している
shite iru
In Japanese, "doing" is expressed as している (shite iru).
The phrase refers to the act of performing an activity or action at the present moment.
Which one should you use?
While している is the standard form, in casual spoken Japanese, the い is often dropped, resulting in してる.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form している represents the continuous aspect. It is created by combining the te-form of a verb with the auxiliary verb いる.
How do you pronounce it?
shite iru
Did you know?
- When asking 'What are you doing?' in a confrontational way, the phrase 何してるの can function as a reprimand similar to 'What do you think you're doing?'
- While している describes an action in progress, Japanese also uses the same form to describe a state resulting from a past action, such as 'being married' or 'wearing clothes'.
- The verb する inside している is so versatile that it is used to 'Japanize' English loanwords, turning nouns like 'tennis' or 'study' into actions.
Examples in context
- 何しているの？What are you doing?This sentence is useful for asking 'What are you doing?'Tatoeba #12221481 by small_snow, translation #16492 by CK
- 何をしているの。What're you doing?This sentence is useful for asking 'What're you doing?'Tatoeba #187615 by bunbuku, translation #1839618 by CK
- 今何をしているの？What are you doing now?Tatoeba #172528 by bunbuku, translation #241947 by CK
- 日本語 を勉強します 。I study Japanese.
- 友達と買い物 する 。I go shopping with my friend.
- 86 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yui calls Yota on the phone to see what he is up to.
- 結衣 Yui陽太君、今何している？Yota-kun, ima nani shite iru?Yota, what are you doing right now?
- 陽太 Yota今は、ゲームをしているよ。Ima wa, geemu o shite iru yo.I'm playing a game right now.
- 結衣 Yuiそうなんだ。後で話せる？Sou nan da. Ato de hanaseru?I see. Can we talk later?
- 陽太 Yotaうん、いいよ。Un, ii yo.Yeah, that's fine.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
