Learn about the auxiliary verbs "shimau" and "ageru"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natsuko: ナツコです。(Natsuko desu.) |
| Sachiko: Sachiko here. |
| Peter: Peter here. |
| Sachiko: Beginner lesson #161. Jacoby &Matsuzaka. Natsuko-san, so today’s story is kind of upon on the words Jacoby and Meyers. Do you know Jacoby and Meyers? |
| Natsuko: I am afraid not. |
| Sachiko: What was that Peter, brief us up on that. |
| Peter: Yeah, I am only here to kind of inform everybody about the title because actually Nathan and Marquee, they didn’t really get it either and maybe it’s a local thing but it’s a play on Jacoby and Meyers. It’s a law firm that deals with umm ambulance chasing perhaps. I don’t know. They have these really, really low budget commercials about people getting hurt and they will help you get the most. |
| Natsuko: Umm… |
| Sachiko: Out of your injury. |
| Peter: Yes, exactly so. That’s all. I am here just today to point that out. Now I don’t know if everyone is going to get it. Apparently, they are still well known but this was like the 80s and you know, day time TV during the summer. They have these commercials over and over and over. |
| Sachiko: Where was this? Where did you see this? |
| Peter: New York. |
| Sachiko: Really? |
| Peter: Yep. |
| Sachiko: Maybe this is a local thing, interesting. So it was upon on Jacoby and Meyers but they changed it to a Japanese name Matsuzaka. |
| Peter: Yeah, yeah because right now, I think quite a lot of people are familiar with this name. |
| Sachiko: Sure. |
| Peter: All right, Natsuko-san. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Can you tell us a little bit about who is in the conversation today? |
| Natsuko: Mother, father and son. |
| Peter: Okay, and what about the politeness level here? Since it’s a family, it would normally be very casual Japanese but here we have |
| Natsuko: Very polite Japanese. So it seems rather strange but when you listen to what they are talking about, it’s kind of appropriate to use this style. |
| Sachiko: Right. Now one of the reasons why they are using a polite form could have something to do with the son’s age. So while you are listening to the conversation, try to figure out how old this son is. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 息子 (musuko) : お母さん！お父さん！話があります！(O-kā-san! O-tō-san! Hanashi ga arimasu!) |
| 母 (haha) : 亮くん、どうしたの？(Ryō-kun, dō shita no?) |
| 息子 (musuko) : お母さん、知らないふりしないで。(O-kā-san, shiranai furi shinaide.) |
| 父 (chichi) : 亮くん、ママに対してその態度はやめなさい。(Ryō-kun, mama ni taishite sono taido wa yamenasai.) |
| 息子 (musuko) : お父さんも。(O-tō-san mo.) |
| 父 (chichi) : ああ、また始まった。(Ā, mata hajimatta.) |
| 息子 (musuko) : じゃあ、尋問を始めましょう。昨夜、私が留守にしていたときに私のパソコンを勝手に使ってしまったのは誰ですか。(Jā, jinmon o hajimemashō. Sakuya, watashi ga rusu ni shite ita toki ni watashi no pasokon o katte ni tsukatte shimatta no wa dare desu ka.) |
| 父 (chichi) : 亮くん、このばかばかしい質問をやめなさい。(Ryō-kun, kono bakabakashii shitsumon o yamenasai.) |
| 息子 (musuko) : 答えが出ました。(Kotae ga demashita.) |
| 母 (haha) : 亮くん！私達がそのパソコンを買ってあげたのよ。(Ryō-kun! Watashi-tachi ga sono pasokon o katte ageta no yo.) |
| 息子 (musuko) : やっぱり、お母さんも。あげたとすれば、法律の上で私の許可が必要ですよ。(Yappari, o-kā-san mo. Ageta to sureba, hōritsu no ue de watashi no kyoka ga hitsuyō desu yo.) |
| 母 (haha) : はい、はい。それで、どうするの？(Hai, hai. Sorede, dō suru no?) |
| 息子 (musuko) : 今回は警告だけです。以上です。失礼します。(Konkai wa keikoku dake desu. Ijō desu. Shitsurei shimasu.) |
| 母 (haha) : あなたをロースクールに行かせたのは誰？(Anata o rō sukūru ni ikaseta no wa dare?) |
| Take: もう一度お願いします。今度はゆっくりお願いします。(Mō ichi-do onegai shimasu. Kondo wa yukkuri onegai shimasu.) |
| 息子 (musuko) : お母さん！お父さん！話があります！(O-kā-san! O-tō-san! Hanashi ga arimasu!) |
| 母 (haha) : 亮くん、どうしたの？(Ryō-kun, dō shita no?) |
