Learn about describing how to do something
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natsuko: こんにちは、ナツコです。 (Konnichiwa, Natsuko desu.) |
| Akihiro: アキヒロです。 (Akihiro desu.) |
| Peter: Peter here. Natsuko-san, where are we going back to? |
| Natsuko: Post office. |
| Peter: Now last week, we made our trip to the post office and we were right in the middle of sending a package out. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. |
| Peter: At least I think that’s what we did. |
| Natsuko: Uhoo… |
| Peter: So today, we are going to get that package out. We are going to finish it off. |
| Natsuko: Okay. |
| Peter: All right. So again, what kind of Japanese will we be using today? |
| Natsuko: Polite form. |
| Peter: As there is a customer and a person at the post office. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Okay and Akihiro-san |
| Akihiro: はい。 (Hai.) |
| Peter: Are you up to speed on the story? |
| Akihiro: 頑張ります。 (Ganbarimasu.) |
| Peter: お願いします。 (Onegaishimasu.) With that said, here we go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| マサノリ:料金はどのくらい違いますか。 |
| Masanori:Ryōkin wa dore kurai chigaimasu ka. |
| （局員、小包の重さをはかる） |
| (Kyokuin, kozutsumi no omosa o hakaru) |
| 局員:小包はちょうど5キログラムですので、航空便ですと1万150円、船便ですと4000円になります。 |
| Kyokuin:Kozutsumi wa chōdo go kiroguramu desu no de, kōkūbin desu to ichiman hyaku gojū en, funabin desu to yonsen en ni narimasu. |
| マサノリ独り言:船便だと半値以下だなあ。でも母の日に間に合うように航空便にしよう。 |
| Masanori hitorigoto:Funabin da to hanne ika da nā. Demo haha no hi ni maniau yō ni kōkūbin ni shiyō. |
| マサノリ:じゃあ、航空便でお願いします。 |
| Masanori:Jā, kōkūbin de onega ishimasu. |
| 局員:では、こちらの用紙に記入して下さい。 |
| Kyokuin:Dewa, kochira no yōshi ni kinyū shite kudasai. |
| マサノリ:はい。 |
| Masanori:Hai. |
| （マサノリ、机で用紙に記入する） |
| (Masanori, tsukue de yōshi ni kinyūsuru) |
| マサノリ独り言:えーっと、自分の住所と名前と電話番号と、宛先と…。よし。 |
| Masanori hitorigoto:Ētto, jibun no jūsho to namae to denwa bangō to, atesaki to.... yoshi. |
| マサノリ:お願いします。 |
| Masanori:Onegai shimasu. |
| 局員:お預かりしました。 |
| Kyokuin:O-azukari shimashita. |
| もう一度お願いします。ゆっくりお願いします。 |
| (Mōichido onegaishimasu. Yukkuri onegaishimasu.) |
| マサノリ:料金はどのくらい違いますか。 |
| Masanori:Ryōkin wa dore kurai chigaimasu ka. |
| （局員、小包の重さをはかる） |
| (Kyokuin, kozutsumi no omosa o hakaru) |
| 局員:小包はちょうど5キログラムですので、航空便ですと1万150円、船便ですと4000円になります。 |
| Kyokuin:Kozutsumi wa chōdo go kiroguramu desu no de, kōkūbin desu to ichiman hyaku gojū en, funabin desu to yonsen en ni narimasu. |
| マサノリ独り言:船便だと半値以下だなあ。でも母の日に間に合うように航空便にしよう。 |
| Masanori hitorigoto:Funabin da to hanne ika da nā. Demo haha no hi ni maniau yō ni kōkūbin ni shiyō. |
| マサノリ:じゃあ、航空便でお願いします。 |
| Masanori:Jā, kōkūbin de onega ishimasu. |
| 局員:では、こちらの用紙に記入して下さい。 |
| Kyokuin:Dewa, kochira no yōshi ni kinyū shite kudasai. |
| マサノリ:はい。 |
| Masanori:Hai. |
| （マサノリ、机で用紙に記入する） |
| (Masanori, tsukue de yōshi ni kinyūsuru) |
| マサノリ独り言:えーっと、自分の住所と名前と電話番号と、宛先と…。よし。 |
| Masanori hitorigoto:Ētto, jibun no jūsho to namae to denwa bangō to, atesaki to.... yoshi. |
| マサノリ:お願いします。 |
| Masanori:Onegai shimasu. |
| 局員:お預かりしました。 |
| Kyokuin:O-azukari shimashita. |
| 次は英語が入ります。 |
| (Tsugi wa eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| マサノリ:料金はどのくらい違いますか。 |
| Masanori:Ryōkin wa dore kurai chigaimasu ka. |
| Masanori: How much difference will there be in price? |
| （局員、小包の重さをはかる） |
| (Kyokuin, kozutsumi no omosa o hakaru) |
| (Post office staff weigh the package.) |
| 局員:小包はちょうど5キログラムですので、航空便ですと1万150円、船便ですと4000円になります。 |
| Kyokuin:Kozutsumi wa chōdo go kiroguramu desu no de, kōkūbin desu to ichiman hyaku gojū en, funabin desu to yonsen en ni narimasu. |
| Post Office Staff: The package is exactly 5 kilograms, so it would cost 10,150 yen via airmail and 4,000 yen via surface mail. |
