Learn how to ask questions
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| Introduction |
| Jessi: Asking a Japanese Question. ジェシーです。(Jeshii desu.) Jessi here. |
| Naomi: こんにちは！なおみです。(Kon'nichi wa! Naomi desu.) Naomi here! |
| Jessi: Thanks for joining us again! Naomi, could you tell us what we learned in the last lesson? |
| Naomi: Sure! In the last lesson, we reviewed our first sentence pattern, AはBです (A wa B desu). |
| Jessi: Which means "A is B". |
| Naomi: And in this lesson...? |
| Jessi: You'll learn how to ask questions. You'll be surprised at how easy it is! We'll be using the first sentence pattern we learned as well. Okay, so what's happening in the conversation in this lesson? |
| Naomi: Well, Taylor, Masato, and Kaori are still at the airport. |
| Jessi: If you remember last time, Kaori gave Taylor a gift they brought with them from Japan, おみやげ (omiyage). |
| Naomi: Right. |
| Jessi: Now, he's asking her about it in this conversation. Let's listen in! |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| テイラー:これは…おかしですか。(Kore wa... o-kashi desu ka.) |
| まさと:はい、そうです。日本のおかしです。(Hai, sō desu. Nihon no o-kashi desu.) |
| かおり:そうです。ようかんです。(Sō desu. Yōkan desu.) |
| テイラー:よ・う・か・ん？(Yo, u, ka, n?) |
| English Host: Let's listen to the conversation again slowly. |
| テイラー:これは…おかしですか。(Kore wa... o-kashi desu ka.) |
| まさと:はい、そうです。日本のおかしです。(Hai, sō desu. Nihon no o-kashi desu.) |
| かおり:そうです。ようかんです。(Sō desu. Yōkan desu.) |
| テイラー:よ・う・か・ん？(Yo, u, ka, n?) |
| English Host: Now let’s to it with the translation. |
| テイラー:これは…おかしですか。(Kore wa... o-kashi desu ka.) |
| Jessi: Are these sweets? |
| まさと:はい、そうです。日本のおかしです。(Hai, sō desu. Nihon no o-kashi desu.) |
| Jessi: Yes, that's right. They're Japanese sweets. |
| かおり:そうです。ようかんです。(Sō desu. Yōkan desu.) |
| Jessi: Right. They're "yokan." |
| テイラー:よ・う・か・ん？(Yo, u, ka, n?) |
| Jessi: Yo-ka-n? |
| Post conversation banter |
| Jessi: So Taylor's gift from Masato and Kaori was some Japanese sweets! |
| Naomi: Yes, sweets known as ようかん (yōkan). |
| Jessi: ようかん (yōkan). How would you describe it? |
| Naomi: Well, ようかん (yōkan) is sweet-jellied red bean paste. |
| Jessi: It might be hard for the listeners to picture. |
| Naomi: I think so! It's usually sold in block form. |
| Jessi: Right. So it's often served and eaten in slices. It's very good! I like it personally. By the way, what's the word for sweets or snacks? |
| Naomi: Good question. That's our first vocabulary word, おかし (o-kashi). |
| Jessi: おかし (o-kashi). One more time slowly, and again at regular speed? |
| Naomi: [Slowly] おかし (o-kashi) [regular] おかし (o-kashi) |
| Jessi: And this is a general word for sweets or snacks. And the next phrase is? |
| Naomi: 日本の (Nihon no) |
| Jessi: 日本の (Nihon no), and this means "Japanese." |
| Naomi: You can actually learn two words in one. |
| Jessi: Yes! Can you tell us the word for Japan? |
| Naomi: 日本 (Nihon) |
| Jessi: 日本 (Nihon). and the word for Japanese is? |
| Naomi: 日本の (Nihon no) |
| Jessi: This is just 日本 (Nihon) with の (o) at the end. 日本の (Nihon no). So if we combine this with the other word we just learned, we get... |
| Naomi: 日本の おかし (Nihon no o-kashi) |
| Jessi: Japanese sweets! |
| Naomi: That's the phrase we saw in the dialogue. |
| Jessi: So please remember that "Japan" is… |
| Naomi: 日本 (Nihon) |
| Jessi: And "Japanese" as in "Japanese sweets" is… |
| Naomi: 日本の (Nihon no) |
| Jessi: Great. And the last phrase we saw? |
| Naomi: そうです (Sō desu) |
