Learn about saying that something is easy or hard to do
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Naomi: 直美です。 (Naomidesu.) |
| Peter: Peter here. Japanese that’s Easy to Do. In this lesson, you will learn how to say something is easy to do or something is hard to do. |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (Sōdesu ne.) That’s right わかりやすい (Wakari yasui). |
| Peter: Easy to understand. |
| Naomi: わかりにくい (Wakari nikui) |
| Peter: Hard to understand. This conversation takes place at |
| Naomi: デパート (Depāto) |
| Peter: A department store. The conversation is mainly between a clerk and a male customer. |
| Naomi: そうですね。店員さんと雷三さんが話しています。 (Sōdesu ne. Ten'in-san to raizō-san ga hanashite imasu.) |
| Peter: The male customer is using informal Japanese and the clerk of course is using |
| Naomi: Formal Japanese. |
| Peter: Let’s listen to today’s conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 天道 きり (Tendō kiri): ねぇ、あなた。あなたのくつも 買いましょうか。 (Nē, anata. Anata no kutsu mo kaimashō ka.) 結婚式用のくつ。 (Kekkonshiki yō no kutsu.) |
| 店員 (Ten'in): では、このくつは いかがですか。 (Dewa, kono kutsu wa ikaga desu ka.) このくつは 軽くて、はきやすいですよ。 (Kono kutsu wa karuku te, haki yasui desuyo.) 一番人気があります。 (Ichiban ninki ga arimasu.) |
| 天道 雷三: ふん。...結婚式には 出ない。 (Fun.... Kekkonshiki niwa denai.) |
| 店員 (Ten'in): あららららら。どうしてですか。それは 悲しい。悲しすぎます。 (Ararararara. Dōshite desu ka. Sore wa kanashii. Kanashi sugimasu.) |
| 天道 雷三: 君は、うるさすぎるよ。 (Kimi wa urusa sugiru yo) ...わかった、わかった。買うよ。そのはきやすいくつを 買うよ。 (.... Wakatta, wakatta. Kau yo. Sono haki yasui kutsu o kau yo.) はい、カード。 (Hai, kādo.) |
| 店員 (Ten'in): ありがとうございます!お客様。 (Arigatō gozaimasu! O-kyaku-sama.) では、こちらにサインをお願いします。 (dewa, kochira ni sain o o-negai shimasu.) |
| 天道 雷三: ん?このペン...書きにくい...。 (N? Kono pen... kaki nikui....) |
| 店員 (Ten'in): お客様、大変 失礼しました。 (O-kyaku-sama, taihen shitsurei shimashita.) では、私の書きやすいペンを 使ってください。 (Dewa, watakushi no kaki yasui pen o tsukatte kudasai.) はい、どうぞ。 (Hai, dōzo.) |
| もう一度、お願いします。今度は、ゆっくりお願いします。 (Mōichido, onegaishimasu. Kondo wa, yukkuri onegaishimasu.) |
| 天道 きり (Tendō kiri): ねぇ、あなた。あなたのくつも 買いましょうか。 (Nē, anata. Anata no kutsu mo kaimashō ka.) 結婚式用のくつ。(Kekkonshiki yō no kutsu.) |
| 店員 (Ten'in): では、このくつは いかがですか。 (Dewa, kono kutsu wa ikaga desu ka.) このくつは 軽くて、はきやすいですよ。 (Kono kutsu wa karuku te, haki yasui desuyo.) 一番人気があります。 (Ichiban ninki ga arimasu.) |
| 天道 雷三: ふん。...結婚式には 出ない。 (Fun.... Kekkonshiki niwa denai.) |
| 店員 (Ten'in): あららららら。どうしてですか。それは 悲しい。悲しすぎます。 (Ararararara. Dōshite desu ka. Sore wa kanashii. Kanashi sugimasu.) |
| 天道 雷三: 君は、うるさすぎるよ。 (Kimi wa urusa sugiru yo) ...わかった、わかった。買うよ。そのはきやすいくつを 買うよ。 (.... Wakatta, wakatta. Kau yo. Sono haki yasui kutsu o kau yo.) はい、カード。 (Hai, kādo.) |
| 店員 (Ten'in): ありがとうございます!お客様。 (Arigatō gozaimasu! O-kyaku-sama.) では、こちらにサインをお願いします。 (dewa, kochira ni sain o o-negai shimasu.) |
| 天道 雷三: ん?このペン...書きにくい...。 (N? Kono pen... kaki nikui....) |
| 店員 (Ten'in): お客様、大変 失礼しました。 (O-kyaku-sama, taihen shitsurei shimashita.) では、私の書きやすいペンを 使ってください。 (Dewa, watakushi no kaki yasui pen o tsukatte kudasai.) はい、どうぞ。 (Hai, dōzo.) |
