Learn about the comparative yori
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Yoshi: おはよう、ウランバートル。ヨシです。(Ohayō, Uranbātoru. Yoshi desu.) |
| Takase: おはよう、ウランバートル。タカセです。(Ohayō, Uranbātoru. Takase desu.) |
| Peter: Peter here. Beginner lesson #73. All right, in the studio back with us again, reunited for the first time in two weeks, who is here with us? |
| Takase: Nagasaki connection. |
| Yoshi: Nagasaki connection. |
| Peter: Welcome back Takase-san and welcome back Yoshi-san. |
| Takase: ありがとうございます。(Arigatō gozaimasu.) |
| Yoshi: こんにちは、ピーターさん。(Kon’nichiwa, Pītā-san.) |
| Peter: こんにちは、ヨシさん。タカセさん、今日元気ですか。(Kon’nichiwa, Yoshi-san. Takase-san, kyō genki desu ka.) |
| Takase: 元気です。ヨシさん、元気ですか。(Genki desu. Yoshi-san, genki desu ka.) |
| Yoshi: はい、元気です。ピーターさん元気ですか。(Hai, genki desu. Pītā-san genki desu ka.) |
| Peter: 今日は絶好調です。ほんとに絶好調です。(Kyō wa zekkōchō desu. Honto ni zekkōchō desu.) Yes, what a great mood we are in today, well I am in today. Now this week, we are going to take a look at comparatives. So over the next few days, this is the topic we will be focusing on. All right, with that said and that behind us, let’s get on to today’s lesson. Here we go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : はい皆さん、質問の時間ですよ。(Hai mina-san, shitsumon no jikan desu yo.) |
| 生徒たち (seito-tachi) : やった！いぇーい！(Yatta! Iēi!) |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : 東京、大阪はどちらの人口が多いですか。(Tōkyō, Ōsaka wa dochira no jinkō ga ōi desu ka.) |
| 生徒１(seito 1) : はい、川村先生。大阪は東京より人口が多いです。(Hai, Kawamura-sensei. Ōsaka wa Tōkyō yori jinkō ga ōi desu.) |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : いいえ、違います。東京の人口は大阪より多いです。 |
| じゃ、次の質問。(Iie, chigaimasu. Tōkyō no jinkō wa Ōsaka yori ōi desu. Ja, tsugi no |
| shitsumon.) |
| 日本の５つの大きな島の中で、どれが一番大きいですか。(Nihon no itsutsu no ōkina shima no naka de, dore ga ichi-ban ōkii desu ka.) |
| 生徒２ (seito 2) : 四国は沖縄より大きいでしょう。(Shikoku wa Okinawa yori ōkii deshō.) |
| 生徒１ (seito 1) : そうです。そして、九州は四国より大きいです。(Sō desu. Soshite, Kyūshū wa Shikoku yori ōkii desu.) |
| 生徒２ (seito 2) : そう、そう。北海道は九州より大きいです。(Sō, sō. Hokkaidō wa Kyūshū yori ōkii desu.) |
| 生徒１ (seito 1) : 本州は北海道より大きいですから、(Honshū wa Hokkaidō yori ōkii desu kara,) |
| 生徒２ (seito 2) : 答えは本州です！(Kotae wa Honshū desu!) |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : 正解！(Seikai!) |
| 生徒２ (seito 2) : やった！(Yatta!) |
| 生徒１ (seito 1) : いぇーい！(Iēi!) |
| Yoshi: 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.) |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : はい皆さん、質問の時間ですよ。(Hai mina-san, shitsumon no jikan desu yo.) |
| 生徒たち (seito-tachi) : やった！いぇーい！(Yatta! Iēi!) |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : 東京、大阪はどちらの人口が多いですか。(Tōkyō, Ōsaka wa dochira no jinkō ga ōi desu ka.) |
| 生徒１(seito 1) : はい、川村先生。大阪は東京より人口が多いです。(Hai, Kawamura-sensei. Ōsaka wa Tōkyō yori jinkō ga ōi desu.) |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : いいえ、違います。東京の人口は大阪より多いです。 |
| じゃ、次の質問。(Iie, chigaimasu. Tōkyō no jinkō wa Ōsaka yori ōi desu. Ja, tsugi no |
| shitsumon.) |
| 日本の５つの大きな島の中で、どれが一番大きいですか。(Nihon no itsutsu no ōkina shima no naka de, dore ga ichi-ban ōkii desu ka.) |
| 生徒２ (seito 2) : 四国は沖縄より大きいでしょう。(Shikoku wa Okinawa yori ōkii deshō.) |
