Learn about asking about things in Japan
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natsuko: こんにちは、 なつこ です。 (Kon’nichiwa, Natsuko desu.) |
| Peter: Peter here. Sights and Sounds, Lesson 4, Sticky Situation. Natsuko-San? |
| Natsuko: What does this title mean? |
| Peter: Well, let’s take a look at the picture. |
| Natsuko: Okay. |
| Peter: What do you think is going on? |
| Natsuko: Ah...well, this seems to be Harajuku Station, and… |
| Peter: Which exit, ‘cause there’re two exits. I think it’s the one further down. |
| Natsuko: Oh, yes, right. And it seems… |
| Peter: What street is that right in front of? |
| Natsuko: 竹下通り。(Takeshitadōri.) |
| Peter: That’s the one. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. Extended from...right before the station. |
| Peter: Yeah. So, I think if I’m correct, oh boy, I don’t wanna get in trouble here, but let’s just say that people in the picture look like they’re headed straight down that street to do some serious shopping. |
| Natsuko: Serious, yes. And it seems to be a weekday afternoon, because, you know, weekends, it should be more crowded. |
| Peter: Yeah, it’s not too crowded. あまり混んでいないですね。(Amari konde inai desu ne.) Not too many people there. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. A lot crowded on weekends. |
| Peter: It’s packed. |
| Natsuko: It is. |
| Peter: And we can see the time is 1:30. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes, right. |
| Peter: Natsuko-San. 今何時ですか。(Ima nan-ji desu ka.) “What time is it now?” |
| Natsuko: あ、一時半ですね。(A, ichi-ji han desu ne.) |
| Peter: About 1:30, right? |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: And what happened here? Why is it a sticky situation? |
| Natsuko: I can’t see anything strange here, so I don’t know. |
| Peter: Really? All right. Then, I can tell you, Natsuko-San, something strange is going on here. |
| Natsuko: Oh, really? |
| Peter: So, let’s listen to the conversation and let’s revisit this question, shall we? |
| Natsuko: Okay, mm-hmm. |
| Peter: All right. Here we go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: あっ、なんか踏んじゃったみたい。 (A, nanka funjatta mitai.) |
| B: どうしたの？ (Dō shita no?) |
| A: あー、ガム踏んじゃったよ。 (Ā, gamu funjatta yo.) |
| B: ちょっと待って。はい、ティッシュ。 (Chotto matte. Hai, tisshu.) |
| A: ありがとう。 (Arigatō.) |
| B: 早く早く。信号が青のうちに渡りましょっ。 (Hayaku hayaku. Shingō ga ao no uchi ni watarimasho.) |
| Natsuko: もう一度、お願いします。ゆっくりお願いします。(Mō ichi-do, onegai shimasu. Yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| A: あっ、なんか踏んじゃったみたい。 (A, nanka funjatta mitai.) |
| B: どうしたの？ (Dō shita no?) |
| A: あー、ガム踏んじゃったよ。 (Ā, gamu funjatta yo.) |
| B: ちょっと待って。はい、ティッシュ。 (Chotto matte. Hai, tisshu.) |
| A: ありがとう。 (Arigatō.) |
| B: 早く早く。信号が青のうちに渡りましょっ。 (Hayaku hayaku. Shingō ga ao no uchi ni watarimasho.) |
| Natsuko: 次は、英語が入ります。(Tsugi wa, Eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| A: あっ、なんか踏んじゃったみたい。 (A, nanka funjatta mitai.) |
| Oops. I think I stepped on something. |
| B: どうしたの？ (Dō shita no?) |
| What happened? |
| A: あー、ガム踏んじゃったよ。 (Ā, gamu funjatta yo.) |
| Oh! I stepped on gum. |
| B: ちょっと待って。はい、ティッシュ。 (Chotto matte. Hai, tisshu.) |
| Ah, wait a sec. Here's a tissue. |
| A: ありがとう。 (Arigatō.) |
| Thanks. |
| B: 早く早く。信号が青のうちに渡りましょっ。 (Hayaku hayaku. Shingō ga ao no uchi ni watarimasho.) |
| Hurry! Hurry! Let's cross while the light is blue. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: Natsuko-San. 今日の会話、どう思いましたか。(Kyō no kaiwa, dō omoimashita ka.) |
| Natsuko: あー、ガム踏んじゃったんだ。 (Ā, gamu funjatta n da.) |
| Peter: Yup, she stepped on a gum. |
| Natsuko: Very irritating. |
| Peter: 最近どうですか。(Saikin dō desu ka.) Have you stepped on a gum recently? |
| Natsuko: Not recently, but I have an experience and it’s really frustrating. |
| Peter: Really frustrating. |
| Natsuko: It is. |
| Peter: Japan is not too bad. In the US, I used to よく踏んじゃったんですよ (yoku funjatta n desu yo), a lot. |
| Natsuko: I can imagine. |
| Peter: Quite often. |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: So, どうやって取りますか (dō yatte torimasu ka). How do you get the gum off if you just step on it? |
| Natsuko: 地面にこすりつける。(Jimen ni kosuritsukeru.) I rubbed my shoes on the ground and tried to get rid of it. |
| Peter: Now, Natsuko-San, that may work for your shoes. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. |
| Peter: But let me ask you this, have you ever had gum in your hair? |