| 今度は、英語が入ります。 (Kondo wa, eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| 天道 きり (Tendō kiri): ねぇ、あなた。あなたのくつも 買いましょうか。 (Nē, anata. Anata no kutsu mo kaimashō ka.) |
| TENDO KIRI: Why don’t we get a new pair of shoes for you too, honey? |
| 結婚式用のくつ。(Kekkonshiki yō no kutsu.) |
| A new pair of shoes for the wedding. |
| 店員 (Ten'in): では、このくつは いかがですか。 (Dewa, kono kutsu wa ikaga desu ka.) このくつは 軽くて、はきやすいですよ。 (Kono kutsu wa karuku te, haki yasui desuyo.) |
| CLERK: How about these shoes? They’re light and easy to put on. |
| 一番人気があります。 (Ichiban ninki ga arimasu.) |
| They're the most popular ones we have. |
| 天道 雷三: ふん。...結婚式には 出ない。 (Fun.... Kekkonshiki niwa denai.) |
| TENDO RAIZOU: Hmph...I’m not going to the ceremony. |
| 店員 (Ten'in): あららららら。どうしてですか。それは 悲しい。悲しすぎます。 (Ararararara. Dōshite desu ka. Sore wa kanashii. Kanashi sugimasu.) |
| CLERK: Oh, no. And why not? That’s sad...so sad (starts crying) |
| 天道 雷三: 君は、うるさすぎるよ。 (Kimi wa urusa sugiru yo) |
| TENDO RAIZOU: You’re getting on my nerves. |
| ...わかった、わかった。買うよ。 (.... Wakatta, wakatta. Kau yo.) |
| Fine, fine...I’ll get them. |
| そのはきやすいくつを 買うよ。 (Sono haki yasui kutsu o kau yo.) はい、カード。 (Hai, kādo.) |
| Those, the ones that are easy to put on. Here’s my credit card. |
| 店員 (Ten'in): ありがとうございます!お客様。 (Arigatō gozaimasu! O-kyaku-sama.) では、こちらにサインをお願いします。 (dewa, kochira ni sain o o-negai shimasu.) |
| CLERK: Thank you very much! Please sign here. |
| 天道 雷三: ん?このペン...書きにくい...。 (N? Kono pen... kaki nikui....) |
| TENDO RAIZOU: Huh? This pen is hard to write with. |
| 店員 (Ten'in): お客様、大変 失礼しました。 (O-kyaku-sama, taihen shitsurei shimashita.) |
| CLERK: Sorry about that, sir. |
| では、私の書きやすいペンを 使ってください。 (Dewa, watakushi no kaki yasui pen o tsukatte kudasai.) はい、どうぞ。 (Hai, dōzo.) |
| Use my pen. It’s a breeze to write with. Here. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Naomi: うるさい店員さんですね。 (Urusai ten'in-sandesu ne.) What a noisy and nosy clerk. I don’t like the shopping clerk who speaks too much. |
| Peter: Ah this is interesting. うるさい。 (Urusai.) It can be translated in so many different ways. In this one, we kind of translate it as a noisy and nosy clerk but probably better than noisy, it would be annoying. |
| Naomi: You know what, the kanji for うるさい (Urusai) is flies in May. |
| Peter: Which are bothersome, annoying. |
| Naomi: そう。面白いですね。 (Sō. Omoshiroidesu ne.) |
| Peter: うん。非常に。 (Un. Hijō ni.) Like really interesting because you hear this word quite a bit. |
| Naomi: うるさい。ピーター、うるさい！ (Urusai. Pītā, urusai!) |
| Peter: I hear it all the time. Okay jumping back to the conversation, what I found interesting though is Kiri calls Raizo あなた (Anata). Now in this case, あなた (Anata) doesn’t mean you. It means something like honey or darling. |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (Sōdesu ne.) When you use あなた (Anata) to your friends, it’s too direct but when you use it to your steady boyfriend, that would be okay. |
| Peter: So if you are watching Japanese TV and a drama comes on and you see an older couple |