| 生徒１ (seito 1) : そうです。そして、九州は四国より大きいです。(Sō desu. Soshite, Kyūshū wa Shikoku yori ōkii desu.) |
| 生徒２ (seito 2) : そう、そう。北海道は九州より大きいです。(Sō, sō. Hokkaidō wa Kyūshū yori ōkii desu.) |
| 生徒１ (seito 1) : 本州は北海道より大きいですから、(Honshū wa Hokkaidō yori ōkii desu kara,) |
| 生徒２ (seito 2) : 答えは本州です！(Kotae wa Honshū desu!) |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : 正解！(Seikai!) |
| Yoshi: 次は、ピーターさんの英語が入ります。(Tsugi wa, Pītā-san no Eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : はい皆さん、質問の時間ですよ。(Hai mina-san, shitsumon no jikan desu yo.) |
| PROFESSOR KAWAMURA: Okay everybody, it's question time. |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : 東京、大阪はどちらの人口が多いですか。(Tōkyō, Ōsaka wa dochira no jinkō ga ōi desu ka.) |
| PROFESSOR KAWAMURA: Which has the larger population, Osaka or Tokyo? |
| 生徒１ (seito 1) : はい、川村先生。(Hai, Kawamura-sensei.) |
| STUDENT 1: Professor Kawamura, over here. |
| 生徒１ (seito 1) : 大阪は東京より人口が多いです。(Ōsaka wa Tōkyō yori jinkō ga ōi desu.) |
| STUDENT 2: Osaka has a larger population than Tokyo. |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : いいえ、違います。(Iie, chigaimasu.) |
| PROFESSOR KAWAMURA: No, you are wrong. |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : 東京の人口は大阪より多いです。(Tōkyō no jinkō wa Ōsaka yori ōi desu.) |
| PROFESSOR KAWAMURA: Tokyo's population is larger than Osaka's. |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : じゃ、次の質問。(Ja, tsugi no shitsumon.) |
| PROFESSOR KAWAMURA: Ok, next question. |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : 日本の５つの大きな島の中で、(Nihon no itsutsu no ōkina shima no naka de,) |
| PROFESSOR KAWAMURA: Out of Japan's big five islands, |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : どれが一番大きいですか。(dore ga ichi-ban ōkii desu ka.) |
| PROFESSOR KAWAMURA: Which is the biggest? |
| 生徒２ (seito 2) : 四国は沖縄より大きいでしょう。(Shikoku wa Okinawa yori ōkii deshō.) |
| STUDENT 2: Shikoku is bigger than Okinawa, right? |
| 生徒１ (seito 1) : そうです。(Sō desu.) |
| STUDENT 1: That's right, |
| 生徒１ (seito 1) : そして、九州は四国より大きいです。(Soshite, Kyūshū wa Shikoku yori ōkii desu.) |
| STUDENT 1: And Kyushu is larger than Shikoku. |
| 生徒２ (seito 2) : そう、そう。(Sō, sō.) |
| STUDENT 2: That's right, that's right. |
| 生徒２ (seito 2) : 北海道は九州より大きいです。(Hokkaidō wa Kyūshū yori ōkii desu.) |
| STUDENT 2: Hokkaido is larger than Kyushu. |
| 生徒１ (seito 1) : 本州は北海道より大きいですから、(Honshū wa Hokkaidō yori ōkii desu kara,) |
| STUDENT 1: And because Honshu is larger than Hokkaido, |
| 生徒２(seito 2) : 答えは本州です！(Kotae wa Honshū desu!) |
| STUDENT 2: The answer is Honshu! |
| 川村先生 (Kawamura-sensei) : 正解！(Seikai!) |
| PROFESSOR KAWAMURA: That's right! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: What good students you are! |
| Takase: Yes, I am. |
| Peter: Takase, yes we are, right? |
| Takase: No, I am. |
| Peter: Oh, what do you think, professor? |
| Yoshi: They are all good students. |
| Peter: Ah, what a nice professor! Okay, we have a bonus, a little bonus for you in the informal track. So stop by japanesepod101.com and pick up the informal track. Well actually, today it’s not the informal track. It’s a bonus track because when you are speaking with your professor, you always want to use |
