Expressing a Way or Method: ～方

To recap, the verb stem is the polite form of the verb with the ます removed.

Verb	Dictionary	Polite	Stem
to go	行いく	行いきます	行いき〜
to eat	食たべる	食たべます	食たべ〜
to do	する	します	し〜

We can attach the kanji 方 (read as かた) to the verb stem to say “way of doing something” or “how to do something”—an especially handy phrase when you first set foot in Japan and there are many things you don’t yet know.

Critical Rule: Because adding 〜方 turns the verb phrase into a noun, the direct object particle を must change to the modifying particle の. For example, 漢字を読む (read kanji) becomes 漢字の読み方 (how to read kanji).

正ただしいやり方かたを教おしえてください。

Please show me the correct way to do this.

先生せんせいの話はなし方かたが面白おもしろいです。

The teacher has an amusing way of speaking.

このマシンの使つかい方かたがわかりません。

I don’t know how to use this machine.