Learn about making plans, introducing a friend
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natsuko: おはよう、メキシコシティ。ナツコです。(Ohayō, Mekishiko Shiti. Natsuko desu.) |
| Takase: おはよう、メキシコシティ。タカセです。(Ohayō, Mekishiko Shiti. Takase desu.) |
| Peter: Peter here and we are back with another lesson. Okay, back in the studio with us is |
| Takase: タカセです。(Takase desu.) |
| Peter: Yes. |
| Natsuko: She is back. |
| Peter: She is back. Now we’d like to point out something interesting about タカセ (Takase). Now タカセ (Takase), what is your first name? |
| Takase: ヒロコです。(Hiroko desu.) |
| Peter: Natsuko, what’s your last name? |
| Natsuko: カワモトです。(Kawamoto desu.) |
| Peter: Yeah, so we do tend to mix and match a bit because actually when we met タカセ (Takase) and she introduced herself, she went by her last name. |
| Natsuko: Oh, I see. |
| Peter: But when we met Natsuko, she went by her first name. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So again, this is what we want to point out. Case by case, the name calling. Okay, but in formal situations, you always use the last name plus さん (san) but this is quite an informal group we have here. So again, it’s by choice of name and タカセ (Takase) prefers タカセ (Takase). |
| Takase: Yes. |
| Peter: Ho ho…. You heard that. So yes… |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: It will be タカセ (Takase). タカセ、今日元気ですか。(Takase, kyō genki desu ka.) |
| Takase: 元気です。ナツコ、元気ですか。(Genki desu. Natsuko, genki desu ka.) |
| Natsuko: 私もすごく元気です。ピーターは？(Watashi mo sugoku genki desu. Pītā wa?) |
| Peter: 相変わらず絶好調です。(Aikawarazu zekkōchō desu.) Okay, we have another great conversation for you today. So without further adieu, let’s jump right in. Here we go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : 川本さん、お久しぶりです。(Kawamoto-san, o-hisashiburi desu.) |
| 川本 (Kawamoto) : お久しぶりですね。(O-hisashiburi desu ne.) |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : この方はお知り合いですか。(Kono kata wa o-shiriai desu ka.) |
| 川本 (Kawamoto) : はい、そうです。こちらは海外からのお客様です。(Hai, sō desu. Kochira wa kaigai kara no o-kyaku-sama desu.) |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : 初めまして。コダックのギャランテ・ピーターと申します。どうぞよろしくお願いします。(Hajimemashite. Kodakku no Gyarante Pītā to mōshimasu. Dōzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : こちらこそ。初めまして。フジフィルムの高瀬と申します。よろしくお願いします。ご出身はどちらでしょうか。(Kochira koso. Hajimemashite. Fuji Firumu no Takase to mōshimasu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu. Go-shusshin wa dochira deshō ka.) |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : アメリカのニューヨークです。今あちらはとても寒いです。(Amerika no Nyū Yōku desu. Ima achira wa totemo samui desu.) |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : 日本の冬も寒いでしょう？(Nihon no fuyu mo samui deshō?) |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : はい。寒いです。(Hai. Samui desu.) |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : ところで、今日は何をしますか。(Tokorode, kyō wa nani o shimasu ka.) |
| 川本 (Kawamoto) : 今日は富士山までドライブします。あっ、富士ですけどよろしいですか。(Kyō wa Fuji-san made doraibu shimasu. A, Fuji desu kedo yoroshii desu ka.) |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : 富士… (Fuji…) |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : いいですね！(Ii desu ne!) |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : 川本さん、お久しぶりです。(Kawamoto-san, o-hisashiburi desu.) |
| 川本 (Kawamoto) : お久しぶりですね。(O-hisashiburi desu ne.) |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : この方はお知り合いですか。(Kono kata wa o-shiriai desu ka.) |
| 川本 (Kawamoto) : はい、そうです。こちらは海外からのお客様です。(Hai, sō desu. Kochira wa kaigai kara no o-kyaku-sama desu.) |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : 初めまして。コダックのギャランテ・ピーターと申します。どうぞよろしくお願いします。(Hajimemashite. Kodakku no Gyarante Pītā to mōshimasu. Dōzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : こちらこそ。初めまして。フジフィルムの高瀬と申します。よろしくお願いします。ご出身はどちらでしょうか。(Kochira koso. Hajimemashite. Fuji Firumu no Takase to mōshimasu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu. Go-shusshin wa dochira deshō ka.) |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : アメリカのニューヨークです。今あちらはとても寒いです。(Amerika no Nyū Yōku desu. Ima achira wa totemo samui desu.) |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : 日本の冬も寒いでしょう？(Nihon no fuyu mo samui deshō?) |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : はい。とても寒いです。(Hai. Totemo samui desu.) |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : ところで、今日は何をしますか。(Tokorode, kyō wa nani o shimasu ka.) |
