Learn how to say "if"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Naomi: なおみです。(Naomi desu.) |
| Kat: Kat here. Would You be Able to Move After Running a Japanese Marathon? In this lesson you'll learn how to say "if" in Japanese. |
| Naomi: Right. We'll introduce the usage of たら (tara). |
| Kat: And where does this conversation take place? |
| Naomi: 会社 (kaisha) |
| Kat: At an office. And who is this conversation between? |
| Naomi: 二人の同僚です。歩さんと渡さんですね。(Futari no dōryō desu. Ayumu-san to Wataru-san desu ne.) |
| Kat: So it's a conversation between two colleagues who are Ayumu Toi and Wataru Chikamori. |
| Naomi: 二人は仲のいい友達みたいです。(Futari wa naka no ii tomodachi mitai desu.) |
| Kat: Right. So they're good friends, therefore they're going to be speaking informal Japanese. |
| Naomi: では、聞いてみましょう。(Dewa, kiite mimashō.) |
| Kat: Let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : ええっと…東京マラソン、参加料… (Eetto... Tōkyō marason, sankaryō…) |
| : フルマラソンだったら、10000円。10キロだったら、5000円…。(Furumarason dattara, ichi-man-en. Jukkiro dattara, go-sen-en…) |
| : うーん。迷うなー。(Ūn. Mayou nā.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : どうしたの？(Dō shita no?) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : でも、もしフルマラソンを走ったら、次の日動けないよね…。(Demo, moshi furumarason o hashittara, tsugi no hi ugokenai yo ne…) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : ああ、東京マラソン？近森、走るの？(Ā, Tōkyō marason? Chikamori, hashiru no?) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : うん。くじに当たったら。(Un. Kuji ni atattara.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : そっか。当たらなかったら、走れないよね。(Sokka. Ataranakattara, hashirenai yo ne.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : あ、ネットから申し込んだら、手数料がかからないんだ。(A, netto kara mōshikondara, tesūryō ga kakaranai n da.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : あ！「8月31日までに申し込んでください」だって。もう九月だよ。(A! "Hachi-gatsu san-jū ichi-nichi made ni mōshikonde kudasai" datte. Mō ku-gatsu da yo.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : うそー。(Usō.) |
| Naomi: もう一度、会話を聞いてください。今度はゆっくり話します。(Mō ichi-do, kaiwa o kiite kudasai. Kondo wa yukkuri hanashimasu.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : ええっと…東京マラソン、参加料… (Eetto... Tōkyō marason, sankaryō…) |
| : フルマラソンだったら、10000円。10キロだったら、5000円…。(Furumarason dattara, ichi-man-en. Jukkiro dattara, go-sen-en…) |
| : うーん。迷うなー。(Ūn. Mayou nā.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : どうしたの？(Dō shita no?) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : でも、もしフルマラソンを走ったら、次の日動けないよね…。(Demo, moshi furumarason o hashittara, tsugi no hi ugokenai yo ne…) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : ああ、東京マラソン？近森、走るの？(Ā, Tōkyō marason? Chikamori, hashiru no?) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : うん。くじに当たったら。(Un. Kuji ni atattara.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : そっか。当たらなかったら、走れないよね。(Sokka. Ataranakattara, hashirenai yo ne.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : あ、ネットから申し込んだら、手数料がかからないんだ。(A, netto kara mōshikondara, tesūryō ga kakaranai n da.) |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : あ！「8月31日までに申し込んでください」だって。もう九月だよ。(A! "Hachi-gatsu san-jū ichi-nichi made ni mōshikonde kudasai" datte. Mō ku-gatsu da yo.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : うそー。(Usō.) |
| Naomi: 今度は、英語の訳と一緒に聞いてみましょう。(Kondo wa, Eigo no yaku to issho ni kiite mimashō.) |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : ええっと…東京マラソン、参加料… (Eetto... Tōkyō marason, sankaryō…) |
| Kat: Um...Tokyo Marathon participation fee... |
| : フルマラソンだったら、10000円。(Furumarason dattara, ichi-man-en.) |
| Kat: For the full marathon, ten thousand yen. |
