Learn about talking about streets
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Naomi: なおみです。(Naomi desu.) |
| Peter: Peter here, Premium Lesson No. 20, Asking for Directions. Naomi-Sensei? |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Peter: この写真は、いかがですか。(Kono shashin wa, ikaga desu ka.) |
| Naomi: ここは、原宿ですね。(Koko wa, Harajuku desu ne.) |
| Peter: So, this is Harajuku. |
| Naomi: うん。原宿の駅だと思います。(Un. Harajuku no eki da to omoimasu.) |
| Peter: “The station at Harajuku.” |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Peter: そうですね。想像より小さいですね。(Sō desu ne. Sōzō yori chiisai desu ne.) Like smaller than you would think. |
| Naomi: You mean Harajuku Station? |
| Peter: Yeah. |
| Naomi: Yeah, Harajuku is a very small station, and the tall pointy building you can see in the picture is in Shinjuku. |
| Peter: Really at Shinjuku. |
| Naomi: 新宿のビルです、これは。(Shinjuku no biru desu, kore wa.) |
| Peter: そうですか。私にとってこの写真の一番面白いところは、あの、信号が青になっていますけど、まあ、人がそれを無視してるみたいです。(Sō desu ka. Watashi ni totte kono shashin no ichi-ban omoshiroi tokoro wa, ano, shingō ga ao ni natte imasu kedo, mā, hito ga sore o mushi shite ru mitai desu.) |
| Naomi: 気づかなかった。(Kizukanakatta.) Good point. |
| Peter: What’s really interesting for me in this picture is like the light is green, but everybody is just crossing the street. ぼーっとしてるかな。(Bō tto shite ru ka na.) Like they don’t realize it like, la, la, la, la… |
| Naomi: I think they are stronger than cars. だと思わない？歩行者が一番強いと思ってるから。(Da to omowanai? Hokōsha ga ichi-ban tsuyoi to omotte ru kara.) They don’t care, the color of traffic signals. |
| Peter: どうかな。(Dō ka na.) But anyway, let’s find out what exactly is going on here, shall we? |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Peter: お願いします。(Onegai shimasu.) Here we go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: すみません。新宿はどこですか。 (Sumimasen. Shinjuku wa doko desu ka.) |
| B: 新宿ですか。えっと、この道を真っすぐ行くと新宿に行きますよ。 (Shinjuku desu ka. Etto, kono michi o massugu iku to Shinjuku ni ikimasu yo.) |
| A: 歩いてどのくらいですか。 (Aruite dono kurai desu ka.) |
| B: そうですね、だいたい３０分位です。電車の方が早いですよ。 (Sō desu ne, daitai san-juppun kurai desu. Densha no hō ga hayai desu yo.) |
| A: わかりました。ありがとうございます。 (Wakarimashita. Arigatō gozaimasu.) |
| もう一度、お願いします。今度は、ゆっくりお願いします。(Mō ichi-do, onegai shimasu. Kondo wa, yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| A: すみません。新宿はどこですか。(Sumimasen. Shinjuku wa doko desu ka.) |
| B: 新宿ですか。えっと、この道を真っすぐ行くと新宿に行きますよ。 (Shinjuku desu ka. Etto, kono michi o massugu iku to Shinjuku ni ikimasu yo.) |
| A: 歩いてどのくらいですか。 (Aruite dono kurai desu ka.) |
| B: そうですね、だいたい３０分位です。電車の方が早いですよ。 (Sō desu ne, daitai san-juppun kurai desu. Densha no hō ga hayai desu yo.) |
| A: わかりました。ありがとうございます。 (Wakarimashita. Arigatō gozaimasu.) |
| 今度は、英語が入ります。(Kondo wa, Eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| A: すみません。新宿はどこですか。(Sumimasen. Shinjuku wa doko desu ka.) |
| Excuse me. Where is Shinjuku? |
| B: 新宿ですか。えっと、この道を真っすぐ行くと新宿に行きますよ。 (Shinjuku desu ka. Etto, kono michi o massugu iku to Shinjuku ni ikimasu yo.) |
| Shinjuku? Um. Take this road and you'll get to Shinjuku. |
| A: 歩いてどのくらいですか。 (Aruite dono kurai desu ka.) |
| How far is it on foot? |
| B: そうですね、だいたい３０分位です。 (Sō desu ne, daitai san-juppun kurai desu. |
| Let's see. About 30 minutes or so. |
| B: 電車の方が早いですよ。(Densha no hō ga hayai desu yo.) |
| It'd be faster by train. |