| Takase: 丁寧語 (teineigo) |
| Peter: Polite Japanese. Okay, lots of vocab. So stop by japanesepod101.com and check out the bonus track. And joining us again, our vocab specialist, here she is, ladies and gentlemen. |
| Natsuko: こんにちは、ナツコです。(Kon’nichiwa, Natsuko desu.) |
| Peter: Natsuko-san, it’s so great to have you here. |
| Natsuko: Thank you. It’s good to be here. |
| Peter: You are always so quiet for the first part of the lesson. |
| Natsuko: Yes, I am sneaking in, not to disturb you. |
| Peter: You are very good at that. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: Okay, now we usually start with vocab and then work our way to the grammar point but we want to get into today’s grammar point a bit early because I think in the vocab, what we are going to do is include some example sentences that actually include the grammar point. So today, what we are working on is comparatives. Now in Japanese, there is a set construction. Natsuko, can you give us this construction? |
| Natsuko: AはBより何々です。(A wa B yori naninani desu.) |
| Peter: A is something, something, something than B. And inside that something, something, you fill in a comparative. Now – Now Yoshi-san, what is the first correct, correct is the key word here because we had one mistake in there. What’s the first correct comparative we had in the dialogue? |
| Yoshi: 東京の人口は大阪より多いです。(Tōkyō no jinkō wa Ōsaka yori ōi desu.) |
| Peter: Tokyo’s population is larger than Osaka’s. Okay, so the key point in the middle, you fill in the comparative. Again the structure is set. A, then we have the particle. |
| Natsuko: は (wa) |
| Peter: Then we have B |
| Natsuko: より (yori) |
| Peter: Then the comparative and then |
| Yoshi: です (desu) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Peter: Yes, okay. Now that we covered that construction, let’s take a look at some vocabulary and incorporate these in. First word, Natsuko. |
| Natsuko: 最初の言葉は、質問 (Saisho no kotoba wa, shitsumon) |
| Peter: Question. |
| Natsuko: (slow)しつもん (shitsumon) (natural speed)質問 (shitsumon) |
| Yoshi: 質問の反対は、(Shitsumon no hantai wa,) |
| Natsuko: 答え (kotae) |
| Peter: Answer. The opposite of “question” is “answer” or maybe not the opposite. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes, it goes with. |
| Peter: Yes. |
| Natsuko: (slow)こたえ (kotae) (natural speed)答え (kotae) |
| Peter: Next. |
| Natsuko: 次は、多い (Tsugi wa, ōi) |
| Peter: Many, more. |
| Natsuko: (slow)おおい (ōi) (natural speed)多い (ōi) |
| Peter: Yoshi-san, please ask Natsuko-san for an example. |
| Yoshi: ナツコさん、例をお願いします。(Natsuko-san, rei o onegai shimasu.) |
| Natsuko: 今年は去年より雨が多いですね。ヨシさん、もう一度お願いします。(Kotoshi wa kyonen yori ame ga ōi desu ne. Yoshi-san, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu.) |
| Yoshi: 今年は去年より雨が多いですね。(Kotoshi wa kyonen yori ame ga ōi desu ne.) |
| Peter: This year, there was more rain than last year. Okay, so the |
| Natsuko: より (yori) |
| Peter: Is “than.” This year, there was more rain than last year. So the order is reversed a bit there. In English, it’s than last year but in Japanese, |
| Natsuko: 去年より (kyonen yori) |
| Peter: Last year than but what comes after than in English goes before より (yori) in Japanese. |
| Natsuko: Yes, right. |
| Peter: Okay, next. |
| Natsuko: 次は、大きい (Tsugi wa, ōkii) |
| Peter: Big, large. |
| Natsuko: (slow)おおきい (ōkii) (natural speed)大きい (ōkii) ヨシさん、例をお願いします。(Yoshi-san, rei o onegai shimasu.) |
| Yoshi: あなたのケーキは私のケーキより大きいです。ナツコさん、もう一度お願いします。(Anata no kēki wa watashi no kēki yori ōkii desu. Natsuko-san, mō ichi-do onegai shimasu.) |
| Natsuko: あなたのケーキは私のケーキより大きいです。(Anata no kēki wa watashi no kēki yori ōkii desu.) |
| Peter: Your cake is bigger than my cake. Ah…What kind of cake? Yoshi-san, can you ask her what kind of cake? |
| Yoshi: 何のケーキですか。(Nan no kēki desu ka.) |
| Natsuko: チーズケーキです。(Chīzu kēki desu.) |
| Peter: Cheese cake. Oh sounds good, but what kind of cheese cake? |
| Natsuko: Huh! |
| Peter: Ask her what kind of cheese cake? |
| Yoshi: 何の種類のチーズケーキですか。(Nan no shurui no chīzu kēki desu ka.) |
| Natsuko: レアチーズケーキです。(Rea chīzu kēki desu.) |
| Peter: What’s that Yoshi san? |
| Yoshi: おいしいチーズケーキですね。(Oishii chīzu kēki desu ne.) |
| Natsuko: そうです。(Sō desu.) |
| Peter: No, but what does it mean in English, rare cheese cake? |
| Natsuko: Not baked cheesecake. |
| Peter: Not baked? |
| Natsuko: Uhoo. |
| Yoshi: Hmm. |
| Peter: I’ve never heard of this. |
| Natsuko: Really? |
| Peter: Yeah. |
| Natsuko: Are you sure? |
| Peter: Yeah. You eat it uncooked? Unbaked? |
| Natsuko: Yeah, it’s a bit like a custard pudding but it has the filling on the crust and the filling part is not baked. |
| Peter: How much is the most expensive one you bought? |
| Natsuko: I don’t buy very expensive cakes but it depends on size. |
| Peter: Is it – all right, any way…judging by your answer, I don’t buy that. Okay, here we go, next. |
| Yoshi: 大きいの反対は (ōkii no hantai wa) |
| Natsuko: 小さい (chiisai) |
| Peter: Small. |
| Natsuko: (slow)ちいさい (chiisai) (natural speed)小さい (chiisai) |
| Peter: Now 大きい (ōkii) and 小さい (chiisai), they are what kind of adjectives? |
| Natsuko: They are i-adjectives but |
| Peter: They have na-characteristics. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Now we are not sure if this is developed from misusage over the years or where it came from but when they use as the end of the sentence or in the end, they are treated as i-adjectives but when they are placed in front of something like big house, how would we say big house in Japanese, Yoshi? |
| Yoshi: 大きな家 (ōkina ie) |
| Peter: You heard the な (na) in there. When they are placed in front of nouns, the な (na) magically appears. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Peter: Interesting, Natsuko. |
| Natsuko: Very interesting. |
| Peter: So got to be careful with these. Although they are i-adjectives, they have na characteristics. A little bit of a curve ball in there for you. Okay, what do we have next? |
| Natsuko: 次は、島 (Tsugi wa, shima) |
| Peter: Island. |
| Natsuko: (slow)しま (shima) (natural speed)島 (shima) |
| Peter: Okay, question for the Japanese hosts. How many islands does Japan consist of? |
| Natsuko: Uncountable. |
| Peter: Yoshi’s face was priceless. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. |
| Peter: Out of shock. |
| Natsuko: He is from Nagasaki, one of the prefectures in Japan that has the most islands, right? |
