Learn how to ask and answer the question "What are you doing?"
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| Introduction |
| John: Asking What Someone is Doing. In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask and answer the question “What are you doing?” in Japanese. |
| Body |
| John: Here's a formal way to ask "What are you doing?" in Japanese. |
| Risa: [Normal] 何をしていますか。(Nani o shite imasu ka.) |
| John: First is a word meaning "what." |
| Risa: [Normal] 何 [Slow] 何 (nani) |
| John: Next is an object particle. |
| Risa: [Normal] を [Slow] を(o) |
| John: Next is the word meaning "are doing." |
| Risa: [Normal] しています [Slow] しています(shite) |
| John: Last is the question particle. |
| Risa: [Normal] か [Slow] か(ka) |
| John: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the formal question meaning "What are you doing?" |
| Risa: [Slow] 何をしていますか。 [Normal] 何をしていますか。 |
| John: Now, imagine you’re speaking to your friend. Here's an informal way to ask, "What are you doing?" |
| Risa: [Normal] 何してるの？(Nani shiteru no?) |
| John: First is a word meaning "what." |
| Risa: [Normal] 何 [Slow] 何 (nani) |
| John: Next is the word meaning "are doing." |
| Risa: [Normal] してる [Slow] してる(shite ru) |
| John: Last is a casual question marker. |
| Risa: [Normal] の [Slow] の(no) |
| John: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the informal question meaning "What are you doing?" |
| Risa: [Slow] 何してるの？ [Normal] 何してるの？ |
| John: Here's a response meaning "I am studying." |
| Risa: [Normal] 勉強しています。(Benkyō shite imasu.) |
| John: First is a word meaning "study." |
| Risa: [Normal] 勉強 [Slow] べんきょう(benkyō) |
| John: Next is the phrase meaning "am doing." |
| Risa: [Normal] しています [Slow] しています(shite imasu) |
| John: Listen again to the response - "I am studying." |
| Risa: [Slow] 勉強しています。 [Normal] 勉強しています。 |
| John: Here's a response meaning, "I'm not doing anything." |
| Risa: [Normal] 何もしていません。(Nani mo shite imasen.) |
| John: Next is the word meaning "anything." |
| Risa: [Normal] 何も [Slow] 何も(nani mo) |
| John: Next is the phrase literally meaning "am not doing." |
| Risa: [Normal] していません [Slow] していません(shite imasen) |
| John: Listen again to the response - "I'm not doing anything." |
| Risa: [Slow] 何もしていません。 [Normal] 何もしていません。 |
| Cultural Insight |
| John: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Risa: If you’ve ever been to Japan, you might wonder what someone just standing around is doing. There are some unique jobs, for example guides at elevators, parking lots, or banks and ATMs. They assist people or vehicles so that business can carry on smoothly. |
Outro |
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| John: And that's all for this lesson. Don't forget to check out the lesson notes, and we'll see you in the next lesson! |
| Risa: またね！(mata ne!) |
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