| A: わかりました。ありがとうございます。 (Wakarimashita. Arigatō gozaimasu.) |
| I see. Thank you very much. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: Naomi-Sensei? |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Peter: すいませんでした。(Suimasen deshita.) I’m sorry. やっぱりなおみ先生…。あ、やっぱりとは言えないけど。(Yappari Naomi-sensei… A, yappari to wa ienai kedo.) I’m not gonna say やっぱり (yappari), but なおみ先生は正しかったです (Naomi-sensei wa tadashikatta desu). You’re right! |
| Naomi: でしょ？あの、でもこれ、ちょっと変ですよね。(Desho? Ano, demo kore, chotto hen desu yo ne.) |
| Peter: It’s a little strange? |
| Naomi: Yeah, because Shinjuku is such a huge ward and it’s kind of odd to ask like 新宿はどこですか (Shinjuku wa doko desu ka). People tend to ask more smaller place like 新宿駅はどこですか (Shinjuku Eki wa doko desu ka) or 新宿公園はどこですか (Shinjuku Kōen wa doko desu ka). |
| Peter: “Where is Shinjuku Station?” or “Where is Shinjuku Park?” |
| Naomi: Mmm. |
| Peter: But they’re in Harajuku, so it kind of makes sense like, oh, I see what you’re saying. So, you wouldn’t...you probably say something more like 新宿はどちらですか (Shinjuku wa dochira desu ka) or 新宿へ行きたいんですが、どの方向ですか (Shinjuku e ikitai n desu ga, dono hōkō desu ka). |
| Naomi: Yeah. That would be more appropriate, I think. It’s like asking ニューヨークはどこですか (Nyū yōku wa doko desu ka). |
| Peter: I see. So, basically, everyone in Shinjuku thinks that the world should know where Shinjuku is. |
| Naomi: そういうことじゃない！あ、ニューヨークはそうだよね。ニューヨークの人はね、そうだよね。(Sō iu koto ja nai! A, Nyū yōku wa sō da yo ne. Nyū yōku no hito wa ne, sō da yo ne.) それから (sorekara), nobody walks from Harajuku to Shinjuku. That’s too far. |
| Peter: え〜？うそでしょ？(Ē? Uso desho?) |
| Naomi: Nobody って言うのはちょっと間違いですね。(“Nobody” tte iu no wa chotto machigai desu ne.) Maybe I’m wrong. |
| Peter: You’re very wrong! |
| Naomi: 誰も、でも、誰も歩かないよー！(Dare mo, demo, dare mo arukanai yō!) |
| Peter: Nobody walks? |
| Naomi: Like from Harajuku to Shinjuku? |
| Peter: 誰でも歩きます。(Dare demo arukimasu.) Everybody walks. |
| Naomi: いや、誰も歩かない、あんな…。(Iya, dare mo arukanai, anna…) |
| Peter: 誰でも歩きます。(Dare demo arukimasu.) |
| Naomi: えー、だって何にもないよ。(Ē, datte nan ni mo nai yo.) There’s nothing between Shinjuku and Harajuku, so it’s not a fun place to walk around. |
| Peter: あそこに住んでいる人々、申し訳ございません。(Asoko ni sunde iru hitobito, mōshiwake gozaimasen.) Sorry about everybody living between Harajuku and Shinjuku. |
| Naomi: そういう意味じゃないよ！(Sō iu imi ja nai yo!) |
| Peter: I mean like why would anybody wanna go there. 誰でも歩きます。(Dare demo arukimasu.) Like a lot of people walk. It’s nice. |
| Naomi: う〜ん、多分。(Ūn, tabun.) From Harajuku to Shibuya, yes, but not from Harajuku to Shinjuku. |
| Peter: あ〜、わかります。原宿から、あの渋谷まで、とても道がきれいです。(Ā, wakarimasu. Harajuku kara, ano Shibuya made, totemo michi ga kirei desu.) |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) And a lot of shops are there. |
| Peter: So, it’s a very popular path, but the other way, yeah. It’s kind of like off the beaten trail. |
| Naomi: でしょう？ (Deshō?) I was right, you’re wrong. |
| Peter: え、どうでしょう。(E, dō deshō.) We have it on tape, nobody goes there. I mean nobody, I mean nobody. |
| Naomi: ひどい。(Hidoi.) |
| Peter: Let’s check out the vocabulary. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Naomi: 真っすぐ (massugu) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: straight, straight ahead |
