Learn about expressing the concept of "even if"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Naomi: ナオミです。 (Naomi desu.) |
| Peter: Peter here. The Grass Next Door. |
| Naomi: 隣の芝？ (Tonari no shiba?) |
| Peter: 次は何来るでしょう。 (Tsugi wa nani kuru deshou.) What comes next? |
| Naomi: 青い (aoi) |
| Peter: The grass next door is always greener. 同じ表現ありますか？ (Onaji hyōgen arimasu ka?) Do you have the same expression? |
| Naomi: 隣の芝は青い。 (Tonari no shiba wa aoi.) |
| Peter: The grass next door is green. |
| Naomi: But we use 青い (aoi) instead of 緑 (midori) |
| Peter: So blue instead of green. So the grass next door is blue. |
| Naomi: はい。 (Hai.) Or green, yeah. We will explain the difference. |
| Peter: Okay now what are the grammar points we are covering today? |
| Naomi: ても～ても (te mo ~te mo) |
| Peter: Even if. |
| Naomi: 取っても取っても (totte mo totte mo) |
| Peter: And used twice in a row “no matter something, something.” |
| Naomi: And conjunction し (shi) |
| Peter: And so on. |
| Naomi: ピーターさんは優しいし (Pītā-san wa yasashii shi) |
| Peter: “Peter is kind” and so on. |
| Naomi: そうそうそうそう。 (Sō sō sō sō.) |
| Peter: Things like that. Okay the conversation is between |
| Naomi: 夫と妻 (otto to tsuma) |
| Peter: Husband and a wife and they are talking about their lawn at home. |
| Naomi: うちの芝 or うちの芝生 (uchi no shiba or uchi no shibafu) |
| Peter: What kind of Japanese are they using? |
| Naomi: Casual Japanese. |
| Peter: Okay. And we are going to pay attention to the Japanese proverb which we actually introduced already. |
| Naomi: 隣の芝生は青い (tonari no shibafu wa aoi) |
| Peter: With that said, here we go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 妻:また庭の雑草がボーボーになってきて困ったわ。取っても取っても、次から次へと生えてくるし。 |
| Tsuma: Mata niwa no zassō ga bōbō ni natte kite komatta wa. Totte mo totte mo, tsugi kara tsugi e to haete kuru shi. |
| 夫:いっそのこと、芝を張り替えようか。 |
| Otto: Isso no koto, shiba o hari kaeyō ka. |
| 妻:張り替えても、また雑草が生えるだけよ。誰が雑草取りするのよ。 |
| Tsuma: Hari kaete mo, mata zassō ga haeru dake yo. Dare ga zassō tori suru no yo. |
| 夫:俺は仕事で忙しいし……。 |
| Otto: Ore wa shigoto de isogashii shi... |
| 妻:お隣なんて、いつもご主人が芝刈りしてるでしょ。だから、青々として素敵な芝生じゃない。 |
| Tsuma: O-tonari nante, itsumo go-shujin ga shibakari shiteru desho. Dakara, aoao to shite suteki na shibafu ja nai. |
| 夫:だから、「隣の芝生は青い」って言うんじゃないか！？ |
| Otto: Dakara, “tonari no shibafu wa aoi” tte iun ja nai ka!? |
| 妻:それって、ことわざでしょ。本当に隣の芝生は青いのよ。 |
| Tsuma: Sore tte, kotowaza desho. Hontō ni tonari no shibafu wa aoi no yo. |
| もう一度お願いします。ゆっくりお願いします。 |
| (Mōichido onegaishimasu. Yukkuri onegaishimasu.) |
| 妻:また庭の雑草がボーボーになってきて困ったわ。取っても取っても、次から次へと生えてくるし。 |
| Tsuma: Mata niwa no zassō ga bōbō ni natte kite komatta wa. Totte mo totte mo, tsugi kara tsugi e to haete kuru shi. |
| 夫:いっそのこと、芝を張り替えようか。 |
| Otto: Isso no koto, shiba o hari kaeyō ka. |
| 妻:張り替えても、また雑草が生えるだけよ。誰が雑草取りするのよ。 |
| Tsuma: Hari kaete mo, mata zassō ga haeru dake yo. Dare ga zassō tori suru no yo. |
| 夫:俺は仕事で忙しいし……。 |
| Otto: Ore wa shigoto de isogashii shi... |
| 妻:お隣なんて、いつもご主人が芝刈りしてるでしょ。だから、青々として素敵な芝生じゃない。 |