| Naomi: はい。 (Hai.) |
| Peter: You will hear I think the wife say it a lot. |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (Sōdesu ne.) |
| Peter: あなた (Anata) |
| Naomi: うん。 (Un.) でも (Demo) Again I never say あなた (Anata) to my friends. |
| Peter: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Peter: First word |
| Naomi: 軽い (Karui) |
| Peter: Light. |
| Naomi: (slow)かるい (Karui) (natural speed) 軽い (Karui) |
| Peter: Next. |
| Naomi: 履く (Haku) |
| Peter: To wear using a pulling motion. |
| Naomi: (slow)はく (Haku) (natural speed) 履く (Haku) |
| Peter: Next. |
| Naomi: 出る (deru) |
| Peter: To appear, to leave, to exit. |
| Naomi: (slow)でる (Deru) (natural speed) 出る (deru) |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 悲しい (kanashii) |
| Peter: Sad. |
| Naomi: (slow)かなしい (Kanashī) (natural speed) 悲しい (kanashii) |
| Peter: Next. |
| Naomi: サイン (sain) |
| Peter: Autograph, signature. |
| Naomi: (slow)サイン (Sain) (natural speed) サイン (sain) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Peter: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word we will look at is. |
| Naomi: 履く (Haku) |
| Peter: To wear, to put on. |
| Naomi: Pay attention to the pitch accent. The pitch goes up like はく (Haku) |
| Peter: はく (Haku) |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (Sōdesune) It goes down like はく (Haku). It means to puke or vomit. |
| Peter: Puke. Yes to be sick or to vomit. |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (Sōdesu ne.) |
| Peter: To throw up. Interesting, now Naomi Sensei, 着る (Kiru) also means to wear or to put on. Generally speaking |
| Naomi: 着る (Kiru) |
| Peter: Is used for items put on the upper body such as shirts or jackets, things like that right? |
| Naomi: はい、そうです。 (Hai,-sōdesu.) |
| Peter: Whereas 履く (Haku) covers items worn on the lower body such as pants or shoes right? |
| Naomi: はい、そうです。 (Hai,-sōdesu.) |
| Peter: So for Jeans |
| Naomi: 履く。ジーンズを履く。 (Haku. Jīnzu o haku.) |
| Peter: To wear Jeans. How about for a coat? |
| Naomi: 着る。コートを着る。 (Kiru. Kōto o kiru.) |
| Peter: How about for sneakers? |
| Naomi: 履く。スニーカーを履く。 (Haku. Sunīkā o haku.) |
| Peter: Next we have |
| Naomi: 失礼しました。 (Shitsureishimashita.) |
| Peter: Now 失礼 (Shitsurei) means rudeness or discourtesy. しました (Shimashita) is the formal past form of the verb |
| Naomi: する (Suru). So 失礼しました。 (Shitsureishimashita.) |
| Peter: The phrase literally means I did or committed discourtesy. Of course this can mean excuse me or I am sorry and in this case, the clerk did something wrong. So we are using it as I am sorry. |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sōdesu ne.) 失礼します (Shitsureishimasu) is used before your action and 失礼しました (Shitsureishimashita) is used after your action. |
| Peter: Think about a room and you are sitting in a room and someone enters the room. They are kind of disturbing you and in the Japanese way, it’s discourteous to enter the room where someone is doing something. So that’s when when someone enters the room, they say |
