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Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi no tokei ha mada naotte imasen. - My clock has not been fixed yet.

Hardcore Japanese
/Lesson 42
/watashi no tokei wa mada naotte imasen.

watashi no tokei wa mada naotte imasen.

私わたし　の　時計とけい　は　まだ　直なおって　いません。watashi no tokei wa mada naotte imasen.

My clock has not been fixed yet.

Breakdown of watashi no tokei wa mada naotte imasen.

私わたしwatashi

possessive case particle

Questions & Answers about watashi no tokei wa mada naotte imasen.

What does の do in 私の時計?

の links two nouns and often shows possession or belonging.

So:

私 = I / me
私の = my
時計 = watch / clock

So 私の時計 means my watch or my clock, depending on context.

In English, we often use 's or a possessive adjective like my. In Japanese, の is the normal way to connect nouns like this.

Why is は used after 時計?

は marks the topic of the sentence.

In 私の時計はまだ直っていません, the topic is 私の時計 — as for my watch...

This does not always match the English subject exactly. Japanese often organizes sentences as:

Topic
- comment about that topic

So the structure is roughly:

As for my watch, it is not fixed yet.

Using は can also give a slight contrastive feeling in some contexts, such as my watch (as opposed to something else), but here it is mainly just the normal topic marker.

What does まだ mean here?

Nihon-shiki romanizationwatasi ha tyuugoku kara kimasita

Hepburn romanizationwatashi wa chuugoku kara kimashita

〜て　いる〜te iru

progressive form

時計とけいtokei

〜ません〜masen

negative polite form

直なおるnaoru

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まだ means still or not yet, depending on whether the sentence is positive or negative.

In this sentence, it appears with a negative verb:

まだ直っていません

So it means:

has not been fixed yet
is still not fixed

A very common pattern is:

まだ + negative

For example:

まだ食べていません = I haven’t eaten yet
まだ来ていません = hasn’t come yet

What is the dictionary form of 直って?

The dictionary form is 直る.

So:

直る → to be repaired / to get fixed / to be cured
直って → the -te form of 直る

In this sentence, 直って is used before いません, forming 直っていません.

Why is it 直っていません and not 直していません?

This is a very important point.

There are two related verbs:

直る = to be repaired / to get fixed
- intransitive
直す = to repair / to fix something
- transitive

So:

時計が直る = the watch gets fixed / is repaired
時計を直す = someone fixes the watch

Your sentence uses 直る, not 直す, because it is talking about the state of the watch, not the action of a repairer.

So:

直っていません = it is not fixed yet
直していません would mean something more like (someone) has not fixed it, focusing on the action, not the resulting state

What does 〜ている mean in 直っていません?

Here, 〜ている does not mean an action is actively happening right now.

With some verbs, especially verbs that describe a change of state, 〜ている shows the resulting state.

Since 直る means to become fixed, 直っている means:

is in the state of being fixed
more naturally, is fixed

So:

直っている = is fixed
直っていない / 直っていません = is not fixed

This is similar to:

結婚する = to get married
結婚している = to be married
死ぬ = to die
死んでいる = to be dead

So in your sentence, 直っていません means it has not reached the fixed state.

Why is the sentence negative if the meaning is not fixed yet?

Because Japanese expresses not yet very naturally with:

まだ + negative form

So instead of saying something like it still remains unfixed in a complicated way, Japanese simply says:

still / yet not fixed

That becomes:

まだ直っていません

This is one of the most basic and common patterns in Japanese.

Does this sentence mean someone is repairing the watch right now?

No, not necessarily.

直っていません does not mean someone is fixing it right now.

It means the watch is not in the fixed state yet. It may be:

still broken
currently being repaired
waiting to be repaired
not successfully repaired yet

The sentence focuses on the result, not on the ongoing action.

Could 私の be omitted?

Yes, very often.

If it is already clear whose watch you are talking about, Japanese would often simply say:

時計はまだ直っていません。

Japanese frequently omits information that is understood from context.

Including 私の makes it explicit:

my watch

Omitting it can sound more natural if the ownership is already obvious.

Does 時計 mean watch or clock?

It can mean either watch or clock.

時計 is a general word for a timepiece. The exact meaning depends on context.

For example:

on your wrist: probably watch
on the wall: probably clock

So 私の時計 could mean my watch or my clock. If the English meaning shown to the learner says watch, that is probably the intended meaning in this sentence.

Why is there no word for it in the sentence?

Because Japanese often leaves out pronouns when they are not needed.

In English, we often say:

My watch is not fixed yet.
It isn’t fixed yet.

Japanese does not need a separate word for it here, because 私の時計 is already the topic, and the rest of the sentence comments on it.

So once 私の時計は is said, Japanese naturally understands that the rest is about the watch.

What is the polite level of いません?

いません is the polite negative form of います.

In this sentence, it is part of the polite expression:

直っていません

The plain form would be:

直っていない

So:

私の時計はまだ直っていません。 = polite
私の時計はまだ直っていない。 = plain / casual

The meaning is basically the same, but the politeness level is different.

How is the sentence pronounced?

It is pronounced:

わたしのとけいはまだなおっていません。

Breakdown:

私 = わたし
の
時計 = とけい
は = pronounced わ here, because it is the topic particle
まだ
直って = なおって
いません

A natural rhythm would be:

わたしのとけいはまだなおっていません。

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