| Naomi: 真っすぐ (massugu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 真っすぐ (massugu) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 歩く (aruku) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: to walk |
| Naomi: 歩く (aruku) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 歩く (aruku) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 電車 (densha) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: train |
| Naomi: 電車 (densha) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 電車 (densha) [natural native speed] |
| Naomi: 行く (iku) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: to go |
| Naomi: 行く (iku) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 行く (iku) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: わかる (wakaru) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: to understand |
| Naomi: わかる (wakaru) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: わかる (wakaru) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: くらい (kurai) or ぐらい (gurai) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: about |
| Naomi: くらい (kurai) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: くらい (kurai) [natural native speed] |
| Naomi: ぐらい (gurai) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: ぐらい (gurai) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: だいたい (daitai) [natural native speed] |
| Peter: about |
| Naomi: だいたい (daitai) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: だいたい (daitai) [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Peter: Let’s take a closer look at some of the phrases and vocabulary covered today. なおみ先生、お願いします。(Naomi-sensei, onegai shimasu.) |
| Naomi: 真っすぐ (massugu) |
| Peter: “straight” |
| Naomi: 真っすぐ (massugu). 真っすぐな (massugu na) is a na-ending adjective. なので、真っすぐな道。(Nanode, massugu na michi.) |
| Peter: “A straight street.” |
| Naomi: If you say 真っすぐに (massugu ni), that will be an adverb. 真っすぐに行ってください。(Massugu ni itte kudasai.) |
| Peter: Go straight. |
| Naomi: でも (demo), in the conversation, we often drop に (ni) and say 真っすぐ行ってください (massugu itte kudasai). |
| Peter: But it’s implied, okay, and this is extremely useful for getting and giving directions. |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Peter: The character itself means… |
| Naomi: Genuine. |
| Peter: Yeah, genuine. So genuinely straight. And it’s used in combination with several other instances, for example, with colors. |
| Naomi: 真っ白 (masshiro) |
| Peter “Snow white” or “pure white.” |
| Naomi: 真っ黒 (makkuro) |
| Peter: “Pitch black, jet black” |
| Naomi: そう、ピーターさんの気持ちとかですよね、真っ黒。(Sō, Pītā-san no kimochi toka desu yo ne, makkuro.) |
| Peter: うん、そう。なおみ先生と会う時に。(Un, sō. Naomi-sensei to au toki ni.) Like, it’s just… |
| Naomi: You’re so dark. |
| Peter: Yes. I’m down. |
| Naomi: ひどい。(Hidoi.) |
| Peter: Okay, next we have… |
| Naomi: 歩いて (aruite) |
| Peter: “By foot” |
| Naomi: 歩きで (aruki de) would be the same meaning. |
| Peter: Or 徒歩で (toho de). |
| Naomi: そうですね。あの「徒歩で」はいい言葉ですね。(Sō desu ne. Ano “toho de” wa ii kotoba desu ne.) That’s a very good phrase to know. それから、電車で。(Sorekara, densha de.) |
| Peter: “By train” |
| Naomi: 車で (kuruma de) |
| Peter: “By car.” So you can see, we used the particle で (de) when talking about instruments or tools we use to get to where we’re going. |
| Naomi: 新宿駅まで、歩いて１０分位です。(Shinjuku Eki made, aruite juppun kurai desu.) |
| Peter: “To Shinjuku Station by foot is about 10 minutes.” |