| Naomi: 失礼します。 (Shitsureishimasu.) |
| Peter: Excuse me and when they leave |
| Naomi: 失礼しました。 (Shitsureishimashita.) |
| Peter: On to the grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: The usage of the adjective forming suffixes やすい (Yasui) and にくい (Nikui) is the target grammar point. Now to form this construction, you take the masu-stem of a verb plus |
| Naomi: やすい (Yasui) |
| Peter: Which means easy to do and on the other side of the spectrum, we have the masu-stem of the verb plus |
| Naomi: にくい (Nikui) |
| Peter: Which means hard to do. |
| Naomi: I think we should review what the masu-stem is. |
| Peter: Okay the masu-stem refers to a form of the verb when you drop the ます (Masu) from the masu form. |
| Naomi: For example, わかる (Wakaru) is to understand わかります (Wakarimasu) is the corresponding masu form. So drop ます (Masu) and わかり (Wakari) is the masu stem. |
| Peter: So if you are already familiar with the masu-stem of verbs, this lesson’s grammar point is not so bad. If not, check the lesson notes. |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sōdesu ne.) |
| Peter: There is a review there |
| Naomi: 簡単です。わかりやすいです。 (Kantandesu. Wakari yasuidesu.) |
| Peter: It’s easy and easy to understand. So わかる (Wakaru) is to understand. The corresponding masu form is |
| Naomi: わかります (Wakarimasu) |
| Peter: Drop ます (Masu) to get the masu-stem. |
| Naomi: わかり (Wakari) |
| Peter: Now we are going to add one of the suffixes we refer it to. |
| Naomi: やすい。わかりやすい。 (Yasui. Wakari yasui.) |
| Peter: Easy to understand. By attaching やすい (Yasui) it takes on the meaning of easy to and in this case understand. Now on the opposite end of the spectrum, we have. |
| Naomi: にくい (Nikui) |
| Peter: So again we take the masu-stem and we add. |
| Naomi: にくい (Nikui) |
| Peter: And get. |
| Naomi: わかりにくい。 (Wakari nikui.) |
| Peter: Hard or difficult to understand. Let’s take one more example. Naomi Sensei, what’s the verb to live? |
| Naomi: You mean to live as in I live in Tokyo? |
| Peter: Yeah. |
| Naomi: 住む (Sumu) |
| Peter: Now that’s the dictionary form. The corresponding masu form is |
| Naomi: 住みます (Sumimasu) |
| Peter: Remember for the masu-stem, we take a verb in the masu form and we drop the ます (Masu). |
| Naomi: 住み (Sumi) |
| Peter: So easy to live is |
| Naomi: 住みやすい (Sumi yasui) |
| Peter: Hard to live is |
| Naomi: 住みにくい。 (Sumi nikui.) |
Outro |
| Naomi: ピーターさんには東京は住みやすいですか？それとも住みにくいですか。 (Pītā-san ni wa Tōkyō wa sumi yasuidesu ka? Soretomo sumi nikuidesu ka.) |
| Peter: そうですね。今、子供がいませんので住みやすいですね。 (Sōdesu ne. Ima, kodomo ga imasen'node sumi yasuidesu ne.) So as I don’t have any children, it’s easy to live. |
| Naomi: If you do. |
| Peter: うーん。住みにくいですね。 (U ̄n. Sumi nikuidesu ne.) |
| Naomi: 多分ね。 (Tabun ne.) |
| Peter: I think it’s a little difficult to live. The train, how do you take a baby on the train? |
| Naomi: Get a car. 皆さんの町は住みにくいですか？住みやすいですか？教えてください。 (Minasan no machi wa sumi nikuidesu ka? Sumi yasuidesu ka? Oshietekudasai.) |
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