| マサノリ独り言:船便だと半値以下だなあ。でも母の日に間に合うように航空便にしよう。 |
| Masanori hitorigoto:Funabin da to hanne ika da nā. Demo haha no hi ni maniau yō ni kōkūbin ni shiyō. |
| Masanori to himself: Surface mail is less than half the price of airmail. But I'll choose airmail to get the package there by Mother's Day. |
| マサノリ:じゃあ、航空便でお願いします。 |
| Masanori:Jā, kōkūbin de onega ishimasu. |
| Masanori: Okay. Airmail, please. |
| 局員:では、こちらの用紙に記入して下さい。 |
| Kyokuin:Dewa, kochira no yōshi ni kinyū shite kudasai. |
| マサノリ:はい。 |
| Post Office Staff: Alright. Please fill out this form. |
| Masanori:Hai. |
| （マサノリ、机で用紙に記入する） |
| Masanori: Sure. |
| (Masanori, tsukue de yōshi ni kinyūsuru) |
| (Masanoria fills out a form) |
| マサノリ独り言:えーっと、自分の住所と名前と電話番号と、宛先と…。よし。 |
| Masanori hitorigoto:Ētto, jibun no jūsho to namae to denwa bangō to, atesaki to.... Yoshi. |
| Masanori to himself: Ummm. My name, address, phone number, and the destination...Okay. |
| マサノリ:お願いします。 |
| Masanori:Onegai shimasu. |
| Masanori: Here you go. |
| 局員:お預かりしました。 |
| Kyokuin:O-azukari shimashita. |
| Post Office Staff: Okay. We'll take it from here. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: Akihiro-san, let’s find out what Natsuko-san thought of today’s conversation? |
| Akihiro: ナツコさん、今日の会話はどう思いましたか？ (Natsukosan, kyō no kaiwa wa dō omoimashita ka?) |
| Natsuko: 航空便と船便と、ずいぶん値段が違うんですね。 (Kōkū-bin to funabin to, zuibun nedan ga chigau n desu ne.) |
| Akihiro: 全然違いますね。 (Zenzen chigaimasu ne.) |
| Peter: There is a big difference between airmail and land mail. |
| Natsuko: I didn’t know that. |
| Peter: You knew that. |
| Natsuko: No I didn’t. I never sent any package out of Japan. |
| Peter: Really? |
| Natsuko: Really. I’ve sent a letter but no package. |
| Peter: We should have a contest with the winner getting a package from you so you can go through the process. What do you think? |
| Natsuko: In airmail, uhh…. |
| Peter: 船便で？ (Funabin de?) |
| Natsuko: 船便で。 (Funabin de.) |
| Peter: 船便で。 (Funabin de.) Yeah but it’s a big difference but a big difference in everything. Price, quality, I mean it’s quite – yeah two different animals to coin a phrase. Okay but let’s take a look at the vocab. Natsuko-san, can you start us off? |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Natsuko: 違う (Chigau) |
| Peter: To differ. |
| Natsuko: ち・が・う「違う」 (Chi gau `chigau') |
| Peter: Akihiro-san 例文をお願いします (reibun o onegaishimasu). |
| Akihiro: あの親子は全然顔が違う。 (Ano oyako wa zenzen kao ga chigau.) |
| Peter: That mother and child, they have completely different faces. |
| Natsuko: よくいますよね。 (Yoku imasu yo ne.) |
| Peter: I think we can get a better translation. Natsuko-san お願いします。 (Onegaishimasu.) |
| Natsuko: What! |
| Peter: How about that mother and child look completely different. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Yeah we are a little too literal. The 全然 (zenzen) is completely… |
| Natsuko: Completely… |
| Peter: 顔 (kao) is “face” or “looks”. ～が違う (~ Ga chigau) “Completely different faces” is a little too literal. Next we have Akihiro-san お願いします (onegaishimasu). |
| Akihiro: ちょうど (chōdo) |
| Peter: Just. |
| Akihiro: ちょ・う・ど「ちょうど」 (Cho u do `chōdo') |
| Peter: So Natsuko-san, where do you hear this phrase all the time? |
| Natsuko: At the store when you are paying. |
| M: And what happens? |
| Natsuko: If you have just the price like |
| M: The exact amount. |
| Natsuko: Yeah the exact amount. ちょうどあります。 (Chōdo arimasu.) |
| M: Yeah I like that phrase a lot. |
| Natsuko: Yeah right. I think that you know, the person at the register would like that phrase and they don’t need to pay the change. |
