Japanese with Manga

Operating a computer with 操作

Kanji Explanation: Making and creating things with 作

Manga panel from あずまんが大王 showing example of Operating a computer with 操作.
あずまんが大王 » Volume 1年生 » Page 31

Chiyo is a child prodigy who’s skipped from elementary school to high school.

Chiyo’s new school has a computer class, but she’s never used a computer before.

ちよ:
「これは？」
“What's this?”
よみ:
「マウス　それを使(つか)って操作(そうさ)するよ」
“A mouse. You use that to control it.”

Key Points

1操作(そうさ)する = “operate” or “control”
  • Here it means operating the computer with the mouse. The thing being operated is left unstated because the scene makes it clear.
  • する turns the noun 操作(そうさ) into the verb “to operate” or “to control”.
2それを使(つか)って = “using that”
  • それ refers to the mouse Yomi has just named, and を marks it as the thing being used.
  • The て-form of 使(つか)う connects the means to the following action. One operates the computer by using the mouse.
3マウス is a short answer to これは？
  • Yomi answers with the noun alone. A fuller version would be それはマウスだよ, but the rest is easy to supply from Chiyo’s question.
4Informational よ
  • The sentence-final よ marks Yomi’s explanation as new information for Chiyo.

Vocabulary

(Operation)

操作(そうさ) means operating or controlling a machine or system, or manipulating information.

See Also

あずまんが大王 © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.