| 息子 (musuko) : お母さん、知らないふりしないで。(O-kā-san, shiranai furi shinaide.) |
| 父 (chichi) : 亮くん、ママに対してその態度はやめなさい。(Ryō-kun, mama ni taishite sono taido wa yamenasai.) |
| 息子 (musuko) : お父さんも。(O-tō-san mo.) |
| 父 (chichi) : ああ、また始まった。(Ā, mata hajimatta.) |
| 息子 (musuko) : じゃあ、尋問を始めましょう。昨夜、私が留守にしていたときに私のパソコンを勝手に使ってしまったのは誰ですか。(Jā, jinmon o hajimemashō. Sakuya, watashi ga rusu ni shite ita toki ni watashi no pasokon o katte ni tsukatte shimatta no wa dare desu ka.) |
| 父 (chichi) : 亮くん、このばかばかしい質問をやめなさい。(Ryō-kun, kono bakabakashii shitsumon o yamenasai.) |
| 息子 (musuko) : 答えが出ました。(Kotae ga demashita.) |
| 母 (haha) : 亮くん！私達がそのパソコンを買ってあげたのよ。(Ryō-kun! Watashi-tachi ga sono pasokon o katte ageta no yo.) |
| 息子 (musuko) : やっぱり、お母さんも。あげたとすれば、法律の上で私の許可が必要ですよ。(Yappari, o-kā-san mo. Ageta to sureba, hōritsu no ue de watashi no kyoka ga hitsuyō desu yo.) |
| 母 (haha) : はい、はい。それで、どうするの？(Hai, hai. Sorede, dō suru no?) |
| 息子 (musuko) : 今回は警告だけです。以上です。失礼します。(Konkai wa keikoku dake desu. Ijō desu. Shitsurei shimasu.) |
| 母 (haha) : あなたをロースクールに行かせたのは誰？(Anata o rō sukūru ni ikaseta no wa dare?) |
| Natsuko: 次は、英語が入ります。(Tsugi wa, Eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| 息子 (musuko) : お母さん！お父さん！話があります！(O-kā-san! O-tō-san! Hanashi ga arimasu!) |
| SON: Mom! Dad! We need to talk! |
| 母 (haha) : 亮くん、どうしたの？(Ryō-kun, dō shita no?) |
| MOTHER: What's wrong, Ryo? |
| 息子 (musuko) : お母さん、知らないふりしないで。(O-kā-san, shiranai furi shinaide.) |
| SON: Mom, don't pretend like you don't know. |
| 父 (chichi) : 亮くん、ママに対してその態度はやめなさい。(Ryō-kun, mama ni taishite sono taido wa yamenasai.) |
| FATHER: Ryo, don't use that tone of voice with your mother. |
| 息子 (musuko) : お父さんも。(O-tō-san mo.) |
| SON: You too, dad. |
| 父 (chichi) : ああ、また始まった。(Ā, mata hajimatta.) |
| FATHER: Oh, here we go again. |
| 息子 (musuko) : じゃあ、尋問を始めましょう。昨夜、私が留守にしていたときに私のパソコンを勝手に使ってしまったのは誰ですか。(Jā, jinmon o hajimemashō. Sakuya, watashi ga rusu ni shite ita toki ni watashi no pasokon o katte ni tsukatte shimatta no wa dare desu ka.) |
| SON: Okay, let's start the interrogation. Who was it that felt compelled to use my computer while I was away last night? |
| 父 (chichi) : 亮くん、このばかばかしい質問をやめなさい。(Ryō-kun, kono bakabakashii shitsumon o yamenasai.) |
| FATHER: Ryo, stop this silly questioning. |
| 息子 (musuko) : 答えが出ました。(Kotae ga demashita.) |
| SON: And there's our answer. |
| 母 (haha) : 亮くん！私達がそのパソコンを買ってあげたのよ。(Ryō-kun! Watashi-tachi ga sono pasokon o katte ageta no yo.) |
| MOTHER: Ryo, we bought you that computer. |
| 息子 (musuko) : やっぱり、お母さんも。あげたとすれば、法律の上で私の許可が必要ですよ。(Yappari, o-kā-san mo. Ageta to sureba, hōritsu no ue de watashi no kyoka ga hitsuyō desu yo.) |
| SON: That's just what you would say, mother. If you gave it to me by law you need my permission to use it. |
| 母 (haha) : はい、はい。それで、どうするの？(Hai, hai. Sorede, dō suru no?) |
| MOTHER: Okay, okay. So what happens next? |
| 息子 (musuko) : 今回は警告だけです。以上です。失礼します。(Konkai wa keikoku dake desu. Ijō desu. Shitsurei shimasu.) |
| SON: This time you’re getting off as a warning. I'm through here. |
| 母 (haha) : あなたをロースクールに行かせたのは誰？(Anata o rō sukūru ni ikaseta no wa dare?) |
| MOTHER: And who’s the one that sent that boy to the law school? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sachiko: ナツコさん、話どう思われましたか。(Natsuko-san, hanashi dō omowaremashita ka.) |
| Natsuko: ややこしい家庭ですね。(Yayakoshii katei desu ne.) |
| Sachiko: そうですね。みなさんとっても厳しいことを言いますね。(Sō desu ne. Mina-san tottemo kibishii koto o iimasu ne.) |
| Natsuko: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) |
| Sachiko: It’s a complicated situation, isn’t it? |
| Natsuko: Umm. |
| Sachiko: The family seems a little bit uptight. |
| Natsuko: I don’t want to be a member of this family. |
| Peter: Yeah, I think the parents are not too uptight but I think the son maybe. Natsuko-san, how can we say uptight in Japanese? |