| M: That is true. |
| Akihiro: You can also add e at the end saying ちょどいい (chodo ii) which means perfect. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Ah… |
| Akihiro: ちょうどいい (chōdo ii) |
| Natsuko: Just right. |
| Peter: So give me some context. |
| Akihiro: When you try new pants in a fitting room and when it’s perfect, you can say ちょうどいい (chōdo ii) |
| Peter: Ah, very interesting. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: In that case, just right, just the perfect fit. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: How about – let me ask you this. What about with time, can we use this with time like… |
| Natsuko: Yes, sure. |
| Peter: It’s just 1 o’ clock? |
| Natsuko: ちょうど1時。 (Chōdo 1-ji.) |
| Peter: The word order is the same. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. |
| Peter: Just 1 o’ clock ちょうど1時 (Chōdo 1-ji) |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Interesting. Interesting things never stop coming. Next we have |
| Natsuko: 半値 (han'ne) |
| Peter: Half price. |
| Natsuko: は・ん・ね「半値」 (wa n ne `han'ne') |
| Peter: Wow! I never see this. |
| Natsuko: What! Really? |
| Peter: I will see 半額 (hangaku) but |
| Natsuko: Oh yeah. |
| Peter: Never 半値 (han'ne) |
| Natsuko: It’s the same thing. |
| Akihiro: 同じですね。 (Onajidesu ne.) |
| Natsuko: 同じですよね。 (Onajidesu yo ne.) Yeah that’s also used very frequently. |
| Peter: Yeah maybe this has something to do with the clothing. I am always, I never really shop except for in the supermarkets when I guess the food is going bad and everything has the 半額 (hangaku) on it. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. There is a small sticker on it. |
| Peter: Yeah the sticker. |
| Natsuko: 半額 (hangaku) |
| Peter: 半額 (hangaku) |
| Natsuko: 半額 (hangaku) sticker I like that. |
| Peter: Do you ever go into the store and say 半額はいつからですか？ (Hangaku wa itsukaradesu ka?) |
| Natsuko: I have never asked but |
| Akihiro: It’s got a いつから半額ですか？ (Itsu kara hangakudesu ka?) |
| Peter: いつから半額ですか？ (Itsu kara hangakudesu ka?) When I lived alone, sometimes if it was like right around like 5 o’ clock or so, I would |
| Natsuko: Oh yes… |
| Peter: Enquire |
| Akihiro: Like at the supermarket? |
| Peter: Yeah, yeah, yeah… |
| Akihiro: ああ、半額シールね。ああ。 (Ā, hangaku shīru ne. Ā.) |
| Peter: Yeah. シールは (Shīru wa) “Sticker”. So right around like 5 or 6 o’clock, they bring out the stickers and they slap everything with the half or sticker. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So if it’s like right around the time, I’d be like すいません、あの…。 (Suimasen, ano….) |
| Natsuko: いつからだったんですか？ (Itsu karadatta ndesu ka?) |
| Peter: Well, way back when I first came to Japan, I was pretty poor like going to school and stuff. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. No, no when the 半額 (hangaku) starts. |
| Peter: Ah about 5 or 6 – it’s about 6 o’clock or something? |
| Natsuko: Oh yes right. |
| Peter: And that’s like a sushi… |
| Natsuko: It must be… |
| Peter: Which is out or…Next we have |
| Akihiro: 間に合う (maniau) |
| Peter: To be in time for |
| Akihiro: ま・に・あ・う「間に合う」 (Ma ni au `maniau') |
| Peter: Next |
| Natsuko: 用紙 (yōshi) |
| Peter: Form |
| Natsuko: よ・う・し「用紙」 (Yo u shi `yōshi') |
| Peter: Next |
| Akihiro: 記入 (kinyū) |
| Peter: Fill in forms. |
| Akihiro: き・にゅ・う「記入」 (Ki ni ~yuu `kinyū') |
| Peter: So Natsuko-san, what do you see when there is a piece of paper and it says to fill it in using this word and the previous word. |
| Natsuko: 用紙に記入してください。 (Yōshi ni kinyū shite kudasai.) |
| Peter: Yeah, please fill in the form and sometimes you will even see ご (go) in front of the 記入 (kinyū) |