| Naomi: 新宿駅まで、電車で１０分位です。(Shinjuku Eki made, densha de juppun kurai desu.) |
| Peter: It’s about 10 minutes to Shinjuku Station by train.” |
| Naomi: 新宿駅まで、車で１０分位です。(Shinjuku Eki made, kuruma de juppun kurai desu.) |
| Peter: “It’s about 10 minutes to Shinjuku Station by car.” So まあ全部 (mā zednbu), all about the same. |
| Naomi: そうですね。なになにで。(Sō desu ne. Naninani de.) |
| Peter: Okay. And of course, if you wanna ask the question, it’s always 車で何分かかりますか (kuruma de nan-pun kakarimasu ka) or… |
| Naomi: どの位ですか。(Dono kurai desu ka.) |
| Peter: Oh, even better. So, “How long does it take by car?” |
| Naomi: そうですね。歩いてどの位ですか。(Sō desu ne. Aruite dono kurai desu ka.) |
| Peter: “How long does it take to walk?” So, a lot of them try to ask a question. You ask a question with how long does it take, in regards to time. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: Okay, let’s take a look at today’s grammar point, which is? |
| Naomi: 〜と、…に行く (-to, … ni iku) |
| Peter: So we’re basically using the と (to) conditional with the verb 行く (iku). Okay, so we have a verb in the plain form plus と (to) then the destination, then we have に着く (ni tsuku) “to arrive.” |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Peter: Okay. Let’s have a sample sentence. |
| Naomi: この道を真っすぐ行くと、新宿に行きますよ。(Kono michi o massugu iku to, Shinjuku ni ikimasu yo.) |
| Peter: なんか、おかしいですね。(Nanka, okashii desu ne.) |
| Naomi: I think it’s a bit strange sentence. |
| Peter: Yeah. “If you go straight, you’ll go to Shinjuku.” |
| Naomi: I think this sentence should be, この道を真っすぐ行くと、新宿に着きますよ (kono michi o massugu iku to, Shinjuku ni tsukimasu yo). |
| Peter: “If you go straight, you’ll arrive in Shinjuku” is a little bit better. |
| Naomi: Mm, much better. |
| Peter: Okay. And now, here, let’s take a look at the と (to) conditional. So, this と (to) conditional, if you do something, if something is done then what comes after the と (to) will be realized. So if you go straight, then you will get to Shinjuku. |
| Naomi: 真っすぐ行くと、駅に着く。(Massugu iku to, eki ni tsuku.) |
| Peter: So, what comes before と (to) is a condition, and if that condition is satisfied, then the latter clause (what comes after it) will be realized or be satisfied or fulfilled. So, let’s have another example. |
| Naomi: 左に曲がると、銀行が見える。(Hidari ni magaru to, ginkō ga mieru.) |
| Peter: “If you turn left, you’ll be able to see the bank.” Okay. The first part preceding it and can we just put the subjects in ‘cause we’re inferring them. |
| Naomi: あなたが左に曲がると、あなたは銀行が見える。(Anata ga hidari ni magaru to, anata wa ginkō ga mieru.) That sounds so strange in Japanese. It doesn’t sound right to me. |
| Peter: I know, but this… |
| Naomi: But yeah, in a grammar, yeah. |
| Peter: Just to establish it, yeah. In this case, it’s two people talking so, the あなた (anata) is implied so you don’t have to add that in. So basically, we’re just doing it here, so that you can see where they would go in a sentence. So, you know, if you turn left, okay, and we’ll start with the left, which is… |
| Naomi: 左 (hidari) |
| Peter: Followed by… |
| Naomi: に (ni) |
| Peter: Okay. So, for this direction we use に (ni), followed by… |
| Naomi: 曲がる (magaru) |
| Peter: “To turn.” So, “left to turn…” |
| Naomi: と (to) |
| Peter: “If.” “If you turn left…” and here, it’s kind of like “if-then.” The “to” is a very powerful conditional because with the と (to) conditional, what comes after is dependent upon the first thing being fulfilled or satisfied. So, if you turn left then... |
