Learn about saying the names of the colors
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natsuko: こんにちは。なつこです。 (Konnichiwa. Natsuko desu.) |
| Sachiko: Sachiko here. Now I think today we are going to talk about the three basic colors in the traffic signals. |
| Natsuko: Oh those colors? |
| Sachiko: Yes 原色 (genshoku) I guess. So let’s see what kind of situation this pops up in. So today’s conversation takes place in a school. |
| Natsuko: Yes, classroom. And because it’s between teacher and students, what kind of formality? |
| Sachiko: Well the students should be speaking to the teachers with a polite form always at all times because they are younger and the teachers would be using casual form to talk to the students. |
| Natsuko: So it’s mixed here right? |
| Sachiko: Right. |
| Natsuko: Okay. You have to pay attention to that. |
| Sachiko: Right. And the students will be using polite form. Let’s take a look. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 先生:信号には色が3つあるけど、何色かわかる人は手を挙げてー。 |
| Sensei:Shingō ni wa, iro ga mittsu aru kedo, nani iro ka wakaru hito wa te o agetē. |
| 生徒達:はいはいはいはいはいっ。 |
| Seitotachi:Hai! Hai! Hai! Hai! Hai! |
| 先生:じゃあ、マサル。 |
| Sensei:Jā, Masaru. |
| マサル:はい。青と黄と赤です。 |
| Masaru:Hai. Ao to ki to aka desu. |
| 先生:よくできました。みんな拍手。 |
| Sensei:Yoku dekimashita. Minna hakushu. |
| （生徒たち、拍手する） |
| (Seitotachi, hakushu suru) |
| 先生:じゃあ、マサル。青と黄色と赤、それぞれどんな意味かわかるかい。 |
| Sensei:Jā, Masaru. Ao to ki iro to aka, sorezore donna imi ka wakaru kai. |
| マサル:はい、先生。「青色は進んでよい」「黄色は止まれるなら止まれ」「赤色は止まれ」です。 |
| Masaru:Hai, sensei. Aoiro wa susunde yoi. Kiiro wa tomareru nara tomare. Akairo wa tomare,desu. |
| 先生:マサル、よくできました。よく知っていたなあ。 |
| Sensei:Masaru, yoku dekimashita. Yoku shitte ita nā. |
| アサミ:先生、先生。マサルくんは、わかっていないと思います。 |
| Asami:Sensei, sensei. Masaru-kun wa, wakatte inai to omoimasu. |
| 先生:なんでそう思うんだ。 |
| Sensei:Nande sō omō n da. |
| アサミ:だって、マサルくんは「赤信号、みんなで渡ればこわくない」って、いつも赤信号なのに渡ろうとするんです。 |
| Asami:Datte, Masaru-kun wa (akashingō, minna de watareba kowakunai) tte, itsumo akashingō na noni watarō to suru n desu. |
| 先生:なっ、なんだとー。 |
| Sensei:Na, nan da tō. |
| もう一度お願いします。ゆっくりお願いします。 |
| (Mō ichido onegaishimasu. Yukkuri onegaishimasu.) |
| 先生:信号には色が3つあるけど、何色かわかる人は手を挙げてー。 |
| Sensei:Shingō ni wa, iro ga mittsu aru kedo, nani iro ka wakaru hito wa te o agetē. |
| 生徒達:はいはいはいはいはいっ。 |
| Seitotachi:Hai! Hai! Hai! Hai! Hai! |
| 先生:じゃあ、マサル。 |
| Sensei:Jā, Masaru. |
| マサル:はい。青と黄と赤です。 |
| Masaru:Hai. Ao to ki to aka desu. |
| 先生:よくできました。みんな拍手。 |
| Sensei:Yoku dekimashita. Minna hakushu. |
| （生徒たち、拍手する） |
| (Seitotachi, hakushu suru) |
| 先生:じゃあ、マサル。青と黄色と赤、それぞれどんな意味かわかるかい。 |
| Sensei:Jā, Masaru. Ao to ki iro to aka, sorezore donna imi ka wakaru kai. |
| マサル:はい、先生。「青色は進んでよい」「黄色は止まれるなら止まれ」「赤色は止まれ」です。 |
| Masaru:Hai, sensei. Aoiro wa susunde yoi. Kiiro wa tomareru nara tomare. Akairo wa tomare,desu. |
| 先生:マサル、よくできました。よく知っていたなあ。 |
| Sensei:Masaru, yoku dekimashita. Yoku shitte ita nā. |
| アサミ:先生、先生。マサルくんは、わかっていないと思います。 |
| Asami:Sensei, sensei. Masaru-kun wa, wakatte inai to omoimasu. |
| 先生:なんでそう思うんだ。 |
| Sensei:Nande sō omō n da. |
| アサミ:だって、マサルくんは「赤信号、みんなで渡ればこわくない」って、いつも赤信号なのに渡ろうとするんです。 |
| Asami:Datte, Masaru-kun wa (akashingō, minna de watareba kowakunai) tte, itsumo akashingō na noni watarō to suru n desu. |
| 先生:なっ、なんだとー。 |
| Sensei:Na, nan da tō. |