| Jessi: そうです！ (Sō desu!) And this means... |
| Naomi: "Yes" or "That's right" or "You're right." |
| Jessi: So when Taylor asked, "Are these sweets?" Kaori said… |
| Naomi: そうです。(Sō desu.) |
| Jessi: Yes, that's right. |
| Naomi: 日本のおかしです。(Nihon no o-kashi desu.) |
| Jessi: They're Japanese sweets. |
| Jessi: In this lesson, you'll learn how to make a question. |
| Naomi: Which is very easy. |
| Jessi: Yes. You'll be surprised! But before we move on, we need to go back to Lesson 7. |
| Naomi: In Lesson 7, you learned how to make a [A is B] sentence. AはBです (A wa B desu). |
| Jessi: That's right. For example? |
| Naomi: これは 水です。(Kore wa mizu desu.) |
| Jessi: これ is this, and 水 is water, so altogether this means "This is water." |
| Naomi: これは水です。(Kore wa mizu desu.) |
| Jessi: So this is just a regular statement. You're just stating a fact, right? |
| Naomi: Right. |
| Jessi: Now, what if we want to ask a question? Say you have a glass of clear liquid in front of you, and you want to know, "Is this water?" For all you know, it could be Seven-Up, or something else. |
| Naomi: Well, to turn a statement into a question, add か (ka) to the end. |
| Jessi: Just one sound - か (ka). Let's try it. So the sentence… |
| Naomi: これは 水です。(Kore wa mizu desu.) |
| Jessi: Becomes...? |
| Naomi: これは 水ですか。(Kore wa mizu desu ka.) |
| Jessi: これは 水ですか。(Kore wa mizu desu ka.) "Is this water?" Repeat after Naomi. |
| Naomi: これは 水ですか。(Kore wa mizu desu ka.) |
| [pause] |
| Jessi: Great! Now, just awhile ago we learned the word おかし (o-kashi). |
| Naomi: Meaning "sweets." |
| Jessi: Yes. So sitting in front of you is a plate of something that looks like cookies. If you know they are sweets, you can say... |
| Naomi: これはおかしです。(Kore wa o-kashi desu.) |
| Jessi: But say for example, if you don't know what they are, and want to ask if they are sweets, you can say...? |
| Naomi: これはおかしですか。(Kore wa o-kashi desu ka.) |
| Jessi: "Are these sweets?" Repeat after Naomi. |
| Naomi: これはおかしですか。(Kore wa o-kashi desu ka.) |
| [pause] |
| Naomi: That's exactly what Taylor asked in the dialogue. |
| Jessi: Oh, right ~ これはおかしですか？(Kore wa o-kashi desu ka?) |
| Naomi: Right. Okay, let's have the listeners try it now. |
| Jessi: Okay! Sounds good. Here's the situation. Let's say your Japanese host puts a dish down in front of you. It looks like fish, but you're not quite sure, how could you ask? |
| Naomi: Here are some hints for you, "fish" is 魚 (sakana). |
| Jessi: So? |
| Naomi: "This is fish" would be これはさかなです。(Kore wa sakana desu.) |
| Jessi: Okay. So please ask, "Is this fish?" |
| [pause] |
| Jessi: Okay. Naomi, in this situation, what should we say? |
| Naomi: これはさかなですか？(Kore wa sakana desu ka?) |
| Jessi: Remember, all you need to do is add か (ka) to a statement to make it a question. |
| Naomi: That's it! |
| Jessi: Not so bad, was it? |
| Naomi: Thanks for listening, everyone! |
| Jessi: See you all next time. |
| Naomi: じゃまた。(Ja mata.) |
Lesson conversation |
| テイラー:これは…おかしですか。(Kore wa... o-kashi desu ka.) |
| まさと:はい、そうです。日本のおかしです。(Hai, sō desu. Nihon no o-kashi desu.) |
| かおり:そうです。ようかんです。(Sō desu. Yōkan desu.) |
| テイラー:よ・う・か・ん？(Yo, u, ka, n?) |
Comments
HideEveryone, have you ever tried Japanese sweets (like mochi, yatsuhashi, or youkan)? What did you think of them? ;)
Hello Gwen！🌸
どういたしまして！(Dou itashimashite! "You're welcome!") 何か質問があれば、ぜひ教えてくださいね。(Nanika shitsumon ga areba, zehi oshiete kudasai ne. "If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!")
