Learn the ways you should identify yourself when you call someone
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Naomi: なおみです。(Naomi desu.) |
| Peter: Peter here. Beginners Series Season 5 Lesson 9. Why is that Japanese phone ringing off the hook? In this lesson, you'll learn some useful expression from making a formal phone call, such as how to identify yourself, how to leave a message and so on. |
| Naomi: So this conversation takes place of course on the phone. 電話の会話です。(Denwa no kaiwa desu.) |
| Peter: It's a telephone conversation. |
| Naomi: 新さんは、遠井さんの会社に電話をかけています。(Shin-san wa, Tōi-san no kaisha ni denwa o kakete imasu.) |
| Peter: The conversation is between Shin Shimoyama and the receptionist. |
| Naomi: そうですね。受付の人と話しています。(Sō desu ne. Uketsuke no hito to hanashite imasu.) |
| Peter: What's the formality level of this conversation? |
| Naomi: とてもていねいです。(Totemo teinei desu.) |
| Peter: Very formal. |
| Naomi: では、会話を聞いてください。(Dewa, kaiwa o kiite kudasai.) |
| Peter: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| メッセージ (messēji): ただいま、電話に出ることが できません。(Tadaima, denwa ni deru koto ga dekimasen.) |
| : 発信音の後に、メッセージを お願いします。(Hasshin’on no ato ni, messēji o onegai shimasu.) |
| : (ピー) (pī) |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : おかしいなぁ・・・。一週間 ずっと 留守電。・・・会社に かけよう。(Okashii nā… Isshū-kan zutto rusuden. …Kaisha ni kakeyō.) |
| (リンリンリン) (rin rin rin) |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : 101テレビです。(Ichi maru ichi terebi desu.) |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : 下山と 申しますが、遠井さん、いらっしゃいますか。(Shimoyama to mōshimasu ga, Tōi-san, irasshaimasu ka.) |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : 遠井ですか？ただいま、外出中です。(Tōi desu ka? Tadaima, gaishutsuchū desu.) |
| : 12時位に もどると 言っていました。(Jū ni-ji kurai ni modoru to itte imashita.) |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : そうですか。じゃ 下山から 電話が あったと 伝えてください。(Sō desu ka. Ja Shimoyama kara denwa ga atta to tsutaete kudasai.) |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : かしこまりました。(Kashikomarimashita.) |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : あ、すみません。それから 電話が 欲しいと 伝えてください。(A, sumimasen. Sorekara denwa ga hoshii to tsutaete kudasai.) |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : かしこまりました。(Kashikomarimashita.) |
| Naomi: 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.) |
| メッセージ (messēji): ただいま、電話に出ることが できません。(Tadaima, denwa ni deru koto ga dekimasen.) |
| : 発信音の後に、メッセージを お願いします。(Hasshin’on no ato ni, messēji o onegai shimasu.) |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : おかしいなぁ・・・。一週間 ずっと 留守電。・・・会社に かけよう。(Okashii nā… Isshū-kan zutto rusuden. …Kaisha ni kakeyō.) |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : 101テレビです。(Ichi maru ichi terebi desu.) |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : 下山と 申しますが、遠井さん、いらっしゃいますか。(Shimoyama to mōshimasu ga, Tōi-san, irasshaimasu ka.) |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : 遠井ですか？ただいま、外出中です。(Tōi desu ka? Tadaima, gaishutsuchū desu.) |
| : 12時位に もどると 言っていました。(Jū ni-ji kurai ni modoru to itte imashita.) |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : そうですか。じゃ 下山から 電話が あったと 伝えてください。(Sō desu ka. Ja Shimoyama kara denwa ga atta to tsutaete kudasai.) |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : かしこまりました。(Kashikomarimashita.) |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : あ、すみません。それから 電話が 欲しいと 伝えてください。(A, sumimasen. Sorekara denwa ga hoshii to tsutaete kudasai.) |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : かしこまりました。(Kashikomarimashita.) |
| Naomi: 今度は、英語が入ります。(Kondo wa, Eigo ga hairimasu.) |
| メッセージ (messēji): ただいま、電話に出ることが できません。発信音の後に、メッセージを お願いします。(Tadaima, denwa ni deru koto ga dekimasen. Hasshin’on no ato ni, messēji o onegai shimasu.) |
| I can't answer the phone right now. Please leave a message after the beep. |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : おかしいなぁ・・・。一週間 ずっと 留守電。(Okashii nā… Isshū-kan zutto rusuden.) |
| That's strange... This whole week I've been getting only the answering machine. |
| :・・・会社に かけよう。(…Kaisha ni kakeyō.) |
| Let me try a office. |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : 101テレビです。(Ichi maru ichi terebi desu.) |
| Hello, 101 TV. |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : 下山と 申しますが、遠井さん、いらっしゃいますか。(Shimoyama to mōshimasu ga, Tōi-san, irasshaimasu ka.) |
| My name is Shimoyama. Is Ms. Toi there? |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : 遠井ですか？ただいま、外出中です。(Tōi desu ka? Tadaima, gaishutsuchū desu.) |
| Toi? She's out of the office at the moment. |
| : 12時位に もどると 言っていました。(Jū ni-ji kurai ni modoru to itte imashita.) |