| : 10キロだったら、5000円…。(Jukkiro dattara, go-sen-en…) |
| Kat: Ten kilometers, five thousand yen. |
| : うーん。迷うなー。(Ūn. Mayou nā.) |
| Kat: Hmm. What to do... |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : どうしたの？(Dō shita no?) |
| Kat: What's wrong? |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : でも、もしフルマラソンを走ったら、次の日動けないよね…。(Demo, moshi furumarason o hashittara, tsugi no hi ugokenai yo ne…) |
| Kat: But if I run the full marathon, the next day I won't be able to move. |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : ああ、東京マラソン？近森、走るの？(Ā, Tōkyō marason? Chikamori, hashiru no?) |
| Kat: Oh, the Tokyo Marathon? Chikamori, are you going to run it? |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : うん。くじに当たったら。(Un. Kuji ni atattara.) |
| Kat: Yeah. If I get chosen by lottery. |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : そっか。当たらなかったら、走れないよね。(Sokka. Ataranakattara, hashirenai yo ne.) |
| Kat: I see. If you don't get chosen, you can't run, right? |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : あ、ネットから申し込んだら、手数料がかからないんだ。(A, netto kara mōshikondara, tesūryō ga kakaranai n da.) |
| Kat: Oh, if you apply online, there's no application fee! |
| 遠井 歩 (Tōi Ayumu) : あ！「8月31日までに申し込んでください」だって。(A! "Hachi-gatsu san-jū ichi-nichi made ni mōshikonde kudasai" datte.) |
| Kat: Oh! It says "Please apply by the thirty-first of August." |
| : もう九月だよ。(Mō ku-gatsu da yo.) |
| Kat: It's already September. |
| 近森 渡 (Chikamori Wataru) : うそー。(Usō.) |
| Kat: No way! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Naomi: すごいですね。渡さんは東京マラソンを走るつもりだったんですね。(Sugoi desu ne. Wataru-san wa Tōkyō marason o hashiru tsumori datta n desu ne.) |
| Kat: Right. Wataru was planning to run the Tokyo Marathon... but unfortunately the application deadline had already passed! |
| Naomi: 残念でしたね。(Zannen deshita ne.) That was unfortunate. |
| Kat: でも・・・参加料高くないですか。(Demo… sankaryō takakunai desu ka.) But isn't the participation fee kind of expensive? |
| Naomi: うん、 そうですね。で、ちょっとネットで調べたんですけど、シカゴマラソンも値段は同じくらいみたいですよ。で、ニューヨークマラソンと、ホノルルマラソンは東京マラソンよりもちょっと高いみたいです。(Un, sō desu ne. De, chotto netto de shirabeta n desu kedo, Shikago marason mo nedan wa onaji kurai mitai desu yo. De, Nyū Yōku marason to, Honoruru marason wa Tōkyō marason yori mo chotto takai mitai desu.) |
| Kat: ああ、なるほど。(Ā, naruhodo.) So you're saying that the entry fee of 10000 yen, which is about 100 U.S dollars, 85 Euros or 75 pounds, isn't really expensive compared with other international marathon events like New York or Honolulu. |
| Naomi: そうですね。セキュリティとか、まぁ色々あってお金がかかるんでしょうね。(Sō desu ne. Sekyuriti toka, mā iroiro atte o-kane ga kakaru n deshō ne.) |
| Kat: まぁそうですね。で、何人くらい走るんですか。(Mā sō desu ne. De, nan-nin kurai hashiru n desu ka.) About how many people run in the marathon? |
| Naomi: んーとね、３万５千人くらいだそうです。(Nto ne, san-man go-sen-nin kurai da sō desu.) |
| Kat: えぇ！(Ee!) About 35000 people? Wow! なおみ先生は走りたいと思いますか。(Naomi-sensei wa hashiritai to omoimasu ka.) |
| Naomi: いや、全然。キャットさんは？(Iya, zenzen. Kyatto-san wa?) |
| Kat: いやです。えっと、長距離が昔から大嫌いですから。(Iya desu. Etto, chōkyori ga mukashi kara daikirai desu kara.) I've always hated long-distance running! |
| Naomi: でも、東京マラソンのいいところは、東京の有名な観光スポットを回るコースなんですって。だから、おもしろいみたいですよ。まあ、もしマラソンが好きだったらですけどね。(Demo, Tōkyō marason no ii tokoro wa, Tōkyō no yūmei na kankō supotto o mawaru kōsu nan desu tte. Dakara, omoshiroi mitai desu yo. Mā, moshi marason ga suki dattara desu kedo ne.) |
| Kat: Yes, we recommend it if you like marathons, as the marathon course actually goes past a lot of famous Tokyo tourist destinations. |