| 川本 (Kawamoto) : 今日は富士山までドライブします。あっ、富士ですけどよろしいですか。(Kyō wa Fuji-san made doraibu shimasu. A, Fuji desu kedo yoroshii desu ka.) |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : 富士… (Fuji…) |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : いいですね！(Ii desu ne!) |
| Peter: Okay, you know the drill. Natsuko and Takase will give you the Japanese and I will give you the English, okay? Here we go. |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : 川本さん、お久しぶりです。(Kawamoto-san, o-hisashiburi desu.) |
| TAKASE: Ms. Kawamoto, it’s been a long time. |
| 川本 (Kawamoto) : お久しぶりですね。(O-hisashiburi desu ne.) |
| KAWAMOTO: Yes, it’s been a long time. |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : この方はお知り合いですか。(Kono kata wa o-shiriai desu ka.) |
| TAKASE: Is this person someone you know? |
| 川本 (Kawamoto) : はい、そうです。(Hai, sō desu.) |
| KAWAMOTO: Yes, that’s right. |
| 川本 (Kawamoto) : こちらは海外からのお客様です。(Kochira wa kaigai kara no o-kyaku-sama desu.) |
| KAWAMOTO: This is a customer from overseas. |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : 初めまして。(Hajimemashite.) |
| GALANTE: Nice to meet you. |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : コダックのギャランテピーターと申します。(Kodakku no Gyarante Pītā to mōshimasu.) |
| GALANTE: I’m Peter Galante from Kodak. |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : どうぞよろしくお願いします。(Dōzo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| GALANTE: Please be kind to me as I will to you. |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : こちらこそ。(Kochira koso.) |
| TAKASE: Same here. |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : 初めまして。(Hajimemashite.) |
| TAKASE: Nice to meet you. |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : フジフィルムの高瀬と申します。(Fuji Firumu no Takase to mōshimasu.) |
| TAKASE: I am Takase from FujiFilm. |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : よろしくお願いします。(Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| TAKASE: Please be kind to me as I will to you. |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : ご出身はどちらでしょうか。(Go-shusshin wa dochira deshō ka.) |
| TAKASE: Where are you from? |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : アメリカのニューヨークです。(Amerika no Nyū Yōku desu.) |
| GALANTE: New York, USA. |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : 今あちらはとても寒いです。(Ima achira wa totemo samui desu.) |
| GALANTE: Now it’s very cold over there. |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : 日本の冬も寒いでしょう？(Nihon no fuyu mo samui deshō?) |
| TAKASE: Japanese winter is also very cold, right? |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : はい。とても寒いです。(Hai. Totemo samui desu.) |
| GALANTE: Yes, it’s very cold. |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : ところで、今日は何をしますか。(Tokorode, kyō wa nani o shimasu ka.) |
| TAKASE: By the way, what will we do today? |
| 川本 (Kawamoto) : 今日は富士山までドライブします。(Kyō wa Fuji-san made doraibu shimasu.) |
| KAWAMOTO: Today, we’ll take a drive to Mt. Fuji. |
| 川本 (Kawamoto) : あっ、富士ですけどよろしいですか。(A, Fuji desu kedo yoroshii desu ka.) |
| KAWAMOTO: Mt. Fuji, is it all right? |
| ｷﾞｬﾗﾝﾃ (Gyarante) : 富士… (Fuji…) |
| GALANTE: Fuji… |
| 高瀬 (Takase) : いいですね！(Ii desu ne!) |
| TAKASE: Yes, that’s nice! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: Big business getting along, how nice! |
| Natsuko: Umm. |
| Peter: Now this conversation although we put a couple of twists in there is very, very useful for introducing people in business situations. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: This is very formal Japanese, right Natsuko? |
