Breakdown of mensetu no mae ni, haburasi wo tukatte ha wo kirei ni site, kagami no mae de sinkokyuu wo suru to sukosi zisin ga demasu.
Questions & Answers about mensetu no mae ni, haburasi wo tukatte ha wo kirei ni site, kagami no mae de sinkokyuu wo suru to sukosi zisin ga demasu.
This is a common pattern:
- Noun + の + 前 = “the time before [noun]”
- 面接の前 = “the time before the interview”
- に marks that time as a point when something happens.
So:
- 面接の前 = “before the interview” (as a time-expression)
- 面接の前に = “before the interview, (do X)”
Literally: “at the time before the interview” → “before the interview”.
You could also say 面接前に (dropping の) in many cases; it sounds a bit more concise/compact but is similar in meaning here.
Because 使う means “to use [something]”, so the thing you use is its direct object:
- 歯ブラシを使う = “to use a toothbrush”
If you used で, it would be tying the toothbrush directly to the action, not to 使う. For example:
- 歯ブラシで歯をみがく = “brush your teeth with a toothbrush”
In your sentence the structure is:
- 歯ブラシを使って = “using a toothbrush”
- 歯をきれいにして = “(and) making your teeth clean”
So it’s “use a toothbrush and make your teeth clean”, not “clean your teeth with a toothbrush” as a single verb phrase.
Japanese often chains actions with the て-form:
- Vて、Vて、Vます。 = “do V, do V, and then do V.”
Here we have:
- 歯ブラシを使って – using a toothbrush
- 歯をきれいにして – making your teeth clean
- (later) 深呼吸をする – take a deep breath
- (result) 少し自信が出ます – you feel a little more confident
The two て-forms:
- 使って (て-form of 使う)
- きれいにして (て-form of きれいにする)
are just linking actions in sequence:
“Using a toothbrush, making your teeth clean, and taking a deep breath...”
きれい is a な‑adjective / noun. To mean “make something clean / neat / pretty”, Japanese uses:
- A(な-adjective) + に + する = “to make [something] A”
So:
- 歯をきれいにする = “to make your teeth clean”
- 歯をきれいにして = て‑form of that: “making your teeth clean (and...)”
You can’t say きれいして because きれい by itself isn’t a verb.
You also can’t say きれいでする; です is a copula, not used in that pattern.
Pattern summary:
- 静かにする – make it quiet
- 元気にする – make (someone) lively/energetic
- きれいにする – make (something) clean/neat
Your sentence uses the て‑form of that construction.
で marks the place where an action happens:
- 図書館で勉強する – study at the library
- 公園で走る – run in the park
- 鏡の前で深呼吸をする – take a deep breath in front of the mirror
If you said 鏡の前に深呼吸をする, it would sound more like “do a deep breath toward/to in front of the mirror”, which is unnatural. Here we just want “location of the action”, so で is correct.
Both are possible in Japanese:
- 深呼吸をする
- 深呼吸する
Many noun + する verbs can optionally take を:
- 勉強をする / 勉強する
- 運動をする / 運動する
- 練習をする / 練習する
There is little or no difference in meaning here. 深呼吸をする is a very common and natural set phrase meaning “to take a deep breath”.
Here と is the conditional “when/if”.
Pattern:
- Vると、〜 = “When/if (you) do V, then ~ happens.”
So:
- 深呼吸をする – to take a deep breath
- 深呼吸をすると – when / if you take a deep breath
- 少し自信が出ます – you feel a little more confident
So the whole part means:
“When/if you take a deep breath in front of the mirror, you will feel a little more confident.”
This と often expresses a fairly reliable result: whenever you do A, B happens.
Yes, 出る literally means “to come out / appear”. In Japanese, 自信が出る is a set phrase:
- 自信が出る = “confidence appears / comes out” → “you feel (more) confident”
Some related expressions:
- 自信がある – to have confidence
- 自信がない – to not have confidence
- 自信がつく – to gain/acquire confidence
- 自信が出る – confidence surfaces/shows up (you start to feel it)
So 少し自信が出ます is naturally understood as
“You’ll feel a little more confident.”
が marks the subject of the verb 出ます.
- 何が出ますか。 – What comes out?
- 自信が出ます。 – Confidence comes out.
So grammatically:
- 自信 = subject
- が = subject marker
- 出ます = verb “comes out / appears”
In English we usually say “I feel confident”, but in Japanese it often looks like “confidence appears” or “confidence comes out” with 自信 as the subject.
All of these are grammatically possible, but the nuance and naturalness differ.
少し自信が出ます
- 少し is used adverbially, modifying the whole idea of “confidence appearing”:
“You’ll be a little more confident.” → very natural here.
- 少し is used adverbially, modifying the whole idea of “confidence appearing”:
自信が少し出ます
- Puts more focus on “the confidence (itself) comes out a bit”.
It’s not wrong, just slightly less common in this everyday kind of sentence.
- Puts more focus on “the confidence (itself) comes out a bit”.
少しの自信が出ます
- Literally “a small amount of confidence appears.”
- Feels more like you’re talking about a quantity of confidence as a thing.
Grammatically OK but sounds more written / formal or stylistic.
In daily speech, 少し自信が出ます is the smoothest choice.
In Japanese, only the last verb in a chain needs to carry the politeness level. The others are often in て‑form:
- 歯ブラシを使って、歯をきれいにして、深呼吸をすると、少し自信が出ます。
Here:
- 使って – て‑form (linking)
- きれいにして – て‑form (linking)
- すると – dictionary (plain) + と (conditional)
- 出ます – polite form, carries the overall politeness
This is normal: the politeness is determined mainly by the final verb form, so using て‑forms and dictionary forms earlier is natural in a polite sentence.
Japanese often omits the subject when it’s clear from context.
This sentence is giving general advice. In English we would typically say:
- “Before an interview, if you brush your teeth … you will feel a little more confident.”
In Japanese, this generic “you / people in general” is usually left out:
- (あなたは) 面接の前に、…すると少し自信が出ます。
The listener understands that it applies to them (or to people in general) from context, so there’s no need to say あなた explicitly.
Yes, you could say:
- 面接の前に、…
- 面接前に、…
Both are correct and natural here.
面接前に (without の) sounds a bit more compact and somewhat more written or headline-like, but in this everyday context it’s fine in speech too.
面接の前に feels slightly more neutral/natural as full-sentence prose, especially for learners, but the difference is small.