Japanese with Manga

Choosing a menu item with 〜ておく

Grammar Explanation: Doing in advance with 〜ておく

Manga panel from ご注文はうさぎですか？ showing example of Choosing a menu item with 〜ておく.
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After a misunderstanding brings Rize and her friends to the teahouse where Syaro works, the group stays to have some tea.

リゼ:
「ハーブティーの種類(しゅるい)ってよく分(わ)からないな」
“I don't really know the different kinds of herbal tea.”
「適当(てきとう)に選(えら)んどくか」
“Shall I just pick something at random in advance?”
Literal: “Shall I choose something randomly and leave it done?”

Key Points

1選(えら)んどく contracts 選(えら)んでおく
  • The sequence んでおく contracts to んどく in casual speech.
2〜ておく treats the choice as settling something in advance
  • Rize considers choosing now so the menu decision will be handled when she needs to order.
3適当(てきとう)に and か make the choice sound casual
  • 適当(てきとう)に means choosing without much care here, and final か voices Rize’s thought to herself.
4種類(しゅるい)って makes the varieties the casual topic
  • Here って works like conversational は. よく分(わ)からない means Rize does not really know the differences among the herbal teas.

Vocabulary

(Type)

種類(しゅるい) means a type, variety, or kind.

(Appropriate)

適当(てきとう) means appropriate or suitable. In casual speech, it can instead mean careless, halfhearted, or random.

See Also

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