji 寂しい has two common readings:

• さびしい (sabishii)
• さみしい (samishii)

Points:

• Meaning: they mean the same thing: lonely, lonesome.
• Usage:
  • さびしい is the standard reading you’ll see in dictionaries.
  • さみしい is very common in spoken Japanese and also appears in writing.

In your sentence, either pronunciation is fine:

• 友達とけんかをしたあと、少し寂しいです。
  → read as さびしいです or さみしいです.

Many native speakers use them almost interchangeably in everyday speech.

Why is the particle を used with けんか? I thought を marks a direct object of a verb, but けんか is a noun.

You’re right that を usually marks the direct object of a verb, and けんか is a noun. But in patterns like Noun + をする, that noun functions like the object of する.

Pattern:

• Noun + をする = to do [Noun], to perform [Noun]
  Examples:
  • 宿題をする – do homework
  • 掃除をする – do cleaning
  • 質問をする – ask a question
  • けんかをする – have a fight / fight

So here:

• けんかをした = (I) did a fight → had a fight / argued.

In casual speech, people often drop を: けんかした, but けんかをした is fully correct and slightly more explicit/formal.

Could we use 友達に instead of 友達と? What would 友達にけんかをした mean?

友達にけんかをした is not natural Japanese.

Compare:

1. 友達とけんかをした。

   • Literally: had a fight *with my friend.*
   • と marks your opponent/partner in the fight.

2. 友達に〜 usually means:

   • “to my friend” (as the target of an action)
     e.g. 友達に話す – talk to my friend
     友達にあげる – give (something) to my friend

With けんかをする, the normal, natural pattern is:

• 〜とけんかをする (fight/quarrel with ~).

So you should stick to:

• 友達とけんかをしたあと、少し寂しいです。

Can I change the word order, like 少し友達とけんかをしたあと寂しいです? How flexible is Japanese word order here?

Japanese word order is somewhat flexible, but not all permutations sound natural.

Natural core structure:

• [Time clause]、[main clause]
• 友達とけんかをしたあと、少し寂しいです。

Within the main clause, 少し should stay right before 寂しい:

• 少し寂しいです ✔
• 寂しいです少し (possible but odd / afterthought)
• 少し友達とけんかをしたあと寂しいです ✖ (confusing; 少し seems to modify the wrong thing)

You can move the whole time expression:

• 少し寂しいです、友達とけんかをしたあと。
  – This is possible in speech for emphasis, but not the default order.

Safest, most natural version is the original:

• 友達とけんかをしたあと、少し寂しいです。