| Natsuko: What?! No! How? |
| Peter: Well, there’s a few ways to get it in there, but getting it out is what I was concerned with. In the US, it’s not unusual to get gum in your hair. |
| Natsuko: Not unusual? Wow! That must be a real trouble. You have to cut your hair off. |
| Peter: Yeah. Usually [imitating a cutting sound]. Anyway, okay, let’s...enough of that. Is there anything else to add, Natsuko-San? |
| Natsuko: うーん、ガム吐き出すのはやめてくださいね。(Ūn, gamu hakidasu no wa yamete kudasai ne.) Everyone out there. |
| Peter: Don’t spit out your gum. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Chewing clean. |
| Natsuko: Recommended. |
| Peter: A bit of an inside joke here because they have this smoking clean campaign, where you put out the cigarette butt and you carry it around with you. |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: Anyway, onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Peter: What do we have first? |
| Natsuko: 踏む (fumu) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: to step on |
| Natsuko: 踏む (fumu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: 踏む (fumu) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: Followed by… |
| Natsuko: ガム (gamu) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: chewing gum |
| Natsuko: ガム (gamu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: ガム (gamu) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: Now, Natsuko-San, where is the pitch accent here? Are we rising? Are we falling? Where are we at with ガム (gamu)? |
| Natsuko: ガム (gamu) |
| Peter: So, rising on the ガ (ga) and falling on the ム (mu). |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: ガム (gamu). Yeah, we try to focus on this ‘cause, uh, especially with katakana words. |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: It’s extremely difficult. |
| Natsuko: Not extremely. |
| Peter: とっても難しいですよ。(Tottemo muzukashii desu yo.) |
| Natsuko: コツを掴めば大丈夫。(Kotsu o tsukameba daijōbu.) |
| Peter: Yeah, if you get the knack of it, but sometimes, it’s...I just want to say gum. |
| Natsuko: Yeah, I know. |
| Peter: Okay. This is followed by… |
| Natsuko: ちょっと (chotto) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: slightly, a little, somewhat |
| Natsuko: ちょっと (chotto) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: ちょっと (chotto) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: Followed by… |
| Natsuko: ティッシュ (tisshu) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: tissue |
| Natsuko: ティッシュ (tisshu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: ティッシュ (tisshu) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: And rising on the ティ (ti). |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: ティッシュ (tisshu) |
| Natsuko: ティッシュ (tisshu), yes. |
| Peter: ティッシュ (tisshu) |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: Next, we have… |
| Natsuko: 早く (hayaku) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: quickly |
| Natsuko: 早く (hayaku) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: 早く (hayaku) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: Followed by… |
| Natsuko: 信号 (shingō) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: traffic light, signal |
| Natsuko: 信号 (shingō) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: 信号 (shingō) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: Next… |
| Natsuko: 青 (ao) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: blue, but can also mean green |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Natsuko: 青 (ao) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: 青 (ao) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: Now, two cases with the traffic light, we say… |
| Natsuko: 青 (ao) |
| Peter: For green. So, in this case, it means “green.” And then also with a young person, we say… |
| Natsuko: 青い (aoi) |
| Peter: So, he’s green. In English, it would be, “He’s green.” |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: And here, “He’s blue,” but really “green.” |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: Then we have… |
| Natsuko: 渡る (wataru) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: to cross over |
| Natsuko: 渡る (wataru) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Natsuko: 渡る (wataru) [natural native speed] |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: Okay. Let’s just go through the whole thing because there’s a lot in there, even though it’s so short. It’s a casual conversation between two friends, and there’s a lot of really good stuff in there. First, we have… |
