Learn about asking someone for permission to do something
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Naomi: ナオミです。 (Naomi desu.) |
| Peter: Peter here. Marriage Permission III. Please Allow Me to Marry. |
| Naomi: 結婚を許してください。 (Kekkon o yurushite kudasai.) |
| Peter: Naomi-sensei どうでしょうか (dō deshou ka)? Last week, there was a turning point. They seemed to have convinced the father that there is a reason for them to get married. |
| Naomi: In the last line, he said 嘘！？そりゃないよー！ (Uso! ? Sorya nai yō !) |
| Peter: So what does that mean? |
| Naomi: I can’t believe it. |
| Peter: He is coming to accept it. |
| Naomi: そうだと思います。 (Sō da to omoimasu.) |
| Peter: Okay so in today’s conversation, again we have three people talking. |
| Naomi: お父さん、彼氏 and 彼女 (Otōsan, kareshi ando kanojo) |
| Peter: Now again, the boyfriend will be speaking in polite Japanese, the others will speak in casual Japanese. So with that said, I think we are ready to find out what happens. Anything else we want to add? |
| Naomi: ああ、はい。 (Ā, hai.) There is one word that I want to introduce before we listen to the dialogue which is 専業主婦 (sengyō shufu) |
| Peter: “Housewife”, right? |
| Naomi: そうですね。 専業 (Sō desu ne. Sengyō) means “specialized” or “full-time” 主婦 (shufu) means “wife”. So 主婦 (shufu) is “full-time housewife.” |
| Peter: Okay I think that’s a little hint to how this turns out. |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (Sō desu ne.) |
| Peter: Let’s see. Here we go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 彼氏:お願いします！！！ |
| Kareshi: Onegai shimasu!!! |
| お父さん:しょうがない……わかった。だが、その前に質問させてくれ。本当に娘を幸せにできるか？ |
| O-tōsan: Shōganai... wakatta. Daga, sono mae ni shitsumon sasete kure. Hontō ni musume wo shiawase ni dekiru ka? |
| 彼氏:はい、もちろんできます！ |
| Kareshi: Hai, mochiron dekimasu! |
| お父さん:それで、仕事は？ |
| O-tōsan: sore de, shigoto wa? |
| 彼氏:やりません！ 専業主夫になります！ 代わりに娘さんを一生懸命働かせます。 |
| Kareshi: Yarimasen! Sengyōshufu ni narimasu! Kawari ni musume-san wo isshōkenmei hatarakasemasu. |
| お父さん:やっぱり、結婚は駄目だあ！！ |
| O-tōsan: Yappari, kekkon wa dame dā!! |
| もう一度お願いします。ゆっくりお願いします。 |
| (Mōichido onegaishimasu. Yukkuri onegaishimasu.) |
| 彼氏:お願いします！！！ |
| Kareshi: Onegai shimasu!!! |
| お父さん:しょうがない……わかった。だが、その前に質問させてくれ。本当に娘を幸せにできるか？ |
| O-tōsan: Shōganai... wakatta. Daga, sono mae ni shitsumon sasete kure. Hontō ni musume wo shiawase ni dekiru ka? |
| 彼氏:はい、もちろんできます！ |
| Kareshi: Hai, mochiron dekimasu! |
| お父さん:それで、仕事は？ |
| O-tōsan: sore de, shigoto wa? |
| 彼氏:やりません！ 専業主夫になります！ 代わりに娘さんを一生懸命働かせます。 |
| Kareshi: Yarimasen! Sengyōshufu ni narimasu! Kawari ni musume-san wo isshōkenmei hatarakasemasu. |
| お父さん:やっぱり、結婚は駄目だあ！！ |
| O-tōsan: Yappari, kekkon wa dame dā!! |
| 今度は英語が入ります。 |
| (Kondo wa eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| 彼氏:お願いします！！！ |
| Kareshi: Onegai shimasu!!! |
| Boyfriend: Please! |
| お父さん:しょうがない……わかった。だが、その前に質問させてくれ。本当に娘を幸せにできるか？ |
| O-tōsan: Shōganai... wakatta. Daga, sono mae ni shitsumon sasete kure. Hontō ni musume wo shiawase ni dekiru ka? |
| Father: Ah, it's no use. I get it. But let me ask some questions first. Can you really make my daughter happy? |
| 彼氏:はい、もちろんできます！ |
| Kareshi: Hai, mochiron dekimasu! |
| Boyfriend: Yes, of course I can. |
| お父さん:それで、仕事は？ |
| O-tōsan: sore de, shigoto wa? |
| Father: And, what about your job? |
| 彼氏:やりません！ 専業主夫になります！ 代わりに娘さんを一生懸命働かせます。 |
| Kareshi: Yarimasen! Sengyōshufu ni narimasu! Kawari ni musume-san wo isshōkenmei hatarakasemasu. |
| Boyfriend: I won't have one! I'll be a full-time house husband! Instead, I'll make your daughter work the best she can! |
| お父さん:やっぱり、結婚は駄目だあ！！ |
| O-tōsan: Yappari, kekkon wa dame dā!! |
| Father: Obviously there is no way you're marrying my daughter! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: Naomi-sensei ちょっとわからないことあります (chotto wakaranai koto arimasu). There is something I just don’t understand. |