| Naomi: じゃあ、単語をみてみましょう。(Jā, tango o mite mimashō.) |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Kat: OK. So let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| And the first word is: |
| Naomi: くじ (kuji) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: lot, lottery, sweepstakes |
| Naomi: くじ (kuji) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: くじ (kuji) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: OK. And next: |
| Naomi: 当たる (ataru) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: to be hit, to strike, to win (the lottery) |
| Naomi: 当たる (ataru) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 当たる (ataru) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And ext: |
| Naomi: 迷う (mayou) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: to waver, unable to make a decision |
| Naomi: 迷う (mayou) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 迷う (mayou) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: OK. And next: |
| Naomi: 申し込む (mōshikomu) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: to apply for, to register |
| Naomi: 申し込む (mōshikomu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 申し込む (mōshikomu) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: And finally: |
| Naomi: 手数料 (tesūryō) [natural native speed] |
| Kat: commission, handling charge |
| Naomi: 手数料 (tesūryō) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Naomi: 手数料 (tesūryō) [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Kat: OK so now, let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. And the first one we are going to look at is? |
| Naomi: くじに当たる (kuji ni ataru) |
| Kat: “to win the lottery” or “to be chosen in a lottery”. |
| くじ (kuji) means “lot” or “lottery” and 当たる (ataru) is a class 1 verb meaning “to hit” or “to win (the lottery).” |
| Naomi: キャットさんは、くじによく当たりますか。(Kyatto-san wa, kuji ni yoku atarimasu ka.) |
| Kat: 全然当たらないですね。(Zenzen ataranai desu ne.) I never win a lottery though. |
| Naomi: 残念。(Zannen.) |
| Kat: And the opposite phrase to くじに当たる (kuji ni ataru) “to win a lottery” is くじにはずれる (kuji ni hazureru) which means “to draw a losing ticket.” |
| Naomi: The opposite word of 当たる (ataru) |
| Kat: "to hit" |
| Naomi: is はずれる (hazureru) |
| Kat: "to miss". And how about "to draw a lot"? |
| Naomi: We use a verb 引く (hiku) |
| Kat: "to pull" |
| Naomi: そうです。(Sō desu.) |
| Kat: So you say くじを引く (kuji o hiku)? |
| Naomi: Right. くじを引く (kuji o hiku) |
| Kat: I see. |
| Kat: And the next word is? |
| Naomi: キロ (kiro) |
| Kat: “kilogram” or “kilometer” |
| Naomi:「キロ」は「キログラム」か「キロメートル」の短い形です。(“Kiro” wa “kiroguramu” ka “kiromētoru” no mijikai katachi desu.) |
| Kat: So キロ (kiro) in Japanese is the abbreviation of キログラム (kiroguramu) meaning “kilogram” or キロメートル (kiromētoru) meaning “kilometer.” |
| Naomi: 英語は？キロって言わないんですか。(Eigo wa? Kiro tte iwanai n desu ka.) Don't you use Kilos as well in English? |
| Kat: Yes we do, but in English kilo can only be used for weight whereas in Japanese it can also be used for short for kilometer. whereas if you say, like for example, 5 kilos in English, that would definitely be weight and not distance. |
| Naomi: なるほど。(Naruhodo.) |
| Kat: So can we have a sample sentence using kilo please? |
| Naomi: はい。私の犬は４キロぐらいだ。(Hai. Watashi no inu wa yon-kiro gurai da.) |
| Kat: “My dog weighs about 4kg.” |
| Naomi: マラソンは４２キロぐらいだ。(Marason wa yon-jū ni-kiro gurai da.) |
| Kat: “The marathon is about 42km.” |
| Naomi: そうですね。なので、意味をcontextから考えてください。(Sō desu ne. Nanode, imi o “context” kara kangaete kudasai.) |