| Natsuko: 固い (katai) |
| Sachiko: Which literally means stiff. |
| Peter: Now Natsuko-san, would you say the kid is pretty uptight? |
| Natsuko: Umm pretty much. かなり固いですね。(Kanari katai desu ne.) |
| Sachiko: But recently because of the personal information protection law, people are getting a little bit paranoid about data sharing and data distribution. So maybe that’s what this story is reflecting. |
| Natsuko: Umm, kind of timely. |
| Sachiko: It could be. |
| Peter: Tell us about this law. All right, well, you know what, so if you are interested in finding out about the law, stop by and leave us a post. Sachiko-san will be more than happy to answer. |
| Sachiko: Yes I will, write in right now. So let’s go over the vocabulary. ナツコさん、お願いします。(Natsuko-san, onegai shimasu.) |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Natsuko: ふり (furi) |
| Sachiko: Pretense. |
| Natsuko: (slow) ふり (furi) (natural speed) ふり (furi) |
| Sachiko: Now how would you use that in a sentence? |
| Natsuko: ふりをする (furi o suru) |
| Sachiko: Which means to pretend. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Could you use that in a sentence? |
| Natsuko: 私は聞こえないふりをした。(Watashi wa kikoenai furi o shita.) |
| Sachiko: I pretended I couldn’t hear. Sounds like something a child would use as an excuse for not doing something. |
| Natsuko: Not only a child maybe. |
| Peter: Natsuko, what are you implying here? |
| Natsuko: Oh Peter, I didn’t know you were there. |
| Peter: Natsukp, just give us the next one. |
| Natsuko: 態度 (taido) |
| Sachiko: Attitude, manner. |
| Natsuko: (slow) たいど (taido) (natural speed) 態度 (taido) |
| Sachiko: So Natsuko-san, this word 態度 (taido), does it have a negative connotation like it does in English? |
| Natsuko: Maybe slightly. |
| Sachiko: Ah! |
| Natsuko: It’s often used for bad attitudes. |
| Sachiko: Aha! So if someone says ちょっと態度が悪いんじゃない (chotto taido ga warui n ja nai), that would be a no, no. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Ah! |
| Natsuko: But not always. |
| Sachiko: 次、お願いします。(Tsugi, onegai shimasu.) |
| Natsuko: 尋問 (jinmon) |
| Sachiko: Questioning. |
| Natsuko: (slow) じんもん (jinmon) (natural speed) 尋問 (jinmon) |
| Peter: Now this is kind of umm, used in criminal situations? |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So kind of like interrogate. |
| Natsuko: More close to that, yeah. Definitely. |
| Peter: Yeah. |
| Natsuko: Not simply questioning someone. Maybe a bit like accusing. |
| Sachiko: True. Like for example, an interview would not be a matter of 尋問 (jinmon). It’s 尋問 (jinmon) really has a connotation of trying to get some information to make them feel guilty about something. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Yeah. |
| Peter: Where you question them with some kind of |
| Sachiko: Suspicion. |
| Peter: Exactly. What a great word, word of the week. |
| Sachiko: Would you use that though in daily life? |
| Natsuko: This family seems to. |
| Peter: Yeah, another great point. Yeah, like this conversation was built up and we are trying to include some kind of rather unusual vocabulary to build up your unusual vocabulary – vocab bank or something along those lines but any way, you know, some exposure to words you don’t usually come across but this word is not unfamiliar to Japanese same way as interrogate is not unfamiliar to native English speakers but just depending on the person. We don’t use it every day. |
| Sachiko: Luckily. Okay. 次お願いします。(Tsugi onegai shimasu.) |
| Natsuko: 留守 (rusu) |
| Sachiko: Being away from home. |
| Natsuko: (slow) るす (rusu) (natural speed) 留守 (rusu) |
| Sachiko: Natsuko-san, can you use that in a sentence please? |