| Yoshi: Yes. |
| Peter: Too many, hah! We should see what we could do. Maybe we will get a survey out there. It’s got to be possible to count them. |
| Natsuko: There must be someone who counted all the islands and made statistics about it. |
| Peter: Yeah, so we are going to look into this after the lesson. Anybody out there who knows, send it in. |
| Natsuko: Please. |
| Peter: But before that, let’s get a guess. Yoshi, what do you think? How many islands? |
| Yoshi: Million islands. |
| Peter: Natsuko? |
| Natsuko: Not that much I think but a thousand. |
| Peter: Oh, not that low. I am going to go with 10,000. |
| Natsuko: Really? |
| Peter: I think 10,000 is pretty good. |
| Natsuko: Really, are you sure? |
| Peter: Sure, positive. All right, we will try to get something up on the page. |
| Natsuko: Okay. |
| Peter: But what are the big five? Yoshi. |
| Yoshi: 北海道 (Hokkaidō) Island. |
| Peter: And where is that located? |
| Yoshi: It’s the most northern part of Japan. |
| Peter: Yes well, most northern big islands, right? |
| Yoshi: Yes. |
| Peter: There are few islands a little further north, right? |
| Yoshi: Yes. |
| Peter: Yeah but that’s the big one up north. Then we have. |
| Natsuko: 九州 (kyūshū) |
| Peter: Ah, maybe Yoshi should have done that one. |
| Yoshi: Yes. |
| Natsuko: I did it for him. |
| Peter: And this is again the third biggest island, right? |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. |
| Peter: This is actually located near Korea. It’s actually closer from Kyushu to Seoul than Kyushu to Tokyo. |
| Natsuko: Yes, I think so. |
| Peter: Yeah, and lots of influence coming in from mainland Asia through this area, lots of interesting stuff going on there, Kyushu. Next. |
| Yoshi: 本州 (Honshū) Island. |
| Peter: All right, the biggest. |
| Yoshi: Yes. |
| Peter: Now what are the characters for this word Honshu? |
| Yoshi: 本 (hon) means main and 州 (shū) means state. |
| Peter: Now this Hon in Honshu, where else is this found? I think it’s found somewhere very familiar to all of us. |
| Natsuko: 日本 (Nihon) |
| Peter: Yes, the character in Honshu, the main island of Japan is the same character in |
| Yoshi: 日本 (Nihon) |
| Peter: Yes, coincidence? I think not. |
| Yoshi: Maybe not. |
| Peter: Okay, Next Island. |
| Natsuko: 四国 (Shikoku) |
| Peter: The four countries and ah this brings back memories of Hatsumi, Hatsumi-chan. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. |
| Peter: She is from Shikoku. Interesting place. |
| Natsuko: Very interesting. |
| Peter: Have you been there? |
| Natsuko: Once. |
| Peter: Ah, I envy you. |
| Natsuko: But I want to go again. |
| Peter: Yeah. And then, the only thing smaller than Shikoku is |
| Yoshi: 沖縄 (Okinawa) |
| Peter: Yes, the archipelago is located in the south. All right, what do we have next? |
| Natsuko: 正解 (seikai) |
| Peter: Correct answer. Now we hope that everybody out there has a lot of |
| Natsuko: 正解 (seikai) |
Outro |
| Peter: On the quiz today. All right, that’s going to do it for today. |
| Natsuko: また明日ね。(Mata ashita ne.) |
| Yoshi: またね。(Mata ne.) |
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