| Naomi: 何でしょう？ (Nani deshou?) |
| Peter: 彼氏が専業主婦になりたがっていますか？ (Kareshi ga sengyō shufu ni narita gatte imasu ka?) |
| Naomi: Yeah right. The 彼氏 (kareshi) said 専業主夫になります (sengyō shufu ni narimasu)! |
| Peter: So I want to be a housewife. |
| Naomi: Actually the kanji for 夫ふ (otto fu) is different. It means “husband.” |
| Peter: You know we did this word before but it just I haven’t heard in a while. “Stay-at-home dad.” |
| Naomi: そうです。 (Sō desu.) |
| Peter: Or in this case since they don’t have any kids, “stay-at-home husband” いいですね (ii desu ne). |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (Sō desu ne.) |
| Peter: But you know I think 家事 (kaji) “housework” とっても難しいですよ (tottemo muzukashii desu yo). It’s really difficult. |
| Naomi: Umm, that’s a tough work too. |
| Peter: Like it never ends. |
| Naomi: そう。 (Sō.) |
| Peter: キリがないです (kiriganai desu) |
| Naomi: Umm… |
| Peter: “It just never ends.” So for people going to work, you know 5時、6時、7時、8時はキリがある。それで家に帰ります (5-Ji, 6-ji, 7-ji, 8-ji wa kiri ga aru. Sorede ie ni kaerimasu). You know 仕事が終わったら、職場出て家へ帰ります (Shigoto ga owattara, shokuba dete ie e kaerimasu). So like, you get a change of scene. |
| Naomi: Ah… |
| Peter: You know things kind of change. |
| Naomi: そうね。でも、専業主婦は24時間の仕事ですね。 (Sō ne. Demo, sengyō shufu wa 24-jikan no shigoto desu ne.) “24-hour work.” |
| Peter: All the time and you know, they don’t have that psychological feeling that that work is over for them because there is always something. |
| Naomi: そうですね。 (Sō desu ne.) |
| Peter: 辛いですね。 (Tsurai desu ne.) |
| Naomi: 専業主婦はね、大変だと思いますよ。 (Sengyō shufu wa ne, taihen da to omoimasu yo.) |
| Peter: Yeah この会話の中で、このお父さんが、それにきっと気付いてないです。 (Kono kaiwa no naka de, kono otōsan ga, soreni kitto kidzuite nai desu.) He doesn’t realize like how hard. |
| Naomi: I think the reason the father said 結婚はダメだ (kekkon wa dameda) is because 彼氏 (kareshi) said 代わりに娘さんを一生懸命働かせます (kawarini musume-san o isshōkenmei hatarakasemasu). “I will make your daughter work hard.” It doesn’t sound nice. |
| Peter: Good point. Good point. Well, say I figured like he, the husband would be at home working 一生懸命 (isshōkenmei). So お互いが頑張っているから (otagai ga ganbatte irukara) you know and the father thinks that you know, oh he just wants to stay at home and do nothing. |
| Naomi: そうだと思いますよ。 (Sō da to omoimasu yo.) |
| Peter: But yeah maybe the son is insincere. Maybe he doesn’t know too, how hard it is. |
| Naomi: たぶんそうかもしれないですね。 (Tabun sō kamo shirenai desu ne.) |
| Peter: All right. Let’s take a look at some vocab. First we have |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Naomi: しょうがない (shōganai) |
| Peter: Can’t be helped. |
| Naomi: しょ・う・が・な・い「しょうがない」 (sho u gana i `shōganai') |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 専業主夫 (sengyō shufu) |
| Peter: Full-time house husband. |
| Naomi: せ・ん・ぎょ・う・しゅ・ふ「専業主夫」 (se n gyo u shu fu `sengyō shufu') |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 代わりに (kawarini) |
| Peter: Instead of. |
| Naomi: か・わ・り・に「代わりに」 (ka wari ni `kawari ni') |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: ダメ (dame) |
| Peter: No good. |
| Naomi: だ・め「ダメ」 (da-me `dame) |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: 一生懸命 (isshōkenmei) |
| Peter: Very hard, with utmost effort, for dear life. |
| Naomi: いっ・しょ・う・け・ん・め・い「一生懸命」 (i sho u ke n-me i `isshōkenmei') |
| Peter: Next |
| Naomi: やっぱり (yappari) |
| Peter: As was expected. |
| Naomi: やっ・ぱ・り「やっぱり」 (yap pari `yappari') |
| Peter: Let’s take a closer look at some of the phrases and vocab we went over. Naomi-sensei, what do we have first? |
| Naomi: しょうがない (shōganai) |
| Peter: Can’t be helped. |
