Learn about life in Japan
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
| Hey, guys! Risa here. Welcome to the first episode of my brand new Ask Risa video series where you ask me questions and I answer them. Now, let’s get started with the first question. |
| Alexey-san |
| Hi Risa! What do you think is the most difficult aspect of Japanese for foreigners? |
| そうですね。私がもし外国の人だったら、日本に来て敬語の使い方がすごく難しいかと思います。 |
| (“Hmm, if I was a foreigner and I came to Japan, I would think that using keigo is incredibly difficult.”) |
| なんか、友達だったら、「取って」って言えるのが、敬語だと、 |
| (“Like, if I was talking to a friend, I would say totte (get that).”) |
| 「取って下さい」とかでその敬語を使わないと失礼になる時があるので、 |
| (“But if I were using keigo, I would say something like totte kudasai (please get that). And then there are situations where it’s rude if you don’t use keigo.”) |
| それは慣れるのがちょっと大変かなと思いますね。 |
| (“Mhm, getting use to things like that is quite difficult, I think.”) |
| あとは、そのアレックス...さんの名前とか、( “Also, Alex Alexee, Alexay, Alexi, Alexey?”) |
| 日本に来たら、アレクセイ、多分、アレックス、アレクシーとか呼ばれると思うのでそういうのにも “Names such as yours, Alexey, if you come to Japan… Arekusei, or something like that… Maybe, Arek, Arekhushi, Arekkushi?”) |
| なれるのちょっと大変かもしれないですね |
| (“It might be difficult getting used to little things like that.”) |
| Most visitors to Japan don’t know about little customs and rules so if you want to learn about real Japanese culture, check out Innovative Japanese Culture for Absolute Beginners. It’s one of the video series that I teach. |
| どうも質問ありがとうね。(“Thank you for your question.) |
| Anthony Sinette |
| Ant, Anthony, Anthony… Hi Anthony! |
| Risa, what is your favorite style/flavor of ramen? Do you have a favorite depending on the time of a year? |
| そうだな〜好きなラーメン...塩、味噌、豚骨、とか色々あるんですけど、私は塩ラーメンが好きです。 |
| (“Hmm, the type of ramen that I like… there are many types, mainly shio, miso, tonkostu, but for me, I like shio ramen.””) |
| あと、辛いのはそんなに得意じゃないんだけど、担々麺を食べにすごい食べたくなります。 (“Also, even though I’m not that great with spicy food, I sometimes have a craving for tan-tan-men.”) |
| もし辛いのが好きだったら担々麺たかきっと好きだと思います。 |
| ( “If you happen to like spicy food, I’m sure that you’ll like tan-tan-men.”) |
| あと、麺は細めんが好きです。 (“And as for the noodles, I like the thin variety.”) |
| そうだ、そう、ラーメン食べる時に日本でみんな音を立てて食べるので、 |
| (“Oh, that’s right! And when you’re eating ramen in Japan, everyone makes slurping noises.”) |
| もしかしたらびっくりするかもしれないです、店にいた時に、みんなでスースースーって食べてるので。 |
| (“You might be surprised when visiting a ramen store. Everyone doing [slurping sound] while eating.”) |
| Christian Nolasco-san |
| Thank you for the question! |
| What advice do you have for foreigners living in Japan who wants to start dating a Japanese person? |
| そうだな〜私のアドバイス... (“Hm. Let’s see. My advice?”) |
| 男の人だったら日本人の女の子とデートする時に |
| (“For guys, when going on a date with a Japanese girl,”) |
| レディーファーストとか優しいところを見せてあげるといいと思います。 |
| (“showing her your kind side and having a “ladies first” mentality is a good idea, I think.”) |
| 結構日本人の男の人ってそういうことがちょっとできてない人とかいたりするので、 |
| (“Many Japanese guys aren’t really great with that kind of thing.”) |
| そういうちょっとしたレディーファーストとか優しいところを見せてあげると感心してもらえると思いますよ。 |
| (“so I think… that you can appeal to girls by having a “ladies first” mentality and by showing them your kind side, they’ll admire you for it.”) |
| いいデートができるといいね。 (“It’d be great if you could get a nice date, right?”) |
| If you want to learn all of the Japanese phrases for dating, check out the Talking with Your Japanese Partner Learning Path at JapanesePod101. It’s perfect for you, Christian. |
| はい、つぎのQuestion, 次の質問は... (And the next question…) |
| Andrej |
| Andre J, Andrej-san からです。 |
| Hello Risa! |
| Hello Andrej! |
| I was wondering… what type of music is popular in Japan? |
| そうだなぁ〜人気の音楽はやっぱりポップスが人気だと思います |
| (“Hmm. Let’s see… It must be “Pop” that’s the most popular in Japan, I think.”) |
| まあ、今いろんなとこで流れてるのはあれですよね、やっぱり... |
| (“But currently… It must be that one particular one that’s circling around, right?”) |
| This is a pen… This is an apple… Hnng! Pen apple! |
| なんだっけ？(“wait, what was it again?”) |
| Apple-Pen! |
| そうですね、結構ポッポスが人気ですよ。(“But yeah, “Pop” is quite popular.”) |
| 私が好きなアーティストは... (“Hmm, that artist that I like…”) |
| 椎名林檎好きです。 (“I like Shiina Ringo.”) |
| 独特な世界観でおすすめです。(“She has quite a unique worldview. I recommend her.”) |
| 報酬は入社後並行線で (“After joining the company, compensation draws a parallel line”) |
| 東京は愛せど何にも無い (“Even if I love Tokyo, there’s nothing left.”) |
| リッケン620頂戴 (“Please give me Rickenbacker 620.”) |
| いろんな面白い曲があるので、歌詞はちょっと言ってる意味がわからないと思うんですけど |
| (“There are many interesting songs. The lyrics might not make any sense to you though.”) |
| 音楽的には おすすめです。(“But musically, it’s really good. I recommend it!”) |
| That’s it for the first episode, guys! Thanks again to everyone who submitted their questions. Thank you! And if you want to ask me a question, just click here or click on the link in the video description. |
| Stay tuned for more Ask Risa. Bye! |
Comments
Hide