| Kat: So in Japanese, please listen to the context of the word, kilo, and you’ll be able to work out which usage it is. Speaking of the Tokyo Marathon, we just say that it was 42キロぐらい (yon-jū ni-kiro gurai) which is about 42 kilometers, but, it’s 42.195 kilometers if we exact. I think you’ll find it. |
| Naomi: そうです。42.195キロ。(Sō desu. Yon-jū ni ten ichi kyū go-kiro.) |
| Kat: 点 (ten) in Japanese means “dot” or “point” literally. So 0.5 in Japanese is? |
| Naomi: ぜろてんご (zero ten go) or れいてんご (rei ten go) |
| Kat: Well, 3.8 is? |
| Naomi: さんてんはち (san ten hachi) |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Kat: The focus of this lesson is how to say “if” in Japanese. |
| Naomi:「たら」の使い方を勉強します。(“Tara” no tsukaikata o benkyō shimasu.) You will learn the usage of たら (tara). |
| Kat: There are several ways to say "if" in Japanese, but in this lesson, we'll focus on the usage of the most basic one, which is たら (tara). |
| Naomi: 形は...。(Katachi wa…) The formation is “[informal past speech] + ら (ra).” |
| Kat: Let us show you some examples. Let's say "If it rains". |
| Naomi: "It rains" is 雨がふる (ame ga furu). |
| Kat: Now change this to informal past speech. |
| Naomi: 雨が降った (ame ga futta) |
| Kat: Attach ら (ra) on the end. |
| Naomi: 雨が降ったら (ame ga futtara) |
| Kat: This means "If it rains." Can we have a sample sentence please? |
| Naomi: はい。雨が降ったら、ドアを閉めてください。(Hai. Ame ga futtara, doa o shimete kudasai.) |
| Kat: "If it rains, please close the door." Listeners, listen and repeat. |
| Naomi: 雨が降ったら、ドアを閉めてください。(Ame ga futtara, doa o shimete kudasai.) |
| Kat: (pause) Listeners, say "If it rains, please close the door" in Japanese. |
| Naomi: (pause) 雨が降ったら、ドアを閉めてください。(Ame ga futtara, doa o shimete kudasai.) |
| Kat: OK. So now let's do one more. Let's say "If I had a time machine." |
| Naomi: Hm! タイムマシーン。はい。(Taimu mashīn. Hai.) タイムマシーンがある (taimu mashīn ga aru) is "to have a time machine" or "to possess a time machine." |
| Kat: Now change this to informal past speech. |
| Naomi: タイムマシーンがあった (taimu mashīn ga atta) |
| Kat: Attach ら (ra). |
| Naomi: タイムマシーンがあったら (taimu mashīn ga attara) |
| Kat: And this means "If I had a time machine," and can we have a sample sentence? |
| Naomi: はい。タイムマシーンがあったら、未来に行きたい。(Hai. Taimu mashīn ga attara, mirai ni ikitai.) |
| Kat: 未来 (mirai) is future. And this sentence means of course "If I had a time machine, I’d like to go to the future." Listeners, listen and repeat. |
| Naomi: タイムマシーンがあったら、未来に行きたい。(Taimu mashīn ga attara, mirai ni ikitai.) |
| Kat: (pause) Listeners, say "If I had a time machine, I’d like to go to the future" in Japanese. |
| Naomi: (pause) タイムマシーンがあったら、未来に行きたい。(Taimu mashīn ga attara, mirai ni ikitai.) |
| キャットさんはどうですか。タイムマシーンがあったら、どうしたいですか。(Kyatto-san wa dō desu ka. Taimu mashīn ga attara, dō shitai desu ka.) |
| Kat: What would I do, if I had a time machine? Well...I’ve thought about that often but... 日本史が好きなので、江戸時代にでも行ってみたいと思います。(Nihonshi ga suki na node, Edo jidai ni demo itte mitai to omoimasu.) I like Japanese history, so this is really no the answer, but maybe I'd like to go back to the Edo period in Japan - the 17th to the 19th century sometime then. |
| Naomi: いいですね。リスナーの皆さんは、タイムマシーンがあったら、どうしますか。(Ii desu ne. Risunā no mina-san wa, taimu mashīn ga attara, dō shimasu ka.) |
| Kat: Yes that’s right, listeners, what would you do if you had a time machine? |
| Naomi: 売りますか？(Urimasu ka?) |
| Kat: Would you sell it?! |
| Naomi: よかったら、コメントに書いてください。(Yokattara, komento ni kaite kudasai.) |
| Kat: If you like, please leave us a comment! And please also check the lesson notes for a more detailed explanation for the たら (tara) conditional. |
| Naomi: じゃ、また。(Ja, mata.) |
| Kat: じゃ、バイバイ！(Ja, baibai!) |
Outro |
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