| Naomi: しょうがない (shōganai) was originally しようがない。がない (shiyōganai. Ga nai) means |
| Peter: There is no or something doesn’t exist. |
| Naomi: しよう is する方法 (shiyō is suru hōhō) |
| Peter: The way to do something. |
| Naomi: So しようがない (shiyōganai) is there is no way to do something or I have no choice. |
| Peter: Ah it’s very clear now. |
| Naomi: And that しよう (shiyou) is usually shortened in the conversation and said, しょう (shou) |
| Peter: しょう (shou) |
| Naomi: しょうがない (shōganai) |
| Peter: But some people still use しようがない (shiyōganai) |
| Naomi: In the writing, they write しようがない (shiyōganai) or there is a same expression 仕方がない (shikataganai) or 仕方ない (shikatanai). |
| Peter: Same meaning, “can’t be helped” or “there is no way.” |
| Naomi: We use it a lot right? |
| Peter: That expression caused a bit of trouble in Japan. We won’t get into that but maybe you could Google “can’t be helped”. And something should come up about a minister being fired over using this phrase. Okay let’s move on to the grammar point. Naomi-sensei, what do we have today? |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Naomi: Causative. |
| Peter: Now up until now, we’ve been talking about the causative and the way it’s been used in the conversations has been to ask for permission, for allowing, for asking for permission but today we actually have the causative being used as the causative and that was a sentence that Naomi-sensei thought was very rude. I am going to make her work as hard as she can which was |
| Naomi: 娘さんを働かせます。 (Musume-san o hatarakasemasu.) "I will make your daughter work.” So very straightforward, we have the causative form of the verb 働く (hataraku) becomes |
| Naomi: 働かせる (hatarakaseru) |
| Peter: And we have the daughter being forced to work. |
| Naomi: 娘さんを働かせます (musume-san o hatarakasemasu) So 働くは (hataraku wa) intransitive ですよね (desu yo ne)? |
| Peter: And with intransitive verbs, when you use O with the causative |
| Naomi: That has a nuance of force or make or someone to do something. |
| Peter: So if we add the intransitive and we used に (ni). |
| Naomi: It has a nuance of like “let” |
| Peter: So here he is saying, I am going to make your daughter work. |
| Naomi: 娘さん「を」働かせます。 (Musume-san `o ' hatarakasemasu.) |
| Peter: And again this is a case of intransitive verbs. So I see, now I see why that adds a little anger. |
| Naomi: 例えば、娘さん「を」泳がせる。 (Tatoeba, musume-san `o ' oyogaseru.) |
| Peter: I will make your daughter swim. |
| Naomi: 娘さんに泳がせる。 (Musume-san ni oyogaseru.) |
| Peter: I will let your daughter swim. |
| Naomi: It’s a bit of a strange sample sentence. |
| Peter: But this is just of course for exemplifying the comparative. Okay, one more grammar point. Next we have |
| Naomi: させてくれる (Sa sete kureru) |
| Peter: So this expression is the causative plus くれる (kureru) and is used to ask for permission. In the conversation we have |
| Naomi: その前に質問させてくれ。 (Sono zen ni shitsumon sa sete kure.) |
| Peter: Let me ask a question before that and of course, this is extremely informal くれ is a very extremely informal way of asking somebody for something and in this case permission. We are missing subjects and other things here. Can you just fill this in a bit, Naomi-sensei? |
| Naomi: 私に質問をさせてくれ。 (Watashi ni shitsumon o sa sete kure.) |
Outro |
| Peter: Let me ask a question. Again this させて (sa sete) usually when させて (sa sete) is in the て (te) form, chances are very high that it’s going to be asking for permission. Again this PDF, all three in this series have really good write-ups on the causative. So if you’re looking to master the causative, stop by and pick up these PDFs. That’s going to do for today. |
| Naomi: じゃあ、また！ (Jā, mata!) |
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