Breakdown of genkan wo haku to, kibun mo sukosi sukkirisimasu.
Questions & Answers about genkan wo haku to, kibun mo sukosi sukkirisimasu.
What does 玄関 mean here? Is it just door?
玄関 means the entryway / front entrance area of a home or building, especially the Japanese-style space where people take off their shoes.
So in this sentence, it does not mean just the physical door. It refers more to the entrance area that you can sweep.
Why is を used after 玄関?
The particle を marks the direct object of the verb.
- 玄関を掃く = to sweep the entryway
Here, 掃く is the action, and 玄関 is the thing being swept.
What does 掃く mean, and how is it read?
掃く is read はく here, and it means to sweep.
Be careful: 履く is also read はく, but that one means to put on things like shoes, pants, etc.
So context matters:
- 床を掃く = sweep the floor
- 靴を履く = put on shoes
Why is 掃く in plain form before と instead of 掃きます?
Before particles like と, verbs usually appear in their plain/dictionary form, not the polite -ます form.
So:
- 掃くと = when/if one sweeps
- not 掃きますと in normal conversation
This is very common in grammar patterns:
- 食べると
- 行くと
- 見ると
Then the sentence ends politely with します.
What does ~と mean here?
Here, ~と means something like:
- when
- if
- whenever
So 玄関を掃くと、気分も少しすっきりします means that sweeping the entryway leads to feeling a bit refreshed.
In this sentence, と suggests a natural result or a result that tends to happen.
How is this と different from other conditionals like たら, ば, or なら?
This と often expresses a result that is:
- natural
- habitual
- predictable
- a usual consequence
So 玄関を掃くと、気分も少しすっきりします sounds like:
- When I sweep the entryway, I feel a little refreshed
- Sweeping the entryway makes me feel a bit refreshed
Compared with others:
- たら: more flexible, often used for one-time situations
- ば: more formal/logical conditional
- なら: more like if it’s the case that...
Here, と fits well because the second part feels like a natural effect of the first action.
What does 気分 mean in this sentence?
気分 means feeling, mood, or state of mind.
Here it refers to how you feel emotionally or mentally. So:
- 気分がすっきりする = to feel refreshed / cleared up
It is not exactly the same as a deep emotion like happiness or sadness. It is more about your overall sense or mood.
Why is it 気分も instead of just 気分が?
The particle も means also or too.
So 気分も少しすっきりします suggests something like:
- your mood also becomes a little refreshed
- you feel a little refreshed too
This gives the nuance that not only does the entrance become cleaner, but your feelings improve as well.
A fuller implied idea is something like:
- 玄関がきれいになるし、気分も少しすっきりします
So も adds the idea of in addition to that.
What does 少し modify here?
少し means a little or slightly.
Here it modifies すっきりします, so the meaning is:
- feel a little refreshed
- become slightly clearer/lighter
It softens the statement. Without 少し, it would sound a bit stronger:
- 気分もすっきりします = you feel refreshed
- 気分も少しすっきりします = you feel a little refreshed
What does すっきりします mean exactly?
すっきりします means something like:
- feel refreshed
- feel clear-headed
- feel mentally lighter
- feel neat/clean inside
すっきり is an adverb / な-adjective-like word that often describes a feeling of cleanliness, clarity, or relief.
Examples:
- 部屋がすっきりした = The room looks neat and uncluttered.
- 頭がすっきりした = My head feels clearer.
- 気分がすっきりする = I feel refreshed.
In this sentence, it is about a mental/emotional sense of refreshment.
Why is します used after すっきり?
すっきりする is a common set expression.
Here, する means to become / to feel in this context, and します is the polite form.
So:
- すっきりする = to feel refreshed / to become clear
- すっきりします = polite form
Even though する often means to do, in many expressions it forms a verb together with another word:
- 勉強する = study
- 安心する = feel relieved
- すっきりする = feel refreshed
Who is doing the sweeping, and whose mood improves?
The subject is not stated explicitly, which is very normal in Japanese.
Depending on context, it could mean:
- when I sweep the entryway, I feel a little refreshed
- when you sweep the entryway, you feel a little refreshed
- when one sweeps the entryway, one feels a little refreshed
Japanese often leaves out subjects when they are obvious from context.
Why is there a comma after と?
The comma helps separate the condition/action part from the result part:
- 玄関を掃くと、 = when you sweep the entryway,
- 気分も少しすっきりします。 = your mood also feels a little refreshed.
It makes the sentence easier to read, especially when the first clause is followed by a natural result. The comma is helpful, but punctuation in Japanese can be somewhat flexible.
Is this sentence talking about a specific time, or about a general truth/habit?
It most naturally sounds like a general tendency or habitual truth:
- When you sweep the entryway, you feel a little refreshed.
It does not strongly sound like one single past event. The use of ~と helps give that general, natural-result feeling.
If someone wanted to focus on one particular occasion, they might more naturally use ~たら in some contexts.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning JapaneseMaster Japanese — from genkan wo haku to, kibun mo sukosi sukkirisimasu to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions