Learn about making a polite request in informal situations
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natsuko: おはよう、ボイジー。ナツコです。(Ohayō, Boijī. Natsuko desu.) |
| Takase: おはよう、ボイジー。タカセです。(Ohayō, Boijī. Takase desu.) |
| Peter: Peter here. Beginner lesson #117. タカセさん、ようこそ。(Takase-san, yōkoso.) Welcome to the show again. |
| Takase: ありがとうございます。(Arigatō gozaimasu.) |
| Peter: It’s great to have you back this week. You should come around more often and Natsuko-san, it’s great to have you back day in and day out. |
| Natsuko: Thank you. |
| Peter: Today we are back with more informal Japanese. The following conversation is between two sisters. The little sister looks up to her older sister in every way possible. Now what we want to point out about this lesson is, one, it’s two females’ speaking. Two, it is a very extremely...the utmost intimate conversation as they are family. Now for the guys version of two brothers talking, we are back next week with brother’s brothers. With that said, we are going to get into today’s lesson. ナツコさん、タカセさん、よろしくお願いします。(Natsuko-san, Takase-san, yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| DIALOGUE |
| 妹 (imōto) : おねえちゃん、ちょっといい？(O-nee-chan, chotto ii?) |
| 姉 (ane) : あっ、部屋に入らないで！そこから話して。(A, heya ni hairanaide! Soko kara hanashite.) |
| 妹 (imōto) : 今日暇？(Kyō hima?) |
| 姉 (ane) : 馬鹿な質問しないでよ！今日は忙しいのよ。(Baka na shitsumon shinaide yo! Kyō wa isogashii no yo.) |
| 妹 (imōto) : 今日何するの？(Kyō nani suru no?) |
| 姉 (ane) : 今日？デートよ。他には何？(Kyō? Dēto yo. Hoka ni wa nani?) |
| 妹 (imōto) : いや、それだけ。(Iya, sore dake.) |
| 姉 (ane) : あら、私の携帯はどこかしら？(Ara, watashi no keitai wa doko kashira?) |
| (足音がする) (ashioto ga suru) |
| 妹 (imōto) : あ、じゃあ失礼します。(A, jā shitsurei shimasu.) |
| (携帯を切る) (keitai o kiru) |
| 姉 (ane) : ちょっと、私の携帯で何してるの？今誰と話してたの？(Chotto, watashi no keitai de nani shite ru no? Ima dare to hanashite ta no?) |
| 妹 (imōto) : おねえちゃんの彼氏。(O-nee-chan no kareshi.) |
| 姉 (ane) : 何言ったのよ！？(Nani itta no yo!?) |
| 妹 (imōto) : おねえちゃんの今日の予定を教えたんだよ。今日はおねえちゃんは忙しいって。デートがあるから。彼はかなり怒ってたよ。(O-nee-chan no kyō no yotei o oshieta n da yo. Kyō wa o-nee-chan wa isogashii tte. Dēto ga aru kara. Kare wa kanari okotte ta yo.) |
| Natsuko: もう一度、お願いします。ゆっくり、お願いします。(Mō ichi-do, onegai shimasu. Yukkuri, onegai shimasu.) |
| 妹 (imōto) : おねえちゃん、ちょっといい？(O-nee-chan, chotto ii?) |
| 姉 (ane) : あっ、部屋に入らないで！そこから話して。(A, heya ni hairanaide! Soko kara hanashite.) |
| 妹 (imōto) : 今日暇？(Kyō hima?) |
| 姉 (ane) : 馬鹿な質問しないでよ！今日は忙しいのよ。(Baka na shitsumon shinaide yo! Kyō wa isogashii no yo.) |
| 妹 (imōto) : 今日何するの？(Kyō nani suru no?) |
| 姉 (ane) : 今日？デートよ。他には何？(Kyō? Dēto yo. Hoka ni wa nani?) |
| 妹 (imōto) : いや、それだけ。(Iya, sore dake.) |
| 姉 (ane) : あら、私の携帯はどこかしら？(Ara, watashi no keitai wa doko kashira?) |
| 妹 (imōto) : じゃあ失礼します。(Jā shitsurei shimasu.) |
| 姉 (ane) : ちょっと、私の携帯で何してるの？今誰と話してたの？(Chotto, watashi no keitai de nani shite ru no? Ima dare to hanashite ta no?) |
| 妹 (imōto) : おねえちゃんの彼氏。(O-nee-chan no kareshi.) |
| 姉 (ane) : 何言ったのよ！？(Nani itta no yo!?) |
| 妹 (imōto) : おねえちゃんの今日の予定を教えたんだよ。今日はおねえちゃんは忙しいって。デートがあるから。彼はかなり怒ってたよ。(O-nee-chan no kyō no yotei o oshieta n da yo. Kyō wa o-nee-chan wa isogashii tte. Dēto ga aru kara. Kare wa kanari okotte ta yo.) |
| Natsuko: 次はピーターさんの英語が入ります。(Tsugi wa Pītā-san no Eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| 妹 (imōto) : おねえちゃん、ちょっといい？(O-nee-chan, chotto ii?) |
| YOUNGER SISTER: Got a sec, sis? |
| 姉 (ane) : あっ、部屋に入らないで！(A, heya ni hairanaide!) |
| OLDER SISTER: Don't come in the room! |
| 姉 (ane) : そこから話して。(Soko kara hanashite.) |
| OLDER SISTER: Speak from there. |
| 妹 (imōto) : 今日暇？(Kyō hima?) |
| YOUNGER SISTER: Are you free today? |
| 姉 (ane) : 馬鹿な質問しないでよ！(Baka na shitsumon shinaide yo!) |
| OLDER SISTER: Don't ask stupid questions! |
| 姉 (ane) : 今日は忙しいのよ。(Kyō wa isogashii no yo.) |
| OLDER SISTER: I'm busy today! |
| 妹 (imōto) : 今日何するの？(Kyō nani suru no?) |
| YOUNGER SISTER: What will you do today? |