| Natsuko: Right, yes. |
| Peter: And again, very useful when you have to introduce a business partner or when a new person is joining the situation. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Peter: So we are going to get into this. First we are going to start off with some vocabulary. Okay, here we go. Okay Natsuko, what’s the first one? |
| Natsuko: お久しぶり (o-hisashiburi) |
| Peter: And what does this mean? |
| Natsuko: It’s been a long time. |
| Peter: Yep, break it down. |
| Natsuko: (slow)おひさしぶり (o-hisashiburi) |
| Peter: And one time fast. |
| Natsuko: お久しぶり (o-hisashiburi) |
| Peter: Now, notice the お (o) prefix. Now this makes it much more polite. Right, Natsuko? |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Now we can also – if it’s a little more casual, we can say 久しぶりです (hisashiburi desu). |
| Natsuko: Yes, you don’t need the お (o) at the front. |
| Peter: Yep, and then we can even make it 久しぶり (hisashiburi) for even more informal situations. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. 久々。(Hisabisa.) |
| Peter: Oh, there it is, Natsuko, for the most informal of them all. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. |
| Peter: So can you give us the order one more time from most polite to most informal? |
| Natsuko: Sure. お久しぶり。久しぶり。久々。(O-hisashiburi. Hisashiburi. Hisabisa.) |
| Peter: Next we have |
| Natsuko: 方 (kata) |
| Peter: And this is |
| Natsuko: A polite way to refer to a person. |
| Peter: Break it down. |
| Natsuko: (slow)かた (kata) |
| Peter: And one time fast. |
| Natsuko: 方 (kata) |
| Peter: What is the regular word for person? |
| Natsuko: 人 (hito) |
| Peter: Now, when we say regular, this is kind of the usual in the informal situation and we use |
| Natsuko: この人 (kono hito) |
| Peter: Yes. Or for someone over there |
| Natsuko: その人 (sono hito) |
| Peter: Or for someone all the way over there? |
| Natsuko: あの人 (ano hito) |
| Peter: Okay. Now let’s make it polite. |
| Natsuko: この方 (kono kata) |
| Peter: Somebody over there. |
| Natsuko: その方 (sono kata) |
| Peter: And someone way over there? |
| Natsuko: あの方 (ano kata) |
| Peter: Okay, next we have |
| Natsuko: 海外 (kaigai) |
| Peter: And this is |
| Natsuko: Overseas. |
| Peter: Break it down. |
| Natsuko: (slow)かいがい (kaigai) |
| Peter: And one time fast |
| Natsuko: 海外 (kaigai) |
| Peter: Next up |
| Natsuko: と申します (to mōshimasu) |
| Peter: And what is this, Natsuko? |
| Natsuko: Oh this is the most polite way to introduce yourself. |
| Peter: Oh yes. Now before we get into this, let’s just break this down, okay. Natsuko, break it down, please. |
| Natsuko: (slow)ともうします (to mōshimasu) |
| Peter: And one time fast. |
| Natsuko: と申します (to mōshimasu) |
| Peter: And how do we use this? |
| Natsuko: 川本夏子と申します。(Kawamoto Natsuko to mōshimasu.) |
| Peter: Yes, you put your name in front and then you say |
| Natsuko: と申します (to mōshimasu) |
| Peter: Okay, and in the conversation also, you can put your company plus |
| Natsuko: の (no) |
| Peter: Plus |
| Natsuko: Name |
| Peter: Plus |
| Natsuko: と申します (to mōshimasu) |
| Peter: That’s it. Okay, now about this と申します (to mōshimasu), this is an extremely polite way to introduce yourself and it roughly translates to I am or this is. This is Peter calling. This is 敬語 (keigo). Now this is the most polite form of Japanese there is. That’s the honorific level. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Peter: Okay, so you are supposed to use this when you speak to people who are much higher in social status than yourself. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Basically remember we talked about the Tuxedo always taking off the tuxedo. |
| Natsuko: Uhoo. |