| Tsuma: O-tonari nante, itsumo go-shujin ga shibakari shiteru desho. Dakara, aoao to shite suteki na shibafu ja nai. |
| 夫:だから、「隣の芝生は青い」って言うんじゃないか！？ |
| Otto: Dakara, “tonari no shibafu wa aoi” tte iun ja nai ka!? |
| 妻:それって、ことわざでしょ。本当に隣の芝生は青いのよ。 |
| Tsuma: Sore tte, kotowaza desho. Hontō ni tonari no shibafu wa aoi no yo. |
| 今度は英語が入ります。 |
| (Kondo wa eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| 妻:また庭の雑草がボーボーになってきて困ったわ。取っても取っても、次から次へと生えてくるし。 |
| Tsuma: Mata niwa no zassō ga bōbō ni natte kite komatta wa. Totte mo totte mo, tsugi kara tsugi e to haete kuru shi. |
| Wife: The weeds in our garden are growing out of control again. What a drag. They keep popping up no matter how often we pull them out. |
| 夫:いっそのこと、芝を張り替えようか。 |
| Otto: Isso no koto, shiba o hari kaeyō ka. |
| Husband: Should we just re-do the entire lawn? |
| 妻:張り替えても、また雑草が生えるだけよ。誰が雑草取りするのよ。 |
| Tsuma: Hari kaete mo, mata zassō ga haeru dake yo. Dare ga zassō tori suru no yo. |
| Wife: But even if we do, weeds will grow back again. Who's going to do the weeding? |
| 夫:俺は仕事で忙しいし……。 |
| Otto: Ore wa shigoto de isogashii shi… |
| Husband: I'm busy with work... |
| 妻:お隣なんて、いつもご主人が芝刈りしてるでしょ。だから、青々として素敵な芝生じゃない。 |
| Tsuma: O-tonari nante, itsumo go-shujin ga shibakari shiteru desho. Dakara, aoao to shite suteki na shibafu ja nai. |
| Wife: The neighbor's husband is always mowing the lawn. That's why their lawn is always green and fantastic looking. |
| 夫:だから、「隣の芝生は青い」って言うんじゃないか！？ |
| Otto: Dakara, “tonari no shibafu wa aoi” tte iun ja nai ka!? |
| Husband: That's why we have the saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side." |
| 妻:それって、ことわざでしょ。本当に隣の芝生は青いのよ。 |
| Tsuma: Sore tte, kotowaza desho. Hontō ni tonari no shibafu wa aoi no yo. |
| Wife: That's a proverb. But in our case, the neighbor's lawn really IS greener. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: Naomi-sensei 「隣の芝生は青い」ことわざですね (`Tonari No Shibafu Wa Aoi' kotowaza desu ne)? |
| Naomi: はい。 (Hai.) |
| Peter: 日本人はことわざをよく使いますか？ (Nihonjin wa kotowaza o yoku tsukaimasu ka?) Do Japanese people use proverbs in conversations very often? |
| Naomi: We sometimes do. We sometimes quote proverbs, but not as much as English speakers do. |
| Peter: Yeah a lot of times, it’s nice when you slip a proverb in there. |
| Naomi: ときどき使います。 (Tokidoki tsukaimasu.) In the dialogue, the husband said 隣の芝生は青い (tonari no shibafu wa aoi) but instead of 芝生 (shibafu) people sometimes say 芝 (shiba) |
| Peter: Just grass. |
| Naomi: はい。 (Hai) |
| Peter: 芝生 (shibafu) would be more like a lawn and this proverb means the same thing that the grass is always greener on the other side. |
| Naomi: そうですね。日本語で言うと、隣のうちの芝は、自分のうちの芝よりも青く見える。 (Sō desu ne. Nihongo de iu to, tonari no uchi no shiba wa, jibun no uchi no shiba yori mo aoku mieru.) |
| Peter: And that’s actually closer to what we use, the other person’s grass is greener than mine. |
| Naomi: Blue are the faraway hills. |