| 次は英語が入ります。 |
| (Tsugi wa eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| 先生:信号には色が3つあるけど、何色かわかる人は手を挙げてー。 |
| Sensei:Shingō ni wa, iro ga mittsu aru kedo, nani iro ka wakaru hito wa te o agetē. |
| Teacher: Traffic signals consist of three colors. Raise your hands if you know what colors they are. |
| 生徒達:はいはいはいはいはいっ。 |
| Seitotachi:Hai! Hai! Hai! Hai! Hai! |
| Students: Me! Me! Me! Me! |
| 先生:じゃあ、マサル。 |
| Sensei:Jā, Masaru. |
| Teacher: Okay then, Masaru. |
| マサル:はい。青と黄と赤です。 |
| Masaru:Hai. Ao to ki to aka desu. |
| Masaru: Yes. Green, red and yellow. |
| 先生:よくできました。みんな拍手。 |
| Sensei:Yoku dekimashita. Minna hakushu. |
| Teacher: Very good. Everyone, let's give Masaru a round of applause. |
| （生徒達、拍手する） |
| (Seitotachi, hakushu suru) |
| (everyone applauds) |
| 先生:じゃあ、マサル。青と黄色と赤、それぞれどんな意味かわかるかい。 |
| Sensei:Jā, Masaru. Ao to ki iro to aka, sorezore donna imi ka wakaru kai. |
| Teacher: Okay, then. Masaru, what does each color mean? |
| マサル:はい、先生。「青色は進んでよい」「黄色は止まれるなら止まれ」「赤色は止まれ」です。 |
| Masaru:Hai, sensei. Aoiro wa susunde yoi. Kiiro wa tomareru nara tomare. Akairo wa tomare,desu. |
| Masaru: Yes. Green means go. Yellow means stop if you can. Red means stop. |
| 先生:マサル、よくできました。よく知っていたなあ。 |
| Sensei:Masaru, yoku dekimashita. Yoku shitte ita nā. |
| Teacher: Very good, Masaru. You know this very well. |
| アサミ:先生、先生。マサルくんは、わかっていないと思います。 |
| Asami:Sensei, sensei. Masaru-kun wa, wakatte inai to omoimasu. |
| Asami: Teacher, I don't think Masaru knows this very well. |
| 先生:なんでそう思うんだ。 |
| Sensei:Nande sō omō n da. |
| Teacher: Why do you say that? |
| アサミ:だって、マサルくんは「赤信号、みんなで渡ればこわくない」って、いつも赤信号なのに渡ろうとするんです。 |
| Asami:Datte, Masaru-kun wa (akashingō, minna de watareba kowakunai) tte, itsumo akashingō na noni watarō to suru n desu. |
| Asami: Because he always tries to cross a red light, saying "It's not scary if we all cross a red light together." |
| 先生:なっ、なんだとー。 |
| Sensei:Na, nan da tō. |
| Teacher: What!? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sachiko: Natsuko san, what did you think of the conversation? |
| Natsuko: マサルくんはちゃんと信号を守らないとダメですね。 (Masaru-kun wa chanto shingō o mamoranaito dame desu ne.) |
| Sachiko: Masaru needs to follow the rules of the traffic lights because what does he do? |
| Natsuko: 赤信号、みんなで渡ればこわくない。 (Akashingō, min'na de watareba kowakunai.) |
| Sachiko: “It’s not scary if we all cross the red light together.” |
| Natsuko: Well that may be an aspect of reality. |
| Sachiko: Yeah true. |
| Natsuko: But it’s a joke, always right? |
| Sachiko: Yeah. I think when people are feeling timid about making changes or doing something different, they will say みんなで渡ればこわくない (min'na de watareba kowakunai) |
| Natsuko: You can dare to do it. |
| Sachiko: Yeah we will be okay if we all do it together. It’s kind of a thing that we say to motivate each other to go on. Natsuko-san, let’s go over today’s vocabulary. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Natsuko: はい。信号 (Hai. Shingō) |
| Sachiko: Traffic lights. |
| Natsuko: し・ん・ご・う「信号」 (Shi n gou `shingō') |
| Sachiko: So as we found out in today’s conversation, in Japanese, the colors for the traffic signals are considered blue, red and yellow instead of green. |
| Natsuko: Well the actual color is green. |
| Sachiko: Right. |
| Natsuko: But we call it blue. |
| Sachiko: Right. |