| 姉 (ane) : 今日？デートよ。(Kyō? Dēto yo.) |
| OLDER SISTER: Today? A date. |
| 姉 (ane) : 他には何？(Hoka ni wa nani?) |
| OLDER SISTER: What else? |
| 妹 (imōto) : いや、それだけ。(Iya, sore dake.) |
| YOUNGER SISTER: That's all. |
| 姉 (ane) : あら、私の携帯はどこかしら？(Ara, watashi no keitai wa doko kashira?) |
| OLDER SISTER: Hmm, where's my cell phone? |
| (足音がする) (ashioto ga suru) |
| (Footsteps) |
| 妹 (imōto) : じゃあ失礼します。(Jā shitsurei shimasu.) |
| YOUNGER SISTER: Goodbye. |
| (携帯を切る) (keitai o kiru) |
| (Hangs up cell phone) |
| 姉 (ane) : ちょっと、私の携帯で何してるの？(Chotto, watashi no keitai de nani shite ru no?) |
| OLDER SISTER: What are you doing with my cell phone? |
| 姉 (ane) : 今誰と話してたの？(Ima dare to hanashite ta no?) |
| OLDER SISTER: Who were you talking to just now? |
| 妹 (imōto) : おねえちゃんの彼氏。(O-nee-chan no kareshi.) |
| YOUNGER SISTER: Your boyfriend. |
| 姉 (ane) : 何言ったのよ！？(Nani itta no yo!?) |
| OLDER SISTER: What did you say? |
| 妹 (imōto) : おねえちゃんの今日の予定を教えたんだよ。(O-nee-chan no kyō no yotei o oshieta n da yo.) |
| YOUNGER SISTER: I told him your plans for today. |
| 妹 (imōto) : 今日はおねえちゃんは忙しいって。(Kyō wa o-nee-chan wa isogashii tte.) |
| YOUNGER SISTER: I said sis is busy today |
| 妹 (imōto) : デートがあるから。(Dēto ga aru kara.) |
| YOUNGER SISTER: because she has a date. |
| 妹 (imōto) : 彼はかなり怒ってたよ。(Kare wa kanari okotte ta yo.) |
| YOUNGER SISTER: He was really angry. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: タカセさん、今日の会話はどうでしたか。(Takase-san, kyō no kaiwa wa dō deshita ka.) |
| Takase: こんなお姉ちゃんがほしいです。(Konna o-nee-chan ga hoshii desu.) |
| Peter: Translation, please. |
| Takase: I want a sister like her. Scary. |
| Peter: Let’s ask Natsuko-san what she thought of today’s conversation. |
| Takase: ナツコさん、今日の会話をどう思いましたか。(Natsuko-san, kyō no kaiwa o dō omoimashita ka.) |
| Natsuko: 妹って困り者ですよね。(Imōto tte komarimono desu yo ne.) |
| Takase: 本当に。(Hontō ni.) |
| Peter: Translation, please. |
| Natsuko: Small sisters are always troublesome. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Peter: Oh boy! Let’s get into today’s vocab before we go into some real problems. With that said, let’s welcome our vocab guest for today, Yoshi-san. |
| Yoshi: ヨシです。(Yoshi desu.) |
| Peter: よろしくお願いします。(Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) Natsuko-san, first word, please. |
| Natsuko: 部屋 (heya) |
| Peter: Chamber, room. |
| Natsuko: (slow)へや (heya) (natural speed) 部屋 (heya) |
| Peter: Natsuko-san, let’s take a look at the two characters that make up this word. The first character, what does it mean? |
| Natsuko: It means part. |
| Peter: Second character. |
| Natsuko: House. |
| Peter: So very straightforward here. Part, house and a couple more words, part of the house and there we have it. Very straightforward, part house. Yoshi-san, example sentence, please. |
| Yoshi: もっと大きな部屋に住みたい。(Motto ōkina heya ni sumitai.) |
| Peter: I want to live in a bigger room. Next we have |
| Yoshi: 予定 (yotei) |
| Peter: Plan. |
| Yoshi: (slow)よてい (yotei) (natural speed) 予定 (yotei) |
| Peter: Natsuko-san, example sentence, please. |
| Natsuko: 明日の予定は何ですか。(Ashita no yotei wa nan desu ka.) |
| Peter: What’s your plan for tomorrow and we can also say |
| Natsuko: 明日は予定がありますか。(Ashita wa yotei ga arimasu ka.) |
| Peter: Is there a plan tomorrow literally interpreted as do you have a plan tomorrow. Next we have |
| Natsuko: 怒る (okoru) |
| Peter: To become upset, to become angry. |
| Natsuko: (slow)おこる (okoru) (natural speed) 怒る (okoru) |
| Peter: Example sentence, please. |
| Yoshi: 彼女は短気ですぐ怒ります。(Kanojo wa tanki de sugu okorimasu.) |
| Peter: She is short tempered and gets angry quickly. Next we have |
| Yoshi: 馬鹿 (baka) |
| Peter: Stupid, fool. |
| Yoshi: (slow)ばか (baka) (natural speed) 馬鹿 (baka) |
| Peter: Now you will hear this word often in animation, dramas, on TV, it will appear a lot. This week, we covered a related word which is |