| Natsuko: 私が留守の間、このお花に水をやってください。(Watashi ga rusu no aida, kono o-hana ni mizu o yatte kudasai.) |
| Sachiko: Please water these plants while I am away from home. Okay, next please. |
| Natsuko: 勝手に (katte ni) |
| Sachiko: As one pleases. |
| Natsuko: (slow) かってに (katte ni) (natural speed) 勝手に (katte ni) |
| Sachiko: Now Natsuko-san, this seems to have a very strong meaning to it. If I used it against someone, do you think they would be a little taken aback? Is it very strong? |
| Natsuko: Yes, I think it's a very selfish kind of word. |
| Sachiko: Ah okay. So if you were very upset about someone who entered your room without you knowing it, what would you say? |
| Natsuko: 勝手に入らないで。(Katte ni hairanaide.) |
| Sachiko: That sounds a little bit scary. |
| Natsuko: Uhoo! Yeah. |
| Sachiko: Okay very good, thank you. じゃあ、次お願いします。(Jā, tsugi onegai shimasu.) |
| Natsuko: 馬鹿馬鹿しい (bakabakashii) |
| Sachiko: Nonsense, silly. |
| Natsuko: (slow) ばかばかしい (bakabakashii) (natural speed) 馬鹿馬鹿しい (bakabakashii) |
| Sachiko: Wow, that sounds like another strong word. In what kind of situation would you use the word, 馬鹿馬鹿しい (bakabakashii)? |
| Natsuko: Like 馬鹿馬鹿しい質問 (bakabakashii shitsumon). |
| Sachiko: Which means ridiculous question? |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Nonsense. Ah okay. じゃ、次お願いします。(Ja, tsugi onegai shimasu.) |
| Natsuko: 法律 (hōritsu) |
| Sachiko: Law. |
| Natsuko: (slow) ほうりつ (hōritsu) (natural speed) 法律 (hōritsu) |
| Sachiko: How would you say law office or law firm in Japanese? |
| Natsuko: 法律事務所 (hōritsu jimusho) |
| Sachiko: 次お願いします。(Tsugi onegai shimasu.) |
| Natsuko: 許可 (kyoka) |
| Sachiko: Permission. |
| Natsuko: (slow) きょか (kyoka) (natural speed) 許可 (kyoka) |
| Sachiko: What would you call a piece of paper that gives you permission to do something? |
| Natsuko: 許可証 (kyokashō) |
| Sachiko: Next please. |
| Natsuko: 警告 (keikoku) |
| Sachiko: Warning. |
| Natsuko: (slow) けいこく (keikoku) (natural speed) 警告 (keikoku) |
| Peter: Okay Natsuko-san, let’s take a quick look at some of the key points in today’s conversation. First line, son comes in, he is already starting. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Natsuko: お母さん！お父さん！話があります！(O-kā-san! O-tō-san! Hanashi ga arimasu!) |
| Peter: Mom, dad we have to talk. So literally conversation there is, talk there is. It’s kind of like the same in English. We have to talk and Natsuko-san, 9 times out of 10 or even maybe more, does something good ever come after? |
| Natsuko: Not really. |
| Peter: Yeah, I didn’t even give you the phrase but yeah. I think… |
| Natsuko: I don’t imagine any good things. |
| Peter: Yeah, so both the English and Japanese, this expression in Japanese is synonymous with something bad is coming. So we hear it try to change the subject or you know delay as long as possible. Okay, then we have the third line. |
| Natsuko: お母さん、知らないふりしないで。(O-kā-san, shiranai furi shinaide.) |
| Peter: Ah this one is great. Once you get the hang of this construction, it’s really fun to use. |
| Natsuko: Fun, yes. Yes, it’s fun to use. |
| Peter: All right, I could have made it a little bad Natsuko, there it is, Natsuko-san. |
| Natsuko: Okay. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: We have so much to get through here. Oh you are right. Yes, I guess we could say it depends on the person but let’s take a look at the grammar. So ふりする (furi suru) is to pretend, ふりしないで (furi shinaide), please don’t pretend. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Then we have 知らない (shiranai), please don’t pretend not to know. Ah, this is great. |
| Natsuko: Is it? |
| Peter: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Useful for making acquisitions. |