| Natsuko: Somehow. |
| Sachiko: Because we are all colorblind. |
| Natsuko: No, no, no…oh, oh…. |
| Sachiko: No, no, no, no, no… |
| Natsuko: I think the word blue 青 (ao) in Japanese has the meaning of young, younger. |
| Sachiko: Right. |
| Natsuko: It’s like 青年 (seinen) young. |
| Sachiko: As in youth? |
| Natsuko: Yes youth 青春 (seishun) |
| Sachiko: Uh, which is kind of like puberty but a more romantic way of saying it. I don’t know what the good translation would be for that but… |
| Natsuko: Are there some words using this kanji blue and has the meaning of young? |
| Sachiko: Right. So the color green might give you the feeling of some, you know, young leaves. |
| Natsuko: Right, young leaves. |
| Sachiko: So maybe that’s why we call green blue. Not always. You know, there is a word for green 緑 (midori) |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Sachiko: So sometimes you use that one but in the case of a signal… |
| Natsuko: Some reason we call them blue. |
| Sachiko: Yes, blue signal 青信号 (ao shingō) |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Okay. So when we say the blue signal, we say 青信号 (ao shingō). |
| Natsuko: Yes 赤信号 (aka shingō). |
| Sachiko: For red light. |
| Natsuko: 黄色信号 (kiiro shingō) |
| Sachiko: For the yellow lights. In Japan, I’ve noticed that when giving directions, we often use signals. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes right. |
| Sachiko: The traffic signals. |
| Natsuko: Aha because it has names. |
| Sachiko: That’s right. There is a name for the location of the signals. So when you give directions, you often say, turn right at the next signal. |
| Natsuko: 次の信号で右に曲がってください。 (Tsugi no shingō de migi ni magatte kudasai.) |
| Sachiko: And also because in Japanese, we don’t use the concept of blocks. You have to, have to, have to count the traffic signals… |
| Natsuko: You’re right… |
| Sachiko: And not the blocks. So remember that if you ever ask for directions in Japan. Okay the next vocabulary please. |
| Natsuko: 拍手 (hakushu) |
| Sachiko: Clapping hands, applause |
| Natsuko: は・く・しゅ「拍手」 (Ha ku shu `hakushu') |
| Sachiko: So in Japanese, how would you say, they wouldn’t stop clapping at the concert. |
| Natsuko: コンサートで拍手が止まない。 (Konsāto de hakushu ga yamanai.) |
| Sachiko: The next vocabulary please. |
| Natsuko: 進む (susumu) |
| Sachiko: To advance, to make progress. |
| Natsuko: す・す・む「進む」 (su su mu `susumu') |
| Sachiko: So what are we doing now? We are progressing with the lesson. What would that be? |
| Natsuko: レッスンが進みます。 (Ressun ga susumimasu.) |
| Sachiko: The lesson is progressing. Next vocabulary please |
| Natsuko: 止まる (tomaru) |
| Sachiko: To stop. |
| Natsuko: と・ま・る「止まる」 (to ma ru `tomaru') |
| Sachiko: This is unfortunately used a lot on the trains because it seems like every train I get on stops. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: And the reasons could be anything - |
| Natsuko: Yeah right… |
| Sachiko: From the train in front of it is running late or the weather… |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Weather conditions often stop trains. |
| Natsuko: Right. |
| Sachiko: Right. So if you were to say, the train is stopped because of the typhoon, it would be |
| Natsuko: 台風で電車が止まる。 (Taifū de densha ga tomaru.) |
| Sachiko: Scary thought; don’t want to be on that one. Okay, the next vocabulary please |