| Natsuko: ばかばかしい (bakabakashii) |
| Peter: An adjective this 馬鹿 (baka) as itself can be used as a noun or an adjective. In the case that it’s used as an adjective, it is a |
| Natsuko: Na-adjective. |
| Peter: In today’s dialogue, we had |
| Natsuko: 馬鹿な質問 (baka na shitsumon) |
| Peter: Foolish question. Stupid question. Now again, as we explained previously this week, it’s the intonation and the context that determines how offensive this word is. It can be used very playful or it can be used in a really nasty way. Again, it all depends on the context and the intonation. So with that said, let’s take a look at the characters. Natsuko-san, what two characters make up this word? |
| Natsuko: A horse and a deer. |
| Peter: A horse and a deer. Now Natsuko-san, have you heard this story? The kanji for this word originates from the fact that a person couldn’t tell the difference between a horse and a deer and that’s why they were considered a fool. |
| Natsuko: Oh, I didn’t know that. |
| Peter: You know, that’s where Yoshi-san, back me up, please. |
| Yoshi: I think so but I’ve never heard of it either. |
| Peter: What kind of answer was that? |
| Natsuko: It seems likely. |
| Peter: And even if it’s not the case, it’s a really good way to remember the kanji for this word. |
| Natsuko: I agree. |
| Peter: You have the horse and the deer and only a fool can’t tell the difference between them. I haven’t seen either in a while so I am not – I don’t know if we really wanted to use this way to remember it but if it helps, that’s what we are going for. Next we have |
| Natsuko: 携帯 (keitai) |
| Peter: Short for cell phone. |
| Natsuko: (slow)けいたい (keitai) (natural speed) 携帯 (keitai) |
| Peter: Natsuko-san, what’s the proper word for cellular phone? |
| Natsuko: 携帯電話 (keitai denwa) |
| Peter: Two words here, portable, telephone. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: And in casual conversations and even sometimes in polite conversations, the 電話 (denwa) will just get dropped. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Cut right off and go with |
| Natsuko: 携帯 (keitai) |
| Peter: For example, I forgot my cell phone. |
| Natsuko: 携帯を忘れました。(Keitai o wasuremashita.) |
| Peter: Next we have |
| Yoshi: 教える (oshieru) |
| Peter: To teach. |
| Yoshi: (slow)おしえる (oshieru) (natural speed) 教える (oshieru) |
| Peter: Natsuko-san, what is an extremely, extremely, extremely popular expression when asking for information from someone based on this word? |
| Natsuko: 教えてください。(Oshiete kudasai.) |
| Peter: The literal translation is please teach me. However it should be interpreted as please tell me. And if we have any Japanese listeners out there, this is what you really want to pay attention to because I cannot count the amount of times that a Japanese person has said, please teach me taking this literally, translating it into English and saying things like please teach me your phone number. Please teach me your name. This is one of the most common mistakes that a Japanese person will make when speaking English. When you turn it into the English, you should make it tell me because it's natural English. Tell me your name, tell me your phone number. So this is what you want to watch out for here. So for everyone speaking Japanese out there, when you make that transition from tell me, you don’t want to use the word for tell, you don’t want to use the verb to tell, you want to use the verb to teach and in this case |
| Natsuko: 教える (oshieru) |
| Peter: Key point. So Yoshi-san, how do we ask Natsuko-san for her phone number? |
| Yoshi: ナツコさん、電話番号を教えてください。(Natsuko-san, denwa bangō o oshiete kudasai.) |
| Natsuko: え～、どうしようかな。(Ē, dō shiyō ka na.) |
| Peter: Not looking good there, Yoshi-san. |
| Yoshi: お願いします。(Onegai shimasu.) |
| Peter: She played the お願いします (onegai shimasu) card. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: What are you going to do? |