| Peter: What I was getting at before was that, you know, the shortened version is the one that’s recognized as a proverb where actually we just were introduced to the whole thing and the whole phrase is very close to the English but you can just say literally 隣の芝生は青い (tonari no shibafu wa aoi) “next door’s grass is green.” |
| Naomi: はい。 (Hai.) |
| Peter: Next door’s grass is blue and the rest is inferred whereas in English, it is, the grass next door kind of be like that shortened up. Everyone knows the rest of it. You are getting a little sample and the rest is inferred because it’s such a well known phrase. Okay let’s take a look at the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Naomi: 雑草 (zassō) |
| Peter: Weed. |
| Naomi: ざっ・そ・う「雑草」 (za so u `zassō') |
| Peter: Next. |
| Naomi: 困る (komaru) |
| Peter: To be worried, to be bothered. |
| Naomi: こ・ま・る「困る」 (ko maru `komaru') |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 張り替える (harikaeru) |
| Peter: To recover. |
| Naomi: は・り・か・え・る「張り替える」 (wari ka eru `harikaeru') |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 生える (haeru) |
| Peter: To grow, to spring up. |
| Naomi: は・え・る「生える」 (wa eru `haeru') |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 青々 (aoao) |
| Peter: Fresh and green. |
| Naomi: あ・お・あ・お「青々」 (a o a o [aoao]) |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 素敵 (suteki) |
| Peter: Lovely, dreamy, beautiful. |
| Naomi: す・て・き「素敵」 (suteki `suteki') |
| Peter: Next. |
| Naomi: いっそ (isso) |
| Peter: Rather, sooner. |
| Naomi: いっ・そ「いっそ」 (i so `isso') |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: ことわざ (kotowaza) |
| Peter: Proverb. |
| Naomi: こ・と・わ・ざ「ことわざ」 (ko to wa za `kotowaza') |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 芝刈り (shibakariri) |
| Peter: Lawn mowing. |
| Naomi: し・ば・か・り「芝刈り」 (shiba kari `shiba-gari') |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 次から次へと (tsugi kara tsugi e to) |
| Peter: One after another. |
| Naomi: つ・ぎ・か・ら・つ・ぎ・へ・と「次から次へと」 (Tsu gi ka-ratsu gi e to `tsugi kara tsugi e to') |
| Peter: Let’s take a closer look at a few of these words and phrases. What do we have first? |
| Naomi: 青々 (aoao) |
| Peter: “Fresh and green.” Can we hear the pitch accent on this? 青々 (aoao) |
| Naomi: あ・お・あ・お (あ・お・あ・お) (a o a o [a o a o]) |
| Peter: So low high, high low. |
| Naomi: そうですね。青々。 (Sō desu ne. Aoao.) |
| Peter: 青々。 (Aoao.) |
| Naomi: 青い (Aoi) means “blue” but it sometimes means “green” in Japanese. |
| Peter: So in English, we have the expression, “he is green.” He is new to this. In Japanese, it’s 青 (ao) |
| Naomi: ああ、そうですね。 (Ā, sō des une.) |
| Peter: He is blue. |
| Naomi: 青はね、例えば「青りんご」 (Ao wa ne, tatoeba `ao ringo') |
| Peter: Green apple. |
| Naomi: 青信号。 (Aoshingō.) |
| Peter: “Green light” but again it’s blue apple and blue light but of course they mean green. |
| Naomi: 青 (ao) has got a longer history than 緑 (midori). So 緑 (midori) is a new word in Japanese language. Sometimes we use 青 (ao) for “green” and of course we use 青 (ao) for “blue” too and the second symbol in 青々 (aoao) is what do you call it in English? |
| Peter: Repetition symbol. |