| Natsuko: 渡る (wataru) |
| Sachiko: “To cross” or “cross over.” |
| Natsuko: わ・た・る「渡る」 (wa ta ru `wataru') |
| Sachiko: I guess the most common way of using this is maybe to cross a bridge. |
| Natsuko: 橋を渡る。 (Hashi o wataru.) |
| Sachiko: Right. Or if you fly overseas, you cross an ocean. |
| Natsuko: 海を渡る。 (Umi o wataru.) |
| Sachiko: Right…. |
| Natsuko: Because Japan is an island country. |
| Sachiko: Right. That’s the interesting thing because Japan is an island, everything foreign is considered overseas. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Okay. Well, since we are talking about colors, why don’t we introduce some more? |
| Natsuko: Oh yes, sure. |
| Sachiko: What else is there? |
| Natsuko: 黒 (kuro) |
| Sachiko: Black. |
| Natsuko: 白 (shiro) |
| Sachiko: White. |
| Natsuko: 緑 (midori) |
| Sachiko: Green. |
| Natsuko: 紫 (murasaki) |
| Sachiko: Purple, my favorite. |
| Natsuko: Wow! 茶色 (chairo) |
| Sachiko: Brown. |
| Natsuko: 金色 (kin'iro) |
| Sachiko: Gold |
| Natsuko: 銀色 (gin'iro) |
| Sachiko: Silver |
| Natsuko: 水色 (mizuiro) |
| Sachiko: Which is light blue. It’s considered light blue and it’s written in the kanji signaling “water.” |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: So it’s light blue because it looks like water. |
| Natsuko: Uhoo… |
| Sachiko: Okay 水色 (mizuiro) |
| Natsuko: ピンク (pinku) |
| Sachiko: Pink. |
| Natsuko: オレンジ (orenji) |
| Sachiko: Orange. Now I think there are a couple of colors that are very unique to Japanese culture. Right. I think one is 朱色 (shuiro) |
| Natsuko: Oh yes. |
| Sachiko: How would you describe that? |
| Natsuko: Vermillion? Yeah it’s very bright and slightly orangey red. |
| Sachiko: And I think it’s used for stamps? |
| Natsuko: Oh yes, the ink. |
| Sachiko: Yeah right. |
| Natsuko: And it’s maybe of Chinese origin because Chinese temples are usually colored… |
| Sachiko: That’s right. |
| Natsuko: They are very bright red. Orangey, reddish. |
| Sachiko: Yeah, yeah, yeah and also the 鳥居 (torii) in Japan are typically that color. |
| Natsuko: Oh yes, yes the shrine. |
| Sachiko: Yeah it’s really beautiful. The gates of a shrine usually have this 朱色 (shuiro) color. |
| Natsuko: And another thing that I think is very Japanese is 藍色 (aiiro). |
| Sachiko: Uhh indigo. |
| Natsuko: Yeah, indigo blue. |
| Sachiko: Very beautiful color, isn’t it? |
| Natsuko: I love it. I think it’s beautiful. |
| Sachiko: Very dark and pure kind of blue, isn’t it? |
| Natsuko: Yeah it’s navy but it’s deeper than that. It’s so hard to describe… |
| Sachiko: Yes. |
| Natsuko: But I think yeah, I think it’s a very traditional color. |
| Sachiko: Right. So if you go to a souvenir shop, you see a lot of these. |
| Natsuko: Uhoo…It’s usually used in traditional fabrics like 浴衣 (yukata) kimono… |
| Sachiko: Right, right. |
| Natsuko: 手ぬぐい (Tenugui) and the のれん (noren) |
| Sachiko: Oh yes. The sheets are hung at the entrance of a house or a business. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
Outro |
|---|
| Sachiko: We’ve covered a lot of colors today. And today’s lesson involved a lot of vocabulary. So be sure to rewind and listen to it again. See you next week. |
| Natsuko: それじゃ、また今度！ (Sore ja, mata kondo!) |
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