| Naomi: 銀行 (ginkō) |
| Peter: “bank” |
| Naomi: が (ga) |
| Peter: Subject-marking particle |
| Naomi: 見える (mieru) |
| Peter: “Will be able to see, can see” |
| Naomi: So, if you turn left, you’ll be able to see the bank. |
Outro |
| Peter: Okay. So, inside today’s PDF, there’s a much more detailed write-up of today’s grammar point. Now, in addition to this, we wanna tell you a little bit more about My Feed. Now, Naomi-Sensei? |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Peter: We talked about it last week. Have you tried it since? |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Peter: And, you know, it’s just incredible, you get everything you want directly delivered to your iTunes or whatever podcast you’re using. |
| Naomi: そうですね。私はiTunesじゃないですけど。(Sō desu ne. Watashi wa aichūnzu ja nai desu kedo.) |
| Peter: え、何使っていますか。(E, nani tsukatte imasu ka.) You don’t use iTunes. What do you use? |
| Naomi: ウォークマン、ソニーの。(Wōkuman, Sonī no.) |
| Peter: まったく…。なん…、ちょっと、おかしくないですか。(Mattaku… Nan…, chotto, okashikunai desu ka.) |
| Naomi: なんで？え、なんで？(Nande? E, nande?) |
| Peter: Like why would anybody get a Sony? |
| Naomi: Sony is a great company. |
| Peter: Yeah. もう、すごい。さすが、あのー、愛国人ですね。(Mō, sugoi. Sasuga, anō, aikokujin desu ne.) Like a patriot. You’re too patriotic. あ〜、やっぱりもう、ソニーがよくないけど、買うしかないです。日本人の義務として。(Ā, yappari mō, Sonī ga yokunai kedo, kau shika nai desu. Nihon-jin no gimu to shite.) Like as in...it’s an obligation for a Japanese person, they have to buy Sony. |
| Naomi: My friend gave it to me. I had no choice. |
| Peter: 言い訳です。返せばよかったです。お返しします。(Iiwake desu. Kaeseba yokatta desu. O-kaeshi shimasu.) So you can use last week’s point, お返しします (o-kaeshi shimasu) like I’m going to give it back to you. |
| Naomi: じゃあアイポッドください。(Jā aipoddo kudasai.) |
| Peter: そう、そう。(Sō, sō.) |
| Naomi: え、違う、私。(E, chigau, watashi.) I’m telling you, Peter. |
| Peter: I thought you’re telling the listeners. |
| Naomi: No, no, no, no, no. アイポッドください。(Aipoddo kudasai.) |
| Peter: For you the listeners, that’s great. 私もお願いします。(Watashi mo onegai shimasu.) Excellent way to put yourself in front of everybody. なおみ先生、すばらしい、自己中心ですね。(Naomi-sensei, subarashii, jiko chūshin desu ne.) Like egocentric ですね (desu ne). |
| Naomi: え、どうして？(E, dōshite?) I understand the word, but I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. |
| Peter: I think it’s incredible, Naomi-Sensei, like すばらしい (subarashii), you’re trying to, you know, really get the most out of the listeners for personal gain. |
| Naomi: そんなこと…じゃあ、サブジェクトを入れます. (Sonna koto… Jā, sabujekuto o iremasu.) I’m gonna put the subject. スティーブ・ジョブズさん、アイポッドをください。(Sutību Jobuzu-san, aipoddo o kudasai.) |
| Peter: There you go. So, “Steve Jobs, please, send us an iPad.” |
| Naomi: Us じゃなくて me なんだけど。(“Us” ja nakute “me” nan da kedo.) |
| Peter: See you next time. |
| A: すみません。新宿はどこですか。(Sumimasen. Shinjuku wa doko desu ka.) |
| B: 新宿ですか。えっと、この道を真っすぐ行くと新宿に行きますよ。 (Shinjuku desu ka. Etto, kono michi o massugu iku to Shinjuku ni ikimasu yo.) |
| A: 歩いてどのくらいですか。 (Aruite dono kurai desu ka.) |
| B: そうですね、だいたい３０分位です。電車の方が早いですよ。 (Sō desu ne, daitai san-juppun kurai desu. Densha no hō ga hayai desu yo.) |
| A: わかりました。ありがとうございます。 (Wakarimashita. Arigatō gozaimasu.) |
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