| Natsuko: あっ、なんか踏んじゃったみたい。 (A, nanka funjatta mitai.) |
| Peter: “Oops, it seems like I stepped on something.” Now, let’s dissect here, Natsuko-San. |
| Natsuko: Okay. |
| Peter: I like the “dissect.” First, we have… |
| Natsuko: あっ (a) |
| Peter: Interjection, something happened, あっ (a), or in this case, something happened, but it can also be used when you realize something, “Ah, I forgot something.” |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So, interjection expressing realization. |
| Natsuko: Wow. |
| Peter: We’ve got to do the vocab. Then, we have… |
| Natsuko: なんか (nanka) |
| Peter: “Something.” This is contraction of |
| Natsuko: なにか (nani ka) |
| Peter: なに (nani) is the interrogative for “what.” When it’s followed by か (ka), it means “something.” |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: And here, it gets contracted into? |
| Natsuko: なんか (nanka) |
| Peter: This is followed by… |
| Natsuko: 踏んじゃったみたい (funjatta mitai) |
| Peter: “Seems like I stepped on something.” Now, we have quite a complicated conjugation of the verb 踏む (fumu) “to step on.” And we’re gonna walk you through how we got to 踏んじゃった(funjatta). Okay, first, we have the dictionary form… |
| Natsuko: 踏む (fumu) |
| Peter: Now, we need the -te form of this verb. Now, when you say the -te form, it’s usually because -te appears in it. With Class 1 Verbs ending with む (mu) or ぶ (bu), the contraction is a bit different. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So here, we have… |
| Natsuko: 踏んで (funde) |
| Peter: Now, the -te form of 踏む (fumu). Then it’s a good old friend しまう (shimau) to complete an action. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: And in this case, an unfavorable one of stepping all the way through. You’re kind of rubbing your foot around in the gum. So, we attach しまう (shimau) to the -te form of a verb. So, here we have…? |
| Natsuko: 踏んでしまう (funde shimau) |
| Peter: And this is a very, well, formal way of saying it. |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: Still in the plain form. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Now, 踏んでしまう (funde shimau), てしまう (te shimau) as we’ve covered in other lessons can be contracted. |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: Now, here, 踏んでしまう (funde shimau) becomes… |
| Natsuko: 踏んじゃう (funjau) |
| Peter: So when you have んでしまう (-nde shimau), it becomes… |
| Natsuko: じゃう (jau) |
| Peter: じゃう (jau). And then, we have the past of じゃう (jau), which is… |
| Natsuko: じゃった (jatta) |
| Peter: So, the conjugation looks like this, we have “to step on.” |
| Natsuko: 踏む (fumu) |
| Peter: Then the -te form. |
| Natsuko: 踏んで (funde) |
| Peter: Then to step on completely. |
| Natsuko: 踏んでしまう (funde shimau) |
| Peter: Then, to have stepped on, the past tense of this? |
| Natsuko: 踏んでしまった (funde shimatta) |
| Peter: And then the contraction. |
| Natsuko: 踏んじゃった (funjatta) |
| Peter: And there it is. That’s how we get that little verb. All that for that one little contraction. |
| Natsuko: Wow. |
| Peter: And then finally, we have…? |
| Natsuko: みたい (mitai) |
| Peter: Which in spoken Japanese “seems like, looks like.” |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: え、なつこさんみたい。(E, Natsuko-san mitai.) “It’s like Natsuko!” |
| Natsuko: I am. |
| Peter: 本物だ。(Honmono da.) |
| Natsuko: 本人です。(Honnin desu.) |
| Peter: Ah, yes,「本人」ですね (“honnin” desu ne), not 本物 (honmono). |
| Natsuko: But sometimes, you use 本物 (honmono). |
| Peter: We’ll save that for the Natsuko dolls, which we’ll release in the store. |
| Natsuko: What? |
| Peter: かわいい、かわいい。(Kawaii, kawaii.) |
| Natsuko: What’s that? |
| Peter: Yes. Natsuko, 本人みたいですね (honnin mitai desu ne). Okay, on we go. So, the big difference here is if it’s てみたい (te mitai), it’s a different construction altogether. |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: But here, we have the た (ta), finishing that structure. |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: Finishing the た (ta), and then みたい (mitai), which means “like.” This is followed by…? |
| Natsuko: どうしたの？ (Dō shita no?) |
