other N4 common casualpolitewritten

〜がする — a sound / smell / taste / feeling occurs

〜がする

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Builds on が

Meaning

(a sound / smell / taste / sensation) ~ is there — used with sensory nouns to report that a perception is present

Key sentence

台所だいどころからいい匂においがする。

A nice smell is coming from the kitchen.

Formation

Attaches to	Form	Example
A sensory noun (音おと, におい, 味あじ, 感かんじ, 寒気さむけ, 吐はき気け)	N + がする	音おとがする / 味あじがする

Examples

外そとで大おおきな音おとがした。

There was a loud noise outside.

このスープは少すこし辛からい味あじがする。

This soup tastes a little spicy.

When you can't use it

Limited to non-visual sensations — sound, smell, taste, touch, and bodily feelings. You can't use it for things you see; sight uses 見みえる, not 〜がする.

Easily confused with

〜ような気がする Plain 〜がする reports a real physical sensation (匂においがする = 'there's a smell'). 気きがする is the mental extension — a hunch or impression in the mind (気きがする = 'I get the feeling'), not something the senses pick up.

See 〜がする in real sentences

Jengo shows 〜がする the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.

Study it in Jengo

Sources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar, A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar. Editorial confidence: medium.

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