| Peter: Well, sometimes you gotta put the tuxedo on. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: And this is one of the cases. Now think of how we used to introduce ourselves, ピーターです。(Pītā desu.) That’s a polite way to do it but to really, really make an impression, I would say ピーターと申します。(Pītā to mōshimasu.) |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: And then wow, now I am being very polite. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So for business situations, meeting the in-laws, when you want to make a good impression, you definitely want to use this. |
| Natsuko: Yes, usually when you introduce yourself to someone you meet first, I think it’s preferable to use this expression. |
| Peter: Yeah, you are going to really impress some people. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. |
| Peter: Next time in your Japanese class, you do an introduction. Try this one out. I think you will see the answer in the teacher’s eyes. Okay, next up we have. |
| Natsuko: お客様 (o-kyaku-sama) |
| Peter: And this is. |
| Natsuko: Guest. |
| Peter: Break it down. |
| Natsuko: (slow)おきゃくさま (o-kyaku-sama) |
| Peter: And one time fast. |
| Natsuko: お客様 (o-kyaku-sama) |
| Peter: We covered this in survival phrases previously. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. |
| Peter: When you go to the hotel, when you go to the restaurant, you will be called this a lot. |
| Natsuko: Yes, whenever you are a customer, お客様 (o-kyaku-sama). |
| Peter: Ah one more time, Natsuko. |
| Natsuko: お客様 (o-kyaku-sama) |
| Peter: I like that, uh… |
| Natsuko: So it’s a very polite way to refer to a guest. |
| Peter: Natsuko is feeling it today, all right, Natsuko. Okay, what do we have next? |
| Natsuko: 出身 (shusshin) |
| Peter: Now this is origin but it’s quite unnatural to say origin in English. So it usually gets translated into hometown. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Peter: Or the place you are from or come from. Okay, break it down. |
| Natsuko: (slow)しゅっしん (shusshin) |
| Peter: And one time fast. |
| Natsuko: 出身 (shusshin) |
| Peter: Now there is a hard ‘s’ in there. It’s not a long しゅう (shū), it’s a hard ‘s’, 出身 (shusshin), right? |
| Natsuko: Yes, yes. |
| Peter: Did I get it, right? |
| Natsuko: Yes, right. |
| Peter: Because this pronunciation gives me a lot of trouble. |
| Natsuko: Oh really? |
| Peter: Oh yes, and this is not just for foreigners. A lot of Japanese will ask each other this. Right, Natsuko? |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. ご出身はどちらですか。(Go-shusshin wa dochira desu ka.) |
| Peter: Yes, and that’s the key. Polite way to refer to we’re in there. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Now remember when we first introduced this word 出身 (shusshin), we used どこですか (doko desu ka). |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. |
| Peter: But now we are dressing the どこ (doko) up in the tuxedo because we got to look nice sometimes. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: And to do this, we use |
| Natsuko: どちら (dochira) |
| Peter: Yes, but we are going to get into that in a minute. So Natsuko, |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: ご出身はどちらでしょうか。(Go-shusshin wa dochira deshō ka.) |
| Natsuko: 東京です。(Tōkyō desu.) |
| Peter: 近いですね。(Chikai desu ne.) |
| Natsuko: そうですね。ピーターさんのご出身はどちらですか。(Sō desu ne. Pītā-san no go-shusshin wa dochira desu ka.) |
| Peter: アメリカのニューヨークです。(Amerika no Nyū Yōku desu.) |
| Natsuko: 遠いですね。(Tōi desu ne.) |
| Peter: 遠いです。飛行機代お願いします。(Tōi desu. Hikōkidai onegai shimasu.) Okay, next up we have |
| Natsuko: 富士山 (Fuji-san) |
| Peter: And this is |
| Natsuko: Mt. Fuji. |
| Peter: Mt. Fuji. Okay, break it down. |
| Natsuko: (slow)ふじさん (Fuji-san) |
| Peter: And one time fast. |
| Natsuko: 富士山 (Fuji-san) |
| Peter: Okay, now Natsuko, yesterday we were talking about the post office and I forgot to mention that on top of Mt. Fuji, there is |
| Natsuko: A post office. |
| Peter: Yeah. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: 郵便局 (yūbinkyoku) on top of Mt. Fuji. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Now there is a funny story behind this. I went up to the top and I left my wallet in the car. |
