間違いから学ぶ！
① PROBLEM
It's a comfortable day.
The sun is shining. It's not too hot and not too cold.
The weather is perfect for a day at the park. Yes, it's a comfortable day!
Well, actually… no.
In this situation the word ‘comfortable’ is not a suitable choice. It just feels
weird, strange and perhaps a little odd.
But a lot of my students tend to say this.
Let’s look at the reasons why you can’t use the word ‘comfortable’ like this.
② REASON
Let’s look at this from the other way around, I mean from the Japanese word first.
If we look up the word 快適 in the Japanese/English dictionary, what do we get?
Aha! The first word is indeed ‘comfortable.’
But the word 'comfortable' is most commonly used to talk about a thing and not about a person. How something feels against your body.
The main focus is on the object, such as a sofa, slippers or glasses.
This sofa is really comfortable.
My new slippers are super comfortable.
These glasses are pretty comfortable to wear.
The opposite would be 'uncomfortable.'
This wooden chair is uncomfortable.
Her kimono is uncomfortable.
The hotel bed was really uncomfortable.
In this case, when we are talking about how a person feels, using 'comfortable.'
Its closer to the Japanese word
心地がいい
These slippers are super comfortable.
このスリッパはすごく履き心地がいい。
This sofa is comfortable.
このソファは座り心地がいい。
Comfortable is also used when you talk about how you feel with another person
or a situation.
So we can use it for a sofa 体が楽
Or
for a person 居心地がいい
I feel comfortable with him.
彼と一緒にいると気持ちが楽。
Or on the other hand
I don’t feel comfortable with him.
彼と一緒にいると落ち着かない。
Are you starting to see how we use the word comfortable?
It’s not used for talking about the weather in general, but let’s dive a little deeper into that in the next section.
③ SOLUTION
Let's go back to the original sentence,
'It’s a comfortable day.'
In Japanese you can use the word 快適 for talking about the whole weather situation.
In English the word comfortable could maybe be used for talking about the temperature and humidity.
It’s a comfortable 22 degrees outside today.
Japanese summers are uncomfortably hot and humid.
So what should we say to talk about the weather in general?
It’s actually quite easy.
Just use words like these
Any positive adjective is suitable.
(A) The weather is really nice today.
(B) Yeah, such a great day!
(A) A perfect day for spending time outdoors..
④ EXAMPLES
Let’s take a look at 5 example sentences
(1) We’re having a barbie seeing as it’s so nice out.
Barbie is an Australian expression which means barbecue.
(2) I’m not comfortable with public speaking.
Yes, believe it or not, I’m terrible at public speaking. It makes me feel really uncomfortable.
(3) That hotel claims to have the most comfortable beds in the world.
'Claims to' means that we don’t know if it’s true but according to them it’s true,
(4) He gives me the creeps. I just don’t feel comfortable being alone with him.
To give someone the creeps make you feel scared - you don’t feel safe.
(5) My life in Japan is very comfortable. It’s like a home away from home.
This is a picture of me and my dog, Bruno.
Conclusion
When you are talking about the weather, there are many more suitable alternatives to the word 'comfortable.' If you want your English to sound more natural, try and use some of the expressions outlined above. Please watch the VIDEO LESSON on YouTube!
Thanks for reading!
weird | 超自然的な |
odd | 変な |
humid | むしむしする |
a barbie (Australia) | バーベキュー |
believe it or not | 信じられないような話ですが |
claims to be 〜 | ～だと主張する |
give someone the creeps | 人をゾッとさせる |
a home away from home | 第二の故郷 |
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