| Natsuko: じゃあ、後でね。(Jā, ato de ne.) |
| Peter: We will take care of that after the show. Finally we have |
| Natsuko: 彼氏 (kareshi) |
| Peter: Boyfriend. |
| Natsuko: (slow)かれし (kareshi) (natural speed) 彼氏 (kareshi) |
| Peter: Now can this be interpreted any other way. Can it mean guy or something like this? |
| Natsuko: Maybe sometimes, but you usually use this word as someone’s boyfriend. |
| Peter: That’s what we want to point out. While this word is almost exclusive to boyfriend, the word for girlfriend |
| Natsuko: 彼女 (kanojo) |
| Peter: Can actually be used just to talk about a girl. It has both meanings, where 彼氏 (kareshi) is used almost exclusively when talking about a romantic boyfriend. |
| Natsuko: And someone else’s boyfriend. |
| Peter: Not your own. How would you refer to your own boyfriend? |
| Natsuko: You usually refer to as 彼 (kare). |
| Peter: He |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Ah.. All right and that would explain the suffix. |
| Natsuko: 氏 (shi) |
| Peter: That is attached to |
| Natsuko: 彼 (kare) |
| Peter: Very nice. |
| Yoshi: You know, I remember saying 彼女さん (kanojo-san). |
| Natsuko: Really? |
| Yoshi: Yeah. |
| Peter: And in what case would you use this? |
| Yoshi: I think I was talking about my friend’s girlfriend but the friend was, like, older than I was. So I didn’t want to be rude to a friend. |
| Peter: I see. |
| Yoshi: When I was asking about his girlfriend, I said your 彼女さん (kanojo-san). |
| Peter: Could you give us the Japanese for that? |
| Yoshi: 彼女さんですか。(Kanojo-san desu ka.) |
| Peter: Is she your girlfriend? Would I use this if I met a young boss like my boss was quite young and he had a girlfriend not married yet, would I say this to the boss? |
| Yoshi: I don’t think you will hear this very often. |
| Peter: So you’d be all right just saying 彼女ですか (kanojo desu ka), is this your girlfriend? |
| Yoshi: Yeah, I think it's fine. |
| Peter: Natsuko is giving you a look like I don’t think we usually ask these questions. |
| Natsuko: Yes. I think in Japan, it’s kind of rare to mention about someone’s boyfriend or girlfriend on a business scene. So you don’t usually use this word for your boss or someone. |
| Peter: What about a causal situation? |
| Natsuko: Yes, you can use it. |
| Peter: Natsuko-san, how would you ask Yoshi-san if he has a girlfriend? |
| Natsuko: ヨシさんは彼女いるんですか。(Yoshi-san wa kanojo iru n desu ka.) |
| Yoshi: Good question. Good question. Good Japanese, too. |
| Peter: You hear that, Natsuko. He likes your Japanese. |
| Natsuko: Thank you. I don’t know why. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: All right. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the key points in today’s lesson. First thing I want to look at is referring to family members. Now Natsuko-san, in the dialogue, Takase-san who is playing the role of your younger sister referred to you as |
| Natsuko: お姉ちゃん (o-nee-chan) |
| Peter: So can this just be used by family members or who can use this phrase, お姉ちゃん (o-nee-chan)? |
| Natsuko: You hear this word pretty often, mostly in casual situations. It basically means older sister but sometimes you use this word to refer to a young lady. |
| Peter: So that’s why sometimes we’ve seen a drama or hear on the streets, the guy is yelling, お姉ちゃん、お姉ちゃん！(O-nee-chan, o-nee-chan!) |
| Natsuko: Yeah, yeah but it’s not very polite. |
| Peter: Since coming to Japan, I have heard it used in three specific situations that I can remember. One by of course a younger sister or a younger brother calling an older sister. One, the guys on the street approaching girls, and third time was older women maybe in their 70s or so referring to much younger women who they would say this to. So those are the three kinds of cases that stick out of my mind. |
| Natsuko: Yes, right. |