| Peter: Yes, thank you so much. That’s what is so great about this expression. 知らないふりしないで。(Shiranai furi shinaide.) So we have a negative in front of ふり (furi). |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: We have the plain negative in front of ふり (furi), don’t pretend not to know. And this is followed by another negative, please don’t pretend. Together it makes a very nice expression. Then in the next line, Natsuko-san, what do we have? |
| Natsuko: 亮くん、ママに対してその態度はやめなさい。(Ryō-kun, mama ni taishite sono taido wa yamenasai.) |
| Peter: What we want to focus on here is the verb. |
| Natsuko: やめなさい (yamenasai) |
| Peter: Now this too is a way of giving an order. Previously we introduced |
| Natsuko: やめろ (yamero) |
| Peter: Which means knock it off or stop it in a very strong manner. This too is saying knock it off or stop it but this expression is not as strong as the other way of giving an order, やめろ (yamero). Natsuko-san, what situations will we use this in? |
| Natsuko: Well, like a mother telling a child not to do something or maybe a teacher telling a student. |
| Peter: Here too the relationship is firmly established. Someone in a higher position ordering someone in a lower social status position. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Peter: To do something. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: But it doesn’t have that force or that imperative nuance to it or at least it does but it’s not as strong. Okay, then we are on to today’s grammar point which is nominalizing with の (no) and here we actually have のは (no wa). Now this occurs in two places. |
| Natsuko: 勝手に使ってしまったのは (katte ni tsukatte shimatta no wa) |
| Peter: After that we have |
| Natsuko: は (wa) |
| Peter: Followed by |
| Natsuko: 誰ですか (dare desu ka) |
| Peter: The interrogative who. Now I think a very good place to start to understand this is at the end. So we have who – now let’s work our way back. Who – then we have the topic marking particle は (wa), then we have this の (no). In this case, since the interrogative is who, it’s one. We are talking about a person but it can also be a thing. So literally “we have who the one” and again in Japanese, the description of the noun or the person comes before. In English, it’s the other way. We would have who is the one that something, something. Here we have who is the one and then what’s describing the one? |
| Natsuko: 私のパソコンを勝手に使ってしまった (watashi no pasokon o katte ni tsukatte shimatta) |
| Peter: Use my computer without my permission. So who is the one that used my computer without permission? We have to work our way back. Everything is describing this の (no) here and since we are speaking about a person, it’s the one, who is the one. Okay, we have one more example down below. |
| Natsuko: あの子をロースクールに行かせたのは誰？(Ano ko o rō sukūru ni ikaseta no wa dare?) |
| Peter: Again start from the back, who and then we have the topic marking particle は (wa), followed by の (no) here. Who is the one and then we have |
| Natsuko: あの子をロースクールに行かせた (ano ko o rō sukūru ni ikaseta) |
| Peter: That kid went to law school. So start from the back, who is the one that sent that kid to law school. So Natsuko-san, what is she implying here? Whose fault is it? |
| Natsuko: Is it the father’s? |
Outro |
| Peter: It seems to always come back to the father. All right, this was quite a lesson because this concept actually took me quite a while to get that this の (no) can mean the one as in the person, the thing kind of nominalizing and then being described. So again stop by, pick up the PDF. Inside the PDF, we have a detailed write up in a further expression. Ah, what a lesson! |
| Sachiko: お疲れさま。(Otsukare-sama.) |
| Natsuko: お疲れさまです。じゃあ、また明日ね。(Otsukare-sama desu. Jā, mata ashita ne.) |
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