tinamini, asita no kaigi ha zyuuzi kara hazimarimasu.

Questions & Answers about tinamini, asita no kaigi ha zyuuzi kara hazimarimasu.

What does ちなみに mean here?

ちなみに is a discourse marker. It means something like by the way, incidentally, or speaking of that.

It does not change the core grammar of the sentence. It just tells the listener that the speaker is adding related information.

So in this sentence, ちなみに sets up the idea of extra information about the meeting.

Why is there a in 明日の会議?

The particle connects 明日 and 会議 and shows that the meeting is related to tomorrow.

So:

  • 明日 = tomorrow
  • 会議 = meeting
  • 明日の会議 = tomorrow’s meeting / the meeting tomorrow

You can think of here as working a bit like English 's or of, although it is much more widely used in Japanese.

Why is the topic marker used after 会議?

marks 明日の会議 as the topic of the sentence.

So the sentence is structured like:

  • As for tomorrow’s meeting, it starts at 10.

This does not necessarily mean 会議 is the grammatical subject in exactly the same way as in English. It means the speaker is setting tomorrow’s meeting as the thing being talked about.

A very literal breakdown is:

  • ちなみに = by the way
  • 明日の会議は = as for tomorrow’s meeting
  • 十時から = from 10 o’clock
  • 始まります = begins
Why is it 十時から and not 十時に?

から means from, so 十時から始まります means starts from 10 o’clock, or more naturally in English, starts at 10 o’clock.

Japanese often uses から with 始まる because starting naturally suggests a beginning point.

  • 十時から始まります = it begins from 10:00

You may also sometimes hear 十時に始まります, which focuses on the specific time at 10:00. Both can be natural, but から is very common with 始まる.

Why is the verb 始まります and not 始めます?

This is an important verb pair:

  • 始まる = to begin, to start
  • 始める = to begin something, to start something

In this sentence, the meeting is the thing that begins on its own, so Japanese uses the intransitive verb 始まる.

  • 会議が始まる = the meeting starts

If a person were starting something, you would use 始める:

  • 私は会議を始めます = I will start the meeting

So 始まります is correct because the meeting itself is beginning.

Why does the verb end in ます?

始まります is the polite non-past form of 始まる.

The ます form is commonly used in:

  • normal polite conversation
  • announcements
  • workplace speech
  • communication with people you are not close to

Since a meeting is a fairly formal topic, 始まります sounds very natural.

The plain form would be:

  • 始まる

So:

  • 明日の会議は十時から始まる。 = plain/casual
  • 明日の会議は十時から始まります。 = polite
How do you read the sentence out loud?

It is read:

ちなみに、あした の かいぎ は じゅうじ から はじまります。

Word by word:

  • ちなみに
  • 明日 = あした
  • 会議 = かいぎ
  • 十時 = じゅうじ
  • 始まります = はじまります

A small pronunciation note: じゅうじ has two sounds, so make sure not to blur them together too much.

Why are there spaces in the sentence? Does Japanese normally use spaces like this?

Japanese normally does not use spaces between words in ordinary writing.

So the natural written form is:

ちなみに、明日の会議は十時から始まります。

Spaces are often added in teaching materials to help beginners see the parts of the sentence more clearly. They are just a learning aid.

Is 明日の会議 the same as 明日会議?

No, not in standard grammar.

明日の会議 is the normal and correct way to say tomorrow’s meeting or the meeting tomorrow.

You need to connect 明日 and 会議 in this noun phrase.

  • correct: 明日の会議
  • not standard: 明日会議

Japanese sometimes allows nouns to appear together in compounds, but 明日会議 is not the normal pattern here.

Could be used instead of ?

Yes, but it changes the nuance.

  • 明日の会議は十時から始まります。
    = As for tomorrow’s meeting, it starts at 10.
    This is a neutral statement about the topic.

  • 明日の会議が十時から始まります。
    = It is tomorrow’s meeting that starts at 10 / tomorrow’s meeting starts at 10.
    This can sound more like you are identifying which meeting starts at 10, or giving more focus to the meeting itself.

In many situations, is the more natural choice if you are simply giving information about the meeting.

Does 十時 automatically mean AM?

Not always.

十時 just means 10 o’clock. Whether that is AM or PM depends on context.

For a meeting, many people might assume 10 AM, but Japanese does not force that interpretation grammatically.

If you want to be explicit, you can say:

  • 午前十時 = 10 AM
  • 午後十時 = 10 PM

So a more specific version would be:

  • 明日の会議は午前十時から始まります。
Can the word order change?

Yes, Japanese word order is more flexible than English because particles show each part’s role.

For example, these are possible:

  • 明日の会議は十時から始まります。
  • 明日の会議は始まります、十時から。
  • 十時から、明日の会議は始まります。

However, not all versions sound equally natural. The original sentence is the most straightforward and natural for ordinary use.

A useful beginner rule is:

  • keep the main topic early
  • keep the verb at the end
Can I leave out ちなみに?

Yes. The sentence is completely grammatical without it:

明日の会議は十時から始まります。

Removing ちなみに just removes the by the way nuance. The actual information about the meeting stays the same.

So:

  • with ちなみに = by the way, tomorrow’s meeting starts at 10
  • without it = tomorrow’s meeting starts at 10
Why isn’t there a subject like it in the sentence?

Japanese often leaves out things that are understood from context.

In English, you usually need a subject:

  • It starts at 10
  • The meeting starts at 10

In Japanese, once the topic is introduced with , you do not need an extra word like it. The sentence naturally works as:

  • 明日の会議は十時から始まります。

Japanese relies heavily on context, so pronouns and repeated subjects are often omitted when they are obvious.

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How do verb conjugations work in Japanese?
Japanese verbs conjugate based on tense, politeness, and mood. For example, the polite present form adds ‑ます to the verb stem, while the past tense uses ‑ました. Unlike English, Japanese verbs don't change based on the subject — the same form works for "I", "you", and "they".

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