| She said she'd be back at around twelve. |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : そうですか。じゃ 下山から 電話が あったと 伝えてください。(Sō desu ka. Ja Shimoyama kara denwa ga atta to tsutaete kudasai.) |
| Really. Okay then, please tell her that there was a phone call from Shimoyama. |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : かしこまりました。(Kashikomarimashita.) |
| Certainly. |
| 下山新 (Shimoyama Shin) : あ、すみません。それから 電話が 欲しいと 伝えてください。(A, sumimasen. Sorekara denwa ga hoshii to tsutaete kudasai.) |
| Oh, and excuse me, but could you also tell her I'd like a call back? |
| 受付 (uketsuke) : かしこまりました。(Kashikomarimashita.) |
| I certainly will. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Peter: Now, Toi-san is Shin's girlfriend, right? |
| Naomi: うん、そうです。(Un, sō desu.) That's right. 遠井歩さんは下山新さんの彼女です。。。一週間留守電はいいサインじゃないですね。(Tōi Ayumu-san wa Shimoyama Shin-san no kanojo desu… Isshū-kan rusuden wa ii sain ja nai desu ne.) |
| Peter: And she hasn't been answering his phone calls for a week. So that's not a good sign. Nope, not at all. By the way 留守電 (rusuden), answering machine is an abbreviation for? |
| Naomi: 留守番電話。 留守は何ですか。(Rusuban denwa. Rusu wa nan desu ka.) |
| Peter: Being away from home. |
| Naomi: 番は？(Ban wa?) |
| Peter: Guard. |
| Naomi: 電話が (denwa ga), of course… |
| Peter: telephone so literally it's like “a guard while you're away from home”? |
| Naomi: そうです。(Sō desu.) It sounds strange but that's how we say it in Japanese. |
| Peter : It’s really strange because actually I believe criminals call houses and if the 留守電 (rusuden) comes on if, the answering machine picks up then they know nobody's home so that's when they rob the house. |
| Naomi : あ～、そっかそっか。(Ā, sokka sokka.) |
| Peter : “Hi, we're not here, come on in” みたいな (mitai na). |
| Naomi : ぜんぜんガードじゃないね。(Zenzen gādo ja nai ne.) |
| Peter : Not really a guard. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Peter: Ok. Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| First word is: |
| ただいま (tadaima) [natural native speed] |
| just now |
| ただいま (tadaima) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| ただいま (tadaima) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| かける (kakeru) [natural native speed] |
| to make a phone call, to dial |
| かける (kakeru) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| かける (kakeru) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 外出 (gaishutsu) [natural native speed] |
| going out |
| 外出 (gaishutsu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 外出 (gaishutsu) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| かしこまりました。(Kashikomarimashita.) [natural native speed] |
| an honorific way to say “I understand” |
| かしこまりました。(Kashikomarimashita.) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| かしこまりました。(Kashikomarimashita.) [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Peter: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Naomi-sensei. |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Peter: What's the first word we'll look at? |
| Naomi: かける (kakeru) |
| Peter: to make a phone call, to dial. Now, the verb かける has a lot of meanings. |
| Naomi: Hm. |
| Peter: But when it's used with |
| Naomi: 電話 (denwa) |
| Peter: telephone, it means “make a call”. |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) 電話をかける (denwa o kakeru) is to make a phone call. |
| Peter: Naomi-sensei. |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) |
| Peter: You can also say 電話をする (denwa o suru), right? |
| Naomi: Meaning “to call”? |
| Peter: Yeah. |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) Both 電話をかける (denwa o kakeru) and 電話をする (denwa o suru) mean “to call” or “to make a phone call”. |
| Peter: Alright. Next. |
| Naomi: ただいま。(Tadaima.) ただいま (tadaima) basically means 今 (ima). |
| Peter: Now. |
| Naomi: But ただいま (tadaima) sounds a lot more formal than 今 (ima). |
| Peter: Is that the same ただいま！ (tadaima!), used when you leave some place and then come back? |
| Naomi: Ah, ただいま～ (tadaimā), …like “I'm back”? |
| Peter: Yep. |
| Naomi: Um, right. It's basically the same. The phrase was originally ただいま帰りました (tadaima kaerimashita), I have returned just now. But it got shortened to ただいま (tadaima). So it’s basically the same but used differently. |
| Peter: So they're basically the same, kind of the nuance are the same but they're a bit different. |
| Naomi: はい。(Hai.) the usage is bit different. |
| Peter: The ただいま！(tadaima!) is a contraction of a kind of 決まり文句 (kimari monku), a set phrase. |
| Naomi: Right. ただいま！ (Tadaima!) I'm back. |
| Peter: Whereas |
| Naomi: ただいま (tadaima) is right now |
| Peter: and a standalone phrase. Similar, very close, but a little different |
| Peter: OK and last we have? |