ありがとうございます！
Team JapanesePod101.com
ありがとうございます
- グウェン
Hello John! 😊
Great question,
"日本人" (にほんじん, nihon-jin) means "Japanese person" or "Japanese people." It refers to the nationality or ethnicity of someone from Japan.
On the other hand, "日本の" (にほんの, nihon-no) is a possessive form meaning "of Japan" or "Japanese" when describing something related to Japan, like 日本の文化 (にほんのぶんか, nihon-no bunka), which means "Japanese culture."
So, the difference is in what you're describing: "nihon-jin" for people and "nihon-no" for things or concepts related to Japan.
I hope this helps clarify the difference for you! 😊
ありがとうございます！
Team JapanesePod101.com
i read from another site, that Japanese is nihon-jin is there a difference in usage from nihon-no and nihon-jin?
こんにちは、MSqshさん！(Konnichiwa, MSqsh-san! "Hello, MSqsh!") 😊
It's wonderful that you're interested in trying new sweets! As for your question about memorizing vocabulary, a combination of kanji memorization and repetition is indeed a great approach. Here are a few additional tips to help you:
1. **Flashcards**: Use flashcards to regularly review vocabulary.
2. **Contextual Learning**: Try to learn vocabulary in context by reading simple texts or sentences. This helps in understanding how words are used.
3. **Kanji Practice**: Focus on the most common kanji first and practice writing them. This will reinforce your memory.
4. **Consistent Practice**: Regular practice, even if just a few minutes a day, can make a big difference.
We have a Learning Strategies series, please check it out for more useful tips!
www.japanesepod101.com/lesson-library/learning-strategies
Regarding your Japanese, I noticed a couple of small things:
1. "こにちは" should be "こんにちは" (Konnichiwa).
- This is the correct spelling for "hello" in Japanese.
2. "ありがとうごさいす" should be "ありがとうございます" (Arigatou gozaimasu).
- This is the correct way to say "thank you very much" in Japanese.
Keep up the great work, and don't hesitate to ask more questions! 😊
ありがとうございます！
Team JapanesePod101.com
こにちは、I don't think I have tried those sweets, I would like to though. I do have a question, what might be the best way to go about memorizing the vocabulary words? Like the ones above, is a combination of kanji memorization and repitition the best, to get a holstic view?
ありがとうごさいす❕
Hello Mary,
Thank you for your feedback! We apologize for any confusion. Could you please provide more details about the specific quiz question? This will help us identify the issue and improve our system.
We strive to make our learning tools as accurate and helpful as possible, and your input is invaluable. Let us know how we can further assist you in your Japanese learning journey.
ありがとうございます！
Kazuya
Team JapanesePod101.com
A quiz question got marked wrong because I did not use a contraction ?
Y'all need to reprogram your algorithm.
こんにちは、Elijahさん！(Konnichiwa, Elijah-san! "Hello, Elijah!")
あなたのコメントを見て、とても嬉しいです！(Anata no komento o mite, totemo ureshii desu! "I'm very happy to see your comment!")
あなたも素晴らしい一日をお過ごしください！(Anata mo subarashii ichinichi o osugoshi kudasai! "Have a great day too!")
ありがとうございます！
Kazuya
Team JapanesePod101.com
こんにちはかずやさん. Glad to see you and the rest of the team helping us out l! Have a good day
Hello Rayan,
Thanks for taking the time to write to us. 👍
I am glad to hear that you found this lesson helpful.❤️ I hope you like the rest of our series. 😊
Wish you all the best on your Japanese language journey.