| Naomi: 繰り返し記号 or 踊り字 (Kurikaeshi kigō or odoriji) dancing letter or some people might say ノマ点 (nomaten). Can you see の (no) and ま (ma) in a symbol? |
| Peter: ノマ点 (nomaten) no mark. |
| Naomi: そうそうそう。の、まマーク (Sō sō sō. No, ma māku) If 赤 (aka) comes before ノマ点 (nomaten), that will be 赤々 (aka々) |
| Peter: Got it. Okay, let’s move on. Next we have |
| Naomi: 次から次へと (tsugi kara tsugi e to) |
| Peter: From next to the next. |
| Naomi: 次 (tsugi) means “next”. なので、次・から・次・へ (Nanode,-ji kara-ji e) from next to next という感じですね (to iu kanji desu ne). |
| Peter: And of course “one after the other” is what it means. |
| Naomi: お客が次から次へと来る。 (Okyaku ga tsugi kara tsugi e to kuru.) |
| Peter: “We have visitors one after another.” Okay, on to today’s grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Naomi: ても (te mo) |
| Peter: Is approximately the same as “even if” in English. So what did we have in today’s conversation? |
| Naomi: 取っても取っても (totte mo totte mo) |
| Peter: Which is the te form of the verb 取る (toru) “to take” plus も (mo). So it sounds like とってもとっても (tottemo tottemo) but listen again, とてもとても (totemo totemo) is “very, very” but here we have a pause in there. |
| Naomi: 取っても取っても (totte mo totte mo) |
| Peter: So “even if I take it, even if I take it.” Two of these in a row, “no matter how often I take them, no matter how often I pull them” referring to the weeds in the conversation. “No matter how much I pull them and pull them, something, something.” |
| Naomi: Emphasis ですね。取っても雑草が生えてくる (Desu ne. Totte mo zassō ga haete kuru) is okay too but 取っても取っても生えてくる (totte mo totte mo haete kuru) is emphasized. |
| Peter: Yeah two times in a row is emphasizing but kind of gets across the feeling that no matter how much. One time alone is “even if.” As an example, we have |
| Naomi: 勉強してもわからない。 (Benkyō shite mo wakaranai.) |
| Peter: Even if I study, I can’t get it. |
| Naomi: 勉強しても勉強してもわからない。 (Benkyō shite mo benkyō shite mo wakaranai.) |
| Peter: No matter how hard I study, no matter how much I study, I can’t get it. |
| Naomi: かわいそう。 (Kawaisō.) |
| Peter: 大丈夫ですよ。頑張ってください。 (Daijōbu desu yo. Ganbatte kudasai.) You can do it. Okay next we have. |
| Naomi: し (shi) |
| Peter: And where did it appear in today’s conversation, two places and actually there is two meanings for し (shi) the usage of し (shi) at the end of a sentence to mean “so on” is |
| Naomi: 俺は仕事忙しいし (Ore wa shigoto isogashii shi) |
| Peter: I am busy with work and other things, maybe his girlfriend or some other things. So in this case, the し (shi) at the end of the sentence means so, on among other things. Now we use し (shi) at the end of the sentence again in this dialogue. And here it means “reason.” This sentence is |
| Naomi: 次から次へと生えてくるし (Tsugi kara tsugi e to haete kurushi) |
Outro |
| Peter: So they keep popping up no matter how often we pull them out. So this is the reason that he feels troubled or vexed. That’s going to do it for today. |
| Naomi: じゃあ、また！ (Jā, mata!) |
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