| Naomi: 外出中 (gaishutsuchū) |
| Peter: Out, as in out of the office or away from home. This word contains two words right? |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) |
| Peter: The first one is |
| Naomi: 外出 (gaishutsu) |
| Peter: Meaning “out”, “going out”. The second one |
| Naomi: Actually it's the suffix 中 (chū). |
| Peter: When the suffix 中 (chū) is attached to a noun that indicates an action, it means “in the middle of something”, “during”, or “while”. |
| Naomi: Here are some examples. 勉強 (benkyō) is |
| Peter: studying |
| Naomi: so 勉強中 (benkyōchū) is |
| Peter: in the middle of studying |
| Naomi: 仕事 (shigoto) is |
| Peter: job or work, |
| Naomi: so 仕事中 (shigotochū) is |
| Peter: in the middle of working or in the middle of a job |
| Peter: In the dialogue the receptionist said |
| Naomi: 遠井ですか？ただいま、外出中です。(Tōi desu ka? Tadaima, gaishutsuchū desu.) |
| Peter: Toi? She's out of the office at the moment. |
| Please notice how the receptionist addresses Ms. Toi. The receptionist didn't put the polite suffix, 〜さん (-san). Naomi-sensei, why is that? |
| Naomi: Well...It's really a cultural thing. This action is based on the うち (uchi) in-group) and そと (soto) out-group) concept. 〜さん (-san) is dropped from her name to show respect to Shin because Ayumu Toi is part of their receptionist in-group. |
| Peter: We've touched on this on the past this うち (uchi) (in-group) and そと (soto) out-group)concept before, but in Japanese culture, the people who you work at the same company are considered people in your in-group, so to show respect to someone outside of the in-group (a caller, in this case), the polite name suffix or title should be dropped. |
| Naomi: そうですね。(Sō desu ne.) |
| Peter: Now, if you are a little confused by this, you have to think of the whole company as one entity in the business world, okay. But inside of that company of course there are different relationships so we are talking about the company's relationship with other companies in the business world, and that's why he dropped the -san. But inside the company when you're speaking to people you want to address your superiors with the proper suffixes. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Peter: On to the focus of this lesson |
| In this lesson, you'll learn useful expressions for talking on the phone in a business setting. |
| Naomi: Let's learn how to leave a message. |
| Peter: In the dialogue, Shimoyama said... |
| Naomi: 下山から 電話が あったと 伝えてください。(Shimoyama kara denwa ga atta to tsutaete kudasai.) |
| Peter: Please tell her that there was a phone call from Shimoyama. |
| Tsutaeru means “to pass on” or “to tell”, so 伝えてください (tsutaete kudasai) means “please pass on something. In this case, a message. |
| Naomi: As you may know, と (to) marks where the quote ends. So 下山から電話があった (Shimoyama kara denwa ga atta) (there was a phone call from Shimoyama) is the message that needs to be passed on. |
| Peter: Let's break down the sentence. |
| Naomi: Ok. 下山から (Shimoyama kara) |
| Peter: from Shimoyama |
| Naomi: 電話があった (denwa ga atta) |
| Peter: there was a phone call |
| Naomi: と (to) |
| Peter: quotation particle |
| Naomi: 伝えてください (tsutaete kudasai) |
| Peter: Please pass on the message. So literally, From Shimoyama, there's a phone call, please pass on the message. Of course it means “Please tell her that Shimoyama called.” He's probably expecting Ayumu Toi to call him back. |
| So the pattern is [message you want passed on] plus と 伝えてください (to tsutaete kudasai). |
| Naomi: You can leave any message you want. for example… 電話が欲しいと伝えてください。(Denwa ga hoshii to tsutaete kudasai.) |
| Peter: Please tell her/him to give me a call |
| Naomi: メールを待っていると伝えてください。(Mēru o matte iru to tsutaete kudasai.) |
| Peter: Please tell him/her that I'm waiting for his/her e-mail. |
| Naomi: How about this one, 大好きだと伝えてください (daisuki da to tsutaete kudasai)? |
| Peter: “Please tell him/her I like him very much” or “I love him/her very much”. |
| Naomi: ロマンチックですね。(Romanchikku desu ne.) What a romantic sample sentence. |
| Peter: Ok, just one thing before we go. Before the quotation particle と (to) that comes before 伝えてください (tsutaete kudasai), do we have to keep it informal? |
| Naomi: No, both are fine before quotation particle と (to), both formal sentence and informal sentence can come. |
| Peter: ありがとうございます。(Arigatō gozaimasu.) OK. That's all for this lesson. Read the lesson notes, because there's a detailed write up about how to identify yourself on the phone and an explanation about the phrase かしこまりました (kashikomarimashita), which means certainly. |
| Naomi: おねがいします。じゃ、また。(Onegai shimasu. Ja, mata.) |
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