I heard the phrase: 友達のトイレを待っています which apparently means “I’m waiting for my friend to use the restroom/finish using the bathroom” in English.
I’m confused by the の in this sentence and what it’s acting as. の can mean something is yours, right? Such as 私のえんぴつ, and 日本の仕事 “a job in Japan.” I’m a bit confused by the role の is playing here, as it felt like the speaker said “I’m waiting for my friend’s toilet” at first.
Can a native speaker or someone who knows Japanese well explain what is going on in this sentence and maybe even give another example of の being used in this way?
​
Thanks so much.
2 comments
It looks like this is a translation or transcription request, so I’ve automatically removed your post. Please post to /r/translator instead.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/japanese) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Your understanding of の is correct. The issue is トイレ.
トイレ most often means the toilet/restroom itself, but can _also_ mean “(the act of) going to the toilet”; see [definition 2 on jisho.org](https://jisho.org/word/%E3%83%88%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AC).
Does that help?