| Peter: “What’s wrong?” Now, this is a set phrase, meaning, “What’s wrong?” Literally, it’s “What did you do?” “What did someone do?” But again, it’s interpreted as “What happened?” |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: This is followed by…? |
| Natsuko: あー、ガム踏んじゃったよ。 (Ā, gamu funjatta yo.) |
| Peter: “Ah! I stepped on gum.” Now, the first part again is an interjection and kind of like a sigh, ahhh. |
| Natsuko: Ohhh. |
| Peter: So, yeah, not something good. This is followed by…? |
| Natsuko: ガム (gamu) |
| Peter: “Gum.” Next. |
| Natsuko: 踏んじゃったよ (funjatta yo) |
| Peter: “Stepped on” and the よ (yo) is adding emphasis to it. |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: So literally, “Ah, gum stepped on.” Again, when we translate it, we reverse this, “Ah, I stepped on a gum.” Another important point is in spoken Japanese, particles and object markers get dropped. So, if this was a textbook sentence, what will we have? |
| Natsuko: ガムを踏んでしまった。(Gamu o funde shimatta.) |
| Peter: And maybe even the subject in there. |
| Natsuko: 私はガムを踏んでしまった。(Watashi wa gamu o funde shimatta.) |
| Peter: “I stepped on gum” with of course を (o), marking ガム (gamu). |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: But this is spoken Japanese. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: No rules apply. Then we have…? |
| Natsuko: ちょっと待って。(Chotto matte.) |
| Peter: “Hang on a second.” “Wait a second.” Literally, “a little wait.” And here, it’s just the -te form of 待って (matte), but 待ってください (matte kudasai) is inferred. |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: “Please wait.” Then? |
| Natsuko: はい、ティッシュ。 (Hai, tisshu.) |
| Peter: “Yes, tissue.” But Natsuko-San, what’s inferred here? |
| Natsuko: Here or, you know, take it. |
| Peter: Yeah, hang on, and she is looking for a tissue, pulled that out. Now, again, a lot is inferred here. If we make a little more understandable using words, we would have…? |
| Natsuko: はい、ティッシュをどうぞ。(Hai, tisshu o dōzo.) |
| Peter: We would have をどうぞ (o dōzo) in there. Please, here you go. Of course, this is you when passing it. Then we have…? |
| Natsuko: ありがとう。 (Arigatō.) |
| Peter: “Thanks.” Followed by…? |
| Natsuko: 早く早く。 (Hayaku hayaku.) |
| Peter: “Hurry! Hurry!” “Come on.” |
| Natsuko: 信号が青のうちに渡りましょっ。 (Shingō ga ao no uchi ni watarimasho.) |
| Peter: “Let’s cross while the light is green.” And of course, literally, “Let’s cross while the light is blue,” but… |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: Now, interesting point here, うちに (uchi ni) “while.” うち (uchi) is “inside.” |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So, literally, well, this isn’t gonna work, but kind of while it’s in that stage, let’s go. |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: So, in the case of a noun, の (no) precedes うち (uchi), 青のうちに (ao no uchi ni) “while it’s green.” |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
| Peter: Literally, “while it’s blue,” but “while it’s green.” For an adjective, we would say...for example, “while it’s hot.” |
| Natsuko: 熱いうちに (atsui uchi ni) |
| Peter: “While it’s hot,” maybe eat it. So うちに (uchi ni) is a construction used to designate a period in which some condition or situation remains in effect. It’s kind of similar to あいだ に (aida ni) in that they can both be used to express an interval of time. うちに (uchi ni) has a nuance that whatever follows relies on a condition. So while it’s still green, let’s cross. |
| Natsuko: Oh, yes. |
| Peter: So there’s a strong relationship. |
| Natsuko: Mm-hmm. |
Outro |
| Peter: Now, inside the PDF, there’s much more about this. Now, Natsuko-San, I have a question for you. |
| Natsuko: はい。 (Hai.) |
| Peter: Is the tissue gonna work? |
| Natsuko: Um, I’m not sure. |
| Peter: Like, I think the tissue is gonna be stuck to her shoe. |
| Natsuko: But maybe it’ll work, ‘cause sometimes, it works. |
| Peter: All right! So, I think that’s gonna do it for today. Natsuko-San, anything to add? 特には？(Toku ni wa?) |
| Natsuko: 特にないですよ。(Toku ni nai desu yo.) |
| Peter: All right. That’s gonna do it for today. |
| Natsuko: それじゃ、また今度。(Soreja, mata kondo.) |
| A: あっ、なんか踏んじゃったみたい。 (A, nanka funjatta mitai.) |
| B: どうしたの？ (Dō shita no?) |
| A: あー、ガム踏んじゃったよ。 (Ā, gamu funjatta yo.) |
| B: ちょっと待って。はい、ティッシュ。 (Chotto matte. Hai, tisshu.) |
| A: ありがとう。 (Arigatō.) |
| B: 早く早く。信号が青のうちに渡りましょっ。 (Hayaku hayaku. Shingō ga ao no uchi ni watarimasho.) |
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