Sincerely,
Ali
Team JapanesePod101.com
I AM LEARNING!
フィービーさん、こんにちは！(Phoebe-san, konnichiwa! "Hello, Phoebe!")
Thank you for sharing!
カステラを作ったんですか。すごいですね！😮 (Kasutera o tsukuttan desu ka. Sugoi desu! "You made a castella, that's amazing!")
Keep up the good work!
ありがとうございます！ (Arigatō gozaimasu! "Thank you!")
Yoshimi
Team JapanesePod101.com
Konnichiwa, Tiffany-san!
Don't worry about making mistakes. It's a natural part of learning a new language.
あなたの日本語はとても上手ですよ！(Anata no Nihongo wa totemo jouzu desu yo! "Your Japanese is very good!")
You said "mochi suki desu" which means "I like mochi." That's great! But if you want to say "I like mochi very much," you can say "mochi ga daisuki desu."
Keep practicing and don't be afraid to make mistakes. That's how we learn!
ありがとうございます！
Kazuya
Team JapanesePod101.com
フィービーです！I made castella cake not too long ago, pretty sure it came out denser than it's supposed to be, but it was really good! とってもおいしかったです！
I just need to get over my fear of messing up...
Konnichiwa! mochi suki desu!
こんにちは、Sophiaさん！あなたのメッセージを読むのがうれしいです！(Konnichiwa, Sophia-san! Anata no messeeji o yomu no ga ureshii desu! "Hello Sophia! I'm glad to read your message!")
Your sentence: "iie, dakara… yatte mitai mochi desu! Oishii sou desu ne!"
Corrected sentence: "いいえ、だから…ためしてみたいのはもちです！美味しそうですね！" (Iie, dakara... tameshite mitai no wa mochi desu! Oishii sou desu ne!)
Reasons for corrections:
1. In the case of food, 「ためしてみたい」"want to try" is more appropriate than 「やってみたい」"want to try.
2. You need to include the particle "のは" (no wa) after "ためしてみたい" (tameshite mitai) to indicate what it is that you want to try. So it becomes "ためしてみたいのはもちです" (tameshite mitai no wa mochi desu) which means "What I want to try is mochi".
Your phrase "Oishii sou desu ne!" is perfect! It translates to "It seems delicious, doesn't it?" Great job!
Keep practicing, Sophiaさん! あなたは上手になっています！(Anata wa jouzu ni natte imasu! "You are getting better!")
ありがとうございます！
Kazuya
Team JapanesePod101.com
iie, dakara... yatte mitai mochi desu! Oishii sou desu ne!
こんにちは、Blakeさん！(Konnichiwa, Blake-san! "Hello, Blake!")
あなたのメッセージを読むのはうれしいです。ようかんが好きなんですね！(Anata no messeeji wo yomu no wa ureshii desu. Youkan ga suki nan desu ne! "I'm happy to read your message. You like youkan, don't you!")
続けてください、Blakeさん！あなたはとても上手ですよ！(Tsuzukete kudasai, Blake-san! Anata wa totemo jouzu desu yo! "Keep going, Blake! You are very good!")
ありがとうございます！
Ryoma
Team JapanesePod101.com
Great question, Alex! In Japanese, the level of politeness or casualness in a question often depends on the verb ending. For formal or polite questions, we usually use the 'ます' (masu) form of the verb, and end the sentence with 'か' (ka). For example, 'ご飯を食べますか？' (Gohan o tabemasu ka? "Will you eat dinner?").
For casual questions, we use the plain form of the verb and often drop the 'か' at the end. The rising intonation at the end of the sentence indicates that it's a question. For example, 'ご飯を食べる？' (Gohan o taberu? "Will you eat dinner?").
Please remember, using casual language is generally reserved for people you are close to, such as friends or family. With people you're not as familiar with, it's safer to stick with the polite form.
Keep up the good work, Alex! Your curiosity and eagerness to learn are very impressive!
ありがとうございます！
Ryoma
Team JapanesePod101.com