| Natsuko: Yes 用紙にご記入ください。 (Yōshi ni go kinyū kudasai.) |
| Peter: Making it a little politer. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Then we have |
| Natsuko: 宛先 (atesaki) |
| Peter: Destination. |
| Natsuko: あ・て・さ・き「宛先」 (Ate-saki `atesaki') |
| Peter: And finally |
| Akihiro: お預かりする (O azukari suru) |
| Peter: To keep something in the humble form |
| Akihiro: お・あ・ず・か・り・す・る「お預かりする」 (O azu kari suru `o azukari suru') |
| Peter: So for example, Akihiro-san, if you hold on to something for Natsuko, you would say |
| Akihiro: お預かりします。 (O azukari shimasu.) |
| Peter: So for example Natsuko |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Your backpack or your purse or your bag, if Akihiro-san held on to that, he would say |
| Akihiro: カバンをお預かりします。 (Kaban o o azukari shimasu.) |
| Peter: Now this is the most – this is the extremely polite way. So when you hear that in this kind of situation, it would be if Natsuko is a customer or a guest at a hotel or some kind of event where they are taking bags and holding on to them, if it was a more casual situation, how would you say, “I will hold on to that for you?” |
| Akihiro: 預かります。 (Azukarimasu.) |
| M: Yeah and in the case of the bag |
| Akihiro: カバンを預かります。 (Kaban o azukarimasu.) |
| M: What I want to point out here is 預かる (azukaru) and that’s the person doing |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: The whole thing. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. |
| Peter: How would you ask someone to hold on to it before you, Natsuko-san? |
| Natsuko: 預かってもらえますか？ (Azukatte moraemasu ka?) |
| Peter: So it’s the te-form of 預かる (azukaru) plus |
| Natsuko: もらう (morau) |
| Peter: 預かってもらう (azukatte morau) So this is probably the best place to use it if you are traveling around Japan… |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: And you go through the information desk. And you want them to hold on to your bags. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Natsuko-san お願いします (onegaishimasu). |
| Natsuko: 預かってもらえますか？ (Azukatte moraemasu ka?) |
| Peter: Can you hold on to these bags please so I can go out and have fun without lugging them around? |
| Natsuko: And it’s quite safe to 預ける (azukeru) something in Japan. |
| Peter: Yeah definitely. |
| Natsuko: Yes I guarantee. Well not really. It might depend on where and who… |
| Peter: Umm… |
| Akihiro: 駅のロッカーも便利ですよね。 (Eki no rokkā mo benri desu yo ne.) |
| Natsuko: そうですよね。 (Sō desu yo ne.) |
| Peter: Yeah the lockers at the station are pretty nice too. |
| Natsuko: Uhoo… |
| Peter: Okay. Now onto the conversation. Now in today’s conversation, we have several points we want to take a look at. Let’s take a look at the first sentence. |
| Akihiro: 料金はどれくらい違いますか？ (Ryōkin wa dore kurai chigaimasu ka?) |
| Peter: How much difference will there be in the price? Now どれくらい (dorekurai) again without the money establishes the topic. It’s a very arbitrary question but since we have the amount established, it’s very smooth. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So どれくらい違いますか (dore kurai chigaimasu ka) how much. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: How big of a difference. How could we ask the difference between two people’s heights? |
| Natsuko: 身長はどれくらい違いますか？ (Shinchō wa dore kurai chigaimasu ka?) |
| Peter: So again you establish the topic with the 身長 (shinchō) here mark it with wa and then this pattern works in so many cases どれくらい違いますか？ (Dore kurai chigaimasu ka?) どれくらい違いますか (dore kurai chigaimasu ka) What kind of difference? |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Okay. On to the next sentence, Natsuko-san お願いします (onegaishimasu). |