| Natsuko: Haha. |
| Peter: Natsuko, okay. Enjoy it, get a little more in there. |
| Natsuko: Oh, I got it. |
| Peter: So I left my wallet in the car and I got to the top and there was the post office. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: I couldn’t believe that you could send a letter from the top of Mt. Fuji. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So if you are going, bring money for a postcard and if you have a letter, be sure to get an envelope before you get out there. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Peter: Okay, next up we have. |
| Natsuko: ドライブ (doraibu) |
| Peter: And this is |
| Natsuko: Drive. |
| Peter: Yes, break it down. |
| Natsuko: (slow)どらいぶ (doraibu) |
| Peter: And one time fast. |
| Natsuko: ドライブ (doraibu) |
| Peter: And how do we make this into a verb? |
| Natsuko: ドライブする (doraibu suru) |
| Peter: Again this is a noun plus |
| Natsuko: する (suru) |
| Peter: To get the verb. So a lot of guys, I think they ask a lot of girls. ドライブしませんか。(Doraibu shimasen ka.) Natsuko… |
| Natsuko: Right. Try it, try it. |
| Peter: Only if you have a car. Okay, next we have. |
| Natsuko: ところで (tokorode) |
| Peter: And this is |
| Natsuko: By the way. |
| Peter: Okay, break it down. |
| Natsuko: (slow)ところで (tokorode) |
| Peter: And one time fast. |
| Natsuko: ところで (tokorode) |
| Peter: Great phrase to change topic. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: Okay, now today’s point is |
| Natsuko: こちら、そちら、あちら、どちら (kochira, sochira, achira, dochira) |
| Peter: This is very polite Japanese and こちら (kochira) can be used two ways. It can mean this here or it can mean this thing. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So this is used all the time in business Japanese. The best example we can think of is when you go into a store. The person in the store will say to you こちらは (kochira wa), meaning this thing or she might say こちらへ (kochira e), this way. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So again, this can mean two different things. An object here, this something as in これ (kore) or it can mean ここ (koko) as in here. Right, Natsuko? |
| Natsuko: Yes, right. |
| Peter: So こちら (kochira) has the meaning of |
| Natsuko: これ (kore) |
| Peter: This. |
| Natsuko: ここ (koko) |
| Peter: Here. Again depending on its usage. そちら (sochira) |
| Natsuko: それ (sore) |
| Peter: That |
| Natsuko: そこ (soko) |
| Peter: There, nearby. あちら (achira) |
| Natsuko: あれ (are) |
| Peter: That over there and |
| Natsuko: あそこ (asoko) |
| Peter: Over there. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Okay, and last we have the question form which is |
| Natsuko: どちら (dochira) |
| Peter: Yes, which means the same thing as |
| Natsuko: どれ (dore) |
| Peter: Which and |
| Natsuko: どこ (doko) |
| Peter: Where. We are going to get further into this in another lesson but today the main goal was to introduce you to this polite way of speaking about this and here. |
| Natsuko: Yes, so when you want to be polite and especially to refer to a person, I think you should better use this version. |
| Peter: Always use this version. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: So when you introduce your friend, you wouldn’t say これは (kore wa). |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Peter: It’s considered a big insult. You would say |
| Natsuko: こちらは (kochira wa) |
| Peter: Yes, and someone in the store would probably say if you are asking about an object rather than これは (kore wa) they would say |
| Natsuko: こちらは (kochira wa) |
| Peter: Yes. And rather than ここへ (koko e), this way, they would say |
| Natsuko: こちらへ (kochira e) |
Outro |
| Peter: Okay. All right, Natsuko. That’s going to do it for today. |
| Natsuko: Okay. また明日ね。(Mata ashita ne.) |
| Peter: See you tomorrow. |
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