| Peter: But the suffix ちゃん (chan) makes this a more intimate way of calling someone. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Peter: Okay, now let’s look at how many times you used the te-form and the negative te-form or the ないで (naide) form when speaking in an intimate situation with your sister. Just in the second line alone, can you read the second line alone one more time? |
| Natsuko: あっ、部屋に入らないで。(A, heya ni hairanaide.) |
| Peter: Now what’s inferred after the ないで (naide)? |
| Natsuko: ください (kudasai) |
| Peter: Please don’t enter the room but here you leave that off altogether. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: But judging by the intonation, it’s a much stronger phrase than please don’t enter the room. |
| Natsuko: Yes, it’s more like ordering. |
| Peter: Exactly. Now you will see next week when we look at the guys, the way the male speaker orders is a bit different. Would you say this is – we can kind of generalize this as the way that women would order? |
| Natsuko: I think so. |
| Peter: It’s a bit more polite… |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Then what we are going to introduce you to next week. |
| Natsuko: This week, it’s a bit feminine maybe. |
| Peter: Or maybe not as harsh. |
| Natsuko: Right, yes. |
| Peter: Because what we are going to introduce you to next week in next Tuesday’s lesson is the harshest of the harsh, fighting words. So yeah you definitely don’t want to miss that. Most of the other structures and things used here, we’ve covered throughout this week and there is one point that we want to look at today. Natsuko-san, there is a point where in the dialogue, the younger sister is on the phone. How did she end the phone call? |
| Natsuko: じゃ、失礼します。(Ja, shitsurei shimasu.) |
| Peter: Now this is a very polite way and a usual way to end the phone call. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Excuse me and this has many other meanings too, but it’s a very polite way. What we want to point out here is, the person on the phone is obviously of a higher social status than the younger sister and that’s why she is saying and speaking in polite Japanese. We want to show the contrast here. You can tell if we spoke in a monotone way and didn’t break the lines, you’d be able to tell where the younger sister is, actually speaking to a different person just by the politeness level she is using. She is going from very, very casual speaking to her older sister to all of a sudden polite Japanese. So we know that she is talking to a third party and this is what we want to focus on in the upcoming weeks, switching between politeness levels. For example, if I am talking to Yoshi-san, I am going to speak very informal but when I speak to Natsuko-san, very polite. |
| Natsuko: Why is that? |
| Peter: Umm, I don’t know. You command respect, Natsuko-san. Yoshi… |
| Yoshi: I am not respected? Is that what you mean? |
| Peter: Natsuko-san, help me out here. |
| Natsuko: I can’t. |
| Peter: Well let’s pose it this way. Yoshi-san, when you speak to Natsuko-san, what kind of Japanese do you use? |
| Yoshi: The politest. |
| Peter: Yes. Multiple factors but yeah umm, there are many reasons but you know, Natsuko-san is someone that has a very good job and that commands this kind of respect. |
| Yoshi: And she is a lady. |
| Peter: Yes. Not female, but in the sense of a lady, a sophisticated woman. |
| Natsuko: How nice! |
| Peter: Right? |
| Natsuko: Of you two. |
| Peter: And we have it recorded. So you can play it back over and over again when you are feeling sad. |
| Natsuko: Thank you. |
| Peter: You are welcome. |
Outro |
| Peter: Alright, with that said, a long lesson today but this one was good. Now part 2 of this lesson, continuation coming up next week. |
| Natsuko: じゃ、またね。(Ja, mata ne.) |
| Yoshi: またね。(Mata ne.) |
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