| Natsuko: 小包はちょうど5キロですので、航空便だと1万150円、船便ですと4000円になります。 (Kodzutsumi wa chōdo 5-kirodesunode, kōkū-binda to 1 man 150-en, funabindesuto 4000-en ni narimasu.) |
| Peter: Very – “the package is exactly 5 kilograms. So it cost 10150 yen via airmail and 4000 yen via surface mail.” Now what I really like about the sentence is that ですと (desuto). You know by airmail, this something ですと (desuto) if it’s this, then this. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: There is a very strong correlation, a very strong relationship. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Peter: Between these two things. For example, Natsuko-san, how long does it take to get to the airport by local train and by express train from Ueno. |
| Natsuko: From Ueno? 各駅停車ですと2時間半かかりますけれど、急行ですと30分で行きます。本当かなあ？ (Kakueki teisha desu to ni-jikan-han kakarimasukeredo, kyūkō desu to 30-bu de ikimasu. Hontō ka nā?) |
| Akihiro: すごい。 (Sugoi.) |
| Natsuko: そんなことはないか。 (Son'na koto wanai ka.) |
| Peter: We didn’t have the time and I am usually sleeping on the way to the airport. I didn’t know this but here it was the ですと (desuto). One more time |
| Natsuko: 各駅停車ですと (kakueki teisha desu to) |
| Peter: Local train. By local train. Literally if it's a local train, 2.5 hours. |
| Natsuko: 急行ですと (kyūkō desu to) |
| Peter: Express train is about 30 minutes. |
| Natsuko: No, I think more but… |
| Peter: And they are building a new one. It’s around that, you know probably a bit longer. All right, we will put the real times in the post, post promises but again there is ですと (desu to) and something following it, the strong relationship. This is followed by today’s grammar point which comes next. |
| Akihiro: 船便だと半値以下だなあ。でも、母の日に間に合うように、航空便にしよう。 (Funabinda to han'ne ikada nā. Demo, haha no hi ni maniau yō ni, kōkū-bin ni shiyou.) |
| Peter: Surface mail is less than half the price of airmail but I will take airmail to get the package there by Mother’s Day. Natsuko-san |
| Natsuko: はい。 (Hai.) |
| Peter: Today’s grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Natsuko: Yes. 間に合うように (maniau yō ni) |
| Peter: And we are going to look at the |
| Natsuko: ように (yō ni) |
| Peter: This construction is used so that something happens or doesn’t happen. It’s used with the plain present of a verb. In this case, we are doing something so that it will arrive by a certain time. So we have this ように (yō ni). 間に合うように (Maniau yō ni) so that we are in time, something is done. Now what you would like done precedes the ように (yō ni) |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: And the actions taken to ensure that that happens follows it. So in this case, one more time Natsuko-san. |
| Natsuko: 母の日に間に合うように (Haha no hi ni maniau yō ni) |
| Peter: So that it’s in time for Mother’s Day |
| Natsuko: 航空便にしよう。 (Kōkū-bin ni shiyou.) |
| Peter: I will send it by airmail and again, the action comes after it. Now 間に合う (maniau) is a great one because you are often doing things so that you will be on time but we can also flip it around so that we won’t be late. |
| Natsuko: Yes. 遅れないように (okurenai yō ni) |
| Peter: So that we won’t be late, let’s leave now which would be |
| Natsuko: 遅れないように、もう行こう。 (Okurenai yō ni, mō ikou.) |
Outro |
| Peter: So that we won’t be late, let’s leave now. Now, more about this grammatical structure inside the PDF, but this is a really good one. To do an action so that something happens, something comes to fruition, something comes to fruition. All right, so I think that’s going to do it for today. |
| Natsuko: じゃあ、また今度！ (Jā, mata kondo!) |
| Akihiro: お疲れさま。 (Otsukaresama.) |
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